Amos 5

1–2

(Chapter 5, Verses 1-2) Hear this word, which I bring against you as a lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, and it shall not rise again. The virgin of Israel is cast down upon her own land; there is no one to raise her up. LXX: Hear this word, which I will take up against you as a lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, it shall not rise again. The virgin of Israel is cast down upon her own land, there is no one to raise her up. As for the order of the letters and the true beginning of the story, the ten tribes that are called Israel were led into captivity and have never returned to their own land. But the people of Israel are called the Virgin, not because they remained in the purity of virginity, but because they were once united with the Lord like a virgin. Therefore, the prophet is commanded to take up lamentation over them, so that they may not be restored to their former state. But as for spiritual understanding, the prophet takes up lamentation over all of Israel who once beheld God with their minds and then ceased to serve Him, according to what is commanded in Ezekiel (Ezek. 2), to devour the book in which lamentation, song, and woe were written both inside and outside. Understand within the following song of Solomon, which says: The king has brought me into his chamber (Song of Songs 1:4). And the forty-fourth psalm, in which it is written: All the glory of the daughter of the king is within. But whatever is read in the letter, and appears in the bark, and is not held in the marrow of the spirit, is outside. Therefore, both literally and figuratively, in all the books of the prophets, there is lamentation written over those who repent after sin: A song is worthy for those who are not stained by the filth of sins: Woe to those who do not repent; but according to the hardness of their heart, they store up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath. But if, as we have said, there is lamentation over those who repent; and repentance restores the health of the wounds: how is it said according to the Septuagint, The house of Israel has fallen, it will not rise again. The virgin of Israel has strayed in her own land, there is no one to raise her up? This can be explained as follows: After the house of Israel has fallen of its own will, it will by no means regain its former dignity; after the virgin of Israel has strayed in her own land, she will no longer be able to find anyone to raise her up. And consider the properties of words. He who is a house, and is counted among the crowd, is said to fall. But he who errs about the number of virgins, even for a light offense, cannot be raised up: not that he will not be raised up, but that the virgin of Israel will not be raised up, and the Lord of Israel will not rise. For the glory of the one who has always followed the Lord is not the same as the glory of the one who has strayed from the flock and then was carried back on the shoulders of the good shepherd (Luke 15). And through another prophet the Lord says: I desire the repentance of the sinner rather than death (Ezek. XVIII, 32). Repentance is better compared to death and hell, not to the most pure sanctity of the Church of Christ (which has no wrinkle or blemish). We say this, not to do away with the hope of repentance according to Novatus, but to make those who are more timid and solicitous, who, while hoping for the future, lose the present through the open door of repentance, and who could have remained without injury, but receive a wound unawares, and afterwards suffer with pain. There are many mansions in my Father's house (John XIV), and star differs from star in brightness; so also is the resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians XV): shining like the sun and moon, evening and morning star. But those who repent after sinning will be equal to other stars according to the diversity of their merits.

Commentary on Amos

If, then, the apostle, who was a chosen vessel separated unto the gospel of Christ, by reason of the pricks of the flesh and the allurements of vice keeps his body and brings it into subjection, lest when he has preached to others he may himself be a cast away; and yet, for all that, sees another law in his members warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin; if after nakedness, fasting, hunger, imprisonment, scourging and other torments, he turns back to himself and cries, “Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” do you fancy that you ought to lay aside apprehension? See to it that God say not some day of you, “The virgin of Israel is fallen, and there is none to raise her up.” I will say it boldly: God can do all things, but the virgin who has fallen will not be raised up. He may indeed relieve one who is defiled from the penalty of her sin, but he will not give her a crown. Let us fear lest in us also prophecy be fulfilled, “Good virgins shall faint.” Notice that it is good virgins who are spoken of, for there are bad ones as well. “Whoever looks on a woman,” the Lord says, “to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” So that virginity may be lost even by a thought. Such are evil virgins in the flesh, not in the spirit; foolish virgins, who, having no oil, are shut out by the bridegroom.

Letter 5

(Verse 3) Because thus says the Lord God: The city from which a thousand went out shall be left with a hundred, and the city from which a hundred went out shall be left with ten in the house of Israel. Similarly in the Septuagint. The divine word gives the reasons why the fallen house of Israel shall not rise again, and why the wandering or cast-down virgin of Israel shall not have a saviour. It says: The city, it says, from which a thousand went out shall be left with a hundred, and the city from which a hundred went out shall be left with ten in the house of Israel. So that where there was once a multitude, because of excessive desolation, scarcely a tenth part remains. And let us not leave the letters of the sacraments of numbers untouched: the number seven is proven to be holy, even the Sabbath, on which God rested from all his works (Gen. II). And it commands that no servile work be done on it, except only that which pertains to the soul: and that we not bear burdens on it (Num. XV). Hence, even in the wilderness, the one who gathered wood on the Sabbath, which is destined to burn, is condemned by the judgment of the Lord. And seven weeks complete the number of holy Pentecost: and the Jubilee year of remission and the sounding of trumpets is woven with this number. In the seventh month, the tabernacles are also set up, and the Hebrew, after serving for six years, will be set free in the seventh year. This is also known in secular philosophy and in the books of the physicians, of whom Galenus, very eloquent and learned, wrote three books on judgments and critical days, in which he shows the power of the number seven, saying that the most intense fevers are resolved on the seventh day: or if the magnitude of the harmful fluid and phlegm is so great that it is in no way consumed by the heat of the first week, the last day of the second week is awaited, that is, the fourteenth. But if this disease, as Hippocrates says, conquers, they pass to the twenty-first day, that is, to the end of the third week: so from the beginning of the world, the days being numbered, all labors and troubles rest on the seventh number. Finally, the captivity of the people of Israel, the destruction of the temple, was completed in the seventieth year of desolation, and seven planets are said to wander according to the number of days. Tullius gives a more detailed account of the mysteries of this number in Scipio's dream, and Plato's Timaeus is very obscure, which even Cicero's golden mouth does not make clearer. Therefore, just as the number seven has its sacrament, so it is sanctified and perfected, and, so to speak, is the true number, which is preserved by union, and is enclosed within the majesty of one God. Hence the Son says: I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John 14:11): desiring that all should be one with the Father, he speaks to him: Father, grant that just as I and you are one, so may they be one in us (ibid. 17:21). Therefore, the first beatitude is to be in the first number, which is one and true; the second, in the second, that is, in the decade; the third, in the third, that is, in the hecatontade. For just as the decade is completed by the tenth union, so the hecatontade is built from ten decades. The fourth number, which is contained in a thousand, consists of ten hecatontades. Therefore, when someone repents, they rarely return from the thousand and fourth number to the hundredth and third number. Again, he who is in the hundredth, scarcely returns to the second number of the first decade, and so it happens that the house of Israel, which had fallen, cannot rise again, and the virgin of Israel, who had gone astray, does not have a restorer on the earth. For once someone has departed from union and has lost the glory of most pure virginity (of which the Apostle says: For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin, 2 Corinthians 11), they will not be able to regain their former state and the blessedness of union. And it will scarcely be granted to them to return from a thousand to a hundred, and from a hundred to ten. I have spoken these things briefly so that I may not appear to have completely avoided tropology in this chapter on account of the difficulty of numbers.

