# Homilies on Ezekiel - Author: [Origen](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/origen/) - Latin title: *Homiliae in Ezechielem* - Date: ca. 238–250 (Jerome's translation in the 380s) (approximate) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graeca, vol. 13 (Paris, 1862), cols. 665–768 (Jerome's Latin translation, from the edition of Charles de la Rue; Jerome's prologue, the Greek fragments, and the editor's notes printed in the columns are not reproduced; words lost in the scan are supplied from Baehrens and logged in the staged record) (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 13 (1862), transcribed from library-scan OCR of the printed volume) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: W. A. Baehrens, Origenes Werke 8: Homilien zu Samuel I, zum Hohelied und zu den Propheten, GCS 33 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1925); Marcel Borret, Origène: Homélies sur Ézéchiel, SC 352 (Paris: Cerf, 1989) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/ - Passages: 91 ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-1 - Source: PG 13:665b–667b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Origen opens by arguing that God mingles mercy with punishment, as the righteous shared the exile to help the sinners and as Joseph’s story shows. ### Latin text Non omnis qui captivus est, propter peccata sustinet captivitatem. Nam cum omnis multitudo Iudaeorum causa peccati derelicta fuerit a Deo, et comprehensa sit a Nabuchodonosor, atque ejecta de terra sancta in Babyloniam usque perducta sit : pauci tamen justi quierant in pop‘ulo, non oh culpam suam sustinuerunt captivitatem , sed ob id ne peccatores qui fuerant jugo captivitatis oppressi, omnino subsidium non haberent. Fingamus quippe peccatoribus in Babyloniam abductis, justos in antiquis finibus resedisse; fiebat ut nunquam peccatores remedium consequerentur. Disposuit igitur clemens et benignus, et hominum amator Deus inter supplicia quibus peccatores punit, etiam visitationis suae miscere pietatem, nec immoderata poena miseros premere. Semper talis est Deus noster, excruciat nocentes, sed quasi pius pater tormentis clementiam sociat. Si autem vis agnoscere vera esse quae dicimus, vide quid acciderit in Egypto a fame. Si voluisset interficere tantum Egyptios, et punire cruciatos in septennali fame, fecisset utique quod voluerat : et neque Joseph in Egyptum descendisset, nec Pharao vidisset somnium de his quae Egypto fuerant eventura, nec regi fuisset ostensum a principe vinariorum , esse quemdam qui possit regi somnium interpretari. Nunc vero, ut cernis, Deus flagellat quasi pater, parcit autem non solum lsrael, verum et Egyptiis, Cum alieni sint ab eo, propter prepriam mansuetudinem. Et manifestum est, quia boni Dei Opus super eos exerceatur, dum Josepli descendit in Egyptum, dum Pharao somniis admonetur, dum princeps viui interpretem indicat, dum interpres disserit vasa, atque ita ubertatis tempore frugibus cono gregatis posterioris famis penuria vincitur. E quibus omnibus perspicuum cst, non esse immoderatam iram, quae ab haereticis in Creatore reprehenditur. Poteramns quidem multas historias retexere ad haec probanda quae dixi : sed ne videar a proposito recedere, compendium facio sermonis. Propositum quippe mihi est explanare de eo, quod propter peccata sua captivus adductus sit populus Israel. ### English translation (Claude) Not everyone who is a captive endures captivity because of his own sins. For when the whole multitude of the Jews had been abandoned by God on account of sin, and had been seized by Nebuchadnezzar, driven from the holy land, and led all the way to Babylon, the few righteous who were among the people nevertheless endured captivity not for any fault of their own, but so that the sinners who had been crushed under the yoke of captivity might not be wholly without help. For let us suppose that, when the sinners had been carried off to Babylon, the righteous had stayed behind in their ancient territory: the result would have been that the sinners never obtained a remedy. So God, merciful and kind and a lover of humankind, arranged to mingle the kindness of his visitation even with the punishments by which he punishes sinners, and not to crush the wretched with punishment beyond measure. Our God is always like this: he torments the guilty, but like a loving father he joins mercy to the torments. If you wish to recognize that what we say is true, see what happened in Egypt through the famine. Had he wished only to kill the Egyptians and to punish them with torment in the seven-year famine, he would certainly have done what he wished: Joseph would not have gone down to Egypt, Pharaoh would not have seen a dream about what was going to happen to Egypt, nor would the chief of the cupbearers have shown the king that there was someone who could interpret the king’s dream. But now, as you see, God scourges as a father, and spares not only Israel but also the Egyptians, although they are strangers to him, because of his own gentleness. And it is clear that the work of the good God is exercised upon them when Joseph goes down to Egypt, when Pharaoh is warned by dreams, when the chief of the wine points out the interpreter, when the interpreter explains what was seen, and so, the crops having been gathered in the time of plenty, the want of the later famine is overcome. From all of which it is plain that the anger which the heretics find fault with in the Creator is not immoderate. We could indeed recount many stories to prove what I have said; but so as not to seem to stray from my subject, I shorten my discourse. For my purpose is to explain the passage about the people of Israel having been led captive because of its sins. ### Scripture references - Gen 41:1: allusion, high confidence - Gen 41:9: allusion, high confidence - Gen 41:48: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The heretics who fault the Creator’s anger are probably the Marcionites. “Explains what was seen”: the scan reads “disserit vasa” (“explains the vessels”), probably a misreading of “visa”; translated by sense. Gen 40–41 is retold, not quoted. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.1 (PG 13:665b–667b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-2 - Source: PG 13:667b–669a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God’s anger is a remedial discipline, like a father’s or a physician’s, and those punished in this life may thereby be spared in the future. ### Latin text Et ne forte aliquis arbitretur peccatores a Deo traditos ab eo ulterius non gubernari, et semel in captivitatem redactos ultra dispensationem ejus et misericordiam non mereri, praesentem locum diligentius consideremus. Daniel non peccavit, Ana» nias, Azarias, Misael a peccato immunes fuerunt, et tamen captivi ell‘ecti sunt, ut ibi positi captivum populum consolarentur, et per exhortationem vocis sua: poenitentes in Jerusalem restituerent castigatos pro tempore. Septuaginta quippe annis servitutis supplicia pependerunt, ac sic deinde in sedes proprias reversi sunt, quia sanctus prophetarum sermo deiectos animos sublevavcrat. Verum non solum ii quatuor in captivitate propheta: exstiterunt, sed et Ezechiel unus ex eis fuit, et Zacharias filius Barachiw captivitatis tempore sub Dario rege cecinit. Inveniemus etiam Aggaaum. multosque alios prophetarum iisdem prophetasse temporibus, ex quibus indicatur Deum non tantummodo punire peccantes, verum et misericordiam miscere suppliciis. Quod si dubitas. audi voces, tormenta patientium, quomodo sacratim et in cruciatibus suis clementiam Dei eloquamur ‘°.: Cibabis nos pane lacrumarum, et potabis nos in lacrymis et in mensura. Non ait indifferenter in lacrymis, sed in lacrymis et in mensura. Misericordia quippe Dei in pondere. Si non esset utile conversioni peccantium adhibere tormenta peccantibus, nunquam misericors et benignus Deus poenis scelera puniret: sed quasi indulgentissimus pater ob hoc corripit tilium, ut erudiam-quasi providentissirnus magister ita severitate frontis lascivum discipulum castigat, ne amari se sentiens pereat. Vide Salomonem sapientissimum omnium, quid de Dei correptionibus suspicetur. Fili, noli esse pusillanimis in disciplina Dei, neque deficias correptus ab eo. Quem enim diligit Dominus, corripit, flagellat autem omnem filium quem recipit". Nullus est enim , inquit Apostolus, filius, qui asin peccaverit non flagelletur a patre. Et ad hoc mirabiliter addidit, dicens " : In disciplina perseverare. Tanquam filiis vobis o/fert se Deus. Quis enim filius quem non corripit pater? Quod si eastra disciplinam estis, cujus participes facti sunt omnes, adulteri et non [itii estis. Sed sit fortisan aliquis, qui ipso ηοξ mine iraa. offensus criminetur eam in Deo. Cui respondebimus, non tam iram esse iram Dei quam necessariam dispensationem. Audi quod sit opus ira: Dei : ut arguat, ut corrigat, ut emendet ”: Domine, ne in ira tua arguas me, neque in furore tuo corripias me. Qui inec loquitur, scit furorem Dei non esse inutilem ad sanitatem: sed ad hoc adhiberi, ut curet aegrotantes, ut emendet eos qui sermonem ejus audire contempserunt. Idcirco nec deprecatur ne talibus remediis emendetur, ne cum ptenali medela recipiat pristinam sanitatem;quasi si servus jam inter flagella positus, dominum precetur, repromittens ei se imperata facturum, et dicat: Domine; ne in ira tua arguas me, neque in Dira tua corripias me. Omnia quae Dei sunt, bona sunt, et meremur corripi. Ausculta qui dicat : Arguam eos in auditu angustia: eorum. Ideo audivimus ea quae de tribulatione sunt, ut emendemur. ln maledictis quoque Levitici scriptum est ’δε Si post ista non obedierint, neque conversi fuerint ad me, apponam eis plagas septem super peccata eorum. Si 2, 5, 6. llebr. Le‘vit. autem post haec conuersi non fuerim, emcndabo eos. Omuia Dei quae videntur amara esse, in eruditionem et remedia proficiunt. Medicus est Deus, pater est Deus, dominus est non asper, sed lenis est dominus. Si veneris ad eos qui puniti sunt secundum eloquia Scripturarum, compone Scripturas Scripturis, ut et te Apostolus docet, et videbis ibi dulcissima esse, ubi amarissima existimantur. Scriptum est in propheta: Non uindicat bis in idipsum in judicio. Vindicavit semel iu judicio per diluvium, vindicavit semel in judicio super Sodomam et Gomorrbam, vindicavit semel in judicio super Egyptum, et sexcenta millia lsraelitarum. Noli existimare quod hac ultio poena tantum fuerit peccatoribus, quasi post mortem et supplicia iterum a supplicio excipieudi sint. Puniti sunt in praesenti ne in futuro iugiter punirentur. Cerne pauperem in Evangelio, squalore et penuria premitur, et postea in Abrahae sinu requiescit. Recepit mala sua in vita sua. Unde scis an receperint quin in diluvio sunt necati, mala suain vita? Unde nosti utrumne restituta sint Sodomre et Gomorrhae mala sua in vita suaiAudi testimonium Scripturarum, vis Testamenti Veteris testimonium discere? Vis Novi edoceri? Restituetur bodoma in antiquum; et adhuc dubitas an bonus sit Dominus puniens Sodomitas? Tolerabilius erit teme Sodomorum et Gomorrhceorum in die iudicii“, dicit Dominus miserans Sodomitas. Benignus ergo est Deus, clemens est Deus. Solem suum vere oriri facitsuper bonos et malos : et pluit vere super justas et iniustos “, non solum hunc quem oculis cernimus solem, sed et illum solem qui oculis mentis aspicitur. Ego malus eram, et ortus—est mihi sol iustitiae. Ego maluseram, etvenit super me pluvia iustitiae. Bonitas Dei est etiam in his quae amara existimantur. ### English translation (Claude) And lest anyone perhaps think that sinners handed over by God are no longer governed by him, and that once reduced to captivity they no longer obtain his providential care and mercy, let us consider the present passage more carefully. Daniel did not sin; Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael were free of sin; and yet they were made captives, so that, placed there, they might comfort the captive people, and by the exhortation of their voice restore to Jerusalem, as penitents, those who had been chastened for a time. For they paid the penalty of slavery for seventy years, and so afterwards returned to their own homes, because the holy word of the prophets had lifted up their downcast spirits. Yet these four were not the only prophets in the captivity: Ezekiel too was one of them, and Zechariah son of Berechiah prophesied in the time of the captivity under King Darius. We shall also find that Haggai and many other prophets prophesied in those same times; from which it is shown that God not only punishes sinners but also mingles mercy with punishments. If you doubt it, hear the voices of those who suffer torments, how even in their torments they speak in a holy way of God’s mercy: “You will feed us with the bread of tears, and give us tears to drink in measure.” It does not say simply “in tears,” but “in tears and in measure.” For God’s mercy is in weight. If it were not useful for the conversion of sinners to apply torments to sinners, God, who is merciful and kind, would never punish crimes with penalties; but like a most indulgent father he rebukes his son in order to teach him; like a most provident master he chastises a playful pupil with a stern brow, lest, feeling himself loved, he perish. See what Solomon, wisest of all, thinks of God’s rebukes: “My son, do not lose heart under God’s discipline, nor faint when you are rebuked by him. For the Lord rebukes whom he loves, and scourges every son whom he receives.” “For there is no son,” says the Apostle, “who, if he has sinned, is not scourged by his father.” And to this he admirably added: “Persevere in discipline. God offers himself to you as to sons. For what son is there whom the father does not rebuke? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become sharers, you are illegitimate and not sons.” But perhaps there is someone who, offended by the very name of anger, will find fault with it in God. We will answer him that God’s anger is not so much anger as a necessary dispensation. Hear what the work of God’s anger is: to reprove, to correct, to amend: “Lord, do not reprove me in your anger, nor rebuke me in your wrath.” The one who says this knows that God’s wrath is not useless for health but is applied for this purpose: to cure the sick, to amend those who have scorned to hear his word. Therefore he does not pray not to be amended by such remedies, nor not to recover his former health by a medicine of punishment; it is as if a servant already under the lash should beg his master, promising to do what he is commanded, and should say: “Lord, do not reprove me in your anger, nor rebuke me in your wrath.” All that is God’s is good, and we deserve to be rebuked. Listen to the one who says: “I will reprove them in the hearing of their affliction.” We have heard what concerns tribulation in order to be amended. In the curses of Leviticus too it is written: “If after these things they do not obey, nor turn to me, I will add seven plagues upon them for their sins. But if after this they are not converted, I will correct them.” All God’s dealings that seem bitter serve for instruction and remedy. God is a physician, God is a father; he is a master, not a harsh one: he is a gentle master. If you come to those who were punished according to the words of the Scriptures, compare Scripture with Scripture, as the Apostle also teaches you, and you will see that where things are thought most bitter, there they are most sweet. It is written in the prophet: “He does not punish twice for the same thing in judgment.” He punished once in judgment by the flood; he punished once in judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah; he punished once in judgment upon Egypt and the six hundred thousand Israelites. Do not think that this vengeance was a punishment for sinners in such a way that after death and penalties they must again be met with penalty. They were punished in the present so that they might not be punished forever in the future. See the poor man in the Gospel: he is oppressed by squalor and want, and afterwards he rests in Abraham’s bosom. He received his evil things in his life. How do you know whether those who were killed in the flood did not receive their evil things in their life? How do you know whether Sodom and Gomorrah were not repaid their evil things in their life? Hear the testimony of the Scriptures. Do you wish to learn the testimony of the Old Testament? Do you wish to be taught by the New? “Sodom will be restored to its former state”; and do you still doubt whether the Lord is good in punishing the Sodomites? “It will be more tolerable for the land of the Sodomites and Gomorrahans on the day of judgment,” says the Lord, taking pity on the Sodomites. So God is kind, God is merciful. He truly “makes his sun rise on the good and the evil, and truly sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”: not only this sun which we see with our eyes, but also that sun which is beheld by the eyes of the mind. I was evil, and the sun of righteousness rose for me. I was evil, and the rain of righteousness came upon me. God’s goodness is present even in what is thought bitter. ### Scripture references - Ps 80:5 (79:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:11: quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:12: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:5: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:6: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:7: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 6:1 (6:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Hos 7:12: quotation, high confidence - Lev 26:18: quotation, medium confidence - Lev 26:23: quotation, medium confidence - 1 Cor 2:13: allusion, medium confidence - Nah 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Luke 16:25: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:55: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:15: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:45: quotation, high confidence - Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ps 80:5 (79:6 LXX); Prov 3:11–12 (as in Heb 12:5–6); a free paraphrase of Heb 12:7 (“if he has sinned”: the scan reads “asin”, read as “si”); Heb 12:7–8 (“illegitimate”: Latin adulteri, as in the Latin Bible); Ps 6:1 (6:2 LXX); Hos 7:12 LXX; Lev 26:18, 23 (loosely); Nah 1:9 LXX; Luke 16:25; Ezek 16:55; Matt 10:15; Matt 5:45. “Compare Scripture with Scripture”: 1 Cor 2:13. Origen’s view that those punished in this life (the flood, Sodom) may be spared further punishment is his own; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.2 (PG 13:667b–669a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-3 - Source: PG 13:669a–672a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The fiery figure of Ezek 1:27 shows that God’s fire is remedial, consuming only the works of sin, and the captivity is a figure of the soul’s fall into sin through free choice. ### Latin text igitur in civitate constitutus est propheta, et cerne quae videat, ne dolores sentiat captivitatis, deorsum videt labores, sed sursum elevans oculos, apertos suspicit caelos, cernit sibi reserata cmlestia, videt similitudinem gloria: Dei, videt quatuor animalis, de quibus multus sermo et dillicilis interpretatio est . Cernit aurigam quatuor animalium. Cernit rotas se invicem continentes. Auriga quatuor animalium non totus est igneus, sed pubetenus a εἰ exinde usque ad summum Electri fillgore rutilat. Non enim solum tormenta habet Deus: suntin eo etiam refrigeria. Punit peccatores, sed per ea ministeria quae deorsum sunt. Neque enim propheta ignem vidit in capite, autin his membris quea lumborum confinio ad summa consurgunt. lgneus est Dominus, sed a renibus usque ad pedes, at demonstret eos qui in generatione versantur gne indigere. Renis quippe coitus significatio est. Adhuc in lumbis Abraham patris erat Levi , quando ei oceurrit Melchisedech. Et in psalmo dicitur” : De fructu lumbi tui ponam super sedem meam. lgneus est a renibus usque ad deorsum Dominus. Generationis enim et libidinis Opera gehennae suppliciis corripiuntur. lgneus est Deus, sed non totus est igneus. Superiora ejus electrum sunt. Electrum non solum argento, verum et auro pretiosius est. Electrum autem pro exemplo fulgoris Scriptura posuit, non quod Deus vere electrum sit. Et quomodo non est tale electrum Deus quale videbatur : sic non est talis ignis qualis a renibus usque ad pedum linem apparuit. Ignis iste consumit, et non est appositum quid consumat, ut tu quaerens reperias quid sit illud quod a Dei igne consumitur. Deus noster ignis consumens est . Quid consumit ignis iste? Non ligna quae cernimus, non sensibile fenum, non stipulam quae videtur, sed si superaedificaveris fundamento Jesu Christi opera peccati ligna, opera peccati fenum, opera peccati inferiora stipulam, venitjgnis, et universa ista examinat. Quis est iste ignis quem lex praedicat, et evangelium non tacet! Uniuscujusque opus quale sit, ignis probabit “. Quis est, Apostole, ignis iste qui probat opera nostra ‘l Quis est ignis iste sic sapiens, ut custodiat aurum meum, ut argentum meum splendidius ostendat, ut illaesum relinquat eum qui in me est lapidem pretiosum, ut mala tantum consumat quae feci, quae supersedi“cavi ligna, fenum, stipulam? Quis est iste ignis? Ignem ueni mittere super terram, et quam uolo ut accendatur δ’. Iesus Christus dicit, quam uolo ut jam accendatur. Bonus enim est,et novit quia si ignis η iste fuerit accensus, malitia consumclur. Scriptum ι’ εει in prophetis: Sancti/ienuit eum in igni ard—cuti, et cora—uit tanquam fenum silvam. Et rursum : limittit Dominus Sabaoth in tuum honorem contumeliam, et in tuam gloriam ignis ardens accenditur, id est, ut tu glorificeris, emittitur ignis in Opera peccatorum tuorum. Vis adhuc a propheta discere, quia tormenta boni Dei sint ad utilitatem eorum qui ea sustinent constituta? Ausculta eumdem prophetam dicentem “ : Habes carbones ignis, sedebis super eos, ii erunt tibi adjutorio. Haec oportebat abscondere, et in medium non proferre, sed haeretici nos impellunt, ut celanda efl’eramus in publicumsquia tecta sunt utiliter apud eos, qui adhuc parvuli juxta anima: aetatem sunt, qui metu indigent magistrorum, minis et terroribus corripiendi sunt, ut possint consequi bonitatem, ut per amara remedia a vulneribus peccatorum aliquando desistant. Semper enim sacramenta Dei propter parvulos auditores velaminibus quibusdam operiuntur. Quam magna multitudo dulcedinis tute, Domine, quam abscondisti timentibus te “. Legis et prophetarum Deus abscondit multitudinem bonitatis suae non diligentibus, sed timentibus se. Parvuli quippe sunt nec possunt cum emolumento suo discere quod amentur a patre, ne dissolvantur, ne despiciant bonitatem Dei. Quapropter cum audieris de populi captivitate, crede quidem vere accidisse eam juxta historiae fidem, sed in signum rei alterius praecessisse, et subsequens significasse mysterium. Nam et tu qui vocaris fidelis,qui conspicis paecm,Christus quippe pax nostra est, in Jerusalem commoraris. Si autem peccaveris. derelinquet te visitatio Dei, et traderis captivus Nabuchodonosor, et traditus duceris in Babylonem. Cum enim confusa fuerit anima tua a vitiis et perturbationibus, abduceris in Babylonem, quoniam Babylon confusio interpretatur. Et si rursum pmnitentiam egeris. et per conversionem veri cordis misericordiam Dei impetraveris, mittitur tibi Esdras qui te reducat, et aedificare faciat Jerusalem. Esdras quippe interpretatur adjutor, et mittitur tibi verbum juvans ut. revertaris in patriam tuam. Sacramentum estet id quod in aenigmate et a Danielc dicitur, et ah Apostolo abscondente paritor et revelante narratur. In Adam omnes morimur, et in Christo omnes vivilicamur ‘3. Fuit quippe Adam in paradiso, sed serpens captivitatis ejus causa exstitit, et fecit ut ejiceretur sive de Jerusalem, sive de paradiso, et veniret in locum hunc iacrymarum. Serpens hostis est contrarius veritati. Contrarius autem non a principio creatus est, neque statim super pectus et ventrem suum ambulavit, neque fuit ab initio maledictus. Sicuti Adam et Eva nonrstatitn ut facti sunt peccaverunt : ita et serpens fuit aliquando non serpens, cum in paradiso deliciarum moraretur. Unde postea corruens ' ob peccata meruit audire “z Tu signaculum similitudinis, corona decoris in paradiso Dei natus es, donec inventa est iniquitas in te, ambulain immaculatus in omnibus viis tuis. De quo etiam Job memorat, quia in conspectu omnipotentis Dei superbierit. Cecidit quippe de cmlo Lucifer qui mane oriebatur, contritus est super terram . Vide consonantiam prophetici evangelicique sermonis. Prophetes dicit: Cecidit de creto Lucifer qui mane oriebatur, contritus est super terram. Jesus loquitur “i: Vide? bam Satanam quasi fulgur de creto cadentem. 1n quo difi‘ert dicere fulgur, antLucil‘erum de coelo ruentem? Quod ad rem pertinet, omnis consonantia de cadente est. Deus quippe mortem non fecit, nec malitiam operatus est. Liberum arbitrium et homini et angelo ad universa permisit. Hic jam intelligendum est quomodo per arbitrii libertatem , alii ad bonorum conscenderint summitatem, alii corr'uerint in malitia: profundum. Tu vero, homo, quare non vis arbitrio te tuo derelictum? Quare agre fers niti, laborare, contendere, et per bona opera te ipsum causam tua: fieri salutis? An magis te delectabit dormientem, et in otio constitutum aeterna prosperitate requiescere? Pater meus, inquit Dominus Jt'sus Christus δ’, usque modo operatur, et ego operor, et tibi displicet operari quid ad opera natus es? Non vis opus tuum fieri justitiam, sapientiam, castitatem? Non vis tuum opus esse: for- titudinem, aliasque virtutes? igitur in captivitatem ducuntur, qui propter peccata sua servitutis meruere supplicia. Et venit Jesus Christus praedicare captivis remissionem, et caecis visum ". Iste clamat eis qui sunt in vinculis, egredimini ; et iis qui versantur in tenebris. videte. Et nos fuimus in vinculis peccatorum, et nos aliquando versabamur in tenebris, adversum rectores tenebrarum mundi istius eoncertantes : venit Jesus omnium prophetarum vocibus prtedicatns. dicens ligatis, exite, et constitutis in tenebris, aspicite. ### English translation (Claude) The prophet, then, has been placed in the city; and see what he beholds, so that he may not feel the pains of the captivity. Below he sees toils, but lifting his eyes upward he looks up at the heavens opened, he sees heavenly things unlocked for him, he sees the likeness of the glory of God, he sees the four living creatures, about which there is much discussion and whose interpretation is difficult. He sees the charioteer of the four living creatures. He sees wheels that hold one another. The charioteer of the four living creatures is not wholly fiery: up to the loins, and from there to the top he shines with the gleam of amber. For God does not have torments only; there are also refreshments in him. He punishes sinners, but through those ministries which are below. For the prophet did not see fire in the head, or in those members which rise from the boundary of the loins to the top. The Lord is fiery, but from the loins to the feet, to show that those who are engaged in generation need fire. For the loins signify sexual union. Levi was still in the loins of his father Abraham when Melchizedek met him. And in the psalm it is said: “Of the fruit of your loins I will set upon my throne.” The Lord is fiery from the loins downward. For the works of generation and of lust are chastised by the punishments of Gehenna. God is fiery, but not wholly fiery. His upper parts are amber. Amber is more precious not only than silver but even than gold. But Scripture set amber as an image of brightness, not because God is really amber. And just as God is not amber such as was seen, so he is not fire such as appeared from the loins to the end of the feet. This fire consumes, and it is not stated what it consumes, so that you may seek and find what it is that is consumed by the fire of God. “Our God is a consuming fire.” What does this fire consume? Not the wood that we see, not hay perceptible to the senses, not the straw that is seen; but if you have built on the foundation of Jesus Christ the wood of the works of sin, the hay of the works of sin, the straw of the lower works of sin, the fire comes and tests all these. What is this fire which the law proclaims and the gospel does not pass over in silence? “The fire will test what sort of work each one’s is.” What is this fire, O Apostle, that tests our works? What is this fire, so wise that it preserves my gold, shows my silver more brilliant, leaves unharmed the precious stone that is in me, and consumes only the evil things I have done, the wood, hay, and straw that I have built on top? What is this fire? “I came to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were kindled!” Jesus Christ says, “how I wish it were already kindled.” For he is good, and he knows that if this fire is kindled, wickedness will be consumed. It is written in the prophets: “He will sanctify him in burning fire, and it will devour the forest like hay.” And again: “The Lord of hosts sends dishonor upon your honor, and a burning fire is kindled upon your glory”; that is, so that you may be glorified, fire is sent upon the works of your sins. Do you wish to learn further from the prophet that the torments of the good God are appointed for the benefit of those who endure them? Listen to the same prophet saying: “You have coals of fire; you will sit upon them; they will be a help to you.” These things ought to be hidden and not brought into the open, but the heretics drive us to bring into public what should be concealed; for they are usefully hidden from those who are still little children in the age of the soul, who need the fear of teachers, who must be corrected by threats and terrors so that they may attain goodness, so that through bitter remedies they may at last cease from the wounds of sins. For the mysteries of God are always covered with certain veils for the sake of hearers who are little children. “How great is the abundance of your sweetness, Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you.” The God of the law and the prophets hides the abundance of his goodness, not from those who love him but from those who fear him. For they are little children and cannot learn to their own profit that they are loved by the Father, lest they grow slack, lest they despise the goodness of God. So when you hear of the captivity of the people, believe that it really happened as the history relates, but that it also went before as a sign of something else and signified a mystery that follows. For you too, who are called faithful, who behold peace (for Christ is our peace), dwell in Jerusalem. But if you sin, God’s visitation will abandon you, and you will be handed over as a captive to Nebuchadnezzar and, handed over, be led to Babylon. For when your soul has been confused by vices and passions, you are carried off to Babylon, since Babylon means “confusion.” And if you repent again and through the conversion of a true heart obtain God’s mercy, Ezra is sent to you to lead you back and have Jerusalem rebuilt. For Ezra means “helper,” and the helping word is sent to you so that you may return to your homeland. There is a mystery also in what is said in a riddle by Daniel, and is recounted by the Apostle, who both hides and reveals: “In Adam we all die, and in Christ we are all made alive.” For Adam was in paradise, but the serpent was the cause of his captivity, and brought it about that he was cast out, whether from Jerusalem or from paradise, and came into this place of tears. The serpent is an enemy, the adversary of truth. But the adversary was not created as such from the beginning, nor did he at once go upon his breast and belly, nor was he cursed from the start. Just as Adam and Eve did not sin as soon as they were made, so the serpent too was once not a serpent, when he dwelt in the paradise of delight. Hence, falling afterward because of his sins, he deserved to hear: “You were the seal of likeness, a crown of beauty, born in the paradise of God, until iniquity was found in you; you walked blameless in all your ways.” Of him Job also records that he grew proud in the sight of almighty God. For Lucifer, who rose in the morning, fell from heaven and was crushed upon the earth. See the harmony of the prophetic and the gospel word. The prophet says: “Lucifer, who rose in the morning, fell from heaven and was crushed upon the earth.” Jesus says: “I saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning.” What difference is there between saying lightning or Lucifer falling from heaven? As far as the matter goes, the whole agreement concerns the one who falls. For God did not make death, nor did he work wickedness. He granted free choice to both man and angel in all things. Here it must now be understood how through freedom of choice some have climbed to the summit of good things, while others have fallen into the depth of wickedness. But you, O man, why do you not wish to be left to your own choice? Why are you vexed to strive, to labor, to contend, and through good works to become yourself the cause of your salvation? Or would it delight you more to rest asleep and at leisure in everlasting prosperity? “My Father,” says the Lord Jesus Christ, “is working until now, and I am working”; and does working displease you, who were born for works? Do you not want your work to be righteousness, wisdom, chastity? Do you not want your work to be courage and the other virtues? So those are led into captivity who because of their sins have deserved the punishments of slavery. And Jesus Christ came “to proclaim release to the captives and sight to the blind.” He cries to those who are in chains, “Come out,” and to those who live in darkness, “See.” We too were in the chains of sins, we too once lived in darkness, contending against the rulers of the darkness of this world; Jesus came, proclaimed by the voices of all the prophets, saying to the bound, “Go out,” and to those placed in darkness, “Look.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:27: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 1:5: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 7:10: allusion, high confidence - Ps 132:11 (131:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:29: quotation, high confidence - Deut 4:24: quotation, medium confidence - 1 Cor 3:12: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:13: quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:49: quotation, high confidence - Isa 10:17: quotation, high confidence - Isa 10:16: quotation, high confidence - Isa 47:14: quotation, high confidence - Isa 47:15: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 31:19 (30:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:22: quotation, high confidence - Gen 3:14: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 28:12: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 28:15: quotation, high confidence - Isa 14:12: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:18: quotation, high confidence - John 5:17: quotation, high confidence - Luke 4:18: quotation, high confidence - Isa 61:1: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 49:9: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:12: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 1:13 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The section opens abruptly (“igitur in civitate”); “in the city” may be a misreading of “in the captivity”. “ up to the loins”: the scan has a garbled word after “pubetenus”; supplied by sense from Ezek 1:27. Quotations: Heb 7:10; Ps 132:11 (131:11 LXX); Heb 12:29 (Deut 4:24); 1 Cor 3:12–13; Luke 12:49; Isa 10:17 and 10:16; Isa 47:14–15 LXX; Ps 31:19 (30:20 LXX); Eph 2:14; 1 Cor 15:22; Ezek 28:12–15; Isa 14:12; Luke 10:18; Wis 1:13; John 5:17; Luke 4:18 (Isa 61:1); Isa 49:9; Eph 6:12. The Job reference is unidentified (perhaps Job 15:25). “By Daniel” is as printed; the reference is uncertain. Origen’s views that God’s punishing fire is remedial, that this should be hidden from the immature, and that the devil fell by free choice are translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.3 (PG 13:669a–672a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-4 - Source: PG 13:672a–673b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Ezekiel, called “son of man” and seeing the heavens opened at thirty, is a type of Christ, whose true birth Origen defends against those who call it a phantom. ### Latin text Si autem vis audire Ezechielem tilium hominis in captivitate praedicantem , et iste typus erat Christi. Ideo factum est , ait “, in tricesimo om. iu quarto mense, in quinta mensis, et ego eram in ntedio captivitatis secus flumen Cliobar , et apertisunt caeli. Sectis fluvium ergo Chobar Ezechiel cum triginta esset annorum,apertos vidit cmlos. Et Dominus Jesus Christus incipiens erat quasi triginta ano norum secus fluvium Iordanem, et aperti sunt creli. Et per omnem prophetiam Ezechieli dicitur : Fili horninis. Quis autem lilius hominis, ut Dominus meus Jesus Christus? Respondeant mihi qui nativitatem illius ut phantasma eludunt : quare Christus filius hominis appellatur? Ego ailirmo tilium hominis eum fuisse. Nam qui passiones assumpsit humanas, necesse est ut ante passionem susceperit nativitatem. Neque enim potuit humanos allectus, verba, consuetudines, crucem. mortem recipere, si non reciperet humanitatis exordium. Et consequens erat nativitatem ejus auferentes, auferre etiam passionem, et simpliciter dicere, non est crucifixus Jesus. Nunc vero crucem confiteris, et non erubescis Judaeis scandalum praedicans crucifixum, et gentibus stultitiam "; et minus scandalum passione vel morte, erubescis nativitatem ejus confiteri. Nimirum minus scandali est Jesum natum fuisse, quam mortuum, aut si scandalum Christiana litles non veretur, cur times dicere minora, qui majora ausus es confiteri? Praesertim cum nativitas illius non ex semine viri et mulieris somno convenientis esse credatur, sed juxta propheta: eloquium dicentis : Ecce uirgo in utero concipiet, et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel. lioc quod dicitur Emmanuel, non unum nomen sonat, sed rem significat. Advcnicute quippe Jesu dicimus, nobiscum Dominus. Non frustra ergo in tricesimo anno prophetat Ezechiel. Nam et nomen ejus figura Christi est. Interpretatur quippe Ezechiel imperium Dei; imperium autem Dei nullus est, nisi Cllrisws Jesus. Filius quoque Buzi scribitur, quod interpretatur contemptus. Si venias ad haereticos, et audi“ eos spernentes et pro nihilo ducentes Creatorem. et insuper etiam criminantes, videbis juxta illos contemptissimi Creatoris Filium Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Quod si quis reluctatur, et non quaeram ab eo cur scriptum est in tricesimo anno rita: Ezechielis apertos fuisse ccelos, et vidisse eum, eas visiones quae in libro ejus continentur. Quid mihi prodest annorum numerus, nisi hoc, utdiscam tricesimo anno et Salvatori et propheta: caelos fuisse reseratos, et spiritalibus spiritalia comparans, cognoscam universa quae scripta snnt', ejusdem esse Dei sermones? Quippe verba sapientium ut stimuli, ct quasi clavi in altum confixi, quia compungentibus dati sunt α pastore uno . Ego et hoc quod dicitur in quarto mense quinta mensis, juxta possibilitatem sensus mei investigans, precor a Deo ut idipsum possim intelligere quod Seripturarum ejus congruit voluntati. Novus annus imminet jam Jndteis, et primus mensis apud eos a novi anni numeratur exordio. Agitur autem Pascha de numero novi anni. Principium mensium iste vobis erit in mensibus anni . Ab hoc anno numera mihi quartum mensem, et intellige baptizatum Jesum in quarto mense novi anui. Eo enim mense qui apud Romanos Januarius nuncupatur, baptismum Domini factum esse cognoscimus, qui est mensis quartus ab anno novojuxta supputationem Hebraeorum. Et quia de quatuor elementis mundi subsistens corpus assumpserat, recipiens etiam sensus humanos, ideo forsitan et in quarto mense, et in quinto die mensis est intuitus visionem. ### English translation (Claude) If you wish to hear Ezekiel, the son of man, preaching in the captivity: he too was a type of Christ. “And it came to pass,” he says, “in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, and I was in the midst of the captivity by the river Chebar, and the heavens were opened.” So Ezekiel, when he was thirty years old, saw the heavens opened by the river Chebar. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as he began, was about thirty years old, by the river Jordan, and the heavens were opened. And throughout the whole prophecy it is said to Ezekiel, “Son of man.” But who is a son of man as my Lord Jesus Christ is? Let those answer me who mock his birth as a phantom: why is Christ called the Son of Man? I affirm that he was a son of man. For one who took on human sufferings must have received birth before his suffering. Nor could he have received human feelings, words, habits, the cross, and death, if he had not received the beginning of humanity. And it would follow that those who take away his birth would take away his passion too, and simply say: Jesus was not crucified. But now you confess the cross, and are not ashamed to preach one crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles; and yet you are ashamed to confess his birth, which is less of a stumbling block than suffering or death. Surely it is less of a stumbling block that Jesus was born than that he died; or if the Christian faith does not fear a stumbling block, why are you afraid to say the lesser things, when you have dared to confess the greater? Especially since his birth is not believed to have come from the seed of a man and a woman coming together in the ordinary way, but according to the word of the prophet who says: “Behold, a virgin will conceive in the womb and bear a son, and his name will be called Emmanuel.” This “Emmanuel” does not sound as a mere name but signifies a thing: for at the coming of Jesus we say, “The Lord is with us.” Not without reason, then, does Ezekiel prophesy in the thirtieth year. For his name too is a figure of Christ: Ezekiel means “the rule of God,” and the rule of God is none other than Christ Jesus. He is also written as the son of Buzi, which means “contempt.” If you go to the heretics and hear them scorning the Creator and counting him as nothing, and even accusing him, you will see that, according to them, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of a most despised Creator. But if anyone resists, will I not ask him why it is written that in the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life the heavens were opened and he saw the visions contained in his book? What use is the number of the years to me, unless that I may learn that in the thirtieth year the heavens were opened both to the Savior and to the prophet, and, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, may recognize that all that is written is the words of the same God? For “the words of the wise are like goads, and like nails driven deep, because they were given to those who are pricked, by one shepherd.” I too, investigating as far as my understanding allows the phrase “in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month,” pray God that I may understand it in a way that agrees with the intent of his Scriptures. The new year is already at hand for the Jews, and the first month among them is counted from the beginning of the new year. The Passover is kept in the reckoning of the new year: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months, among the months of the year.” From this year count me the fourth month, and understand that Jesus was baptized in the fourth month of the new year. For we know that the Lord’s baptism took place in the month the Romans call January, which is the fourth month from the new year according to the reckoning of the Hebrews. And because he had taken a body made up of the four elements of the world, receiving also human senses, perhaps for this reason he saw the vision in the fourth month and on the fifth day of the month. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Luke 3:23: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:23: quotation, high confidence - Isa 7:14: quotation, high confidence - Matt 1:23: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 2:13: quotation, high confidence - Eccl 12:11: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:1; Luke 3:23 and Matt 3:16 (Christ’s baptism); 1 Cor 1:23; Isa 7:14 (Matt 1:23); 1 Cor 2:13; Eccl 12:11; Exod 12:2. The opponents who call Christ’s birth a phantom and scorn the Creator are probably Marcionites. “In the ordinary way”: the scan reads “somno” (“in sleep”), probably a misreading; translated by sense. The dating of Christ’s baptism to January and the reckoning of the fourth month are Origen’s own, given as printed. The meanings of Ezekiel and Buzi are Origen’s etymologies. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.4 (PG 13:672a–673b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-5 - Source: PG 13:673b–674a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Ezekiel “in the midst of the captivity” figures Christ, who came among captives and lamented in his human soul; the river Chebar is the heavy river of this world. ### Latin text Et ego eram in medio captivitatis. Videtur mihi dictum : Et ego cram in medio captivitatis. ο Et ego : quasi si dicat juxta historiam quidem propheta, et ego qui non tenebar in peccatis populi, eram in medio captivitatis : juxta allegoriam autent Christus, et ego veni in locum captivitatis. veni ad eos lines, ubi servi, ehi captivi detinebantur. Habes istiusmodi Salvatoris nostri voces in prophetis, indignantis quia non faciamus homines digna dispensatione ejus, ct maxime nos qui in cum putamur credere. Dicit quippe ad Patrem Suum : Qua: utilitas in sanguine meo, dum descendo in corruptiown! Nunquid confitebitur t bi pulvis, aut annuntiabit veritatem tuam? Invenio quoque et aliam istiusmodi vocem, quae ex Salvatoris nostri persona dicitur per prephetam quaerentem animas plenas justitisr, plenas sensuum divinarum, plenas sanctorum fructuum, et quaerentes veritatis veros botros, sed invenientem plurimos peccatores” et inferaces bonorum, et idcirco dicentem : Heu mihi quia factus sum sicut qui colligit stipulam in messe, et sicut racemos in vindemia, ad quant non supersit botrus ad ntanducandum primitiva. Heu mihi. Quod dicitur ben stibi, non est primogeniti totius creaturae, non est divinitatis vox, sed humana: animte quam suscepit: unde infert : Heu mihi, anima mea, quia periit merum a terra, et qui corrigat inter homines non αι. Omnes in sanguine judicantur, unusquisque aroximam suum tribulat. Haec idcirco memorata sunt, quia ait prophetes ’: Et ego erum in medio captivitatis juxta flumen Chobar, quod interpretatur gravitudo. Gravis autem est hujus smcuIi fluvius, sicut et. alibi sacrate dicitur. Et juxta simplices quoque historiam explicat:juxta eos vero qui spiritaliter Scripturas audiunt, de anima significat, quae in vita: istius inciderit turbines. Super flumina Babylonis ibi sedimus et fleuimus dum recordaremur Sion, its salicibus in medio ejus suspendimus organa nostra, quia illic interrogaverunt nos qui captivos duxerunt nos, verba canticorum ”. lta sunt flumina Babylonis, juxta quae sedentes et reminiscentes patriae ccclestis, lugent atque deplorant, ubi suspendunt organi sua, in salicibus legis et mysteriorum Dei. Scriptum est in quodam libro, quia salignam omnes credentes accipiant coronam. Et in Isaia dicitur ” : Orietur quasi in medio aqua fenum , et salis: super aquam fluentem. Et in solemnitate Dei, quando tabernacula ejus componuntur, salignas ramos in tabernaculorum lixione constituunt. ### English translation (Claude) “And I was in the midst of the captivity.” It seems to me that the words “And I was in the midst of the captivity” are said thus. “And I”: as if, according to the history, the prophet says, “I too, who was not held in the sins of the people, was in the midst of the captivity”; but according to the allegory, Christ says, “I too came to the place of captivity, I came to those regions where the slaves, where the captives were held.” You have words of our Savior of this kind in the prophets, as he complains that we do not make ourselves men worthy of his dispensation, especially we who are thought to believe in him. For he says to his Father: “What profit is there in my blood, while I go down into corruption? Will the dust confess you, or declare your truth?” I find also another such word, spoken through the prophet in the person of our Savior as he seeks souls full of righteousness, full of divine thoughts, full of holy fruits, and seeking the true clusters of truth, but finds a great many sinners, barren of good things, and therefore says: “Woe is me, for I have become like one who gathers straw at the harvest, and like gleanings at the vintage, when no cluster is left to eat the first-ripe fruit.” “Woe is me”: the words “woe is me” are not the voice of the firstborn of all creation, not the voice of the divinity, but of the human soul which he assumed. Hence he adds: “Woe is me, my soul, for the godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none who sets things right among men. All go to law for blood; each one afflicts his neighbor.” These things have been mentioned because the prophet says: “And I was in the midst of the captivity by the river Chebar,” which means “heaviness.” Heavy is the river of this world, as is also said in a holy way elsewhere. For the simple he explains the history too; but for those who hear the Scriptures spiritually he signifies the soul which has fallen into the whirlwinds of this life. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows in the midst of it we hung up our instruments, for there those who led us captive asked us for the words of songs.” Such are the rivers of Babylon, by which they sit remembering the heavenly homeland, mourning and lamenting, where they hang up their instruments on the willows of the law and of the mysteries of God. It is written in a certain book that all believers receive a crown of willow. And in Isaiah it is said: “They will spring up like grass in the midst of water, and like willows by flowing water.” And at God’s festival, when his tabernacles are set up, they set willow branches in fixing the tabernacles. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 30:9 (29:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Mic 7:1: quotation, high confidence - Mic 7:2: quotation, high confidence - Col 1:15: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 137:1 (136:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 137:2 (136:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 137:3 (136:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 44:4: quotation, high confidence - Lev 23:40: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Herm. Sim. 8.2.1 (Shepherd of Hermas: Similitudes): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:1; Ps 30:9 (29:10 LXX); Mic 7:1–2 (Origen’s Greek Bible); Ps 137:1–3 (136:1–3 LXX); Isa 44:4; Lev 23:40 (willows at the feast of Tabernacles). “Godly man”: the scan reads “merum”, probably a misreading; translated by sense from Mic 7:2. Origen ascribes the lament “woe is me” to Christ’s human soul, not to his divinity. The “certain book” with crowns of willow is probably the Shepherd of Hermas (Sim. 8). Chebar meaning “heaviness” is Origen’s etymology. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.5 (PG 13:673b–674a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-6 - Source: PG 13:674a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The heavens, closed until Christ, were opened at his baptism so that the Spirit might descend first on him and then come to us. ### Latin text fluvium Cltobar. Sectis flumen istud gravissimum saeculi. Et aperti sunt cteli. Clausi erant cteli, et ad adventum Christi aperti sunt, ut reseratis illis veniret super eum Spiritus sanctus in specia: columbae. Neque enim poteratad nos commeare nisi primum ad suze natura: consortem descendisset. Ascendit Jesus in altum, captivam duxit captivitatem, accepit dona in hominibus. Qui descendit, ipse est qui ascendit super omnes ctclos ut impleret omnia. Et ipse dedit alios apostolos, alios prophetas, alios evangelistas, alios pastores et magistros in perfectionem sanctorum ### English translation (Claude) “By the river Chebar”: by this heaviest river of the world. “And the heavens were opened.” The heavens were closed, and at the coming of Christ they were opened, so that, once they were unlocked, the Holy Spirit might come upon him in the form of a dove. For he could not come to us unless he had first come down upon one who shared his nature. “Jesus ascended on high, he led captivity captive, he received gifts among men. He who descended is the same who ascended above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Eph 4:8: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:10: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:11: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 68:18 (67:19 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:1; Matt 3:16; Eph 4:8–12 (Ps 68:18). That the Spirit first came down upon “one who shared his nature” (Christ) is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.6 (PG 13:674a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-6). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-7 - Source: PG 13:674a–675b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Many heavens were opened so that the angels, following Christ’s descent, might come down to serve the salvation of believers. ### Latin text Aperti sunt caeli. Non sullicit unum cretum aperiri : aperiuntur plurimi, ut descendant non ab uno, sed ab omnibus cmlis angeli ad eos qui salvandi sunt. Auge" qui ascendebant et descendebant Supt‘r Filium hominis, et accesserunt ad eum , et ministrabant ei. Descenderant autem angeli . quia prior descenderat Christus metuentes descendem priusquam Dominus virtutum omnium rerumque praeciperet. Quando autem viderunt principem militiae caelestis in terrestribus locis commorari, tunc per apertam viam ingressi sunt sequentes dominum suum, et parentes voluntati ejus qui distribuit eos custodes credentium nomini suo. Tu heri sub mouio eras, hodie sub angelo. Nolite, inquit Dominus “,contemnere unum de minimis istis qui sunt in Ecclesia. Amen enim dico vobis, quia angeli eorum peremnia vident faciem Patris qui est in ctrlis. Obscquuntur saluti tute angeli, concessi sunt ad ministerium Filii Dei, et dicunt inter se : si ille descendit, et descendit in corpus, si mortali indutus est carne, et sustinuit crucem, et pro hominibus inortuus est, quid nos quiescimus? quid parcimus nobis? Eia omnes angeli descendemus e coelo. Ideo et ibid..2. δ’ Psal. cum, llcantium Deum, quando natus est Christus. Omnia angelis plena sunt; veni, augele, suscipe sermone. conversum ab errore pristino, a doctrina dtemoniorum, ab iniquitate in altum loquente :et suscipiens eum quasi medicus bonus confove atque institue: parvulus est, hodie nascitur senex repuerascens : et suscipe tribuens ei baptismum secundae regenerationis, et advoca tibi alios socios ministerii tui, ut cuncti pariter eos qui aliquando decepti sunt, erudiatis ad fidem. Gaudium enim est majus in caelis super unum peccatorem paenitentiam agentem , quam supra nonaginta novem justas quibus non est opus pauitantia . Exsultat omnis creatura , colitetatur et applaudit his qui salvandi sunt. Nam exspectatio creuit-ira: reuelationem filiorum Dei exspectat “.- Et licet nolint ii qui Scripturas apostolicas interpolaverunt istiusmodi sermones inesse libris eorum quibus possit creator Christus approbari, exspeth tamen omnis creatura tilios Dei, quando liberentur a delicto, quando auferantur de Zabuli manu, quando regenerentur a Christo. Verum jam tempus est, ut de prmscnti loco aliqua tangamus. Vidit propheta non visionem, sed visiones Dei. Quare non vidit unam, sed plurimas visiones? Audi Dominum pollicentem atque dicentem : Ego uisiones multiplicaui ### English translation (Claude) “The heavens were opened.” It is not enough for one heaven to be opened: many are opened, so that angels may come down, not from one but from all the heavens, to those who are to be saved. “Angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man,” and “they came to him and ministered to him.” The angels came down because Christ had come down first; they were afraid to come down before the Lord of all powers and things commanded it. But when they saw the prince of the heavenly army dwelling in earthly places, then they entered by the opened way, following their Lord and obeying the will of him who appointed them as guardians of those who believe in his name. Yesterday you were under a demon, today under an angel. “Do not despise,” says the Lord, “one of these least ones who are in the Church. For truly I say to you that their angels always see the face of the Father who is in heaven.” Angels serve your salvation; they have been granted for the ministry of the Son of God, and they say among themselves: “If he came down, and came down into a body, if he was clothed with mortal flesh and endured the cross and died for men, why do we rest? Why do we spare ourselves? Come, all you angels, let us go down from heaven.” Therefore … praising God, when Christ was born. All things are full of angels. Come, angel, receive one converted by the word from his former error, from the teaching of demons, from iniquity that speaks on high; and receiving him like a good physician, cherish and instruct him. He is a little child; today an old man is born, becoming a child again. Receive him, granting him the baptism of the second regeneration, and call to yourself the other companions of your ministry, so that all together you may train in the faith those who were once deceived. “For there is greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous who have no need of repentance.” All creation exults, rejoices, and applauds those who are to be saved. For “the expectation of the creation awaits the revelation of the sons of God.” And although those who have tampered with the apostolic Scriptures do not want such words to be in their books, by which the Creator’s Christ might be proved, nevertheless all creation awaits the sons of God, when they will be freed from sin, when they will be taken out of the devil’s hand, when they will be born again by Christ. But it is now time to touch on some points of the present passage. The prophet saw not a vision, but “visions of God.” Why did he see not one but many visions? Hear the Lord promising and saying: “I have multiplied visions.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:1: quotation, high confidence - John 1:51: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:11: quotation, high confidence - Matt 18:10: quotation, high confidence - Luke 2:13: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 73:8 (72:8 LXX): echo, medium confidence - Luke 15:7: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:19: quotation, high confidence - Hos 12:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:1; John 1:51; Matt 4:11; Matt 18:10 (“who are in the Church” is Origen’s addition); Luke 15:7; Rom 8:19; Hos 12:10. “Under a demon”: the scan reads “sub mouio”, probably a misreading of “sub daemonio”; translated by sense. “Therefore …”: words are lost in the scan here; the sense points to the multitude of angels praising God at Christ’s birth (Luke 2:13). “Iniquity that speaks on high” echoes Ps 73:8 (72:8 LXX). Those who tampered with the apostolic Scriptures are probably the Marcionites. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.7 (PG 13:674a–675b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-7). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-8 - Source: PG 13:675b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God sent Ezekiel to the captives only five years into the exile, showing that he did not leave them long without admonition. ### Latin text (Quinta mensis. Hic annus quintus captivitatis regis Joachim. Tricesimo anno aetatis Ezechielis et nuinto captivitatis Joachim, propheta mittitur ad Ju— (ζ dios. Non despexit clementissimus pater, nec longo tempore incommonitum populum dereliquit. Quintus est annus. Quantum temporis intercessit? Quinque anni lutet-fluxerunt ex quo captivi serviunt. Statim descendit Spiritus sanctus, aperuit cmlos, ut hi qui captivitatis jugo premebantur, viderent ea quae videbantur a propheta. Dicente quippe eo : Et aperti sunt caeli, quodam modo et ipsi intuebantur oculis cordis quae ille etiam oculis earnis aspexerat. ### English translation (Claude) “The fifth of the month.” This is the fifth year of the captivity of King Jehoiachin. In the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life and the fifth of Jehoiachin’s captivity, the prophet is sent to the Jews. The most merciful Father did not despise them, nor did he leave the people unadmonished for a long time. It is the fifth year. How much time had passed? Five years had gone by since they had been serving as captives. At once the Holy Spirit came down and opened the heavens, so that those who were pressed under the yoke of captivity might see what was seen by the prophet. For when he says, “And the heavens were opened,” in a way they too beheld with the eyes of the heart what he had seen even with the eyes of the flesh. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:2; Ezek 1:1. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.8 (PG 13:675b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-8). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-9 - Source: PG 13:675b–676a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The word of God that came to Ezekiel makes believers “gods” (Ps 82:6), and only sin makes them die like men. ### Latin text Et factus est sermo Domini ad Ezechielem filium sacerdotem. Sermo Domini qui in principio eratapud Deum Patrem Deus Verbum, sermo qui credentes eflicit deos. Si enim dixit illos deos ad quos sermo Dei factus est, et non potest solvi ι) Scriptura, ad quoscunque sermo Dei factus est, facti sunt dii. Ezechiel quoque deus fuit, quia factus est sermo Dei ad eum. Ego dixi : Dii estis, et lilii Altissimi omnes. Vos vero ut homines moriemini, et quasi unus ea: principibus cadetis . Ubi habetis in Novo Testamento istiusmodi repromissionem? Si Oportet instrumenta distinguere, et dicere inter se dissidentes deos, quod quidem nefas est etiam suspicari, sed juxta abusionem dicimus, audacter profecto dicam, multo majorem in Veteri Testamento ostendi humanitatem quam in Novo. Ego dixi : Dii estis et filii Altissimi omnes. Non ait : nes dii estis. Si alitem peccaveritis, ausculta quid sequitur: Vos vero ut homines moriemini. Non est haec culpa vocantis ad salutem, non ipse causa mortis qui invitat ad divinitatem, et ad caelestis naturae adoptionem, sed in nostro peccato, et in nostro scelere consistit quod dicitur: Vos autent ut homines moriemini, et quasi unus de principibus cadetis. Multi principes erant, et unus es eis corruit, de quo et in Genesi scribitur "’ : Ecce Adam factus est, non quasi nos, sed quasi unus ex nobis. Ergo quando peccavit Adam, tunc factus est quasi unus. ### English translation (Claude) “And the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, the son , the priest.” The word of the Lord, which in the beginning was with God the Father, God the Word; the word which makes believers gods. For if he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be broken, then all to whom the word of God came became gods. Ezekiel too was a god, because the word of God came to him. “I said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” Where in the New Testament do you have a promise of this kind? If one had to set the two Testaments apart and speak of gods at variance with each other (which it is wicked even to suspect, but we speak by way of an improper usage), I would boldly say that much greater kindness to humankind is shown in the Old Testament than in the New. “I said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.” He does not say, “… gods.” But if you sin, listen to what follows: “But you will die like men.” This is not the fault of the one who calls to salvation; the one who invites to divinity and to adoption into the heavenly nature is not the cause of death; but what is said, “But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes,” rests on our sin and our crime. There were many princes, and one of them fell, of whom it is also written in Genesis: “Behold, Adam has become,” not “like us,” but “like one of us.” So when Adam sinned, then he became “like one.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:3: quotation, high confidence - John 1:1: allusion, high confidence - John 10:35: quotation, high confidence - Ps 82:6 (81:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 82:7 (81:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 3:22: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The father’s name is missing in the scan (“filium sacerdotem”); supplied from Ezek 1:3. Quotations: John 1:1; John 10:35; Ps 82:6–7 (81:6–7 LXX); Gen 3:22. Origen’s language of believers becoming “gods” follows Ps 82:6 and John 10:34–35. The aside about setting the Testaments against each other is aimed at Marcion’s two gods. “He does not say, ‘… gods’”: the word before “dii” is garbled in the scan (“nes”); left untranslated. The “one of the princes” who fell is identified with the devil. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.9 (PG 13:675b–676a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-9). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-10 - Source: PG 13:676a–676b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Allegorically, the word came to the man born of the virgin, joined to the divine Word; the land of the Chaldeans signifies the error of astrology and fate. ### Latin text Et factus est sermo Domini ad Ezecliiclem fi- fi lium Buzi. Etiamsi de Salvatore hare dicta voluens intelligere, ne timeas, habet et sic allegoria intellectum suum : venit sermo Domini ad cum qui dc virgine nascebatur, id est hominem, sermo semper in Patre manens : ut tierent utraque, unum, et consociaretur homo, quem ob sacramentum ct salutem universae humanitatis indueret, divinitati ejus et naturae unigeniti Dei. Factus est sermo Domini ad Ezccltielem filium Buzi, sacerdotem in terra Chaldreorum. Chaldaei de cmlestihus disputant; Chaldzei nativitates hominum ratiocinantur. In terra Chaldteorum. Quasi si dicat, eorum qui asserunt fatum, eorum qui causas universitatis astrorum circuitu vindicant. Iste ergo nunc error, et ista mentis perversitas figuraliter in Chaldaeorum terra significatur. In terra Chaldteorum secus flumen Chobar. Et facta est illic super me manus Domini. Et sermo Domini factus est ad prophetam, et manus ut et factis ornaretur et verbis. Et vidi visiones. Aliqua perstringam, et licet pro angustia temporis ea quae dixi, possint sulliccre, tamen etiam de toto corpore visionis summa quaeque libabo. ### English translation (Claude) “And the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel son of Buzi.” Even if you wish to understand these words as spoken of the Savior, do not be afraid: in this way too the allegory has its meaning. The word of the Lord came to him who was being born of the virgin, that is, to the man; the Word ever abiding in the Father; so that both might become one, and the man whom he put on for the mystery and the salvation of all humanity might be joined to his divinity and to the nature of the only-begotten God. “The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans.” The Chaldeans dispute about heavenly things; the Chaldeans calculate the nativities of men. “In the land of the Chaldeans”: as if he said, of those who assert fate, of those who claim the causes of the universe for the circuit of the stars. This error, then, and this perversity of mind are signified figuratively by the land of the Chaldeans. “In the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar. And the hand of the Lord came upon me there.” Both the word of the Lord came to the prophet and the hand, so that he might be adorned both with deeds and with words. “And I saw visions.” I will touch on some points; and although what I have said could suffice, given the shortness of time, I will nevertheless sample the chief points of the whole body of the vision. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:3: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:1: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:3. The union of the Word with the man he “put on” is translated as written. The Chaldeans stand for astrologers who teach fate. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.10 (PG 13:676a–676b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-1/#p-1-10). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-11 - Source: PG 13:676b–677d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The many elements of the vision are deep mysteries; truths about God must be spoken with care, and the Church, like a net or a threshing floor, holds good and bad until Christ’s judgment. ### Latin text Et uidi, et ecce spiritus surgens veniebat ab Aquilone. Diligenter considera rerum numerum quae dicuntur : spiritus surgens sive auferens ve- - nicbat ab Aquilone, ecce una res. Et nubes magna erat in eo, ecce duae. Et splendor in circuitu ejus, ecce tres. Et ignis refulgens, ecce quatuor. Et in medio ejus sicut visio electri in medio ignis, ecce quinque. Et lumen in eo, ecce sex. Post lucc similitudo quatuor animalium, et visio eorum, et narratio visionis , ecce septem. Et in medio animalium qua“ ignis. ecce … minutatim exponere? Quis ita est capax spiritus Dei, ut haec sacramenta dilucidet? Oportebat accusatores Creatoris et Dei prophetarum primum intelligere quae dicuntura prophetis, et postea criminari. Qui enim vere accusat, ea debet accusare quae novit. Si vero hmretici ne prope quidem sunt intellectui divino, quomodo rationabiliter accusant quod eos nescire convincimus? Discant quis in hac visione sit sensus. Primum apparet spiritus auferens. Secundo nubes magna in spiritu auferente. Tertio ignis refulgens. Quinto in medio ejus sicut visio electri, haud dubium quin in medio ignis. Sexto _5plendor in eodem electro. Confiteor libenter a sapiente et fideli viro dictam sententiam, quain sape suscipio ; de Deo et vere dicere periculum est. Neque enim ea tantum periculosa sunt qua falsa de eo dicuntur : sed etiam qua vera sunt, et non opportune proferuntur, dicenti periculum generant. Margarita vera est, sed si perverse, discrimen ejus est quod dicit pedibus eorum. Et ut juxta nos aliquod ponamus exemplum, collectiones ista non so- _lum in Elia, non tantum Roma, non in Alexandria, sed in omni semel orbe similitudinem referunt sageua, qua ex omni genere piscium capit. Non possunt universa bona esse qua incidunt in eam. Ait quippe Salvator : Cum extraxerint, et' secus littus sederint, eligent bona quidem in uasa sua, mala vero foras projicient. Oportet ergo in sagena totius Ecclesia esse et bona et mala. Si jam universa munda sunt, quid derelinquimus in judicio Dei ? Et juxta aliam parabolam, et frumentum et palea in area continentur, cum frumentum tantum in Christi horrea congregandum sit, et discernantur palea ab eo, cujus ventilabrum in manu ejus, et mundabit aream suam, et congregabit frumentum in horreum, paleas vero consumet igne inexstinguibili ‘9. Neque enim assero aream totum esse mundum, sed aream intelligo esse catum populi Christiani. Quomodo unaquaque area circumscribitur, et est plena fru- ε mento vel paleis, nec totum frumentum est, nec totum rursum palea : sic in Ecclesiis terrestribus alius est frumentum, alius est palea. Verum ibi non sua causa, nec per voluntatem palea sunt : neque enim ex .pr0prio arbitrio frumentum est: hic vero in tua potestate positum est, ut sis palea vel frumentum. Hac nos docere debent, ut si aliquando aliquis in congregationibus nostris viderit peceatorem, non scaudalizetur, neque dicat: Ecce peccator in cretu sancto est. Si hoc licet, si hoc conceditur, quare et ego non peccem? Dum in prasenti saculo sumus, id est in area, et iu sagena, et boni et mali in ea continentur. Quando autem venerit Christus, fiet discretio, et implebitur illud q’tJod ab Apostolo dicitur το : Omnes nos oportet assistere ante tribunal Christi, ut reportet unusquisque propria corporis sui quae gessit, sive bona, sive mala. Hac in proamio de interpretationibus visionum qua proferat, qua leviter tacta dimittat, qua ex iis manifestius, qua obscurius exponenda sint, si tamen poterimus implere quod cupimus. ### English translation (Claude) “And I looked, and behold, a spirit rising came from the north.” Consider carefully the number of the things that are said. “A spirit rising,” or “taking away,” “came from the north”: behold, one thing. “And a great cloud was in it”: behold, two. “And brightness round about it”: behold, three. “And flashing fire”: behold, four. “And in the midst of it as the appearance of amber in the midst of the fire”: behold, five. “And light in it”: behold, six. After these, “the likeness of four living creatures,” and their appearance, and the account of the vision: behold, seven. “And in the midst of the living creatures, as it were fire”: behold … Who can set these out in detail? Who has so much room for the Spirit of God as to explain these mysteries? The accusers of the Creator and of the God of the prophets ought first to understand what is said by the prophets, and afterwards to accuse. For one who truly accuses ought to accuse what he knows. But if the heretics are not even close to divine understanding, how can they reasonably accuse what we prove they do not know? Let them learn what the meaning is in this vision. First there appears a spirit taking away. Second, a great cloud in the spirit taking away. Third, flashing fire. Fifth, in the midst of it as the appearance of amber, no doubt in the midst of the fire. Sixth, brightness in the same amber. I gladly acknowledge a saying spoken by a wise and faithful man, which I often take up: it is dangerous to speak even true things about God. For not only are falsehoods spoken about him dangerous; even true things, if they are not uttered at the proper time, bring danger to the speaker. A pearl is genuine, but if it is cast wrongly, there is danger that it be trampled under their feet. And to give an example from our own circumstances: these gatherings, not only in Aelia, not only in Rome, not in Alexandria, but throughout the whole world alike, bear the likeness of the dragnet that catches fish of every kind. Not everything that falls into it can be good. For the Savior says: “When they have drawn it out and sat down by the shore, they will choose the good into their vessels, but the bad they will throw out.” So in the net of the whole Church there must be both good and bad. If all are already clean, what do we leave for the judgment of God? And according to another parable, both wheat and chaff are held on the threshing floor, though only the wheat is to be gathered into Christ’s barns, and the chaff is separated from it by him “whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will clean his threshing floor and gather the wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” I do not assert that the threshing floor is the whole world; I understand the threshing floor to be the assembly of the Christian people. Just as each threshing floor is bounded and is full of wheat or chaff, and is neither all wheat nor again all chaff, so in the earthly churches one person is wheat, another chaff. But there, the chaff is not chaff by its own doing or by its will, nor is the wheat wheat by its own choice; here, however, it is placed in your power to be chaff or wheat. These things should teach us that if anyone at any time sees a sinner in our congregations, he should not be scandalized nor say: “Look, a sinner is in the holy assembly. If this is allowed, if this is granted, why should I not sin too?” While we are in the present age, that is, on the threshing floor and in the net, both good and bad are held in it. But when Christ comes, the separation will take place, and what the Apostle says will be fulfilled: “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done in his body, whether good or bad.” This, by way of preface, concerns the interpretations of the visions: which he sets forth, which he leaves after touching lightly, which of them are to be expounded more plainly and which more obscurely, if indeed we are able to accomplish what we desire. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:4: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:5: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:6: allusion, high confidence - Matt 13:47: allusion, high confidence - Matt 13:48: quotation, high confidence - Matt 3:12: quotation, high confidence - Luke 3:17: quotation, medium confidence - 2 Cor 5:10: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sent. Sextus 352 (Sentences of Sextus): quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:4–5, 13; Matt 7:6 (pearls); Matt 13:47–48; Matt 3:12 (Luke 3:17); 2 Cor 5:10. The count of the elements is given as printed (the list skips “fourth”). The saying that it is dangerous to speak even truths about God matches the Sentences of Sextus 352. “Aelia” (Jerusalem) is the scan’s “in Elia”; the reading is uncertain. The accusers of the Creator are probably Marcionites. After “behold” the scan is garbled; the number and the opening words of the next question are lost, and “Who can set these out in detail?” is translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.11 (PG 13:676b–677d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-11). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-12 - Source: PG 13:678a–679a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The “spirit taking away” removes evils from the soul, as the prophetic word roots up false teaching before it builds and plants. ### Latin text Primum ergo videtur spiritus auferens : id quod paulo ante diximus, quia Dominus noster ignis consumens sit, etiam nunc repetimus et alit-imus huic testimonio congruere. Quomodo ponitur spiritus auferens? Deus spiritus est, et spiritus auferens cernitur. Quid a me aufert, et ab anima mea, ut merito auferens pradicetur? Utique mala : et tunc sentio bonitatem ejus, sit a me pessima quaeque sustulerit. Neque vero putandum est tinem esse beatitudinis, si a malis liberemur ; initium felicitatis est carere peccato. Et in Jeremla scribitur (omnia quippe qua in prophetis scripta sunt, clementissimo Deo vindico): Ecce dedi sermones meos in os tuum, ecce constitui te super gentes et regna eradicare, et su/fodere, et disperdere, et adificare, et plantare. Benianus est Deus dans sermones ad eradicandum. Verum quid est quod eradicari debeat, et subverti? Si qua plantatio in animo mala est, si qua secta nequam, hanc eradicat, hanc subvertit sermo propheticus. Utinam autem contingat, ut mihi talis sermo donetur, qui eradicet hareticorum semina, et doctrinam ex Zabuli fonte manantem, qui de ejus anima qui nunc primum Ecclesiam ingreditur, idololatria auferat plantationem. Dedi sermones meos in os tuum. Ecce constitui te eradicare et suffodere. Scilicet ut si qua adificatio pessima est, destruatur. Quam vellem etego suffodere quidquid Marcion in auribus deceptorum aedificavit, eradicare, et subvertere, et dispergere, ut Jacob disperdidit idola. Usque ad hodiernum diem est disperdere et aditicare. Ilaretici disperdere et subvertere tantum audierunt, in aditicationis autem plantationisque sermone surdas aures averterunt. Neque enim volunt inspicere, quia ιιῆstia quaque prima dicuntur, et secunda quae lata sunt. Quare nunc ista memoramus? Videlicet ut manifestetur Dei sermo subvertere mala, et adificare optima, eradicare vitia, quasi agricola bonus, ut in purgato campo uberrima virtutum messis oriatur. Hac propter spiritum auferentem. Vidit Ῑ) enim primum spiritum auferentem, deinde nebulam magnam in eo. Quando purgatus fueris ab auferente spiritu, tantum ut auferatur omne malum a te, et omne quod in tua anima nequitia versatur, ritu auferente consistit. Quae nebula proxima est ei nebulae quam in Evangelio legimus, de qua venit , vos : Hic est.Filius meus dilectus, in quo bene complacu'i. Spiritus vero auferens, deinde nebula magna in eo, postea splendidissimum lumen in eircuitu ejus. Ablatum est a te malum. Data est tibi nebula magna, ut pluat imbrem super vincam tuam, secundum illud quod alibi dicitur " : .llandabo nubibus ne pluant super eam imbrem, super pessimam videlicet vineam. Si autem hoc de mala jubetur, haud dubium est quin eeontrario si bona vinea fueris, pluat super te nebula. ### English translation (Claude) So first appears the spirit taking away. What we said a little earlier, that our Lord is a consuming fire, we now repeat and affirm that it agrees with this testimony. How is the spirit taking away set before us? God is spirit, and the spirit is seen taking away. What does he take away from me and from my soul, that he is rightly proclaimed as taking away? Evil things, surely; and then I perceive his goodness, if he has taken away from me everything that is worst. Yet we must not think that being freed from evils is the end of blessedness; to be without sin is the beginning of happiness. And in Jeremiah it is written (for I claim for the most merciful God all that is written in the prophets): “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth; behold, I have set you over nations and kingdoms to root up and to dig under and to destroy, and to build and to plant.” God is kind in giving words for rooting up. But what is it that must be rooted up and overturned? If there is any evil planting in the soul, any wicked sect, this the prophetic word roots up, this it overturns. Would that such a word might be given to me as would root up the seeds of the heretics and the teaching that flows from the devil’s fountain, and take away the planting of idolatry from the soul of one who is now entering the Church for the first time! “I have put my words in your mouth. Behold, I have set you to root up and to dig under”: that is, so that if any building is very bad, it may be torn down. How I too would like to dig under whatever Marcion has built in the ears of those he has deceived, to root it up, overturn it, and scatter it, as Jacob destroyed the idols! To this very day there is destroying and building. The heretics have heard only “destroy” and “overturn,” but to the word about building and planting they have turned deaf ears. For they will not observe that the sad things are spoken first, and the glad things second. Why do we mention these things now? To make it plain that the word of God overturns evil and builds up what is best, roots out vices like a good farmer, so that in the cleared field a most abundant harvest of virtues may spring up. So much for the spirit taking away. For he saw first the spirit taking away, then a great cloud in it. When you have been cleansed by the spirit that takes away, so that every evil is taken from you, and all the wickedness that dwells in your soul … by the spirit taking away. This cloud is closest to the cloud we read of in the Gospel, from which came the voice: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The spirit taking away, then a great cloud in it, afterwards a most brilliant light round about it. Evil has been taken away from you. A great cloud has been given you, to rain showers on your vineyard, according to what is said elsewhere: “I will command the clouds not to rain upon it,” that is, upon the very bad vineyard. If this is commanded concerning a bad vineyard, there is no doubt that, on the contrary, if you are a good vineyard, the cloud will rain upon you. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:4: allusion, high confidence - Heb 12:29: allusion, medium confidence - John 4:24: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:10: quotation, high confidence - Gen 35:4: allusion, high confidence - Matt 17:5: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Heb 12:29; John 4:24; Jer 1:9–10; Gen 35:4 (Jacob and the idols); Matt 17:5; Isa 5:6. Words are lost in the scan after “dwells in your soul”; marked “…”. Marcion is named as the builder of false teaching to be rooted up. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.12 (PG 13:678a–679a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-12). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-13 - Source: PG 13:679b–680a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God removes evils by spirit or, failing that, by fire, which smelts away the base metals of vice, and each grievous element of the vision is paired with a pleasant one. ### Latin text Et splendor in circuitu ejus. Deinde ignis fulgens et in medio ejus quasi visio electri. Dupliciter aufert a nobis mala Deus, spiritu et igni. Si boni et intenti ad praecepta Dei simus, et sermonibus illius erudiamur, spiritu mala nostra aufert, secundum illud quod scriptum est : Si autem spiritu opera carnis mortificaveritis, vivetis. Si vero spiritus mala non abstulerit a nobis, purgatione ignis indigemus. Idcirco diligenter observa conjunctiones singulas. Prima conjunctio est spiritus et nebulae; secunda ’ ignis et luminis; tertia electri et splendoris :ac singula quae quasi tristia videntur, jucundiorum vicinitate pensantur. Sive enim spiritus oritur, statim sequitur nebula' sive ignis apparet, adjunctum est ei lumen; sive electrum priecedit, splendor iu circuitu ejus est. Oportet quippe nos quasi aurum in fornace et electrum vehementissimo igne conflari. Et in hoc prepheta quem nunc exponimus, habes sedentem Dominum in medio Jerusalem, et conflantem eos qui misti sunt argento. et stanuo et atramento, et plumbo, et querula voce causantem de his qui habent in se commistionem materia: vilioris. Argentum, inquit, commistum facti estis, et tanquam granum de uva reprobum argentum facti estis. Quando enim creaturae Dei, quae ab initio bona est, superinducimus de malis nostris vitia ac passiones: tunc argento et auro ses, stannum , plumbumque miscemus, et necessarius est ignis ad vin, l3. cum venerimus ad ignem istum, securi transeamus per eum, ad instar auri argentique et lapidis pretiosi, quae sine foco adultera sunt, vel qui sine loco adulteri sunLNon tam utamur incendio quam probemur. ### English translation (Claude) “And brightness round about it”; then “flashing fire, and in the midst of it as the appearance of amber.” God takes away evils from us in two ways, by spirit and by fire. If we are good and attentive to God’s commands, and are instructed by his words, he takes away our evils by spirit, according to what is written: “But if by the Spirit you put to death the works of the flesh, you will live.” But if the spirit has not taken away our evils, we need the cleansing of fire. Therefore observe carefully each pairing. The first pairing is of spirit and cloud; the second, of fire and light; the third, of amber and brightness; and each thing that seems grievous is balanced by the nearness of more pleasant things. For whether the spirit arises, at once a cloud follows; or fire appears, light is joined to it; or amber goes before, brightness is round about it. For we must be smelted like gold in the furnace, and like amber in the fiercest fire. And in this prophet whom we are now expounding you have the Lord sitting in the midst of Jerusalem and smelting those who are mixed with silver and tin and black matter and lead, and complaining in a plaintive voice of those who have in themselves a mixture of baser material. “You have become mixed silver,” he says, “and like a grape seed you have become rejected silver.” For when on God’s creation, which is good from the beginning, we bring vices and passions from our own evils, then we mix bronze, tin, and lead with silver and gold, and fire is necessary … When we come to that fire, let us pass through it safely, like gold and silver and precious stone … Let us not so much be burned as be tested. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:4: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:13: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 22:18: quotation, medium confidence - Ezek 22:20: allusion, medium confidence - Jer 6:30: echo, low confidence - Gen 1:31: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:4; Rom 8:13; Ezek 22:18–22 (the smelting of Jerusalem; the quoted words are loose, perhaps mixed with Jer 6:30, “rejected silver”). “Black matter” renders the scan’s “atramento”, perhaps a misreading. The end of the section is garbled in the scan (after “fire is necessary” and after “precious stone”); lost words are marked “…”. Origen’s purifying fire is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.13 (PG 13:679b–680a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-13). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-14 - Source: PG 13:680a–680b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The north, from which the spirit comes, figures the devil, the source of vices, as Jeremiah and the camp of Dan in Numbers suggest. ### Latin text Ecce spiritus auferens ueniebat ab Aquilone. Et hoc quod ab Aquilone veniebat spiritus auferens, et postea redit, habet rationem. Ab Aquilone quippe exardescunt mala super habitantes terram. Aquilo violentissimus ventus, quem alio nomine Dextrum vocamus , qui in quatuor cardinibus caeli, de quibus venti spirare dicuntur, frigidior est atque vehementior. Nec non et illud quod de ordine castrorum apud Israel in Numeris scribitur, hujus rei obtinet figuram. Novissima enim castra ad Aquilonem ponuntur Dan. Prima castra Juda ad Orientem, deinde pone eum Ruben, postea secundum mare Ephrem, in extremo, ut diximus, ad aquilonem Dan. Et olla quae succensa describitur,s facie Aquilonis accenditur. Aquilo quippe figuraliter dicitur contraria fortitudo, id est Zabulus, qui est vere durissimus ventus. Venit enim ab Aquilone spiritus auferens, et nubes magna in eo. Vitia ab · eo esse exposuimus. Et splendor in circuitu ejus, et ignis fulgens. Potuit dicere ignis exurens, verum piguit Scripturam tristitiam nominare, et opus ejus ascribere, ideoque pro poenali vi splendorem tan- ' tum apposuit. ### English translation (Claude) “Behold, a spirit taking away came from the north.” And the fact that the spirit taking away came from the north, and afterwards returns, has a reason. For from the north evils flare up upon those who dwell in the land. The north wind is the most violent wind (we call it by another name …), which, among the four quarters of heaven from which the winds are said to blow, is the colder and fiercer. And what is written in Numbers about the order of the camps in Israel also holds a figure of this. For the last camp, Dan, is placed to the north. The first camp, Judah, is to the east; then after it Reuben; afterwards toward the sea Ephraim; at the end, as we said, Dan to the north. And the pot that is described as heated is kindled from the face of the north. For figuratively the north stands for the opposing power, that is, the devil, who is truly a most harsh wind. For the spirit taking away came from the north, and a great cloud in it. We have explained that vices come from him. “And brightness round about it, and flashing fire.” It could have said “burning fire,” but Scripture was reluctant to name what is grievous and to describe its work, and so in place of the force of punishment it set down only brightness. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:4: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:14: allusion, high confidence - Num 2:3: allusion, high confidence - Num 2:10: allusion, high confidence - Num 2:18: allusion, high confidence - Num 2:25: allusion, high confidence - Jer 1:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations and allusions: Ezek 1:4; Jer 1:14; Num 2:3–25 (order of the camps); Jer 1:13 (the boiling pot from the north). The other name for the north wind is printed “Dextrum”, which is not a known name; left untranslated. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.14 (PG 13:680a–680b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-14). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-15 - Source: PG 13:680c–681a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The cherubim are those full of knowledge whom God rules, and the four faces stand for all creation subject to Christ: heavenly, earthly, infernal, and what is above the heavens. ### Latin text Et in medio ejus quasi. similitudo quatuor animalium, ista visio eorum. Similitudo hominis is illis. Et quatuor facies uni, quatuor penna: uni,el crure eorum recta, et pennati pedes eorum. Vides qualia sint quae regantur a Deo, ut ibi : Qui sedes super cherubim, appare. Cherubim interpretatur plenitudo scientiae, et quicunque scientia plenus est, ellicitur cherubim, quem regit Deus. Quid sibi autem volunt quatuor facies? Quae salvanda sunt, genu flectunt Domino Jesu, etab Apostolo triplieiter nominantur, ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur, ccclestium, terrestrium et infernorum . Quae autem genu flectunt Domino Jesu , subjecta sunt ei. Et quae subjecta sunt, dicunt : Nonne Deo subjecta est anima mea! Apud ipsum enim salutare meum; et ": Oportet eum regnare donec ponat omnes inimicos sitos sub pedibus ejus. Quid est ergo quartum? Ctelcstia , terrestria et inferna , tria tantum sunt. Nempe illud " : Laudato Dominum, caeli caelorum, ct aqua quae super ctzlos est laudet nomen Domini. Omnia ista reguntura Deo, et ducuntur a majestate ejus. ### English translation (Claude) “And in the midst of it as it were the likeness of four living creatures; this was their appearance: the likeness of a man was in them. And each had four faces, and each had four wings, and their legs were straight, and their feet winged.” You see what kind of beings are ruled by God, as in that verse: “You who sit upon the cherubim, appear.” Cherubim means “fullness of knowledge,” and whoever is full of knowledge becomes a cherub, whom God rules. But what do the four faces mean? The beings that are to be saved bend the knee to the Lord Jesus, and they are named threefold by the Apostle: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.” And those who bend the knee to the Lord Jesus are subject to him. And those who are subject say: “Shall not my soul be subject to God? For from him is my salvation”; and: “He must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet.” What then is the fourth? Heavenly, earthly, and infernal are only three. Surely it is this: “Praise the Lord, heavens of heavens, and let the water that is above the heavens praise the name of the Lord.” All these are ruled by God and led by his majesty. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:5: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:7: quotation, high confidence - Ps 80:1 (79:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:10: quotation, high confidence - Ps 62:1 (61:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:25: quotation, high confidence - Ps 148:4: quotation, high confidence - Ps 148:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:5–7; Ps 80:1 (79:2 LXX); Phil 2:10; Ps 62:1 (61:2 LXX); 1 Cor 15:25; Ps 148:4–5. “Fullness of knowledge” is the traditional etymology of cherubim. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.15 (PG 13:680c–681a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-15). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 1.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-16 - Source: PG 13:681a–682a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The four faces may signify the soul’s three parts (reason, anger, desire) with the spirit above them, and the wheel within a wheel the providence that turns all things. ### Latin text Quocumque spiritus ibat, ibant et animalia. nec ipsa animalia habent similitudinem super se hominis, cum sint quatuor facicrum. Nec dictum cst in principio, quia facierum quatuor sint, sed quia inter quatuor facies eminet et principatum tenet facies humana, describitur et quae dicitur hicics humana, et facies leonis a dextris quatuor partium , et fac'cs vituli a sinistris quatuor, et facies aquila: a quatuor partibus. Videamus ergo an tripartitam animam signiticet de qua etiam aliorum opinionibus disputandum est, ηι anima, tripartite alia quam fortitudo pmsideat. Qua: est tripartitio animai? Per hominem rationale ejus indicatur, per leonem iracundia, per vitulum concupiscentia. Spiritus vero qui praesidet ad auxiliandum, non est a dextris, ut homo, velleo; non est a sinistris, ut vitulus , sed super moues tres facies consistit. Aquila quippein alioloco aquilam spiritum anima: signiticet. Spiritum autem hominis dico qui in eo εει, Atque im omnia num Dei, οω. (ς lestia, terrestria et inferna, et ea quae super ctelos sunt , et etiicimur nos omnes cherubim, quae sub pcdibus Dei sunt, quibus conjuncta: sunt rotat, et utbsequitur ea. Non sub rota , neque sub sccculi ditione rebusque versamur, cum jam per passionem Christi sumus a mundi negotiis liberati. Et rota in medio rant. Si consideres quomodo per contrarios eventus solvatur universitas rerum, sive in his qui putantur errare, sive in his qui ab errore dicuntur alieni, videbis quomodo rota in medio rotae sit. Haec autem regit omnia, et quocunque vult torquet ### English translation (Claude) “Wherever the spirit went, the living creatures went too.” And the living creatures themselves have the likeness of a man upon them, although they have four faces. Nor was it said at the beginning that they have four faces; but because among the four faces the human face stands out and holds the first place, there is described both what is called the human face, and the face of a lion on the right of the four, and the face of an ox on the left of the four, and the face of an eagle on all four. Let us see, then, whether it signifies the tripartite soul (about which the opinions of others must also be discussed) … What is the tripartite division of the soul? By the man its rational part is indicated, by the lion anger, by the ox desire. But the spirit, which presides to give help, is not on the right like the man or the lion, nor on the left like the ox, but stands above the three faces. For in another place the eagle signifies … the spirit of the soul. I mean the spirit of man which is in him … heavenly, earthly, and infernal, and those that are above the heavens; and we all become cherubim, which are under the feet of God, to which the wheels are joined and follow them. We do not live under the wheel, nor under the sway and the affairs of the world, since through the passion of Christ we have already been freed from the business of the world. “And a wheel in the midst of a wheel.” If you consider how the whole of things unfolds through contrary events, whether in those who are thought to err or in those who are said to be free of error, you will see how a wheel is in the midst of a wheel. And this rules all things and turns them wherever it wills. ### Scripture references - Ezek 1:12: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:10: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 1:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:11: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Plato, Resp. 4.439d–441a (Plato (works)): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 1:12, 10, 16; 1 Cor 2:11. The scan is garbled in two places (after the reference to the tripartite soul, and after “the spirit of man which is in him”); lost words are marked “…”. The reading of the four faces as the Platonic three parts of the soul plus the spirit is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 1.16 (PG 13:681a–682a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-1-16). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 2.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-1 - Source: PG 13:682a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Scripture addresses every kind of sinner; its words on false prophets apply to teachers in the Church whose word or life does not match what they preach. ### Latin text Nullam ‘spcciem peccatorum Scriptura reticet, de qua non doceat legentes. Oportuit enim Verbum Dei missum ad sanandos eos qui audiebant, omnem spiritum peccatorum perstringere, et universis hominibus loqui, ut nemo fraudaretur remediis salutaribus, et his medelis quae vulneribus possint prodesse curandis. Quo nio-lo ergo dicuntur alia de populo, alia de sacerdotibus magnis, et qua-dam de presbyteris, ac nonnulla de dispensatoribus : et bonis dispensaioribus laus, malis vero ulpa ascribitur; ut alii exhortationem accipiant tl meliora, alii vero ut in pejora non corruant: ic oportet de falsis ac veris prophetis divinam doceri disciplinam , ut prophetae quidem accipiantur in eam demum partem, qui verbis Dei ininistram; perpseudo-propholas vero designentur Eoclesiarum magistri, qui non recte seu sermone, seu ita, congruunt ei quam praedicant disciplinas. uapropter simus, si nos Scriptura commoneat, docens ιιι recedam“ et magis amem si οι·inis nostri aliquos Dci sermo perstringat, volentes inari et converti a peccatis nostris. ### English translation (Claude) Scripture passes over no kind of sinner without teaching its readers about it. For the Word of God, sent to heal those who heard, had to touch on every spirit of sinners and speak to all people, so that no one would be cheated of the saving remedies and of the medicines that can help to cure wounds. So, just as some things are said about the people, others about the high priests, some about the presbyters, and some about stewards, and praise is ascribed to good stewards and blame to bad ones, so that some may receive encouragement toward better things and others may not fall into worse, in the same way divine teaching must be given about false and true prophets: so that by prophets are understood, in the end, those who minister the words of God, while by false prophets are meant those teachers of the churches who, either in word or in life, do not rightly agree with the teaching they preach. Therefore let us be … if Scripture admonishes us, teaching … and let me love it the more if the word of God touches some of our …, as we wish to be healed and turned from our sins. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:2: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The last sentence is garbled in the scan; lost words are marked “…”. The homily expounds Ezek 13. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 2.1 (PG 13:682a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 2.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-2 - Source: PG 13:682a–683b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: False prophets today are teachers, heretics or even churchmen, who read their own ideas into Scripture; Origen asks his hearers to judge his own preaching like expert money-changers. ### Latin text Factus εει sermo Domini od prophetam Ezechielem, dicens ei : Fili hominis, propheta mihi super prophetas Fuerunt quidem et prophetae Israel nomine potius quam veritate. Sunt autem et hodie vero lsrael, id est Ecclesia, quidam pseudopropheta: et falsi magistri, quibus hic sermo praenuntiat. Si me arguat Dei sermo, tentabo converti; nec quia adversum me aliqua dicuntur, qui videor doctor esse Ecclesiae, debeo tacere; verum mihimetipsi non parcens cuncta revelabo quae dicta quae sunt latenter significata, ut monstret non ad eum fieri prophetiam, qui contra Dei docet voluntatem, qui prophetat dc corde suo. Juxta simplicem quidem intellectum, quidam pr0phetarum de divino Spiritu loquentes, non de corde suo locuti sunt, sed de sensu Dei; quidam vero simulantes se prophetas , atque dicentes : [hec dicit Dominus, Domino non loquente in eis, pseudoprophctae exstiterunt. Potest autem et super eos qui docent in Eeclesiis. si aliter quam poscit veritas docent, prtesens sermo congruere. Si quis etiam ea quae Jesus Christus Dominus locutus est, ipsa aeque doceat, non de corde suo, sed de Spiritu sancto loquitur sermones Filii Dei Jesu. Si consentit sancti Spiritus voluntati, ejus qui in apostolis locutus est, non de corde proprio tequitur, sed de corde Spiritus sancti, qui est locutus in Paulo, qui est locutus in Petro, ἐι in ca'teris apostolis est locutus. Si quis vero legens Evangelium, proprium sensum aptat Evangelio, non ita intelligens ut Dominus locutus est, iste falsus propheta est loquens de corde proprio in Evangelio. Et de haereticis quidem nihil absurdum cst ltzec dicta intelligere. Disserunt quippe quasi in 'Evangeliis, et quasi de apostolis, suorum fabulas proprio corde exponentes, non in corde Spiritus sancti. Neque enim possunt dicere : Nos autent sensum Christi habemus, ut videamus ea qua: a Deo donata sunt nobis. Cum autem et super me venerit qui dicor ecclesiasticus, qui accipio librum sanctum, et nitor eum interpretari, hoc quod de ρ haereticis intelligi potest, quaaso audientes ut diligenter attendant, et accipiant gratiam Spiritus, de qua dictum est δ’ : Discretio spirituum, ut probati trapezita facti, diligenter observent quando falsus sim magister, quando vero praedicem quae sunt pietatis ac veritatis. Si itaque invenio in Moyse, et in prophetis sensum Christi, non de corde proprio, sed de Spiritu sancto loquor. Si autem nihil congruum inveniens, mihimetipsi contingo qum loquar, fluctuans in sermonibus qui sunt alieni a Deo . de meo potius corde quam de Dei sensibus loquor. ### English translation (Claude) “The word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel, saying to him: Son of man, prophesy for me against the prophets.” There were indeed prophets of Israel in name rather than in truth. But today too, in the true Israel, that is, the Church, there are certain false prophets and false teachers, whom this word warns of beforehand. If the word of God reproves me, I will try to be converted; nor must I, who seem to be a teacher of the Church, keep silent because some things are said against me. Rather, not sparing myself, I will reveal everything that is said and everything that is hiddenly signified, so that it may be shown that the prophecy is aimed at the one who teaches against God’s will, who prophesies from his own heart. According to the simple understanding, some of the prophets, speaking from the divine Spirit, did not speak from their own heart but from the mind of God; while others, pretending to be prophets and saying, “Thus says the Lord,” when the Lord was not speaking in them, turned out to be false prophets. But the present word can also fit those who teach in the churches, if they teach otherwise than the truth demands. If anyone teaches the very things that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke, he speaks the words of Jesus the Son of God not from his own heart but from the Holy Spirit. If he agrees with the will of the Holy Spirit, who spoke in the apostles, he speaks not from his own heart but from the heart of the Holy Spirit, who spoke in Paul, who spoke in Peter, and who spoke in the other apostles. But if anyone, reading the Gospel, fits his own sense to the Gospel, not understanding it as the Lord spoke, he is a false prophet, speaking from his own heart in the Gospel. And it is not absurd to understand these words of the heretics. For they discourse as if in the Gospels and as if from the apostles, setting out the fables of their own people from their own heart, not from the heart of the Holy Spirit. For they cannot say: “But we have the mind of Christ, so that we may see the things that have been given to us by God.” But when it comes to me too, who am called a man of the Church, who take up the holy book and strive to interpret it, I beg my hearers to apply what can be understood of the heretics, to attend carefully, and to receive the grace of the Spirit of which it is said, “the discernment of spirits,” so that, having become approved money-changers, they may carefully observe when I am a false teacher and when I preach what belongs to piety and truth. So if I find the mind of Christ in Moses and in the prophets, I speak not from my own heart but from the Holy Spirit. But if, finding nothing fitting, I make up what I say, drifting in words that are foreign to God, I speak from my own heart rather than from the mind of God. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:1: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:3: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:10: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Agraphon money-changers (Sayings of Jesus outside the Gospels (agrapha)): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:1–3; 1 Cor 2:16 with 2:12; 1 Cor 12:10. “Approved money-changers” is the saying ascribed to Jesus outside the Gospels (“be approved money-changers”), often cited by Origen. The clause “so that it may be shown that the prophecy is aimed at…” is printed with a negative (“non ad eum”) that makes no sense; translated by sense. “Make up” renders the scan’s “contingo”, probably for “confingo”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 2.2 (PG 13:682a–683b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-3 - Source: PG 13:683b–685b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Every teacher will be judged for his words and deeds, weighed on God’s scale; false prophets follow their own heart and spirit and so cannot see the truth. ### Latin text Propheta, et dices prophetis qui prephetant de corde suo. Non ait simpliciter de corde, sed de corde suo. Et prophetabis, et dices ad eos : Audite verbum ι) Domini. Haec ad me, haec ad eum dicuntur, qui doetorem se esse promittit, ut timor Dei major oriatur in nobis, ne periclitemur quasi sub commentario scripto non ab hominibus, sed ab angelis Dei, sic proferre sermonem. Novi quippe quia, cum in judicio ille ordo consederit, de quo prophetavit Daniel“, et libri fuerint aperti, omnes mei conatus, omnes mea: expositiones proferentur in medium, sive in justifieationem, sive in condemnationem meam. lu justifieationem quidem mihi erunt, quae bene dicta sunt; in condemnationem vero, ea quae secus quam veritas poscit, explanata : Ea: sermonibus, inquit , tuis justificaberis, et ea: sermonibus tuis condemnataris, quasi habenti non omnes sermones de quibus j'ustiticarctur, neque rursum omnes sermones de quibus condemnaretur. Si aliquis a sermonibus purus est alienis, et eis qui possint reprehendi, ex sermonibus suis justifieahitur, et non condemnabitur. Si autem nunquam recte locutus est, sed semper protulit prava, ex sermonibus suis condemnabitur, et noujustificabitur. Verum quia nos qui non sumus ex omni parte perfecti, neque sic dicimus ut semper justitiecmur, neque sic e contrario sumus peceatores ut semper condemnemur : et habemus alia verba ex quibus justifieemur, et alia ex quibus condemnemur: Deus super stateram suam utraque ponens expendit diligenter, et judicat in quibus justus sim, et in quibus sermonibus condemnandus. Quod autem in sermonibus facit, hoc idem facit et in gestis. Necesse est enim ut sint alia facta in quibus justifieemur, et alia in quibus condemnemur. Neque enim sic perfectus sum, ιιι omnia facta habeam in quibus justus exsistam, neque sic peccator, ut talia cuncta fecerim, quae me ex omni parte eondemnent. Esse autem et alia facta istiusmodi, et alia istiusmodi, ex hoc manifestum est quod dicitur : Quorumdam hominum peccata manifesta sunt priet-edentia ad judicium, quorumdam autem et subsequuntur. Similiter autem et bona facta manifesta sunt, et qua aliter habentur latere non possunt. Eque de intellectibus. PrOptcr quod et inter se invicem cogitationum accusantium sive sa‘tisfacientium judidum me exspectat de omnibus qum facio, quae intelligo, quae loquor, et incertus opperior quidnam mihi in illo judicio sit futurutn ; quantoque magts timor Dei mihi incutitttr ad recipienda cuncta qua: feci, tanto magis custodire me debeo, utinam quidem ab omnibus peccatis! sin autem hoc non pos- χ sum, saltem queam a maximis. llaec de eo quo" proposuimus dc prophetis. qui prophetam de corde suo, ad quos dicitur : Audite sermonem Domini, lure dicit Dominus .' Va: iis qui prophetam de corde suo, qui ambulant post spiritum suum. Duo peccata sunt, unum cordis, aliud spiritus. Primum de meliori parte videamus, ut possimus etiam ea quae contraria sunt considerare. Apostolus loqui' tur“ : Orabo spiritu, orabo et sensu. Qui sensus in corde habet habitaculum. Psallam spiritu, psallam sensu. Igitur et spiritus est, et sensus in nobis. Et quo modo sanctus orat spiritu, orat et sensu, psallit spiritu, psallit et sensu : sic iste qui est falsus l"'°' pbctcs, de corde proprio prophetat, et ambulat non post Spiritum Dei, sed post spiritum suum. EstquiPP" quidam spiritus hominis, qui versatur in eo. p05! pl quem procul absit ut ego ambulem, sed intelligens sanctum Spiritum Dei post Dominum Jesum meum . ambulem. Itaque prophetae qui prophetantde corde. et ambulant post spiritum non tam Dei quam suum. omnino quod Graece dicitur τὸ non vident, et est ambigua ex sermone sententia. Sive enim ea qua sunt generalia, id est, generalia non vident, licet quadam ex parte conspiciant; sive, quod ego melius reor, omnino non vident, licet sibi ex parte quedam videantur videre. Alii quippe in nobis oculi sunt meliores bis quos habemus in corpore. Qui oculi aut Iesum Dominum vident, qui eos ad se intuendum creavit, aut certe omnino caeci sunt. Si peccator sum, nihil video nec possum veritatis lumen aspicere. In judicium quippe, ait , in mundum istum veni, ut non videntes videant, et videntes caeci fiant; si autem justus, accipio gratiam a Deo et de me quoque dicitur videns. PrOpheta: enim vocabantur antevidentes. Et qui vides, ait , vade, descende in terram Juda, et ibi commorare, et ibi prop/zetabis. In Bethel autem jam non adjicies ut prophetes. Et rursum alibi : Visio quam vidit Isaias filius Amos. Beatus cui revelabit Dominus oculos ad videnda mirabilia de lege Dei, juxta obsecrationem Propheta: dicentis ” : Revela oculos nicas, et considerabo mirabilia de lege tua. ### English translation (Claude) “Prophesy, and say to the prophets who prophesy from their own heart.” It does not say simply “from the heart,” but “from their own heart.” “And you shall prophesy and say to them: Hear the word of the Lord.” These things are said to me, to the one who professes to be a teacher, so that a greater fear of God may arise in us, lest we be in danger in uttering speech in this way, as if under a record written not by men but by the angels of God. For I know that when that court sits in judgment of which Daniel prophesied, and the books are opened, all my efforts and all my expositions will be brought into the open, whether for my justification or for my condemnation. What was well said will be for my justification; for my condemnation, what was expounded otherwise than truth demands. “By your words,” he says, “you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned”: as to one who has neither all words by which he would be justified, nor again all words by which he would be condemned. If anyone is clean of foreign words and of those that can be blamed, he will be justified by his words and will not be condemned. But if he never spoke rightly, but always uttered crooked things, he will be condemned by his words and will not be justified. But we are not perfect in every part: we neither speak so as always to be justified, nor on the other hand are we such sinners as always to be condemned, and we have some words by which we are justified and others by which we are condemned. So God places both on his scale, weighs them carefully, and judges in which I am righteous and for which words I am to be condemned. What he does with words, he also does with deeds. For there must be some deeds in which we are justified and others in which we are condemned. I am neither so perfect that all my deeds are such that I prove righteous in them, nor such a sinner that I have done only things that condemn me in every part. That there are some deeds of one kind and some of another is clear from what is said: “The sins of some men are evident, going before them to judgment, but those of others follow after. So also good deeds are evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.” The same holds for thoughts. Therefore, with thoughts accusing or excusing one another, a judgment awaits me concerning all that I do, all that I understand, all that I say, and I wait in uncertainty what my lot will be in that judgment; and the more the fear of God is struck into me of receiving back all that I have done, the more I ought to guard myself: would that it were from all sins! But if I cannot, at least from the greatest. So much for what we set out concerning the prophets who prophesy from their own heart, to whom it is said: “Hear the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord: Woe to those who prophesy from their own heart, who walk after their own spirit.” There are two sins, one of the heart, the other of the spirit. Let us first look at the better part, so that we may also consider its opposite. The Apostle says: “I will pray with the spirit, I will pray with the mind also.” The mind has its dwelling in the heart. “I will sing with the spirit, I will sing with the mind.” So there is both spirit and mind in us. And just as the saint prays with the spirit and prays with the mind, sings with the spirit and sings with the mind, so this false prophet prophesies from his own heart and walks not after the Spirit of God but after his own spirit. For there is a spirit of man which dwells in him. Far be it from me to walk after it; rather, understanding the Holy Spirit of God, may I walk after my Lord Jesus. So the prophets who prophesy from the heart and walk after a spirit that is not so much God’s as their own “do not see at all” (what is said in Greek, τὸ [καθόλου]), and the sense of the wording is ambiguous. For either they do not see the general things, that is, the universal, though they see certain things in part; or, as I think better, they do not see at all, though they seem to themselves to see certain things in part. For we have other eyes in us, better than those we have in the body. These eyes either see the Lord Jesus, who created them to behold him, or else they are utterly blind. If I am a sinner, I see nothing and cannot look upon the light of truth. “For judgment,” he says, “I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” But if I am righteous, I receive grace from God, and of me too it is said, “seer.” For the prophets were called “seers.” “And you who see,” he says, “go, go down into the land of Judah and stay there, and there you shall prophesy. But at Bethel you shall prophesy no more.” And again elsewhere: “The vision which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.” Blessed is he whose eyes the Lord opens to see the wonders of God’s law, according to the prayer of the prophet who says: “Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonders of your law.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:3: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:10: allusion, high confidence - Matt 12:37: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 5:24: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 5:25: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 14:15: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:11: allusion, medium confidence - John 9:39: quotation, high confidence - 1 Sam 9:9: allusion, high confidence - Amos 7:12: quotation, high confidence - Amos 7:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 119:18 (118:18 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:2–3; Dan 7:10; Matt 12:37; 1 Tim 5:24–25; Rom 2:15; 1 Cor 14:15; 1 Cor 2:11; John 9:39; 1 Sam 9:9; Amos 7:12–13; Isa 1:1; Ps 119:18 (118:18 LXX). The Greek of Ezek 13:3 (τὸ καθόλου μὴ βλέπειν, “not to see at all” or “not to see the universal”) is discussed; the Latin prints only “τὸ”, and the rest is supplied in brackets from the sense of the discussion. The scan is garbled at a few points (“falsus propheta”, “post quem”); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 2.3 (PG 13:683b–685b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-4 - Source: PG 13:685b–686a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: False teachers are like foxes in deserted places, finding room only where Christ is absent, and unable to stand firm on the rock. ### Latin text Videamus autem et alium sermonem per quem pseudoprophette et falsi magistri corripiuntur: a quo, quzeso, ut orantibus vobis ego purus inveniar. Quae est igitur correptio? sicut culpes in deserto, proaliene tui, Israel". Animal vulpes nequam est, versutum, indomabile est, ferum est. Dicite, ait Salvator θ’, vulpi isti : Ecce sanationes perficio hodie, et cras, et tertia die consummor. llas vulpes necessarias habuit adversum alienigenas Samson, quarum α caudis cum igne vinctis (trecentas enim ceperat) in perditionem eus frugum misit hostilium. Istiusmodi sunt falsi magistri, versuti, maligni et bestiis similes. Si talis sum, vulpes sum : sed non simpliciιθι· vulpes, verum vulpes in desertis, vulpes in parietinis, vulpes in rupibus;ha:c enim in diversis scnsibus continentur. Versipelles isti et nequam semper in desertis, semper in solitudinibus morantur. Ubicunque enim anima habitatur a Deo, et Spiritu sancto plena est, ibi non potest hmreticorum doctrina penetrare, nec valet eorum sermo perrumpere. Ubi autem solitudo Christi est, ubi desertum iustitiae, ibi nequissimae disciplinas venena versantur. Idcirco sicut vulpes, ait ”, in desertis propheta: tui, Israel. Non steterunt in firmamento. Si considerare volueris magistros, videbis eos infirmos, instabiles, et non valentes dicere “ : Statuit supra petram pedes meos, et direxit gressus meos. Et quia non sunt tales ut steterint, robusta radice fundati, ideo non’steterunt in firmamento, sed dilexerunt movere pedes suos. Est autem et hoc grande peccatum, saltem paululum pedes movere, ut David psalmista canit": Qum bonus Israel Deus rectis corde! Mei vero pene commoti sunt pedes. Beatus ille multumque felix, cui robustissime consistenti firmos anima: pedes habere concessum est, qui audire a Deo dignus est ’ : Tu vero sta mecum. Verum non tales pseudopr0phetre. non tales falsi magistri : neque enim sic Steterunt in firmamento. ### English translation (Claude) Let us look also at another word by which false prophets and false teachers are rebuked; and I ask that, through your prayers, I may be found clean of it. What, then, is the rebuke? “Like foxes in the desert are your prophets, Israel.” The fox is a wicked animal, cunning, untamable, wild. “Tell that fox,” says the Savior, “Behold, I perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am perfected.” Samson needed these foxes against the foreigners: binding fire to their tails (for he had caught three hundred), he sent them to destroy the enemies’ crops. Such are the false teachers: cunning, malicious, like beasts. If I am such, I am a fox: not simply a fox, but a fox in the deserts, a fox in ruins, a fox among the rocks, for these readings are found in the different versions. These crafty and wicked ones always stay in deserts, always in wildernesses. For wherever a soul is inhabited by God and is full of the Holy Spirit, there the teaching of the heretics cannot penetrate, nor can their word break through. But where there is the absence of Christ, where there is a desert of righteousness, there the poisons of the most wicked teaching are at home. Therefore, he says, “Like foxes in the deserts are your prophets, Israel. They have not stood in the firmament.” If you wish to consider the teachers, you will see that they are weak, unstable, and unable to say: “He set my feet upon a rock and directed my steps.” And because they are not such as to have stood, grounded with a strong root, therefore “they have not stood in the firmament,” but they loved to move their feet. And this too is a great sin, to move one’s feet even a little, as David the psalmist sings: “How good is the God of Israel to the upright in heart! But my feet were almost moved.” Blessed and very happy is he to whom it is granted, standing most firmly, to have the firm feet of the soul, who is worthy to hear from God: “But you, stand with me.” But the false prophets are not such, the false teachers are not such; for they have not thus “stood in the firmament.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:4: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:5: quotation, high confidence - Luke 13:32: quotation, high confidence - Judg 15:4: allusion, high confidence - Ps 40:2 (39:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:1 (72:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Deut 5:31: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:4–5; Luke 13:32; Judg 15:4–5; Ps 40:2 (39:3 LXX); Ps 73:1–2 (72:1–2 LXX); Deut 5:31. “The different versions” are the Greek translations of the Old Testament that Origen compared. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 2.4 (PG 13:685b–686a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 2.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-5 - Source: PG 13:686a–687a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: False teachers gather schismatic flocks and claim apostolic tradition, but have not risen with Christ; they will be excluded from God’s people and the land of promise. ### Latin text Et congregabant greges super domum Israel, quos docent, quos instituunt, sive haeretici dogma impium praedicantes, sive falsi magistri decipientes eos quorum aures pruriunt, colligunt greges schismatum adversum Ecclesiam Dei, adversum domum lsrael. Non surrexerunt qui dicerent : In die Domini fa‘lsa videntes. lli non surrexerunt; isti vero surgentes‘ dicunt θ’ : Consepulti sumus Christo per baptisma, et consurreximus ei. Habemus quippe ut pignus Spiritus sancti, quem accipiemus ad plenum postquam venerit quod perfectum cst, sic pignus resurrectionis, quia in resurrectione perfecta nemo adhuc resurrexit de nobis. Verumtamen resurreximus, Paulo dicente : Consepulti sumus Christo ρετ baptisma, et consurreximus ei. Non ergo resurrexerunt, hoc est necdum resurrectionis baptisma consecuti sunt falsi prophetae, et falsi magistri :Qni dicerent in die Domini videntes quae falsa sunt ἐντ’, neque aliquando possunt conspicere veritatem. Accipe exemplum. Qui Scripturam legit, et aliter quam scripta est accipit, Seripturam mendaciter videt. Qui vero audit Scripturam, ut se veritatis intelle« ctus habet, et sic eam interpretatur, videt veritatem. Et sancti quidem non divrnant. Non enim dirinatio in Iacob . Peccatores vero divinant falsa, dicentes ἐ Haec dicit Dominus, et Dominus non misit eos. Audi haereticos, quomodo traditiones apostolorum habere se dicant. Audi falsos magistros, quomodo aliirmant doctrinam suam Domini esse doctrinam, sensum suum congruere sensui prophetarum, etdicunt : Haec dicit Dominus, et Dominus non misit eos. Et coeperunt suscitare sermonem. Non visionem falsam vidistis? Et hi enim volunt in defensionem sui quemdam pro se suscitare sermonem, sed arguit eos Dominus, et dicit : Non visionem falsam vidistis, et divinationes vanas locuti estis, et dixistis: Dicit Dominus, et ego non sum locutus? Propterea dic : Hatc dicit Dominus, pro eo quod sermones vestri mendaces sunt. Orate pro nobis ut sermones nostri non sint falsi. Licet quidam homines ignorantia Djudicii eos asserant falsos, Dominus non dicat, et recte nobiscum agetur. Si vero mille hominum eos dixerint veros, judicio porro Dei fuerint falsi, quid mihi proderit? Dicunt et Marcionita: magistri sui veros esse sermones , dicunt et Valentini robustissimam sectam, qui fabularum ejus commenta suscipiunt. Quae utilitas. quia plurimi Ecclesiae haeretica pravitate decepti in eorum conspiravere sententiam? Hoc est quod quaeritur, ut Dominus sermonum meorum testis assistat, ut ipse comprobet quae dicuntur sanctarum testimonio Scripturarum. Propter base ergo ad nos dicit Adonai Dominus‘ ε Em tendam nantium meam ad prophetas qui vident mendacia. lla: comminationes sunt adversum falsos magistros, et eos qui loquuntur mendacia. Videamus autem quid de his comminctur : In disciplina populi mei non erunt. Non uno modo a Domino peccatores corripiuntur. Aliter arguitur populus Domini, aliter alienus ah eo ° : Fili, ne neglexeris disciplinam Domini, neque [aligeris dum argueris ab eo. Quem enim diligit Dominus castigat, flagellat autem omnem filium quem recipit. Argue nos, Domine , verum in judicio, ct non in furore : ista correptio populicst. Correptio peccatoris et alieni illa est quam justus renuit, dicens’ :Domine, ne in ira tua arguas me, neque in furore tuo corripias me. Dc falsis itaque magistris, et de pseudopmphctis dicitur : In disciplina populi mei non erunt, neque in Scriptura domus Israel scribentur. Sicut et alibi ἐ Deleantur de libro uiuentium, et cum justis non scribantur. Et nunc Scriptura ait : In scriptura domus Israel non scribentur, etin terram Israel non intrabunt. Extra repromissionis terram lucretici morabuntur, quae est terra valde bona, ct iu quam ut introducamur oramus, in libro viventium ante conscripti a Jcsu Christo cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “And they gathered flocks against the house of Israel”: those whom they teach, whom they train. Whether they are heretics preaching an impious doctrine, or false teachers deceiving those whose ears itch, they collect flocks of schisms against the Church of God, against the house of Israel. “They did not rise up who would say, in the day of the Lord, seeing false things.” Those did not rise; but these, rising, say: “We were buried with Christ through baptism, and we have risen with him.” For just as we have the pledge of the Holy Spirit, whom we shall receive in full after what is perfect has come, so we have a pledge of the resurrection, since none of us has yet risen in the perfect resurrection. Nevertheless we have risen, as Paul says: “We were buried with Christ through baptism, and we have risen with him.” So the false prophets and false teachers have not risen, that is, they have not yet obtained the baptism of resurrection: those who would speak in the day of the Lord, seeing things that are false, and can never behold the truth. Take an example. One who reads Scripture and takes it otherwise than it is written sees Scripture falsely. But one who hears Scripture as the understanding of the truth holds it, and interprets it so, sees the truth. And the saints do not practise divination: “For there is no divination in Jacob.” But sinners divine false things, saying, “Thus says the Lord,” and the Lord did not send them. Hear the heretics, how they say they have the traditions of the apostles. Hear the false teachers, how they affirm that their teaching is the Lord’s teaching, that their understanding agrees with the understanding of the prophets; and they say, “Thus says the Lord,” and the Lord did not send them. “And they began to raise up a word. Have you not seen a false vision?” For these too wish to raise up some word in their own defense, but the Lord rebukes them and says: “Have you not seen a false vision and spoken vain divinations, and said, ‘The Lord says,’ when I have not spoken? Therefore say: Thus says the Lord: because your words are lying.” Pray for us that our words may not be false. Even if some people, from ignorance of judgment, declare them false, so long as the Lord does not say so, it will go well with us. But if a thousand people say they are true, and in God’s judgment they turn out to be false, what good will it do me? The Marcionites too say that their master’s words are true, and those who accept the inventions of his fables say that Valentinus’s is a most powerful sect. What profit is it that very many of the Church, deceived by heretical perversity, have joined in their opinion? This is what is sought: that the Lord should stand by as witness of my words, and himself approve what is said by the testimony of the holy Scriptures. So for this reason the Lord Adonai says to us: “I will stretch out my hand against the prophets who see lies.” These are threats against false teachers and those who speak lies. Let us see what he threatens concerning them: “They shall not be in the discipline of my people.” Sinners are not rebuked by the Lord in one way only. The Lord’s people is reproved in one way, the one estranged from him in another: “Son, do not neglect the discipline of the Lord, nor grow weary when you are reproved by him. For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and he scourges every son whom he receives.” “Reprove us, Lord, but in judgment and not in fury”: this is the rebuke of the people. The rebuke of the sinner and the stranger is the one the righteous man refuses, saying: “Lord, do not reprove me in your anger, nor rebuke me in your wrath.” So of the false teachers and false prophets it is said: “They shall not be in the discipline of my people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel.” As also elsewhere: “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” And now Scripture says: “They shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel, and they shall not enter the land of Israel.” The heretics will dwell outside the land of promise, which is a very good land, into which we pray to be brought, having been written beforehand in the book of the living by Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:5: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:6: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:7: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:8: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:9: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:3: allusion, high confidence - Rom 6:4: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:12: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 1:22: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 13:10: allusion, high confidence - Num 23:23: quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:11: quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:12: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:5: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:6: quotation, high confidence - Jer 10:24: quotation, high confidence - Ps 6:1 (6:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 69:28 (68:29 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:5–9; 2 Tim 4:3; Rom 6:4 with Col 2:12; 2 Cor 1:22; 1 Cor 13:10; Num 23:23; Prov 3:11–12 (Heb 12:5–6); Jer 10:24 (“reprove us”, adapted to the plural); Ps 6:1 (6:2 LXX); Ps 69:28 (68:29 LXX). Marcionites and Valentinians are named. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 2.5 (PG 13:686a–687a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/1-11/#p-2-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-1 - Source: PG 13:687a–688a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The face the prophet must “set firm” is the ruling part of the heart, which must be fixed on Christ and the Scriptures rather than on worldly cares. ### Latin text Primum de eo quod dicitur: Obfirma faciem tuam, requirendum. Deinde si Dominus dederit, investigare debemus tilias populi prophetantes de cordo suo, et facientes ea, in quibus eas Dei sermo corripiat. Et quod sit alia facies praeter hanc corporis nostri faciem , licet ex multis manifestum sit, attamen ct ex his quae Apostolus memorat indicatur " : Nos vero omnes revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes , in eamdem imaginem transformamur a gloria in gloriam, quasi a Domini Spiritu. lianc faciem corporalem omnes homines habemus revelatam, nisi forte calamitatibus et angustiis premimur. Vultus autem ille de quo sermo Apostoli est, in multis tectus est , et in paucis revelatus. Qui enim fiduciam habet in vita immaculata, in sensu sano. in tide vera, iste tantummodo non habet confusionis, fraudulentize, peccatique velamen, sed propter puram conscientiam revelata facie gloriam Domini contemplatur. Procul autem absit a nobis ut velatam habeamus banc faciem l Haec pauca de facie, ut possimus intelligere quid sit quod sequitur: οι. firmo faciem tuam super filias populi tui. Ista facies, id est principale cordis nostri, nisi obfirmata fuerit super eo quod intelligendum est, ut quomodo videt sic annuntiet audientibus, illud quod aspicitur non videtur. lmpossibile quippe est ut aliquis sine oblirmatione vultus, vagus , fluctuabundus, circumlatus omni vento doctrinae , videat quod debet, videat ut debet. Oportet ergo volentem intelligere habere faciem in eo quod intelligere nititur oblirmatam: et ob banc semper causam prophetaturis primum jubctur ut faciem suam ol'lirment; ut nostram autem et nos possimus obtirmarc faciem in Evangelia, li: in lege, in prophetis , in apostolis, obfirma eam super Christo, ct non super saiculi negotiis. Sed cum in mundialibus curis anima nostra versetur, cuin semper ardeat habendi fame , non obtirmemus faciem nostram Super ea quae imperavit Deus, sed super ea quae Dei sunt adversa prmeeptis. Quis putas in nohis mundus est ab obfirmatione faciei super bis quae interdicta sunt? Quis in tantum sollicitus et cautus, ut diebus ac noctibus in ea oblimet cordis sui faciem quzejubentur? ### English translation (Claude) First we must inquire into what is said: “Set your face firm.” Then, if the Lord grants it, we must investigate the daughters of the people who prophesy from their own heart and do the things for which the word of God rebukes them. That there is another face besides this face of our body is plain from many passages, but it is shown also from what the Apostle records: “But we all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This bodily face all of us have unveiled, unless perhaps we are weighed down by calamities and distresses. But that face of which the Apostle speaks is covered in many and unveiled in few. For only one who has confidence through a spotless life, a sound mind, and true faith has no veil of confusion, deceit, and sin, but because of a pure conscience beholds the glory of the Lord with unveiled face. Far be it from us to have this face veiled! These few words about the face, so that we may understand what follows: “Set your face firm against the daughters of your people.” This face, that is, the ruling part of our heart, unless it is set firm on what is to be understood, so that as it sees it may announce to the hearers, does not see what is looked at. For it is impossible for anyone without setting his face firm, wandering, wavering, “carried about by every wind of doctrine,” to see what he ought and as he ought. So one who wishes to understand must have his face set firm on what he strives to understand; and for this reason those who are about to prophesy are always first commanded to set their face firm. And so that we too may set our face firm on the Gospels, on the law, on the prophets, on the apostles: set it firm on Christ, and not on the affairs of the world. But when our soul is busied with worldly cares, when it always burns with the hunger of possessing, we do not set our face firm on what God has commanded, but on what is opposed to God’s commands. Who among us, do you think, is clean of setting his face firm on things forbidden? Who is so careful and cautious that day and night he sets the face of his heart firm on what is commanded? ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:17: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:17; 2 Cor 3:18; Eph 4:14. The homily expounds Ezek 13:17–14:11. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.1 (PG 13:687a–688a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-2 - Source: PG 13:688a–688d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Taken literally, sewing pillows and veils is no sin, so Scripture itself compels a search for the spiritual meaning. ### Latin text Nunc quoque si intellecturi sumus praesentem scripturam quomodo propheta: dicatur: Obfirma faciem tuam super filias populi tui, ut videat ea que dicturus est, debemus oblirmare intelligentiam, plenum in tentatione cordis habere tractatum quid sit hoc quod significetur , ut tandem ratione superati recedamus a littera. Ac secundum connnunem quidem intellectum videntur quedam filia: populi prophetantes hoc quod sequitur admisisse peccatum.Assumentes cervicalia consuebant, consuentes ea non ponebant ea sub capite, sed sub cubito audientium, et velaminibus quibusdam tegebant capita universae aetatis. Haec sunt qumprophetautibustiliabus populi rcputantur quasi magna peccata. Quis autem potest in verbo consistens dicere quia , si quis cervicalia consuat, et consula sub cubito ponat alterius, delinquat, et a Deo corripiatur? Quis potest asserere quia, si quis velamina faciat ad tegendum caput uni- Versa: aetatis, impie agatilnvitis nobis ab ipsa Scriplura necessitas imponitur , ut ab apicibus littere recedentes, verbum, et sapientiam, et voluntatem ejus requiramus ad aperienda peccata quae clausa sunt, ad illuminanda quae caligant, ut possimus a maledicto extranei fieri. dum agaoscinms, quid sit, cni niale- dicilur. ### English translation (Claude) Now too, if we are to understand the present scripture, how it is said to the prophet, “Set your face firm against the daughters of your people,” so that he may see what he is to say, we must set our understanding firm and, with the effort of the heart, treat fully what is signified, so that, overcome at last by reason, we may depart from the letter. According to the common understanding, certain daughters of the people who prophesied seem to have committed the sin that follows. Taking pillows, they sewed them; and when they had sewn them, they put them not under the head but under the elbow of their hearers, and with certain veils they covered the heads of every age. These are the things reckoned as great sins in the daughters of the people who prophesied. But who, standing on the bare word, can say that if someone sews pillows and puts them, once sewn, under another person’s elbow, he sins and is rebuked by God? Who can assert that if someone makes veils to cover the head of every age, he acts impiously? Against our will, a necessity is laid on us by Scripture itself to depart from the tips of the letters and to seek its word, its wisdom, and its intent, in order to open the sins that are shut up and to light up what is dark, so that we may become strangers to the curse, as we recognize what it is that is cursed. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:17: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:18: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:17–18. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.2 (PG 13:688a–688d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-3 - Source: PG 13:688d–690a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The pillows and veils are figures of teachers who flatter their hearers with pleasant, pleasure-loving preaching that lulls rather than heals. ### Latin text Vaec quippe ait his qui adsnuut cervicalia sub oinni Omni cubito manuum sive manus “. Qui io victu corporis occupati sunt, et ne per somnium quidem spirituales vident delicias , quas non habere vult sermo divinus dicens : Delectare in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui; qui non noverunt voluntatem beatorum, de qua scribitur ,“z Torrente voluptatis tua: potabis eos ; requirunt quasi amatores luxuriae et non amatores Dei, semper in corporalibus esse deliciis. Signum autem mihi vidrtur voluptatis caruere, sub cubito manuum cervical assutum. Quia enim in tempore discumbendi ad beneficia corporalia videmur uti consutis quibusdam, et acu pictis sub cubito manuum nostrarum, forsitan sermo divinus per istiusmodi llguram et argumentum eos culpat magistros , qui per vaniloquentiam et beatas quasque repromissiones multitudinem audientium libidini, vitiis , voluptatique permittunt. Debet enim Dei Verbum et Deus homo ea proferre, quae saluti sunt audienti, quae illum hortentur ad continentiam, ad conversationem sanorum actuum, ad cuncta in quae homo studiosus laborum et non libidinum debet incumbere, ut possit ea consequi quae a Deo sunt repromissa. Cum ergo aliquis aptus moribus populi , ut placeat eis quibus aures pruriunt, loquitur quae gratanter accipiant, loquitur quae vicina sunt voluptati, talis nzagister consuit cervicalia sub omni cubito manus. Sequitur bac peccatum habentem , ut faciat etiam amictus ad velandum caput omnis anatis. Cujus autem rei figura sit etiam velamen, cautius consideremus. Qui fiduciam habet, et vere vir est, vela. ϐ men non habet super caput suum , sed intecto capite orat Dominum , intecto capite prophetat, per signum corporalis rei etiam spiritalem latenter ostendens. ut quomodo non habet velamen super caput carnis suae , ita non habeat velamen super principale cordis sui. Si quis vero confusionis velamen gerit et peccati, iste quasi muliebria velamina habet super caput suum. Itaque cum aliquis docuerit ea quae aurem populi mulceant , et strepitum potius laudatorum quam gemitum moveant, si blandus ini- ‘ micus palpaverit potius quam secuerit vulnera, talis homo amictus contexit in capite. Cum autem in luxuriosam orationem dicentis se sermo fuderit, et in lascivum persultaverit eloquium, contexit velamen super caputbmuis aetatis, non modo puerorum et juvenum, verum et senum. Quo modo enim faciet signa et portehta ad decipiendos, si fieri potest , etiam electos falsus Christus, et falsus prepheta : similiter et bi qui ad voluptatem meditata ,dcportant, et ista semper inqulrunt quae delectent potius audientes quam convertant a vitiis, faciunt velamina super caput non modo puerorum et juvenum, sed, si fieri potest, senum quoque et patrum, intantum ut etiam eos decipiantqui juxta laborem animas in spiritali aetate et senio processerunt. Et potuit quidem dicere propheta, super tilios populi tui qui. prophetam: sed quasi omnes qui velamina contesant, et cervicalia consuant sub omni cubito manus, mulieres sint, et nullus inter eos viri nomine dignus habeatur, ait propheta : In filias populi tui quae prophetam de corde suo , et ea faciunt quas sequuntur. Efi'cminata: quippe sunt eorum magistrorum et animae, et voluntates, qui semper sonantia, semper canora componunt : et, ut quod verum est dicam, nihil virile, nihil forte, nihil Deo dignum cst in his qui juxta gratiam et voluntatem audientium praedicant; ideirco omnes filias potius quam filios dixit assucntes cervicalia. Et observa proprietatem verbi; assumtes ait, non contexentes. An ignoras quod tunica Domini tui Jesu nihil in se habeat cousutile, sed ex omni parte contexta sit? ista: ergo eonsuunt dicta dictis fraudulenter etcallide, assuentes potius quam contexentes; et faciunt cervicalia non in quibus capita reclinent, sed in quibus cubitum, id est ut manus eorum non sint in labore, non ἰιι opere lassescant, sed sint in requie, sint in otio, sint in his gestis quae voluptatibus serviunt. ### English translation (Claude) For it says: “Woe to those who sew pillows under every elbow of the hands” (or “of the hand”). Those who are taken up with the living of the body, and do not see even in a dream the spiritual delights (which the divine word does not want them to be without, when it says: “Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart”), who do not know the will of the blessed, of which it is written: “You will give them drink from the torrent of your pleasure,” seek, as lovers of luxury and not lovers of God, to be always in bodily delights. And the pillow sewn under the elbow of the hands seems to me a sign of fleshly pleasure. For since at the time of reclining for bodily enjoyments we seem to use certain sewn and embroidered things under the elbow of our hands, perhaps the divine word, by such a figure and token, blames those teachers who, through empty talk and blessed promises of every kind, give over the multitude of their hearers to lust, vices, and pleasure. For the Word of God and the man of God ought to put forward what serves the hearer’s salvation, what exhorts him to continence, to a way of life of sound actions, to all the things to which a man eager for labors and not for lusts ought to apply himself, so that he may obtain what God has promised. So when someone, adapting himself to the people’s ways to please those whose ears itch, says what they gladly receive, says what is close to pleasure, such a teacher sews pillows under every elbow of the hand. It follows that one who has this sin also makes coverings to veil the head of every age. Let us consider more carefully what the veil too is a figure of. He who has confidence and is truly a man has no veil on his head, but prays to the Lord with head uncovered and prophesies with head uncovered, showing hiddenly, by the sign of a bodily thing, a spiritual one too: that as he has no veil over the head of his flesh, so he should have no veil over the ruling part of his heart. But if someone wears the veil of confusion and of sin, he has, as it were, women’s veils over his head. So when someone teaches things that soothe the people’s ear and stir the noise of applause rather than groaning, if as a flattering enemy he has stroked the wounds rather than cut them, such a man has woven a covering on the head. And when the speaker’s words have poured themselves out into luxurious oratory and leapt about in wanton eloquence, he has woven a veil over the head of every age, not only of children and young men but also of old men. For just as the false Christ and the false prophet will perform signs and portents to deceive, if possible, even the elect, so also those who bring forth things devised for pleasure, and always seek what delights the hearers rather than what turns them from vices, make veils over the head not only of children and young men but, if possible, of old men and fathers too, so as to deceive even those who, through the labor of their souls, have advanced to spiritual age and old age. And the prophet could have said, “against the sons of your people who prophesy”; but as if all who weave veils and sew pillows under every elbow of the hand were women, and none among them were thought worthy of the name of man, the prophet says: “against the daughters of your people who prophesy from their own heart” and do the things that follow. For effeminate are the souls and wills of those teachers who always compose what is resonant and tuneful; and, to say what is true, there is nothing manly, nothing strong, nothing worthy of God in those who preach according to the favor and wishes of their hearers. Therefore he called all who sew pillows daughters rather than sons. And note the exactness of the word: he says “sewing on,” not “weaving.” Do you not know that the tunic of your Lord Jesus had nothing sewn in it, but was woven throughout? So these women sew sayings to sayings, fraudulently and cunningly, stitching on rather than weaving; and they make pillows, not on which to rest their heads, but their elbows, that is, so that their hands may not be at labor nor grow weary at work, but be at rest, at leisure, in deeds that serve pleasures. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:18: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:17: quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 36:8 (35:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:4: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:3: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:4: allusion, high confidence - Matt 24:24: allusion, high confidence - John 19:23: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:17–18; Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX); Ps 36:8 (35:9 LXX); 2 Tim 3:4; 2 Tim 4:3; 1 Cor 11:4; Matt 24:24; John 19:23. The scan includes an editor’s footnote (on a Greek catena fragment) in the middle of a sentence; it is removed by a logged correction. Origen’s language about “effeminate” teachers is translated as written. “Which the divine word does not want them to be without” follows the sense required by the quotation that follows; the Latin as printed (“quas non habere vult”) reads “which it wants them not to have”, probably a corruption. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.3 (PG 13:688d–690a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-4 - Source: PG 13:690a–691a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God threatens to tear apart the pillows, that is, the soft teachings of heretics such as the Valentinians and Basilideans, who even permit denial under persecution. ### Latin text Haec autem quae dicimus ita se habere uta nobis intellecta sunt, sequens sermo prophetat lucidiusjostendit, dicens ’ : Ilwc dicit Dominus: Ecce ego ad cervicalia vestra in quibus vos conuertitis illic animus in dissolutionem. Aperuit mttigma' quod latebat, perspicue ostendens consuta cervicalia in dissolutionem animarum fieri. Quis autem potest super sermonem qui legitur, audiens Deum. comminantem, quia ipse disrumpat talem sutelam et talia cervicalia? Ait enim: Ecce ego non jubeo, sed ipse disrumpo cervicalia consula sub omni ne ulterius ea cubitis vestris subjecta habeatis. Et emittam animas quas vos subvertitis, animas eorum. Quae ergo subversio est censuere ceruicalia, et subjicere cubitis? Sed ut sermonis sacramentum intelligas, videbis grandem subversionem esse, delicatum hominem juxta corpus edicere. Talia autem sunt verba haereticorum , ubi non est Conversatio rigida. invenies discipulos Valentini moribus dissolutos, ad nihil forte, ad nihil virile tendentes : similiter et sectatores Basilidis. Docent insuper et negare inverecunde quasi praecepto quod de eorum martyrio est. Non id docent quod ostendunt ecclesiastici, parati tollere crucem et sequi Salvatorem. Disrumpit ergo qui hac comminatur sermo Filius Dei, consutiones nequissimus. Praesta mihi, Christe, ut disrumpam cervicalia in animarum consula luxuriam. ### English translation (Claude) That what we are saying is so, as we have understood it, the following word of the prophecy shows more clearly, saying: “Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against your pillows, by which you turn souls there to dissolution.” He has opened the riddle that was hidden, showing plainly that the sewn pillows are made for the dissolution of souls. But who, holding to the word as it is read, can hear God threatening that he himself will tear apart such stitching and such pillows? For he says: “Behold, I”: I do not command, but I myself tear apart the pillows sewn under every elbow, so that you may no longer have them placed under your elbows. “And I will set free the souls which you overturn, their souls.” What overturning is it, then, to sew pillows and put them under elbows? But so that you may understand the mystery of the word, you will see that it is a great overturning to train a man to softness of body. Such are the words of the heretics, where there is no strict way of life. You will find the disciples of Valentinus loose in morals, tending to nothing strong, nothing manly; and likewise the followers of Basilides. Besides, they shamelessly teach, as if by precept, denial in what concerns their martyrdom. They do not teach what the men of the Church show, ready to take up the cross and follow the Savior. So the Son of God, who threatens with this word, tears apart these most wicked stitchings. Grant me, O Christ, to tear apart the pillows sewn for the luxury of souls. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:20: quotation, high confidence - Matt 16:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:20; Matt 16:24. Origen charges the followers of Basilides with teaching that one may deny the faith under persecution; translated as written. “To train a man to softness of body” renders a probably corrupt phrase (“delicatum hominem juxta corpus edicere”); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.4 (PG 13:690a–691a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-5 - Source: PG 13:691b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God will tear away the veils of flattering teaching and free his people through a strict life, for no one can love both pleasure and God. ### Latin text Sed quid aliud sequitur? Et velamina disrumpam. Quae se disrupturum esse testatur? Non solum cervicalia, verum velamina. Ideo autem disrupturum, ut caput nrdum fiat, ut accepta liducia , et revelata non solum facie, sed etiam capite,constanter vir ecclesiasticus possit orare. Disrumpam velamina vestra, et liberabo populum meum de manu vestra. Licet vos subvertatis animas per cervicalia et velamina, ego ista disrumpens liberabo populum meum. Liberat autem populum Deus per conversationem austeram, et a voluptatibus recedentem. Et ultra non erunt in manibus vestris in subversionem. In manibus vestris qui decipitis audientes , ο jam non erunt ista cervicalia. Et cognoscetis quia ego Dominus. Si non conscissa fuerint cervicalia, si non velamina disrumpo, non cognoscetis quia ego Dominus. Deliciae quippe, et otium , et resolutio non sinunt cognosci eum qui dicit : Ego sum Do- ‘ntinus. Pro eo quod evertistis eor justi inique. Quo modo in loco signorum dictum est, quia decipiant etiam electos Dei, sic evenit saepe ut justos quoque haeretici supplantent. Amant enim homines voluptatem , quia, statim ut apparuerit, tranquilla est, et lasciva, et delectans sensum, et provocans nos ad usum sui. Fugimus amara , licet salutaria sint , et nolumus laborare voluptatibus deliniti , nescientes quia impossibile est eumdem amatorem esse Dei. Propter quod Apostolus ait de pessimis , quia sint amatores voluptatis magis quam amatores Dei. ### English translation (Claude) But what else follows? “And I will tear apart the veils.” What does he declare he will tear apart? Not only the pillows but also the veils. And he will tear them apart so that the head may become bare, so that, having received confidence, with not only the face but also the head unveiled, the man of the Church may pray steadfastly. “I will tear apart your veils, and I will set my people free from your hand.” Although you overturn souls by pillows and veils, I, tearing these apart, will set my people free. God sets his people free through a strict way of life that withdraws from pleasures. “And they shall no longer be in your hands for overturning.” In your hands, you who deceive your hearers, these pillows shall no longer be. “And you shall know that I am the Lord.” If the pillows are not torn up, if I do not tear apart the veils, you will not know that I am the Lord. For delights and leisure and slackness do not allow him to be known who says, “I am the Lord.” “Because you have perverted the heart of the righteous unjustly.” Just as it was said in the passage about signs that they would deceive even God’s elect, so it often happens that heretics trip up even the righteous. For people love pleasure, because as soon as it appears it is calm and playful, delights the senses, and invites us to use it. We flee bitter things, though they are salutary, and, soothed by pleasures, we do not want to labor, not knowing that it is impossible for the same person to be a lover of pleasure and a lover of God. That is why the Apostle says of the worst people that they are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:21: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:22: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:24: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:21–22; Matt 24:24; 2 Tim 3:4. “A lover of pleasure and a lover of God”: the Latin has only “lover of God” here; “of pleasure and” is implied by the sense and the quotation that follows. