Commentary on Job · §85

The Purpose of Reproof and the Metaphor of the Tree

The reproofs were intended so that from this calm might emerge, and that he might work the remainder like a hired laborer. But these things are said again to them as it becomes manifest that God gives tolerance for the sake of repentance, as Paul says: 'Or do you despise his tolerance and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?' (Rom 2:4). For it is said that to be still—meaning to cease from evil and to take up virtue—is clearly shown by the words, 'You sinned, be still,' and by 'The earth feared and he was still when God arose to judgment.' For men, having grasped the notion that God is judge, were still from sinning.

For there is hope in a tree; if it is cut off, even so its shoot shall sprout again and its branch shall by no means fail. Through many things he demonstrates that he did not endure the pains because of worthlessness, as the meaning of the word becomes clear: 'Let this be so by hypothesis: the lashings have been sufficient as it is the time to depart.' For neither are the things of repentance rejected, nor does God, as if the will were unchangeable, punish without measure. For there is a fitness in the souls, even if a great pouring out of punishments occurs; therefore, repentance can come to pass.

And he calls the man a tree, as is also said in many places of the Scriptures: 'Already the axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree not producing a good fruit is cut down and is thrown into the fire' (Matt 3:10). And again: 'Either make the tree good and its fruits good, or make the tree rotten and its fruits rotten' (Luke 6:43). Having set this aside once, we shall not leave it unexamined. For the Savior does not command that one should become a rotten tree or bring forth rotten fruit, but that the state of each one be manifest through their actions, and not to prefer the hypocrisy of this. And there is also another way to understand this: the Jews were saying concerning the Savior: 'By Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, he casts out...'

