The Meaning of 'Many' and the Living Letter
He will show it to those who follow. For the sake of unconcern, he confesses to God regarding the transition, saying what follows next. But discern what he intends: a great door has been opened to me in the Lord; for perhaps a door of the word is opened by the Lord to those receiving it through divine inspiration, but they do not have a preparation from human art. For God says: 'Enlarge your mouth and I will fill it.' And the wise man has cried out: 'Open your mouth with the word of God,' which means being prepared within by desire and readiness to receive the teaching from God. Perhaps the door of the word is opened when the listeners are ready to receive the instruction.
Because of this, he says, God makes manifest through us the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ in every place, since we are the fragrance of Christ (2 Cor 2:14-16); for just as the partakers, being of His light, are the light of the world, so also, being of the scent, those united to Him are His fragrance. And this fragrant breath is, for some, a scent from death to death, and for others, a scent from life to life. But one must not ask why it becomes a scent from death to death; for it happens to those to whom this occurs as it appears, just as healthy food seems to harm those who offer it at an unseasonable time. For those who, being under death, receive that which comes upon them through sin, do not receive the divine knowledge with right judgment, but come from the death of practical sins to the death that follows ungodly thoughts, just as it carries those receiving it with deeds from life to life. For just as a perceptible scent, being contributed toward health and well-being, harms small animals that do not possess its most acute breath, so the divine fragrance also benefits and leads toward health, and rather toward life, those who observe the image and likeness of God—for these are truly humans—while those who are harmed by it are those changing according to the inner man, as they are called allegorically, like those destroying a precious preparation of olive oil, according to Ecclesiastes.
One should not pay attention to those of the heterodox who say that the apostles, teaching in Christ, speak against God the Other, contrary to the Father of the Savior (2 Cor 2:17), which is to say, we speak against Him. But he says many...
Those who deceive through being vulgar. For this word 'many', I say, being homonymous, signifies more; for it is sometimes said instead of 'certain people', as when the Lord says: 'many will say to me in that day' (Matt 7:22); but also instead of those addressed to a few, as in 'many are called, but few are chosen' (Matt 22:14). The word also indicates all people, as in how through the hearing of the one, the many became sinners, as if through the hearing of the one Adam, the many became sinners (Rom 5:12); for all men are under sin having heard Adam. It also indicates the vulgar, as in the present context: 'let not many teachers be you, brothers'; and it also signifies those who are somehow more numerous, just as 'many are rising up against me, and many are saying to my soul'. In the present expression, we are not as certain people trafficking in the word of God, that is, making it vulgar through cold speech and foolish explanation, but as from sincerity we offer it without guile and purely.
He strikes the Corinthians at rest as if they still do not know the apostolic greatness, asserting: 'we think that having our conscience in agreement, we can say sincerely before God in Christ, let us approach; if not, we are recommending ourselves to you by our letter to you' (2 Cor 3:1-3). Thus what concerns us is manifest, as not recommending you to others, nor others to you; for you yourselves are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, truly written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God (2 Cor 3:2-3). For words are inscribed with ink, but a real and contemplative life is characterized with the Spirit of the living God, as one living according to God by the Spirit having been thus written; for the foolish receive the characters from ink as if they were stone tablets for their souls, but those yielding to agreement with the divine in fleshly hearts, that is, sensible hearts, receive the writing from the living Spirit of God; for they are inscribed three times upon the breadth of the heart, just as God gives laws in the mind, by inscribing them upon the breadth of the heart. Let no one think us being foolish, speaking to ourselves: 'that we can say sincerely before God in Christ' (2 Cor 3:4-6); for thus we are disposed concerning ourselves.
