Homilies on Job · §4

Accountability for Inaction

Someone possesses a piece of bread; if they lack a whole loaf, we take it from them, declaring, 'But you owe.' Thus, he accuses Job, asserting that he stripped the naked of their garments. Not only did you fail to quench the thirst of the parched, but you denied the hungry their sustenance. You favored certain faces, displacing the poor from their dwellings. Widows you sent away empty-handed, and orphans you left in misery. To wrong another is one transgression, but to withhold kindness is equally culpable. The text emphasizes that our duty extends to aiding the desperate, as even the simple act of offering water to the thirsty incurs divine accountability. Though a cup of cold water earns a reward, Job's stubbornness is condemned for withholding even basic charity from the thirsty. The hungry you deprived of bread—Why dwell further on this? When you deny the beggar even a morsel, you commit a grave sin. Bread, as defined here, refers to a fragment of the loaf, as seen in the passage: 'Dip your bread in the vinegar.'

You admired certain faces, rendering judgments not with fairness or impartiality, but with human bias, becoming a mere spectator of appearances. You elevated the powerful while humiliating the meek, forcing the humble and honoring the mighty. You displaced the poor, as some manuscripts suggest 'you laid them to rest' instead of 'lodged them,' implying the theft of their meager beds. Widows you expelled without mercy, and orphans you left destitute. To harm the defenseless is the epitome of wickedness. No one should inflict harm, especially not the orphans, for God commands protection for the helpless. The poor, widows, and orphans require greater compassion than others. The counsel of the wicked lies far from God, and the righteous mock their schemes. What the wicked plan is distant from divine truth. The one who casts a curse from his mouth urges others to internalize his words. They sought redemption in me—what does this mean? In another version, it reads 'confession' instead of 'redemption.' From Akylas, 'Law' is cited. One interpretation urges confession of sins, while another commands receiving God's law and embracing His words. If just and worthy, one is proclaimed by God, receiving divine utterances from the heart, as Jeremiah was told: 'Behold, I have placed my words in your mouth.' Redemption through confession exhorts the righteous to repent. Alternatively, it may mean adopting divine laws or atoning for sins while preserving God's teachings. The dual meaning of redemption stems from these interpretations.

