The Fragility of Life and the Suddenness of Destruction

for evil is an episode

You hold it, since you are not righteous, to whom the earth was given along with those like him, and no foreigner approaches. Thus, how he said this has been made clear. The Lord, commanding his own disciples, says: 'Do not worry about tomorrow' (Matt 6:34). And it is a command, so that 'we should throw all anxiety upon the Lord' (1 Pet 5:7). And if he also says that life is 'in care,' and that years are a numbered amount given to a ruler, then his fear is in his ears. This he says, that even if someone is a ruler and acts insolently, let him know that he has a numbered number of years.

Power does not make him long-lived; for time is measured for men by God toward His own judgment. Therefore, even if the ruler acts arrogantly, his life and his years turn out to be few, and he always has fear in his ears because of the uncertainty of the manner of death. Such a person has a fearful nature. For when he is in care regarding life, he reveres even death. But the diligent one, knowing that it is better 'to depart and be with Christ' (Phil 1:23), is hopeful, not being such as the wicked, but one who fears; for it has been said that 'the impious flees when no one pursues' (Prov 28:1).

When it seems to him that he is already at peace, his destruction will come. Even if someone exists in great prosperity, like the one saying in the Gospel: 'I will pull down my barns and build greater, and I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many good things, eat, drink, rejoice' (Luke 12:18-19); but the Lord says to him: 'Fool, this very night they will demand your soul from you; and what you have prepared, to whom will it belong?' (Luke 12:20). For when it seemed to him to be at peace in wealth, his destruction came.

These things, then, the divine word presents. It seems that he says these things, stumbling according to this, from the mishearings of the wise, because he was applying these to Job. Let him not believe that one turns away from darkness. The phrase 'when it seems to him to be at peace, his destruction will come' is similar to 'when they say: It is peace and security' (1 Thess 5:3). He says, 'Then, sudden destruction stands upon them just like the pangs of a woman in labor.' For he has already been committed into hands of iron, and has been arranged into pits of gypsum (Job 15:22b–23a). For the one sinning has hoarded for himself punishments, which will come through iron and gypsum.

