# Homilies on Psalms 36–38 (LXX numbering; Psalms 37–39 in English Bibles) - Author: [Origen](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/origen/) - Latin title: *Homiliae in Psalmos XXXVI–XXXVIII* - Date: ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) (approximate) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graeca, vol. 12 (Paris, 1862), cols. 1319–1410 (Rufinus's Latin translation, from the edition of Charles de la Rue; the Greek of the Catena fragments and the editor's notes printed in the columns are not reproduced) (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 12 (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: Emanuela Prinzivalli, Origène: Homélies sur les Psaumes 36 à 38, SC 411 (Paris: Cerf, 1995) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/ - Passages: 69 ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-1 - Source: PG 12:1319b–1323a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Origen calls Psalm 36 (37) wholly moral and explains “do not emulate”: neither lead others into wickedness nor imitate the wicked; from Deut 32:21 and 1 Cor 10:22 he shows that “emulate” means to provoke jealousy. ### Latin text Multifarie, multisque modis Deus loculus est patribus in prophetis . Aliquando quidem inetiabilia sacramenta nos edocet in his quae loquitur : aliquando autem de Salvatore et de ejus adventu nos instruit :inlerdum vero mores nostros corrigit et emendat. Propter quod nos tentabimus per loca singula Scriptura: divinae hujuscemodi dill‘erentias assignare, et discernere ubi prolilietia: sint et de futuris dicatur, ubi autem mystica aliqua indicantur, ubi vero moralis est locus. Incipientcs igitur cxiilanationem trigesimi sexti psalmi, invenimus quod totus psalmus iste moralis est, et velut cura qiuedam ac medicina humanae anima: datus, cum peccata nostra arguit, et edocet nos secundum lcgem vivere. Sed videamus jam quale nobis princi- (ἶ pium dat primus versiculus. Noli, inquit ’, wntulari inter malignantes, neque wniulatus fueris [acientes iniquitatem : quoniam sicut fenum cito arescent, et sicut olera herbarum cito decident. Duo sunt quidem quae nos docet in liis verbis facere non debere. Primo quidem ne :emulemur inter malignantes, secundo ne aemulemur cos qni faciunt iniquitatem, quoniam sequitur cum qui inter malignantes aemulatur, ut arescat sicut fanum, ct lioc cum non tarde, sed cito esse paSsmttltt; in eum vero qui aemulatur facientes iniquitatem, sequitur, ut sicut olera herbarum cito decidat. Et secundum simplicem quidem littera: intellectum, non aemulari inter malignantes hoc videtur indicare ne inter malos et pessimos homines cernulator quis malitiae, id est dux et auctor exsistat, et velut l'ormam flagitii caeteris prtebens. Emulari vero eos qui iaciunt iniquitatem, illud est, si imitetur quis, et discat agere inique. Et hoc est in utroque quod dicitur, ut neque exeniplam malitia: caeteris pra:lieas, neque ipse aliarum malorum sequaris exenipla. Verum ut plenius quid etiam intrinsecus sermo iste contineat, agnoscamus, conveniens puto adluibere de Scripturis divinis sicubi hunc sermonem invenimus scriptum, et Spiritalibus spiritalia comparare, ut quid per hmc'indiceiur, ένίάθηιίυε ρειteat. Scriptum est in Deuteronomio ; Ipsi in zelum me concitaverunt in non Deo, ad iram me concitaverunt in idolis suis, et ego in zelum adducam eos in non gentem. llic ubi Latine dicitur, in selum adduxerunt me, et ego in zelum adducam, in Graue idem ipse sermo est, qui et in psalmi initio est dictus, id est, mnutlati stitit me, et ego annulabor cos. Quamvis sermo ipse Grzeetts, id est, παρε ζήλωσαν, significmuius in Latino υλριείιιιί Videatur, si dicamus irritaverant me, idem tamen ipse est sermo. Sed et in Apostolo scriptum est ο : An cenzulamur Dominum ? Nunquid fortiores illo annus ? Et ubi habetur, (cunctamur Dominum, in quihusdam exemplaribus, irritamtts Dominum, scriptum est. Ex quibus omnibus testimoniis indicatur, quod mmulari aliquem, irritare cum est et provocare : ut, verbl causa , si tali utamur exemplo :Sttnt quzedam mulieres impudicae et nequam, quae si forte viros in amoris furtivi illecebris ceperint, processu temporis occultis non contenta: flagitiis, volunt etiam pudicis conjugibus innotescere, quod ab earum viris amentur, ut ex hoc in Zt'lUIII excitent, et irriteut, ac perturbent alienas domos. Si intellexisti exempli virtutem. quomodo pellex zelum concitet uxori, et hoc debes advertere quid sit minulari inter aliquos, id est, cum eis malitia: alicujus incitamenta priebentur. Denique quia sermo ille Deuteronomii, iu quo alt: Ipsi in zelum adduxerunt me in non Deo, id est παρεζήλωσαν, hoc significet, ex hoc manifestius claret quod alibi scriptum est , quia Deus noster Deus zelaus dicitur. Zelans autem maritus dici solet de conjuge sua, cum ei pudicitiam sollicitius et cautius curat, nec pollui patitur conjugis castitatem. Unde consequenter qui peccat, Deum qtti zelaus dicitur, in zelum incitat, et irritat. Verum haec omnia abusive audienda sunt de Deo, sicut et ea quae de furore Dei dicuntur, vel de somno, vel de tristitia, per quae illud intelligitur quid unusquisque nostrum pro actibus suis de Deo mereatur. Denique sic ο dixit in Deuteronomio , quia ipsi in zelum adduxerunt me in non Deo, et exacerbaverunt me in idolis suis, id est, colentes idola in zelum concitaverunt me. Sed quid sequitur? Et ego in zelum adducant eos in non gentem, in gentem insipientem irritabo eos. Unde etiam nunc Judtei non moventur adversus gentiles, adversum eos qui idola colunt, et Deum blasphemant, et illos non oderunt, nec iudiguantur adversum eos ; adversum Christianos vero insatiabili odio feruntur, qui utique relictis idolis ad Deum conversi sunt. Cum ergo videris Judaros odio habentes Christianum et insidiantes ei, intellige quia completur prophetia illa quae dicit : Et ego concitabo eos in non gentem. Nos enim sumus non gens, qui pauci ex ista civitate credimus, et alii ex alia, et nusquam gens integra ab initio credulitatis videtur assumpta. Non enim sicut Judteorum gens erat, vel Egyptiorum gens, ita etiam Christianorum genus gens est. una, vel integra, sed sparsim ex singulis gentibus cougregantur. Dicit ergo, quia Ego in zelum eos inducam in non gentem, in gentem insipientem irritabo eos. Et ideo irritantur in nos, et odio nos habent velut gentem insipientem, dicentes se esse sapientes, quoniam quidem primis ipsis commissa sunt eloquia Dei, et meditantes a puero usque ad sencctutctn legem Dei, in legem Dei non pervenerunt; Λ sed ideo quae stulta sunt elegit Deus hujus mundi, ut confundat Sapientes, et sic impletur quod scriptum est : In gentem insipientem irritabo eos. Sed et quod dicit Apostolus 3’: An teiitulamur Dominunt ἔ) Nunquid fortiores sumus illo ? videamus quid iudicet. In eo loco hare dixit, ubi de saeriliciis, t'l‘ de his quas idolis immolantur, disputat. An temulantur, ait, Dominum, hoc est zelo concitamus. edentes ea quae idolis immolata sunt, sicut Judmi zelum ejus commoverunt in idolis suis ? Nunquid etiam nos simili modo facere volumus? Ideo ergo ait: An wnmlamur Dominum? Nunquid fortiorrs illo sumus .' Hoc est quod dicit. Si quidem concitemus zelum alicui qui inferior est viribus nostris, possumus facile contemnere ; si vero fortem concitemus in zelum, nunquid non in propriam molimur ista perniciem? Si ergo vescimur idolis immolatis, et adversum nos zelum Domini concitamus, fortiorem iram contra nos, id est ad proprium interitum provocamus. Si quando ergo videris hominem nequam, observa, et cave ne zelum ejus concites adversum te, ne quid incaute facias, unde nequitia concitetur. Verbi causa, ut per exemplum planius fiat quod dicitur, beatus David Saul malignantem concitavit in zelum, quando processit ante exercitum, et occidit Goliam, et processerunt chori puellarum et mulierum dicentes " : Percussit Snul in millibus, et David in decem millibus. Quod utic que si studio suo egisset David, attnttlatus fuisset in malignitate Saul. Sed nunc non suo studio factu m est ttt exirent chori puellarum, et hujuscemodi hymnum dicerent, quia David percussit indecem millibus, et Saul in millibus. Iloc estergo quod nos edocet psalmus, ut quoniam genus hominum proclive est ad zelotypiam, et perfacile ad vitiant istud inclinatur, observa ne id agas, quod malos homines in inmolationem tui irritet, et ad insidiandum tibi concitet, vel ad odium tui excitet. Et est hoc totum quod significatur in his omnibus, ut neque ipse provoces ntali aemulationem adversum te, neque tu nequitiam tentuleris alienam. QuOllIOtlt. ergo homo nequitiam annulatur alterius? Sint: dubio cum eadem agit. Quod autem dico, tale est: Si quis sit per iniquitatem dives factus ex paupere, si sit vicinus ejus egens, et videat illum qui de terra surrexit, et ad divitiarum culmen ascendit, et incipiat annulari ut similiter etiam ipse ex iniquitatedizescat, hoc est aemulari facientes iniquitatem. Sed et si quis eum qui vel furtivis stupris, vel illicitis conatibus ultra locum et mensuram Suam invadit nuptias, domos, divitias, aemulari velit, :emulatus est facientes iniquitatem. lam vero eos qui per diversa flagitia, vel indignas atque illicitas ambitiones ad immerita bonorum culmina pervenerunt, et iniquis factionibus vel cruentis manibus honores non sibi debitos oreuparunt, hos si … latus est facientes iniquitatem. ### English translation (Claude) “In many and various ways God spoke to the fathers in the prophets.” Sometimes he teaches us ineffable mysteries in what he says; sometimes he instructs us about the Savior and his coming; sometimes he corrects and amends our morals. For this reason we shall try, passage by passage, to mark such differences in divine Scripture, and to distinguish where there are prophecies and things to come are spoken of, where something mystical is indicated, and where a passage is moral. Beginning, then, the explanation of the thirty-sixth psalm, we find that this whole psalm is moral, given as a kind of care and medicine for the human soul, since it reproves our sins and teaches us to live according to the law. But let us now see what beginning the first verse gives us. “Do not,” it says, “emulate among the evildoers, nor envy those who do iniquity; for like grass they will soon wither, and like the green herbs they will soon fall.” There are two things it teaches us in these words that we must not do: first, not to emulate among evildoers; second, not to emulate those who do iniquity. For it follows that one who emulates among evildoers will wither like grass, and will suffer this not slowly but soon; while for one who emulates those who do iniquity it follows that he will soon fall like the green herbs. According to the simple understanding of the letter, “not to emulate among evildoers” seems to mean that among bad and very wicked men no one should be a rival in wickedness, that is, its leader and author, offering others, as it were, a pattern of shameful conduct; while “to emulate those who do iniquity” means that someone imitates them and learns to act unjustly. And this is what is said in both: that you should neither offer others an example of wickedness nor yourself follow the examples of other wicked people. But to understand more fully what this saying contains inwardly, I think it fitting to bring in any place in the divine Scriptures where we find this word written, and to compare spiritual things with spiritual, so that what it signifies may become plain. It is written in Deuteronomy: “They provoked me to jealousy with what is no god, they provoked me to anger with their idols; and I will provoke them to jealousy with what is no nation.” Here, where the Latin says “they provoked me to jealousy, and I will provoke them to jealousy,” the Greek has the same word that is used at the beginning of the psalm, that is, “they emulated me, and I will emulate them.” Although the Greek word, parezēlōsan, would seem to be rendered more expressively in Latin if we said “they irritated me,” it is still the same word. And in the Apostle it is written: “Or do we emulate the Lord? Are we stronger than he?” And where it has “do we emulate the Lord,” some copies have “do we provoke the Lord.” From all these testimonies it is shown that to emulate someone is to irritate and provoke him. Let us use an example: there are some shameless and wicked women who, if they happen to catch men in the snares of secret love, in course of time are not content with hidden disgrace, but want the chaste wives too to know that their husbands love them, so as thereby to rouse them to jealousy, irritate them, and throw other people’s households into turmoil. If you have understood the force of the example, how a mistress rouses a wife to jealousy, you should notice from it also what it is “to emulate among” some, that is, when they are given incitements to someone’s malice. That the word of Deuteronomy, “They provoked me to jealousy with what is no god,” that is, parezēlōsan, means this is made still clearer by what is written elsewhere, that our God is called a jealous God. A husband is usually called jealous of his wife when he guards her chastity anxiously and carefully and does not allow his wife’s purity to be defiled. Hence it follows that one who sins rouses to jealousy and irritates God, who is called jealous. But all these things must be heard of God in a loose sense, like what is said of God’s fury, or sleep, or sorrow, by which is meant what each of us deserves from God by his deeds. So he said in Deuteronomy that “they provoked me to jealousy with what is no god, and embittered me with their idols,” that is, by worshiping idols they roused me to jealousy. But what follows? “And I will provoke them to jealousy with what is no nation; with a foolish nation I will irritate them.” Hence even now the Jews are not stirred up against the Gentiles, against those who worship idols and blaspheme God; they do not hate them nor feel indignation against them; but against the Christians, who have surely left idols and turned to God, they are carried away by insatiable hatred. When, then, you see the Jews hating a Christian and plotting against him, understand that the prophecy is fulfilled which says: “And I will provoke them with what is no nation.” For we are “no nation”: a few of us believe from this city, others from another, and nowhere does a whole nation appear to have been taken up from the beginning of the faith. For the Christian people is not one whole nation, as the nation of the Jews or the nation of the Egyptians was; they are gathered, scattered, from each nation. He says, then: “I will provoke them to jealousy with what is no nation; with a foolish nation I will irritate them.” And so they are irritated against us and hate us as a foolish nation, saying that they are wise, since the oracles of God were entrusted to them first; and though they meditate on the law of God from boyhood to old age, they have not attained to the law of God. But God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and so what is written is fulfilled: “With a foolish nation I will irritate them.” And as for what the Apostle says, “Or do we emulate the Lord? Are we stronger than he?”, let us see what it means. He said this in the place where he discusses sacrifices and the things sacrificed to idols. “Do we emulate the Lord?” he says; that is, do we rouse him to jealousy by eating what has been sacrificed to idols, as the Jews stirred his jealousy with their idols? Do we too wish to act in the same way? So he says: “Do we emulate the Lord? Are we stronger than he?” This is what he means: if we rouse the jealousy of someone inferior to us in strength, we can easily disregard it; but if we rouse a strong one to jealousy, are we not working our own ruin? If, then, we eat what has been sacrificed to idols and rouse the Lord’s jealousy against us, we provoke a stronger wrath against ourselves, that is, to our own destruction. Whenever you see a wicked man, then, be watchful and take care not to rouse his jealousy against you, and not to do anything incautiously by which his wickedness may be stirred up. For instance, to make what I say plainer by an example, blessed David roused the wicked Saul to jealousy when he went out before the army and killed Goliath, and the choruses of girls and women came out saying: “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” If David had done this by his own design, he would have emulated Saul in malice. But as it was, it was not by his design that the choruses of girls came out and sang such a hymn, that David had struck down ten thousands and Saul thousands. This, then, is what the psalm teaches us: since the human race is prone to jealousy and very easily inclines to this vice, take care not to do anything that irritates wicked men to your ruin, incites them to plot against you, or stirs them to hatred of you. And the whole of what is signified in all this is that you neither provoke the rivalry of a wicked man against you nor emulate another’s wickedness. How, then, does a man emulate another’s wickedness? Doubtless when he does the same things. What I mean is this: if someone has become rich from poor through iniquity, and his neighbor is needy and sees the man who has risen from the ground and climbed to the summit of wealth, and begins to emulate him so that he too may grow rich by iniquity, this is to emulate those who do iniquity. And if anyone wishes to emulate one who, by secret acts of sexual immorality or unlawful schemes beyond his station and measure, invades others’ marriages, houses, and wealth, he has emulated those who do iniquity. And as for those who through various crimes or unworthy and unlawful ambitions have reached undeserved heights of fortune, and by unjust factions or bloody hands have seized honors not due to them, if anyone … these, he has emulated those who do iniquity. ### Scripture references - Heb 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:1–2 (36:1-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:13: allusion, high confidence - Deut 32:21: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:22: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:5: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 10:19: allusion, low confidence - Rom 3:2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:27: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:19–21: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 17:49–51: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 18:6–9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s Psalm 36 is Psalm 37 in the English Bible. - Fragments of Rufinus’s preface to the homilies (addressed to his “religious daughter”, who are to read them as moral instruction) and a heading had leaked into the scan text after the first verse and are removed by a logged correction. - The statements about the Jews’ hatred of Christians are Origen’s own polemic, read as fulfilling Deut 32:21; translated as written. - “Do we provoke the Lord”: Origen notes a variant in copies of 1 Cor 10:22. - Words are lost in the scan in the last sentence (marked …); the sense is evidently “if anyone emulates these”. - A garbled phrase (in immolationem tui) is translated “to your ruin”. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 1.1 (PG 12:1319b–1323a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-2 - Source: PG 12:1323a–1324a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The wicked wither like grass and herbs: earthly glory, even an emperor’s, passes, while the word of God remains; the soul should be a vineyard of spiritual understanding, not a garden of fleshly herbs as Ahab wanted. ### Latin text Propterea ergo mandato Domini illuminamur, ut, eum aemulationis illicitze flamma cor nostrum mentemque pulsaverit, nos verbis edocti dicamus: Si aemulari voluero inter malignantes, aut aemulatus fuero iacientes iniquitatem, vide quid sequa- »~tur: Sicut fenum, inquit , cito arescent, et sicut olera herbarum cito decident. Vis etiam alterius prephetze de talibus monitis auctoritate muniri? Audi quid etiam lsaias de omni gloria carnali pronuntiet: 0mnis, inquit , caro fenum, et omnis gloria ejus ut flos feni. Vis etiam per singula videre quomodo llos feni sit carnis gloria Vide quis imperavit ante hos triginta annos, quomodo imperium ejus emeruit : continuo autem sicut llos leni emarcuit, tunc deinde alius post ipsum, deinde alius atque alius, qui deinde duces, et principes: et omnis eorum gloria et honor non solum tanquam llos emarcuit, verum etiam tanquam pulvis aridus et a vento dispersus ne vestigium qui- :dem sui reliquit. Alii etiam. divitiis elati, et honovribus tumidi, studentes vel laudabiles haberi per simulatam bonitatem, vel exsecrabiles per indomitam crudelitatem. Quorum si quis vana studia existimat aemulanda, eat nunc ad cadaverum eorum 'reliquias, si tamen vel ipsa: inveniri queant; aliquantis enim ne hoc quidem concessum est : et tunc inveniet quomodo omnis caro fenum est, et omnia 9,0,5“ ejus ω βω iam; Eum“ [eum ac flos ejus decidit . Qui autem non diligit flosculos carnis, neque carnaliter vivit, sed diligit verbum Dei, etin ipso proficit, audi quid speret : Verbum, inquit , Domini manet in (sternunt. Sed et hoc ipsum quod ait, quia sicut fenum cito arescent, malignantes scilicet, non arbitror otiosum cur l’eno -eos comparaverit, cum utique et alia possit esse materia, cui comparentur bi qui malitiose egerunt. iFenum mutorum et irrationabilium animalium cibus est. Fortassis ergo pro eo quod omnes stulti, et imperiti, et qui contra rationem et sapientiam Dei vivunt, sequuntur eos qui in malitia principes sunt, et ex illorum vita vel actibus vesci dicuntur, quibus et obediunt, idcirco eos leno comparavit. Νεωο enim prudens ab illis sumit exemplum.Nam,sieutvir prudens qui auditverba Domini ret l'acit ea, iste est qui manducat panem illum qui de calo descendit, et Iesus est cibus ei, pro eo quod es verbis ejus pascitur, et in mattdatis eius vivit: similiter et hi qui in malitia eminentes, sicut icnum efliciuntur iis qui sibi obtemperant, vel zemulatienem sui ad nequitiam gerunt. Similia autem etiam de oleribus herbarum intelligenda sunt, quibus comparantur hi qui iaciunt iniquitatem pro eo quod velociter transeant. Invenimus tamen in Seripturis divinis interdum et lano quae per praeceptum Apostoli manducarejubentur inlirmi. Alia autem-sunt illa, et his contraria, de quibus dicitur quod flumina Egypti aqua sit deorsum descendens, et rigans sicut hortum olerum '9 : quo videlicet mgni-tius non arbor dicatur, sed ne vilis quidem nominetur, sed olera quae cito delicium. Et vis videre quam cito {Egyptius decidat? Vide quid dicatur de eis in Exodo ‘°. JEgyptii autem festinaverunt, inquit, decolligaverunt axes suos, et cito fugerunt su-b aqua. Sicut olera ergo herbarum cito deciderit. Denique et Achab ille iniquus quoniam talia olera parabat plantarc in vinea Naboth Jezrahelita: , prepter quod Nabutheus magis mori elegit, quam permittere ut excisa vinea Israelitica olera plantarentur. Fecit ergo hoc tanquam justus, ut non permitteret excidi vineam justitim, cujus fructus lzetillcat cor hominis, cum in sapientia: cratere miscetur, et plantari olera iniquitatis, velociter viridantia, sed velocius arescentia. Puto ergo quod etiam itt nostris cordibus qui credimus Salvatori, sit aliqua vinea plantata, sicut dixit“: Vinea facta est dilecta in cornu, in loco uberi. Sed et ad illos dictum est quibus sermo Dei factus est primum , quia Ego plantavi te vineam totam feracem. Est ergo nobis vinea quaedam ex qua fructum scientiae, qui ltetilicat cor hominis, per donum sapientiae premimus in torcularibus Scripturarum, cum perfectius et latius divina legis mysteria contuemur. Sed proficientibus nobis in studiis, et Israelitico oculo ad oculum spiritaiem tendentibus. venit Achab iniquus et impius, Acbab inimicus vinea: nostrae, et adversum Optima studia haec sapientia: invidiam concitat, tumultum commovet, dolus et factiones per Jezabel, hoc est, per carnalem sapientiam instruit, et vult excidi vineam istam spiritalis intelligentia}, ct plantari olera, id est, ut quae legimus, carnaliter intelligamus: sicut olera enim omnis gratia carnis est, ut impleatur in nobis illud quod culpat Apostolus dicens ad Galatas “ : Sic insensati estis, ut cum spiritu ceperitis, nunc carne perficiamini? Quod autem in anima saneta sint vineae, et agri a Domino benedicti, audi etiam Isaac ad illium suum Jacob dicentem " : Ecce odor [iiii mei sicut odor agri pleni, quem benedixit Daminus. Melius ergo cst vineam nos colere in anima nostra, et torcular fodere Scr‘ipturarum, et vindemiare botros, et premere vinum de vinea Sorae, ut et nos dicamus ad Dominum , quia Poculunt tum inebrians quant praeclarum est." ### English translation (Claude) Therefore we are enlightened by the Lord’s commandment, so that when the flame of unlawful rivalry strikes our heart and mind, we, taught by these words, may say: If I want to emulate among evildoers, or have emulated those who do iniquity, see what follows: “Like grass,” it says, “they will soon wither, and like the green herbs they will soon fall.” Do you want to be fortified in such warnings by the authority of another prophet too? Hear what Isaiah declares about all fleshly glory: “All flesh,” he says, “is grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass.” Do you want to see, case by case, how the glory of the flesh is the flower of grass? See who was emperor thirty years ago, how he earned his empire; yet at once he withered like the flower of grass; then another after him, then another and another; then generals and princes: and all their glory and honor not only withered like a flower but, like dry dust scattered by the wind, did not even leave a trace of itself behind. Others too, lifted up by riches and swollen with honors, were eager to be thought praiseworthy through feigned goodness, or were execrated for untamed cruelty. If anyone thinks their vain pursuits worth emulating, let him go now to the remains of their corpses, if even these can be found (for to some not even this was granted), and then he will find how “all flesh is grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass; the grass has withered and its flower has fallen.” But hear what he hopes for who does not love the little flowers of the flesh, nor live in a fleshly way, but loves the word of God and advances in it: “The word of the Lord,” it says, “remains for ever.” And this very saying, that “like grass they will soon wither” (the evildoers, that is), I do not think is idle: why did it compare them to grass, when there could surely be other things to which those who acted with malice might be compared? Grass is the food of dumb and irrational animals. Perhaps, then, he compared them to grass because all the foolish and unlearned, and those who live contrary to the reason and wisdom of God, follow those who are leaders in malice, and are said to feed on their life and deeds and to obey them. For no prudent person takes an example from them. For as the prudent man who hears the words of the Lord and does them is the one who eats that bread which came down from heaven, and Jesus is food to him because he is fed by his words and lives by his commandments, so too those who are eminent in malice become like grass to those who obey them or rival them in wickedness. Similar things must be understood of the green herbs, to which those who do iniquity are compared because they pass away swiftly. Yet we sometimes find in the divine Scriptures herbs which, by the Apostle’s precept, the weak are told to eat. But those are other herbs, contrary to these, of which it is said that the river of Egypt is water going down and watering like a garden of herbs; so that the Egyptian is not called a tree, nor named anything else of value, but herbs that soon fail. And do you want to see how soon the Egyptian falls? See what is said of the Egyptians in Exodus: “The Egyptians hastened,” it says, “they unbound their axles, and quickly fled under the water.” So like the green herbs he soon fell. Again, the wicked Ahab was preparing to plant such herbs in the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which is why Naboth chose rather to die than to allow the Israelite vineyard to be cut down and herbs to be planted. He acted, then, as a righteous man, not allowing the vineyard of righteousness to be cut down, whose fruit gladdens the heart of man when it is mixed in the bowl of wisdom, and the herbs of iniquity to be planted, which grow green quickly but wither more quickly still. I think, then, that in our hearts too, who believe in the Savior, a vineyard has been planted, as it says: “A vineyard was made for the beloved on a horn, in a fertile place.” And to those to whom the word of God came first it was said: “I planted you as a wholly fruitful vineyard.” We have, then, a vineyard from which, through the gift of wisdom, we press out the fruit of knowledge, which gladdens the heart of man, in the winepresses of the Scriptures, when we contemplate the divine mysteries of the law more perfectly and more broadly. But as we advance in our studies and strain with the Israelite eye toward the spiritual eye, there comes the wicked and ungodly Ahab, Ahab the enemy of our vineyard, and stirs up envy against these excellent studies of wisdom, raises an uproar, contrives deceits and factions through Jezebel, that is, through fleshly wisdom, and wants this vineyard of spiritual understanding to be cut down and herbs to be planted, that is, that we should understand what we read in a fleshly way. For all the grace of the flesh is like herbs; and so what the Apostle blames would be fulfilled in us, when he says to the Galatians: “Are you so foolish that, having begun with the Spirit, you are now being perfected by the flesh?” And that there are vineyards in a holy soul, and fields blessed by the Lord, hear Isaac too saying to his son Jacob: “See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a full field which the Lord has blessed.” It is better, then, for us to cultivate a vineyard in our soul, to dig a winepress of the Scriptures, to gather the clusters, and to press out wine from the choice vine of Sorek, so that we too may say to the Lord: “Your cup that inebriates, how excellent it is!” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:2 (36:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:6–8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:24–25: quotation, medium confidence - Matt 7:24: allusion, high confidence - John 6:51: allusion, high confidence - Rom 14:2: allusion, high confidence - Deut 11:10: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 14:25–27: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 21:1–16 (3 Kgdms 20:1-1Kgs LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 104:15 (103:15 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Prov 9:2: allusion, medium confidence - Isa 5:1: quotation, high confidence - Jer 2:21: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:3: quotation, high confidence - Gen 27:27: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:2: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 23:5 (22:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Who was emperor thirty years ago”: Origen does not name the emperor. - The quotation of Isa 40:6–8 is garbled in the scan; it is translated by sense. - “The Israelite eye … the spiritual eye” alludes to the name Israel, often interpreted “one who sees God”. - The vine of Sorek is the choice vine of Isa 5:2 and Jer 2:21 in the Greek Bible. - A stray numeral in the scan text (.657) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 1.2 (PG 12:1323a–1324a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-3 - Source: PG 12:1324a–1327d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: “Hope in the Lord and do goodness” and “dwell in the land” mean cultivating the land of one’s own soul; “delight in the Lord” means enjoying the delicacies of understanding Scripture, and the Lord gives the heart what it naturally asks, understanding. ### Latin text Posteaquam dixit sicut olera herbarum cito decidere !acientes iniquitatem, et prohibuit aemulari inter malignantes, et imitari facientes iniquitatem: tunc dicit quid facere debeamus. Spera, inquit , in Domino , et fac bonitatem. Contemptis scilicet illis onmibus quae superius culpata sunt, omnibus saeculi bonis, in Domino, inquit, spera. Sperans autem iu Domino non sis utiosus; sed bonitatem faciens, spera in eo. Quae est autem ista bonitas, videamus. Unus est ex illis fontibus quos sancti Spiritus fructus csse enumerat Apostolus. Fructus autent spiritus est cltaritas, gaudium, pax, patientia, bonitas et justitia “. Fac ergo bonitatem, velut si diceret ad agrum loquens, Fac illum fructum vel illum: ita nunc tibi auditori divinarum Scripturarum, tanquam agro loquitur sermo divinus. Fac bonitatem, et inhabita terram, et pasceris in divitiis ejus. Noli csse sicut fenum aresccns, noli fieri sicut olera herbarum, quae cito deficient, sed spera in Domino, et iac bonitatem, ct inhabita terrain. Quam terram inhabitare nos jnbet si bonitatem fecerimus? Utique si de ista loqueretur terra quam habitamus, et qui iaciunt bonitatem, et qui non faciunt, habitant lianc terram. Supe’rlluum ergo videtur esse mandatum si intelligatur haec terra. Sed videamus ne forte illam dicat terram dc qua scripturn est υ, quia semen aliud cecidit saper terram bonum, qum attulit ltuclum, in qua nunc terra cor auditoris significari videtur. Hanc ergo iubemur inhabitare, hoc est non longius evagari, non ultra citraque discurrere, sed habitare, et consistere intra ani-mae nostris terminus, et considerare eam diligentius atque emei ejus agricola sicut fuit Noe, et plantam in ea vineam, et excokre terram quae intra nos eat, ο nostra: anima: innovare neralia, et nan seminare super spinas τ Videlic'et cum animum nostram pmgantus a vitiis, et incultos atque asperos mores ad mansuetudinem Christi imitatioitis escoiimus, et ita demum es virtutum divitiis pascimur. Neque enim putandum est praecipi nobis terrenas divitias qua2rere, quas contemnere iubemur et spernere. Ait ergo: lnhabita terram. Hoc est ergo, animm tuae semper assiste, ibi semper permane, et excole terram tuam, ut , cum abundare carperis in. stitia: fructibus, tunc pascaris in divitiis ejus. Quid est autem pasci in divitiis ejus? Quia quodcunque seminaverit homo, hoc et metet. Et : Qui seminat in carne, de carne metet corruptionem. Qui autem seminat in spiritu, de spiritu metet vitam cateruam '°. Si autem habites terram tuam, et ipsam in spiritu et non in Carne seminaveris‘, pasceris in divitiis eius, sicut oves illre Quae in loca viridi pasci dicuntur, de quibus dicit sermo dirinus " : In loco viridi ibi me collocavit. Unde constat quod unusquisque nostrum ipse sibi praaparat intra se locmn viridem, in quo pascitur Domino, cum agros anitum sua: excolit, et in Spiritu seminans semper ad laetitiam spiritalis cultura: adducit. Il. Delectare in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cvi-dis tui δ”. Moris est Scriptura:I divinatI duos ltoalterius alterum ex altero nominare, hoc est ea quae exterioris sunt hominis, compellere etiaut in interiorem. Quod autem dico tale est :Exterior homo corporalis vescitur cibis corruptibilibus, et sibi aptis. Est autem et cibus quidam interioris hominis, de quo dicitur quia in omni verbo Dei vivit homo . Est poculum exterioris hominis, est aliud interioris. Bibimns enim de spiritali sequenti petra “, et bibimus aquam, quam, dicente Iesu. qui bibit, non sitiet in attentum ". Est et indumentum ettterioris hominis, est et interioris hominis indumentum. Et si quidem peccator sit, induit sc maledictum sicut vestimentum ". Si autem justus sit, antiit" : lndnite vos Dominum Iesum Christum. Et " : Induite vos viscera misericordia', benignitatem , humilitatem, mansuetudinem , patien- θ tiam. Et quid ttecesse σει enarrare per singula quomodo interiorbomo exterioris hominis Immunymis appellationibus nominetur? Arma exterior homo et interior habet. Qui secundum interiorem hominem militat, induitur armis Dei, ut possit stare adterstts versutias diaboli. Sed post multa exempla, veniamus ad hoc quod propositum est. Videamus quid est quod significatur ex eo quod dictum est : Delector: in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tut. sciendum primum est quia hoc quod disi in Latino, delectare in Dom-itur. in Gnaeo. deliciare' in Domino, dicitur. Hoc enim Graecus sermo indicat: quod est κατατρύφησον. Sicut ergo secundunt exteriorem hominem possibile est non solum cibis uti, verum etiam deliciis perfrui, et maxime qui divites sunt deliciis utuntur; etiam ita interior homo potest non solum cibis uti, re. rum et deliciis perirui. Quod fleri hoc modo arbitror. Si quis audiat verba ea solummodo, qtae se invitent ad timorem Dei, iste cibum tautmnmodo capit ex bujuscemodiverbo. Qui vero dederit operam ad intelligendam legem, ad perscrutandos prophetas, ad exsolationos parabolarum Evangelii. ad explanationem verborum apustolicorum, et qui in omnibus intellectui et scientiae operam dederit, iSte deliciis lru'rtur. Non enim ad hoc solum quod eiad vitam suiflcit, cibo utitur mandatorum, sed Ι) in omni agnitione scientia: delectatur. Hoc est quod arbitror et in eo indicari, quod dicitur Deus ab initio plantssse paradisum deliciarum. sine dubio in quo spiritualibus deliciis frueretur. Sed et alibi : Torrentem, ait ’, delictorum potum dabis eis, sanctis scilicet, Sed ει hic scio quod in Latinis exemplaribus haberi solet torrentem voluptatis tua', sedi“ meo habet” τροφῆς, quod εει deliciarum, Sed et sanctis quibusque corporalium deliciarum contemptus indicitur, et spes deliciarum spiritalium repromittitur. Vis etiam de hoc auctoritatem accipere Scriptura: divinae? Dives quidam erat, et ves, Lazarus conficiebatur inedia. Excessit uterque de saeculo, et Lazarus quidem ab angelis sublatus est in sinum Abrabze, ut ibi in deliciis requiesceret; ille autem qui in deliciis fuerat eor- , poralibus, abiit in gehennam ignis, sicut in Evangelia est, et audit ab Abraham 6°, quia tu consecutus es bona in vita tua, hoc est deliciis abusus es, et Lazarus mala : nunc autem hic requiescit, tu vero cruciaris. Nerua potest, et in carne, et in Spiritu habere delicias. Sed si quis in carne deliciatur, sicut ille dives, carebit gremio Abraham et deliciis. Qui vero in praesenti saeculo pane afllictionis vescitur, sicut et ille pauper, cum hinc abscesserit, in deliciis erit. Deliciare ergo in Domino, et dabit tibi petitionem cordis tui. Quod si adlmc plenius intueri vis quomodo quis delicietur in Domino, perspice quod Dominus veritas est, et sapientia est, et jastitia est, et sanctificatio est. Si ergo abundaveris in divitiis veritatis, si abundaveris in intellectn sapientiae, si copiosus fueris in actibus iustitiae, tunc plene ct integre deliciaris in Domino. Quae utique cum expleveris, tunc etiarn id quod consequitur adipisceris. Dabit enim tibi Dominus petitiones cordis tui. Necessario tamen addidit petitiones cordis tui, eum potuisset utique dicere pertitiones tuas. Ita autem facilius intelligi potest. Quod si singulorum membrorum prapria qumdam persona tingatur, verbi causa, si oculus haberet vocem , nunquid non diceret : Peto lucem , ut vi- α deam ea quae me videre delectant? Refugio enim videre horrorem aliquem, et omne quod conturbat et contristat sapectum. Similiter et si auditus acciperet vocem, nunquid non diceret: Peto sonum modulata arte compositum, sonum delectabilem, asperum vero et terribile aliquid audire refugio? lta si gustui vox daretur, et tactui, et omnes sensus nostri sine dubio hrec peterent, qum suo sensui convenirent. Ab bis ergo transeamus ad cor in quo est mens, et principalis intellectus, et videamus quid desideret et quid petat eor, sicut de oculo vel de auribus exterisque sensibus in superioribus demonstravimus. Secundum sui naturam cor sine dubio intelligentiam poscit. Sicut oculus visum, ita cor intellectum requirit. Sicut auris suavem sonum cupit, ita cor sapientibus sensibus delectatur. Sicut gustus dulci sapore, ita eor prudentibus cogitationibus gaudet. Sicut odoratus suavitate fragrantia}, ita cor rationubilibus studiis laztatur. Sicut tactus lenibus ac mollibus, ita cor utilibus et Optimis consiliis delectatur. Si ergo delicieris in Domino, et sapientitu, et veritatis, et iustitiae copiis atque deliciis perfruaris, dabit tibi Dominus petitiones cordis tui aptas deliciis supradictis. ### English translation (Claude) After saying that those who do iniquity soon fall like green herbs, and forbidding us to emulate among evildoers and to imitate those who do iniquity, it then says what we ought to do. “Hope,” it says, “in the Lord, and do goodness.” Having despised, that is, all that was blamed above, all the goods of the world, “hope in the Lord,” it says. But while you hope in the Lord, do not be idle; hope in him while doing goodness. Let us see what this goodness is. It is one of those springs which the Apostle lists as fruits of the Holy Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and righteousness.” “Do goodness,” then: as if one said, speaking to a field, “Produce this fruit or that,” so now the divine word speaks to you, the hearer of the divine Scriptures, as to a field. “Do goodness, and dwell in the land, and you will be fed on its riches.” Do not be like grass that withers, do not become like green herbs that soon fail, but hope in the Lord, do goodness, and dwell in the land. What land does he bid us dwell in if we have done goodness? Surely, if he were speaking of this land we inhabit, both those who do goodness and those who do not dwell in this land. The command, then, seems superfluous if this land is meant. But let us see whether he is perhaps speaking of that land of which it is written that other seed fell on good ground and bore fruit, in which ground the heart of the hearer seems to be signified. This, then, we are bidden to dwell in: not to wander far, not to run hither and thither, but to dwell and abide within the bounds of our soul, to consider it more diligently, and to be its farmer, as Noah was, and plant a vineyard in it, and cultivate the land that is within us, to break up the fallow ground of our soul and not sow among thorns: that is, when we purge our soul from vices and cultivate our uncultivated and rough manners into the gentleness of the imitation of Christ, and so at last are fed on the riches of the virtues. For we must not think that we are commanded to seek earthly riches, which we are bidden to despise and spurn. He says, then: “Dwell in the land.” This means: always attend to your soul, always remain there, and cultivate your land, so that when you begin to abound in the fruits of righteousness, you may then be fed on its riches. What is it to be fed on its riches? That “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap,” and “he who sows in the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows in the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life.” If you dwell in your land and sow it in the spirit and not in the flesh, you will be fed on its riches, like those sheep which are said to feed in a green place, of which the divine word says: “In a green place, there he has set me.” Hence it is clear that each of us prepares within himself a green place in which he is fed by the Lord, when he cultivates the fields of his soul and, sowing in the Spirit, always brings them to the gladness of spiritual cultivation. “Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the petitions of your heart.” It is the custom of divine Scripture to name the two men, the one from the other, that is, to apply to the inner man what belongs to the outer. What I mean is this. The bodily outer man feeds on corruptible foods suited to him. But there is also a food of the inner man, of which it is said that man lives by every word of God. There is a drink of the outer man and another of the inner; for we drink from the spiritual rock that follows, and we drink the water of which Jesus said that whoever drinks it will never thirst. There is a garment of the outer man, and there is also a garment of the inner man. If he is a sinner, he puts on cursing like a garment; but if he is righteous, he hears: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and: “Put on heartfelt mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.” And why need I recount one by one how the inner man is called by the same names as the outer man? The outer man and the inner have arms: he who fights according to the inner man is clothed with the armor of God, so that he can stand against the wiles of the devil. But after many examples, let us come to our subject. Let us see what is signified by the words: “Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the petitions of your heart.” First it must be known that what I have said in Latin, “delight in the Lord,” is in Greek “luxuriate in the Lord”; for this is what the Greek word katatryphēson indicates. As, then, according to the outer man it is possible not only to take food but also to enjoy delicacies, and the rich especially use delicacies, so the inner man too can not only take food but also enjoy delicacies. I think this happens as follows. If someone hears only those words which invite him to the fear of God, he takes only food from such a word. But he who has applied himself to understanding the law, to searching the prophets, to the solutions of the Gospel parables, to the explanation of the apostolic words, and in all things has applied himself to understanding and knowledge, enjoys delicacies. For he uses the food of the commandments not only for what suffices for his life, but delights in all knowledge. This, I think, is indicated also by its being said that God in the beginning planted a paradise of delights, doubtless that man might enjoy spiritual delights in it. And elsewhere it says: “You will give them the torrent of delights to drink,” to the saints, that is. Here I know that the Latin copies usually read “the torrent of your pleasure,” but the Greek has tryphēs, that is, “of delights.” To all the saints contempt of bodily delights is enjoined, and the hope of spiritual delights is promised. Do you want to receive the authority of divine Scripture on this too? There was a certain rich man, and … Lazarus was wasting away from hunger. Both departed from the world, and Lazarus was carried by angels into the bosom of Abraham to rest there in delights; but he who had lived in bodily delights went away into the Gehenna of fire, as is in the Gospel, and hears from Abraham: “You received your good things in your life” (that is, you misused delights), “and Lazarus bad things; but now he rests here, and you are tormented.” No one can have delights both in the flesh and in the Spirit. If anyone luxuriates in the flesh, like that rich man, he will lack Abraham’s bosom and its delights; but he who in the present age eats the bread of affliction, like that poor man, will be in delights when he departs from here. “Delight, then, in the Lord, and he will give you the petition of your heart.” If you wish to see still more fully how one delights in the Lord, observe that the Lord is truth, and wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification. If, then, you abound in the riches of truth, if you abound in the understanding of wisdom, if you are rich in acts of righteousness, then you delight fully and wholly in the Lord. And when you have fulfilled these, you will also obtain what follows; for the Lord will give you the petitions of your heart. He had to add “the petitions of your heart,” though he could certainly have said “your petitions.” It can be understood more easily in this way. If we imagine that each member has a person of its own, if, for example, the eye had a voice, would it not say: “I ask for light, so that I may see the things it delights me to see; for I shrink from seeing anything horrible, and every sight that troubles and saddens”? Similarly, if the hearing received a voice, would it not say: “I ask for a sound composed with tuneful art, a delightful sound; I shrink from hearing anything harsh and terrible”? So too, if a voice were given to taste and to touch, all our senses would doubtless ask for what suits their own sense. Let us pass from these to the heart, in which is the mind and the ruling understanding, and see what the heart desires and asks for, as we showed above about the eye, the ears, and the other senses. According to its nature the heart doubtless asks for understanding. As the eye seeks sight, so the heart seeks understanding. As the ear desires sweet sound, so the heart delights in wise thoughts. As taste rejoices in a sweet flavor, so the heart rejoices in prudent reflections. As smell is gladdened by sweet fragrance, so the heart is gladdened by rational studies. As touch delights in what is smooth and soft, so the heart delights in useful and excellent counsels. If, then, you delight in the Lord and enjoy the abundance and the delights of wisdom, truth, and righteousness, the Lord will give you the petitions of your heart, suited to the delights described above. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:3 (36:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:22–23: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:8: allusion, high confidence - Gen 9:20: allusion, high confidence - Jer 4:3: allusion, high confidence - Gal 6:7–8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 23:2 (22:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:16: allusion, medium confidence - Deut 8:3: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:4: allusion, high confidence - John 4:13–14: allusion, high confidence - Ps 109:18 (108:18 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Rom 13:14: quotation, high confidence - Col 3:12: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:11: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:8: allusion, high confidence - Ps 36:8 (35:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 16:19–25: allusion, high confidence - Deut 16:3: echo, medium confidence - John 14:6: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:30: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This staged section also contains the next section of Migne’s text (on Ps 37:4, “Delight in the Lord”), whose number could not be read in the scan. - Words are lost in the scan in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (marked …); marginal references there are removed by a logged correction. - Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit is quoted loosely (Gal 5:22–23, with “righteousness” added). - The Greek words cited are katatryphēson (Ps 37:4) and tryphēs (Ps 36:8, “of delight”). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 1.3 (PG 12:1324a–1327d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-5 - Source: PG 12:1327d–1328b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: “Reveal your way to the Lord”: the sinner hides his way, but whoever confesses his sins to the Lord may hope for pardon and healing, and the pure reveal their way to God, not to men. ### Latin text Post bzec dicit : Revela Domino viam tuam, et spera in eum, et ipse faciet. — Omnis qui male {tuantur opera ejus. Qui autent facit raritatem, venit ad lucem“. Quoniam ergo qui male agit, odit lucem, et quantum in ipso occultans mala quae agit, et timens ne arguatur, velat et contegit viam suam, et tanquam velamento quodam operitaetus suos. Verbi gratia, si quis vesnum, licet non optem esse in boe conventu talem aliquem, tamen si quis inter vos, sive catechumenos, sive etiam unus aliquis ex pluribus fidelium conscius sibi estquod fornicatus sit, et celat delictum, nunquid non tibi videtur iste oecultarc, et operire viam suam quam incedit? Qui autem caste agit, et confidit de puritate vita: suae, non vult coeperire viam suam, sed vulteam manifestam esse, manifestam dico non bominibus,ue forte percipiat mercedem suam ab hominibus, sed Deo manifestat. Propterea ergo dicitur,Revela ad Dominum uiam tuam. Sed et si malorum tibi conscius aliquorum fueris, noli occultam, sed per exornologesitn, id est confessionem, revela ea Domino, et spera in eum, et ipse faciet, lloc est, cum confessus fueris, et revelaveris ei delicta tua, spera in eum quod possis ab eo veniam promereri, et ipse faciet. Quid faciet? Sine dubio sanum te faciet. Dicet tibi “ : Eccejam sanus [actus es, ultra noli peccare, ne quid tibideterius contingat. lltcc faciet, si deli cta tua ei revelaveris.Si vero pura est via tua, et tnnnda conscientia, et brec ei revelaveris, spera in eunt. ### English translation (Claude) After this it says: “Reveal your way to the Lord, and hope in him, and he will act.” … his works. But he who does the truth comes to the light. Since, then, he who does evil hates the light, and, as far as lies in him, hides the evil he does and, fearing to be exposed, veils and covers his way and covers his deeds as with a kind of veil … For example, if any of you (though I would not wish anyone of the kind to be in this assembly), if anyone among you, whether a catechumen or even one of the many faithful, is conscious that he has committed sexual immorality and conceals the offense, does he not seem to you to hide and cover the way on which he walks? But he who lives chastely and is confident of the purity of his life does not want to cover his way, but wants it to be manifest; manifest, I mean, not to men, lest he receive his reward from men, but he makes it manifest to God. Therefore it is said: “Reveal your way to the Lord.” And if you are conscious of some evils, do not hide them, but reveal them to the Lord through exomologesis, that is, confession, “and hope in him, and he will act.” That is, when you have confessed and revealed your offenses to him, hope in him that you can obtain pardon from him, “and he will act.” What will he do? Doubtless he will make you whole. He will say to you: “See, you have been made whole; sin no more, lest something worse happen to you.” He will do this if you reveal your offenses to him. But if your way is pure and your conscience clean, and you have revealed this to him, hope in him. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:5 (36:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 3:20–21: quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:1–2: allusion, medium confidence - John 5:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words are lost in the scan after the verse (marked …); the passage then cites John 3:20–21 (“everyone who does evil hates the light … lest his works be exposed”). - The sentence beginning “Since, then, he who does evil” is left incomplete in the text. - Exomologesis is the Greek term for confession, used in the church’s discipline of penance. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 1.5 (PG 12:1327d–1328b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 1.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-6 - Source: PG 12:1328b–1329a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Righteousness done in secret, revealed to God alone, God will bring forth like light, and the judgment of the righteous like noonday. ### Latin text Quid faciat, ex consequentibus disce “z Producet sicut lumen justitiam tuam, et judicium tuum sicut meridiem. Tuam justitiam, quam ιιι egisti in occulto, et revelasti eam soli Deo, bane producet sicut lumen Deus, et ostendet te justum illumina- Ium sole justitiae, ctelo et terrae, et omnibus qui in cmlo sunt ostendet lumen justitite tum, et, si ita dici oportet, jactabit se de te tanquam de filio, tanquam qui acceperis spiritum adoptionis. Producet ergo justitiam tuam sicut lumen, quia qui secundum mandatum Domini justus est, justitiam suam ita facit, sicut ipse mandavit dicens °': Vos autem, cum facitis justitiam uestram, nesciat sinistra quid faciat dextra tua. llrec ergo justitia quze ita fit, ut non hominibus appareat, nec ut humanam gloriam captet, sed tit in occulto, ut Pater qui videt in occulto, reddat palam in tempore suo, producitur a Deo sicut lux. Et judicium tuum sicut meridies. ()mnia enim justi judicia quascunque judicavit, non solum sicut lux erunt, sed sicut meridianmn lumen, quod utique clarissimum et splendidissimum est. Plenitudo enim lueis in meridiano tempore designatur. Si ergo fueris justus et bonus, producet Deus sicut lumen justitiam tuam, etjudicium tuum sicut meridiem. Vel certe in judicio cum causa tua discutitur, justitiam causas tuas tanquam lucem Dens faciet manifestam, et judicium quod et dijudicat, velut meridiem faciet manifestum. Qua) scientes ita futura, deprecemur misericordiam Dei, ut concedat nobis tales fieri, qui digni habeantur. quorum Deus ipse lucem justiti-te producat iu medium, etjudicium nostrum sicut meridiem clarum et lucidum, habens lucem veram in se, ipsum Dominum nostrum, oni est gloria et Imperium lu saecula saaculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) What he will do, learn from what follows: “He will bring forth your righteousness like light, and your judgment like noonday.” Your righteousness, which you did in secret and revealed to God alone, God will bring forth like light; he will show you righteous, illuminated by the sun of righteousness, to heaven and earth; he will show the light of your righteousness to all who are in heaven, and, if one may say so, he will boast of you as of a son, as one who has received the spirit of adoption. He will bring forth your righteousness like light, then, because he who is righteous according to the Lord’s command does his righteousness just as the Lord himself commanded, saying: “But when you do your righteousness, let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing.” This righteousness, then, which is done not so as to be seen by men nor to catch human glory, but in secret, so that the Father who sees in secret may repay openly in his own time, is brought forth by God like light. “And your judgment like noonday.” For all the judgments of the righteous man, whatever he has judged, will be not only like light but like the light of noon, which is surely the clearest and most brilliant; for noontime signifies the fullness of light. If, then, you are righteous and good, God will bring forth your righteousness like light, and your judgment like noonday. Or certainly, in the judgment, when your case is examined, God will make the righteousness of your case manifest like light, and the judgment by which he judges he will make manifest like noonday. Knowing that this is how things will be, let us pray for God’s mercy, that he may grant us to become such as are counted worthy, whose light of righteousness God himself may bring forth into the open, and our judgment clear and bright as noonday, having in itself the true light, our Lord himself, to whom be glory and dominion for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:6 (36:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Rom 8:15: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:3–4: quotation, high confidence - John 1:9: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Marginal references leaked into the scan text near the end and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 1.6 (PG 12:1328b–1329a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/1-1/#p-1-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-1 - Source: PG 12:1329a–1331a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: To be subject to the Lord is shown by deeds, not words; Christ, whose members we are, will be “subject” to the Father when all his members are subject to God, and we should cease from sin before asking pardon for past sins. ### Latin text Praecipiente mandato. et dicente“: Subditus esto Domino, necessarium videtur perscrutari quid sit subditum esse Domino, et quid sit non esse subditum. Sicut enim non omnis qui dicit, Domine, Domine, intrabit iu regnum calorum, sed qui facit voluntatem Patris mei qui iu caelis est δτι ita non eninis qui dicit se subjectum esse Domino, subjectus est ei, sed qui reipsa subjectus est ei; quia vere subjectum esse Domino, non sermo professionis, sed opus subjectionis ostendit. Plenius autem intelligitur quod dicimus hoc modo : Dominus noster Jesus Christus justitia est. Nemo ergo injuste agens subjectus est Christo, qui est justitia. Chritus veritas est. Nemo mendax Christo subjectus est qui est veritas, sive cum in rebus, sive cum in doctrina mendacium loquitur. Dominus Jesus Christus sanctificatio est. Nemo est subjectus sanetilicationi, cum pollutus sit et impurus. Dominus Jesus Christus pax est. Nemo litigiosus et turbulentus Christo subjectus est, qui est par, sed ille subjectus est ei qui dicit “ : Cum his qui oderunt parem, eram pacificus. Unde et in alio psalmo adc animam suam dicit Propheta : Verumtamen Deo subdita esto, anima mea, quia ab ipso est patientia nica. Sed ct Apostolus magna quidem et mystica de suhjectione siguillcat dicens '° : Cum autent subjecta ei fuerint omnia, tunc et ipse Filius subjectus erit ei qui sibi subdidit omnia. Audi ergo quid dicit quia omnia necesse est Christo esse subjecta, et tunc ipsum esse subjectum, suhjectione videlicet illa quam de spiritu intelligi dignum est. Interim necesse est omnia Christo esse subjecta, ut tunc demum etiam ipse impletis omnibus et perfectis per subjectiouem, tanquam victoria: suae hanc reterens palmam Patri dicatur futurus esse subjectus. Quod nisi mystice intelligatur, impium aliquid sine dubio non advertentibus indicare creditur. Non enim putandum est quod Filius Dei nunc quidem Patri nequaquam subjectus sit, io novissimis vero temporibus cum sibi fuerint cuncta subjecta, tunc λ erit et ipse subjectus : sed quia omnia nostrain se recipit, et se esse dicit qui in nobis esuriat; seque qui in nobis sitiat, et nudus sit atque aeger, quique hospes et qui retrusus in carcerem, ct quidquid uni ex minimis suis factum fuerit, sibi factum esse testatur; censequcnter et merito cum unusquisque nostrum plene et perfecte subditur Deo, ita ut in nullo prorsus inobedicns pareat, se esse subditum protestatur. Sed et alio modo plenius intelligitur quod‘dicimus. Si aliquod membrum corporis doleamus, quamvis anima nostra incolumis sit, ct reliqua omnia membra nostra sana sint, tamen quia dolore unius membri totus homo allligitur, non dicimus quia sani sumus, sed quia male habemus. Verbi causa, dicimus : llle non est sanus. Quare? quia pedes dolet, aut renes, aut stomachum. Et nemo dicit quia sanus est si stomachum dolet, sed non est sanus quia stomachum dolet. Si inteblexistis exemplum, redeamus nunc ad id quod pre» positum est. Apostolus dicit quia corpus Christi sumus, et membra ex parte. Christus ergo cujus onme hominum genus, imo fortassis totius creaturae universitas corpus est, et unusquisque nostrum membra ex parte est, si aliquis ex nobis qui membra ejus dicimur aegrotat, et aliquo peccati morbo laborat, id est, si alicujus peccati macula inuritur, et non subjectus Deo, recte ille nondum dicitur esse subjectus, cujus sint membra illi qui non sunt subjecti Deo. Cum autem omnes eos qui corpus suum dicuntur ac membra, sanos habuerit, ut in nullo inobedientiae laboraverint morbo, sanis omnibus membris, Deoque subjectis, merito se dicit esse subjectum illi, cujus nos membra Deo in omnibus obedimus. Quod si teipsum pcrscrutari vis, et videre si jam subjectus es Deo, an adhuc inobedicns permanes, hoc modo teipsum discute: Si nihil cst contrarium Deo in te, subjectus es ei. Contrarium autem dicimus hoc modo: Deus charitas cst; si odium in te non est, non habes quod contrarium Deo est. Deus veritas est; vide ne sit in te mendacium, quod cst coutrarimu veritati. Si enim est in te mendacium, neu Deo subjectus es, sed ei qui est mendacii pater. Et si injustitia iu te est, patri injustitia: subjectus es magis quam Deo, qui justitia est. Si et reliqua in te deprehenderis vitia, scito te tandiu non Deo, sed diabolo esse subjectum. Certum est namque quia fornicationis tempore spiritui fornicationis smnus subjecti, adversantes spiritui castitatis. Et tempore iracundia), vel furoris, spiritui ira: obedimus, spiritui mansuetudinis resistentes. Propterea ergo videntes quia oinnis vita nostra agonem quemdam obedientiic gerit, sive Christo, sive his qui contrarii sunt Christo, conemur per orationis, per cruditionis religiosam institutionem hoc agerc, ne uuquam diabolo vel malitiae ejus obedire inveniamur, sed omnis actus uoster, et omnis sermo atque Otilnis cogitatio inveniatur in suhjectione Christi. Quod si forte dicis,Quid prodest si nunc subjectus sim, cumjam ante peccaverint et praeventus sim in delictis? sine dubio cum deliquimus, subjecti non fuimus Deo, sed cum desivimus a doliolis, tunc initium subjectiouis accepimus. Cum ergo timori Dei subjecti peccare cessanuts, tunc etiam fiduciam accipimus poseendi pro delictis prioribus vcuiam. Donec autem permanemus in delictis, frustra veniam poscimus delictorum. Unde cl memini me frequenter dixisse ad vos, quia veniam delictorum tunc digne poscimus, cum longe positi a peccato, illam vocem possumus dicere" : Ne memineris iniquitates nostras antiquas. Non dixit eas quas facimus, sed eas quas aliquando fecimus. Subditus ergo esto Domino, et subjectus noli peccare. Tunc obsecra eum pro delictis printeritis et antiquis. ### English translation (Claude) Since the commandment instructs us, saying, “Be subject to the Lord,” it seems necessary to examine what it is to be subject to the Lord and what it is not to be subject. For as not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, so not everyone who says he is subject to the Lord is subject to him, but he who is subject to him in fact; for true subjection to the Lord is shown not by the word of profession but by the work of subjection. What we say is understood more fully in this way. Our Lord Jesus Christ is righteousness: no one, then, who acts unrighteously is subject to Christ, who is righteousness. Christ is truth: no liar is subject to Christ, who is truth, whether he speaks a lie in matters of fact or in doctrine. The Lord Jesus Christ is sanctification: no one is subject to sanctification while he is defiled and impure. The Lord Jesus Christ is peace: no quarrelsome and turbulent person is subject to Christ, who is peace; but he is subject to him who says, “With those who hated peace I was peaceable.” Hence in another psalm too the prophet says to his soul: “But be subject to God, my soul, for from him is my patience.” And the Apostle signifies great and mystical things about subjection when he says: “When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subject to him who subjected all things to him.” Hear, then, what he says: all things must be subject to Christ, and then he himself is subject, namely with that subjection which it is fitting to understand spiritually. Meanwhile all things must be subject to Christ, so that then at last, when all things have been fulfilled and perfected through subjection, he himself, bringing back to the Father this palm of his victory, may be said to be going to be subject. Unless this is understood mystically, the inattentive doubtless take it to indicate something impious. For we must not think that the Son of God is now in no way subject to the Father, but that in the last times, when all things have been subjected to him, he too will then be subject. Rather, because he takes all that is ours into himself, and says that it is he who hungers in us, he who thirsts in us, who is naked and sick, who is a stranger and shut up in prison, and testifies that whatever has been done to one of his least ones has been done to him, it follows fittingly and rightly that when each of us is fully and perfectly subject to God, so as to obey without any disobedience at all, he declares that he himself is subject. What we say is understood more fully in another way too. If some member of our body is in pain, though our soul is unharmed and all our other members are healthy, yet because the whole person is afflicted by the pain of one member, we do not say that we are healthy, but that we are unwell. For example, we say, “That man is not well.” Why? Because his feet hurt, or his kidneys, or his stomach. No one says that he is well if his stomach hurts; he is not well because his stomach hurts. If you have understood the example, let us now return to our subject. The Apostle says that we are the body of Christ and members in part. Christ, then, whose body is the whole human race, or perhaps even the whole of creation, and of whom each of us is a member in part: if one of us who are called his members is sick and suffers from some disease of sin, that is, if he is branded with the stain of some sin and is not subject to God, then he whose members are not subject to God is rightly said not yet to be subject. But when he has all those who are called his body and members healthy, so that they suffer from no disease of disobedience, when all the members are healthy and subject to God, he rightly says that he is subject, since we, his members, obey God in all things. If you want to examine yourself and see whether you are already subject to God or still remain disobedient, examine yourself in this way: if there is nothing in you contrary to God, you are subject to him. I mean “contrary” in this sense. God is love: if there is no hatred in you, you have nothing contrary to God. God is truth: see that there is no lie in you, which is contrary to truth. For if there is a lie in you, you are subject not to God but to him who is the father of lies. And if there is unrighteousness in you, you are subject to the father of unrighteousness rather than to God, who is righteousness. If you discover the other vices in yourself, know that for so long you are subject not to God but to the devil. For it is certain that at the time of sexual immorality we are subject to the spirit of sexual immorality, opposing the spirit of chastity; and at the time of anger or fury we obey the spirit of anger, resisting the spirit of gentleness. Seeing, then, that our whole life is a kind of contest of obedience, either to Christ or to those who oppose Christ, let us try, through prayer and the devout discipline of learning, to bring it about that we are never found obeying the devil or his malice, but that every act of ours, every word, and every thought is found in subjection to Christ. But perhaps you say: “What use is it if I am subject now, when I have already sinned before and been overtaken by offenses?” Doubtless when we sinned we were not subject to God, but when we ceased from offenses we made a beginning of subjection. When, then, subject to the fear of God, we cease to sin, we also receive confidence to ask pardon for former offenses. But as long as we remain in offenses, we ask pardon for them in vain. Hence I remember having often said to you that we ask worthily for pardon of our offenses when, placed far from sin, we can say: “Do not remember our former iniquities.” It did not say “those we are doing,” but “those we once did.” Be subject, then, to the Lord, and, being subject, do not sin. Then entreat him for past and former offenses. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:7 (36:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:21: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:30: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, high confidence - Eph 2:14: allusion, high confidence - Ps 120:7 (119:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 62:5 (61:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:28: quotation, high confidence - Matt 25:35–40: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:27: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 4:8: allusion, high confidence - John 8:44: allusion, high confidence - Ps 79:8 (78:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen reads 1 Cor 15:28 (the Son’s subjection to the Father) “mystically”: Christ is subject in his members when they all obey God. His view, including “perhaps even the whole of creation” as Christ’s body, is translated as written. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text near the end and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.1 (PG 12:1329a–1331a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-2 - Source: PG 12:1331a–1331b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The prosperity of the wicked tempts weak souls to doubt Providence, but the present age belongs to those without hope, while the righteous wait for the lasting goods of the age to come. ### Latin text Ne tumulatus fueris eum qui prosperatur in via sua, in homine faciente iniquitatem". Describit ea quae accidunt hominibus. Frequenter enim si vitleamus iniquum in prOSperis successibus, et in ea quam ducunt felicitate vitae positum, scandalizatnur, et perieulum fidei incurrimus, atque in corde nostro adversum divinam Providentiam conquerimur, dicentes : Quid prodest juste agere? Ecce justi tribulantur, ltic injustas feliciter agit. lnjustus est, et ad summas divitias pervenit, honorum ac potestatum excelsum culmen ascendit, fortassis melius est injustam esse quam justum. llzec infirmae et fragiles animae, etiamsi non ore proferunt, in corde suo tamen loquuntur, cum viderint iniquos prosperis successibus agerc in via sua. Et ideo nobis mandati hujus medela succurrit, ne, cum , bare viderimus, aemulemur, id est ne irrite‘mus Dominum adversum nos loquendo talia in cordibus nostris:sed recogitare debemus quia praesens smculum eorum est, qui futuraa beatitudinis non ‘ liabentspem. Et ideo patienter feramus illos bis successibus prosperis agere, percipere bona sua in vita sua, donec veniat et nostrum, ad quod invitati sumus, et cujus nobis repromissa sunt bona. ad quod respicimus, in quod speramus, cujus bona non sicut in ltoc smculo tanquam umbra praetereunt, sed permanent in internum. Impossibile autem est et in praesenti saeculo bona consequi, et in futuro. Necesse est enim dici uni, quia consecutus es tu bona in vita tua; et alii, quia consecutus es mala; et alter pro malis bona, et alter pro bonis mala recipiat, sicut exemplo sunt ille dives et Lazarus“. ldeo ergo: Noli cumulari in eo qui prosperatur in uia sua, in homine faciente iniquitatem. ### English translation (Claude) “Do not emulate him who prospers in his way, the man who does iniquity.” He describes what happens to people. For often, if we see an unrighteous man enjoying prosperity and placed in the happiness of life such people lead, we are scandalized, incur danger to our faith, and complain in our heart against divine Providence, saying: “What use is it to act righteously? See, the righteous are afflicted, while this unrighteous man fares well. He is unrighteous, and yet he has reached the greatest riches and climbed to the lofty summit of honors and powers; perhaps it is better to be unrighteous than righteous.” Weak and frail souls, even if they do not utter these things with their mouths, say them in their hearts when they see the wicked faring prosperously in their way. And so the medicine of this commandment comes to our aid, so that when we see these things we do not emulate, that is, do not irritate the Lord against us by saying such things in our hearts. Rather we ought to reflect that the present age belongs to those who have no hope of future blessedness. So let us patiently bear that they fare prosperously and receive their good things in their life, until our age also comes, to which we have been invited and whose goods have been promised to us, to which we look and in which we hope, whose goods do not pass like a shadow, as in this age, but remain for ever. It is impossible to obtain good things both in the present age and in the future. For it must be said to one, “You received good things in your life,” and to the other, “you received bad things”; and one receives good things in exchange for bad, the other bad in exchange for good, as that rich man and Lazarus are an example. Therefore: “Do not emulate him who prospers in his way, the man who does iniquity.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:7 (36:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:2–14 (72:2-Ps LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Mal 3:14: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 16:25: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s statement that good things cannot be had in both ages is drawn from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.2 (PG 12:1331a–1331b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-3 - Source: PG 12:1331b–1332b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Anger is a vice that troubles even the wise and must be burned away like hay and stubble; we should cease from it gradually, and not rival others in wickedness. ### Latin text Post haec commonet vitium quo otnncs pene turbamur, et nescio sicubi rarus quis ita perfectus inveniatur, qui careat ltoc morbo. Desine, inquit", ab ira, et derelinque indignationem. Multa sunt. vitia, quae a multis Facile vitantur. Verbi causa impudicitiae malum, Si quis operam enixius continentia: dederit, impudicitiam abiecit. Aliquauti etiam avaritiam subjugarunt, ita ut cum in caeteris non sint perfecti, videantur tamen vitare hoc malum, sedet alia nonnulla. Iracundia: autem durqu et acutum vitium, inflammat et exagitat etiam eos qui vitientur esse sapientes. Unde et Salomon in Proverbiis dicit ’ ε Ira perdit etiam prudentes. Id est, Noli, inquit, mirari, si insipientem, si malum, si infidelem iracundia inflammat, quia frequenter etiam bonos et prudentes viros ira exagitat. Est ergo hoc peccatum etiam unum ex illis quod ad aedificium deferet ligna, fenum et stipulam, et neccsse est hujusmodi materias, sicut scriptum est", per ignem probari, ita ut permaneamus tantliu in igne, donecde nobis ligna iracundiae consumantur, et fenum indignationis, et stipula verborum, eorum videlicet quae hujusmodi vitiis exagitati protulimus. Idcirco ergo desine ab ira, et relinque indignationem; id est non satisfacias animis tuis, cum commotus fueris ad iracundiam, sed desine, derelinque. contemne. Nos vero cum lucc mandata suscipiamus, et econtrario cum commoti luet-imus, non ab ira? cundia, sed a mansuetudine desinimus , non iudignationem relinquimus. sed lenitatem. Verum ex hoc saltem incipiamus emendare nosmetipsos, et paulatim per continentiam et assiduam medltationem lenientes iracundiam, veniamus etiam in hoc ut ultra non irascamur; atque indignationis quat: per furorem concitatur, impetum retundeutes assidue, perveniamus usque in illud ne ultra indignationis commotione turbentur. Noli tumulati ut uquiter facias . Noli, inquit, in :cnrulationem nequititn ca‘teros provocando , etiam ipse nequam fieri; quia aemulatio mali vincere semper in malitia alium studet. ### English translation (Claude) After this he warns against a vice by which almost all of us are troubled, and I do not know whether anyone, anywhere, is found so perfect as to be free of this disease. “Cease,” he says, “from anger, and forsake indignation.” There are many vices that many people avoid easily. For example, the evil of unchastity: if someone has applied himself earnestly to continence, he has cast off unchastity. Some have also subdued avarice, so that, though they are not perfect in other respects, they seem to avoid this evil and some others. But anger is a hard and sharp vice; it inflames and stirs up even those who seem to be wise. Hence Solomon too says in Proverbs: “Anger destroys even the prudent.” That is, do not wonder, he says, if anger inflames a fool, a wicked man, or an unbeliever, for anger often stirs up even good and prudent men. This sin, then, is also one of those that bring wood, hay, and stubble to the building; and, as it is written, such materials must be tested by fire, so that we remain in the fire until the wood of anger in us is consumed, and the hay of indignation, and the stubble of words, namely those we have uttered when stirred up by such vices. Therefore “cease from anger, and forsake indignation”: that is, do not gratify your feelings when you have been moved to anger, but cease, forsake, despise it. We, however, though we receive these commandments, do the opposite when we are moved: we cease not from anger but from gentleness; we forsake not indignation but mildness. Yet let us at least begin from this to amend ourselves, and, softening anger little by little through self-control and constant meditation, let us come even to this, that we are no longer angry; and by constantly blunting the onset of indignation that is stirred up by fury, let us arrive at this, that our souls are no longer troubled by the agitation of indignation. “Do not emulate so as to act wickedly.” Do not, he says, by provoking others to rivalry in wickedness, become wicked yourself; for rivalry in evil always strives to surpass another in malice. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:8 (36:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 15:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:12–15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Anger destroys even the prudent” is Prov 15:1 in the Greek Bible. - The image of wood, hay, and stubble tested by fire (1 Cor 3:12–15) is read of purification after death, as often in Origen; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.3 (PG 12:1331b–1332b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-4 - Source: PG 12:1332b–1333a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Wickedness is willed malice, distinct from other sins, as the devil is “the evil one”; the land promised to those who wait for the Lord is the true land, of which the earth bears only the name, and the Lord himself is our patience. ### Latin text Quia qui nequiter agunt. exterminabnntur; qui autem exspectant Dominum, ipsi hereditate passidebunt terram 7°. Apparet quia nequitia alia quidem species mali est, praeter caetera peccata. Unde et. ltic sermo divinus alium describit peccatorcm, et alium nequam, sicut et ibi simili utitur distinetione cum dicit :Contere brachium peccatoris et maligni, id est nequam. Sed et Dominus in Evangelio diabolum non dixit peccatorem tantummodo, sed malignum, vel malum, et cum docet in oratione, vel dicit : Sed libera nos a malo. Et alibi ”: Malus homo fecit, sive malignus. Deliniunt quidam πονηρίαν, id est nequitiam, spontaneatn vel νοιιιιιο tariam esse malitiam. Aliud estetdm per ignorsntiam mala agere, et vinei a malo: aliud est voluntate et studio mala facere, et. hoc est nequitia. Unde et merito diabolus ltoc nomine πονηρός, id est malignus, vel nequam, appellatur. Sed et nobis exprobrans Salvator dicebat”: Si ergo et uos cum silis mali, scitis bona data dare filiis uestris. Et nunc ergo ait : Quoniam qui nequiter aguru,o:ctenuinabuntur; qui autem exspectant Demittunt, ipsi Ita-reditum possidebunt terram. Est et alia quadam terra, illa de qua Scriptura dicit , fluens lac, et mel, quam Salvator in Evangeliis repromittit mansuetis, dicens : Beati mansueti, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram. Haec nostra quam habitamus proprio vocabulo arida appellatur, sicut et cmlum istud quod intuemur, proprie firmamentum dicitur. Ex appellatione vero alterius caeli etiam istud firmamentum ςαξιί nomen accepit, sicut edocet Scriptura Geneseos". Quid ergo est? In prmsenti quidem vita utimur coelo et terra visibilibus istis, in quibus veri cteli et verte terra: praeter nomina nihil aliud invenimus : sed idcirco hic ita arbitror appellata, ut, cum lucc ita nominantur, illa quas vera et magna sunt, ad desiderium et memoriam cognominantium veniant. Qui sunt autem qui haereditate possidebunt terram? Qui exspectant, inquit, Dominum. Exspectatnus Dominum, quia ipse est exspectatio nostra et patientia, sicut scriptum est : Et nunc qut: est exspecta‘ tio mea? nonne Dominus? Sicut ergo Salvator sapientia est etpax etjustitia, ita estet exspectatio, vel patientia. Et sicut participatione iustitiae ejus justi eflicimur, et participatione sapientiae ejus sapientes, ita et participatione patientia: ejus patientes eflieimur. Est ergo velut fons quidam perennis, de quo haurire possumus et patientiam, et justitiam, et sapientiam, et omnia quascunque sunt virtutum bona;si tamen bona, digna et pura vascula nostra deferamus ad fontem. Ait ergo: Qui autem exspectant Dominum, ipsi Iiwreditabunt. ### English translation (Claude) “For those who act wickedly will be destroyed; but those who wait for the Lord will possess the land as an inheritance.” It appears that wickedness is a species of evil distinct from the other sins. Hence here too the divine word describes the sinner as one person and the wicked man as another, just as it uses a similar distinction there, when it says: “Break the arm of the sinner and of the malicious,” that is, the wicked. And the Lord in the Gospel did not call the devil merely a sinner, but the malicious one, or the evil one, both when he teaches in the prayer, saying, “But deliver us from the evil one,” and elsewhere: “An evil man,” or a malicious one, “has done this.” Some define ponēria, that is, wickedness, as voluntary or willed malice. For it is one thing to do evil through ignorance and to be overcome by evil, and another to do evil by will and purpose; and this is wickedness. Hence the devil is rightly called by this name, ponēros, that is, malicious or wicked. And the Savior said to us in reproach: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children.” And now, then, he says: “For those who act wickedly will be destroyed; but those who wait for the Lord will possess the land as an inheritance.” There is also another land, of which Scripture says that it flows with milk and honey, which the Savior promises in the Gospels to the meek, saying: “Blessed are the meek, for they will possess the land.” This land of ours, which we inhabit, is called by its proper name “dry land,” just as this sky which we look at is properly called the “firmament.” But from the name of the other heaven this firmament too received the name of heaven, as the Scripture of Genesis teaches. What, then, does this mean? In the present life we make use of this visible heaven and earth, in which we find nothing of the true heaven and the true earth except the names; but I think they are so called here so that, when these are so named, those which are true and great may come to the desire and memory of those who share their names. Who are those who will possess the land as an inheritance? “Those who wait,” it says, “for the Lord.” We wait for the Lord, because he himself is our expectation and our patience, as it is written: “And now what is my expectation? Is it not the Lord?” As, then, the Savior is wisdom and peace and righteousness, so he is also expectation, or patience. And as by participation in his righteousness we become righteous, and by participation in his wisdom wise, so by participation in his patience we become patient. He is, then, like a perennial spring from which we can draw patience, righteousness, wisdom, and all the goods of the virtues, if only we bring good, worthy, and clean vessels to the spring. He says, then: “But those who wait for the Lord will inherit.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:9 (36:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 10:15 (9:36 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:28: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:11: quotation, high confidence - Exod 3:8: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:5: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:8–10: allusion, high confidence - Ps 39:7 (38:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:30: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s teaching that the visible heaven and earth bear the names of a true heaven and land promised to the meek is translated as written. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.4 (PG 12:1332b–1333a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-5 - Source: PG 12:1333a–1334a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Origen calls “a little while, and the sinner will not be” a mystery beyond him: sin and the sinner’s place, the passing world, will pass away, while those who do God’s words remain. ### Latin text l’ost haec autem sermonem quemdam addidit mysticum, qui super auditum meum sit, et supra linguam meam, qui excedat sensum meum. Ait enim, sive de omnibus peccatoribus, sive de uno aliquo peccatore, singulariter enim dicit : Pusil- ο lunt adhuc, etnon erit peccator. Pusillum adhuc profecto a praesenti tempore usque ad consummationem saeculi esse dicit, aut fortasse etiam ultra consummationem sceculi, et donec ille ignis vindex consumat adversarios. Si autem fiat hoc aliquo modo,non erit peccator, et qua ratione fieri possit utpeccator non sit, discutiat et requirat qui potest. Verumtamen pusillum adhuc, et non erit peccator, et quaem locant ejus et non invenies. Non solum autem peccator non erit, sed nec locus peccaloris erit. Quis est autem locus peccatoris, nisi ista quae prastereunt? Caelum, inquit δ’, et terra pratertbunt. Sine dubio ergo cum ipso peccato quod prazteriit, etiam locus prmteriet peccatoris. Caelum, inquit, et terra praeteribunt, verba autem mea non prmeribunt. Studeamus ergo nos facere verba Dei, quae non praetereunt, ne forte et nos cum istis quin praetereunt intereamus. Si enim peccatum facimus, quod praeterit, sine dubio et nos cum bis quae praetereunt deputabimur. Si autem facimus justitiam quae non praeterit, neque ipsi prmteribimus, sed pcrmanebimus cum permanente justitia, secundum illud quod scriptum est ’δε Nunquid non valet ntanus utea salvos facere? aut gravavi aurem means ne exaudiam Sed peccata vestra separant inter vos et Deum. Sed et ab initio creaturae. non sine aliqua mystica ratione {irritamentum factumesse dicitur“ quod separaret inter aquas et aquas, et divideret habitaculum mortalium a sedibus et habitaculis angelorum. Ex eo ergo locus nobis peccatoribus arida btec, quam etiam terram cognominavit Dominus, deputata est. Sed et alia quaedam loca nominantur aquae, quibus superferri Spiritus Domini dicitur. Et alia quaedam loca abyssus nominantur, quibus tenebrae superpositae. referuntur. Et de aquis quidem dicitur in alia Scriptura θ’, quia Viderunt te aquae, Deus, viderunt te aqum, et timuerunt. De abysso autem dicit, quia conturbata est abyssus; sine dubio quia non habet pacem, sed habet tenebras supcrpositas. Sed et dannones in’, Evangelia rogare dicuntur ne jubeantur abire in abyssum, velut in locum quemdam poenas et se et suis actibus dignum. Non solum ergo peccator non erit, sed etiam locus ejus, quisquis ille est, quaeretur, et non erit. ### English translation (Claude) After this he added a mystical saying which is beyond my hearing and beyond my tongue, which exceeds my understanding. For he says, whether about all sinners or about some one sinner (for he speaks in the singular): “A little while yet, and the sinner will not be.” “A little while yet” he surely says of the time from the present to the consummation of the age, or perhaps even beyond the consummation of the age, until that avenging fire consumes the adversaries. If this happens in some way, the sinner will not be; and by what reasoning it can happen that the sinner is not, let him who can discuss and inquire. “A little while yet, and the sinner will not be; and you will seek his place, and you will not find it.” Not only will the sinner not be, but neither will the sinner’s place be. And what is the sinner’s place, if not these things that pass away? “Heaven,” he says, “and earth will pass away.” Doubtless, then, together with sin itself, which has passed away, the sinner’s place too will pass away. “Heaven,” he says, “and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Let us strive, then, to do the words of God, which do not pass away, lest we too perish with these things that pass away. For if we commit sin, which passes away, we shall doubtless be counted with the things that pass away. But if we do righteousness, which does not pass away, we too shall not pass away, but shall remain with abiding righteousness, according to what is written: “Is my hand not able to save? Or have I made my ear heavy, so as not to hear? But your sins separate between you and God.” And at the beginning of creation, not without some mystical reason, a firmament is said to have been made to separate between waters and waters, and to divide the dwelling of mortals from the seats and dwellings of the angels. From that time this dry land, which the Lord also named earth, has been assigned as a place for us sinners. But other places too are named waters, over which the Spirit of the Lord is said to be borne; and other places are named the abyss, over which darkness is said to lie. Of the waters it is said in another Scripture: “The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and were afraid.” But of the abyss it says that the abyss was troubled, doubtless because it has no peace but has darkness lying over it. And in the Gospel the demons are said to beg not to be ordered to go away into the abyss, as into a place of punishment worthy of them and of their deeds. Not only, then, will the sinner not be, but his place too, whatever it is, will be sought and will not be. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:10 (36:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:35: quotation, high confidence - Isa 59:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:6–10: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Ps 77:16 (76:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 8:31: allusion, high confidence - Heb 10:27: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s speculation that the sinner will cease to be, perhaps after the consummation of the age, and his reading of the firmament as dividing mortals from the angels’ dwellings, are translated as written; he himself says the saying exceeds his understanding. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.5 (PG 12:1333a–1334a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-6 - Source: PG 12:1334a–1335b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The promise to the meek in Ps 37:11 shows that Christ’s beatitude was already spoken in the old Scriptures, against the Valentinians; the meek delight in the abundance of peace, while the sinner who gnashes at the righteous awaits his day. ### Latin text Mansueti autem hwredilabunt terram ". Adversum Valentiuianos et cmteros luereticos, qui putant Salvatorem meum dicere in Evangelio, quae in antiquisLitteris non sunt, proferendus est iste versiculus, sicut et nos didicimus a quodam presbytero proferre haec ad convincendos eos. Quod enim dictum est in Evangelio" : Beati mansueti, quoniam ipsi hwreditabunt terram, vide quomodo ante jam dictum est a Spiritu saneto per David : imo ipse Christus nunc in Evangeliis dicit: Beati mansueti, quoniam ipsi htvreditate possidebunt terram. Additsane PrOpbeta etiam amplius aliquid quam iu Evangelia legimus, dicens ἰε Ει delectabantur in multitudine pacis. Etiam hic sermone ipso utitur Graecus. de quo et superius diximus, κατατρυφήσουσιν, id est, deliciahuntur magis quam delectabuntur. Igitur deliciahuntur , sive delectabuntur mansueti iri multitudine pacis. Si qui sunt carnales homines, deleCtantur in cibis qui destruentur cum ventre suo, sicut et Apostolus dicit " Esca: ventri, et venter escis, Deus autem hunc et illas destruet. Sancti autem istas quoque delicias c0ntemnunt et despiciunt: habent autem delicias in multitudine pacis. Multitudo autem pacis esse dicitur in diebus Christi. Ita enim scriptum est : Et multitudo pacis erit in diebus ejus, usquequo auferatur luna. Quicunque ergo desinit ab ira, et reliquit indignationem, et neque animus in iram irritatur, neque sermone utitur iracundo, non solum forinsecus, verum et intrinsecus totus in pace est, et neque provocanti se ad iracundiam cedit, neque ipse alterum ad iracundiam provocat, sed in semetipso pacem habet, et in aliis, si qui forte dissident, servat diligere mansuetudinem, quae pacis custos est lidelissima, quae cuncta moderatur. Iste deiiciatur , vel dentibus suis 9". Sicut enim naturaliter contraria sunt lux et tenebrat, ita contrarii sunt sibi peccatur etjustus. Etsi videris aliquando odio haberi justum, non dubites dicere de eo qui odit justmn, quia peccator est. Si videris persecutionem pati (‘llln qui bene vivit, non dubites dicere de eo qui persequitur, quia non solum peccator est, sed nequam. Observabit ergo peccator justum, et observans eum fremet super eum dentibus suis. Quod dicit, fremet dentibus, nescio si de carnalibus detttilms accipiendum sit, licet possibile sit etiam hoc tleri a peccatore adversus justum. Cum comminatur ei, cum furit adversus eum, cum silet voce, et clamat furore, cumjusto molitur insidias. et omne iualum excogitat adversum eum , tunc etiam corporaliter adimpletur quod dicitur : Fremct super eum dentibus suis. Sed cum haec facit peccator adversum justum, Dominus, inquit", irridebit eum, quoniam prospicit quod veniat dies ejus. Quem diem prospicit Dominus peccatoris? Illum sine dubio, cum qumritur peccator, et non erit. ### English translation (Claude) “But the meek will inherit the land.” Against the Valentinians and the other heretics, who think that my Savior says things in the Gospel that are not in the ancient writings, this verse should be brought forward, as we too learned from a certain presbyter to bring forward such texts to refute them. For see how what is said in the Gospel, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land,” was already said before by the Holy Spirit through David; or rather, Christ himself now says in the Gospels: “Blessed are the meek, for they will possess the land as an inheritance.” The prophet, indeed, adds something more than we read in the Gospel, saying: “And they will delight in the abundance of peace.” Here too the Greek uses the very word of which we spoke above, katatryphēsousin, that is, “they will luxuriate” rather than “they will delight.” So the meek will luxuriate, or delight, in the abundance of peace. If there are fleshly people, they delight in foods which will be destroyed together with their belly, as the Apostle too says: “Food is for the belly and the belly for food, but God will destroy both the one and the other.” But the saints despise and disdain these delights too; they have their delights in the abundance of peace. And the abundance of peace is said to be in the days of Christ, for so it is written: “And there will be abundance of peace in his days, until the moon is taken away.” Whoever, then, ceases from anger and forsakes indignation, whose mind is not provoked to anger and who uses no angry speech, is wholly at peace, not only outwardly but also inwardly. He neither gives way to one who provokes him to anger nor himself provokes another to anger, but has peace in himself; and among others, if any happen to disagree, he is careful to love gentleness, which is the most faithful guardian of peace and governs all things. He luxuriates … with his teeth. For as light and darkness are by nature contrary, so the sinner and the righteous man are contrary to each other. Even if you sometimes see a righteous man hated, do not hesitate to say of the one who hates the righteous man that he is a sinner. If you see one who lives well suffering persecution, do not hesitate to say of the persecutor that he is not only a sinner but wicked. The sinner, then, will watch the righteous man, and watching him will gnash his teeth at him. Whether “he will gnash with his teeth” is to be taken of bodily teeth I do not know, though it is possible that this too is done by the sinner against the righteous. When he threatens him, when he rages against him, when he is silent in voice but cries out in fury, when he lays plots against the righteous man and devises every evil against him, then what is said is fulfilled even bodily: “He will gnash his teeth at him.” But when the sinner does these things against the righteous man, “the Lord,” it says, “will laugh at him, for he foresees that his day is coming.” What day of the sinner does the Lord foresee? Doubtless that day when the sinner is sought and will not be. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:11–13 (36:11-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 6:13: quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:7 (71:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The argument against the Valentinians and others: the Gospel’s teaching is already found in the Old Testament, so the God of both is the same. Origen says he learned this from “a certain presbyter”, who is not named. - This staged section also contains Ps 37:12–13, whose section number could not be read in the scan. Words are lost in the scan where the comment on v. 11 passes into v. 12 (marked …). - katatryphēsousin: the same Greek verb as in Ps 37:4 (see 1.3). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.6 (PG 12:1334a–1335b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-8 - Source: PG 12:1335b–1336b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As God’s soldier has the armor of Eph 6, the devil’s soldier has contrary arms; sinners “draw the sword” when they sin shamelessly and shoot the arrows of poisonous speech at the poor, against which we should be rich in spiritual goods. ### Latin text Gladium evaginaverunt peccatores, tetenderunt arcum suum, ut dejiciaut inopem et pauperem’. Non quod onmi genere peccatores gladium habeant corporalem, sed videamus ne forte sicut sunt quaedam arma Dei, in quibus esse dicitur lorica justitice, et gladius spiritus, et scutum fidei, ita etiam sint arma diaboli, quibus indutus cst homo peccator. Α contrariis igitur intelliganms contraria, et statuamus duos milites armatos, unum militem Dei, alterum militem diaboli. Etsi quidem miles Dei habet loricam justitiaa, sine dubio miles diaboli contrariam huic gerit injustitia: loricam. Et si miles Dei in galea salutis coruscat, ceontrario. peccator qui est miles diaboli, galea perditionis indutus est. Et si parati sunt pedes militis Christi ad Evangelii cursum et praedicationem, econtrario peccatoris pedes velociter currunt ad elTuudeudum sanguinem, et calceamenta ejus, hoc est praaparatio, concinnantur ad malum. liabet ergo miles Dei scutum quoddam fidei, habet et miles diaboli inlidelitatis scutum. lla ergo est gladius quidam Spiritus sancti in bis qui tnilitant Deo; est autem et gladius maligni iu bis qui militant peccato, quem gladium _ evaginare nunc dicuntur peccatores. Quomodo an- ι) tem putandi sunt peccatores evagiuare gladium? Dum jam impudenter et absque ullo verecundia: velamento iniquitates suas perpetrant, nec erubescunt, ac reverentur, nec tanquam iu vagina nequitiam snam recondunt et contegunt, sed superbo et elato spiritu velut gladium nuemdam denudant. Similiter etiam illud quod sequitur peragunt, id cst intenderunt arcum suum. Sed ct justi ltabeutarcum, habent et sagittas. Denique ct una sagitta ipsorum est Dominus Jesus, ipse enim ait ἐ Et posuit me sicut sagittam electum. Habent ergo justi sagittas, habent et peccatores. Sermo sagitta est : et justi quidem sermo cum arguit et corrigit peccatorem, velut sagitta compuugit et transforat eor ejus, ut convertatur ad paenitentiam et salvetur. Sermo antem peccatoris est habens venenum et sagittaus ac vulnerans eum, qui non est armis Dei munitus. Tunc enim verba iniquorum praevalent adversum nos, cum minus caute scuto fidei communimur. Tetenderunt ergo arcum suum, ut dejiciant inopem et pauperem . Sciunt peccatores, quia non possunt dejicere divitem, propterea neque insidias ei teudunl, sed on'tucs eorum insidia: adversum pauperem diriguntur, sicut et alibi dicitur , quia insidiatur sicu: leo in cubili suo, insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem. Et quia redemptio viri divitiie ejus sunt , pauper autem sufferre non valet minas, ideo divites ciliciamur iu spiritalibus bonis. id est in omni verbo, et iu omni scientia, in operibus bouis, abjicientes divitias peccati, prospicientes nou ea quae videntur, sed ca quae non videntur. Quae enim videntur divitia), temporales sunt; quae autem non videntur, aeterna: sunt. Et si in talibus divitiis ditescimus, vulnerari sagittis non possumus peccatorum. Restinguentur enim scuto fidei, per Christum Dominum et Salvatorem nostrum, cui est gloria et imperium iu saecula smculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “The sinners have drawn the sword, they have bent their bow, to cast down the needy and poor.” Not that sinners of every kind have a bodily sword; but let us see whether, just as there are certain arms of God, among which are said to be the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith, so there are also arms of the devil, with which the sinful man is clothed. Let us understand contraries from contraries, then, and set up two armed soldiers, one a soldier of God, the other a soldier of the devil. If the soldier of God has the breastplate of righteousness, the soldier of the devil doubtless wears the contrary breastplate of unrighteousness. If the soldier of God gleams in the helmet of salvation, the sinner, who is the devil’s soldier, is on the contrary clad in the helmet of perdition. If the feet of Christ’s soldier are made ready for the course and the preaching of the Gospel, on the contrary the sinner’s feet run swiftly to shed blood, and his shoes, that is, his readiness, are fitted for evil. The soldier of God has a shield of faith; the soldier of the devil has a shield of unbelief. So there is a sword of the Holy Spirit in those who serve as God’s soldiers, but there is also a sword of the evil one in those who serve as soldiers of sin, and it is this sword that sinners are now said to draw. How are sinners to be thought of as drawing the sword? When they commit their iniquities shamelessly and without any veil of modesty, and neither blush nor feel reverence, nor hide and cover their wickedness as in a sheath, but with a proud and haughty spirit bare it like a sword. They likewise do what follows, that is, “they have bent their bow.” But the righteous too have a bow, and have arrows. Indeed one of their arrows is the Lord Jesus, for he himself says: “And he made me like a chosen arrow.” The righteous, then, have arrows, and sinners have them too. Speech is an arrow. The speech of the righteous man, when it reproves and corrects the sinner, pricks and pierces his heart like an arrow, so that he is turned to repentance and saved. But the speech of the sinner carries poison, and shoots and wounds the one who is not protected by the arms of God; for the words of the wicked prevail against us when we are less carefully protected by the shield of faith. “They have bent their bow, then, to cast down the needy and poor.” Sinners know that they cannot cast down the rich man, and so they do not lay snares for him; all their snares are aimed at the poor man, as it is also said elsewhere that he lies in wait like a lion in his den, lies in wait to seize the poor. And since “a man’s riches are the ransom of his life, but the poor man cannot bear threats,” let us therefore become rich in spiritual goods, that is, in all speech and in all knowledge, in good works, casting away the riches of sin, looking not to what is seen but to what is not seen; for the riches that are seen are temporary, but those not seen are eternal. And if we become rich in such riches, we cannot be wounded by the arrows of sinners; for they will be quenched by the shield of faith, through Christ our Lord and Savior, to whom be glory and dominion for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:14 (36:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:14–17: allusion, high confidence - Rom 3:15: allusion, high confidence - Isa 49:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 10:9 (9:30 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Prov 13:8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:5: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Marginal references and a Migne column number leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. - “A man’s riches are the ransom of his life” is Prov 13:8. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 2.8 (PG 12:1335b–1336b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-2-8). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-3-1 - Source: PG 12:1336b–1337b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Only those able to sin bear arms, of God or of the devil; it is best not to have the sword of sin, or at least to sheathe it; all must pass through the fire of judgment, but only sinners will be harmed by it, as the Egyptians were drowned in the sea the Hebrews crossed. ### Latin text Superiore tractatu dicebamus quaedam de gladio et arcu peccatorum, et armis Dei, et quia omnes homines armati sunt; ct quod diximus omnes homines, nunc adjiciam quod defuit superioribus, id est bi omnes qui peccare jam possunt, vel abstinere a peccatis. Infantes enim neque Dei arma Iractare possunt, neque arma diaboli. Si qui autem in verbo et actu et cogitatione possunt jam scire quod rectum cst, et vitare quod contrarium est, ipsi sunt qui dicuntur omnes habere arma, et si quidem peccant, diaboli arma habent et iniquitatis; si vero recte agunt, arutis Dei dicentur induti. Quod ergo dixit: Gladium evaginavcruut peccatores, tcteude-v runt arcum suum, explanantes dicebamus secundum Apostolum qui dixit a contrariis " : Et gladium spiritus quod est verbum Dei, quia peccatorum gladius esset spiritus qui in ipsis est nequam, qui eos inspirat ad verba blas‘pltemiaa, et iniquitatis, et turpitudinis. Verbi causa, si videas gentiles adversum se in disputationibus dimicantes, et diversas contra se invicem impietates dialectica: artis versutiis astrueutes, potes tunc dicere competenter, quia gla- ν . dium cvagiuavoruut peccatores. Sed et ego qui dicor ’ fidelis, si forte eet-tanien mibi sit cum aliquo, et ad iracundiam provocatus, abjecla mansucttnline pruferam verba furiosa, et spiritum mendaciis, et tumidis venenatisque sermonibus relegam, met-ito etiam ego tanquam peccator evagiuasse gladium dicur. Bonum igitur prinnun est ne habere quidem gladium peccati; secundum vero est saltem non eum evaginare, sed recondere in vagina sua. Si enim nou proferatur gladius de vagina, neque exerceatur, acies eius obtenditur et aerugine consumitur, et si semper cesset ab opere exterminabitur. lloc enim Dominus etiam pollicetur, ut exterminet rompbzeam, id est peccatum, ita ut ultra jam non sit peccator. Sed si quidem verbi Dei prtevenimus hoc opus, et in hac vita positi faciamus in nobis interire peceatttm, ut nunquam omnino a nobis, neque per cogitationem, neque per opus, neque per verbum peccati gladius proferatur, non indigehimus pcenre ignis :eterni, non tenebris exterioribus conden'mabiuntr, neque illis suppliciis quat peccatoribus imminent subjaccbimus. Si vero in hac vita contemnimus commonentis nos divinae Scriptura). verba, et curari vel emendari ejus correptionibus nolumus, certum est quia manet nos ignis ille qui prmparatus est peccatoribus, ct veniemus ad illum ignem in quo uniuscujusque Opus quale sit ignis probabit . Et, ut ego arbitror, omnes nos venire necesse est ad illum ignem. Etiamsi Paulus sit aliquis vel Petrus, venit tamen ad illmu ignem. Sed illi tales audiunt : Etiamsi per ignem transeas, [Iuntina non atluret te ’. Si vero aliquis similis mei peccator sit, veniet quidem ad ignem illum sicut Petrus et Paulus, sed non sic transiet sicut l’etrus ct Paulus. Et quemadmodum ad Rubrum mare venerunt llebrtei , venerunt et Egyptii, sed Hebraei quidem transierunt mare Rubrum, Egyptii autem demersi sunt in ipso: hoc modo etiam nos si quidem {Egyptii snmus, et sequimur Pharaonem diabolum, praeceptis ejus obedientes, dcmergemur in illum fluvium sive lacum igneum, cum inventa fuerint in nobis peccata, qtise sine dubio ex praeceptis elegimus Pharaonis. Si autem sumus_ Hebraei, ct sanguine agni inniuacnlati sutnus redempti, si non portamus nobiscum fcrtneutum nequitite, ingredimur quidem et nos iluvium ignis. Sed sicut llehrmis erat aqua murus dextra lcevaque, ita etiam iguis erit murus, si nos faciamus quod de illis dictum est, quia crediderunt lico et Moysi famulo ejus, id est legi eius et utandatis, et sic sequamur columnam ignis et eolumnam nubis. llwc monuimus repetentes explanationem, quomodo gladium evaginaverunt peccatores. ### English translation (Claude) In the previous discourse we said some things about the sword and bow of sinners and about the arms of God, and that all people are armed. To what we said, “all people,” I will now add what was lacking before: all those, that is, who are already able to sin or to abstain from sins. For infants can handle neither the arms of God nor the arms of the devil. But those who in word, deed, and thought can already know what is right and avoid what is contrary to it are the ones who are said all to have arms; if they sin, they have the arms of the devil and of iniquity, but if they act rightly, they will be said to be clothed with the arms of God. Explaining, then, the words “The sinners have drawn the sword, they have bent their bow,” we said, following the Apostle, who spoke of the contrary, “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” that the sword of sinners is the wicked spirit that is in them, which inspires them to words of blasphemy, iniquity, and shamefulness. For example, if you see Gentiles fighting one another in disputations and building up various impieties against each other with the tricks of the dialectical art, you can fittingly say that “the sinners have drawn the sword.” But I too, who am called a believer, if perhaps I have a quarrel with someone and, provoked to anger, cast off gentleness, utter furious words, and give free rein to a spirit of lies with swollen and poisonous speeches, would rightly be said to have drawn the sword like a sinner. It is best, then, first of all not even to have the sword of sin; second best is at least not to draw it but to put it back in its sheath. For if a sword is not drawn from its sheath nor used, its edge is dulled and consumed by rust, and if it is always idle it will be destroyed. And this the Lord also promises: to destroy the sword, that is, sin, so that there will no longer be a sinner. But if we anticipate this work of the word of God and, while still in this life, cause sin to die in us, so that the sword of sin is never brought forth by us at all, whether by thought, deed, or word, we shall not need the punishment of eternal fire, we shall not be condemned to the outer darkness, nor be subjected to the torments that await sinners. But if in this life we despise the words of divine Scripture that admonish us, and are unwilling to be cured or corrected by its rebukes, it is certain that the fire prepared for sinners awaits us, and we shall come to that fire in which the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. And, as I think, we must all come to that fire. Even if someone is a Paul or a Peter, he still comes to that fire. But such as these hear: “Even if you pass through fire, the flame will not burn you.” If, however, someone is a sinner like me, he will come to that fire as Peter and Paul do, but will not pass through as Peter and Paul do. And as the Hebrews came to the Red Sea, and the Egyptians came too, but the Hebrews passed through the Red Sea while the Egyptians were drowned in it, so we too, if we are Egyptians and follow Pharaoh the devil, obeying his commands, shall be drowned in that river or lake of fire, when sins are found in us, which we doubtless chose from Pharaoh’s commands. But if we are Hebrews and have been redeemed by the blood of the spotless lamb, if we do not carry with us the leaven of wickedness, we too indeed enter the river of fire; but as the water was a wall for the Hebrews on the right and on the left, so the fire too will be a wall, if we do what was said of them, that they believed God and Moses his servant, that is, his law and commandments, and if we so follow the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. We have given this admonition in repeating the explanation of how “the sinners have drawn the sword.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:14 (36:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:17: quotation, high confidence - Hos 2:18: echo, low confidence - Matt 25:41: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 8:12: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 3:13: allusion, high confidence - Isa 43:2: quotation, high confidence - Exod 14:22–28: allusion, high confidence - Rev 20:14–15: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Pet 1:19: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:7–8: allusion, high confidence - Exod 14:31: allusion, high confidence - Exod 13:21: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s teaching that all, even Peter and Paul, must pass through the fire, which tests each one’s work and harms only sinners, is translated as written. - “Give free rein to” translates by sense a doubtful word in the scan (relegam). Marginal references leaked into the text there and are removed by a logged correction. - The promise “to destroy the sword” is not a verbatim quotation; it may echo Hos 2:18 or Ps 76:3 (uncertain). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.1 (PG 12:1336b–1337b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-3-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-3-2 - Source: PG 12:1337b–1338b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The sinners’ bow is their mouth and their arrows are wicked thoughts shot in the dark, chiefly by the hostile powers; the upright are warned beforehand to keep watch over their hearts. ### Latin text Sed ne illud quidem otiose transeundum est, quod etiam tetendisse dicuntur arcum suurn: quod non jam oppositione contrarii sicut in caeteris l'ccimus. sed ex similibus absolvimus. lu decimo psalnto'scriptum est “quia Peccatores intenderunt arcum, paraverunt sagittas in pharetra, ut sagittcnt t'u obscuro rectos corde. Unde apparet, quod cor impii rcpletum est velut pharetra sagittis venenatis. Sunt ergo sagittae impiorum, consi‘ia ct cogitationes pessimm : os vero ac labia eorum arcus quidam est, quo dilatato atque distento venenati cordis spicula jactantur. Quod autem ait in obscuro, competenter dictum est. Non enim isti tales in die, id cst in lucc Dei incedunt, sed in tenebris ambulant, etin obscuritate malitiae atque ignorantiae delitescunt. Quod autent sagittant rectos corde, id cst simplices ct ignorantes malitias suas. Sed puto quod hic sermo non tant de hominibus peccatoribus, quam de contrariis potestatibus dicatur. lll:e sunt enim, quae in obscuro sagittam rectos corde. Propterea ergo die noctuque vigilcnt bi qui recto sunt corde, quia illi quidem paraverunt sagittas. Non dixil,jaculati sunt, sed paraverunt sagittas; non sagittarunt neque vulneraverunt, sed parant sc ut sagitteut. Vides nos antequam vulnerentur commoneri, ιιι nos ab illorum vulneribus defendamus, et omni custodia servemus cor nostrum. ### English translation (Claude) But neither should we pass over idly that they are also said to have bent their bow; this we explain now not by opposition to the contrary, as we did in the other cases, but from similar passages. In the tenth psalm it is written: “The sinners have bent the bow, they have prepared arrows in the quiver, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.” Hence it appears that the heart of the ungodly is filled with poisoned arrows like a quiver. The arrows of the ungodly, then, are their wicked counsels and thoughts, and their mouth and lips are a kind of bow; when it is opened wide and drawn, the darts of the poisoned heart are shot. And “in the dark” is fittingly said, for such people do not walk in the day, that is, in God’s light, but walk in darkness and lurk in the obscurity of malice and ignorance. And they shoot at the upright in heart, that is, the simple, and those who know nothing of their malice. But I think this saying is spoken not so much of sinful people as of the opposing powers; for it is they who shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. Therefore let those who are upright in heart keep watch day and night, because those have prepared their arrows. He did not say, “they have shot,” but “they have prepared arrows”: they have not shot nor wounded, but are preparing to shoot. You see that we are warned before we are wounded, so that we may defend ourselves from their wounds and keep our heart with all vigilance. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:14 (36:14 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 11:2 (10:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 4:23: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s “tenth psalm” is Ps 11 in the English Bible. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.2 (PG 12:1337b–1338b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/2-1/#p-3-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-3 - Source: PG 12:1338b–1339a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As Christ, Moses, the prophets, and the apostles are God’s arrows that wound hearts with love, so the Antichrist and all through whom the devil speaks or acts are the devil’s arrows; Origen laments that God’s arrows are few and fears being used as the devil’s arrow himself. ### Latin text Volo etiam amplius aliquid in bis locis positus aperire, nc semper de inferioribus loquar ad vos, sed aliquando quoniam etiam superiora pulsemus. Considcro ergo, quia sicut Salvator sagitta est Dei, sicut scriptum cst “ : Posuit me sicut sagittam electam; sine dubio autem simili exemplo etiam Moyses in quo locutus est Deus, sagitta Dei est : et caeteri prophetae et apostoli Christi, iu quibus Chri- 'stus ipse loquebatur, certum cst quia per sagittam Dei vulnerabant eos et compungcbaut cor eorum, quibus sermonem Dei loquebantur, ita ut bi qui ab ipsis audiebant sermonem Dei, dicereut , quia Vulnerata c/utritatc ego sum; sic rursus econtrario quomodo Christus est electa sagitta Dei, sic et Anticliristns sagitta diaboli. Et sicut oumes in quibus Christus locutus est, vel loquitur, secundum hanc similitudinem prephctte et apostoli etiam ipsi sagitta: erant Dei, et quicunque justus et prmdicator loquitur verbum Dei ad salutem hominum consummandam, sagitta Dei dici potest: ita et onmes peccatores in quibus diabolus loquitur, sagittae diaboli dici possunt. Si quando ergo te videris per es peccatoris sagittis diaboli vulnerari, illius quidem ιιιίserere qtti se ad hoc Opus exhibet diabolo tninistrum : tu autem memor esto tui, et arripe scutum fidei, ιιι possis in ipso omnia tela ignita maligni exstinguere. Non solum autem in verbis, sed in i'aetis diriguntur in nos tela diaboli. Si enim videres mulierem insidiantem tibi, ιιι te decipiat, nonne et liteciguitmu telum diaboli est, cum tibi ita loquitur, ιιι in te ignem libidinis concitet? Similiter et si quis te verbis amaris et asperis ad iracundiam cencitet, nonne et hic ignitum iaculum est maligni, quo inilannnaris et. incenderis ad furorem? Sed et si quis in aliud quoque te provocat efinstigat, quod tu impatienter ferens in peccatum decidas, intelligo diligentius, et adverte hos omnes jacula esse maligni ignita, quibus rectos corde inflammet, vulneret ad peccatum. Sed quod est infelicius, paucas video sagittas Dei, pauci sunt qui ita loquuntur ut inflamment cor auditoris, et abstraham eum a peccato, et convertatur ad paenitentiam. Pauci ita loquuntur qui auditoris corde percusso eliciant ex oculo lacrymam paenitentiae, qui aperientes futurae spei lumen et magnitudinem futuri seculi, ac regni Dei gloriam protestantes suadere possint hominibus, qtae videntur contemnere, et expetere quae non videntur, spernere quae temporalia sunt, et qnze aeterna sunt quaerere. Perpauci sunt tales, et ipsi, si qui sunt, pauci : per invidiam et livorem—ita agitur ne omnino vel pauci sint, ne vel prodesse aliquibus possint. Sagittae autem diaboli omnibus in locis abundant, omnis terra ipsis repleta est. Populi orbis militaris manus maxima ex parte sagittae sunt maligni, utinam ibi tantumntodo, atque in illis praevaleret inimicus, ut illos solos haberet sagittas. Nunc autem vereor etiam eos qui intus sunt, et meipsnm vereor ne forte diabolus adducat me in aliquod scandalum, ct utatur me sagitta adversus animam hominis: quia qui scandalizaverit aliquem sive in verbo, sive in facto, iste illi animae quam scandalizavit sagitta exstitit et jaculum diaboli. Et vide quid accidit nobis infelicius. Interdum nos putamus dicere ad, versus aliquem, et incaute proferimus sermones, dum contentiosius agimus, et quibuslibet verbis vincere studemus, tunc diabolus ore nostro utitur velut arcu, per quem sagittas dirigat et sagittet rectos corde, eos videlicet qui nos audiunt ea loquentes, in quibus scandalum patiuntur. Et sicut lieus posuit arcum in nubibus ne fiat diluvium , et ut tempestas desinat ιιι ita econtrario diabolus ponit arcum non ut cessare faciat, sed ut suscitet tempestates, ιιι serenitatem conturbet in anima, ut pacem depellat, ut bella commoveat, et ut turbines excitet ac procellas. Cum enim videris aliquem vitiis et passionibus agitatum circumire et perturnare omnia, nolo dubites quod ille sagitta diaboli est, et os ejus posuit arcum suum, et tetendit sagittas verba ejus ut sagittent rectos corde. Sed qui muniti sunt armis Dei. ab bis talibus non potuerunt vulnerari. ### English translation (Claude) While dealing with these passages I want to open up something more, so as not always to speak to you of lower things, but sometimes to knock at higher ones too. I consider, then, that as the Savior is God’s arrow, as it is written, “He made me like a chosen arrow,” so doubtless, by a similar example, Moses too, in whom God spoke, is God’s arrow. And as for the other prophets and the apostles of Christ, in whom Christ himself spoke, it is certain that through God’s arrow they wounded and pierced the hearts of those to whom they spoke the word of God, so that those who heard the word of God from them said, “I am wounded with love.” So again, on the contrary, as Christ is God’s chosen arrow, so the Antichrist is the devil’s arrow. And as all in whom Christ spoke or speaks, the prophets and the apostles, were themselves, according to this likeness, arrows of God, and any righteous man and preacher who speaks the word of God to bring about people’s salvation can be called God’s arrow, so too all sinners in whom the devil speaks can be called arrows of the devil. If, then, you ever find yourself wounded by the devil’s arrows through the mouth of a sinner, pity him who offers himself to the devil as a minister for this work; but as for you, remember yourself and take up the shield of faith, so that with it you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. The devil’s darts are aimed at us not only in words but also in deeds. For if you see a woman lying in wait for you to deceive you, is not she too a flaming dart of the devil, when she speaks to you so as to kindle the fire of lust in you? Similarly, if someone provokes you to anger with bitter and harsh words, is not he too a flaming dart of the evil one, by which you are inflamed and kindled to fury? And if someone provokes and goads you to something else, so that, bearing it impatiently, you fall into sin, understand more carefully and notice that all these are flaming darts of the evil one, with which he inflames the upright in heart and wounds them to sin. But what is more unhappy, I see few arrows of God: few speak in such a way as to inflame the hearer’s heart, draw him away from sin, and turn him to repentance. Few speak so that, striking the hearer’s heart, they draw the tear of repentance from his eye; who, opening up the light of future hope and the greatness of the age to come, and testifying to the glory of the kingdom of God, can persuade people to despise what is seen and seek what is not seen, to spurn what is temporal and seek what is eternal. Very few are such, and even they, if there are any, are few; and through envy and spite things are so contrived that there may not be even a few, or that they may not be able to benefit anyone. But the devil’s arrows abound everywhere; the whole earth is filled with them. The peoples of the world and the soldiery are for the most part arrows of the evil one. Would that the enemy prevailed only there and among them, so as to have only them as his arrows! But as it is, I fear even for those who are within, and I fear for myself, lest the devil lead me into some scandal and use me as an arrow against someone’s soul; for whoever has scandalized someone, whether in word or in deed, has become an arrow and dart of the devil to the soul he scandalized. And see what still more unhappy thing happens to us. Sometimes we think we are speaking against someone, and we utter words incautiously while we argue too contentiously and strive to win with any words whatever; then the devil uses our mouth as a bow, through which he aims arrows and shoots at the upright in heart, namely those who hear us saying things by which they are scandalized. And as God set his bow in the clouds so that there would be no flood and the storm would cease, so on the contrary the devil sets a bow, not to make things cease but to raise up storms, to disturb the calm in the soul, to drive out peace, to stir up wars, and to raise whirlwinds and tempests. When you see someone driven by vices and passions going about and disturbing everything, do not doubt that he is an arrow of the devil, that the devil has made his mouth his bow and stretched his words as arrows to shoot at the upright in heart. But those who are protected by the arms of God could not be wounded by such people. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:14 (36:14 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Isa 49:2: quotation, high confidence - Song 2:5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Thess 2:3–9: allusion, low confidence - Eph 6:16: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:18: allusion, high confidence - Matt 18:6–7: allusion, high confidence - Gen 9:13–15: allusion, high confidence - Ps 11:2 (10:2 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “I am wounded with love” is Song 2:5 in the Greek Bible (also Song 5:8). - “The peoples of the world and the soldiery” translates by sense a garbled phrase in the scan (Populi orbis militaris manus). - Marginal references and a Migne column number leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.3 (PG 12:1338b–1339a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-4 - Source: PG 12:1339a–1340a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The upright in heart are “slaughtered” when believers of long standing scandalize a newcomer into sin; the blood God will require is the blood of the soul, from a brother if a believer caused the fall, from a “beast” if the hostile power worked through an unbeliever. ### Latin text Quod autem addidit ut trucident rectos corde “’, cum superius dixisset, ut dejiciant inopem et pauperam, iunxit pauperibus rectos corde: quos puto quia similiter etiam Dominus eonjungat in Evangeliis "; ubi enim dicit beatos pauperes, ibi etiam beatificat mundos corde, et nihil interesse arbitror inter mundos corde et rectos corde. Trueitlantur autem hoc modo. Si quis simplici mente ac desiderio veniat ad Ecclesiam ut proficiat, ut melior se fiat, iste si videat nos qui multo jam tempore in fide stetimus, vel non recte agentes, vel cum offendiculo loquentes, efficimur illi nos lapsus ad peccatum. Cum autem peccaverit, trucidatus est, et sanguis anima: ejus profluit, omnis ab eo virtus vitalis abscedit. Et si audis dici in Genesi ", quia Sanguinem animarum vestrarum exquiram ab omni fratre et ab omni bestia, non putes quia de hoc sanguine magnopere praecipiat corporali, quantum de interioris hominis sanguine, id est de vita anima: et sanguine spirituali. Scandalizati enim animat sanguis effunditu r, cum ceciderit in peceatum, et propterea dixit, quia requiritur sanguis eius a fratre. Et quare etiam a bestia. Si fidelis est qui te scandalizavit, frater est, a quo requirendus est sanguis tuus. Frater enim tuus est, qui fudit sanguinem tuum, et ideo dictum est, De manu fratris requiram sanguinem. Cum vero contraria potestas fera et nequam perurget hominem, et infidelis est per quem insidiatur, si potuerit fundere sanguinem anima: tute, id est dejicere te in peceatum, bestia est per quam exquirit Dominus sanguinem tuum. Sed et Ezechiel propheta cum dicit speculatorem se positum domui Israel ’, qui si annuntiaverit rompiueam venientem, reus non fiat sanguinis, si non nuntiaverit, reus sit sanguinis; et in lege cum dicitur, si haec et haec fecerit, innocens erit sanguine ; sine dubio etiam hic anima: sanguinem designat, qui effunditur per peccatum. Propterea ergo timeamus omnes, ne forte sanguis alicujus qui scandalizatur, requiratur a nobis; sicut propheta designat. Haec oportuit nos repetere, ut plenius ostenderemus quomodo gladium evaginaverunt peccatores et tetenderunt arcum suum, et quis esset pauper quem dejicerent, et quomodo trucidantur recti corde, vel quis est sanguis eorum qui effunditur. ### English translation (Claude) And when he added “to slaughter the upright in heart,” after saying above “to cast down the needy and poor,” he joined the upright in heart to the poor. I think the Lord likewise joins them in the Gospels, for where he calls the poor blessed, there he also blesses the pure in heart; and I think there is no difference between the pure in heart and the upright in heart. They are slaughtered in this way. If someone comes to the Church with a simple mind and a desire to advance and become better, and he sees us, who have long stood in the faith, either not acting rightly or speaking in a way that causes stumbling, we become for him a fall into sin. And when he has sinned, he has been slaughtered; the blood of his soul flows out, and all his vital power leaves him. And if you hear it said in Genesis, “I will require the blood of your souls from every brother and from every beast,” do not think that the command concerns this bodily blood so much as the blood of the inner man, that is, the life of the soul and spiritual blood. For the blood of a scandalized soul is shed when it has fallen into sin, and therefore he said that its blood is required from the brother. And why from the beast as well? If the one who scandalized you is a believer, he is a brother, from whom your blood is to be required; for it is your brother who shed your blood, and therefore it is said, “From the hand of the brother I will require the blood.” But when the opposing power, wild and wicked, presses hard on someone, and the one through whom it lays its snares is an unbeliever, if it can shed the blood of your soul, that is, cast you down into sin, it is a beast from which the Lord requires your blood. And the prophet Ezekiel, when he says that he has been set as a watchman for the house of Israel, who is not guilty of blood if he announces the coming sword, but is guilty of blood if he does not announce it; and the law, when it says, “If he does this and this, he will be innocent of blood”: doubtless here too the blood of the soul is meant, which is shed through sin. Therefore let us all fear lest the blood of someone who is scandalized be required of us, as the prophet indicates. We had to repeat these things to show more fully how the sinners drew the sword and bent their bow, who the poor man was whom they would cast down, how the upright in heart are slaughtered, and what their blood is that is shed. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:14 (36:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:3: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:8: allusion, high confidence - Gen 9:5: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 33:6–8: allusion, high confidence - Matt 18:6: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “I will require the blood … from every brother and every beast” combines the wording of Gen 9:5. - The law passage “he will be innocent of blood” is not identified with certainty. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.4 (PG 12:1339a–1340a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-5 - Source: PG 12:1340a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The words the wicked aim at the righteous turn back on themselves, as the apostles’ peace returns to them if refused. ### Latin text Nunc autem videamus quid sit istis peceatoribus qui haec faciunt, id est qui gladio diaboli utuntur et jaculis maligni, quid de his rursum dicit sermo divinus : Framea, inquit, eorum intret in cor eorum, et arcus eorum conteratur. F ramea genus teli est, hoc nomine nuncupatum. Sermones igitur isti, quos inspirante diabolo iniqui et peccatores proferunl, inquit, adversus justum, ut trucident rectos corde, convertentur adversum ipsos quieos proferunt, ut illuc redeant unde processerant. Sicut enim dicitur ad justos et sanctos apostolos a Domino : In quamcunque domum intraveritis, dicite: Pax huic domui; et si fuerit ibi filius pacis, pax vestra veniet super eum; sin minus, pax vestra ad vos revertetur; sic ct hic econtrario gladius impiorum qui evaginatur ut trucidet rectos corde, reverti in ipsos dicitur, et demergi in cor eorum, atque arcus eorum confringi, dum Dominus 'de insidiis eorum liberat justum. ### English translation (Claude) Now let us see what the divine word says in turn about these sinners who do such things, that is, who use the devil’s sword and the evil one’s darts. “Let their spear,” it says, “enter into their own heart, and let their bow be broken.” The framea is a kind of weapon called by this name. These words, then, which the wicked and the sinners utter against the righteous at the devil’s prompting, to slaughter the upright in heart, will be turned against those who utter them, so that they return to where they came from. For as the Lord says to the righteous and holy apostles: “Into whatever house you enter, say, ‘Peace to this house’; and if a son of peace is there, your peace will come upon him; but if not, your peace will return to you,” so here too, on the contrary, the sword of the ungodly, drawn to slaughter the upright in heart, is said to return upon them and sink into their own heart, and their bow to be broken, when the Lord delivers the righteous man from their snares. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:15 (36:15 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:5–6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Framea is the word of the Latin text of Ps 37:15 (“spear”; Greek rhomphaia, “sword”). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.5 (PG 12:1340a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-6 - Source: PG 12:1340a–1343a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Literally, a little gained honestly is better than wealth gained unjustly; spiritually, the simple believer’s small faith is better than worldly learning, though best of all is to be rich in the whole of Scripture and in good works. The breaking of the sinners’ arms is read in several ways. ### Latin text Melius est modicum justo super diuitias peccatorum multas “. Secundum litteram continuo etiam simplicioribus quibusque utilis admonitio est. de qua et prius dicendum est, quamvis habeat etiam profundius aliquid, quod si quis [capere potuerit, capiat. Quid ergo nos doceat littera, videamus. ιιι hoc mundo communem vita: sollicitudinem gerunt et justi et injusti, ut habeant quae ad victum necessaria sunt. Sed justi quidem non tam propensi sunt erga sollicitudinem victus, quam enixe gerunt iustitia: curam , ita ut etiam si eis quaerenda sunt quae ad victum necessaria sunt, absque injustitia quaerantur, ut ipse qurcstus eorum qui quotidiano usui necessarius est, cum omni justitia fiat. Injusti vero nihil curant de justitia, sed omnem curam in hoc impendunt quomodo acquirant; in hoc eorum omne studium est, quomodocunque et qualiacunque lucra captare : non quaerunt si bene acqttirant, si cum justitia : non sunt solliciti ut judicio Christi inveniantur possessiones eorum cmn justitia qua:sittc. Quomodo possunt haec facere, qui agrum ad agrum eonjungunt , et villam vitim appropiant, ut aliquid proximo auferant? Ctttn ergo unum θ duobus tieri necesse sit, id est aut multa acquirere cum injustitia, aut tnodicum cum justitia, Melius est, inquit ’, modicum justo, super divitias peccatorum utullus. Et vere quasi speciali quodam titulo multa: divitia: in iniquitate censentur. Unde cl ego arbitror Dominum et Salvatoretn nostrum, quasi vere Deum et Dominum Mammonam iniquitatis pronuntiasse cum dicit ” : Facite vobis anticos de iniquo Hammona. llaec secundum litteram. Videamus nunc si quid etiam secreti contineat. sermo. Sunt amita et diversa studia litterarum in hoc mundo, ιιι videas quamplurimos incipientes a grammaticis ediscere carmina poetarum, comoediarumquc fabulas, tragoediarum vel commentilias vel honorificus narrationes , historiarum longa ac diversa volumina, tum deinde transire ad rhetoricam, atque ibi omnem fucum eloquentiae qttterere, post haec venire ad philosOphiam, perscrutari dialecticam, syllogismorum nexus inquirere, mensuras geometria: pet-tentare, astrorum leges ae stellarum cursus perscrutari, omittere quoque nec musicam; et sic per omnes istas eruditi tam diversas et varias disciplinas, in quibus nihil de Dei voluntate cognoverunt, multas quidem, sed peccatorum divitias congregaverant. Videas autem unum dc Ecclesia imperitum quidem in verbo atque eruditione, sed title ac timore Dei repletum, qui propter timorem Dei in nullo audet delinquere. sed veretur omnino aperire os suum, ne forte sermo malus procedat ι) de ore ejus, et observat etiam in minimo delinquere. a quibus observare se non potest ille qui dives est in ltujus mundi sapientia. llus igitur sibi conferens sermo divinus ait “ : Melius est modicum iusto, super divitias peccatorum maritas. Ut sunt divitiae peccatorum, sapientia hujus mundi, in qua divites sunt et abundantes in eloquentia, nec tamen se per hac continere praevalent a peccato. Modicum autem justi est, qui habet iidem tanquam granum sinapis modicam, sed vividam et vehementem, per quam se communit et continet a peccato. Melius est ergo hoc modicum fidei justo super divitias peccatorum multas , quas habent in eloquentia ac sapientia hujus saeculi , quas destruitur. Tamen si potuerit quis et divitias habere, etnon peccatorum habere divitias; sed congregare aliqua de thesauris Moysi lcgislatoris. alia etiam de censu acquirere prophetarum, de lsaia, de Ieremia, de Ezechiele, perscrutari quoque secreta Danielis, cteterorumque prepbetarum reconditos et obscuros penetrare thesauros; istejam non confertur sapientibus hujus mundi, ut melior illis dicatur, sed illis magis exsequatur qui dicebant , quia divites {acti estis in omni verba et in omni scientia; et qui destruentes hujus mundi sapientiam, et velut victores ejus ell‘ecti dicunt se paratos esse ad captivandum omnem intellectum extollentem se et erigentem adversus scientiam Christi. Etsi quidem ille sit quem superius diximus imperitus et idiota, sed fidelis et timens Deum, melius est modicum illud fidei huic justo super divitias peccatorum multas, quas cum hujus szeculi sapientia compararunt. Super ambos autem istos est qui dives est in verbo Dei et scientia veritatis , id est qui secundum Paulum dives est ‘in omni verbo et in oumi scientia, et nihilominus dives est in aperibus bonis. Si autem vis scire quid est divitem esse in otnni verbo, breviter te docebo. incipe discutere a primo verbo Geneseos, inde in verbo Exodi, post haec in verbo Levitici, in Numeris, in Deuteronomio, ditesce de Iesu Nave, ditesce de omnibus simul iudicibus, et jam inde per consequentiam de singulis quibusque Scripturae divinae iihris usquequo pervenias ad evangelicas apostolicasque divitias. Nam verbi causa, si quis nni verbo l’salmorum operam dederit, et integrum psalterium cum voluerit canit, dives est quidem, sed non in omni verba atque omni scientia, sed est dives in solo verbo Psalterii. Vel si quis evangelica: atque apostolica: lectioni studium tribttat, etin mandatis Novi Testamenti semetipsum exerceat, dives estet hic , sed non in omni verbo, nisi evangelica tantunt et apostolico. Si vero potuerit Novum ac Vetus Testamentum pari studio ediscere, atque ex enini ejus eruditione instrui, ita ut paratus sit reddere ratiunem de singulis quibusque quae scripta sunt, et vitam suam secundum verbum veritatis ejus quae in Scripturis continetur aptare; iste vero dives est in otnni verbo et in omni opere bono. Et istas puto esse divitias de quibus dicitur " : Redemptio anima: viri propria! divitia: ejus. Melius ergo modicum justo super divitias peccatorum multas. Ἰ. Quoniam brachia peccatorum conterentur ’3. Quomodo potest hoc secundum litteram stare, etiamsi aliquis vim facere conetur per imperitiam ? Sunt multa in Scripturis ita posita, quas etiam eum qui valde brutus est et stertit, movere possunt, imo cogere ut necesse habeat littera derelicta ad iutcllectum conscendere spiritalem: sicut ct nunc faciunt brachia ista peccaturis, quibus imminere contritionetn comminatur. Sed et in alio loco dicit ’9: Contere brachium peccatoris et maligni. Quid ergo? brachium istud corporeum peccatoris et maligni putabimus conterendutn? Non facile huc accidere videmus. Sed si intueamur quomodo cum elati fue- Iiut in superbiam peccatores, et arcus suos paraverint, et sagittas illas suas, de quibus superius diximus, letenderint adversus justos; cum lucc omnis eorum intentio Domini fuerit virtute destructa, sic metito dicitur brachium peccatoris esse contritum. Vel alio modo quoniam manus et brachium aperis est iudicium. Si ergo videas peccatorem ad Opus bonum, ad opus misericordiae non extendentem manum suam, absurdum non erit dicere brachium ejus esse coutritum. Sed hujusmodi contritiouem non a Deo, sed a diabolo fieri credendum est. Ipse est enim qui coluerit et constringit brachia peccatorum, ue ad misericordiam extendantur. Fit ergo quaedam contritio peccatorum a Deo, cum insidiantes eos justo destruit et deterret; quaedam vero a diabolo, cum boui operis studia velut vinctis et contritis infidelium brachiis impedit. Et est alia contritio, quae a Deo quidem conceditur, impletur autem a diabolo, illa de qua dicebat diabolus ad Domi. num : Verumtamen immitte manum tuam et tange omnia quae habet, nisi in faciem te benedia'erit, et tum accepit eum in potestate. Unde et ipse Job ait : Manus enim Domini est qum contigit me. ### English translation (Claude) “A little is better for the righteous than the many riches of sinners.” According to the letter, this is at once a useful admonition even for all the simpler people, and we must speak of that first, although it also has something deeper, which let him grasp who can. Let us see, then, what the letter teaches us. In this world both righteous and unrighteous share the common care of life, to have what is necessary for food. But the righteous are not so much inclined to the care of their livelihood as they are earnestly concerned for righteousness, so that, even if they must seek what is necessary for food, they seek it without unrighteousness, and their very earning, which is necessary for daily use, is done with all righteousness. The unrighteous, however, care nothing for righteousness, but spend all their care on how to acquire. All their zeal is in this, to snatch gains in whatever way and of whatever kind. They do not ask whether they acquire well, whether with righteousness; they are not anxious that their possessions be found, at the judgment of Christ, to have been acquired with righteousness. How can those care about this who join field to field and bring house near house, so as to take something from their neighbor? Since, then, one of two things must happen, either to acquire much with unrighteousness or a little with righteousness, “a little,” it says, “is better for the righteous than the many riches of sinners.” And truly, great riches are reckoned, as by a special title, as belonging to iniquity. Hence I too think that our Lord and Savior spoke of the Mammon of iniquity as if it were truly a god and lord, when he says: “Make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous Mammon.” So much according to the letter. Let us see now whether the saying contains anything secret. There are many and various studies of letters in this world. You may see very many people beginning with the grammarians and learning by heart the songs of the poets, the plots of comedies, the fictitious or ennobling narratives of tragedies, the long and various volumes of the histories; then passing to rhetoric and there seeking all the paint of eloquence; after this coming to philosophy, examining dialectic, investigating the chains of syllogisms, trying out the measurements of geometry, examining the laws of the heavenly bodies and the courses of the stars, not omitting music either. And so, educated in all these diverse and various disciplines, in which they have learned nothing of the will of God, they have gathered many riches indeed, but riches of sinners. But you may see someone from the Church, unskilled indeed in speech and learning, yet filled with faith and the fear of God, who because of the fear of God dares to sin in nothing, who is afraid even to open his mouth lest an evil word proceed from it, and who takes care not to sin even in the least things, from which he who is rich in the wisdom of this world cannot keep himself. Comparing these, then, the divine word says: “A little is better for the righteous than the many riches of sinners.” So the riches of sinners are the wisdom of this world, in which they are rich and abounding in eloquence, yet by it they cannot keep themselves from sin. But the little of the righteous man is that he has faith like a grain of mustard seed, small but lively and strong, by which he fortifies himself and keeps himself from sin. This little of faith, then, is better for the righteous than the many riches of sinners, which they have in the eloquence and wisdom of this age, which is being destroyed. Yet if someone could have riches and still not have the riches of sinners, but gather some things from the treasures of Moses the lawgiver, acquire others from the wealth of the prophets, of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Ezekiel, examine also the secrets of Daniel and penetrate the hidden and obscure treasures of the other prophets: such a one is no longer compared with the wise of this world so as to be called better than they, but is rather made equal to those who were told, “You have been made rich in all speech and in all knowledge,” and who, destroying the wisdom of this world and having become, as it were, its conquerors, say that they are ready to take captive every understanding that exalts itself and rises against the knowledge of Christ. And if he is the one we spoke of above, unskilled and unlearned but faithful and fearing God, that little of faith is better for this righteous man than the many riches of sinners, which they have amassed with the wisdom of this age. But above both of these is he who is rich in the word of God and in the knowledge of truth, that is, who, according to Paul, is rich in all speech and in all knowledge, and is no less rich in good works. If you want to know what it is to be rich in all speech, I will teach you briefly. Begin your study from the first word of Genesis, then the word of Exodus, after that the word of Leviticus, then Numbers and Deuteronomy; grow rich from Joshua son of Nun, grow rich from all the Judges together, and so on in order from each single book of divine Scripture, until you come to the riches of the Gospels and the Apostles. For example, if someone has applied himself to the one word of the Psalms and sings the whole psalter whenever he wishes, he is rich indeed, but not in all speech and all knowledge; he is rich only in the word of the Psalter. Or if someone devotes his study to reading the Gospels and the Apostle, and exercises himself in the commandments of the New Testament, he too is rich, but not in all speech, only in that of the Gospels and the Apostle. But if he can learn the New and the Old Testament with equal zeal and be instructed by all their teaching, so that he is ready to give an account of every single thing that is written, and to fit his life to the word of truth contained in the Scriptures, he truly is rich in all speech and in every good work. And these, I think, are the riches of which it is said: “The ransom of a man’s soul is his own riches.” “A little, then, is better for the righteous than the many riches of sinners.” “For the arms of sinners will be broken.” How can this stand according to the letter, even if someone ignorantly tries to force it? Many things are placed in the Scriptures in such a way that they can stir even one who is very dull and half asleep, indeed compel him to leave the letter behind and rise to the spiritual understanding; and so do these arms of the sinner which it threatens with breaking. In another place too it says: “Break the arm of the sinner and of the malicious.” What, then? Shall we think that this bodily arm of the sinner and of the malicious is to be broken? We do not see this easily happen. But if we observe how sinners, when they have been lifted up in pride, have prepared their bows and aimed against the righteous those arrows of which we spoke above, then, when all this effort of theirs has been destroyed by the power of the Lord, the sinner’s arm is rightly said to be broken. Or in another way, since hand and arm are a sign of work: if you see a sinner not stretching out his hand to a good work, to a work of mercy, it will not be absurd to say that his arm is broken. But such a breaking must be believed to come not from God but from the devil, for it is he who binds and constrains the arms of sinners so that they are not stretched out to mercy. There is, then, a breaking of sinners that comes from God, when he destroys and frightens them as they lie in wait for the righteous; and another that comes from the devil, when he hinders the pursuit of good works, as though the arms of unbelievers were bound and broken. And there is another breaking, permitted by God but carried out by the devil, of which the devil said to the Lord: “But put forth your hand and touch all that he has, and see if he will not bless you to your face”; and then he received Job into his power. Hence Job himself says: “For it is the hand of the Lord that has touched me.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:16 (36:16 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:8: allusion, high confidence - Luke 16:9: quotation, high confidence - Matt 17:20: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:5: allusion, high confidence - Prov 13:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:17 (36:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 10:15 (9:36 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 1:11–12: quotation, high confidence - Job 19:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s view of the liberal arts (grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, geometry, astronomy, music) as the “riches of sinners” when they teach nothing of God’s will is translated as written. - This staged section also contains the next section (on Ps 37:17, “the arms of sinners will be broken”), whose number could not be read in the scan. - Marginal references and a Migne column number leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. - “Half asleep” translates stertit (“snoring”). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.6 (PG 12:1340a–1343a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-8 - Source: PG 12:1343a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Every human being is weak and prone to fall, so we must pray the Lord to uphold us by his word and wisdom. ### Latin text Sit/fulcit autem justas Dominus “. Qui infirmi suntet fragiles, opus habent sufl‘ultore. Ubi ruina imminet et lapsus, ibi qtueritur sull‘ultura. Omnis autem homo quantum ad humanam fragilitatem spectat, et infirmus est et promptus ad lapsum. Et in hoc quidem psalmo scriptum est, quia justos suffulciat Dominus, et in alio dicit : Sit/fulcit Dominus omnes qui cadunt, et erigit Dominus omnes elisos. Tantum est ut nos expergiscantur aliquando et evigilemus, ut si quando per infirmitatem casus aliquis imminet, deprecemur Dominum ut mittat nobis verbum suum et sapientiam suam, quae suffulciat casuros et erigat. ### English translation (Claude) “But the Lord upholds the righteous.” Those who are weak and fragile need someone to uphold them. Where ruin and a fall threaten, there support is sought. And every human being, as regards human frailty, is both weak and prone to fall. In this psalm it is written that the Lord upholds the righteous, and in another it says: “The Lord upholds all who fall, and the Lord raises up all who are crushed.” It only remains for us to wake up at last and keep watch, so that if ever a fall threatens us through weakness, we may pray the Lord to send us his word and his wisdom, which upholds those about to fall and raises them up. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:17 (36:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 145:14 (144:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.8 (PG 12:1343a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-8). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-9 - Source: PG 12:1343a–1344a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The Lord “knows” only what is good; the days of the spotless are the days of truth, love, and righteousness that each makes for himself, and ultimately the eternal days lit by the sun of righteousness. ### Latin text Cognoscit Dominus dies immaculatorum, et hwreditas eorum in wternum erit “. Secundum Scripturas, sicut iu multis locis observavimus, Dominus non omnia cognoscit, sed sola illa quae bona sunt; mala autem dicitur ignorare, non quod vere ί aliquid sit quod ejus scientiam lateat, sed ea qua: indigna sunt notione ejus, dicitur ignorare. Quod ostendimus etiam de Scripturis, cum dicit Apostolus : Si quis in vobis prop/tcta, vel spiritalis, cognoscat quae scribo vobis, quoniam Domini sunt. Si quis autem ignorat, ignorabitur. Et in Evangelio ubi dicit Dominus ad peccatores : Nescio vos, discediteame, operarii iniquitatis. Sicut ergo et alibi dicitur : Cognoscit Dominus qui sunt ejus. sic hic non impiorum. sed immaculatorum dies cognoscere dicitur Dominus. Digtti enim Scientia Domini immaculatorum dies. Sed et hoc secundum litteram nescio si possit consequenter exponi: Qui enim possunt esse dies immaculatorum, qui non sint etiam peccatorum? cum hujus smculi dies uua eademque sit omnibus, atque in eadem sivejusti, sive peccatores simul luce versentur : sicutet ipse Dominus de Patre dicit , quia solem suum jubet oriri super bonos et malos. Quomodo ergo hic velut exceptum aliquid et segregatum immaculatorum dies cognoscere dicitur Dominus? Sed videamus ne forte unusquisque propriam sibi ipse faciat dicat. Et si quando abjicientes mendacium loquimur veritatem cum proximo nostro, iu veritatis die et veritatis luce versamur. Similiter et cmn retrahimus nos ab iis qui oderunt fratres, et in tenebris ambulant, et iu dilectione fratrum permanemus, dies nobis facimus charitatis. Sed et cum justitiam custodimus, etcum visitantes viduas atque orphanos in tribulatione sua, immaculatos nos custodimus ab hoc saeculo, immaculatorum nobis ipsis facimus dies. Et isti sunt dies quos nosse dicitur, quando cognoscit dies immaculatorum. Verum si sacratiorem adhuc sensum in hoc loco volumus perscrutari, possumus dicere quia dies mali sunt hujus saeculi secundum quod scriptum est " : Quoniam dies mali sunt. Dies autem boni alii sunt, qui et ipsi immaculatorum sunt , quos Dominus cognoscit, in quibus et haereditas eorum in alternum manet; tunc siue dubio eum justi luereditatem capient vitae aeternae, consequentes quae oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec iu cor hominis ascendit, quae prwparavit Deus diligentibus se ο. 11Ιί sunt immaculatorum dies, in quibus non istesol quem occasus excipit, et cujus nox succedens lumen interimit, sed sol justitiae lucebit, qui noctem neseiat, qui lumen externum sit, sicut scriptum est δι, quia ipse Dominus erit eis ius: sempiterna. ### English translation (Claude) “The Lord knows the days of the spotless, and their inheritance will be for ever.” According to the Scriptures, as we have observed in many places, the Lord does not know all things, but only those that are good; he is said not to know evil things. Not that anything truly escapes his knowledge; but he is said not to know what is unworthy of his knowledge. We have shown this from the Scriptures too, where the Apostle says: “If anyone among you is a prophet or spiritual, let him know that what I write to you is the Lord’s. But if anyone does not know this, he will not be known.” And in the Gospel, where the Lord says to sinners: “I do not know you; depart from me, you workers of iniquity.” As, then, it is said elsewhere, “The Lord knows those who are his,” so here the Lord is said to know the days not of the ungodly but of the spotless; for the days of the spotless are worthy of the Lord’s knowledge. But I do not know whether this can be expounded consistently according to the letter. For what days of the spotless can there be that are not also days of sinners, since the day of this world is one and the same for all, and in it righteous and sinners alike move in the same light, as the Lord himself says of the Father that he makes his sun rise on the good and the bad? How, then, is the Lord said here to know the days of the spotless as something excepted and set apart? Let us see whether each one perhaps makes his own day for himself. When we put away falsehood and speak the truth with our neighbor, we move in the day of truth and the light of truth. Similarly, when we withdraw from those who hate their brothers and walk in darkness, and remain in the love of the brothers, we make for ourselves days of love. And when we keep righteousness, and, visiting widows and orphans in their affliction, keep ourselves spotless from this world, we make for ourselves days of the spotless. These are the days he is said to know when he knows the days of the spotless. But if we wish to search out a still more sacred sense in this place, we can say that the days of this age are evil, according to what is written: “Because the days are evil.” But the good days are different; they belong to the spotless, and the Lord knows them, and in them their inheritance remains for ever. That will doubtless be when the righteous receive the inheritance of eternal life, obtaining what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him. These are the days of the spotless, in which not this sun will shine, which setting receives and whose light the following night extinguishes, but the sun of righteousness, which knows no night and is eternal light, as it is written that the Lord himself will be their everlasting light. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:18 (36:18 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 14:37–38: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:23: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:19: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:45: allusion, high confidence - Eph 4:25: allusion, high confidence - 1 John 2:9–11: allusion, high confidence - Jas 1:27: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Isa 60:19–20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s principle that God is said “not to know” evil, though nothing escapes him, is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.9 (PG 12:1343a–1344a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-3/#p-3-9). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-10/#p-3-10 - Source: PG 12:1344a–1348b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous will not be shamed at the judgment and will be satisfied in the famine of the word of God; the honors of the wicked vanish like smoke; the sinner “borrows and does not repay” when he hears God’s word and does not do it, while heretics lend counterfeit coin. ### Latin text Et non confundantur in tempore malo λ’. Soli Djusti non confundeutur in tempore malo. Tempus atttem malum hic tempus judicii nominat, propter multitudinem peccatorum, et eorum quos saeva tormenta suscipient. Tunc ergo in tempore resurrectiouis cum omnes resurrexerint, et alii resurgent in vitam aeternam, alii in confusionem atternam, tunc, inquit, justi non confundeutur, quia nihil dignum confusione in eorum actibus invenietur. Addit autem ” : Et in diebus [antis saturabitutur. lnquirendum primo estqui sint dies fatuis. Connuiuatur iu quodam loco Deus per prepbetam, immittam [autent super terram, non famem panis, neque sitim aqum, sed famem ad audiendum reri-nm Dei. Et circuibunt ab orientemque ad occidentem, ut audiant verbum Domini, et non invenient. lsti unt ergo dies, et istud est tempus lamis, cum non sinit qui verbum Dei loquantur, sicut et fames nunc est apud Jutlmos. Nusquam enim prophetae, nusquam sapiens, nusquam prudens mstimator, nusquam tpiiuquagenarins, nusquam sapiens consiliarius, nusquam intelligens auditor, omnia abstulit Deus a Judaea ct Jerusalem. Sed ct in nobis metus est ingens, ne forte etiam nobis immineat liuues. Sicut enim illi de quibus supra diximus, legendo legem et non faciendo incurrerunt in hoc ut verbi liei famem paterentur, et aul‘errentnr ab illis omnia Dei dona quae supra diximus, et mandatum est nubibus (prophetis scilicet) ne pluerent super eos pluviam verbi Dei, verendum est ne tale etiam al?qnod nobis correptionis inducatur genus : sed magis eliieiamur non auditores legis tantum, sed ct factores, nt mandet Dominus nubibus suis, non nni, neque duabus, sed pluribus, pluere super nos pluviam, ut in Ecclesia prophette duo vel tres dicant, et cteteri examinem": ct si sedenti revelatum fuerit, prior taceat, ut plures fiant operarii inconl‘usibiles recte tractantes verbum veritatis, ut diezit unusquisque doctorum et prce-dicentium verbum Dei secundum Paulum “ : Ego plantari, et ille rigavit, sed Deus incrementum dedit. Itch autem licnt, si nos qui rigantur a nubibus ct audivimus verbum Dei, alieramus fructus illos quos enumerat Apostolus ", id est, fractus spiritus, qui sunt gaudium, Charitas, pax, patientia, longanimitas, et cartera his similia. Quos fructus si moramur ali‘erre, verendum est ne mandetur nubibus obstruere a nobis imbres suos, et incipiat unusquisque sanctorum facere illud quod scriptum est : Qui (uitem intelligit,in tempore illo sedebit et tacebit, quia tempus malum est. Sed meminisse debemus historia: autiquorum de famis tempore, quomodo justus in tempore faunis saturatur. Conveniens puto funes erat temporibus Eliae propheta: δ’, quando clausum est cmlum annislribus et mensibus sex. Et tum populus quidem periclitabatur fame, sed Elias non patiebatur fatnem. Et tunc quidem pascebatur ab angelo δ’, quando et abiit in virtute esca: illius, et permansit quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus; nunc autem corvis ministrantibus pascebatur “, cum ei in matutino panes deferrent et ad veSperum carnes, et iterum rel‘crtur bibisse aquam de torrente Corath, et venisse in Sarepta Sidoniorum ad mulierem viduam lamis tempore, et quia justus erat, non est passus inediam laniis, sed ubique ei abundantia praesto erat; atque uno eodemque tcmpure erat peccatoribus fames; Elias … etiamsi fames veniat aliquando, quod Dominus non praestet Ecclesia! sua)! si quando tamen accidat, qui habet intellectum et exercitium in medie latione verbi Dei, et constituit meditari in lege ejus die ac nocte, atque exercere se ad intellectum spiritalem percipiendum, inveniet in illis panem illum qui de cmlo descendit, et lict ei sermo Dei abundans cibus, et profluens potus; et non solum cibus ct potus, verum si proi'undiora sacramenta mystica} intelligentim poluerit perscrutari, erunt ei sermones Dei deliciae. Potest etiam alio modo iu hoc loco prol‘undior sensus aperiri. Dominus ct Salvator ait “ : Veniet nox quando nemo potest operari. Et hoc dicit de illo tempore quod erit post hoc smcnlum, tempore quo unusquisque pro malis suis recipiet poenas. Tune ergo dicit noctem illam futuram, cum jam nemo potest operari aliquid, sed unusquisque tunc pascitur ex operibus suis quae hic positus operatus est. Cum ergo nox fuerit, nemo operatur in illo tempore : cum peccatores suppliciis aflligentur, erit sine dubio fames bis qui nullos fructus boni operis collegerunt. In illo autem lamis tempore, saturabuntur justi, ex fructibus scilicet justitite suae. Sicut enim in deserto sex diebus colligebant manna , in sexta autem dic non unius diei modum, sed quamam suflieeret in crastinum colligebant, et unusquisque edebat in die Sabbati, quae collegerat in die sexta ; ita etiam nunc velut sexta quaedam dies putanda est Domini nostri Jesu Christi adventus, et tempus hoc dispensationis ejus, quam passione sua hoc in saeculo procuravit. Et idcirco dum in die sexta sumus, Colligamus manna dupliciler, ut sullicere nobis possit dum advenerit vera Sahbati observatio populi Dci. Si enim non collegerimns duplices cibos, qui nobis et in praesenti saeculo sulliciant et in l'uturo, in diebus famis non saturabimur. Sic enim cum justi saturabuntur in diebus funis , peccatores, inquit “, peribant; inimici autem Domini statim ut honori/icati fuerint et excitati, deficientes ut [uinus deficient. Docet nos sermo divinus quales sint honores hujus smculi. Cum enim videris illum acceptis illius provincia: fascibus tumidum, alium consulatibus clatum, alium diversis magistratibus clevatnm, cum ergo omnem istam videris elationem, considera quia deficientes sicut fumus deiicient: recordare etiam quantos in bis honoribus videris, et usque ad te quanta eos fastigia conscendisse memineris, et vide si non omnes bene, posteaquam exaltati sunt, deiecti denuo et prostrati sicut fumus defecerunt. Inimici autem Domi. ni statim ut honorabantur et excitabantur, deficientes ut [timus deficient. Econtrario vero amici Do- Iuini statim ιιι contempti fuerint et despecti et ab hominibus bumiliati, a Deo exaltabuntur et eri… qui se ltumiliat exaltabitur . Η. Post lucc adduntur qtue'dam quae non parva indigent expositione, ait enim " : Jlutuabitur peccator et non reddet, justus autem miseretur et commodat. Etiam hoc si secundum litteram accipiamus, nou videbitur verum. Multi etenim peccatores mutuo accipiunt pecuniam et reddunt cum fenore, ita ut et ipsi interdum lucrum ex pecunia quam sumpserant ceperint. Delinit autem hic Propheta dicens : Mutuabitur peccator, et non solvet. Sed si intelligas quis est qui fenerat, et quis est qui accipit fenus, et requiras quis estpeccator669 qui non reddit pecuniam quam stt'mpsit , intelliges consequentiam habere quod scriptum est. Verbi gratia, mm αηρει panius ει assist“... ei auditores. Paulus est qui pecuniam fenerat dominicam, attditores autem sunt qui ex ore ejus pecuniam verbi suscipiunt feneratam. Et si quidem justus sitqui suscipiat ab eo pecuniam, reddet integrum fenus et dicet: Quinque mnas mihi dedisti, ecce acqttisivi alias quinque . Si justus est , dicit: Quinque talenta mihi dedisti, ecce habes decem;vel, Duo talenta mihi dedisti , ecce habes quatuor “2 Si vero peccator cst , suscepto Dei verbo non operatur es eo Opera mandati, et non reddit usuras , sed ronsumit omnia quae accepit in fenus. Ecce et nunc vos omnes quibus haze loquor , pecuniam accipitis feneratam verba mea. haec pecunia Domini est. Aut si dubitas , audi Prophelam dicentem '9, quia Eloquia Domini eloquia casta, argentum igne probatum terra: purgatum septuplum. Si ergo male doceo, pecunia mea reproba est , secundum illos quibus dictum est ‘°, argentum uestrum reprobum. Si autent bene doceo , pecunia vel argentum non est tneum, sed Domini est, et probatum est. Licet ergo mitti fenerare pecuniam Domini, meam autem propriam pecuniam non licet, quia verbum Domini prohibet humanam pecuniam fencrari. Quae est ergo ltutnana , et quae Domini pecunia? Ego puto quod Valentini sermo humana pecunia est et reproba , et Marcionis et Basilidis pecunia humana est et reproba, et omnium haereticorum sermo non est probata pecunia, nec dominicam integre in se habel figuram, sed adulteram, quae, ut ita dicam,extra ι) monetam ita figurata est, quia extra Ecclesium composita est. Si autem videris aliquem non sua propria, sed Dei verba proloquentem, qui vere audeat dicere “ : An probameutum quwritis ejus qui in me loquitur Christi, scito quia iste fenerat qnidem, et non suam, sed Domini pecuniam fenerat, et facit illud quod scriptum est 6': Tota die miseretur et fenerat, habens auctoritatem fenerandi ab ipso sibi meo Deo Jesu Christo datam. Ipse est enim Dominus qui in parabola data pecunia dicit ad ser… lum servum qui pecuniam multiplicare contempserat , dicit “, quia Oportuit te pecuniam meam dare uummulariis , et ego ueniens exegissem eam utique cum usuris. Iste est peccator qui mutuatur et non solvet: justus autem acceptam pecuniam restituet cum usuris , hoc est acceptum Dei verbum cum operibus repraesentat. Audis sermonem de castitate, collaudas doctorem, amplecteris doctrinam , admiraris magisterium, per haec suscepisti pecuniam castitatis. Et si quidem peccator es, egressus eeclesiam inseris te negotiis saecularibus, excipit te lascivia , subsequitur temulentia , corruptorum ltominum malclida colloquia, oblitus continuo omnium quae a doctore susceperas , qum. laudaveras , qua: admiratus fueras, et ad intpttdica rursum devolveris scorta , et cflectus cs peccator, qui mutuatus es verbum castitatis et non reddis Opera castitatis. Similiter etsi audieris verbum justitite itt ecclesia, egressus es foras, occurrit tibi vicinus cujus agellum concupieras , et continuo oblitus eorum quae dicta sunt, ttt cupiditati tute satisfacias invadis qua: aliena sunt, et sic mutuatus de juSLitia pecunia: non reddis usuras, cperans gesta justitite. Sic ergo et de singulis quibusque mutuatur peccator et non solvet, justus autent miseretur et commodat . Non solum, inquit , fenerat justus , hoc est non soluat praedicat verbum, hoc est non solum docet imperitos, verum etiam miseratur inlirmos. Sequitur enim exemplum Domini dicentis ’δε Misericordiam mulo quant sacrificium. ### English translation (Claude) “And they will not be put to shame in the evil time.” Only the righteous will not be put to shame in the evil time. Here he calls the time of judgment the evil time, because of the multitude of sinners and of those whom cruel torments will receive. Then, in the time of the resurrection, when all have risen, and some rise to eternal life and others to eternal shame, then, he says, the righteous will not be put to shame, because nothing worthy of shame will be found in their deeds. And he adds: “And in the days of famine they will be satisfied.” First we must ask what the days of famine are. God threatens in a certain place through the prophet: “I will send famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of God. And they will go about from the east to the west to hear the word of the Lord, and will not find it.” These, then, are the days, and this is the time of famine, when there is no one to speak the word of God, as there is now a famine among the Jews. For nowhere is there a prophet, nowhere a wise man, nowhere a prudent judge, nowhere a captain of fifty, nowhere a wise counselor, nowhere an intelligent hearer: God has taken away everything from Judea and Jerusalem. But among us too there is great fear lest a famine threaten us also. For as those of whom we spoke above, by reading the law and not doing it, brought it upon themselves to suffer a famine of the word of God, and all the gifts of God we mentioned above were taken away from them, and the clouds (that is, the prophets) were commanded not to rain upon them the rain of the word of God, so we must fear lest some such kind of correction be brought upon us too. Rather let us become not only hearers of the law but also doers, so that the Lord may command his clouds, not one or two but many, to rain upon us, so that in the Church “two or three prophets may speak, and the others judge; and if something is revealed to another who sits by, let the first be silent”; so that there may be more workers who need not be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth; so that each of the teachers and preachers of the word of God may say with Paul: “I planted, and he watered, but God gave the growth.” This will happen if we, who are watered by the clouds and have heard the word of God, bear the fruits that the Apostle lists, that is, the fruits of the Spirit, which are joy, love, peace, patience, long-suffering, and the like. If we are slow to bear these fruits, we must fear lest the clouds be commanded to withhold their showers from us, and each of the saints begin to do what is written: “He who understands will sit and be silent at that time, for it is an evil time.” But we ought to remember the history of the ancients concerning a time of famine, and how the righteous man is satisfied in a time of famine. There was, I think, a famine in the times of the prophet Elijah, when heaven was shut for three years and six months. At that time the people were in danger from famine, but Elijah did not suffer famine. At one time he was fed by an angel, when he went in the strength of that food and remained forty days and forty nights; at another he was fed by the ministry of ravens, which brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; again, he is related to have drunk water from the brook Cherith, and to have come to Zarephath of the Sidonians, to a widow, in time of famine. And because he was righteous, he did not suffer the want of famine, but everywhere abundance was at hand for him; and at one and the same time there was famine for sinners, while Elijah … Even if a famine should come at some time (may the Lord not bring it upon his Church!), yet if it does happen, he who has understanding and exercise in meditating on the word of God, who has resolved to meditate on his law day and night and to train himself to grasp the spiritual understanding, will find in them that bread which came down from heaven, and the word of God will become for him abundant food and flowing drink; and not only food and drink, but, if he can search out the deeper mysteries of the mystical understanding, the words of God will be delicacies for him. A deeper sense can also be opened in this place in another way. The Lord and Savior says: “Night will come, when no one can work.” He says this of the time that will come after this age, the time when each will receive punishment for his evils. He says, then, that that night will come when no one can any longer do anything, but each is then fed from the works that he worked while he was here. When it is night, then, no one works in that time; when sinners are afflicted with punishments, there will doubtless be famine for those who have gathered no fruits of good works. But in that time of famine the righteous will be satisfied, namely from the fruits of their righteousness. For as in the desert they gathered manna for six days, but on the sixth day gathered not one day’s measure but as much as would suffice for the next day, and each ate on the Sabbath day what he had gathered on the sixth, so now too the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be thought of as a kind of sixth day, together with this time of his dispensation, which he accomplished in this age by his passion. And therefore, while we are in the sixth day, let us gather a double portion of manna, so that it may suffice us when the true Sabbath observance of the people of God comes. For if we have not gathered a double portion of food, to suffice us both in the present age and in the future, we shall not be satisfied in the days of famine. For so, when the righteous are satisfied in the days of famine, “sinners,” it says, “will perish; but the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they have been honored and raised up, will vanish, vanishing like smoke.” The divine word teaches us what the honors of this age are. When you see one man swollen with pride after receiving the fasces of a province, another lifted up by consulships, another raised by various magistracies, when you see all this elevation, consider that “vanishing, they will vanish like smoke.” Remember also how many you have seen in these honors, and to what heights you remember them climbing, even in your own time, and see whether all of them, after they were exalted, were not cast down again and laid low, and vanished like smoke. “But the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they were honored and raised up, vanishing, will vanish like smoke.” On the contrary, the friends of the Lord, as soon as they have been despised, scorned, and humbled by people, will be exalted and raised up by God, for he who humbles himself will be exalted. After this some things are added that need no small explanation; for it says: “The sinner borrows and will not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and lends.” Even this, if we take it according to the letter, will not seem true. For many sinners receive money on loan and repay it with interest, so that they themselves sometimes make a profit from the money they borrowed. But here the prophet lays it down: “The sinner will borrow and will not pay back.” If, however, you understand who it is who lends at interest and who receives the loan, and ask who the sinner is who does not repay the money he took, you will understand that what is written is consistent. For example, Paul … and his hearers. Paul is the one who lends the Lord’s money at interest; the hearers are those who receive from his mouth the money of the word lent at interest. If the one who receives the money from him is righteous, he will repay the full interest and say: “You gave me five minas; see, I have gained five more.” If he is righteous, he says: “You gave me five talents; see, you have ten”; or, “You gave me two talents; see, you have four.” But if he is a sinner, after receiving the word of God he does not work from it the works of the commandment and does not pay the interest, but consumes all that he received on loan. See, now too all of you to whom I am speaking are receiving money lent at interest: my words. This money is the Lord’s. Or if you doubt it, hear the prophet saying that “the words of the Lord are pure words, silver tested by fire, purified from earth seven times.” If, then, I teach badly, my money is counterfeit, like that of those to whom it was said, “Your silver is counterfeit.” But if I teach well, the money or silver is not mine but the Lord’s, and it is tested. I am permitted, then, to lend the Lord’s money at interest, but not my own money, because the word of the Lord forbids lending human money at interest. What, then, is human money, and what is the Lord’s? I think that the word of Valentinus is human and counterfeit money; the money of Marcion and Basilides is human and counterfeit; and the word of all the heretics is not tested money, nor does it bear the Lord’s image intact, but a forged one, which was stamped, so to speak, outside the mint, because it was composed outside the Church. But if you see someone speaking not his own words but God’s, who truly dares to say, “Or do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?”, know that he lends at interest, and lends not his own money but the Lord’s, and does what is written: “All day long he shows mercy and lends,” having the authority to lend given to him by my God Jesus Christ himself. For it is the Lord himself who in the parable, having given out money, says to the servants … to the wicked servant, who had disdained to multiply the money, he says: “You ought to have given my money to the bankers, and on my return I would have demanded it with interest.” This is the sinner who borrows and will not pay. But the righteous man will return the money he received with interest, that is, he presents the word of God he received together with works. You hear a sermon on chastity, you praise the teacher, you embrace the teaching, you admire the instruction: by these you have received the money of chastity. And if you are a sinner, when you leave the church you throw yourself into worldly business, lewdness receives you, drunkenness follows, and the evil conversations of corrupt people; at once you forget all that you had received from the teacher, that you had praised and admired, and you roll back again to shameless harlots, and you have become a sinner who borrowed the word of chastity and does not repay the works of chastity. Similarly, if you have heard the word of righteousness in church and gone outside, and your neighbor meets you, whose little field you had coveted, at once you forget what was said and, to satisfy your greed, you seize what belongs to others; and so, having borrowed the money of righteousness, you do not pay the interest by doing deeds of righteousness. So in each matter “the sinner borrows and will not pay, but the righteous shows mercy and lends.” Not only, it says, does the righteous man lend, that is, not only does he preach the word and teach the unlearned, but he also has mercy on the weak. For he follows the example of the Lord, who says: “I desire mercy rather than sacrifice.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:19–21 (36:19-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Dan 12:2: allusion, high confidence - Amos 8:11–12: quotation, high confidence - Isa 3:1–3: allusion, high confidence - Isa 5:6: allusion, high confidence - Rom 2:13: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 14:29–30: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:6: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:22: allusion, high confidence - Amos 5:13: quotation, high confidence - Jas 5:17: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 19:5–8: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:4–16: allusion, high confidence - Ps 1:2: allusion, high confidence - John 6:51: allusion, high confidence - John 9:4: quotation, high confidence - Exod 16:22–26: allusion, high confidence - Luke 14:11: allusion, high confidence - Luke 19:18: quotation, medium confidence - Matt 25:20–22: quotation, high confidence - Ps 12:6 (11:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jer 6:30: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 13:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:26 (36:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 19:23: quotation, high confidence - Matt 9:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This staged section also contains the next sections (on Ps 37:20–21), whose numbers could not be read in the scan. - The statements on a famine of the word “among the Jews” and on Valentinus, Marcion, Basilides, and other heretics are Origen’s own polemic, translated as written. - Words are lost in the scan in three places (marked …): after “while Elijah”, in “For example, Paul … and his hearers”, and in the parable of the money. Marginal references and Migne column numbers leaked into the text there and are removed by logged corrections. - “Five minas” combines the parables of the minas (Luke 19) and the talents (Matt 25), as Origen quotes them. - “Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?” is 2 Cor 13:3. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.10 (PG 12:1344a–1348b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-10/#p-3-10). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 3.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-10/#p-3-12 - Source: PG 12:1348b–1349a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Those who bless the righteous will inherit the good land, while those who slander God’s servants slander Christ himself and will be destroyed. ### Latin text Quia qui benedicunt eum, lttereditabuut terram; qui autem maledicunt eum, exterminabuutur". Qui benedicunt eum, id est qui benedicuntjustunt, hatreditabuttt terram. Quam terram illam bonam, terram multant btereditabunt illam liuentem lac et mel, ubi sunt bona illa quae vere bona sunt, illaut possidebunt qui benedicunt justum, maledicentes vero eum cxterminabuntur. Et vobis parum videtttr interdum male loqui de sanctis , et pet-leve est vobis dicere de servis Dei, Ille talis et talis est, ille fingit, et ille smeulnm diligit, ille autem itnpostor est, non audis quia qui maledicunt justum, exterminabttntur? Aut si hoc parum vobis videtur, audite alibi Deum dicentemadjustum ‘3'": Inimicus ero inimicis tuis, et adversabor adversariis tuis. Videtis quanti periculi sit inimieari justis, vel male loqui de sanctis. Si enim vere credimus illud quod dixit Dominus de unoquoque servorum suorum , quia Esurivi, et non dedistis mihi manducare , et ca quae addit et dicit, quia qui uni ex minimis meis fecit , mihi fecit , CONSCquettS cst ut et ltoc dicat : mus; aut quando falsa contra te loquando detraxi dati sumus? tunc dicet ad nos ": Amen dico vobis, quiaquod fecistis uni ea: meis minimis, mihi fecistis. Sicut enim dantes manducare uni ex istis mihi fecistis, et dantes bibere uni ex istis mihi de. distis, et sicutzinduentes unum ex istis, me induistis; ita maledicentes uni ex istis, mihi maledixistis, et si benedixistis vel honorastis unum ex his , mihi benedixistis, et me honorastis, sicut et alibi nihilominus dicit ": Qui vos recipit, me recipit; et : Qui eos spernit, me spernit. Propterea ergo contineamus linguam nostram, et servos Domini admiremur, et benedicamus justos, et nunquam detrahamus de eis , nec aperiamus os nostrum ad male loquendum, ne forte cxtermiuemur, sed benedicamus, ut et nos benedictionem consequamur per Christum Dominum nostrum , cui est gloria et potestas in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “For those who bless him will inherit the land, but those who curse him will be destroyed.” Those who bless him, that is, who bless the righteous man, will inherit the land. What land? That good land, that broad land flowing with milk and honey, where the goods are that are truly good: those who bless the righteous man will possess it, but those who curse him will be destroyed. And does it seem a small thing to you sometimes to speak ill of the saints? Is it a very light matter for you to say of the servants of God, “That one is such and such, that one is a pretender, that one loves the world, and that one is an impostor”? Do you not hear that those who curse the righteous man will be destroyed? Or if this seems small to you, hear God saying elsewhere to the righteous man: “I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose your adversaries.” You see how dangerous it is to be hostile to the righteous or to speak ill of the saints. For if we truly believe what the Lord said of each of his servants, “I was hungry and you did not give me to eat,” and what he adds, that whoever did it to one of the least of his did it to him, it follows that he would also say this: … “or when did we slander you, speaking falsely against you?” Then he will say to us: “Truly I say to you, what you did to one of these least of mine, you did to me.” For as by giving food to one of these you did it to me, and by giving drink to one of these you gave it to me, and as by clothing one of these you clothed me, so by cursing one of these you cursed me; and if you blessed or honored one of these, you blessed me and honored me. As he also says elsewhere: “Whoever receives you receives me,” and “Whoever rejects them rejects me.” Therefore let us restrain our tongue, admire the servants of the Lord, bless the righteous, and never disparage them nor open our mouth to speak evil, lest we be destroyed; but let us bless, so that we too may obtain a blessing through Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:22 (36:22 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 3:8: allusion, high confidence - Exod 23:22: quotation, high confidence - Matt 25:42–45: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:40: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words are lost in the scan before “or when did we slander you” (marked …); Origen is extending the questions of Matt 25:44. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 3.12 (PG 12:1348b–1349a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-10/#p-3-12). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-10/#p-4-1 - Source: PG 12:1349a–1351b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: From Moses “going aside” to see the burning bush, Origen teaches that one must pass beyond worldly things and each vice to see the “great sight” of God; the Lord directs our steps on the middle way, Christ, so that we turn neither to the left with literalist heretics nor to the right with those who abandon the apostolic rule of truth. ### Latin text A Domino, inquit , gressus hominis diriguntur. Et alibi in hoc psalmo dicit de gressibus justi hoc modo "z Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius, et non sappiantabuntur gressus ejus. Sed et in septuagesimo secundo psalmo dicitur 7‘: Paulominus εθιιεί sunt gressus mei. Gressus ergo a gradiendo nominamus, secundum illud quod in Exodo scriptum est , quod Moyses vidit flammam ignis et angelutn,cunt rubus arderet quidem, sed non combureretur, et dixit ; Digrediens sive transiens videbo visionem magnast hanc. Ex hoc ergo loco occasio nobis datur intelligentia: eorum qua habemus in manibus. Igitur de his quae in Exodo scripta memoravimus, id est, digrediens videbo visionem istam magnam, audivi quemdam de sapientibus ante nos dicentem , cunt explanaret hunc locum, quia non est possibile prius videre visum magnum, id est intueri atque perspicere magna mysteria Stanti in conversatione et actibus mundi hujus: sed transire oportet prius ab his, et transcendere omnia srecularia, et sensum nostrum ac mentem liberam fieri , et tunc ad ntagnarum et spiritalium rerum intuitunt pervenire, et ita demum visum magnum videre. Hunc quidem ille explanatis locum quae supra memoravimus enarrabat. Nos vero quibus studium est secundum Scriptura: monita , verba sapientium laudare , et addere ad ea, possumus ad hrec quae ille dixit tale aliquid addere. Unusquisth qui iter agit ad virtu- . tem, proficit itt ambulando, ut paulatim per multos proiectus itineris perveniat ad eam. lter ergo agens et velut quibusdam passibus gradiens digreditur semper, et transit ea qtae explicuit, ac posteriora mnittens ad ca quae priora sunt se extendit. Digrediens ergo transit primum locum malitiae , et inde proficiens passibus et ingressibus transit alias pec-. tes, et lubrica et praerupta vitiorum. Cum vero haec etiam evaserit, semper ad ea quae itt antea sunt se extendens , ntinus restat malitias , et omne quod proiicit viae; si tamen incedendo cautius gressus suos observaverit ne labatur, ut singula quaeque digrediens malitia: loca, ita ut non ofl‘endat pedem suum in ea, secundum hoc quod in Exodo scriptum est , videre possit visionem magnam. Nemo enim adhuc qui in malitia est, nec digreditur eam et transit, poterit visionem istam magnam secretorum Dei, scientiae scilicet et sapientiae, contueri. Magna ergo est visio , cum pttro corde Deus videtur. hlagna est visio cum puro corde verbum Dei , et sapientia Dei qui est Christus ejus agnoscitur. Magna visio est agnoscere et credere in Spiritum sanctum. Magna ergo haec visio scientia Trinitatis est. Vcrumtamen etiam Moyses tunc videbat in Exodo visunt magnum, et angelus dicitur qui videbatur in rubo in igne , et magnam eam visionem appellat. lutetligebat enim quis esset in angelo. Continuo denique dicit ad Deunt 7“; Ego sum Deus Abraham, et Deus Isaac, et Deus Iacob. Vide ergo quant magna sit visio lucc , quamvis ct hoc ipsum sit magnum scire quod Deus facit angelos suos spiritus, et ministros suos ignem urentem . Et nunc quidem Moysi adhuc pascenti pecora Jctltro soceri sui, et gradienti vel transeunti ab his, magna est visio haec , itt qua ei angelus dicitur apparere. Si autem etiam mare Rubrum transierit, et columna eum nubis obtexerit, et futuri baptismi adoraverit sacramenta, tunc etiam majorem visionem poterit videre. Ingredietur enim caliginem et turbinem , ubi esse ipse dicitur Deus , ubi scriptum est ο, quia Moyses solus accedebat ad Deum , επιετὶ autent a longe stabant. Et itt tantum per istas magnas Moyses proiicit visiones , ut diceret ad Deum: Si inveni, inquit , gratiam coram te, manifesta mihi teipsum, ut evidenter videam te. Et tunc audit a Deo δ’, quia Ponant te in foramine petras, petra autem erat Cltristus : ιιι per foramen brevissimum videas poste— riora mea, hoc est, ut ea quae itt novissimis temporibus implebuntur per assumptiouem carnis, agnoscas: Faciem autem meam videre non poteris . Sed digressi per quamplurimas visiones, redeamus nunc ad hoc quod proposuimus de psalmo , quia a Domino, inquit , gressus hominis diriguntur. Sttpra exposuimus quomodo iter quis ingreditur ad virtutem: quoniam qui iter agit ad virtutem, multa sunt quae digredi habet et transire. Ergo et tu qui ad Christum tendis , qui est Dei virtus , digredere luxuriam, scorta , adulteria, digredere furta, falsa testimonia , tum deinde digredere et avaritiam , et Sunt ergo quidam in nobis gressus et pedes, quibus iter hoc agimus, sunt gressus interioris hominis quibus ambulare possumus per illam viam quae tlicit ε Ego sum ria , ret-itas et rita. lloe ergo iter. agentibus multis gressibus utendum est nobis ut illa omnia qna:- supra diximus transeamus, quia gressus hominis a Domino diriguntur. Non suliieit homini volenti istud iter inCedere sola propositi sui voluntas, nisi et Dominus direxerit gressus ejus : quia frequenter accidit iter agentibusut ambulent, quod iter tamen rectum tenere non possint, sed decidant in aliquos errores: ut illi qui in philosophiae eruditione versantur. videntur quidem iter virtutis incedere, sed quia a Domino non diriguntur gressus eorum, non tenent iter rectum. Sed et lueretici nihilominus ingrediuntur etiam ipsi iter, sed cum Seripturas carnaliter, non spiritaliter intelligunt, declinant in sinistram. Si vero spiritaliter intelligant, in ipso autem spiritali intcllectu apostolicae non teneant regulam veritatis, decidunt nihilominus et ipsi ad dexteram, diabolo, ut ita dixerim, gressus eorum non dirigente, sed detorquente a via recta. Nos ergo neque ad dexteram, neque ad sinistram declinantes, ingrediantur mediam viam quae est Christus Dominus, quia in ipso ambulantium gressus Dominus dirigit. A Domino ergo gressus hominis dirigentur, et viam ejus cupiet“, illam scilicet viam de qua supra dixintus. Cupiet enim qui a Deo dirigitur Christum, et desiderabit permanere semper itt Christo. ### English translation (Claude) “By the Lord,” it says, “the steps of a man are directed.” And elsewhere in this psalm he speaks of the steps of the righteous man in this way: “The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps will not be tripped.” And in the seventy-second psalm it is said: “My steps were all but poured out.” We call them steps from walking, according to what is written in Exodus, that Moses saw the flame of fire and the angel, when the bush was burning but not consumed, and said: “Going aside, or passing over, I will see this great sight.” This passage, then, gives us an occasion for understanding the text we have in hand. On what we recalled as written in Exodus, “going aside I will see this great sight,” I heard one of the wise men before us say, when he explained this passage, that it is not possible for one who stands in the way of life and the business of this world to see the great sight first, that is, to behold and perceive great mysteries; one must first pass from these, rise above everything worldly, and set our sense and mind free, and then come to the contemplation of great and spiritual things, and so at last see the great sight. So he explained the passage we have recalled. But we, whose aim, according to the admonitions of Scripture, is to praise the words of the wise and add to them, can add something of this kind to what he said. Everyone who travels the road to virtue advances by walking, so that little by little, through many stages of the journey, he may reach it. Traveling, then, and walking, as it were, with certain steps, he is always going aside and passing what he has completed, and, leaving behind what is behind, he stretches out to what lies ahead. Going aside, then, he passes the first place of wickedness, and advancing from there with steps and strides he passes other plagues, the slippery and precipitous places of the vices. When he has escaped these too, always stretching out to what lies ahead, less of wickedness remains for him, and all his advance is on the way, provided that as he walks he watches his steps carefully so as not to slip; so that, going past each place of wickedness without striking his foot against it, he may, according to what is written in Exodus, see the great sight. For no one who is still in wickedness, and does not go aside from it and pass it, will be able to behold this great sight of the secrets of God, namely of knowledge and wisdom. It is a great sight, then, when God is seen with a pure heart. It is a great sight when the Word of God and the Wisdom of God, who is his Christ, is known with a pure heart. It is a great sight to know and to believe in the Holy Spirit. This great sight, then, is the knowledge of the Trinity. Yet Moses too saw a great sight then in Exodus: it is an angel that is said to have been seen in the bush, in the fire, and he calls it a great sight. For he understood who was in the angel. At once, indeed, it says to him: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” See, then, how great this sight is, though this very thing too is great, to know that God makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire. And now, for Moses, still feeding the flocks of Jethro his father-in-law, and going aside or passing from them, this is a great sight, in which an angel is said to appear to him. But if he also crosses the Red Sea, and the pillar of cloud covers him, and he has venerated the mysteries of the baptism to come, then he will be able to see a still greater sight. For he will enter the darkness and the whirlwind where God himself is said to be, where it is written that Moses alone drew near to God, while the others stood far off. And he advanced so far through these great visions that he said to God: “If I have found favor before you, show yourself to me, that I may see you clearly.” And then he hears from God: “I will put you in a cleft of the rock” (and the rock was Christ), “so that through a very narrow opening you may see my back,” that is, that you may know the things that will be fulfilled in the last times through the assumption of flesh; “but my face you will not be able to see.” But having digressed through very many visions, let us now return to what we set out from the psalm: “By the Lord,” it says, “the steps of a man are directed.” Above we explained how one enters the road to virtue, since one who travels the road to virtue has many things to go aside from and pass. So you too, who are heading toward Christ, who is the power of God, go aside from luxury, harlots, adulteries; go aside from thefts and false witness; then go aside from avarice too, and … There are, then, certain steps and feet in us by which we make this journey: there are steps of the inner man by which we can walk on that way which says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” As we make this journey, then, we must use many steps in order to pass all the things we mentioned above, because “the steps of a man are directed by the Lord.” For a man who wishes to walk this road, the mere will of his purpose is not enough unless the Lord also directs his steps. For it often happens to travelers that they walk, yet cannot keep to the right road but fall into some errors: like those who are engaged in the learning of philosophy, who seem indeed to walk the road of virtue, but because their steps are not directed by the Lord, do not keep to the right road. The heretics too likewise set out on the road; but when they understand the Scriptures in a fleshly and not a spiritual way, they turn aside to the left. And if they understand them spiritually, but in this spiritual understanding do not hold to the apostolic rule of truth, they too nonetheless fall away to the right, the devil, so to speak, not directing their steps but twisting them from the right way. Let us, then, turning neither to the right nor to the left, enter on the middle way, which is Christ the Lord, for in him the Lord directs the steps of those who walk. “By the Lord, then, the steps of a man will be directed, and he will desire his way,” namely that way of which we spoke above. For he who is directed by God will desire Christ and will long to remain always in Christ. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:23 (36:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:31 (36:31 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 3:2–3: quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:13: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:8: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: allusion, high confidence - Exod 3:6: quotation, high confidence - Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 3:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:1–2: allusion, high confidence - Exod 20:21: allusion, high confidence - Exod 24:2: allusion, high confidence - Exod 33:13: quotation, high confidence - Exod 33:20–23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:4: quotation, high confidence - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence - Deut 5:32: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The “wise man before us” who explained Exod 3:3 is not named. - “At once it says to him”: the scan reads dicit ad Deum (“he says to God”), but in Exod 3:6 God speaks; translated by sense. - Words are lost in the scan after “go aside from avarice too, and” (marked …). A Migne column number leaked into the text and is removed by a logged correction. - The phrase “the knowledge of the Trinity” may reflect the translator Rufinus; it is translated as it stands. - Origen’s view that God’s “back” (Exod 33:23) means the incarnation in the last times is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.1 (PG 12:1349a–1351b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/3-10/#p-4-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-2 - Source: PG 12:1351b–1354a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous may fall but are not laid prostrate, for they repent, like Peter and David, while those who despair after sin are; Origen urges sinners to rise and do penance, and compares Christians to athletes, some crowned even as boys, like Daniel, Jeremiah, Jacob, and the Holy Innocents. ### Latin text Cum ceciderit, inquit , non conturbabitur. Superius dicens quia a Domino diriguntur gressus ejus, hic de casu ejus loquitur. Vide ergo quia etiam his’qui iter hoc incedunt aliquando accidat cadere, etiam bis qui a Domino diriguntur; sed est multa difl‘ercntia inter casum justi et casum iniusti. Justus, inquit, cum ceciderit non prosternitur : ittiusltts et qtti spent non habet itt Deo positam , si ceciderit, prosternitur et non surgit: id est, si . peccaverit, non ptenitet et peccatum suum emen- ’ dare nescit. Justus autem si in aliquo oli‘enderit, si in verbo: apostolus enim est qui dicit” :Iu multis enim offendimus omnes, et si quis in verba non olfendit, hic perfectus est vir) :olfeuditergo et justus in verbo, fortassis etiam aliquando et itt l'acto, sed srit emendare, scit corrigere: scit ille qui dixerat”: Nescio hominem, paulo post cum respectus fuisset a Domino, flere amarissime; scit et ille qui de tecto mulierem viderat. et concupierat eam, dicere : Peccavi, quia tibi soli peccavi et malum coram te feci θ’. Si ergo cum ceciderit justus non prosternitur, non permanebit. in peccato, sed exsiliet cito, tanquam damula ex retibus, et tanquam avis de laqueo. lujustus autem non solum permanet, sed et prosternitur in peccatis. Justus autem quid facit ? Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius, et non supplantabuutur gressus ejus θί. lbi dixit quia diriguntur gressus hominis a Domino, hic quia non supplantabnntnr gressus justi, quia Dominus, inquit, confirmat manus ejus. lu alio psalmo, id est in septuagesimo secundo, dicit 1i’: Mei autem pene moti sunt pedes. Quod id ipsum videtur intelligendum similiter. Proficientes etenim ad virtutes velut ascensu qttodam nitimur; in quo ascensu si quis labatur et decidat, ascensionis suae perdit profectum. Istius ergo cflusi sunt gressus. lloc autem iit, cum quis post profectum retrorsum fuerit conversus : sicut accidit et uxori Lot , quae ingrediebatur bene egrediens de Sodomis, et cll‘ugicns poenas malorum ingrediebatur et ascendebat ad montem quo angelo duce pcrgebat; sed quoniam contra mandatum Dei fecit, quod jnssa fuerat non respicere retrorsum neque stare in omni regione illa, sed ad montem ascendere, atque ibi salvari, cum conversa ad posteriora retrorsum respexit, ibi ell'usi sunt gressus ejus, el perdidit onme quod fuerat ante digressa, permansit perfecta statuuncula salis. Hoc estquod Dominus in Evangelio dicit ’ : Nemo mittens manuni suam ad aratrum, et retro respiciens aptus est regno Dei. Vis tibi ostendam et alios quorum elfusi sunt gressus? Recordare illos qui transierunt per mare littbrum tanquam per aridam, et peccantes in deserto ceciderunt, et ibi eli'usi sunt gressus eorum. Sed ct nunc si quando accidat aliquem vixissein continentia tribus aut quatuor annis, et eo amplius, aliuvn in verbi et doctrinm studio et sapientiae laboribus operam dedisse; tunc deinde si victas fuerit hic, vel ad carnis luxuriam transeat, vel ad alia peccata declinet, aut ad vitam se transferat saeculi, vel ad negotia ac lucra corruptibilis vitae convertat, non dubites de co dicere quia etl'usi sunt gres-sus eius. Nos ergo deprecemur Dominum ut dirigat gressus nostros, et custodiat vias nostras, uti ne supplantentur gressus nostri; nt in via quam inceditnns, hoc est in Christo Domino nostro, quasi supra petram stabilem vestigia nostra firmentur, ne quoquo modo snpplautari possimus; per illum scilicet cuius nos caput observamus, et ille nostrum observat calcanenm, cui utique nunquam nos oportet plantam nudatn praebere, sed semper debemus esse calceoli pedes iu pra-paratione Evangelii pacis ”, ut, si venerit diabolus supplantator, et invenerit pedes nostros munitos, et supra petram stantes, inde nos supplantare non valeat. Quamvis enim paulo ante dixerimus posse etiam casum aliquem et lapsum accidere his qui virtutis viam sequuntur, tamen observandum est, quia ibi ubi dixit: Cum ceciderit, non prosternatur, superius non tam de justo quam de homine puro proposuerat. Ait enim : Α Domino gressus [taurinis dirigentur, et viam ejus cupiet, cum ceciderit nou prosternatur. lu quo ostenditur esse aliquos casus qui tamen non c0ntinuo indicent esse victum et prostratum eum qui ceciderit. Sicut enim et in agone fieri solet, ut duobus inter se luctantibus accidat primo quidem cadere unum, etcum ceciderit, surgat et vincat: ita etiam in nostro agone, qui est nobis adversum principem hujus mundi, si forte acciderit aliquem de nobis vinci, et in aliquo peccato cadere, possibile estut post peccatum resipiscat aliquis, et exsurgat et perhorrescat malum quod admisit, et de caetero non solum contineat se, verum etiam satisfaciat Deo, lavans per singulas noctes lectum suum, et lacrymis rigans stratum suum, accipiens verbum prephetica: auctoritatis qua dicitur ’τε Nunquid qui cadit non adjiciet ut resurgat? aut qui aversus est, non convertitur? Va: Itis qui aversi sunt aversione impudenti, dicit Dominus. Et iste est qui cadere quidem potuit, prosterni vero non potuit. Si autem videris aliquem cecidisse in aliquod peccatum, et post casum desperantem conversionem, et dicentem: Jam quomodo possum ego salvus fieri, qui cecidi? jam nulla spes est, peccata mea me colligant, quomodo audere possum accedere ad Dominum? Quomodo ad Ecclesiam redire? et si hac desperatione iste talis recedat etiam a Deo, hic non solum cecidit, sed in casu suo prostratus atque demersus est. Et est quidem optabile, ut athleta pietatis ac virtutis maneat semper immobilis, ut ne unam quidem luctam, ut ita dicam, perdat, ne semel inclinetur aut supplantetur. Quod si fieri non potest, sed evenerit eum cadere, non jaceat post ca- ο sum, ne prosternatur, sed exsurgat et emendet culpam, expurget ptenitentite sua: satisfactione commissum, 'ne etiam de ipso Apostolus dicat “ : Et lugeam multos ea: his qui ante peccaverunt, et non egerunt paenitentiam de immunditia et fornicatione et impudicitia quam gesserunt. Quare etiam Apostolus exempla palaestrici agonis assumpsit cum dicit " : Nemo coronatur nisi qui legitime certaverit, nisi quia nos scire volebat legis certamina et agones? qui et de seipso ait : Sic pugno, non quasi aerem verberans. Et iterum : Certamen bonum cenavi. Quia ergo certamen nobis est et agon propositus , etiam legis agonem nosse debemus. Sunt athleta: qui in omnibus certaminibus vincunt, et in omnibus coronantur. Inter padas vincunt, inter agonios vincunt, inter andras vincunt. Alii vincuntur inter andras, sed coronanturinter agonios, nonnunquam etiam inter andras vincunt. Ergo aliquanti semper, aliquanti secundo vel tertio coronantur. Certe miserum est et ultime infelicitatis, in omnibus agonibus tam variis atque diversis, ne unam quidem promereri coronam. lta ergo et Christianus, cui certamen est non adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed adversus principatus et potestates, et adversus principes hujus mundi tenebrarum harum, adversus spiritalia nequitia: in coelestibus , cum tantos habeat et tales adversarios, tanquam agonista vigilare debet, si fieri potest, ut semper vincatquotiescunque coiiflixerit, et primas inter paedas, id est inter pueros, statim capiat coronas. Vis tibi ostendam aliquos qui inter pueros, id est, in primo statim lacte coronati sunt? Respice beatum Danielem , qui a puero et prophetiae gratiam meruit, et iniquos arguens presbyteros, puer coronam iustitia: et castitatis obtinuit. Vis tibi etaliu-m proferam inter pueros coronatum? Jeremiam vide, qui cum se propter adolescentiam excusaret a prophetando, audivit a Domino" : Noli dicere, quiaPuer ego sum. quoniam ad omnes quoscunque mittam te, ibis, et quiscunque dixero tibi, loqueris. Sed fortasse adulta: tibi jam ista: videantur aetates. Dabo tibi athletam qui ante luctatus sit, et vicerit priusquam inter homines emiserit vagitus. Jacob adhuc intra uterum matris suae luctatus cum fratre Esau, supplantavit eum et vicit, ex quo et supplantati et devicti fratris benedictiones primogeniti a parente suscepit“. Nam et illi pueri num tibi videntur in puerili agone coronati, qui apud Bethlehem a himatu et infra pro Domini nomine palmam cepere martyrii? Vides quanta in pueros coronarum habemus exempla. llaec de eo quod repetivimus expositionem versiculi illius qui dicit ε Cum ceciderit, non prosternetur.Et quare non prosternatur, adjecit causam dicens: Quia Dominus confirmat manum ejus. Et vide quam consequenter de singulis dicit :Ne cadat, Dominus, inquit, gressus ejus dirigit; si autem ceciderit, non prosternitur: Dominus, inquit, lirmat manum ejus. Vides ergo quia Domini semper auxilio indigemus. Primo ne cudamus: tum deinde etiam si ceciderimus, ut resurgamus. ### English translation (Claude) “When he falls,” it says, “he will not be laid prostrate.” Having said above that his steps are directed by the Lord, here he speaks of his fall. See, then, that it sometimes happens even to those who walk this road to fall, even to those directed by the Lord; but there is a great difference between the fall of the righteous and the fall of the unrighteous. The righteous man, it says, when he falls, is not laid prostrate; the unrighteous man, who has no hope placed in God, if he falls, is laid prostrate and does not rise: that is, if he sins, he does not repent and does not know how to amend his sin. But the righteous man, if he stumbles in anything, if in word (for it is the apostle who says, “For we all stumble in many things, and if anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man”), the righteous man too stumbles in word, perhaps sometimes in deed as well; but he knows how to amend, he knows how to correct. He knew it who had said, “I do not know the man,” and shortly after, when the Lord had looked at him, wept most bitterly. He knew it too who had seen a woman from the roof and desired her, and said: “I have sinned; against you alone have I sinned and done evil before you.” If, then, the righteous man is not laid prostrate when he falls, he will not remain in sin, but will quickly leap up like a fawn from the nets and like a bird from the snare. But the unrighteous man not only remains but is laid prostrate in his sins. And what does the righteous man do? “The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps will not be tripped.” There it said that a man’s steps are directed by the Lord; here, that the steps of the righteous man will not be tripped, because the Lord, it says, strengthens his hands. In another psalm, the seventy-second, it says: “But my feet were almost moved.” This seems to be understood in a similar way. For as we advance toward the virtues we strive upward as on an ascent; and if anyone slips and falls in this ascent, he loses the progress of his climb. His steps, then, are poured out. This happens when someone turns back after making progress, as happened to Lot’s wife. She was going well, leaving Sodom, escaping the punishments of the wicked, going and ascending to the mountain to which she was proceeding under the guidance of an angel. But since she acted against God’s command (she had been told not to look back nor to stop anywhere in all that region, but to ascend the mountain and be saved there), when she turned and looked back, there her steps were poured out; she lost all the ground she had covered before, and remained a perfect little statue of salt. This is what the Lord says in the Gospel: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Do you want me to show you others whose steps were poured out? Remember those who crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, and sinned and fell in the desert: there their steps were poured out. And now too, if it happens that someone has lived in continence for three or four years or more, or another has devoted himself to the study of the word and of doctrine and to the labors of wisdom, and then he is overcome, whether he passes over to the luxury of the flesh, or turns aside to other sins, or goes over to the life of the world, or turns to the business and gains of this corruptible life, do not hesitate to say of him that his steps were poured out. Let us, then, pray the Lord to direct our steps and guard our ways, so that our steps may not be tripped; so that on the way on which we walk, that is, in Christ our Lord, our footsteps may be made firm as on a stable rock, and we cannot be tripped in any way by him whose head we watch and who watches our heel. To him we must never present a bare sole; we must always have our feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace, so that if the devil, the tripper, comes and finds our feet protected and standing on the rock, he may not be able to trip us from there. For although we said a little earlier that even those who follow the way of virtue may have a fall or a slip, it must be observed that where it said, “When he falls, he will not be laid prostrate,” it had spoken above not so much of a righteous man as simply of a man. For it says: “By the Lord the steps of a man will be directed, and he will desire his way; when he falls, he will not be laid prostrate.” This shows that there are some falls which do not at once indicate that the one who fell has been conquered and laid prostrate. For as it often happens in a contest that of two men wrestling one falls first, and having fallen rises and wins, so too in our contest, which is against the prince of this world, if it happens that one of us is conquered and falls into some sin, it is possible that after the sin he comes to his senses, rises, shudders at the evil he has committed, and from then on not only restrains himself but also makes satisfaction to God, washing his bed every night and watering his couch with tears, accepting the word of prophetic authority which says: “Shall he who falls not rise again? Or shall he who has turned away not return? Woe to those who have turned away with a shameless turning, says the Lord.” This is the one who could fall, but could not be laid prostrate. But if you see someone who has fallen into some sin and after his fall despairs of conversion, saying, “How can I be saved now, I who have fallen? There is no hope now; my sins bind me fast; how can I dare to approach the Lord? How can I return to the Church?”, and if in this despair such a person withdraws even from God, he has not only fallen but in his fall has been laid prostrate and sunk. It is indeed desirable that the athlete of piety and virtue should always remain immovable, so as not to lose, so to speak, even a single bout, nor be once bent over or tripped. But if this cannot be, and it happens that he falls, let him not lie still after his fall, lest he be laid prostrate; let him rise and amend his fault, and purge the offense by the satisfaction of his penance, lest the Apostle say of him too: “And I may mourn many of those who sinned before and have not repented of the impurity and sexual immorality and indecency which they committed.” Why did the Apostle take examples from the wrestling contest, when he says, “No one is crowned unless he has competed lawfully,” if not because he wanted us to know the contests and bouts of the law? He says of himself: “So I fight, not as one beating the air,” and again: “I have fought the good fight.” Since, then, a contest and a bout are set before us, we ought also to know the law of the contest. There are athletes who win in all contests and are crowned in all: they win among the boys, they win among the youths, they win among the men. Others are beaten among the men but are crowned among the youths, and sometimes they also win among the men. Some, then, are always crowned, some a second or third time. Certainly it is miserable and the height of unhappiness not to earn even one crown in so many varied and different contests. So too the Christian, whose struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places: since he has so many and such adversaries, he ought to keep watch like a competitor, so as, if possible, to win every time he engages, and to take crowns at once, first among the paides, that is, among the boys. Do you want me to show you some who were crowned among the boys, that is, at once, while still at their first milk? Look at blessed Daniel, who as a boy merited the grace of prophecy, and, convicting the wicked elders, obtained as a boy the crown of righteousness and chastity. Do you want me to bring forward another crowned among the boys? See Jeremiah, who, when he excused himself from prophesying because of his youth, heard from the Lord: “Do not say, ‘I am a boy,’ for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I tell you, you shall speak.” But perhaps these already seem to you grown-up ages. I will give you an athlete who wrestled and won before he uttered a cry among men. Jacob, while still in his mother’s womb, wrestled with his brother Esau, tripped him, and won; and because of this he received from his father the blessings of the firstborn of the brother he had tripped and defeated. And do not those children too seem to you to have been crowned in a boys’ contest, who at Bethlehem, from two years old and under, received the palm of martyrdom for the name of the Lord? You see how many examples of crowns for boys we have. So much for what we repeated, the explanation of the verse which says: “When he falls, he will not be laid prostrate.” And he added the reason why he is not laid prostrate, saying: “Because the Lord strengthens his hand.” And see how consistently he speaks of each point: that he may not fall, the Lord, it says, directs his steps; but if he falls, he is not laid prostrate, for the Lord, it says, strengthens his hand. You see, then, that we always need the Lord’s help: first, that we may not fall; then, if we have fallen, that we may rise again. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:24 (36:24 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:31 (36:31 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jas 3:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 26:72–75: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 11:2: allusion, high confidence - Ps 51:4 (50:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 6:5: allusion, high confidence - Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 19:17: allusion, high confidence - Gen 19:26: allusion, high confidence - Luke 9:62: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:1–5: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:15: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:15: allusion, high confidence - Ps 6:6 (6:7 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Jer 8:4–5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:21: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:26: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:7: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:6–7: quotation, high confidence - Gen 25:22–26: allusion, high confidence - Gen 27:27–29: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 2:16: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sus 45-62 (Susanna): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Daniel’s convicting of the wicked elders is the story of Susanna (Greek additions to Daniel), outside the 66 books. - Origen’s teaching on falling, despair, and penance (“satisfaction”) is translated as written. - paides, “boys”: the age class in Greek athletic contests (boys, youths, men). - Marginal references and a Migne column number leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.2 (PG 12:1351b–1354a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-3 - Source: PG 12:1354a–1357b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Since the righteous often suffer hunger and want, “young” and “old” refer to the ages of the inner man, “forsaken” to spiritual abandonment, and the righteous man’s “seed” to his disciples, begotten by the word of God; the “seed of the ungodly” is their false teaching. ### Latin text juvenis fui et senui, et non vidi justum derelictum, nec semen ejus quarens panem. Tota die miseretur et fenerat, et semen ejus in benedictione erit’. Qui simpliciter dicunt et secundum historiam accipienda esse verba Scriptura: divinae , dicent sine dubio in loco confirmare David, quia transacta aetate iuventutis suae cum jam usque ad senectutis suae tempus venisset, in omni hoc tempore nunquam se vidisse ita justum derelictum ut panibus indigeret. Et quid facimus de Paulo apostolo , qui enumerans et exponens prephetarum vitas dicit eos in- Ῑ) (ligentes. lfibulalos. in pellibus caprinis oberrasse per cavernas petrarum, et per speluncas: et de seipse commemorans frequenter dicit, in fante et siti οἳ Ει cum haec pati justas frequenter Scripturarum historiis cognoscamus, quomodo nunc putandum est hoc David dicere secundum simplicem intellectum? Sed videamus ne forte sint aliquae aetates interioris hominis nostri, ad similitudinem exterioris et corporalis astatis. Unde et interdum ad viros jam matura aetate dicitur, quia pueri sunt, et aliis quia senes, et aliis quia juvenes. ethtec utique dici de corporali aetate non convenit. Denique cum plurimi ante Abraham sexcentos et quingentos, ut minimum trecentos annos vixissent, de nullo illorum dictum est, quia senior et plenus dierum fuerit, nisi Abraham tantummodo. Ex quo intelligendum cst,quod non de aetate corporis, sed de maturitate interioris hominis designatum est. Unde et nos optare debemus non pro aetate corporis, neque pro oflicio presbyterii appellari presbyteri et seniores, sed pro interioris hominis perlecto sensu et gravitate constantiae, sicut et Abraham appellatus est presbyter nutritus in senectute bona . Est ergo aetas aliqua secundum interiorem hominem puerilis, est et mtas juvenilis, est et senilis sccundum quod Apostolus dicebat“: Cum essent parvulus, loquebar ut parvulus, sapiebam ut parvulus, cogitabam ut parvulus ; cum autem factus sum vir, evacuavi qum erant parvuli. Ego haec ab Apostolo non de corporali aetate dici intelligo, sed quoniam cum in initio credidisset, fuit parvulus nuper geuilus, rationabile et sine dolo lac. concupiscens η, tunc intelligebat Scripturas ut parvulus, sapiebat de Evangelio ut parvulus, cogitabat ut parvulus; sed post haec proficiens :ctate ad similitudinem Christi de quo scriptum est “ quia Proficiebat letale et sapientia et gratia apud Deum et apud homines, deponebat quae erant parvuli :et propterea dixit “, Cum factus sum vir, quae parvuli erant deposui. lta ergo intelligendus est etiam David dicere , Juvenis {ui et senui; ut si dice-ret, Cum essem parvulus secundum interiorem hominem, nunc jam senui. Nisi enim senuisset, propheta non esset. Namque senum est prophetare. Etiamsi videas aliquando juvenem prophetantem, non dubites dicere de eo, quia secundum interiorem hominem senuit, propterea propheta est : denique Jeremias cum audivisset“:Priusquam te plasmarem in utero novite, et antequam exires de vulva sancti/icavi te, et pro. phetam in gentibus feci te, respondit quia Iuvenis ego sum et nescio loqui. Sed ille qui ci donavit gratiam utnon esset puer, sed esset senior secundum interiorem hominem, ait ad eum" : Noli dicere, quia Juvenis ego sum. Alioquin nisi haec ita intelligantur, quid habebit rationis ut dicatur puero, cujus actas juvenilis et rudis,Noli dicere, quia Juvenis ego sum Ρ hoc est dicere, non dicas quod verum est. Juvenis ergo erat scaundum aetatem corporis : sed quoniam Deminus dederat verba sua in ore ejus, quibus eradicaret et subverteret et disperderet, et rursum mdilicaret et plantaret, quae virtus verborum animam ejus illuminans et sanetilicans non eam sinebat esse puerilem, ideo merito ad eum dicitur: Noli dicere, quia Iuvenis egosum. Similiter ergo et hoc quod David dicit ηε Iuvenis [ui et senui, et non vidi justum derelictum, nec semen ejus quwrens panem, secundum hoc quod supra de aetate juvenili, vel senili interioris hominis diximus, sentiendum est ; alioquin secundum exteriorem hominem si derelinqui a Deo putandus est justus, cum aegritudo corporis advenit,cum tribulatio, cum paupertas et singulae quaeque hujus vitae molestiae generantur: haec maxime justis accidere solent, quibus et persecutionem pati pro nomine Dei solemne est, sed non derelinquuntur cum patientes haec omnia et tolerant-es dicunt fl': Nemo nos separabit a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Iesu, neque tribulatio, neque fames, neque angustia, neque nuditas, neque gladius, neque altitudo, neque profundum, neque alia creatura. Denique prophetae ὀ, qui circuibant in deserto per cavernas petrarum et speluncas, egentes, tribulati, afflicti, licet in desertis oberrarent, et essent ab hominibus derelicti, multitudo tamen eos angelorum circumdabat. Sic denique Eltsmusvcum esset ab hominibus derelictus, caelesti circumdabatur exercitu, secundum quod scripturn est“:Aperi oculos pueri hujus, ut videat quia plures nobiscum sunt quam cum illis. Et vidit totum montem equitibus et curribus plenum. Nunquam enim solus est justus, sed ne unius quidem, aut duorum, vel trium tantummodo angelorum societate subnixus est, sed exercitus ei virtutum cmlestium praesto est. Quod si pluribus adhuc testimoniis opus est, suscipe et aliud. Jacob quandiu erat in domo parentum etcum fratre Esau, non eratcum exercitu angelorum : cum vero secessisset ad solitudinem deserti, et solus iter ageret ad Mesopotamiam, dormivit in loco quodam, et exsurgens dicit quia vocatur hic locus παρεμϐολή , quod est castra, pro eo quod vidit ibi non unum, sed plura castra Dei. llaec dicimus de eo quod nequaquam justus dicitur derelinqui, in spiritalibus duntaxat bouis. In corporalibus enim vide quid justus dixit, in quibus etiam gloriatur : Usque ad hanc, inquit ", harant et esurimus et sitintus, et nudi sumus, et colaphis caedimur, et laboramus operantes manibus. Et iterum : Maledicimur et benedicimus, persecutionem patimur et sustinemus, blasphemati deprecamur. Sed quoniam iste talis non relinquebatur spiritu, dicebat “ : Propter quod placeo mihi in infirmitatibus meis, in injuriis, in necessitatibus, in persccutionibus, in angustiis pro Christo. Dupliciter ergo derelinquitur, qui derelinquitur. Corporaliter quidem hoc modo, quo superius diximus pati omnes sanctos, et non laedi. Derelinquuntur vero spiritu illi de quibus dicitur ’ : Quoniam non approbaverunt Deum habere in notitia, tradidit eos Deus in reprobum sensum, ut faciant qua: non congruunt, repletos omni iniquitate, nequitia, auaritia, plenos invidia, homicidiis,contentione, dolo, susurratores, detractores, Deo odibiles , contumeliosos, superbos, elatos, et caetera hujusmodi mala pro quibus et derelinqui meruerunt. Quae quoniam aliena sunta justo, propterea dicit, quia Non vidi justum derelictum, nec semen ejus qttwrens panem. lterum si audis semen ejus, ad semen corporeum rediturus es? Et quomodo verum invenies hoc quod semen justi non quaerat panes, cum videas" lsmael illum de semine natum Abrahm, quique cum mater ejus fugiens dominam suam Saram portaret - eumin deserto, et aquam utique quaerebat et panes? Sed et Esau de via veniens deficiebat inedia, et in tantum famis rabie praecipitatus est, ut primatus suos lentis cibo distraxerit . Oportet ergo nos secundum ea quae supra diximus, etiam semen justi intelligere spiritale. Et quid aliud semen justi dignum est putare, nisi discipulum justi, qui suscepto ab eo verbi Dei semine, ad vitam generatur aeternam ? Verbi gratia, si orationibus vestris mererer esse justus, et accipere a Domino gratiam in verbo sapientia: et scientiae, ita ut possem secundum gratiam quam ipse a Domino meruissem, vobis quoque ministrare verbum Dei, et serere illud in animabus vestris :tum deinde ingressus sermo Dei in animas vestras, et haerens in corde vestro formaret mentes vestras secundum speciem verbi ipsius, id est ut hoc velletis et hoc ageretis quod verbum Dei vult, et per hoc ipse Christus formaretur in vobis : tunc vere efliceremini semen justi, quod non quaerit panem, habentes scilicet in vobis semper panem illum qui de caelo descendit. Quod si respondeas mihi et dicas: Quanti audierunt Pctrum et Paulum, qui utique erant iustissimi doctores, et tamen peccaverunt, et quomodo ergo semen justi dicentur ? Sed vide ne forte sicut non omnes qui ex Abraham sunt, etiam semen Abraham di- ο cuntur, quibus dicitur “ : Si [iiii Abraham essetis, Opera utique Abraham faceretis; ita etiam illi qui audierunt Petrum et Paulum, et non fecerunt quae docuerat Petrus vel Paulus, non erantsemen eorum, quia suscepta ab eis verbi semina, ex anima sua velut abortioue quadam abjecerunt et effuderunt. Denique et in hoc ipso psalmo dicit alio loco π : Semen impiorum exterminabitur. Certum est autem quia impiorum semen corporale non exterminabitur. Jub denique semen Esau semen impii erat, et utique non exterminatur, sed manifestatus estjustus a Domino, et propheta esse Ostenditur , et a Deo supra omnes justos collaudari meretur. Sed hoc est quod superius diximus, quia sicut semen justi sermo et doctrina ejus est, qui sermo ita pascit et reficit animas, ut negentur panibus indigere, quia Christus panis eorum est: ita e contrario doctrina impiorum et sermo semen eorum est quod exterruinandum dicitur, quia ex falsitate compositum est, et adveniente luce veritatis, eertum est quia mendacii tenebra fugabuntur. ### English translation (Claude) “I have been young and have grown old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread. All day long he shows mercy and lends, and his seed will be in blessing.” Those who say that the words of divine Scripture are to be taken simply and according to the history will doubtless say that in this place David affirms that, after the age of his youth had passed and he had reached the time of his old age, in all that time he had never seen a righteous man so forsaken as to lack bread. And what do we do with the apostle Paul, who, enumerating and setting out the lives of the prophets, says that they wandered, destitute and afflicted, in goatskins, through the clefts of the rocks and through caves; and who, recalling his own life, often says, “in hunger and thirst”? And since we know from the histories of the Scriptures that the righteous often suffer these things, how are we now to think that David says this in the simple sense? But let us see whether there are certain ages of our inner man, in the likeness of the age of the outer and bodily man. Hence men already of mature age are sometimes told that they are children, others that they are old, others that they are young; and this surely cannot fittingly be said of bodily age. Indeed, though very many before Abraham lived six hundred or five hundred years, or at the least three hundred, it was said of none of them that he was old and full of days, except of Abraham alone. From this it must be understood that what is signified is not the age of the body but the maturity of the inner man. Hence we too ought to wish to be called presbyters and elders, not for the age of the body nor for the office of the presbyterate, but for the perfect understanding of the inner man and the gravity of steadfastness, as Abraham too was called an elder, nourished in a good old age. There is, then, an age of childhood according to the inner man, an age of youth, and an age of old age, according to what the Apostle said: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away the things of a child.” I understand that the Apostle says this not of bodily age, but because when he first believed he was a little one newly born, longing for the rational and guileless milk. Then he understood the Scriptures as a child, understood the Gospel as a child, thought as a child; but afterward, advancing in age to the likeness of Christ, of whom it is written that “he advanced in age and wisdom and grace with God and men,” he laid aside the things of a child, and therefore he said, “When I became a man, I laid aside the things of a child.” So David too must be understood to say, “I have been young and have grown old,” as if he said, “I was a child according to the inner man; now I have grown old.” For unless he had grown old he would not be a prophet, for it belongs to the old to prophesy. Even if you sometimes see a young man prophesying, do not hesitate to say of him that he has grown old according to the inner man, and that is why he is a prophet. Thus Jeremiah, when he had heard, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you, and I made you a prophet to the nations,” answered, “I am young and do not know how to speak.” But he who gave him the grace not to be a boy but an elder according to the inner man said to him: “Do not say, ‘I am young.’” Otherwise, unless these things are so understood, what reason would there be to say to a boy, whose age was youthful and unformed, “Do not say, ‘I am young,’” that is, “Do not say what is true”? He was young, then, according to the age of the body; but since the Lord had put his words into his mouth, by which to root out, overturn, and destroy, and again to build and to plant, and this power of the words, illuminating and sanctifying his soul, did not allow it to be childish, it is rightly said to him: “Do not say, ‘I am young.’” Similarly, then, what David says, “I have been young and have grown old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread,” must be understood according to what we said above about the youthful or aged age of the inner man. Otherwise, according to the outer man, the righteous man would have to be thought forsaken by God when bodily illness comes, or tribulation, or poverty, or any of the troubles of this life arises. These things especially befall the righteous, for whom it is usual also to suffer persecution for the name of God; but they are not forsaken when, enduring and bearing all these things, they say: “No one will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, neither tribulation, nor famine, nor distress, nor nakedness, nor sword, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature.” Indeed the prophets, who went about in the desert through the clefts of the rocks and through caves, destitute, afflicted, and tormented, though they wandered in deserts and were forsaken by men, were nevertheless surrounded by a multitude of angels. So Elisha, when he was forsaken by men, was surrounded by a heavenly army, according to what is written: “Open the eyes of this boy, that he may see that more are with us than with them. And he saw the whole mountain full of horsemen and chariots.” For the righteous man is never alone, nor is he supported by the company of only one or two or three angels: an army of the heavenly powers is at hand for him. And if more testimonies are needed, take another. As long as Jacob was in his parents’ house and with his brother Esau, he was not with an army of angels; but when he withdrew into the solitude of the desert and traveled alone to Mesopotamia, he slept in a certain place, and on rising he says that this place is called parembolē, that is, “camp,” because he saw there not one but many camps of God. We say these things of the righteous man’s never being said to be forsaken, at least in spiritual goods. For in bodily things see what the righteous man said, things in which he even glories: “To this very hour,” he says, “we hunger and thirst, we are naked and buffeted, and we labor, working with our hands.” And again: “We are cursed and we bless, we suffer persecution and endure, we are blasphemed and we entreat.” But since such a man was not forsaken in spirit, he said: “Therefore I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ.” One who is forsaken, then, is forsaken in two ways. Bodily, in the way we said above that all the saints suffer and are not harmed. But those are forsaken in spirit of whom it is said: “Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do what is not fitting, filled with all iniquity, wickedness, avarice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, whisperers, slanderers, hateful to God, insolent, proud, haughty,” and the other evils of this kind for which they deserved to be forsaken. Since these things are foreign to the righteous man, he therefore says: “I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.” Again, if you hear “his seed,” will you go back to bodily seed? And how will you find it true that the seed of the righteous does not seek bread, when you see that Ishmael, born of Abraham’s seed, was surely seeking water and bread when his mother, fleeing from her mistress Sarah, carried him in the desert? And Esau, coming in from the road, was fainting with hunger, and was driven so far by the frenzy of hunger that he sold his birthright for a meal of lentils. We must therefore, according to what we said above, understand the seed of the righteous too as spiritual. And what else is it fitting to think the seed of the righteous man is, if not the disciple of the righteous man, who, having received from him the seed of the word of God, is begotten to eternal life? For example, if through your prayers I merited to be righteous and to receive from the Lord grace in the word of wisdom and knowledge, so that, according to the grace I had merited from the Lord, I could minister the word of God to you too and sow it in your souls; and if then the word of God, entering your souls and abiding in your hearts, formed your minds after the likeness of the word itself, so that you willed and did what the word of God wills, and through this Christ himself were formed in you: then you would truly become the seed of the righteous, which does not seek bread, since you would always have in you that bread which came down from heaven. But if you answer me and say, “How many heard Peter and Paul, who were certainly most righteous teachers, and yet sinned? How then will they be called the seed of the righteous?”, see whether it is not the case that, just as not all who are from Abraham are called the seed of Abraham (those to whom it is said, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham”), so too those who heard Peter and Paul and did not do what Peter or Paul had taught were not their seed, because they cast out and poured from their souls, as by a kind of miscarriage, the seeds of the word they had received from them. Indeed in this very psalm it says in another place: “The seed of the ungodly will be destroyed.” It is certain that the bodily seed of the ungodly will not be destroyed. For Job, the seed of Esau, was the seed of an ungodly man, and surely he is not destroyed; he was declared righteous by the Lord, is shown to be a prophet, and is deemed worthy to be praised by God above all the righteous. But this is what we said above: as the seed of the righteous man is his word and teaching, a word which so feeds and refreshes souls that they are said not to need bread, because Christ is their bread, so on the contrary the teaching and word of the ungodly is their seed, which is said to be destroyed because it is composed of falsehood; and when the light of truth comes, the darkness of the lie will certainly be put to flight. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:25–26 (36:25-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 11:37–38: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:27: allusion, high confidence - Gen 25:8: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:2: allusion, high confidence - Luke 2:52: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:5–7: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:9–10: allusion, high confidence - Rom 8:35–39: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 6:17: quotation, high confidence - Gen 32:1–2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:11–13: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:10: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:28–30: quotation, high confidence - Gen 21:14–16: allusion, high confidence - Gen 25:29–34: allusion, high confidence - Gal 4:19: allusion, high confidence - John 6:51: allusion, high confidence - John 8:39: quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:28 (36:28 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 1:8: allusion, medium confidence - Job 42:17: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Job as “the seed of Esau” follows the appendix to Job in the Greek Bible (Job 42:17), which identifies him with Jobab, a descendant of Esau. - The remark that presbyters should be so called for maturity of the inner man, not for age or office, is translated as written. - Marginal references, a Migne column number, and a running head (SELECTA IN PSALMOS) leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.3 (PG 12:1354a–1357b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-4 - Source: PG 12:1357b–1358b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous man “lends all day long” the Lord’s money, the word drawn from God’s wisdom, as opposed to the ill-gotten coin of heretical teaching; Origen asks prayers that his own teaching be of the Lord’s mint. ### Latin text Tota die miseretur et funerat ο. Justus tota die miseretur, et tota die dicitur faenerare: ad nihil aliud vacat nisi ut freneret de ca pecunia qua sibi abundat. Nunquid et hic hoc putabitur, quia justus tota die sedeat ad mensam, et habens pecuniam ante se hanc faeneret necessitatem 'patientibus 2 Forsitan hoc putabitur esse quod dictum est per Moysen : Et tu {mnerabis gentibus multis, tu autem mutuo non queres. Sed certum est quia de dnminica pecunia dicatur, qure nummulariis praecipitur erogari de thesauris sapientiae et scientia: Dei prolata, ut faciamus de quinque talentis decem, de duobus quatuor. Quanto autem abundantiorem pecuniam habuerimus in anima nostra, tanto magis tota die fteuerabimus. Sed et nunc licet non sim justus, tamen hoc quod loquor pecuniam vobis dominicam fmnero: sed vos orate ut elliciar justus et possim vobis justitiae pecuniam faenerare, ut non solum verbo, verum etiam justitire exemplo justitiam doceam.Propterea sicut sunt pecunia: injuste, quae inique et contra legem congregantur per calum; niam et mendacia, et diversa avaritiae mala; et rursum sunt pecuniae quae juste et secundum legem congregatae sunt, id est de proprlis et justis laboribus : ita etiam in verbo et doctrina esse iuvenitur. Sunt verba nec bene, nec juste, nec legitime congregata,ut haereticorum verba sunt, et doctrina contra legem Dei congregata, qum nos velut iniquam pecuniam et pestiferam, et de malo collectam refugere debemus. Orate ergo ut haec nostra pecunia quam vobis freneramus tota inveniatur ex justis laboribus, tota de dominica moneta procedens, ut et vos faenus integrum consignetis, et ηομ non audiamus , quia Oportuit te pecuniam meum dare nummulariis. ### English translation (Claude) “All day long he shows mercy and lends.” The righteous man shows mercy all day long, and all day long he is said to lend: he is free for nothing else but to lend from the money in which he abounds. Will it be thought here too that the righteous man sits all day at a banker’s table, with money before him, and lends it to those in need? Perhaps this will be thought to be what was said through Moses: “And you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.” But it is certain that this is said of the Lord’s money, which we are commanded to pay out to the bankers, brought forth from the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God, so that we may make ten talents from five, and four from two. The more abundant the money we have in our soul, the more we shall lend all day long. And now too, though I am not righteous, I am lending you the Lord’s money in what I say; but pray that I may become righteous and be able to lend you the money of righteousness, so as to teach righteousness not only by word but also by the example of righteousness. For as there is unrighteous money, gathered wickedly and against the law through slander, lies, and the various evils of avarice, and again there is money gathered justly and according to the law, that is, from one’s own just labors, so it is found to be also in word and teaching. There are words gathered neither well nor justly nor lawfully, such as the words of the heretics, and teaching gathered against the law of God, which we ought to flee as wicked and pestilent money, collected from evil. Pray, then, that this money of ours which we lend you may be found to come wholly from just labors, wholly from the Lord’s mint, so that you too may pay the full interest, and we may not hear: “You ought to have given my money to the bankers.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:26 (36:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Deut 15:6: quotation, high confidence - Matt 25:27: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:3: allusion, high confidence - Matt 25:20–22: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - A run of marginal references and a running head (HOMIL. IV IN PSAL. XXXVI) leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.4 (PG 12:1357b–1358b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-5 - Source: PG 12:1358b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous man is the exact opposite of the sinner: he does not borrow but lends and shows mercy all his life. ### Latin text Juvenis ego fui, et senui, et non vidijusturu derelictum, nec semen ejus qumrens panem : tota die miseretur et fwuerat . In superioribus dicitur, quia mutuatur peccator et non reddit: hic quiajustus tota die miseretur et ftenerat. Et vide quam in cor.trariis pares sint. Peecator non solum mutuo accipit, sed et cum acceperit non reddit : justus autem nou solum mutuo non accipit, sed et foenerat : et non solum semel vel bis, sed tota die fmnerat, hoc est toto vitae sua: tempore foenerans miseretur, unde et semen ejus in benedictione erit. ### English translation (Claude) “I have been young and have grown old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread; all day long he shows mercy and lends.” Above it is said that the sinner borrows and does not repay; here, that the righteous man shows mercy and lends all day long. And see how they match in contraries. The sinner not only receives a loan, but having received it does not repay; the righteous man not only does not borrow, but lends; and not once or twice, but he lends all day long, that is, he lends and shows mercy throughout the whole time of his life. Hence his seed too will be in blessing. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:25–26 (36:25-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:21 (36:21 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.5 (PG 12:1358b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-6 - Source: PG 12:1358b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Whoever turns from evil and does good, looking to what is unseen, will have an eternal dwelling. ### Latin text Declina a male et [ac bonum,et iuhabila in sieculum sceculi”. Haec, inquit, audiens fac quod bonum est, habitabis iu smculum, hoc est, si ita egeris quemadmodum edoctus es, habitatio tua erit aeterna. Si enim respicias non ad ea qum videntur, sed quae non videntur, quoniam quae videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur acterna sunt, habitabis in saeculum. ### English translation (Claude) “Turn away from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.” Hearing these things, it says, do what is good, and you will dwell for ever; that is, if you act as you have been taught, your dwelling will be eternal. For if you look not to what is seen but to what is not seen, since what is seen is temporary but what is not seen is eternal, you will dwell for ever. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:27 (36:27 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:18: quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.6 (PG 12:1358b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 4.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-7 - Source: PG 12:1358b–1359b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The Lord does nothing without judgment; he will preserve his saints for ever, and for a few decades of labor they receive the land as an inheritance for ever and ever. ### Latin text Quia Dominus amat judicium, etnon derelinquet sanctos subs ”. Quomodo Dominus amat judicium ἲ Dum nihil apud eum sine judicio fit, nihil sine ratione. lta ergo et tu sciens quoniam Dominus amat judicium, age omnia justo judicio et vero, audiens illum qui te admonet dicens ":Cum consilio omnia fac, cum consilio irinum bibe. ς Et non derelinquat Dominus sanctos suos in a'ternum eonservabuntur. Sicut dicit, quia habitabit in saeculum, ita et conservabuntur in aternum. Quod utrumque ad futurum reSpicit tempus, vel saeulum, cui eonservabuntur sancti, ut deinceps in aternitate perdurent. Injusti punientur, et semen impiorum peribit ; justi autem hareditabunt terram . Diximus jam hinc superius quale impiorum sit scmen, cum ad verbum doctrinamque retulimus : et quomodo exterminabitur, dum omne mendacium a luce veritatis velut tenebrae ell'ugatur. Justi autem hareditubunt terram. Et hinc superius jam diximus, quomodo sive justi sive mansueti haereditatem terrae bonae et magna illius consequantur et quomodo habitent in ea in saculum saculi, non solum in saeculum, sed in saculum saculi. Yide quam magna Domini retributio. Pro labore triginta aut quadraginta, ut nutltum certe quinquaginta annorum recipit homo non solum saculi hujus retributionem, sed in saculum saeculi. Si vero permaneat quis in verbo Dei, et sapientiae ejus adhaereat, atque in lucis aeternitate persistat, perveniet etiam in hoc. ut referat Deo gloriam in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints.” How does the Lord love judgment? In that nothing is done by him without judgment, nothing without reason. So you too, knowing that the Lord loves judgment, do all things with just and true judgment, listening to him who admonishes you, saying: “Do all things with counsel; with counsel drink wine.” “And the Lord will not forsake his saints; they will be preserved for ever.” As he says that one will dwell for ever, so also they will be preserved for ever. Both look to the future time, or age, for which the saints will be preserved, so that from then on they may endure in eternity. “The unrighteous will be punished, and the seed of the ungodly will perish; but the righteous will inherit the land.” We have already said above what the seed of the ungodly is, when we referred it to word and teaching, and how it will be destroyed, when every lie is put to flight like darkness by the light of truth. “But the righteous will inherit the land.” On this too we have already said above how the righteous, or the meek, obtain the inheritance of that good and great land, and how they dwell in it for ever and ever: not only for an age, but for the age of ages. See how great is the Lord’s reward! For the labor of thirty or forty, or at most fifty years, a man receives a reward not only of this age, but for ever and ever. And if anyone remains in the word of God, clings to his wisdom, and persists in the eternity of light, he will come even to this, that he renders glory to God for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:28–29 (36:28-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 31:4: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Do all things with counsel; with counsel drink wine” is Prov 31:4 in the Greek Bible. - This staged section also contains the following verses (Ps 37:28–29), whose section number could not be read; a Migne column number leaked into the text there and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 4.7 (PG 12:1358b–1359b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/4-2/#p-4-7). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 5.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-1 - Source: PG 12:1359b–1361a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The mouth of the righteous should speak only wisdom, which is Christ; even the unlearned share in wisdom by faith and prayer and must not despise those who study, and the future tense points to the age to come, when all will be disciples of wisdom. ### Latin text Lex quidem volens nos aperire os ad verbum Dei, pracepit dicens : Loqueris, inquit, hac sedens in domo, et pergens in via, et iacens, ει surgens. Sed α et Salomon in Proverbiis simile aliquid brevi commonitione distinguit, dicens : Aperi os tuum uerbo Dei. Similiter etiam nunc Propheta nos docet, cum dicit δίε 0s justi meditabitur sapientiam. Revera enim nec debet aliud quidquam procedere de ore justi, nisi sapientia. Unde et vos imperitiores quique fratres audientes sermonem PrOpbeta, date studium et meditamini cum justitia operibus etiam de ore vestro proferre sermonem sapientia. Quod ne difficile vobis videatur praceptum, brevem vobis sapientia insinuabo sermonem. Apostolus ait, quia Christus Dei est virtus et Dei sapientia “. Si igitur Christum semper loquamini, si semper ejus verba meditemini, si praecepta ejus in ore teneatis, digne os vestrum meditabitur sapientiam. Neque enim haec sola est sapientia meditatio, si quis docere potest, vel latius in Ecclesia disputare, contradicentes revincere. Est quidem et hoc opus sapientia, sed alius amplius, alius autem minus. ln alio hoc ipsum quod credit Dei sapientia, sapientia reputatur : in alio et hoc quod acquiescit sapientibus et amat dicta sapientium, sapientia dicitur: nonnullis vero etiam interrogantibus tantummodo de sapientia, sapientia reputatur. illud solum observate, fratres, ne quis vestrum inveniatur non solum non loqui nec meditari sapientiam, verum et odisse atque adversari iis qui studium sapientia gerunt. Solent enim imperiti habere etiam istud cum cateris pessimum vitium, ut inanes ct supcrtluos putent eos qui verbo et doctrina Operam dederint, et amplectuntur magis imperitiam suam quam illorum studia ac laborem : mutatisque nominibus exercitia eorum verbositatem, suam vero indocibilitatem vel imperitiam, simplicitatem vocant. Optimus tamen et ille est qui sapientiam probat aetibus, et esse sapiens vita sua probitate cognoscitur. Beatus ergo qui os suum aperit verbo Dei, et proficiens atate secundum Christum proficiet et sapientia. Certe si amplius non possumus in sapientia prolicere, saltem illud observare non pigeat, in psalmis et hymnis et canticis spiritalibus et in oratione vel honore Dei frequentius aperire os nostrum . Est enim et hac non parva sapientia meditatio, ut per hoc inveniatur semper os justi sapientiam meditari. Non tamen mihi videtur otiosum quia non dixit, os justi meditatur, quod utique ad prasens tempus spectare poterat, sed dixit, meditabitur sapientiam; quod sine dubio ad futurum re- Spicit tempus, in quo etiam eateri interpretes omnes absque uno consentiunt. Ne forte ergo aliquid mysticum designet hoc tempus, quo scilicet indicetur futura repromissionis, et gratiae, et luereditatis spes talis quadam futura, ut os justorum non cibis et potu, neque deliciis et voluptatibus. non vescendo epulis, sed meditando sapientiam repleatur. Ultra enim non erit aliquis imperitus in regno Dei, non indocilis permanebit, nullus erit a rerum scientia peregrinus; omnes elIiciemur, si tamen merebimur, discipuli sapientia. Si quis hic poSitus imbuitur et instruitur in his qua potuit ir. carne positus attingere, ibi jam illuminabitur perfectioribus disciplinis, et ea qua hic studio ac labore quaesita sunt, ad compendium futura inibi institutionis accedent. Qui vero hic nondum deposuit prima rudimenta, sed adhuc ut parvulus loquitur et ut parvulus sapit, etiam ibi instituitur ut parvulus, quo effectus aliquando vir per profectu'n sapientia qua parvuli sunt deponat. Ant non tale aliquid, si spiritaliter intelligatur, etiam lex designat, cum dicit “z Loqueris in eis sedens domi, et pergens in via, et jacens, et exsurgens ? Quod ita possumus intelligere : sedentes in domo et jacentes. cum in Ecclesia, qua est domus Dei, loquimur verbum Dei, in hoc scilicet corpore positi, pergentes in via, in illa qua dicit 1”’: Ego sum via, loquimur verbum Dei: et exsurgentes, cum exsurrexerimns e somno mortis in resurrectione, tunc loquimur illa qua perfecta sunt, exsurgentes de somno mortis, sicnt et Salomon dicit de eo qui sapientiam sibi amicam et familiarem fecit, quia si sederis, sine timore eris, et si domieris, libenter somnum capies, et non timebis terrorem superrenientem, neque impetus impiorum irruentes super te “. Sufliciaut ista de eo quod scriptum est: Os justi meditabitur sapientiam, quibus additur : Et lingua ejus loquetur judicium. ### English translation (Claude) The law, wishing us to open our mouth to the word of God, commanded, saying: “You shall speak of these things,” it says, “sitting in the house, and going on the way, and lying down, and rising up.” And Solomon too in Proverbs sets out something similar in a brief admonition, saying: “Open your mouth to the word of God.” Likewise the prophet now teaches us when he says: “The mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom.” For truly nothing else ought to proceed from the mouth of the righteous but wisdom. So you too, brothers, all of you who are less learned, hearing the prophet’s saying, be zealous and practice bringing forth from your mouth, together with works of righteousness, the word of wisdom. And lest this command seem difficult to you, I will offer you a short word of wisdom. The Apostle says that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. If, then, you always speak of Christ, if you always meditate on his words, if you keep his commands in your mouth, your mouth will worthily meditate wisdom. For the meditation of wisdom is not only this, that someone can teach, or discourse at length in the Church, or refute opponents. That too is a work of wisdom, but one has more of it, another less. In one person the very fact that he believes the wisdom of God is reckoned as wisdom; in another, that he assents to the wise and loves the sayings of the wise is called wisdom; and in some, merely asking about wisdom is reckoned as wisdom. Only take care of this, brothers, that none of you be found not only not speaking or meditating wisdom, but even hating and opposing those who devote themselves to the study of wisdom. For the unlearned are apt to have this very bad vice, among others: they think those who have given themselves to the word and to teaching empty and superfluous, and they embrace their own ignorance rather than the others’ studies and labor; and changing the names, they call those people’s exercises verbosity, and their own unteachableness or ignorance simplicity. Yet he too is excellent who proves his wisdom by his acts and is known to be wise by the uprightness of his life. Blessed, then, is he who opens his mouth to the word of God, and, advancing in age according to Christ, will also advance in wisdom. Certainly, if we cannot advance further in wisdom, let us at least not be reluctant to observe this: to open our mouth more often in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and in prayer and the honor of God. For this too is no small meditation of wisdom, and through it the mouth of the righteous may always be found meditating wisdom. Yet it seems to me not idle that he did not say, “the mouth of the righteous meditates,” which could surely refer to the present time, but said, “will meditate wisdom,” which doubtless looks to the future time; and on this all the other translators but one agree. Perhaps, then, this tense signifies something mystical: that the future hope of the promise, of grace, and of the inheritance will be such that the mouth of the righteous will be filled not with food and drink, nor with delights and pleasures, not by eating banquets but by meditating wisdom. For in the kingdom of God there will no longer be anyone unlearned; no one will remain unteachable, no one will be a stranger to the knowledge of things; we shall all become, if only we merit it, disciples of wisdom. If someone placed here is imbued and instructed in the things he could attain while in the flesh, there he will be enlightened with more perfect teachings, and what was sought here with study and labor will serve as a shortcut to the instruction to come there. But he who here has not yet laid aside the first rudiments, but still speaks as a child and thinks as a child, will there too be taught as a child, so that, becoming at last a man through progress in wisdom, he may lay aside the things of a child. Or does not the law too signify something of this kind, if understood spiritually, when it says: “You shall speak of them sitting at home, and going on the way, and lying down, and rising up”? We can understand it thus: sitting in the house and lying down, when in the Church, which is the house of God, we speak the word of God while placed in this body; going on the way, in that way which says, “I am the way,” we speak the word of God; and rising up, when we have risen from the sleep of death in the resurrection, then we speak the things that are perfect, rising from the sleep of death. So Solomon too says of one who has made wisdom his friend and intimate: “If you sit, you will be without fear, and if you sleep, you will sleep gladly, and you will not fear the terror that comes upon you, nor the onsets of the ungodly rushing upon you.” Let this suffice on what is written, “The mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom,” to which is added: “And his tongue will speak judgment.” ### Scripture references - Deut 6:7: quotation, high confidence - Prov 31:8: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:19: allusion, high confidence - Luke 2:52: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 13:11: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:24–25: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Open your mouth to the word of God” is Prov 31:8 in the Greek Bible. - “All the other translators but one”: Origen refers to the Greek versions of the Psalms (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and others), which he compared in his Hexapla. - Origen’s view that in the kingdom of God all will continue to be taught, each according to his progress, is translated as written. - A page number and a Migne column number leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 5.1 (PG 12:1359b–1361a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 5.