Commentary on Amos

4–5

(Vers. 4, 5.) Because thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: seek me, and you will live, and do not seek Bethel, and do not enter Galgala, and do not pass through Bersabee, because Galgala will be taken captive, and Bethel will be useless. LXX: Because thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: seek me, and you will live, and do not seek Bethel, and do not enter Galgala, and do not pass over the well of the oath, because Galgala will be taken captive, and Bethel will be as if it does not exist. It is the custom (Al. the habit) of the Scriptures always to join joyful things after sad things and after God has threatened with punishment, He calls those whom He has terrified to repentance, according to what we read in Isaiah: Woe, sinful nation, people full of sins, wicked seed, wicked children (Isa. I, 4). And when He has said, your land is desolate, your cities are consumed by fire, foreigners will eat your regions before you (Al. in your sight), He speaks to them promising better things: Be washed, be clean: remove your evils from your minds. Learn to do good (or do good): seek justice, judge the orphan, defend the widow: and come, let us reason together, says the Lord (Isaiah 1:17). Therefore, just as in Isaiah, he sustains those whom he had terrified with his severe voice with gentle speech, so also in this prophet, he says to them: The house of Israel has fallen, it will not be added that it may rise again; the virgin Israel has wandered on the earth, there is no one to raise her up. He does not speak to them and say: The house of Israel, that is, the ten tribes, seek me and you shall live; for in not seeking me, you are dead. And when you seek, you will find; and when you find, you will live. And do not seek Bethel, where the golden calf was, and Galgalam, the place of idolatry, of which I have spoken before: All their wickedness is in Galgal (Hosea 9:15). And you shall not go to Bersabee. In Bersabee, he says, there is a well of oath, you shall not go there: where if ever the tribe of Judah erred, they used to worship idols. But Israel was so inflamed with the worship of idols that he was not satisfied with his own idols, but he went to foreign ones. Finally, he said that Galgata will be led captive, and Bethel will be useless, or completely non-existent, when those idols are overthrown. He completely overlooked Bersabee; because, after the ten tribes were defeated, the city called Bersabee, which was in the tribe of Judah at that time, was neither captured nor destroyed. It should also be noted that in this passage the Seventy Interpreters have translated the name Bersabee as 'well of an oath,' and in subsequent passages they used the same name: 'Your God lives, Dan,' and 'the way to Bersabee lives.' But they put the road by Bersabee, because they were traveling from Israel to the farthest borders of Judah, which were in Geraris, and were connected to the desert of Egypt, in order to worship idols. And it is the place where Abraham lived: and because when he and Abimelech, having given seven sheep, swore an mutual covenant, it was called the well of the oath, or the well of the seventh, because of the number seven sheep (Genesis 25): for 'Sabe' signifies both. However, according to the allegorical interpretation of the laws, it is enjoined upon the house of Israel, that is, those who profess to have knowledge of God, not to seek Bethel, and not to enter into Galgal, and not to pass by or ascend to the well of the oath; but rather to seek God and live in him. However, they seek Bethel, which is interpreted as the house of God, those who say: The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord; and they trust in the buildings, of which the Lord spoke to his disciples: The days will come, in which there will not be left a stone upon a stone that will not be destroyed (Luke 21:6). And they enter into Galilee, who after the coming of Christ desire to be circumcised again. For in Galilee the people were circumcised a second time. Hence the place itself received its name: because the Lord took away the reproach of Egypt from them (Jos. 5). And in Beersheba, he says, you shall not pass unto the well of the oath: lest you consider those the borders of Judaea, which according to the letter of Scripture were promised from Dan to Beersheba. And do not say with the prophet: God is known in Judaea, his great name in Israel (Ps. 75:1); but listen to the apostles: Their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world (Ps. 18:4): for Galilee, that is, the circumcision of the flesh, will be led captive by the true circumcision of the heart; and Bethel, which you think is the house of God, will not remain, or, as I think better, will be useless, that is, Aven: so that it may by no means be called the house of God, but may be called the house of inutility, or of idols. Another way: Bethel seeks only the letter that sets in the west, and not the meaning, which is God, seeks in words: and it enters into Galgala, which aims for greater revelations, promising himself knowledge of the supernatural, and it passes, or ascends to the well, from which the Samaritan woman, desiring to draw water, which could not quench her thirst, did not know him, from whose belly spring forth rivers of living water into eternal life (John 4).

Commentary on Amos

Therefore, while there is time, look to the true and eternal salvation, and, since the end of the world is now at hand, out of fear of God turn your minds to God. Let not your powerless and vain dominion in the world over the just and the meek delight you. Remember that in the fields the tares and the darnel have dominion over the cultivated and fruitful corn, and you should not say that evils happen because your gods are not worshiped by us. But you should realize that this is God’s anger, this is God’s censure, so that he who is not recognized for his blessings may at least be recognized for his judgments. “Seek God, and your soul shall live.” Acknowledge God even though it is late. For Christ advises and teaches this, saying, “Now this is everlasting life, that they may know you the only true God and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.” Believe him who by no means deceives. Believe him who has foretold that all these things would come to pass. Believe him who will give the reward of eternal life to those who believe. Believe him who by the fires of Gehenna will inflict eternal punishments on the disbelieving.

Treatise V. An Address to Demetrianus 23

(Verse 6.) Seek the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be burned with fire, and it devour, and there be none to quench it. LXX: Seek the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be kindled with fire, and it consume it, and there be none to quench the house of Israel. Just as it is said from the person of God, 'Seek me, and you will live,' so the prophet speaks of the Lord, that they should seek him and live. For in seeking the Lord, they begin to live; but if they do not seek him, and therefore do not live, the house of Joseph will immediately be kindled like fire, which we must understand as referring to the ten tribes called Israel, who held the original name for the greater part of the people, because of Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim and the house of Joseph. But there were two tribes which were ruled by the lineage of David, who was from the tribe of Judah, called Judah, and they possessed Jerusalem, in which the temple of God was. And when the house of Joseph is set on fire, it will devour and consume Bethel, of which I spoke earlier: Do not seek Bethel, and there will be no one to extinguish it, when it is set on fire by its kings. For in the Septuagint, instead of Bethel, the house of Israel is read, with those interpreting the meaning more than the word, so that, with the reign of Jeroboam and all the subsequent kings who succeeded him in power, the ten tribes, which are called Israel, may burn. This is the fire that is kindled, or shines and inflames the house of Joseph, so that Bethel is consumed, of which it is said elsewhere: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame that you have kindled (Isaiah 50:11). And because we have frequently referred the house of Joseph (because of Jeroboam, who separated the people of God from the lineage of David and made golden calves in Dan and Bethel, and said, there is no part for us in David, neither inheritance in the son of Jesse (1 Samuel 22:36)), to the person of heretics, who, with composed speech, have fashioned beautiful and attractive, and, so to speak, golden images, and worship the works of their own hands, and promise themselves an image under the form of cows for agriculture, it is said to them: Seek the Lord and live, the one who says: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:16): so that after they have walked in him and found the truth, then those who were previously dead may begin to live. And if they do not do this, they will be burned by the fires of the devil, and no one will be able to be found from their leaders who have themselves been consumed by the heretical fire, who can extinguish the devouring flame of all, especially Bethel, which assumes for itself the false name of the house of God.