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.5 (PG 13:691b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-6 - Source: PG 13:691b–692a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The false prophetesses strengthened the wicked so that none would turn from evil; God will silence their divinations and free his people. ### Latin text Et ego non avertebam ad confortandas manus iniquorum. Ego non avertebam, sed omnia quae erant aedificationis dispensabam. Istic vero prophetissa: effeminata: animm avertebant ad confortandas manus iniqui, hoc est ut fortior manus iniquitate fleret, ne omnino averteretur de via sua mals , et vivilicaretur, id est nullus penitus converteretur via sua pessima , et vivificaretur. Propterea falsa non uidebitis qui docetis falsa. Jam vos non iaciam ultra conatu prospero pergere, ut possitis insinuare quae dicitis. Et divinationes non dioinabitis amplius: et liberabo populum meum de manu vestra. Oramus ut et nos liberet Dens de manu talium magistrorum, qui ubicunque fuerint ad voluptates audientium loquentes, scindunt ac dividunt Ecclesiam, quia plures sunt magis amatores voluptatum quam amatores Dei. Et scietis quia ego Dominus. Si convertere divinationes vestras, si fecero silere mendacia, tunc scietis quia ego Dominus. Haec prior prophetia. ### English translation (Claude) “And I did not turn him away, so as to strengthen the hands of the wicked.” I did not turn away, but dispensed all things that served for edification. But these prophetesses, effeminate souls, turned people so as to strengthen the hands of the wicked, that is, so that the hand might grow stronger in iniquity, so that he might not turn at all from his evil way and live; that is, so that no one at all would be converted from his very evil way and live. “Therefore you will not see false things, you who teach falsehoods.” I will no longer let you go on with prosperous effort, so as to be able to insinuate what you say. “And you will not divine divinations any more; and I will set my people free from your hand.” We pray that God may set us too free from the hand of such teachers, who, wherever they are, speaking to the pleasures of their hearers, tear and divide the Church, because more people are lovers of pleasures than lovers of God. “And you shall know that I am the Lord.” If I overturn your divinations, if I make your lies fall silent, then you will know that I am the Lord. This is the first prophecy. ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:22: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 13:23: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 13:22–23; 2 Tim 3:4. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.6 (PG 13:691b–692a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-6). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-7 - Source: PG 13:692b–693a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The elders of Israel who came to Ezekiel figure presbyters absorbed in worldly cares, who prepare their own punishment. ### Latin text Sequitur et alia, quae ita contexitur ηε Eteenerunt ad me viri seniorum Israel, et sederunt ante faciem meam. Omnia Dei sermo perstringit, et nullam speciem ordinum qui in Ecclesia constituti sunt, dimittit intactam, verum universa percurrens omnes sanare desiderat, veluti nunc quadam ad presbyteros loquitur. Ea enim quae praecesserunt dicta sunt de magistris. Idcirco consideremus et de presbyteris quid dicatur, excutientes nosmetipsos, ne quis nostrum presbyter talis sit, qualis inira exponitur. Et venerunt ad me viri seniorum Israel, et sederunt ante facient meam. Et factus est sermo Domini ad me dicens : Fili hominis. Videamusaccuff‘ tionem, ut scire possimus utrumne eam in nobis deprehendamus. Annon uiri isti posuerunt cogitationes suas in cordibus suis, et penam iniquitatem suarum posuerunt ante faciem suam .9 Nunquid rrspondens respondebo eis “z Beati qui mundo sunt corde ? Qui enim mundum habent cor, cogitationes suas non ponunt in cordibus suis, sed magis habent in sermone Dei. Qui autem laborant in saecularibus curis, et nihil aliud requirunt nisi quomodo praesentem transigant vitam, hi cogita:ioncs ponunt in cordibus suis, ut puta si videris tientinem nihil aliud cogitantem nisi mundi negotia. ιιι· cra corporalia , et ciborum abundantiam : ex his quae indiguerit, in quibus sollicitus est , in quibus ί) suspirat, futuram tantum alimoniam cum dolore conquirens, poenam cegitationum suarum posuit in tiones corde such. Arguens igitur quosdam presbyteros istiusmodi ait ad prophelara sermo divinus: viri isti — id est supra- dicti 'presbyteri t — posuerunt cogitationes suas in cordibus suis , et poenam iniquitatunt suarum posuerunt ante faciem suam. Nemo vestrum existimet cruciatus nobis ab alio quam a nobis irrogari. Deus non facit pinnas, sed ea quae patimur ipsi nobis prmparamns. Itaque testimonio quo frequenter usi sumus, etiam nunc Opportune utamur ὀε Ambulate in lumine ignis vestri, et in flamma quam arcem/istis. Non cst ignis alterius nisi vester, qui ligna, qui stipulam, qui materiam futuro incendio coacervastis. ### English translation (Claude) Another prophecy follows, which is put together thus: “And there came to me men of the elders of Israel, and they sat before my face.” The word of God touches on everything and leaves none of the orders established in the Church untouched; running through them all, it desires to heal all, as now in a way it speaks to the presbyters. For what went before was said about teachers. Therefore let us consider also what is said about the presbyters, examining ourselves, lest any of us be a presbyter such as is described below. “And there came to me men of the elders of Israel and sat before my face. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man.” Let us look at the accusation, so that we may know whether we detect it in ourselves. “Have not these men set their thoughts in their hearts, and set the punishment of their iniquities before their face? Shall I indeed answer them?” “Blessed are the pure in heart.” For those who have a pure heart do not set their thoughts in their hearts, but rather hold them in the word of God. But those who toil in worldly cares and seek nothing else but how to get through the present life set their thoughts in their hearts: for instance, if you see a man thinking of nothing but the business of the world, bodily gains, and an abundance of food, then from the things he lacks, about which he is anxious, over which he sighs, seeking with pain only his future sustenance, he has set the punishment of his thoughts in his heart. Reproving, then, certain presbyters of this kind, the divine word says to the prophet: “These men” (that is, the aforementioned presbyters) “have set their thoughts in their hearts, and set the punishment of their iniquities before their face.” Let none of you think that torments are inflicted on us by anyone other than ourselves. God does not make punishments; we ourselves prepare what we suffer. So let us appropriately use now too a testimony we have often used: “Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled.” It is no one else’s fire but your own, you who have heaped up wood, straw, and matter for the future burning. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:1: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:3: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Isa 50:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:1–3; Matt 5:8; Isa 50:11; 1 Cor 3:12. Origen applies the “elders” (seniores) of Ezek 14 to the presbyters of the Church, including himself. The view that sinners kindle their own punishment is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.7 (PG 13:692b–693a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-7). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 3.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-8 - Source: PG 13:693a–695a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God answers each sinner according to his disease, like a physician; one who persists is cut off from his people, and return after the final exclusion is very hard. ### Latin text Dicit ergo de presbyteris, procul autem absit a nobis : Viri isti posuerunt cogitationes suas in cordibus suis, et parram iniquitatum suarum posuerunt ante faciem suam. Sed respondens respondebo eis. Numquidnam dignum est istis me respondere , qui venerunt ad te prophetam volentes discere sermones meos? Propter hoc loquere ad eos, et dic eis : Hcce dicit Dominus : Homo homo ex domo Israel. Omnes homines nati sumus homines, sed non omnes homines homines sumus, sicut sepissime notavi: id quod in Levitico scriptum est: Homo homo filiorum Israel, aut advenarum qui appositi sunt in nobis. Estote homines, homines scilicet; quia non omnes humincs, homines sunt. OstendaltlllS de Scripturis quomodo quidam homines non sint homines. llonto in honore positus non intellexit, comparatus est jumentis insipientibus, assimilatas est eis . Iste non est homo homo, sed homo jumentum. Generatio viperarum, quis ostendit vobis fugere ab ira ventura ἐἳ Talis non est homo homo, sed serpens homo. Equi in feminas insanientes facti sunt, unusquisque super-uxorem proximi sui hinniebat ; et iste non est homo homo, sed homo equus. Absit igitur a nobis ut tales simus, qui mereamur audire non esse nos homines homines, sed aliud quid praeter homines! Si enim boni et mansueti sumus, du:plicamus hominis nomen, ut sit in nobis non simpliciter homo, sed homo homo. Considera an invenire valeamus, quid sit illud quod nomen hominis duplices. Quando iste homo qui est exterior, homo fuerit, eo qui est interior homo serpente exsistente, non est in nobis homo homo, sed tantum homo. Quando vero interior homo juxta imaginem perseveraverit Conditoris , tunc nascitur homo, et lit ι) istiusmodi secundum exteriorem et interiorem hominem, bis homo homo. Porro si quis in hoc voratus ut liat homo homo, posuerit cogitationes suas in corde suo, et pueuam suam ante faciem suam, et venerit ad prophetam: Ego, inquit Dominus, respondebo ei in his, quibus detinetur mens ejus. Docet nos sermo praesens quod poterat singulis respondere, nec importuna admovere medicamina, sed pro qualitate morborum congrua quaeque profcrre. Animadverte quod dicimus. Ad medicum derem vadunt, decem habentes species inlirmitatum. Non onmes eodem modo curat, sed alium isto, et alium illo, ut puta sanat emplastro, alii aliud tribuit medicamentum, nonnullis quod cauterium nun- _ cupatur imponit, alium amara, alium‘dulci temperat potione, cujusdam vero vulnera crassiore unguine delinit. Sic et sermo Dei pro qualitatibus hominum loquitur, nec passim sapientia: sua: ingerit. sacramenta. Ait itaque : Ego respondebo ei in quibus detinetur mens ejus, ut ista videlicet curem in. quibus mens ejus detinetur, ut non faciat declinare domum lsrael. Quicunque seipsum exemplum non praebet bonae vitae, sed perversus incedit, iste per suam pravitatem, dum ad haec quae non debet inclinatur, facit quodatnmodo etiam Dei p0pulum declinare secundum corda eorum quae abalienata sunt a me. Et qui hoc facit secundum alienatum cor a Deo, in cogitationibus suis facit. Propter quod respondetur eis in iis in quibus detinetur cor eorum, et dicitur : Dic ad domum Israel. Han: dicit Adonei Dominus : Convertimini, et avertite vos a studiis vestris. Quia pollicitus est locuturum se eis ea in quibus detinetur cor eorum, ideo nunc quasi peccatoribus loquitur dicens : Convertimiui et avertite vos a studiis vestris, et avertite facies vestras. Nonne tibi videtur hoc facere? Facies vestrae obfirmata: sunt super ea quae non debent, convertite eas et obtirmate in haec quae vestro sunt emolumento. Propter quod homo homo de domo Israel, etde proselytis qui adveniunt in Israel, quicunque abalienatus fuerit. Potest lieri, et hominem hominem, sive creatum hominem hominem, seu perlectum sui hominem hominem ell‘ectum abalienari contingit: si quidem et justus secundum eumdem Ezechielem convertitur aliquando a justitiis suis, et peccat. Si ergo istiusmodi homo posuerit cogitationes suas in corde suo, et poenam iniquitatis sua: ante faciem suam, et venerit ad prophetam, ut interroget eum in me : Ego, inquit Dominus, respondebo ei in ipso in quo detinetur, et obfirmabo faciem meam in hominem illum. Considera quomodo in principio spoponderit clementer se responsurum; ac deinde quomodo si rursus venerit, necdum curatus 'prioribus verbis, obfirmabo, dixit, {aciem meam super hominem illum, et ponam illum in desertum. Si enim non obedierit sermonibus commonitionis, sed in delicto perseveraverit, ponam eum in desertum, et in exterminium, et tollam eum de medio populi mei. Ne auferas nos, Deus omnipotens, de medio populi tui, verum conv serva nos in populo tuo. Juste autem projicitur, qui digna facit abjectione, ut auferatur a populo Dei, eteradicetur ab eo et tradatur Satanae. Et in praesenti quidem potest quis egrediens de populo Dei, rursum per paenitentiam reverti; si vero erae dicatus fuerit illo ex populo de quoin quadam pa, rabola dicitur, venisse, et recubuisse, et introisse quemdam qui non habebat vestimentum nuptiale, dicente ad eunt patrel‘amilias ” : Amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem ? atque ita pedibus mitterent in tenebras exteriores : dillicillime in locum pristinum revertetur. Sed nos non cradicabimur, verum et in prmsenti et in futuro saeculo in Domino nostro plantabimur, et in eo iructus uberrimos afl'eremus, cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Arnen. ### English translation (Claude) So he says of the presbyters (far be it from us!): “These men have set their thoughts in their hearts, and set the punishment of their iniquities before their face. Shall I indeed answer them?” Is it fitting for me to answer these, who have come to you, the prophet, wishing to learn my words? “Therefore speak to them and say to them: Thus says the Lord: Man, man of the house of Israel.” We are all born men, but not all of us men are “man, man,” as I have very often noted, from what is written in Leviticus: “Man, man of the sons of Israel, or of the strangers who have been added among you.” Be men, men indeed; for not all men are men. Let us show from the Scriptures how some men are not men. “Man, when he was in honor, did not understand; he was compared to senseless beasts and became like them.” This one is not “man, man,” but man-beast. “Brood of vipers, who showed you how to flee from the wrath to come?” Such a one is not “man, man,” but serpent-man. “They became horses mad for females; each one neighed after his neighbor’s wife”: and this one is not “man, man,” but man-horse. Far be it from us, then, to be such as to deserve to hear that we are not “man, man,” but something other than men! For if we are good and gentle, we double the name of man, so that there is in us not simply man but “man, man.” Consider whether we can find what it is that doubles the name of man. When this outer man is a man while the inner man is a serpent, there is not in us “man, man,” but only man. But when the inner man has persevered according to the image of the Creator, then the man is born, and such a one becomes, according to both the outer and the inner man, twice man, “man, man.” Further, if anyone who has been called to become “man, man” has set his thoughts in his heart and his punishment before his face, and comes to the prophet, “I,” says the Lord, “will answer him in the things in which his mind is held.” The present word teaches us that he could answer each one individually, not applying unsuitable medicines, but bringing forward whatever fits the nature of each disease. Notice what we are saying. Ten people go to a physician, having ten kinds of illness. He does not cure them all in the same way, but one in this way and another in that: for instance, he heals one with a plaster, gives another a different medicine, applies to some what is called cautery, treats one with a bitter and another with a sweet potion, and soothes the wounds of another with a thicker ointment. So too the word of God speaks according to the qualities of people, and does not thrust the mysteries of its wisdom on all indiscriminately. So he says: “I will answer him in the things in which his mind is held,” that is, so that I may cure those things in which his mind is held, “so that he may not make the house of Israel turn aside.” Whoever does not offer himself as an example of good life, but goes about perversely, by his own depravity, while he is inclined toward what he should not be, in a way makes God’s people too turn aside “according to their hearts, which have been estranged from me.” And one who does this does it in his thoughts, according to a heart estranged from God. That is why they are answered in the things in which their heart is held, and it is said: “Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord Adonai: Turn, and turn yourselves away from your pursuits.” Because he promised to speak to them about the things in which their heart is held, he now speaks to them as to sinners, saying: “Turn, and turn yourselves away from your pursuits, and turn away your faces.” Does it not seem to you that he does this? Your faces are set firm on what they should not be; turn them, and set them firm on what is for your benefit. “Therefore, man, man of the house of Israel, and of the proselytes who come into Israel, whoever is estranged…” It can happen that even a “man, man,” whether one created “man, man” or one made a perfected “man, man,” becomes estranged, since according to the same Ezekiel even the righteous man sometimes turns from his righteousness and sins. If, then, such a man “sets his thoughts in his heart and the punishment of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet to inquire of him by me, I,” says the Lord, “will answer him in that in which he is held, and I will set my face firm against that man.” Consider how at the beginning he promised mercifully to answer; and then how, if the man comes again, not yet cured by the earlier words, “I will set my face firm,” he said, “against that man, and I will make him a desert.” For if he does not obey the words of admonition, but persists in sin, “I will make him a desert and a ruin, and I will remove him from the midst of my people.” Do not remove us, almighty God, from the midst of your people, but keep us in your people. He is justly cast out who does things deserving rejection, so as to be removed from God’s people, uprooted from it, and handed over to Satan. And in the present, indeed, one who goes out from God’s people can return again through repentance; but if he is uprooted from that people of which it is said in a certain parable that a man came, reclined, and entered who did not have a wedding garment, when the master of the house said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” and so they sent him, bound by the feet, into the outer darkness, he will return to his former place only with the greatest difficulty. But we shall not be uprooted; rather, both in the present and in the age to come we shall be planted in our Lord, and in him we shall bear most abundant fruit, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:3: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:4: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:5: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:6: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:7: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:8: quotation, high confidence - Lev 17:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 49:12 (48:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 3:7: quotation, high confidence - Jer 5:8: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:16: allusion, medium confidence - Col 3:10: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 18:24: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:5: allusion, high confidence - Matt 22:11: allusion, high confidence - Matt 22:12: quotation, high confidence - Matt 22:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:3–8; Lev 17:8 (“man, man”, a Hebraism for “anyone”); Ps 49:12 (48:13 LXX); Matt 3:7; Jer 5:8; 2 Cor 4:16 and Col 3:10 (outer and inner man, image of the Creator); Ezek 18:24; 1 Cor 5:5; Matt 22:11–13. “Repentance” renders paenitentia; the context (removal from the people, handing over to Satan) is the Church’s discipline. Origen’s view that return after the final exclusion is very difficult is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 3.8 (PG 13:693a–695a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/3-1/#p-3-8). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-1 - Source: PG 13:695a–698c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Ezekiel’s “sinful land” leads Origen to suggest tentatively that the earth itself is a living being, capable of good and evil and subject to judgment, and also that the land is the soul. ### Latin text Sermo Domini qui factus ρει ad prophetam, licia sua val-iis sirexcmciala suppliéiis" fama, bestiis malis, gladio, mone, moné'autem' mp8": tina, quae aut ex corrupti aeris vitio sit creata, aut ex quocunque acciderit eventu, et diciturs Quod si etiam quatuor ultiones meas misero in terram peccatricem, fuerint autem isti tres viri, Noe, Daniel et Job in terra peccatrice, ipsi soli salvi erant. in comminatione prima, in qua poenam famis a pecteris aperuit, filiorum et filiarum nomina tacuit. tn eo vero sermone in quo lzcslias maias minams est'terrac, ait: Si filii et filia: eorum salvi fient, θεά ipsi soli salvabuntur, terra autem. Et cum paululur reticuisset adjecit : Et erit in introitu. Rursum i :omminatione gladii : Non liberabant, ait, filios aut ο [ilias- Et in morte similiter est ε jv'on ν linqueiitur filii aut filias eorum, sed ipsi Dalniel, et Job liberabant animos suas. lngens‘ig'iltir mm mum “BAL . _ __ pubi: pura expositionis incumbit, et ob dilicgen ε... ...Am..- ., , ter debemus attendere, et obsecramus auditoreos ad aliquod grande spectaculum confluentes faciem mentis intendant, ne obscuritas relaxatis sensibuse'labatur. Non dixit in prmscnti, ‘verint civitatis aut loci alicujus agricolae, sed si terra peccaverit. Et scio quia simplicior quisque, cum :udi‘erit. sint-erra peccaverit, statim and piociivcm intelligentiam, ut terram dicat nominatam {illis Qui morantur in terra, verum sequentia , , , --ν-νη..- “scripturae Istam statim eximent expositionem. Cum . . lem. el in sua peccata corruerit, ο "ianus non super habitantes terram, seti et Prima correptione eonteri- . . lit-ftiferatur ab ea firmamentum panis videlifiliifilii—(Alinas sit terra: si fames in ea obtineat, . O ί -_-...-... Nam quomodo homo ν sterilis inter inaledictos pu: :‘i‘nf:.l?_’f{if.id ‘11de in quodam loco scriptum est, contraria intelliguntur: et de , ο ..-η-- . ν. ..υ 335': : Non erit sine prole, neque sterilis s‘npobis; et peccatores sine liberis? ct posteri-tui sui mterna infertilitate damnantur, ut in domo Abivulvam propter peccatum quod in Isaac cummis; sum est ’ :7 sic et terra quodammodo sine prole. et sterilis relinquitur, {ante missa in eam. Putas verum est, hoc quod asserere sermo praeludit, non de habitatoribus terrae, sed de ipsa terra dicitur? Possum paulisper ad altiora conscendens Scripturarum“ testimoniis approbarcf-quomodo peccator . rm-" την---- terra dicatur. Dicitur enim ad Adam ὀί Terraeset in terram ibis. Possumus dicere quia et nunc delinquens terra peccator sit. Sed econtrario latissimam Scriptum silvani recensens coarctor ad suspican- “ur”-.. _.-...... ---..........- πων--. .... -υ.,...-.. dum, quia animalis sit terra ista quam cernimus. μω... .,..... .............. unum... Si enim hoc quod scriptum est ο : Qui aspicit super terram et facit eam tremere, juxta id quod scriptum est volumus accipere, intelligimus ad aspectum Dei terrae motus concitari, non quos Judaei suspicantur. Nam illi asserunt tremorem terra: commotionem eius esse: “male nos quippe Prome“ mea“ "05"“ in sum“, nec tame“ "eum" corpus concutit’ad tremendum : sicuti et in alio nisi super humilem, et quietum,et trementem sermones me”? EX quo εει mansuem εί humili’ ter Deo servientem ad sermones ejus mente potius tremere quam corpore. Et haec quidem in mulio dicta sunt satisfactione ejus testimonii quod intulimus: Qui aspicit terram et facit eam tremere.Accipe amem alia diem de terra “flendi!” mm ab ἠὺ qui insident in ea. Quomodofiofl‘cnditur terra, et quando aversatur ab ibis qui in se commorantur? Complacebit sibi terra in sabbatis suis . Econtrariu enirn quaedam terrae sabbata nuncupantur, in quibus sibi complaceat et laetetur. Necdumdicoi": loquar. mo“ σὼ mei; neque aliud z'Audi, corium, et auribus percipe, terra; sed nec Jereniize prophetiam “z Terra. terra, audi verbum Domini, scribe virum istum abdicatum. Multa nos latent propter paupertatem memarite, propter ingenii tarditratem'. multa sunt qua: condidit Deus rationabilia, ct sunt capacia, non "rum. --κ solum principatus et potestates, et rectores tenebrarum istorum, 'verum etiam et in meliore parte thronos, dominationes, et caetera quae in nostro intellectu Apostolus reliquit dicensj" : Et super -..---.---_ ηυγ... ww... . ..- ηρ omne nomen quod nominatur non solum iu saeculo isto, verum ei in futuro. Aer quoque animalibus .-.-, --...... -. -....-. plenus est, secundum ejusdem Aji'osiiili testimonium praedicantis ος In quibus aliquando ambalastis secundum saxulum mundi hujus: secundum principem potestatis et aeris spiritus, qui nunc operatur is "mw- ......-, ... ...μιν ..,......... rliliis di/Iidentias. Est Ergo terral, et universa animη-- --ον --...., ν. ............ ---μ — lia, et per partes animalium varietates. Quando enim offendatur terra, et rursum complacet'sibi in exsultat. 37o Quodammodo enim erudita cst cum habitatoribus suis, et didicit sabbata sive in umbra, sive in veritate juxta natura: sua: agere qualitatem. Unde sacratiore quadam intelligentia sabbatismus exercetur post septem annos terra: sancta: donec eomplaceat Deo in ea habitare. Si vero peccatores in ea fuerint, jam non ultra per scptimanas annorum, sed per septuaginta terra sabbatum gerit. Habemus scrmonem de septuaginta anuis, tam apud Jeremiam , quam apud Danielem ο sanctis litteris consignatum; et futurum est ut in die judicii non solum homo, sed etiam universa conditio judicetur. Omnis quippe creatura congemiscit et condolet “. Si omnis creatura congemiscit et condolet, est autetu creaturarum pars terra et ctelum, et caetera qumque quae sub caelo sunt, et quae super caelos, et liberabitur omnis creatura a servitute corruptionis in libertatem gloria: filiorum Dei ", qui scit et de terra, an secundum naturam suam in aliquo peccato teneatur obnoxia? Si enim animal est, si rationabilis est, si indiget auditione sermonis prophetici dicentis “:Attende, caelum, et loquar, et audiat terra verba oris mei; et “ : Audi, caelum, et auribus percipe, terra; cur nun dicamus ut inter homines est homo audiens et faciens verba qua: jussus est facere. et alius est qui odit, et non implet quod praccipitur, sicut et angelus praevaricator? Angelos enim non custodientes principatum suum, sed deserentes proprium habitaculum suum in judi ο cio magna diei vinculis sempiternis sub tenebris servabit“. Quando ergo angeli prmvaricantur, et alii sunt qui Dei praecepta custodiunt, et judicium prtestolantur, non solum hominum, verum etiam Dei, ut frequenter diximus tam de his quae in ApocaJ lypsi conscripta sunt, quam et ex aliis innumerabilibus, quare, inquam, non terra: et aeris judicium sitfuturum? Si autem non putas huic disputalioni consentiendum per quam asserimus omnem creaturam judicandam, audi et aliud testimonium deterra. lnterrogat Deus Cain, qui occiderit Abel υ fratrem suum: et post multos sermones quos in Genesi legimus, ad extremum de terra dicit ’σε Haledicta terra quae aperuit os suum ad excipiendum _ sanguinem fratris tui de manu tua. Ego nec illud θ [nterea ": Maledicta terra in operibus tuis; et econtrario si quando benedicitur. Legimus et maledictam et benedictam Dei vocibus terram. Vides ergo quia merito dicitur “ : Congemiscit omnis creatura. Et ut ad praecedens revertar exemplum, eluditur terra in insidentibus sibi δ’. quia lem nos utmater sustinens, et laetetur super bonis iliis, et doleat super peccatoribus. Ita quippe patri lilius insipiens dolor est, etei matri quae genuit eum. Et non solum huic patri et matri, de quorum semine urimur, sed et illi matri quae vere mater nostra. miuem . Igitur terra mater nostra est, laetatur quando justum ‘filium sustinet. laetabatur terra, ferens Abraham, Isaac et Jacob. [notabatur terra in adventu Domini nostri Jesu Christi, dignam se cernens Filii Dei sustentatur. Quid necesse est dicere de apostolis et prophetis, cum de Domini adventu scriptum sit : Omnis terra clamat cum laetitia 7 Confitentur et miserabiles Judazi haec de Christi praesentia praedicari, sed stulte ignorant personam, cum videant impleta quae dicta sunt. Quando enim terra Britannias ante adventum Christi in unius Dei consensit religionem? Quando terra Maurorum? Quando totus semel orbis? Nunc vero propter Ecclesias, quae mundi limites tenent, universa terra cum ltetitia clamat ad Dominum Israel, et capax est bonorum secundum lines suos. Statuitque lines gentium juxta numerum filiorum Israel , et facta est pars Domini populus ejus Jacoh, funiculus ha:- ’ reditatis ejus Israel. Capax est, inquam, ut animal juxta partium qualitates, et bonorum actuum et malorum, in quibus aut laudem mereatur aut pmnam.Cum igitur dicitur : Terra quae peccaverit milii ut delinquat delictum, mysterium quoddam significatur. Aliter quippe de habitatoribus, aliter de' ea dicitur qum inltabitalur : Caelum et terra pertransibunt. Cur cmlum praetergreditur, cur terra pertransit, nisi quia transitus sui quaedam digna fecerunt? Et alio loco : Corrupta est, ait, omnis terra. Quando corrupta est? Ante diluvium, non quod per inundationem diluvii sit corrupta. Ait ergo: Terra quae peccaverit mihi ut delinquat delictum, extendam manum meam et conteram ejus firmamentum panis. Extendens Deus manum suam super peccatricem terram, famem immittit in eam. Possum et aliter interpretari, quia terra aliquando delinquat. Terra quippe est anima nostra, ut in parabola Evangelii “ significatur. Anima petra, anima terra bona et fertilis per multatn patientiam. Ista igitur terra sa-pe peccat, saapc non peccat. Et si quidem peccaverit, extendit manuni super eam, et conterit omne firmamentum panis ejus. Ne conteras, omnipotens Deus, firmamentum panis ab ista terra nostra, quin potius largire nobis semen tuum, ut faciat iu nobis fructum centuplum. ### English translation (Claude) “The word of the Lord” which came to the prophet concerns the sinful land: how for its offenses it is tormented with various punishments, “famine,” “evil beasts,” “the sword,” “death” (and death, moreover, that is sudden, arising either from the fault of corrupted air or from whatever event may occur); and it is said: “But if I also send my four vengeances upon the sinful land, and these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, are in the sinful land, they alone will be saved.” In the first threat, in which he set the punishment of famine apart from the other punishments, he was silent about the names of sons and daughters. But in the word in which he threatened the land with evil beasts, he says: “If their sons and daughters will be saved … but they alone will be saved, and the land …”; and after a short silence he added: “and it will be for destruction.” Again, in the threat of the sword: “They will not deliver,” he says, “sons or daughters.” And of death he spoke likewise: “Their sons or daughters will not be left, but Noah and Daniel and Job themselves will deliver their own souls.” A great task of exposition, then, lies upon us, and for this reason we must attend carefully; and we beg our hearers, coming together as to some great spectacle, to fix the eye of the mind, so that the obscure meaning does not slip away while their senses are relaxed. He did not say in the present passage, “if the inhabitants of a city or of some place sin,” but “if the land sins.” And I know that every simpler person, when he hears “if the land sins,” is at once carried to the easy interpretation, so as to say that “land” is named for those who live on the land; but what follows in Scripture will at once remove this explanation. For when the land has sinned and fallen into its sins, the hand is stretched out not upon the inhabitants of the land but upon the land itself, and by the first chastisement it is crushed, so that “the support of bread is taken from it”: that is, the punishment of the land, if famine prevails in it, is that its crops are denied to the seed. For just as a sinful man without offspring and barren is counted among the cursed, according to what is written in a certain place (for contraries are understood from contraries), and of the righteous it is said, “There will be none without offspring or barren among you,” and sinners are condemned to be without children and posterity in everlasting barrenness, as happened “in the house of Abimelech,” whose wombs God shut because of the sin committed in the matter of Isaac, so the land too is in a way left without offspring and barren when famine is sent upon it. Do you think it true that what the word begins to assert is said not of the inhabitants of the land but of the land itself? I can rise for a moment to higher things and prove by the testimonies of the Scriptures how a sinner is called “earth”: for it is said to Adam, “You are earth, and to earth you shall go.” We can say that even now the sinner who offends is “earth.” But on the other hand, going over the very wide forest of Scripture, I am driven to suspect that this earth which we see is a living being. For if we wish to take what is written, “who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble,” according to what is written, we understand that at God’s look earthquakes are stirred up, though not those the Jews suppose; for they assert that the trembling of the earth is its shaking, which is far from the truth. For we too are anxious and trembling because of our sins on earth, and yet our trembling does not shake the body into trembling; as is also said in another place: “Upon whom shall I look,” says the Lord, “but upon the humble and quiet one who trembles at my words?” From this it is plain that one who serves God meekly and humbly trembles at his words in mind rather than in body. Let these things, said by the way, suffice for the testimony we adduced: “who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble.” Take also other things said of the earth: “The earth is offended by those who dwell on it.” How is the earth offended, and when does it turn away from those who dwell on it? When they are sinners. Take another example too: “The earth will be well pleased in its sabbaths”; for, on the contrary, certain sabbaths of the earth are spoken of, in which it is well pleased and rejoices. I do not yet cite: “Attend, heaven, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth,” nor that: “Hear, heaven, and give ear, earth,” nor the prophecy of Jeremiah: “Earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord: write this man down as disowned.” Many things are hidden from us because of the poverty of our memory and the slowness of our mind. There are many rational beings that God has made, and they are capable of good and evil: not only “principalities and powers and rulers of this darkness,” but also, on the better side, thrones, dominions, and the rest which the Apostle left to our understanding when he said: “and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.” The air too is full of living beings, according to the testimony of the same Apostle, who declares: “in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.” So there is the earth, and living beings as a whole, and, part by part, the varieties of living beings; for when the earth is offended, and again is well pleased in its sabbaths, not all of it is offended, nor does all of it exult. For in a way it has been trained together with its inhabitants and has learned to keep sabbaths, whether in shadow or in truth, according to the quality of its nature. Hence, by a more sacred understanding, a sabbath rest is kept by the holy land after seven years, until it pleases God to dwell in it; but if sinners are in it, the land no longer keeps its sabbath by weeks of years but by seventy. We have the word about the seventy years set down in the holy writings, both in Jeremiah and in Daniel; and it will come to pass that on the day of judgment not only man but the whole creation will be judged. For “every creature groans and is in travail.” If every creature groans and is in travail, and earth and heaven are part of the creatures, and all other things under heaven and above the heavens, and “the whole creation will be freed from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God,” who knows whether the earth too, according to its nature, is held liable for some sin? For if it is a living being, if it is rational, if it needs to hear the prophetic word that says, “Attend, heaven, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth,” and “Hear, heaven, and give ear, earth,” why should we not say that, just as among men there is one who hears and does the words he was commanded to do, and another who hates them and does not fulfill what is commanded, so it is with the earth, as with the angel who transgressed? For “the angels who did not keep their own dominion but deserted their proper dwelling he has kept in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.” Since, then, angels transgress, and there are others who keep God’s commands, and not only men but also the angels of God await the judgment (as we have often said, both from what is written in the Apocalypse and from countless other passages), why, I say, should there not be a judgment of the earth and of the air? But if you do not think you should agree with this discussion, in which we assert that the whole creation is to be judged, hear another testimony too about the earth. God asks Cain who killed his brother Abel, and after many words which we read in Genesis, at last he says of the earth: “Cursed is the earth, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Nor do I pass over this: “Cursed is the earth in your works”; and, on the contrary, whenever it is blessed. For we read of the earth both cursed and blessed by the voice of God. You see, then, that it is rightly said: “The whole creation groans.” And to return to the earlier example, “The earth is offended by those who dwell on it,” I think, because the earth bears us like a mother, and rejoices over good sons and grieves over sinners. For “a foolish son is anger to his father and grief to her who bore him”: not only to this father and mother of whose seed we spring, but also to that mother who is truly our mother; for “God took dust from the earth and formed man”; so the earth is our mother. It rejoices when it bears a righteous son. The earth rejoiced bearing Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the earth rejoiced at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, seeing itself worthy to bear the Son of God. What need is there to speak of the apostles and prophets, when it is written of the Lord’s coming, “All the earth cries out with joy”? Even the wretched Jews acknowledge that these things are proclaimed of the presence of the Christ, but foolishly fail to recognize the person, though they see fulfilled what was said. For when, before the coming of Christ, did the land of Britain agree in the worship of the one God? When did the land of the Moors? When did the whole world at once? But now, because of the churches, which hold the boundaries of the world, the whole earth cries out with joy to the Lord of Israel, and is capable of good things according to its boundaries. “And he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the sons of Israel, and his people Jacob became the Lord’s portion, Israel the lot of his inheritance.” It is capable, I say, as a living being according to the qualities of its parts, of both good and bad actions, for which it deserves either praise or punishment. So when it is said, “The land that sins against me by committing an offense,” a certain mystery is signified. For things are said in one way of the inhabitants and in another of what is inhabited: “Heaven and earth will pass away.” Why does heaven pass, why does the earth pass away, unless because they have done certain things that deserve their passing? And in another place: “All the earth,” he says, “was corrupted.” When was it corrupted? Before the flood, not because it was corrupted by the inundation of the flood. So he says: “The land that sins against me by committing an offense, I will stretch out my hand over it and crush its support of bread.” God, stretching out his hand over the sinful land, sends famine upon it. I can also interpret otherwise the land’s sometimes offending. For our soul is land, as is signified in the parable of the Gospel: the soul is rock; the soul is good and fruitful land through much patience. This land, then, often sins and often does not sin. And if it sins, he stretches out his hand over it and crushes every support of its bread. Do not crush, almighty God, the support of bread from this land of ours, but rather grant us your seed, that it may bear fruit in us a hundredfold. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:12: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 14:13: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:15: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 14:16: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:17: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 14:18: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:19: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 14:20: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:21: quotation, high confidence - Deut 7:14: quotation, high confidence - Gen 20:18: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 104:32 (103:32 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 66:2: quotation, high confidence - Isa 24:5: allusion, medium confidence - Lev 26:34: quotation, high confidence - Lev 26:43: allusion, medium confidence - Deut 32:1: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:2: quotation, high confidence - Jer 22:29: quotation, high confidence - Jer 22:30: quotation, high confidence - Col 1:16: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:21: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Jer 25:11: allusion, high confidence - Dan 9:2: allusion, high confidence - Rom 8:22: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:21: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Gen 4:10: allusion, high confidence - Gen 4:11: quotation, high confidence - Gen 3:17: quotation, high confidence - Prov 17:25: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:7: quotation, high confidence - Ps 66:1 (65:1 LXX): quotation, medium confidence - Deut 32:8: quotation, high confidence - Deut 32:9: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:35: quotation, high confidence - Gen 6:11: quotation, high confidence - Luke 8:15: allusion, high confidence - Matt 13:8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The opening of this section is badly garbled in the scan (Migne’s marginal summaries and stray Greek mixed into the lines); there, and where the scan omits words (“not all of it is offended, nor does all of it exult”; “not only men but also the angels of God await the judgment”), the translation follows the sense of Baehrens’s text (GCS 33). Quotations: Ezek 14:12–21; Deut 7:14; Gen 20:18 (“in the matter of Isaac” is as printed; the passage concerns Sarah); Gen 3:19; Ps 104:32 (103:32 LXX); Isa 66:2; Isa 24:5; Lev 26:34, 43; Deut 32:1; Isa 1:2; Jer 22:29–30; Col 1:16 and Eph 6:12; Eph 1:21; Eph 2:2; Jer 25:11; Dan 9:2; Rom 8:21–22; Jude 6; Gen 4:10–11; Gen 3:17; Prov 17:25; Gen 2:7; Ps 66:1 (65:1 LXX); Deut 32:8–9 LXX; Matt 24:35; Gen 6:11; the parable of the sower (Luke 8:15). Origen’s suggestion that the earth is a rational living being liable to judgment is offered tentatively and is translated as written; so too his remarks on the Jews. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.1 (PG 13:695a–698c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-2 - Source: PG 13:698c–699a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Origen confesses that the causes of famine are hidden, perhaps lying with the angels who have charge of the earth, and are known to God’s wisdom. ### Latin text Et emittam in eam famem, et tollant‘de ea hominem et pecus. Quomodo possum tam recouditas res in publicum proferre! Unde mihi ut exponere valeam cur fames, cur fertilitas, cur abundantia, cur egestas terras accidant? profundum divitiarum sapientia: et scicntia Dei ". Utrum propter homines et animarum malitiam immittatur fames? An propter angelos quibus sunt commissa terrena, si peccaverint, accidant ea qute videmus accidere? Si autem sunt quidam caelestis dispensationis ministri qui fructibus praesunt, forte et propter illos infertilitas terrae eveniat. Plurima enim cperum ejus in absconsis sunt, non possumus magnitudinem sapientiae effari. Arenam maris et pluυἱω stillas et dies saeculi quis dinumerabit? Altitndinem caeli, et latitudinem terrae, et profundum sapientia, quis iuvestigabit 5°? Varie ergo mittitur fames super peccatricem terram. ### English translation (Claude) “And I will send famine upon it, and they will remove man and beast from it.” How can I bring such hidden things out into public? How am I to be able to explain why famine, why fertility, why abundance, why want befall lands? “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Is famine sent because of men and the wickedness of souls? Or do the things we see happen occur because of the angels to whom earthly things have been entrusted, if they have sinned? And if there are certain ministers of the heavenly dispensation who are in charge of the crops, perhaps the barrenness of the land comes about because of them too. For very many of his works are hidden; we cannot tell out the greatness of his wisdom. “The sand of the sea and the drops of rain and the days of the age, who will number them? The height of heaven and the breadth of the earth and the depth of wisdom, who will search them out?” So famine is sent in various ways upon the sinful land. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:13: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:33: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 1:2–3 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:13; Rom 11:33; Sir 1:2–3. Origen’s suggestion that angels in charge of the crops may cause barrenness is offered as a question and translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.2 (PG 13:698c–699a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-3 - Source: PG 13:699a–699b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Taking man and beast from the land punishes the earth as a mother is punished by losing her children. ### Latin text Et auferam, inquit, ea: ea hominem et pecus. Aliud est terra , aliud homo. Nam habitatores terrte, ut quidam putant, nunc pro terra non nominat. Si enim habitatores terrae per terram accipi velit, superfluum fuerat dicere, auferam ex ea bominem et pecus. Gaudet enim terra quando plena est accolis. mmret eum id quod dicitur acciderit. Auferam ab ea hominem et pecus. De quibus si Dominus vobis orantibus ministraverit sensum (si tamen sensus Domini capaces fuerimus efl‘ecti), volumus pauca disserere. Quomodo poena matris est in exsilium destinatae privari filiis, aut certe filios suos ad aliam videre provinciam destinari : sic quodammodo mater nostra terra flagellatur pro peccatis suis a Deo, quando aufertur ab ea homo et pecus; laetatur quando homines habet, magis autem quando habet homines optimos, et in Dei studiis viventes, sicut supra exposuimus. Dicitur ergo quando terra peccaverit, quasi dicatur, si quando peccaverit mater, auferam de domo ejus filium, sic et nunc auferam de ea hominem. Laetatur quippe terra non super bestiis et feris rabidis, scd super pecudibus, quia placida et mansueta animalia diligit. ### English translation (Claude) “And I will remove,” he says, “man and beast from it.” The land is one thing, man another. For he does not here name the inhabitants of the land in place of the land, as some think. For if he wished the inhabitants of the land to be understood by “land,” it would have been superfluous to say, “I will remove man and beast from it.” For the land rejoices when it is full of inhabitants, and it mourns when what is said happens: “I will remove man and beast from it.” Concerning these things we wish to say a few words, if the Lord grants understanding at your prayers (if indeed we have been made capable of the Lord’s understanding). Just as it is a punishment for a mother sentenced to exile to be deprived of her children, or at any rate to see her children sent off to another province, so in a way our mother the earth is scourged by God for her sins when man and beast are taken from her. She rejoices when she has men, and still more when she has excellent men living in the pursuits of God, as we set out above. So it is said, “when the land sins,” as if it were said: if ever a mother sins, I will take her son from her house; so now too: I will take man from it. For the earth rejoices not over beasts and rabid wild animals, but over cattle, because she loves gentle and tame animals. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:13. “And it mourns when”: the scan reads “mmret eum”, taken as “maeret cum”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.3 (PG 13:699a–699b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-4 - Source: PG 13:699b–700b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Noah, Daniel, and Job can be present together because whoever imitates them becomes them, as a tribe bears the name and character of its ancestor. ### Latin text Et auferam de ea hominem et pecus. Et si fuerint isti tres uiri in medio ejus. Quomodo potest in terra peccatrice trium istorum pariter numerus commorari? Quomodo tam diversis temporibus viventium potest inter se vita conjungi? In praesenti legimus in peecatrice terra eos pariter consistere, id est Noe qui in diluvio fuit, et DauieIem qui in captivitate Babylonis commoratus est, et Job qui temporibus patriarcharum et Moysi vixisse perhibetur. Hoc enim tempus invenimus vitae Job. Quid ergo possumus dicere? Meminisse debemus, ut saepe jam diximus, quia ut homo hominem generat, et Israel generat Israel. Israel quippe cum esset Jacob, generavit Israel populum. Et invenimus in Scripturis Israel nomen tam in uno homine quam in universo popqu dici. Sic non solum Israel Israel, verum etRuben generat Ruben, et Simeon generat Simeonem, et Levi Levi, et Judas Judam, et reliqui onmes qui in tribu Juda sunt ab illius stirpe venientesJudas nuncupantur : et replicatae sunt Scriptura; iu tribu Juda nominibus Juda. Ea quae in benedictionibus Jacob per Moysen de Ruben, et Simeon, et Levi, et Juda dicuntur, et caeteris non sic conveniunt patriarchis, ut his qui cognomine eorum propter familiae radicem exstiterunt. Benjamin lupus rapax ad matutinum comedit, et ad vesperam dabit escam . Benjamin ille nunquam fuit lupus rapax, Benjamin ille nunquam in vesperam dedit escam; sed is qui natus est ex tribu Benjamin, praedicabatur Hehrzeus, ex Hebraeis juxta legent Pharisaeus, circumcisus octavo die, Bcnjamin lupus rapax ad matutinum comcdeus, quando juvenis fuit; et in vesperam dans escam, quando credens spiritalem pra:buit cibum a se Ecclesiis institutis. Igitur Benjamin Benjamin generat. Quomodo ergo homo cx homine, Benjamin ex Benjamin, sic Juda ex Juda, Ruben ex Ruben nascitur. Ruben quippe vivat et non moriatur, et sitmultus in numero'“. In tantum non erat de patriarcha sermo, sed de popqu qui de patriarcha descensurus erat. Cur haec dicta sunt? Videlicet ut praesentem locum exponerem de Noe etDaniele et Job. Quomodo enim Israel Israel generat, et Job Job, et Ruben Ruben, reliqui reliquos, sic Noe Noe. Et dicam quia de filiis Noe. Scin Noe fuerit, Cham vero non fuerit Noe. Neque enim habuit similitudinem patris sui. Et ut non omnes qui ex Abraham, filii Abraham, licet sint de semine ejus, non sunt filii ipsius, quoniam peccatores sunt : sic hi qui habent similitudinem factorum Danielis, Daniel sunt; qui imitantur patientiam Job, Job fiunt. Noli ergo dicere , beatus Noe quoniam dignus edectus est ut in diluvio solus eligeretur a Domino.et caeteris inundatione pereuntibus cum suis scrvaretur incolumis : sed considera quia, si et tu feceris ca quae fecit Noe, eris Noe. Audi Salvatorem dicentem : Si essetis filii Abrahae, opera Abrahae faceretis. Igitur si quis filius est Abraham , facit gesta Abraham; si quis filius est Noe, facit opus Noe; si quis filius est Danielis, facit id quod fecit Daniel. Si quis sequitur per quod gloriosus effectus erit, ut puta omnis qui substantiam suam perdit, et susti- 'nens patienter tam jacturas rerum familiarium quam mortes filiorum dicit '° : Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit ; ut Domino uisum est, ita factum est: sit nomen Domini benedictum in secula; qui incenditur corporis malis, et flagellatur vario malorum suorum dolore , et nihilominus in ipsis suppliciis εισrificat Dominum, qui potest respondere divina,et inter cruciatus propheticam vocem emittere, qualem emisit Job, imitator est Job. Atque ita in Ituuc modum et Noe, et Daniel, et Job in eodem possunt tem pore reperiri. ### English translation (Claude) “And I will remove from it man and beast. And if these three men are in its midst.” How can the number of these three dwell together in a sinful land? How can the lives of men who lived at such different times be joined together? In the present passage we read that they stand together in the sinful land: Noah, who was in the flood; Daniel, who lived in the Babylonian captivity; and Job, who is said to have lived in the times of the patriarchs and of Moses. For that is the time of Job’s life as we find it. What then can we say? We must remember, as we have often said already, that as man begets man, so Israel begets Israel. For Israel, being Jacob, begot the people Israel. And we find in the Scriptures that the name Israel is used both of one man and of the whole people. So not only does Israel beget Israel, but Reuben begets Reuben, Simeon begets Simeon, Levi Levi, and Judah Judah; and all the rest who are in the tribe of Judah, coming from his stock, are called Judah; and the Scriptures are full of the name Judah for the tribe of Judah. What is said in the blessings of Jacob, and through Moses, of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and the rest does not suit the patriarchs so much as those who bore their name because of the root of the family. “Benjamin, a ravenous wolf, eats in the morning, and at evening will give food.” That Benjamin was never a ravenous wolf; that Benjamin never gave food at evening. But he who was born of the tribe of Benjamin, who proclaimed himself a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, circumcised on the eighth day, was Benjamin, the ravenous wolf eating in the morning, when he was young, and giving food at evening, when, having believed, he provided spiritual food to the churches he had founded. So Benjamin begets Benjamin. As man, then, is born of man, and Benjamin of Benjamin, so Judah is born of Judah and Reuben of Reuben. For “let Reuben live and not die, and let him be many in number.” So far was the word from being about the patriarch; it was about the people that was to descend from the patriarch. Why have these things been said? To explain the present passage about Noah, Daniel, and Job. For as Israel begets Israel, Job Job, Reuben Reuben, and the rest the rest, so Noah begets Noah. And I will say this about the sons of Noah: Shem was Noah, but Ham was not Noah, for he did not have his father’s likeness. And just as not all who are from Abraham are sons of Abraham (though they are of his seed, they are not his sons, since they are sinners), so those who have the likeness of Daniel’s deeds are Daniel, and those who imitate Job’s patience become Job. So do not say: “Blessed is Noah, because he was made worthy to be chosen alone by the Lord in the flood and, while the rest perished in the inundation, to be kept safe with his family”; but consider that if you too do what Noah did, you will be Noah. Hear the Savior saying: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” So if anyone is a son of Abraham, he does the deeds of Abraham; if anyone is a son of Noah, he does the work of Noah; if anyone is a son of Daniel, he does what Daniel did. If anyone follows the path by which Job became glorious, for instance anyone who loses his property and, bearing patiently both the losses of his household goods and the deaths of his children, says, “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so it was done; blessed be the name of the Lord for ever”; who is burned by bodily ills and scourged by the varied pain of his sufferings, and nonetheless glorifies the Lord in those very torments; who can answer with divine words and amid torments utter a prophetic voice such as Job uttered: he is an imitator of Job. And in this way Noah, Daniel, and Job can be found at the same time. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:13: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:14: quotation, high confidence - Gen 49:27: quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:5: allusion, high confidence - Deut 33:6: quotation, high confidence - Gen 9:22: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 9:7: allusion, high confidence - John 8:39: quotation, high confidence - Job 1:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:13–14; Gen 49:27; Phil 3:5; Deut 33:6; Rom 9:7; John 8:39; Job 1:21 (with the Greek addition “as it seemed good to the Lord”). The application of Gen 49:27 to Paul is traditional. “Shem”: the scan reads “Scin”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.4 (PG 13:699b–700b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-5 - Source: PG 13:700b–701b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Daniel, a eunuch, had sons only in a spiritual sense; so too believers become sons of the saints, of Christ, and of the Father by imitating their virtues. ### Latin text Quia autem nunc Ezechiel non de his dixerit quos in Scripturis lectitamus, videlicet quos Illl translatio, aut mors de prmsenti vita substraxerit, de alio quoque loco approbare conabimur. Daniel qui traditus est cunuchorum principi cut” Anania, Azaria, Misaele, eunuchus fuit, et est in presenti dictum : Noe, et Daniel, et Job filios et filias non liberabunt, et reliqua. Fingamus filios habuerit Noe, quomodo filii Danieiis docebuntur, quem eunuchum fuissc Judmi tradunt? Verum quia fertilis et sancta fuit anima illius, et prOPbe‘ L'cis divinisque sermonibus multos liberos vit, idcirco dicitur : Si fuerint in tempore illo vel ista et Noe, et Daniel, et Job, et ipsi soli salvabuntur. Et nos ergo possumus fieri Daniel : et ut non enumerem omnes sanctos, possum esse Paulus si luero imitator ejus dicentis ε Imitatores mei estote. Si cauterium quo signatus est Paulus bahuero, si eamdem figuram qua ille figuratus est in Christo possedere, per quam ut bonus pater aiebat “ : Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio donec Citristus formetur in vobis. Si vero ex dissimilitudine signaculi coarguor, quia aliam formam habuerit Paulus quam ego in anima habeam, me ipsum dccipio dicens : Filius meus es tu, semen Pauli. Noli mirari quod filius Apostoli fias. Habeto virtutes, et eris filius Christi. Filioli, inquit “, adhuc _ pnsillum vobiscum sum. Cum autem fueris Christi, eris et omnipotentis Patris, quia unum sunt uniueque naturae. Ad hoc laborat justus, in hoc studium suum omne convertit,ut Danielis, etJob, et Noe, et Abrahae filius ostendatur ad adoptionem Dei, et jam non vocetur hominum nominibus, sed vocabulis filiorum Dei. Si ergo fuerint tres viri isti, non in- 'liget Spiritus sanctus , ut etiam nunc Noe, et Danielem, et Job ostendat. ### English translation (Claude) That Ezekiel is not speaking here of those we read of in the Scriptures, namely those whom translation or death removed from this present life, we will try to prove from another passage too. Daniel, who was handed over to the chief of the eunuchs with Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, was a eunuch; and in the present passage it is said: “Noah and Daniel and Job will not deliver sons and daughters,” and so on. Suppose Noah had sons: how will Daniel’s sons be shown, since the Jews report that he was a eunuch? But because his soul was fruitful and holy, and he begot many children by prophetic and divine words, therefore it is said: “If in that time there were even these, Noah and Daniel and Job, they alone will be saved.” So we too can become Daniel; and, not to list all the saints, I can be Paul if I am an imitator of him who says, “Be imitators of me.” If I have the brand with which Paul was marked, if I possess the same form with which he was formed in Christ, through which, like a good father, he said, “My little children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you” …; but if I am convicted by the unlikeness of the seal, because Paul had a different form from the one I have in my soul, I deceive myself in saying, “You are my son, the seed of Paul.” Do not wonder that you may become a son of the Apostle. Have the virtues, and you will be a son of Christ. “Little children,” he says, “yet a little while I am with you.” And when you are Christ’s, you will also be the almighty Father’s, because they are one and of one nature. For this the righteous man labors, to this he turns all his effort: that he may be shown to be a son of Daniel, of Job, of Noah, and of Abraham, unto adoption by God, and be called no longer by the names of men but by the names of the sons of God. So if these three men are there, the Holy Spirit has no need to show Noah, Daniel, and Job even now. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:16: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:20: allusion, high confidence - Dan 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Dan 1:6: allusion, high confidence - Isa 39:7: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 4:16: quotation, high confidence - Gal 6:17: allusion, high confidence - Gal 4:19: quotation, high confidence - John 13:33: quotation, high confidence - John 10:30: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:14–20; Dan 1:3–7; 1 Cor 4:16; Gal 6:17 (Paul’s “brand”); Gal 4:19; John 13:33; John 10:30. The Jewish tradition that Daniel was a eunuch rests on Isa 39:7. “He begot many children”: the verb is garbled in the scan (“liberos vit”); translated by sense. The sentence beginning “If I have the brand…” is left incomplete in the Latin. The last sentence is obscure as printed. The Father and the Son are “one and of one nature”: translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.5 (PG 13:700b–701b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-6 - Source: PG 13:701b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The many who imitate Noah, Daniel, and Job are one in their likeness, as many believers are one body and the lost sheep is one. ### Latin text Tres viri isti in medio ejus. Dicit mihi eruditus auditor : tres in praesenti nominantur, sermo vero tuus plurimos affirmat, et Daniel, et Job, et Noe. Cui sic respondebimus. Omnis similitudo similium unus est, etnon plures qui similes sunt. Non plura θοι-σpora, sed unum corpus omnes sumus, juxta id ο quod scriptum est “ Vos autent estis corpus Christi et membra ex parte. Et Salvator noster venit quzerere et salvere quod perierat, in sacramento nonaginta novem ovium non errantium et uniuspcrditte. Venit quippe Filius hominis quaerere et salvare quod perierat σιξ Quomodo enim unum corpus plura sunt corpora, et una ovis plures sunt oves quae perierant, hoc pacto omnes Noe, Daniel et loh, in unum Noe, et Job, et Danielem rediguntur. ### English translation (Claude) “These three men in its midst.” A learned hearer says to me: “Three are named in the present passage, but your argument affirms that there are very many Daniels, Jobs, and Noahs.” We will answer him thus. Every likeness of like things is one, and those who are alike are not many. We are not many bodies; we are all one body, according to what is written: “But you are the body of Christ, and members in part.” And our Savior came to seek and save what was lost, in the mystery of the ninety-nine sheep that did not stray and the one that was lost. For “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” For just as the one body is many bodies, and the one sheep is the many sheep that were lost, in this way all the Noahs, Daniels, and Jobs are brought back into one Noah, one Job, and one Daniel. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:27: quotation, high confidence - Luke 15:4: allusion, high confidence - Matt 18:12: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 19:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:14; 1 Cor 12:27; Luke 15:4 (Matt 18:12); Luke 19:10. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.6 (PG 13:701b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-6). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-7 - Source: PG 13:701b–702b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The evil beasts sent on the sinful land are, spiritually, the devil and invisible powers that devour sinners’ souls, worse than the beasts that killed the martyrs. ### Latin text Ipsi in justitia sua salvabuntur, dicit Adonai Dominus . Prius nomen Dei quatuor litterarum est, quod interpretatur naturaliter Deus. Ergo emittitur propter peccata terra: fames : terra vero secundum omnes sensus quos supra diximus et quoscunque intelligentia: auditorum reliquimus, ut et nostris dictis ipsi sibi alias intelligentias reperirent. Videamus autem et aliud opus ira: divinae eminentis in terram peccatricem bestias pessimas. Aiunt etiam Judaei , si quando lupi homines devoraverint impetum facientes in domos, et caetera: bestiae, ut historia refert leones quondam in immanum genus immissos, et alio tempore ursos “, istiusmodi devorationes ex Dei indignatione descendere. Et hunc interim sensum ut sequamur litteram ab altiori intellectu recc lentes, nunc sequi videmus prophetam. Qui autem spiritalis est, judicans omnia, et a nullo dijudicatus, confidenter dicit multas esse bestias, quas emittit Deus in peccatrieem terram, si tamen terra nostra peccaverit Adversarius noster diabolus ut leo rugiens ambulat quan-ens quem devoret 6, Illa quoque historia qua: Scripturas diligenter observantibus in planum se ’ praebet intellectum, istiusmodi habet significationem, quando duo ursi'ad parvulos missi sunt, qui contumelias faciebant propheta: dicentes : Ascende, calve, ascende, calve. Ursi namque illi in signo erant aliarum bestiarum, quae vere ferae, vere sunt rabidas, quae mittuntur in hanc peccatricem terram. Procul autem absit a nobis ut bestiae ad nos pro Dei ultione mittantur , quin potius in oratione dicamus : Ne tradideris bestiis animam confitentem tibi lEgo novi perseverantes in [ide justos feris traditos, et laceratos ab eis consummasse martyrium, nec tamen beatos esse desiisse. Non enim bestiis fuerant traditi spiritalibus et. invisibilibus, quae lacerant animas peccatorum et dentes suos in impiorum corda defigunt. Quemadmodum enim si pastor ea: ore leonum evellat duo crura ovis, vel ea;remum auriculae, ita erellentur filii Israel ο. Traditur ergo aliquando terra bestiis ad eversionem, ut auferatur ab ea homo et pecus. ### English translation (Claude) “They will be saved by their righteousness, says Adonai the Lord.” The first name of God is of four letters, which is rendered as the name of God by nature. So famine is sent upon the land because of its sins: the land, that is, in all the senses we have given above, and in whatever others we have left to the understanding of our hearers, so that from our words they might find other meanings for themselves. Let us look also at another work of the divine anger, which sends the worst beasts upon the sinful land. The Jews too say that if ever wolves have attacked houses and devoured men, or other beasts have done so (as history records that lions were once sent upon a savage people, and at another time bears), such devourings come down from God’s indignation. And for the present, withdrawing from the higher understanding so as to follow the letter, we see that the prophet now follows this sense. But he who is spiritual, judging all things and judged by no one, says confidently that there are many beasts which God sends upon the sinful land, if indeed our land has sinned. “Our adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour.” That story too, which offers itself to plain understanding, has for those who study the Scriptures carefully a meaning of this kind: when two bears were sent against the little boys who were insulting the prophet, saying, “Go up, baldhead, go up, baldhead.” For those bears were a sign of other beasts, which are truly wild, truly rabid, which are sent upon this sinful land. Far be it from us that beasts should be sent upon us as God’s vengeance; rather let us say in prayer: “Do not hand over to the beasts the soul that confesses you.” I know of righteous men, persevering in faith, who were handed over to wild beasts and, torn by them, completed their martyrdom, and yet did not cease to be blessed. For they had not been handed over to the spiritual and invisible beasts which tear the souls of sinners and fix their teeth in the hearts of the impious. “As when a shepherd snatches from the mouth of lions two legs of a sheep or the tip of an ear, so will the sons of Israel be snatched.” So the land is sometimes handed over to beasts for its overthrow, so that man and beast may be removed from it. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:15: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 17:25: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 2:23: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 2:24: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 74:19 (73:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Amos 3:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:14–15; 2 Kgs 17:25 (lions) and 2 Kgs 2:23–24 (bears); 1 Cor 2:15; 1 Pet 5:8; Ps 74:19 (73:19 LXX); Amos 3:12. The remark on the four-letter name (the Tetragrammaton, read as “Adonai”) is obscure as printed; translated literally. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.7 (PG 13:701b–702b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-7). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 4.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-8 - Source: PG 13:702b–704a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: No one is saved by the righteousness of parents or saints; Noah, Daniel, and Job are named, following a Jewish interpreter, because each saw times of joy, sorrow, and joy restored. ### Latin text Et observa diligenter differentias comminationum. In prima comminatione famis ait : Ipsi soli salvabuntur Noe, Daniel ct Job. ln secunda vero ubi bestias immissurum se esse testatur, lilii et tiliae nuncupata sunt. Verumtamen ipsi soli salvi erunt, dicit Adonai Dominus, Qui locus dupliciter intelligitur. Ac primum secundum communem sensum exponamus, ob nonnullorum insipientiam, qui sensum animi sui, Dei esse asserunt veritatem, et frequenter dicunt: futurum est ut unusquisque nostrum precibus suis eripiat quoscunque voluerit de gehenna; et iniquitatem introducunt ad Dominum, nonvidentes quod justitia justi super cum erit, et iniquitas iniqui super eum, et unusquisque in proprio peccato morietur,etin propria]ustitiavivetd‘iihilmihi conducit martyr pater, si non bene vixero et ornavcro generis mei nobilitatem , hoc est testimonium ejus et confessionem qua illustratus est in Christo. prodest Iudaeis dicentibus“ : Nos de fornica- _ tione nati non sumus, unum patrem habemus Dominum, et post modicum" : Abraham pater noster est. Quacumque dixerint, quacunque sibi assumere voiuerint, si non habuerint fidem Abraham, incassum gloriantur. Neque enim ideo salvabuntur,quia sunt lilii Abraham. Quoniam ergo quidam non recte opinantur, necessario interposuimus etiam sensum littera: dicentis: Filios et filias non liberabant Noe, Daniel, et Job , sed ipsi soli salvi erunt. Nemo nostrum confidat. in justo patre, in matre sancta , in fratribus castis. Beatus liomo qui spem habet in semetipso, et in via recta. Ad eos autem qui in sanctis fiduciam habent, non incongrue proferimus exemplum "z Maledictus homo qui spem liabet in nomine. Et illud " : Nolite confidere in hominibus. Sed et aliud : Bonum est confidere in Domino, quam confidere in principibus. Quod isi necesse est in aliquo sperare, omnibus derelictis speremus in Domino, dicentes": Si constiterint adversum me castra , non timebit cor meum. Cum hac ita sc etiam alia nobis oboritur, quam di. ligcuter debemus excutere, ut Scripturarum veritas elucescat. Quare cum tanti sint justi, nunc tantum- T090 ηδε, nominauit" Nof’ ,οι “3'0” ν Audivi quondam a quodam Heln-ato hunc locum expouente atque dicente, ideo hos nominatos, quia Quamuis“; eorum "ia tempora Viderit triste , et rursum Letum. Vide Noc ante diluvium , considera mundum integrum; et eumdem post Noe in totius orbis naufragio solum cum suis filiis et auitnalibus in arca servatum, considera quomodo post diluvium egressus sit, et plantaveritvineam, quodammodo secundi rursus orbis creator exsistens. Talis est justus, vidit mundum ante diluvium, hoc est ante consummationem; vidit mundum in diluvio, in corruptione et in interitu peccatorum , quae in die-sunt eventura judicii; rursum videbit mundum in resurrectione omnium peccatorum. Dicit mihi aliquis : Concedo de Noe ut tria tempora viderit, quid respondebis mihi de Daniele? Et hic ante captivitatem in patriae floruit nobilitate, et deinceps in Babylonem translatus eunuchus efi‘ectus ε est , ut manifeste ex libro ipsius intelligi potest; vidit et rever-sionem in Jerusalem. Ut autem probetur quod ante captivitatem in Jerusalem fuerit, et post captivitatem eunuchus efi‘ectus sit, assumamus id quod ad Ezechiam diclum est" : Accipient tl filiis tuis, et facient spadones in domo regis. Deind post septuaginta annos invenitur deprecans Deum, ut completo jam tempore captivitatis ingrediatur Jerusalem. Habemus orationem ejus in volumine proprio conscriptam , nec tamen possumus inve nire tibi sit mortuus. Vidit ergo tria tempora aut captivitatem, in captivitate et post captivitatem, Talis justus est. Videamus autem an et Job tria tempora habuerit". Fuit quidem loettpleszerattt quippe ei oves septem millia , cameli tria millia, juga boum quingenta. et supellex multa valde, tilii septem , filia: tres. Deinde accepit potestatem dia. bolus adversus eum. Vide tempora commutata, Dives in liberis pater repente orbus efficitur : dives i censu dominus , ad ultimam deducitur egestatem. Ecce duo tempora. Post haec apparet ei Dominus, et loquitur ei de nube , et ipse Job ea quae sunt in libro ejus scripta respondit. Igitur in primo tempore Dei laudibus praedicatur : in secundo tentatioui traditur, et saevissimo ulcere percussus a pedibus usque ad caput tristia et dura perpetitur. Ad extremum facta: sunt ei oves quatuordeeim millia, cameli sex millia, juga boum mille, asinae pascentes mille, et nascuntur ei filii septem etiiiiiP ο. Atque ita et in Job tria tempora deprehendimus', quae in justis hominibus reperimus. Tria vident justi tempora, praesens, et commutationiS. quando iudicaturus est Deus, et futurum post resurrecuoncm mortuorum. id est vitae caelestis perpetuitatem in Cbristo Jesu : cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) And observe carefully the differences between the threats. In the first threat, of famine, he says: “Noah, Daniel, and Job alone will be saved.” But in the second, where he declares that he will send beasts, sons and daughters are named: “Nevertheless they alone will be saved, says Adonai the Lord.” This passage is understood in two ways. Let us first expound it according to the common sense, because of the folly of some who assert that the opinion of their own mind is God’s truth, and often say: “It will come to pass that each of us by his prayers will snatch from Gehenna whomever he wishes”; and they bring injustice before the Lord, not seeing that the righteousness of the righteous will be upon him and the iniquity of the wicked upon him, and each one will die in his own sin and live in his own righteousness. A martyr for a father is of no use to me if I do not live well and adorn the nobility of my family, that is, his testimony and the confession by which he was made illustrious in Christ. Nor does it profit the Jews who say: “We were not born of fornication; we have one father, God,” and a little later: “Abraham is our father.” Whatever they say, whatever they wish to claim for themselves, if they do not have Abraham’s faith, they boast in vain. For they will not be saved because they are sons of Abraham. Since, then, some think wrongly, we have necessarily inserted the sense of the letter, which says: “Noah, Daniel, and Job will not deliver sons and daughters, but they alone will be saved.” Let none of us trust in a righteous father, a holy mother, or chaste brothers. “Blessed is the man who has hope in himself” and in the right way. And to those who put their trust in the saints we may fittingly bring forward the example: “Cursed is the man who has hope in man.” And that: “Do not trust in men.” And another: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes.” If we must hope in someone, let us leave all else and hope in the Lord, saying: “Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear.” This being so, another question also arises for us, which we must examine carefully, so that the truth of the Scriptures may shine out. Why, when there are so many righteous men, has he now named only Noah, Daniel, and Job? I once heard a certain Hebrew expounding this passage and saying that these were named because each of them saw three times: glad, then sad, and again glad. Look at Noah before the flood: consider the world intact; and the same Noah afterwards, in the shipwreck of the whole world, kept safe alone with his sons and the animals in the ark; consider how after the flood he went out and planted a vineyard, in a way becoming the creator of a second world. Such is the righteous man: he saw the world before the flood, that is, before the consummation; he saw the world in the flood, in the corruption and destruction of sinners which will come about on the day of judgment; he will again see the world in the resurrection of all. Someone says to me: “I grant that Noah saw three times; what will you answer me about Daniel?” He too, before the captivity, flourished in the nobility of his homeland; then, carried off to Babylon, he was made a eunuch, as can be clearly understood from his own book; and he also saw the return to Jerusalem. To prove that he was in Jerusalem before the captivity and was made a eunuch after it, let us take what was said to Hezekiah: “They will take some of your sons and make them eunuchs in the king’s house.” Then, after seventy years, he is found praying to God that, the time of the captivity now being complete, the people may enter Jerusalem. We have his prayer written in his own book, and yet we cannot find where he died. So he saw three times: before the captivity, in the captivity, and after the captivity. Such is the righteous man. Let us see whether Job too had three times. He was rich: he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, a very great household, seven sons, and three daughters. Then the devil received power against him. See how the times changed: a father rich in children suddenly becomes childless; a master rich in property is brought down to the last poverty. There are two times. After this the Lord appears to him and speaks to him from the cloud, and Job himself gave the answers written in his book. So in the first time he is proclaimed with God’s praises; in the second he is handed over to temptation and, struck with a most cruel sore from his feet to his head, suffers sad and hard things. At the end he came to have fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, a thousand grazing she-asses, and seven sons and three daughters were born to him. And so in Job too we find the three times that we find in righteous men. The righteous see three times: the present; the time of change, when God will judge; and the future after the resurrection of the dead, that is, the everlastingness of heavenly life in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:16: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 14:18: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 18:20: allusion, high confidence - John 8:41: quotation, high confidence - John 8:39: quotation, high confidence - Jer 17:5: quotation, high confidence - Ps 146:3 (145:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 118:9 (117:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 27:3 (26:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 9:20: allusion, high confidence - Isa 39:7: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 20:18: quotation, medium confidence - Dan 9:2: allusion, high confidence - Job 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Job 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Job 1:12: allusion, high confidence - Job 2:7: allusion, high confidence - Job 38:1: allusion, high confidence - Job 42:12: allusion, high confidence - Job 42:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:16–18; Ezek 18:20; John 8:41, 39; Jer 17:5; Ps 146:3 (145:3 LXX); Ps 118:9 (117:9 LXX); Ps 27:3 (26:3 LXX); Gen 9:20; Isa 39:7 (2 Kgs 20:18); Dan 9; Job 1:2–3, 12; 2:7; 38:1; 42:12–13. “Blessed is the man who has hope in himself” is unidentified. Origen rejects the view that the saints’ prayers can rescue whomever they wish from Gehenna; translated as written. “The resurrection of all”: the scan reads “of all sinners”, probably a slip. The three “times” come from an unnamed Hebrew teacher. Origen’s remarks on the Jews are translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 4.8 (PG 13:702b–704a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/4-1/#p-4-8). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 5.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-1 - Source: PG 13:704a–705a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The sword, like the fiery sword of paradise, both burns and cuts, as a surgeon treats cancer; God’s punishments are rational remedies, not mere torture. ### Latin text Fames quae propter peccatricem inducitur terram , juxta possibilitatem nostrarum virium discussa est, et post famem de bestiis pessimis diximus quas immittet Deus super peceatores. Quatuor enim ultiones in principio proposuimus, equilzus reliqum dua: sunt de romphaea et de morte. Et oiu prima quidem filiorum et filiarum nomen lantqu est, in secunda vero et tertia quam nunc conamur exponere, filiorum et filiarum nomen annexum est. id est iu romphaea, qua corruunt qui caede ejus digna fecerunt. Quis est ergo iste gladius, id est romphaea, quam nos formidare debemus ne quando mittatur super terram nostram, super terram quam figuraliter exposuimus, ut et nobis necesse sit transire per gladium duplex aliquid habentem in v Habitus quippe ipsius gladii dividit et secat eum in quem infertur : Si vero ad acumen aciei ejus etiam tactus ipse poenalis est, dupliciter torquetur - qui hoc gladio puniendus est. Scriptum est enim si'z Statuit igneam romphteam, et cherubim custodire viam ligni vitae. Et quomodo si gladius acutus et candens inferatur in corpus , duplicem tribuit CI'IICialum . adusliOIIis, ct caedis. sic et rouiphzs quae ad custodiam paradisi statuta memoratur, quam nunc ob expositionem gladii praesentis assumpsimus, duplicia infert tormenta, dum adurit et dividit. Ut autem necessarium aliquid ex quibus sensum "OSin "lumini" ili i000 medicinalis disciplinae ad quasdam corporum curationes necessariam esse non solum sectionem verum etiam adustionem. Nam ad eos qui canceris veterno computrescunt, candentem sive novaculae laminam sive quodcunque acutissimi ferri genus aiiiiibeiii. υι Per ignemfadiccs canceris per incisioncm autem putrida caro truncetur, et via Daiei“ medicaminibus injicieiidis- Filias “0’ strum canceris, ut ita dicam , habet simile pecutum, ut non ei sufficiat aut simplex acumen ferri aut sola ignis adustio, sed utraque adhibeantur. quo uratur et secetur? Audi Salvatorem ratio"e ignis et ferri in duobus locis significantem. ln alio loco ait : Non teni mittere pacem super terram, sed gladium. In alio vero” : Ignem veni mittere super terram, et utinam jam ardeat? Igitur defert utrumque Salvator , gladium et ignem , et baptizat quas non potuerunt Spiritus sancti purificatione purgari. Sacramenta divina sunt et ineffabilia, et sali Deo cognita, plus tamen in gratiarum dona tione, quam in tormentorum varietatibus consti luta. Neque enim medici ex disciplina artis sure rationabiliter eos quibus medentur secant, urunt, dantque poculum amarissimi temperamenti, multaque alia prout causa postulat faciunt : Deus autem universitatis Dominus sine rationabili quadam sapientia, et sine dispensatione digna majestatis sua: paruas tantum infert peccatoribus. Neque enim, ut etistimant, ad hoc tantum adhibet supplicia ut torqueat, sed quasi pater scit vulnera omnium nostrum, scit qua ex causa quod ulcus natum sit, quae putredo infelicis anima: ex quo ducatur exordio, qualis species doloris ex quo peccato veniat; scit et formas, modos, et mtmeros peccatorum, qui semel , bis, terque peccaverit, qui in una specie dclictorum saepe ruerit, qui in diversis vitiorum speciebus singulis tantum vicibus erraverit. Haec omnia nos juxta sapientiam Dei quaerere, secundum illud quod scriptum est“: Scrutans corda et rencs Deus, et supplicia quae ab eo irrogantur sic intelligere, quasi digna Deo, et convenientia dispensationi ejus, nos vult, non tantummodo cruciari. Omnia quippe adhoc condidit ut essent, et salutares fecit generationes mundi, et non est in eis medicamentum perditionis. Sed quia quod ille voluit nos coutemnendo non fecimus, et ille quod cupierat non exercuit in nobis. Disputatio nos coegit ut aliquid de pinnarum Specie diceremus , quae inferuntur ad terram. ### English translation (Claude) The famine that is brought upon the sinful land has been discussed as far as our powers allowed, and after the famine we spoke of the worst beasts which God will send upon sinners. For at the beginning we set out four vengeances, of which two remain, concerning the sword and concerning death. And in the first, the name of sons and daughters is passed over; but in the second, and in the third, which we are now attempting to expound, the name of sons and daughters is attached: that is, in the sword, by which fall those who have done what deserves its slaughter. What, then, is this sword, that is, this rhomphaia, which we ought to dread, lest it ever be sent upon our land (upon the land which we have expounded figuratively), so that it may be necessary for us too to pass through a sword that has something double in it? For the very nature of a sword divides and cuts the one on whom it is brought; but if even the touch of its edge is penal, the one who is to be punished by this sword is tormented doubly. For it is written: “He set a fiery rhomphaia, and the cherubim, to guard the way of the tree of life.” And just as a sharp, glowing sword brought upon a body gives a double torment, of burning and of cutting, so too the rhomphaia which is said to have been set to guard paradise, which we have now taken up to explain the present sword, inflicts double torments, while it burns and divides. To make this clearer from things we know: it is known from the discipline of medicine that for certain cures of bodies not only cutting but also burning is necessary. For to those who are rotting with the long-standing disease of cancer, physicians apply a glowing blade of a razor or some very sharp kind of iron, so that by the fire the roots of the cancer are burned out, by the incision the rotten flesh is cut away, and a way is opened for applying medicines. Our sin, so to speak, is like a cancer, so that neither the simple edge of the iron nor the burning of fire alone suffices for it, but both are applied. By whom is it burned and cut? Hear the Savior signifying the account of fire and iron in two places. In one place he says: “I did not come to send peace upon the earth, but a sword.” In another: “I came to send fire upon the earth, and would that it were already burning!” So the Savior brings both, sword and fire, and baptizes those things that could not be cleansed by the purification of the Holy Spirit. The divine mysteries are ineffable and known to God alone, yet they consist more in the giving of graces than in varieties of torments. For if physicians, by the discipline of their art, reasonably cut and burn those they heal, give them a cup of the bitterest mixture, and do many other things as the case requires, God, the Lord of the universe, does not inflict punishments on sinners without a rational wisdom and without a dispensation worthy of his majesty. For he does not apply punishments only in order to torture, as some think; but as a father he knows the wounds of all of us; he knows from what cause each sore has arisen, from what beginning the rottenness of the unhappy soul is drawn, what kind of pain comes from what sin; he knows the forms, manners, and numbers of sins: who has sinned once, twice, three times; who has often fallen into one kind of offense; who has erred only once each in different kinds of vice. He wants us to seek all these things according to God’s wisdom, as it is written, “God searches hearts and kidneys,” and to understand the punishments he inflicts as worthy of God and fitting his dispensation, not merely to be tormented. For “he created all things that they might be, and he made the generations of the world wholesome, and there is no poison of destruction in them.” But because, by despising him, we did not do what he wished, he too did not carry out in us what he had desired. The discussion has compelled us to say something about the kinds of punishment that are brought upon the land. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:17: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 14:21: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:24: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:34: quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:49: quotation, high confidence - Matt 3:11: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 7:9 (7:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 1:14 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:17, 21; Gen 3:24; Matt 10:34; Luke 12:49; Ps 7:9 (7:10 LXX); Wis 1:14. The middle of the section (the medical comparison) and the sentence about physicians are garbled in the scan; they are translated by sense. That Christ “baptizes” with sword and fire what the Spirit has not cleansed (cf. Matt 3:11) and that punishments are remedial are Origen’s views, translated as written. “Rhomphaia” is the Greek word for “sword” kept in the Latin. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 5.1 (PG 13:704a–705a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 5.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-2 - Source: PG 13:705a–706a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Death, the last of the four punishments, like the others falls on God’s enemies; his friends, like Noah, Daniel, and Job, pass through unharmed. ### Latin text Debemus autem nosse, quia non statim ubi fames fuerit, sequatur et mors. Potest quippe fieri ut aliquis famem sustinens perseveret in vita , licet inedia, et squalore, et macie discruciatur. Potest fieri ut immissis bestiis malis statim non omnes pereant. fuga: auxilio reservati. Potest evenire ut cedente romphaea, cesset interitus. Modo vulnerantur quidam et secantur, et, ut ita dicam , crebris ictibus confodiuntur, nec tamen pereunt. Idcirco nunc ptena novissima in enumerationem pmnarum mortis infertur. Istiusmodi quiddam et sacratissimus Apostolus sentiens , loquebatur” : Novissimus inimicus destruetur mors, audebo dicere, sed norissiatus inimicus destruetur mars. b‘uit quidam ante mortem inimicus, id est romphzca; fuit quidam ante mortem inimicus bestia: pessimae ; fuit quidam ante bestias pessimas inimicus, fames. llaec omnia iniica sunt religionis inimicis. Si enim non vis amicus fieri Deo invitanti te ad reconciliationem, et. dicenti per Apostolum : Obsecro vos per Clariin causis sub inimicorum imperio esse voluisti? An ignoras idcirco Deum in Egypto immisisse furorem, et iram, et angustiam, immissionem per angelos pessimos, quia inimici illius erant, et ab ejus adversario regebantur? Procul autem absint a nobis quatuor istarum supplicia pinnarum, fames, bestia: pessimae, gladius, mors! Quidquid enim horum fuerit illatum , ad eos venit qui inimici Dei sunt, amicos ejus praeterit, neque ausum est eos contingere qui de ejus necessitudine gloriantur. Et quomodo de igne bene creditum est, Scripturis testantibus, quia transeant per eum justi, et non comburantur: Uniuscujusque enim opus quale sit, ignis probabit" ; sic et in his suppliciis inveniatur aliquis Daniel, Noe et Job, et nihil ptenarum sustinebit. ### English translation (Claude) We ought to know that death does not follow at once wherever there is famine. For it can happen that someone enduring famine stays alive, though tormented by hunger, squalor, and leanness. It can happen that when evil beasts are sent, not all perish at once, being preserved by the help of flight. It can happen that when the sword gives way, the destruction ceases. Some are now wounded and cut and, so to speak, pierced with frequent blows, and yet they do not perish. Therefore death, the last penalty, is now brought into the list of punishments. Perceiving something of this sort, the most holy Apostle said, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death”; I will dare to say: but it is the last enemy that is to be destroyed, death. There was an enemy before death, that is, the sword; there was an enemy before death, the worst beasts; there was an enemy before the worst beasts, famine. All these are enemies to the enemies of religion. For if you do not wish to become a friend to God, who invites you to reconciliation and says through the Apostle, “I beseech you on behalf of Christ” … why did you wish to be under the rule of enemies? Do you not know that God sent upon Egypt fury and wrath and distress, a sending by evil angels, because they were his enemies and were ruled by his adversary? Far from us be the punishments of these four penalties: famine, the worst beasts, the sword, and death! For whichever of them is brought comes upon those who are God’s enemies; it passes by his friends and does not dare touch those who glory in kinship with him. And just as it is rightly believed of fire, on the testimony of the Scriptures, that the righteous pass through it and are not burned (“for the fire will test what sort of work each one’s is”), so in these punishments too may someone be found to be a Daniel, a Noah, a Job, and he will suffer none of the penalties. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:21: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:26: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:20: quotation, high confidence - Ps 78:49 (77:49 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: 1 Cor 15:26; 2 Cor 5:20; Ps 78:49 (77:49 LXX); Isa 43:2; 1 Cor 3:13. After “on behalf of Christ” the scan is garbled (“per Clariin causis”); lost words are marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 5.2 (PG 13:705a–706a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 5.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-3 - Source: PG 13:706a–706d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Jerusalem, which receives all four punishments at once, stands for believers, whose sin after knowing Christ deserves a heavier penalty than any other. ### Latin text llaec Specialiter per singula supplicia exposuimus, quaa in extrema parte in unum pr0pheta consocians, ait: Haec dicit Adonui Dominus: Si autem quatuor vindictas meas pessimus romplrceam , et fumem, et bestias pessimus, et mortem immisero. Quo? Non super terram, sed super Jerusalem. Terra enim si puniatur, sullicit ei una correptio. Si autem corripiatur Jerusalem, super quam invocatum est nomen Dei, quatuor ei cruciatus pariter inferuntur. Multo nobis utilius fuerat divino non credidisse sermoni, quam post credulitatem adhuc rursum ad peccata converti quae ante commisimus”. Considera enim quomodo Scriptura super terram sigllatim supplicia dicat inferri, et non apponat quam terram; quando vero ad Jerusalem veniat : Si autem et quatuor vindictas meas pessimus, romplta'am , et famem , et bestias pessimus , et mortem · immisero in Jerusalem; nos indicans Jerusalem, qui peccantes quidem nos Jerusalem sumus qua: destruitur; in praeceptis vero permanentes, Jerusalem dicimur quae salvatnr. Omnes lamentationes quas legimus in Jerusalem, omnes querimonia: quibus eam plangit Deus, ad nos pertinent qui gustavimus sermonem Dei, et postea mandatis ejus contraria fecitnns. Non plectitur Salomonis jura contemnens , non sic punitur Lycurgi scita destituens. Aliud supplicium est ejus qui legem Dei per Moysen traditam conculcat et despicit; max tua omnium est ejus pmna qui praecepta Filii Dei pro nihilo duxerit. Irritam enim quis faciens legem Moysi, sine ulla miseratione duobus vel tribus testibus moritur . quanto magis putatis deteriora supplicia mereri illum qui Filium Dei conculcaverit"? Hi ergo quos enumeravimus Filium Dei non concalcaverunt, sed tantum legem Dei transgressi sunt, maximeque bi qui ante adventum Domini fuerunt. Sed neque hi qui crucifixerunt Salvatorem meum rei sunt ingentis punire, sicut hi quibus ait Apostolus” ,ε Filium Dei conculcans, spiritui grutia: contumeliam faciens; et si quid aliud significat in eo loco in quo eorum peccata replicat , qui post fidem iu Deum peccaverunt. ### English translation (Claude) These we have expounded specifically, punishment by punishment; and the prophet, joining them together in the last part, says: “Thus says Adonai the Lord: But if I send my four worst vengeances, the sword and famine and the worst beasts and death.” Upon what? Not upon the land, but upon Jerusalem. For if the land is punished, one chastisement suffices for it. But if Jerusalem is chastised, upon which the name of God has been called, four torments are brought upon it together. It would have been far more useful for us not to have believed the divine word than, after believing, to turn back again to the sins we committed before. For consider how Scripture says that punishments are brought upon the land one by one, and does not add which land; but when it comes to Jerusalem: “But if I also send my four worst vengeances, the sword and famine and the worst beasts and death, upon Jerusalem,” showing that we are Jerusalem. When we sin, we are the Jerusalem that is destroyed; but when we remain in the commandments, we are called the Jerusalem that is saved. All the lamentations we read over Jerusalem, all the complaints with which God bewails her, pertain to us who have tasted the word of God and afterwards have done what is contrary to his commandments. One who despises the laws of Solon is not punished so, nor is one who abandons the decrees of Lycurgus punished in this way. Another punishment belongs to one who tramples on and despises the law of God handed down through Moses; but the greatest of all is the punishment of one who has counted the commandments of the Son of God as nothing. For “anyone who sets aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses; how much worse punishment do you think he deserves who has trampled the Son of God underfoot?” Those whom we have listed did not trample on the Son of God, but only transgressed the law of God, especially those who lived before the coming of the Lord. But not even those who crucified my Savior are liable to so great a punishment as those of whom the Apostle speaks: “trampling the Son of God, insulting the Spirit of grace,” and whatever else he indicates in the place where he recounts the sins of those who sinned after faith in God. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:21: quotation, high confidence - Jer 7:10: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Pet 2:21: allusion, high confidence - Heb 10:28: quotation, high confidence - Heb 10:29: quotation, high confidence - Heb 6:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:21; Jer 7:10; 2 Pet 2:21; Heb 10:28–29; Heb 6:4–6. “Solon”: the scan prints “Salomonis” (Solomon), but the pairing with Lycurgus shows that the Athenian lawgiver is meant. Origen’s comparison of the guilt of Christ’s crucifiers with that of believers who sin is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 5.3 (PG 13:706a–706d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 5.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-4 - Source: PG 13:706d–709b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sinners in the Church are punished according to their rank, clergy most of all; and like a vine branch, a believer who bears no fruit is worse than any other wood and is cut off for the fire. ### Latin text Ilaec propter quatuor ultiones pessimas quae inducuntur super Jerusalem. Et omnes quidem qui didicimus divinas Scripturas, sive bene, sive male vivamus, Jerusalem sumus. Si male vivimus, illa Jerusalem qute cruciatibus punitur, et sustinet quatuor ultiones; si bene, illa Jerusalem quae in Dei sinu requiescit. Et est magna distantia ut in reliqua terra, sic et in ipsa Jerusalem. Omnes enim qui in Ecclesia peccatores sunt, qui sermonem Dei gustaverunt, et transgrediuntur eum, merentur supplicia, verum pro modo graduum unusquisque torquebitur. Majorem pcenam habet qui Ecclesia: praesidet et delinquit. Annon magis misecatechumenus? Non magis venia dignus est laicus, si ad diaconum conferatur? rursum comparatione presbyteri, diaconus veniatu plus meretur? Quae autem sequantur, me tacente cognoscitis. Idcirco formidans judicium Dei, et ante oculos mihi proponens illum judicii ordinem qui in Scripturis continetur, recordor dicti illius :Pondus ultra te ne; leves. Sed et illud ’ί : Noli quaerere fieri iudex, ne non valeas auferre iniquitates. Quid mihi prodest quia prior sedeo in cathedra resupinus, honorem majoris accipio, nec possum habere dignitate mea opera condigna? Nonne majori pmna cruciabor, quia honor justi mihi ab omnibus defertur, cum peccator sim? Necessarium luit diligentius retra- ε ctantem ea quae de quatuor terrae ultionibns dicebantur, id addere, quod Jerusalem quippe erat in tribui Beniamin; et sacerdotes templi, et Levita: qui Dei ministeriis serviebant, et caeteri ordines quos Scriptura: sermo comprehendit, in ea morabantur. Htec accipit quatuor ultiones pessimas, qua: non sunt similes in bis-qui in ea habitant. Neque enim eodem modo et ad populum, et ad Levitas comminatio dirigitur. lsraelites enim peccans in lsraelitienm delictum corruit. Qui autem major est ab Israelita , quanto nobilior fuerit in ordine idem Levites et sacerdos , tanto majora supplicia sustinebit. Si autem princeps sacerdotum peccaverit, dicit ad eum lleli consacerdos suus "z Si deliuqncns peccaverit vir in virum, orabunt pro eo; si autem in Dominum peccaverit, quis orabit pro eo Haec in expositionem ejus sermonis, quo comminabantur et singula: specialiter in peccatricem terram ultiones, et pariter congregata! in infelicem Jerusalem. Videamus autent et sequentia Scripturze. Quae 'cum in parabola audierit propheta, nos tantum sensum debemus exponere, ipsum testimonii ordinem derelinquentes, et auditorem mittentes ad librum". Lignum vitis ut in fructu est honorabilius lignis omnibus, maxime bis quae in saltu fructiticant, sie ad Caetera opera inutilius omnibus lignis est. Et vaseula qutedatn possunt fieri, et in diversa opera necessarii usus ad ministrandum; de palmitibus autem vitis non solum vas aliquod et in opus utile quid fieri non potest, sed neque paxillus quidem est utilis. Ait ergo sermo divinus, quia ut palmes vitis honorabilior tit czeteris lignis, si alie rat fructus, sic ab omnibus inferior iudicetur, si id non habeat unde praecellit, atque in hunc modum eos qui imbuti sunt eloquiis Dei honorabiliores esse omnibus, et quocunque modo in vineae positos dignitate, cum alferant fructus, botros salutis de qua scriptum est ἰε Ego vero te plantavi vineam fructiferam, totam verum. Et alibi "z Vinea Domini domus Israel est. Et rursum 9‘z Vineam de {Egypto transtulisti, et reliqua; si autem non attulerint fructus, in tantum ut a Deo diei possit, ουρ. modo conversa es in amaritudinem uitis aliena”? tunc multo deteriores inveniri ab bis lignis, qua: licet viliora sint, tamen suos all‘erunt fructus. Quomodo enim praecellunt ligna silvarum vineas inleraces, eodem modo intra quamdam dispensationem sapientia: divinae ex lignis vilioribus aliqua domui necessaria fabricantur. Neque vero tutberis, putans nos extra Seripturas allirmare quod dicimus. futurum esse ut de lignis silvae aliquid utile lial, id est de me ipso, si non attulere proprios natura: meae fructus; si quidem et Apostolus imaginem quatudam eorum vasorum quae sunt in humana conversatione assumit, dicens :In magna autem domo non solum sunt vasa aurea et argentea,sed et lignea et fictilia (nota quia vasa lignea nuncupaverit). et alia quidem in honorem, alia vero in contumeliam. Ista vasa lignea quae esse in magna domo Apostolus prmdieat, non sunt facta de vitibus, non de palmitibus vinearum, sed ex aliis lignis, quae vilioris l ordinis in nemoribus lructilicaverunt. Quantum ergo malum est, et quale discrimen ut ligna quou- ἲ dam vilia invenianturin magna patrisfamilias domo, ἓ et palmes vitis mea: inutilis in domo sit, et in ignem ξ projiciatur? Hoc enim scriptum est, quia annuam η putationem ejus consumat ignis. Hmc in Eteebielem. Salvator vero hujus parabolae sensum in Evangelio ita perstrinxit, dicens : ligo sum ritis. η vos palmites, Pater mens agricola. Omnem palmitem qui in me manet et fructum a/fert, Pater meus putat, ut fructus majores afferat; palmitem qui manu in me et fructum non a/fcrt, Pater meus excidit, et 5H ignem mittit. Vides vicinitatem utrorumque sermo' num? Vides quomodo Pater excidal, et in ignem jaciat? Nos insensati quasi negligenda quidem Scriptura sit, nolentes ea discere quae nobis incutiant metum, sed ea audire cupientes qua- prurientibus auribus incutiunt voluptatem, libenter audivi. mus quae nos subvertant, quae decipiant. Qui dicit proximo suo, ignoscit nobis peccata nostra Deus. si quidem ct in talibus sacramentis ludimus, vicissim nobis pollicentes, mappam mittet Dens. Et quia bonus est, et omnium peccata dissolvit, oportebat nos sedere, et sollicito corde dicere: si heri peccavimus, hodie pmnitentiam agamus. Verum huic palmiti (animal quippe est) qui dicit: Potens est Deus et bonus agricola, qui non me excidat, et in ignem mittat, respondebit agricola : sed si talis est palmes ut frustra sit in vite , nunquid poterit relinqui? Nonne si dimittatur, impediet vitem, ne pro sicco palmite virides et fructuum feraces allerat palmites? Quomodo enim boni. agricolae est excidere, et computare quae sicca sunt, et tradere tn escam ignis infructuosos ramos, sic boni Dei est de omnibus vitibus infructuosos palmites amputare, et igni tradere in perditionem. Verum nos ipsi nos ludimus, et decepti pariter ac decipientes volumus magis errare cum plurimis quam ab errore converti, cum magis id quaerere. debeamus quod aedificet, quod timorem Dei augeat, quod ad pumitentiam revocet, quod in confessionem sceleris adducat, quod nos faciat diebus ac noctibus cogitare quomodo Domino placeamus, ut fiamus in vera vite Christo Jesu fructiferi palmites, et radici ejus adhaerentes : cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) These things concern the four worst vengeances that are brought upon Jerusalem. And all of us who have learned the divine Scriptures, whether we live well or badly, are Jerusalem. If we live badly, we are that Jerusalem which is punished with torments and endures the four vengeances; if well, that Jerusalem which rests in God’s bosom. And there is a great difference, as in the rest of the land, so also within Jerusalem itself. For all who are sinners in the Church, who have tasted the word of God and transgress it, deserve punishments, but each will be tormented according to the measure of his rank. He who presides over the Church and sins has the greater punishment. Is not a catechumen more deserving of mercy …? Is not a layman more worthy of pardon, compared with a deacon? And again, does not a deacon deserve more pardon in comparison with a presbyter? What follows you know without my saying it. Therefore, fearing God’s judgment, and setting before my eyes the order of judgment contained in the Scriptures, I remember that saying: “Do not lift a weight beyond yourself.” And that: “Do not seek to become a judge, lest you be unable to remove iniquities.” What does it profit me that I sit first on the chair, leaning back, that I receive the honor of the greater, if I cannot have works worthy of my dignity? Will I not be tormented with a greater punishment, because the honor due to a righteous man is paid to me by all, when I am a sinner? In going over more carefully what was said about the four vengeances on the land, it was necessary to add this: that Jerusalem was in the tribe of Benjamin, and that the priests of the temple, the Levites who served in God’s ministries, and the other orders which the word of Scripture includes dwelt in it. This city receives the four worst vengeances, which are not alike for those who live in it. For the threat is not directed in the same way to the people and to the Levites. An Israelite who sins falls into an Israelite’s offense; but one who is greater than an Israelite, the more noble the Levite or the priest is in rank, the greater the punishments he will endure. And if the chief of the priests sins, Eli his fellow priest says to him: “If a man sins against a man, they will pray for him; but if he sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?” This is for the exposition of the word by which vengeances were threatened, singly and specifically upon the sinful land, and all together upon unhappy Jerusalem. Let us look also at what follows in Scripture. Since the prophet heard these things in a parable, we need set out only the sense, leaving aside the order of the text itself and sending the hearer to the book. As the wood of the vine is more honorable than all woods for its fruit, especially than those that bear fruit in the forest, so for other works it is more useless than all woods. From other woods small vessels can be made, and things of necessary use for various works of service; but from the branches of the vine not only can no vessel or anything for useful work be made, but not even a peg is of use. So the divine word says that, as the vine branch becomes more honorable than other woods if it bears fruit, so it is judged inferior to all if it lacks that by which it excels; and in this way those who have been steeped in the words of God are more honorable than all, and are placed in some way in the dignity of the vineyard, when they bear fruit, the clusters of salvation, of which it is written: “But I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true.” And elsewhere: “The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.” And again: “You brought a vine out of Egypt,” and so on. But if they do not bear fruit, so that God can say, “How have you turned to bitterness, a foreign vine?” then they are found much worse than those woods which, though they are cheaper, still bear their own fruits. For just as forest trees excel unfruitful vines, in the same way, within a certain dispensation of divine wisdom, some things necessary for the house are made from cheaper woods. And do not be troubled, thinking that we assert what we say apart from the Scriptures: that it will come about that something useful is made from the woods of the forest, that is, from myself, if I do not bear the proper fruits of my nature. For the Apostle too takes up an image of the vessels found in human life, saying: “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware” (note that he named wooden vessels), “some for honor and others for dishonor.” These wooden vessels which the Apostle declares to be in the great house are not made from vines, nor from the branches of vineyards, but from other woods, which grew in the groves as of a lower order. How great an evil it is, then, and how great a peril, that some cheap woods are found in the great house of the master of the house, while the branch of my vine is useless in the house and is thrown into the fire! For this is written: that the fire consumes its yearly pruning. So much on Ezekiel. But the Savior summed up the sense of this parable in the Gospel, saying: “I am the vine, you are the branches, my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch that abides in me and bears fruit my Father prunes, that it may bear greater fruit; the branch that abides in me and does not bear fruit my Father cuts off and throws into the fire.” Do you see how close the two sayings are? Do you see how the Father cuts off and throws into the fire? We senseless people, as if Scripture were to be neglected, unwilling to learn what strikes fear into us but wanting to hear what brings pleasure to itching ears, have gladly listened to what overturns us and deceives us. One says to his neighbor, “God forgives us our sins”; we even make sport of such mysteries, promising one another, “God will drop the signal,” and, “Because he is good, he dissolves the sins of all.” We ought rather to sit and say with an anxious heart: if we sinned yesterday, let us repent today. But to this branch (for it is a living being) which says, “God is powerful and a good vinedresser, who will not cut me off and throw me into the fire,” the vinedresser will answer: “But if the branch is such that it is in the vine to no purpose, can it be left? If it is left, will it not hinder the vine from bearing green and fruitful branches in place of the dry branch?” For as it belongs to a good vinedresser to cut off and prune what is dry and give the fruitless branches as food to the fire, so it belongs to the good God to cut off the fruitless branches from all the vines and hand them over to the fire for destruction. But we deceive ourselves, and, deceived and deceiving alike, we would rather err with the many than be turned from error, when we ought rather to seek what builds up, what increases the fear of God, what calls back to repentance, what leads to the confession of sin, what makes us think day and night how we may please the Lord, so that we may become fruitful branches in the true vine, Christ Jesus, clinging to his root: to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 14:21: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 2:25: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 15:2: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 15:3: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 15:4: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 15:6: allusion, high confidence - Jer 2:21: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:7: quotation, high confidence - Ps 80:8 (79:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:20: quotation, high confidence - John 15:1: quotation, high confidence - John 15:2: quotation, high confidence - John 15:6: quotation, high confidence - John 15:5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:3: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 13:2 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence - Sir 7:6 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 14:21; Sir 13:2; Sir 7:6; 1 Sam 2:25 (Eli to his sons; here applied to a high priest); Ezek 15:2–6; Jer 2:21 (twice); Isa 5:7; Ps 80:8 (79:9 LXX); 2 Tim 2:20; John 15:1–2, 6; 2 Tim 4:3. “Is not a catechumen more deserving of mercy …”: the scan is garbled here (“misecatechumenus”), and the comparison (probably “than one of the faithful”) is lost. “God will drop the signal” (mappam mittet) is an image from the start of the races in the circus, used of people promising themselves easy forgiveness. A section numeral (“5.”) printed inside the text is removed by a logged correction. The grading of punishment by church rank (layman, deacon, presbyter, bishop) is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 5.4 (PG 13:706d–709b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/5-1/#p-5-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-1 - Source: PG 13:709b–710a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Ezekiel’s fearless denunciation of Jerusalem shows that the prophets spoke freely, not in a frenzy, choosing to obey God whatever the danger. ### Latin text Consideranti mihi constantiam prophetarum, miraculum subit, quomodo vero credentes Deo magis quam hominibus contempserint mortem, peri- c contumelias, et omnia 'qute passi sunt'ab eis ᾔ qui arguebantur, dum voluntati Dei in prophetatione deserviunt. Admirabar quondam Isaiam antrquam compararem Ezechieli , et obstupescebam quomodo diceret : Audite sermonem Domini, principes Sodomorum, attendite legem Domini, populus Gomorrhte. Quo mihi multitudinem sacrificiorum vestrorum, dicit Dominus ? Dicebat enim haec cum posset dicere, vel tacere. Neque enim, ut quidam suspicantur, mente excidebant prophetae, et ex necessitate spiritus loquebantur. Si alii , inquit Apostolus , revelatum fuerit sedenti, prior taceat. Ex quo ostenditur potestatem habere eum qui loquatur, cum velit dicere, et cum velit tacere. Et ad Balaam dicitur δε Verumtamen verbum quod immitto in os tuum,hoc obs boc observa loqui , quasi potestatem hnheute eo, ut nccepto Verbo Dei cticcret stu taceret. Quid est ergo, quod in Ezechiele admiror? Quia cum ei fuisset imperatum ut testaretur, et notas faceret Jerusalem iniquitates ejus, non posuit ante oculos ejus periculurn quod ex praedicatione erat secuturum, sed ut Dei tantum praecepta servaret, locutus est quaecunque mandavit. Esto, sit mysterium, sit revelatio sacrata: intelligentiae de Jerusalem, et his quaecunque super eam dicuntur; attamen prophetans et fornicationis illam arguit, quia divari‘caverit pedes suos omni transeunti, maledica voce tcstatur, increpat scelerum civitatem. Sed quia confidebat Dei se facere voluntatem, paratus et mori et vivere, loquebatur intrepidus. ### English translation (Claude) As I consider the steadfastness of the prophets, wonder comes over me at how, truly believing God rather than men, they despised death, dangers, insults, and all that they suffered from those whom they rebuked, while in their prophesying they served God’s will. I once admired Isaiah, before I compared him with Ezekiel, and I was astonished at how he could say: “Hear the word of the Lord, rulers of Sodom; attend to the law of the Lord, people of Gomorrah. What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord.” For he said these things when he could either speak or keep silent. For the prophets did not, as some suppose, go out of their minds and speak under the compulsion of the spirit. “If something is revealed,” says the Apostle, “to another who is sitting, let the first be silent.” From this it is shown that the one who speaks has the power to speak when he wishes and to be silent when he wishes. And it is said to Balaam: “But the word which I put into your mouth, this you shall take care to speak,” as though he had the power, having received the word of God, to speak or to keep silent. What, then, do I admire in Ezekiel? That when he was commanded to testify and to make known to Jerusalem her iniquities, he did not set before his eyes the danger that would follow from his preaching, but, only to keep God’s commands, spoke whatever he commanded. Granted that it is a mystery, a sacred revelation of understanding about Jerusalem and whatever is said about her; nevertheless in prophesying he convicts her of sexual immorality, because she spread her feet to every passer-by, he testifies with a voice of reproach, and he rebukes the city of crimes. But because he was confident that he was doing God’s will, ready both to die and to live, he spoke without fear. ### Scripture references - Isa 1:10: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 14:30: quotation, high confidence - Num 22:35: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:2: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 16:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Isa 1:10–11; 1 Cor 14:30; Num 22:35; Ezek 16:2, 25. Origen’s denial that the prophets spoke in ecstasy is probably aimed at the Montanist view of prophecy. The homily expounds Ezek 16. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.1 (PG 13:709b–710a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-2 - Source: PG 13:710a–710b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God left it to the prophets’ free will whether to speak, as Jonah’s refusal shows; they faced persecution if they spoke and God’s displeasure if they lied. ### Latin text Videamus ergo ipsam prophetiam, et primo quidem quomodo in potestate sit positum prophetae utrum dicat annon, consideramus. Factus est sermo Domini ad eum, dicens : Fili hominis , testificare Jerusalem iniquitates ejus , et dices : llarc dicit Dominus. Non in necessitate aspirationis, sed in voluntate dicentis, Dominus posuit ut testificaretur ad Jerusalem iniquitates ejus, et ait: Dices. Quid dices? Haec quae sequuntur. In propheta erat audiente: Dices, utrum diceret necne, quomodo fuit positum in Jona. In potestate quippe ejus erat audientis : Dic ἐ Adhuc tres dies et Ninive suboertetur, si velit dicere vel tacere. Et quia in arbitrio ejus positum erat, et noluit dicere, vide quanta eum sunt consecuta postea : periclitata est navis propter eum, sorte repertus est latens , cetus venerunt ei , sive aliis prophetis , videbant quoniam ex omni parte angustia: eis imminebant: secundum saeculum persecutio, si dicerent vera; secundum Dominum ollensa , si timentes homines proferrent falsa pro veris. ### English translation (Claude) Let us look, then, at the prophecy itself, and first let us consider how it was placed in the prophet’s power whether to speak or not. “The word of the Lord came to him, saying: Son of man, testify to Jerusalem her iniquities, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord.” Not by the necessity of inspiration but by the will of the speaker did the Lord appoint him to testify to Jerusalem her iniquities; and he says, “You shall say.” What shall you say? The things that follow. It lay with the prophet, when he heard “You shall say,” whether to speak or not, as it lay with Jonah. For it was in the power of him who heard, “Say: Yet three days and Nineveh will be overthrown,” whether he wished to speak or to keep silent. And because it was placed in his choice and he did not wish to speak, see how much befell him afterwards: the ship was endangered because of him, he was found out by lot as he hid, a sea monster came to him … or to other prophets: they saw that distress threatened them from every side: from the world, persecution, if they spoke the truth; from the Lord, his displeasure, if from fear of men they offered false things for true. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:1: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:2: quotation, high confidence - Jonah 3:4: quotation, high confidence - Jonah 1:4: allusion, high confidence - Jonah 1:7: allusion, high confidence - Jonah 1:17: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:1–2; Jonah 3:4; Jonah 1. Words are lost in the scan after “a sea monster came to him”; marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.2 (PG 13:710a–710b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-3 - Source: PG 13:710b–712a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Jerusalem’s Canaanite parentage shows that sin changes one’s father: the sinner becomes a child of the devil, as the righteous are children of God and of Abraham. ### Latin text ldcirco testificatus est Ezechiel, et notas fecit Jerusalem iniquitates ejus, et dixit": Ηωε dicit Dominus : Radix tua et generatio tua de terra Chanaan. Pater tuus Aman/treus, et mater tua Cet/two. Quae civitatum sic fuit elevata, et altum sapuit in mundo ut civitas Dei? Et tamen haec ipsa sibi magna promittens, quasi proxima Dei, et civitas ejus, quia peccavit, arguitur a Spiritu sancto utdcgener et extranea. Pater enim ejus Amorrballls. if‘m Arnorrbaeus-, iam non Deus. Quninriiu uon peccavit, *pnter eius erat Deus; quando vero peccavit, pater eius Aruor- rliaeus* factus est. Quandiu non peccavit, pater ejus Spiritus sanctus fuit ; quando peccavit. mater ejus Cethaea facta est. Quandiu non peccavit, radicem habuit Abraham, et Isaac, et Jacob; quando peccavit, radix ejus Chananaaa facta est. Saepe miratus sum id quod dictum est a Daniele ad presbyterum peccatorem, cui pro peccato nomen imponens, semen, inquit , Chanaan et nou Iuda. Magnus quidem Daniel constantissime presbyterum peccatorem semen Chanaan appellans, etnon Juda; major vero eomparatione ejus Ezechiel, non uni presbytero, neque duobus hominibus nativitatem objiciens contumeliosam, sed radix, inquiens , tua et generatio tua de terra Chanaan. Pater tuus Amorrhams, et mater tua Cethwa. Quia Jerusalem multa peccata commisit. ideo increpans illam propheta, non uno, neque duobus, sed tribus nominibus insignivit. Septem in Gencsi gentes enumerantur a Deo in uno loco quem tradidit liliis Israel. Septem autem ha: sunt. In terram, inquit’, Chananzeorum, et Amorrhaeorum, et Cethaeorum, et Pheresaeorum, et Evmorum, et Gergesaaorum , et Jebustrorum. Si possibile fuisset et septem istas congregare, et pereas ignobilitatem peccatricis Jerusalem exprobrare fecisset utique propheta. Nunc vero quid fecit? Amorrhaeum elegit ex septem, ‘et Chananazum, et ait habere commu Jerusalem, quippe ad Chanameum juxta radicem et nativitatem, proprie ad Amorrlueum secundum patrem, proprie ad Cethaeum secundum matrem. Si in Jerusalem tanta dicuntur, ρ de qua tam grandia et tam mira conscripta sunt, quae ei sunt repromissa, quid futurum est misero mihi, si peccavero? Quis mihi erit pater? Aut quae mihi erit mater? Tantae talisque (il) Jerusalem radix et generatio de terra Chananaeorum, pater ejus Amorrhaeus et mater Cethma nuncupatur. Ego si peccavero, qui in Christo Jesu credo, et tanto me magistro tradidi, quis mihi futurus est pater? Non utique Amorrhzeus, sed nequior quidam pater. Quis est iste? Quivis qui peccatum facit, ex diabolo natus est . Et iterum : Vos ea: patre diabolo estis. Si igitur Jerusalem dicitur de radice et nativitate terra: Cltananzeze, quid dicetur ad nos? inveniuntttr et nobis patres qui nos generant iu peeca- _ tis. Ut enim si bonus fuero, et in— optimo actu con- υ stitutus, dicit mihi Jesus ηε Fili, dimittuntur tibi peccata tua; dicit mihi Paulus discipulus Jesu : In Christo enim Iesu per Evangelium ego vos genui; ita si factus fuero peccator, generans me in peccatis diabolus et assumens sibi eam vocem qua Pater Deus ad Salvatorem locutus est, dicit ad me ἰτ Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. Et alii autem plures patres mei erunt, ad quos iturus sum. Unusquisque ad suos proficiscitur patres. Si quis est ab Abraham. dicitur ad eum : Tu autem vade ad patres tuos cum pace educatus in senectute bona. Si quis vero egreditur de saeculo non cum pace, sed cum peccatorum bello , et senectute non bona, inveteratus dierum malorum, utique dicitur ad eum: Tu autem vade ad patres tuos cum bello, nutritus in senectute mala. Docemur a Deo sub aliis nominibus quid facere debeamus. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore Ezekiel testified and made known to Jerusalem her iniquities, and said: “Thus says the Lord: Your root and your birth are from the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.” Which of the cities was so exalted, and thought so highly of itself in the world, as the city of God? And yet this very city, promising itself great things as being close to God and his own city, because it sinned is reproved by the Holy Spirit as degenerate and foreign. For “her father is an Amorite”: now an Amorite, no longer God. As long as she did not sin, her father was God; but when she sinned, her father became an Amorite. As long as she did not sin, her father was the Holy Spirit; when she sinned, her mother became a Hittite. As long as she did not sin, she had as her root Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; when she sinned, her root became Canaanite. I have often wondered at what was said by Daniel to the sinful elder, to whom he gave a name for his sin, saying: “Seed of Canaan and not of Judah.” Daniel was great, most steadfastly calling the sinful elder seed of Canaan and not of Judah; but greater by comparison is Ezekiel, who reproaches not one elder, nor two men, with a shameful birth, but says: “Your root and your birth are from the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.” Because Jerusalem committed many sins, the prophet, rebuking her, marked her not with one or two names but with three. In Genesis seven nations are listed by God in one place, whose land he gave to the sons of Israel. These are the seven: “into the land,” he says, “of the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” If it had been possible to gather all seven and through them to reproach the low birth of sinful Jerusalem, the prophet would certainly have done it. As it is, what did he do? Out of the seven he chose the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and said that Jerusalem has something in common with them: with the Canaanite in root and birth, properly with the Amorite as her father, properly with the Hittite as her mother. If such things are said of Jerusalem, of which such great and wonderful things are written and to which such things were promised, what will become of wretched me if I sin? Who will be my father? Or who will be my mother? So great and so noble a Jerusalem is said to have her root and birth from the land of the Canaanites, her father an Amorite and her mother a Hittite. If I sin, who believe in Christ Jesus and have given myself over to so great a teacher, who is going to be my father? Not an Amorite, surely, but a far worse father. Who is he? “Whoever commits sin is born of the devil.” And again: “You are of your father the devil.” If, then, Jerusalem is said to be of the root and birth of the land of Canaan, what will be said to us? Fathers are found for us too, who beget us in sins. For just as, if I am good and established in the best conduct, Jesus says to me, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” and Paul the disciple of Jesus says to me, “For in Christ Jesus I begot you through the gospel,” so, if I become a sinner, the devil, begetting me in sins and taking to himself the voice with which God the Father spoke to the Savior, says to me: “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” And I will have many other fathers too, to whom I am going to go. Each one sets out to his own fathers. If anyone is of Abraham, it is said to him: “But you shall go to your fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age.” But if anyone departs from the world not with peace but with the war of sins, and in an old age that is not good, grown old in evil days, surely it is said to him: “But you shall go to your fathers with war, nourished in a bad old age.” We are taught by God, under other names, what we ought to do. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:2: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 16:3: quotation, high confidence - Deut 7:1: quotation, high confidence - Gen 15:19: allusion, low confidence - 1 John 3:8: quotation, high confidence - John 8:44: quotation, high confidence - Matt 9:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:15: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:7: quotation, high confidence - Gen 15:15: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sus 56 (Susanna): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:2–3; Sus 56; Deut 7:1 (the list of seven nations; Origen says “in Genesis”, cf. Gen 15:19–21, which lists ten); 1 John 3:8; John 8:44; Matt 9:2; 1 Cor 4:15; Ps 2:7; Gen 15:15 (and its reversal, made up by Origen). “Her father was the Holy Spirit” is as printed; the contrast with “her mother became a Hittite” suggests that “mother” was meant. Scan debris in the middle of the section is removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.3 (PG 13:710b–712a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-4 - Source: PG 13:712a–713b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Jerusalem’s uncut navel signifies a soul not cut off from sin, the navel being where the devil’s power lies against women; the Septuagint’s “unbound breasts” signify a loose and unstable mind. ### Latin text 1η qua die nata es, ηοη alligauerunt manu; ,, sive non est excisus umbi'icus tuus . 1η Hebrteo antippe sic habetur : Non est excisus umbilicus tuus. Allcgorice inducit Jerusalem quasi puellam ab infantia genitam. Quae autem de Jerusalem dicuntur, sciamus ad omnes homines qui in Ecclesia sunt pertinere. Primum ejus tempus tale est, secundum quale describitur; procul autem absit a nobis ut tertium tempus tale habeamus, quale dicitur ad Jerusalem! OlltllCS enim qui primum fuimus peccatores, Jerusalem vocamur a Deo, et habemus ea quae prima dicuntur. Secunda autem si post visitationem et notitiam Dei perseveravimus in peccatis. ad nos pertinent. Tertia vero mala quae penitus detestamur, secundum ordinem prostaquemur. Nunc ut ad primum redeam, scriptum' est quasi de Jerusalem : In qua die nata es, non est excitu: umbilicus tuus. Adjutorio Dei indigemus, ut possimus umbilicum non praecisum peccatrieis Jerusalem in. venire, aut certe praecisum umbilicum ejus qui non peccavit exponere. Sive igitur Jerusalem, sive cu- . . . - .. ... . uo juscunque alterius de alia Scriptura quatro umbilicum, ut spiritalibus spiritalia comparans, inveniam quomodo non sit praecisus umbilicus Jerusalem. Scriptum est in Job de dracone : Virtus ejus-ia umbilico, et fortitudo ejus super umbilicum uentris. Scio ex his quae mihi gratia divina largita est, cum praesentem locum exponerem, me dixisse quod drac0 sit fortitudo colllraria- Isle εει enim draco. 581" , serpens antiquus, qui vo&itur diabolus pt Satanas, decipiens orbem terrarum uniuersum*. Istius fortitudo in umbilico* cst; uec dubium, nairj principiuui maloruiu ouichiui iu lunibo* vcreatur. Et ideo adbuc in Iumbo patris constitutus ( qui nasciturus erat, fertur, quin in lumbo* scraina bumana collecta sunt. Fortitudo ergo contraria, ubicuuique sunt seraina, ibi insidiarum suarum vim conatur ostendere. Δειversum masculos virtus ejus in lumbis est, adversum feminas virtus ejus in umbilico ventris est. Et vide quomodo honeste viri mulierisque genitalia obtectis nominibus Scriptura nuncupaverit, ne per ea vocabula quae in promptu sunt, turpitudinem significaret. Si intellectum est exemplum quod protulimus de Job, intellige mihi quia utin viro pra:putium circumciditur, sic in femina umbilicus amputatur. Cum enim pudica fuit mulier, et mundis usa mutationibus feminarum , scilicet ne in sordidas res , et in peccatorum turpitudines ruat, tunc umbilicus ejus abscisus est. Si vero peccaverit, non est umbilicus ejus abscisus. Increpat ergo Jerusalem quasi mulierem , cuinon sit praecisus umbilicus. Septuaginta interpretati sunt in hoc loco : Non alligaverunt ubera tua, sensum magis eloquii expcnentes, quam verbum de verbo exprimentes. Ubera autem in Canticis canticorum assumpta sunt in cogitationum tuarum et mentis loco. Quia bona ubera tua super vinum . Et recubuit super pectus Iesu, tibi ubera tua sunt, is qui communionem intellectuum ejus habiturus erat. Quando ergo sensus est rigidus, et notio obstricta atque solida , nec defluit sermo, manifestum est quia alligata sunt ubera tua. Cum vero ea quae dicuntur, dissoluta sunt et defluunt, non sunt ubera alligata. ### English translation (Claude) “On the day you were born, they did not bind your breasts,” or, “your navel was not cut.” For in the Hebrew it reads: “Your navel was not cut.” He brings in Jerusalem allegorically as a girl, from her birth in infancy. And let us know that what is said of Jerusalem pertains to all people who are in the Church. Her first time is of this kind, and her second is as it is described; but far be it from us to have a third time such as is spoken of to Jerusalem! For all of us who were at first sinners are called Jerusalem by God, and the things said first apply to us. The second things pertain to us if, after God’s visitation and the knowledge of him, we have persisted in sins. The third evils, which we utterly detest, we will go through in order. Now, to return to the first: it is written as if of Jerusalem, “On the day you were born, your navel was not cut.” We need God’s help to be able to find the uncut navel of sinful Jerusalem, or else to expound the cut navel of one who has not sinned. So I seek, whether of Jerusalem or of anyone else, a navel in another Scripture, so that, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, I may find how Jerusalem’s navel was not cut. It is written in Job of the dragon: “His power is in the navel, and his strength upon the navel of the belly.” I know, from what divine grace has granted me, that when I was expounding that passage I said that the dragon is the opposing power. For this is “the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” His strength is in the navel; and no doubt, for the beginning of evils for men is found in the loins. And that is why Levi, still in his father’s loins, is said to have been there before he was born, because human seed is gathered in the loins. So wherever there is seed, there the opposing power tries to show the force of its snares. Against males his power is in the loins; against females his power is in the navel of the belly. And see how decently Scripture named the genitals of man and of woman with veiled names, so as not to signify something shameful by the words that lie ready to hand. If the example we brought from Job has been understood, understand with me that as in a man the foreskin is circumcised, so in a woman the navel is cut. For when a woman has been chaste and has kept the cleanness proper to women, that is, so as not to fall into sordid things and the shamefulness of sins, then her navel has been cut. But if she has sinned, her navel has not been cut. So he rebukes Jerusalem as a woman whose navel was not cut. The Seventy translated this place, “They did not bind your breasts,” setting out the sense of the words rather than rendering word for word. In the Song of Songs breasts are taken as standing for your thoughts and mind: “For your breasts are better than wine.” And he who was to share in his understanding lay upon the breast of Jesus. So when the sense is firm, and the notion bound fast and solid, and the speech does not flow away, it is plain that your breasts have been bound. But when what is said is loose and flows away, the breasts are not bound. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:13: allusion, high confidence - Job 40:16 (40:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rev 12:9: quotation, high confidence - Heb 7:10: allusion, high confidence - Song 1:2: quotation, high confidence - John 13:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:4 (Hebrew and Septuagint readings compared); 1 Cor 2:13; Job 40:16 (40:11 LXX); Rev 12:9; Heb 7:10; Song 1:2; John 13:25. Origen refers to his own earlier exposition of Job (not extant). “The cleanness proper to women” renders an obscure phrase (“mundis usa mutationibus feminarum”). A few words near “lay upon the breast of Jesus” are garbled in the scan; translated by sense. Scan debris is removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.4 (PG 13:712a–713b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-5 - Source: PG 13:713b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Not all who are baptized are washed for salvation, as Simon Magus shows; catechumens must prepare so that their baptism brings salvation. ### Latin text Aqua non es lota in salutent . Videamus ea quae sunt in Jerusalem, ne forte et in nobis repelier nunc Iota, verum quan-itur an et in salutem, ut et nos timeamus propter hoc quod ait, in salutem. Non lavantur (l3) omnes in salutem. Qui accepimus gratiam baptismi in nomine Christi, loti sumus; sed nescio quis lotus sit in salutem. Simon loms est, et baptisma consecutus perseverabat in Philippi societate; verum quia non erat lotus in salutem, condemnatus est .ab eo qui in Spiritu sancto dixit ad eum : Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem. lngentis est diflicultatis eum qui lavatur, lavari in salutem. Attendite, catechumeni, audite, et ex his quae dicuntur, praeparate vosmetipsos dum catechumeni estis, dum necdum estis baptizati; et veniatis ad lavacrum, et lavemini in salutem, nec sic lavemini ut quidam qui loti sunt, sed non itt salutem , ut qui accipit aquam, et non accipit Spiritus pecunia comparari, in qua non est lotus in salutem. Ad omnem animam peccatricem quae videtur credere, ista dicuntur quzettunc dicta legimus ad Jerusalem, ut non ad majora conscendam, et ea quaeram quae ultra vires meas sunt et ingenium. ### English translation (Claude) “You were not washed with water for salvation.” Let us look at what is in Jerusalem, lest perhaps it be found in us too. Now she was washed; but the question is whether she was washed for salvation, so that we too may fear because of the words “for salvation.” Not all are washed for salvation. We who have received the grace of baptism in the name of Christ have been washed; but I do not know who has been washed for salvation. Simon was washed and, having obtained baptism, he persevered in Philip’s company; but because he had not been washed for salvation, he was condemned by him who said to him in the Holy Spirit: “May your money perish with you.” It is a matter of great difficulty for one who is washed to be washed for salvation. Attend, catechumens, listen, and from what is said prepare yourselves while you are catechumens, while you are not yet baptized; and come to the washing and be washed for salvation; and do not be washed as some who have been washed, but not for salvation, like the one who receives the water and does not receive the Holy Spirit, … thinking that the Spirit could be bought with money, in which washing he was not washed for salvation. These things, which we read were said then to Jerusalem, are said to every sinful soul that seems to believe; not to climb to higher things and seek what is beyond my strength and ability. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:4: quotation, high confidence - Acts 8:13: allusion, high confidence - Acts 8:18: allusion, high confidence - Acts 8:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:4; Acts 8:13, 18–20. Words are lost in the scan around “does not receive the Holy Spirit”; the reference to Simon’s attempt to buy the Spirit is translated by sense and marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.5 (PG 13:713b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-6 - Source: PG 13:714a–715a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The reborn soul must be salted with grace and swaddled like the infant Christ; and Christ, and even the Father, suffer the passion of love in pity for humankind. ### Latin text Neque sale solita ’°. Et hoc crimen est Jerusalem, quia non fuerat digna sale Dei. Ego si credidero Domino meo Jesu Christo, ipse me sal faciet, dicetque mihi : Vos estis sal terra». Si credidero Spiritui qui in Apostolo locutus est, sale condior, et possum praereptum custodire , dicens ης Sermo vester sit semper in gratia sale conditus. Grande opus est insaliri. Qui sale conditur gratia plenus εει. Nam et in communi proverbio salsus dicitur gratiosus, et econtrario insulsus qui non habet grvatiam. Si igitur gratia nobis a Deo venit, et complemur dono ejus, sale salimur. Rursum peccatrixJerusalem non est involuta pannis. Observa quod dicimus: anima renascens, et primum in lavacro edita, involvitur pannis. Ipse Dominus meus Jesus pannis involutus est, ut scriptum refertur in Evangelio secundum Lucam. Oportet ergo eum 379 qui renascitur, utique in Christo renascentem rationabile et sincerum lac desiderare : et priusquam rationabile et sine dolo lac dcsidere', debet sale saliri, et pannorum involucris colligari, ne dicatur ad eum, sale non es salitus, et pannis non es involutus. Quia autem ista Jerusalem sint crimina, non circumcidi eam umbilico, et sale non saliri, et pannis non involvi, et aqua non lavari itt salutem sermo indicat reliquus, qui ita contexitur ” : Neque pepercit in te oculus tuus , ut faceret tibi unum ex omnibus istis. Propterea nihil tibi horum feci, ut pateret aliquid super te, dicit Dominus. Exemplum ab omnibus accipiam; deinde si Spiritus sanctus viderit, ad lesum Christum et ad Deum Patrem transmigrabo. Quando ad hominem loquor, et deprecor eum pro aliqua re, ut misereatur mei : si sine misericordia est, nihil patitur ex his quae a me dicuntur; si vero molli est animo, et nihil in eo rigidi cordis obduruit, audit me, et miseretur mei, et molliuntur viscera ejus ad meas preces. Tale mihi quiddam intellige super Salvatorem. Descendit in terras miserans humanum genus, υ passiones perpessus εει nostras antequam pateretur et carnem nostram dignaretur assumere. Si enim non fuisset passus, non venisset in conversationem humanze vitae. Primum passus est, deinde descendit, et visus est. Qua: est ista quam pro nobis passus est passio? Charitas est passio. Pater quoque ipse et Deus universitatis, longanimis et multum misericors et miserator, nonne quodammodo patitur? An ignoras quia quando humana dispensat, passionem patitur humanam? Supportavit enim mores tuos Dominus Deus tuus, quomodo si quis supportet homo filium suum. Igitur mores nostros supportat Deus, sicut passiones nostras portat Filius Dei. ipse pater non est impassibilis. Si‘rogetur, miseretur et condolet, patitur aliquid charitatis, et fit in eis in quibus juxta magnitudinem natura: suae non potest esse, et propter nos humanas sustinet passiones. ### English translation (Claude) “Nor were you salted with salt.” And this too is a charge against Jerusalem, that she had not been worthy of God’s salt. If I believe in my Lord Jesus Christ, he himself will make me salt and say to me: “You are the salt of the earth.” If I believe the Spirit who spoke in the Apostle, I am seasoned with salt and can keep the precept that says: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.” It is a great work to be salted. One who is seasoned with salt is full of grace. For in common speech too a gracious person is called “salty,” and, on the contrary, one who has no grace “saltless.” If, then, grace comes to us from God and we are filled with his gift, we are salted with salt. Again, sinful Jerusalem was not wrapped in swaddling cloths. Note what we say: the soul that is reborn, and is first brought forth in the washing, is wrapped in cloths. My Lord Jesus himself was wrapped in cloths, as is written in the Gospel according to Luke. So one who is reborn, reborn indeed in Christ, must desire the rational and pure milk; and before he desires the rational and guileless milk, he must be salted with salt and bound in the wrappings of cloths, lest it be said to him, “You were not salted with salt, and you were not wrapped in cloths.” That these are the charges against Jerusalem (that her navel was not cut, that she was not salted with salt, not wrapped in cloths, not washed with water for salvation) the rest of the passage shows, which runs thus: “Nor did your eye spare you, to do for you one of all these things. Therefore I did none of these things for you, so as to suffer anything over you, says the Lord.” I will take an example from ordinary life; then, if the Holy Spirit grants it, I will pass over to Jesus Christ and to God the Father. When I speak to a man and entreat him about something, that he may have pity on me: if he is without pity, he suffers nothing from what I say; but if he is of a soft mind, and nothing of a hard heart has hardened in him, he hears me and pities me, and his heart is softened by my prayers. Understand something like this of the Savior. He came down to earth in pity for the human race; he suffered our sufferings before he suffered the cross and deigned to take our flesh. For if he had not suffered, he would not have come to share in human life. First he suffered; then he came down and was seen. What is this suffering which he suffered for us? Love is a suffering. And the Father himself, the God of the universe, “long-suffering, very merciful and compassionate,” does he not in some way suffer? Or do you not know that when he deals with human affairs he suffers a human suffering? For “the Lord your God bore your ways, as a man bears his son.” So God bears our ways, as the Son of God bears our sufferings. The Father himself is not impassible. If he is entreated, he has pity and feels with us; he suffers something of love, and comes to be in those things in which, by the greatness of his nature, he cannot be; and for our sake he endures human sufferings. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:4: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:5: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:13: quotation, high confidence - Col 4:6: quotation, high confidence - Luke 2:7: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 86:15 (85:15 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Deut 1:31: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:4: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:4–5; Matt 5:13; Col 4:6; Luke 2:7; 1 Pet 2:2; Ps 86:15 (85:15 LXX); Deut 1:31; cf. Isa 53:4. An editor’s footnote (the Latin of a Greek catena fragment on Ezek 16:4) printed inside the sentence about the Father is removed by a logged correction. Origen’s statements that the Son suffered love for us before the incarnation and that “the Father himself is not impassible” are translated exactly as written; they concern the compassion of God. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.6 (PG 13:714a–715a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-6). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-7 - Source: PG 13:715a–715b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Those who sin after baptism are like Jerusalem cast out on the field on the day of her birth, yet God in mercy comes to them again. ### Latin text Non pepercit oculus tuus , inquit “, in te, ut laceret tibi unum ea: omnibus istis , ut paterer aliquid super te. Et quia talis effecta es, projecta es in faciem campi. Deus, ne nos tales esse patiaris, ut projiciamur a te, et ab Ecclesia tua in faciem campi, sed magis ut ab angustiis sensuum egrediamur ad campum. Et projecta es in faciem campi. Quare? Pravitate anima: tua: in qua die nata es ’. Potestne aliquis in eadem die qua natus est, habere anima: pravitatem? Describit passiones nostras, et vitia humana, et solitas pravitates. Pravitate enim nostra , si non rectum fuerit cor, projicimur in campum in die qua nascimur. Si post regenerationem lavacri, si post sermonem Dei rursum peccaverimus, in die qua nascimur, projicimur. Tales saepissime reperiuntur lavati lavacro secundae regenerationis, et non facientes dignos fructus paenitentim, neque exhilarantes mysterium baptismi timore ο majore ab eo quem dum catechumeni essent habuerunt, et charitate ampliori ab ea quam exercuerunt dum auditores sermonis essent, et sanctioribus gestis quam ante gesserunt. Sequitur istiusmodi homines hoc quod dicitur : Projecta es in faciem campi pravitate animat tute in die qua nata es. Sed vide misericordiam Dei, vide clementiam singulav rem. Licet projecta sit Jerusalem in faciem campi, non ita eam despicit, ut projecta sit semper; non ita pravitati suae relinquit, ut in totum ejus obliviscatur, ut non ultra elevet jacentem. Attende quid sequitur " : Et transivi per te. Projecta es, ego tamen rursum veni ad te; visitatio mea non tibi defuit post ruinam. ### English translation (Claude) “Your eye did not spare you,” he says, “to do for you one of all these things, so that I might suffer anything over you. And because you became such, you were cast out on the face of the field.” O God, do not let us be such that we are cast out by you and by your Church onto the face of the field; but rather let us go out from the narrowness of our thoughts into the open field. “And you were cast out on the face of the field.” Why? “Through the depravity of your soul, on the day you were born.” Can anyone have depravity of soul on the very day on which he is born? He describes our passions, human vices, and our usual depravities. For through our depravity, if the heart is not upright, we are cast out into the field on the day we are born. If after the regeneration of the washing, if after the word of God, we sin again, we are cast out on the day we are born. Such people are very often found: washed with the washing of second regeneration, and yet not bearing fruits worthy of repentance, nor gladdening the mystery of baptism with a greater fear than they had while they were catechumens, with a fuller love than they practised while they were hearers of the word, and with holier deeds than they did before. To such people applies what is said: “You were cast out on the face of the field through the depravity of your soul, on the day you were born.” But see God’s mercy, see his singular clemency. Although Jerusalem was cast out on the face of the field, he does not so despise her that she remains cast out forever; he does not so abandon her to her depravity as to forget her entirely and never raise her up again as she lies there. Attend to what follows: “And I passed by you.” You were cast out, yet I came to you again; my visitation did not fail you after your fall. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:5: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:6: quotation, high confidence - Titus 3:5: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:5–6; Titus 3:5; Matt 3:8. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.7 (PG 13:715a–715b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-7). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-8 - Source: PG 13:715d–717a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God raised Jerusalem from her blood and adorned her youth; her “breasts” and “time” require allegory, and the “time of those who turn aside” is the age when angels of God or of Satan come to the soul. ### Latin text Et vidi te conspersam in sanguine tuo . Quasi dicat, vidi te ream homicidiorum , ream sanguinis et mortalium peccatorum. Et dixi tibi : De sanguine tuo vita adimplere. Surge de sanguine tuo, et adimplere vita. Sicut ortus agri dedi te. Misertus sum tui postquam projecta es, vidi te sanguine peccatisque conspersam, ιε sicut ortus est agri, et multiplicata es, et magni/icata . Dedi te in multitudinem , et magnitudinem, id est crescere te feci et multiplicari. Per id enim quod crescimus, et multiplicamur. Et intrasti in civitates civitatum ”. Rursum errores exponit Jerusalem introeuntis in civitates civitatum. Quomodo autem ingressa sit criminose in civitates civitatum consideremus. Si per singulas (ιι) civitates in quibus haereses sunt, et doctrinae aliena: a Deo. ingrediatur quispiam ccclesiasticus, et particeps liat talium civitatum, audit ο : Intrasti in civitates civitatum. flamma: tua: cret-tre sunt. Post tanta crimina rursum floruisti, et venit tibi tempus, et tempus divertentium. Dicitur mihi : Noli allegorizare, noli per figuram exponere. Respondeant quaeso : Jerusalem mammas habet, et est quando non colligentur, est quando erigantur; ct umbilicum habet, et quia non est praecisus arguitur. Quomodo possunt ista sine allegorica expositione intelligi? Mammas tua: erectis sunt, et capillus brafl exortus cst . Cum omni honestate'ea quae solvent virginum evenire corporibus describit sermo divinus. Et capillus tuus-exortus est .' tu vero eras nuda, et delcouestata “. Qui non est Jesum Christum indutus, hic nudus est; qui non est indutus viscera miserationis, benignitatis, humilitatis, mansuetudinis, longanimitatis, ut proximum sustineat, iste dehonestatus est. Τιι vero eras uada et dehonestata, et transivi per te . Secunda vice venit ad eam, vidit eam peccantem, iterum propter [lectala el tamen rursum revertitur. ἥθ’ rum visitat clemens et benignus Deus. Et veni ad te, et vidi te, et ecce tempus tuum, et tempus divertentium . Quid est hoc quod ait tempus tuum! Tempus significat adolescentium, in quo jam per aetatem possunt fornicari. Et rursum : Et tempus. inquit, divertentium. Qui sunt isti divertentesi Dum sumus parvuli, bi qui divertere nolunt ad eos qui nituntur evertere, ut sunt Christiani pessimi, d.emonia immunda, angeli diaboli, non habent locum quomodo non possint divertere. Cum autem fuerimus aetate majore, et jam peccare pessumus, quaerunt aditum ad nos divertendi, et hoc tam angeli Dei quam angeli Satanae. impossibile autem est ut utrique ad nos divertant. Si peccamus, angeli diaboli divertunt ad nos; si stamus fixo gradu , divertunt ad nos angeli Dei. Venit ergo tempus tuum, et tempus divertentium, et Dominus nosmr Jesus Christus Deus noster rursum visitat miseram Jerusalem, id est peccatricem animam nostram. Expandi alas meas super te . Consuevit Scriptura r ennas* nuncupare uestium suujmitates, ut in Kuth, qiiae venit abscondite et discooperuit ad pedes Booz et dormivit sub asceLla vestimenti eius. Deus ergo quasi veste loquitur indutus . Expandi alas meas super te, et operui confusionem tuam. Beatus cuj us alis suis Deus protegit confusionem : si tamen perseveraverit in beatitudine, in qua Jerusalem noluit perseverare. Et juravi tibi in testamentum. et intravi in testamentum tecum . Post tanta ob qua: rursum revertitur, recedit : post tam frequentem visitationem, nunc primum ingreditur cum ea in testamentum. ### English translation (Claude) “And I saw you spattered in your blood”: as if he said, I saw you guilty of murders, guilty of blood and of deadly sins. “And I said to you: From your blood be filled with life.” Rise from your blood and be filled with life. “Like the growth of the field I made you.” I had pity on you after you had been cast out; I saw you spattered with blood and sins; “like the growth of the field” …, “and you were multiplied and magnified.” “I made you into multitude and greatness”: that is, I made you grow and multiply. For it is through this that we grow and are multiplied. “And you entered into cities of cities.” Again he sets out the errors of Jerusalem as she enters into cities of cities. Let us consider how she entered criminally into cities of cities. If any man of the Church enters the various cities in which there are heresies and doctrines foreign to God, and becomes a sharer in such cities, he hears: “You have entered into cities of cities.” “Your breasts grew”: after such great crimes you flourished again, and your time came, and the time of those who turn aside. I am told: “Do not allegorize; do not expound figuratively.” Let them answer me, I ask: Jerusalem has breasts, and there is a time when they are not bound and a time when they rise; and she has a navel, and she is reproved because it was not cut. How can these things be understood without allegorical exposition? “Your breasts rose, and your hair grew.” With all decency the divine word describes what usually happens to the bodies of maidens. “And your hair grew; but you were naked and disgraced.” One who has not put on Jesus Christ is naked; one who has not put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, so as to bear with his neighbor, is disgraced. “But you were naked and disgraced, and I passed by you.” A second time he came to her and saw her sinning … and yet he returns again; … the merciful and kind God visits. “And I came to you, and saw you, and behold, your time, and the time of those who turn aside.” What is this that he says, “your time”? Time signifies adolescence, in which by reason of age people can already commit sexual immorality. And again: “And the time,” he says, “of those who turn aside.” Who are these who turn aside? While we are little children, those who want to turn aside to us, who strive to overturn us, such as the worst Christians, unclean demons, and angels of the devil, have no opening and so cannot turn aside to us. But when we are of greater age and are already able to sin, they seek an entrance to turn aside to us; and this both the angels of God and the angels of Satan do. But it is impossible for both to turn aside to us. If we sin, the angels of the devil turn aside to us; if we stand with a fixed step, the angels of God turn aside to us. So “your time came, and the time of those who turn aside,” and our Lord Jesus Christ, our God, visits again wretched Jerusalem, that is, our sinful soul. “I spread my wings over you.” Scripture is accustomed to call the edges of garments “wings,” as in Ruth, who came secretly, uncovered Boaz’s feet, and slept under the wing of his garment. So God speaks as one clothed with a garment. “I spread my wings over you and covered your shame.” Blessed is he whose shame God covers with his wings, if indeed he perseveres in the blessedness in which Jerusalem would not persevere. “And I swore to you in covenant, and entered into a covenant with you.” After so many falls, because of which he returns and withdraws again, after such frequent visitation, now for the first time he enters into a covenant with her. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:6: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:7: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:8: quotation, high confidence - Rom 13:14: allusion, high confidence - Col 3:12: allusion, high confidence - Ruth 3:7: allusion, high confidence - Ruth 3:9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:6–8; Rom 13:14; Col 3:12; Ruth 3:7, 9. Origen answers critics of allegorical interpretation. “Those who want to turn aside”: the scan reads “nolunt” (do not want), probably for “volunt”; translated by sense. Words are lost in the scan after “like the growth of the field” and after “saw her sinning”; marked “…”. A sentence repeated in the scan is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.8 (PG 13:715d–717a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-8). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-9 - Source: PG 13:717a–717b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God washes the soul’s blood away, anoints it, and clothes it in the many-colored tunic of knowledge and virtue, with the shoes of the gospel of peace. ### Latin text Et facta es mihi, et lavi te in aqua. Post haec omnia assumpsi te, et ipse lavi te in salutem, et ablui sanguinem tuum abs te '°. Haac intelligentcs, oremus ut veniat misericordia Dei super nos, et abluat sanguinem ab animabus nostris. Si quid enim morte dignum fecimus, istud sanguis est noster. Ablui sanguinem tuum a te, et una‘i te oleo “. Et chrisms nos vult facere Deus. Et indui te t'ersicoloria ". Quanta cst benignitas Dei in unamquamque animarum Jerusalem : non unius coloris tunicam, sed multae varietatis largitur credentibus sibi. Hanc versicolorem tunicam jam tunc in signum fecit Jacob, induens filium suum Joseph, et vestivit eum versicoloria. Si consideres intellectus sectas, facta bona, vere videbis variam tunieam, quam visitatio Dei largitur his qui vocati sunt in salutem. Legem intelligo, prophetas comprehendo, agnosco Evangelia, non tne latet Apostolus. cautus sum, justus sum, misericors sum, et adhuc quaeris aliam tunicam versicolorem quam induit Dontinus Jerusalem dicens "z Et uestiui te versico- ρ (aria , et calceavi te hyacinthos? Vult calcealnenta nostra esse florentia, et bene tincta. Quae sunt calceamenta? Audi Paulum apertius praedicantem "z Calceati pedes in ‘prteparatione Evangelii pacis. ### English translation (Claude) “And you became mine, and I washed you in water.” After all this I took you to myself, and I myself washed you for salvation, “and I washed away your blood from you.” Understanding these things, let us pray that God’s mercy may come upon us and wash the blood from our souls. For if we have done anything worthy of death, that is our blood. “I washed away your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.” God wants to make us anointed ones too. “And I clothed you in many colors.” How great is God’s kindness toward every one of the souls of Jerusalem: to those who believe in him he grants not a tunic of one color, but one of great variety. Even then, as a sign, Jacob made this many-colored tunic, clothing his son Joseph, and dressed him in many colors. If you consider the various understandings and the good deeds, you will truly see the varied tunic which God’s visitation grants to those who are called to salvation. I understand the law, I grasp the prophets, I recognize the Gospels, the Apostle is not hidden from me; I am cautious, I am just, I am merciful: and do you still seek another many-colored tunic, which the Lord put on Jerusalem, saying, “And I clothed you in many colors, and shod you with hyacinth”? He wants our shoes to be flowering and well dyed. What are the shoes? Hear Paul proclaiming it more openly: “Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:8: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:9: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:10: quotation, high confidence - Gen 37:3: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:8–10; Gen 37:3; Eph 6:15. “Anointed ones” renders “chrismas” (Christ-like anointed ones); the washing and anointing are applied to baptism. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.9 (PG 13:717a–717b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-9). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-10 - Source: PG 13:717b–718b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Jerusalem’s fine clothes, jewels, and food are the soul’s virtues, understanding, and the sweet words of Scripture, but even after all these she fell, a warning against presumption. ### Latin text Et pra'ciuxi te bysso “. Mauifestius de hoc cinctorio Apostolus loquitur “ : Slantes prteciucti lumbos vestros in veritate. Veritas enim pro bysso accipitur. Et aperui te trichapto “. Non inveniens neque intelligens quid esset tricbaptum, inveni iu alia editione pro tricbapto, florens, et in alia, indumentum. Igitur induit nos Deus postvariam vestem, et florenti tunica. Et ornavi te ornamento, imposui tibi armillas circa manus tuas . Cum mihi dederit occasiones bonorum actuum, armillas circumdat manibus meis. Et catena circa collum tuum “. Si me post gesta justitite intellectu ornaverit veritatis, tunc mihi ornamentum nuptiale, tunc catena collo decora circumdatur. Et dedi inaurem circa narem tuam δ’. Quando vere possum suavitatis et boni odoris sacramenta suscipere, tunc mibi ornat Deus inauribus narem. Et rotulas in auriculas tuas . Ut non solum auriculae, sed etiam grandis rota aurea sit circa auditum tuum. Aurea vero rota est , quae intellectibus volvitur sacris. Et corona glorificationis super caput tuum “. Omnipotens Deus, et nobis tribue ut digni ciliciamur corona glorificationis super caput nostrum. Et ornata es auro, id est divinis sensibus; et argento δ’, id est sermonibus sacris. Et opertoria tua byssina. Profunditas sensuum, opertorium est byssinum. Et florentia : pro quo verbo Septuaginta posuerunt, subtilem nimis amictum, et quasi ad capillorum similitudinem attenuatum vestem significantes. Et versicoloria. Ecce tota est Jerusalem protecta alis, vestita variis, ornata gemmis. Quid post haec facit magnus et hominum amator Deus? Alit eam delicatis cibis. Similam et mel et oleum manducasti . Non ait simpliciter farinam, neque bordeaceum panem : hoc quod modo ad vos loquimur, simila est. Sed miserabilis Jeru» salem post similam, post mella, post oleum rursum quasi meretrix increpatur. Idcirco caveamus 381 attentius ne forte nos post verba munda similae, post sermones dulcissimos prophetarum, post oleum quod laetificat faciem, quo voluimus perungere caput, ut jejunium nostrum acceptabile fiat, iterum delinquamus. Non solum autem perungimur hoc oleo, sed vescimur. Et facta es pulchra valde nimis “. Laudat pulchritudinem ejus, laudat speciem , praedicat formam. Et directa es in regnum . Quantus profectus , ut etiam ad regnum dirigatur? Et exiit nomen tuum in gentibus . Haec apta sunt ei, qui postquam liber esse ccepit a mundo, in conversatione proficiens ad beatam vitam, nomen quoque gloriosum in sazculo consecutus est, sed procul absit id quod sequitur; ad hoc enim scriptum est, ut incutiat audientibus metuun' Post pulchritudinem , post nomen magnum Jerusalem misera fornicatur. Ideo ne glorieris in crastinum : non enim scis quid pariat adveniens dies . Et alibi '9: Fratres, etiam si praeoccupatus fuerit homo in aliqua peccato, vos ut spiritales sustinete istiusmodi in spiritu mansuetudinis. Et rursum "z Considerans te ipsum, ne et tu tenteris. ### English translation (Claude) “And I girded you with fine linen.” The Apostle speaks more plainly of this girdle: “Stand, having girded your loins with truth.” For fine linen is understood as truth. “And I covered you with trichapton.” Not finding or understanding what trichapton is, I found in another edition, instead of trichapton, “flowering,” and in another, “garment.” So after the varied garment God also clothed us with a flowering tunic. “And I adorned you with ornament; I put bracelets on your hands.” When he has given me occasions for good actions, he puts bracelets around my hands. “And a chain around your neck.” If after deeds of righteousness he adorns me with the understanding of truth, then a wedding ornament, then a lovely chain is placed around my neck. “And I put a ring in your nose.” When I can truly receive the mysteries of sweetness and of good fragrance, then God adorns my nose with rings. “And wheels in your ears”: so that there is not only an earring but a great golden wheel around your hearing. And a golden wheel is one that turns with sacred understandings. “And a crown of glory on your head.” Almighty God, grant us too to be made worthy of a crown of glory on our head. “And you were adorned with gold,” that is, with divine meanings, “and with silver,” that is, with sacred words. “And your coverings were of fine linen.” The depth of meanings is a covering of fine linen. “And flowering”: for this word the Seventy put a very fine garment, meaning a garment made thin, like hairs. “And many-colored.” Behold, Jerusalem is all protected by wings, clothed in varied garments, adorned with jewels. What does the great God, the lover of humankind, do after this? He feeds her with delicate foods. “You ate fine flour and honey and oil.” He does not say simply meal, nor barley bread: what we are now saying to you is fine flour. But wretched Jerusalem, after the fine flour, after the honey, after the oil, is rebuked again as a harlot. Therefore let us take more careful heed lest perhaps, after the pure words of fine flour, after the sweetest discourses of the prophets, after the oil that gladdens the face, with which we wished to anoint our head so that our fasting might become acceptable, we sin again. And we are not only anointed with this oil but also feed on it. “And you became exceedingly beautiful.” He praises her beauty, praises her appearance, proclaims her form. “And you were advanced to a kingdom.” What great progress, that she is even advanced to a kingdom! “And your name went out among the nations.” These things fit one who, after beginning to be free from the world and advancing in his conduct toward the blessed life, has also obtained a glorious name in the world. But far from us be what follows; for it was written to strike fear into the hearers. After her beauty, after her great name, wretched Jerusalem commits sexual immorality. Therefore “do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the coming day will bring forth.” And elsewhere: “Brothers, even if a man is overtaken in some sin, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” And again: “Looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:10: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:11: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:12: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:13: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:14: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:14: quotation, high confidence - Ps 104:15 (103:15 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:17: allusion, high confidence - Prov 27:1: quotation, high confidence - Gal 6:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:10–14; Eph 6:14; Ps 104:15 (103:15 LXX); Matt 6:17; Prov 27:1; Gal 6:1. Trichapton (τρίχαπτον) is the Septuagint’s word; the “other editions” are the other Greek versions Origen compared. “Commits sexual immorality” renders fornicatur, used here of Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.10 (PG 13:717b–718b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-10). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 6.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-11 - Source: PG 13:718b–719a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Jerusalem’s harlotry with every passer-by is the soul’s yielding to each vice, and her stitched idols are heretical teachings patched together from scraps of Scripture. ### Latin text Et exiit nomen tuum in gentibus in specie tua, quoniam consummatum erat in decore speciei quam constitui in te, dicit Adonai Dominus; et confisa es in decore tuo °°. Magna sapuit, et conscientia pulchritudinis sua: erecta est speciosa Jerusalem. Et quia alta sapuit, nec se humiliavit, nec glorificavit Deum , audi quid dicatur ad eam ; Et fornicata es in nomine tuo, et effudisti fornicationem tuam in omni transitu. Quid est hoc quod ait: Effudisti fornicationem luant in omni transitu? Circuit animas nostras fortitudo contraria , et varie perlustrans quaerit locum per quem possit irrumpere. lra suo nomine vult fornicari mecum: juxta conjuncta moribus meis suo nomine tristitia , ct ’vult me facere maerentem; sua parte avaritia infert desiderium auri et argenti, et quorumcunque similium; εἰ me non custodiero, et clausero ostium meum, sed suscepero omnem orationem inimici, dicitur mihi δίε Effudisti fornicationem tuam in omni transitu. Et accepisti vestes tuas, et fecisti tibi idola sutilia. De his quibus te ornavi, quibus pulo chra facta es, fecisti tibi idola sutilia. Volo adhuc exponere quae sunt idola sutilia. quin quidem de vestibus consuerunt. Vestes, divinae (t7) Scriptura; sunt, et sensus qui est in eis. Consciderunt has vestes haeretici, et consuerunt dictum dicto, verba verbis jungentes, sed non cum opportuna junctura aptaque, et consuentes impia sibi simulacra fecerunt, quibus illexerunt quosdam credere, et con- η sentire ad cultum eorum, et fictam suscipere disciplinam: Deus vero omnes nos ab his et aliis simulacris liberet, ut magnificemur in Christo Jesu , cui est gloria et-imperium in saecula saaculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “And your name went out among the nations for your beauty, for it was perfect in the comeliness of the beauty which I set upon you, says Adonai the Lord; and you trusted in your comeliness.” Lovely Jerusalem thought great things of herself and was lifted up by the awareness of her beauty. And because she thought high things, and did not humble herself or glorify God, hear what is said to her: “And you committed sexual immorality in your name, and poured out your sexual immorality on every passer-by.” What is this that he says, “You poured out your sexual immorality on every passer-by”? The opposing power goes around our souls and, surveying them in various ways, seeks a place through which it can break in. Anger wants to commit sexual immorality with me in its own name; sadness, joined to my character, wants in its own name to make me mournful; avarice for its part brings in the desire for gold and silver and the like. If I do not guard myself and shut my door, but admit every speech of the enemy, it is said to me: “You poured out your sexual immorality on every passer-by.” “And you took your garments and made yourself stitched idols.” From the things with which I adorned you, by which you were made beautiful, you made yourself stitched idols. I want to explain further what the stitched idols are, which they sewed together from garments. The garments are the divine Scriptures and the meaning that is in them. The heretics cut up these garments and sewed saying to saying, joining words to words, but not with a fitting and apt joint; and by sewing they made themselves impious images, by which they enticed some to believe and to consent to their worship and to accept a feigned teaching. May God free all of us from these and other images, that we may be magnified in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:15: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:16: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:17: allusion, high confidence - Rom 1:21: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:14–17; Rom 1:21. Leaked marginal references inside the quotation of Ezek 16:15 are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 6.11 (PG 13:718b–719a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/6-1/#p-6-11). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-1 - Source: PG 13:719a–720a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The list of Jerusalem’s sins instructs us, like slaves watching a master’s discipline, not to repeat them, lest we too be shut out of God’s promises. ### Latin text Catalogus peccatorum Jerusalem utcunquec fuerit intellectus aedificat audientem. Quomodo enim si in domo sua quempiam de familia Dominus corripiat, et peccata ejus exponat, alius qui nuper emptus est servus videns patrisfamiliae disciplinam quae culpet, quaeve collaudet, instruitur ad non faciendum quae priores iecere conservi. et ad hoc omni labore festinat, ut ea faciat per quae alii honorem et libertatem a domino promeruerunt: ita et uos audientes in quibus culpet Deus sive Jerusalem, sive universam Judatam, sive unam quamlibet ex tribubus specialiter delinquentem , non parum utilitatis accipimus, ne et in haec corruamus in quae caeteri corruerunt. Est autem principium hodierna: lectionis, quia vestes a Deo acceperit Jerusalem. et fecerit ex bis sibi sutilia quietiam simulacra, et fornicata sit super eis. De quibus juxta possibilitatem meam in priori sermone disserui, docens istos qui Scripturas lacerant, ct a verbis verba disrumpunt consuentes ea, et commentitia dogmata componentes, servire idolis quae earum vestibus induerunt. Non in tabernaculum meum intrabis, foris es, et foris manebis “. Scit Scriptura sanctos intus, peccatores foris esse. igitur Jerusalem quia talia peccata commisit, ut non mereatur intrare repromissioues Dei, et dicatur ad eam: Et non intrabis; caveamus ne forte et nobis aliquando dicatur: Et non intrabis. Neque fiet. Non est completum hoc quod dicitur, neque fiet; et ideo subaudiendum extrinsecus, ut sensus possit expleri. Ea quae tibi repromissa sunt bona, et acceptura eras, non fient. ### English translation (Claude) The catalogue of Jerusalem’s sins, however it is understood, edifies the hearer. For just as, if the master in his house rebukes one of the household and sets out his sins, another slave who was recently bought, seeing the master’s discipline, what he blames and what he praises, is instructed not to do what his fellow slaves did before, and hastens with all his effort to do the things by which others have earned honor and freedom from their master, so we too, hearing for what things God blames Jerusalem, or all Judea, or any one of the tribes that offends in particular, receive no small profit, so that we may not fall into the things into which the others fell. The beginning of today’s reading is that Jerusalem received garments from God and made from them stitched images for herself, and committed sexual immorality upon them. Of these I spoke in the previous sermon as well as I could, teaching that those who tear the Scriptures to pieces and rip words away from words, sewing them together and composing fabricated doctrines, serve idols which they have clothed with the garments of the Scriptures. “You will not enter my tabernacle; you are outside, and outside you will remain.” Scripture knows that the saints are inside and sinners outside. So, since Jerusalem committed such sins that she does not deserve to enter into God’s promises, and it is said to her, “And you will not enter,” let us beware lest perhaps it be said to us too some day: “And you will not enter.” “Nor will it be.” What is said, “nor will it be,” is not complete, and so something must be understood from outside so that the sense can be filled out: the good things which were promised to you, and which you were going to receive, will not be. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:16: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:17: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:16–17 (the Septuagint’s “you will not enter, nor will it be”). The saying “You will not enter my tabernacle; you are outside…” is unidentified. The previous homily is Hom. 6 (on Ezek 16:16–17). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.1 (PG 13:719a–720a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-2 - Source: PG 13:720a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The temple vessels melted into male images signify the words of Scripture twisted into false meanings. ### Latin text Sequitur aliud delictum ε Et accepisti vasa glorificationis tua: de argento tuo, et de auro tuo es quibus dedi tibi, et fecisti tibi imagines mascuiiuas. Secundum communem sensum sic intelligi potest. ’ Vasa glorificationis, de quibus Mdyses scripsit in Numeris “, thuribula, phialas, candelabrum aureum, arcam ab intus et a foris deauratam, et extera accepisti, et conflasti ea, et fecisti effigies masculinas, et fornicata es in eis. Secundum allegoriam vero ita explanabitur. Vasa aurea et argentea, id est thuribula, phialas, et caetera istiusmodi babemus in sacris Litteris :quaudo ergo torquemus sensum Scriptura: in alterum sensum qui est coutrarius veritati , verba divina conflamus, et res Dei in alias mutamus effigies. Qua: facientis incidimus ### English translation (Claude) Another offense follows: “And you took the vessels of your glory, of your silver and of your gold, which I gave you, and made yourself male images.” According to the common sense it can be understood thus: the vessels of glory, of which Moses wrote in Numbers (censers, bowls, the golden lampstand, the ark gilded inside and out, and the rest), you took and melted down, and made male images, and committed sexual immorality with them. But according to allegory it will be explained thus. We have golden and silver vessels, that is, censers, bowls, and the rest of this kind, in the sacred Scriptures. So when we twist the sense of Scripture into another sense that is contrary to the truth, we melt down the divine words and change the things of God into other images. Doing this, we fall into … ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:17: quotation, high confidence - Num 4:7: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 25:11: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:17; Num 4:7–14; Exod 25:11. The section breaks off in the scan in mid-sentence; marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.2 (PG 13:720a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-3 - Source: PG 13:721a–722b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Heretics of good life are the more dangerous, dressing false teaching in virtue; hearers should judge teachers by their doctrine, not their lives, and imitate Christ alone. ### Latin text Sequitur ": Accepiin vestimenta varia, et operuisti illa. Varia vestis est, et hic unus de Scripturis locus, quo induimur assumentes viscera mise- ~ ricord'rae, benignitatis , humilitatis, mansuetudinis, longanimitatis ad snfl‘erendum invicem. Has varias vestes, et pulchros amictus quos nobis largitus est Deus, si Iaceramus atque conscindimus, et circumdamus falsae doctrinae ad deceptionem hominum, non dubium est quin variis vestibus operiamus idola. lntelliges autem hoc quod dicitur, si ipsam rem manifestius describamus. Vide mihi aliquem Marcionistam, sive discipulum Valentini, aut certe cujuslibet haeresis defensorem, et considera quomodo idola sua. id est figmenta quae ipse composuit, mansuetudine et castitate vestiat ut in aures audientium faciliusex vitae bonitate ornatus sermo subrepat. Etcum hoc fecerit, intellige eum assumpsisse vestem variam morum , et conversationis optima: , et idolis subjecisse quae ipse construxit. Ac juxta mei quidem animi sensum multo nocentior est haereticus bona: vitae, ct plus in doctrina sua habet auctoritatis eo qui doctrinam conversatione maculet. Qui enim vitae pessimae est, non facile homines ad falsum dogma sollicitat, nec potest per umbram sanctitatis audientium decipere simplicitatem. Qui vero sermone perversus est, et disciplinis saluti contrarius, mores autem compositos et ornatos habet, nihil facit aliud, nisi accipit indumenta varia instituti boni, et conversationis quieta: , et circumdat ea idolis suis, ut magis decipiat audientes. Idcirco sollicite caveamus hzereticos, qui conversationis optimaesunt, quorum forte vitam non tam Deus quam diabolus instruxit. Nam quomodo quasdam illecebras escarum aucupes prOponunt, ut facilius aves capiant per oblectamentum gulae , sic, ut audacius dicam, est quaedam castitatis diaboli, id est decipula humanae animae, ut per istiusmodi castitatem , et mansuetudinem , et justitiam possit facilius capere, et falsis sermonibus irretire. Diversis diabolus pugnat insidiis, ut miserum perdat hominem, et bonam malis tribuit vitam ad decipiendos videntes, et malam bonis inurit conscientiam. Mihi ipsi qui in Ecclesia praedico, laqueos sape tendit, ut totam Ecclesiam ex mea com’ersatione confundat. Et ideo plus lii qui sunt in medio oppugnantur ab inimico, ut per ruinam unius hominis quae celari non potest, omnibus scandalum fiat, et impediatur fides per conversationem pessimam clericorum. Omnia, ut diximus, diabolus operatur, et ea quae videntur esse bona, nec sunt, et ea quae per naturam suam mala sunt; omnia adversum humanam commentatur animam. Unde qui curam habet vita: suae, neque mansuetudine haereticorum capitur, ad consentiendum doctrina: eorum, neque meis delictis qui videor in Ecclesia prdecare, scandalizabitur, sed ipsum dogma considerans et pertractans Ecclesia: fidem , a me quidem aversabitur, doctrinam vero suscipiet secundum praeceptum Domini, qui ait ; Super cathedram Moysi sederunt scriba: et Pharisaei. Omnia quiscunque vobis dicunt, audite, et facite, juxta opera autem illorum nolite facere; dicunt quippe, et non faciunt. Iste sermo de me est , qui bona doceo, et contraria gero, et sum sedens super cathedram Moysi quasi Scriba et Pharisaeus. Praeceptum tibi est, ο popule, si non habueris accusationem doctrinae pessimaz, et alienorum ab Ecclesia dogmatum , conspexeris vero meam culpabilem vitam, atque peccata , ut non habeas juxta dicentis vitam tuam instituere, sed ea facere quae loquor. Nullum imitemur, et si volumus imitari quempiam , propositus est nobis ad imitandum Christus Jesus. Descripti sunt actus apostolorum , et prophetarum gesta de sacris voluminibus agnoscimus; illud exetuplar tlrmum est, illud propositum solidum, quod qui sequi cupit , securus ingreditur. Si vero quaerimus nobis culpabiles ad amulandum, ut cum dicamus, ille docet, et his quae docet facit ipse contraria, adversum praeceptum Domini facimus, qui mandavit doctrinas magistrorum magis considerari debere quam vitas. Haec dicimus de eo quod scriptum est : Accepisti vestem tuam versicolorem, et aperuisti. illa, id est vasa glorilicationis, quae in idola commutasti. ### English translation (Claude) There follows: “And you took the varied garments and covered them.” A varied garment is (and this is one passage of the Scriptures) that with which we are clothed when we put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience in bearing with one another. If we tear and rend these varied garments and fine clothes which God has granted us, and wrap them around false doctrine to deceive people, there is no doubt that we cover idols with varied garments. You will understand what is said if we describe the thing itself more plainly. Show me some Marcionite, or a disciple of Valentinus, or a defender of any heresy, and consider how he clothes his idols, that is, the fictions which he himself has composed, with meekness and chastity, so that a discourse adorned by the goodness of his life may creep more easily into the ears of the hearers. And when he has done this, understand that he has taken the varied garment of morals and of the best conduct and put it on the idols he himself has built. And in my judgment a heretic of good life is far more harmful, and has more authority in his teaching, than one who stains his teaching by his conduct. For one who leads a very bad life does not easily draw people to false doctrine, nor can he deceive the simplicity of his hearers by a shadow of holiness. But one who is perverse in speech, with teachings contrary to salvation, yet has orderly and adorned manners, does nothing else than take the varied garments of good practice and of quiet conduct and wrap them around his idols, to deceive his hearers the more. Therefore let us carefully beware of heretics of excellent conduct, whose life perhaps not God so much as the devil has formed. For just as fowlers set out certain baits of food so as to catch birds more easily through the pleasure of the gullet, so (to speak more boldly) there is a kind of chastity of the devil, that is, a snare for the human soul, so that by such chastity, meekness, and righteousness he can catch it more easily and entangle it with false words. The devil fights with various snares to destroy wretched man: he gives a good life to the wicked to deceive those who see it, and he brands the good with a bad conscience. For me myself, who preach in the Church, he often sets snares, so as to confound the whole Church through my conduct. And therefore those who stand in the middle are attacked the more by the enemy, so that through the fall of one man, which cannot be hidden, a scandal may arise for all, and faith may be hindered by the very bad conduct of the clergy. As we said, the devil works all things, both those that seem to be good and are not, and those that are evil by their nature; he devises everything against the human soul. Hence one who cares for his life is neither caught by the meekness of the heretics so as to consent to their teaching, nor will he be scandalized by my offenses, who seem to preach in the Church; but, considering the doctrine itself and examining the faith of the Church, he will turn away from me but accept the teaching, according to the command of the Lord, who says: “The scribes and Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat. Whatever they tell you, hear and do; but do not do according to their works, for they speak and do not do.” This word is about me, who teach good things and do the contrary, and sit on Moses’ seat like a scribe and Pharisee. This is the command to you, O people: if you have no charge of very bad teaching or of doctrines foreign to the Church to bring, but have seen that my life and sins are blameworthy, do not shape your life after the speaker, but do what I say. Let us imitate no one; and if we wish to imitate someone, Christ Jesus is set before us to imitate. The acts of the apostles are described, and we know the deeds of the prophets from the sacred books; that is the firm exemplar, that the solid model, and one who desires to follow it goes safely. But if we look for blameworthy people to emulate, so as to say, “He teaches, and himself does the contrary of what he teaches,” we act against the command of the Lord, who ordered that the teachings of teachers should be considered rather than their lives. This we say about what is written: “You took your many-colored garment and covered them,” that is, the vessels of glory which you changed into idols. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:18: quotation, high confidence - Col 3:12: allusion, high confidence - Matt 23:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 23:3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:18; Col 3:12; Matt 23:2–3. Marcionites and Valentinians are named. An editor’s note on a Greek catena fragment printed inside a sentence is removed by a logged correction. Origen applies the scribes on Moses’ seat to himself. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.3 (PG 13:721a–722b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-4 - Source: PG 13:722b–723b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The oil, incense, and bread set before idols are prayer, baptismal teaching, and the Scriptures, misused by heretics such as Marcion, Valentinus, and Basilides. ### Latin text Sequitur "z Et oleum meum , et incensum meum posuisti ante faciem eorum. Scriptura docente didicimus, quia sanctorum oratio sit incensum. Ait enim "°: lncensum autem orationessanctorum sunt. Siergo instituti ad orationem, cum illam Deo debeamus offerre, id est Deo legis et prophetarum, Deo Abraham , Deo Isaac, Deo lacob , et Patri Jesu Christi, offerimus qua). ipsi confinximus, in tantum ut incensum Dei proponamus idolis , facimus id quod dicitur in praesenti : Oleum meum et incensum meum posuisti ante {aciem eorum. Verum iste de incenso sit intellectus. Quid respondebimus de oleo? Oleum est quo vir sanctus ungitur, oleum Christi, oleum sancta: doctrinae. Cum ergo accepit aliquis hoc oleum quo ungitur sanctus, id est Scripturam sacram instituentem quomodooporteat baptizari in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus saucii: et pauca commutans tinxerit quempiam, et quodammodo dixerit, jam non es catechumenus , consecucutus es lavacrum secundae generationis ; talis homo accipit oleum Dei, et incensum, et ponit illud ante faciem idolorum. Et panes meos quos dedi tibi, simila,et melle, et oleo cibavi te “. Ecce panes nostri simila mundissima in Scripturis, et mella apum (l8) prophetarum. Ista omnia dedit nobis Deus, et cibavit nos de panibus prophetarum, et de mus eadem ipsa idolis. Cum enim es dogmatis falsis volentes assumere defensionem, diximus, scriptum estin propheta, testatur Moyses. loquitur Apostolus; quid aliud facimus, quam accipientes panes veritatis proponimus eos simulacris, quae ipsi (intimus? Marcion fecit idolum, et proposuit ei panes Scripturarum; Valentinus, Basilides , caeteriqne haeretici fecerunt similiter. Et posuisti illa ante faciem eorum in odorem suavitatis ". Naturaliter suavissimi odoris sunthaec quae nobis largitus est Deus. Quem odorem suavissimum ante idola ponit, qui adversum potestatem Scripturarum aut gerit, aut intelligit. ### English translation (Claude) There follows: “And you set my oil and my incense before their face.” We have learned from the teaching of Scripture that the prayer of the saints is incense. For it says: “The incense is the prayers of the saints.” If, then, having been trained for prayer, when we ought to offer it to God (that is, to the God of the law and the prophets, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and the Father of Jesus Christ), we offer it to the things we ourselves have made up, so that we set God’s incense before idols, we do what is said in the present passage: “You set my oil and my incense before their face.” Let this be the understanding of the incense. What shall we answer about the oil? Oil is that with which the holy man is anointed: the oil of Christ, the oil of holy teaching. When, then, someone has received this oil with which the holy man is anointed, that is, the sacred Scripture which teaches how one ought to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and, changing a few things, has dipped someone and in a way said, “You are no longer a catechumen; you have obtained the washing of the second birth,” such a man takes God’s oil and incense and sets them before the face of idols. “And my loaves which I gave you; with fine flour and honey and oil I fed you.” Behold our loaves: the purest fine flour in the Scriptures, and the honey of the bees, the prophets. All these God gave us, and he fed us with the loaves of the prophets and with …, and we set these very things before idols. For when, wishing to undertake the defense of false doctrines, we say, “It is written in the prophet,” “Moses testifies,” “The Apostle says,” what else do we do than take the loaves of truth and set them before the images which we ourselves have fashioned? Marcion made an idol and set before it the loaves of the Scriptures; Valentinus, Basilides, and the other heretics did the same. “And you set them before their face for a sweet odor.” By nature the things God has given us are of the sweetest odor. One who acts or understands against the power of the Scriptures sets this sweetest odor before idols. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:18: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:19: quotation, high confidence - Rev 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Exod 3:6: allusion, high confidence - Matt 28:19: allusion, high confidence - Titus 3:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:18–19; Rev 5:8; Exod 3:6; Matt 28:19; Titus 3:5. Origen charges those who alter the baptismal form with misusing God’s “oil”; translated as written. Words are lost in the scan after “with the loaves of the prophets and with”; marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.4 (PG 13:722b–723b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-5 - Source: PG 13:723b–724a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Jerusalem sacrificing her children figures heretics who lead astray those born in the Church, a crime beyond all their other sins. ### Latin text Et factum est, dicit Adondi Dominus, et accepisti filios tuos, et filias tuas quas genuisti, et immolao sti illas in consumptionem . Cum genuerit(l9) peccatrix Jerusalem filios et tilias, finis eorum qui nascuntur occisia est. Neque enim salus finis est pessimorum. idcirco scriptum est : Intmolasti eos in consumptionem. Quam modica fornicata es , interfecisti natas meos et dedisti eos. Proprie ait: Accepisti filios tuos; significanterque addidit : Occidisti nqtos meos. Quicunque enim nascuntur iu ha:rcticorum doctrinis , et ibi fidei sua: principia sumpserunt, hililii sunt fornicaria: et peccatricis Jerusalem. Qui autem natus est in Ecclesia, et deceptus postea fuerit haeretica falsitate , iste cum tilius Dei sit, apprehensus est a peccatrice Jerusalem , et positus victima idolis ejus. Hoc supra omnem fornicationem luant, et abominationes tuas ". ο Filios Ecclesiae accipere, immolare idolis, hoc supra V Praefatur. est de nuditate et turpitudine Jerusalem. Oportuit ergo in iniquitate meminisse quomodo pennas meas expanderim super te , et assumpserute de sanguine tuo, et laverim te. Tu vero horum omnium oblita fuisti. Haec quae condeccnt nudam, et turpiter agentem, et commistam in sanguine suo. ### English translation (Claude) “And it came to pass, says Adonai the Lord, and you took your sons and your daughters whom you bore, and sacrificed them for consumption.” When sinful Jerusalem has borne sons and daughters, the end of those who are born is slaughter. For salvation is not the end of the very wicked. Therefore it is written: “You sacrificed them for consumption.” “As if you had committed sexual immorality but a little, you killed my children and gave them up.” Properly he says, “You took your sons”; and significantly he added, “You killed my children.” For whoever are born in the teachings of the heretics, and took there the beginnings of their faith, are sons of the harlot and sinful Jerusalem. But whoever was born in the Church and afterwards was deceived by heretical falsehood, being a son of God, has been seized by sinful Jerusalem and made a victim to her idols. “This is beyond all your sexual immorality and your abominations.” To take the sons of the Church and sacrifice them to idols: this is beyond … concerning the nakedness and shame of Jerusalem. “You ought, then, in your iniquity to have remembered” how I spread my wings over you, took you up from your blood, and washed you. But you forgot all these things. These are the things that befit one who is naked, acting shamefully, and mixed in her own blood. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:20: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:21: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:22: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:20–22. Words are lost in the scan after “this is beyond”; marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.5 (PG 13:723b–724a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-6 - Source: PG 13:724a–724b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The soul, made in God’s image and very beautiful, is courted by corrupt lovers; Jerusalem’s brothel is the soul that gives itself to them. ### Latin text Et factum est post omnes malitias tuas : rc, rte tibi, dicit Dominus; et mdificasti tibi domum meretriciam, et fecisti tibi expositionem in omni platea ". Si consideres animam expositam amatoribus suis, videbis quomodo faciat domum meretriciam, et suscipiat omnes quos prauliximus amatores. lntellige vero quod dicimus ex sequentibus, id est qui sunt amatores Jerusalem. Anima humana multum speciosa est, et mirabilem habet pulchritudinem. Artifex quippe ejus, cum eam prauum conderet, ait τες Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Quid hac pulo chritudine et similitudine pulchrius? Quidam ergo adulteri et sordidi amatores, decore ejus illecti, dcsiderant eam corrumpere et fornicari super eam. Quamobrem sapiens vir Paulus dicit : Timeo autem ne forte, ut serpens decepit Evam in nequitia sua, sic corrumpantur sensus testri. Sensus nostri in fornicatione carnali corrumpuntur : in spiritslibus vero stupris sensus corrumpitur, et ipsa anima vulneratur. ### English translation (Claude) “And it came to pass after all your wickedness (woe to you, says the Lord) that you built yourself a brothel and made yourself a showplace in every street.” If you consider a soul exposed to its lovers, you will see how it makes a brothel and receives all the lovers we have mentioned. Understand what we mean from what follows, that is, who the lovers of Jerusalem are. The human soul is very lovely and has a wonderful beauty. For its Maker, when he first created it, said: “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” What is more beautiful than this beauty and likeness? So certain adulterous and sordid lovers, enticed by its comeliness, desire to corrupt it and to commit sexual immorality with it. That is why the wise man Paul says: “But I fear lest, as the serpent deceived Eve by his wickedness, so your minds be corrupted.” By carnal sexual immorality our senses are corrupted; but by spiritual sexual immorality the mind is corrupted and the soul itself is wounded. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:23: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:24: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:23–24; Gen 1:26; 2 Cor 11:3. Baehrens reads “bodies” for “our senses” in the last sentence. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.6 (PG 13:724a–724b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-6). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-7 - Source: PG 13:724b–725a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The soul’s natural gifts make it beautiful, but heretical teaching corrupts it; and spiritual, like bodily, immorality varies in degree. ### Latin text Et contaminasti speciem tuam . Etiamsi non homo in peccatis maximis constitutus, tamen quia pronuntiationem, cujus sit ingenii , quomodo primu‘m intelligat, inde intellecta dijudicet, ut incitetur ad sensus, ut menti sensa commodet. quos habet impetus , quos cogitatus de Deo. llaec possidens magna: pulchritudinis est, sed haereticorum sectis, et extranea religionis institutione corrumpitur. Et transierunt crura tua per omnem transitum , et multiplicasti fornicationem tuam δι. Et fornicatio a fornicatione differens: et quomodo in fornicatione carnis est aliquis non nimiae fornicationis, et tamen fornicatione pollutus , alius vero multiplicans fornicationem suam ; sic et in ea fornicatione quae animam suam sensumque commaculat , alius multitudine fornicationis obruitur, alius vero non tam a fornicatione est seductus. Idcirco qua mensura mensi fuerimus, remetiatur nobis. ### English translation (Claude) “And you defiled your beauty.” Even if a man is not caught in the greatest sins, yet, because the beauty of the soul is great, it is disfigured even by association with lesser ones. Look at the powers of the soul which God has implanted in it; see its beauty: invention, arrangement, expression, memory, delivery; what talent it has; how it first understands, then judges what it has understood, so as to be stirred to perception and to apply perceptions to the mind; what impulses it has, what thoughts about God. One who possesses these is of great beauty, but is corrupted by the sects of the heretics and by a teaching foreign to religion. “And your legs passed over every passer-by, and you multiplied your sexual immorality.” There is sexual immorality differing from sexual immorality; and just as in sexual immorality of the flesh there is someone not given to excessive immorality, yet polluted by immorality, while another multiplies his immorality, so also in that immorality which stains the soul and the mind, one is overwhelmed by a multitude of immorality, while another has not been led so far astray by immorality. Therefore “with the measure with which we have measured, it will be measured back to us.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:25: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:25; Matt 7:2. The opening of this section is garbled in the scan, which has lost the words about the soul’s beauty being disfigured by lesser sins and the first items of the list (invention, arrangement, expression, memory); the translation follows the sense of Baehrens’s text. The list is the five parts of classical rhetoric. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.7 (PG 13:724b–725a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-7). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-8 - Source: PG 13:725b–725d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The Egyptians and Assyrians with whom Jerusalem played the harlot are hostile spiritual powers and fleshly understandings that take the soul captive. ### Latin text Et fornicata es in filios (Egypti confines tuos ". Filii Egypti contrariae fortitudines sunt. Nec mirum est . si contines nostri Aigyptii dicantur; contines [Egypti et Jerusalem in sua civitate sunt positi. Qui sunt magnis carnibus , non quia isti ingentes carnes habeant (et quidem honeste videtur pudenda eorum immutato vocabulo significasse, id est magnis carnibus), sed quia carnei intellectus magnarum nos carnium faciant : utecontrario est quaedam caro deficiens, de qua dicitur ": Quomodo caro ntea in terra deserta, et invia, et inaquosa. sic in sancto appurui tibi. Fornicatur igitur Jerusalem, super filios nggpti, confines suos, et ntagnarunt carnium. Et multipliciter. inquit “ , forni- ρ cata es ad me exasperandum. Multas species fornicatiouis commisisti ad tne concitandum. Quod si extendere manum meam in te, auferam legitima tua, et tradant te in animos eorum qui te oderunt , filios alienigenarum . Vides quia in animas alienigenarum traditur, quae indigna sit usu legis, et sermonum Dei. Qui te diverterqu de via tua. Impie egisti ct fornicata es super filios Assur . Primum super tilios Egypti , deinde super filios Assur. [late species peccatorum sunt. Nam et cum captivos acceperunt Assyrii lilios Israel , factum est quidem id quod Scriptura refert, scriptum est autem pr0pter frequentem nostram captivitatem , quae a spiritalibus Assyriis perpetratur : de quibus Apostolus dicit”: Non est nobis certamen adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed adversum spiritalia nequitia. ### English translation (Claude) “And you committed sexual immorality with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors.” The sons of Egypt are the opposing powers. Nor is it surprising if our neighbors are called Egyptians, since the borders of Egypt and of Jerusalem lie near each other. They are “of great flesh,” not because they have huge flesh (indeed Scripture seems to have signified their private parts decently with a changed word, that is, “of great flesh”), but because fleshly understandings make us “of great flesh”; as, on the contrary, there is a certain flesh that faints, of which it is said: “As my flesh in a desert land, pathless and waterless, so in the holy place I appeared to you.” So Jerusalem commits sexual immorality with the sons of Egypt, her neighbors, of great flesh. “And in many ways,” he says, “you committed sexual immorality to provoke me.” You committed many kinds of immorality to stir me up. “But if I stretch out my hand against you, I will take away your lawful portions and hand you over to the souls of those who hate you, the sons of foreigners.” You see that she is handed over to the souls of foreigners, being unworthy of the use of the law and of the words of God. “Who turned you from your way. You acted impiously and committed sexual immorality with the sons of Assyria.” First with the sons of Egypt, then with the sons of Assyria. These are kinds of sins. For when the Assyrians took the sons of Israel captive, what Scripture reports did indeed happen; but it was written because of our frequent captivity, which is carried out by spiritual Assyrians, of whom the Apostle says: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:26: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:27: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:28: quotation, high confidence - Ps 63:1 (62:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 63:2 (62:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:26–28; Ps 63:1–2 (62:2–3 LXX); Eph 6:12. “A certain flesh that faints”: Baehrens prints a different reading here (“the face of God”). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.8 (PG 13:725b–725d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-8). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-9 - Source: PG 13:725d–726a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The insatiable harlot is the sinner who keeps adding sins without repenting, making pacts with the powers of wickedness. ### Latin text Et ne sic satiata es, et fornicata es, et non satiaberis. Quando quis non impletur delinquens: sed semper prioribus peccatis nova peccata conjungit , colligens ut fune longo, et sicut loro jugi vitultc iuiquitates, nunquam se ad meliora convertens, neque paenitentiam agens super malis suis, dicitur ad eum ε Et non satiaberis. Et multiplicasti testamenta sua ad terram Chanaan. Quando Deus ad nos facit testamenta, ct nos consentimus eis, beati sumus; quando vero fornicamur ad spiritalia nequitiae, tunc convertimus Dei testamenta ad terram Chanaan , et pactum statuimus cum ca. Hoc autem mihi intellige et in Chaldaeis. et in caeteris gentibus, quando iu quolibet aliquo peccan reprehendimur. Et testamenta ad Chaldaeos, et ne sic satiata es. ### English translation (Claude) “And not even so were you satisfied; you committed sexual immorality and will not be satisfied.” When someone is not filled with sinning, but always joins new sins to former ones, gathering iniquities as with a long rope and as with the strap of a heifer’s yoke, never turning to better things nor repenting of his evils, it is said to him: “And you will not be satisfied.” “And you multiplied your covenants with the land of Canaan.” When God makes covenants with us and we consent to them, we are blessed; but when we commit sexual immorality with the spiritual forces of wickedness, then we turn God’s covenants toward the land of Canaan and make a pact with it. Understand this also of the Chaldeans and the other nations, whenever we are reproved for any sin. “And covenants with the Chaldeans; and not even so were you satisfied.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:28: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:29: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:28–29; Isa 5:18. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.9 (PG 13:725d–726a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-9). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 7.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-10 - Source: PG 13:726a–727b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Moral teaching is milk for beginners and the mysteries of Scripture are solid food; Jerusalem’s “threefold” immorality is sin in flesh, soul, and spirit. ### Latin text Post catalogum peccatorum, ad peccatricem Jerusalem, quid constituam in te, dicit Adonai Dominus, cum facias tu hac omnia opera mulieris foruicaria: procacis ὀἳ Ascendamus paulisper eloquio , quia non semper utile est de fornicationibus loqui, et procul absit ut aliquis in Ecclesia sit, qui de hortatoriis a fornicationeindigeat sermonibus. Nam si quis necesse habet audire ’° : Non fornicaberis; seu illud "z Si quis templum Dei violaverit, disperdet illum Deus; iste similis est bis quos Apostolus dicit " : Justo lex non est posita, sed iniquis, etnon subditis, impiis et peccatoribus. Quomodo ergojusto lcx non est posita, verum iniquis, et non subditis ; sic doctrina ea quae a fornicatione monet recedendum, casto non est posita, sed iniquis, ct fornicatorihus, et inobedientihus. Non habemus itaque uecessarium, ut discamus a fornicatione discedere : verum ad pet-tectiora tendamus a principiis elementorum Christi. Etenim cum deberetis, ait ", magistri esse propter tempus , rursum indigetis ut vos doceamini quae sint elententa exordii sermonum Dei, et facti estis quibus lacte opus sit, non solido cibo. Omnis sermo qui pratcepit" : Non farnicaberis, non adulterabis, non furaberis, non solida esca est, sed quasi lac praebetur infantibus. Athletarum cibus est de omnipotenti Deo, de mysteriis ejus qua! tecta sunt, et latenter in Scripturis significata, sentire. Vide quomodo ad Corinthios Paulus loquitur ” : Lacte vos potavi, non cibo, necdum enim poteratis, sed neque nunc potestis. Et quia lacte adhuc indigebant, ea discunt qua} discere parvuli solent. Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere, propter foro autem “, et caetera. Rursumque instituuntur ne immolatitia comedant. Ista omnis doetriua lac parvulorum est, et adhuc infantium in Christo. Quando vero Ephesiis scribitur, solidum illis praebet cibum. Non auditur quippe in Epheso esus immolationum. Ex quibus docemur quid si sit solidus cibus, et quod rationabile et sine dolo lac moralis locus, quod solidus cibus mysticus intellectus. beatum est igitur ut festinemus ad ea. quce sunt principia transeuntes, Et quod mpi'alisjlocus lac sit, Apostolus docet, cum—jam aliqua lacte dixisset addens '7: Non rursum'jafientes fundamentum paenitentia: ab operibus mortuis. 'ljales omnes qui adhuc lacte petantur; perfectus autem aliis indiget disciplinis. Haec in medio dicta sint, quia sermone conscenderam, ne ab alterius expositione fornicationis statim aliam lornicationem incurrerem, quam nunc explanabo. Dicitur quippead Jerusalem . Et fornicata es tripliciter in tutis» est quod ait. quod tripliciler lornicala est-in filiabus suis Jerusalem? Dei indi- {€391 “mlo; υι ipse nobis obscuritatem istius et deinde ea quas a Deo audierat, proferebat ad po puluu: sic nos indigemus Spiritu sancto loquent n°bi5 fni-“emisi orationibus? nostris δούρωram Ipossimus audire, et rursum quod audiviiuu populis intimare. Quid est ergo : Tripliciter forni cata es in Ofiliabus tuis? Si intelligas fornicatio 1'me 03:15:? _a"i_"]mv et ei Videas ali- in l‘lis omllibllst Videbis Jerusalem; Qui vero tripliciler οι· 223:8" ab vestam audire» autem pacis nos per ιιι integer ερίritus noster, et anima, et corpus sine querela in aa ..-ηιμ h‘,__' ο - - _ ’ ' ο . . {antitth-osgtrtlesu seruetur. θυι est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) After the catalogue of sins, it is said to sinful Jerusalem: “What shall I do to you, says Adonai the Lord, since you do all these things, the works of a shameless harlot?” Let us climb a little higher in our discourse, because it is not always useful to speak of sexual immorality, and far be it that there should be anyone in the Church who needs words urging him away from sexual immorality. For if anyone needs to hear, “You shall not commit sexual immorality,” or, “If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him,” he is like those of whom the Apostle says: “The law is not laid down for the righteous, but for the lawless and disobedient, the impious and sinners.” So, just as the law is not laid down for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, so the teaching that warns us to keep away from sexual immorality is not laid down for the chaste, but for the lawless, the sexually immoral, and the disobedient. So we have no need to learn to keep away from sexual immorality; rather let us press on from the elementary principles of Christ toward more perfect things. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers,” he says, “you need someone to teach you again the elements of the beginning of the words of God, and you have become such as need milk, not solid food.” Every word that commands, “You shall not commit sexual immorality, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal,” is not solid food, but is offered like milk to infants. The food of athletes is to understand about almighty God and about his mysteries, which are hidden and secretly signified in the Scriptures. See how Paul speaks to the Corinthians: “I gave you milk to drink, not food, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able.” And because they still needed milk, they learn what little children usually learn: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman; but because of sexual immorality,” and the rest. And again they are instructed not to eat what is sacrificed to idols. All this teaching is the milk of little ones, of those who are still infants in Christ. But when he writes to the Ephesians, he offers them solid food. For in Ephesus nothing is heard about eating things sacrificed. From this we are taught what solid food is: that the moral part is the rational and guileless milk, and the mystical understanding is solid food. Blessed, then, are we if we hasten to those things, passing over the first principles. And that the moral part is milk the Apostle teaches when, after saying some things about milk, he adds: “Not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works.” Such are all who are still fed with milk; but the perfect man needs other teachings. Let these things be said by the way, because I had climbed higher in my discourse so as not to run straight from the exposition of one sexual immorality into another, which I will now explain. For it is said to Jerusalem: “And you committed sexual immorality threefold in your daughters.” What does he mean, that Jerusalem committed sexual immorality threefold in her daughters? We need God’s help, so that he himself may explain to us the obscurity of this passage. And just as Moses heard God and then brought out to the people what he had heard from God, so we need the Holy Spirit speaking mysteries in us, so that through your prayers we may hear the Scriptures and in turn make known to the people what we have heard. What, then, is “You committed sexual immorality threefold in your daughters”? If you understand sexual immorality of the flesh, of the soul, and of the spirit, and see someone committing immorality in all of these, you will see Jerusalem committing immorality threefold. But he who is threefold chaste deserves to hear from the Apostle: “May the God of peace sanctify you in all things, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept whole and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:30: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Heb 6:1: quotation, high confidence - Heb 5:12: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:13: allusion, high confidence - Exod 20:15: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:23: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:30; Exod 20:14; 1 Cor 3:17; 1 Tim 1:9; Heb 6:1; Heb 5:12; Exod 20:13–15; 1 Cor 3:2; 1 Cor 7:1–2; 1 Cor 8 (food sacrificed to idols); 1 Pet 2:2; 1 Thess 5:23. The words “threefold in your daughters” follow Origen’s Greek text. The last part of the section (from “We need God’s help”) is badly garbled in the scan; the translation follows the sense of Baehrens’s text. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 7.10 (PG 13:726a–727b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-7-10). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 8.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-8-1 - Source: PG 13:728a–729a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As teachers establish their hearers in good or evil, God would have established Jerusalem in good, but she, like a shameless harlot, sinned openly and refused correction. ### Latin text Quae primum lecta sunt, exposuimus hodie, sumamus exordium. ab eo quod scriptum est: In facias tu htec omnia opera meretricis procacis, et fornicata es tripliciter in filiabus tuis iam diximus. Sequitur z buando lupanar :qu ficasti in cap-ite omnis vite, et basem tuam fecisti in omni platea; et non es facta ut meretrix congregans mercedes. Mulier quae moechatur similis tibi,’ a-viro suo accepit mercedes, et tu dedisti mercedes; omnibus amatoribus suis dedit mercedes, et tu dedisti mercedes omnibus amatoribus tuis, et honorabas eos ut η venirent ad te in circuitu οι fornicatione tua. Et homo hominem constituere potest, malusiu male, bonus in bono. Corrumpunt enim mores bonos confabula: nones pessimte'. Nec dubium quin loquentis sermo auditorem ad pejora sollicitet:,cum 1haereticus loquens constituat auditorem suum in haeretica pravitate. Et ut ad, meliora veniamus, si potest prodesse qui loquitur. et vita eius cum serinone Eon. sentit, in btinis constituit auditorem suum. Nos qui minimi sumus loci, si audierimus verbum de casti. tate praecipiens, constituti super eos conamur. Si ipsi loquimur de pudicitia, et rnosmetipsi auditores siatuinius in pudiisitia. Si de justitia praedicamus, ad justitiam impellimus; si de fide, fidem insinuamus, ut … digne majestate divina oboediamus in Domino. Si ergo nos homines, cum simus mali, solemus constituere cor audientis sive in bonis, si boni sumus, sive in malis, si male agimus, putasne Deus non habeat potestatem quempiam in melioribus constituere, aut certe derelinquens eum fieri ei occasio, ut in pessimis constituatur? Multum iuxfca praesens eloouinm peccavit misera *Iiierusnlem , quam saopisshne voluit Deus pcr prophefcas suosiu melioribus constituere; sed quia noluit consilia audire, noluit Dei recipere praecepta, dubitat Deus, et se dicit nescire quid faciat. In quo constituam cor tuum, dicit Adonei Dominus Ρ Quid faciam ? in quo constituam? Multis peccatorum vinculis stringeris, delicta tua prohibent vitam tuam, ut a meis sermonibus constituatis. Ego ipse frequenter eonstituere volui, loquens tibi per sanctos meos, et non audisti. Nunc ignoro quid faciam, et dico tibi : In quo (exagitatam cor tuum, dicit Adonei Dominus, non tu [scias lucc omnia opera mulieris meretricis procacis! Saepe diximus quia fortitudines contrariae amant pulchritudines'anima'. humanae, et quando suscipit anima humana semina amatorum suorum, quodammodo fornicetur cum eis; sed quia et in communi vita sunt aliquae meretrices, quae fornio cantur cum verecundia latere cupientes; alite vero quae non solum pudore delicta non velant, sed cum omni se procacitate prostituuut; ideo assumpsit exemplum animae meretricis in peccatrice ista Jerusalem, et ait eam similem factam mulieris fornicarite procacis in fornicatione sua. Smpe a nobis talia committuntur. Qui enim a religione non penitus recesserunt, vincuntur vero a peccato, et peccantes latere desiderant, similia faciunt meretrici erubescenti. Qui vero religionem penitus aversantur, in tantum ut non curent de epiSCOpo, de presbyteris, de diamnis, de fratribus, sed cum omni procacitate delinquunt, similes tlunt meretrici cum fiducia prostitutze. Queritur ergo in praesenti loco de peccatriee (ς Jerusalem Deus, quia facit opera mulieris meretricis inverecunde, et dicit ad eam : Et fornicata es tripliciter in filiabus tuis. Exposuimus hoc quando nobis dictum est ' zEdi/icasti lupanar tuum in capite curm: rite, et basem tuam fecisti in omni platea. ### English translation (Claude) We have expounded what was read first; today let us begin from what is written: “Since you do all these things, the works of a shameless harlot”; and of “you committed sexual immorality threefold in your daughters” we have already spoken. There follows: “When you built your brothel at the head of every way and made your base in every street; and you were not like a harlot gathering wages. The adulterous woman, like you, took wages from her husband, and you gave wages; she gave wages to all her lovers, and you gave wages to all your lovers, and you honored them so that they might come to you from round about for your sexual immorality.” A man can also establish a man: the evil man in evil, the good man in good. For “bad company corrupts good morals.” No doubt the speaker’s word urges the hearer toward worse things, when a heretic by his speaking establishes his hearer in heretical perversity. And to come to better things: if the one who speaks is able to do good, and his life agrees with his words, he establishes his hearer in good things. We who are of the least rank, if we hear a word that commands chastity, try to be established upon it. If we ourselves speak of purity, we also establish our hearers in purity; if we preach about righteousness, we drive them to righteousness; if about faith, we instil faith, so that … we may obey in the Lord in a manner worthy of the divine majesty. If, then, we men, though we are evil, are accustomed to establish the heart of the hearer either in good things, if we are good, or in evil things, if we act badly, do you think that God does not have the power to establish someone in better things, or else, by abandoning him, to become the occasion of his being established in the worst? According to the present passage, wretched Jerusalem sinned greatly, whom God very often wished to establish in better things through his prophets; but because she would not hear counsel, would not receive God’s commands, God hesitates and says he does not know what to do. “In what shall I establish your heart, says Adonai the Lord?” What shall I do? In what shall I establish you? You are bound fast by many chains of sins; your offenses prevent your life from being established by my words. I myself often wished to establish you, speaking to you through my saints, and you did not hear. Now I do not know what to do, and I say to you: “In what shall I establish your heart, says Adonai the Lord, since you do all these things, the works of a shameless harlot?” We have often said that the opposing powers love the beauty of the human soul, and that when the human soul receives the seeds of its lovers it in a way commits sexual immorality with them. But since in ordinary life too there are some harlots who commit immorality with shame, wishing to stay hidden, while others not only do not veil their offenses with shame but prostitute themselves with all shamelessness, he therefore took the example of the harlot soul in this sinful Jerusalem and says that she became like a shameless harlot in her immorality. Such things are often committed by us. For those who have not wholly withdrawn from religion, but are overcome by sin and, when they sin, wish to stay hidden, act like a harlot who blushes. But those who wholly turn away from religion, so that they care nothing for the bishop, the presbyters, the deacons, or the brothers, but sin with all shamelessness, become like a harlot who prostitutes herself boldly. So in the present passage God complains of sinful Jerusalem because she does the works of a shameless harlot, and says to her: “And you committed sexual immorality threefold in your daughters.” We expounded this when the words were said to us: “You built your brothel at the head of every way, and made your base in every street.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:30: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:31: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:32: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:33: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:34: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:33: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:11: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:30–34; 1 Cor 15:33; Matt 7:11. In Origen’s text Ezek 16:30 reads “In what shall I establish (constituam) your heart?”, and he plays on the verb. A badly garbled passage in the scan (from “if we preach about righteousness” to “established in the worst”) is replaced by Baehrens’s text in a logged correction; one phrase is unreadable there too and is marked “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 8.1 (PG 13:728a–729a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-8-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 8.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-8-2 - Source: PG 13:729a–730a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The brothel at the head of every way is heresy that builds on the opening words of Moses and the prophets to snare beginners; the base in every street is pagan, loose living. ### Latin text Volumus autem et nunc interpretari quid sit :editicare lupanar, non similiter in omni via, sed in rapite omnis vim; ne sutl'eeisse videatur aedificasse lupanar iu capite omnis vite, sed insuper et basem suam positissc in omni platea. Duo ergo generalia precata peccavit, cum aedificavit lupanar suum in rapite mnuis viai, ct cum fecit basem et constituit run ιιι platea meretrix Jerusalem. Qua: sunt ergo ista: vim? State in viis, et interrogate semitas (taurini mentas, et videte quae sit via bona, et amba- Ῑ) late in re . Multa: sunt via: sempiternae. Si retinetis eam expositionem quam frequenter exhibui, scitis rt Moysen viam esse, et singulos prophetarum. Et Quomodo untltu: sunt tnargaritzc, quas necesse est lmsiderc cunt qui venturus est ad uuam pretiosissimam margaritam, sic oportet ingredi multas vias Moysi et prophetarum omnium eum qui venturus est ad dicentem : Ego sum ria '. Sed dicit mihi aliquis: una ad propositum pertinet quod locutus es? Cui sic respondebo : {Editicavit in omni via Jerusalem Ianuar suum. Si consideravcris hmreticos omnes alienos a veritate aedificantes domum es his sermonibus qui in Moyse leguntur, ex bis quos in lsaia et Jeremia, et prepbctis reliquis invenerunt, intelligis novas doctrinas fornicationem esse Jerusalem, quae aedificat lupanar suum non in omni via, sedrin capite omnis vim. Si enim praeventus quis fuerit post. principium Moysi, exordium prophetarum, ad profundum ejus et scientiam omnium pervenire, nihil potest facere ista meretrix aedificans lupanar in capite omnis vite; eum quaerit qui primum Ecclesiant ingreditur, qui fidei elementa suscipit, qui rudis est in sacramentis, eum qui iu exordio fidei constitutus est vult introducere in lupanar suum, aedilicans rneretriciam domum. Et quia frequenter fornicatio in Scripturis nominatur, exponere volo sermonis istius causam. Ecclesiastici qui in Ecclesia sunt magistri, mores purgant tam suos quam suorum, et ex hac diligentia aedificant domum Dei Ecclesium, et opus eorum aedificatio Dei est. Haretici aedificant lupanar in omni via; ut puta magister de officina Valentini, magister de coetu Basilidis, magister de tabernaculo Marcionis, et ceterorum hzereticorum aedificant meretrici domum. Congregatio enim omnium malignorum lupanar est. Sed quid dicit Scriptura? Fili, ne intendas in malam mulierem, mel enim distillat de labiis mulieris meretricis . Unde ei mel distillat? Distillat enim mel de labiis mulieris meretricis. lngressa est ad Moysen, ad Isaiam, ad Jeremiam, et de Scripturis eorum sibi mella collegit. Vade ad hmmicas loquentes, hac dicit Moyses, haec Isaias, haec Jeremias, et videbis quomodo de labiis eorum non fluant mella, sed distillent decerpeutium de Scripturis verba paucissima. Et ideo mel distillat de labiis mulieris meretricis. ln eapite‘crgo omnis vite aedificat lupanar. Esto, intellectum sit lupanar, iutcrpretemur et basem quam in omnibus plateis posuit meretrix Jerusalem. Scriptum est in alio loco, quomodo in plateis manifeste advocat praetereuntes meretrix; varie quippe peccatum nos ad se trahere festinat, sive per haeresim, sive per gentilem conversationem. Et per haeresim quidem, quando mdilicat lupanar iu capite omnis viae ; per gentilem autem conversationem, quando basem ponit in omnibus plateis. Lata est enim et patens uia quae ducit ad perditionem . Cum ergo quae dicit, et in quibus audientes instruere conatur, de Scripturis asserit, aedificat lupanar in capite omnis vite. Cum vero moralis locus fuerit dissolutus, et luxuriosa praecipiens lascivum fecerit auditorem, quid aliud fecit quam basem posuit in omni via? ### English translation (Claude) We want now also to interpret what it is to build a brothel, not merely in every way, but at the head of every way; and lest it seem enough to have built a brothel at the head of every way, she has also set her base in every street. So harlot Jerusalem sinned two general sins, when she built her brothel at the head of every way, and when she made her base and set it in every street. What, then, are these ways? “Stand in the ways and ask for the eternal paths, and see which is the good way, and walk in it.” There are many eternal ways. If you remember the explanation I have often given, you know that Moses is a way, and each of the prophets. And just as there are many pearls which one must possess who is to come to the one most precious pearl, so one who is to come to him who says, “I am the way,” must enter the many ways of Moses and of all the prophets. But someone says to me: “What has this to do with the subject you spoke of?” I will answer him thus: Jerusalem built her brothel in every way. If you consider all the heretics, strangers to the truth, building a house out of the words read in Moses and out of those they found in Isaiah and Jeremiah and the other prophets, you understand that the new doctrines are the immorality of Jerusalem, who builds her brothel not in every way but at the head of every way. For if anyone has gone forward, past the beginning of Moses and the opening of the prophets, to reach their depth and the knowledge of them all, this harlot who builds a brothel at the head of every way can do nothing with him. She looks for the one who is first entering the Church, who is receiving the elements of the faith, who is untrained in the mysteries; the one who is set at the beginning of faith she wants to bring into her brothel, building a house of harlotry. And since sexual immorality is frequently named in the Scriptures, I want to explain the reason for this word. The men of the Church who are teachers in the Church purify both their own morals and those of their people, and by this diligence they build the house of God, the Church, and their work is God’s building. The heretics build a brothel in every way: for instance, a teacher from the workshop of Valentinus, a teacher from the assembly of Basilides, a teacher from the tent of Marcion, and those of the other heretics, build a house for the harlot. For the congregation of all the wicked is a brothel. But what does Scripture say? “Son, do not attend to an evil woman, for honey drips from the lips of a harlot.” Where does her honey drip from? For honey drips from the lips of a harlot. She went in to Moses, to Isaiah, to Jeremiah, and from their Scriptures she gathered honey for herself. Go to the heretics as they speak, “Thus says Moses, thus Isaiah, thus Jeremiah,” and you will see how honey does not flow from their lips but drips, as they pluck a very few words from the Scriptures. And so honey drips from the lips of a harlot. So she builds a brothel at the head of every way. Granted that the brothel has been understood, let us interpret also the base which harlot Jerusalem set in all the streets. It is written in another place how the harlot openly calls to passers-by in the streets; for sin hastens to draw us to itself in various ways, whether through heresy or through pagan conduct: through heresy, when it builds a brothel at the head of every way; through pagan conduct, when it sets its base in all the streets. For “wide and spacious is the way that leads to destruction.” So when she asserts from the Scriptures what she says and the things in which she tries to instruct her hearers, she builds a brothel at the head of every way. But when the moral teaching has been loosened, and by commanding luxurious things she has made the hearer wanton, what else has she done but set a base in every way? ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:31: quotation, high confidence - Jer 6:16: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:45: allusion, high confidence - Matt 13:46: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:9: allusion, high confidence - Prov 5:2: quotation, high confidence - Prov 5:3: quotation, high confidence - Prov 7:12: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 7:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:31; Jer 6:16; Matt 13:45–46; John 14:6; 1 Cor 3:9; Prov 5:2–3 (Septuagint); Prov 7:12; Matt 7:13. Valentinus, Basilides, and Marcion are named. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 8.2 (PG 13:729a–730a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-8-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 8.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-8-3 - Source: PG 13:730a–732a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The harlot who pays her lovers is the soul that, after years of virtue, hands over to the hostile powers the goods given it by its husband, the Word of God. ### Latin text Non est facta ut meretrix congregans mercedes”. 'Videamus meretricem mercedes congregantem, et aliam rursus non congregautem. De hac enim quaeritur quasi de meretrice non congreganto mercedes. Cum videro esse meretricem qum non congreget mercedes, et legero ad istam dictum, quia facta sit ut meretrix non congregans mercedes, dicam congregari mercedes esse peccando divitem fieri, peccando gloriam in saecularibus comparare, peccando feliciter in mundo agere. Quando per peccatum, ut dixi, ista nascuntur, fornicatur anima et congregat mercedes fornicationis sum, gloriam, divitias et reliqua quae in perditionem animae suae conquisivit; quando vero fornicatur et non agit prospere in saecularibus rebus, sed per hoc quod peccavit etiam infeliciter vivit in saaculo, meretrix est non congregans mercedes et contraria faciens, id est fornicariis mercedes ultro tribuens. Et tu dedisti mercedes omnibus amatoribus tuis θ’. Nonnunquam anima divites facit amatores suos, laetantes in eo quod acceperint mercedes ab ea. Sed dicit mihi auditor: Manifestius ει· pone quomodo fornicetur anima mercedes tribuens de rebus viri sui. Sic enim ait et in praesenti, et in aliis frequenter locis sermo divinus, quin sustulerit ea quae sunt viri, et dederit meretrix Jerusalem amatoribus suis. Quid est hoc quod largitus est ei vir suus, quae postea facta adultera omne quod accepit donat amatoribus suis? Vir animae sermo Dei est, sponsus amator verus, qui dedit ei castitatem, dedit justitiam, dedit czetera bona. Quando ergo voluerit anima sequi fortitudines contrarias, id est, ut planius dicam, decem annis pudice vivens ad extremum fuerit fornicata, accipit bona viri sui, quae multo tempore cum labore quasierat, et dat ea amatoribus suis. Qui sanguinarii amatores ra- (ς piunt ad se virtutes misera: animae, et incedunt jactahundi super divitiis eius et dicunt : abstuli ei decennalem castitatem, eripui ab ea quinquennii justitiam, vindicavi mihi fortitudines ejus: oblitus est omnium bonorum ejus Deus quae aliquando fecit, quoniam comprehensa est in peccato, et oblitus est ejus, quia confessa est nobis amica nostra secreta quae audierat, et tradidit omnia bona nobis amatoribus suis. Quzr discentes, omni custodia servemus cor nostrum, et attendamus nequando ea quae viri sunt tradantur amatoribus aiis : quin potius invitemus sponsum sermonem ί· et veritatcm, ut nobis faciat ornaweota aurea variis expvessa signis per varia praecepta et oraati effecti praeparejnur viro nostro Christo Iesn, cui est gloria et iniperiura in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “You were not like a harlot gathering wages.” Let us look at a harlot who gathers wages and another, again, who does not. For she is reproached as a harlot who does not gather wages. When I see that there is a harlot who does not gather wages, and read that it is said to this one that she has become like a harlot who does not gather wages, I will say that to gather wages is to become rich by sinning, by sinning to acquire glory in worldly things, by sinning to fare prosperously in the world. When, as I said, these things arise through sin, the soul commits sexual immorality and gathers the wages of its immorality: glory, riches, and the rest, which it has acquired to the destruction of its soul. But when it commits immorality and does not prosper in worldly affairs, but because it has sinned even lives unhappily in the world, it is a harlot who does not gather wages and does the contrary, that is, freely gives wages to those it sins with. “And you gave wages to all your lovers.” Sometimes the soul makes its lovers rich, and they rejoice that they have received wages from it. But a hearer says to me: “Explain more plainly how the soul commits immorality by giving wages from its husband’s goods.” For thus the divine word says, both in the present passage and frequently in other places, that harlot Jerusalem took what belonged to her husband and gave it to her lovers. What is it that her husband gave her, which she afterwards, having become an adulteress, gives wholly to her lovers? The soul’s husband is the word of God, the bridegroom, the true lover, who gave it chastity, gave righteousness, gave the other good things. So when the soul wishes to follow the opposing powers (that is, to speak more plainly, when, having lived chastely for ten years, at the last it commits sexual immorality), it takes the goods of its husband, which it had sought with labor for a long time, and gives them to its lovers. These bloodthirsty lovers snatch the virtues of the wretched soul for themselves, and go about boasting of its riches, saying: “I have taken from it ten years of chastity, I have snatched from it five years of righteousness, I have claimed its courage for myself; God has forgotten all the good deeds it once did, because it has been caught in sin; and he has forgotten it, because our friend has confessed to us the secrets it had heard and has handed over all its goods to us, its lovers.” Learning these things, let us guard our heart with all vigilance, and take heed lest what belongs to our husband be handed over to other lovers; rather let us invite the bridegroom, the word and the truth, to make us golden ornaments marked with varied designs through the varied commandments, so that, adorned, we may be made ready for our husband Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:31: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:33: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 18:24: allusion, medium confidence - Prov 4:23: allusion, high confidence - Song 1:11: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 11:2: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:31, 33; Ezek 18:24 (the righteous man’s deeds forgotten); Prov 4:23; Song 1:11; 2 Cor 11:2. Leaked marginal references inside a word are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 8.3 (PG 13:730a–732a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/7-1/#p-8-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 9.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-1 - Source: PG 13:732a–734a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sin multiplies and divides while virtue unites; Jerusalem’s sisters, Samaria and Sodom, stand for heresy and paganism, which become the sinful believer’s kin. ### Latin text Qui '08“ in principio prophetia: Jerusalem Ῑ quomodo increpata sit quasi habens radicem et generationem de terra Chanaan, patrem Amorrbaeum, matremque Cethaeam; is si legerit etiam l haec quae nunc interpretari nitimur, putabit eadem repeti, et unum sermonem dupliciter praedicari. Sed quidiligens lector est, et ad curam ejus divina: Scriptura: significantia pertinet, et confert praterita praesentibus et verbum verbo componit, videbit differentiam non fortuitam. lbi quippe radis, inquit“, tua, et generatio tua de terra Chanaan; Ξ quod in praesenti non dicitur: Pater tuus et mater tua Cethtea;quod nunc non significatur. Et iterum ibi primum ponitur ; Pater tm Amorrlueus; secundum : Mater tua Cetluea; hic ἶ vero: Mater vestra Cethasa, et pater vester Amorrlueus. lbi quasi ad unam sermo fit, hic quasiatl plurimas. Nec enim, ut superius dixerat, ait, mater tua, sed mater vestra. Quando ergo diflunditur peccatum, et longius malitia procedit, et peccan res sua inter se peccata discerpunt, tunc non per.cator unus, verum in uno sunt plurimi, sicuti in exordio quando erat principium delinquendi, nec dum erant tanta: quanta: nunc sunt multitudines. Unde utile mihi videtur a pra-senti sermone paululum recedentem naturam considerare peccati ato que virtutum. Ubi peccata sunt, ibi est multitudo. ibi schismata, ibi haereses, ibi dissensiones;ubi autem virtus, ibi singularitas, ibi unio, ex quo omnium credentium erat cor unum et anima una “. Et ut manifestius dicam, principium malorum omnium est multitudo, principium autem bonorum coangustatio, et a turbis in singularitatem redactio : ut puta nos omnes si salvandi sumus, ad unionem, ut perfecti efficiamur in eodem sensu, et in eadem sententia, et simus unum corpus et unus spiritus. Si vero tales simus, ut non nos unitas circumscribat, sed et de nobis dici possit ’δε Ego quidem sum Pauli, ego vero Apollo, ego vero Cephw, et adhuc a malitia scindimur atque dividimur, non sumus futuri tibi sunt illi qui rediguntur in unionem. Nam ut Pater et Filius unum sunt, sic qui unum spiritum habent, in unionem coarctantur. Ait quippe Salvator η : Ego et Pater unum :umus; et : Pater sancte, roga, ut sicut ego et tu unum sumus, ita et isti in nobis unum s‘iut . Et in Apostolo legitur ‘7: Donec occurramus amnesin rirum perfectum et in mensuram artatis plenitudinis in unitatem Christi. Et rursum: Donec perveniamus omnes in unitatem corporis et spiritus Christi. Et quo significatur, quia virtus ex plurimis unum faciat, et necesse nobis sit unum per eam fieri,‘ et fugere multitudinem. Et haec quidem dicta sunt, quia in praeterita lectione conscriptum est ε Pater tuus, et mater tua, et radix generationis tute; in praesenti vero : Mater vestra et pater uester. lbi non didicimus, licet fuerit sermo de patre Amorrhzco, et de matre Cethma, sorores habere Jerusalem, hic vero addidit : Mater, inquiens “, vestra Cethcea,et pater uester Amorrlueus , et soror uestra senior Samaria, hinc et filice ejus quae habitat a sinistris luis, et soror tua junior quae habitat a dextris Sodoma. Quomodo virtus me facit tilium Abrahae, si secundum eam vixero; opera quippe Abraham faciens, tilius est Abraham; sic vitia faciunt me lilium diaboli. Omnis sitim qui facit peccatum,ea: diabolo natus est ". Virtus me facit etiam fratrem habere Christum, ut cum bonus ac bene moratus fuero, dicat Patri suo "'z Narrabo nomen tuum fratribus meis, in media Ecclesia cantabo te. Et loquitur ad eam qum nuntiare poterat verba ejus " : Vade et dic fratribus meis. Quomodo autem virtus fratrem mihi facit Dominum Jesum, ita malitia plurimos fratres acquirit, ethos peceatores, et haec ipsa tunc mihi fratres generat cum creverit. Si quidem quando exordium erat peccatricis Jerusalem, necdum habebat sororem Samariam, necdum ei erat germana Sodoma; cum vero processit in scelere, ut prteteritus sermo monstravit, ell‘ecta est media duarum sororum, senioris Samaria: et junioris Sodomae. Quae sunt ista: dua: sorores peccatricis Jerusalem? Schisma et separatio populi fecerunt Samariam. Si quidem eo tempore cum decem tribus cesserunt, dicentes "z Non est nobis pars in David, nec sors in filio Jesse, tunc dua: vacca: aureae constituta: sunt a Jeroboam, et facta est Samaria scissio; quae magis post captivitatem decem tribuum erevit quando custodes ab Assyriis ad lsraelis terram missi sunt qui vocantur Samaritani. Somer enim custos interpretatur lingua Hebrazorum. Ergo, ut dicere coeperam, necdum soror mea est Samaria, quandiu a peccatis longe sum; quando vero peccavero, crescunt mihi dna: sorores, senior Samaria, et junior Sodoma. Quae cujus figuram habeant consideremus. Quicunque promittunt verba divina, et non sicut pollicentur habent in se praedicationis veritatem, hi in Seripturis figuraliter Samaria nominantur. Var, iaquit , spernentibus Sion, et fidentibus in monte Samaria, uindemiasti principatus gentium. Quasi dixerit, va: his qui spernunt Ecclesiam , et contidunt super arrogantia et verbis tumentibus haereticorum. Hoc enim est spernere Sion et conlidere in monte Samaria. Si ergo peccamus et nos ecclesiastici, non sunt a nobis alieni haeretici in dogmatum pravitate. Male enim credit quicunque peccat. Si cono versationem malam habemus, Sodoma soror nostra est. Gentiles quippe sunt Sodoma. Atque ita fratres sumus hereticorum atque gentilium quando delinquimus, quia Samaria accipitur in haeresi, et Sodoma in gentilitate. llabilat autem a sinistris peccatricis Jerusalem Samaria, adexlris Sodoma. Honorabilius quippe apud eam peccatum est quod facto committitur, et ideo a dextris ejus Sodoma est. Rursumque nec Samaria longe est, quia a sinist'ris ejus commoratur, et increpatur qui ambulaverit cum filiabus et sororibus suis in omnibus iniquitatibus, et in tantum ambulaverit, ut comparatio delictorum ejus illarum iniquitates fecerit justitiam. Unde oportet agnoscere iniquitates Sodomorum, ut edoctus custodiam me ab eis, ne capiar ignoratione, quae sunt iniquitates Sodomorum. ### English translation (Claude) Whoever reads at the beginning of the prophecy how Jerusalem was rebuked as having her root and birth from the land of Canaan, an Amorite father and a Hittite mother, will think, if he also reads what we are now trying to interpret, that the same things are repeated and one word preached twice. But the diligent reader, to whose care the meaning of divine Scripture belongs, who compares the past with the present and puts word together with word, will see a difference that is not accidental. For there it says, “Your root and your birth are from the land of Canaan,” which is not said in the present passage; “your father … and your mother a Hittite,” which is not now indicated in the same way. And again, there it is put first, “Your father an Amorite,” and second, “Your mother a Hittite”; but here, “Your mother a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.” There the word is spoken as to one woman, here as to many. For he does not say, as above, “your mother,” but “the mother of you all.” So when sin spreads, and wickedness goes further, and sinners tear their sins apart among themselves, then the sinner is not one, but in one there are many; whereas at the beginning, when sinning was just starting, there were not yet such multitudes as there are now. Hence it seems useful to me to withdraw a little from the present passage and to consider the nature of sin and of the virtues. Where there are sins, there is multitude, there are schisms, there heresies, there dissensions; but where there is virtue, there is singleness, there union, from which “all the believers had one heart and one soul.” And to say it more plainly: the beginning of all evils is multitude, but the beginning of good things is a drawing together, a reduction from crowds into singleness. For instance, all of us, if we are to be saved, are drawn into union, so that we may be made perfect in the same mind and the same judgment, and be one body and one spirit. But if we are such that unity does not hold us together, and it can be said of us, “I am of Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas,” and we are still split and divided by wickedness, we will not be among those who are brought back into union. For as the Father and the Son are one, so those who have one spirit are drawn together into union. For the Savior says: “I and the Father are one”; and: “Holy Father, I ask that as I and you are one, so these too may be one in us.” And in the Apostle we read: “Until we all attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness, in the unity of Christ.” And again: “Until we all come to the unity of the body and spirit of Christ.” By which it is signified that virtue makes one out of many, and that it is necessary for us to become one through it and to flee multitude. These things have been said because in the previous reading it was written, “Your father, and your mother, and the root of your birth,” but in the present one, “the mother of you all and the father of you all.” There, although the word was about an Amorite father and a Hittite mother, we did not learn that Jerusalem had sisters; but here he added: “The mother of you all,” he says, “a Hittite, and the father of you all an Amorite; and your elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters, who dwells on your left; and your younger sister, who dwells on your right, is Sodom.” As virtue makes me a son of Abraham if I live according to it (for one who does the works of Abraham is a son of Abraham), so vices make me a son of the devil. “Everyone who commits sin is born of the devil.” Virtue also makes me have Christ as a brother, so that when I am good and of good conduct he may say to his Father: “I will tell your name to my brothers; in the midst of the Church I will sing to you.” And he says to her who was able to announce his words: “Go and tell my brothers.” And as virtue makes the Lord Jesus my brother, so wickedness acquires many brothers, sinners, and begets these very brothers for me when it has grown. For when sinful Jerusalem was at her beginning, she did not yet have Samaria as her sister, Sodom was not yet her sister; but when she advanced in crime, as the previous passage showed, she came to be between two sisters, the elder Samaria and the younger Sodom. Who are these two sisters of sinful Jerusalem? Schism and the separation of the people made Samaria. For at the time when the ten tribes withdrew, saying, “We have no portion in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse,” two golden calves were set up by Jeroboam, and Samaria became a split; and it grew the more after the captivity of the ten tribes, when guards were sent by the Assyrians to the land of Israel, who are called Samaritans. For “somer” means “guard” in the Hebrew tongue. So, as I had begun to say, Samaria is not yet my sister as long as I am far from sins; but when I sin, two sisters grow up for me, the elder Samaria and the younger Sodom. Let us consider whose figure they bear. All who promise divine words, but do not have in themselves the truth of preaching that they promise, are figuratively named Samaria in the Scriptures. “Woe,” he says, “to those who despise Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria; you have gathered the vintage of the rulers of the nations.” As if he said: woe to those who despise the Church and trust in the arrogance and swollen words of the heretics. For this is to despise Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria. So if we, men of the Church, sin, the heretics with their depraved doctrines are no strangers to us. For whoever sins believes badly. If our conduct is bad, Sodom is our sister. For the Gentiles are Sodom. And so, when we offend, we are brothers of heretics and of Gentiles, because Samaria is taken to mean heresy, and Sodom paganism. Samaria dwells on the left of sinful Jerusalem, Sodom on the right. For with her the sin that is committed in deed is the more honorable, and so Sodom is on her right. And again Samaria is not far off, since she dwells on her left; and she is rebuked who walked with her daughters and sisters in all iniquities, and walked so far that by comparison her offenses made their iniquities righteousness. Hence I must know the iniquities of the Sodomites, so that, being taught, I may guard myself against them, and not be caught by ignorance of what the iniquities of the Sodomites are. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:3: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 16:45: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:46: quotation, high confidence - Acts 4:32: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:10: allusion, high confidence - Eph 4:4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:12: quotation, high confidence - John 10:30: quotation, high confidence - John 17:11: quotation, high confidence - John 17:21: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:13: quotation, high confidence - John 8:39: allusion, high confidence - 1 John 3:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:22 (21:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 20:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 12:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 12:28: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 17:24: allusion, high confidence - Amos 6:1: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:47: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:3, 45–46; Acts 4:32; 1 Cor 1:10; Eph 4:4; 1 Cor 1:12; John 10:30; John 17:11, 21; Eph 4:13 (and a free variant of it); John 8:39; 1 John 3:8; Ps 22:22 (21:23 LXX); John 20:17; 1 Kgs 12:16, 28; 2 Kgs 17:24; Amos 6:1 (Septuagint). The opening words of the section are garbled in the scan (“Qui '08“”); “Whoever reads” is by sense. A clause near “we will not be among those” is garbled and translated by sense. The sentence explaining why Sodom is on the right is obscure as printed. The meaning of Samaria from “somer” is Origen’s etymology. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 9.1 (PG 13:732a–734a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 9.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-2 - Source: PG 13:734a–735b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sodom’s chief sin was pride, the devil’s own sin and the greatest of all, a danger also for clergy; and to be “justified” only by comparison with worse sinners is no praise. ### Latin text Verumtamen iniquitates Sodoma: sororis tua'. Quae iniquitas? Superbia. In saturitate panum, et in abundantia affluebant ipsa et filia: ejus , et manum pauperis indigentis non suspiciebant “. Quod iuaequalia sint peccata Scripturis utentibus nulli dubium est. Alia quippe magna, alia minora ah his esse dicuntur. Cum autem sunt inrequalia, hoc est parva, vel maxima, forsitan aliquis inquirat quod inter universa peccata sit majus; et proclive suscipitur, omnium peccatorum esse majus, sive fornicationem, sive immunditiam,sive quodcunque libidinis inquinamentum. Sunt quidem et ista vere abominabilia atque polluta, sed non talia quale hoc .quod nunc ab Scriptura quasi majus omnium condemnatur, a quo nos observare debemus. Quod ergo est peccatum majus omnibus peccatis? Utique illud propter quod et diabolus corruit. Quod est hoc peceatum in quo tanta sublimitas cedidit. ut elatus in judicium incidat diaboli “? ait Apostolus. lnflatio, superbia , arrogantia peccatum diaboli est, et ob haec delicta ad terras migravit de caelo. Unde Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam “‘l Et quid superbit terra et cinis ut homo arrogantia sublevetur oblitus quid erit, et quam fragili vasculo contineatur, et quibus stercoribus immersus sit, et qualia semper purga-_ menta de sua carne projieiat? Quid enim ait Serio plura? Quid superbit terra et cinis ? et : In vita ejus projecit interanea ejus '°. Superbia peccatis omnibus major est, et ipsius diaboli principale pecca- ‘D tum. Si quando Scriptura diaboli peccata describit, invenies ea de superbiae fonte manantia : Ait quippe " : Viribus faciam, et sapientia intellectus auferam fines gentium. et fortitudine eorum depascar, et commovebo ciuitates quae inhabitantur, et orbem terrarum universum comprehendam ut nidum, et quasi confracta ova auferam. Vide sermones ejus, quomodo superbi sint, quomodo arrogantes, et uuiversa pro nihilo ducat. Tales sunt omnes jactatioue et superbia inflati. Materia superbia; , divitiae,_dignitas, gloria saecularis. Frequenter causa superbiae est ei qui ignorat habere ecclesiasticam dignitatem, sacerdotalis ordo et leviticus gradus. Quanti presbyteri constituti obliti sunt humilitatis : quasi idcirco fuerint ordinati, ut humiles esse desisterent. Quin potius humilitatem sequi debuerant . quia dignitatem fuerant consecuti, dicente Scriptura : Quanto magnus fueris, tanta humilia teipsum. Et dilectum Synagogae te facit, nobilius summitte ca» put tuum; ducem te instituerunt, noli elevari, noli fieri in eis quasi unus ex ipsis. Oportet humilem, oportet esse dejectum, oportet fugere superbiam ’ maloru m omnium caput. Considera Evangelinm quali condemnatione Pharisaei superbia et jactatio feriatur. Stabat Pharisteus et talia intra se orabat : Deus, gratias ago tibi, quia non sum ut Itomines, raptores, iniqui, adulteri, et ut iste publicanus. Jejuno bis in Sabbato. At vero Publicanus humiliter et mansuete longius stans non erat ausus neque oculus levare , et dicebat : Propitius esto, Deus, mihi peccaturi. Et descendit indomum suam publicanus justiticatus. Non simpliciterjustificatus: sed justificatus comparatione Pharisaei. Observandus quippe est diligentissime omnis Scriptura sermo, ordo, junctura. Aliud est justificari, aliud cx alio justilicari. Simile est publicanum a Pharisuae justificatum fuisse , illi quod Sodoma et Samaria ex comparatione peccatricis Jerusalem justificalze sunt. Et necesse est nos id scire, quia unusquisque nostrum in die judicii ab aliojustiticetur, ct ah alio condemnetur. Etiam cum fuerimus justiticati ex alio, justitia illa non tam laudis quam criminis loco ponitur. Utputa si inventus fuero Sodomitica habere peccata, et alius protrahatur in medium qui duplicia scelera commiserit, justificor quidem, sed justificor non ut justus, verum ut ex comparatione ejus qui plura commisit, judicor justus, cum a justitia longe sim. Va: illi homini qui a multis peccatoribus justiticatur; ut econtrario multum beatus qui comparatione justorum justus ostenditur. Invenimus in Scriptura laudibus positum, bonis esse meliorem: utputa nullus sic fecit rcctum ante faciem Domini, ut ille , et ille, nullus sic Pascha celebravit ut Josias. Ex quo ostenditur comparationem fieri justorum, et illum vere esse justum qui sic justificari mereatur. Utinam et ego collatus sapientibus sapiens reperiar, et justis judicer justus. Nolo quippe justificari ab iniquis, quia talis justitia criminosa est. ### English translation (Claude) “Nevertheless the iniquities of Sodom your sister.” What iniquity? Pride. “In fullness of bread and in abundance she and her daughters lived in luxury, and they did not take up the hand of the poor and needy.” That sins are unequal is doubted by no one who uses the Scriptures. For some are said by them to be great, others lesser. And since they are unequal, that is, small or very great, someone may perhaps ask which is the greatest of all sins; and the ready answer is taken up, that the greatest of all sins is sexual immorality, or uncleanness, or some stain of lust. These too are truly abominable and polluted, but not such as this sin which is now condemned by Scripture as the greatest of all, and from which we ought to guard ourselves. What, then, is the sin greater than all sins? Surely that for which the devil too fell. What is this sin in which such loftiness fell? “Lest, being puffed up, he fall into the judgment of the devil,” says the Apostle. Being puffed up, pride, arrogance: this is the sin of the devil, and because of these offenses he moved from heaven to earth. Hence “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” And “why is earth and ashes proud,” that a man should be lifted up by arrogance, forgetting what he will be, in how fragile a vessel he is contained, in what dung he is immersed, and what refuse he always casts out from his flesh? For what does the son of Sirach say? “Why is earth and ashes proud?” and: “In his life he has cast out his entrails.” Pride is greater than all sins, and the chief sin of the devil himself. If ever Scripture describes the devil’s sins, you will find them flowing from the fountain of pride. For he says: “By strength I will do it, and by the wisdom of understanding I will remove the boundaries of the nations, and I will feed on their strength, and I will shake the inhabited cities, and I will seize the whole world like a nest, and take it away like broken eggs.” See his words, how proud, how arrogant they are, how he counts everything as nothing. Such are all who are puffed up with boasting and pride. The material of pride is riches, rank, and worldly glory. Often, for one who does not know how to hold an office in the Church, the priestly order and the levitical grade are a cause of pride. How many, once made presbyters, have forgotten humility, as if they had been ordained precisely in order to stop being humble! Rather they ought to have pursued humility because they had attained rank, as Scripture says: “The greater you are, the more humble yourself.” And: “Make yourself beloved of the assembly; bow your head to one of higher rank.” “They have made you a leader; do not be lifted up; be among them as one of them.” One must be humble, one must be lowly, one must flee pride, the head of all evils. Consider in the Gospel with what condemnation the pride and boasting of the Pharisee is struck. “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week.” But the tax collector, humbly and meekly standing far off, did not dare even to lift his eyes, and said: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” “And the tax collector went down to his house justified.” Not simply justified, but justified in comparison with the Pharisee. For every word, order, and connection of Scripture must be observed most carefully. It is one thing to be justified, another to be justified from another. That the tax collector was justified from the Pharisee is like the justifying of Sodom and Samaria in comparison with sinful Jerusalem. And we must know this, that on the day of judgment each of us is justified by one person and condemned by another. Even when we are justified from another, that righteousness counts not so much as praise as a charge. For instance, if I am found to have the sins of Sodom, and another is brought forward who has committed twice as many crimes, I am justified indeed, but not justified as a righteous man: in comparison with one who committed more, I am judged righteous, though I am far from righteousness. Woe to the man who is justified by many sinners! As, on the contrary, very blessed is he who is shown to be righteous in comparison with the righteous. We find it set down in Scripture as praise to be better than the good: for instance, “none did what was right before the Lord as this one did,” and “none kept the Passover as Josiah did.” From which it is shown that a comparison of the righteous is made, and that he is truly righteous who deserves to be justified in this way. Would that I too, compared with the wise, may be found wise, and be judged righteous among the righteous. For I do not want to be justified by the wicked, because such righteousness is a charge against me. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:46: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:49: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 3:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:5: quotation, high confidence - Jas 4:6: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 10:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 10:14: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:11: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:12: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:13: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 18:5: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 23:22: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 23:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 10:9–10 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence - Sir 3:18 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence - Sir 4:7 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence - Sir 32:1 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:46, 49; 1 Tim 3:6; 1 Pet 5:5 (Jas 4:6; Prov 3:34); Sir 10:9–10; Isa 10:13–14; Sir 3:18; Sir 4:7; Sir 32:1 (35:1 LXX); Luke 18:11–14; 2 Kgs 18:5 and 23:22, 25. Origen ranks pride above sexual sins as the greatest sin; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 9.2 (PG 13:734a–735b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 9.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-3 - Source: PG 13:735b–737a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Righteousness and sin are measured by comparison: the lesser sinner is “justified” by the greater, while even the greatest saints are darkness beside Christ, the Sun of righteousness. ### Latin text Haec anticipans locutus sum, quia in his quae lecta sunt dicitur : Justificasti sorores tuas in omnibus iniquitatibus tuis quas fecisti. Justificalte , sunt enim Samaria et Sodoma ex iniquitatibus Jerusalem. In omnibus iniquitatibus tuis quas fecisti justificasti illas super te. Idcirco diligentius attendamus, ut possimus agnoscere omnes nos in die judicii a pcjoribus nostris justificandos, et rursum a nobis alios justificari. Unus solus estqui justificatur ab erunibus, et ipse nullum justificat. Utputa Sodoma justificatur ab Jerusalem, quia ab se sceleratiora commisit, et fcrte Jerusalem ab alia aliqua quae se pejor est civitate. Sic cstquidamjustificandus ab Antichristo, qui ad illum comparatur, et illius ini. quitate ac sceleribus minor reperitur. Pessimus vero daemon est, et, ut aiunt, miser qui abillo justiticatur : forte et pater illius ab eo nunjustiticatur, multo illo sceleratior repertus. Dominus vero meus Jesus Christus justificatnr juxta dispensationem carnis quam ob nostram salutem circumtulit, ab Abraham, ab lsaac, ab Jacob, et a reliquis prophetis. Quando enim omnibus justis et prophetis, ac beatis quibusque in comparationem missis invenitur contrarium huic quod dicitur de Sodoma et Jerusalem, magis glorifico Salvatorem nostra. Quod autem dico istiusmodi est, et Deo largiente orantibus vobis praebebo de Scripturis explanationem. Fecit Sodoma peccatum; Samaria quoque peccavit, iniquitatibus obruta est Jerusalem, sed minora peccata a majoribus justiticantur, sub exemplo quo Sodoma justificatur a sorore sua Je. rusalcm. Quomodo igitur iniquitas justificat, sic condemnat aliquando justitia. Verum , quaeso, exspecta paulisper, denec docearis quemadmodum dia catur condemnare justitia. iniquitas mea justitia est comparatione majoris iniquitatis. Sic et justitia mea ex comparatione multiplicis justitia: iniquitas reputatur. Propterea non justificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens “. Fuerit licet justus Abra- . ham, et. justus Moyses, justus unusquisque illustrium virorum : sed ad comparationem Christi non sunt justi. Lux eorum cum ejus luce composita tenehre reperiuntur. Et quomodo lumen lucernae ad solis radios obscuratur , et velut alia quaedam caeca materies contenebrescit; sic licet fulgeat justorum omnium lumen ante homines, non tamen fulget ante Christum. Luceat quippe lumen vestrum, non simpliciter dictum est, sed luceat ante homines “. Ante Christum non potest lumen fulgere justorum. Ut splendor lunae et micantia caeli sidera, priusquam sol oriatur, in stationibus suis rutilant, orlo vero sole absconduntur; sic lumen Ecclesia: ut lumen lume, priusquam oriatur lumen illud verunt solis justitiae, resplendet, et clarum est ante cum autem Christus venerit, ante eum con. tenebrescet. Dicitur et alibi : Lux in tenebris ittcet. Quae est illa lux quae lucet in tenebris? iis}? rum lux in tenebris lucet. In quibus tenebris? Ubi est nobis certamen adversus rectores tenebrarum rum . Haec qui diligentius longiusque discesserit. non poterit inflari, videns lumen suum ad contini: rationem majoris luminis tenebras reputari. r01": est justitia mea etiamsi Paulus apostolus Quid castitas, etiamsi Joseph? Quid fortilui‘io - etiamsi Judas Machabazus exsistam? Quid alia nrtus sapientiae, etiamsi Salomon appaream, ad comparationem Dei et. ad eorum qui meliores sunt? Ergo, ut dicere cmperamus , iniquitas justieat, et justitia aliorum comparatione condemnat, idcirco : Ut justi/iuris sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris , dicitur ad Deum. Si me vult sali-are Deus, non affert in judicium lumen suum; si vult esse incolumem, non defert lumen Christi sui; alioquin puniet me; defert vero lumen minorum , comparat mihi inferiores quosque. Quanto amplius majores mihi melioresque contulerit, tanto plus justus ero, si illi a me reperti fuerint minores. Similiter est illud intelligere, quod ab Apostolo dicitur : Alia gloria solis, alia gloria luna, alia gloria stellarum; stella enim a stella difi‘ert in claritate; sic resurrectio mortuorum. Verbi gratia, fulgens et illud sidus, nonin conspectu lucidioris stellae, sed obscurioris, micat. Quis nostrum potest ad instar fulgere lunae? Quis lucidioris siderum coruscare lumine? Secundum id quod scriptum est in Daniele “ : Fulgebunt sicut stella in saecula. ### English translation (Claude) I have said this by anticipation, because in what was read it is said: “You have justified your sisters by all your iniquities which you have done.” For Samaria and Sodom were justified by the iniquities of Jerusalem. “By all your iniquities which you have done you have justified them above yourself.” Therefore let us attend more carefully, so that we can recognize that on the day of judgment all of us are to be justified by those worse than ourselves, and in turn others are justified by us. There is one alone who is justified by all, and he himself justifies no one. For instance, Sodom is justified by Jerusalem, because Jerusalem committed worse crimes than she, and perhaps Jerusalem by some other city worse than herself. So someone will be justified by the Antichrist, being compared with him and found less than he in iniquity and crimes. But the worst is the demon, and wretched, as they say, is he who is justified by him; perhaps even his father is justified by him, being found much more wicked than he. But my Lord Jesus Christ, according to the dispensation of the flesh which he bore for our salvation, is justified by Abraham, by Isaac, by Jacob, and by the rest of the prophets. For when all the righteous and the prophets and all the blessed are put in comparison, the contrary is found of what is said of Sodom and Jerusalem, and I glorify our Savior the more. What I mean is this, and, God granting it through your prayers, I will give an explanation from the Scriptures. Sodom committed sin; Samaria too sinned; Jerusalem was overwhelmed by iniquities; but the lesser sins are justified by the greater, after the example by which Sodom is justified by her sister Jerusalem. So, as iniquity justifies, so righteousness sometimes condemns. But wait a little, I ask, until you are taught how righteousness is said to condemn. My iniquity is righteousness in comparison with a greater iniquity. So too my righteousness is reckoned iniquity in comparison with a manifold righteousness. Therefore “no living being will be justified in your sight.” Though Abraham was righteous, and Moses righteous, and each of the illustrious men righteous, yet in comparison with Christ they are not righteous. Their light, set beside his light, is found to be darkness. And as the light of a lamp is dimmed by the rays of the sun, and darkens like some other blind matter, so, though the light of all the righteous shines before men, it does not shine before Christ. For it is not said simply, “Let your light shine,” but “let it shine before men.” Before Christ the light of the righteous cannot shine. As the brightness of the moon and the twinkling stars of heaven glow in their stations before the sun rises, but are hidden when the sun has risen, so the light of the Church, like the light of the moon, shines and is bright before that true light of the Sun of righteousness rises; but when Christ comes, it will grow dark before him. It is also said elsewhere: “The light shines in the darkness.” What is the light that shines in the darkness? … The light shines in the darkness. In what darkness? Where “our struggle is against the rulers of the darkness.” One who examines these things more carefully and more deeply cannot be puffed up, seeing his light reckoned as darkness in comparison with a greater light. What is my righteousness, even if I were the apostle Paul? What is my chastity, even if I were Joseph? What is my courage, even if I were Judas Maccabeus? What is any other virtue, or wisdom, even if I should appear a Solomon, in comparison with God and with those who are better? So, as we had begun to say, iniquity justifies, and righteousness condemns, by comparison with others. That is why it is said to God: “That you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged.” If God wishes to save me, he does not bring his own light into the judgment; if he wishes me to be unharmed, he does not bring forward the light of his Christ, for otherwise he will punish me; but he brings forward the light of lesser ones and compares with me those who are inferior. The more he compares with me those who are greater and better, the more righteous I will be, if they are found to be less than I. The same is to be understood of what the Apostle says: “There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory; so is the resurrection of the dead.” For instance, even a bright star shines not in the presence of a brighter star but of a dimmer one. Which of us can shine like the moon? Who can flash with the light of the brighter stars? According to what is written in Daniel: “They will shine like the stars for ever.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:51: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:52: quotation, high confidence - Ps 143:2 (142:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:16: quotation, high confidence - Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence - John 1:5: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: allusion, high confidence - Ps 51:4 (50:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rom 3:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:41: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:42: quotation, high confidence - Dan 12:3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:51–52; Ps 143:2 (142:2 LXX); Matt 5:16; Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX); John 1:5; Eph 6:12; Ps 51:4 (50:6 LXX) as in Rom 3:4; 1 Cor 15:41–42; Dan 12:3. Words are lost in the scan after “the light that shines in the darkness?”; marked “…”. The “one alone who is justified by all” is Christ. The demon’s “father” is as printed. Leaked marginal references are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 9.3 (PG 13:735b–737a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 9.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-4 - Source: PG 13:737a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sodom’s pride grew from plenty, like that of the rich man who ignored Lazarus; such arrogance makes anyone a “Sodomite” in the sense of Ezek 16:49. ### Latin text Et haec quidem necessario disputamus, ut procul a superbia recedamus : Sodomitieum quippe peccatum est superbi iniquitas. Haec Sodomorum sororis tua: superbia unde nascatur, et quas habeat radices, adjungit “ : In saturitate panum, et in abundantia affluebant. Si soli litteras attendas, multa abundantia antiquitus in Sodomis fuit. Erat quippe terra eorum ut paradisus Dei, et ut terra Egypti. Si autem a carnali intellectu ad spiritalem con‘ scenderis, ut videas quomodo superbia Sodomorum in saturitate panum et in abundantia fluxerit, utili- ο tatem capies et ad vitae officium, et ad alia quaedam majora majoribus corrigenda. Proponamus primum id quod ante multos dies lectum est , divitem vestitum bysso et purpura quotidie deliciis luxuriaque laetantem, et Lazarum vulnerum tabe et vermium pedore confectum , quaerentem solatium famis suae micas quae de mensa ejus decidebant "'. Opportune autem nunc in hunc locum exemplum istud incidit, ut perspicuum tiat quae iniquitas divitis fuerit. Locuples erat, abundabat deliciis. Non enim accusavit eum Scriptura , quasi divitias in iniquitate possederit; non eum criminatus est sermo divinus, quod meretricibus dedit : nun homicidam, aut aliud quodcunque scelerum facientem. Sed si consideres hoc quod in praesenti scriptum est, et illud quod in Evangelia dicitur, videbis quia et illius maximum pacatum inter universa peccata superbia fuerit : in saturitate panum, et in abundantia aflluens non habuit miserationis afl‘ectum ad eum qui ante portas suas confectus ulceribus jacebat; sed in tantam superbiam elatus est despiciens paupertatem, ut non computaret neque interierunt supplicia, neque communia humanitatis jura, quia oporteret hominem humana sapere, et in alienis calamitatibus pro simili conditione sui quodammodo misereri. Est igitur et dives ille Sodomita. Si enim talia erant peccata Sodomae, ut in saturitate panum et in abundantia fuerit, talis autem cst et dives qui in Evangelia describitur, nulli dubiant quin dives ille Sodomita sit. Quomodo autem Sodoma et tiliae Sodomorum superba: tu'erunt, tales sunt arrogantes animae, et filia: Sodomorum quacunque nesciunt dictum ” : Omnis qui se exaltat, Itumiliabitur, et qui se humiliat exaltabitur. ### English translation (Claude) And we discuss these things of necessity, so that we may withdraw far from pride; for the sin of Sodom is the iniquity of pride. Where this pride of Sodom your sister comes from, and what roots it has, he adds: “In fullness of bread and in abundance they lived in luxury.” If you attend only to the letter, there was great abundance in Sodom of old. For their land was like the paradise of God and like the land of Egypt. But if you climb from the fleshly understanding to the spiritual, so as to see how the pride of Sodom overflowed in fullness of bread and abundance, you will gain profit both for the duties of life and for correcting certain greater things by greater. Let us first set out what was read many days ago: the rich man clothed in fine linen and purple, rejoicing every day in delights and luxury, and Lazarus, worn out with the decay of sores and the stench of worms, seeking to relieve his hunger with the crumbs that fell from his table. This example falls opportunely into this place now, so that it may become clear what the rich man’s iniquity was. He was wealthy; he abounded in delights. For Scripture did not accuse him of possessing riches through iniquity; the divine word did not charge him with giving to harlots, nor with being a murderer or committing any other crime. But if you consider what is written in the present passage and what is said in the Gospel, you will see that his greatest sin among all sins was pride: abounding in fullness of bread and in abundance, he had no feeling of compassion for the man who lay at his gates worn out with sores; but he was so lifted up in pride, despising poverty, that he took no account of the punishments to come, nor of the common rights of humanity: that a man ought to think humanly and, in view of a like condition of his own, in some way have pity in others’ calamities. So that rich man too is a Sodomite. For if the sins of Sodom were such that she lived in fullness of bread and in abundance, and the rich man described in the Gospel is such, no one doubts that the rich man is a Sodomite. And as Sodom and the daughters of the Sodomites were proud, so are arrogant souls; and the daughters of the Sodomites are all who do not know the saying: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:49: quotation, high confidence - Gen 13:10: allusion, high confidence - Luke 16:19: allusion, high confidence - Luke 16:20: allusion, high confidence - Luke 16:21: allusion, high confidence - Luke 14:11: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:14: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:49; Gen 13:10; Luke 16:19–21; Luke 14:11 (18:14). “Sodomite” is used here, following Ezek 16:49, of those who share Sodom’s pride and neglect of the poor. “The punishments to come” renders a garbled phrase (“neque interierunt supplicia”); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 9.4 (PG 13:737a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 9.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-5 - Source: PG 13:738a–739d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Neglect of the poor and boasting are Sodom’s sins, found within us; both wealth and spiritual gifts breed pride, as Paul’s thorn and David’s fall after boasting of his purity show. ### Latin text Hoc erat ei et filiabus ejus “. Dehinc sequitur aliud Sodomae delictum , quod debemus dicere, ne in simili crimine reperiamur. Et manum pauperis et egentis non suscipiebat “. Considera diligenter enumerationem peccatorum Sodomae. Ego ipse si juxta vires meas manum pauperis et gentis non adjuvero, Sodomitieum haleo peccatum. Sequitur alia accusatio. Et superbe gloriabatur “. Et jactatio gloria Sodomitieum crimen est. Sunt autem quaedam Egyptia peccata, quaedam Sodomitica; sunt alia Babylonica, alia Assyria, alia Moabitica, alia Ammanitica. Quis sapiens et intelliget ista? aut quis intelligens et agnoscet ea "‘l Quotiescunque legimus ea quae de Sodomorum subversioue conscripta sunt, non dicamus, miserabiles Sodomita, quorum ulterius fructus terra non atl‘ert, miserabiles multumque plangendi, qui tam lugubria et tam dira perpessi sunt : quin potius convertamus hunc in corda nostra sermonem, scrutemur renes et cogitationes nostras, et tunc videbimus eos quos plangimus, in nobis intrinsecus contineri, et quia Sodomitica et Egyptia et Assyria, et alia universa peccata quae castigans Scriptura enumerat, versentur in nobis. Polliciti supra sumus majus aliquid de Scriptura dicturos. Sodomae in saturitate panis, et in abundantia atque deliciis, et istiusmodi peccatis delinquenti lex loquitur “ : Attende tibi,ne comedens et bibens repletus, et domos bonas aedificem, ovibus tuis et bobus tuis multiplicatis tibi, argento et auro multiplicatus obliviscaris Dominum Deum. Et in alio loco: manducavit, ct bibit, et saturatus est, et incrassatus, recalcitravit dilectus . Similia his Salomon in Proverbiis ait”: Constituite mihi autem necessaria et suficientia, ut non repletus mendax fiam, et dicam, quis me videt? aut egens furer, et jurabo nomen Dei. Simpliciterque dicendum quia nihil sic in arrogantiam elevet, ut divitiae et saturitas, et cibus opum plurimarum, dignitas quoque et potestas. Est autem etiam-ad altiora transgressum videre, quia superbiam fre-st quenter nutriam, si divinum sermonem intellejter-o,f si sapientior caeteris fuero. Scientia quippe inflat “,‘ non ego dico, sed A'postolus. Et ideo vereor ne ipse sustollar. Dantur et charismata ad id.quodx expedit. Si ad hoc dantur quod expedit, quis est ille cui non expedit? Et cur non _expediat,.audi.; Inferior subjicit inflationem et quamdam placitiq‘nemj subdam se putat inter caeteros eminere. Saepe igitur saturitas panum ct abundantia materia est arrogantiae. Srepc autem et de spiritualilius donis superbire crimen exoritur, et non est utrobique discrimen. Tantus vir apostolus Paulus necessarium habuit colaphum angeli Satanae, ut cum colaphizaret ne elevaretur inultum..quia orans et lcprccans Deum impetravit pro multis saepe quod petiit; cum autem etiam pro hoc petiisset, nec esset quod petierat consecutus, dictum est ei . Sufficit tibi gratia mea, uirtus enim in infirmitate per/icitur. Oportet itaque timere eum qui adhuc in genere humano, ct in hac praesenti luce versatur, non solum ca qua: bona putantur in sacculo, sed etiam quae vere bona sunt : quia magna non possumus sustinere. Exhibeo ad probationem pra-sentis sententiae historiam David, in qua conscribitur in Uriam eum commisisse peccatum. Ante Uriani nullum delictum reperitur in David: beatus homo erat, et sine querela in conspectu Dei. Quia vero conscius sibi vita: immaculata: locutus est quod non debuerat dicens “z Exaudi, Domine, justitiam meam; intende deprecao tioni mere. Auribus percipe orationem meam non in labiis dolosis. De vultu tuo judicium meum prodeat; oculi tui videant wquitates. Probasti cor meum, et risitasti nocte; igne me examinasti, et non est irruente in me iniquitas; et hinc dixit, quia visitatio Dei pro- , pter conscientiam et vitae beatitudinem eidem repraesentaretur, tentatus est, nudatus auxilio ut videret quid humana possit infirmitas. Reeedente quippe prtesidio Dei, ille castissimus, ille admiralibis in pudicitia, qui audierat: Si mundi sunt pncri, maxime a muliere “, et acceperat Eucharistiain quasi mundus, non potuit perseverare, sed in eo repertus est crimine, in quo sibi quasi continens applaudchat. Si quis ergo conscius puritatis suae seipsum glorificaverit non habens memoriam illius dicti : Quid autem trabes quod non accepisti? Si mrtem accepisti, quid gloriaris quasi non acceperis .9. relinquitur, ct derelictus discit experimento, quia in his bonis quorum sibi conscius erat, non tam ipse sui c~zstititcausa,quam qui Deus virtutum omnium fons cst Ex quibus apparet et saturitatem panum, et dona Spit'ilttlia ci qui ea non potest sustinere, generare superbiam. Idcirco fugiamus a Sodoma et peccatis ejus; fugiamus a Samaria, et criminibus quibus castigatur misera Jerusalem, ut in universis Deo nobis fortitudinem ministrante, humilitatem et justitiam consequamur in Christo Jesu, cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “This was hers and her daughters’.” Then follows another offense of Sodom, of which we must speak, lest we be found in a like crime. “And she did not take up the hand of the poor and needy.” Consider carefully the list of Sodom’s sins. If I myself do not help the hand of the poor and needy according to my means, I have the sin of Sodom. Another accusation follows: “And she boasted proudly.” The boasting of glory too is a Sodomite crime. There are certain Egyptian sins, certain Sodomite ones; there are others that are Babylonian, Assyrian, Moabite, Ammonite. “Who is wise and will understand these things? Or who is understanding and will know them?” Whenever we read what is written about the overthrow of the Sodomites, let us not say, “Wretched Sodomites, whose land no longer bears fruit, wretched and much to be lamented, who suffered such mournful and dreadful things”; rather let us turn this word into our own hearts, let us search our kidneys and our thoughts, and then we will see that those whom we lament are contained within us, and that the sins of Sodom and of Egypt and of Assyria, and all the others which Scripture enumerates in rebuke, dwell in us. We promised above that we would say something greater from Scripture. To Sodom, offending in fullness of bread, in abundance and delights, and in sins of this kind, the law speaks: “Take heed to yourself, lest, when you have eaten and drunk and are full, and have built good houses, and your sheep and oxen have multiplied, and you are multiplied in silver and gold, you forget the Lord God.” And in another place: “He ate and drank and was filled and grew fat, and the beloved kicked.” Similar to these is what Solomon says in Proverbs: “Appoint for me what is necessary and sufficient, lest being full I become a liar and say, Who sees me? or being needy I steal and swear by the name of God.” And, simply put, nothing so lifts one into arrogance as riches and fullness and the food of great wealth, and rank too and power. But passing on to higher things, one can see that I often nourish pride if I understand the divine word, if I am wiser than others. For “knowledge puffs up”: not I but the Apostle says it. And so I fear lest I myself be lifted up. Gifts too are given for what is profitable. If they are given for what is profitable, who is the one for whom they are not profitable? And hear why they are not profitable: the lesser man takes on a puffing up and a certain self-satisfaction, so that he thinks he stands out among the rest. So fullness of bread and abundance are often the material of arrogance. But often, too, the charge of pride arises from spiritual gifts, and there is no difference between the two cases. So great a man as the apostle Paul needed the blows of an angel of Satan, so that, being buffeted, he might not be lifted up overmuch; for though by prayer and entreaty to God he had often obtained what he asked for many, when he asked for this too and did not obtain what he asked, it was said to him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So one who still lives in the human race and in this present light must fear not only the things that are thought good in the world, but also those that are truly good, because we cannot bear great things. As proof of this statement I put forward the story of David, in which it is written that he committed sin against Uriah. Before Uriah no offense is found in David: he was a blessed man, and blameless in the sight of God. But because, conscious of a spotless life, he said what he ought not to have said: “Hear, O Lord, my righteousness; attend to my prayer. Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. Let my judgment come forth from your face; let your eyes see what is right. You have tested my heart and visited it by night; you have tried me with fire, and no iniquity was found in me”; and because he said that God’s visitation was granted him on account of his conscience and the blessedness of his life, he was tempted, stripped of help, so that he might see what human weakness can do. For when God’s protection withdrew, that most chaste man, that man admirable in purity, who had heard, “If the young men are clean, especially from women,” and had received the Eucharist as one who was clean, could not persevere, but was found in that very crime for which he had applauded himself as continent. So if anyone, conscious of his purity, glorifies himself, not remembering the saying, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” he is abandoned, and, abandoned, learns by experience that in those good things of which he was conscious it was not so much he himself who was their cause as God, who is the fountain of all virtues. From this it appears that both fullness of bread and spiritual gifts breed pride in one who cannot bear them. Therefore let us flee from Sodom and her sins; let us flee from Samaria and the crimes for which wretched Jerusalem is chastised, so that in all things, God supplying us with strength, we may attain humility and righteousness in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:49: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:50: quotation, high confidence - Hos 14:9 (14:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 7:9: allusion, medium confidence - Deut 8:11: quotation, high confidence - Deut 8:12: quotation, high confidence - Deut 8:13: quotation, high confidence - Deut 32:15: quotation, high confidence - Prov 30:8: quotation, high confidence - Prov 30:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:7: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:7: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:8: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:9: quotation, high confidence - 2 Sam 11:15: allusion, high confidence - Ps 17:1 (16:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 17:2 (16:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 17:3 (16:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Sam 21:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:49–50; Hos 14:9 (14:10 LXX); Ps 7:9; Deut 8:11–13; Deut 32:15; Prov 30:8–9; 1 Cor 8:1; 1 Cor 12:7; 2 Cor 12:7–9; 2 Sam 11 (David and Uriah); Ps 17:1–3 (16:1–3 LXX); 1 Sam 21:4–5; 1 Cor 4:7. “The Eucharist” is Origen’s name here for the holy bread David received at Nob (1 Sam 21); translated as written. Leaked marginal references are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 9.5 (PG 13:738a–739d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/9-1/#p-9-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 10.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-1 - Source: PG 13:739d–741b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: After sin, the second remedy is shame and the humble acceptance of disgrace, as with a deposed cleric who submits instead of causing schism; God restores those who accept his judgment. ### Latin text Primum quidem est, nullum Opus facere confusionis, sed omnia talia quae possunt Deum libera fronte respicere. Quia vero, ut homines, saepe peccamus, scicndum secundam, ut ita dicam, navem post confusionis opera esse erubescere, ct pro sttlcribus suis verecundos oculos dejicere, neque εις procaci vultu incedere, quasi nihil omnino mctavcrit. Bonum est quippe post confusionis opera confundi : quia sape ct hoc malitizn artifex irruperatur, ne peccator ad paenitentiam redeat, et sic agat quasi adhuc in justitia perseveret. Videre possumus, et ex quotidiana vita discere multos horninum post peccata sua non solum non lugere quod fecerunt, verum etiam procaci fronte defendere proprias ruinas. Grande itaque beneficium in .‘crnsalem conservatur. si tamen credat dicenti Domino; Et tu confundere. Neque putes ad Hierusalem tantum haec esse dicta, et non ad singulos nostrum qui delictis tenemur obnoxii. Unusquisque enim seipsum consideret, quid fecerit confusione dignum, quid turpe locutus sit, super quo non habeat audaciam quasi dicto bono, quid cogitarit tale Quod rubore dignum videtur ab co qui contis et rrnis occulta considerat; etcum diligenter perviderit cogitationes, facta, sermones, tunc audiet prophetam dicentem : Et tu confundere. Post quod a prupheta jungitur ; Et accipe ignominiam tuam in eo quod justiticusti sorores tuas. Sequitur Confusioocm ignominia, et dat Deus ei qui confusione dign-1 gessit, etiam ignominiam, dixitque ad eum : Et accipe ignominiam luant. Poteris autem intelligere quod dicitur, si consideraveris quae quotidie in civitatibus fiant. lnhonoratio civi est de patria sua exsulare, et infamia decurioni eradi de albo curiae. et cujuscunque alterius conditionis homini relinqui quidem in vita, sed cum ignominia, sive in operibus publicis, sive in insula aliqua solitudinis vivere. lntellige autem mihi justum judicent ei quidigna infamia fecerit dicentem : Ο ιιι qui paena: reus υς, noli exsilium tuum cum niterore suscipere: non enim mereberis misericordiam, si irasceris ad ρον nam; quin potius intellige digne te pati quod pateris; et cum te humiliaveris, atque dixeris-justum de te factum esse judicium, forsitan misericordiam consequeris ab eo qui potest post condemnationem ad pristinum te statum revocare. Quomodo enim licet magno principi liberare aliquem de insula, et deexsilio, et de publicis vinculis; multo magis licet universitatis Deo cum qui inhonoratos esi. ί honorem pristinum restituere, si tamen sentiens delictum suum confessus fuerit digne sc sustinuisse quod passus est. Dabo et aliud exemplum de ecclesiastica consuetudine. infamia est a populo Dei ct Ecclesia separari. Dedecus est in Ecclesia sure gere de consessu presbyterii, projici de diaconatus gradu. Et quidem eorum qui abjiciuntur, alii srditioncs commovent, alii vero judicium in se factum cum omni humilitate suscipiunt. Quicunque exiguntur, et dolore depositionis suae populos ad schisma faciendum, et sollicitant multitudinem malignorum , non accipiunt inhonorationem suam in praesenti, sed thesaurizant sibi thesaurum in die irae. Qui autem cum omni humilitate, sive digne, sive indigne depositi sunt, Deo indicium derelinquunt, et patienter sustinent quod de se iudicatum est, isti et a Deo misericordiam consequentur, et frequenter etiam ab hominibus revocantur in pristinum gradum, et in gloriam quam amiserant. Doctrina ergo optima est, quomodo hoc quod dicitur: Et tu confundere, sic et illud quod sequitur : Et accipe ignominiam tuam. Et haec dico, nt profundiorem aliquem sensum de futura inhonoratione interponam. Et ibi quippe erit aliqua ignominia his qui dignum opus ignominia fecerunt, siquidem resurgent alii in vitam aeternam, et alii in opprobrium et confusionem mternam ". Quid antem est hoc aliud nisi pmnam infamia: sustinere? Dum ergo adhuc licet nobis, debemus minorationem nostram patienter ferre, ut cum hic tristitiam fortiter sustinuerimus, in futttro sacculo moveamus, ut ita dicam, viscera misericordiae Dei, et benignitatem ejus, ut nos revocet in pristinum statum de ignominia et confusione; quomodo econtrario impossibile est lapidei cordis aliquem et penitus non sentientem delictum suum, et ante vultum Dei omnipotentis superbientem , misericordiam consequi. Videmus enim quosdam bonos quidem libenter de se latam ferre sententiam, et ob salutem suam Dei justifieare judicium ; malos vero blaspltcmare adversus providentiam Dei, et dicere : Non sum digne adjudicatus huic infamiae, injuste ista perpetior. Si ο jostilicamus Providentiam, solvimus nostram infamiam. Si vero non recipimus judicia Dei, multiplicamus infamiam. Quomodo autem infamiam, sic et. supplicia, sic et caetera. Quae sunt enim huic, accidere consueverunt his qui a Deo pro delictis propriis condemnati sunt. ### English translation (Claude) The first thing is to do no work that brings shame, but only such things as can look upon God with an open brow. But since, being men, we often sin, we must know that the second plank, so to speak, after works that bring shame is to blush, and to cast down modest eyes for one’s crimes, and not to go about with a shameless face, as though one had done nothing wrong at all. For it is good after works that bring shame to be ashamed; for the craftsman of wickedness often breaks in on this too, so that the sinner does not return to repentance but acts as if he were still persevering in righteousness. We can see and learn from daily life that many people after their sins not only do not mourn what they have done, but even defend their own downfalls with a shameless brow. So a great benefit is kept for Jerusalem, if only she believes the Lord when he says, “And you, be ashamed.” And do not think that these words were said only to Jerusalem, and not to each of us who are held liable for offenses. Let each one consider himself: what he has done that deserves shame, what shameful thing he has said, about which he cannot be bold as if it were well said, what he has thought that seems worthy of a blush to him who sees the hidden things of hearts and kidneys; and when he has carefully looked over his thoughts, deeds, and words, then he will hear the prophet saying, “And you, be ashamed.” After which the prophet adds: “And bear your disgrace, in that you have justified your sisters.” Disgrace follows shame, and to one who has done what deserves shame God gives disgrace too, and says to him: “And bear your disgrace.” You will be able to understand what is said if you consider what happens daily in the cities. It is a dishonor for a citizen to be exiled from his homeland, an infamy for a councillor to be struck from the roll of the council, and for a man of any other condition to be left alive indeed, but in disgrace, living either in the public works or on some deserted island. Imagine with me a just judge saying to one who has done what deserves infamy: “You who are guilty and liable to punishment, do not accept your exile with resentment; for you will not deserve mercy if you are angry at the punishment. Rather understand that you suffer deservedly what you suffer; and when you have humbled yourself and said that just judgment has been done upon you, perhaps you will obtain mercy from him who can, after condemnation, call you back to your former standing.” For as a great prince may free someone from an island, from exile, and from public chains, much more may the God of the universe restore to his former honor one who has been dishonored, provided that, perceiving his offense, he confesses that he has deservedly endured what he suffered. I will give another example from the custom of the Church. It is an infamy to be separated from the people of God and from the Church. It is a disgrace in the Church to rise from the bench of the presbyterate, or to be cast down from the grade of the diaconate. And of those who are cast out, some stir up seditions, while others accept the judgment made against them with all humility. Whoever are deposed and, in their grief at their deposition, stir up the people to make a schism and solicit a multitude of the wicked, do not accept their dishonor in the present, but store up for themselves a treasure on the day of wrath. But those who, whether deposed deservedly or undeservedly, leave the judgment to God with all humility and patiently endure what has been judged concerning them, will obtain mercy from God, and are often recalled by men too to their former grade and to the glory they had lost. So the teaching is excellent, both in what is said, “And you, be ashamed,” and in what follows, “And bear your disgrace.” And I say these things in order to bring in a deeper sense concerning the dishonor to come. For there too there will be some disgrace for those who have done work deserving disgrace, since some “will rise to eternal life, and others to reproach and eternal shame.” What is this but to undergo the penalty of infamy? So while we still may, we ought to bear our humiliation patiently, so that, having endured sorrow bravely here, in the age to come we may move, so to speak, the heart of God’s mercy and his kindness, so that he calls us back to our former state from disgrace and shame; just as, on the contrary, it is impossible for one who has a heart of stone, who does not feel his offense at all and is proud before the face of almighty God, to obtain mercy. For we see some good people gladly bear the sentence passed on them and, for their salvation, justify God’s judgment; but the wicked blaspheme against God’s providence and say, “I was not deservedly sentenced to this infamy; I suffer these things unjustly.” If we justify Providence, we dissolve our infamy; but if we do not accept God’s judgments, we multiply our infamy. And as with infamy, so with punishments and the rest. For such things usually befall those who are condemned by God for their own offenses. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:52: quotation, high confidence - Ps 7:9: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 2:5: quotation, high confidence - Dan 12:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:52; Ps 7:9 (hearts and kidneys); Rom 2:5; Dan 12:2. “The second plank” renders the scan’s “secundam navem”, read as the familiar image of the plank after shipwreck for repentance; translated by sense. The examples of civic infamy (exile, removal from the council, the mines or an island) and of clerical deposition are translated as written. Leaked marginal references are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 10.1 (PG 13:739d–741b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 10.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-2 - Source: PG 13:741b–742d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God will restore Sodom (the Gentiles) first, Samaria (the heretics) second, and sinful Jerusalem (unfaithful believers) last; punishment is measured to sin, and anger is not in God but is provoked by sinners. ### Latin text ' 2.15”: confundere, et accipe ignominiam tuam in eo quod justi/icasti sorores tuas. Plus meremur ignominiam, quando talia facimus quibus peccatores alii justitioentur: ut comparatione delictorum meorum, malorum scelera antiquitus condemnata misericordia liberet, eo quod ego subsequens pejora commiserim. Dicitur ergo ad peccatricem Jerusalem: Accipe ignominiam tuam in eo quod justi/icasti sorores tuas. Deinde si quis complevit hoc quod scriptum est : Confundere; si quis prosecutus est sententiam Dei sequentem : Accipe ignominiam tuam in eo quod justificasti sorores tuas; videat etiam gratiam. quomodo pro confusione vicissitudo clementia: restituatur, quia non contempserit judicium Dei, sed cum omni humilitate susceperit quod de se fuerat judicatum. Quid ergo repromittttur? Arertarn acersiones eorum aversione Sodomorum et tororum eius, in eo quod justi/icasti sorores tuas 3040mm et Samariam ο. Sodomam minorem et Samariam seniorem, ut in pratteritis diximus : Armam aversionem eorum, id est, triutn quarum averterat aversionem ad meliora convertit: primo Sodomorum, deinde Samaria, tertio vero Jerusalem. Cum autem, ait, avertero aversionem Sodomorum, et Samaria, et Jerusalem, tunc iu antiquum restituentur, primum Sodoma, cujus priores avertit aversiones; secundo Samaria, quam secundo eonverterit; tertio Jerusalem, cui tertia: aversioncs tribuuntur. Igitur sanitates peccantibus in aversione Sodomorum et filiarum ejus, in aversione ipsius Jerusalem, et tribuuntur his qui magis amantur a Deo, tardius. Sodoma quippe iustificata ab Jerusalem, prima consequitur miscricordiam, id est gentiles. Samaria vero, hoc est haeretici, in secundo loco accipiunt sanitatem. Tertio vero quasi indigni velocioris medolat: in pristinum statum restituuntur qui luerunt de Jerusalem. Ante ergo gentiles, ante haeretici clementiam consequentur, quam nos, si tamen fuerimus impii, si et nos peccata depresserint. Quanto enim propiores fuerimus Deo, et ad beatitudinem viciniores, tanto cum peccaverimus longius fiemus ab ea, proximi terribilium maximarumque poenarum. Justum est quippe judicium Dei, et potentes potenter tormenta patiuntur “. Qui autem minimus est, meretur citius misericordiam. Minima est Sodoma, et post eam in comparatione Jerusalem minima; non tamen sicut Sodoma, Samaria est; ct ideo primum illarum avertit aversiones, et postea Jerusalem, dicens : Avertam et aversionem tuum. Tertio enim gradu hoc dicitur ad Jerusalem. Unum quando avertit aversionem meam, si inventus fuero Jerusalem, et peccator in medio sororum mearum. Cum audiero : Ut feras tormentum tuum “. ldco tertio loco ait : Avertam aversionem tuam; et post omnes: Ut feras tormentum tuum, et dehonesteris de omnibus quae fecisti. Est quaedam mensura peccati, quam unusquisque recipiet pro eo quod peccavit. Si habuero quinquaginta peccata, quinquaginta habeo ignominias; si centum, duplicabitur mihi poena pro factis, et pro magnitudine delictorum tribuetur mihi ignominia. Maximis peccatis magnus cruciatus adjnngitur. Deus autem solus verus judex magnitudines peccatorum, et ignominiaequalitates. et peccati numerum potest pervidere. Dicitur itaque ad Jerusalem : Ut feras tormentum tuum et dehonesteris de omnibus quae fecisti in exacerbantia me. Vi fc econtrario satisfacientem Deum, et quodammodo per haec verba testantem quod iram ipse non habeat, sed p::ccator sibi ad iram concitet Deum. Unde et Apostolus ait “ : An divitias boaitutis et mansuetudinis ejus, et tonganimitatis contemnis, ignorans quoniam bonitas Dei ad paenitentiam te adducat? Juxta autem duritiam tuam et impaenitens cor tltesaurizas tibi iram. Separavit hic sermo iracundiam a Deo. Revera enim iracundia aliud quiddam a Deo est, nec ei ut insita copulatur. Unde et de peccatorihus dicitur “ : Emisisti iram tuam, et comedit eos. Nemo quod sibi socium est et cognatum emittere potest, verum emittitur quod aliud est ab eo qui emittit. Sic et nos peccando irritamus Deum, ut mittat iram quam ipse non habet. ### English translation (Claude) “And you, be ashamed, and bear your disgrace, in that you have justified your sisters.” We deserve disgrace the more when we do such things that other sinners are justified: so that, in comparison with my offenses, mercy frees the crimes of the wicked who were condemned long ago, because I, coming after them, have committed worse things. So it is said to sinful Jerusalem: “Bear your disgrace, in that you have justified your sisters.” Then, if anyone has fulfilled what is written, “Be ashamed,” and has carried out God’s next sentence, “Bear your disgrace, in that you have justified your sisters,” let him see the grace too: how in return for shame a recompense of clemency is given, because he did not despise God’s judgment, but received with all humility what had been judged about him. What, then, is promised? “I will turn back their turning, the turning of Sodom and her daughters, in that you justified your sisters Sodom and Samaria”: the lesser Sodom and the elder Samaria, as we said earlier. “I will turn back their turning”: that is, of the three whose turning away he turns back to better things: first of Sodom, then of Samaria, and third of Jerusalem. “When,” he says, “I turn back the turning of Sodom, and of Samaria, and of Jerusalem,” then they will be restored to their former state: first Sodom, whose turning he turns back first; second Samaria, which he turns back second; third Jerusalem, to whom the third turning is assigned. So healing is given to sinners in the turning back of Sodom and her daughters and in the turning back of Jerusalem herself; and it is given later to those who are more loved by God. For Sodom, justified by Jerusalem (that is, the Gentiles), obtains mercy first. Samaria (that is, the heretics) receives healing in second place. Third, as unworthy of a swifter cure, those who were of Jerusalem are restored to their former state. So the Gentiles and the heretics will obtain clemency before we do, if we are impious, if sins weigh us down too. For the nearer we have been to God and the closer to blessedness, the farther we will be from it when we sin, and the nearer to terrible and very great punishments. For God’s judgment is just, and “the mighty will be mightily tormented.” But he who is least deserves mercy sooner. Sodom is least, and after her, in comparison, Jerusalem is least; yet Samaria is not as Sodom; and so he turns back their turnings first, and afterwards Jerusalem’s, saying: “And I will turn back your turning.” For this is said to Jerusalem in the third grade. So it will be with me when he turns back my turning, if I am found to be Jerusalem, a sinner in the midst of my sisters, when I hear: “That you may bear your torment.” Therefore in the third place he says, “I will turn back your turning,” and after all the others, “that you may bear your torment, and be dishonored for all that you have done.” There is a certain measure of sin which each will receive for what he has sinned. If I have fifty sins, I have fifty disgraces; if a hundred, my punishment will be doubled for my deeds, and disgrace will be given me according to the greatness of my offenses. Great torment is joined to the greatest sins. But God alone, the true judge, can see the greatness of sins, the proportion of disgrace, and the number of sins. So it is said to Jerusalem: “That you may bear your torment and be dishonored for all that you have done in provoking me.” See, on the contrary, God justifying himself, and in a way testifying by these words that he himself has no anger, but that the sinner stirs God to anger against himself. Hence the Apostle too says: “Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and gentleness and patience, not knowing that God’s goodness leads you to repentance? But by your hardness and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself.” This word separated anger from God. For anger is truly something other than God, and is not joined to him as something inherent. Hence it is also said of sinners: “You sent out your wrath, and it consumed them.” No one can send out what is his own companion and kin; what is sent out is something other than the one who sends it. So we, by sinning, provoke God to send the wrath which he himself does not have. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:52: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:53: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:54: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:58: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:4: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:5: quotation, high confidence - Exod 15:7: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 6:6 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:52–54, 58; Wis 6:6; Rom 2:4–5; Exod 15:7. “Turning” renders aversio, the Latin for the Septuagint’s ἀποστροφή (in Hebrew “fortunes” or “captivity”). Origen’s views that Gentiles and heretics may be restored before sinful believers, and that anger is not inherent in God, are translated as written. A leaked column number is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 10.2 (PG 13:741b–742d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 10.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-3 - Source: PG 13:743a–743b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sodom and Samaria, figures of the sinful and heretical soul, are restored only after ages of punishment; how much longer, then, for the sinner who was Jerusalem? ### Latin text Post haec, id est post aversionem, dicitur “ : Sodoma soror tua, et filiae ejus restituentur sicut eram ab initio. Venio ad imagines et figuras, et video quanto tempore excruciata Sodoma restituatur in antiquum. Si autem id quod per figuram dictum est ita se habet, quid de eo fiet qui vere Sodoma fuerit? Statim post diluvium decima generatione passa est Sodoma ea quae in Genesi leguntur θ’. Erat enim prius quasi paradisus Dei, et quasi terra Egypti; verumtamen factum est Sodoma: id quod etiam nunc vestigiis regionis ejus perspici licet. Ecce quanti jam temporum circuli transierunt ε ecce tria millia annorum sunt, et Sodoma nondum est restituta; non illa Sodoma quae in signo et in aenigmate ponitur, sed illa quae in veritatis ratione perspicitur. Aiunt Hebraei Sodomam in eumdem statum restituendam in quo et antea constitit. ut ν rursum paradiso Dei et terrae Egypti comparetur. Si hoc se sic habet, et sive futurum est, sive non : quarentur enim istiusmodi res apud eos qui doetissimi sunt; utautem fiat quod dicitur, complebuntur mihi annorum tria millia, et tunc restituetur excruciata tribus millibus annorum Sodoma, id est anima mea : Sodoma, meis poena peccatis. Grande intervallum temporis inter restitutionem et ruinam positum est. Etiam si reslituaris ita ut antiquitus ρ eras, vide quanta exhaurias mala, quantis primum calamitatibus opprini'uris. Hoc autem quod de Sodoma diximus , et de Samaria quoque intelligere debemus. Et ipsa quippe necdum est restituta , sed ex eo tempore quo decem tribus ejecta: sunt de Judaea et de Samaria, et captivitatem sustinuit, et nomen accepit non habens accolas suos. Restituetur autem et illa sicut in principio fuit cum decem tribus fuerint reversae, ut solvatur id quod scriptum est “ : Captivus ductus est populus in Assyrios usque in hodiernum diem. Si autem tanto post tempore restituetur id quod praecessit in signum, quando ιιι restitueris, si tamen restitueris Samaritana et hazretica anima, quae simulacris et feriis non veris, ac figmentis de Jeroboam corde venientibus credidisti? Quando restitueris, o anima infelix, cum post tanta saecula restituatur exemplum tui? Si autent hoc super Sodoma et Samaria fit, quae justificatae sunt ab Jerusalem, quid dicendum est de ipsa Jerusalem quaa supradictarum scelera justificavit? Et restituemiui sicut ab initio fuistis. Et tu et lilia: tua: restituemini sicut faiitis in principio “. Scit hoc quod dicit : Sicut fuistis in principio; et Isaias dicens "° : Et constituam judices tuos ut prius et consiliarios tuos ut in exordio. ### English translation (Claude) After these things, that is, after the turning back, it is said: “Sodom your sister and her daughters will be restored as they were from the beginning.” I come to the images and figures, and I see after how long a time Sodom, having been tormented, is restored to her former state. And if what is said figuratively is so, what will become of one who has truly been Sodom? Immediately after the flood, in the tenth generation, Sodom suffered what is read in Genesis. For before that it was like the paradise of God and like the land of Egypt; yet what happened to Sodom can be seen even now in the traces of its region. See how many cycles of time have already passed: behold, it is three thousand years, and Sodom has not yet been restored; not the Sodom which is set down as a sign and in a riddle, but the Sodom which is seen in the account of the truth. The Hebrews say that Sodom is to be restored to the same state in which it stood before, so that it may again be compared with the paradise of God and the land of Egypt. Whether this is so, and whether it will come to pass or not (for such matters are inquired into among the most learned), yet, granting that what is said will happen, three thousand years will be completed for me, and then Sodom, tormented for three thousand years, will be restored: that is, my soul, Sodom, in punishment for my sins. A great interval of time is placed between the ruin and the restoration. Even if you are restored as you were of old, see how many evils you must drain, by how many calamities you will first be crushed. And what we have said of Sodom we must understand of Samaria too. For it too has not yet been restored; from the time when the ten tribes were cast out of Judea and Samaria, it endured captivity and kept its name without having its own inhabitants. But it too will be restored as it was at the beginning, when the ten tribes have returned, so that what is written may be undone: “The people was led captive into Assyria to this day.” But if what went before as a sign is restored only after so long a time, when will you be restored (if you are restored at all), O Samaritan and heretical soul, who believed in images and false feasts and fictions that came from the heart of Jeroboam? When will you be restored, O unhappy soul, when the pattern of you is restored only after so many ages? And if this happens to Sodom and Samaria, which were justified by Jerusalem, what must be said of Jerusalem herself, who justified the crimes of the aforesaid? “And you will be restored as you were from the beginning. And you and your daughters will be restored as you were in the beginning.” Isaiah too knows what is meant by “as you were in the beginning,” when he says: “And I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:55: quotation, high confidence - Gen 19:24: allusion, high confidence - Gen 13:10: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 17:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 12:28: allusion, high confidence - Isa 1:26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:55; Gen 19:24–25; Gen 13:10; 2 Kgs 17:23; 1 Kgs 12:28–33; Isa 1:26. The Jewish tradition that Sodom will be restored is reported, not affirmed. Origen’s speculation about the soul’s restoration after long punishment is translated as written. “In punishment for my sins” renders a garbled phrase (“Sodoma, meis poena peccatis”). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 10.3 (PG 13:743a–743b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 10.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-4 - Source: PG 13:743b–745b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Restoration comes only after sins are drained by long punishment, as a quick injury needs a long cure; even when forgiven, the sinner remains ashamed, so believers must stand firm in persecution. ### Latin text Et nisi esset Sodoma soror tua in auditu, in ore tao,in diebus superbit: tute, quemadmodum nunc op. probrium es filiarum et omnibus quae sunt in circuitu tuo filiarum alienigenarum qua circnmdant te in gyro. Impietates tuas tu porta τί. Ο clcmentissimum Deum satisfacientem de restitutione atque dicentem : Impietates tuas et iniquitates tm porta! Non frustra dico : restitueris; sed cum impietates tuas et iniquitates tuas exhauseris, tunc in locum pristinum restitueris. Quomodo vulnera qua; in corpore sunt, saepe parvo tempore accidunt, medela: vero vulnerum cum tormentis adhibentur ingentibus non juxta aequalitatem temporis quo ilo latae sunt, sed juxta rationem curationis; verbi gratia, in puncto hora: fractura manus et pedis contritio aceidit, hoc quod in_modico factum est, mensibus fere tribus, ac longo tempore vix curatur; sic et voluptas quae nervos anima: succidit, et luxuria, et semel universa peccata, eum in parvo tempore infelicem animam iilexeruat, et ad vitia traxerunt, magnum postea tempus in suppliciis et cruciatibus promerentur. Propter quod hoc dicit Dominus ": Et faciam in te sicut fecisti,sicut sprevisti hac pro varicando testamentum meum, et memor ero. Pri. mum , quomodo fecisti faciam tibi; deinde, memor ero testamenti mei quod feci tecum in diebus infantia: tum. Fecit quippe testamentum in diebus infantiae ejus. Diximus autem supra quomodo cum es fecerit testamentum. Et suscitabo tibi testamentum in aeternum. Ego occido , et ego vicificabo, ait ". Qui cum ista promittit, dolores facit, et rursum restituet. Percussit, et manus ejus sanabunt. Dicitur in Michma χΙ ram Domini sustinebo, quia peccavi ei, donec justifieet ipse causam meam. Qunmodo justifieatur causa mea? Quando iram Domini sustinuero, qui divitias bonitatis ejus et patientia; et longanimitatis contempsi, et juxta meam duritiam et imptnnitens cor thesaurizavi mihi iram, in die ira: et revelationis justi judicii Dei . ὅ. Et dehonestaberis in eo quod suscepisti sorores tuas seniores cum adolescentulis, et dabo tibi eos in ᾗ trdi/icationem . Supra unam dixit sororem Sodo- ᾖ mam, et aliam Samariam, nunc repetit et dicit: Sorores tuas seniores, cum senior tantum Samaria ξ sit, et adolescentior Sodoma; verum quia filia: ι) earum eis connumerantur, dicit omnium unam esse λ speciem. Quantae autem filiae Sodomorum sunt, χ tanta: et Samariaa. Et dabo tibi eas in adificationem , et non ea: testamento tuo, et suscitabo ego ιε· stamentum meum tecum ". Considera tinem repromissionis : Et cognosces quia ego Dominus, ut ntemineris et confundaris , id est cum receperis peccata tua, et remorata fueris, tunc confunderis. Et ultra non erit tibi os aperire . Cum recepero peccata mea et restitutus fuero, facto mecum testamento, tunc amplius intelligo mala mea , et confundor, et conscius mihi ultro memet punio. Vide autem quid mihi eveniat, ut ultra non sit liberum os aperire a facie ignominiae, et quando eveniat. In eo quod propitietur tibi . Nec tunc quidem quando propi. tiatur mihi multa peccanti, possum os aperire, nec quando ignoscit sceleribus meis alienus sum ab ignominia, sed sentiens scelera mea perpetuo conscientia: mea: igne discrucior. Idcirco quia ignominia et confusio aeterna nobis reposita est si peccaverimus , omni corde precemur Deum , ut det nobis usque ad tinem et animi et corporis uisu pro veritate contendere; ut etiamsi aliquod tempus institerit quod nostram examinet fidem (nam ut aurum probatur in fornace, sic fides nostra in periculo ct persecutionibus examinatur), etiamsi persecutio eruperit, inveniat nos praeparatos, ne domus nostra in hieme corruat, ne aedificatio quasi in arena constructa tempestatibus dissipetur; ut cum flaverint venti diaboli, id est spiritus pessimi, opera nostra persislant quae usque ad hanc diem perstiterunt, si tamen non sunt occulte subruta, etin expeditionis accinctu manifestemus charitatem nostram quam habemus ad Deum in Christo Jesu, cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “And was not Sodom your sister a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered, as now you are the reproach of the daughters and of all who are round about you, the daughters of the foreigners who surround you on every side? You bear your impieties.” O most merciful God, who explains himself about the restoration and says, “You bear your impieties and your iniquities!” Not in vain do I say, “You will be restored”; but when you have drained out your impieties and your iniquities, then you will be restored to your former place. As wounds in the body often happen in a short time, but their cures are applied with great torments, not in proportion to the time in which they were inflicted but according to the method of healing (for example, a fracture of the hand or a crushing of the foot happens in a moment of time, and what happened in a moment is scarcely healed in about three months and a long time), so too pleasure, which cuts the sinews of the soul, and luxury, and all sins together, when in a short time they have enticed the unhappy soul and drawn it into vices, afterwards earn a long time in punishments and torments. That is why the Lord says: “And I will do to you as you have done, as you have despised these things by transgressing my covenant; and I will remember.” First, as you have done I will do to you; then, I will remember my covenant which I made with you in the days of your infancy. For he made a covenant in the days of her infancy; we have said above how he made a covenant with her. “And I will raise up for you an everlasting covenant.” “I kill, and I will make alive,” he says. He who promises these things causes pains, and will restore again. “He struck, and his hands will heal.” It is said in Micah: “I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he himself justifies my cause.” How is my cause justified? When I have borne the wrath of the Lord, I who despised the riches of his goodness and patience and long-suffering, and by my hardness and impenitent heart stored up wrath for myself on the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God. “And you will be dishonored, in that you received your elder sisters with the younger, and I will give them to you for building up.” Above he called one sister Sodom and the other Samaria; now he repeats and says “your elder sisters,” though only Samaria is the elder and Sodom the younger; but because their daughters are counted with them, he says they are all of one kind. As many as are the daughters of Sodom, so many are those of Samaria. “And I will give them to you for building up, and not from your covenant; and I will raise up my covenant with you.” Consider the end of the promise: “And you will know that I am the Lord, so that you may remember and be ashamed”: that is, when you have received back your sins and have remembered them, then you will be ashamed. “And you will no longer be able to open your mouth.” When I have received back my sins and have been restored, and the covenant has been made with me, then I understand my evils the more and am ashamed, and, conscious of them, I punish myself of my own accord. And see what happens to me, that I am no longer free to open my mouth for shame, and when it happens: “When he is propitious to you.” Not even then, when he is propitious to me who have sinned much, can I open my mouth; nor, when he forgives my crimes, am I free of disgrace; but, feeling my crimes, I am perpetually tormented by the fire of my conscience. Therefore, since eternal disgrace and shame are laid up for us if we sin, let us pray God with all our heart to grant us to strive for the truth to the end with all the strength of soul and body; so that, even if a time comes that tests our faith (for as gold is tested in the furnace, so our faith is examined in danger and persecutions), even if persecution breaks out, it may find us prepared, lest our house fall in the winter, lest our building, as if built on sand, be scattered by the storms; so that when the winds of the devil, that is, the wicked spirits, blow, our works which have stood until this day may stand fast (if indeed they have not been secretly undermined), and, girded for the campaign, we may show the love we have toward God in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 16:56: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:57: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:58: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:59: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:60: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:61: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:62: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:63: quotation, high confidence - Deut 32:39: quotation, high confidence - Job 5:18: quotation, high confidence - Mic 7:9: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:4: allusion, high confidence - Rom 2:5: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:26: allusion, high confidence - Matt 7:27: allusion, high confidence - Matt 24:20: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 2:5 (Sirach): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 16:56–63; Deut 32:39; Job 5:18; Mic 7:9; Rom 2:4–5; Sir 2:5 (gold tested in the furnace); Matt 7:26–27; Matt 24:20. Origen’s view that the forgiven sinner is still tormented by the fire of conscience is translated as written. Leaked marginal references and a column number are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 10.4 (PG 13:743b–745b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/10-1/#p-10-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 11.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-1 - Source: PG 13:745b–746a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As exercise strengthens the body, the study of Scripture’s riddles trains the soul for eternal life; Ezekiel’s parable of the eagles is such a riddle. ### Latin text Exercitatio corporum, et in totum fortitudinem comparat iis qui exercentur, et per partes unumquodque membrum sensusque membrorum vegetiores εει· cit ad suflcrendum quid, autad sentiendum : ut puta oculorum acies, si exet-citetur in visu, acutior fiat ad videndum ; aures, si frequentius audiant, melius posv sunt vocum capere dissonantias. Hoc autem et in ca:teris membris licet deprehendere, quodin paucis ostendimus. Vcrum quid mihi prodest ad beatitudinem et ad vitam sempiternam, si corpus exercitationibus roboretur? Quod mibi est emolumentum, etiamsi fortissime corpore fiam, etiamsi omnibus membris vegetus incedam? Eeontrario autem si sensus animae habuero exercitatos ad sentiendum quid, ad discendum dies noctesque contrivero, non solum in hac vita mihi conducit, sed etiam recedentem de corpore prosequetur. Idcirco in parabolis et in mnigmatibus loctatus est Deus , ut extenderet se mens nostra. νει potius in unum colligens dictorum intueatur acumina, et a corporis vitiis recedens, dum intelligit veritatem, vitae suae cursum secundum eumdem dirigat. llaec in prooemio diximus, quia sermo Dei factus est ad Ezechielem dicens : Fili hominis, narra narrationem, et dic parabolam ad domum Israel. Pro hoc autem quod Septuaginta interpretes posuerunt narrationem , alius de interpretibus transtulit, propone problema ; alius, profer problema; alius, significa (enigma. Igitur et problema et muigma etparabola est quod lectum est. Si quando illuminatione indiguimus scientiae Dei, nunc vel maxime et necessarie indigemus, ut non tam ego quam orantibus vobis gratia Dei in me edisserat solutionem problematis et a‘nigmatis, sive parabolae. ### English translation (Claude) Exercise of the body both gives strength as a whole to those who are trained and, part by part, makes each member and the senses of the members more vigorous for enduring something or for perceiving: for instance, the keenness of the eyes, if it is exercised in seeing, becomes sharper for seeing; and the ears, if they hear more often, can better catch the differences of sounds. This can be observed in the other members too, as we have shown in a few. But what does it profit me for blessedness and for eternal life if the body is strengthened by exercises? What gain is it to me even if I become very strong in body, even if I go about vigorous in all my members? But, on the contrary, if I have the senses of the soul exercised for perceiving, if I have spent days and nights in learning, it not only benefits me in this life but will also go with me when I depart from the body. That is why God has spoken in parables and riddles: so that our mind might stretch itself, or rather, gathering itself together, might look into the subtleties of what is said, and, withdrawing from the vices of the body while it understands the truth, might direct the course of its life according to that truth. We have said these things by way of preface because the word of God came to Ezekiel, saying: “Son of man, tell a tale and speak a parable to the house of Israel.” Instead of what the Seventy translators put, “tale,” another of the translators rendered “propose a problem,” another “bring forth a problem,” another “signify a riddle.” So what has been read is a problem, a riddle, and a parable. If ever we have needed the illumination of the knowledge of God, we need it now most of all, so that, through your prayers, not so much I as the grace of God in me may set out the solution of the problem and riddle, or parable. ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:2: quotation, high confidence - Heb 5:14: allusion, medium confidence - Prov 1:6: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:2 (the Septuagint’s “tale” compared with the renderings of the other Greek versions); cf. Heb 5:14; Prov 1:6. Scan debris is removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 11.1 (PG 13:745b–746a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 11.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-2 - Source: PG 13:746a–748d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Origen retells the parable of the two eagles and the vine and explains its literal sense: Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem’s king and people to Babylon, and their turning to Pharaoh brought worse ruin. ### Latin text Quae est ergo parabola aquila: quam in prasenti Spiritus sanctus ostendit? Quae non solum aquila, sed etiam comparatione exterarum aquilarum magna aquila , et ingentium alarum, et longa extensa, et plena unguibus, sive, ut quidam interpretatus est, plena plumis scribitur. Non solum his quae diximus major est caeteris aquilis, verum in eo vel praecipua est, quod ductum habet intrandi in Libanum. Nam ingrediens illic ab arbore cedri qua: in Libano sita erat electa , teneritudines et summa qumque decerpsit, et attulit in terram Chanaan, in civitatem sive negotiatorum , sive negotiatricem , Si“ U'ansliiwrum, Sive certe, interpretati sunt, muratam ;et posuit hoc quod de cedro Libani sumpserat, ut plantareturet cresceret in terram Chanaan. Post haec eadem aquila de semine terrae, unde sumpserat summitates cedri, extrinse. cus sibi semen accepit, et plantavit illud in campo frondifero super aquam multam. Hoc autem ipsum quod de terra Chanaan fuerat assumptum ab ea quae Libani summa quaeque decerpserat, idest, quod secunda vice acceperat, factum est in vitem non furtem, sed infirmam, verum etiam statura pusillam ; et palmites hujus vitis iutirnue reclinati sunt, pro eo quod de Libano et cedro fuerat assumptum, in tantum ut radices suas sub ipsius trunco consitas haberet. Et quidem facta est vitis, et fecit propagines, et extendit arbusta sua. Et post hzec venit alia aquila, et ipsa magna, magnis alis et copiosis vel plumis sive unguibus; ct ecce ista vitis de qua nunc diximus, veniente secunda aquila, declinavit testamentum suum ad eam, spernens id testamentum quod prius cum arbore feeerat,iu qua reclinata vitis fuerat eflecta , et propaginibus factis arbusta latius fuderat, et complexa est secundam aquilam, et radices suas a priore transtulit ad sequentem. Deinde palmites emisit ad aquilam secundam, ut irrigaret eam cum gleba plantationis ejus in campo bono et aqua multa. Et quidem irrigata est hate ipsa vitis, et translata ad aquilam secundam, ut faceret incrcmcnta, ut all‘erret fructum , ut fieret in vitem magnam. Idcirco propheta: imperatur ut dicat, quia testamentum transgrediens vitis quod fecerat cum aquila priore, et statuens illud cum secunda,non dirigatur, neque radices teneritudinis ejus cillerent; quin potius fructus ejus propter transcensionem ejus putreant, et arescant omnia quae de ea oriebantur, et jam ultra non habeat brachium magnum et populum multum; evellatur autem radicitus, et licet irrigata sit, tamen non perseveret, etnon dirigatur in ubertatem ; statimque ut contigerit eam ventus urens, arescat, et eum gleba plantationis suae siccetur. Hoc propositio ipsius historiae exposcit, ut quae obscurius dicta sunt, qui-l busdam adjunctis sermonibus planius enarremus. lat si tantus labor est, ut ipsum quod dicitur intel- Iigatur, quid necesse est dicere ipsam quaestionem quantam habeat obscuritatem, quae sit aquila prior, quid sit Libanus, quae cedrus, auze summa cedri , quae aquila secunda, quae translatio vitis a priore ad sequentem? Si aliquando Dei indiguimus auxilio (semper autem in intellectu Scripturarum Spiritu ’ - sancto indigemus), nunc profecto tempus estquod nobis praestet auxilium, et pandat ipse qum dixit. Quomodo Salvator noster in Evangeliis quasdam parabolas ipse interpretatur, sic et nunc pmphcta in secunda prophetia quae in reliquis Iecta est , significat. quia aquila prior Nabuchodonosor sit rex Babylonis qui ingressus est in Libanum, id est Jerusalem ; et accepit de summis cedri, id est regem Jerusalem et principes ejus; et attulit ea in terram Chaldaaorum, scilicet in Babylonem. Plantavit quippe in captivitatem accipiens tilios Israel, et de regio semine, etde genere principum in eadem terra constituit. Post hoc autem, et post regiam stirpem, alia quoque multitudo capta est ab eo , et vitis ell‘ecta est, non tam robusta quam fuerat cum fuisset in vinea Dei et in terra sancta, uhi sacrificia Dei celebrantur, sed erat in Babylone translata vitis infirma. llis ita gestis, inter Pharaonem regem Egypti, et NabuchodonosOr regem Babylonis , bellum ortum est. Igitur populus qui cum regibus suis ac stirpe optimatum ab Assyriis fuerat amictus, reperta occasione qua jugum Nabuchodonosor abjiceret et ejus imperio liberaretur, intulit se ad secundam aquilam grandem, magnarum alarum, id est Pharaonem. Deinde sic ordine currente rerum, quia Deus non Pharaoni tradiderat, sed Nabuchodonosor, et illi non sustinentes judicium et imperium ejus, excusserant jugum Nabuchodonosor de cervicibus suis, et ad Pharaonem transgressi fuerant, ira Dei super eos iugruit,et contra evenit quam putaverant. Oportet quippe eum qui a Deo damnatur, non fugere sententiam ejus, nec voluntatem judicantis velle mutare, verum patientissime sustinere, donec ipse Deus liberet qui damnavit. Igitur quia ad Pharaonem transtulit se populus, relinquitur ab auxilio Dei, et pejora patitur quam ante perpessus est a Nabuchodonosor. Diximus solutionem parabolae juxta litteram ,et id quod scriptum est: sequitur durior interpretatio, et diflicilis ad intelligendum, secundum verum Nabuchodonosor, et verum Pharaonem, et ea verba quae de aquilis praedicta sunt. Idcirco autem ante interpositionem sequentis lectionis, hanc expositionem summatim strictimque praediximus, ut et praesens locus facilius intelligatur, ct nihilominus servetur loco suo plenior expositio, et consequens parabola etiam juxta allegoriam latissime disseratur. ### English translation (Claude) What, then, is the parable of the eagle which the Holy Spirit shows in the present passage? It is described not only as an eagle, but, in comparison with other eagles, as a great eagle, with huge wings, long in extent, and full of talons, or, as one translator has it, full of feathers. Not only in what we have said is it greater than other eagles; it is especially distinguished in this, that it has the leading to enter Lebanon. For entering there, from the choice cedar tree that stood in Lebanon it plucked the tender shoots and the topmost parts, and brought them to the land of Canaan, into a city of merchants, or a trading city, or a city of those who carry across, or, as others have translated, a walled city; and it put there what it had taken from the cedar of Lebanon, to be planted and to grow in the land of Canaan. After this the same eagle took to itself seed from outside, from the seed of the land from which it had taken the tops of the cedar, and planted it in a leafy plain over many waters. And this very thing that had been taken from the land of Canaan by the one who had plucked the tops of Lebanon (that is, what it had taken the second time) became a vine, not strong but weak, and small in stature too; and the branches of this vine bent down toward what had been taken from Lebanon and the cedar, so that it had its roots planted under its trunk. And indeed it became a vine, and made shoots, and spread out its branches. And after this came another eagle, it too great, with great wings and abundant feathers or talons; and behold, this vine of which we have just spoken, when the second eagle came, turned its covenant toward it, scorning the covenant it had first made with the tree under which it had become a bent vine and, having made shoots, had spread its branches more widely; and it embraced the second eagle and transferred its roots from the first to the next. Then it sent out branches to the second eagle, that it might water it, with the soil of its planting, in a good plain with much water. And indeed this vine was watered and transferred to the second eagle, so that it might grow, bear fruit, and become a great vine. Therefore the prophet is commanded to say that the vine which transgressed the covenant it had made with the first eagle and established it with the second will not prosper, nor will the roots of its tenderness spring up; rather its fruits will rot because of its going over, and everything that sprang from it will wither, and it will no longer have a great arm and many people; it will be plucked up by the roots, and though it has been watered it will not last nor prosper in fruitfulness; and as soon as the scorching wind touches it, it will wither and dry up together with the soil of its planting. The setting forth of the story itself requires that we tell more plainly, with some added words, what was said obscurely. But if it is so great a labor to understand what is said, what need is there to say how much obscurity the question itself holds: who is the first eagle, what is Lebanon, what is the cedar, what the top of the cedar, who the second eagle, what the transfer of the vine from the first to the next? If ever we needed God’s help (and in understanding the Scriptures we always need the Holy Spirit), now surely is the time for him to give us help and himself open what he has said. Just as our Savior in the Gospels himself interprets certain parables, so now too the prophet, in the second prophecy which was read in what remains, indicates that the first eagle is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who entered Lebanon, that is, Jerusalem, and took from the tops of the cedar, that is, the king of Jerusalem and his princes, and brought them to the land of the Chaldeans, namely Babylon. For he planted the sons of Israel by taking them into captivity, and settled some of the royal seed and of the race of princes in that land. After this, and after the royal stock, another multitude too was taken by him, and it became a vine, not as strong as it had been when it was in God’s vineyard and in the holy land, where God’s sacrifices are offered: transplanted into Babylon, it was a weak vine. When these things had happened, war arose between Pharaoh king of Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. So the people that had been carried off by the Assyrians with its kings and the stock of its nobles, finding an occasion to throw off Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke and be freed from his rule, betook itself to the second great eagle with great wings, that is, Pharaoh. Then, as the course of events ran on, because God had handed them over not to Pharaoh but to Nebuchadnezzar, and they, not enduring his judgment and rule, had shaken Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke from their necks and gone over to Pharaoh, the wrath of God fell upon them, and the opposite of what they had expected happened. For one who is condemned by God must not flee his sentence, nor want to change the will of the judge, but must endure most patiently until God himself, who condemned him, sets him free. So, because the people went over to Pharaoh, it is abandoned by God’s help and suffers worse things than it had suffered before from Nebuchadnezzar. We have given the solution of the parable according to the letter and to what is written; there follows a harder interpretation, difficult to understand, concerning the true Nebuchadnezzar and the true Pharaoh and the words spoken of the eagles. We have set out this exposition briefly and concisely before bringing in the following reading, so that the present passage may be understood more easily, while a fuller exposition is kept for its place, and the following parable may also be discussed at length according to allegory. ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:3: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:4: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:5: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:6: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:7: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:8: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:9: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:10: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:12: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations and allusions: Ezek 17:3–10 (retold), 17:12–15 (the prophet’s own explanation). The several renderings of the city’s name come from the different Greek versions. “Carried off” renders the scan’s “amictus”, probably for “abductus”; the Babylonians are called Assyrians. Leaked marginal references are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 11.2 (PG 13:746a–748d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 11.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-3 - Source: PG 13:748d–750a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The eagle, though unclean in the law, is used in Scripture in both bad and good senses; the cherubim and the peace of Isa 11 show unclean creatures cleansed in Christ. ### Latin text Verum nunc pauca debemus assumere, et quasi quodam armamento futurae interpretationi viam sternere dehis quae nobis Dei gratialargitur, scientes qmd in sequenti plenius exponemusIAc primum quidem videndum est, quare Nabuchodonosor et Pharao aquila: dicantur. Forsitan quarrit quispiam qui non otiose et transitoria Scripturas legit: Nabuchodonosor aquila est magna, et magnarum aiarum, et hic Pharao alia aquila magna similiter alarum ingentium, etin lege inter immunda animalia posita est aquila ; quare et justus dives enectus prseparat sibi alas aquilae, ut possitconverti in domum principis sui ? Quare etiam repromissio quaedam est apud Isaiam prophetam dicentem : Iusti accipient pennas ut aquilae, current et non laborabunt, gradientur et non esurient?Si enim immunda est aquila, non oportet nos pennas accipere ut aquilam, cum justi fuerimus; neque cum divitiae nobis creverint opormodo ergo leo dicitur et in malam partem et in bonam, non est incongruum etiam aquilam in utramque partem accipi. Et ego suspicor, justus non est aquila, sed quasi aquila, aemulatur quippe aquilam. Et quomodo serpens aereus typus fuit Salvatoris : neque enim serpens erat vere, sed imitabatur serpentem, dicente Domino : Ut Moyses elevavit serpentem in deserto, sic oportet exaltari Filium Itaminis; eodem modo et justus non tam aquilaest, quam aquilae similis, quia ei utile est imaginem aquilae sectari. Juxta hunc intellectum , et in alio loco pmceptum accepit justus, ut sit sapiens sicut serpens, non ut fiat serpens, sed ne a veri serpentis capiatur astutia. Si autem sermo Dei Scripturas diligenter excutiens, et spiritus de quo scriptum est 3”: Spiritus omnia scrutatur etiam alta Dei , in alicujus animam venerit, manifestissime ostendet de Scripturis et aquilam et leonem in parte mundorum animalium posita: cherubim Dei habere faciem hominis et faciem leonis a dextris quatuor partium, et faciem vituli et faciem aquin a sinistris quatuor partium : et haec quae in cherubim videntur, id est aquila et leo, munda sunt. Nihil quippe immundum est in curru Dei. Et quomodo tu de gentibus credens mundus effectus es : Et quod Deus mandavit , tu ne commune dixeris , dicitur de omnibus qum caelo pendentiaostensa sunt Petro; sic mundatus est leo et aquila quae in cherubim apparuerunt. Nec non est aliud quod in Christi adventu futurum prtedicatur ε novit mundum leonem, mundam et aqui- ο lam, quae nuncupatur immunda: Lupus enim et agnifpascentur simul δ’. Lupus enim qui cum ove innoxius pascitur, non est ultra observandus. Non mihi dicitur de tali lupo : Attendite ab eis qui veniunt ad vasin vestitu ovium , intus autem sunt lupi rapaces. Signanter loeutus est, dicens : Intus autem sunt lupi rapaces. Sunt quippe alii non rapaces , quando lupi etagnipascentur simul, et vitulus, et taurus, et leo pariteredent. Cum autem fuerit tam diversarum inter se naturarum in fide Christi facta sociatio , leo non erit jam immundus, verum feritatis suae obliviscetur, et universa animalia quae in lege Dei dicuntur immunda, conditionis antiquae recipient puritatem. Hoc autem et ex parte jam factum est, et plenissime in secundo complebitur adventu.Pr:evenit igitur sacramentum quod ostensum est in cherubim, rei veritatem: et in tantum leonis et aquilae facies cum aliis faciebus cognata: sunt, ut majus nobis videatur vitulo, et tauro,etleone simul pascentibus, id quod apparuit in cherubim. Ab Isaia quippe-nihil de his quae praedicta sunt sibi cohaerens et invicem connexum repromittitur. in cherubim vero unumquodque animal cum alio cognatum est, facies vituli faciei leonis, et vultus hominis vultui aquilae. Non igitur magnopere mireris, cum Pharao et praecedens eum Nabuchodonosor aquilae nuncupantur ; justus vero pennas assumere dicatur ut aquila, ct in Dei parte dives effectus aquilae sibi pennas praeparet ad velandum. ### English translation (Claude) But now we must take up a few points and, with a kind of equipment drawn from what the grace of God grants us, pave the way for the interpretation to come, knowing that we will expound it more fully in what follows. And first we must see why Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh are called eagles. Perhaps someone who does not read the Scriptures idly and in passing asks: Nebuchadnezzar is a great eagle with great wings, and here Pharaoh is another great eagle, likewise with huge wings; yet in the law the eagle is set among the unclean animals. Why, then, does the righteous man who has become rich prepare for himself the wings of an eagle, so that he can return to the house of his master? Why too is there a promise in the prophet Isaiah, who says: “The righteous will take wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not hunger”? For if the eagle is unclean, we ought not to take wings like an eagle when we are righteous, nor, when riches have grown for us, ought we … So, just as the lion is spoken of both in a bad sense and in a good, it is not unfitting that the eagle too be taken in both senses. And I suspect that the righteous man is not an eagle but like an eagle; for he imitates the eagle. And just as the bronze serpent was a type of the Savior (for it was not truly a serpent but imitated a serpent, as the Lord says: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”), in the same way the righteous man is not so much an eagle as like an eagle, because it is useful for him to follow the image of the eagle. According to this understanding the righteous man received a command in another place to be wise as a serpent: not to become a serpent, but so as not to be caught by the cunning of the true serpent. But if the word of God, examining the Scriptures diligently, and the Spirit of whom it is written, “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God,” comes into someone’s soul, he will show most clearly from the Scriptures that the eagle and the lion too are placed among the clean animals: the cherubim of God have the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right of the four, and the face of an ox and the face of an eagle on the left of the four; and the things that are seen in the cherubim, that is, the eagle and the lion, are clean. For nothing is unclean in God’s chariot. And just as you, believing from among the Gentiles, have been made clean (and “What God has cleansed, do not call common” is said of all the things that were shown to Peter hanging from heaven), so the lion and the eagle that appeared in the cherubim have been cleansed. And there is another thing that is foretold for the coming of Christ: it knows a clean lion and a clean eagle, though they are called unclean. “For the wolf and the lambs will feed together.” The wolf that feeds harmlessly with the sheep is no longer to be guarded against. Of such a wolf it is not said to me: “Beware of those who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” He spoke pointedly, saying, “But inwardly they are ravening wolves.” For there are others that are not ravening, when wolves and lambs will feed together, and the calf and the bull and the lion will eat together. And when such an association of natures so different from one another has come about in the faith of Christ, the lion will no longer be unclean but will forget its fierceness, and all the animals that are called unclean in God’s law will receive back the purity of their original condition. This has already been done in part, and will be fulfilled most fully at the second coming. So the mystery that was shown in the cherubim anticipated the truth of the thing; and the faces of the lion and the eagle are so closely akin to the other faces that what appeared in the cherubim seems to us greater than the calf, the bull, and the lion feeding together. For Isaiah promises nothing of these foretold things as cohering and joined to one another; but in the cherubim each living being is akin to another: the face of the ox to the face of the lion, and the face of the man to the face of the eagle. So do not greatly wonder when Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar before him, are called eagles, while the righteous man is said to take wings like an eagle, and the man made rich in God’s portion prepares for himself the wings of an eagle to fly. ### Scripture references - Lev 11:13: allusion, high confidence - Prov 23:5: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:31: quotation, high confidence - Num 21:9: allusion, high confidence - John 3:14: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:16: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:10: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 1:10: allusion, high confidence - Acts 10:15: quotation, high confidence - Isa 11:6: quotation, high confidence - Isa 11:7: allusion, high confidence - Isa 65:25: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 7:15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Lev 11:13; Prov 23:5 (Septuagint); Isa 40:31; Num 21:9 and John 3:14; Matt 10:16; 1 Cor 2:10; Ezek 1:10; Acts 10:15; Isa 11:6–7 (65:25); Matt 7:15. Words are lost in the scan after “nor, when riches have grown for us, ought we”; marked “…”. The hope that unclean animals will regain their original purity is Origen’s; translated as written. A leaked marginal reference is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 11.3 (PG 13:748d–750a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 11.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-4 - Source: PG 13:750a–751a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Nebuchadnezzar could take Jerusalem’s leaders only because they sinned; the transplanted vine grew weak, so believers should stay within the Church and accept God’s chastisement rather than flee to “Pharaoh.” ### Latin text Verum ut ad propositum redeam, specialiter quiddam significatur de Nabuchodonosor, quia magna et magnarum alarum, et sui extensione longissima, in tantum ut ausus fuerit dicere 9‘: Viribus faciam, sapientia intellectus auferam fines gentium et virtutem eorum depascar, et commovebo civitates quae inltabitantur, et orbem terrarum universum comprehendam manu ut nidum, et quasi confracta ova auferam. Ecce ista est extensio alarum ejus. Nec hoc ei sufficit, verum unguibus plenus cst, ct multis plumis, et habet ductum intrandi in Libanum, ut cedri ejus summa decerpat. Quandiu hi qui commorabantur in Libano non peccaverunt, id est quandiu in Jerosolymis positi, sunt in sceleribus deprehensi, non accepit potestatem ista magna aquila ut ingrederetur in Libanum, neque assumpsit sibi electa, et cedri semen regium, et principum stirpem. lsta quippe sunt teneritudinis ejus, quae quodam tempore non fuerunt duro corde : attamen rapuit ea, quia peccaverunt in Dominum. Aquila ista grandis, totius arboris cacumina in Chanaan transtulit, quia figuraliter Babyloniorum terra maledicti Chanaan dicitur, de quo ait Noe θ’ : Maledictus puer Chanaan, famulus erit fratribus suis. In civitate quoque negotiatorum, sive negotia. trice, sive transferentium, aut certe murata, posuit hoc quod de cedro abstulerat, et accepit sibi de scmine terrae, jam non de altioribus solum, sed etiam de minoribus, et de populo Judeeorum, et dedit illud in campum frondiferum, super aquam multant respiciendum constituit illud, et exortum est, et factum est in vitem firmam. lniirmatus est vere populus Dei in Babylone, et ideo neque canticum Domini cantare poterat, dicens : Quomodo cantabimus canticum Domini in terra aliena? Revera non poterat infirma non esse quas plantata fuerat in Babylone. Quo pacto vires pristinas reservaret qua: vitis Babylonia esse cmpisset? Quae quia in sancta terra fructus non fecerat, ideo translata ab aquila, et in terra posita Chanaan, facta est in vitem infirmam etin pusillam statura. Quandiu in terra sancta fuit, ingens vitis erat : quando vero translata est in fines peccatorum, et infit-manet parva effecta est. Et ιιι igitur, vitis quae me audis, si vis esse magna, noli exire de Ecclesia: finibus, permane in terra sancta Jerusalem. Quod si propter peccata in pejora corrueris, transfereris in aliam terram, et eris in vitem pusillam, et palmites tui decident, et radices tuae siccabuntur, in tantum ut postea desideres requiescere super aliam aquilam, ut nunc dicitur, magnarum alarum et plurimorum unguium. Bonum est condemnatum in condemnationis permanere sententia, quandiu ei libet qui damnavit. Non curramus volentes ad Pharaonem. Si enim ad eum currimus, contra Deum facimus qui dixit”: Ego sum Dommus Deus luus,qui te eduxi de terra Egypti, de domo servitutis. Ad Nabuchodonosor enim non tam sponte properamus, quam condemnati et pertract-i ad eum sumus. ### English translation (Claude) But to return to the subject: something is signified specially about Nebuchadnezzar, that he is great, with great wings and of the widest spread, so much that he dared to say: “By strength I will do it; by the wisdom of understanding I will remove the boundaries of the nations and feed on their strength, and I will shake the inhabited cities, and I will seize the whole world in my hand like a nest, and take it away like broken eggs.” Behold, this is the spread of his wings. Nor is this enough for him: he is full of talons and of many feathers, and he has the leading to enter Lebanon, to pluck the tops of its cedar. As long as those who dwelt in Lebanon did not sin, that is, as long as those placed in Jerusalem were not caught in crimes, this great eagle did not receive power to enter Lebanon, nor did he take for himself the choice things, the royal seed of the cedar and the stock of princes. For these are its tender shoots, which at one time were not hard of heart; yet he seized them, because they sinned against the Lord. This great eagle transferred the tops of the whole tree into Canaan, because figuratively the land of the Babylonians is called the land of the accursed Canaan, of whom Noah says: “Cursed be the boy Canaan; he will be a servant to his brothers.” In the city of merchants, or the trading city, or the city of those who carry across, or the walled city, he put what he had taken from the cedar; and he took for himself of the seed of the land, no longer from the higher ones only but also from the lesser, from the people of the Jews, and put it in a leafy plain; he set it to look out over much water; and it sprang up and became a vine, weak. Truly the people of God was weakened in Babylon, and so it could not sing the Lord’s song, saying: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” Truly the vine that had been planted in Babylon could not but be weak. How could the vine that had begun to be a Babylonian vine keep its former strength? Because it had not borne fruit in the holy land, it was transferred by the eagle and set in the land of Canaan, and became a weak vine, small in stature. As long as it was in the holy land, it was a huge vine; but when it was transferred to the territory of sinners, it became weak and small. So you too, the vine who hear me: if you wish to be great, do not go out of the boundaries of the Church; remain in the holy land of Jerusalem. But if because of your sins you fall into worse things, you will be transferred to another land and become a small vine, and your branches will fall and your roots will dry up, so that afterwards you will long to rest upon another eagle, as is now said, with great wings and many talons. It is good for one who is condemned to remain under the sentence of condemnation as long as it pleases him who condemned. Let us not run willingly to Pharaoh. For if we run to him, we act against God, who said: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” For we do not hasten to Nebuchadnezzar of our own will so much as we are condemned and dragged to him. ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:3: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:4: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:5: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:6: allusion, high confidence - Isa 10:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 10:14: quotation, high confidence - Gen 9:25: quotation, high confidence - Ps 137:4 (136:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:3–6; Isa 10:13–14; Gen 9:25; Ps 137:4 (136:4 LXX); Exod 20:2. “A vine, weak”: the scan reads “firmam” (firm), but the next sentence and the biblical text require “infirmam” (weak); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 11.4 (PG 13:750a–751a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 11.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-5 - Source: PG 13:751a–752b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Allegorically, the great eagle is the devil, who carries off leaders and ordinary believers from the Church through sin; only by remaining in the Church can the vine bear fruit. ### Latin text Sequitur ” : Et [actum est, aquila altera magna, magnis alis et copiosis unguibus, et ecce tritis ista amplexabitur eam, id est, secundam aquilam. Evenit saepe ut ah una contraria fortitudine ad aliam transferamur. Iusserat enim Deus, ut Israclitarum populus sub Nabuchodonosor jugum colla submitteret, ut legimus in Jeremia, in tantum ut comminaretur ei qui ab ejus servitio declinaret; et eo tempore quo Jeremiam exposuimus , ea quas nobis gratia Dei orantibus vobis largita est, sive certe utcunque sensimus, exponere conati sumus. Noluit autem id facere quod fuerat imperatum , sed palmites suos extendit ad Pharaonem in gleba plantationis ejus; ab eo constituta est in campo super aquam multam, ut fructus all'erret uberrimos; et deserta Egypto rursum Aigyptum concupivit, putans se ubertatem pristinam consecuturam : hoc in primis cegitans quod si Nabuchodonosor ad Pharaonem transcenderet, radices firmaret, evelleret staturam, fructus all‘erret. Sed in contrarium quam putavit omnia reciderunt. Fructus quippe ejus omnis computruit, et pullulationes quae saltem modica: in Babylonem venerant, mutatione regionis exaruerunt, in tantum ut radicitus evulsa sit, ne ultra in brachio magno aut in populo plurimo convalesceret. Quid in se haec tanta vel talia continent ο sacramenta? Quid unusquisque sermo significat? Possumus, si tamen habeamus auditores, ad aliam quamdam Ierusalem conscendere, et tibi demonstrare quomodo aquila magna ductum suum fecerit, et in hanc quam nunc nos possidemus Babylonem summitates ejus detulerit. Possumus secretiora quaedam de Pharaone loqui: verum quia tempore coarctamnr, et forte audenter promittimus quod non valeamus implere, ad minora redeamus, et secundum mensuram intellectus nostri sic potius exponamus. Venit ad istum Libanum, hoc est Ecclesiam, ubi IIOSlliB Dei, ubi incensum orationum ejus celebratur, ista magna et vera aquila Nabuchodonosor, id est diabolus, et rapuit. Absit autem a ternporibus nostris, ut de summis cedri, id est de ι) principibus, et de regio semine in Chanaan transferat. Oremus ne fiat quod saepe factum est. Assumpti enim sunt quidam, et in Babylonem translati, qui in Ecclesia principes luerunt, et propter peccatum suum de Libani summitate sublati. Super his dicendum cst, quia aquila magna magnorum unguium, plumis extensa acceperit de cacuminibus cedri, ct deraserit eos de Libano, id est de Jerusalcnt, et plantaverit in terra Chanaan. Non solum autem aquila ista summa cedri, id est de Optimatum genere sibi vindicat, sed et terra: semen rapit, ct transfert in terram Chanaan, quando quis de populo peccat, et de Dei plebe diaboli laqueis prapeditur. Quapropter diebus et noctibus tam pro nobis quam pro fratribus nostris Dei imploremus auxilium, ne quis de Jerusalem transferatur in Chanaan, ne sententia ejus deserta a voluntate illius ad aliam tendamus aquilam, et veniat super nos ira major. et putrescat universa plantatio,et fruetus pariter cum radicibus arescat. Plantatio quippe Jerusalem non potest in alia terra ferre fructus, non facit palmites in finibus alienis, sed statim eum gleba sua siccatur si non perseveraveritin voluntate Dei, et in Ecclesia ejus, id est in factis, et sermonibus, et scientia veritatis Christi Jesu: cui est gloria et imperium in secula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) There follows: “And it came to pass: another great eagle, with great wings and abundant talons; and behold, this vine will embrace it,” that is, the second eagle. It often happens that we are transferred from one opposing power to another. For God had commanded that the people of the Israelites should submit their necks to Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke, as we read in Jeremiah, so much so that he threatened anyone who turned away from serving him; and at the time when we expounded Jeremiah, we tried to set out what the grace of God granted us through your prayers, or at any rate whatever we perceived. But the vine would not do what had been commanded, but stretched out its branches to Pharaoh in the soil of its planting; by him it was set in a plain over much water to bear the richest fruit; and having deserted Egypt, it desired Egypt again, thinking it would regain its former fruitfulness, and thinking above all that if it went over from Nebuchadnezzar to Pharaoh, it would strengthen its roots, raise its stature, and bear fruit. But everything fell out contrary to what it expected. For all its fruit rotted, and the shoots that had come, small as they were, into Babylon withered with the change of region, so that it was plucked up by the roots, no longer to grow strong in a great arm or in many people. What do these mysteries, so great and of such a kind, contain? What does each word signify? If we had hearers for it, we could climb to another Jerusalem and show you how the great eagle made its way and carried off its tops into this Babylon which we now inhabit. We could speak of more secret things concerning Pharaoh; but because we are pressed for time, and perhaps we boldly promise what we cannot fulfil, let us return to lesser things and rather expound according to the measure of our understanding. To this Lebanon, that is, the Church, where God’s sacrifices are offered and the incense of prayers to him is presented, came this great and true eagle Nebuchadnezzar, that is, the devil, and seized. Far be it from our times that he should carry off into Canaan any of the tops of the cedar, that is, of the leaders, and of the royal seed. Let us pray that what has often happened may not happen. For certain men who were leaders in the Church have been taken and transferred into Babylon, and because of their sin removed from the top of Lebanon. Of them it must be said that the great eagle, with great talons and spread with feathers, took from the tops of the cedar and scraped them off from Lebanon, that is, from Jerusalem, and planted them in the land of Canaan. And this eagle claims for itself not only the tops of the cedar, that is, those of the noblest rank, but also seizes the seed of the land and carries it into the land of Canaan, when someone of the people sins and someone of God’s people is entangled in the snares of the devil. Therefore let us implore God’s help day and night, both for ourselves and for our brothers, that no one may be transferred from Jerusalem into Canaan; that we may not, deserting his sentence and his will, turn to another eagle, so that a greater wrath comes upon us, and the whole planting rots, and the fruit withers together with the roots. For the planting of Jerusalem cannot bear fruit in another land, nor make branches in foreign territory, but at once dries up with its soil if it does not persevere in the will of God and in his Church, that is, in the deeds and words and knowledge of the truth of Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:7: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 17:8: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:9: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:10: allusion, high confidence - Jer 27:8: allusion, high confidence - Jer 27:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:7–10; Jer 27:8, 12. Origen refers to his own earlier homilies on Jeremiah. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 11.5 (PG 13:751a–752b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/11-1/#p-11-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 12.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-1 - Source: PG 13:752b–754d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God’s words are sweet, but the believer who sins turns them bitter, like wormwood in honey, and so dishonors God himself and deserves a heavier punishment than unbelievers. ### Latin text Ea quae jam supra memoravi de duabus aquilis magnis, et magnarum alarum, et magnorum uuguium, necnon quae prima et secunda aquila gesserunt, nunc quasi in prophetia scilicet figurata vult ex parte sermo divinus exponere, nobis ad intelligendum relinquens quae ipse dimisit intacta. Ac primum quidem licet saepe jam dixerim, tamen etiam nunc aliquid non novum inferre conabor quod nostrae anima: tribuat salutem, in eo quod dictum est ad prophetam ’ : Dic ad domum amaricantcm, sive cxaccrbantem. Non enim addidit ai domum exacerbanlcm, sive exasperautem me. Et si volumus videre cujusmodi sit peccatum exasperatio. audiamus quam dulcia ei qui intelligit eloquia Dei sunt, dicenti : Quam dulcia gutturi meo eloquia tua. Hinc naturaliter dulcia cum assumpserint credentes, ant bene vivunt, aut vere contrarium laciunt. Et si quidem juxta divinam regulam ingrediuntur, reservant eloquia Dei in eo dulcore quo nata sunt. Juxta mei autem animi motum puto quia conversationis bonitate et augeant eloquiorum Dei suavitatem miscentes dulcedinem vitae duleori sermonis. Sin vero quis peccet, et extra praecepta Dei perversus incedat, iste accipiens dulcissima eloquia Dei, per naturam amarissimi peccati (amarum quippe peccatum est quod dulcedinem sermonis exterminat), in amarum saporem omnem redigit suavitatem. Quod dicimus, plenius animadvertes, accipiens exemplum. Ilerba quae absinthium nominatur, naturaliter amara est : hanc si secundum qualitatem et quantitatem mellis in mel injicias, amaritudine sua vincit ejus suavitatem, et cogit amarum esse quod dulce est. Hujus herbae vim habet pecca. tum. Si plura peccavero, plus amaritudinis mitto in dulcedinem sermonum Dei. Si grande fuerit quod delinquo, totum dulcorem mellis verto in acerbum saporem. Et idcirco Deus, qui sermonem suum a peccatoribus conculcatum ulciscitur, unicuique pro qualitate amarioris vitae, et pro modo intentionis amaritudinem poenarum suppliciorumque restituit. Et si quidem nos qui haec dicimus, et semel credidimus Deo, peccaverimus, exasperare nitimur sermonem ejus : qui vero penitus a fide ejus recesserunt, neque ingressi sunt Ecclesiam, hi non faciunt amara eloquia Dei. Quomodo enim possunt suavitatem exasperare sermonum quibus nondum crediderunt? Ideoque nobis alia servantur tormenta qui videmur credere, et in ipsa credulitate peccamus, ab eorum supplicio qui ne initium quidem credulitatis habuerunt. Et ne solummodo putemus verbum nos exasperare Domini si peccemus, delictum nostrum usque ad ipsius Dei injuriam pervenit. Scriptum est enim quod qui peccat, per praevaricationem legis Deum inhonorat. Parum erat si dixisset, inhonorat angelum; nunc autem, per praevaricationem, inquit, legis Deum inhonorat. Quotiescunque praevaricamur legem Dei, toties inhonoramus Deum; et quanto majora delinquimus, tanto majoribus eontumeliis allicimus Deum; quanto plura peccamus, tanto plus inhonoramus Patrem et Christum ejus, sicut scriptum est z Quanto magis putatis deteriora mereri supplicia qui Filium Dei conculcaccrit, et sanguinem testamenti pollutum dmrit, in quo sancti/iratus est, et spiritui gratior contumeliam fecerit? Igitur quicunque peccat. exasperat, et contumeliam facit, et inhonorat tam Dei eloquia quae suscepit, quam eum qui docuit. Dic nunc ad domum exasperantem :Nescitis quid sint ista', id est quas in parabola dicta sunt‘aquilarum. Dic : Cum uenerit rex Babylonis ad Jerusalem, et acceperit regem ejus, et principes ejus ‘. Quantum ad historiam pertinet prophetantis, expositum est, quod Nabuchodonosor venerit in Jerosolymam, et captivos duxerit Sedecbiam regem Judaeaa, et principes qui erant cum eo, partemque populi ### English translation (Claude) The things I have already mentioned above about the two great eagles, with great wings and great talons, and what the first and the second eagle did, the divine word now wishes to expound in part, as they were figured in the prophecy, leaving us to understand what it has itself left untouched. And first, though I have often said it already, I will nevertheless try even now to bring in something, not new, that may give salvation to our souls, from what is said to the prophet: “Say to the embittering house,” or “the exasperating house.” For he did not add, “to the house that embitters or exasperates me.” And if we wish to see what kind of sin exasperation is, let us hear how sweet the words of God are to one who understands them, as he says: “How sweet are your words to my throat!” When believers have taken in these words, sweet by nature, they either live well or indeed do the contrary. If they walk according to the divine rule, they keep the words of God in the sweetness in which they were born; and, as my mind moves me to think, by the goodness of their conduct they even increase the pleasantness of God’s words, mixing the sweetness of their life with the sweetness of the word. But if anyone sins and goes perversely outside God’s commands, he receives the sweetest words of God and, through the nature of most bitter sin (for sin is bitter, which destroys the sweetness of the word), reduces all their pleasantness to a bitter taste. You will grasp what we say more fully if you take an example. The herb called wormwood is bitter by nature: if you throw it into honey in proportion to the quality and quantity of the honey, it overcomes the honey’s sweetness with its bitterness and forces what is sweet to be bitter. Sin has the power of this herb. If I sin more, I put more bitterness into the sweetness of God’s words. If my offense is great, I turn all the sweetness of the honey into a harsh taste. And therefore God, who avenges his word trampled by sinners, pays back to each, according to the quality of his more bitter life and the measure of his intention, the bitterness of penalties and punishments. And if we who say these things, and have once believed God, sin, we strive to embitter his word; but those who have wholly withdrawn from faith in him, and have not entered the Church, do not make God’s words bitter. For how can they embitter the sweetness of words which they have not yet believed? And therefore other torments are reserved for us, who seem to believe and sin in our very belief, than the punishment of those who have not had even the beginning of belief. And lest we think that by sinning we only embitter the word of the Lord, our offense reaches even to injury to God himself. For it is written that one who sins dishonors God by transgressing the law. It would have been little if he had said, “dishonors an angel”; but as it is, he says, “through transgression of the law he dishonors God.” As often as we transgress God’s law, so often do we dishonor God; the greater our offenses, the greater the insults we inflict on God; the more we sin, the more we dishonor the Father and his Christ, as it is written: “How much worse punishment do you think he deserves who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, and counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified as defiled, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” So whoever sins embitters, insults, and dishonors both the words of God which he received and him who taught them. “Say now to the exasperating house: Do you not know what these things are?” that is, what was said in the parable of the eagles. “Say: When the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her princes.” As far as the history of the prophecy goes, it has been explained that Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and led captive Zedekiah king of Judea and the princes who were with him, and part of the people ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 119:103 (118:103 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:23: quotation, high confidence - Heb 10:29: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:12; Ps 119:103 (118:103 LXX); Rom 2:23; Heb 10:29. The section breaks off in mid-sentence; it continues in 12.2. A stray numeral and a column number are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 12.1 (PG 13:752b–754d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 12.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-2 - Source: PG 13:754d–754b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The true Nebuchadnezzar, the devil, seeks first to capture the Church’s leaders; sin gives him entry, and his captives are led into the “Babylon” of a confused soul. ### Latin text Iudaeorum : necnon etiam illud addemus, quomodo plautaverit eos in terra Babylonis. Sed non stemus in littera, nec baereamus in historia, magis autem tu qui in Scripturis Dei profectum habes, et nosti quia ista omni; figuraliterf contingebant illis, scripta autem pro nobis, in quos lines steculorum decurrerunt ar Instat verus Nabuchodonosor quaarens aliQuos capere de nobis. Et primum Quidem cupit, sl fieri potest, de principibus Ecclesiae captivos sibi ducere :verum quandiu Ezechias, Josias, aut certe quicunque justus rex regnat in populo, non potest iste Nabuchodonosor vinctos abducere aut principes, aut populum de Iudaea. Si autem nos qui videmur Ecclesiae praeesse, peccaverimus locum dantes diabolo adversum Pauli praeceptum dicentis locum dare diabolo; quodammodo per delicta nostra quae fecimus in Jerusalem, occasionem tribuimus Nabuchodonosor ut ingrediatur civitatem sanctam, et abducat quoscunque voluerit. Qui vero non peccat, excludit Nabuchodonosor, ut non possit iu terram Dei iugredi. Ergo omnibus viribus excludamus Nabucho- ” donosor, ut ad beatum istius Ecclesia: conventum non appropinquet. Excludamus autem eum assumentes clavem scientiae; excludamus eum conversatione et factis bonis, ut non rapiat regem Jerusalem, et principes ejus, ut non abducat eos in Babylonem captivitatis sua: triumphum. Si vero aliquem ex nobis vincere potuerit saevus inimicus, ducit eum in Babylonem, non in locum amplum alicujus teri-re, sed in Babylonem animae, id est confusionem. Frequenter diximus Babylonem confusionem interpretari. Quicunque enim ab eo victus abducitur iu confusionem mentis suae, transfertur in Babylonem. Respiciamus ad quotidiao nam vitam. Si quando viderimus animam a peccatis, a vitiis, a tristitia, ab ira, a desideriis, ab avaritia confundi, sciamus istam esse quam diabolus abducat in Babylonem. Si vero principali cordis tranquillitas, serenitas, pax fructum fecerit, sciamus quia Jerusalem versetur in ea; visio quippe pacis intrinsecus est. ### English translation (Claude) of the Jews; and we will also add how he planted them in the land of Babylon. But let us not stand on the letter nor stick to the history. You, rather, who have made progress in God’s Scriptures and know that “all these things happened to them figuratively, but were written for us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come,” know that the true Nebuchadnezzar presses on, seeking to capture some of us. And first he desires, if he can, to lead off captives for himself from among the leaders of the Church. But as long as a Hezekiah, a Josiah, or any righteous king reigns among the people, this Nebuchadnezzar cannot lead away in chains either the leaders or the people of Judea. But if we who seem to preside over the Church sin, giving place to the devil against the command of Paul, who says, “Do not give place to the devil,” then in a way, through the offenses we have committed in Jerusalem, we give Nebuchadnezzar an occasion to enter the holy city and lead away whomever he wishes. But one who does not sin shuts Nebuchadnezzar out, so that he cannot enter the land of God. So let us shut Nebuchadnezzar out with all our strength, so that he may not come near the blessed assembly of this Church. Let us shut him out by taking up the key of knowledge; let us shut him out by our conduct and good deeds, so that he may not seize the king of Jerusalem and her princes, nor lead them away into Babylon as the triumph of his captivity. But if the savage enemy has been able to conquer any of us, he leads him into Babylon: not into the broad expanse of some land, but into the Babylon of the soul, that is, confusion. We have often said that Babylon means confusion. Whoever, conquered by him, is led away into the confusion of his mind is transferred into Babylon. Let us look at daily life. If ever we see a soul confused by sins, by vices, by sadness, by anger, by desires, by avarice, let us know that this is the soul which the devil leads away into Babylon. But if tranquillity, serenity, and peace have borne fruit in the ruling part of the heart, let us know that Jerusalem dwells in it; for the vision of peace is within. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 10:11: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:27: quotation, high confidence - Luke 11:52: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: 1 Cor 10:11; Eph 4:27; Luke 11:52 (the key of knowledge). An editor’s footnote (the Latin of two Greek catena fragments) printed in the middle of a sentence is removed by a logged correction. Babylon as “confusion” and Jerusalem as “vision of peace” are traditional etymologies. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 12.2 (PG 13:754d–754b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 12.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-3 - Source: PG 13:754b–756b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The sinner falls under the devil’s covenant of curse; but punishment accepted patiently, like the handing over to Satan in 1 Cor 5:5, saves the spirit, while seeking escape through “Egypt” brings ruin. ### Latin text Et ducit eos ad se in Babylonem, et sumit de semine regni et disponit ad ipsum testamentum °. Omnes qui sermonem Dei suscepimus, regium semen sumus : Etenim genus electum vocamur, et regale sacerdotium, gens sancta , populus acquisitionis ". Si quis ergo ex nobis qui in ordine regalis seminis constituti sumus, per peccatum suum captivus abducitur a diabolo, haud dubium est quin de regio genere sit abductus in Babylonem, et fa~ Cial WSlamemlln} cum Nabl'IChMOQ??rs la": testamentum Dei spreverit. lmposrsibi‘le‘quipfe‘ est hominem sine testamento esse. Si habest51) i8ejus, suscepisti testamentum Nabuchodonosor. Scriptum est enim " : Disponit ad eum testamentum suum, et inducit eum in maledictionem. Deus in benedictione nobiscum testamentum facit ; Nabuchodonosor vero testamentum suum in maledictione constituit. Non potest in benedictione esse qui pactum fecerit cum Nabuchodonosor. Sed dicit mihi aliquis qui in Scripturis divinis est eruditus : Invenio in lege Moysi maledictiones constitutas in peccatorem. Si ergo praecepto Dei maledictum constitutum est in peccatores, cur non et econtrario apud diabolum quaedam benedictio sit, ut alii apud eumvin benedictione fiant, alii in maledictione? Huic ergo acute et acerrime interrOganti, sic conabor occurrere, et dicere quia et quaedam sit benedictio a Nabuchodonosor, quam Deus procul abjiciat a nobis; et maledictio de qua nunc dicere debemus, quae digne super peccatores venit. Quae est igitur benedictio Nabuchodonosor? Quando aliquis in mundo isto locuples fuerit, et feliciter gesserit, et omnia ei prospero cursu fluxerint, in tantum ut illud quod scriptum est ei possit aptari . Bos ejus non faciet abortionem; et si universam satculi habuit prosperitatem, benedictio Nabuchodonosor super eum est. Maledictio vero in eo, quando aliquis recedit a Deo, et nihilominus in parte diav boli constitutus miseriis suppliciisque torquetur. Vult igitur Deus, ut nunc Scriptura commemorat, testamentum lsraeli maledictionem esse apud Nabuchodonosor. Et ideo quia voluit spernere testamentum Nabuchodonosor rex Jerusalem, et mittens angelos suos in Egyptum testamentum cum Pharaone facere conatus est, ait sermo divinus ο : Non dirigetur, non salvabitur. Quapropter oportet nos ferre patienter, cum a Deo tradimur ultioni. Tradidit quemdam de cmtu Ecclesiae Apostolus diabolo in interitum carnis : et tradidit in carnis interitum, non ut perderet ωο traditum, sed ut spiritum traditi eonservaret. Ex quo Scriptura ait : Tradere istiusmodi Saturne in interitum carnis, ut spiritus salvus fiat in die judicii Domini Jesu. Traditur autem tormentis peccator, ut recipiat in pra:scnti supplicia, et pro peccatis suis cruciatus, in futuro refrigerium consequatur, et dici possit de θον "wellil mala sua in SW- Si igitur. Ῑ) pmnis excruciatus juxta maledictum in quo 'Deus posuit peccatores, maluerit fugere supplicia, et mittere ad Egyptum pro auxiliis comparandis ad Pharaonem a quo liberavit Deus populum suum, non dirigetur, non salvabitur. Si quis autem patienter maledictionem sustinuerit, et supplicia Nabuchodonosor, et tempus peccatorum suorum in cruciatu compleverit, quomodo ille qui secundum Epistolas Pauli excruciatus est, ut spiritus ejus salvus fieret in die judicii, iste finem optimum consequetur. lnducit ergo eum in maledictionem, et Aduces terrae ejus accipiet, ut fiant in regnum infirmi. infirmum edicitur regnum, quod de sancta terra in Babylonem transfertur. Nullus quippe fortis in Babylone, id est in confusione mentis suae. Omnino non potest extolli homo qui confusus est, ut custodiat testamentum meum, ut statuat illud et discedat ab eo, ut mittat nuntios suos in Egyptum. Iste qui a Nabuchodonosor propter peccata sua tormenta perpetitur, et mittit nuntios suos in Egyptum, non ferens traditionem qua hosti concessus est a Deo, ut det ei equos et populum multum, id poscit quod in loco prohibitum est : non enim multiplicabis tibi equos “, ait Scriptura. Si dirigetur, si salvabitur qui facit aduersa, et precariam testamentum . Oportuerat eum qui traditus fuerat testamentum Nabuchodonosor sustinere supplicium : verum non sustinet, et idcirco dicitur de eo : Non salvabitur. ### English translation (Claude) “And he leads them to himself into Babylon, and takes of the seed of the kingdom, and makes a covenant with him.” All of us who have received the word of God are royal seed: “For we are called a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession.” So if any of us who have been placed in the rank of the royal seed is led away captive by the devil through his sin, there is no doubt that he has been led away from the royal race into Babylon and makes a covenant with Nebuchadnezzar, since he has despised the covenant of God. For it is impossible for a man to be without a covenant. If you do not have God’s, you have accepted the covenant of Nebuchadnezzar. For it is written: “He makes his covenant with him and brings him into a curse.” God makes a covenant with us in blessing; but Nebuchadnezzar establishes his covenant in a curse. One who has made a pact with Nebuchadnezzar cannot be in blessing. But someone learned in the divine Scriptures says to me: “I find curses laid down against the sinner in the law of Moses. If, then, by God’s command a curse is laid down against sinners, why should there not, conversely, be some blessing with the devil, so that some are in blessing with him and others in a curse?” To one who asks so acutely and so sharply I will try to reply thus: there is indeed a certain blessing from Nebuchadnezzar, which may God cast far from us; and there is the curse of which we must now speak, which deservedly comes upon sinners. What, then, is the blessing of Nebuchadnezzar? When someone in this world is wealthy and fares well, and everything has flowed for him in a prosperous course, so that what is written can be applied to him, “His cow will not miscarry”: if he has had all the prosperity of the world, the blessing of Nebuchadnezzar is upon him. But the curse lies in this: when someone withdraws from God and is nonetheless, placed on the devil’s side, tormented with miseries and punishments. So God wills, as Scripture now records, that Israel’s covenant with Nebuchadnezzar be a curse. And so, because the king of Jerusalem chose to despise the covenant of Nebuchadnezzar, and, sending his messengers into Egypt, tried to make a covenant with Pharaoh, the divine word says: “He will not prosper, he will not be saved.” Therefore we must bear it patiently when we are handed over by God to punishment. The Apostle handed over someone from the assembly of the Church to the devil for the destruction of the flesh; and he handed him over for the destruction of the flesh not to destroy the one handed over, but to preserve his spirit. Hence Scripture says: “To hand such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of judgment of the Lord Jesus.” The sinner is handed over to torments, so that he may receive punishments in the present and torments for his sins, and in the future obtain refreshment, and it may be said of him: “He received his evil things in his life.” So if one who is tormented with punishments according to the curse in which God placed sinners prefers to flee the punishments and to send to Egypt to obtain help from Pharaoh, from whom God freed his people, he will not prosper, he will not be saved. But if anyone patiently endures the curse and the punishments of Nebuchadnezzar, and completes the time of his sins in torment, like the man who, according to Paul’s epistles, was tormented so that his spirit might be saved in the day of judgment, he will attain the best end. “So he brings him into a curse, and will take the leaders of his land, so that they may become a weak kingdom.” The kingdom which is transferred from the holy land to Babylon is called weak. For no one is strong in Babylon, that is, in the confusion of his own mind. A man who is confused cannot be lifted up at all, “so as to keep my covenant, to establish it. And he departed from it, to send his messengers into Egypt.” This man, who suffers torments from Nebuchadnezzar for his sins and sends his messengers into Egypt, not bearing the handing over by which God gave him up to the enemy, “that it might give him horses and many people,” asks for what is forbidden in another place: “For you shall not multiply horses for yourself,” says Scripture. “Will he prosper, will he be saved, who does contrary things and transgresses the covenant?” The one who had been handed over ought to have endured the covenant of Nebuchadnezzar as his punishment; but he does not endure it, and so it is said of him, “He will not be saved.