Greek

αὐτὸν τὸν ψωμὸν ἔχει τις ἕνα, κἂν μὴ ἔχῃ ἄρτον ὁλόκληρον, ἀφαιροῦμεν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, λέγοντες· ἀλλ' ὀφείλεις. Ταῦτα οὖν λέγει, ἐγκαλῶν τῷ Ἰὼβ, ὅτι ἀμφίασιν γυμνῶν ἀφεῖλεν. ζʹ–θʹ. Οὐδὲ ὕδωρ διψῶντας ἐπότισας, ἀλλὰ πεινώντων ἐστέρησας ψωμόν· Ἐθαύμασας δέ τινων πρόσωπον, ᾤκισας δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Χήρας δὲ ἐξαπέστειλας κενὰς, ὀρφα νοὺς δὲ ἐκάκωσας. Οὐκοῦν οὐ μόνον τὸ ἀδικεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ μὴ εὐεργετεῖν ὑπεύθυνον· ἐπισημαίνει δὲ μέχρι τοσούτου εὐεργεσίας ἐκτείνειν ὀφεί λομεν, ὅποτε ὑπεύθυνον τὸ μὴ ποτίσαι δι ψῶντας. Ὥσπερ οὖν διὰ τὸ ποτήριον ψυχροῦ ὕδατος μισθὸν λαμβάνομεν, πολλὴν μέντοι ἀπηνίαν τοῦ Ἰὼβ καταψηφίζεται, ὡς μηδὲ ὕδωρ τὴν ἀδάπανον χάριν παρέχοντος, καὶ τὸ μεῖζον κακὸν, τῷ διψῶντι. Ἀλλὰ πεινώντων ἐστέρησας ψωμόν. Τί λέγω, φησὶν, ὅτι οὐ παρέσχες τῷ δεο μένῳ; ὅποτε καὶ τὴν μικρὰν παραμυθίαν τοῦ ἄρτου παρὰ τοῦ πεινῶντος ἀφείλου· ψωμὸν γὰρ λέγει τὸ τμῆμα τοῦ ἄρτου, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ῥοὺθ κεῖται· Βάψαι τὸν ψωμόν σου ἐν τῷ ὄξει. Ἐθαύμασας δέ τινων πρόσωπον. Τουτέστι καὶ τὰς κρίσεις οὐ δικαίως, οὐδὲ ἀπαθῶς, ἀλλ' ἀνθρωποπαρέσκως ἐποίησας, προσωπολήπτης γὰρ γέγονας· καὶ δικάζων οὓς μὲν ἐξῇρες, οὓς δὲ ἐταπείνους, τοὺς μὲν ταπεινοὺς βιαζόμενος, τοὺς δὲ ἐν δυναστεί αις θαυμάζων καὶ τιμῶν. Ὤικισας δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Τινὰ δὲ τῶν ἀντιγράφων ἀντὶ τοῦ ᾤκισας ἐκοίμησας ἔχει· ἵνα εἴπῃ καὶ αὐτὴν τῶν πτωχῶν τὴν στρωμνὴν ἀφείλου, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ 372 ἐδάφους αὐτοὺς ἐξ ἀνάγκης κοιμᾶσθαι, μη δὲν ἔχοντας ὑπεστορεσμένον ... Χήρας δὲ ἐξαπέστειλας. Ἢ τῶν προσόντων αὐτὰς ἐγύμνωσας, ἢ μᾶλλον προσελθούσαις καὶ ἐλεημοσύνην ζη τούσαις οὐδὲν δέδωκας, ἀλλ' ἀπεπέμψω μη δὲν λαβούσας ἀπὸ σοῦ ... Ὀρφανοὺς δὲ ἐκάκωσας. Τὸ δὲ τοὺς ὀρφανοὺς καὶ ἀβοηθήτους κα κοῦν, ἐσχάτης κακίας γνώρισμα. Οὐδένα μὲν γὰρ δεῖ κακοῦν, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ χρὴ φείδεσθαι τῶν ὀρφανῶν· περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἀβοηθήτων ψυ χῶν πολεμεῖν ὁ Θεὸς ἐνετείλατο. Πλέον δὲ παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους, πτωχοὶ, χῆ ραι, ὀρφανοὶ δέονται βοηθείας. ιηʹ. Βουλὴ δὲ ἀσεβῶν πόῤῥω ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. Ἰδόντες δίκαιοι ἐγέλασαν. Ἃ οἱ ἀσεβεῖς βουλεύονται, πόῤῥω ἐστὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἰδόντες [δίκαιοι] τὴν βουλὴν τῶν ἀσεβῶν, κατεγέλασαν αὐτούς. κβʹ. Ἔκβαλε δὲ ἐκ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἐξη γορίαν, καὶ ἀνάλαβε τὰ ῥήματα αὐτοῦ ἐν καρδίᾳ σου. Τὴν ἐξηγορίαν ἐζήτουν κατ' ἐμαυτὸν, τί σημαίνει; Καὶ εὗρον ἐν ἄλλῃ ἐκδόσει, παρὰ τῷ Συμμάχῳ, ἀντ' αὐτῆς, τὴν ἐξομολόγη σιν. Παρὰ δὲ τῷ Ἀκύλᾳ· Νόμον. Φησὶν οὖν κατὰ μὲν τὸν ἕνα· Ἐξομολόγησαι περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων σου· τὸν δὲ τρόπον τῆς ἐξη γορίας παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ διδάχθητι. Κατὰ δὲ τὸν ἕτερον· ∆έξαι παρὰ Θεοῦ νόμον, καὶ τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ ἐγκαρδίους ποίησαι. Εἰ δίκαιος εἶ καὶ ἄξιος, ὑπαγορεύθητι παρὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ δέξαι θεῖα ῥήματα ἐξ σῇ καρδίᾳ, ὡς ὕστερον Ἱερεμίας ἤκουσεν· Ἰδοὺ δέδωκα τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου. Ἢ ἐξηγορίαν τὴν ἐξο μολόγησίν φησιν, προτρέπων εἰς μετάνοιαν τὸν δίκαιον. Ἢ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι μετάβαλε τὸν τρόπον, καὶ ἀνάλαβε τοὺς θείους νόμους. 373 Ἢ ὅτι ἐξαγόρευσον τὰ ἡμαρτημένα σοι, καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ τοὺς λόγους τοῦ Θεοῦ φύλαττε. Τῆς διπλῆς δὲ ταύτης ἐννοίας ἐκεῖθεν ἔσχον τὰς ἀφορμὰς, τὴν ἐξηγορίαν. κδʹ. Θήσῃ ἐπὶ χώματι ἐν πέτρᾳ, καὶ ὡς πέτρα χειμάῤῥου Σωφείρ. Βαλεῖς εἰς γῆν, καὶ οἱονεὶ κακώσεις αὐτόν. Κεφ. ΚΓʹ, βʹ. Καὶ δὴ οἶδα ὅτι ἐκ χειρός μου ἡ ἔλεγξίς ἐστιν, καὶ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ βα ρεῖα γέγονεν ἐπ' ἐμῷ στεναγμῷ. Τουτέστι τὸν κατήγορον μετ' ἐμαυτοῦ περιφέρω, τὸν ἔλεγχον, τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τῶν κακῶν οἴκοθεν ἔχω. –Οἶδα, φησὶν, ὅτι ἐκ τῶν ἐν χερσὶ, τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς πληγῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἀφ' ὧν ἔπραξα, δοκεῖτε τοὺς ἐλέγχους ἐπάγειν· καὶ γὰρ βαρέως ἐπέθετό μοι Θεὸς, ὥστε με στενάζειν. –Οἶδα, φησὶν, ὅτι ἐκ τῶν πράξεων τῶν ἀνθρώπων, αἱ κρίσεις αὐ τοῖς· πλὴν ὑπὲρ τὴν ἰσχύν μου ἐπετέθη μοι, ἤτοι ἔξω τῆς πράξεώς μου, ὁ ἔλεγχος. ʹ. Καὶ ἐν πολλῇ ἰσχύϊ ἐπελεύσεταί μοι, εἶτα ἐν ἀπειλῇ μοι οὐ χρήσεται. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ ἐν πολλῇ ἰσχύϊ χρήσεται μοι καὶ ἀπειλῇ, ἀλλ' ὅμως οἶδα ὅτι ἀλήθεια παρ' αὐτῷ ἐστιν. ζʹ. Ἀλήθεια γὰρ καὶ ἔλεγχος παρ' αὐτοῦ· ἐξαγάγοι δὲ εἰς τέλος τὸ κρίμα μου. Τοῦτο ηὔξατο, τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅ φησιν, ὥστε πέρας ἐπιτεθῆναί μου τοῖς δεινοῖς· εἶτα, φη σὶν, ὅτι ταῦτα ἤθελον γενέσθαι, ὥστε ἀπο θανεῖν, οὐχ ὡς νῦν μέλλοντος αὐτοῦ κρίνειν. –Παρ' Ἑβραίοις, τὸ τέλος καὶ ἡ νίκη διὰ μιᾶς σημαίνεται λέξεως. ιʹ. Οἶδεν γὰρ ἤδη ὁδόν μου. Οἶδε, φησὶ, τὴν ὁδόν μου, καὶ ὅτι ἐσπού δασα ἀεὶ ὑπακούειν

About this text

Origen of Alexandria, Homiliae in Job (Greek).

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Khazarzar scan

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Copy-text PG 12 (Khazarzar) (Greek)

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