Commentary on Amos

When I think of the past tempest and of the present calm, I do not cease to say, “Blessed be God, who makes all things and changes them; who has brought light out of darkness; who leads to the gates of hell and brings back; who chastises but does not kill.” And this I desire you too to repeat constantly, and never to desist. For if he has benefited us by deeds, what pardon shall we be prepared for, if we do not requite him even by words? Therefore I exhort that we never cease to give him thanks. For if we are grateful for the former benefits, it is plain that we shall enjoy others also which are greater. Let us say, then, continually, “Blessed be God, who has permitted us to spread before you in quietness the accustomed table, while he has also granted you to hear our word with assurance of safety! Blessed be God, that we no longer run here or there flying from the danger, but that we only have a desire to hear. Grant that we no longer meet one another with agony or trembling and anxious thoughts but with due confidence, having shaken off all our fear.” Our conditions, indeed, on former days was nothing better than that of those who are tossed up and down in the midst of the deep, expecting shipwreck every hour. We were scared all day long by innumerable rumors and disturbed and agitated on every side. We were busy every day and curious to know who had come from the court. What news had he brought? And was what was reported true or false? Our nights too we passed without sleep, and while we looked upon the city we wept over it, as if it were on the eve of its destruction.

Homilies Concerning the Statues 6:1

I made heaven and earth, he says, and to you I give the power of creation. Make your earth heaven. For it is in your power. “I am he who makes and transforms all things,” says God of himself. And he has given to people a similar power, as a painter, being an affectionate father, teaches his own art to his son. I formed your body beautiful, he says, but I give you the power of forming something better. Make your soul beautiful. I said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, and every fruitful tree.”

Homilies on 1 Timothy 16

8–9

(Verse 8 onwards) You who turn judgment into wormwood and abandon righteousness on earth, who makes the Bear and Orion, who turns darkness into morning and darkens day into night. He who calls the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth: His name is the Lord. He who laughs at destruction, bringing devastation upon the strong. The One who brings judgment from on high and establishes justice on earth; the One who does all things, who transforms and turns the shadow of death into morning and darkens day into night. He who calls the water of the sea, and pours it out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name. He who brings destruction upon strongholds, and brings misery upon fortresses. In this place, the Hebrew truth diverges greatly from the Vulgate edition, as the discerning reader immediately understands without our prompting. Therefore, let us first explain according to the Hebrews, and then what seems to us in the translation of the Septuagint, if we are worthy of Christ revealing it to us. Let us say, the house of Joseph, that is, the house of Ephraim, and through this, the royal house, and Bethel, or as the Septuagint translated, the house of Israel, that is, both kings and peoples, worshippers and idols alike will be overthrown, who have provoked God to anger with their unjust judgment. And they turned the sweetness of judgment into the bitterness of wormwood, which is a type of very bitter herb, taking up wickedness, and abandoning justice. Now what is this justice, the following verse shows: The one who makes the Bear and Orion, and turns darkness into morning, and transforms day into night. Of whom it was said above: He who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and announces his word to man, making the morning mist, and walking on the highest points of the earth: The Lord God of hosts is his name, he is the Creator of the Bear, which in Hebrew is called Chima (חִימָה), and in Symmachus and Theodotion it is translated as Pleiades. It is commonly known as Boötes: and what follows, Orion, which in Hebrew is called Chasil (חָסִיל), Symmachus interprets as absolute stars, Theodotion as the evening. However, the Hebrew, who has taught us in the holy Scriptures, thinks that Chasil should be interpreted as splendor, and generally signify shining stars. But when we hear about Arcturus and Orion, we should not follow the fables of poets, and the ridiculous and monstrous lies, with which they even try to defame the heavens and place the wages of prostitution among the stars, saying (Aeneid. book I and III):

Arcturus, the rainy Hyades, and the twin Bears: And Orion armed with gold looks upon them. But the Hebrew names, which are called differently among them, have been translated into the words of the mythological Gentiles into our language, which we cannot understand what is said, except through those words which we have learned and absorbed through usage and error. Hence, in the book of Kings, they have rendered the Hebrew word Raphaim into Greek as 'titans': which is a famous tale among the pagans, from which they write about the battle of the giants, and the Typhoean weapons, and the mountain of Etna placed on Enceladus, from whose movement Trinacria trembles. But this is the God, the creator of all things, who makes the Bear and Orion, who changes night into day and day into night, and nurtures the most bitter waters of the sea with ethereal heat, and distills them into the sweet taste of rain, like a medicinal gourd, which, by the heat of the higher circle, draws up moisture and blood aloft: from which we learn where the rains come from. And what follows: Who smiles upon vastness over strength, turns back to the present time, and there is order: Who is the creator of all things, also threatens captivity upon Samaria, and brings depopulation upon the mighty: for he turns judgment into wormwood, and leaves justice on the earth. Where we said, 'he who smiles,' Aquila interpreted as 'the one who smiles.' Properly, however, it is called 'a smirk,' which we can refer to as a smile when someone is angry, and with slightly parted lips pretends to smile in order to show the magnitude of their anger. Let us also say according to the Septuagint: 'God judges from on high when He judges the truth, and He renders to each one according to his deeds.' And everyone who desires to be an imitator and a son of His, and to be perfect just as His Father is perfect, who dwells in heaven (Matt. V), judges from on high and does not imitate that judge who did not fear God and did not respect man, and with a perverse judgment did not elevate his sentence to heaven but rather lowered it to the lowest levels (Luke XV). And what follows: and He has placed justice on earth, according to that which we must accept, that Christ has given us His righteousness, and has not rejected it: but has laid it on the earth, so that, with all iniquity overcome, He might make us heavenly from earthly. I think from this passage even a pagan poet has stolen, who, while expounding on the simplicity and blessedness of country folk, introduced.

Justice, surpassing the limits of the Earth, made its extreme footprints through them. And what they say, that He does everything and transforms everything, in one word they comprehend Arcturus and Orion, neglecting the proper names in Greek translation. But God transforms everything when He makes heavenly things from earthly ones, and bestows upon human beings the likeness of angels: when the moon shines with the brightness of the sun, and the sun has sevenfold light, when the animalistic, weak, and corruptible human is transformed into a spiritual, robust, and incorruptible being, changing glory but not nature: when the intelligent ones will shine like the splendor of the firmament, and what is written will be fulfilled: One glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars. For star differs from star in brightness; so also is the resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:41). For when every creature shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. This is the God who transforms all things, also changing the shadow of death into light (Luke 1); for when those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death saw a great light, and those who were the children of night and darkness became the children of light and the children of day. This is God who also turns day into darkness: their day who said: Crucify, crucify him (John XIX, 6), remove such a person from the earth: when from the sixth hour the day turned into the darkness of Jewish blindness. And not only literally, but also according to a higher understanding, the light that rose for them in the Law and the prophets, turned into darkness, ignorant of what they read, what they heard, so that what was written about them may be fulfilled: Let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see: and their backs be constantly bent (Psalm LXVIII, 24). This God calls the water of the sea to Himself, and pours it out upon the surface of the earth, making the righteous out of sinners. To illustrate this, let us put forth just one example to emphasize brevity. The Apostle Paul, like a turbulent and fierce storm, pursued the raging waves of the sea and endeavored to oppress the Church of God. But when he was called by the Lord, he was poured out upon the entire surface of the earth to preach the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and to build not upon another foundation where it had already been preached (Rom. XV); but rather to extend as far as Spain, and to run from the Red Sea, or rather from one ocean to another, imitating his Lord and the sun of righteousness, of whom we read: His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it (Ps. XIX, 6), so that the earth would grow faint before him before his zeal for preaching. This God divides contrition over strength, so that he may make those who are strong in a bad way weak, and they may imitate the Apostle saying: When I am weak, then I am stronger (2 Cor. XII). For even the children of this world are wiser than the children of light in their generation (Luke XXVI). The strength of the body is weakness of the soul, and again the strength of the soul is weakness of the body. Therefore, the Lord, who dispenses all things by reason and truly does all things by judgment, divides contrition over the strong enemy, so that he may bring misery upon the fortification which he erected against the knowledge of God. Regarding this, we read in Proverbs: The wise man enters fortified cities and destroys the stronghold in which the wicked have put their trust (Prov. XXI, 22). This applies to all worldly strength, but it specifically applies to heretics who try to strengthen the falsehood of their doctrines with arguments, sophisms, and dialectical art. However, the wise man destroys it and with the help of God's aid, shows that all these fortifications are utterly vain, in order to bring misery upon them and, with their pride humbled, they can say with the Apostle: 'Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?' (Rom. VII, 24).

