Unit 7 rem mid — evil day; belt, breastplate, shoes, shield
Our wrestling, then, is against authorities that are not visible and fleshly, against world-rulers of the darkness that wraps the human race, and against spirits of wickedness that inhabit the heavenly place—that is, the air. Elsewhere he said, "in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience." The air poured around us seems filled with opposing powers.
"That you may be able to withstand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:13). Origen: whoever seeks to withstand in the evil day must have the full armor of God the apostle set out. Through it the adversary will be shamed, with nothing base to say about us—the devil, accuser of our brothers, who also deceives sinners as his own and as belonging to his portion. Another will say the present age is an evil day. A third reading, besides those two, will say the contest does not end when someone leaves this life: even the one who has conquered here is about to fight again in another evil day against opposing energies that appear.
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth" (Ephesians 6:14). Luke also writes, "Let your waists be girded." We now know what the belt is: the one who has drawn in the works of generation, no longer serves them, and hastens toward immortality girds the waist.
"And having put on the breastplate of righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14). As a breastplate makes a fighter harder to wound—especially in the vital parts—so the one clothed with righteousness will not be struck like a deer hit in the liver by an arrow, will not fall into wrath or desire, and will remain pure in heart. He wears a breastplate of righteousness forged for him by God, the craftsman of all, who prepares and gives the full armor to each of the saints.
"And having shod your feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). Notice he named a power of the soul "feet," with which we journey, walking the one who said "I am the way." Those feet must be shod with the gospel's readiness for peace. I take the Exodus shoes required of those eating the Passover, ready for the road, as symbols of these: "Eat it with your waists girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staffs in your hands; eat it in haste; it is the Lord's Passover." Readiness includes both hasty eating and eating while shod, so that strengthened by the food they can travel. The one still journeying must be shod; the one who has reached the holy land must untie: "Loose the shoe from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." So the one not yet an apostle must shoe the feet with the gospel's readiness for peace; the apostle no longer takes shoes for a road—already perfected, standing and walking on holy ground, living in Christ.
"In all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). Origen: the evil one's arrows are evil thoughts. He cannot even begin to cast them into the heart when someone is covered by the shield of faith; all the flaming arrows are quenched in it. The one wearing that shield will say, "In the Lord I have trusted; how will you say to my soul, Flee to the mountains like a sparrow? For look, sinners have stretched a bow and prepared arrows for a quiver, to shoot the upright in heart in a moonless place." Since I have trusted in the Lord, how do you advise me not to stand against the bows and quivered arrows sinners aim, wanting to wound the upright in heart? Look: I have stood; I do not flee; and all the flaming arrows of the evil one will be quenched almost at once.
"And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, through every prayer and petition, praying at every time in the Spirit, and watching for this with all perseverance and—" (Ephesians 6:17–19)
Greek
οὖν ἐστιν ἡμῖν πρὸς ἐξουσίας οὐχ ὁρατάς τινας καὶ σαρκίνας, καὶ κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ περιέχοντος τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος σκότους, καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς πονηρίας πνεύματα οἰκοῦντα τὸν ἐπουράνιον τόπον, τουτέστιν τὸν ἀέρα· καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις γοῦν εἶπεν ἐν οἷ περιεπατή ατέ ποτε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κό μου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆ ἐξου ία τοῦ ἀέρο , τοῦ πνεύματο τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντο ἐν τοῖ ἀπειθεία . ἔοικεν γὰρ ὁ περικεχυμένος ἡμῖν ἀὴρ πεπληρῶσθαι δυνάμεων ἀντικειμένων. 