Reproach for your words; share the prophets’ lot
'Know that I received reproach concerning you from those who set aside your words.' Let the prophet, speaking and made nothing of for what he said, be set aside by sinners; for he himself says: 'I continued being mocked.' So he was reproached by those who set aside the words spoken through him by God, and he prays, upon being reproached, to be helped by God saying: 'Know that I received reproach concerning you from those who set aside your words; finish them.' Let the prophet say it, but 'finish them' spoken by the Savior fits better; for a finishing came upon Jerusalem and the people, upon what happened from the people's plot against our Savior.
After these things it is necessary—because the prophets suffered much convicting and ambassadoring the word and taking what was commanded by God—to remind the hearers about their life and their promises and our choice, so that as far as we can, if we want to have rest with the prophets, we may zealously imitate the prophets' works.
What I mean is like this: often in prayers we say: Almighty God, give our portion with the prophets, give our portion with the apostles of your Christ, that we may also be found with Christ himself. And saying these things we do not perceive what we pray; for in effect we say this: grant us to suffer what the prophets suffered, grant us also to be hated as the prophets were hated, give such words for which we will be hated, grant us to fall into as many circumstances as the apostles. For to say 'give me a portion with the prophets' while neither having suffered the prophets' things nor wanting to suffer is unjust. To say 'give me a portion with the apostles' while not wanting from Paul's disposition, speaking truly, to say: 'In toils more abundantly, in blows more abundantly, in prisons beyond measure, in deaths often' and what follows, is most unjust of all. If then we want to come to be with the prophets, look at the prophets' lives—that from convicting, from rebuking, from striking they were judged, examined, condemned. 'They were stoned, they were sawn, they were tested, they died by murder of sword, they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, lacking, afflicted, mistreated, wandering upon deserts'—when there were many synagogues of Jews; and these were 'wandering upon deserts and mountains and caves and the holes of the earth.' What then is strange if someone wanting to zealously imitate the prophetic life, convicting, striking the one who sins, is spoken ill of, hated, plotted against? Just as also in the present such a thing had to come to be into God's church. The one who was condemned was condemned; so-and-so sitting did such things; there had to be church vindication, and it came to be; the one entrusted with the work did what he ought to have done. That one goes about speaking ill of the one who vindicated the truth. But let us not do this; let us not lend our ears to those who, because they have been cast out, speak ill of the one who cast out or of the one who became a fellow voter. The marvelous apostles, insulted countless times because of the truth, say: 'I am well pleased in weaknesses, in insults and necessities, in persecutions and distresses, for Christ.' Only may I, being insulted, know that I am insulted for no other reason than for Christ; coming into necessities, know that the ground of the necessities is Christ. May I, being abused, know that the pretext of the abuse is no other than that I vindicate the truth and ambassador for what is written, so that according to God's word everything may come to be—for this reason I am blasphemed. So let us all too, as much strength as there is, hasten upon the prophetic life, upon the apostolic life, not fleeing what is burdensome; for if an athlete flees the burdensome of the contest, he will not receive the pleasant of the crown.
Greek
«γνῶθι ὡς ἔλαβον περὶ σοῦ ὀνειδισμὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀθετούντων τοὺς λόγους σου. ἔστω ὁ προφήτης, λέγων καὶ ἐξουθενημένος ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἔλεγεν, ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἀθετούμενος· φησὶ γὰρ αὐτός· «διετέλεσα μυκτηριζόμενος. ὠνειδίζετο οὖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀθετούντων τοὺς λόγους τοὺς δι᾿ αὐτοῦ λαλουμένους ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ εὔχεται ἐπὶ τῷ ὠνειδίσθαι βοηθηθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ λέγων· «γνῶθι ὡς ἔλαβον περὶ σοῦ ὀνειδισμὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀθε- τούντων τοὺς λόγους σου· συντέλεσον αὐτούς. λεγέτω ὁ προφήτης, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἁρμόζει τὸ «συντέλεσον αὐτοὺς« λεγόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος· συντέλεια γὰρ ἦλθε περὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ τῷ λαῷ, ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς τοῦ λαοῦ κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν.
Μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναγκαῖον διὰ τὸ πολλὰ πεπονθέναι τοὺς προφήτας ἐλέγχοντας καὶ τὸν λόγον πρεσβεύοντας καὶ λαβοῦντας τὰ προστασ· σόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὑπομνῆσαι τοὺς ἀκροατὰς περὶ τοῦ βίου αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας προαιρέσεως, ἵνα κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν, εἰ θέλομεν μετὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἔχειν ἀνάπαυσιν, τὰ ἔργα τῶν προφητῶν ζηλώσωμεν.