Commentary on Amos

What, then, is your opinion about that section of the statement that follows, “He brings about rain upon the just and the unjust”? Surely he who gives, gives when he wishes and gives where he wishes, either by arranging the well- ordered nature or by lavishly bestowing his own munificence. And in case you contemplate also casting aside this statement, in keeping with the madness of your impiety, listen to the prophet testifying about this truth: “He who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth. The Lord is his name.”

Defense Against the Pelagians 19

They take the two sons as types of two peoples, the elder Jewish, the younger Christian.… But if I show that the Jew does not fit the type represented by the elder son, it will be admitted, in consequence, that the Christian is not typified by the younger. Admittedly, the Jew is called a “son” and an “elder son” since he is first by adoption, and although he resents the Christian’s reconciliation with God his Father (this is a point which our opponents seize upon most eagerly), yet the statement “Behold, how many years I serve you and I have never transgressed your commandment” cannot be one which the Jew makes to the Father. For when was Judah not a transgressor of the law? “Hearing with the ear and not hearing, holding in hate him who reproves at the gates and scorning holy speech.”

On Purity 8

(Verse 10) They hated the one who reproves at the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks truthfully. LXX: They hated the one who reproves at the gates, and they abhorred the holy word. These are the ones whom God derides with devastation and brings upon them destruction. They hate the one who reproves at the gate, that is, in judgment: either me, or other prophets who were sent to them, speaking truthfully or the flawless word, as Symmachus interpreted, or the holy speech, as Theodotion and the LXX translated. But at the gate, according to the ancient Jewish custom, there were judgments of the people, as we often read and frequently interpret, so that neither a farmer coming to court would be terrified by the crowded city and the new appearance, nor a dweller of the city would hurry far from the city and seek transportation for his livestock. This we have said according to the literal meaning. However, it is a great sin to hate someone who corrects, especially if they correct out of love and not out of hatred, if it is done in private to private, if with the inclusion of another brother, if afterwards in the presence of the Church, so that it may not seem like the accusation is made to detract from you but to bring forth the accusation for your improvement (Matthew 18). We often read in the Scriptures about the two gates, of death and of life, of vices and virtues, as in the Psalms: 'You have lifted me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion' (Isaiah 9:16). There is no doubt that it signifies the Church, the lofty mountain of Zion, and the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and the multitude of angels, and the early Church, who are enrolled in heaven. He who has been exalted in the gates of Zion will not be able to fear the gates of death, of which the Lord spoke to Peter: Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. XVI, 18). Clearly in another psalm we learn about the gates of virtue: Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them and give thanks unto the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter into it (Ps. XVII, 19). And finally, Wisdom, confident in the gates of the city, said: As long as the innocent possess justice, they shall not be confounded (Sap. VI, 11). I consider the gates of the city, that is, the souls of believers in Christ, to be virtues, through which Christ enters into believers. And because it is not written in which gates they hate the one who rebukes, whether in the wicked or in the good, we refer to both. The prophet accuses sinners standing at the gates of vices, and for this reason he is held in detestation by them. Or certainly the prophet himself stands at the gates and beginnings of virtues, and he is hated by those whom he rebukes, and it is not enough for sinners to hate the one who rebukes at the gates, unless they also abhor the holy word that is spoken from his mouth. For whoever does not receive the prophet does not receive the one who sent him (Matt. X). But if the holy word, or he who spoke perfectly, they abominated (moreover, the holy word is the Lord Jesus, of whom it is said: You will not allow your holy one to see corruption (Ps. XV, 10)), all the Jews saying anathema to Jesus, they abhor the word of God, which is both perfect and holy and immaculate. For the abomination of the sinner is piety. Whatever we have said about the Jews can be applied equally to the Gentiles and to heretics, all of whom abhor the holy Scriptures, in which the word of God is found. Some of them, while perversely interpreting what they read, place abomination in the House of God.

Commentary on Amos

11–13

(Verse 11 and following) Therefore, because you plundered the poor and took the choice spoil from them, you will build houses of cut stone but not live in them. You will plant pleasant vineyards but not drink their wine, for I know your many crimes and powerful sins, you who oppress the righteous and take bribes, and push aside the needy in the gate. Therefore, the wise will be silent in that time, for it is an evil time. LXX: Therefore, because you struck the poor with fists, and took from them choice gifts, you built houses with hewn stones, but will not live in them. You planted desirable vineyards, but will not drink their wine; for I know your many wicked acts and your mighty sins: trampling the righteous, accepting bribes, and turning away the poor at the gates. Therefore, those who have understanding will keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time. Lest perhaps Israel might think that they were delivered to punishment by the enemies only for idolatry, he joins other things which he committed, having lost the religion of truth. 'You were ravaging,' he says, 'the poor so that you could take from him who scarcely had necessary food, and whatever precious and beautiful things you saw, you handed them over to your own uses. And from the price of those things which you were seizing and taking from the poor, you built houses with squared stone, so that by despoiling men, you could clothe walls with marble, which, because you built them from plunder, and not only a dwelling and a roof, which human weakness requires, but also beauty and delights, you prepared them suddenly for captivity or death, you will not dwell in them.' You have also planted very loving vineyards for future drinks, and you do not drink wine from them, because I know all your sins and crimes, and strong sins that provoke my wrath. You are enemies of justice, all of you who accept gifts and oppress the poor in judgment. Therefore, the poor and wise person, when he sees the judge who redeems him, will be silent in that time, because it is an evil time. Certainly, it should be understood in this way: what profit is there now in enumerating your sins, since there is already no remedy, and the enemy army surrounds the walls of your cities? We can also say this about heretics, who plunder the poor or strike his head with a raised hand, for this is what κατεκονδύλιζον means in Greek, according to what we read above, striking the head of the poor. For heretics do not strike anyone except the poor, who cannot withstand the threat: not in other members, but in the main part, the heart, and in the truth of faith. I consider them poor who, relying on simple faith alone, are unable to respond to the malice of heretics. And whatever good works they have prepared for the gifts of God, they will lose in the time of battle and struggle unless they resist their adversaries. Those adversaries, on the other hand, build homes for themselves through the composition and structure of words, in order to remain safe and secure. But they will not dwell in them, for they will be destroyed and overthrown by men of the Church. And they not only build houses, but also plant most loving and desirable vineyards, so that they may imitate the mysteries of Christ; but they do not drink wine from them, except what is the unstoppable fury of dragons. For the Lord expected these vineyards to bear fruit, and they brought forth not grapes, but thorns and briars: not judgment, but outcry, with which they blaspheme against their God with insane mouths. Therefore, they will not dwell in their houses, and they will not drink the wine of the vineyards they have planted, because the Lord has known many of their wickednesses. Here, knowledge is to be understood not according to what we read elsewhere: The Lord knows those who are his (2 Tim. 2:19), but according to the fact that nothing is hidden from God, and he knows all the secrets of sinners. 'I have known', he says, 'many impious acts: which are not only many, but also strong and oppressive, trampling on justice itself, or on the one who is just. And you receive, he says, a payment: for which all likewise transferred propitiation: we have said gift; but according to the language of the Scriptures, price is called 'ἄλλαγμα', which we also read in the Gospel: But what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matt. 16:26)? Even the poor have turned aside at the gates: or as Symmachus interpreted, they have oppressed, so that they could sell judgments contrary to the truth of the law by means of bribes, falling into that which is written: Gifts blind even the eyes of the wise (Deut. XVI, 19). This is what heretics accept, so that they can turn the severity of the Scriptures, which threaten torment to sinners, into blessings; and while they promise prosperity to the rich, they are only harsh and severe with the poor. Therefore, when a knowledgeable and wise ecclesiastical man recognizes many impieties in what is called the house of God, and not only many, but also strong ones that can suppress justice, and the madness of scholars has gone so far that they accept bribes in court and do everything for gifts, and they also avoid the poor at the gates and disdain to hear them, let him be silent at that time, lest he give the holy to dogs, and cast pearls before swine (Matt. 7), who, when converted, will trample them and imitate Jeremiah saying: I was alone, for I am filled with bitterness (Jer. 15:17). And that in the Psalms: I am alone until I pass by (Is. 140:10).