Greek
ἑπομένοις δείξει. ἀμέλει γοῦν χάριν ὁμολογεῖ τῷ θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ μεταβάσει, ὡς ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρων ἐρεῖ. ἐπίστησον δὲ τί βούλεται· θύρας μοι ἀνεῳγμένης μεγάλης ἐν κυρίῳ· τάχα γὰρ ἀνοίγεται θύρα τοῦ λόγου πρὸς τοῦ κυρίου τοῖς ἐξ ἐπινοίας θείας δεχομένοις τὸ λέγειν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρωπίνης τέχνης παρασκευὴν ἔχουσιν. λέγει γοῦν θεός· πλάτυνον τὸ στόμα σου καὶ πληρώσω αὐτό. καὶ ὁ σοφὸς κέκραγεν· ἄνοιγε σὸν στόμα λόγῳ θεοῦ, τοῦτ' ἔστι παρεσκευασμένος ἔσω πόθῳ καὶ προθυμίᾳ πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν ἐκ θεοῦ διδασκαλίαν. τάχα δὲ ἀνοίγνυται θύρα τοῦ λόγου, καὶ ὅταν οἱ ἀκροαταὶ ἕτοιμοι πρὸς παραδοχὴν τῆς παιδεύσεως ὦσιν. 2 Kor 2,14-16 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, φησί, φανεροῖ ὁ θεὸς δι' ἡμῶν τὴν ὀσμὴν τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ, ἐπείπερ Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμέν· ὡς γὰρ φωτὸς αὐτοῦ τυγχάνοντος οἱ μέτοχοι φῶς εἰσι τοῦ κόσμου, οὕτω καὶ μύρου ὄντος οἱ ἑνούμενοι αὐτῷ εὐωδία αὐτοῦ εἰσιν. αὕτη δὲ ἡ εὐώδης πνοή, τοῖς μὲν ὀσμὴ ἐκ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον, τοῖς δὲ ὀσμὴ ἐκ ζωῆς εἰς ζωὴν ὑπάρχει. ἀλλ' οὐκ αἰτιατέον εἰ γίνεται ἡ ὀσμὴ ἐκ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον· παρὰ γὰρ τὴν πρόφασιν τῶν οἷς συμβεβήκει τοῦτο γίνεται, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ὑγιεινὴ τροφὴ βλάπτειν δοκεῖ τοὺς νοσοῦντας ἀκαίρως προσφερομένη. ὅσοι γὰρ ὑπὸ θάνατον ὄντες τὸν ἐπιγινόμενον τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ δέχονται οὐκ ὀρθῇ γνώμῃ τὴν θείαν γνῶσιν, ἐκ θανάτου πρακτικῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπὶ θάνατον τὸν ἀκολουθοῦντα τοῖς ἀσεβέσι φρονήμασιν ἔρχονται, ὥσπερ τοὺς παραδεχομένους αὐτὴν μετὰ πράξεων ζωοποιῶν ἐκ ζωῆς εἰς ζωὴν φέρει· ὡς γὰρ τὸ αἰσθητὸν μύρον πρὸς ὑγείαν καὶ εὐεξίαν συμβαλλόμενον βλάπτει τὰ ἔντομα ζῶα οὐ φέροντα αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀκροτάτην πνοήν, οὕτως ἡ θεία εὐωδία ὠφελεῖ καὶ εἰς ὑγείαν ἄγει, μᾶλλον δὲ ζωήν, τοὺς τηροῦντας τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν θεοῦ–οὗτοι γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἄνθρωποί εἰσιν–βλαπτομένων ἐξ αὐτῆς τῶν κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον μεταβαλλόντων, ὡς καλεῖσθαι ἀλληγορικῶς μυίας σαπριούσας σκευασίαν ἐλαίου ἡδύσματος κατὰ τὸν Ἐκκλησιαστικήν. 