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-2 - Source: PG 12:1361a–1362a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The tongue of the righteous speaks judgment by speaking with right judgment or about the coming judgment, and will fully speak God’s judgments when we see face to face; the law must be rooted in the heart, not only on the lips. ### Latin text Duplici modo lingua justi intelligitur loqui judicium, sive pro eo quod omnia recto judicio, et cum deliberatione et cum consilio loquitur quae loquitur, et nihil per iracundiam, nihil ut hominibus placeat, nihil ex tristitia, nihil ex metu, quze singula solent utique non integrum hominibus servare judicium, vel certe quod semper de futuro judicio loquitur justus, ut commonens semper vel semetipsum, vel qui se audiunt, de futuri judicii metu, et de suppliciis quae praeparata sunt peccatoribus, de futura examinatione, sed et de repromissionibus sanctorum quae praeparatae sunt eis a Deo, et semetipsum salvum faciat, et eos qui se audiunt. Et hoc modo complcbitur, quia lingua justi loquetur judicium. Si vero oportet etiam hic declinationem l’uturi temporis observare, quia non dixit, loquitur, sed loquetur, possumus etiam in hoc tale aliquid iutelligere, quia nunc quantumcunque illud est quod de Dei judicio vel loqui possumus vel sentire, ne. cesse est nos illud scire quod definit Apostolus, dicens ‘7: Quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles vice ejus! Si vero pervenire poterimus ad illam perfectionem, de qua dicit “ : Tunc autem facie ad faciem, id est cum res ipsa! nobis evidentiores fient, cum coeperimus agnoscere rationem singularum rerum quae in hoc mundo vel gestae sunt vel geruntur, quali judicio gestae sunt, vel quo judicio Deus utatur in singulis, quibus providentiae ο sua: dispensationibuszsi quis dignus luerit considerare et perspicere quomodo judicia Dei abyssus multa est; cum plenius recipere poterimus gratiam spiritus illius qui omnia perscrutatur, etiam alta Dei, tunc vere et integre secundum prophetici verbi distinctionem lingua justi loquetur judicia Dei. ὅ. Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius δ’. Νοη solum in ore justus meditabitur sapientiam, et lingua loquetur judicium, sed et in corde suo legem Dei gerit; quia lex velut radix quaedam iu profundo cordis posita, germinat verba iustitiae, verba sanctitatis, quae protert justus de corde suo, et non solum verbum, verum et actus etiam et gesta. Judaei pene indesinenter legem Dei ore suo et labiis meditantur, sed non habent eam in profundo cordis defixam, et propter- Ι) ea dicitur ad eos ” : Populus hic labiis me Itonorot, cor autem eorum longe est a me. Nos ergo si secundum hoc quod legimus, ore nostro sapientiam meditemur et lingua nostra loquamur judicium, et lex Dei sit in cordibus nostris, adipiscemur illud quod sequitur : Et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus. Puto nos meminisse eorum qua: dudum de gressibus disputavimus, et opus est nos in memoriam revocare quae dicta sunt, ut videamus quomodo ingredientes quidam supplantantur et effunduntur gressus eorum. Quod si servatis in memoria et diligentius retinetis, scire debetis quia si sapientiam Dei meditemini in ore vestro, et lingua vestra loquatur judicium, et lex Dei sit in cordibus vestris, nunquam supplantabuntur gressus vestri. ### English translation (Claude) The tongue of the righteous man is understood to speak judgment in two ways. Either it is because he speaks everything he says with right judgment, with deliberation and counsel, and nothing from anger, nothing to please people, nothing from sorrow, nothing from fear, each of which usually keeps people from preserving their judgment intact; or else it is because the righteous man always speaks of the future judgment, so that, always admonishing himself and those who hear him about the fear of the judgment to come, the punishments prepared for sinners, and the examination to come, and also about the promises God has prepared for the saints, he may save both himself and those who hear him. In this way it will be fulfilled that “the tongue of the righteous will speak judgment.” But if here too we must observe the inflection of the future tense, since it did not say “speaks” but “will speak,” we can understand something of this kind in it as well. Now, however much we can say or think about God’s judgment, we must know what the Apostle lays down when he says: “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” But if we can come to that perfection of which he says, “But then face to face,” that is, when the realities themselves become clearer to us; when we begin to know the reason of each of the things that have been done or are being done in this world, with what judgment they were done, and what judgment God uses in each case, by what dispensations of his providence; if anyone is worthy to consider and perceive how “the judgments of God are a great abyss”; when we can receive more fully the grace of that Spirit who searches all things, even the depths of God, then truly and fully, according to the distinction of the prophetic word, the tongue of the righteous will speak the judgments of God. “The law of his God is in his heart.” Not only will the righteous man meditate wisdom with his mouth and speak judgment with his tongue, but he also bears the law of God in his heart. For the law, set like a root in the depth of the heart, sprouts words of righteousness and words of holiness, which the righteous man brings forth from his heart, and not only words but also acts and deeds. The Jews meditate on the law of God almost unceasingly with their mouths and lips, but do not have it fixed in the depth of their hearts, and therefore it is said to them: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” If, then, as we read, we meditate wisdom with our mouth, speak judgment with our tongue, and have the law of God in our hearts, we shall obtain what follows: “And his steps will not be tripped.” I think we remember what we discussed some time ago about steps, and we need to recall what was said, so as to see how some, as they walk, are tripped and their steps are poured out. If you keep it in mind and hold it carefully, you should know that if you meditate the wisdom of God with your mouth, if your tongue speaks judgment, and if the law of God is in your hearts, your steps will never be tripped. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:30–31 (36:30-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:33: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 36:6 (35:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:10: allusion, high confidence - Isa 29:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 15:8: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - This staged section also contains the comment on Ps 37:31, whose section number could not be read in the scan. - The remark about the Jews honoring God with their lips is Origen’s own polemic, applying Isa 29:13; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 5.2 (PG 12:1361a–1362a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 5.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-4 - Source: PG 12:1362a–1363a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The sinner watches the righteous to kill them, as was done to Christ and the martyrs and as the devil does daily, but the Lord will not abandon them; those who wait for him will be exalted to inherit the land above, the “earth” of the higher heaven. ### Latin text Post bazc ait: Considerat, inquit , peccator justum. Considerat et intuetur peccator justum, et gravis est ei ad videndum, et ideo considerat ut morti eum tradat : quod fecerunt sine dubio adversus Salvatorem illi qui prophetas occiderunt, et Deum crucifixerunt, et nos persecuti sunt etiam nunc, ctpopulum Dei qui est Christi, id estjustitiae discipulos, considerant et morti tradere cupiunt,et quierunt mortificare eos. Sed quid dicit populus Dei justus et iustitia: discipulus? Ille utitur verbo Magistri, et dicit “z Non haberes in me potestatem, nisi tibi data esset desuper. Potest hoc et in tempore persecutionis gentilium de sanctis martyribus et confessoribus aptari. Considerant enim impii persecutores unumquemque justorum et quaerunt mortificare eum. Sed ne securum reddat pacis tempore ista talis expositio, memento quia quotidianum habet justus persecutorem diabolum, et ille est qui considerat justum. lnsidiatur enim semper et sicut leo rugiens circuit quaerens quem transvoret. Sed si fide plenus es et confidis in Domino, vide quid τεο promittatur “ : Dominus autem non derelinquet eum in manibus ejus, peccatoris scilicet, nec damnabit eum cum judicabitur illi. Dupliciter intelligit hoc quod ait, judicabitur illi, id est sive cum judicatur jusws a Deo. sive cum ipse Deus iudicatur cum justo. Frequenter enim divina Scriptura docet. haec fieri, dicens quia ipse Dominus in judicium veniet. Cum ergo iudicabitur justus cum Domino, non condemnabitur, et ideo dicit " : Exspecta Do-t minum; id est si tribularis, si in angustiis es, si in persecutionibus, exspecta Dominum, et custodi. viam ejus, nec declines ad dexteram neque ad sinistram. Si enim indeclinabiliter exspectaveris Dumiuum, adipisceris illud quod sequitur: Et exaltubit te, inquit ",utltazredites terram. Frequenter diximus de terra saneta, et de terra quae in hatrcditatem promissionum cmlestium nominatur, cujus naturae etiam situs paulo evidentius in hoc versiculo designatur. Nam ista terra in qua nunc vivimus deorsum esse dicitur, secundum illud quod scriptum est : Deus autem in ctelo sursum, tu autem in terra deorsum. Illa autem terra quae in hatreditatem justis promittitur, non deorsum, sed sursum esse promittitur. Pr0pterea ad eum qui exspectat Dominum et custodit viam ejus, ait repro: missionis sermo : Exaltabit te ut lueredites terram. Nisi enim quis exaltetur et ascendat in altum et etficiatur caelestis, non potest haereditatem terra: illius consequi. Unde ego arbitror, quia sicut caeli istius, id est firmamenti, inferius solum arida lucc in qua nos habitamus, terra ejus dicitur: ita et illius superioris quod principaliter coelum dicitur, inferius solum in quo habitatores illi caelestes eonversantur, et, ut ita dicam, dorsum ipsum firmamenti hujus, merito, ut dixi, terra illius coeli esse dicitur : sed terra bona, terra sancta, terra nmlta, terra vivorum, terra fluens lae et mel : et ideo dicit nunc sermo divinus : Exattabit te ut hrrredites terram. ### English translation (Claude) After this it says: “The sinner watches the righteous.” The sinner watches and gazes at the righteous man; he is grievous to him even to behold, and therefore he watches him in order to put him to death. This those people doubtless did against the Savior who killed the prophets and crucified God, and who have persecuted us even now; they watch the people of God, which is Christ’s, that is, the disciples of righteousness, desire to put them to death, and have sought to kill them. But what does the righteous people of God, the disciple of righteousness, say? It uses the word of its Master and says: “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above.” This can also be applied, in a time of persecution by the Gentiles, to the holy martyrs and confessors; for the ungodly persecutors watch each of the righteous and seek to put him to death. But lest such an explanation make you careless in a time of peace, remember that the righteous man has a daily persecutor, the devil, and it is he who watches the righteous. For he always lies in wait, and like a roaring lion goes about seeking someone to devour. But if you are full of faith and trust in the Lord, see what is promised to you: “But the Lord will not leave him in his hands” (the sinner’s, that is), “nor condemn him when he is judged.” “When he is judged” he understands in two ways: either when the righteous man is judged by God, or when God himself is judged together with the righteous man. For divine Scripture often teaches that this happens, saying that the Lord himself will come into judgment. When, then, the righteous man is judged together with the Lord, he will not be condemned. And therefore it says: “Wait for the Lord”; that is, if you are afflicted, if you are in distress, if in persecutions, wait for the Lord and keep his way, and turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. For if you wait for the Lord without turning aside, you will obtain what follows: “And he will exalt you,” it says, “to inherit the land.” We have often spoken of the holy land, and of the land which is named as the inheritance of the heavenly promises; and the nature and situation of that land is indicated a little more clearly in this verse. For this earth on which we now live is said to be below, according to what is written: “God is in heaven above, but you are on the earth below.” But that land which is promised as an inheritance to the righteous is promised to be not below but above. Therefore to the one who waits for the Lord and keeps his way the word of promise says: “He will exalt you to inherit the land.” For unless someone is exalted, ascends on high, and becomes heavenly, he cannot obtain the inheritance of that land. Hence I think that, as this dry land on which we live is called the earth of this heaven, that is, of the firmament, being the ground beneath it, so the ground beneath that higher heaven which is called heaven in the proper sense, on which those heavenly inhabitants dwell, and which is, so to speak, the very back of this firmament, is rightly, as I said, called the earth of that heaven: but a good land, a holy land, a broad land, the land of the living, a land flowing with milk and honey. And therefore the divine word now says: “He will exalt you to inherit the land.” ### Scripture references - Ps 37:32–34 (36:32-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 23:31: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Thess 2:15: allusion, high confidence - John 19:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:8: allusion, high confidence - Isa 3:14: allusion, medium confidence - Deut 5:32: allusion, medium confidence - Eccl 5:2: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:8–10: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 27:13 (26:13 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Exod 3:8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Those who killed the prophets and crucified God” refers to the Jews, following 1 Thess 2:15; Origen’s polemic is translated as written. “Crucified God” may be Rufinus’s wording. - Origen’s view that the promised land lies above the firmament, as the “earth” of the higher heaven, is translated as written. - “God is in heaven above, but you are on the earth below” is Eccl 5:2. - A Migne column number leaked into the scan text and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 5.4 (PG 12:1362a–1363a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 5.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-5 - Source: PG 12:1363a–1365a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous will see sinners perish; the exalted ungodly vanish for one who “passes by” in mind from the visible and temporal to the eternal, and the heretics who set another God above the Creator vanish when the letter of the law is passed over for its spiritual sense. ### Latin text Cum perierint peccatores videbis . Fortassis hoc prius erit, ut peccatores ct impios justi videant condemnatos. Prius enim peccatoribus paena: et supplicia decernuntur : quae cum viderint justi, et agnoverint quid intersit inter bonam vitam et malam, etcum intellexerint bene vivendo de quantis evaserint malis, ita ut illi qui in poenis sunt videntes eos in gloria dicant : Nos stulti vitam eorum putabamus insaniam“, postea ergo quam viderint quomodo pereunt peccatores, tunc ipsi exaltabuntur et efl‘erentur ad malum ut btereditent terram. Nunc jam sermo monet et solamen adhibet causa: huic, quae crebro satis cor pene omnium hominum pulsat. Nam quia frequenter nos infirmi videntes iniquos quosque et impios in hac vita eum omni felicitate degentes et prosperis successibus florentes, abundaredivitiis, honoribus, fecunda et universa prole gaudere, deliciis fluitare, scandalizamur et elicimus in cordibus nostris : Ubi est justitia Dei? Si per providentiam divinam res agerentur, permitteret Deus bnnc iniquum et impium in tantum felicitatis ascendere? Pr0pterea ergo nunc sermo ε divinus ex persona justorum dicit" : Vidi impium non solum exaltatum, sed superexaltatum et elevatum, non super arbores qualescunque, sed super cedros Libani; ut et arbor excelsa nimis sit, et locus montis cunctis excelsior, et tamen videns haec otttnia,transisi,inquit“,et ecce non erat. Quid putas illud est quod transit justus, ut ista cesset elatio? Si meministis in superioribus cum diceremus transisse Moysen ut videret visionem magnam, potestis ct nunc scire quid est quod transire diciturjustus. Cum videmus extolli impios et in nimiam superbiam crescere, transeamus et nos mente et intellectu ab bis quae videntur ct temporalia sunt, et transferamus sensum nostrum ad ea quae non videutur et aeterna sunt. Cogitemus temporalia haec ι) esse et paucorum dierum quae videntur elata. lntueamur judicii diem, ct ita sensu nostro cernemus istum qui superesaltatus est et elatus sicut cedrus Libani, in die jndicii omnino non esse. Qui enim non est particeps illius qui semper cst, id est qui dixit : Ego sum qui sum, iste neque esse dicitur. Denique peccatores non computantur esse. Unde et ν Apostolus de vocatione gentium dicebat“ : Elegit Deus quae non sunt, ut ea quae sunt destruat. Et in libro Esther dicitur °': Non tradas, Domine, sceptrum tuum his qui non sunt. Donec ergo quis miratur superbos in elatione sua, donec adulatur quis peccaloribus et superbis, certum est eum non transisse, nec vidisse quae non sunt, sed permanere in hoc praesenti statu, et idcirco mirari in eis praesentem gloriam. Si autem eo modo transeat quo superius diximus, id est mente et sensu transcendat a praesentibus el temporalibus ad futura atque perpetua, tunc vero dicit de eo quem viderit elatum sicut cedros Libani, quia Transii, et ecce non erat; quoniam et ctelum ipsum et terra transibunt. Apud Deum omnia quae futura sunt jam pro factis habentur. Denique dicebat" : Dederuut in escam meam fel, quod sine dubio futurum adhuc erat, et jam factum dicebatur. In siti mea putaverunt me aceto, et non dixit: putabunt. Sic ergo apud Deum qua: futura sunt, jam facta dicuntur. Quod si et tu imitator es Dei, et imitaris Christum, non exspectas quousque iste elatus humilietnr et exstinguatnr, sed apud temetipsum et in mente atque animo tuo transisse ea jam cernis, si ipse sensu ac mente transeas a praesentibus ad futura. Accipe et exemplum ad haec quae dicimus. Si navigas, in navi positus vides terras et promontoria et montes transeuntia: non quod illa continuo moveantur, sed quia tu vento prospero flante transis, illa se subducere videntur ac ferri; ita et in hoc ergo si sancto Spiritu mentem tuam perflante et spirante, secundo et prospero naviges cursu, pertransis sensu tuo omnia haec quae videntur, quia temporalia sunt, et intueris illa quae attenta sunt; sine dubio dicis, quia lucc omnia quae videnturjam non sunt, quia nec futura sunt. Vidi ergo impium superexattatum et elatum super 'cedros Libani, et transivi, et ecce non erat. Movet me amplius adhuc aliquid in hoc loco. Video ertim et alium impium qui exaltatur super cedros Libani et extollitur. Cum enim haeretici supra conditorem Deum sibi fingunt alium quemdam Deum, et exaltantur atque extolluntur in verbo mendacii, negantes creatorem omnium Deum, Deum esse bonum, impiis suis praedicationibus extolluntur supra cedros Libani, adversariis scilicet potestatibus eminentes, quarum inspiratione hujuscemodi adversus creatorem omnium Deum commenta simularunt, pro eo quod legem secundum litteram tantummodo intelligentes, et spiritalem eam esse ignorantes, decepti sunt in cogitationibus suis. llos ergo ego si videam et transeam, ultra jam non erunt. Quid transeam? si transeam litteram, si lransgrediar historia: superficiem, et perveniam ad sensum spiritalem, quoniam lex spiritalis est", si omnia illa in quibus errant et decipiuntur, spiritaliter explanem, dogmata eorum impia et iniqua jam non erunt. Et ita complebitur, ut exaltatus impius et elatus tne transeunte jam non sit. Sed et cum quaeritur locus ejus non invenitur. Locus impii dogmatis, littera legis est, qure littera occidit. Cum ergo n0s a littera occidente transimus ad spiritum vivificantem, ne locus quidem impii dogmatis repudiata littera potest inveniri. Quomodo autem qutcrimus eum? Cum disputamus adversus eos etcum conquirimus ad invicem, tunc quaerimus locum dogmatis illius in littera legis historiae, et ostenditur secundum historiam stare non posse: amota littera ac reiecta, nusquam utique quaerentibus nobis et disserentibus locus impii dogmatis invenitur. ### English translation (Claude) “When sinners perish, you will see it.” Perhaps this will happen first, that the righteous see the sinners and the ungodly condemned. For first punishments and torments are decreed for sinners; and when the righteous have seen these, and recognized the difference between a good life and a bad one, and understood from how many evils they escaped by living well (so that those who are in punishment, seeing them in glory, say, “We fools thought their life madness”), after they have seen how sinners perish, then they themselves will be exalted and lifted on high to inherit the land. Now the word admonishes us and offers comfort on this matter, which quite often strikes the hearts of almost all people. For since we weak ones often see wicked and ungodly people spending their lives in this world in every happiness, flourishing with success, abounding in riches and honors, rejoicing in many children and a numerous household, floating in delights, we are scandalized and say in our hearts: “Where is God’s justice? If things were governed by divine providence, would God allow this wicked and ungodly man to climb to such a height of happiness?” Therefore the divine word now says in the person of the righteous: “I saw the ungodly man not only exalted but super-exalted and lifted up,” not above trees of any kind, but “above the cedars of Lebanon,” so that the tree is very lofty and the place, the mountain, higher than all; “and yet,” seeing all these things, “I passed by,” it says, “and behold, he was not.” What do you think it is that the righteous man passes by, so that this exaltation ceases? If you remember what we said earlier, that Moses passed over to see the great sight, you can now know what it is that the righteous man is said to pass by. When we see the ungodly exalted and swelling into excessive pride, let us too pass, in mind and understanding, from the things that are seen and are temporary, and transfer our thought to the things that are not seen and are eternal. Let us reflect that these exalted things that are seen are temporary and last but a few days. Let us look to the day of judgment, and so we shall perceive in our mind that this man who is super-exalted and lifted up like the cedar of Lebanon will not exist at all on the day of judgment. For one who does not share in him who always is, that is, who said, “I am who I am,” is not even said to be. Thus sinners are not reckoned to exist. Hence the Apostle too said of the calling of the Gentiles: “God chose the things that are not, to destroy the things that are.” And in the book of Esther it is said: “Do not hand over your scepter, Lord, to those who are not.” As long, then, as someone admires the proud in their exaltation, as long as someone flatters sinners and the proud, it is certain that he has not passed by, nor seen the things that are not, but remains in this present state, and therefore admires the present glory in them. But if he passes in the way we described above, that is, if in mind and thought he rises from things present and temporal to things future and everlasting, then he truly says of the one he saw lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon: “I passed by, and behold, he was not”; for heaven itself and earth will pass away. With God all things that are to come are already held as done. Thus he said, “They gave gall for my food,” which was doubtless still to come, and yet was spoken of as already done; “In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink”: he did not say, “they will give.” So, then, with God things to come are already said to be done. And if you too are an imitator of God and imitate Christ, you do not wait until this exalted man is humbled and extinguished, but within yourself, in your mind and soul, you already see these things passed by, if you yourself pass in thought and mind from the present to the future. Take an example of what we are saying. If you are sailing, you see from the ship lands, promontories, and mountains passing by; not that they are actually moving, but because you are passing by with a favorable wind blowing, they seem to withdraw and be carried along. So in this case too, if, with the Holy Spirit blowing and breathing upon your mind, you sail on a favorable and prosperous course, you pass in thought through all these things that are seen, because they are temporary, and you gaze upon those that are eternal; and you will doubtless say that all these things that are seen already are not, since they will not be in the future either. “I saw the ungodly, then, super-exalted and lifted above the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, he was not.” Something further moves me in this place. For I see another ungodly one who is exalted and lifted up above the cedars of Lebanon. When the heretics invent for themselves some other God above God the creator, and are exalted and lifted up in the word of falsehood, denying that God the creator of all is a good God, they are lifted up by their ungodly preaching above the cedars of Lebanon, that is, above the opposing powers, by whose inspiration they have contrived such fictions against God the creator of all; for, understanding the law only according to the letter and not knowing that it is spiritual, they were deceived in their thoughts. If, then, I see these and pass by, they will no longer be. What should I pass by? If I pass by the letter, if I go beyond the surface of the history and come to the spiritual sense, since the law is spiritual; if I explain spiritually all those things in which they err and are deceived, their ungodly and wicked doctrines will no longer be. And so it will be fulfilled that the ungodly man, exalted and lifted up, is no more when I pass by. “And when his place is sought, it is not found.” The place of the ungodly doctrine is the letter of the law, the letter that kills. When, then, we pass from the killing letter to the life-giving spirit, not even the place of the ungodly doctrine can be found, once the letter has been set aside. And how do we seek it? When we dispute against them and inquire together, we seek the place of that doctrine in the letter of the law and of the history, and it is shown that it cannot stand according to the history; when the letter has been removed and rejected, the place of the ungodly doctrine is found nowhere, as we seek and discuss. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:34–36 (36:34-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:2–3 (72:2-Ps LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Exod 3:3: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:18: allusion, high confidence - Exod 3:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:28: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:35: allusion, high confidence - Ps 69:21 (68:22 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:1: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 7:14: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:6: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 5:4 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence - Add Esth 4:17r (Additions to Esther): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “We fools thought their life madness” is Wis 5:4. - “Do not hand over your scepter, Lord, to those who are not” is from the Greek additions to Esther (Esth 4:17r; addition C 22). - “Lifted on high”: the scan reads ad malum, evidently a slip (perhaps for ad altum); translated by sense. - The heretics who deny that the Creator is good are the followers of Marcion and similar teachers; Origen’s polemic is translated as written. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text near the end and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 5.5 (PG 12:1363a–1365a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 5.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-6 - Source: PG 12:1365a–1369a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Innocence harms no one; the “remains” of the peaceable man are his body raised incorruptible; the salvation of the righteous is with the Lord, who protects them in tribulation and delivers them from the demons that meet the soul at death; one must hope in God alone. ### Latin text Custodi innocentiam et vide wquitatem“. Custodirc innocentiam nos praecipit sermo Dei. lntantum corruptela morum profecit in hominibus, ut apud quamplurimos innocentia pro stultitia iudicetur: verum Scriptura summa: hoc virtutisiudicat opus, quia innocentiam iudicat illam quae nemini noceat, neminem laedat. Dum ergo dicit: Custodi innocentiam, hoc estquod nos servare praecipitutneminem laeda? mus, nemini noceamus. Hoc autem obtinemus, si semper intento animo et vigilanti videamus aequitatem. AEquitatem ergo in hoc loco sic accipio, sicut veritatem, sicut iustitiam, sicut vitam, quod Christus est. Haec enim videndo simul etiam Deum videbimus. Custodi ergo innocentiam et vide wquitatem, quoniam sunt reliquia: homini pacifica. Κείιυίῑο qua: sunt reliquiae istae quae homini pacifico reservantur? Reliquias dicere solemus cum spiritus separatur a corpore, velut majore parte hominum in spiritu deputata, qute superest pars corporis reliquias nominantur. Si ergo credimus verbis Apostoli dicentis quia seminatur corpus in corruptione, mortis scilicet tempore, et surget in incorruptione, cum ο resurrectionis tempus advenerit, cum etiam corruptibile hoc induerit incorruptionem, et mortale hoc induerit immortalitatem ", tunc erunt reliquiae homini pacifica. Erunt autem ibi pacifici hominis reliquiae in pace et in requie. Dicit enim et Dnminus de pacificis, quia etiam filii Dei vocabuntur”; Pater, colo ut ubi ego sum, et isti mecum sint . Sunt ergo cum Christo reliquiae hominis pacifici. η 7. Iniqui autent exterminabuntur simul , id est omnes pariter exterminabuntur, quia unus linis erit eorum gehenna. Reliquite impiorum peribunt, tunc cum corpus et animam perditum dabit in gehennam is qui habet potestatem. Salus autem justorum a Domino". Sed melius dicit in Graeco : Salus autem justorum apud Dominum. Non dixit, in ctelo salus Ῑ) iustorum, et hoc enim praeterit; non apud aliquam creaturam, quia nihil immobile vel immutabile: sed apud Dominum salus est iustorum, qui semper manet, semper idem est, semper immobilis est, nec usquam potest esse tutius salus hominis quam apud Dominum. ille mihi locus, ille mihi domus, ille mihi mansio, ille requies, ille sit habitaculum. Denique annuntiatur nobis a sancta Scriptura non solum regnum cmlorum, sed regnum Dei. Ut et memini me iam saepe dixisse, regnum caelorum est eorum qui adhuc in profectionibus sunt; regnum vero Dei, eorum, qui iam ad perfectum venerunt finem. Unde et nunc salus justi apud Deum esse dicitur, cum utique perfectione vita: usque ad ipsum Dominum meruerit pervenire. Et protector est in tempore tribulationis”. Quod est tempus tribulationis, nisi hoc in quo sumus, cum per arctam et angustam viam incedimus quae ducit ad vitam? Si tamen per angustam incedimus, quae ducit ad vitam, et non per illam latam et spatiosam quae divitiis dilatatur et luxuria dissolvitur, quae in carnis voluptatibus emollcscit, qum presentem‘gloriam diligit. llorum protector non Deus est, sed Mammona :eorum autem qui in tribulatione et angustia sunt, protector est Deus, quia multa: sunt tribulationes iustorum. Tribulantur enim considerantes tempus iudicii et semetipsos discutientes, ne forte aliquid inveniatur in eis quod vocetur ad culpain. Qui ergo propter hoc tribulantur et solliciti sunt. erit Deus protector eorum in tempore tribulationis, in tempore iudicii, cum tradentur impii ad poenas: tunc et adiuvabit eos Dominus in tempore tribulationis, et eripiet eos, et auferet eos a peccatoribus, non solum ab hominibus peccatoribus, sed etiam a contrariis potestatibus, vel certe eo tempore cum anima separatur a corpore, et. occurrunt ei peccatores daemones, adversm polestates, spiritus aeris‘ltuius qui eam volunt detinere et revocare ad se si quid in ea suorum operum gestorumque cognoverint. Venit enim ad unam. quamque animam de huc mundo exeuntem princeps huius mundi, et aereae potestates, et requirunt si inveniant in ea aliquid suum; si avaritiam invenerint, sum partis est; si iram, si luxuriam, si invidiam, ειη singula. quaeque eorum similia si invenerint, suae partis est, et sibi eam defendunt, et ad se eam trahunt, et ad partem eam peccatorum declinant. Si vero aliquis imitatus est illum qui dixit" : Ecce veniet princeps mundi hujus, et in me non habet quidquam, si se aliquis ita observavit, veniunt quidem isti peccatores, et requirentes in eo quae sua sunt, et non invenientes tcntabunt uibilominus ad suam partem violenter eum detorquere, sed Dominus eripiet eum a peccatoribus. Et forte propterea iubemur cum quodam mysterio etiamin oratione petere, dicentes": Sed libera nos a malo. Sed causam qua eripiat iustos suos Dominus a peccatoribus, sive in tempore exitus, sive in tempore iudicii, cum dies ille secundum Prophetam necessitatis et angustiae, dies obscuritatis et perditionis, iudicii dies advenerit; tunc ergo causam qua eripi mereantur subiungit et dicit , quia sperauerunt in eunt. Sperantes ergo in se eripiet et de tribulatione et de necessitate. Quomodo autem sperare debeat, volo tibi duobus dominis servire , ita nemo potest in duobus dominis sperare. Nemo potest in incerto divitiarum sperare, et in Domino. Nemo potest sperare in principibus, et in Deo. Nemo potest sperare in viribus equi, et in eo. Nemo potest sperare in sa:culo, et in Deo. Nisi enim in solo Deo speraveris, et videat Deus spem tuam in saeculum aeternum esse … nisi in ipso, qui viviticat mortuos, et vocat quae non sunt tanquam quae sum, non poteris eripi a peccatoribus. Solus est enim ipse qui salvos lacit sperantes iu se, per Chrismm Dominum nostrum, cui est gloria et potestas in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “Keep innocence and look upon equity.” The word of God commands us to keep innocence. The corruption of morals has advanced so far among people that with very many innocence is judged to be foolishness; but Scripture judges it the work of the highest virtue, for it judges innocence to be that which harms no one and injures no one. When, then, it says, “Keep innocence,” this is what it commands us to observe: to injure no one and harm no one. And we achieve this if we always look upon equity with an attentive and watchful mind. Equity in this place I take as truth, as righteousness, as life, which is Christ; for in seeing these we shall see God at the same time. “Keep innocence, then, and look upon equity, for there are remains for the peaceable man.” What are these remains that are reserved for the peaceable man? We usually speak of remains when the spirit is separated from the body: as if the greater part of a person were reckoned in the spirit, the part of the body that is left is called the remains. If, then, we believe the words of the Apostle, who says that the body is sown in corruption, at the time of death, that is, and will rise in incorruption, when the time of the resurrection comes, when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then there will be remains for the peaceable man. And there the remains of the peaceable man will be in peace and in rest. For the Lord says of the peacemakers that they will also be called sons of God; and “Father, I will that where I am, these too may be with me.” The remains of the peaceable man, then, are with Christ. “But the unrighteous will be destroyed together,” that is, all will be destroyed alike, because their one end will be Gehenna. The remains of the ungodly will perish then, when he who has the power gives up both body and soul to destruction in Gehenna. “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord.” The Greek says it better: “But the salvation of the righteous is with the Lord.” It did not say, “The salvation of the righteous is in heaven,” for heaven too passes away; nor “with some creature,” because no creature is immovable or unchangeable; but the salvation of the righteous is with the Lord, who always remains, is always the same, and is always immovable; and nowhere can a person’s salvation be safer than with the Lord. Let him be my place, let him be my house, my dwelling, my rest, my habitation. Indeed holy Scripture announces to us not only the kingdom of heaven but the kingdom of God. As I remember having often said, the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are still advancing; the kingdom of God to those who have already come to the perfect end. Hence now too the salvation of the righteous man is said to be with God, when by the perfection of his life he has merited to come to the Lord himself. “And he is their protector in the time of tribulation.” What is the time of tribulation if not this in which we are, when we walk the narrow and hard way that leads to life? If, that is, we walk the narrow way that leads to life, and not that broad and spacious one which is widened by riches, loosened by luxury, grows soft in the pleasures of the flesh, and loves present glory. The protector of those people is not God but Mammon; but of those who are in tribulation and distress God is the protector, for many are the tribulations of the righteous. For they are troubled as they consider the time of judgment and examine themselves, lest something be found in them that is called to account. Those, then, who are troubled and anxious on this account will have God as their protector in the time of tribulation, in the time of judgment, when the ungodly are handed over to punishment. Then too “the Lord will help them” in the time of tribulation, “and will deliver them and take them away from sinners”: not only from sinful men but also from the opposing powers; or certainly at that time when the soul is separated from the body, and the sinful demons meet it, the adverse powers, the spirits of this air, who want to hold it back and recall it to themselves if they recognize in it anything of their own works and deeds. For the prince of this world and the powers of the air come to each soul as it departs from this world, and search whether they find anything of their own in it. If they find avarice, it belongs to their party; if anger, if luxury, if envy, if they find each of these and things like them, it belongs to their party, and they claim it for themselves, drag it to themselves, and bend it toward the party of sinners. But if someone has imitated him who said, “Behold, the prince of this world will come, and he has nothing in me,” if someone has kept himself so, these sinners do indeed come, and, looking in him for what is theirs and not finding it, they will nevertheless try to twist him violently to their party; but the Lord will deliver him from sinners. And perhaps it is for this reason that we are commanded, with a certain mystery, to ask in prayer too, saying: “But deliver us from evil.” And the reason why the Lord will deliver his righteous ones from sinners, whether at the time of their departure or at the time of judgment, when that day comes which, according to the prophet, is a day of necessity and distress, a day of darkness and destruction, the day of judgment: the reason why they deserve to be delivered he adds, saying, “because they hoped in him.” Those who hope in him, then, he will deliver both from tribulation and from necessity. How one ought to hope, I wish to show you … two masters, so no one can hope in two masters. No one can hope in uncertain riches and in the Lord. No one can hope in princes and in God. No one can hope in the strength of a horse and in him. No one can hope in the world and in God. For unless you hope in God alone, and God sees that your hope is for the eternal age … except in him who gives life to the dead and calls the things that are not as though they were, you will not be able to be delivered from sinners. For he alone saves those who hope in him, through Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 37:37–40 (36:37-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 15:42: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:53–54: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:9: quotation, high confidence - John 17:24: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:28: allusion, high confidence - Heb 13:8: echo, medium confidence - Matt 7:13–14: allusion, high confidence - Ps 34:19 (33:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 14:30: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:2: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:13: quotation, high confidence - Zeph 1:15: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:24: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:17: allusion, high confidence - Ps 146:3 (145:3 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 147:10 (146:10 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Rom 4:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - A block of short Greek-catena notes on Psalm 37 (38), printed by Migne as a separate work (Selecta in Psalmos), together with a Migne column number, stands in the scan text in the middle of the last paragraph. It does not belong to this homily and is removed by a logged correction; words of the homily are lost on either side of it (marked …). - “The salvation of the righteous is with the Lord”: Origen prefers the Greek wording (para kyriou) to the Latin “from the Lord.” - Origen’s teachings that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those still advancing and the kingdom of God to the perfect, and that hostile powers examine each soul at death, are translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 5.6 (PG 12:1365a–1369a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/5-1/#p-5-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 6.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-1/#p-6-1 - Source: PG 12:1369b–1376a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As God gave medicines for the body, he gave Scripture as medicine for the soul, with Christ as chief physician and the Church’s ministers as physicians; Psalm 37 (38) teaches the sinner to accept rebuke from teachers, angels, and the law rather than God’s own anger, to let the arrows of God’s word pierce him to repentance, and to let the mind of the flesh be put to death. ### Latin text Creator humanorum corporum Deus sciebat quod talis esset fragilitas humani corporis, quae languores diversos posset recipere, et vulneribus aliisque debilitatibus esset obnoxia : et ideo venturis passionibns providens. etiam medicamenta procreavit ex terra,et medicina: tradidit disciplinam, ut si accideret aegritudo corpori, non deesset medela. Quo nobis tendit ista praefatio? Ad animam sine dubio revocatur :quoniam et ipsam cum Creator omnium condidisset, sciebat quod futura esset vitiorum capax, et ob hoc subdita atque obonerata peccatis. Et ideo sicut corpori medicamenta praeparavit ex herbis arte disciplinaque compositis, ita etiam animae medicamenta praeparavit in his sermonibus quos per divinas Scripturas seminavit atque dispersit : ut hi qui aliqua aegritudine iuerint oppressi, statim ut vim morbi senserint atque alicujus vulneris stimulum doloremque perspexerint, id est, cum viderint animam aliquid praeter naturam gerentem, requirant aptam et convenientem sibi rationabilem disciplinam, quae eis ex praeceptis Dei possit mederi : nam tradidit et medicinae artis industriam, cujus archiatros est Salvator dicens de se , quia Non opus habent qui sani sunt medico, sed qui male habent. Et ille quidem erat archiatros qui posset curare omnem languorem et omnem infirmitatem; discipuli vero ejus Petrus vel Paulus, sed et prophetae medici sunt, et hi omnes qui post apostolos in Ecclesia positi sunt, quihusque curandorum vulnerum disciplina commissa Ῑ) est, quos voluit Deus in Ecclesia sua esse medicos animarum, quia non vult Deus noster mortem peccatoris, sed paenitentiam" et orationem ejus exspectat. Deinde et iste psalmus qui nunc lectus est, nobis ostendit, ut si forte aliquando praevertimur in delictis, qualiter nos et cum quo atl'ectu orare oporteat et medico supplicare pro doloribus vel infirmitatibus nostris. Si quando ergo praeoccupaverit nos inimicus et ignitis jaculis suis vulnerave- _ rit animam nostram, primo hoc nos docet hic psalmus, quod convenit post peccatum confiteri peceatum, et in memoriam recordari delictum, ut per recordationem eulpae stimulatum cor et concitatum pro delicto suo, interim refrenet ac revocet, ne quid tale ultra committat : et propterea puto superscriptum esse ipsum psalmum , Psalmus David in recordationem. Quid sit autem in recordationem, per totum ipsius pSalmi corpus enarrat. Videamus ergo nos omnes peccatores, si in aliquo delicto fuerimus inventi, vel quid dicere, vel quid facere debeamus, ut cum haec in Scriptura sacra didicerimus, etiam medelam vulneris nostri consequi mereamur. Bonum quidem erat semper corpus, ut ita dixerim, anima: nostra; in sanitate durare,et armis Dei circumdatum ab omnibus telis ignitis diaboli maligni invulnerabile permanere, nullius languoris, nullius tegritudiuis quidquam experiri, nihilque interiorem nostrum hominem vitii morbique suscipere. Quod si per negligentiam sui atque animi desidiam incurrerit in peccatum, quid ipsum cousequatur agnoscat. Argui vel corripi est doloris paena, cruciatus et ita gravis est, ut etiam hi qui fideles et religiosi videntur, si forte ut homines aliquando in delicto aliquo incurrerint et arguantur, indignentur adversus eos qui arguunt, et oderint eos. Corripiunt enim ut emendent. Et hoc malum fuitin causa, ut etiam a priori populo in odium haberentur prophetae, persecutionibus agitarentur. lIoc fuit causa: quod Isaiam secari fecit, quod Zachariam inter templum et altare compulit trucidari, Jeremiam in lacum caeni demergi. Et ad ultimum hch fuit causa quae Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum egit in crucem. Omnia enim quae supra en_umeravimus scelera atque flagitia, non alia ex causa commissa sunt, nisi quod dum omnes in medicinali disciplina resecari per correptionem delinquentium uolunt, curae impatiens populus et medela: in perniciem medentis exarsit. Beati ergo sapientes jam ex ipsa Scriptura appellantur hi , qui cum deliquerint, si arguantur, non oderunt arguentes. Ita enim dicit Scriptura ε Noti arguere ntalos ne oderint te, argue sapientem et amabit te. Vides quomodo sapientem appellavit Scriptura eum qui correptioni obnoxius est, non tamen odit, sed magis diligit arguentem? Tales crant illi qui ab Apo- Stolo arguebantur, et confutati non oderant arguentes. Unde et ego arbitror illum qui in Corintho gravissime deliquerat , idcirco misericordiam consecutum, quoniam correptus ab Apostolo, et ita acerbe correptus, ut a conventu abscinderetur Ecclesim, non tamen odio habuit arguentem , sed animadversionem patienter accepit et fortiter tulit. Ego arbitror quod etiam majorem affectum concepit erga Paulum , atque erga onmes qui statutis Pauli in ejus animadversione paruerant. Unde et Paulus sententiam revocat , et ejectum reconjungit Ecclesiaa, et addit dicens : Con/innate in eum Charitatem. Vidit enim eum post animadversionem conservasse charitatem : et ideo dixit ut etiam post peccatum non tam tribueretur ei Charitas, inerat enim, sed ut ab omnibus ea quae iuerat firmaretur. Necesse est ergo eum qui peccat argui : sed quoniam gravis nobis infirmioribus, quamvis sit utilis ista correptio, ferre. eam sub omnimn praesentia devitamus. Et quid dico omnium praesentia ?lnterdum ne duos quidem cum arguimur adesse patimur Iestes , sed culpamus arguentem et dicimus :Oporv tnerat te soli mihi dicere quae velis, et non sub multorum prtcsentia facere mihi ruborem. Dolcmus, iactamur, effervescimus , et in interioribus animae sensibus cruciamur. Quod si talis correptio est qua ab hominibus vel coram hominibus arguimur, Quid faciemus si Dens nos arguat, si ipse Deus confutet et arguat in furore ? Nos qui episcopi arguentis iracundiam ferre non possumus, sed indignanter accipimus, ilium furorem qui Dei esse dicitur, arguentem nos quomodo tolerabimus ’ἒ Sciens ergo prepheta quamplurimas esse differentias arguendi, et volens quasi homo pro delictis quidem argui, verens autem ne graviori pondere, id est, ne in furore Domini argueretur, ait, sicut jam et in alio psalmo ante dixerat, etiam hic-3’ : Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me. Similiter autem dicit et quod sequitur: neque in ira tua corripias me. Oportet ergo nos aliqua et de correptione dicere , de qua generaliter nos Apostolus docet dicens : Omnia quidem correptio ad premens non videtur gaudii esse , sed mwroris, postea autem fructum pacatissimam his qui per eam exercitati sunt, reddet iustitiae. Et videte etiam pueros, quemadmodum eum corripiuntur verberibus a paedagogis , vel a doctoribus excitantur, moleste quidem accipiunt, et summum malum judicant dolorem illum , qui eis causa eruditionis infligitur: et quamvis profectus suos in hujuscemodi eruditionibus, vel correptionibus esse positos non ignorent, tamen moleste atque impatienter ferunt. Quod si eruditio puerorum hujuscemodi est , quid sentire debemus de nobis senibus, qualem nobis vel eruditionem, vel correptionem imminere censemus, quze non a dispensatoribus, neque a paedagogis infertur ? Novit quippe Scriptura ptedagogum et dispensatorem et ‘procuratorem parvuli : quid , inquam , existimare , vel sentire debemus , cum ab ipso patrefamilias eruditio nostra facta fuerit atque correptio τ lterum redeamus ad similitudinem puerorum. Si corripiatur puer a paedagogo , non erit necesse eum correptionem paterna: austeritatis agnoscere , quae ex gravioribus delictis ac flagitiosioribus provocatur. Si corripiatur a doctore puer, non ita austeros erit magister sicut pater esse potest, si gravia delicta in filio cognoverit. Si enim corripiat pater pro majoribus gravioribusque peccatis, et tantum sit commissum lilii quod ad iracundiam concitaverit patrem, sine dubio post cruciatus, post supplicia etiam abdicationis poena metuenda est. Si intellexisti similitudinem, transi mihi ab exemplo ad rem , et intellige de nobis omnibus quae dicuntur. Omnes episcopi atque omnes presbyteri vel diaconi erudiunt nos , et erudientes adhibent correptiones, et verbis austerioribus increpant. Est autem quando erudimur etiam a procuratoribus, et actoribus, id est ab his angelis quibus creditae sunt dispensanda: et regendae anima: nostras: quemadmodum describitur in quodam loco angelus ι)ωηίtentia), qui nos suscipit castigandos, sicut Pastor exponit, si cui tamen libellus ille recipiendus videtur. Interim diversis eruditionibus succumbimus nos homines castigantibus , nos et corripientibus : nondum tamen ab ipso patrefamilias castigamur, sed a procuratoribus angelis , qui uniuscujusque nostri castigandi atque emendandi sortiuntur otiicium, et est tolerabilius cum ab aliquo hormn corripimur. Sic quoque interdum etiam pzedagogo commissa est nostra correptio. Nam quicunque sub lege erant, quoniam lex paedagogus noster fuit in Christo, delinquentes in lege a paedagogo corripiebantur, cum puniebantur ex lege. Puniebantur enim vel cum Iapidabantur, vel cum aliquid eorum quae Moyses scripserat perferebant. Nullus ergo eorumde quibus superius diximus ab ipso patrefamilias puniebatur. Non enim erat paterfamilias les, nequeangelus paenitentia. Sed sunt alia peccata pro quibus peccantem ipse paterfamilias punit, cum videlicet qui mensuram facinorum supergressus, ultra creatura: contumeliam sceleris sui impietate tetendit. Nec tamen alius quis novit praeter Deum solum, qui vel quando procuratoribus tradi debeat castigandus, vel qui corripiendus actoribus, quando etiam qui subjici debeat paedagogo, cui etiam inferiores sint horum omnium correptiones, si quis ι) scilicet talis est qui ipsam, ut ita dixerim, divin-ant manum in suam provocet ultionem. Si intellexisti quae dicta sunt, si altiorem secutus es intellectum, intuere nunc qualiter haec Propheta prosequitur, cmn dicit : Etiam si corripis me , Deus , noli me in ira corripere. Sed nos nec corrigi volumus , nec paedagogum patimur commonentem, neque procuratorum vel actorum correptiones libenter accipimus, et propterea ab ipsa ira Dei correptionem nobis induci necesse est. Propheta enim dicit : Domine, ne iu furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corri- Ριξηέέιι qui hoc dicit, debet proferre aliquam radelinquimus hanc rationem discentes, et facientes secundum hoc quod docemur, non incurramus in vindictam furore arguentis, vel ira corripientis. Quoniam, inquit θ’, sagitta: tnta infixa: sunt mihi . et confirmasti super me manum tuam. Sermo Domini sagittis est similis. Denique et Salvator ita dixit : Posuit me sicut sagittam electam, etin pharetra sua abscondit me. Qui ergo loquitur sermonem ’ Domini, sagittas iaculatur. Etcum loquitur corripiens et castigans, correptionis jacqu cor perforat audientis. Qui ergo ita suscipit verba Domini, ut ex his quos audit sermonibus eor suum configatur, et per stimulum eorum quae dicta sunt ad paenitentiam suscitetur, certum est quoniam in illum in vanum non abiit sermonis Dei iaculum, neque transvolavit, sed in ipso omnes illa: sermonum Dei defixa: sunt sagittae. Denique ita et quodam loco ait" : Vidisti quomodo compunctus est Achab ζ’ Merito ergo et nunc dicit Propheta : Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripiat me. ltigua est enim causa quae subsequitur , quae ab eo correptiouem furoris Domini debeat temperare, quoniam sagitlre tua: inlisae sunt mihi. Verbi gratia. et nunc si ex ista omni multitudine auditorum sint aliqui conscii sibi in aliquo peccato, atque utinam quidem utullus sit! verumtamen necesse est esse aliquos conscios sibi, et lii si his auditis quae loquimur recte et fideliter audiant et compungatur cor eorum es iaculis verborum nostroruin , “et transfixi talibus jaculis do- ί) leant, et conversi ad paenitentiam dicant : Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me. quoniam sagitta: tua: infixa: sunt milii. Si vero audiens haec non compungatur. sed tauquam in corpore iam emortuo, ita in anima ejus nulla sagitta, nullum iaculum sensum doloris inveniat, uec tua infixa: sunt mihi. Atque utinam omnes nos audiant compuncti et stimulati ex his quin dicuntur, atque ad paenitentiam conversi dicant ad doctorem, Quoniam sagitta:- tua: infixa: sunt mihi . et dum castigas nos verbo Del , dmn verberas , dum in intcri0ribus nos conscientiae percutis: Confirmasti super me manum tuam. Confirmat namque manum supra pueros pmdagogus dum verberat, et emendat, et continuat manus, cum verbera non negligenter aut levitcr infliguntur. lla enim Domino dicere quis potesteum miserit sagittas, sed per quoscunque vult mittere sagittas verborum suorum, quoniam con/irmasti super me manum luam. Cum eniut manus Domini adsit, qui emittit verborum jacula et infigit sagittas in auditorum animam, merito etiam Domino dicit, quoniam confirmasti super me manum tuam : necest sanitas in came mea a facie ira' [ηαξ. Propterea ergo rogo non ipsius ira: tuze potentiam esperiri. quoniam judicium ejus tantummodo accipiens et solam quodammodo faciem ejus videns, quae ex solis verbis divinm Scriptura: deformatur , jam doleo omne corpus meum et conturbor: nec est ulla sanitas in carne mea, neque pax ossibus meis, tantum quod faciem ira: tuae ex Scripturis sanctis, non tamen ipsam iram sentire vclvidere visus sum.Et si ex hoc solo talia suntqum patior, propter hoc oro ut non ipsam iram patiar. Vide ergo si non manifeste haec dicuntur in eo quod ait; Et confirmasti super mentanum tuam ; nec est sanitas in carne mea a facie ira: tute. Potuit dicere, ab ira tua, sed nunc ait, α facie ira: true. Si cnim dixissetmb ira tua, superfluum erat illud sine dubio quod superius dixit : Ne in ira tua corripias me. Nunc autem dixit : Non est sanitas in carne mea a {acie ira: tum. Quoniam quidem sola facies ira: tum, id est consideratio ipsa indignationis, ita me perterruit et convertit, ut ira: tua: jam in me locus essenon debeat : Nec est sanitas in carne mea a facie ira: tua'. De eo qui apud Corinthum peccaverat indicavit Apostolus, dicens " : Tradere Iinjnsmodi hominem Satanae in interitum carnis. Nunquid putandum est quod itiiqnntn fieri volebat quem dicebat tradi debere Satanae in interitum carnis? Quin potius apparet, quoniam pro Salute ejus tradebat carnem ejus in interitum. Denique addit dicens: Tradidi ejusmodi hominem Satanae in interitum carnis, ut spiritus salvus fiat in die Domini, ostendens non posse salvari spiritum, nisi caro in interitum traderetur. Quis ergo sit interitus carnis, audi. Quia quod interierit, sine dubio mortuum est. Vivit autem caro in peccatore, mortua est caro in homine justo. Propter quod et justi tlicunt : Semper mortificationem Jesu Christi in corpore nostro circumferentes, ut et vita Iesu Christi manifestatur in carne nostra mortali. Et iterum mandatum accepimus dicens : Mortificate ntembra vestra quae sunt super terram. Et beatus qni mortuns est peccato, secundum quod dictum est : Corpus quidem mortuum est propter peccatum, spiritus autem rita vivit propter justi/icationem. Tradi ergo in interitum carnis tale est, ut emoriatur sensus carnalis in nobis, et non vivat carnis cupiditas in ea. Ex eo enim quod moritur sensus carnis, ut non secundum carnem sapiamus, spiritus salvus efiicitur. Alioquin dum vivit sensus in nobis carnis, et caro vivit, non possumus de spiritalibus sapere. Hoc ergo modo Apostolus tradidit in interitum carnis eum qui secundum carnem vixerat, ut ο sensu carnis emortuo spiritus in die Domini salvaretur. Si intellexisti apostolicum sermonem, ad id quod propositum est revertamur. Utinam in corpore meo si quando delinquo, et delictum ex sensu carnis venit, superdnceretur interitus carnis, ut spiritus salvaretur. Si enim caro infirmatur, sine dubio proficiens infirmitas etiam ad mortificationem pervenit carnis : et tunc est quod recte dicitur, quoniam non est sanitas in carne mea. Si vero non inlirmatur quidem caro, sed redit ad sanitatem suam, id est, ut sapiat quae sunt carnis, ac desideret malum, tunc sanitas est in carne, quod utique spiritui non est bonum. lste ergo qui arguitur, et recusat per furorem Domini argui atque iracundia ejus corripi, justissimas causas hujus excusationis Ῑ) ostendit. asserens se sagittis verborum Dei esse confixum, et ita turbatum atque perterritum a sola facie ira: Domini, ut nulla prorsus in carne ejus sanitas, id est nullum peccandi ultra desiderium manserit. Memini me aliquando de illo capitulo Evangelii disputantem, in quo scriptum est : Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. tale aliquid sensisse, quod antequam Salvator noster veniret ad crucem, et crucifigeret carnem, atque emori eam faceret, antequam perfecte mortificaν retur, prius dixit inlirmari carnem suam; et donec infirmabatur quidem caro, spiritum promptum esse dicebat; cum vero cruci eam tradit et perfecta morte consummat, tunc non jam promptum spiritum, sed in manibus Patris positum esse testatur. Hzec autem ille in se describens nostris eruditionibus praebebat exemplum. Propter nos enim et nobis infirmus eral. Ideo consideremus nosmetipsos. si infirma est caro nostra, si non deliciis luxuriaque resolvitur, haze ei vitiosa sanitas prtesto est: vide si per abstinentiam quoudianam infirma elficitur caro, si per continentiam desideria refrenantur, libido comprimitur, vitia conquiescunt : tunc etiamsi nondum emortua est, tamen non est sanitas in‘ carne tua,.sed etiam membra tua interim mortificata sunt super terram. Quid est autem quod facit sanis tatem in carne non esse? Si sentiamus faciem irce Dei. Deum enim recordamur iram Dei, et ante oculos vultum ejus adducimus ex ipsa intuitiono ejus, quae propter hoc facies ira: appellata est, conturbata et exterrita caro infirmatur atque languescit. ' ### English translation (Claude) God, the creator of human bodies, knew that the frailty of the human body was such that it could contract various illnesses and was liable to wounds and other infirmities; and so, providing for the sufferings to come, he also brought forth medicines from the earth and handed down the discipline of medicine, so that if sickness befell the body, a remedy would not be lacking. Where is this preface leading us? Doubtless back to the soul. For when the Creator of all had made the soul too, he knew that it would be capable of vices and would therefore be subject to sins and weighed down by them. And so, as he prepared medicines for the body from herbs compounded by art and skill, he also prepared medicines for the soul in the words which he sowed and scattered through the divine Scriptures; so that those who are oppressed by some sickness, as soon as they feel the force of the disease and perceive the sting and pain of some wound, that is, when they see the soul doing something contrary to nature, may seek the rational discipline suited and fitting for them, which can heal them from the commandments of God. For he also handed down the skill of the medical art, whose chief physician is the Savior, who says of himself: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” He was the chief physician, who could cure every disease and every infirmity; but his disciples, Peter and Paul, and the prophets too, are physicians, and so are all those who after the apostles have been placed in the Church and entrusted with the discipline of curing wounds, whom God willed to be physicians of souls in his Church; for our God does not will the death of the sinner, but waits for his repentance and his prayer. Then this psalm too, which has just been read, shows us how, if we are ever overtaken by offenses, and with what disposition, we ought to pray and entreat the physician for our pains and infirmities. If, then, the enemy has ever overtaken us and wounded our soul with his flaming darts, this psalm first teaches us that after sin it is fitting to confess the sin and to call the offense to remembrance, so that the heart, stung and stirred by the remembrance of the fault for its offense, may meanwhile restrain and recall itself, so as not to commit anything of the kind again. And for this reason, I think, the psalm is entitled “A Psalm of David, for remembrance.” What “for remembrance” means it sets out through the whole body of the psalm. Let us see, then, all of us sinners, if we have been found in some offense, what we ought to say or do, so that, having learned it in sacred Scripture, we may also merit to obtain a remedy for our wound. It would indeed be good for the body, so to speak, of our soul always to remain in health, and, surrounded by the arms of God, to remain unwounded by all the flaming darts of the evil devil, to experience no illness or sickness, and for our inner man to take on nothing of vice or disease. But if through neglect of itself and sloth of mind it has fallen into sin, let it recognize what follows for it. To be reproved or rebuked is a punishment of pain, a torment, and so heavy that even those who seem faithful and devout, if as human beings they have at some time fallen into some offense and are reproved, are indignant against those who reprove them and hate them; yet they rebuke in order to correct. And this evil was the reason why the prophets were hated by the former people and harassed with persecutions. This was the reason that had Isaiah sawn asunder, that drove Zechariah to be slain between the temple and the altar, that had Jeremiah sunk in the pit of mire. And finally this was the reason that brought our Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. For all the crimes and outrages we have listed above were committed for no other reason than this: when they wished, by the discipline of medicine, to cut away sins through the rebuke of offenders, the people, impatient of treatment and of remedy, burned to destroy the healer. Blessed, then, and wise, by the very word of Scripture, are those who, when they have sinned and are reproved, do not hate those who reprove them. For so Scripture says: “Do not reprove the wicked, lest they hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” You see how Scripture called wise the one who is liable to rebuke yet does not hate the one who reproves him, but rather loves him? Such were those who were reproved by the Apostle and, when refuted, did not hate those who reproved them. Hence I too think that the man who had sinned most grievously at Corinth obtained mercy because, when he was rebuked by the Apostle, and so sharply rebuked as to be cut off from the assembly of the Church, he did not hate the one who reproved him, but accepted the punishment patiently and bore it bravely. I think he even conceived greater affection for Paul and for all who had obeyed Paul’s instructions in punishing him. Hence Paul too revokes the sentence and rejoins the expelled man to the Church, adding: “Confirm your love toward him.” For he saw that he had kept love after his punishment; and so he said this, not that love might be given him after his sin (for it was in him), but that the love which was there might be confirmed by all. It is necessary, then, that one who sins be reproved; but since this rebuke, though useful, is heavy for us weaker ones, we avoid bearing it in the presence of all. And why do I say in the presence of all? Sometimes, when we are reproved, we do not even allow two witnesses to be present, but we blame the one who reproves us and say: “You ought to have told me what you wanted in private, and not made me blush in front of many.” We grieve, we toss about, we boil over, and are tormented in the inner senses of the soul. If such is the rebuke by which we are reproved by men or before men, what shall we do if God reproves us, if God himself refutes and reproves us in fury? We who cannot bear the anger of a bishop reproving us, but take it with indignation, how shall we endure that fury which is said to be God’s, when it reproves us? The prophet, then, knowing that there are very many differences in reproving, and wishing, as a man, to be reproved for his offenses, but fearing to be reproved with heavier weight, that is, in the Lord’s fury, says here too, as he had said before in another psalm: “Lord, do not reprove me in your fury.” And likewise he says what follows: “nor rebuke me in your anger.” We must, then, say something about rebuke too, of which the Apostle teaches us in