Commentary on Amos

14–15

For when a man rules his own self—and that counts for more than to govern others—his heart is in the hand of God, and God turns it where he wills. No wonder if he turns it to the good, perfect goodness is his. And so let us be in the hand of God that we may seek the good, that incorruptible and immutable good of which the prophet Amos says, “Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so the Lord God almighty will be with you, as you have said, ‘We have hated evil and loved good.’ ” And so, where the good God is, there are the good things that David desired to see and believed that he would see, even as he says, “I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” They indeed are the good things that endure always, that cannot be destroyed by change of time or of age.

Flight from the World 6:35

14–15

Let us hurry to him in whom is that highest good, since he is goodness itself. He is the patience of Israel calling you to repentance, so you will not come to judgment but may receive the remission of sins. “Repent,” he says. He is the one of whom the prophet Amos cries, “Seek you good.” He is the highest good, for he needs nothing and abounds in all things. Well may he abound, for in him dwells bodily the fullness of divinity. Well may he abound, of whose fullness we have all received, and in whom we have been filled, as the Evangelist says.

Letter 79

And so, where the good God is, there are the good things that David desired to see and believed that he would see, even as he says, "I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.(Ps. 27:13)"' They indeed are the good things that endure always, that cannot be destroyed by change of time or of age.

14–15

(Vers. 14, 15.) Seek good, and not evil, so that you may live, and the Lord God of hosts will be with you as you said: Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gates, perhaps the Lord God of hosts will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. LXX: Seek good, and not evil, so that you may live, and the Lord God almighty will be with you, as you said: We have hated evil and loved good, and establish justice in the gates, so that the Lord God may have mercy on those who remain from Joseph. You say that God is with you because you are children of Abraham; listen to what follows: If you are Abraham's children, do the works of your father. What are the works of your father Abraham? Love what is good, and not what is evil. It is a great sin, not only to do evil, but also to love it. Many sin, and when the heat of desire is fulfilled, their conscience bites them, and they regret their sin. But there are those who not only do not feel sorry for doing what is evil, but they also boast in their wickedness, fulfilling what is written: When a sinner comes into the depths of impiety, he despises it. Seek good, therefore, and not evil. For if you seek good, in seeking good, you immediately repel evil. However, you would never seek good unless you had first repelled evil, fulfilling the words of the Psalmist saying: Turn away from evil, and do good (Ps. XXXVI, 27). And when you seek good and avoid evil, then you will live in him who says: I am the life (John XIV, 6). He seeks good who believes in him who speaks in the Gospel: I am the good shepherd (Ibid., X, 11). He who flees from evil repels it, of whom it is written: The world is placed in wickedness (1 John 5:16). And in the Lord's Prayer he says: Deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13). And when you seek good and not evil, and live, then the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have said, because you are descendants of Abraham. It is not enough to seek good and not seek evil, unless you have ἐπιείκησιν in both, so that you first hate evil, then love good. He hates evil, who is not overcome by pleasure alone, but he hates the works of pleasure: and he loves good, who does what is good not unwillingly, or out of necessity, or out of fear of the laws; but rather because it is good, so that he may have the reward of good work in his own conscience, and the love that he possesses for good. Therefore the Apostle says: 'God loves a cheerful giver' (2 Corinthians 9). For not every act of charity pleases God, unless it is offered with cheerfulness. And when you hate evil and love good, establish justice at the gates, of which it is said above, so that, with iniquity expelled, truth may return. And if you do this, perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnants of Joseph from the tribe of Ephraim and the ten tribes, and they will be able to escape captivity. All these things can be applied to heretics, so that, leaving behind the error they have fabricated, they may return to the Church and hate their former doctrines, and love in the Church of the Lord the truth, and exercise true judgement at the gates of vices and virtues, leaving those behind and passing to these, and may hope for mercy those who have been able to escape from the jaws of the devil. By changing the order according to the LXX, the reading of this chapter can be made clearer: Just as you said, we have hated evil and loved good, so seek good and not evil, that you may live, and may the Lord God Almighty be with you, and bring justice in the gates, so that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

Commentary on Amos

Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so it will be the Lord God the Almighty with you; in the manner that you said, We have hated evil and loved good, and establish judgment in the gates, so that the Lord God the Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. Therefore, in the manner you have spoken, he says, seek good and not evil, so that you may gain well-being by living and being saved, and the Lord God, who has authority over all, may be with you. And establish judgment in the gates, that is, become upright judges; not recording an unjust vote against the weaker; not misrepresenting the power of the just; nor indeed striking the heads of the poor; nor turning aside the way of the humble, so that God may henceforth have mercy on those left from Joseph from the captivities that have already occurred. Therefore, it is necessary to think rightly, and to correct our own minds, so that we must think the things pleasing to God, and achieve virtue, and cling to the ways of justice, and be wise guardians of uprightness; for thus we will have the God of all with us and defending us.

Commentary on Amos

14–15

It was the old custom that the elders should sit at the gate to make out by judicial trial the quarrels of persons at strife, in order that they should never enter the city at variance and should dwell there in harmony. And hence the Lord says by the prophet, “Establish judgment at the gate.”

Morals on the Book of Job 4:21.32

And again it signifies Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes. For as I have already said before, since Ephraim came from Joseph, for this reason he is also signified by his father's name.