Greek

ἀδικίαν ὁ ἄδικος. δεικτικὸν δὲ τοῦτο μὴ κατὰ φύ σιν εἶναι τὸ κακόν· ἐπεισόδιον γάρ ἐστιν τὸ κακόν. φησὶν γοῦν, ὅτι ὁ οὐρανὸς οὐ καθαρὸς ὡς πρὸς τὸν θεόν. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν πίνουσιν ἀδικίαν ταχθείη. ἀδικίαν ἐνταῦθα λέγει τὴν γενικὴν κακίαν· ἔστιν γὰρ καὶ ἰδικὴ ἀδικία ἡ περὶ τὰ συναλλάγματα, ὥσπερ δικαιοσύνη ἡ ἰδικὴ καὶ ἡ πᾶσα ἀρετὴ πολλάκις καλεῖται. ἀναγγέλλω δέ σοι, σὺ δὲ ἄκουέ μου. δοκεῖ πως ἀλαζονικῶς ταῦτα τῷ Ἰὼβ λέγειν ἢ τάχα οὐ προθέσει ἀλαζονικῇ, ἀλλὰ τῷ νομίζειν αὐτὸν ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ εἶναι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δεῖσθαι τῆς πρὸς αὐτοῦ παραινέσεως. ἃ δὴ ἑώρακα ἀναγγέλλω σοι, ἃ σοφοὶ ἐροῦσιν καὶ οὐκ ἔκρυψαν πατέρες αὐτῶν. ὡς ἐνδόξων δῆθεν προσώπων χρῆσθαι βούλεται τῷ λόγῳ, ἵν' ἐκ τούτων πειστικῶς δοκοίη λέγειν. φησὶν γάρ· «ἃ σοφοὶ ἐροῦσιν, οἳ παρὰ πατέρων ἀκηκόασιν οὐ κρυψάντων ἀπ' αὐτῶν 394 τὴν διδασκαλι´̣αν.» δηλοῖ δὲ δια`̣ τούτων ὡς εὐδιαθέτως ει᾿̣ς τὸν Ἰὼβ αὐτὸν κινου´̣μενον. ὅμοιον τούτῳ τὸ "ἐπερώτ̣ησον γὰρ γενεὰν πρώτην, ἐξιχνίασον δὲ κατὰ γένος πατέρων." αὐτοῖς μόνοις ἐδόθη ἡ γῆ καὶ οὐκ ἐπῆλθεν ἀλλογενὴς ἐπ' αὐτούς. ἔοικεν οὗτος, εἰ καὶ μὴ κατ' ἐπίγνωσιν θείαν, ἀλλὰ τῷ θαυμάζειν τοὺς συνέσει ὑπερβάλλοντας, ὅμοιον λέγειν τῷ ῥητῷ τῷ φάσκοντι· "τοῦ πιστοῦ ὅλος ὁ κόσμος τῶν χρημάτων, τοῦ δὲ ἀπίστου οὐδὲ ὀβολός." κἂν γὰρ πολυκτήμων ὑπάρχῃ ὁ ἄπιστος, οὐ δεσπότης αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ δοῦλός ἐστιν. τῷ γὰρ μαμωνᾷ δουλεύει. ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἀδούλωτον ἔχει τὸ φρονεῖν. διὸ "οὐδὲ ἐπέρχεται ἀλλογενὴς ἐπ' αὐτούς", ἀντὶ τοῦ «οὐκ αἰχμαλωτεύονται οὔτε ἀπὸ ἀοράτου δυνάμεως οὔτε ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου». "ἡ ἀγάπη γὰρ οὐδέποτε πίπτει", ἀντὶ τοῦ «ὁ ἀγαπῶν». κἂν γάρ ποτε ἐν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ κρατηθῇ ὁ δίκαιος, ἀλλ' ὡς προείρηται ἀδούλωτός ἐστιν τὸν λογισμόν. οἰκ̣εῖον δὲ τῶν ἀλλογενῶν καὶ ἀοράτων καὶ ὁρατῶν τὸ ἐπέρχεσθαι. πᾶς ὁ βίος ἀσεβοῦς ἐν φροντίδι. θέλει λέγειν, ὅτι ὁ δίκαιος ἐν πάσῃ 99 ἐστὶν ἀναπαύσει, ὡς τὴν 395 γῆν αὐτοῖς δίδοσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐπέρχεσθ̣αι ἀλλογενῆ ἐπ' αὐτούς, ὁ δὲ ἀσεβὴς ἐν φροντίσιν ἐστίν. καὶ ει᾿̣ μὴ κατὰ τ̣ὰ εἰρημένα τοῦτο ἔλ̣εγεν, ε̣ἰ῀̣χε λόγον. ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶπεν̣, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν, πα̣ραινίττεται ὅτι «διὰ τοῦτο ἐν φροντίσιν ὑπάρχεις, ἐπεὶ οὐκ εἶ δίκαιος, ᾧ μετὰ τῶν ὁμοίω̣ν ἐδόθη ἡ γῆ καὶ οὐκ ἐπέρχεται ἀλλογενής». οὗτος μὲν οὖν ὅπως τοῦτο εἶπεν, δεδήλωται. ὁ δ̣ε`̣ κύριος παραγγέλλων τοῖς ἑαυτ̣οῦ μαθηταῖς φησιν· "μὴ μεριμνήσητε περὶ τῆς αὔριον." καὶ παραγγελία ἔστιν, ἵνα "πᾶσαν μέριμναν ἐπὶ κύριον ῥίψωμεν". ε̣ἰ δὲ καὶ τὰ χρ̣ήματα λέγει τὸν βίον, καὶ οὗτος "ἐν φροντίδι". ἔτη δὲ ἀριθμητὰ δεδομένα δυνάστῃ. ὁ δὲ φόβος αὐτοῦ ἐν ὠσὶν αὐτοῦ. τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι κἂν δυναστεύων τις καταθρασύνη ται, ἴστω ὅτι ἀριθμητὰ ἔτη ἔχει. οὐχ ἡ δυναστεία πολυχρόνιον αὐτὸν ποιεῖ· ἐπιμετρεῖται γὰρ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις χρόνος παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὸ αὐτοῦ κρίμα. κἂν ἀλαζονεύηται οὖν ὁ δυνάστης, ἀλλ' ὁ βίος αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἔτη αὐτοῦ ὀλίγα τυγχάνει καὶ ἐπίφοβα ἀεὶ ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν τὸν φόβον ἔχοντος διὰ τὸ ἀβέβαιον τοῦ τρόπου. 396 τ̣ὸν δὲ παθητικὸν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἔχει φ̣όβον. ὅταν γὰρ ε᾿̣ν φ̣ρ̣οντίσιν τοῦ βίου ἐστίν, εὐλαβεῖται καὶ τὸν θάνατον. ο῾̣ δὲ σπουδαῖος εἰδώς, ὅτι κάλλιον "ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι", εὔελπίς ἐστιν, τοῦ φαύλου οὐχ οὕτως ὄντος, ἀλλὰ φοβουμένου· εἴρηται γάρ, ὅτ̣ι "φεύγει ἀσεβὴς οὐδενὸς διώκοντος". ὅταν δοκῇ ἤδη εἰρηνεύειν, ἥξει αὐτοῦ ἡ καταστροφή. κἂν ἐν πολλῇ εὐθηνίᾳ τις ὑπάρχῃ ὡς ὁ λέγων ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ· "καθελῶ μου τ̣ὰς ἀποθήκας καὶ μείζονας οἰκοδομήσω καὶ ἐρῶ τῇ ψυχῇ· ψυχή, ἔχεις ἀγαθὰ πολλά, φάγε, πίε, εὐφραίνου", ἀλλ' ὁ κύριος αὐτῷ λέγει· "ἄφρων, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ἀπαιτοῦσιν τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀπὸ σοῦ· ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται;" ὅτε γὰρ ἔδοξεν εἰρηνεύειν ἐν τῷ πλούτῳ, ἦλθεν ἡ καταστροφὴ αὐτοῦ. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ θεῖος ὑποβάλλει λόγος. ἔοικεν δέ, ὅτι οὗτος ἐκ παρακουσμάτων τῶν σοφῶν ταῦτα λέγει κατὰ τ̣οῦτο σφαλλόμενος, ὅτι περὶ τοῦ Ἰὼβ αὐτὰ ᾐνίττετο. μὴ πιστευέτω ἀποστραφῆναι ἀπὸ σκότους. ὅμοιον τῷ "ὅταν λέγωσιν· εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφαλία ἐστίν" τὸ "ὅταν δοκῇ εἰρηνευ´̣ειν, ἥξει αὐτοῦ ἡ καταστροφή". "τότε," φησίν, "αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίσταται ὄλεθρος ὥσπερ ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ ἐν γαστρὶ 397 ἐχούσῃ." –– ξατ 7 ιοβ 15,22β–23α ἐντέταλται γὰρ ἤδη εἰς χεῖρας σιδήρου, κατατέτακται δὲ εἰς σῖτα γυψίν. ἀπεντεῦθεν γὰρ ὁ ἁμαρτάνων ἐθησαύρισεν ἑαυτῷ κόλασιν, ἅπερ διὰ τοῦ σιδήρου καὶ τῶν γυπῶν

About this text

Didymus the Blind on Job.

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Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

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