Hosea 13
Commentary from 11 fathers
And now they have sinned increasingly, and have made for themselves a molten image of their silver, according to the fashion of idols, the work of artificers accomplished for them: they say, Sacrifice men, for the calves have come to an end.
καὶ νῦν προσέθεντο τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ἔτι, καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς χώνευμα ἐκ τοῦ ἀργυρίου αὐτῶν κατ᾿ εἰκόνα εἰδώλων, ἔργα τεκτόνων συντετελεσμένα αὐτοῖς· αὐτοὶ λέγουσι· θύσατε ἀνθρώπους, μόσχοι γὰρ ἐκλελοίπασι.
И҆ нн҃ѣ приложи́ша согрѣша́ти и҆ сотвори́ша себѣ̀ слїѧ́нїе ѿ зла́та и҆ сребра̀ своегѡ̀ по ѡ҆́бразꙋ і҆́дѡлѡвъ, дѣла̀ хꙋдо́жникѡвъ совершє́на: и҆̀мъ сі́и глаго́лютъ: пожри́те человѣ́кѡвъ, ѡ҆скꙋдѣ́ша бо тельцы̀.
Therefore shall they be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, as chaff blown away from the threshing-floor, and as a vapor from tears.
διὰ τοῦτο ἔσονται ὡς νεφέλη πρωϊνὴ καὶ ὡς δρόσος ὀρθρινὴ πορευομένη, ὥσπερ χνοῦς ἀποφυσώμενος ἀφ᾿ ἅλωνος καὶ ὡς ἀτμὶς ἀπό δακρύων.
Сегѡ̀ ра́ди бꙋ́дꙋтъ ꙗ҆́кѡ ѡ҆́блакъ ᲂу҆́треннїй, ꙗ҆́коже роса̀ ᲂу҆́треннѧѧ и҆дꙋ́щи, ꙗ҆́коже пле́вы съ то́ка (и҆ пра́хъ съ вѣ́твїѧ) развѣва́емый ви́хромъ, ꙗ҆́коже ды́мъ и҆з̾ трꙋбы̀.
Such, brethren, is our life, we whose existence is so transitory. Such is the game we play upon earth. We do not exist, and then we are born, and being born we are soon dissolved. We are a fleeting dream, an apparition without substance, the flight of a bird that passes, a ship that leaves no trace upon the sea. We are dust, a vapor, the morning dew, a flower growing but a moment and withering in a moment. “Man’s days are as grass: as the flower of the field, so shall he flourish.” How beautifully has holy David meditated on our weakness: “Declare unto me the fewness of my days.”
On His Brother St. Caesarius, Oration 7:19
Therefore they will be like morning clouds, and like morning dew that passes away, like dust swept up by a whirlwind, and like smoke from a chimney.” (Vulgate "passing by"). And similarly in the Septuagint: “changing only the final image, ‘and like the vapor from locusts’ or ‘from tears,’ since we find it rendered as either ‘locusts’ or ‘tears’ in most manuscripts. For, he says, they sacrificed to calves as though slaughtering men; therefore they will be like morning clouds, and like the morning dew that passes, like dust swept up by a whirlwind, and like smoke from a chimney.” "All things seem to exist for a time and then quickly pass away, in keeping with the saying, 'He caused his king of Samaria to pass like foam on the surface of water,' and again, 'The king of Israel passes away like a morning shadow.' Everyone knows that clouds, dew, dust from the ground, and smoke from the hearth, all quickly vanish, in accordance with the scripture that says, 'As smoke is driven away, so let them be driven away.'" (Psalm 68:2) However, why have the LXX rendered "fumario" as "locustas," which Theodotion translates as καπνοδόχην (the editions read καπνοδόχον)? Among the Hebrews, locust and fumarium are written with the same letters, Aleph, Res, Beth, He. If it is read as Arbe, it means "locust"; if Orobba ((Al. "arobba")), it means "fumarium": for which Aquila interprets καταράκτην and Symmachus interprets "foramen." Cataractam, however, properly signifies the hole made in the wall through which smoke comes out. But if anyone is contentious and unwilling to receive the truth of Hebrew (Scripture), let him seek after the sense of locusts; let him hear Ephraim compared to "vapour" or "air" and "wind," which is so fine and thin that it cannot be perceived coming forth from the mouth of the locust. And if he objects to this, then why did Ephraim liken himself to anything that is even smaller, such as a flea, which has all of its members, a head, eyes, feet, belly, and all the rest, which, although we do not see with our eyes, we still understand through our senses; for we feel the bites of its mouth, even though we do not see its mouth and teeth. It must be answered that the glory of the dying is compared to the vapor of the locust or the thinnest air because the locust is harmful and so hostile to humans that it causes famine and devastates cultivated crops, to the extent that it even strips trees and vines of their bark, which we read more fully in the Prophet Joel (Joel I and II). And this locust is compared to the morning cloud, dew, and heretic dust, about which it is also said in the Catholic Epistle: "These are clouds without water" (Judae XII). For they have the appearance of prophets, and of apostolic clouds, to which the truth of God has come: but they do not have water, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, with the Lord saying in the Gospel: "He who believes in me, (as the Scripture says) rivers of living water will flow out of his belly. But this," he said, "refers to the spirit which " "those who believe in him would receive" (John 7:38-39). But as for tears, which have some resemblance in the Greek language to locusts, δακρύων καὶ ἀκρίδων, it is a clear mistake, with some thinking they mean "tears" in place of "locusts".