Commentary on Amos

16–17

(Verse 16, 17.) Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the ruler: In all the streets there will be lamentation, and in all the public squares people will say, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They will summon the farmer to mourning and those skilled in lamentation to lament. And in all the vineyards there will be lamentation, for I will pass through your midst, says the Lord. LXX: Therefore, thus says the Lord God Almighty: In all the streets there will be lamentation, and in all the roads people will say, ‘Alas! Alas!’ The farmer will be called to mourning, and those who know lamentation to lament, and in all the streets there will be lamentation: for I will pass through the midst of you, says the Lord. I have commanded you to seek good, and not evil, so that you may live, and the Lord God of hosts will be with you. And again I say (lest you say you were only warned once): Hate evil, and love good, and restore justice in the gates; those who hated the one who rebuked in the gate, let the Lord have mercy on the rest of Joseph; and because you refused to do so, trampling on my commandments and turning against me, a turning away shoulder: therefore the Lord God Almighty, who is the Lord of hosts, says this: everywhere there is lamentation, everywhere there is mourning. The farmers will be called to mourn, and those who know the customs of the province will be called to incite tears, so that there will be mourning and lamentation not in all the streets, as was said above, but in the vineyards; where once there was material for joy, let it be the origin of tears. And all these things will happen, because I will pass through, says the Lord. The Hebrew word, 'I will pass through', which in their language is called Evor (), whenever it is used in the Holy Scriptures in the person of God, is to be understood as punishment, so that it may not remain among them; but let it pass through and leave. And in other places according to the interpretation of Aquila, when God is angry, He calls His fury and wrath 'ἀνυπερθεσία', which can all be applied to heretics, because they have refused to do both what is right and what is just, so there will be mourning in all their streets. For the wide and spacious road leads to destruction (Matthew 7); and each heretic and gentile has their own streets in their sand and fantasies, to which it is subsequently added: 'Woe, woe' will be said about everything that is outside. For those who are in the Church do not listen, which is the ultimate punishment; but if perhaps they have sinned, lamentation will be taken upon them. Therefore, however, it will be said outside or in all ways, woe, woe: because they do not have one way that leads to life, and which is the royal way, but crooked and perverse, and deviating to the right and to the left, while they do not hear the Lord saying: Do not be too righteous. And: The ways that are on the left are perverse. And they encounter a twofold woe, of the flesh and of the spirit, of the present age and of the future. When, on the other hand, ecclesiastics hear: Rejoice, I say again, rejoice (Philip. IV, 4). But even the farmer is called to mourning (for heretics indeed have their farmers, in whose fields thistles and thorns grow), and those who know how to lament are called to mourn, either for their own sins or for the sins of others; although we can take these things in a good sense, so that the man of the Church, powerful to provoke penance, may imitate his Lord saying: We have lamented, and you have not mourned (Luc. VII, 32), and let him mourn for the heretics, as King Saul of Israel once mourned for Samuel (I Reg. XV). And the Apostle says that he mourns over those who have not repented (II Cor. XII). And in all vineyards there will be lamentation, because the vineyards of Sodom are their vineyards. And for the wine of joy, which gladdens the heart of man, they have brought the wine of dragons and the incurable rage of asps. And all these things they will suffer; for the Lord will pass through their midst, so that he does not dwell among them, nor say: I will dwell in them, and walk among them. And behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Commentary on Amos

Perhaps we will understand what has been written if we deal with a Gospel text spoken by the Savior, which expresses it in this way: “Work while it is day. The night comes when no one can work.” He has named here as this age the day—but of necessity I have added the word here, for I know that in other passages other meanings are revealed—so he has called this age the day, but the darkness and the night the consummation because of punishments. For “why do you desire the Day of the Lord? And it is darkness and not light,” says the prophet Amos. If you can envision after the consummation of the world what the gloom is, a gloom that pursues nearly all of the race of humans who are punished for sins. The atmosphere will become dark at that time, and no longer can anyone ever give glory to God, since the Word has given orders to the righteous saying, go, “my people, enter into your rooms, shut the door, hide yourself for a little season, until the force of my anger has passed away.”

Homilies on Jeremiah 12

18–20

(Verse 18-20.) Woe to those who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for it? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? Woe to those who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? And this is darkness, and not light. As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him: or enter into the house, and lean with his hand upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? and obscurity, and no brightness in it? Lest the tribe of Juda be thought to neglect men of his own stock, and to confer the speech of prophecy upon the ten tribes: Thou also shalt go to the king against Babylon, and shalt speak to him: There are gathered together all the kings of the earth against Jerusalem: how art thou fallen, thou virgin, daughter of Babylon, to be destroyed? Shall not day overtake thee suddenly, and thou perish with the sword? For there is not so much evil in the injury of captivity, as there is good in the things which the Lord promises after captivity: to which the prophet replied that it is in vain for them to wait for what will happen a long time after, in the coming of the Son of God after seventy years of captivity in Babylon, which will be followed by devastation, poverty, and countless miseries. For, he says, when those fleeing from the face of Nebuchadnezzar meet Assuerus, under whom the story of Esther is narrated, or when the empire of the Assyrians and Chaldeans is destroyed, the Medes and Persians will rise up. And when, during the reign of Cyrus, you returned, and at the command of Darius began to build the house of the Lord, and you placed all your trust in the temple, so that you may find rest in it and weary hands may rest upon its walls, then Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, also known as Antiochus Epiphanes, will come and dwell in the temple and will bite you like a snake, not outside in Babylon and Susa, but within the borders of the holy land (or yours). By these things it is proven that the day which you desire is not one of light and joy, but of darkness and sorrow. We have briefly stated these things according to history, so as not to completely leave the opinion of the Jews untouched. However, there is no doubt that all of our people understand the day of darkness, the day of judgment, about which Sophonias also writes: The great day of the Lord is near, it is also very swift: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter and harsh (Sophon. I, 14). And Isaiah says: Behold, the day of the Lord comes, a day of incurable rage and wrath, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy sinners from it (Is. XIII, 9). At the same time, the confidence of the proud is shaken, who, in order to appear just in the eyes of men, usually wait for the day of judgment and say: Would that the Lord would come, that we may be allowed to be dissolved and be with Christ (Phil. I), imitating the Pharisee who spoke in the Gospel (Lk. XVIII, 11, 12): God, I give thanks to you, because I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, and like this tax collector. They fast twice on the Sabbath: they give tithes of all that they possess. For from this very thing, because they long for the day of the Lord and do not fear it, they are judged worthy of punishment, because there is no one without sin among men, and the stars are unclean before him (Job 25). And he concluded all things under sin, so that he might have mercy on all (Galatians 3). Therefore, since no one can judge the judgment of God, and we will also have to give an account of every idle word (Matthew 12): and Job offered sacrifices daily for his children, lest perhaps they might think anything perverse against the Lord (Job 1), what audacity is it to hear among the Corinthians: You reign without us (I Corinthians 4, 8): and I wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you. Certainly, if their own conscience did not prick them, they ought to imitate Paul saying: 'Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?' (2 Cor. 2:29) and to be concerned for all, so that, as lovers of themselves, they may not desire the torments of others, as if they themselves were the rulers, just as someone would want their homeland and city to be destroyed so that they alone may enjoy the friendship of the victors. We often say in times of distress and tribulation: 'Oh, if only it were allowed for me to depart from this body and be liberated from the miseries of this world', not knowing that as long as we are in this flesh, we have a place for repentance; but if we depart, we will hear that of the Prophet: 'But who will confess to you in hell?' (Ps. 6:6). This is the sadness of the world, which leads to death, as the Apostle does not want to perish the one who has fornicated with his father's wife (I Cor. V), as Judas perished unfortunate, who connected betrayal and murder with even greater sadness (Matth. XXVII), and murder worse than all other murders: so that where he thought to find a remedy, and death to be an end to his troubles, there he would find a lion and a bear and a snake. By these names it seems to me that either different punishments are being signified, or the devil himself, who is rightly called lion and bear and snake. And when we think that Isaiah says: Go, my people, into your chambers; shut the door, hide yourself for a little while, until the wrath of the Lord passes (Isa. XXVI, 20), and be as if in our house, as if resting in hell: then the snake will bite us, which in this place is called Nahas, and in Job is called Leviathan. We learn more fully about its nature and terror in the very volume itself. However, in the darkness and shadows that are contrary to light and splendor, the diversity of torments is explained.