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:12: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 17:13: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 17:14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 17:15: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Deut 28:15: allusion, medium confidence - Job 21:10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:5: quotation, high confidence - Luke 16:25: quotation, high confidence - Deut 17:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:12–15; 1 Pet 2:9; Job 21:10; 1 Cor 5:5; Luke 16:25; Deut 17:16; cf. Deut 28:15 (the curses of the law). “If you do not have God’s”: the scan is garbled here (“Si habest51) i8ejus”); translated by sense. Origen’s view that punishment accepted in this life leads to refreshment in the next is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 12.3 (PG 13:754b–756b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 12.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-4 - Source: PG 13:756b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Whoever accepts God’s chastisement with thanksgiving honors his “curse” and will receive his blessing; whoever flees it dies in Babylon without help. ### Latin text Vivo ego, dicit Adonai Dominus, nisi in loco regis qui constituit eum , qui spernit maledictionem meam, et transgressus est testamentum meum . Est quidam qui inbonorat maledictionem Dei, et est alius qui honorat eam. Nec dubium est, quin in praesenti de isto queratur Deus, qui maledictionem suam inhonoraverit. Cum enim quis traditus fuerit suppliciis ut castigetur , et non sustinuerit quod praeceptum est, inhonorat maledictionem Dei. Si vero sustinuerit cum omni mansuetudine, et benedictione, et gratiarum actione ad Deum, iste honorat maledictionem ejus; et cum honoraverit maledictionem, necesse est ut etiam benedictionem illius consequatur. Et transgressus est testamentum nicum, cum ipso in medio Babylonis morietur, et non in virtute magna, neque in turba multa faciet Pharao bellum ιδ. Non potest ei qui transgressus fuerit, et inhonoraverit maledictionem Dei, Pharao tribuere auxilium, verum in medio Babylonis pro sua pratvaricatione morietur. ### English translation (Claude) “As I live, says Adonai the Lord, he will die in the place of the king who made him king, who despised my curse and transgressed my covenant.” There is one who dishonors God’s curse, and another who honors it. And no doubt in the present passage God complains of the one who has dishonored his curse. For when someone has been handed over to punishments to be chastised and does not endure what has been commanded, he dishonors God’s curse. But if he endures it with all meekness and with blessing and thanksgiving to God, he honors his curse; and when he has honored the curse, he must also obtain his blessing. “And he transgressed my covenant; with him he will die in the midst of Babylon, and Pharaoh will not make war with great power or with a great multitude.” Pharaoh cannot give help to one who has transgressed and dishonored the curse of God; rather, he will die in the midst of Babylon for his transgression. ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:16: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 17:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:16–17. “Curse” follows Origen’s Greek text (ἀρά; the Hebrew has “oath”). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 12.4 (PG 13:756b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 12.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-5 - Source: PG 13:756b–757b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The cedar shoot planted on the high mountain is the apostles planted in Christ, growing into the Church; the high and green tree brought low is the Jewish people, the dry tree made green the Gentiles. ### Latin text Deinde sequitur, et narrat quid peccatores passuri sunt, et post haec prosperiora quaeque commemorat, dicens “ : Accipiam ergo- de electis cedri, et de vertice cordis evellam, et plantabo ipsum in monte excelso. Post maledictiones quas supra memoravimus, repromissio beatitudinis et dulcissima: pollicitationis in fine sermonis profertur; quia jam qui suppliciis indigebant, fuerant pro peccatis suis tormenta perpessi. Intra memetipsum vero considerans, et diligenter istius loci sensum pertractans, arbitror de apostolis prophetari. isti quippe sunt de electis cedri, de summitate, de vertice, quos dedit Deus in virorem saeculi, radens corda eorum. et plantans eos in- monte excelso Jesu Christo Domino nostro. Et suspendam ipsum in monte alto Israel, et plantabo, et producet propaginem, et faciet fructum . Fecerunt isti propagines, attulerunt fructus. Et erit in cedrum magnam “. Considera magnitudinem et sublimitatem Ecclesiae Christi, ut intelligas juxta promissionem Dei factum esse quod dicitur “‘ : Et erit in cedrum magnam, et requiescet super eo omnis aris, et omne volatile sub umbra ejus requiescet. Assume tibi pennas sermonis Dei, et poteris repausare sub hac arbore quae plautata est in monte excelso. Et requiescet, et propa‘ gines ejus restituentur ’°. Vide quomodo in bona parte prophetia finiatur. Sequitur enim “ : Et cognoscent omnia ligna campi, quod ego Dominus qui humilia lignum altum. Lignum altum populus Judaeorum est, qui nunc humiliatus sceleris sui pinnas luit, quia in Deum nostrum Jesum Christum manus ausus est mittere. Et extollo lignum humile “. Tu cras lignum humile, lignum dejectum, lignum harem; verum sublimavit te Deus. Et arefacio lignum viride ’. Lignum viride circumcisionis est populus, qui quondam pullulans et florens fuit, verum nimia nunc siccitate contabuit; ubi quippe nunc vividus sermo apud eos? Ulli virtutum chorus? Et revirescere facio lignum aridum “. Tu fuisti lignum aridum, et fecit te revirescere Christi adventus. Ego Dominus locutus sum et faciam ’. Quibus dictis utet uos revirescamus, ut fr'uctus valeamus allerre, ut germinans lignum et non siccum efiiciamur, ut nunquam ad radices nostras ponatur securis quin in Evangelio praedicatur, attentius Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum cum Patre suo precemur: cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Arnen ### English translation (Claude) Then he goes on and tells what sinners are going to suffer, and after that recounts more favorable things, saying: “I will take of the choice parts of the cedar, and from the top of their heart I will pluck it off, and I will plant it on a high mountain.” After the curses which we mentioned above, a promise of blessedness and a most sweet pledge is brought forward at the end of the discourse, because those who needed punishments had already suffered torments for their sins. Considering it within myself, and carefully handling the sense of this passage, I think that it prophesies of the apostles. For they are of the choice parts of the cedar, of its summit, of its top, whom God gave for the greening of the world, plucking their hearts and planting them on the high mountain, Jesus Christ our Lord. “And I will hang it on the high mountain of Israel, and I will plant it, and it will put forth shoots and bear fruit.” These made shoots and bore fruit. “And it will become a great cedar.” Consider the greatness and loftiness of the Church of Christ, so that you may understand that what is said has come about according to God’s promise: “And it will become a great cedar, and every bird will rest upon it, and every winged thing will rest under its shade.” Take to yourself the wings of the word of God, and you will be able to rest under this tree which has been planted on the high mountain. “And it will rest, and its shoots will be restored.” See how the prophecy ends on a good note. For there follows: “And all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord, who humble the high tree.” The high tree is the people of the Jews, which, now humbled, pays the penalty of its crime, because it dared to lay hands on our God Jesus Christ. “And I exalt the low tree.” You were the low tree, the cast-down tree, the barren tree; but God has raised you up. “And I dry up the green tree.” The green tree is the people of the circumcision, which once sprouted and flourished but now has wasted away in excessive drought: for where among them now is a living word? Where is a choir of virtues? “And I make the dry tree flourish again.” You were the dry tree, and the coming of Christ made you flourish again. “I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” Having said these things, let us pray the more earnestly to Jesus Christ our Lord with his Father that we too may flourish again, that we may be able to bear fruit, that we may become a budding and not a dry tree, so that the axe that is preached in the Gospel may never be laid to our roots: to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 17:22: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 17:23: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 17:24: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:32: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 3:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 17:22–24; Matt 13:32; Matt 3:10. Origen’s statements about the Jewish people are translated exactly as written; they reflect his reading of Ezek 17:24. Leaked marginal references are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 12.5 (PG 13:756b–757b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/12-1/#p-12-5). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 13.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-1 - Source: PG 13:757b–759a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The prince of Tyre lamented by Ezekiel is not a man but one of the angelic princes set over the nations, like the princes in Daniel; these powers, not human persecutors, are the Church’s real enemies. ### Latin text Praecipitur nobis ab episcopis discutere sermanem principis Tyri, ut Iaudes ejus culpasque dicamus: necnon jussum est, ut de Pharaone rege aliqua retractemus. Plangitur itaque princeps Tyri, nec putandum est hunc hominem esse. In medio quippe cherubim nullus hominum est creatus, et in paradiso Dei, si simpliciter litteram sequimur, hominum nullus est enutritus. Et cum in paradiso deliciarum, sicuti diximus, nemo fuerit, nunc dicitur princeps 'l‘yri in paradiso deliciarum Tyri? natus atque enutritus. Quis iste est princeps Tyri? Veniamus ad Danielem et occasionem intelligentiae reperientes dicamus non esse principes corporeos, de quibus nunc quaeritur; post Danielem ab Apostolo petamus exemplum, deinde rursum prophetarum testimonia vocemus. His omnibus etiam ille copulandus est locus, qui a Moyse in Deuteronomio non tacetur. Age, nunc replicemus exempla incipientes a Daniele. Princeps, ait, vester Michael, ibique rursum princeps Israhel et in consequenti Michael adjuvabat principem regni gentium. Ad haec addit Apostolus: Gloria autem et honor et pax omni operanti bonum, Iudaeo primum et Graeco. Et adjuvare principem Israelitarum, principem regni Graecorum, fortasse jam factum est. In adventu quippe Domini mei Jesu Christi, princeps Israel adjuvit principem regni Graecorum, ut gentes consequerentur salutem, et illi credendo salvarentur. Atque ita in hunc modum dicitur quidam princeps regni Persarum, sicut dictus est Michael princeps lsraelitarum, et alius Graecorum. Non sunt ergo hi. homines, nec secundum locorum voeabula in quibus imperant nominantur. Unde et Apostolus quasi non de hominibus disputans, ait ’ : Sapientiam enim loquimur inter perfectos, sapientiam autem non hujus swculi, neque principum seaculi istius qui destruuntur, sed loquimur Dei sapientiam in mysterio absconsum, quam prazdestinavit Deus ante saecula in gloriam nostram, quam nullus principum seaculi istius cognovit. Si enim cognouissent, nunquam Dom minum gloria: crucifixissenl. Et quod istius principes crucifixerunt Salvatorem et Dominum, prophetia testis est, dicens“ : Astiterunt reges terror, et principes convenerunt in unum adversus Dominum et aduersus Christum ejus. Unde et alibi in Psalmis scribitur ’° : Ego dixi: Dii estis, et filii omnes ; vos autem ut homines moriemini, et tanquam unus de prin cipibus cadetis. Et est ibi sermo de nullo penitus prin-. cipe corporali. Si igitur est quidam princeps regni Persarum, si est princeps lsraelitarum Michael, consequenter et Tyri princeps est : et de his nunc principibus propheticus sermo loquitur. Quoniam autem et de Moyse testimonium polliciti sumus, ausculta quod sequitur“: Quando dividebat Altissimus genies, cum disseminavit filios Adam, statuit fines gentium secundum numerum angelorum Dei, sive, ut melius habet, secundum numerum filiarum Israel, et facta est pars Domini populus ejus Iacob. Alii principi facta est pars Tyrus, alii Babylon, aliis aliae nationes: atque ita in hunc modum principes possederunt omnes lines gentium. Si quis autem putat legens in Scripturis quasi de horninibus dictum, intelligat altius spiritalis, et et nullo judicotus. Dignoscuntur enim quaedam de Nabuchodonosor rege Assyriorum, quae non conveniunt persona: ejus. Dixit enim " : In fortitudine faciam, et sua 1) pientia intellectus auferam fines gentium, et commovebo civitates inhabitatas, et orbem terrarum omnem comprehendam; et : ascendam super sidera caeli, et nubes, et reliqua, et ero similis Altissimo”. Hac Nabuchodonosor. Sic et princeps Tyri et Pharao. Neque enim in tantum agitatus est furiis verus et corporeus Pharao, ut diceret : Mea sunt flumina, et ego feci ea. Hoc autem ante lectum est in prophetia q'uie est adversus Pharaonem. Neque unquam princ cipem illum, id est corporeum Pharaonem draconem nuncupasset, dicens ’δε Ecce ego super Pharaonem draconem qui sedet in medio fluminum Egypti, qui dicit : Mea sunt flumina, et ego feci ea. Verum hoc in loco'proprio reservetur, quod nunc idcirco assumpsimus ut per notionem Scripturarum manifeStiusilieret id quod videbatur occultum. Adversum hos principes est nobis pugna. Et beati apostoli qui missi fuerant ad praedicandum, quando ab his qui fines gentium possederant homines abducebant, patiebantur insidias. Verbi gratia dictum sit:ingressi sunt apostoli Tyrum. persecutus est eos princeps Tyri; ascenderunt Antiochiam, impugnavit eos princeps regni Syriae, iste erat qui bellahat adversus eos, non omnes qui putabantur, ut ludas proditor. Quomodo enim ille non principaliter putandus est prodidisse Salvatorem, sic etiam apostolis omnibus qui persecutionem passi sunt, alius fuit princeps persecutionis. Scriptum est quippe de Juda ὐτ Et post buccellam introivit in illum Satanas. Non est enim nobis pugna adversus carnem et sanguinem, Videam“ ex came εί sanguine (ιυὶ nos Perse' quuntur. Non eos oderimus, quin potius diligamus, licet inimici nobis velint permanere, misereamur eoruun, daemonium habent, patiuntur insaniam. Non tam hi sunt adversum nos, quinos persequuntur, quam illi qui corda eorum repleverunt. Verum Domini deprecemur auxilium, ut infirmos habeant conatus tanti adversarii contra humanam animam dimicantes, et dicamus ’σε Nisi quia Dominus erat in nobis, in eo cum exsurgerent homines in nos, forsitan uiuos deglutissent nos. lgitur est quidam princeps Tyri, et prophetia non de Hiram nos docet, hoc quippe nomen in tertio Regnorum libro Scriptum est, non de alio principe Tyri, neque de quoquam homine, non nos humana docent eloquia, sed divina, et quaedam inell‘abilia, et sacratasub personis hominum. Pharao homo est : aliud quiddam erudior intelligere Pharaonem. Et Nabal .Carmeli homo est, et [liram homo, sed aliud sub eorum doceor elligie. Quis est tantus ct talis qui a corporalibus conscendat, qui a visibilihus invisibilia contempletur, et possit unumquodque borum secundum Dei intelligere voluntatem? ### English translation (Claude) We have been instructed by the bishops to discuss the word about the prince of Tyre, so as to speak of his praises and his faults; and we have also been ordered to treat something about King Pharaoh. So the prince of Tyre is lamented, and it must not be thought that he is a man. For no man was created in the midst of the cherubim, and, if we simply follow the letter, no man was brought up in the paradise of God. And although, as we said, no one was in the paradise of delight, now the prince of Tyre is said to have been born and brought up in the paradise of delight. Who is this prince of Tyre? Let us come to Daniel and, finding there an occasion for understanding, say that the princes about whom the question now is are not bodily ones; after Daniel, let us seek an example from the Apostle, and then call again on the testimonies of the prophets. With all these must also be joined the passage which Moses does not pass over in silence in Deuteronomy. Come, let us now unfold the examples, beginning from Daniel. “Your prince,” he says, “Michael,” and there again the prince of Israel; and in what follows, “Michael helped the prince of the kingdom” of the nations. To this the Apostle adds: “But glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” And for the prince of the Israelites to help the prince of the kingdom of the Greeks has perhaps already happened. For at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ, the prince of Israel helped the prince of the kingdom of the Greeks, so that the nations might obtain salvation and those, by believing, might be saved. And so in this way a certain prince of the kingdom of the Persians is spoken of, as Michael is called the prince of the Israelites, and another the prince of the Greeks. These, then, are not men, nor are they named after the names of the places where they rule. Hence the Apostle too, as though he were not discussing men, says: “For we speak wisdom among the perfect, but not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are being destroyed; but we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.” And that the rulers of this age crucified the Savior and Lord, prophecy bears witness, saying: “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.” Hence elsewhere too in the Psalms it is written: “I said, You are gods, and all of you sons; but you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” And there the word concerns no bodily prince at all. So if there is a certain prince of the kingdom of the Persians, if Michael is prince of the Israelites, it follows that there is also a prince of Tyre; and it is of these princes that the prophetic word now speaks. And since we promised a testimony from Moses too, listen to what follows: “When the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God,” or, as it better reads, “according to the number of the sons of Israel; and his people Jacob became the Lord’s portion.” Tyre became the portion of one prince, Babylon of another, other nations of others; and in this way the princes took possession of all the boundaries of the nations. But if anyone, reading in the Scriptures, thinks it is said as of men, let him, as a spiritual man who judges all things and is judged by no one, understand more deeply. For certain things are recognized concerning Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians which do not fit his person. For he said: “By strength I will do it, and by the wisdom of understanding I will remove the boundaries of the nations, and I will shake the inhabited cities, and I will seize the whole world”; and: “I will ascend above the stars of heaven and the clouds,” and the rest, “and I will be like the Most High.” So much for Nebuchadnezzar. So too with the prince of Tyre and Pharaoh. For the real, bodily Pharaoh was never so driven by madness as to say: “The rivers are mine, and I made them.” This was read earlier in the prophecy against Pharaoh. Nor would the prophet ever have called that prince, that is, the bodily Pharaoh, a dragon, saying: “Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the dragon who sits in the midst of the rivers of Egypt, who says: The rivers are mine, and I made them.” But let this be kept for its proper place; we have taken it up now so that, through knowledge of the Scriptures, what seemed hidden might become plainer. Against these princes is our struggle. And the blessed apostles who had been sent to preach suffered their snares when they drew men away from those who held the boundaries of the nations. For example: the apostles entered Tyre, and the prince of Tyre persecuted them; they went up to Antioch, and the prince of the kingdom of Syria attacked them. He was the one who made war against them, not all those who were thought to, such as Judas the traitor. For just as Judas is not to be thought the principal betrayer of the Savior, so for all the apostles who suffered persecution another was the chief author of the persecution. For it is written of Judas: “And after the morsel Satan entered into him.” “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” We see those of flesh and blood who persecute us. Let us not hate them, but rather love them; though they wish to remain our enemies, let us pity them: they have a demon, they suffer madness. It is not so much those who persecute us who are against us, as those who have filled their hearts. But let us beg the Lord’s help, so that the efforts of so great an adversary, fighting against the human soul, may be weak, and let us say: “If it had not been that the Lord was with us when men rose up against us, perhaps they would have swallowed us alive.” So there is a certain prince of Tyre; and the prophecy does not teach us about Hiram (for this name is written in the third book of Kingdoms), nor about another prince of Tyre, nor about any man. It is not human words that teach us, but divine ones, and certain ineffable and sacred things under the persons of men. Pharaoh is a man; I am taught to understand something else by Pharaoh. Nabal of Carmel is a man, and Hiram is a man; but under their image I am taught something else. Who is so great and of such a kind as to climb up from bodily things, to contemplate invisible things from visible ones, and to be able to understand each of these according to the will of God? ### Scripture references - Ezek 28:12: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 28:13: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 28:14: allusion, high confidence - Dan 10:21: quotation, high confidence - Dan 10:13: allusion, high confidence - Rom 2:10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 82:6 (81:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 82:7 (81:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Deut 32:8: quotation, high confidence - Deut 32:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:15: allusion, high confidence - Isa 10:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 14:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 14:14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 29:3: quotation, high confidence - John 13:27: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 124:1 (123:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 124:3 (123:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 5:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 25:2: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 28:12–14; Dan 10:21, 13, 20; Rom 2:10; 1 Cor 2:6–8; Ps 2:2; Ps 82:6–7 (81:6–7 LXX); Deut 32:8–9 (Septuagint “angels of God”, with the reading “sons of Israel” preferred); 1 Cor 2:15; Isa 10:13–14; Isa 14:13–14; Ezek 29:3; John 13:27; Eph 6:12; Ps 124:1–3 (123:1–3 LXX); 1 Kgs 5:1; 1 Sam 25:2. The homily was preached at the bishops’ request. A badly garbled passage (from “Who is this prince of Tyre?” to “to help the prince of the Israelites”) is replaced by Baehrens’s text in a logged correction. Origen’s teaching that angelic princes rule the nations is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 13.1 (PG 13:757b–759a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 13.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-2 - Source: PG 13:759a–763b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God laments even the fallen prince of Tyre; believers are called to rise to the place from which such powers fell, receiving Christ’s seal and the soul’s true beauty, and must beware of falling through pride. ### Latin text Quis est ergo princeps iste discamus, ut cognoscentes lamentationem, etiam quod nunc super ea dicitur, evitemus. Plangitur princeps Tyri. Quam bonus Deus, qui etiam eos qui se de- ο flet! Et hoc venit etiam ex amoris aflectu. Nemo quippe. plangit quem odit; et qui plangitur, plangitur quidem ut mortuus, verum quasi adhuc quiec ratur, quasi vivis desiderio sit, diligitur. Et Jerusalem quando plangitur scriptum est : Et factum est postquam captus est Israel, et desolata est Jerusalem, sedit Jeremias flens et lamentans lamentationem istam super Jerusalem, et ait : Quomodo sedet sola civitaanuw abundat populis : facta est ut vidua qua: multiplicata erat in nationibus : princeps in regionibus facta est in tributum. Plangitur et Nabuchodonosor. Ubi sunt haereses? ubi sunt qui aiunt istos in perditionem creatos esse? Criminantur Cmmrem, ut se criminibus absolvant. Accipe lamentationem istam super regem Babylonis, et dices, quomodo cessavit qui repetebat? quomodo quievit qui exigebat "1' In regem Babylonis ista dicuntur“: Quomodo cecidit Lucifer de creto, qui mane oriebatur, contritus est in terram? Et ille de coelo cecidit, et iste signaculum similitudinis, corona decoris, in paradiso deliciarum nutritus. Ecce omnes de caelo cecidisse, non descendisse referuntur; Dominus vero meus de caelo descendit, et qui descendit ipse est filius hominis. At non sicut Satanas. Non enim descenditde cmlo, neque ei mali quidquam acciderat, si descendisset. Audi Jesum dicentem ‘°~: Videbam Satanam quasi fulgur de calo cadentem, non descendentem. Verum non solus Salvator e caelo , descendit : quotidie multitudo descendit, et ascendit super Filium hominis. Videbitis .e‘nim calum apertuirn, et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes super F ilium hominis “. Et tu exspecta ascensionem . tuam. Tantum a ruina consurge, et audi :exsurge, Jerusalem, a ruina tua, spera quia sis ascensurus in caelum, et cave ne tibi quoque dicatur “ : Nunquid qui cadit non resurget ? aut aversus non convertetur? Vua qui convertuntur conversione pessima, dicit Dominus. Et ἰεῦ itaque de his unus estqui ruerunt, et plangitur ab homine princeps, cum princeps hominem flere debuerit. llatno est Ezechiel, et [ilius hominis; qui vero plangitur, Nabuchodonosor est rex Babylonis. Accipe et tu lamentationem tuam super regem Babylonis, et dices " : Quomodo quievit qui repetebat, et reliqua. Considera in quantam spem vocatus sis, ο qui carne circumdatus dicis “z Quasi lac me emulsisti, coagulasti autem me ad similitudinum casei, cute et carnibus me vestisti, ossibus et nervis me contexisti. Tu ergo qui de conditione tua dolebas, ecce plangis, et ille qui carne non est circumdatus, a te plangitur; vocatus es enim in eam spem de qua ille cecidit. Peccato Israel salus gentibus subintravit. Audebo aliquid sacratius dicere: in locum angelorum qui ruerunt, tu ascensurus es, et mysterium quod aliquando illis creditum est, tibi credendum erit, de quo dicitur : Quomodo cecidit Lucifer, qui mane oriebatur? Tu vero lux lactus es mundi, tu pro illo Lucifer : unus de stellis erat Luciler qui de cado ruit, et tu, si tamen de semine es Abraham, inter stellas cteli computaberis. Eduxit enim Alnaltam foras, et dixit ei Deus : Respice, sic erit semen tuum. Hoc autem tunc erit, quando stella: cadent ut folia de cado, et erit alia gloria satis, et alia gloria lance, alia gloria stellaru’m. Stella enim ab stella di/fert in claritate, sic et resurrectio mortuorum". Verum noli gloriari adversum istiusmodi tiunc ramofH, qui iu- fidehtate- ceciderunt et fracti sunN; tu, quia fide stas-, fide et ad- scendes. Et ijer boc, quod platigis principem Tyri* et ea cuni lainen- tatione deploras quae superius interposuimus, edocere ne forte in his bonis repertus quae princeps 'Tyri habuit, etiam tu incipias ruere, si paululum fueris gloriatus, et non custodieris Omni custodia cor tuum. Vide quippe quid dicat ad principem Tyri. Tu signaculum similitudinis . Volo nosse quid fuerit, ut signaculum similitudinis nuncupatus sit. Cum profeceris, accepisti signaculum; quoniam Deus vere hujus Pater quem signavit et misit, et ideo semper credentes signantur a Domino. Jam autem et commune proverbium venit, ut dicamus : ille et ille non accepit signaculum, et ille signaculum habet. Quis habet signaculum? ille quem signavit Deus. Audcho aliquid dicere, quia signaculo isto ille signatus est, qui haptizat in Spiritu sancto et igne, ille qui largitur imaginem caelestis, qui {sntiat te ad superiora, ut ultra non portes imaginem terrestris. Cave, homo, ne saeculum istud egrediens, signaculo diaboli sis impressus. liabet quippe ille signaculum. Sicuti portavimus imaginem terrestris δ’, unde , vel quando, vel qui significavit, hoc signo portaverimus imaginem terrestris. Circuit diabolus et lustrat omnia, volens et ipse signare subjectos sibi. Signat autem singulorum corda considerans, et imprimit in eis figuram terreni per peccata , per vitia, ut portent imaginem terrestris. Audi Jesum quid respondeat, quando imaginem et inscriptionem Caesaris postulatur : Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat ο. Nam quia non habebat eam imaginem quam petebatur, neque ipse, neque discipulus suus, docet ubi valeat reperiri imago quae quaeritur : Vade, inquit εί, ad mare, et mitte hamum, et eum piscem qui primus ascenderit, tolle, et aperies os ejus; et cum inveneris staterem, tolle illum, et dabis pro me et te. Neque ego habeo hanc imaginem et superscriptionem, neque tu; si tamen vere discipulus meus es, si porta: inferorum non praevalent adversum te. Ergo Jesus aliter dat pro se imaginem de mari illam accipiens, quae in pisce fuerat inclusa, similis his piscibus de quibus hodie lectum est, qui adherant in squamis draconis qui sedet super flumina Egypti. Vere quippe istiusmodi pisces ibi adhaerent. Quanti et hodie pisces sunt quorum rex est iste qui in aquis multis regnat? Scriptura est quippe de ina visibili dracone, quia ipse rex sit omnium qui sunt in aquis; verum tu non es in aquis, sed in ea terra quae tibi reprOtnittitur. Et hinc dicta sunt, ut diligentius ventilaremus quod sit signaculum similitudinis. Quam beatus fuit in illo tempore quo signaculum similitudinis erat. Tibi adhuc deest ut similitudo signaculi tias, et procul es ab ejusmodi munere. Dixit quidem Deus ” : Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram; altamen necdum consecutus es similitudinem: fecit quippe Deus hominem, ad imaginem Dei fecit. Ubi Dei est similitudo? Cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est . Ego sic accipio ethoc quod dicitur a Propheta“: Deus, q is similis tibi? quasi illud : Quis putas fidelis et sapiens dispensator? sicut et hoc: Cum enim apparuerit, similes ei erimus. Quis est qui assimiletur ei? Pauci admodum sunt qui receperunt similitudinem ιιι apostoli. Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Istc ergo qui nunc plangitur, signaculum erat, et plenus sapientia , quem et ιιι planges , si factus fueris Ezechiel. Nescio autem si et tu sapientia plenus luetis : in» terim iste qui plangitur, plenus erat sapientia, et erat decoris corona. Considera qualis fuerit, qui ‘ fuit corona decoris. Non simpliciter decor, nec gloria erat in eo, sed corona glorias. llnnc autem decorem noli extra te quaerere, sed circa animae regionem, ubi cogitatorium, ubi in‘tellectualc consistit, ubi vera est pulchritudo. Quod si volueris ibi quaerere decorem ubi caro est, et sanguis, humor, et venas, ubi materia corporalis, non poteris invenire. Si quidem verus decor in Salvatore est, ct ita ab illo juxta largitionem et miscricordiam ejus in cunctorum divisus est anilitas. Accingere gladith tuum circa femur tuum, potentissime, specie tua, et decore tuo, et pulchritudine tua ". Est igitur aliquis decor in principali cordis nostri, et in anima. Quia autem istiusmodi decor etiam ad animam pertingat humanam, Prophetas te doceat, dicens " : Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam, et obliviscere populi, et domus patris tui, quia concupivit rea: decorem tuum, id est sponsus. Quis ita habet pulchram animam, quis tantum possidet decorem, quis ita est extraneus ab omni fmditate, ιιι possit ei dici: Concupivit rea: decorem tuum ? Et tu quidem adhuc istum quaeris decorent, et niteris ad placendum; iste vero a decore quem habuit, in turpitudinem concidit. Et quomodo in corporibus saepe videmus accidere, ut mulier speciosa et pulchra facie ab aegrotatione decorem suum perdat, et per senectutem splendorem vultus amittat : eodem modo ct qum pulchra erat, per infirmitatem amittit deco rem, et per senectutem deformis edicitur. Cum enim susceperit veterem hominem cum actibus Dsuis, senectute ejus pristinum perdit decorem. Venit Jesus ut transferat nos a vetere homine, et senectutis insignibus: ruga quippe senectutis indicium est, ut ait Apostolus : Ut exhibeat sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam , non habentem maculam , aut rugam, aut aliquid istiusmodi, verum ut sit sancta et immaculata. Licet igitur a senectute et ruga ad juveutntem transcendere : et hoc est in hac parte mirabile, quod corpus ab adolescentia pergit ad senium ; anima vero si venerit ad perfectum, senecta in adolescentiam transmittitur. Idcirco etiamsi exterior homo noster corrumpitur , sed interior renovatur de die in diem ". Oportuit te nosse decorem quem rex concupiscit, oportuit te scire eum qui aliquando fuit decoris corona : et ιιι cum fueris consecutus hanc gloriam, cave ne corruas, si quidem et iste qui corruit, signaculum erat similitudinis, plenus sapientia, et decoris corona. In deliciis paradisi Dei tui inquinatus es °°. Non ait simpliciter paradiso, sed in paradiso deliciarum. Quaero utrum sint quaedam paradisi difl‘erentiaa, et cum quis in paradiso Dei fuerit, tamen non sit in paradiso deliciarum , sicut latro ille prima hora cum Jesu ingressus est paradisum. Si a te rogem, putasne in paradisum introgressus est, annon, non dubium quin eum respondeas introgressum. Deinde si rursum a te quaeram, quid ergo introgressus paradisum , statimne deliciarum loco exceptus est? dicas forsitan, quia prima .hora ingressus sit paradisum, in paradiso deliciarum Dei factus non est. Sin autem jam videris eum accipientem de ligno vitae, et de cunctis arboribus quas non interdixit Deus, ita ut de omni ligno paradisi vescentem; si aspexeris eum, et illius ligni, et omnium quae nunc prohibita non sint, cibum edere ; et a te rogem, putasne iste non solum in paradiso lactus est, verum etiam in paradiso deliciarum Dei : quid mihi aliud responsurus es, nisi eum in paradisi deliciis constitutum? Ad hanc beatitudinem tu l'eν stinas, qui videris plangere. Iste vero qui plangitur, fuit quondam in deliciis Dei. ### English translation (Claude) Let us learn, then, who this prince is, so that, recognizing the lamentation, we may avoid what is now said over him. The prince of Tyre is lamented. How good God is, who mourns even those who have fallen away from him! And this too comes from the feeling of love. For no one laments one whom he hates; and the one who is lamented is lamented indeed as dead, but he is loved as one still sought, as one whom the living miss. And when Jerusalem is lamented it is written: “And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive and Jerusalem laid waste, that Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem and said: How does the city sit alone that was full of people! She has become like a widow, she who was great among the nations; the princess among the provinces has become a tributary.” Nebuchadnezzar too is lamented. Where are the heresies? Where are those who say that these beings were created for destruction? They accuse the Creator so as to absolve themselves of charges. Take up this lamentation over the king of Babylon, and you will say: “How has the oppressor ceased! How has the exactor rested!” These words are spoken against the king of Babylon: “How has Lucifer, who rose in the morning, fallen from heaven, crushed to the earth!” Both that one fell from heaven, and this one, the seal of likeness, the crown of beauty, brought up in the paradise of delight. See, all are reported to have fallen from heaven, not to have descended; but my Lord descended from heaven, and he who descended is himself the Son of Man. But not as Satan did. For Satan did not descend from heaven, nor would anything bad have happened to him if he had descended. Hear Jesus saying: “I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven”: falling, not descending. But the Savior is not the only one to descend from heaven: daily a multitude descends and ascends upon the Son of Man. “For you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” And you too, await your ascent. Only rise from your fall and hear: “Arise, Jerusalem,” from your fall; hope that you will ascend into heaven, and beware lest it be said to you too: “Shall he who falls not rise again? Or shall he who turns away not turn back? Woe to those who turn with a very bad turning, says the Lord.” So this one too is one of those who fell, and a prince is lamented by a man, when a prince ought to have wept for a man. Ezekiel is a man, and a son of man; but the one who is lamented is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Take up your lamentation too over the king of Babylon and say: “How has the oppressor rested,” and the rest. Consider to what hope you have been called, you who, clothed with flesh, say: “You poured me out like milk and curdled me like cheese; you clothed me with skin and flesh, you knit me together with bones and sinews.” You, then, who grieved over your condition, behold, you lament, and he who is not clothed with flesh is lamented by you; for you have been called to that hope from which he fell. “By the sin of Israel salvation has come in to the Gentiles.” I will dare to say something more sacred: you will ascend to the place of the angels who fell, and the mystery once entrusted to them will be entrusted to you, of which it is said: “How has Lucifer, who rose in the morning, fallen?” But you have been made “the light of the world”; you, in his place, are Lucifer. Lucifer, who fell from heaven, was one of the stars; and you, if indeed you are of the seed of Abraham, will be counted among the stars of heaven. For God led Abraham outside and said to him: “Look: so shall your seed be.” And this will be when “the stars fall like leaves from heaven,” and there will be “one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars. For star differs from star in glory; so also is the resurrection of the dead.” But do not boast against such branches, which fell through unbelief and were broken off; you stand by faith, and by faith you will ascend. And by this very thing, that you lament the prince of Tyre and bewail with lamentation the things we have set out above, be taught, lest perhaps, being found in those good things which the prince of Tyre had, you too begin to fall, if you have boasted a little and have not guarded your heart with all vigilance. For see what he says to the prince of Tyre: “You are the seal of likeness.” I want to know what he was, that he was called the seal of likeness. When you have made progress, you have received the seal; for God the Father truly sealed and sent him, and so believers are always sealed by the Lord. And a common saying has now come about, so that we say: “So-and-so has not received the seal, and so-and-so has the seal.” Who has the seal? He whom God has sealed. I will dare to say that he was sealed with this seal who baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire, he who bestows the image of the heavenly, who lifts you to higher things, so that you no longer bear the image of the earthly. Beware, O man, lest on leaving this world you be stamped with the seal of the devil. For he too has a seal. “As we have borne the image of the earthly”: whence, or when, or by whom it was signified, we have borne the image of the earthly by this sign. The devil goes around and surveys all things, wishing himself to seal those subject to him. He seals the hearts of individuals, observing them, and imprints on them the figure of the earthly through sins, through vices, so that they bear the image of the earthly. Hear what Jesus answers when the image and inscription of Caesar is demanded; he who has ears to hear, let him hear. For because neither he nor his disciple had the image that was asked for, he teaches where the image sought can be found: “Go,” he says, “to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and open its mouth; and when you find a stater, take it and give it for me and for you.” Neither I have this image and inscription, nor you, if indeed you are truly my disciple, if the gates of hell do not prevail against you. So Jesus gives the image for himself in another way, taking it from the sea, where it was enclosed in a fish, like the fish of which it was read today, which cling to the scales of the dragon who sits upon the rivers of Egypt. For truly such fish cling there. How many fish are there today whose king is this one who reigns in many waters? For it is written of the invisible dragon that he is king of all that are in the waters; but you are not in the waters, but in the land that is promised to you. These things have been said so that we might sift more carefully what the seal of likeness is. How blessed he was in the time when he was the seal of likeness! You still lack becoming the likeness of the seal, and you are far from such a gift. God did say, “Let us make man in our image and likeness”; yet you have not yet attained the likeness: for God made man; in the image of God he made him. Where is the likeness of God? “When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” In this way I also take what is said by the prophet, “O God, who is like you?” as in the saying, “Who, do you think, is the faithful and wise steward?” and likewise, “For when he appears, we shall be like him.” Who is it who is made like him? Very few have received the likeness, such as the apostles. “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” So this one who is now lamented was a seal, and “full of wisdom”; and you will lament him too, if you have become an Ezekiel. I do not know whether you too will be full of wisdom; meanwhile, the one who is lamented was full of wisdom, and was a crown of beauty. Consider what he was like who was a crown of beauty. Not simply beauty or glory was in him, but a crown of glory. Do not seek this beauty outside yourself, but in the region of the soul, where the faculty of thought and the intellect reside, where true beauty is. But if you wish to seek beauty where there is flesh and blood, fluids and veins, where there is bodily matter, you will not be able to find it. For true beauty is in the Savior, and so it has been distributed from him, according to his bounty and mercy, among all … “Gird your sword upon your thigh, O most mighty, in your comeliness and your beauty.” So there is a certain beauty in the ruling part of our heart and in the soul. And that such beauty reaches even to the human soul, let the prophet teach you, saying: “Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house, for the king has desired your beauty,” that is, the bridegroom. Who has so beautiful a soul, who possesses such beauty, who is so far from all ugliness, that it can be said to him, “The king has desired your beauty”? And you are still seeking this beauty and striving to please; but this one fell from the beauty he had into ugliness. And as we often see happen in bodies, that a woman lovely and beautiful of face loses her beauty through illness and loses the brightness of her face through old age, in the same way the soul that was beautiful loses its beauty through weakness and becomes deformed through old age. For when it has taken on the old man with his deeds, it loses its former beauty through his old age. Jesus came to transfer us from the old man and from the marks of old age (for a wrinkle is a sign of old age), as the Apostle says: “That he might present to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it might be holy and without blemish.” So it is possible to pass from old age and wrinkles to youth; and this is wonderful in this respect, that the body passes from youth to old age, but the soul, if it comes to perfection, is changed from old age into youth. Therefore, “though our outer man is wasting away, yet the inner is renewed day by day.” You had to know the beauty which the king desires; you had to know him who was once a crown of beauty; and you, when you have attained this glory, beware lest you fall, since this one too, who fell, was a seal of likeness, full of wisdom, and a crown of beauty. “In the delights of the paradise of your God you were defiled.” He does not say simply “in paradise,” but “in the paradise of delights.” I ask whether there are certain differences in paradise, so that one may be in the paradise of God and yet not be in the paradise of delights, like that thief who entered paradise with Jesus at the first hour. If I ask you whether you think he entered paradise or not, no doubt you will answer that he entered. Then if I ask you again, “Having entered paradise, then, was he at once received into the place of delights?” perhaps you will say that at the first hour he entered paradise, but was not placed in the paradise of God’s delights. But if you see him taking of the tree of life, and of all the trees which God did not forbid, so as to feed on every tree of paradise; if you see him eating the food both of that tree and of all that are not now forbidden, and I ask you whether you think he has been placed not only in paradise but also in the paradise of God’s delights, what else will you answer me but that he has been placed in the delights of paradise? To this blessedness you are hastening, you who seem to be lamenting. But this one who is lamented was once in the delights of God. ### Scripture references - Ezek 28:12: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 28:13: quotation, high confidence - Lam 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Isa 14:4: quotation, high confidence - Isa 14:12: quotation, high confidence - John 3:13: allusion, high confidence - Luke 10:18: quotation, high confidence - John 1:51: quotation, high confidence - Isa 51:17: allusion, medium confidence - Jer 8:4: quotation, high confidence - Jer 8:5: quotation, medium confidence - Job 10:10: quotation, high confidence - Job 10:11: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:11: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:14: allusion, high confidence - Gen 15:5: quotation, high confidence - Isa 34:4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:41: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:42: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:18: allusion, high confidence - Rom 11:20: allusion, high confidence - Prov 4:23: allusion, high confidence - John 6:27: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:11: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: quotation, high confidence - Matt 22:20: allusion, high confidence - Matt 17:27: quotation, high confidence - Matt 16:18: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 29:3: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 29:4: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:27: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 3:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 71:19 (70:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:42: quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:3 (44:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:10 (44:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:11 (44:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Col 3:9: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:27: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:16: quotation, high confidence - Luke 23:43: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 28:12–13; Lam 1:1 (with its Greek preface); Isa 14:4, 12; John 3:13; Luke 10:18; John 1:51; Isa 51:17; Jer 8:4–5; Job 10:10–11; Rom 11:11; Matt 5:14; Gen 15:5; Isa 34:4; 1 Cor 15:41–42; Rom 11:18–20; Prov 4:23; John 6:27; Matt 3:11; 1 Cor 15:49; Matt 22:20; Matt 17:27; Matt 16:18; Ezek 29:3–4; Gen 1:26–27; 1 John 3:2; Ps 71:19 (70:19 LXX); Luke 12:42; Ps 45:3 (44:4 LXX); Ps 45:10–11 (44:11–12 LXX); Col 3:9; Eph 5:27; 2 Cor 4:16; Luke 23:43. The heretics who say some beings were “created for destruction” held that natures are fixed (a Gnostic view). “But the one who is lamented is Nebuchadnezzar” is as printed; the lament in Ezek 28 is over the prince of Tyre. The words after “among all” are garbled in the scan; marked “…”. Origen’s views that believers may take the place of fallen angels and that the soul can grow young again are translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 13.2 (PG 13:759a–763b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 13.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-3 - Source: PG 13:763b–764b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The twelve precious stones of the prince of Tyre correspond to the stones of the heavenly Jerusalem and to the virtues, like the twelve virgins of the Shepherd of Hermas, built on the foundation of Christ. ### Latin text Omnem lapideus bonum indutus est, sardinum et carbunculum, sapphirum et beryllum, et hyacinthum, et jaspim “ , et reliquos duodecim lapides. Diflicilis est, et ultra vires .nostras naturamque hujus loci se expositio sustollit. Quis enim potest naturain uniuscujusque lapidis exponere, et describere, sive colorem, sive vim ejus. ut valeat reperire quare lapidea isti assumpti sint? Attamen licet non simus tales, qui cuncta intelligere possimus, pauca videamus, quomodo duodecim istis lapidibus indutus fuerit. Si cui divina: litterae curae sunt: ad quam rem sape exhortamur adolescentes, sed ut video, nihil proficimus, tantummodo tempora consumentes : non enim potuimus aliquos eorum ad id perducere, ut sacris voluminibus insisterent : et duodecim illos lapides, et caetera requirat in Scripturis. inveniet et in Apocalypsi eodem modo atque ordine nuncupatos . Qui ibi primus, et hic primus est positus, qui secundus secundus, qui tertius tertius, qui quartus quartus, atque ita usque ad duodecimum lapidem ordo servatus est. Cur ergo et super quo lapides isti , in Apocalypsi nuncupati sunt? Utique super portas Jerusalem caelestis. Ibique dicitur quia prima porta topazium sit, secunda smaragdus, tertia carbunculus, quarta sapphirus: atque ita in hunc modum in singulas portas singuli lapides distribuuntur. Si intellexeris portas Jerusalem. et portas filiae Sion, ubi et oportet te canere Duo: Cantabo quippe, ait “, omnes laudes tuas in portis filia: Sion; si animadverteris quomodo indutus sit aliquis duodecim lapidibus, et ingressus Jerusalem, et per alias portas ingressus , conspicies virgines ξ duodecim. ln libro Pastoris, in quo angelus patuitentiam docet, duodecim virgines habent nomina 7 sua, fides, continentia, etc. Potestis quippe legere si vultis. Deinde quando turris aedificatur, cum ; assumpseris fortitudines virginum, pariter accipies et id quod de portis dicitur: ornamentum quippe ᾗ tibi est unaquaeque virtus: atque ita in hunc mo- ξ dum supersediflcant fundamento Christi, non solum aurum et argentum, verum et lapides με· ξ tiosos. Prohibilum est autem aedificare ligna , lenum et stipulam. Intus est igitur iste lapis duo- Ε dechnus. ### English translation (Claude) “You were clothed with every good stone: sardius and carbuncle, sapphire and beryl, and jacinth and jasper,” and the rest of the twelve stones. The exposition of this passage is difficult, and rises beyond our strength and its own nature. For who can set out the nature of each stone and describe its color or its power, so as to be able to find why these stones were chosen? Yet, though we are not such as to be able to understand everything, let us look at a few points: how he was clothed with these twelve stones. If anyone cares for the divine writings (to which we often exhort the young; but, as I see, we make no progress and only waste our time, for we have not been able to bring any of them to apply themselves to the sacred books), let him look for these twelve stones and the rest in the Scriptures. He will find them named in the Apocalypse too, in the same way and order. The one that is first there is placed first here, the second second, the third third, the fourth fourth, and so the order is kept up to the twelfth stone. Why, then, and upon what are these stones named in the Apocalypse? Upon the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, of course. And there it is said that the first gate is topaz, the second emerald, the third carbuncle, the fourth sapphire; and in this way one stone is assigned to each gate. If you understand the gates of Jerusalem and the gates of the daughter of Zion, where you too must sing to God (“For I will sing,” he says, “all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion”); if you notice how someone has been clothed with twelve stones and has entered Jerusalem, and entered through other gates, you will see twelve virgins. In the book of the Shepherd, in which the angel teaches repentance, twelve virgins have their names: faith, continence, and the others. You can read it if you wish. Then, when the tower is being built, once you have taken up the powers of the virgins, you will at the same time grasp what is said of the gates: for each virtue is an ornament to you; and in this way they build upon the foundation of Christ not only gold and silver but also precious stones. But it is forbidden to build wood, hay, and straw. So this twelfth stone is within. ### Scripture references - Ezek 28:13: quotation, high confidence - Rev 21:12: allusion, high confidence - Rev 21:19: allusion, high confidence - Rev 21:20: allusion, high confidence - Rev 21:21: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 28:17: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 9:14 (9:15 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:11: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:12: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Herm. Sim. 9.15.2 (Shepherd of Hermas: Similitudes): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 28:13; Rev 21:12, 19–21; Ps 9:14 (9:15 LXX); 1 Cor 3:11–12; cf. Exod 28:17–20. Origen’s claim that the Apocalypse names the stones in the same order is as printed (Rev 21:19–20 lists them differently). The twelve virgins with the names of virtues are in the Shepherd of Hermas, Sim. 9.15. The last sentence is obscure as printed. Origen’s complaint that the young neglect the Scriptures is his own aside. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 13.3 (PG 13:763b–764b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-3). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 13.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-4 - Source: PG 13:764b–765b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sidon’s “hunters” are those who lure hearers from the Church; Pharaoh’s rivers are heretical teachings, while Christ is the river that gladdens the city of God. ### Latin text Et nobis adhuc imperatum est ut dicamus de Tyro, et Sidone, et Pharaone. Angustia temporis ξ neque superiora quae cmpimus implere permisit, η et haec quae volumus enarrare quasi commenti more perstringenda sunt breviter. Comminatio est in Sidonem, quae interpretatur venatores. Anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium“. Si Hebraice legis, habes de laqueo Sidoniorum. Igitur Sidonii venatores sunt, et comminatio qua fit in eos, propter te fit, quoniam volunt te capere, ἒ et diligenter observant quomodo auditores Scriptu- ᾗ rarum de Ecclesia avellant, quomodo de finibus lu- ἶ ducat ad linem Sidonis transferant; verum tu omni Ε custodia serva cor tuum , et disce quia comminatio χ in venatores tui causa sit. De Pharaone vero jam ἰ aliqua sermo memoravit, aflirmans eum draconem ξ sedentem in medio fluminum, atque dicentem“: η Mea sunt flumina, et ego feci illa. Novi ego difleo Ῠ rentias fluminum, et scio flumina in quibus draco sedeat, super quae flumina hi quide Israel capti iuev rant,sedentes cum carmen Sion canere non possent. flebant, secundum id quod in Psalmis scriptum est : Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et [le- η vimus. Et scio aliud flumen, cujus impetus laetificat civitatem Dei, juxta Psalmistae vocem dicentis : Fluminis impetus laatificat deitatem Dei. Vis audire quis est iste fluvius cujus impetus lictilicat civitatem Dei? Jesus Christus Dominus noster est fluvius cujus impetus lmtilicat civitatem Deilste est qui ait per Isaiam ‘3: Ecce ego declinoin vos quasi fluvius pacis. Scio ego quosdam esse fluvios repromissos, qui ex hoc fluvio manant. Omnis enim qui biberit ea: aqua ista, sitiet autem biberit ea: aqua quam ego dedero, ait Jesus. non sitiet in internum, sed erit [iuvius in eo foll aqua: salientis in vitam wternam 69; et: Flumina de tria sunt impossibilia mihi ad intelligendum, via serpenti's supra petram τι, petra autem erat Christus, et non est via serpentis ubi est Iesus; sic non possum in his fluminibus draconis invenire vestigia. Est autem quidam fluvius quem draco fecit: dicit quippe draco, et comminatur Deus tam draconi, quam fluviis in quibus est draco: Mea sunt flumina, et ego feci illa τ’. Audi luereticum cum omni versutia et ingenio praedicantem necdum venisse Iesum Christum. Ista sunt flumina in quibus versatur draco, et ipse fecit ea, et dicit draco: Mea sunt flumina, et ego feci illa. Idcirco diligenter attende cum aquam biberis, ne forte dc illo fluvio bibas in quo sedit draco ; sed bibe ex aqua viva et de eo fluvio in quo est sermo Dei, in quo Dominus noster Jesus Christus: cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) And we have also been commanded to speak about Tyre, Sidon, and Pharaoh. The shortness of time did not allow us to complete even the earlier things we began, and what we want to set out must be touched on briefly, in the manner of a commentary. There is a threat against Sidon, which means “hunters.” “Our soul has been rescued like a sparrow from the snare of the hunters.” If you read it in Hebrew, you have “from the snare of the Sidonians.” So the Sidonians are hunters, and the threat made against them is made for your sake, since they want to catch you, and carefully watch how to tear the hearers of the Scriptures away from the Church, how to transfer them from the borders of Judah to the border of Sidon. But you, keep your heart with all vigilance, and learn that the threat against the hunters is for your sake. Of Pharaoh the discourse has already said something, declaring that he is the dragon sitting in the midst of the rivers and saying: “The rivers are mine, and I made them.” I know the differences between rivers, and I know rivers on which the dragon sits, on which the sons of Israel had been held captive, sitting and weeping, since they could not sing the song of Zion, according to what is written in the Psalms: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept.” And I know another river, whose stream gladdens the city of God, according to the voice of the psalmist, who says: “The stream of the river gladdens the city of God.” Do you want to hear who this river is whose stream gladdens the city of God? Jesus Christ our Lord is the river whose stream gladdens the city of God. He it is who says through Isaiah: “Behold, I turn toward you like a river of peace.” I know that certain rivers are promised which flow from this river. “For everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water which I will give,” says Jesus, “will never thirst, but it will become in him a river of water springing up to eternal life”; and: “Rivers …” “Three things are impossible for me to understand … the way of a serpent upon a rock”; “and the rock was Christ,” and there is no way of the serpent where Jesus is; so I cannot find the tracks of the dragon in these rivers. But there is a certain river which the dragon made: for the dragon speaks, and God threatens both the dragon and the rivers in which the dragon is: “The rivers are mine, and I made them.” Hear a heretic preaching with all cunning and ingenuity that Jesus Christ has not yet come. These are the rivers in which the dragon dwells; he made them, and the dragon says, “The rivers are mine, and I made them.” Therefore take careful heed when you drink water, lest perhaps you drink from that river in which the dragon sat; but drink of the living water, and of that river in which is the word of God, in which is our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ezek 28:21: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 28:22: allusion, high confidence - Ps 124:7 (123:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 4:23: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 29:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 137:1 (136:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 46:4 (45:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 66:12: quotation, high confidence - John 4:13: quotation, high confidence - John 4:14: quotation, high confidence - John 7:38: allusion, medium confidence - Prov 30:18: quotation, high confidence - Prov 30:19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 28:21–22; Ps 124:7 (123:7 LXX); Prov 4:23; Ezek 29:3; Ps 137:1 (136:1 LXX); Ps 46:4 (45:5 LXX); Isa 66:12; John 4:13–14; John 7:38; Prov 30:18–19; 1 Cor 10:4. Words are lost in the scan after “and: Rivers”; marked “…”. The heretic who preaches that Jesus Christ “has not yet come” may refer to the Marcionite claim that the Christ foretold by the prophets is still to come. “Sidon” as “hunters” is Origen’s etymology. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 13.4 (PG 13:764b–765b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/13-1/#p-13-4). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 14.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/14-1/#p-14-1 - Source: PG 13:765b–766a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The shut eastern gate of Ezekiel’s temple, through which only the Lord and the prince pass, cannot be taken literally of a material gate. ### Latin text Et ait Dominus ad eum: Porta haec clausa erit, non aperietur, et nemo per eam transibit, quia Dominus Deus Israel transibit per eam,et egredietur, cteritclousa. Portas plures templi describit specialiter Ezechiel tilius hominis, et quod de singulis descripserit portis, nunc rursus exponit his qui habent aures ad audiendum, de porta sanctorum exteriore quae respicit contra orientem, et clausa sit semper. Et ait Dominus ad eum : Porta hinc clausa erit, non aperietur, et nemo per eam transibit, quia Dominus Deus Israel ingredietur per eam , et egredietur, et erit clausa. Et aliam causam addit cur clausa sit porta, non solum quia Dominus Deus transibit per eam, sed quia et dux sedebit in ea , ut comedat panem coram Domino, secundum viam Eloam , quod interpretatur vestibulum portae. Et ingradietur secundum viam ejus, et egredietur . Dnminus Deus universitatis conditor per aliquam portam, quae ex sensibili materia est, atque clausa semper, ingreditur et egreditur, et ejus causa qui coelum terramque fundavit, ingrediens et egrediens nusquam porla reserabitur. ### English translation (Claude) “And the Lord said to him: This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will pass through it, because the Lord God of Israel will pass through it and go out, and it will be shut.” Ezekiel, the son of man, describes several gates of the temple one by one, and what he described of each gate he now sets out again, for those who have ears to hear, concerning the outer gate of the holy places which faces east and is always shut. “And the Lord said to him: This gate will be shut; it will not be opened, and no one will pass through it, because the Lord God of Israel will enter by it and go out, and it will be shut.” And he adds another reason why the gate is shut: not only because the Lord God will pass through it, but because “the prince will also sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord, by the way of Elam,” which means “the porch of the gate.” “And he will enter by its way and go out.” Does the Lord God, the maker of the universe, enter and go out through some gate made of sensible matter and always shut, and will no gate ever be unlocked for him who founded heaven and earth, as he enters and goes out? ### Scripture references - Ezek 44:1: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 44:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 44:3: quotation, high confidence - Matt 11:15: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 44:1–3; Matt 11:15. “Elam” (Ailam, the porch) and its meaning follow Origen’s Greek text. The last sentence is rendered as a question, as the argument requires. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 14.1 (PG 13:765b–766a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/14-1/#p-14-1). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 14.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/14-1/#p-14-2 - Source: PG 13:766a–767c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The shut gate signifies the hidden meanings of Scripture, opened only by Christ, who holds the key of knowledge; some mysteries are known to Christ alone, the prince who eats the bread within. ### Latin text Verum alia ratio est portae exterioris, et secundum viain sanctorum. Quae est ergo illa ratio ut clausa permaneat? Supradictus dux ibi sedet, ut nemo eum videat edentem panem in conspectu Domini. Qui haec observate legit nonne quodammodo Scripturam audit loquentem : Surge qui dormis ? Nonne stimulatur ut exsurgat a mortuis, et ea qua: clausa sunt quairat? Ego audenter dicam secretiora quaeque clausa esse, et manifestiora reserata, et non esse clausa. Aperientes ea quae clausa sunt, haec nos dicimus , sed Evangelia testantur": Va: vobis, Scriba: et Phariswi hypocrita, et vobis legis doctoribus vae, quia tulistis clavem scientiae, et ipsinon intrastis, et ingredientes prohibuistis. Est igitur quedam clavis scientiae ad ea quae sunt clausa, reseranda; et sunt plurimi neque ipsi ingredientes, neque eos permittentes qui ingredi volunt. Et in alio loco sensus Scripturarum liber dicitur esse signatus. Et erunt sermones libri istius quasi sermones libri signati : quem si dederint homines litteras nescienti, dicentes ei : Lege; et dicet: Nescio litteras;et dabunt cum homini scienti litteras, dicentes ei : Lege; et dicet : Non possum legere, signatus est enim ". Manifestius autem voluntatem hujus exempli, Apocalypsis Joannis continet, memorans : Circuivit angelus dicens, quis dignus aperire signacula , et solvere ea, etlegere quia scripta sunt ? Et nemo inventus ’ est in caelo, neque in terra, neque sub terra, qui possit aperire signacula,et legere quae scripta erant in libro. Sed ego flebam, et venit quidant ad me, et dixit mihi : Noli flere. Ecce vicit leo de tribu Juda, radia: et genus David, aperire librum, et solvere signacula ejus. Et aperuit qui erat de tribu Juda, et manifestavit quae erant scripta. Quandiu non venit Deus meus, clausa erat lex, clausus sermo propheticus, velata lectio Veteris Testamenti, et usque ad hanc diem quando legitur Moyses, velamentum in corde Iudaeorum est positum , Sunt autem quidam qui amant velamentum, et oderunt eos qui de velamine interpretantur: sed nos convertamur ad Dominum, ut ablato velamine dicamus ο : Nos autem omnes revelata facie gloriam Dei speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur a gloria in gloriam. Verum est quaedam porta , et una , et clausa per quam nemo transiit. Sunt quippe quaedam universae creatura: incognita, et uni tantummodo nota. Neque enim quidquid novit Filius, hoc mundo aperuit. Non capit creatura quod capit Deus : et ut ad majora veniam, non capiunt signa aequaliter cognitionem. Plus eratin Paulo quam in Timotheo, cum esset vas electionis. Et vere magnum in domo vas Timotheus, rursum capitquze ego capere non possum. Et estforsitan aliquis qui etiam me minus capiat : sunt quaedam quae solus Christus capit , et idcirco clausa est janua templi Dei. Qua: est enim ista, obsecro? Exterior quae extra mundanas res, et incorporeas, et, ut ita dicam, immateriales aperit. Neque enim frustra positum est, exterioremjanuam semper esse clausam. Quae est ista janua exterior? Sanctorum. Quare clausa? Quia Dominus Deus lsrael solus ingreditur, et egreditur per eam. Quare ingreditur? Ut cognoscatur. A quo? Δ duce. Quis ad clausam portam dux iste? Salvator est, qui pa- ‘ nem comedit, qui portam cum patre claudit, qui spiritali pascitur cibo, meus cibus est, dicens , ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me , ut perficiam ejus. Clausa est itaque ianua, ut nemo videat magnum sacerdotem panem in Sanctis sanctorum comedentem. ### English translation (Claude) But there is another account of the outer gate, by the way of the holy places. What, then, is the reason that it remains shut? The prince mentioned above sits there, so that no one may see him eating bread in the sight of the Lord. Does not one who reads this attentively in a way hear Scripture saying, “Rise, you who sleep”? Is he not spurred to rise from the dead and to seek the things that are shut? I will boldly say that all the more secret things are shut, and that the plainer things are unlocked and not shut. In opening what is shut we say this; but the Gospels also testify: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; and woe to you, lawyers, because you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” So there is a certain key of knowledge for unlocking what is shut; and there are very many who neither enter themselves nor allow those who wish to enter. And in another place the sense of the Scriptures is said to be a sealed book: “And the words of this book will be like the words of a sealed book: if men give it to one who does not know letters, saying to him, Read, he will say, I do not know letters; and they will give it to a man who knows letters, saying to him, Read, and he will say, I cannot read, for it is sealed.” The Apocalypse of John contains the meaning of this example more plainly, recording: “An angel went round saying, Who is worthy to open the seals and loose them and read what is written? And no one was found in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the seals and read what was written in the book. But I wept, and one came to me and said to me: Do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root and stock of David, has conquered, to open the book and loose its seals.” And he who was of the tribe of Judah opened it and made known what was written. As long as my God had not come, the law was shut, the prophetic word was shut, the reading of the Old Testament was veiled; and “to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies” on the heart of the Jews. But there are some who love the veil and hate those who interpret what lies under the veil. But let us turn to the Lord, so that, when the veil is taken away, we may say: “But we all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of God, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” Yet there is a certain gate, one and shut, through which no one has passed. For there are certain things unknown to the whole creation and known to one alone. For the Son has not opened to the world whatever he knows. The creation does not grasp what God grasps; and, to come to greater things, not all grasp knowledge equally. There was more in Paul than in Timothy, for Paul was a chosen vessel. And Timothy, truly a great vessel in the house, in turn grasps what I cannot grasp. And there is perhaps someone who grasps even less than I. There are certain things which Christ alone grasps, and that is why the door of God’s temple is shut. Which, I ask, is this door? The outer one, which opens onto what lies outside worldly things, onto things incorporeal and, so to speak, immaterial. For it is not without reason that it is laid down that the outer door is always shut. What is this outer door? The door of the holy places. Why is it shut? Because the Lord God of Israel alone enters and goes out by it. Why does he enter? To be known. By whom? By the prince. Who is this prince at the shut gate? The Savior, who eats the bread, who shuts the gate with the Father, who is fed with spiritual food, saying, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” So the door is shut, so that no one may see the great priest eating bread in the holy of holies. ### Scripture references - Ezek 44:2: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 44:3: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:14: quotation, high confidence - Luke 11:52: quotation, high confidence - Matt 23:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 29:11: quotation, high confidence - Isa 29:12: quotation, high confidence - Rev 5:2: quotation, high confidence - Rev 5:3: quotation, high confidence - Rev 5:4: quotation, high confidence - Rev 5:5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:15: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:16: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence - Acts 9:15: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:20: allusion, high confidence - John 4:34: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Ezek 44:2–3; Eph 5:14; Luke 11:52 (Matt 23:13); Isa 29:11–12; Rev 5:2–5; 2 Cor 3:14–18; Acts 9:15; 2 Tim 2:20–21; John 4:34. “Not all grasp knowledge equally”: the scan reads “signa” for the subject, probably a misreading; translated by sense. Origen’s view that some things are known to Christ alone and not revealed to the world is translated as written. A leaked column number and a garbled word are corrected by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 14.2 (PG 13:766a–767c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/14-1/#p-14-2). ## Homilies on Ezekiel 14.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/14-1/#p-14-3 - Source: PG 13:768a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As certain priestly foods were eaten only in the holy place, Christ alone eats the bread of the Father’s nature, though he also invites believers to dine with him and gives them daily bread. ### Latin text Ad haec autem probanda quae dicimus, qui Leviticum legit , ablato ex corde suo velamine, poterit agnoscere mysterium sacerdotum. l'hi quippe de sacrificiis et cibi quos soli sacerdotes comedunt, refertur. Sunt quidam eihi sacerdotales, quos non comedit sacerdos in domo sua, non cum filiis, licet sacerdotalcs sint, non cum uxore, licet legitime ei nupserit, sed in loco sancto comedit eos , et comedit ibi escam in Sancta sanctorum. Quomodo sacerdos non comedit escam in domo sua, aut in alio quoquam loco, sed in Sanctis sanctorum; sic Salvator meus solus comedit panem, nullo valente comedere cum eo. Est autem quidam locus, in quo comedens, etme secum attrahit ad vescendum. Ecce enim, inquit”, ad ostium sto, et pulso ; si auis mihi aperuerit, ingrediar ad eum, et camaba cum eo, et ipse mecum. Ex quo apparet, et alium posse caenare cum eo. Porro quaedam esca est,qua solus tantummodo vescitur. Excellens quippo ab universa conditione natura ejus, et ah omnibus segregata, facit eum quotidianum panem de Patris natura comedere. Unusquisque nostrum petit panem quotidianum, et petens quotidianum panem, non eumdem, nec ejusdem mensurte eum accipit, verum semper in orationibus puris, et munda conscientia, in factis justitiae, quotidianum comedimus panem. Si quis vero minus purus est, alio modo quotidianum comedit panem. Dominus autem, qui omnium judex est, det nobis panem viventem, ut cibati eo, et corroborati possimus in ctelum iter facere , glorificantes Deum omnipotentem, per Christum Jesum : cul est glmia et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) To prove what we say, one who reads Leviticus with the veil taken from his heart will be able to recognize the mystery of the priests. For there it speaks of sacrifices and of the foods which only the priests eat. There are certain priestly foods which the priest does not eat in his house, nor with his sons, though they are priestly, nor with his wife, though she married him lawfully; but he eats them in the holy place, and there he eats the food in the holy of holies. Just as the priest does not eat the food in his house or in any other place but in the holy of holies, so my Savior alone eats the bread, no one being able to eat with him. But there is a certain place where, as he eats, he draws me too to eat with him. For “Behold,” he says, “I stand at the door and knock; if anyone opens to me, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.” From this it appears that another too can dine with him. But there is a certain food which he alone eats. For his nature, excelling all creation and set apart from all things, makes him eat daily bread from the nature of the Father. Each of us asks for daily bread, and in asking for daily bread does not receive the same bread nor in the same measure; but always, in pure prayers and with a clean conscience, in deeds of righteousness, we eat daily bread. But if anyone is less pure, he eats daily bread in another way. May the Lord, who is the judge of all, give us living bread, so that, fed and strengthened by it, we may make our journey to heaven, glorifying God almighty through Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Lev 6:16: allusion, high confidence - Lev 6:26: allusion, high confidence - Lev 10:12: allusion, medium confidence - Lev 10:14: allusion, medium confidence - Rev 3:20: quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:11: allusion, high confidence - John 6:51: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations and allusions: Lev 6:16, 26; Lev 10:12–14; Rev 3:20; Matt 6:11; John 6:51. Origen’s view that Christ alone feeds on the Father’s nature is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ezech. 14.3 (PG 13:768a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-ezechielem/14-1/#p-14-3).