Homilies on Jeremiah · §17.3 · Origen of Alexandria

In the middle of his days we abandoned him

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'And in the middle of his days they will abandon him.' (Genesis 3:1) We all who once came under the calling partridge—for he called not only through those named before, but also through all who simply deceive and, as if unto piety, summon godlessness unto doctrines contrary to the truth—but 'in the middle of his days' (1 John 2:17) we have abandoned him. For all his days are the days of this age; but since Christ Jesus drew us out of the present evil age, therefore 'in the middle of his days' we have abandoned him.

'And at his end he will be a fool.' For when was he wise, that at his end he should become a fool? But we will say that he was wise; for 'the serpent was the wisest of all the beasts of the earth which the Lord God made.' (Isaiah 10:12) Wise he was according to what is said in Isaiah: 'For I will bring upon the great mind, the ruler of the Assyrians. For he said: By strength I will do it, and by wisdom...' (Galatians 1:4)

Greek

«Ἐν ἡμίσει« δὲ«ἡμερῶν αὐτοῦ ἐγκαταλείψουσιν αὐτόν. ἡμεῖς πάντες οἱ γενόμενοί ποτε ὑπὸ τὸν πέρδικα τὸν φωνήσαντα· ἀφώνησε γὰρ οὐ μόνον διὰ τῶν προειρημένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ πάντων ἁπαξαπλῶς τῶν ἀπατώντων καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ εὐσέβειαν τὴν ἀθεότητα προκαλουμένων ἐπὶ δόγματα ἐναντία τῇ ἀληθείᾳ — ἀλλ᾿ «ἐν ἡμίσει ἡμερῶν αὐτοῦ«ἐγκαταλελοίπαμεν αὐτόν. πᾶσαι μὲν γὰρ αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ αἱ ἡμέραι εἰσὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐξείλατο «ἡμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ αἰῶνος τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος πονηροῦ« Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς, διὰ τοῦτο «ἐν ἡμίσει ἡμερῶν αὐτοῦ« ἐγκαταλελοίπαμεν αὐτόν. «καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων αὐτοῦ ἔσται ἄφρων. πότε γὰρ φρόνιμος ἦν, ἵν᾿ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων αὐτοῦ γένηται ἄφρων; ἀλλὰ φήσομεν, ὅτι φρόνιμος ἦν· «ὁ«γὰρ «ὄφις ἦν φρονιμώτατος πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὧν ἐποίησε κύριος ὁ θεός. φρόνιμος ἦν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ· «ἐπάξω γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸν νοῦν τὸν μέγαν, τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων. εἶπε γάρ·τῇ ἰσχύϊ ποιήσω, καὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ

About this text

Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page has Homilies 1–20. The rest of the volume is still being translated.

English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.

Witnesses

Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)

Where the prints differ

Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.

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.