Commentary on Amos

Since there were some buoyed up by audacity and temerity who resisted the prophetic oracles, raging against them, calling the divine pronouncements false and demanding the fulfillment of the prophecies, the Lord declares these people lamentable for longing to see darkness instead of light. Those who long to see the fulfillment of prophecy, he is saying, are no different from a person fleeing an attacking lion and after that running into a bear, or fearfully going into a house and, with one’s soul in the grip of panic, putting a hand on the wall and being bitten by a venomous snake. In other words, as that person on that day sees darkness and not a gleam of light, so these people will be given over to deep darkness on the day of punishment.

Commentary on Amos 5:18–20

I am pierced by one wound and tortured with much grief, the bond of bitterness does not permit the tongue to perform its function, and it is easier to weep than to talk. Lo, one affliction comes upon another affliction and contrition upon contrition, “as if a man were to flee from a lion, and a bear should meet him,” or howl at being struck by a scorpion, “and a snake should bite him,” so completely am I dejected and afflicted with the misery of sorrow. I confess, madam, that every time I try to write to you about the passing of our lady Basilla of blessed memory, I am overcome with bitterness and experience a dullness in my mind, a heaviness in my sense and slowness in my tongue, because while I was occupied with grief, my mind was moved by death.

Letter 18

21–23

This brings us to a conclusion on another matter of great importance. The observances regarding sacrifices, sabbaths, new moons, and all such things prescribed by the Jewish way of life of that day—they are not essential. Even when they were observed they could make no great contribution to virtue; nor when neglected could they make the excellent person worthless or degrade in any way the sanctity of his soul. People of old, while still on earth, manifested by their piety a way of life that rivals the way the angels live. Yet they followed none of these observances, they slew no beasts in sacrifice, they kept no fast, they made no display of fasting. They were so pleasing to God that they surpassed this fallen human nature of ours and, by the lives they lived, drew the whole world to a knowledge of God.

Discourses Against Judaizing Christians 4:6

21–22

(Verses 21, 22.) I hated and rejected your feasts, and I will not take the smell of your heavens. But if you bring me burnt offerings and your gifts, I will not accept them, and I will not look at the fat of your animals. LXX: I have hated and rejected your feasts, and I will not be pleased with your assemblies. And if you bring me burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will not receive them, and I will not look upon the pleasantness of your presence: This is specifically said against the tribe of Judah, and those who had migrated from Israel for the ceremonies of God, and yet did not depart from the high places, and worshipped idols, and defiled the sacrifices of God with the magnitude of their sins. For I never said concerning the oblations of the calves, which they offered in Dan and Bethel: If you offer to me holocausts and your offerings, I will not accept them. But God hates and not only hates, but also has cast away their festivals, those who flee from the lion and fall into the bear, and enter the house and are bitten by the serpent, because they do not celebrate the festivals of God, but their own festivals, says the Lord: I hate and have cast away your festivals. And it does not receive the assembly of such men, nor does it have a fragrance of good scent, and it abhors all their gifts, and it does not regard the richest offerings. Indeed, this happens not only to the people of that time, but also to us, if we commit similar offenses, and think that we can offer to God the gains from robberies and perjuries and wicked deeds, and redeem our sins, when we have read that Zacchaeus restored fourfold whatever he had stolen and offered half of his well-acquired possessions (Luke 19). For one could not offer what was wrongfully acquired in the gifts of God, unless one first returned it to its rightful owners, and afterwards fulfilled what is written: Honor the Lord with your just labors (Prov. III, 9); and: The redemption of a man's soul is his own riches (Prov. XIII, 8): for God does not accept the vows of a prostitute's earnings (Deut. XXIII). On the contrary, the just one can say: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight (Psal. CXL, 2). The speech of Judas, the traitor, was turned into sin: for it did not have a good odor; but it spoke through actions: 'My wounds have become foul and corrupt, because of my foolishness' (Psalm 38:6). All of this can also be said about heretics, who while fleeing from a lion, run into a bear, and upon entering a house which they think is the Church of God, they lean on walls which they themselves made, and they are bitten by a serpent. Darkness and gloom take away their light and day, so that tangible darkness surrounds them, and their beginnings are destroyed. God hates their sacrifices, and distances himself from them, and whenever they are gathered in the name of the Lord, he detests their stench and closes his nostrils. To hate, to distance oneself, and to not smell, is spoken in the likeness of human language, so that we may understand the attitude of God through our words. And if they offer burnt offerings, or appear to fast, or give alms, or promise chastity, which are true sacrifices, the Lord does not accept those, nor does he deem worthy to look at their fattest offerings. For God judges not the greatness of sacrifices, but the merits and reasons of those who offer them. Hence, the widow who in the Gospel (Luke 21) gave two small coins as an offering is preferred by the Savior over those who believed they were offering the fattest vows and the choicest sacrifices, when in reality they were giving very little, since she had given everything she had. These things are said more clearly and truly after the coming of the Lord to the Jewish people, who, with the temple and altar destroyed, believe they are offering sacrifices, which God abhors and rejects their festivals, and does not accept the aroma of their assembly when they gather and say, 'Crucify him, crucify him' (John 19:6) and 'His blood be on us and on our children' (Matthew 27:25). And if they offer holocausts in synagogues, and gifts in the councils of Satan, and the richest vows, the Lord does not regard them, just as He did not regard the gifts of Cain (Genesis IV). Those who worship the one true God and offer rightly, yet they are not regarded because they do not acknowledge the confession of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But our offerings, that is, the Church, which we offer from our first fruits, are regarded by God, just as He once regarded the sacrifices of Abel.

Commentary on Amos

The word would be especially fitting for those from Judah and Benjamin. For the tribes in Samaria to the worship of idols being wholly attached, they were found to be very slothful and greatly negligent of the laws given through Moses; but those in Jerusalem sacrificed on the high places to Baal and offered libations to the host of heaven, yet in addition to this they pretended to take care to show reverence for the law, and to be eager to fulfill both sacrifices and feasts. But that the Creator of all things has hated these things, he also made clear through the voice of Isaiah, saying, "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; attend to the law of God, you people of Gomorrah. What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me, says the Lord? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and goats I do not desire."

