Partial vs Perfect Knowledge and the Soul's Preparation
The scripture arranges the idea of being trampled with contempt, just as it is said of the chaff on the threshing floor, 'They throw it out' (Ps 55:2). To be trampled by men and concerning the one devaluing Christ, it has been written: 'How severe a punishment do you think the one who has trampled the Son of God will deserve?' (Ps 55:2). And the holy one, being devalued by a man through foolishness, according to the scripture 'Where is your jealousy and zeal among you, and do you walk according to man?' (1 Cor 16:14), deserves to be shown mercy by God. But this man is an unceasing, murderous enemy who crushes the day of life of the righteous by warring, not desiring to be peaceful in any measure. And since in the parable of the weeds (Matt 13:24) the sower of these has been interpreted as the evil man, the devil, stand firm despite what has been said about him.
From this doing, he says, perhaps having fallen from a higher day and life, they have come upon my enemies (Ps 55:3). God saves those who have fallen into wickedness freely, receiving nothing from them (Ps 55:8). For he says, 'Behold, you were struck by your sins and you shall not be redeemed with silver' (Ps 55:8), being saved not by works but by grace. Indeed, 'above nothing' signifies that they are not given salvation above anything else.
The voice growing bold before God (Ps 55:9). For the living one, not by sin but by God, through these works, makes his life manifest to God, announcing it through disposition and practice.
The word brought forth upon God and through God is praiseworthy, likewise also the discourse. But he argues from a parallel against the same word and the discourse, or sets such comparisons one upon another. Since the word is a part of the discourse, the one being led into godliness, if perhaps unable to participate in the most full discourse, begins from a word, that is, a partial discourse. Care not; first the word of the Lord comes upon Jeremiah (Jer 1:9), and after this, the discourse of the Lord comes to him; and in Isaiah, he says, 'Hear, O word of the Lord, you who tremble at his discourse' (Isa 66:2). But the word of the Lord is heard in the one occurring through him in the introduction. If anyone should object, saying that it is given to those being evangelized...
With much power, those who know and prophesy partially now receive a word toward the coming knowledge and teaching, as the perfect word is being given to them and the perfect knowledge is shining upon them as if the partial were being abolished. He who accepts both the introduction and the full bestowal of the word praises God with word and discourse (Ps 55:12).
Regarding the flesh, he says that the man who has the mindset of the flesh is an enemy to God, not being subject to the law of God. For he who becomes one in this flesh is not able to please God. He fears lest he who becomes one in the spirit should do to him, as having killed the works of the flesh; for he has not truly hoped in God (Ps 55:13).
He who prays does not stand in harmony with those to whom he is promised through prayer, but holds within himself the prayers of praise to render to God. And prayers of praise are those concerning praise; for just as someone prays to do or to render this or that to God, so someone prays to praise God (Ps 55:14ab).
And since mourning and the falling of tears follow the one dying, no one mourns the one dead according to the soul except himself, fittingly after the soul has been snatched from the death of the intellect of ignorance concerning God and his eyes have been freed from tears. He snatched his feet from slipping, having shod them with a shoe that lifts up and makes them above the earth. For God says, 'I have shod you with hyacinth.' And the hyacinth, imitating the body of the heaven, shows the soul being colored with the heavenly, with a shoe not being any other than the preparation of the Gospel. Since the one shod is being lifted up, there follows the being snatched from slipping, concerning the feet being snatched from the matter (Ps 55:14c).
Someone is snatched from the aforementioned harmful things in order to please God, living and having been enlightened. For he who pleases God does this while living in light; and he lives and has been enlightened, everyone partaking of God; for he himself, being life, is the light of men, according to the scripture: 'And the life was the light of men' (John 1:4).
The doubling shows that both in this life and in the future we need the mercy of God (Ps 56:2a–c). And he calls the divine protection the shadow of wings.