Commentary on Hosea 13:3
But I am the Lord thy God that establishes the heaven, and creates the earth, whose hands have framed the whole host of heaven: but I shewed them not to thee that thou shouldest go after them: and I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me; and there is no Saviour beside me.
ἐγὼ δὲ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου ὁ στερεῶν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ κτίζων γῆν, οὗ αἱ χεῖρες ἔκτισαν πᾶσαν τὴν στρατιὰν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ οὐ παρέδειξά σοι αὐτὰ τοῦ πορεύεσθαι ὀπίσω αὐτῶν· καὶ ἐγὼ ἀνήγαγόν σε ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ Θεὸν πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐ γνώσῃ, καὶ σῴζων οὐκ ἔστι πάρεξ ἐμοῦ.
А҆́зъ же гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ тво́й ᲂу҆твержда́ѧй не́бо и҆ созида́ѧй зе́млю, є҆гѡ́же рꙋ́цѣ созда́стѣ всѐ во́инство небе́сное, и҆ не показа́хъ тѝ и҆̀хъ, є҆́же ходи́ти в̾слѣ́дъ и҆́хъ: и҆ а҆́зъ и҆зведо́хъ тѧ̀ и҆з̾ землѝ є҆гѵ́петскїѧ, и҆ бг҃а ра́звѣ менє̀ да не позна́еши, и҆ сп҃са́ющагѡ нѣ́сть ра́звѣ менє̀.
All things have been created by the Lord Christ, and therefore the proper name for him is that he is a creator. The nature and title of what he himself produced is unsuitable for him. Our witness is Melchizedek, who proclaims God as the Creator of heaven and earth in the following words: “Blessed be Abraham by the most high God, who created heaven and earth.” Hosea the prophet is also a witness when he says, “I am the Lord your God who strengthened the heavens and created the earth, whose hands created all the hosts of heaven.” Peter also is a witness, who writes as follows: “Commending your souls as to a faithful creator.” Why do we attribute the name of the work to the maker? Why do we give God the same name as our own? He is our Creator, the Creator of the whole heavenly array.
On the Trinity 12:4
"But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." For this, in the Septuagint it is written: "I am the Lord your God: who made firm the heaven, and created the earth: whose hands created all the hosts of heaven, and I did not show them to you, that you may walk after them ... And I brought you out of the land of Egypt." Since these words are not found in the Hebrew, and are not translated by any interpreter, they are marked with an obelus in the ancient version of the Septuagint: especially since their meaning is clear. So let us move on to the rest, joining the following to the previous chapter.
Commentary on Hosea 13:4
I tended thee as a shepherd in the wilderness, in an uninhabited land.
ἐγὼ ἐποίμανόν σε ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἐν γῇ ἀοικήτῳ
А҆́зъ пасо́хъ тѧ̀ въ пꙋсты́ни на землѝ ненаселе́ннѣй,
5–6"But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: and thou shalt know no God but me, and there is no saviour beside me. I knew thee in the desert, in the land of drought. According to their pastures they were filled, and were made full: and they lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me." LXX: "But I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: thou shalt not know any god but me, and there is no savior beside me. I fed thee in the wilderness, in a land of drought. According to their pasture, they were filled, and were made full, and their heart was exalted: and therefore they have forgotten me." He who above had said, "Jacob fled into the land of Syria, and served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved. Now what hath God rendered to them? I am thy Lord God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, which commanded thee through Moses. Take heed lest thou eat and be satisfied, and forget thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; for there is no God but me, and none other can save." I am the founder of all things, I knew that whether you were fed in the desert and in uninhabitable land, where there was a shortage of everything, where there were no waters: I gave you manna from Heaven and produced fountains of water from the hardest rock. As it is also written elsewhere: "He waxed fat, and kicked, and forgot the God which he had made him" (Deut. XXXII, 15): now they also have eaten and are filled, and their heart has been lifted up, and they have forgotten Him, who they should have been mindful of His benefits. For through so great a waste of desert, where not only does no corn or trees or vines grow, but not even grass, and no waters mitigate the burning heat of the sun, the people of Israel could not have reached the land of the Jordan in forty years, unless the Lord had provided all things. The Lord also brought forth heretics from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and from the iron furnace, who had previously served the king Pharaoh and his leaders: and He commanded them in the Church not to know any other God except Him who is the creator of all things, and who knows how to save those who He created. He himself knew them and was afraid in a land of solitude; so that they may say: "The Lord feeds me and nothing will be lacking to me: he has placed me in a place of pasture: he has led me over the water of refreshment" (Ps. 22, 1-2). And he gave them the bread of angels, manna from heaven, which they had never eaten in Egypt, and water from a rock that followed them. And that rock, according to the Apostle, was Christ (1 Cor. 10): those who ate and were satisfied, and did not endure the food of the Lord. The same Apostle speaks to them: "Now ye are full, now ye are become rich: ye reign without us, and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you" (I Corinthians 4:8). For they ate the bread that descended from heaven in Holy Scripture, and as David said: "You have revealed to me the uncertain and secret things of your wisdom" (Psalm 50:8). They were filled and satiated and lifted up their heart against the Creator, and fashioned themselves another god, attributing to their own merits whatever they drank or ate, and not to the mercy of God. Therefore they have forgotten God, who commanded them to bind the words of the Law on their eyes, and in their hands, and in the fringes of their garments, lest they would ever forget their God.