Commentary on Amos

And besides, before His coming He refused the sacrifices of the people, while they frequently offered them, when they sinned against Him, and thought He was to be appeased by sacrifices, but not by repentance. For thus He speaks: "Why dost thou bring to me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a remote land? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not sweet to me." And afterwards: "Gather your burnt-offerings, together with your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I did not command you, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices." And He says by Isaiah: "To what purpose do ye bring me a multitude of sacrifices? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and I will not accept the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and of goats. Nor do you come and appear before me; for who hath required these things at your hands? Do not go on to tread my courts any more. If you bring me fine flour, it is vain: incense is an abomination unto me: your new moons, and your Sabbaths, and your great day, I cannot bear them: your fasts, and your rests, and your feasts, my soul hateth them; I am over-full of them." And He says by another: "Depart from me; the sound of thine hymns, and the psalms of thy musical instruments, I will not hear." And Samuel says to Saul, when he thought to sacrifice: "Obedience is better than sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams. For, behold, the Lord does not so much delight in sacrifice, as in obeying Him."

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 6

What shall I say to those who worship Astarate or Chemosh, the abomination of the Sidions, or the likeness of a star, a god a little above them to these idolaters, but yet a creature and a piece of workmanship, when I myself either do not worship two of those into whose united name I am baptized, or else worship my fellow servants, for they are fellow servants, even if a little higher in the scale; for differences must exist among fellow servants.

Oration 40:42, on Holy Baptism

(Verse 23) Take away from me the tumult of your songs, and I will not listen to the music of your harp. LXX: Take away from me the sound of your songs, and I will not listen to the melody of your instruments. Beautiful songs of the Levites, with which they praised God, he calls tumult and confused sound, because there is no beautiful praise in the mouth of a sinner, and they were accustomed to offer these same things to idols as well (Eccles. 15). The prayer and psalms of the Jews, which they sing in the synagogues, is a composed praise of heretics to the Lord, and, if I may say so, the grunts of their own and the braying of donkeys, whose songs are more comparable to the works of the Israelites. But receive psalms and songs, lyre and organs, either literally understood among the people of Israel, which were once made in the image of things to come, or spiritually understood in us and in heretics, which are heard by the Lord if we direct them with good works; if with evil, He closes His ears and does not deign to hear the songs of the wicked.

Commentary on Amos

(Verse 24) And judgment will be revealed like water, and justice like a strong torrent. LXX: And it will roll like water, and justice like an impassable torrent. Just as water, when it flows downhill, uncovers what it previously covered and exposes it to the eyes of all, so will the judgment and justice of God, which once judged His own people, be revealed to all, and it will be carried like the strongest torrent. Whatever it seizes, it drags along with it, and it does not allow anything to stand in its way. But the judgment of the wicked is tossed like water according to the Septuagint; for it does not stand in one opinion, but is carried about by every wind of doctrine, condemning what it had once approved, and considering what it had formerly praised as worthless. Their justifications are compared not to pure and clear springs and rivers, but to turbid and muddy torrents, which do not have their own waters, but collect them from rocks, cliffs, and brambles. Whoever wishes to cross them will immediately be seized and thrown headlong, and with his feet overthrown, will not be able to say: He established my feet upon a rock (Ps. 123:5). For he will walk upon the sands, which do not have a foundation, and when he will be in danger, he will speak according to the Hebrews: A torrent has passed over my soul (Ps. 39:3). On the contrary, the judgments of the just are firm and unchanging, not flowing like water, and justice does not rush like an impassable torrent: The thoughts of the just are judgments (Prov. XII, 5).

Commentary on Amos

And judgment shall roll down as water, and righteousness as an impassable torrent. The righteous verdict against them will be like an impassable torrent, that is, dragging away what falls into it and sparing nothing. For when God drives someone into destruction and troubles, who is the one who will save? Who is the one who will help and deliver from judgment? Or what way will there be, by which if one passed through, he might be outside of the evils? None at all. "For who will turn back the high hand?" And, "If he shuts a man in, who can open it?" according to what is written.

Commentary on Amos

25–27

This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. [Amos 5:25-27]

25–27

(Verse 25 and following) Did you offer to Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will exile you beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. LXX: Did you offer to Me sacrifices and victims in the desert for forty years, O house of Israel, and take up the tabernacle of Melchom and the star of your god Repham, the figures of them which you made for yourselves. And I will transfer you beyond Damascus, says the Lord: God almighty is his name. From this place we learn that all the sacrifices and offerings that Israel made in the desert were not offered to God, but to their king Moloch, whose tabernacles they carried and worshiped the image of their idols and statues. And in the following statement, it shows what this image or idol is: The star of your God, which is called Chocab in Hebrew, that is, Lucifer, whom the Saracens have been worshiping until now. For what reason did the Lord make them migrate across Damascus, that is, to the Assyrians and Chaldeans: his omnipotence is demonstrated by the fact that he is the Lord God of hosts. We ask why they did not offer sacrifices and offerings to God in the desert; but to their king, whom they call Lucifer? From the time they transformed gold into the head of a calf, saying: These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt (Exod. III, 24), it is shown that everything they did was not for God, but for idols. And what we read afterwards that they offered certain things to the Lord, they did not do so willingly but out of fear of punishment, and by the killing of those who fell because of idols. But the Lord does not look at what is offered, but at the will of the one offering. Finally, wherever the opportunity arose, they always turned back in their hearts to Egypt, desiring garlic and onions, and cucumbers and Egyptian meat, and despising the manna that was given from heaven (Numbers 11). To understand this, let us turn to the story told by the first martyr of the Gospel, Stephen, worthy of his name, in the Acts of the Apostles: 'And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. But God turned and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?' And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the figures that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. It should not be thought that the first martyr erred, who, because it is written in the prophet: 'Beyond Damascus,' said 'beyond Babylon.' For he placed more emphasis on understanding than on the exact word, because they were led from Damascus to Babylon, or beyond Babylon. But in that place where Luke put Μολὸχ, and it is written in Hebrew as Melchechem (): Aquila and LXX translated Μολχὸμ: Symmachus and Theodotio, for your kings. Also, for what is read in the Septuagint as Rephan; Aquila and Symmachus translating the Hebrew itself, they put Chion (), Theodotio 'amaŭrōsin', that is, darkness. Again, for Sochoth (), Aquila 'syskiasmoùs', that is, tabernacles: Symmachus and Septuagint, tabernacle: Theodotio translated it as vision. And this is to be observed in all holy Scriptures, that the apostles and apostolic men, in laying down testimonies from the Old Testament, do not consider the words but the meaning: nor do they follow the same paths of words, as long as they do not depart from the intended sense. But whatever is said literally against the Jewish people, all of this is to be referred to those who worship idols under the name of Christ, and who fabricate corrupt doctrines for themselves, carrying the tabernacle of their king, the devil, and the image of their statues and idols. For they do not worship one idol; but for the variety of teaching, they worship different gods, and the star of their god (2 Corinthians XI). He, being the angel of Satan, transforms himself into an angel of light, and falls from heaven like lightning (Luke X), and Antichrist imitates Christ. And he beautifully introduced what you have made for yourselves. For they have not received these things from God, but have imagined them in their own minds. Therefore, the Lord will cause them to migrate across Damascus, so that they do not drink the blood of the Lord, but go to Babylon, and listen to the prophet: A golden cup Babylon, intoxicating all nations (Jeremiah LI, 7). For Damascus, as we have often said, signifies drinking blood, or the blood of Cilicia, so that through penance we may be moved to drink the blood of the Lord.

Commentary on Amos