Divine Justice and Human Transgression
The Lord presented him before him today (Ps 5:5–7). Since this is true, evil is not from God, unlike those who make evil their very substance. For from the mouth of the Most High, evil shall not come out, nor the good alone. For He alone wills the good to be; it is impossible for evil to exist in any way.
And those who speak falsehood are lying, so that they might know the truth which they formerly feared. For knowing this is evident: no one, having begun to know something, is said to be 'knowing' it unless he has mastered it. And of all those speaking falsehood who are being destroyed by God, that one also shall be destroyed, as it is said: 'Whoever speaks falsehood, speaks from his own nature.' If this is so, he is not evil in essence; for it is not merely by becoming and entering into a substance, but after this, having turned to the habit of speaking falsehood, having once had the truth to be. This is shown by what is written about him: 'He has not stood in the truth, there is no truth in him' (Ps 51:7). For the liar, because he does not stand in truth, is manifest having been tested by these dispositions.
One must judge the liar by his intention, but not by voice alone, lest those who once acted providentially like Rahab be under the threat; for it seemed to be lying to those searching to kill the spies, who were good men; but having been sent by Joshua son of Nun, they were praised. Since the intention of a man is very important, it is not appropriate to rank it among the being destroyed or among those speaking falsehood. Just as he who kills a man in a certain way is not a murderer, so likewise he who sheds blood is not always a man of that name; for we do not say 'murderers of blood' of men who kill according to divine law those worthy to suffer this, since it is said of Samuel and Elijah, the great men, having been testified to regarding ag...
It is not to lie in unholiness and divine prophecy to be subject to these crimes, but none of these is a murderer or a man of blood, even if he kills someone on account of impiety and greatest crimes. When these are rightly confessed, the man who becomes the cause of the abolition of the law through transgression is to be called a murderer and a man of blood. And the deceitful is reasonably joined to this; for how is he who pours out the blood of men treacherously not loathsome to the Lord?
It must be examined how anyone is led by the justice of God. Lest perhaps he who progresses according to the justice of God (for that is genuine virtue) following God, 'Afterwards you shall walk, Lord, my God' (Ps 5:11), is led by the one who provides virtue, namely, God himself. And since the 'offending' is human, it must be observed how it is necessary to take what is said about God. God, being unchangeable and immutable, is impassible, though it seems he is surrounded by passions or we experience passions; for our passions, being considered as approaching Him, because of the forgetfulness we have concerning Him, are assumed to be His. Regarding us, indeed, 'Forget the law of your God, and I will forget you, my children' (Ps 5:12).
What is written by Paul is similar to this word: 'If anyone does not know, he is not known' (1 Cor 13:12); it is clear what is meant by the one speaking to the wicked, 'Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you' (Matt 7:23). Thus, he who offends, suffering what is worthy of his character through the most bitter wickedness, which he has done, thinks that God is offended against him. If, indeed, the soul, falling unjustly by the vote of God because of sins, says, 'I, offending, was offended' (Ps 5:5), and thus follows the sequence of the judgment, 'The Lord is just' (Ps 5:6), what did his mouth offend? All who hope in you will rejoice, those whose plots against them are destroyed. And there is joy for those who hope in you (Ps 5:11).
Greek