Commentary on Hosea 13:5-6
According to their pastures, so they were completely filled; and their hearts were exalted; therefore they forgot me.
κατὰ τὰς νομὰς αὐτῶν. καὶ ἐνεπλήσθησαν εἰς πλησμονὴν καὶ ὑψώθησαν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν· ἕνεκα τούτου ἐπελάθοντό μου.
на па́житехъ и҆́хъ, и҆ насы́тишасѧ до и҆сполне́нїѧ, и҆ вознесо́шасѧ сердца̀ и҆́хъ, сегѡ̀ ра́ди забы́ша мѧ̀.
And I will be to them as a panther, and as a leopard.
καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς ὡς πανθὴρ καὶ ὡς πάρδαλις κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ᾿Ασσυρίων·
И҆ бꙋ́дꙋ и҆̀мъ ꙗ҆́кѡ панѳи́рь, и҆ ꙗ҆́кѡ ры́сь на пꙋтѝ а҆ссѷрі́євъ:
7–8"And I will be to them like a lioness, like a leopard on the road to Assyria; I will confront them like a bear that has lost its cubs, and I will tear open their chests; there I will devour them like a lion - the wild animals will tear them apart." They were filled and satisfied; they lifted up their hearts and forgot me. But I, he said, will be to them like a lioness, or a panther, of which we have spoken more fully above: and like a leopard on the way of the Assyrians, when they are led captive by the Assyrians: and I will meet them like a bear robbed of its cubs, or an animal in need of food: and I will tear apart all their vital organs. Those who have written about the nature of wild beasts say that among all animals there is nothing more savage than a bear when it has lost its cubs or needs food; and he not only threatens the ferocity of panthers, leopards, bears, lions, and all wild beasts that are born in the forests, but he says that he will direct all of this towards them when they go to the Assyrians: lest they attribute their miseries not to the power and indignation of the Lord, but to the strength of their enemies, when they have suffered hard things there. And at the same time, let us consider what he who speakes in the Gospel to those who believe: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you; for my yoke is sweet and my burden light" (Matt. XI, 28, 29), now through the prophet he becomes a panther, pardus, bear and lion to the unbelievers and those who refuse to do penance: not only to the Israelites, because they were set up for idolatry in the cities or mountains of the Medes; but also to heretics because, due to the pride of their minds and the vanity of their false teachings, they have forgotten their God, have fashioned idols and have followed strange gods.
Commentary on Hosea 13:7-8
I will meet them by the way of the Assyrians, as a she-bear excited, and I will rend the caul of their heart, and the lions’ whelps of the thicket shall devour them there; the wild beasts of the field shall rend them in pieces.
ἀπαντήσομαι αὐτοῖς ὡς ἄρκος ἀπορουμένη καὶ διαρρήξω συγκλεισμὸν καρδίας αὐτῶν, καὶ καταφάγονται αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ σκύμνοι δρυμοῦ, θηρία ἀγροῦ διασπάσει αὐτούς.
и҆ срѧ́щꙋ и҆̀хъ а҆́ки медвѣ́дица лиша́ема, и҆ разрꙋшꙋ̀ соключе́нїе серде́цъ и҆́хъ: и҆ поѧдѧ́тъ ѧ҆̀ скѵ́мни дꙋбра́внїи, и҆ ѕвѣ́рїе польсті́и расто́ргнꙋтъ ѧ҆̀.