2 Kor 2,17 Οὐ προσεκτέον τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων λέγουσιν, ὅτι οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἐν Χριστῷ διδάσκοντες κατεναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἑτέρου παρὰ τὸν πατέρα τοῦ σωτῆρος, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἐναντία αὐτῷ φθεγγόμεθα. πολλοὺς δὲ λέγει τοὺς ἀπατῶντας διὰ τὸ χυδαῖον. καὶ γὰρ αὕτη ἡ φωνή, λέγω δὲ οἱ πολλοί, ὁμώνυμος οὖσα σημαίνει πλείονα· λέγεται γάρ ποτε ἀντὶ τοῦ “τινές”, ὡς ὅταν ὁ κύριος λέγῃ· πολλοὶ ἐροῦσί μοι ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀντὶ τῶν πρὸς ὀλίγους διαστελλομένων, ὡς ἐν τῷ πολλοὶ μὲν κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. δηλοῖ ἡ λέξις καὶ τοὺς πάντας, ὡς ἐν τῷ ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ 21 ἑνὸς ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί· πάντες γὰρ 4 ἄνθρωποι παρακούσαντος τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίαν εἰσίν. δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ τοὺς χυδαίους, ὡς ἐν τῷ προκειμένῳ καὶ τῷ μὴ πολλοὶ διδάσκαλοι γίνεσθε, ἀδελφοί· σημαίνει δὲ καὶ τοὺς ὅπως ποτὲ πλείονας ὄντας, καθάπερ ἐν τῷ πολλοὶ ἐπανίστανται ἐπ' ἐμέ, καὶ πολλοὶ λέγουσι τῇ ψυχῇ μου. ἐν τῇ ἐκκειμένῃ φωνῇ τῇ οὔκ ἐσμεν ὥς τινες καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἐξυδαροῦντες αὐτὸν διὰ ψυχρολογίας καὶ μωρᾶς ἐξηγήσεως, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινείας ἀδόλως καὶ καθαρῶς αὐτὸν προσφερόμεθα. 2 Kor 3,1-3 Ἐπιπλήττει ἠρέμα Κορινθίοις ὡς ἔτι ἀγνοοῦσι τὸ ἀποστολικὸν μέγεθος, φάσκων· ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινείας ἐκ θεοῦ κατέναντι θεοῦ λαλοῦντες δοκῶμεν καὶ ὑμῖν πεφανερῶσθαι ὡς οὕτως ἔχομεν γνώμης, εἰ μὴ ἄρα οὕτως διάγετε ὡς δεῖσθαι συνιστάσης ὑμᾶς ἐπιστολῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς. οὕτω δὲ φανερὰ τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐστιν, ὡς μήτε ὑμᾶς συνιστᾶν [ὑμᾶς] ἄλλοις, μηδὲ ἑτέρους ὑμῖν· καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ὑμεῖς ἐπιστολή ἐστε Χριστοῦ ὑφ' ἡμῶν διακονηθεῖσα, πραγματικῶς γεγραμμένη πνεύματι θεοῦ ζῶντος ἀλλ' οὐ μέλανι. λόγοι μὲν γὰρ χαράττονται μέλανι, πραγματικὸς δὲ καὶ θεωρητικὸς βίος πνεύματι θεοῦ ζῶντος χαρακτηρίζεται, ὡς τὸν οὕτω γραφέντα ζῆν κατὰ θεὸν πνεύματι· οἱ γὰρ ἠλίθιοι τὰς ψυχὰς ὡς πλάκες λίθιναι δέχονται ἐκ μέλανος τοὺς τύπους, οἱ δὲ εὔεικτοι πρὸς συγκατάθεσιν τῶν θείων ἐν καρδίαις σαρκίναις, τοῦτ' ἔστιν αἰσθητικαῖς, δέχονται γραφὴν τὴν ἐκ ζῶντος θεοῦ πνεύματος· ἀπογράφονται γὰρ τὴν παίδευσιν τρισσῶς ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς καρδίας, ἅτε τοῦ θεοῦ διδόντος νόμους ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ, ἐν τῷ ἐπιγράφειν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς καρδίας. 2 Kor 3,4-6 Μή τις οἰέσθω βλακεύεσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς λέγοντας· ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινείας κατέναντι θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ λαλοῦμεν· οὕτω γὰρ περὶ ἑαυτῶν διακείμεθα
About this text
Didymus on Paul's second letter to Corinth: suffering, comfort, and what makes a true apostle.
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.