κύριος ῳ παρέστην ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ σήμερον. 26 Ps 5,5–7 Τούτου ἀληθοῦς ο ντος, οὐκ ε στιν ἐκ θεοῦ τὸ κακὸν ὡς οι ονται οἱ ἐνυπόστατον τὴν κακίαν τιθέμενοι. ̓Εκ στόματος γὰρ ὑψίστου οὐκ ἐξελεύσεται τὸ κακὸν καὶ τὸ ἀγαθόν. μόνον γὰρ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ει ναι βούλεται· ου ο ντος ἀδύνατον ε ν τινι συστῆναι τὸ κακόν. ̓Απόλλυσιν δὲ Τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος ῃ ψεῦσταί εἰσιν, ι ν' ἐπιγνῶσιν τὴν ἀλήθειαν η ν καὶ πάλαι ῃ δεισαν. τὸ γὰρ ἐπιγνῶναι τοῦτο δηλοῖ· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀρχὴν ε χων τοῦ γινώσκειν τι ἐπιγινώσκειν αὐτὸ λέγεται. πάντων δὲ τῶν λαλούντων τὸ ψεῦδος ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἀπολλυμένων, ἀπολεῖται κἀκεῖνος περὶ ου ει ρηται Οτ' α ν λαλῇ τὸ ψεῦδος, ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων λαλεῖ. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκ ε στιν κατ' οὐσίαν κακός· οὐ γὰρ α μα τῷ γενέσθαι καὶ εἰς ὑπόστασιν ἐλθεῖν ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταῦτα τραπεὶς ἀρχὴν τοῦ λαλεῖν τὸ ψεῦδος ε σχεν, ἐσχηκώς ποτε τὸ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ει ναι. δηλοῦται δὲ τοῦτο ἐκ τῶν ου τω περὶ αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένων· ̓Εν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ οὐχ ε στηκεν, ο τι ἀλήθεια οὐκ ε στιν ἐν αὐτῷ· ὁ γὰρ ψεκτὸς ω ν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἑστάναι φανερός ἐστιν πειραθεὶς τούτων τῶν διαθέσεων. κριτέον δὲ ἐκ προθέσεως ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκ μόνης φωνῆς τὸν ψευδόμενον, ι να μὴ ω σιν ὑπὸ τὴν ἀπειλὴν οἱ οἰκονομικῶς ποτε τοῦτο πεποιηκότες ὡς ̔Ραάβ· ε δοξεν γὰρ ψεύδεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς ἀναζητοῦντας ἐπὶ τῷ ἀποκτεῖναι τοὺς κατασκόπους ἀγαθοὺς α νδρας ο ντας· ὑπὸ ̓Ιησοῦ γὰρ τοῦ Ναβῆ ἀποσταλέντες ἐπαινετοὶ η σαν. τῆς προθέσεως τῆς ἀνθρώπου πολὺ τὸ σπουδαῖον ἐσούσης, οὐκ ἀκόλουθον ου ν ἐστιν τάξαι αὐτὴν ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις η ἐν τοῖς τὸ ψεῦδος λαλοῦσιν. ω σπερ δὲ οὐχ ὁ ο πως ποτὲ κτείνων α νθρωπον φονεύς ἐστιν, ου τως οὐ καθάπαξ ὁ ἐκχέων αι ματα αἱμάτων ἀνήρ ἐστιν· οὐ γὰρ λέγομεν φονέας η αἱμάτων α νδρας τοὺς κατὰ νόμον θεῖον ἀποκτέννοντας τοὺς ἀξίους τὸ παθεῖν τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ω ρα λέγειν Σαμουὴλ καὶ ̓Ηλίαν τοὺς μεγάλους α νδρας μαρτυρηθέντας ἐπὶ ἀγαθότητι καὶ προφητείᾳ θείᾳ ὑποκεῖσθαι τοῖς ἐγκλήμασιν τούτοις, ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς τούτων φονεὺς η αἱμάτων ἀνήρ, εἰ 5 καὶ ε κτεινάν τινας ἐπὶ ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ἐγκλήμασιν μεγίστοις. Τούτων ὀρθῶς ὁμολογουμένων, τὸν κατὰ παράβασιν νόμου αι τιον ἀναιρέσεως ἀνθρώπου γενόμενον φόνων καὶ αἱμάτων α νδρα λεκτέον. καὶ τὸ δόλιον δὲ εὐλόγως συνέζευκται τούτῳ· πῶς γὰρ ὁ σὺν δόλῳ φονικῶς αι ματα ἀνθρώπων ἐκχέων οὐ βδελυκτὸς κυρίῳ; 27 Ps 5,9a Πῶς δὲ ὁδηγεῖταί τις τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνῃ, ἐξεταστέον. μήπωτ' ου ν ὁ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην (αυ τη δέ ἐστιν ἡ γνησία ἀρετή) προκόπτων ἑπόμενος θεῷ κατὰ τὸ ̓Οπίσω κυρίου, τοῦ θεοῦ σου, πορεύσῃ, ὁδηγεῖται ὑπὸ τοῦ χορηγοῦντος τὴν ἀρετήν, αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ δηλονότι. 28 Ps 5,11 Καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀνθρώπινον τὸ Παρεπίκραναν, σκοπητέον πῶς ἐκλαβεῖν αὐτὸ δεῖ περὶ θεοῦ εἰρημένον. ὁ θεὸς ἀναλλοίωτος καὶ α τρεπτος ὑπάρχων ἀπαθής ἐστιν, πάθεσιν δοκῶν περιβάλλεσθαι ο τ' α ν ἡμεῖς πάθη ε χωμεν· τὰ γὰρ ἡμέτερα ὡς ἐκείνῳ ἐγγιζόμενα νομίζεται, οι ον ἡ λήθη, η ν ε χομεν περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὑπολαμβάνεται αὐτοῦ ει ναι. περὶ ἡμῶν γοῦν ει πεν ̓Επελάθου νόμου θεοῦ σου, κἀγὼ ἐπιλήσομαι τέκνων σου. ο μοιον τῷ ῥητῷ τούτῳ τὸ γραφόμενον ὑπὸ Παύλου Ει τις ἀγνοεῖ, ἀγνοεῖται· δῆλον ο τι ὑπὸ τοῦ εἰπόντος πρὸς τοὺς φαύλους ̓Αποχωρεῖτε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ἐργάται ἀνομίας, οὐδέποτε ὑμᾶς ε γνων. ὡς ου ν ταῦτα ὁ παραπικραίνων ἑαυτοῦ τὸ η θος διὰ τῆς πικροτάτης κακίας ἀντάξια πάσχων, ω ν ε δρασεν, οι εται τὸν θεὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ πικράζεσθαι. ει πεν γοῦν τοῦτ' αὐτὸ ψυχὴ δίκῃ ὑποπεσοῦσα ψήφῳ θεοῦ δι' ἁμαρτήματα ̓Εγὼ παραπικραίνουσα παρεπικράνθην· ο θεν καὶ συνορῶσα τὴν τοῦ κρίματος ἀκολουθίαν ει πεν ∆ίκαιός ἐστιν ὁ κύριος, ο τι τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ παρεπίκρανα. 29 Ps 5,12ab Οἱ ἐλπίζοντες ἐπὶ σὲ πάντες εὐφρανθήσονται, τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων αὐτοῖς καταλυθέντων. ε στιν δὲ τῶν ἐλπιζόντων ἐπὶ σὲ εὐφροσύνη
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.
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.