In fulfillment of holy Writ, the truth has resounded through the voice of the apostles, for the psalmist has sung, “Their voice has gone forth unto all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” So also “Christ our Passover is sacrificed,” for of him the prophet had foretold: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and he was mute as a lamb before its shearer, and he opened not his mouth.” Who is this man? He is the man of whom the prophet at once goes on to say, “In humility his judgment was taken away; who shall declare his generation?” I recognize the realization of so much humility in a king of so much power, for he who is as a lamb that opens not its mouth before its shearer is also “the lion of the tribe of Judah.” Who is this lamb and lion? He suffered death like a lamb, and he has devoured like a lion. Who is this lamb and lion? Meek yet courageous; lovable yet fearsome; innocent yet powerful; silent under judgment, yet roaring to pronounce judgment. Who is this lamb and lion—suffering like a lamb; rising up like a lion? Rather, is he not at the same time a lamb and lion in his suffering and his resurrection? Let us discern the lamb in the suffering. “He was,” as we have just reminded you, “mute as a lamb before its shearer, and he opened not his mouth.” Let us discern the lion in the suffering.
Sermon 4
O Israel, who will aid [thee] in thy destruction?
τῇ διαφθορᾷ σου, ᾿Ισραήλ, τίς βοηθήσει;
Въ поги́бели твое́й, і҆и҃лю, кто̀ помо́жетъ тебѣ̀;
9–11"Your destruction, Israel, only your help is with me. Where is your king? May he save you now in all your cities; and your judges, of whom you said: Give me a king and princes: I will give you a king in my fury, and take away in my indignation." LXX: "Who will help you in your corruption, O Israel? Where is your king? May he save you in all your cities and judge you as you said: 'Give me a king and prince.' I gave you a king and prince in my anger and took away in my fury." Because the seventy interpreted it as "I have had," everyone translated "I took away." Unhappy is Israel and worthy of eternal curse, who has descended into such profound impiety that he can be saved only by the mercy of God. Yet this may be read in Hebrew and understood in this sense: "May you perish, Israel, because there is nothing left for you except that you be preserved by my mercy alone." But the meaning in the LXX is different: "To your corruption, Israel, who will give assistance?" that is, who will be able to provide help for your captivity and ultimate servitude, those whom you esteemed as your princes? Where is your king, whom you said to Samuel: 'Establish a king over us, to judge us, just as the other nations have'? (2 Kings 8:5). And when he objected, you replied: 'No, but we will have a king, and we will be like all the other nations, and our king will judge us, and he will go out before us and fight for us.' Therefore, where is the promise you made that he would wage your wars, that now he may come to your aid in this time of need, and liberate all your cities from servitude? Where are your judges? Where are your kings? For you have said: "Give me a king and princes"; therefore I gave you Saul as king in my anger, so much so that in the days of the harvest I brought rain contrary to the nature of the province of Judah. "I have removed," he says, "the king in my indignation," that is to say, Zedekiah, "whom I gave in anger, and whom I took away in indignation." Others believe that Jeroboam the son of Nabat was given as king in anger, and the last king of the ten tribes, Hoshea, was taken away in indignation. What we have explained, I gave you a king and took away a king in my indignation, the Hebrews report for future times. At that time, when you said, "Give me a king and princes," I would respond to you through Samuel that I would give it to you in my fury and take it away in my indignation. Every heretic is lost and handed over to corruption; for he who corrupts the temple of God, the Lord will corrupt him: he has no aid in any other way except in the mercy of God, which he attains through penitence. This king and judges are the devil and demons, or all the princes of perverse dogmas, who could not free them in times of necessity and distress, who were given in fury, and taken away in indignation: not that the Lord wanted to have such kings: otherwise he would not take away those whom he had given willingly, but because he left them to their own wills: so that they, eating and fattening up their flesh, would become nauseous, and vomit through their noses, and begin to hate those whom they had so eagerly followed.
Commentary on Hosea 13:9-11
Where is this thy king? let him even save thee in all thy cities: let him judge thee, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and a prince.
ποῦ ὁ βασιλεύς σου οὗτος; καὶ διασωσάτω σε ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσί σου· κρινάτω σε ὃν εἶπας· δός μοι βασιλέα καὶ ἄρχοντα.
Гдѣ̀ ца́рь тво́й се́й; то́й да спасе́тъ тѧ̀ во всѣ́хъ градѣ́хъ твои́хъ: и҆ да сꙋ́дитъ тѝ, ѡ҆ не́мже глаго́лалъ є҆сѝ: да́ждь мѝ царѧ̀ и҆ кнѧ́зѧ.
And I gave thee a king in mine anger, and kept [him] back in my wrath.
καὶ ἔδωκά σοι βασιλέα ἐν ὀργῇ μου καὶ ἔσχον ἐν τῷ θυμῷ μου
И҆ да́хъ тебѣ̀ царѧ̀ во гнѣ́вѣ мое́мъ, и҆ ᲂу҆твержа́хсѧ въ ꙗ҆́рости мое́й.
Praise wicked King Saul, because he also was a punishment for sinners, as the Lord says: “I gave you a king in my wrath.” Praise the demon that king suffered, because it also was punishment for a sinner. Praise the blindness of heart that has befallen Israel, and do not be silent about why it is said, “Until the full number of the Gentiles should enter,” although you will perhaps deny this is a punishment. If you were a lover of the inner light, you would cry out that it is not merely a punishment but a very great punishment.