general terms, saying: “All rebuke for the present seems to be not of joy but of grief; but afterward it yields the most peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Look at children too: when they are corrected with blows by their attendants or roused by their teachers, they take it badly and judge the pain inflicted on them for the sake of their education the greatest of evils; and although they know well that their progress lies in such instruction and correction, they still bear it with annoyance and impatience. If the education of children is like this, what should we think about ourselves, the old? What kind of education or rebuke do we think awaits us, inflicted not by stewards nor by attendants? For Scripture knows of the attendant, the steward, and the guardian of a minor. What, I say, should we think or feel when our education and rebuke is carried out by the householder himself? Let us return again to the likeness of children. If a child is corrected by his attendant, he need not experience the rebuke of a father’s severity, which is provoked by graver and more shameful offenses. If a child is corrected by his teacher, the master will not be as severe as a father can be if he learns of grave offenses in his son. For if a father rebukes for greater and graver sins, and the son’s offense is so great that it has roused the father to anger, then after torments and punishments the penalty of disinheritance too is doubtless to be feared. If you have understood the likeness, pass with me from the example to the reality, and understand what is said about all of us. All the bishops and all the presbyters and deacons instruct us, and in instructing us they apply rebukes and chide us with sterner words. And there are times when we are instructed also by stewards and agents, that is, by those angels to whom our souls have been entrusted to be managed and governed; as in a certain place the angel of repentance is described, who receives us to be chastised, as the Shepherd sets forth, if indeed that little book seems acceptable to anyone. Meanwhile we submit to various kinds of instruction from men who chastise and rebuke us; yet we are not yet chastised by the householder himself, but by the angels as stewards, who are allotted the office of chastising and correcting each of us; and it is more bearable when we are rebuked by one of these. So too our rebuke has sometimes been entrusted to the attendant. For all who were under the law, since the law was our attendant in Christ, when they sinned under the law were rebuked by the attendant, when they were punished according to the law; for they were punished when they were stoned, or when they suffered something of what Moses had written. None, then, of those we spoke of above was punished by the householder himself; for the law was not the householder, nor was the angel of repentance. But there are other sins for which the householder himself punishes the sinner, namely when someone has exceeded the measure of crimes and stretched the impiety of his wickedness beyond insult to the creature. Yet no one but God alone knows who is to be handed over to the stewards to be chastised and when, who is to be rebuked by the agents, and also who is to be put under the attendant; and the rebukes of all of these are lighter than that of one who is such as to provoke, so to speak, the divine hand itself to take vengeance on him. If you have understood what has been said, if you have followed the higher meaning, see now how the prophet pursues these things when he says: “Even if you rebuke me, O God, do not rebuke me in anger.” But we neither wish to be corrected, nor endure the attendant who admonishes us, nor willingly accept the rebukes of the stewards and agents; and therefore it is necessary that rebuke be brought upon us by the very anger of God. For the prophet says: “Lord, do not reprove me in your fury, nor rebuke me …” He who says this must bring forward some reason … if we sin, learning this reason and acting according to what we are taught, we may not incur the vengeance of the one who reproves in fury or rebukes in anger. “For your arrows,” it says, “are fixed in me, and you have strengthened your hand upon me.” The word of the Lord is like arrows. Thus the Savior too said: “He made me like a chosen arrow, and hid me in his quiver.” He who speaks the word of the Lord, then, shoots arrows; and when he speaks to rebuke and chastise, the dart of rebuke pierces the hearer’s heart. If, then, someone so receives the words of the Lord that his heart is pierced by the words he hears, and he is roused to repentance by the sting of what was said, it is certain that the dart of the word of God has not gone forth in vain against him, nor flown past him, but that all those arrows of the words of God are fixed in him. Thus it says in a certain place: “Have you seen how Ahab was pricked to the heart?” Rightly, then, the prophet now says: “Lord, do not reprove me in your fury, nor rebuke me in your anger.” For the reason that follows is a worthy one, which should temper for him the rebuke of the Lord’s fury: “for your arrows are fixed in me.” For example, even now, if out of this whole multitude of hearers there are some who are conscious of some sin (would that there were none! yet there must be some who are conscious of it), and if, hearing what we say, they hear rightly and faithfully, and their heart is pricked by the darts of our words, and they grieve, pierced by such darts, and, turned to repentance, say: “Lord, do not reprove me in your fury, nor rebuke me in your anger, for your arrows are fixed in me.” But if someone hears this and is not pricked, but, as in a body already dead, no arrow and no dart finds any feeling of pain in his soul, … are fixed in me. And would that we all might hear, pricked and stung by what is said, and, turned to repentance, say to the teacher: “For your arrows are fixed in me”; and, while you chastise us with the word of God, while you strike, while you smite us in the inmost parts of our conscience: “You have strengthened your hand upon me.” For the attendant strengthens his hand upon the children when he beats and corrects them, and keeps his hand at it, when the blows are not inflicted carelessly or lightly. … but through whomever he wills to send the arrows of his words: “for you have strengthened your hand upon me.” For since the hand of the Lord is present, which sends forth the darts of words and fixes arrows in the hearers’ souls, rightly he says to the Lord too: “for you have strengthened your hand upon me; and there is no health in my flesh from the face of your anger.” Therefore I ask not to experience the power of your anger itself; for, receiving only its judgment and seeing, as it were, only its face, which is portrayed by the mere words of divine Scripture, I already ache in my whole body and am troubled: there is no health in my flesh and no peace in my bones, only because I seem to have perceived the face of your anger from the holy Scriptures, though not yet to have felt or seen the anger itself. And if such are my sufferings from this alone, I pray for that reason that I may not suffer the anger itself. See, then, whether this is not said plainly in the words: “And you have strengthened your hand upon me, and there is no health in my flesh from the face of your anger.” He could have said, “from your anger,” but in fact he says, “from the face of your anger.” For if he had said, “from your anger,” what he said above, “Do not rebuke me in your anger,” would doubtless have been superfluous. But now he has said: “There is no health in my flesh from the face of your anger,” since the mere face of your anger, that is, the very consideration of your indignation, has so terrified and turned me that there ought to be no further place in me for your anger: “There is no health in my flesh from the face of your anger.” Concerning the one who had sinned at Corinth, the Apostle gave judgment, saying: “To hand over such a man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.” Must we think that he wanted the man to perish whom he said was to be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh? On the contrary, it is clear that he handed over his flesh to destruction for the sake of his salvation. Indeed he adds: “I have handed over such a man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord,” showing that the spirit could not be saved unless the flesh were handed over to destruction. Hear, then, what the destruction of the flesh is. What has perished is doubtless dead. The flesh lives in the sinner; the flesh is dead in the righteous man. For this reason the righteous say: “Always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus Christ, so that the life of Jesus Christ may also be manifested in our mortal flesh.” And again we have received a command that says: “Put to death your members which are on earth.” And blessed is he who is dead to sin, according to what is said: “The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness.” To be handed over for the destruction of the flesh, then, means this: that the mind of the flesh dies in us and the desire of the flesh no longer lives in it. For through the death of the mind of the flesh, so that we do not think according to the flesh, the spirit is saved. Otherwise, while the mind of the flesh lives in us and the flesh lives, we cannot think of spiritual things. In this way, then, the Apostle handed over for the destruction of the flesh the man who had lived according to the flesh, so that, the mind of the flesh being dead, the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord. If you have understood the apostolic saying, let us return to our subject. Would that, whenever I sin in my body and the sin comes from the mind of the flesh, destruction of the flesh were brought upon it, so that the spirit might be saved! For if the flesh is weakened, the weakness, as it advances, doubtless comes to the mortification of the flesh; and then it is rightly said: “There is no health in my flesh.” But if the flesh is not weakened but returns to its health, that is, so as to think the things of the flesh and desire evil, then there is health in the flesh, which is certainly not good for the spirit. This man, then, who is reproved and begs not to be reproved by the Lord’s fury and rebuked by his anger, shows most just reasons for this plea, declaring that he has been pierced by the arrows of God’s words, and so troubled and terrified by the mere face of the Lord’s anger that no health at all, that is, no desire to sin any more, remains in his flesh. I remember once, when discussing the passage of the Gospel in which it is written, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak,” that I thought something like this: before our Savior came to the cross, crucified the flesh, and made it die, before it was perfectly put to death, he first said that his flesh was weak; and while the flesh was weak, he said that the spirit was willing; but when he handed it over to the cross and completed it in perfect death, then he testified that the spirit was no longer willing but placed in the hands of the Father. In describing these things in himself he was offering an example for our instruction; for he was weak for our sake and for us. Therefore let us consider ourselves, whether our flesh is weak; if it is not dissolved in delights and luxury, this vicious health is present to it. See whether the flesh is made weak through daily abstinence, whether desires are restrained, lust suppressed, and vices quieted through continence; then, even if it is not yet dead, there is no health in your flesh, but your members are meanwhile put to death on earth. What is it that makes there be no health in the flesh? Our perceiving the face of God’s anger. For when we remember the anger of God and bring his countenance before our eyes, the flesh, troubled and terrified by the very sight of it, which is why it is called the face of anger, is weakened and languishes. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:1–3 (37:1-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 9:12: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:23: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 33:11: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:16: allusion, high confidence - Heb 11:37: allusion, high confidence - Matt 23:35: allusion, high confidence - Jer 38:6: allusion, high confidence - Prov 9:8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:1–5: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:6–8: quotation, high confidence - Matt 18:15–16: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 6:1 (6:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:11: quotation, high confidence - Gal 4:1–2: allusion, high confidence - Gal 3:24: allusion, high confidence - Jer 10:24: echo, medium confidence - Isa 49:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 21:29 (3 Kgdms 20:29 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:10–11: quotation, high confidence - Col 3:5: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:11: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 8:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 26:41: quotation, high confidence - Luke 23:46: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Herm. Vis. 5.7 (Shepherd of Hermas: Visions): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - This is the first homily on Psalm 37 (Psalm 38 in the English Bible); its title in the Greek Bible reads “A Psalm of David, for remembrance.” - A short catena note (on Ps 38:21–22, remarking that the verse “contains the holy Trinity”) and a heading leaked into the scan text near the beginning and are removed by a logged correction; marginal references and Migne column numbers elsewhere are also removed. - Words are lost in the scan in three places (marked …): after “nor rebuke me”, after “finds any feeling of pain in his soul”, and before “but through whomever he wills”. - “The Shepherd” is the Shepherd of Hermas, whose angel of repentance chastises sinners; Origen cites it with reserve (“if that little book seems acceptable to anyone”). - Origen’s teaching that angels act as stewards who chastise souls, and the graded rebukes of attendant, stewards, and householder, are translated as written. - “Even if you rebuke me, O God, do not rebuke me in anger” loosely recalls Jer 10:24. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 6.1 (PG 12:1369b–1376a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-1/#p-6-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 6.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-1/#p-6-3 - Source: PG 12:1376a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Unlike those who forget their sins, the penitent keeps his sins before him, and, recognizing the “face” of each, has no peace in his bones until he repents. ### Latin text Non est paa: ossibus meis a facie peccatorum meorum. Etiam haec debet dicere qui peccavit, et post peccatum peccasse se recordatur, sicut ipse David dicebat in quinquagesimo psalmo "’ : Et peecutum meum coram me est semper. Sunt quidam qui cum peccaverint securi sunt prorsus, nec cogitantde peccato suo, nec venit ad sensum eorum quid male gesserint, sed ita vivunt quasi nihil omnino commiserint: isti ergo non possunt dicere, quia peccatum meum coram me est semper. Cum vero post dictum quis consumitur et amigitur pro delicto suo et conscientiae stimulis agitatur, mordetur sine intermissione atque occultis confutatisnibus impngnalur, iste merito dicit : Non est pas ossibus meis a facie peccatorum meorum. Est sane facies quaedam etiam peccatorum, et, ut ita dixerim, color quidam et species, per quam recordari et recOgnosci solent ea quae aliquando commissa sunt. Cum vero ante oculos cordis nostri statuerimus peccata nostra, et unumquodque intuentes, recognoscentes erubescimus factique pmnitemus. tunc conturbatiet exterriti merito dicimus nos non habere pacem in ossibus nostris a facie peccatol‘lllll nostrorum. ### English translation (Claude) “There is no peace in my bones from the face of my sins.” He too must say this who has sinned and after sinning remembers that he has sinned, as David himself said in the fiftieth psalm: “And my sin is ever before me.” There are some who, when they have sinned, are entirely untroubled; they do not think of their sin, nor does it enter their mind what evil they have done, but they live as if they had committed nothing at all. These, then, cannot say, “My sin is ever before me.” But when after the offense someone is consumed and afflicted for his offense, driven by the stings of conscience, gnawed without ceasing and assailed by hidden reproaches, he rightly says: “There is no peace in my bones from the face of my sins.” There is indeed a kind of face of sins too, and, so to speak, a color and appearance, by which things once committed are remembered and recognized. When we set our sins before the eyes of our heart, and, looking at each one and recognizing it, we blush and repent of what we have done, then, troubled and terrified, we rightly say that we have no peace in our bones from the face of our sins. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:3 (37:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 51:3 (50:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s “fiftieth psalm” is Ps 51 in the English Bible. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 6.3 (PG 12:1376a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-1/#p-6-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 6.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-1/#p-6-4 - Source: PG 12:1376a–1377b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Only the penitent, who has come to loathe his sins, feels them as a burden over his head and smells their stench, like one who has ceased to be a swine wallowing in dung. ### Latin text Addat etiam haec qui poenitet pro peccatis suis, et dicat : Quia iniquitates mea: superposuerunt caput meum, sicut onus grave gravata: sunt super me. Qui enim nec dolent, nec gravantur pro peccatis suis, sed securi sunt atque in deliciis fiuitant, haec dicere nou possunt, nec sentiunt quod iniquitates quidem suae excrescunt, et ultra capitis sui vadunt proceritatem, ipsi vero decrescunt et in nihilum rediguntur. et ideo non possunt dicere : Quoniam iniquitates mete superposuerunt caput meum, sicut onus grave gravatae sunt super me. Quomodo enim possunt dicere illi qui in delictis suis non solum delectantur, verum etiam exsultantes mala sua praeferunt? quibus profecto peccatum suum non onus elficitur, sed voluptas. Non estergo illorum dicere hrec, sed eorum quibus libidojam sorduit, quibus vitia horruerunt. a quibus denique deprehensa est omnis praesentium gratiarum voluptas esse pro nihilo, quia postea omnino nulla futura est. Isti suntqui possunt etiam dicere hsce quae sequuntur, quoniam [temerant et putrefacta sunt cicatrices metr. Nolite, inquit Salvator , mittere margaritas vestras ante porcos ; ibi appellans eos qui peccatorum factoribus delectantur sicut porci, qui faetorem omnem tanquam odorem suavissimum expetunt. Considera ergo peccatorem qui peccatis suis delectatur et laetus est in malis suis: quoniam et ipse in stercore {ualido volutatur, et nullum laturis ejus, qui ex peccati stercore redditur, percipit sensum, velut in summis voluptatibus et gratissimis deliciis delectatur. Si vero istum eveniat aliquando porcorum quidem sensum odoratnmque deponere et sensum verbi Dei percipere, ita ut possit sentire faetorem peccatorum suorum : statim conversus ad paenitentiam, et emendationem requirens, impatiens proprii fastoris ellicitur, proclamans ad caelestem medicum atque ostendens cicatrices putrefactorum suorum vulnerum dicit : F uetuerunt et putrefacta: sunt cicatrices metea facie insipientia mete. Recte autem ilic peccatum insipientiam nominavit. Nemo enim sapiens id aliquando connnittit. ### English translation (Claude) Let him who repents for his sins add this too and say: “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they have weighed upon me.” For those who neither grieve nor are weighed down for their sins, but are carefree and float in delights, cannot say this; they do not perceive that their iniquities grow and rise above the height of their head, while they themselves shrink and are reduced to nothing; and so they cannot say, “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they have weighed upon me.” How could those say it who not only delight in their offenses but even exult in displaying their evils? For them their sin is surely not a burden but a pleasure. It is not for them, then, to say these things, but for those to whom lust has already become vile and vices horrible, who have at last discovered that all the pleasure of present favors is nothing, because afterward it will be nothing at all. These are the ones who can also say what follows: “My scars have grown foul and rotten.” “Do not,” says the Savior, “cast your pearls before swine,” calling swine there those who delight in the stench of sins, like swine, which seek out every stench as if it were the sweetest fragrance. Consider, then, the sinner who delights in his sins and is glad in his evils: he too wallows in foul dung and has no sense of the stench that comes from the dung of sin, but takes delight in it as in the highest pleasures and the most welcome delights. But if he ever comes to lay aside the sense and smell of swine and to receive the sense of the word of God, so that he can perceive the stench of his sins, at once he turns to repentance, seeks amendment, and can no longer bear his own stench; and, crying out to the heavenly physician and showing the scars of his rotting wounds, he says: “My scars have grown foul and rotten because of my foolishness.” Rightly did he call sin foolishness here, for no wise man ever commits it. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:4–5 (37:5-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:6: quotation, high confidence - 2 Pet 2:22: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Marginal references and a page number leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 6.4 (PG 12:1376a–1377b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-1/#p-6-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 6.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-6-5 - Source: PG 12:1377b–1380a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The penitent is bowed down by his sins like the tax collector and mourns them; sins of the flesh are the devil’s strength “in the loins”; the one who falls from the Church after enlightenment is like a rich man exiled to a barren island, groaning before God. ### Latin text Miseriis afflictus sum, et curvatus usque in finem. Sed videas aliquando eum qui peccavit mmrentem et contristatum tristitia. quae secundum saeculum est; quae enim secundum Deum est tristitia, paenitentiam in salutem stabilem operatur. Iste vero dicit, quoniam miseriis amictus sum, et curvatus sum usque in linem. Propterea fortassis ipse sanctus Apostolus dicit sciens se aliquando peccasse : Miser ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Peccavit enim etiam ipse cum persecutus est Ecclesiam Dei, pprOpter quod dicil‘ : Non sum «lignus vocari apostolus. Miseriis ergo alllictus sum, ait. Non dicit, amigor adlmc. Si enim transierunt jam peccatal mea, alllictus sum miseriis; si autem permanent, et in ipsis conversor, adhuc allligor miseriis ; Miseriis ergo, inquit, afflictus, et Curvatas sum usque in finem. Si videas eum qui peccavit non posse respicere in ccelum, sed curvato corpore deinersoque in terram vultu non solum corporis, sed et animae, et contorquentem sicut circulum collum suum, intelligis quomodo quis curvmur usque iu finem. Si vero vis etiam per exempla cognoscere quomodo peccatis suis unusquisque curvetur, ita ut suspicere non possit nec in coelum elevare oculos suos : intuere illum publicanum. qui in Evangelio ingressus templum et de longe stans, nec audens levare oculos suos in cmlum, sed percutiens pectus suum, et contltens peccata sua. dicebat' : Deus, propitius esto mihi peccatori. Huic nimirum convenit dicere, quia Curvatus sum usque in finem, et tota die contristatus ingrediebar. Hoc autem dicens, velut allectum ipsam et animam paenitentis exponit dicentis : Ex quo peccavi, ιιυη· quam risi, nunquam Imtatns sum, nunquam milli ipsi aliquid iucunditatis indulsi, sed semper in mmrore iui, semper in pcenitentia, semper in luctu. Tale estillud quod in Evangelio praecipitur , dirento Domino : Beati qui lugent, etbeati qui flent. Econtrario autem siquis peccator sit,et multis malis obnovius, et hic nullo flagitiorum' suormu stimulo pulsatus, insuper etiam et rideat rt laetus sit atquejucundus, nec in aliquo conscientiae stimulis agitetur, postolus inter prima sacrilegia designavit, dicens' : ωε Tollens ergo membro Christi faciam membro meretricis .’ Absit ! Cum ergo quis propensius et incoutiucntius in hujuscemodi lasciviam fluxerit, tunc renes ejus. vel lumbi repleti esse illusionibus asseruntur. lllusio enim est diaboli illudentis hominem atque hujuscemodi peccati incontinentiam provocantis. Non ergo mirum cst si peccatorum hominum renes illusionibus repleti sunt, cum et Job de dracone qui diabolus intelligitur, ita dicat‘ : Virtus ejus omnis in lumbis est, et potentia ejus in umbiculo ventris ejus. Virtus ergo diaboli praecipue circa lumbos hominis est, unde fornicatio adulteriaque procedunt, unde puerorum corruptio, unde omnis spurcitia generatur. lla sane etiam mulierum circa umbilicum ventris est culpa, quod honestiore voluit indicare sermone, in quibus videlicet utrisque draconis diaboli virtutem potentiamque esse designat. Et non est sonitus tn carm: mea. In hoc profectum suum ostendit, et proximum esse ad mortificationem carnis indicat atque interitum ejus. Nam ideo hoc et hic secundo reo petit, ut adhibitum jam esse remedium tentationum molestiis declararet. Afiliclus sum, et humiliatus sum cattle. Festivitatibus Domini panem nos alflictionis edere iubemur, et in ipsis festivitatibus dicitur, ut humilict homo animam suam : et cum festivitasjpropitiationis indicitur, dicitur": Humiliate animos vestras. Quoniam ergo qui pmni- ο tet. pro delictis suis seipsum all'ligit et humiliat, sicut et ille publicanus, de quo superius diximus, propterea et consequenter dicit in eo quod se ex corde pmuitere cognoscit, obsecrans ne in furore Domini arguatur, neque ira eius corripiatur, ex hoc quod dicit : Animus sum, et humiliatus sum ualde. Non enim solum alllictus sum, neque solum humiliatus sum, dicit, sed valde afllictus sum, et valde humiliatus sum. Ut exempli gratia dixerint, si dives aliquis secundum saeculum in multa aflluentia positus, et hic subito decidat atquein egestatem ultimam redigatur, domo quoque pulsus et patria, insulis ac scopulis relegatus squalentem atque infelicem in solitudine exigat vitam, tunc deinde recordatus patria: ac parentum, nobilitatis , familizc, bonorum substantiae , divitiarum abundantiae, ac totius illius vitae qua in deliciis vixerat, quibus iste planctibus, quibus mugitibus recordationem priscae beatitudinis recolet, ut sit qum perferat? Ad hujus exemplisimililudinen intuere mihi etiam eum qut vitam in sobrietate et castitate iustitiaque transegit, qui in actibus bene sibi conscius erat : iste si decidat de patria sua, id est do Ecclesia, in insulam quamdam atquein horrentes scopulos quas peccati sedes est propellatur, et ex facultatibus ac divitiis suis qua erant ei in omnibus operibus suis bonis, devolvatnr, et videat se in ultima paupertate positum: omnes enim ejus iustitia: quas fecit non reminiscentttr propter peccatum ε si se ergo in talibus videat, quibus gemitibus, quibusque rugitibus proclamabit, dicens : Rugiebam a gemitu cordis mei? Darnine, in conspectu tuo omne desiderium meum, et gemitus metu a te non est absconditus. Omnia ergo ex quo deliqui, sive concupivi concupiscentiam saeularem, sive quid aliud commisi, omnia ante te profero, et in orationibus meis in conspectu tuo pono. Et gemitus meus a te non est absconditus. Nosti enim quia semper ingemisco. Cor meum conturbatum est, et deseruit me uirtus mea. Tu vide, Domine. cor meum, quia conturbatum est pro peccatis meis. Et consequenter exoro ne in furore arguar, neque in ira corripiar. Quod si mea me fortitudo deseruit. sine dubio l'ui aliquando l'ortis. et conversatio mea luit bona, postea vero cecidi, quia deseruit me fortitudo mea, et lumen oculorum meorum non est mecum. llmc vox illius videtur esse qui post illuminationem, post traditionem doctrina, post agnitionem veritatis in tenebris decidit. Ne ergo et nos eadem patiamur, sed potius ut lumen no. strum sit semper in nobis et opera lueis agentes babeamus liduciam tanquam lilii lucis in Christo Jesu. semper oremus, et Deum Patrem incessabiliter deprecemur, cui est gloria et potestas in saecula saculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “I have been afflicted with miseries and bowed down to the end.” You may sometimes see one who has sinned grieving and saddened with the sorrow that is according to the world; but the sorrow that is according to God works repentance leading to a lasting salvation. This man, however, says: “I have been afflicted with miseries and bowed down to the end.” Therefore perhaps the holy Apostle himself, knowing that he had once sinned, says: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” For he too sinned when he persecuted the Church of God, on account of which he says: “I am not worthy to be called an apostle.” “I have been afflicted, then, with miseries,” he says. He does not say, “I am still afflicted.” For if my sins have already passed, I have been afflicted with miseries; but if they remain and I live in them, I am still afflicted with miseries. “Afflicted, then, with miseries,” he says, “I am bowed down to the end.” If you see the one who has sinned unable to look up to heaven, his body bowed and his face sunk to the earth, the face not only of his body but of his soul as well, his neck twisted round like a hoop, you understand how one is bowed down to the end. And if you want to learn from examples too how each one is bowed down by his sins, so that he cannot look up nor raise his eyes to heaven, look at the tax collector in the Gospel who went into the temple and, standing far off, not daring to lift his eyes to heaven, but beating his breast and confessing his sins, said: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” To him it surely belongs to say: “I am bowed down to the end, and all day long I went about sorrowful.” In saying this he sets out, as it were, the very disposition and soul of the penitent, who says: “Since I sinned I have never laughed, never been glad, never allowed myself any pleasure, but have always been in grief, always in penitence, always in mourning.” Such is what is enjoined in the Gospel, when the Lord says: “Blessed are those who mourn, and blessed are those who weep.” But on the contrary, if someone is a sinner, liable for many evils, and is struck by no sting of his crimes, but even laughs, is glad and cheerful, and is moved in nothing by the stings of conscience, … the Apostle listed among the first sacrileges, saying: “Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Far from it!” When, then, someone has flowed too readily and incontinently into such wantonness, his kidneys or loins are said to be filled with illusions. For illusion belongs to the devil, who mocks man and provokes the incontinence of this kind of sin. It is no wonder, then, if the kidneys of sinful people are filled with illusions, since Job too says of the dragon, by which the devil is meant: “All his strength is in his loins, and his power in the navel of his belly.” The strength of the devil, then, lies chiefly about a man’s loins, from which sexual immorality and adulteries proceed, from which the corruption of boys and all filth are begotten. So too in women the fault lies about the navel of the belly, which Scripture wished to indicate with more decent language; and in both it shows that the strength and power of the dragon, the devil, are found. “And there is no health in my flesh.” In this he shows his progress and indicates that he is near the mortification of the flesh and its destruction. For he repeats this here a second time to declare that a remedy has already been applied to the troubles of temptation. “I have been afflicted and humbled exceedingly.” At the Lord’s festivals we are commanded to eat the bread of affliction, and at those festivals it is said that a man should humble his soul; and when the feast of propitiation is proclaimed, it is said: “Humble your souls.” Since, then, he who repents of his offenses afflicts and humbles himself, like the tax collector of whom we spoke above, therefore, knowing that he repents from the heart and begging not to be reproved in the Lord’s fury nor rebuked by his anger, he says consistently: “I have been afflicted and humbled exceedingly.” For he does not say only, “I have been afflicted,” nor only, “I have been humbled,” but, “I have been exceedingly afflicted and exceedingly humbled.” For example: if someone who is rich by the world’s measure, living in great affluence, suddenly falls and is reduced to the utmost want, driven from his house and his homeland, banished to islands and crags, and leads a squalid and unhappy life in solitude; and if he then remembers his homeland and his parents, his nobility, his household, his property, his abundant riches, and all that life which he had lived in delights, with what laments, with what bellowings will he recall the memory of his former happiness, … what he endures? Look, after the likeness of this example, at one who has spent his life in sobriety, chastity, and righteousness, and had a good conscience about his actions. If he falls from his homeland, that is, from the Church, and is driven to some island and rough crags, which are the seat of sin, and is rolled down from the resources and riches he had in all his good works, and sees himself placed in the utmost poverty (for none of the righteous deeds he has done will be remembered because of his sin): if, then, he sees himself in such a state, with what groans and roars will he cry out, saying: “I roared from the groaning of my heart”? “Lord, all my desire is before you, and my groaning is not hidden from you.” Everything, then, since I sinned, whether I desired worldly desire or committed anything else, I bring before you and set in your sight in my prayers. “And my groaning is not hidden from you,” for you know that I am always groaning. “My heart is troubled, and my strength has forsaken me.” You see, Lord, that my heart is troubled for my sins; and so I pray that I may not be reproved in fury nor rebuked in anger. And if my strength has forsaken me, then I was doubtless strong once, and my way of life was good; but afterward I fell, because my strength forsook me, “and the light of my eyes is not with me.” This seems to be the voice of one who, after enlightenment, after the handing on of doctrine, after the knowledge of truth, has fallen into darkness. Lest we too suffer the same, and so that our light may rather always be in us and we, doing the works of light, may have confidence as sons of light in Christ Jesus, let us always pray and entreat God the Father unceasingly, to whom be glory and power for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:6–10 (37:7-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 7:10: allusion, high confidence - Rom 7:24: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:9: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:4: allusion, high confidence - Luke 6:21: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 6:15: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:16 (40:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Deut 16:3: allusion, high confidence - Lev 16:29–31: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 18:24: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:8: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Thess 5:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words are lost in the scan in two places (marked …): where the comment passes to Ps 38:7 (Greek Bible: “my loins are filled with mockings”), and in the comparison of the exile. Marginal references and stray Greek letters leaked into the text and are removed by logged corrections. - “Enlightenment” (illuminatio) is an early name for baptism. - Origen’s readings of Job 40:16 of the devil, and of the fallen believer’s good deeds as “not remembered” (Ezek 18:24), are translated as written. - Poenitentia is rendered “penitence” and “repentance” by context. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 6.5 (PG 12:1377b–1380a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-6-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-1 - Source: PG 12:1380a–1382a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The penitent who confesses his sins openly is abandoned and mocked by friends who think themselves clean, but he should not fear them; it is better to accuse oneself before God, who sees all, and to repay with good those who seek one’s harm. ### Latin text Qui pro peccatis suis confitetur Deo, et animo dolet dum ptenitet, sciens post exitum vita qua pinna immineat peccatori, haec dicit, exponens quanta pati necesse sit eum quise ad poenitenι) nam emendationemque convertit, quomodo derelinquant eum amici et proximi sui, et longe eiiciantur, pro eo quod ipse se ad exornologesin ραι cati sui meeroremquc convertit. Dicit ergo : Ama" mei et proximi ntei adversum me oppropinquomm et steterunt. ln-teilige mihi fidelem quidem homincm, sed tamen infirmum, qui etiam vinci ab aliqua peccato potuit, et propter hoc mugientem pro delictis suis, et omni modo curam vulneris sui sanitatemque requirentem, licet praeventus sit et lapsus, volentem tamen medelam ae salutem reparare. Si ergo hujusmodi homo memor delicti sui confiteatur quze commisit, et humana confusione parvipendateos qui exprobrant eum contitentem, et notant vel irrident : ille autem intelligens per hoc veniam sibi dari, et in die resurre‘ ctionis pro his quibus nunc confunditur coram. ιιο· minibus, tunc ante angelos Dei confusionem atque opprobria evasurum, ut nolit tegere et occultare maculam suam, sed pronuntiet delictum suum,nec velit esse sepulcrum dealbatam , quod deforis quidem appareat hominibus speciosum, id est, ut videntibus se quasi justus appareat, intus autem sit repletus orum immunditia et ossibus mortuorum. Si ergo sit aliquis ita fidelis ut si quid conscius sit sibi, procedat in medium et ipse sui ac» cusator exsistat : bi autem qui futurum Dei judicium non metuunt, haec audientes cum infirmantibus quidem non intirmentur, cum scandalizantibus non urantur, cum lapsis non iaceant, sed dicant : Longe te fac‘a me, neque accedas ad me, quoniam mundus sum, et detestari incipiant eum quem ante admirabantur, et ab amicitiis recedant ejus qui delictum suum noluit occultare : super his ergo consequenter dicit qui exomologesin, id est ς, confessionem facit : Amici mei et proximi mei adversum me apprOpinquaverunt et steterunt, et proximi mei de longe steterunt. Sed haec non oportet formidare eum qui post delictum salvari cupit, neque notam eorum pertimescere, qui sua quidem peccata non cogitant, nec memores Scriptura: sunt divina: dicentis ηε Noli improperare homini converteuti se a peccato, sed memor esto quoniam omnes sumus in culpis. Non ergo Cogitet de talibus, sed cogitet de anima sua, exorans Deum, ut ab ipso exaudiatur et sublevetur post casum suum, ut possit etiam dicere quae sequuntur : Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego pronuntiabo, et cogitabo pro peccato meo. Licet amici mei et proximi mei contrarii sint, et propinqui mei longe se faciant a me. dum ego ipse mei accusator etiicior, dum crimina mea nullo me urguente confiteor, dum nolo imitari eos, uni etiam cum in judiciis arguantur, et testibus convincuntur, et tortoribus etiam arguantur, tegunt tamen mala sua, et plus apud eos obtinet commissi pudor quam cruciantis poena. Ego vero qui scio nihil latere Deum, sed nuda esse omnia et mauifesta in conspectu ejus, quidquid abscondo, occulto quod novit, cur non potius ipse me arguo, ipse me confuto? Quid exspecto accusatorem, cum accusator meus conscientia mea mecum sit? Sic forte et ille mihi parcet, si mibi ipse non parcam. Ergo proximi mei de longe steterunt, et vim faciebant qui qutcrebaut animam meam. Et qui quaerebant mala mihi locuti sunt vanitatem. Haec iterum de aliis dicit. Sunt enim quidam qui quierunt inala justo, et non sic gaudent cum audierint de bonis ejus aliquid, sicut gratulantur cum audierint mala, et velut insultant cum in malis aliquibus viderint justum. Et isti sunt qui cum viderint juStum coniitentem peccata sua, velut noxium quoddam evomunt virus, propter quod dicit : Et vim faciebant qui quarebant animam meum. Et qui qumebant maia mihi locuti sunt vanitates. Et vere manifesti!sime pervidetur, quia non solum ii qui justo qua:runt mala, sed etiam omnis qui cuicunque mala conatur inferre, loquitur vanitatem. Non enim loquitur ea quae secundum Deum sunt, qui (μίξει-ξι agere mala. Unde oportet magis quaerere bona. Utinam possemus etiam bis qui oderunt nos reddere bona pro malis, et inimicis nostris vel suadere quae bona sunt, vel optare feroces animos eorum ad concordiam atque pacem revocare, ut per hoc efficiamur filii Patris qui in caelis est, qui solem suum oriri jubet super bonos et malos, et pluit super fuit” ει inim“ ### English translation (Claude) He who confesses to God for his sins and grieves in his mind as he repents, knowing what punishment awaits the sinner after the end of life, says these things, setting out how much one must suffer who turns to repentance and amendment: how his friends and neighbors forsake him and withdraw far off, because he has turned to exomologesis and to grief for his sin. He says, then: “My friends and my neighbors drew near against me and stood.” Picture, if you will, a faithful man, but weak, who could even be overcome by some sin, and who therefore groans for his offenses and seeks in every way the treatment and healing of his wound; though he was overtaken and has fallen, he nevertheless wishes to recover the remedy and his health. Suppose such a man, mindful of his offense, confesses what he has committed and, despite human shame, makes little of those who reproach him as he confesses, who brand him or laugh at him; he understands that through this pardon is given him, and that on the day of resurrection, for the things for which he is now put to shame before men, he will escape shame and reproaches before the angels of God; and so he does not wish to cover and hide his stain, but declares his offense, and does not wish to be a whitewashed tomb, which outwardly appears beautiful to men (that is, so as to seem righteous to those who see him), but inwardly is full of all uncleanness and dead men’s bones. If, then, someone is so faithful that, if he is conscious of anything, he comes forward into the midst and becomes his own accuser, while those who do not fear the future judgment of God, hearing these things, are not weak with the weak, do not burn with those who are scandalized, do not lie down with the fallen, but say, “Keep away from me, do not come near me, for I am clean,” and begin to detest the one they formerly admired, and withdraw from the friendship of one who would not hide his offense: about these the one who makes exomologesis, that is, confession, rightly says: “My friends and my neighbors drew near against me and stood, and my neighbors stood far off.” But one who after an offense desires to be saved ought not to fear these things, nor dread the censure of those who do not think of their own sins and do not remember divine Scripture, which says: “Do not reproach a man who is turning from sin, but remember that we are all at fault.” Let him not think, then, of such people, but think of his own soul, praying God that he may be heard by him and lifted up after his fall, so that he can also say what follows: “For I will declare my iniquity, and I will be anxious for my sin.” Although my friends and my neighbors are against me, and my kinsfolk keep far from me, while I become my own accuser, while I confess my crimes with no one forcing me, while I refuse to imitate those who, even when they are convicted in court, refuted by witnesses, and examined by torturers, still cover up their evils, and with whom shame for the deed counts for more than the pain of the torturer; I who know that nothing escapes God, but that all things are naked and laid bare in his sight, and that whatever I hide or conceal he knows, why should I not rather convict myself and refute myself? Why do I wait for an accuser, when my accuser, my conscience, is with me? So perhaps he too will spare me, if I do not spare myself. “So my neighbors stood far off, and those who sought my soul used violence. And those who sought evil for me spoke vanity.” This he says again of others. For there are some who seek evil for the righteous man, who do not rejoice so much when they hear something good of him as they exult when they hear something evil, and who as it were mock him when they see the righteous man in some misfortune. These are the ones who, when they see the righteous man confessing his sins, spew out a kind of harmful poison; and therefore he says: “And those who sought my soul used violence, and those who sought evil for me spoke vanities.” And truly it is most plainly seen that not only those who seek evil for the righteous, but everyone who tries to inflict evil on anyone, speaks vanity; for one who seeks to do evil does not speak the things that are according to God. Hence we should rather seek what is good. Would that we could render good for evil even to those who hate us, and either persuade our enemies of what is good, or at least desire to call their fierce minds back to concord and peace, so that through this we may become sons of the Father who is in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the good and the bad, and sends rain on … ### Scripture references - Ps 38:11–12 (37:12-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 23:27: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:29: allusion, high confidence - Isa 65:5: quotation, high confidence - Ps 38:18 (37:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 4:13: allusion, high confidence - Rom 12:17: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 5:44–45: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 8:5 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This is the second homily on Psalm 37 (Psalm 38 in the English Bible). - “Exomologesis” is the Greek term for confession in the church’s discipline of penance. - “Do not reproach a man who is turning from sin” is Sir 8:5. - The scan text breaks off in the last sentence (marked …); Matt 5:45 continues “on the just and the unjust.” Marginal references, a garbled Greek note, and a Migne column number leaked into the text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.1 (PG 12:1380a–1382a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-2 - Source: PG 12:1382a–1383d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous man is one who accuses himself by confession rather than waiting for the devil to accuse him, and who, when slandered, turns a deaf ear rather than seeking revenge. ### Latin text Qui ergo quau-ebant mala mihi locuti sunt vanitates, et dolum tota die meditabantur. Vide insidiatorem justi. Jam enim justum voco eum qui in primis sui ipse accusator efficitur, sicut sermo Scriptum designat . Nam ut illum sapientem dicit Scriptura , qui cum arguitur, non odit arguentem, sed insuper diligit eum : sic et-justus dicitur qni post delictum non permanet in delictis, uec exspectat diabolum fieri accusatorem suum, neque ut ille proferat in medium peccata ἱρείης, sed ipse se arguit et convincit, et per confessionem suam liberatur a morte. Qui enim qutcrebant mala mihi locuti sunt vanitatem, et dolum tota die meditabantur. Ego autem velut surdus non audiebam. Nihil hac virtute praeclarius, nihil excellentius inveniri potest, ut audiens unusquisque maledicos atque obtrectatores suos male loqui, carpere, detrahere, incusare, ipse avertat aurem suam quasi non audiens, et declinet oculum suum tanquam non videns, ne iracundia exasperetur et prosiliat ad vindictam, ne quierat oculum pro oculo, nec vero mendacium pro mendacio, nec crimen pro crimine. Talis ergo estjustus: jam enim, ut dixi, justum eum dico qui per confessionem suam peccatorum suorum cvmnit passiones. ### English translation (Claude) “Those, then, who sought evil for me spoke vanities, and plotted deceit all day long.” See the one who lies in wait for the righteous man. For I now call righteous the one who first of all becomes his own accuser, as the word of Scripture indicates. For as Scripture calls him wise who, when he is reproved, does not hate the one who reproves him but loves him besides, so too he is called righteous who after an offense does not remain in his offenses, nor waits for the devil to become his accuser and bring his sins into the open, but convicts and refutes himself, and through his confession is freed from death. “For those who sought evil for me spoke vanity, and plotted deceit all day long. But I, like a deaf man, did not hear.” Nothing more glorious, nothing more excellent than this virtue can be found: that each one, hearing his slanderers and detractors speak ill of him, carp, disparage, and accuse, should turn away his ear as if he did not hear, and turn aside his eye as if he did not see, lest he be exasperated by anger and leap to vengeance, lest he seek eye for eye, or lie for lie, or charge for charge. Such, then, is the righteous man; for, as I said, I now call righteous the one who through the confession of his sins has cast off his passions. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:12–13 (37:13-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 18:17: allusion, medium confidence - Prov 9:8: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:38: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Has cast off his passions” translates by sense a garbled word in the scan (cvmnit). - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.2 (PG 12:1382a–1383d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-3 - Source: PG 12:1383d–1384b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous man, cursed or slandered, acts deaf and mute, leaving vengeance to God; if we heard God as we should, he would hear us as he heard Elijah and Samuel, and we would be “gods” and sons of God. ### Latin text Ego autem sicut surdus non audiebam, et sicut mutua non aperiens 0341mm. Et factus sum sicut homo non audient. Cum maledicerer, eum criminarer, cum omnia probra de me homines proferrent, ego eram sicut surdus, et non audiebam, et εἰς-ιιι mulus non aperui os meum, pro maledictis nulla maledicta reddebam. Sed quid prodest nos haec exponere? Quid prodest hzec nos de Scriptnris sanctis aperire, si non horum meminorimus in eo ipso tempoie quo res expetit, curn maledicimur a fratribus, cum detrahunt de nobis, cum etiam in i‘acicm probris et conviciis lacessimur, cum omnia fiunt ut excitetur furor noster, et animus ad iracundiam moveatur? Tunc oportet horum meminisse, tunc recordemur quia scriptum est : Factus sum sicut homo non audiens, et non Itabens in ore suo increpatiouem. Interdum dicit aliquis adversum me, et forsitan mentitur, interdum etiam vera sunt quae dicit; ego tamen possum multo peiora de illo dicere, et vere dicere : Et si quidem peccator sum, et nihil horum memini quae nunc diximus, imitabor illius malitiam, et reddendo maledicta pro maledictis etliciar similis illi, sed non similis Deo eiiicior. Si vero iustus sum, sicut surdus non audio, et sicut mulus non habens in ore suo increpationcm, nihil respondeo, et habens in quibus arguam, non arguo. intelligo enim quia qui reete arguit, impassibiiiter debet arguere, ut salutem expetat ejus qui arguitur, non vindictam. Cum ergo quis detrahit de me, vel male de nte lo- Nisi enim sperassem in te. et credidissem tibi dicenti : Milli vindicta, ego retribuam, dicit Dominus, meipsum utique vindicassem :nune vero memor smn prmcepti illius quo iubemur non nos ipsos vindicare, sed dare locum ira:. Et invenies haec in Seripturis divinis, et legis. Et factus sum sicut homo non audiens, et non habens in ore sua increpationes. Quoniam in te, Domine, sperari, ιιι exaudiet: me, Domine Deus meus. Ego sicut surdus non audiebam eos qui me criminabantur, scd tu exaudi ea quae loquuntur. Si essemus tales quales nos esse Vult sermo divinus, sicut Elias “, diceremus utique Deo ut daret pluviam,et plueret : sicut Samuel in diebus tnessium peteremus ut praestaret de cedo imbrium copiam, et audiremur . Nunc autem quomodo nos audiet Deus, cum nos ipsum non audiamus? Quomodo faciet ille quod volumus, cum nos quze ille vult non faciamus? Vult nos tales esse Deus, ut quasi dii cum Deo loquamur. Vult nos esse iilios Dei, ut consortes et cohaeredes eiliciamur lilii Dei, ct dicamus sicut ipse dixit ‘5: Pater, scio quia semper me audis. Scimus quia dixit ad nos Deus " : Ego dixi : Dii estis, et filii Εενειισί omnes. Sed nos pro meritis nostris illud ma. gis, quo digni sumus, et quod sequitur, exspectamus: γοα vero sicut homines moriemini, et sicut unus ea: principibus cadetis. ### English translation (Claude) “But I, like a deaf man, did not hear, and was like a mute who does not open his mouth. And I became like a man who does not hear.” When I was cursed, when I was accused, when people brought every reproach against me, I was like a deaf man and did not hear, and like a mute I did not open my mouth; I returned no curses for curses. But what use is it for us to expound these things? What use is it to open them up from the holy Scriptures, if we do not remember them at the very time the situation calls for them: when we are cursed by brothers, when they disparage us, when we are even attacked to our face with reproaches and insults, when everything is done to rouse our fury and move our mind to anger? Then we must remember these things; then let us recall that it is written: “I became like a man who does not hear and has no rebuke in his mouth.” Sometimes someone speaks against me, and perhaps he lies; sometimes what he says is even true; yet I could say much worse things about him, and say them truly. And if I am a sinner and remember none of what we have now said, I shall imitate his malice, and by returning curses for curses I shall become like him; but I do not become like God. But if I am righteous, like a deaf man I do not hear, and like a mute who has no rebuke in his mouth I answer nothing, and though I have things for which to reprove him, I do not reprove him. For I understand that one who reproves rightly must reprove without passion, so as to seek the salvation of the one reproved, not vengeance. When, then, someone disparages me or speaks ill of me … For unless I had hoped in you and believed you when you say, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord,” I would certainly have avenged myself; but as it is, I remember that precept by which we are commanded not to avenge ourselves but to give place to wrath. You will find these things in the divine Scriptures, and you read them there. “And I became like a man who does not hear and has no rebukes in his mouth. For in you, Lord, I have hoped; you will hear me, O Lord my God.” I, like a deaf man, did not hear those who accused me, but you hear what they say. If we were such as the divine word wishes us to be, we would surely ask God, like Elijah, to give rain, and it would rain; like Samuel, we would ask him in the days of harvest to grant abundant showers from heaven, and we would be heard. But as it is, how will God hear us, when we do not hear him? How will he do what we wish, when we do not do what he wishes? God wants us to be such that we speak with God as gods. He wants us to be sons of God, so that we become partakers and co-heirs of the Son of God, and say as he himself said: “Father, I know that you always hear me.” We know that God said to us: “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.’” But because of our deserts we expect rather what we are worthy of, what follows: “But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” ### Scripture references - Ps 38:13–15 (37:14-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 3:9: allusion, high confidence - Rom 12:19: quotation, high confidence - Jas 5:17–18: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 12:17–18: allusion, high confidence - Rom 8:17: allusion, high confidence - John 11:42: quotation, high confidence - Ps 82:6–7 (81:6-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words are lost in the scan after “speaks ill of me” (marked …). A Migne column number leaked into the text and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.3 (PG 12:1383d–1384b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-4 - Source: PG 12:1384b–1385b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Not repaying evil keeps one from falling and from the mockery of enemies, who pounce at the least trembling; best is to stand firm on the rock, Christ, or at least to be only “almost moved.” ### Latin text Quia disi : Ne [orte insultent mihi inimici mei. Cum criminarer, et vicem criminantibus non rea!derem, haec dicebam : Si reddidi retribuenlibux mihi mala, utique derelinquar a Deo, et derelictus cadam necesse est. Cum autem cecidero, insultabunt mihi inimici mei. Si vero non reddidero mala pro malis, sed Deo dereliquero judicium, ab ipso adjutus non decidant, sed stabo fortiter, et non iusultabunt mihi inimici mei. Dixi etiam hoe: Dum commoverentur pedes mei, in me magna locuti sum. Quandiu stetero intrepidus et immobilis, non loquentur magna contra me inimici mei, non cnim habent quod dicant. Statim autem ut trepidat-em, non dicam, cecidero, statim incipient exprobrare et dicere : Vides hunc? Ecce et ipse quid fecit? Etcum haec doceat, agit alia, contraria enim eorum quat dOCcl, agit. Isti ergo tale quid dicant necesse est : Dum commoremur pedes mei super me magna locuti sunt. Alius autem hoc melior quantum ad personas pertinet quae inducuntur a prOphetis, vel ipsae sibi comparantur, illud dicit : Mei autem paulo minus moti sunt pedes. Illius quidem moti sunt pedes, meiautem paulo minus moti sunt. Fortassis autem sit alius aliquis, cujus nec parum quidem, nec paulo minus moti sunt pedes, illius opinor qui dicit” : Statuit super petram pedes meos. Ille nihil prorsus de commotione pedum suorum, sed de stabilitate testatur. Beati ergo sumus si nulla omnino connnotio in nostris pedibus accusatur, sed sunteas stantes super petram, id est, super ipsum Dominum Jesum Christum. Quod si ita stabiles esse non possumus, secundus nos iste saltem et inferior suscipiat gradus, ut vel paulo minus moveantur gressus nostri. ### English translation (Claude) “For I said, ‘Lest perhaps my enemies insult me.’” When I was accused and did not repay my accusers in kind, I said this: If I repay evil to those who repay me, I shall certainly be forsaken by God, and, forsaken, I must fall. And when I have fallen, my enemies will insult me. But if I do not render evil for evil, but leave judgment to God, I shall not fall, since he helps me; I shall stand firm, and my enemies will not insult me. I also said this: “While my feet were shaken, they spoke great things against me.” As long as I stand fearless and immovable, my enemies will not speak great things against me, for they have nothing to say. But as soon as I tremble (I will not say fall), at once they will begin to reproach me and say: “Do you see this man? See what he too has done! He teaches one thing and does another; he does the opposite of what he teaches.” These people, then, must say something of this kind: “While my feet were shaken, they spoke great things against me.” But another, better than this one, as far as concerns the persons who are introduced by the prophets or compared with one another, says: “But my feet were almost moved.” This one’s feet were moved; but mine were almost moved. And perhaps there is someone else whose feet were not moved even a little, nor almost: his, I think, who says, “He set my feet upon a rock.” He testifies nothing at all about his feet being moved, but only about their stability. Blessed, then, are we if no moving at all is charged against our feet, but they stand upon the rock, that is, upon the Lord Jesus Christ himself. But if we cannot be so stable, let at least this second and lower step receive us, that our steps may be only almost moved. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:16 (37:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:17: allusion, high confidence - Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 40:2 (39:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Marginal references leaked into the scan text in the middle of a word and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.4 (PG 12:1384b–1385b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-5 - Source: PG 12:1385b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The penitent sinner asks to be scourged in this life by sickness, loss, or bereavement rather than be reserved for eternal punishment, for God scourges every son he receives. ### Latin text Quoniam ego in flagella paratus sum. Etiam haec vox boni et optimi, ut ita dixerim, peccatoris est, qui deliquerit quidem, exspectet tamen delictorum flagella, quibus in praesenti Optet emcndari, ne puniatur et pereat in futuro. Propone tibi ante oculos peccatorem dicentem ad Dominum: Ego quoniam peccavi, jam nunc in flagella paratus sunt, noli me reservare igni aeterno, noli me reservare exterioribus tenebris. Dum in hac vita sum, redde mihi peccata mea, quoniam flagellas onmem lilium quem recipis. Oro te, flagella me quoque, et noli me reservare cum his qui non flagellantnr, ο qui in laboribus hominum non sunt, et cum hominibus non flagellabantur , id est, qui penitus derelinquuntur a te, quorum emendationem correptio. nemque non quaeris. Sciens ergo quae sit differentia cum flagellatur peceator ah eo qui flagellat omnem filium quem recipit , et quae sit differentia ejus qui dignus non habetur flagellis, ait ad Dominum : Ego in flagella paratus sum, id est, si volueris superducere languores in me, mittere aegritudines, tolerabiliter feram : scio quia dignus sum ut non solum per :cgritudines peccata mea solvantur, sed per onmes al'llictiones purgari desidero, tantum ut aeternis poenis et cruciatibus non reserver. Si placet inferre damna, sustineo; si placet omnes facultates perire, depereant, tantum ne anima pereat apud te. Si per mortem cbarorum et propinquorum vis me purgari, moriantur etiam ipsi, ut et ipsi ex huiusmodi vinculis Ιὶὺϐνθηιυνυ aurem"mr lilii, dum adhuc pueri sunt, ct in rudibus annis positi nondum gravioribus peccatorum sordibus maculati sunt. Omnibus igitur flagellis emendari, verberarique paratus sum, et nihil borum recuso, tantum ut supplicia aeterni ignis efl‘ugiam. Ego ergo in flagella paratus sum, et dolor meus coram me est semper. Ante oculos meos habeo dolorem meum, ut futuros ptenarum dolores praesentibus possim doloribus compensare. ### English translation (Claude) “For I am ready for the scourges.” This too is the voice of a good and excellent sinner, so to speak, who has indeed sinned, but looks for the scourges due to his offenses, by which he wishes to be corrected in the present, lest he be punished and perish in the future. Set before your eyes a sinner who says to the Lord: “Since I have sinned, I am ready for the scourges now; do not reserve me for the eternal fire, do not reserve me for the outer darkness. While I am in this life, repay me for my sins, since you scourge every son whom you receive. I pray you, scourge me too, and do not reserve me with those who are not scourged, who are not in the troubles of men and are not scourged with men,” that is, who are utterly forsaken by you, whose amendment and correction you do not seek. Knowing, then, the difference between the sinner who is scourged by him who scourges every son whom he receives and the one who is not deemed worthy of scourges, he says to the Lord: “I am ready for the scourges”; that is, if you wish to bring sicknesses upon me, to send illnesses, I will bear them patiently. I know that I deserve to have my sins loosed not only through illnesses; I desire to be purged through every affliction, provided only that I am not reserved for eternal punishments and torments. If it pleases you to inflict losses, I endure them; if it pleases you that all my possessions perish, let them perish, provided only that my soul does not perish before you. If you wish to purge me through the death of those dear to me and of my kinsfolk, let them die too, so that they also … sons, while they are still children and in their tender years and not yet stained with the graver filth of sins. I am ready, then, to be corrected and beaten with every scourge, and I refuse none of them, provided only that I escape the torments of eternal fire. “For I am ready for the scourges, and my sorrow is ever before me.” I keep my sorrow before my eyes, so that I may make up for the future sorrows of punishment with present sorrows. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:17 (37:18 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:6: quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:5 (72:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 25:41: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 8:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s view that present afflictions purge sins and spare the sinner future punishment is translated as written. - The scan text is garbled in the sentence about the death of kinsfolk (marked …). Marginal references at the end of the section are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.5 (PG 12:1385b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-6 - Source: PG 12:1386a–1387a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Confession relieves the soul as vomiting relieves the stomach; one should choose a wise and merciful “physician” to confess to, who will judge whether public confession before the Church is needed; and no one should approach the Eucharist carelessly while conscious of sin. ### Latin text Quoniam iniquitatem meam pronuntio. Pronuntiationem iniquitatis, id est confessionem peccati, frequentius diximus. Vide ergo quid edocet nos Scriptura divina, quia Oportet peccatum non celare intrinsecus. Fortassis enim sicut ii qui habent in. tus inclusam escam indigestam, aut humoris vel pblegmatis stomacho graviter et moleste immanentis abundantiam, si vomuerint, releventur : ita etiam hi qui peccaverunt, si quidem occultant et retinent intra se peccatum, intrinsecus urgentur, et propemodum sulfocantur a pblegmate, vel huc more. peccati. Si autem ipse sui accusator flat, dum accusat semetipsum et confitetur, simul evomit et delictum, atque omnem morbi digerit causam. Tantummodo circumspice diligcntius, cui debeas confiteri peccalum Illum. Proba prius Inedicuin, cui debeas causam languoris exponere, qui sciat infirmari cum inlirmante, flere cum flente, qui condolendi et compaticndi noverit disciplinam: ut ita demmn si quid ille dixerit, qui se prius et eruditum medicum ostenderit et misericordem, si quid consilii dederit, facias, et sequaris, si intellexerit et praeviderit talem esse languorem tuum qui in conventu totius Ecclesiae exponi debeat et curari, ex quo fortassis et caeteri aedificari poterunt, et tu ipse facile sanari, multa hoc deliberatione, et satis perito medici illius consilio procurandum est. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego pronuntiabo, et cogitabo pro peccato meo.. Quicunque vestrum conscius sibi est in aliquo peccato, et ita securus est quasi nihil mali fecerit, commoveatur ex hoc Seriumne qui dicit : Cogitabo pro peccato meo. Bonum est eum qui delinquit non esse securum, nec velut qui nihil deliquerit, nullam sollicitudinem gerere, nec cegitare quomodo possit suum delere peccatum. Si in corpore tuo macula aliqua vel vulnus oriatur, aut ex collisione aliqua intumescat, sollicitus es et perquiris quid curm debeat adbiberi, quomodo corpori sanitas antiqua reddatur. Si circa oculos se aliquis acerbus lmmor infuderit, sollicitus es, et perquiris quomodo succurras et prae-venias carcitatem. Cum anima tua aegrotet, et peccatorum languoribus urgeatur, securus es, contemnis gehennam atque ignis aeterni supplicia de— Spicis et irrides? Judicium Dei parvipendis, et commonentem te Ecclesiam despicis? Communicare non times corpus Christi accedens ad Eucharistiam, quasi mundus et purus, quasi nihil in te sit indignum, etin bis oumibus putas quod eflugias judicium Dei? Non recordaris illud quod scriptum est “, quia Propterea in vobis infirmi, et azgri, et dormiunt multi? Quare multi infirmi? Quoniam non seipsos diiudicant, neque seipsos examinant, nec intelligunt quid est communicare Ecclesia}, \cl quid est accedere ad tanta et tam eximia sacramenta. l’atiuntur hoc quod febricitantes pati solent, cum sanorum cibos praesumunt, sibimetipsis inferentes his exitium. llmc de eo quod dictum est : Cogitaoo pro peccato meo. ### English translation (Claude) “For I declare my iniquity.” We have often spoken of the declaration of iniquity, that is, the confession of sin. See, then, what divine Scripture teaches us: that sin must not be concealed within. For perhaps, as those who have undigested food shut up inside them, or an abundance of humor or phlegm lying heavily and painfully on the stomach, are relieved if they vomit, so also those who have sinned, if they hide and keep the sin within themselves, are oppressed inwardly and almost choked by the phlegm or humor of sin. But if one becomes his own accuser, then, while he accuses himself and confesses, he at the same time vomits out the offense and disperses every cause of the disease. Only look around very carefully to whom you ought to confess your sin. Test first the physician to whom you should set out the cause of your illness, one who knows how to be weak with the weak and to weep with those who weep, who knows the discipline of grieving and suffering with others; so that then, if he says anything (he who has first shown himself both a skilled and a merciful physician), if he gives any counsel, you may do it and follow it. If he understands and foresees that your illness is such that it ought to be set out and cured in the assembly of the whole Church, by which perhaps the others too can be edified and you yourself more easily healed, this must be arranged with much deliberation and on the well-tried counsel of that physician. “For I will declare my iniquity, and I will be anxious for my sin.” Whoever of you is conscious of some sin, and is as carefree as if he had done nothing wrong, let him be moved by this saying: “I will be anxious for my sin.” It is good that one who sins should not be carefree, nor feel no anxiety as though he had committed no offense, nor fail to think how he can blot out his sin. If some spot or wound appears on your body, or it swells from some blow, you are anxious and inquire what treatment should be applied and how the body’s former health may be restored. If some bitter humor has spread around your eyes, you are anxious and inquire how to help and forestall blindness. When your soul is sick and oppressed by the illnesses of sins, are you carefree? Do you despise Gehenna, and scorn and laugh at the torments of eternal fire? Do you make little of the judgment of God, and despise the Church that admonishes you? Do you not fear to receive the body of Christ as you approach the Eucharist, as if you were clean and pure, as if there were nothing unworthy in you, and do you think that in all this you will escape the judgment of God? Do you not remember what is written: “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and many sleep”? Why are many weak? Because they do not judge themselves nor examine themselves, nor understand what it is to communicate with the Church, or what it is to approach such great and excellent sacraments. They suffer what the feverish usually suffer when they presume to take the food of the healthy, bringing destruction on themselves. So much on the words: “I will be anxious for my sin.” ### Scripture references - Ps 38:18 (37:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:29: allusion, high confidence - Rom 12:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:27–30: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s counsel to confess to a tested “physician,” who may advise confession before the whole Church, describes the penitential practice of his time; translated as written. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.6 (PG 12:1386a–1387a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-7 - Source: PG 12:1387a–1387b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Even when enemies prosper, the one who wishes to be saved keeps his attention on his own sin, and so has hope in God. ### Latin text Sequitur : Inimici autem mei vivunt, et con/irmati sunt super me. Ad quae omnia subsonare illud debet : Ego autent cogitabo pro peccato meo. Et quamvis videam, frequenter enim nos peccatores si videamus inimicos nostros viventes ausiores contristamur, et querelas adversus divinam providentiam fundimus. Qui autem salvari vult, ad bam omnia semper hoc sibi respondeat, etiamsi inimici mei vivunt, et confirmati sunt super me, ego tamen cogitabo pro peccato meo. Et quamvis νὶdcam me peccatorem esse, considerans tamen etiam caeterorum peccata quae. fortassis graviora sunt, videns quoque eos pro peccatis suis non esse sollicitos, comparans me illis qui omnino de gravissimis delictis suis nihil cogitant, et cogitans pro peccato meo, spem habeo in te. ### English translation (Claude) It follows: “But my enemies live, and have been made strong over me.” To all of this the reply must ring out: “But I will be anxious for my sin.” And although I see it (for we sinners, if we see our enemies living more prosperously, are often saddened and pour out complaints against divine providence), yet one who wishes to be saved should always answer himself in all these things: Even if my enemies live and have been made strong over me, I will still be anxious for my sin. And although I see that I am a sinner, yet considering also the sins of others, which are perhaps graver, and seeing too that they are not anxious for their sins, comparing myself with those who think nothing at all of their gravest offenses, and being anxious for my sin, I have hope in you. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:19 (37:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 38:18 (37:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - A Migne column number leaked into the scan text and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.7 (PG 12:1387a–1387b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-7). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-8 - Source: PG 12:1387b–1388a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: No one in this life escapes hatred, since even God and Christ are hated; what matters is to be hated unjustly, like the prophets and Christ, and not for one’s own sins. ### Latin text Et multiplicati sunt qui oderunt me inique. lntpossibile est in hac vita positum odio non haberi. Christus Jesus odio habitus est. Et quid dico impossibile est in hac vita positum odio non haberi? Deus ipse qui in hanc vitam non venit, odio habetur ab aliquibus. Si enim non haberetur odio, nequaquam diceretPrOpheta : Nonne odientes te, Domine , oderam , et super inimicos tuos tabescebam? Perfecto odio oderam illos. Marcionistte, et Basilides, et Valentini oderunt Deum, et verba ejus oderunt. Cum ergo Deus odio habeatur, etC Christus usque itt hodiernum diem a Judzeis anathema liat, cunt Spiritus sanctus qui in prophetis locutus est ab haereticis odio habeatur, tu vis odio non haberi, sed ab oumibus diligi et benedici? Vide ne te inveniat illa sententia quae dicit " : Va: cum benedixerint vobis omnes homines. Quin potius illud tantummodo observemus, ut et nos dicamus, quoniam multiplicati sunt qui oderant me inique. Opto cum odio habear , ut sciat conscientia mea qun niam injuste odium patior. 0dio habiti sunt etiam prophetae, sed injuste; odio habitus est Christuz, sed gratis. Si autem pro peccato meo odio habeor. non possunt dicere, quia multiplicati sunt qui oderunt me injuste. Juste enim odio habeor. si perosus l'uero propter inhonestos actus meos et turpes- Non possunt dicere, quia oderunt tne gratis. Atque utinam tanta confidentia dicere possimus et nos, quia multiplicati sunt qui oderunt me injuste. ### English translation (Claude) “And those who hate me wrongfully have been multiplied.” It is impossible for one placed in this life not to be hated. Christ Jesus was hated. And why do I say that it is impossible for one placed in this life not to be hated? God himself, who did not come into this life, is hated by some. For if he were not hated, the prophet would never say: “Did I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and pine away over your enemies? I hated them with a perfect hatred.” The Marcionites, Basilides, and Valentinus hate God, and they hate his words. Since, then, God is hated, and Christ is made anathema by the Jews to this very day, and the Holy Spirit who spoke in the prophets is hated by the heretics, do you want not to be hated but to be loved and blessed by all? Beware lest that sentence find you which says: “Woe to you when all people bless you.” Let us rather take care only of this, that we too may say: “For those who hate me wrongfully have been multiplied.” I wish, when I am hated, that my conscience may know that I suffer hatred unjustly. The prophets too were hated, but unjustly; Christ was hated, but without cause. But if I am hated for my sin, they cannot say, “Those who hate me wrongfully have been multiplied”; for I am justly hated if I have become loathed for my dishonorable and shameful acts. Such people cannot say, “They hated me without cause.” And would that we too could say with such confidence: “Those who hate me wrongfully have been multiplied.” ### Scripture references - Ps 38:19 (37:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 15:18: allusion, high confidence - Ps 139:21–22 (138:21-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:3: allusion, low confidence - Luke 6:26: quotation, high confidence - John 15:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - A block of short catena notes on Psalm 38 (39), printed by Migne as a separate work (Selecta in Psalmos), stands in the scan text in the middle of a sentence; it does not belong to this homily and is removed by a logged correction. - The statements about the Marcionites, Basilides, Valentinus, and the Jews are Origen’s own polemic, translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.8 (PG 12:1387b–1388a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-8). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-9 - Source: PG 12:1388a–1391a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Enemies hold the penitent’s past against him, but he prays that God, who departs from some and remains with others, will not forsake him but help him in the fight against invisible enemies. ### Latin text Qui retribuunt mihi mala pro bonis. Ego quidem bona cum eis agebam, illi vero obliti boaorunt meorum reddebant mala pro bonis, criininabantur me, quoniam sequebar justitiam. Criminantur me et exprobrant inimici mei pro iis si qua mihi aliquando commissa sunt, nec erubescunt mejustitiam subsequentem, nec dant veniam praeteritis malis pro praesentibus bonis. Verum tu, Domine, quoniam subsequebar iustitiam, ne derelinquas me, Domine Deus meus. Et hate vox confitentis est et misericordiam postulantis : Ne derelinquas me, Domine Deus meus, ne discesseris α me. In alio quidem psalmo dicit” : Spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me. In hoc dicit ad ipsum Deum : Ne discesseris a me. Ex quo ostenditur a quibusdam meritis suis discedere Deum, et apud alios pro suis meritis permanere. Infelix tamen homo ille a quo discesserit Deus, beatus autem est ille cum quo permanet Deus. Attende in adjutoriunt meum, Domine, Deus salutis mete. Et nos ergo oremus et dicamus : Attende in adjutoriunt meum quoniam grandis est pugna, et potentes sunt adversarii. lnfestus est hostis, invisibilis inimicus per istos visibiles impugnat. Attende ergo itt adjutorium nostrum, et adjuva nos per sanctum Filium tuunt' Dominum nostrum Jesum Chrismnt, per quem 0mnes nos redemisti, per quem tibi gloria et potestas itt saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) “Those who repay me evil for good.” I did them good, but they, forgetting my kindnesses, repaid evil for good, and accused me because I followed righteousness. My enemies accuse and reproach me for anything I may once have committed, and they do not blush at my now following righteousness, nor do they forgive past evils in view of present good. But you, Lord, since I followed righteousness, “do not forsake me, O Lord my God.” And this is the voice of one who confesses and asks for mercy: “Do not forsake me, O Lord my God; do not depart from me.” In another psalm he says: “Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” In this one he says to God himself: “Do not depart from me.” This shows that God departs from some because of their deserts, and remains with others because of theirs. Unhappy is the man from whom God has departed; but blessed is he with whom God remains. “Attend to my help, O Lord, God of my salvation.” Let us too, then, pray and say: “Attend to my help,” for great is the fight and mighty are the adversaries. The foe is hostile; the invisible enemy attacks us through these visible ones. Attend, then, to our help, and help us through your holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom you have redeemed us all, through whom be glory and power to you for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 38:20–22 (37:21-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 51:11 (50:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 7.9 (PG 12:1388a–1391a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/6-5/#p-7-9). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-1 - Source: PG 12:1391a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: As the people advanced, God added to the law further ordinances for the priests and Levites, recorded in 1 Chronicles; these earthly orders are a copy and shadow of the heavenly priesthood to come. ### Latin text Sicut unus homo prolicit secundum Deum,et studium sibi adhibens melior seipso edicitur, ita etiam populo universo accidebat. Propter quod et pso proliciente, etiam legis ei fiebat augmentum. Denique quomodo in lege scriptum est, prtecepta qumdam sacerdotibus sunt et Levitis de sacrificiis .czcterisque solemnibus : verum cum proliceret populus eo tempore quo iuerat ei virtus adhuc ptoliciendi, non stetit res in illo primo ordine, sed alligntae sunt illis eminentiores quaedam legislatioues secundo et tertio. Et si quis vult scire qum sunt ista quae de sacerdotibus ac Levitis adjecta sint, legat primum librum Paralipomenon , et patienter inspiciatomuem illum catalogum nominum, et inveniet ibi admirandum quemdam ordinem et distrio hutiouem tribuumpro suo quoque nomine et loco prmcipuum quid in solemni ordine esse sortitam. Sed et Levitas et sacerdotes inveniet diversis olliciis atque ordinibus distributos '° , ut alii quidem sint ad aperiendas januas templi praepositi, alii quibus claves creduntur , aliis sacrificiorum et altarium cura committitur. Et multa sunt quae ex illius libri historiapossumus dicere de sacerdotalibus institutis. Si quis ergo inspicere potestquo- .ntodo exemplari , et umbra: caelestium deserviunt Judzei ", ascendat ab inferiori verbi crepidine ad summa ejus ac superiora fastigia , et contempletur ex iis futuri sacerdotii statum et electionem illam caelestem, atque inibi contemplabitur qui sunt isti ε ordines sacerdotales, vel quae sint officia Levitarum quae in caelestibus ministeriis exhibentur , et omnia in caelis mente conjiciet, quae deposita vidit in terris. Erit enim et ibi populus, et ex populo Dei electi Levitae,et ex his rursum electi et eximii sacerdotes, et sacerdotum nihilominus dill‘ercntiae quamplurima: sicut in primo libro Paralipomenon indicatur viginti quatuor esse ordines sacerdotum , alios quidem sub Eleazaro, alios vero sub principe Ithamar, quorum et Ephemerite esse dicuntur. ### English translation (Claude) As one person advances according to God and, by applying zeal to himself, becomes better than he was, so it happened also to the whole people. For this reason, as the people advanced, the law too was increased for them. Thus, as is written in the law, certain precepts were given to the priests and Levites concerning sacrifices and the other solemn rites; but when the people advanced, at the time when they still had the strength to advance, things did not remain in that first order, but certain more eminent ordinances were added for them a second and a third time. And if anyone wishes to know what these additions concerning the priests and Levites are, let him read the first book of Chronicles and look patiently at that whole catalogue of names, and he will find there a wonderful order and distribution of the tribes, each allotted some special part in the solemn order according to its name and place. He will also find the Levites and priests distributed among different offices and orders, so that some are appointed to open the doors of the temple, others are entrusted with the keys, and to others the care of the sacrifices and altars is committed. And there are many things we could say about the priestly institutions from the history of that book. If, then, anyone can see how the Jews serve a copy and shadow of heavenly things, let him ascend from the lowest step of the word to its highest summits, and contemplate from these the state of the future priesthood and that heavenly election; and there he will contemplate who these priestly orders are and what the offices of the Levites are that are performed in the heavenly ministries, and he will infer in his mind that all the things he saw laid down on earth exist in heaven. For there too there will be a people, and from the people of God chosen Levites, and from these again chosen and outstanding priests, and among the priests, likewise, very many differences, as the first book of Chronicles indicates that there are twenty-four orders of priests, some under Eleazar and others under the leader Ithamar, of whom also the “daily courses” are spoken of. ### Scripture references - 1 Chr 6:1–81: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Chr 9:17–32: allusion, high confidence - 1 Chr 23:1–32: allusion, high confidence - Heb 8:5: allusion, high confidence - 1 Chr 24:1–19: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “First book of Chronicles” translates the Latin Paralipomenon. “Daily courses” (ephemerides) are the rotating divisions of priests (1 Chr 24; Luke 1:5, 8). - Origen’s view that the priestly and Levitical orders on earth reflect orders in the heavenly ministry is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.1 (PG 12:1391a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-2 - Source: PG 12:1391a–1392a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The title “for Jeduthun” refers to one of the Levites appointed to sing God’s hymns; David composed the psalm and gave it to him to sing, and “to the end” corresponds to “for the victor” in other Greek versions. ### Latin text Sed dicat aliquis fortassis auditorum: Quid haec pertinent ad psalmum? Plurimum. Nam superscriptio est hujus psalmi. In finem pro ldithum psalmus David. Hunc ldithum invenimus ttnmn esse ex his quibus hymnorum studium Dei ac sollicitudo commissa est. Oportuit ergo nos invenientes hoc nomen psalmi superscripti, ostendere quis fuerit iste ldithum , et quomodo postprimam legem, secunda facta sit de observationibus sacerdotalibus ordinatio. Apud Graecos quicunque carmina, vel sonos musicos conscribebant, quibus eis visum fuisset in agone ea canenda prmstabant: et fiebat ttt alius quidem coronaretur iu agone, alius autem victori conscriberet carmen. lu Psalmis ergo divinae Scripturae quicunque superscripti secundum Septuagintainterpretes , in finem, apud alios victoriales, vel ad victoriam, vel victori attitulantur , pro eo videlicet quod velut victoriae laus in ipsis inferatur. Fecit ergo David divino Spiritu repletus psalmum hunc , et dedit ldithum , cui officium canandi Deo hymnos fuerat iniunctum, tanquam pollenti in hujusmodi disciplina. Et ideo ergo superscribitur: ln finem pro ldithum psalmus David. ### English translation (Claude) But perhaps one of the hearers will say: “What do these things have to do with the psalm?” A great deal. For the title of this psalm is: “To the end, for Jeduthun, a psalm of David.” This Jeduthun, we find, was one of those to whom the zeal and care for the hymns of God was entrusted. Finding this name in the title of the psalm, then, we had to show who this Jeduthun was, and how after the first law a second ordinance was made concerning the priestly observances. Among the Greeks, those who composed songs or musical tunes provided them to whomever they thought fit to sing them in a contest; and so it happened that one man was crowned in the contest while another wrote the song for the victor. In the Psalms of divine Scripture, then, those that are entitled “To the end” according to the Seventy translators are entitled in other versions “victory songs,” or “for victory,” or “for the victor,” because the praise, as it were, of victory is offered in them. David, then, filled with the divine Spirit, composed this psalm and gave it to Jeduthun, to whom the office of singing hymns to God had been assigned, as to one strong in that skill. And so it is entitled: “To the end, for Jeduthun, a psalm of David.” ### Scripture references - 1 Chr 16:41–42: allusion, high confidence - 1 Chr 25:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s Psalm 38 is Psalm 39 in the English Bible. “Jeduthun” is Idithun in the Latin; he is named among the temple singers in 1 Chr 16:41–42 and 25:1. - “Other versions” are the later Greek translations (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion), whose renderings of the heading Origen compares with the Septuagint. - A heading leaked into the scan text and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.2 (PG 12:1391a–1392a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-3 - Source: PG 12:1392a–1393a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The righteous man guards his ways by guarding his tongue, since we must give account even for idle words; weighing each word before speaking shuts out anger and makes speech gracious and healing. ### Latin text Sed nunc jam videamus quid vox proferat justi, et videntes tanquam in speculo nosmetipsos intueamur si possimus tales esse, aut si multum nobis deest, aut certe jam proximi sumus, licet nondum plene assecuti sumus. Quoniam igitur multorum peccatorum initium humanus est sermo, et os nostrum multis malis ministrat, et valde difficile est inveniri hominem , qui una saltem hora os suum et linguam suam observet a peccato , ait: Dixi:Custodiam vias meas, ut non peccem in lingua mea. Mihi ipsi dixi , et intra me locutus sum , ct haec addidi : Sic volo servare vias meas, ut non peccem , hoc modo servare possum si custodiam linguam meam. Ea: verbis enim, inquit” , tuis iustificaberis , et ex verbis tuis condemnaberis. Et iterum ”: Amen dico vobis, de omni otioso verbo reddetis rationem in die judicii. Non solum, inquit, de eo quod tnale locuti fueritis, sed quod Otiose locuti fueritis , quia malus sermo non est otiosus, operatur enim opus malum. Otiosus autem sermo est qui neque boni neque mali aliquid agit. Si ergo in die judicii rationem reddemus, non solum pro malis verbis , sed etiam pro otiosis, quis gloriabitur castum se habere cor? Aut quis conlidit dicensflllundus sum a peccato? Verumtamen ait justus: Dixi :Custodiam vias meas ut non peccem in lingua mea. Posui ori meo custodiam. Alibi qnidem scriptuntest“:Omnicustodiaserva cor tuum, hic autem : Ροδαὶ ori meo custodiam. Et iterum alibi scriptum est ; Vide, circumduc sepem spinarum circa possessionem tuam. Et iterum 3’: Pecuniam luant et aurum tuum alliga, et ori tuo facito ostium et seram , et verbis tuis jugum et stateram. Ego arbitror quod observatio horum mandatorum observantem et mansuetum faciat et beatum, non solum rerum exitus, verum etiam ipsa observantia. Dum enim semper observat os suum, et linguam custodit, ne prius sermonem proferat quam discutiat, et pertractet apud semetipsum si oporteat dici, si sermo talis est qui debeat proferri, si persona talis cst quae aut debeat, aut possit audire, si tempus opportunum est proferendi sermonis: dum singula ista perpendit, excluditur omnis iracundia et timor, ct inconsulti furoris impetus mitigatur , atque omnem pcnitus deliberationem talis abscindit; et ita demum velut ex tranquillitate quadam et convicti animi per mansuetudinem sermo procedens, prefercntibus gratiam priestat et audientibus medicinam. ### English translation (Claude) But now let us see what the voice of the righteous man utters, and as we see it, let us look at ourselves as in a mirror, to see whether we can be such, whether much is lacking to us, or whether we are already near, though we have not yet fully attained. Since, then, human speech is the beginning of many sins, and our mouth serves many evils, and it is very hard to find a person who keeps his mouth and tongue from sin even for a single hour, he says: “I said, I will guard my ways, so that I may not sin with my tongue.” I said to myself, I spoke within myself, and I added this: “This is how I wish to keep my ways so as not to sin; and I can keep them in this way, if I guard my tongue.” “For by your words,” it says, “you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” And again: “Truly I say to you, for every idle word you will give account on the day of judgment.” Not only, he says, for what you have spoken wickedly, but for what you have spoken idly; for a wicked word is not idle, since it does an evil work. An idle word is one that does neither good nor evil. If, then, on the day of judgment we shall give account not only for wicked words but also for idle ones, who will boast that he has a pure heart? Or who will confidently say, “I am clean from sin”? Yet the righteous man says: “I said, I will guard my ways, so that I may not sin with my tongue. I set a guard on my mouth.” Elsewhere it is written, “Keep your heart with all vigilance,” but here: “I set a guard on my mouth.” And again elsewhere it is written: “See, put a hedge of thorns around your property.” And again: “Bind up your money and your gold, and make a door and a bolt for your mouth, and a yoke and a balance for your words.” I think that the observance of these commandments makes the one who keeps them both gentle and blessed, not only in its results but in the very observance. For while he always watches his mouth and guards his tongue, so as not to utter a word before he has examined and weighed within himself whether it ought to be said, whether the word is such as should be uttered, whether the person is such as ought to or can hear it, and whether the time is right for uttering the word: while he weighs each of these, all anger and fear are shut out, the onset of thoughtless fury is calmed, and such a person cuts off all rashness entirely. And so at last the word, proceeding as from a kind of tranquility and from a mind subdued by gentleness, brings grace to those who speak it and healing to those who hear it. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:1 (38:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 12:37: quotation, high confidence - Matt 12:36: quotation, high confidence - Prov 20:9: quotation, high confidence - Prov 4:23: quotation, high confidence - Jas 3:2: echo, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 28:24-25 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “A hedge of thorns” and “a door and a bolt for your mouth” are Sir 28:24–25. - “Cuts off all rashness” translates by sense a doubtful phrase in the scan (omnem penitus deliberationem talis abscindit). - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction; the last word (medicinam) is restored from a garbled form. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.3 (PG 12:1392a–1393a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-4 - Source: PG 12:1393a–1394a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Three degrees of response to insult: the small repay in kind, the advancing keep silent “even from good things,” and the perfect bless those who curse them, as Paul did. ### Latin text Verum quoniam in illo maxime tempore peccamus, quando peccator consistit adversum nos, instigans et provocans ut aliquid tale emittamus ex ore, in quo rei teneamur in futuro judicio, hoc describens sanctus Propheta dicit: Dum constitit peccator adversum me , obmutui et humilitatus sum et silui a bonis. Si quando peccator astitit adver- ρ sum me et loquebatur de me male, et obtrectabat atque irritabat me ut similia ei redderem, et paria de meo ore proferrem , ego in illo tempore silentium meditabar , ut nihil penitus reSponderem. Propterea ergo dicit: Dum constitit peccator adversum me, obmutui et humilitatus sum et silui a bonis. Nos vero aliquando si nolumus humiliari, alia cogitamus et dicimus apud nosmetipsos: Quid hoc est? Iste me contemptui habuit et ausus est talia in os ingerere, et ita adversum me movere sermonem, nonne et ego huic similia , aut etiam graviora inferam , ut et ipse audiat pejora quam dixit? Sed justus non ita agit, quin potius humiliat se , etiamsi scrvus sit ille qui obtrectat ct convicia ingerit, aut si humilis et peccator sit et indignus. Ille dicit: ι) Dum constitit peccator adversum me, obmutui et humiliatus sum et silui a bonis. Non dixit : et silui tantummodo , sed a bonis silui; in quo ostendit quod cum sint in me bona, et edoctus atque institutus sint bonis dogmatibus atque disciplinis , et possint etiam caeteros docere quae bona sunt, tamen in eo tempore quo peccator assistit adversum me et conviciis lacessit ac iurgiis , ego etiam bona verba mea coitich et reprimo : ne vel illi ignem sua: perditionis inllammcm , dum non p0test pariter parere rnalis, et conspicere bona , vel sermonum meorum faciam detrimentum. Quid ergo? IIoc videbitur pcrlectum esse quod dicit: Dum constitit peccator ndversum me , obmutui et humiliatus sum et silui η bonis? aut profectus quidem est, nondum tamen pcrlectio. Tria namque in hoc loco de Scripturis puto posse assignari, in quo dicit stare peccatorem adversum se, et loqui in auribus suis ea quibus irritari et exacerbari possit ad retribuendum. Et si quidem ego parvus sum, similia, et oculum pro oculo requiro, dentem pro dente , et maledicta pro maledictis repono. Si vero jam aliquantum profeci, nondum tamen perfectus sum , et taceo ct fero convicia patienter, nec quidquam omnino respondeo. Si vero sim perfectus, non taceo, sed cum maledicor, benedico , sicut et Paulus dicebat ς Maledicimur et benedicimus, persecutionem patimur et sustinemus, blasphemati deprecamur. Et quoniam qui hmo agunt, id est, qui pro maledictionibus benedictiones reddunt , qui pro blasphemiis deprecantur, videntur hominibus vel ut pecudes et purgamenta, tanquam qui sensum injuria: non habent, propterea ergo addidit dicens ’δε Tanquam purgamenta huius mundi facti sumus omnium peripsema. Sed nos no. Iumus cum apostolis purgamenta hujus mundi lleri, sed volumus non contemni ab hominibus, imo potius et timeri, et satis agimus reddere his qui laedunt, ct prmvenire vindictam quant sibi Dominus reservavit dicens" : Mihi vindicta , ego retribuam, dicit Dominus. Verum si non possumus in tantum pro. licere , et ad istud culmen veritatis ascendere, ut dicamus cum Paulo: Haledicimur et benedicimus, persecutionem patimur et sustinemus, blasphemati deprecamur, vel hoc quod adhuc per Prophetam docemur, dicamus: Dum constitit peccator adversum me, obmutui et humiliatus sum , et silui a bonis. ### English translation (Claude) But since we sin most at the time when a sinner stands against us, goading and provoking us to let something fall from our mouth for which we would be held guilty at the future judgment, the holy prophet describes this and says: “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things.” Whenever a sinner stood against me and spoke ill of me, disparaged me, and irritated me so that I might pay him back in kind and bring forth similar things from my mouth, I at that time practiced silence, so as to answer nothing at all. Therefore he says: “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things.” We, however, sometimes, if we do not want to be humbled, think otherwise and say within ourselves: “What is this? This man has treated me with contempt and dared to throw such things in my face and stir up such talk against me; shall I not bring similar or even graver things against him, so that he too may hear worse than he said?” But the righteous man does not act so; rather he humbles himself, even if the one who disparages him and hurls insults is a slave, or lowly, a sinner, and unworthy. He says: “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things.” He did not say only, “and I kept silent,” but, “I kept silent from good things.” By this he shows that, though there are good things in me, though I have been taught and trained in good doctrines and disciplines and could teach others too what is good, yet at the time when the sinner stands against me and harasses me with insults and quarrels, I restrain and check even my good words, lest I either kindle in him the fire of his own perdition, since he cannot at one and the same time bring forth evil and behold good, or cause loss to my words. What, then? Will what he says, “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things,” seem to be perfection? Or is it progress, but not yet perfection? For I think that three degrees can be assigned from the Scriptures in this place, where he says that the sinner stands against him and speaks in his ears things by which he could be irritated and embittered into retaliating. If I am small, I return the like: I demand eye for eye and tooth for tooth, and pay back curses for curses. If I have already advanced somewhat, but am not yet perfect, I keep silent and bear the insults patiently, and answer nothing at all. But if I am perfect, I do not keep silent, but when I am cursed I bless, as Paul too said: “We are cursed and we bless, we suffer persecution and endure, we are blasphemed and we entreat.” And since those who do this, that is, who return blessings for curses and entreat for blasphemies, seem to people like cattle and refuse, as if they had no sense of injury, he therefore added: “We have become like the refuse of this world, the offscouring of all.” But we do not want to become with the apostles the refuse of this world; we want not to be despised by people, indeed rather to be feared, and we take pains to repay those who harm us and to forestall the vengeance which the Lord reserved to himself when he said: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” But if we cannot advance so far and climb to that summit of truth, so as to say with Paul, “We are cursed and we bless, we suffer persecution and endure, we are blasphemed and we entreat,” let us at least say what we are still taught through the prophet: “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:1–2 (38:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:38: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 3:9: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:12–13: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:19: quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.4 (PG 12:1393a–1394a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-5 - Source: PG 12:1394a–1395b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Like athletes, the perfect feel no pain at insults, imitating the impassible God, while those still advancing feel the old wound reopened, yet hold their tongue. ### Latin text Et quid addidit his? Et dolor, inquit, meus renovatus est. Ili qui in agonis certamine mutuis inter sc verberibus agunt, in his semper prmparare conantur, ut illata sibi ab adversariis verbera fortiter ferant, nec sensum doloris accipiant, et est cis summa virtus: lacertorum ictus vel calcium absque dolore suscipere. In quibus ille est perfectior, qui ad ictum vulneris , nullum recipit stimulum doloris. Secundus vero est is qui dolet quidem, sed ncquaquam doloribus cedit. Tale aliquid intellige etiam in nobis, cum maledicinntr, et assistit adversum nos antagonista, si quidem bene instituti sumus, et animo longa meditatione roborati, in nullo penitus ex illatis maledictis vel conviciis contristamur, sed sumus pro nimia mentis constantia ac patientia velut sensu doloris carentes , et per multant mansuetudinem , ut audeam ita nominare, velut imitatores clIicitnur quodammodo Dei: Deus enim maledicitur ab htereticis, blasphematur ab his qui providentiam ejus negant , culpatur ab his qui thesauros sapientia: ejus ignorant: ct dic mihi, nunquid potes hoc cogitare , quod pro his erunibus injuriis doleat quidem Deus, sed patiatur sicut … An tanquam divina natura per impassibilitatem, neque. sensus doloris ullatenus recipit, neque ullis aut injuriis, aut conviciis excitatur? Talis ergo erit, imo imitabitur talem omnis perfectus ct justus, qualis erat ille qui dicebat: Maledirimur et benedicimus. persecutionem patimur et sustinemus, blasphemati deprecamur. Qui autem nondum est perfectus, prolicit tamen, cum maledicitur obmutescit et humiliatnr et silet a bonis. Sed iste qui huiusmodi est dolet et dicit: Et dolor meus renovatus est. Describe mihi vulnus quod cnratur, et curam ejus proficientem et jam proximam cicatrici : tum deinde in ipso vulnere quod jam cmperat obducere cicatricem, intuere aliud vulnus infligi, et per hoc vulnus recens, illud pristinum renovare. Tale etiam evenit huic qui prolicit, sed nondum perlectus est, nec jam ad summam perductus est sanitatem. Si ergo dum adhuc in tenero est cutis, accedant ei maledictorum et conviciorum vulnera,renovatur dolor, et parantur angustim, et tunc merito dicit: Dum constitit peccator adversum me, obmutui et humiliatus stmt, et siluia . bonis, et dolor meus renovatus est. Vide ergo quomodo is qui in certamine positus est, qui se refrenare cupit ab iracundia vel furore, et dum ipse lucc apud se meditatur, et irritatio ei supervenit peccatoris, quae eum conturbet quidem et fatiget, non tamen vincat, sed quamvis provocetur et inflammatur ad respondendum, remordens tamen dolorem suum cohibeat et reprimat, hic dicit: Do- ο Ior meus renovatus est. Pro eo quod scilicet jam proficiebam, et jam me ad sanitatem pervenisse credebam, antequam exacerbarer, ct antequam conviciis lacesscrcr; sed modo rescinditur vulnus meum , et maledicti mucronibus renovatur, dum injuriae dolor patientiam rumpit. ### English translation (Claude) And what did he add to these words? “And my sorrow,” he says, “was renewed.” Those who in athletic contests strike blows at one another always try to train themselves to bear bravely the blows their opponents inflict and not to feel the pain; and their highest excellence is to take the strokes of arms or heels without pain. Among them, the more perfect is the one who at the stroke of a wound feels no sting of pain; second is the one who feels pain but by no means yields to it. Understand something of this kind in us too. When we are cursed, and an opponent stands against us, if we are well trained and our mind has been strengthened by long meditation, we are not saddened at all by the curses or insults inflicted on us, but through great constancy of mind and patience we are, as it were, without the sense of pain; and through much gentleness, if I may dare to call it so, we become in a way imitators of God. For God is cursed by the heretics, blasphemed by those who deny his providence, blamed by those who do not know the treasures of his wisdom. Tell me, can you think that for all these injuries God feels pain, but endures it as …? Or rather that the divine nature, being impassible, neither receives any sense of pain at all nor is stirred by any injuries or insults? Such, then, will every perfect and righteous person be, or rather he will imitate such a one, as he was who said: “We are cursed and we bless, we suffer persecution and endure, we are blasphemed and we entreat.” But the one who is not yet perfect, yet is advancing, when he is cursed becomes dumb, is humbled, and keeps silent from good things. Such a one, however, feels pain and says: “And my sorrow was renewed.” Picture a wound that is being treated, its treatment advancing and already near to scarring; then, in the very wound which had begun to form a scar, see another wound inflicted, and through this fresh wound the former one renewed. Something like this happens to the one who is advancing but not yet perfect, and not yet brought to complete health. If, then, while the skin is still tender, the wounds of curses and insults come upon it, the pain is renewed and distress is in store, and then he rightly says: “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things, and my sorrow was renewed.” See, then, how the one placed in the contest, who wishes to restrain himself from anger and fury, says, “My sorrow was renewed,” when, while he is meditating on these things, the provocation of the sinner comes upon him, which troubles and wearies him but does not conquer him; for though he is provoked and inflamed to answer, he bites back his pain, checks it, and represses it. That is: because I was already advancing, and believed I had already come to health before I was embittered and harassed with insults; but now my wound is torn open and renewed by the sharp points of curses, while the pain of injury breaks my patience. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:2 (38:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:1: allusion, medium confidence - Col 2:3: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 4:12–13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s statement that the divine nature is impassible and feels no pain at injuries is translated as written. - Words are lost in the scan in the question about God (marked …), where marginal references leaked into the text; these are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.5 (PG 12:1394a–1395b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-6 - Source: PG 12:1395b–1396a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The one still advancing feels his heart grow hot at insults but cools it by silence. ### Latin text In consequentibus adhuc amplius passionem describit ejus qui prolicit. cum dicit:Concaluit cur nteant intra me. Cum enim audit quis maleloquentis et detrahentis vocem, non potest sine dolore,sicut ille qui perfectus est, qui jam diuturna constantia beatitudinem meruit: sed iste dolet et dolens corde cnnealescente fervet intra se ac perturbatur, sed non eo usque, ut et sermonem proferat corde turbato, verum concalescit quidem in interioribus suis rei indignitate permotus, sed caloris sui flammas per silentium decoquit. ### English translation (Claude) In what follows he describes still more fully the passion of the one who is advancing, when he says: “My heart grew hot within me.” For when someone hears the voice of one who speaks ill of him and disparages him, he cannot hear it without pain, as the perfect man can, who by long constancy has already merited blessedness. This one feels pain, and as he feels it his heart grows hot; he boils within himself and is troubled, yet not so far as to utter a word with a troubled heart. He grows hot in his inner parts, moved by the indignity of the thing, but he cools the flames of his heat by silence. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:3 (38:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.6 (PG 12:1395b–1396a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-7 - Source: PG 12:1396a–1397a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The word of God should kindle a fire in the meditation of the one who studies it, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus, Jeremiah, and the apostles at Pentecost, burning away sin through repentance and then becoming a light. ### Latin text Videamus etiam alium sermonem justi, quem et summo studio debemus aenmlari. Et in meditatione mea exardescet ignis. Et ego meditor eloquia Domini,et frequenter in ipsis me exerceo, sed nescio si talis sum, ut in meditatione mea ex unoquoque sermone Dei ignis procedat, et accendat cor meum, et inflammet animam ad ea qua meditor observanda. Et ego nunc loquor sermones Dei, sed optarem ut primo in meo corde, secundo quoque in auditorum mentibus exardeseerent ; sicut erant illi sermones quos loquebatur Jesus, de quibus dicebant illi qui audierant“ : Nonne cor nostrum erat ardens in nobis cum in uia aperiret nobis Scripturas? Utinam et nunc adaperieutibus nobis Scripturas divinas concalesceret cor nostrum intra nos, et iu meditatione nostra accenderetur ignls, et concitaremur in opus eorum quae audimus et legimus. Tales denique erant et Jeremim sermones. secundum quod scriptum est, cum dici: ad eum Dominus : Ecce dedi sermones meos retrorsum in os tuum ignem. Quare ignem? Quia sermones quos loquebatur accendebant auditores, et nihil tepidum in eis neque frigidum permanebat : sed sicut ignis consumit ac interimit omnem materiam, nec-immundum aliquid in se recipit, ant pollutum ; ita et hi quorum cor divini verbi ignis accenderit, non patientur ultra materialibus et mundanis sordibus pollui, nihil in se tepidum recipient, et quod evomi dignum sit, nec patientur multiplicata in se iniquitate refrigescere charitatem: sed erunt semper lampades eorum accensze, et lucernae ardentes, et ipsi parati tanquam servi exspectantes dominum suum de nuptiis redeuntem. Aut non iste erat ignis ille de quo Salvator noster dicebat ’δε Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut ardeat? Iste procul dubio ignis est qui frigus peccati fugat, et calorem spiritus revocat. Hoc nimirum cst etiam quod in Actibus apostolorum refertur”, cum dicit quia visa: sunt eis divisa: linguae sicut ignis, el. consedisse super apostolos, pro eo scilicet quod Evangelii verbum prtedicaturi et ignei vigoris deberent gratia roborari, ut auditorum animae fiammam per sermonis traducem sumerent. Sed unde mihi hoc ut lingure ignis veniatin cor meum, et de lingua ignea ego quoque proferam sermonem, ut ex me velox sermonibus meis accendatur ignis in cordibus auditorum, et arguat eum qui peccavit, et etIieiatur ei sermo meus supplicium, ut adustus et inflammatus sermonibus meis veniat in paenitentiam, quae salutem stabilem operatur ex tristitia quae secundum Deum est, quam ex verbi Dei increpatione suscepit? Atque utinam possim ita accendere omnem animam auditorum, ut quicunque sibi conscius est, non ferens nostri sermonis incendium, sed omnibus intra se visceribus inflammatus, velocius consumeret latentes intrinsecus vitiorum sordes: ut posteaquam interemisset onme quidquid carnis et materiae crassioris proprium est et anticum, tunc jam ignis iste fieret in eo lux et lucerna ardens : quae non sub modio, sed super candelabrum poni deberet, ut illuminaret omnes qui in domo sunt“. Si ergo accendit te sermo auditus, et intellexisti quid dixit Aposto- Ius “ : Et quis est qui me thificel, nisi qui contristatur ea: me? Quoniam verba ipsius erant ignis, et laetabatur Apostolus sicubi videbat aliquem audito sermone suo contristatum et compunctum ex his quae audierat, quodam conscientiae sua: igne succensum ex recordatione delicti, propterea dicebat : Et quis est qui me la’ti/icet, nisi qui contristatur ea: me? Ita ergo et nos satisagamus ut in meditationibus nostris accendatur ignis, qui nos primo exurat, et recordatione et conscientia peccao torum, postea vero expurgatos jam vitiis illuminet et illustret. ### English translation (Claude) Let us look also at another saying of the righteous man, which we ought to emulate with the greatest zeal. “And in my meditation a fire will blaze up.” I too meditate on the words of the Lord and often exercise myself in them; but I do not know whether I am such that in my meditation fire comes forth from each word of God, kindles my heart, and inflames my soul to observe what I meditate on. I too am now speaking the words of God, but I would wish them to blaze first in my own heart, and second in the minds of my hearers, as did the words which Jesus spoke, of which those who had heard them said: “Was not our heart burning within us while he opened the Scriptures to us on the way?” Would that now too, as we open the divine Scriptures, our heart might grow hot within us, and a fire be kindled in our meditation, and we be roused to do what we hear and read! Such, too, were the words of Jeremiah, according to what is written when the Lord says to him: “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth as fire.” Why fire? Because the words he spoke set the hearers alight, and nothing lukewarm or cold remained in them. As fire consumes and destroys all matter and receives nothing unclean or polluted into itself, so those whose hearts the fire of the divine word has kindled will no longer allow themselves to be polluted by material and worldly filth. They will receive into themselves nothing lukewarm that deserves to be vomited out, nor will they allow love to grow cold in them through the multiplying of iniquity; but their lamps will always be lit and burning, and they themselves ready, like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding. Or was this not the fire of which our Savior said: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and what do I wish but that it be kindled?” This is without doubt the fire that drives away the cold of sin and calls back the warmth of the spirit. This is surely also what is related in the Acts of the Apostles, when it says that divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested upon the apostles: because, being about to preach the word of the Gospel, they had to be strengthened by the grace of fiery vigor, so that the souls of their hearers might catch the flame passed on by the word. But how may this be granted to me, that a tongue of fire should come into my heart, and that I too may bring forth a word from a fiery tongue, so that through my words a swift fire may be kindled from me in the hearts of my hearers, convicting the one who has sinned, so that my word becomes a punishment to him, and he, burned and inflamed by my words, comes to repentance, which works a lasting salvation out of the sorrow that is according to God, the sorrow he has received from the rebuke of the word of God? And would that I could so kindle every soul among my hearers that whoever is conscious of anything, unable to bear the burning of our word and inflamed in all his inmost parts, might more quickly consume the hidden filth of vices within; so that, after it had destroyed all that is proper to the flesh and to coarser matter, all that is old, this fire might then become in him a light and a burning lamp, which ought to be set not under a bushel but on a lampstand, to give light to all who are in the house. If, then, the word you have heard kindles you, you have understood what the Apostle said: “And who is it that makes me glad, but the one who is grieved by me?” Since his words were fire, and the Apostle rejoiced whenever he saw someone grieved by hearing his word, pricked by what he had heard, and set alight by a kind of fire of conscience at the remembrance of his offense, he said: “And who is it that makes me glad, but the one who is grieved by me?” So let us too take pains that a fire may be kindled in our meditations, which may first burn us with the remembrance and consciousness of our sins, and afterward, when we have been purged of our vices, enlighten and illumine us. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:3 (38:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 24:32: quotation, high confidence - Jer 5:14: quotation, high confidence - Rev 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Matt 24:12: allusion, high confidence - Luke 12:35–36: allusion, high confidence - Luke 12:49: quotation, high confidence - Acts 2:3: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 7:10: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:15: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:2: quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.7 (PG 12:1396a–1397a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-7). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-8 - Source: PG 12:1397a–1399a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The prophet asks to know his “end,” the goal of human life (completed with God in heaven), and the number of his days, which are not years of this life but the days of a soul’s journey and the days made in the heart by Christ, the sun of righteousness. ### Latin text Locutus sum, inquit, in lingua mea". Quid locutus sit in lingua sua, consideremus : videtur enim mihi per hrec mysticum aliquid indicare. Ait ergo:Notum fac mihi, Domine, finem meum, et numerum dierum meorum quis est, ut sciam quid desit mihi. Si, inquit, notum feceris tinem meum mihi, et quantus sit numerus diermn meorum notum feceris mihi, potero per haec etiam illud agnoscere, qttid desit mihi. Aut forte per haec etiam illud videbitur indicari, quia sicut omnis artis est aliquis finis, verbi gratia structionis linis, domum facere, naupagii, navem construere quae possit ιιυctus maris superare et ferre impetus ventorum, et uniuscujusque artis est aliquis talis finis, prepter quem ars ipsa videtur reperta: ita fortassis. est vitae nostra: vel totius tuundi finis quidam, propter quem geruntur omnia quae geruntur in vita nostra, vel propter quem mundus ipse vel institutus est vel constat. Cujus finis etiam Apostolus meminit dicens δ’ : Deinde finis cum tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri. Ad quem linem utique festinandum est, ιιι sit opera: pretium hoc ipsum quod a Deo creati sumus. Et rursus, sicut corporis nostri compago parva quaedam et exigua ab initio nativitatis, confestim tamen urget et tendit ad tinem quemdam proceritatis sua: per aetatis augmenta, et iterum. sicut anima nostra secundum hoc quod in corpore hoc degit, festinat primo loquelam recipere balbutientem, secundo deinde clariorem, tum demum ad disputationem perfectam atque integram pervenire: hoc modo etiam omnis vita nostra imbuitur quidem nunc velut balbutiens inter homines in terris : consummatur vero et ad summum pervenit in ctelestibus apud Deum. Cupit ergo propheta ista de causa agnoscere finem suum propter quem factus est, ut intuens finem et dies suos perSpiciens et considerans perfectionem, videat quantum sibi dcest ad illum finem quo tendit. Verbi gratia, ut si ponamus aliquem artificio traditum, et hunc dicere ad magistrum suum,Vo|o scire quae sit artis hujus perfectio, et nosse qui sit faber perfectus vel structur: etcum hoc didicerit, requirat quantum sibi deest ab illa perfectione, vel quantum profecerit in artis disciplina, ut cum utrumque cognoverit, sciat quid habeat, et quid perfectioni desit agnoscat; ita etiam et nunc propheta orata Deo discere ut innotescat sibi linis, et numerus dierum suorum qui sit. In quo non est putandum quod de corporali tempore et annis hujus vitae loquatur, sed omnem numerum dierum Scire vult, qui fuerit in prima vita, qui fuerit in secundo incolatu, qui in tertio. Multum enim, inquit“, incola fuit anima mea. Velut si dicerent illi qui exierunt ex Egypto : Nolunt {ac mihi, Domine, finem meum“, qua! est terra bona et terra sancta, et numerum dierum meorum in quibus ambulo, ut sciam quid desit mihi, quautum restat usquequo perveniam ad terram sanctam repromissionis: ita et hic vult nosse numerum dierum in quibus iter agit. Habemus enim dies quosdam quidem in hoc mundo, quosdam autem et extra hunc mundum. Alium enim facit diem solis iste cursus nostri hujus coeli spatiis terminatus, alium habet diem ille qui ad secundi cmli pervenire meretur ascensum. Multo enim clariorem diem ducit ille qui usque ad tertium etelum vel rapi vel pervenire potuerit, ubi non solum ittefl'abilc luo men inveniet, verum etiam verba quae homini ιυqui non liceat, audiet. Novi et alios dies, quorum numerum fortassis propheta merito requirit..Nant sicut in hoc cmlo sol exortus et universum mundum illustrans diem facit: ita et in corde justi, quod pro constantia et firmitate Dei firmamentum merito appellatur, si exoriatur sol iustitia: Jesus Christus Dominus noster, et illuminet eum lumine scientiae et veritatis, diem facit in corde ejus: et quanto frequentius exoritur et illuminat, tanta majorem sibi talium dierum numerum computabit. Digne ergo conscius sibi propheta de hujuscemodi illutuinatione dicit: Nolunt [ac mihi, Domine, finem meum, et numerum dierum meorum quis est, ut sciam quid desit mihi. ### English translation (Claude) “I spoke,” it says, “with my tongue.” Let us consider what he spoke with his tongue, for he seems to me to indicate something mystical by these words. He says, then: “Make known to me, Lord, my end, and what is the number of my days, that I may know what I lack.” If, he says, you make my end known to me, and make known to me how great the number of my days is, I shall be able through these to know also what I lack. Or perhaps this too will seem to be indicated by these words: as every art has some end (for example, the end of building is to make a house; of shipbuilding, to construct a ship that can overcome the waves of the sea and bear the onslaught of the winds; and each art has some such end, for the sake of which the art itself seems to have been invented), so perhaps there is a certain end of our life, or of the whole world, for the sake of which all the things done in our life are done, or for the sake of which the world itself was established or subsists. This end the Apostle too mentions, saying: “Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father.” To this end we must surely hasten, so that the very fact that we were created by God may prove worthwhile. And again, as the frame of our body, small and slight from the beginning of birth, nevertheless at once presses on and strives toward a certain end of its stature through the growth of age; and as our soul, while it lives in this body, hastens first to acquire stammering speech, then clearer speech, and at last to come to perfect and complete discourse: so too our whole life is now begun, stammering as it were, among men on earth, but it is completed and reaches its summit in the heavens with God. The prophet, then, desires to know his end for this reason, the end for the sake of which he was made, so that, beholding the end, perceiving his days, and considering perfection, he may see how much he lacks toward the end to which he is heading. For example, suppose someone has been apprenticed to a craft, and says to his master: “I want to know what the perfection of this art is, and who is a perfect smith or builder”; and when he has learned this, he asks how far he falls short of that perfection, or how far he has advanced in the discipline of the art, so that, knowing both, he may know what he has and recognize what is lacking to perfection. So now too the prophet prays to learn from God, so that his end may be made known to him, and what the number of his days is. Here we must not think that he speaks of bodily time and the years of this life; he wants to know the whole number of his days: what it was in the first life, what in the second sojourn, and what in the third. “For my soul,” he says, “has long been a sojourner.” As if those who came out of Egypt said, “Make known to me, Lord, my end,” which is the good land and the holy land, “and the number of my days” in which I walk, “that I may know what I lack,” how much remains until I come to the holy land of promise, so here too he wants to know the number of the days in which he journeys. For we have some days in this world, and others outside this world. This course of the sun, bounded by the spaces of our heaven, makes one kind of day; another day belongs to the one who merits to ascend to the second heaven; and a much brighter day is spent by the one who has been caught up or has been able to come even to the third heaven, where he will find not only ineffable light but will also hear words which it is not lawful for a man to speak. I know other days too, whose number the prophet perhaps rightly seeks. For as in this heaven the rising sun makes day by illuminating the whole world, so too in the heart of the righteous man, which for its constancy and firmness in God is rightly called a firmament, if the sun of righteousness, Jesus Christ our Lord, rises and illuminates it with the light of knowledge and truth, he makes day in his heart; and the more often he rises and gives light, the greater the number of such days the righteous man will count. Rightly, then, the prophet, conscious of such illumination, says: “Make known to me, Lord, my end, and what is the number of my days, that I may know what I lack.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:3–4 (38:4-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:24: quotation, high confidence - Ps 120:6 (119:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:2–4: allusion, high confidence - Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s speculations on the soul’s “first life, second sojourn, and third,” on several heavens with their own days, and on life completed in heaven are translated as written. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.8 (PG 12:1397a–1399a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-8). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-9 - Source: PG 12:1399a–1399b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The Latin “old” renders the Greek palaistas, “handbreadths”: God measures each life, as Isaiah says he measures water, heaven, and earth, for nothing is without measure with God. ### Latin text Et addit:Ecce veteres posuisti dies meos. lu Graeco scribitur, παλαιστάς, quod significat mensuram quatuor digitorum. Volens ergo docere nos qui jam in hac vita breves et perpaucos ducimus dies, dixit hunc versiculum de quo supra diximus. Ex quo intelligitur quia possit et alius dicere, quia Dies meos posuisti unum digitum, velut consequens de temporis brevitate, et alius duos digitos vel tres. Quaero autem si potest aliquis hominum dicere quia Dies mei decem digiti sunt, aut viginti, aut etiam amplius. Et quia loca dim; cilia incurrimus, velim requirere sicubi in Scripturis tale aliquid invenimus, ex quo possit aperiri planius id quod videtur obscurum. In Isaia scriptum recordor " : Quis metitus est, inquit, manu aquam, et caelum palmo, et omnem terram pugillo Ex quibus consideret quisquis ille est prudentior auditorum per singula loca difl'erentias mensurarum, quomodo eorum quidem qui caelum merentur appellari, pars vita: quae caelestis est, palmo Dei metiri dicitur, quicunque ille est Dei palmus : et eorum quorum vita adhuc terrena est, pugillo Dei vita metitur. Sed pugilli divini differentiam nunc requirere, et nostrum sermonem et auditum vestrum fortassis excedat. Verumtamen sicut ibi manu aquam metitus est, palmo cmlum, et omnem terram pugillo, ct appendit montes in statera, et colles in jngo; ita etiam hic secundum eamdem consequentiam mensura ista et intelligenda est, quoniam nihil Dco sine mensura est, nihil sine pondere, sed omnia ei in numero constant et mensura. Ita quoque propheta: vita et numerata et dimetita Deo εει , dum providentitc ejus rationibus regitur. ### English translation (Claude) And he adds: “Behold, you have made my days old.” In the Greek it is written palaistas, which means a measure of four fingers. Wishing, then, to teach us, who already spend short and very few days in this life, he spoke the verse we have quoted. From this it is understood that another could say, “You have made my days one finger,” in keeping with the shortness of time, and another two fingers or three. But I ask whether any human being can say, “My days are ten fingers,” or twenty, or even more. And since we have run into difficult passages, I would like to inquire whether we find anything of this kind anywhere in the Scriptures by which what seems obscure can be opened up more plainly. I remember that it is written in Isaiah: “Who has measured the water with his hand,” it says, “and heaven with his span, and all the earth with his fist?” From these words let whoever among the hearers is more prudent consider in each place the differences of measures: how the heavenly part of the life of those who deserve to be called heaven is said to be measured by God’s span, whatever God’s span is; while the life of those whose life is still earthly is measured by God’s fist. But to inquire now into the difference made by the divine fist would perhaps exceed both our speech and your hearing. Yet as there he measured the water with his hand, heaven with his span, and all the earth with his fist, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a scale, so here too, by the same reasoning, this measure must be understood; for nothing is without measure for God, nothing without weight, but all things with him consist in number and measure. So too the prophet’s life is numbered and measured by God, since it is governed by the reasons of his providence. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:5 (38:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:12: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 11:20 (Wisdom of Solomon): echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The Latin text read veteres (“old”), apparently mistaking the Greek palaistas (“handbreadths”) for palaious (“old”); Origen explains the Greek. - “All things consist in number and measure” echoes Wis 11:20. - A Migne column number leaked into the scan text and is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.9 (PG 12:1399a–1399b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-9). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 8.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-10 - Source: PG 12:1399b–1400d - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Human substance, created from nothing, is nothing before God, though not in comparison with other creatures; “every man living” is vanity in this present life, even for Moses and the prophets, who know only in part, so we should hasten in mind toward the true life of heaven. ### Latin text Addit etiam in sequentibus et dicit: Substantia mea tanquam nihilum ante te est. Nisi addidisset ante te, valde contristabar, pro eo quod humanam substantiam nihil esse dixisset. Nunc vero quia dixit ante te, velut diceret ad comparationem qui» dem vel angelorum Vel reliquarum creaturarum, non est abiecta, nec minima substantia mea. Denique et si bene egerimus, et mandata Domini servaverimus, ad consortium invitamur angelicum: Erunt, inquit , sicut angeli Dei in casto. Ad comparationem Dei vero etiam si Petrus sim, adversus quem porta: inferi non praevalebunt, substantia mea ante eum nihil est. Et satis proprio vocabulo natura: usus est. Nihil enim est omne , quamvis magnum sit, quidquid ex nihilo est, solus enim est ille qui est, et qui semper est. Nostra autem substantia tanquam nihil est ante eum : quippe quia ab co ex nihilo procreata est. ll. In sequentibus vero velut cxplauans hoc ipsum quod dixit, quia substantia mea tanquam nihilum ante te est, addidit et dicit : Verumtamen universa vanitas omnis homo vivens. Quomodo accipis vivens? siquidem veram vitam vanitatem putamus, ut quid laboramus? Sed vide ne forte hoc quod dicit, omnis vivens, de hac praesenti vita accipiendum sit, sicut scriptum est, et testimoniis comprobabimus. Omnia enim quae in hac vita sttnt apud homines, vana sunt, etiamsi Moyses in hac vita sit, et ipse enim ex parte cognoscit, et ex parte prophetat, et per speculum et in aenigmate videt, et umbram scit, ac figuras docetur, et veritatem nondum videt, et ideo est quidem vivens, sed vanitas est vita ejus. Et vis videre quia vanitas est? Cum venerit quod perfectum est, destruentur ista quae ea: parte sunt "fi. omne autem quod destruitur vanitas est. Et si quidquid ex parte est destruitur, si prophetae ex parte cognoscunt, recte etiam ipsorum vita vanitas appellatur; destruantur autem inferiora, cum venerint ea qum meliora sunt et perlecta, et per hoc vana esse arguuntur, per quod tanquam ex parte et imperfecta destruuntur. Universa ergo vanitas, omnis homo vivens. Quia autem de hac vita accipiatur ista sententia, audi Ecclesiastem protestantem et. dicentem “z Laudavi omnes qui mortui sunt super omnes qui vivunt, quicunque ipsi vivunt usque modo, et bonus super istos duas qui nondum natus est. Laudat ergo mortuos plusquam vivos, quia illi hoc saltem lucri habent, quod de vinculis hujus corporis liberati sunt, nec ultra carne ac pellibus induti sunt, nec ossibus ac nervis inserti sunt, nec ultra subiacent necessitati corporis. Si ergo intellexisti quale sit vivere in carne etiamsi Moyses sit quis, vel quisquis ille est , molesta ei est ista vita. Non enim a corruptione resolvitur, quae mortali corpore terrenoque circumdatur. Vide ergo quia universa vanitas est omnis homo vivens, contemnamus vanam istam vitam, et festinemus ad sanctam vitam et beatam ac veram, et in illam animo et mente tendamus omni vanitate discussa. Nec dicamus dulcem istam lucem, qua nunc utimur. Hoc enim illi dicunt, qui dulcedinem verae lucis ignorant, sed ne auspicia quidem veri luminis ulla senserunt, nec sciunt angelicam νίῑίδιη 'Perandam esse animai. cum ex vanitate vitm hujus evaserint. Unde et nos qui haec credimus, jam mente et fide transl‘eramur ad etnlum, et in terris ambulantes conversationem habeamus in caelis, ut ibi sit thesaurus uoster , ubi est et cor nostrum, et ut regnum caeleste consequi mereamur, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum, cui est gloria et potestas et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. ### English translation (Claude) He adds further in what follows and says: “My substance is as nothing before you.” If he had not added “before you,” I would be very saddened that he had said human substance is nothing. But since he said “before you,” it is as if he said: in comparison with the angels or the other creatures, my substance is not abject nor the least. Indeed, if we do well and keep the Lord’s commandments, we are invited to the fellowship of the angels: “They will be,” it says, “like the angels of God in heaven.” But in comparison with God, even if I were Peter, against whom the gates of hell will not prevail, my substance is nothing before him. And he used a very proper word for our nature. For everything that comes from nothing, however great it may be, is nothing; for he alone is who is, and who always is. But our substance is as nothing before him, since it was created by him from nothing. In what follows, as if explaining what he had said, “My substance is as nothing before you,” he adds: “Yet all things are vanity, every man living.” How do you take “living”? If we think that true life is vanity, why do we labor? But see whether “every man living” is not perhaps to be taken of this present life, as it is written and as we shall prove by testimonies. For all things among men in this life are vain, even if Moses is in this life; for he too knows in part and prophesies in part, sees through a mirror and in a riddle, knows a shadow, is taught in figures, and does not yet see the truth; and so he is indeed living, but his life is vanity. Do you want to see that it is vanity? When what is perfect comes, the things that are in part will be destroyed; and everything that is destroyed is vanity. And if whatever is in part is destroyed, and if the prophets know in part, their life too is rightly called vanity; and the lower things are destroyed when the better and perfect things come, and are shown to be vain by this, that they are destroyed as partial and imperfect. “Yet all things are vanity, every man living.” And that this sentence is to be taken of this life, hear Ecclesiastes testifying and saying: “I praised all the dead above all the living, whoever are living until now; and better than these two is he who is not yet born.” He praises the dead, then, more than the living, because they at least have this gain, that they have been freed from the bonds of this body: they are no longer clothed with flesh and skin, nor knit together with bones and sinews, nor subject any longer to the necessity of the body. If, then, you have understood what it is to live in the flesh, even for one who is Moses, or whoever he may be, this life is a burden to him. For the soul that is surrounded by a mortal and earthly body is not released from corruption. Seeing, then, that “all things are vanity, every man living,” let us despise this vain life and hasten to the holy, blessed, and true life, and strive toward it in mind and soul, shaking off all vanity. And let us not call this light which we now enjoy sweet. Those say this who do not know the sweetness of the true light, who have not perceived even any foretaste of the true light, and do not know that the soul may hope for the angelic life once it has escaped from the vanity of this life. Hence let us too, who believe these things, already be carried over to heaven in mind and faith, and, while walking on earth, have our citizenship in heaven, so that our treasure may be where our heart is too, and that we may merit to obtain the heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power and dominion for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:5 (38:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 22:30: quotation, high confidence - Matt 16:18: allusion, high confidence - Exod 3:14: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 13:9–12: allusion, high confidence - Heb 10:1: allusion, medium confidence - Eccl 4:2–3: quotation, high confidence - Job 10:11: allusion, high confidence - Eccl 11:7: allusion, medium confidence - Phil 3:20: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:21: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This staged section also contains the comment on Ps 39:5b (“Yet all things are vanity”), whose section number could not be read in the scan. - Origen’s view that the dead are freed from the bonds of the body and that the soul may hope for an angelic life is translated as written. - “This light … sweet” alludes to Eccl 11:7. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 8.10 (PG 12:1399b–1400d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/8-1/#p-8-10). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-1 - Source: PG 12:1400d–1402a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Since Scripture does not say whose image man walks in, each must examine whether he bears the image of the heavenly, by mercy and perfection like the Father’s, or the image of the earthly, which God will bring to nothing in his city. ### Latin text Quanquam in imagine ambulet homo. Imago necessario alicujus est imago. Nam et Scriptura saucta cum imaginem nominat, interdum quidem definit ct dicit cujus sit imago, interdum autem absque ulla definitione ponit imaginem. Denique de Salvatore cu ιιι dicit qui est imago, non siluit cujus imago esset, sed addidit dicens δ’ : Qui est imago Dei invisibilis primogenitae omnis creaturce. Et rursum eum docet nos de diversis imaginibus, ctquia singuli quique aliquam imaginem portent, dicit '° : Sicut portavimus imaginem terreni, ita portemus imaginem celestis. Cum adjectione, vel terreni, vel celestis imaginem nominavit. Alibi autem absque ulla definitione dicit, sicut et hoc loco ait: Quanquam in imagine ambulet homo. Sed in imagine cujus? Dei, an imagine terreni, an imagine celestis? Quomodo sciam in hoc quid est quod docere nos vult Scriptura divina, quas absque ulla adjectione ait : Quanquam in imagine (nescio cujttsj ambulet homo Ρ Etsi quidem de justis solis diceret, sine dubio dixisset, Quanquam in imagine celestis ambulet homo. A‘ut side peccatoribus tantum diceret, dixisset certe, In imagine terreni ambulet homo. Verum quoniam generaliter de universis mortalibus pronuntiatur, quorum alii imaginem celestis portant, quicunque secundum legem Dei vivunt, alii terreni imaginem portant, qui carnaliter vivunt; propterea necessario reticuit specialem imaginis designationem, et generalem sententiam de omnibus hominibus protulit, quia omnis homo in imagine ambulet. Tuum est jam discutere et exquirere ex uniuscujusque fide et operibus, et conversatione ct actibus , ex cogitationibus et verbis, et considerare utrum in imagine celestis ambulet, an in imagine terreni. Si misericors es sicut Pater tuus celestis misericors est, sine dubio in te Patris celestis imago est. Si non solum amicis tuis benefacis, sed etiam inimicis reddis bona pro malis, sicut Pater celestis solem suum oriri facit super bonos et malos , et pluit super justas et injustas ", imago in te celestis est. Et si in omnibus perfectus es,- sicut Pater tuus celestis perfectus est, imago in te celestis est. Et rursum si non es imitator Christi nec apostoli Pauli, qui dicit : Imitutores ntei estote, sicut ego Christi, sed imitator es operum diaboli qui homicida fuit ab initio : et si terrena sapias, et terrena loquaris, et thesaurus tuus et cor tuum in terra sit, terreni imaginem portas. Verum quia in his locis inventi sumus, in quibus de imagine sermo commoms est , necessarium videtur etiam psalmi illius versiculum in medium producere, in quo de peccatoribus scriptum est ": Domine, incivitate tua imaginem ipsorum ad nihilum rediges. Constat ergo quia peccatorum imaginem in civitate sua Deus ad nihilum redigit; iustorum autem imaginem sine dubio tuetur et servat. Haec estergo imago terreni, id est peccatorum, quam ad nihilum rediget Deus iu civitate sua; id est, si quis exierit de hoc mundo, et tulerit secum imaginem terreni, propter hujuscemodi imaginem in civitate illa Dci ad nihilum redigetur, nec consequetur partem inter cives celestis illius civitatis, qui ctelestisimaginis non reportat insignia. ### English translation (Claude) “Although man walks in an image.” An image is necessarily the image of something. For holy Scripture too, when it speaks of an image, sometimes defines it and says whose image it is, but sometimes sets down “image” without any definition. Thus when it speaks of the Savior, who is the image, it did not keep silent about whose image he was, but added: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” And again, when it teaches us about different images, and that each person bears some image, it says: “As we have borne the image of the earthly, so let us bear the image of the heavenly.” There it named the image with an addition, either of the earthly or of the heavenly. But elsewhere it speaks without any definition, as in this place it says: “Although man walks in an image.” But in whose image? God’s? The image of the earthly, or the image of the heavenly? How am I to know what divine Scripture wishes to teach us here, when it says without any addition, “Although man walks in an image” (I know not whose)? If it were speaking only of the righteous, it would doubtless have said, “Although man walks in the image of the heavenly.” Or if it were speaking only of sinners, it would surely have said, “Man walks in the image of the earthly.” But since the sentence is pronounced generally of all mortals, some of whom bear the image of the heavenly (all who live according to the law of God), and others the image of the earthly (those who live in a fleshly way), it necessarily kept silent about the particular kind of image and pronounced a general sentence about all people, that every man walks in an image. It is now for you to examine and inquire, from each one’s faith and works, way of life and actions, thoughts and words, and to consider whether he walks in the image of the heavenly or in the image of the earthly. If you are merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful, the image of the heavenly Father is doubtless in you. If you do good not only to your friends but also repay good for evil to your enemies, as the heavenly Father makes his sun rise on the good and the bad and sends rain on the just and the unjust, the heavenly image is in you. And if you are perfect in all things, as your heavenly Father is perfect, the heavenly image is in you. But again, if you are not an imitator of Christ, nor of the apostle Paul, who says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” but an imitator of the works of the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning; and if you think earthly things and speak earthly things, and your treasure and your heart are on earth, you bear the image of the earthly. But since we have come upon passages in which the discussion of the image has been raised, it seems necessary to bring forward also the verse of that psalm in which it is written of sinners: “Lord, in your city you will bring their image to nothing.” It is clear, then, that God brings the image of sinners to nothing in his city, while he doubtless protects and preserves the image of the righteous. This, then, is the image of the earthly, that is, of sinners, which God will bring to nothing in his city. That is, if anyone departs from this world and takes with him the image of the earthly, because of such an image he will be brought to nothing in that city of God, and will not obtain a share among the citizens of that heavenly city, since he does not bring back the marks of the heavenly image. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:6 (38:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Col 1:15: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: quotation, high confidence - Luke 6:36: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:44–45: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:48: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:1: quotation, high confidence - John 8:44: allusion, high confidence - Phil 3:19: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 6:21: allusion, high confidence - Ps 73:20 (72:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s Psalm 38 is Psalm 39 in the English Bible. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.1 (PG 12:1400d–1402a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-1). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-2 - Source: PG 12:1402a–1404b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: This life is lived in an “image” of virtue, knowledge, and righteousness, not yet in the truth seen face to face; the law was a shadow, Christ in the flesh an image, and heaven the truth; every act paints a heavenly or an earthly image in the soul, and the devil’s images, the vices, must be scraped away. ### Latin text Sed et aliud sacramentum mihi videtur continere iste versiculus, quod hujus quidem mundi vita et conversatio imaginaria quaedam sit et imago. futura autem non sit imaginaria, sed vera; et hoc est quod dicitur, quia imaginem habet unusquisque virtutis, non tamen proprie et sincere vivit in ipsa virtute. Tale autem quod dicimus: Sapientia et scientia pars est magna virtutum; sed in presenti vita si quis putat se cognovisse, nondum cognovit Bsicut oportet scire , qui enim cognoscit, in euigo male cognoscit. Ergo in imagine scientia: ambulamus et non in ipsa scientia , per quam facie ad faciem cognoscitur. Ita nihilominus et in ipsa Sapientia: imagine, et nondum in ipsa sapientia ambulamus, quia nondum revelata facie gloriam Domini speculamur. Eadem audeo de juStitia Ι)νί dicere, quod in imagine justitite ambulamus, ct nondum in illa justitia quae est facie ad faciem incedimus. Neque enim capere poterit humana natura pellibus et carne vestita , ossibus et nervis inserta, nudam ipSaIn justitie sinceramque veritatem ferre et tolerare secundum naturae sua: potentiam ac virtutem. Si quidem ipse Christus est natura virtutum : ipse enim justitia , que humano generi non in plenitudinem splendoris advenit, quia Jesus Christus seipsum exinanivit forma Dei, ut formam servi acciperet. Et si quidem de solis Judazis sermo Scriptura: loqueretur, dixisset forsitan, Quanquam in umbra ambulet homo : sed quia, ut arbitror, de melioribus sermo lit quam erant illi qui secundum umbram legis vivebant, propterea scriptum est, Quanquam in imagine ambulet homo. Quod clarius ad intellectum veniet ex sermonibus aposmli Pauli, qut tres quasdam species proprietatis designat in lege, umbram dicens et imaginem et veritatem, ait namque : Umbram enim habens lea: bonorum futurorum, non ipsam imaginem rerum, per singulos annos iisdem ipsis hostiis quas o/j‘erunt ι) indesinenter, nunquam potest accedentes facere perfectos. Ergo lex umbram habet futurorum bonorum, non ipsam imaginem rerum, ostendens sine dubio aliam esse imaginem rerum quam illam quae legis umbra designatur. Et si quis potest describere observantiam illam .ludaici cultus, consideret templum illud non habuisse imaginem rerum, sed utnbram : videat quoque altare umbram esse , videat et hircos et vitulos qui adducuntur ad victimam umbram esse illa omnia, secundum illud quod scriptum est : Umbra enim est vita nostra super terram. Si quis vero transire potuerit ab hac … tum Christi in carne factum, videat eum pontificem, offerentem quidem et nunc Patri hostias, ct postmodum oblaturum : et intelligat haec omnia imagines esse spiritalium rerum, et corporalibus olliciis caelestia designari . Imago ergo dicitur hoc quod recipitur ad praesens, et intueri potest humana natura. Si potes mente et animo penetrare cmlos, et sequi Jesum qui penetravit caelos, et assistit nunc vuitui Dei pro nobis. ibi invenies illa bona quorum umbram habuit lex, et imaginem Christus ostendit iu carne, quae praeparata sunt beatis, quae nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit. Qua: cum videris intelliges quia qui in ipsis ambulat, et in illormn desiderio et cupiditate perdurat, iste nonin imagine, sed in ipsa jam ambulat veritale. Verumtamen in imagine ambulat homo. [lepetamus ergo sermonem illttm quem dixit Apostolus, in quo generales duas imagines designavit. unam quidem terrenam, aliam vero cmlestem, et comparemus ad hoc, Quanquam in imagine ambulat homo; ct hoc quod generaliter dictum est, in multas species dividamus, ut cum dividitur sermo per sinn gula atque discutitur, clarescat quod intrinsecus latet. [loc est autem quod dicimus :Omnis potestas inimica, ct unaquchue virtus divina quae auxilium praestat his qui salutem consequi cupiunt : singula: harum imagines quasdam exprimunt iu anima eorum qui se ad receptaculum earum diversis studiis exhibent. Verbi gratia, sicut superius diximus, omnes c quidem homines, aut cmlestis, aut terreni imaginem portamus, sed et in his ipsis multa diversitas. Utputa oumis peccator portat imaginem terreni, sed non omnis similiter : non atque imaginem terrt-ni portat'homicida et mendax, aut adulter et couviciosus, aut puerorum corruptor et fur, quamvis omnes isti terreni imaginem portent, sed multa est inter ipsos differentia pro diversitate peccati. Secundum has ergo diversitates imaginis terreni, contemplare etiam diversitatem imaginis caelestis, et intuere Paulum portantem imaginem rmlestis, et Timotheum. Et quid? putamus quia similiter ιιι in Paulo, ita et in Timotheo erat imago cmlcstis? Nihil amplius, nihil praeclarius habebat imago Pauli praeterimaginem Timothei? Ego arbiιι·ον quia secundum hoc quod praecedebat vitae merito, verbi potentia, magnanimitate propositi Paulus Tio motheum. ita et in illo maior ac splendidior refulgebat imago ctelestis, qualem iu illo faciebat imaginem Christus, cum in eo loqueretur : et aliam et longe, ut ego arbitror. inferiorem in illo faciebat imaginem qui dicebat : Et dixit angelus quiloquevbatur in mc, etsic per singula etiam apud teipsnm requirens, diversitatem invenies imaginis sive terrente in peccatoribus, sive cmlestis in sanctis. Omne ergo quod agitur a nobis per singulas horas vel motncnta, imaginem aliquam deformat : et ideo per utrum cmlestis, an terrena imago iu anima nostra depingitur. Sed et illud admouere vos inutile nou videbitur, quod multi in hoc mundo propter imagines malorum regum, imo potius tyrannorum perierunt, pro hoc tantummodo quod tyrannica: apud eos imagines deprehensa! sunt, et hoc solum eis sull'ecit ad crimen. Perscrutetur ergo nunc se unusquisque vestrum, et cordis sui arcana recenseat, ac diligenter inquirat quas ibi imagines gerat. Si inventus fueris habere ibi formas diaboli et imaginem Saturne, quod tibi erit vita: refugium, quis miserep bitur tui, cum de intimo conclavi cordis tui tyrannica imago proferetur‘l Sin autem vis ut per species tibi hujusmodi imagines desiguem, audi. Ira, imago tyrannica est, avaritia, dolus, superbia, tumor, gloriae saeculares. invidiae, ebrietates, comessationes. et his similia. Quas si non citius abieceris de domo tua, si non detraxeris et abraseris a sensibus tuis onmem lucum pessima hujus picturae, et omne figmentum venenati coloris absterseris, ipsae te imagines perire facient. Haec de eo quod scriptum est : In imagine ambulat homo. ### English translation (Claude) But this verse seems to me to contain another mystery too: that the life and conduct of this world is a kind of imaginary thing and an image, while the future life will not be imaginary but true. And this is what is meant: each person has an image of virtue, yet does not live properly and purely in virtue itself. What we mean is this. Wisdom and knowledge are a great part of the virtues; but in the present life, if anyone thinks he has come to know anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; for he who knows, knows in a riddle. So we walk in an image of knowledge and not in knowledge itself, by which one knows face to face. So too we walk in an image of wisdom and not yet in wisdom itself, because we do not yet behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face. I dare to say the same of the righteousness of God: we walk in an image of righteousness, and do not yet walk in that righteousness which is face to face. For human nature, clothed with skin and flesh and knit together with bones and sinews, will not be able, by the power and strength of its own nature, to grasp, bear, and endure naked righteousness itself and pure truth. For Christ himself is the nature of the virtues: he is righteousness, which did not come to the human race in the fullness of its splendor, because Jesus Christ emptied himself of the form of God to take the form of a servant. And if the word of Scripture were speaking of the Jews alone, it would perhaps have said, “Although man walks in a shadow”; but because, I think, the word concerns people better than those who lived according to the shadow of the law, it is written: “Although man walks in an image.” This will become clearer from the words of the apostle Paul, who marks in the law three kinds of reality, speaking of shadow, image, and truth. For he says: “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.” So the law has a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, showing doubtless that the image of the things is something other than what is signified by the shadow of the law. And if anyone can describe that observance of the Jewish worship, let him consider that the temple had not the image of the things but a shadow; let him see that the altar too was a shadow, and that the goats and calves brought for sacrifice, all of these, were a shadow, according to what is written: “For our life on earth is a shadow.” But if anyone can pass from this … the coming of Christ in the flesh, let him see him as high priest, offering sacrifices to the Father even now and about to offer them hereafter, and let him understand that all these are images of spiritual things, and that heavenly things are signified by bodily ministries. What is received at present, then, and what human nature can behold, is called an image. If you can penetrate the heavens in mind and spirit and follow Jesus, who has passed through the heavens and now appears before the face of God for us, there you will find those goods of which the law had a shadow and of which Christ showed an image in the flesh, the goods prepared for the blessed, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man. When you have seen these, you will understand that he who walks in them and perseveres in desire and longing for them walks no longer in an image but in the truth itself. Yet man walks in an image. Let us take up again, then, the saying of the Apostle in which he marked out two general images, one earthly and the other heavenly, and compare it with “Although man walks in an image”; and let us divide what was said in general into many kinds, so that when the saying is divided into its parts and discussed, what lies hidden within may become clear. What we mean is this: every hostile power, and each divine power which gives help to those who desire to obtain salvation, imprints certain images in the souls of those who, by their various pursuits, offer themselves to receive them. For example, as we said above, all of us bear the image either of the heavenly or of the earthly, but among these there is much diversity. Every sinner bears the image of the earthly, but not every one alike: the murderer and the liar, the adulterer and the abusive man, the corrupter of boys and the thief, do not bear the image of the earthly in the same way; though all of them bear the image of the earthly, there is much difference among them according to the diversity of their sins. According to these diversities of the earthly image, consider also the diversity of the heavenly image. Look at Paul bearing the image of the heavenly, and at Timothy. What then? Do we think that the heavenly image was in Timothy just as it was in Paul? Did Paul’s image have nothing more, nothing more glorious than Timothy’s? I think that, as Paul surpassed Timothy in merit of life, in power of word, and in greatness of purpose, so a greater and more splendid heavenly image shone in him: such an image as Christ made in him when he spoke in him. And another image, far lower, I think, did he make in him who said, “And the angel who spoke in me said.” And so, inquiring point by point within yourself too, you will find the diversity of the image, whether earthly in sinners or heavenly in saints. Everything we do, then, hour by hour and moment by moment, shapes some image; and so by each act either a heavenly or an earthly image is painted in our soul. And it will not seem useless to remind you that many in this world have perished on account of images of evil kings, or rather tyrants, merely because images of a tyrant were found in their possession, and this alone was enough for a charge against them. Let each of you, then, search himself now, review the secrets of his heart, and inquire diligently what images he carries there. If you are found to have there the forms of the devil and the image of Satan, what refuge of life will you have, who will have mercy on you, when the tyrant’s image is brought out from the inner chamber of your heart? And if you want me to point out such images to you by their kinds, listen: anger is a tyrant’s image; so are avarice, deceit, pride, conceit, worldly glories, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. If you do not quickly cast these out of your house, if you do not tear down and scrape from your senses all the paint of this most evil picture and wipe away every figure in poisonous color, those very images will make you perish. So much on what is written: “Man walks in an image.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:6 (38:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:12: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:18: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:30: allusion, high confidence - Phil 2:6–7: allusion, high confidence - Heb 10:1: quotation, high confidence - Job 8:9: quotation, high confidence - Heb 4:14: allusion, high confidence - Heb 9:24: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 13:3: allusion, medium confidence - Zech 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:19–21: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s scheme of shadow (the law), image (Christ’s coming in the flesh), and truth (the heavenly goods), drawn from Heb 10:1, is translated as written, as is his remark about the Jewish worship as “shadow.” - Words are lost in the scan after “pass from this” (marked …); marginal references leaked into the text there and are removed by a logged correction. - “For our life on earth is a shadow” is Job 8:9. - “The angel who spoke in me” is the recurring phrase of Zech 1:9 and following in the Greek Bible. - On the possession of a tyrant’s image as a capital charge, Origen alludes to treason trials under the emperors. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.2 (PG 12:1402a–1404b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-2). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-3 - Source: PG 12:1404b–1404c - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Christ is our expectation and patience, as he is our wisdom and righteousness, and whatever substance of spiritual riches we have comes from God, who breathed life into man. ### Latin text Sequitur : Thesaurizat et ignorat cui congregat ea. Oportebat enim requiri quae sunt qure thesaurizantur et ignorantur cui coagrcgentur, et quae sunt quae congregantur et non ignorantur cui permanent. Sequitur: Et nunc quae est exspectatio mea? nonne Dominus? Sicut sapientia nostra Christus est, et justitia Christus est, secundum quod scriptum est": Qui factus est sapientia nobis a Deo, et justitia et sanctificatio et redemptio; ita et exspectatio, id est patientia nostra Christus est. Propterea non glorietur sapiens in sapientia, nec fortis in fortitudine sua, quia omnia habemus in Christo. Et nunc ergo quae est exspectatio, id est patientia mea? Domintts. Et substantia mea a te est. Si habeo substantiam divitiarum spiritalium, a Deo est. lnsufilavtt enim Deus in faciem hominis spiritum vita, et [actus esthomo in animam vivam . ### English translation (Claude) It follows: “He treasures up and does not know for whom he gathers them.” One should have asked what the things are that are treasured up, of which it is not known for whom they are gathered, and what the things are that are gathered, of which it is known for whom they remain. It follows: “And now what is my expectation? Is it not the Lord?” As Christ is our wisdom, and Christ is righteousness, according to what is written, “Who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” so Christ is also our expectation, that is, our patience. Therefore let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, for we have all things in Christ. “And now what is my expectation,” that is, my patience? The Lord. “And my substance is from you.” If I have the substance of spiritual riches, it is from God. For God breathed into the face of man the breath of life, and man became a living soul. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:6–7 (38:7-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:30: quotation, high confidence - Jer 9:23: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “My substance is from you” follows the Greek Bible (hē hypostasis mou para sou). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.3 (PG 12:1404b–1404c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-3). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-4 - Source: PG 12:1404c–1405a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God forgives in the measure of one’s conversion and penance: complete penance washes away every sin, partial penance obtains partial absolution; the prophet asks boldly to be delivered from all his iniquities. ### Latin text Ab omnibus iniquitatibus meis eripe me. Necessario addidit ab omnibus, pro scilicet nulla nos teneat et constringat iniquitas. Sed quomodo Deus Ῑ) ab iniquitatibus eripiat, consideremus.” Si poenitentes pro malis gestis convertamur ad Deum, suscipiens a nobis Dens conversionem nostram, absolutionem iniquitatum donat secundum mensuram conversionis. Cui enim plus remittitur, plus diligit : et propterea dicitur " quia mulieri illi multa remissa sunt, quia dilexit multum. Pro mensura ergo ptenitcutiaa, remissionis quantitas moderatur: ne nosmetipsos seducamus, putantes nullis luce regulis, nullis dispensari judiciis. Puto enim quod qui omnesjustitiasimpleverit, ille omnes abluat iniquitates, qui vero paucas, vel partem aliquam iustitia: operatus est, partem aliquam iniquitatum resolvat: qui vero perfectam pro omnibus malis et intcgram pamitentiam gesserit, ita nt purum cor jam oflerat Deo, iste simul omnem labem diluitpeccatorum :si vero exparte posuituit, et ex parteiam meruit abso- Iuti0nen1.'lla-c ergo sciens propheta, et quia quosdam quidem eripit Deus ab omnibus iniquitatibus suis , quosdam ab aliquibus iniquitatibus liberat, puto quod propterea conlidens egisse se ea quibus dignum esset ab omnibus iniquitatibus eripi, dicit audacter ad Dominum : Ab omnibus iniquitatibus meis eripe me. ### English translation (Claude) “Deliver me from all my iniquities.” He had to add “from all,” so that no iniquity may hold and bind us. But let us consider how God delivers from iniquities. If, repenting of our evil deeds, we turn to God, God receives our conversion and grants absolution of iniquities according to the measure of our conversion. For he to whom more is forgiven loves more; and therefore it is said of that woman that her many sins were forgiven because she loved much. The amount of remission, then, is regulated according to the measure of penitence; let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that these things are dispensed by no rules and no judgments. For I think that he who has fulfilled all righteousness washes away all iniquities, while he who has done little, or some part of righteousness, loosens some part of his iniquities; but he who has done perfect and complete penance for all his evils, so as to offer God a pure heart from then on, washes away every stain of sin at once; and if he has repented in part, he has also merited absolution in part. Knowing this, then, and that God delivers some from all their iniquities and frees others from some of them, the prophet, confident, I think, that he has done what would make him worthy to be delivered from all his iniquities, says boldly to the Lord: “Deliver me from all my iniquities.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:8 (38:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 7:47: quotation, high confidence - Matt 3:15: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s view that the amount of remission is proportioned to the measure of penitence is translated as written. - Marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.4 (PG 12:1404c–1405a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-4). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-5 - Source: PG 12:1405a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The devil, the “foolish” accuser, will reproach those whose sins are still written in them with his pen, reminding them that they renounced him in baptism; so we must turn from all iniquity, since Christ has blotted out the record against us. ### Latin text Opprobrium insipienti dedisti me. Donec habemus peccata, necesse est nos exprobrari ab insipiente et accusatore nostro diabolo: et si inveniantur peccata nostra non esse deleta , sed scripta in nobis ston diaboli, per hate ipsa quae gessimus cxprobrabit nos inimicus. Sicut enim bona qumque scripta dicuntur non atramento, sed spiritu Dei vivi, ita mala qumque conscribuntur atramento et calamo diaboli. Propter quod Dominus et Salvator noster delevit chirographum peccatorum nostrorum, quod erat adversum nos diabolo astipulante conscriptum, sicut et ante praedixerat per prophetam dicentem : Ecce deleo sicut nubem iniquitates tuas, et sicut nebulam peccata tua, et ultra non ero memor. Ut ergo non exprobremur ab insipiente, convertamus nos sb omnibus iniquitatibus nostris, ne reprehendens in nobis maculas peccatorum. id est sua: voluntatis insignia, exprobret et dicat: Ecce hic Christianus dicebatur, et signo Christi signabatur in l‘ronte, meas autem voluntates et mea chirographa gerebat in corde. Ecce iste qni mihi et operibus meis renuntiavit in baptismo, meis rursum operibus se inseruit meisque legibus paruit. Liberali ergo ab onmibus iniquitatibus, Studeamus ne in die jndicii hujuscemodi opprobriis insipientis diaboli succumbamus. ### English translation (Claude) “You have made me a reproach to the foolish.” As long as we have sins, we must be reproached by the foolish one, our accuser the devil; and if our sins are found not to have been blotted out but written in us by the devil’s pen, the enemy will reproach us by means of the very things we have done. For as all good things are said to be written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, so all evil things are written with the devil’s ink and pen. For this reason our Lord and Savior blotted out the handwriting of our sins, which had been written against us at the devil’s instigation, as he had also foretold through the prophet, saying: “Behold, I blot out your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist, and I will remember them no more.” So that we may not be reproached by the foolish one, then, let us turn from all our iniquities, lest, finding in us the stains of sins, that is, the marks of his own will, he reproach us and say: “Look, this man was called a Christian and was signed on the forehead with the sign of Christ, but he carried my wishes and my handwriting in his heart. Look, this man, who renounced me and my works in baptism, has joined himself to my works again and obeyed my laws.” Freed, then, from all iniquities, let us strive not to succumb on the day of judgment to such reproaches from the foolish devil. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:8 (38:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rev 12:10: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 3:3: allusion, high confidence - Col 2:14: allusion, high confidence - Isa 44:22: quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “The devil’s pen” translates by sense the scan’s ston diaboli (evidently stylo). - The renunciation of the devil and his works in baptism and the signing of the forehead with the sign of Christ are rites of baptism in Origen’s time. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.5 (PG 12:1405a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-5). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-6 - Source: PG 12:1405a–1406a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God himself arranges the contests of insult as exercises in patience; one should keep silent, or better still, as Paul taught, bless those who curse. ### Latin text Obmutui et non aperui os meum , quia tu cs qui fecisti. Jam ct hoc superius exposuimus, cum tractaremns illuni versiculum qui ait : Dmn consistit peccator adversum me, obmutui et humiliatus sum et siluia bonis. Bonum est enim eo tempore cum adversum nos, vel derogationum, vel conviciorum, vel etconsislentcm adversum nos peccatorum describit : et quia hoc ipsum indicet iecisse Deum, id ρει, quod exercitii nostri causa et prolectus Deus fecerit ista certamina. Ideo ergo memor ero, quia tu fecisti agones istos et tu nobis haec exercitia patientite przeparasti. Cum enim ad iracundiam provocarel, cum conviciis lacesseret, ne patientia: lineas ercederem, et verbum aliquod quod tibi non placeat proferrem de labiis meis, obmutui et non aperui os meum. Si vero amplius aliquid secundum Pauli statuta “valueroprolligaremon solum obmutescam et non aperiam os meum, sed et cum maledicor, bcnedicam et blaspltematus deprecabor. ### English translation (Claude) “I was dumb and did not open my mouth, for you are the one who made it.” This too we have already explained above, when we treated the verse which says: “While the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things.” For it is good at that time when, against us, … of disparagement or insults, or describes the sinner standing against us; and it indicates that God has done this very thing, that is, that God has made these contests for the sake of our exercise and progress. Therefore I will remember that you made these contests and prepared for us these exercises in patience. For when he provoked me to anger, when he harassed me with insults, lest I should overstep the bounds of patience and bring forth from my lips some word that would not please you, I was dumb and did not open my mouth. But if I can advance further according to Paul’s precepts, I will not only be dumb and not open my mouth, but when I am cursed I will bless, and when I am blasphemed I will entreat. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:9 (38:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 39:1–2 (38:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:12–13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Words are lost in the scan in the second sentence (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.6 (PG 12:1405a–1406a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-6). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-7 - Source: PG 12:1406a–1407a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: God’s scourges are outward afflictions and the inward scourges of conscience, which are a sign that conversion is near; yet even these must have measure, lest the sinner be overwhelmed by sorrow. ### Latin text Amore a me plagas tuas, a fortitudine manus tuw ego defeci. Quod Latini interpretes plagas dixerunt, in Crtecis codicibus flagella scriptum est, ut sit: Amore α me flagella tua. Quod videtur utique dicere positus quasi in correptione flagellorum, cum sient homo pro peccatis corripitur, vel flagellatur ut emendetur. Sicut et illud a quamplurimis intelligitur quod scriptum est ε Fili, noli “Pliillde disciplina Dei, neque deficias cum ab eo increparis. Quem enim diligit Deus, corripit, flagellat autem onmem filium quem recipit. Si quando ergo quis hujuscemodi correptionibus increpatttr, competenter dicere videtur : Amove a me flagella tua. Α fortitudine manus tua: ego defeci. Sed illud compe‘ tenter videtur aptari quod scriptum cst : In increpationibus propter iniquitatem corripuisti vel erudiin hominem. Sed novi ego et alia flagella quibus vehementius cruciamur, illa scilicet quae per prophetam describit sapientia (prophetam etenim eum dion) “ : Quis dabit in cogitatu meo flagella, et in corde meo correptionem sapientite, ut ignorationibus meis quia feci non parcatur, et peccata utea non prmtereantur? Vides quomodo orat flagellari cor suum pro peccatis suis, et verberari cogitationes suas? Si quando ergo vides temetipsum post peccatum aflligi et cruciari in corde, et a prepriis cogitationibus accusari : si quando notari te vides a conscientia tua, et ejus verberibus flagellari, spem tibi emendationis ac salutis praesume. Vicinior namque tibi conversionis cst via, quam illis qui nec peccasse se quidem sentiunt, nec in delictis suis contristantur, nec flagella conscientiae patiuntur. Tu ergo si videris te flagellari et cruciari in cogitationihus tuis, et spem salutis de proximo attendens, dicito de his qui peccaverunt quidem similitcr,tamensimiliter non pmnitentpro delictis, quia i‘a laboribus hominum non sunt, et cum hominibus non flagellabuntur, propterea tenuit eos superbia “. Tn ergo si cruciaris et alfligeris in corde tuo,dic ad Dominum“: Multa quidem flagella peccatorum, sed sperantes in Domino misericordia circumdabit. Ostendimus igitur dupliciter hominibus flagella praeparari : sive Sensibiliter extrinsecus, eum vel languoribus, vel damnis, vel diversis afllictionum generibus flagellamnr : sive etiam cum ex recordatione delicti perurgentis conscientiae stimulis terebramur in corde. Ad utrumque ergo convenit dici : Amove a me plagas tuas. Sed fortasse aliquis dicit, Esto quia pro his cruciatibus qui extrinsecus inferuntur commoda hujuscemodi videatur oratio, quae cessare supplicat cruciatus, nunquid et cordis stimulum ac mentis respectum videbitur inhibere ? Mensura in omnibus quaeritur, multo magis in flagellis mensura percommoda est, si enim fuerint ultra mensuram, nocebunt tibi etiam ipsa quae bona sunt. Et quid de flagellis dicam ? fiel, inquit Salomon , inveniens manduca quantum sufficit, ne forte satiatus evomat. Quod si in melle mensura utilis est, quanto rectius requiretur et servabitur in flagellis ? Propter quod et Apostolus verens nimia flagella cordis ejus qui deliquerat et nimium tristahatur, dicebat" : Ne forte majore tristitia absorbeatur qui huiusmodi est. ### English translation (Claude) “Remove your strokes from me; I have fainted from the strength of your hand.” What the Latin translators called “strokes” is written “scourges” in the Greek manuscripts, so that it reads: “Remove your scourges from me.” He seems to say this as one placed, as it were, under the correction of scourges, when a man is corrected for his sins or scourged so that he may be amended; as many also understand what is written: “My son, do not neglect the discipline of God, nor faint when you are rebuked by him. For whom God loves he corrects, and he scourges every son whom he receives.” Whenever, then, someone is rebuked with such corrections, he seems fittingly to say: “Remove your scourges from me. I have fainted from the strength of your hand.” And what is written seems fittingly applied here: “With rebukes for iniquity you have corrected,” or instructed, “man.” But I know of other scourges too, by which we are more severely tormented, namely those which Wisdom describes through the prophet (for I call him a prophet): “Who will set scourges over my thoughts, and the correction of wisdom over my heart, so that they may not spare the ignorances I have committed, and my sins may not pass by?” You see how he prays that his heart be scourged for his sins and his thoughts beaten? Whenever, then, you see yourself after sin afflicted and tormented in heart and accused by your own thoughts; whenever you see yourself branded by your conscience and scourged with its blows, take hold of hope of amendment and salvation for yourself. For the way of conversion is nearer to you than to those who do not even feel that they have sinned, are not saddened in their offenses, and do not suffer the scourges of conscience. If, then, you see yourself scourged and tormented in your thoughts, look for the hope of salvation close at hand, and say of those who have sinned in the same way but do not repent of their offenses in the same way: “They are not in the troubles of men, nor will they be scourged with men; therefore pride has held them fast.” You, then, if you are tormented and afflicted in your heart, say to the Lord: “Many are the scourges of sinners, but mercy will surround those who hope in the Lord.” We have shown, then, that scourges are prepared for people in two ways: either perceptibly from outside, when we are scourged by illnesses, losses, or various kinds of affliction; or when, from the remembrance of an offense, we are pierced in the heart by the stings of a pressing conscience. To both, then, it is fitting to say: “Remove your strokes from me.” But perhaps someone says: “Granted that such a prayer, begging that the torments cease, seems fitting for the torments inflicted from outside; will it also seem to hold back the sting of the heart and the mind’s reflection on its sin?” Measure is sought in all things, and much more is measure fitting in scourges; for if they go beyond measure, even things that are good will harm you. And why do I speak of scourges? “If you find honey,” says Solomon, “eat as much as suffices, lest perhaps, being sated, you vomit it.” If measure is useful in honey, how much more rightly will it be required and kept in scourges? For this reason the Apostle too, fearing excessive scourges for the heart of the one who had sinned and was grieving too much, said: “Lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:10–11 (38:11-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:5–6: quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:11–12: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 73:5–6 (72:5-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 32:10 (31:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 25:16: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:7: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 23:2-3 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “The Latin translators … the Greek manuscripts”: the remark is the translator Rufinus’s. - “Wisdom … through the prophet” is Sir 23:2–3, whose author Origen calls a prophet. - A note marker and a Migne column number leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.7 (PG 12:1406a–1407a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-7). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-8 - Source: PG 12:1407a–1408a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Sin makes the soul coarse and fleshly, virtue makes it fine; God’s rebukes thin it “like a spider,” and those who will not be amended by the rod of correction in this life will be refined in the fire, like the flesh in Ezekiel’s cauldron. ### Latin text In increpationibus pro iniquitate erudisti Itomi'nem,et tabescere fecisti sicut araneam animam ejus. Anima quae peccat crassior cmcitur. Talis ρ namque cst natura peccati, propter quod scriptum est : lucrassatum est cor populi hujus. Sicut autem peccatum incrassescere facit, ita cceutrario virtus subtilem animam reddit, et ut extorqueant quodammodo vocabuli novitatem, omne quod in ea corporeum est, abstergit et perimith purius eam incorpoream reddit. Quod autem crassescat, etut ita dicam carnea elficiatur anima peccatoris, indicatur ex co quod scriptum est z Non permanebit spiritus meus in hominibus istis, quia caro sunt. Carnem sine dubio nominat animas crassiores et peccatrices. Si'ergo incrasscscat anima, ut elIiciatur caro, quid remedii Deus praeparet, docet : In increpotionibus, inquit, pro iniquitate erudisti Immineat, et tabescere fecisti sicut araneam animam ejus. Est ergo opus Dei ut tabescere faciat et consumat omne quidquid est crassioris materia! quo circumdatur anima, ιιι extenuet et climet prudentiam carnis, et ita demum animam ad subtilem rerum ctelestinm et invisibilinm revocet intellectum. Talia quaedam iurenimus sub sacramento non minimo apud Ezechielem prophetam designari "°, cum in lebetem, vel cacabum, carnes immitti dicuulur et decoqui, et dicitur quia coetie sunt et detabuerunt, vel decocta! sunt carnes et excoctum estius. Scripta sunt haec iisdem ipsis sermonibus, pro eo quod lebetes vel caeabi nos suscipiant flammis succensi, in quos injiciemur nos qui animas nostras incar-v navimus, vel incrassavimus, si non prius dum iu hoc mundo sumus, pervenerimus per paenitentiam ut tabescant carnes nostra), et‘crassitudo animm nostrae ad subtilitatem deducatur araneis. Si hinc adlmc carnes fuerimus egressi, mittemur in illos cacabos qui succenduntur lignis, vel fumo, vel stipula, id est operibus nostris quae superposuerimus fundamento Christi. Tale est illud, ut opinor, quod Jeremias dicit : Vidi, inquit, lebetem vel cacabum ardentem, et facies ejus a facie aquilonis. Vel iterum cum virgam vidit nuceam. Requiramus ergo de iSla sententia, quod propterea simul virgam ostendit, ct cacabum igne succensum, ut si quidem disciplinas accipias per virgam et emenderis, cacabo non indigeas succenso; si vero permaues indiseiplinatus et virga non emendaris, id est verbo correptionis vel confutatus vel ptenitens, et tali virga corrvptus qualem dicit Paulus " : Quid vultis. ἱη virga veniam advos,aut in cbaritate spiritus et mansuetudinis ἱ) Si ergo tali virga non emendaris, in cacabum mitteris, et cacabus succendetur. Pr0pterea ergo vidit Jetcmias simul utrumque , et virgam et cacabum succensum, ut metuentes utrumque, alterum videamus ex altero. llaec propter hoc quod scriptum est : Tabescere fecisti sicut araneam animam ejus. ### English translation (Claude) “With rebukes for iniquity you have instructed man, and you have made his soul waste away like a spider.” The soul that sins becomes coarser. For such is the nature of sin; and therefore it is written: “The heart of this people has grown fat.” And as sin makes the soul grow fat, so on the contrary virtue makes it fine and, if I may force a new expression, wipes away and destroys everything in it that is bodily and renders it more purely incorporeal. That the soul of the sinner grows coarse and, so to speak, becomes fleshly is indicated by what is written: “My spirit will not remain in these men, because they are flesh.” He doubtless calls the coarser and sinful souls flesh. If, then, the soul grows fat so as to become flesh, he teaches what remedy God prepares: “With rebukes,” it says, “for iniquity you have instructed man, and you have made his soul waste away like a spider.” It is God’s work, then, to make waste away and consume whatever of coarser matter surrounds the soul, to thin and wear away the prudence of the flesh, and so at last to call the soul back to the fine understanding of heavenly and invisible things. We find things of this kind signified, under no small mystery, in the prophet Ezekiel, when flesh is said to be put into a cauldron or pot and boiled, and it is said that it was cooked and wasted away, or that the flesh was boiled and the broth boiled down. These things are written in these very words because cauldrons or pots kindled with flames will receive us, and we shall be thrown into them, we who have made our souls fleshly or fat, unless first, while we are in this world, we come through repentance to have our flesh waste away and the coarseness of our soul brought down to the fineness of the spider. If we depart from here still flesh, we shall be cast into those pots which are kindled with wood, or hay, or stubble, that is, with our works which we have built upon the foundation of Christ. Such, I think, is what Jeremiah says: “I saw,” he says, “a cauldron,” or pot, “burning, and its face from the face of the north”; or again, when he saw a rod of nut wood. Let us inquire, then, about this saying: he shows a rod and a pot kindled with fire together for this reason, that if you receive discipline through the rod and are amended, you will not need the kindled pot; but if you remain undisciplined and are not amended by the rod, that is, by the word of rebuke, either refuted or repentant, and corrected by such a rod as Paul speaks of: “What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?”; if, then, you are not amended by such a rod, you will be cast into the pot, and the pot will be kindled. For this reason, then, Jeremiah saw both together, the rod and the kindled pot, so that, fearing both, we may understand the one from the other. So much on what is written: “You have made his soul waste away like a spider.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:11 (38:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:15: quotation, high confidence - Gen 6:3: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:6: allusion, medium confidence - Ezek 24:3–11: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:12–15: allusion, high confidence - Jer 1:11–13: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen’s teaching that sin coarsens the soul into “flesh,” and that those who are not corrected in this life will be purified in a fire kindled by their own works, is translated as written. - “A rod of nut wood”: Jer 1:11 (almond); the burning pot facing north is Jer 1:13. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.8 (PG 12:1407a–1408a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-8). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-9 - Source: PG 12:1408a–1409a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Whatever the sinner weaves, such as wealth, offices, and honors, is as vain as a spider’s web. ### Latin text Si ergo sermonem ad naturam animalis istius retorquemus, ex illa parte qua opus subtilissimum et quod vix oculus comprehendere potest expleat, apta videbitur expositio ista quam superius expla-A navimus. Si vero quis ad illud referat quod Isaias in libro suo scribit, quia telam arauete texuerunt , aliter accipiendum est : quia omnia quae texit et agit peccator , tam nihil scias esse quam sunt illa quae texit aranea, licet varia videantur et composita, licet exquisita quadam orte digesta. Quanta texuerunt illi divites qui ante nos luerunt, qui divitias variis artibus et callidis adinventiouibus cougregabant, qui magistratus, qui honores, qui consulatus diversa ambitione quaerebant, isti omnes telas araneae texuerunt. Tam enim vana, tam frivola quam est araneas textrina, fuerunt omnia quie gerebant, et propterea tabefacta: sunt sicut araneae anitum eorum. Verumtamen vanitas omnis homo. Jam hoc in superioribus explanavimus. ### English translation (Claude) If, then, we turn the saying to the nature of this creature, in that it accomplishes a very fine work which the eye can scarcely grasp, the explanation we gave above will seem fitting. But if someone refers it to what Isaiah writes in his book, “They have woven a spider’s web,” it must be taken otherwise: whatever the sinner weaves and does, you should know to be as much nothing as the things the spider weaves, though they appear varied and well composed and are arranged with a certain exquisite art. How much those rich men wove who lived before us, who gathered riches by various arts and cunning devices, who sought magistracies, honors, and consulships with every kind of ambition: all these wove spiders’ webs. For all that they did was as vain and as frivolous as the spider’s weaving; and therefore their souls were made to waste away like a spider. “Yet every man is vanity.” We have already explained this above. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:11 (38:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 59:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - A note marker and marginal references leaked into the scan text and are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.9 (PG 12:1408a–1409a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-9). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-10 - Source: PG 12:1409a–1409b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Prayer should be offered with tears at the remembrance of sins, asking God not to be silent but to answer, “Here I am.” ### Latin text Exaudi orationem meam, Deus, et ldeprecationem meam, auribus percipe lacrymas meas. Oportet iterum et eum lacrymisofl'erre orationem Deo, et ex intimis penetrabilibus in precem Domini commoveri, ιιι mens credens de judicio laturo, recordationem delictorum suorum non absque lacrymis et lamentalione recenseat. Quis resolutus in lacrymas dicit ad Dominum ; ΕῙῙιιηάο in conspectu tuo orationem meam? Auribus ergo percipe lacrymas meas, et ne sileas, inquit, a me, id est, me orante ne sileas. Sed quid? Adhuc loquente Ine dic. Ecce adsum. ### English translation (Claude) “Hear my prayer, O God, and my supplication; give ear to my tears.” Again, one must offer prayer to God even with tears, and be moved from one’s inmost depths when praying to the Lord, so that the mind, believing in the judgment to come, may review the memory of its offenses not without tears and lamentation. Who, melted into tears, says to the Lord: “When will my prayer come into your sight?” Give ear, then, to my tears, “and do not be silent toward me,” he says; that is, while I pray, do not be silent. But what then? “While I am still speaking, say: Here I am.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:12 (38:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 88:2 (87:3 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Isa 58:9: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 65:24: allusion, medium confidence ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.10 (PG 12:1409a–1409b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-10). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-11 - Source: PG 12:1409b–1410a - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: Every human being, even the righteous patriarchs, is a sojourner and stranger before God, because God alone is eternal and they had a beginning. ### Latin text Quia incola ego sum apud te, et peregrinus sicut omnes patres mei. Quia peregrinus sum, necessario etiam et incola sum, non enim sum sicut tu. 'l‘u enim mternus es solus, et nos quantum invenitur habemus initium. Ego autem si dignus efliciar esse Kal , apud te, incola tamen sum ct peregrinus apud te : quia et omnes patres mei incolae fuerunt et peregriui apud te : et Abraham peregrinus est apud te, quia non erat semper, sed tunc esse cmpit quandc tu voluisti, et Isaac et Jacob et omnes justi. ### English translation (Claude) “For I am a sojourner with you, and a stranger, like all my fathers.” Because I am a stranger, I am necessarily also a sojourner; for I am not as you are. You alone are eternal, while we, as far as can be found, have a beginning. Even if I am made worthy to be with you, I am nevertheless a sojourner and a stranger with you; for all my fathers too were sojourners and strangers with you. Abraham too is a stranger with you, because he did not always exist, but began to exist when you willed it; and so are Isaac and Jacob and all the righteous. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:12 (38:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 11:13: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Chr 29:15: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - A garbled word in the scan after “worthy to be” (Kal) is passed over in the translation. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.11 (PG 12:1409b–1410a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-11). ## Homilies on Psalms 36-38 9.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-12 - Source: PG 12:1410a–1410b - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-02 Summary: The soul truly “is” only while it clings to God, who truly is; departing from him, it becomes as one who is not, though its substance is not destroyed. ### Latin text Remitte mihi ut refrigercr priusquam abeam, et amplius non ero, quoniam incola sum: denec apud te sum, tandiu smn; si autem a te cxiero, perdidi etiam hoc ipsum quod sum, et ero tauquam qui non sum. Denique propterea de peccatoribus dicit": Et erunt tanquam qui non sunt. Et alibi " : Qui vocarit ea quae non sunt. Remitte mihi ut refrigerer priusquam abeam, et amplius non ero. Sciendum tamen est quod in nobis est, sive ut. simus sive ut non simus. Donec etiam adh-seremus Deo et inhaeremus ei qui vere est, etiam nos sumus. Sin autem abscesserimus ab eo et non adhaeserimus Deo nostro, vitio in contrarimn decidimus. Non ergo per hoc substantialis anima: designatur interitus, sed non esse dicitur cum in eo non permanet qui vere et semper est. ex quo ipse est. Pmpterea ergo et sermo nos propheticus adhortatur dicens " : Post Dominum Deum nostrum ibimus, et ipsi adhwrebimus. Sed et nos ipsi dicamus : Adhaesit anima mea post te, in Christo Jesu Domino nostro, cui est honor et gloria in saecula sazculorum. Amen. “ ### English translation (Claude) “Release me, that I may be refreshed before I depart and be no more.” For I am a sojourner: as long as I am with you, so long I exist; but if I go out from you, I have lost even this very thing that I am, and I will be as one who is not. Hence it says of sinners: “And they will be as those who are not.” And elsewhere: “Who calls the things that are not.” “Release me, that I may be refreshed before I depart and be no more.” Yet it must be understood that it is in our power either to be or not to be. As long as we cling to God and adhere to him who truly is, we too are. But if we depart from him and do not cling to our God, we fall by our own fault into the contrary. By this, then, the destruction of the soul’s substance is not meant; but the soul is said not to be when it does not remain in him who truly and always is, from whom it has its being. Therefore the prophetic word also exhorts us, saying: “We will go after the Lord our God, and we will cling to him.” And let us ourselves say: “My soul has clung to you,” in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be honor and glory for ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 39:13 (38:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Obad 16: quotation, medium confidence - Rom 4:17: quotation, high confidence - Deut 13:4: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 63:8 (62:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Origen explicitly denies that “I will be no more” means the destruction of the soul’s substance; translated as written. - “They will be as those who are not” is Obad 16. ### Citation (SBL) Origen, Hom. Ps. 36–38 9.12 (PG 12:1410a–1410b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-homiliae-psalmos-36-38/9-1/#p-9-12).