Greek
584 Ps 55,2 Τὸ καταπατεῖσθαι ἐπὶ καταφρονήσεως τάττει ἡ γραφή, ω σπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ μεμωραμένου ἁλὸς λέγεται Εξω βάλλουσιν αὐτό. καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ περὶ τοῦ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐξευτελίζοντος γέγραπται· Πόσῳ δοκεῖτε χείρονος ἀξιωθήσεται τιμωρίας ὁ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καταπατήσας; καὶ ὁ α γιος ου ν ἐξευτελιζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ διὰ φαυλότητα ἀνθρώπου ο ντος κατὰ τὸ Οπου ε ρις ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ ζῆλος οὐχὶ σάρκικοί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ α νθρωπον περιπατεῖτε; ἐλεηθῆναι ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἀξιοῖ. Ου τος δὲ ἀδιαστάτως πολέμιος καὶ φονικὸς ω ν ο λην τὴν τοῦ βίου ἡμέραν ἐκθλίβει πολεμῶν τὸν δίκαιον, οὐδὲ κατὰ ποσὸν εἰρηνικὸς ει ναι βουλόμενος. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ παραβολῇ τῶν ζιζανίων ὁ τούτων σπορεὺς πονηρὸς α νθρωπος ὁ διάβολος ἡρμήνευται, ἐπίστησον εἰ καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ ῥηθείη τὰ προκείμενα. 585 Ps 55,3 ̓Αρξάμενοι ἀπὸ πολλοῦ τοῦτο ποιεῖν, φησίν, η τάχα ἀπὸ ὑψηλοτέρας ἡμέρας καὶ ζωῆς καταπεσόντες ἐπὶ τὸ ἐχθροί μου ει ναι ἐληλύθασιν. 586 Ps 55,8a Τοὺς εἰς κακίαν πεσόντας σῴζει ὁ θεὸς δωρεάν, οὐδὲν παρ' αὐτῶν δεχόμενος. ̓Ιδοὺ γάρ φησι ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν ἐπράθητε καὶ οὐ μετὰ ἀργυρίου λυτρωθήσεσθε, οὐκ ἐξ ε ργων ἀλλὰ χάριτι σῳζόμενοι. τὸ γοῦν ̔Υπὲρ μηδενὸς σημαίνει μὴ ὑπέρ τινος διδομένου αὐτῷ τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῖς παρέχειν. Ps 55,9 Παρρησιαζομένου πρὸς θεὸν ἡ φωνή. ὁ γὰρ ζῶν μὴ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀλλὰ τῷ θεῷ δι' αὐτῶν τῶν ε ργων φανερὰν τῷ θεῷ ποιεῖ τὴν ζωὴν ἑαυτοῦ, ἐξαγγέλλων αὐτὴν διαθέσει καὶ πράξει. 587 Ps 55,11 Τὸ ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ καὶ διὰ τὸν θεὸν προφερόμενον ῥῆμα αἰνετόν ἐστιν, ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ λόγος. η τοι δὲ ἐκ παραλλήλου κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸ ῥῆμα καὶ τὸν λόγον κατηγορεῖ, η ἐπ' α λλου καὶ α λλου τίθεται τὰς τοιαύτας προσηγορίας. ἐπεὶ γὰρ τὸ ῥῆμα μέρος ἐστὶ λόγου, ὁ εἰς τὴν θεοσέβειαν εἰσαγόμενος πληρεστάτῳ λόγῳ μήπω δυνάμενος κοινωνεῖν ἀπὸ ῥήματος α ρχεται τουτέστι μερικοῦ λόγου. ἀμέλει πρότερον τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου γίνεται ἐπὶ ̔Ιερεμίαν καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο λόγος κυρίου γίνεται πρὸς αὐτόν· καὶ ἐν ̔Ησαΐᾳ ̓Ακούσατέ φησι ῥῆμα κυρίου οἱ τρέμοντες τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ. ἀκούεται δὲ ῥῆμα κυρίου τῷ ἐν εἰσαγωγῇ γινομένῳ δι' αὐτοῦ. Εἰ δέ τις ἐνστήσεται ῥῆμα λέγων δίδοσθαι τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνάμει πολλῇ, ι στω πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν γνῶσιν καὶ διδασκαλίαν ῥῆμα λαμβάνειν νῦν τοὺς ἐκ μέρους γινώσκοντας καὶ προφητεύοντας, τοῦ τελείου λόγου διδομένου αὐτοῖς τῆς τελείας γνώσεως ἐπιλαμπούσης ὡς τὴν ἐκ μέρους καταργηθῆναι. ̓Αποδεχόμενος ου ν καὶ τὴν εἰσαγωγὴν καὶ τὴν πληρεστάτην τοῦ λόγου ἐπιφοίτησιν ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ αἰνεῖ ῥήματι καὶ λόγῳ. 588 Ps 55,12 Σάρκα δὲ η τὸν α νθρωπον λέγει η ἐκείνην η ς τὸ φρόνημα ε χθρα εἰς θεὸν τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ὑποτασσομένης. ὁ γὰρ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ σαρκὶ γινόμενος θεῷ ἀρέσαι οὐ δύναται. φοβεῖται ου ν μήτι ποιήσει αὐτῷ σὰρξ ὁ ἐν πνεύματι γινόμενος, ὡς α ν τὰ ε ργα τῆς σαρκὸς νεκρώσας· ου τος γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἐπὶ 109 θεὸν η λπισεν. 589 Ps 55,13 ̔Ο εὐχόμενος ο τε καταλλήλως διάκειται οι ς ἐπαγγέλλεται διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς, ἐν ἑαυτῷ ε χει τὰς εὐχὰς τῆς αἰνέσεως α ς ἀποδώσει τῷ θεῷ. εὐχαὶ δὲ αἰνέσεως αἱ περὶ αἰνέσεως· ὡς γὰρ ευ χεταί τις ποιῆσαι η ἀποδοῦναι τῷ θεῷ τόδε τι, ου τως ευ χεταί τις αἰνέσαι τὸν θεόν. 590 Ps 55,14ab Καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀκολουθεῖ τῷ θανατουμένῳ τὸ θρηνεῖσθαι καὶ δάκρυα ἐπ' αὐτῷ γίνεσθαι, οὐκ α λλος δὲ θρηνεῖ τὸν κατὰ ψυχὴν τεθνηκότα η αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν, εἰκότως μετὰ τὸ ἐρρύσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκ θανάτου τοῦ νοητοῦ τῆς ἀγνωσίας τῆς περὶ θεοῦ καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ δακρύων ἠλευθέρωνται. ̓Ερρύσατο δὲ ἀπὸ ὀλισθήματος τοὺς πόδας, ὑποδήσας αὐτοὺς ὑπόδημα μετεώριζον καὶ α νω τῆς γῆς ποιοῦν. ̓Εγὼ γάρ φησιν ὁ θεὸς ὑπέδησά σε ὑάκινθον. ὁ δὲ ὑάκινθος μιμούμενος τὸ σῶμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ δηλοῖ τὴν ψυχὴν οὐρανίῳ χρωμένην ὑποδήματι οὐκ α λλῳ τυγχάνοντι η τῆς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἑτοιμασίας. μετεωριζομένου ου ν τοῦ ὑποδεδεμένου, ἀκολουθεῖ τὸ ἐξ ὀλισθήματος τοῦ περὶ τὴν υ λην ἐρρύσθαι τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. 591 Ps 55,14c ̔Ρύεταί τις ἀπὸ τῶν προειρημένων ἐπιβλαβῶν ἐπὶ τῷ εὐαρεστῆσαι τῷ θεῷ ζῶν τε καὶ πεφωτισμένος. ὁ γὰρ εὐαρεστῶν τῷ θεῷ ἐν φωτὶ ζώντων τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ζῇ δὲ καὶ πεφώτισται πᾶς μετέχων θεοῦ· αὐτὸς γὰρ ζωὴ ω ν φῶς ἐστι τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατὰ τὸ Καὶ ἡ ζωὴ η ν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. 592a Ps 56,2a–c ̔Ο ἐπιδιπλασιασμὸς δηλοῖ ο τι καὶ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ἐλέου θεοῦ χρῄζομεν. σκιὰν δὲ πτερύγων τὴν θείαν κηδεμονίαν καλεῖ. εἰ
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.