Against Julian 3:8
But let no one who suffers such a ruler, blame him whom he suffers: because his being subject to the power of a wicked ruler was doubtless of his own desert. Let him therefore rather blame the fault of his own evil doings, than the injustice of his ruler. For it is written, "I will give thee kings in Mine anger." Why then do we scorn their being set over us, whose authority over us we endure from the anger of the Lord? If then we receive rulers, according to our deserts, from the wrath of God, we infer from their conduct, what to think in our estimate of ourselves. Although even the Elect are frequently placed under the reprobate. Whence also David for a long time endured Saul. But it is proved by the subsequent sin of adultery, that he then deserved to be thus heavily oppressed by the cruelty of him who was set over him.
Morals on the Book of Job, Book 25:34
Ephraim [has framed] a conspiracy of unrighteousness, his sin is hidden.
συστροφὴν ἀδικίας. ᾿Εφραίμ, ἐγκεκρυμμένη ἡ ἁμαρτία αὐτοῦ·
Согромажде́нїе непра́вды є҆фре́мъ, сокрове́нъ грѣ́хъ є҆гѡ̀:
12–13"The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his hidden sin is enfolded. Pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for now he does not present himself at the opening of the womb." LXX: "The congregation of iniquity of Ephraim; his sin is concealed. Labor pains shall come upon him as of a woman giving birth. This is your wise son, for he will not now be able to stand the test of the sons' contrition." Just as something that is bound in the world is preserved and does not perish for the one to whom it is bound, so every iniquity by which Ephraim sinned against God is bound to him and hidden as if reserved in a pouch. Finally, when the day of vengeance arrives, and the ultimate captivity, pains like those of a woman in labor will come to him, whether they seize him. A woman in labor, long before giving birth, from the time she conceives, knows that she is going to give birth, and she expects daily that extreme torments and pains will come. So also Ephraim, the foolish son of whom we have said above, "Ephraim is a foolish dove without a heart in contrition" of "his children and his people," when the day of delivery and captivity arrives, will not be able to stand or suffer. For the 'Foolish Son,' it is read ironically in the LXX: 'This is the wise son,' that is, whom you thought wise, so that on the contrary, he may be understood as foolish. But for all heretics, iniquity is gathered, which they spoke on high; and their sin is hidden when they think they are hiding the poison of their hearts and having secrets, which, when the day of delivery comes, will be exposed by pain and effort. This foolish son is Ephraim, because he abandoned the wisdom of God, of whom it is written in Jeremiah: 'His last shall be foolish,' and he will not be able to withstand the wrath of God, in the overthrow of his sons whom he has slain and killed.
Commentary on Hosea 13:12-13
Pains as of a woman in travail shall come upon him: he is thy wise son, because he shall not stay in the destruction of [thy] children.
ὠδῖνες ὡς τικτούσης ἥξουσιν αὐτῷ. οὗτος ὁ υἱός σου ὁ φρόνιμος, διότι οὐ μὴ ὑποστῇ ἐν συντριβῇ τέκνων.
бѡлѣ́зни а҆́ки ражда́ющїѧ прїи́дꙋтъ є҆мꙋ̀: се́й сы́нъ немꙋ́дрый, занѐ нн҃ѣ не ᲂу҆стои́тъ въ сокрꙋше́нїи ча̑дъ.
I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.
ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς, ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου, θάνατε; ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου, ᾅδη; παράκλησις κέκρυπται ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου,
Ѿ рꙋкѝ а҆́довы и҆зба́влю ѧ҆̀ и҆ ѿ сме́рти и҆скꙋплю̀ ѧ҆̀: гдѣ̀ прѧ̀ твоѧ̀, сме́рте; гдѣ̀ ѻ҆сте́нъ тво́й, а҆́де; ᲂу҆тѣше́нїе скры́сѧ ѿ ѻ҆́чїю моє́ю:
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [Hosea 13:14] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
But that brazen serpent was hung up as a remedy for the biting serpents, not as a type of him that suffered for us but as a contrast. And [the brazen serpent] saved those that looked upon it, not because they believed it to live but because it was killed, and killed with it were the powers that were subject to it, being destroyed as it deserved. And what is the fitting epitaph for it from us? “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” You are overthrown by the cross; you are slain by him who is the giver of life; you are without breath, dead, without motion, even though you keep the form of a serpent lifted up on a pole.