ὅ δὲ λέγω τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· πολλάκις ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς λέγομεν· θεὲ παντοκράτορ, τὴν μερίδα ἡμῶν μετὰ τῶν προφητῶν δός, τὴν μερίδα ἡμῶν μετὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου δός, ἵνα εὑρεθῶμεν καὶ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. ταῦτα δὲ λέγοντες οὐκ αἰσθανόμεθα τί εὐχόμεθα· δυνάμει γὰρ τοῦτό φαμεν· δὸς ἡμᾶς παθεῖν ἃ πεπόνθασιν οἱ προφῆται, δὸς καὶ ἡμᾶς μισηθῆναι ὡς ἐμισήθησαν οἱ προφῆται, λόγους τοιούτους δὸς ἐφ᾿ οἷς μισηθησόμεθα, δὸς τοσαύταις περιστάσεσι περιπεσεῖν ὅσαις οἱ ἀπόστολοι. τὸ γὰρ λέγειν· δός μοι μερίδα μετὰ τῶν προφητῶν, μὴ παθόντα τὰ τῶν προφητῶν μηδὲ παθεῖν θέλοντα ἄδικόν ἐστι. τὸ λέγειν· δός μοι μερίδα μετὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων, μὴ θέλοντα ἀπὸ διαθέσεως Παύλου ἀληθεύοντα εἰπεῖν· «ἐν κόποις περισσοτέρως, ἐν πληγαῖς περισσοτέρως, ἐν φυλακαῖς ὑπερβαλλόντως, ἐν θανάτοις πολλάκις« καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, πάντων ἐστὶν ἀδικώτατον. εἴπερ οὖν θέλομεν μετὰ τῶν προφητῶν γενέσθαι, ὅρα τοὺς βίους τῶν προφητῶν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἐλέγχειν, ἐκ τοῦ ἐπιτιμᾶν, ἐκ τοῦ ἐπιπλήσσειν ἐδικάζοντο, διεκρίνοντο, κατεδικάζοντο. «ἐλιθάσθησαν, ἐπρίσθησαν, ἐπειράσθησαν, ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρας ἀπέθανον, περιῆλθον ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, ὑστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενιο, κακουχούμενοι, ἐπ᾿ ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι«, ὅτε συναγωγαὶ πολλαὶ Ἰουδαίων· καὶ οὖτοι ἦσαν «ἐπ᾿ ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι καὶ ὄρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς. τί οὖν παράδοξον, εἰ θέλων τις ξηλοῦν τὸν βίον τὸν προφητικόν, ἐλέγχων, ἐπιπλήσσων τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα κακολογεῖται, μισεῖται, ἐπιβουλεύεται; ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἔδει † γενέσθαι τοιοῦτον εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ. κατεγνώσθη ὁ καταγνωσθείς, ὁ δεῖνα † καθεζόμενος ἐποίει τὰ τοιάσε· ἔδει γενέσθαι ἐκκλη- σιατικὴν ἐκδικίαν, καὶ γέγονεν· πεποίηκεν ὁ ἐγκεχειρισμένος τὸ ἔργον ὃ ἔδει αὐτὸν πεποιηκέναι. περιέρχεται ἐκεῖνος λέγων κακῶς τὸν ἐκδικήσαντα τὴν ἀλήθειαν. ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο μὴ ποιῶμεν, μὴ παρέχωμεν τὰς ἀκοὰς τοῖς διὰ τὸ ἐκβεβλῆσθαι λέγουσι κακῶς τὸν ἐκβαλόντα ἢ τὸν σύμψηφον γενόμενον. οἱ καὶ ἀδικίας γε ἐλεγχομένης καὶ γεγενημένης †. οἱ θαυμάσιοι ἀπόστολοι μυρία ὑβριζόμενοι διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν λέγουσιν· «εὐδοκῶ ἐν ἀσθενείαις, ἐν ὕβρεσι καὶ ἀνάγκαις, ἐν διωγμοῖς καὶ στενοχωρίαις, ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ. μόνον εἴη με ὑβριζόμενον εἰδέναι ὅτι οὐ δἰ ἄλλο τι ὑβρίζομαι ἢ διὰ Χριστόν, ἐν ἀνάγκαις γενόμενον εἰδέναι ὅτι ἡ ὑπόθεσις τῶν ἀναγκαίων ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν. εἴη με λοιδορούμενον εἰδέναι ὅτι ἡ πρόφασις τῆς λοιδορίας οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλη, ἢ ὅτι ἐκδικῶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ πρεσβεύω ὑπὲρ τῶν γεγραμμένων, ἵωα κατὰ λόγον θεοῦ πάντα γίνηται, διὰ τοῦτο βλασφημοῦμαι. καὶ ἡμεῖς οὖν πάντες, ὅση δύναμις, σπεύσωμεν ἐπὶ τὸν βίον τὸν προφητικόν, ἐπὶ τὸν βίον τὸν ἀποστολικόν, τὸ ὀχληρὸν μὴ φεύγοντες· ἀθλητὴς γὰρ ἐὰν φύγῃ τὸ τῆς ἀθλήσεως ὀχληρόν, τὸ ἡδὺ τοῦ στεφάνου οὐκ ἀπολήφεται.
About this text
Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page publishes the Pass B English for Homilies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Homily 8 remains a machine draft and is not shipped yet. The rest of the volume is still being translated.
English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
- Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
- Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)
Where the prints differ
- Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
- Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
- Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
- Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.