from the scent of water

Greek

εἶχον αἱ ἐπιτιμήσεις, ἵν' ἐκ τούτου ἡσυχία γένηται καὶ ὡς μισθωτὸς λοιπὸν ἐργάσηται. ταῦτα δὲ ὡς πρὸς αὐτοὺς πάλιν εἴρηται δήλου τυγχάνοντος, ὅτι ἀνοχὴν δίδωσι θεὸς εἰς μετάνοιαν, ὡς τὸν Παῦλον λέγειν· "ἢ τῆς ἀνοχῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ μακροθυμίας καταφρονεῖς ἀγνοῶν, ὅτι τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει;" ὅτι δὲ τὸ ἡσυχάσαι ἀντὶ τοῦ παύσασθαι κακίας καὶ ἀρετὴν ἀναλαβεῖν λέγεται, δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ "ἥμαρτες, ἡσύχασον" καὶ ἐκ τοῦ "γῆ ἐφοβήθη καὶ ἡσύχασεν ἐν τῷ ἀναστῆναι εἰς κρίσιν τὸν θεόν". οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι ἔννοιαν λαβόντες, ὅτι κριτής ἐστιν ὁ θεός, ἡσύχασαν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν. ἔστιν γὰρ δένδρῳ ἐλπίς· ἐὰν γὰρ ἐκκοπῇ, ἔτι ἐπανθήσει καὶ ὁ ῥόδαμνος αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ. διὰ πολλῶν ἀποδείκνυσιν, ὅτι οὐ διὰ φαυλότητα ὑπέμεινεν τὰ ἀνιαρά, οὕτω σαφοῦς τοῦ λόγου γινομένου· καθ' ὑπόθεσιν γὰρ τοῦτο οὕτως ἐχέτω· ἀρκούντως αἱ κολάσεις γεγένην369 ται ὡς καιρὸν ἔχειν τοῦ ἀποστῆναι. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀπέγνωσται τὰ τῆς μετανοίας οὐδὲ θεὸς ὡς ἀμεταβλήτου τῆς προαιρέσεως οὔσης ἀμέτρως κολάζει. ἔνκειται γὰρ ἡ ἐπιτηδειότης ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς, κἂν πολλὴ χύσις ἁμαρ τημάτων γένηται· δύναται οὖν γενέσθαι μετάνοια. δένδρον δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον καλεῖ ὡς καὶ πολλαχοῦ τῶν γραφῶν, καθὸ εἴρηται· "ἤδη ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται· πᾶν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται." καὶ πάλιν· "ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν καὶ τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ καλούς, ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ σαπρούς." τοῦτο δὲ ἅπαξ παραθέμενοι οὐκ ἀβασάνιστον αὐτὸ ἐάσομεν. οὐ γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ προστάττει σαπρόν τινι γενέσθαι δένδρον ἢ σαπρὸν καρπὸν ἐνεγκεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἕξιν φανερὰν διὰ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν εἶναι καὶ μὴ προκρίνειν τούτου τὴν ὑπόκρισιν. ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἑτέρως νοῆσαι τοῦτο· οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος· "ἐν Βεεζεβοὺλ τῷ ἄρχοντι τῶν δαιμονίων ἐκβάλλει τὰ δαιμόνια." διόπερ αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτήρ φησιν αὐτοῖς· "ἢ ποιήσατε 370 τὸ δένδρον καλὸν" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. εἰ γὰρ τὸ ἐκβάλλειν δαίμονας ἀγαθόν, ἀγαθὸς ὁ τοῦτο ἐνεργῶν, εἰ δὲ φαῦλος ὁ ἐνεργῶν, φαῦλον καὶ τὸ γεγενημένον. ἐὰν γὰρ γηράσῃ ἐν γῇ ἡ ῥίζα αὐτοῦ, ἐν δὲ πέτρᾳ τελευτήσῃ τὸ στέλεχος αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ ὀσμῆς ὕδατος ἀνθήσει, ποιήσει δὲ θερι#6σμὸν ὥσπερ νεόφυτον. τοῦ δένδρου εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον μεταφερομένου δῆλον ἔσται, ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ ἀσθένειαν ὑπομένει, ἥτις διὰ τοῦ "ἐὰν γηρά σῃ ἐν γῇ ἡ ῥίζα αὐτοῦ" δηλοῦται. ἔχει πάλιν προσδοκίαν μετανοίας, κἂν ἐν πέτρᾳ στέλεχος αὐτοῦ, δηλονότι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τελευτήσῃ. κἂν γὰρ προσαράξῃ τῇ ψυχῇ ἁμάρτημα ὥστε θάνατον αὐτῇ ποιῆσαι καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους τῆς ἀρετῆς αὐτὴν κατασπάσαι, ὅπερ τὸ στέλεχος δηλοῖ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκκόπτει τὴν εἰς ἀρετὴν ἐπιτηδειότητα, ὅπερ δηλῶν ὁ κύριος ἔλεγεν· "ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν," σημαίνων τὴν ἐνκειμένην δύναμιν, ἥντινα καὶ τὸ παρὸν ἀνάγνωσμα διδάσκει. "ἀπὸ ὀσμῆς ὕδατός" ἐστιν «ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου τοῦ θείου εὐωδοῦς ὄντος». "μύρον γὰρ 371 ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σου." ἀναλαμβάνει ποτὸν καὶ νεάσει διὰ μετανοία̣ς̣, ὥστε καὶ θερισμὸν π̣οιῆσαι καθὰ τοὺς ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῦ λόγου ἀδιαπτώτως ἀκούοντας ὥστε εἰπεῖν περὶ αὐτῶν· "ἐρχόμενοι δὲ ἥξουσιν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει αἴροντες τὰ δράγματα αὐτῶν." δῆλον δὲ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ θ̣ερισμὸν εἰπ̣ε̣ι῀̣ν ποιεῖν τὸ δένδρον, ὅτι οὐ περὶ τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ λέγε̣ται· οὐ γὰρ θερίζεσθαι τὰ δένδρα εἴποι τις ἄν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τρυγᾶσθαι, ὥστε περὶ π̣όνω̣ν ψυχῆς ἠμελημένης καὶ ἐκ μετανοίας διὰ τὸν σωτήριον λόγον ἀναλαμπούσης οἱ προτεθέντες εἴρηνται στίχοι. –– λόγου ἐκείνου, ὃν ὁ κύριος ὕδωρ καλῶν ἔλεγεν· "ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς 93 κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον." ἀνὴρ δὲ τελευτήσας ᾤχετο, πεσὼν δὲ βροτὸς οὐκέτι ἐστίν. ἐπίστησον, μὴ ἄρα πρὸς τὸ "ἀπόστα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ,

About this text

Didymus the Blind on Job.

Catalogue & scope

Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.