On Holy Easter, Oration 45:22
No one could know Wisdom; for no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Therefore, He Himself revealed to John with whom Wisdom was; and for this reason, he said, not as his own, but what Wisdom had infused in him: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. Wisdom does not know destruction, it does not know wickedness. For destruction could not hold it, who said: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
The Prayer of Job and David 1:9.31
I will free them from the hand of death; I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be your death; O underworld, I will be your sting. Comfort is hidden from my eyes because He will Himself divide among brothers. According to both the understanding of Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, and the heretics, who will not be able to bear the pain of their sons' contrition, when pains come upon them like those of a woman in labor, the Lord promises to liberate them from the hand of death and to redeem them from death. However, the hand of death refers to the works by which it kills, according to that which is written: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. XVIII, 21). But the Lord freed all, and redeemed in the passion of the cross and the shedding of His blood: when His soul descended into hell, and His flesh did not see corruption, and even to death and hell He spoke: "I will be thy death, O death." Therefore, I died, so that by my death thou might die. "I will be thy biting, O hell," who devourest everyone in thy jaws. And seeing the harsh necessity of death, and that there is no man who lives and does not see death (Psalm LXXXVIII), the most merciful Father remembers the ancient sentence: that in Adam we all die (1 Corinthians XV). Having understood his own weakness and the frailty of human flesh, the prophet said: 'Consolation,' he said, 'is hidden from my eyes,' with the meaning: I cannot console myself, whatever I conceive in my mind, my pain cannot be mitigated, seeing ('Al.' seeing) the dearest names separated by death: For hell ('Al.' he said) itself divides brothers. Therefore, whatever separates brothers should be called hell: especially the harlot woman, who calls the foolish man to her, saying in the wealth of her wisdom: Touch willingly hidden breads and drink the sweetness of stolen waters; and the foolish man does not know that those who are of the earth die with her, and fall into the depths of hell. For whatever is not allowed, is desired more, and what is sweet through rarity, turns bitter through frequent indulgence. And honey drips from the lips of a harlot who, for a time, fattens up the throat of the fool; but in the end, it is found more bitter than gall, and sharper than a double-edged sword. Whoever is an earthborn and does not come from heaven, falls into their embraces; they are bound with the chains of their couches, and their feet walk towards foolishness, leading those who use them to death and to hell. Between death and the underworld, there is this difference: death is when the soul is separated from the body; the underworld is the place where the souls are either held in cold storage or punished, depending on the quality of their merits. We have said this to show that death does what a harlot does. For death divides brothers, just as a woman does. In the case of brothers, understand that any brotherly love is divided: a mother is divided from her daughter, and a father from his son, and a brother from his brother. But what is death, and what is hell, the psalmist shows, saying: "There is no one in death who remembers you: in hell, who will confess you" (Ps. VI, 6)? And in another place: "Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell" (Ps. LIV, 16). Because we have translated: "I will be your death, O death: I will be your bite, O hell," the LXX (Septuagint) translated: "Where is your cause, O death? Where is your stimulus, O hell?" For which reason the Apostle placed: "Death has been swallowed up in" "contention; where is your contentio, death? Where is your sting, O death" (1 Co. XV, 54 et seqq)? And explaining the power of the testimony, he said: "But the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore, what he interpreted as the resurrection of the Lord, we cannot nor dare interpret differently. Death, hell, and the devil may be understood, who was killed by the death of Christ, about whom Isaiah also speaks: "Death has been swallowed up by victory" (Isaiah 25:8, LXX translation). And afterwards it follows: "The Lord hath taken away every tear from every face." Now, however, some understand that the two brothers who were separated by death, according to the history of that time, are Israel and Judah, so that what was then prefigured partly may now be felt in its entirety, and that with every human race Israel and Judah must be liberated and redeemed. In the place where the LXX have translated, "Where is thy cause?" and we have said, "Thy death shall be," Symmachus has interpreted, "Thy plague will be," the fifth edition and Aquila: "Where are thy words?" which is written in Hebrew Dabarach: reading Dabar, which means "word," for Deber, which is interpreted as "death;" according to what we read in Isaiah: "The Lord hath sent death upon Jacob, and it is come into Israel" (Isaiah 9), that is, "deber," for which we have interpreted: "The Lord sent the Word into Jacob, and it came into Israel," that is, "dabar." Also for the sting which we translated as "bite," Symmachus translated ἀπάντημα, that is, "encounter:" Theodotion and the fifth edition have interpreted as "plague, and conclusion."
Commentary on Hosea 13:14
Thus, if the glory of incorruptibility has been hidden from all people in this time, how do you, in this very same age, boast that you are able to be clothed with that very same incorruptibility? For just as sinking into sin has become for humans the beginning of corruption, so not having sin will be the beginning of incorruption. Who, therefore, concealed this prior to the judgment of God or removed it from the bosom of Christ and handed it over to you? Or do you perhaps think that a person would not merit this in the future from the hand of the Lord? That most distinguished man, Paul, teaches this and says, “But when this mortal thing has put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying which is written, ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?’ Now the sting of death is sin.” Through this the apostle shows that by no means can anyone so scoff at death and sin, until immortality follows mortality, and incorruption, corruption, and when, with the destruction of weakness, perfect virtue succeeds it; when there will not be male and female, but when all will be similar to the angels of God.
