On Prayer 27.16
Summary: Whoever glimpses God's vast ordering of the ages will not be petty about the present, but will prepare to receive the daily bread “today” and “each day,” and more than he can ask or imagine.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:374–375
ταῦτα τοίνυν ὁ ἰδὼν καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ αἰώνων ἑβδομάδα, ἵνα σαββατισμόν τινα ἅγιον θεωρήσῃ, ἐννοήσας καὶ αἰώνων μῆνα, ἵνα τὴν ἁγίαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἴδῃ νουμηνίαν, καὶ αἰώνων ἐνιαυτὸν, ἵνα συνίδῃ τὰς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ γε ἑορτὰς, ὅτε δεῖ „πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν“ ἐνώπιον φαίνεσθαι „κυρίου θεοῦ, “ καὶ τηλικούτων αἰώνων τοὺς ἀνάλογον ἐνιαυτοὺς, ἵνα τὸ ἕβδομον ἅγιον ἔτος καταλαμβάνῃ, καὶ αἰώνων ἑβδοματικοὺς ἑπτὰ, ὅπως ὑμνήσῃ τὸν τηλικαῦτα νομοθετήσαντα, ἐξετάσας· πῶς δύναται μικρολογῆσαι περὶ τοῦ ἐλαχίστου μορίου ὥρας τῆς τοῦ τηλικούτου αἰῶνος ἡμέρας καὶ οὐχὶ πάντα ποιήσει, ἵνα ἀπὸ τῆς ἐνταῦθα παρασκευῆς ἄξιος γενόμενος τοῦ τυχεῖν τοῦ ἐπιουσίου ἄρτου ἐν τῇ „σήμερον“ ἡμέρᾳ λάβῃ αὐτὸν καὶ „καθʼ ἡμέραν, “ ἤδη σαφοῦς ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων γινομένου τοῦ „καθʼ ἡμέραν“; τῷ γὰρ ἐξ ἀπείρων ἐπʼ ἄπειρον ὄντι θεῷ οὐ μόνον περὶ τῆς „σήμερον“ ἀλλὰ καί πως τοῦ „καθʼ ἡμέραν“ ὁ „σήμερον“ εὐχόμενος, ἀπὸ τοῦ δυνατοῦ δωρήσασθαι „ὑπὲρ ἐκ περισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν“ λαβεῖν οἷός τε ἔσται, ἵνʼ οὕτως ὑπερβολικῶς εἴπω, καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ „ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε καὶ“ τὰ ὑπὲρ ἃ „οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καὶ“ τὰ ὑπὲρ ἃ „ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη.“
English · Claude translation
Whoever, then, has seen these things, and has conceived in his understanding a week of ages, so as to contemplate a holy sabbath rest; and a month of ages, so as to see the holy new moon of God; and a year of ages, so as to understand the feasts of the year, when “every male” must appear before “the Lord God”; and the corresponding years of such great ages, so as to grasp the seventh holy year; and seven weeks of ages, so as to praise him who gave such great laws—how can he, having examined these things, quibble about the smallest fraction of an hour of a day of so great an age, and not do everything so that, having become worthy through his preparation here to obtain the daily bread, he may receive it on the day “today” and “each day,” the meaning of “each day” now being clear from what has been said? For the one who prays to God, who is from infinity to infinity, not only for “today” but also in some way for “each day,” will be able to receive from him who can give “far more abundantly than all we ask or think,” to speak hyperbolically, even things beyond what “eye has not seen, and” beyond what “ear has not heard, and” beyond what “has not entered into the heart of man.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations and allusions are Heb 4:9, Exod 23:17, Lev 25:8–10, Eph 3:20, and 1 Cor 2:9.
Cite this passage
Origen, Or. 27.16 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/27/16/).
Plain text
Origen, Or. 27.16 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/27/16/).
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