Against Celsus, Book II · §37 · Origen of Alexandria

The gall and the vinegar foretold

After this, having picked from the gospel words which he thinks he can attack, he reproaches Jesus with the vinegar and the gall (Matthew 27:34, 48; John 19:28–30), as though Jesus had rushed greedily to drink and had not held out against his thirst, as even an ordinary man often holds out.

This point has its own explanation in the figurative reading. For now, the answer to his objections may be the more general one, that the prophets foretold this too. For it is written in the sixty-eighth psalm (Psalm 69 in English Bibles), in the person of Christ: “And they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21). Otherwise let the Jews say who it is that speaks these words in the prophet, and let them show from history the one who received “gall” for his “food” and was given “vinegar” to drink. Or let them at least dare to say that the Christ whom they expect to come will undergo these things, so that we may reply: What harm is there, then, if what was prophesied has already come to pass?

This very prophecy, spoken so many ages before, is enough, together with the other foreknowledge of the prophets, to move anyone who examines all the facts fairly to assent to Jesus as the Christ foretold and the Son of God.

Greek

Μετὰ ταῦθ᾿ ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐκλαβὼν λέξεις, ὧν κατηγορεῖν νομίζει, τὸ ὄξος καὶ τὴν χολὴν ὀνειδίζει τῷ Ἰησοῦ ὡς χανδὸν ἐπὶ τὸ πιεῖν ὡρμημένῳ καὶ μὴ διακαρτερήσαντι τὴν δίψαν, ὡς καὶ ὁ τυχὼν ἄνθρωπος πολλάκις διακαρτερεῖ. καὶ τοῦτο ἰδίᾳ μὲν ἐν τῇ τροπολογίᾳ τυγχάνει διηγήσεως· νῦν δὲ κοινοτέρας ἂν τοιαύτης ἀποκρίσεως πρὸς τὰ ἐπηπορημένα ἔχοιτο τὸ λεγόμενον, ὅτι καὶ περὶ τούτου προφῆται προεῖπον. γέγραπται γὰρ ἐν ἑξηκοστῷ (καὶ) ὀγδόῳ ψαλμῷ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Χριστοῦ· „καὶ ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ βρῶμά μου χολὴν. καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισάν με ὄξος.“ ἢ λεγέτωσαν Ἰουδαῖοι. τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ ταῦτα λέγων, καὶ παραστησάτωσαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἱστορίας τὸν ἀνειληφότα „εἰς τὸ βρῶμα“ ἑαυτοῦ „χολὴν“ καὶ ποτισθέντα „ὄξος“· ἢ κἂν τολμησάτωσαν λέγειν ὃν οἴονται ἐπιδημήσειν Χριστὸν μέλλειν ἐν τούτοις γίνεσθαι. ἵν᾿ ἡμεῖς εἴπωμεν· τί οὖν λυπεῖ ἤδη γεγονέναι τὸ προφητευθέν; ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸ πρὸ τοσούτων λεχθὲν χρόνων ἱκανόν ἐστι μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων προφητικῶν προγνώσεων κινῆσαι τὸν εὐγνωμόνως ὅλα τὰ πράγματα ἐξετάζοντα πρὸς τὸ συγκαταθέσθαι ὡς Χριστῷ προφητευθέντι καὶ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ Ἰησοῦ.

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About this text

Origen answers the Jew whom Celsus brings on stage to speak against the Jews who believe in Jesus, and shows that they have not left the law of their fathers. He goes on to defend Jesus’ foreknowledge of his betrayal, the reality of his suffering and death, and his resurrection, and argues that no mere man could have won so much of the world.

Base text: Koetschau, GCS 2–3 (1899), via the Perseus digital text. The English is a fresh translation from that Greek, chapter by chapter (2.1–79), with an independent clause-by-clause review against the Greek. Crombie and Chadwick were not used.

Printed text used

Translated from Koetschau GCS 2 – 3 (1899) — Greek (Greek · Book II, chapters 1 – 79)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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