Defense Against the Pelagians 32
What is it the chaste person would like? That no lust at all should stir in the members against chastity. [The chaste person] wants peace but hasn’t yet got it. I mean, when we get to the stage where no lusts at all rise up to be opposed, there won’t be any more enemy for us to wrestle with; nor is there in that state any expectation of victory, because the triumph is being celebrated over the enemy already conquered. Listen to the apostle telling you about that victory: “The perishable must put on imperishability, and the mortal put on immortality; then will come about the saying that is written: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ” Now listen to the song of triumph: “Where, O death, is your striving? Where, O death, is your sting?” You have stabbed, you have wounded, you have knocked down; but the one who made me was wounded for me. O death, death! The one who made me was wounded for me, and by his death he conquered you. And that’s when those who triumph over you are going to say, “Where, O death, is your striving? Where, O death, is your sting?”
Sermon 128
From this solemnity indeed the example of resurrection was given to us, the hope of the heavenly homeland was opened, and the glory of the supernal kingdom was made something we might already anticipate. Through this, the elect, who although they were in the bosom of tranquility, were nevertheless held in the confines of hell, were led back to the delights of paradise. What the Lord said before His passion, He fulfilled in His resurrection: "If I am lifted up from the earth," He said, "I will draw all things to myself." For He drew all things, He who left none of His elect in the underworld. He took away all things—that is, all the elect. For He did not restore to pardon by rising again any unbelievers or those consigned to eternal punishments for their crimes; but He snatched from the confines of hell those whom He recognized as His own in faith and in deeds. Whence rightly also He says through Hosea: "I will be your death, O death; I will be your sting, O hell." For what we kill, we cause to exist no more entirely. But from what we bite, we take away a part and leave a part behind. Therefore, because in His elect He utterly killed death, He became the death of death. But because He took away a part from hell and left a part behind, He did not utterly kill but bit hell. Therefore He says: "I will be your death, O death." As if He were saying openly: Because in my elect I utterly destroy you, I will be your death; I will be your sting, O hell, because when they have been taken away, I pierce you in part.
Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 22
Whence rightly also He says through Hosea: "I will be your death, O death; I will be your sting, O hell." For what we kill, we cause to exist no more entirely. But from what we bite, we take away a part and leave a part behind. Therefore, because in His elect He utterly killed death, He became the death of death. But because He took away a part from hell and left a part behind, He did not utterly kill but bit hell. Therefore He says: "I will be your death, O death." As if He were saying openly: Because in my elect I utterly destroy you, I will be your death; I will be your sting, O hell, because when they have been taken away, I pierce you in part. What then is this solemnity which destroyed the confines of hell and opened to us the gates of the heavenly kingdom?
Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 22
In spite of these words, we are so deeply affected that we fall into tears and the longing of desire crushes the beliefs of the mind. How miserable is the human lot! How vain is all our life without Christ! O death, that separates those who were joined, cruel and harsh in forcing apart those who were tied by friendship! Now, now your strength is destroyed. Now is that wicked yoke of yours broken by him who sternly threatened you in the words of Hosea: “O death, I will be your bite!” So let us with the apostle voice our taunt: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” He who conquered you has redeemed us—he who betrayed his beloved soul into the hands of the wicked, that those who were once wicked he might make his beloved.
Letter 19
Since it was fitting for Christ to die in order to deliver us from death, so it was fitting for Him to descend into hell in order to deliver us also from going down into hell. Hence it is written (Hosea 13:14): "O death, I will be thy death; O hell, I will be thy bite." Secondly, because it was fitting when the devil was overthrown by the Passion that Christ should deliver the captives detained in hell, according to Zechariah 9:11: "Thou also by the blood of Thy Testament hast sent forth Thy prisoners out of the pit."
Question 52. Christ's descent into hell, Article 1
Forasmuch as he will cause a division among [his] brethren, the Lord shall bring upon him an east wind from the desert, and shall dry up his veins [and] quite drain his fountains: he shall dry up his land, and [spoil] all his precious vessels.
διότι οὗτος ἀνὰ μέσον ἀδελφῶν διαστελεῖ· ἐπάξει καύσωνα ἄνεμον Κύριος ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν, καὶ ἀναξηρανεῖ τὰς φλέβας αὐτοῦ, ἐξερημώσει τὰς πηγὰς αὐτοῦ· αὐτὸς καταξηρανεῖ τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη τὰ ἐπιθυμητὰ αὐτοῦ.
занѐ се́й междꙋ̀ бра́тїѧми разлꙋчи́тъ: наведе́тъ гдⷭ҇ь вѣ́тръ зно́енъ и҆з̾ пꙋсты́ни на́нь, и҆ и҆зсꙋши́тъ жи̑лы є҆гѡ̀ и҆ ѡ҆пꙋстоши́тъ и҆сто́чники є҆гѡ̀: се́й и҆зсꙋши́тъ зе́млю є҆гѡ̀ и҆ всѧ̑ сосꙋ́ды є҆гѡ̀ люби̑мыѧ.