34 Eph. vi13 ἵνα δυνηθῆτε ἀντιστῆναι, φησί, ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ πονηρᾷ. [Ὠριγένης] ὁ ἀντιστῆναι ζητῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ πονηρᾷ ὀφείλει ἔχειν τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἣν ἐξέθετο ὁ ἀπόστολος, δι' ἣν ὁ ἐξ ἐναντία ἐντραπή εται οὐδὲν ἔχων περὶ ἡμῶν λέγειν φαῦλον ὁ διάβολος καὶ κατήγορο τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν καὶ ἀπατῶν ὡς ἰδίους καὶ τῆ μερίδο αὐτοῦ γεγενημένους τοὺς ἁμαρτωλούς. ἄλλος δέ τις ἐρεῖ τὸν ἐνεστῶτα αἰῶνα εἶναι πονηρὰν ἡμέραν. τρίτος δὲ παρὰ τὰς δύο ἐκδοχὰς ἔσται τις λόγος λέγων μὴ πέρας ἔχειν τὸν ἀγῶνα τῷ τὸν βίον τοῦτον ἐξεληλυθότι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἐνταῦθα νενικηκότα καὶ ἐν ἄλλῃ πονηρᾷ ἡμέρᾳ μέλλειν ἀγωνίζεσθαι πρὸς τὰς ἀντικειμένας ἐνεργείας ἐπιφαινομένας. [vi 14] στῆτε οὖν περιζωσάμενοι τὴν ὀσφὺν ὑμῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. καὶ ἐν τῷ κατὰ Λουκᾶν γέγραπται ἔ τω αν αἱ ὀ φύε ὑμῶν περιεζω μέναι. τίς δὲ ἡ ζώνη νῦν γινώσκομεν· ὁ τὰ τῆς γεννήσεως συστείλας πράγματα καὶ μηκέτι αὐτῇ ὑπηρετῶν ἀλλὰ σπεύδων ἐπὶ τὴν ἀθανασίαν, τὴν ὀσφὺν ζώννυται. [vi 14] καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης. ὥσπερ δυσπαθέστερός ἐστιν βαλλόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὁ θώρακα ἐνδυσάμενος, καὶ μάλιστα κατὰ τὰ καιριώτερα δυσπαθέστερος, οὕτως ὁ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἠμφιεσμένος οὐκ ἂν τρωθείη οὔτε ὡ ἔλαφο τοξεύματι πεπληγὼ εἰ τὸ ἧπαρ, οὔτε γὰρ εἰς θυμὸν οὔτε εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμπεσεῖται, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθαρὸ τὴν καρδίαν μενεῖ, τῷ ἐνδεδύσθαι τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὸν θώρακα κεχαλκευμένον αὐτῷ ἀπὸ τοῦ τεχνίτου τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ, ὅστις ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἁ<γ>ίων κατασκευάσα<ς> δίδωσι τὴν πανοπλίαν. [vi 15] καὶ ὑποδησάμενοι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης. παρατήρει ὅτι δύναμίν τινα τῆς ψυχῆς πόδας ὠνόμασεν, οἷς οἱονεὶ ὁδεύομεν βαδίζοντες τὸν εἰπόντα ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδό , οὕστινας ὑποδῆσαι δεῖ τῇ ἑτοιμότητι τοῦ τῆς εἰρήνης εὐαγγελίου. οἶμαι δὲ τούτων τῶν ὑποδημάτων σύμβολα εἶναι τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ ἀναγεγραμμένα ὑποδήματα ἅπερ ἐχρῆν ἔχειν τοὺς ἐσθίοντας τὸ πάσχα καὶ ἑτοίμους ὄντας πρὸς τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν. οὕτω γάρ φησι, φάγε θε αὐτό· αἱ ὀ φύε ὑμῶν περιεζω μέναι καὶ τὰ ὑποδήματα ὑμῶν ἐν τοῖ πο ὶν ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ βακτηρίαι ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖ χερ ὶν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἔδε θε αὐτὸ μετὰ πουδῆ · πά χα ἐ τὶ Κυρίου. ἑτοιμότητος γὰρ καὶ τὸ ἐσθίειν μετὰ πουδῆ καὶ τὸ ὑποδεδεμένον ἐσθίειν, ἵνα ἰσχυροποιηθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν τροφῶν ὁδεῦσαι δυνηθῶσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν ὁδεύων ὑποδεδέσθω, ὁ δὲ φθάσας ἐπὶ τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν ὑπολυέσθω· λῦ αι γάρ, φησί, τὸ ὑπόδημα ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν ου, ὁ γὰρ τόπο ἐν ᾧ ἕ τηκα γῆ ἁγία ἐ τί. διὰ τοῦτο ὁ μὲν μὴ ἀπόστολος ὑποδεδέσθω τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης· ὁ δὲ ἀπόστολος μηκέτι ὑποδήματα αἰρέτω εἰ ὁδόν, ἤδη τελειωθεὶς καὶ ὢν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ὅπου καὶ ἑ τηκὼ καὶ περιπατῶν ἐν γῇ ἁγίᾳ ἐστί, ζῶν ἐν Χριστῷ. 35 Eph. vi16 [ἐν πᾶσιν ἀναλαβόντες τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως, ἐν ᾧ δυνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι.] [Ὠριγένης φησί] βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ οἱ πονηροί εἰσι διαλογισμοί· οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὖν βαλεῖν εἰς τὴν καρδίαν δυνήσεται, ἐπάν τις <ᾖ> σκεπόμενος τῷ τῆς πίστεως θυρεῷ, σβεννυμένων πάντων τῶν πεπυρωμένων τοῦ ἐχθροῦ βελῶν ἐν αὐτῷ· ἐρεῖ δὲ ὁ τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως περικείμενος ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ πέποιθα, πῶ ἐρεῖτε τῇ ψυχῇ μου, μετανα τεύου ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη ὡ τρουθίον; ὅτι ἰδοὺ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐνέτειναν τόξον, ἡτοίμα αν βέλη εἰ φαρέτραν, τοῦ κατατοξεῦ αι ἐν κοτομήνῃ τοὺ εὐθεῖ τῇ καρδίᾳ. πεποιθότο γάρ μου, φησίν, ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ, πῶ μοι συμβουλεύετε μὴ ἵστασθαι πρὸς τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐντεινόμενα κατ' ἐμοῦ τόξα καὶ ἑτοιμαζόμενα ὑπ' αὐτῶν βέλη ἐν φαρέτραι , θελόντων τρῶσαι τοὺ εὐθεῖ τῇ καρδίᾳ; ἰδοὺ γὰρ καὶ ἕστηκα καὶ οὐ μεταναστεύω, καὶ πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρωμένα ὅσον οὔπω σβεσθήσεται. [vi 17b, 18, 19a] καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστι ῥῆμα Θεοῦ, διὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως, προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες ἐν πάσῃ προσκαρτερήσει καὶ
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Fragmenta ex commentariis in epistulam ad Ephesios (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 14 (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.