Wherefore let us direct our discourse to a second witness. And of what sort is this one? Listen to Hosea, as he speaks thus grandly: “In those days the Lord shall bring on a burning wind from the desert against them, and shall make their veins dry, and shall make their springs desolate; and all their goodly vessels shall be spoiled. Because they rose up against God, they shall fall by the sword, and their pregnant women shall be ripped up.” And what else is this burning wind from the east than the antichrist that is to destroy and dry up the veins of the waters and the fruits of the trees in his times, because people set their hearts on his works? For which reason they shall serve him in his pollution.
On the End of the World 4
"The Lord shall bring upon him a burning wind, and shall wither all his veins: and shall make his sources desolate, and he shall pull down all his fences: because he hath done wickedly." LXX: "The Lord will bring a scorching wind from the desert upon them, and he will dry up their springs. Their fountains shall be desolate, the land will be parched, and all that is in it will be ruined." I have read in the comments of someone that the whirlwind which the Lord brings from the desert, is the same one who struck Job's house at its four corners and made it collapse on the feasting sons (Job 1), and that it is one of those winds which we read of in the Gospel to blow and come as a storm with heavy rain and floods, to overthrow the house built on a rock or on sands (Matthew 7). Which seems not at all to me: for it is not written in Job that the Lord brought a wind from the desert; but the name of the Lord is silent, so that the wind from the desert, which had come against the holy man by its own will, might be taken as a contrary strength, and the winds that overthrow the foundations of houses cannot be referred to the good side. It remains that we understand the burning wind that the Lord will bring from the desert, as we also read about in Habakkuk: "God will come from the South, and the Holy One from Mount Paran" (Habakkuk 3:3): which, of course, is located in the desert and at midday. And in the Song we read: "Where do you feed, where do you rest at midday" (Song 1:6)? The Lord will bring this scorching wind, which dries up the veins of death and dries up its springs, from the ascending desert: from the desert, however, of the human race, in which even the devil seeking rest could not find. Whether we understand the desert to be the virgin womb of Saint Mary, which gave birth to this flower without the seed of man, which shot up through its pure and fecund union as a simple rod and produced that flower that says in the Song of Songs: "I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys" (Song of Songs 2:2). And beautifully, as much in Isaiah as in the present place, the ascending flower is said to be the ascending wind: because it ascends from the humility of the flesh to the heights, and he led us with him to the Father, saying in the Gospel: "And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself" (John 12:32). He himself, as though a root, will ascend from the uninhabitable earth, and death will by no means have power over him, but he will come upon death, for death will find no way of power in him, and this is what is said in the Proverbs: "It is impossible to find the footsteps of a serpent upon a rock" (Proverb 30). And he himself speaks in the Gospel: "Behold, the prince of this world shall come, and find in me nothing" (John XIV, 30). He shall dry up the veins of death, and lay waste its sources. The veins of death and its sources and its sting are designated by the Apostle as sins: when these have been dried up, even death itself shall be dried up. And what follows: "He himself will plunder the treasure," "which is in every vessel desirable," is taken in a twofold sense either because they are desirable to those who dwell in death, or because we understand by the desirable vessels, saints who were perhaps bound, whom the Lord delivered and carried off from the underworld, and, as it were, valuable vessels, brought them along with him into paradise. For 'treasure' they have transferred 'earth': without doubt, 'earth' signifies death. And in Psalms we read: 'I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the livings' (Psal. XXVI, 13). And according to the Gospel: 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land' (Matthew V). On the contrary, we must accept that the land of hell is not the land of the living, but rather of the dead, which is ravaged and devastated, when the souls bound at the time of Christ's death in hell are freed. According to the tropology in the same Commentaries (of which we have spoken above), we read that the scorching wind is understood as the devil and every heresiarch. We dislike this, because the devil cannot dry up the veins of death and the fountains of error, since he himself is the source and beginning of the dead. Therefore, the word of the Ecclesiasticus, 'burning wind' is to be understood as the wind that withers all the dogmas of heretics and leads them to nothingness, and tears them apart and scatters them who were gathered in death by the doctrine of heretics.
Commentary on Hosea 13:15
According to the word of Ephraim he adopted ordinances for himself in Israel; and he established them for Baal, and died.
ΚΑΤΑ τὸν λόγον ᾿Εφραὶμ δικαιώματα ἔλαβεν αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὰ τῇ Βάαλ καὶ ἀπέθανε.
По словесѝ є҆фре́мовꙋ ѡ҆правда̑нїѧ прїѧ̀ се́й во і҆и҃ли, и҆ положѝ ѧ҆̀ ваа́лови, и҆ ᲂу҆́мре.