Idolatry and Divine Judgment
And it will be when you say, 'For what reason did the Lord God do all these evils to us?' And you will say to them, 'Because you abandoned me and served other gods in your land, so in a land not your own.'
The sons of Israel had the holy land, the temple, the house of prayer. They should have worshipped God. Transgressing the divine commands, they became idolaters and took in idols from Damascus, as written in the Books, and other idols from the land.
Will you cast out the food and drink? God is yours. Do you honor money as a great good and the wealth below? God is the Mammon and Lord. For Jesus said to the lovers of money: 'You cannot serve God and Mammon.'
If anyone in the church of God, while present, worships other gods, making unworthy things divine, they will be cast into a foreign land to worship the gods they once served. Let the greedy be expelled from the church, and the glutton be outside the church.
Now we are in a foreign land, and we pray to reverse this, as the sons of Israel did in the holy land.
They worshipped foreign gods in the holy land; we worship the foreign god of this land, foreign to earthly matters. The ruler of this age reigns here, and God is foreign to his children. I do not mean the creator of the world, but the God of evil, foreign to present sins.
Amen.
Greek
«Καὶ ἔσται ὅταν εἴπητε. τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐποίησεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῖν ἅπαντα τὰ κακὰ ταῦτα; καὶ ἐρεῖς αὐτοῖς· ἀνθ᾿ ὧν ἐγκατελίπετέ με καὶ ἐδουλεύσατε θεοῖς ἑτέροις έν τῇ γῇ ὑμῶν, οὕτως οὕτως ἐν γῇ οὐχ ὑμῶν. τὸ ῥητὸν νοηθήτω, καὶ ἀρκεῖ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὴν τὴν ὑπόμνησιν τοῖς ἀκούειν δυναμένοις ἐκ τοῦ ῥητοῦ παραστῆσαι. οὐκοῦν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἱσραὴλ τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν, τὸν ναὸν εἶχον, τὸν οἶκον τῆς προσευχῆς.
ἔδει αὐτοὺς λατρεύειν τῷ θεῷ. παραβαίνοντες δὰς τὰς θείας ἐντολὰς καὶ εἰδωλολάτρουν καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα παρελάμβανον Δαμασκοῦ, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν ταῖς Βασιλείαις, καὶ ἄλλα εἴδωλα ἀνελάμβανον τῶν τῶν εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν. δἰ ὡν παρελάμβανον τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰδώλων, ἁξίους ἐαυτοὺς ἑποίουν ἐποίουν καταβληθῆναι εἰς τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων γῆν, καταγενέσθαι ἐκεῖ, ὅπου προσεκύνουν τά εἴδωλα. φησὶν οὑν ὁ λόγος αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὸ ῥητόν· «ἀνθ' ὡν ἐγκατελίπετέ με καὶ ἐδουλεύσατε θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν τῇ γῇ ὑμῶν, οὕτως οὕτως δουλεύσετε θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν γῇ οὐχ ὑμῶν« πᾶς θεοΠοιῶν τι δουλεύει θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις.
ἐκθειάξεις τὰ βρώματα καὶ τὰ πόματα; θεός σού ἐστιν «ἡ κοιλία( τιμᾷς τὸ ἀργύριον ὡς μέγα ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν κάτω; θεός σού ἐστιν ὁ μαμωνᾶς καὶ κύριος. Ἰησοῦς γὰρ αὐτὸν εἶπενξ κύριον τῶν φιλαργύρων φάσκων· «οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ; οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶν κυρίοις δουλεύειν( οὐκοῦν ὁ τιμῶν τὸ ἀργύριον καὶ θαυμάζων τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ νομίζων ἀγαθὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ ἀποδεχόμενος τοὺς πλουσίους ὡς θεούς, τοὺς δὲ πένητας ὡς μὴ ἔχοντας τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν ἐξουθενῶν, οὗτος θεοποιεῖ τὸ ἀργύριον.
ἐάν τις ἐν τῇ τοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, τυγχάνων προσκυνήσῃ θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις θεοποιῶν τὰ μὴ θεοποιεῖσθαι ἄξια, ἐκβληθήσεται εἰς γῆν ἀλλοτρίαν καὶ προσκυνείτω τοὺς θεούς, οὓς ἔνδον προσεκύ- νησεν γενόμενος. ἔξω φιλάργυρος ἔστω ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβλη- θείς, γαστρίμαργος ἔξω ἔστω τῆς ἐκκλησίας γενόμενος. ταῦτα κατὰ μίαν τροπολογίαν, ἵνα μὴ νῦν περιεργάζωμαι Ι τὰ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτὸν καὶ περὶ τῆς γῆς, περὶ ἡς εἶπεν ὁ σωτήρ· «τὸ ἡμέτερον τίς δώσει ὑμῖν;« καὶ ὅτι γενομένης προσκυνήσεως ἐν τῇ γῇ τινος οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ᾠκο- νόμησεν ἐκβληθῆναί τινας ἀπὸ τῆς ἐαυτοῦ καὶ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, περὶ ἡς γέγραπται. «ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ. τί ὅτι ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν εἶ; συνελογίσθης μετὰ τῶν καταβαινόντων εἰς ᾄδου.
ἐγκατέλιπες πηγὴν ζωῆς τὸν κύριον. τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰ ἐπορεύθης, κατῴκεις ἂν ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνο. Νῦν οὑν ἐν γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ ἐσμέν, καὶ εὐχόμεθα τὸ ἐναντίον ποιῆ- σαι, ὡς ἐποίησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ ἀγίᾳ.
ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ τὰ ἀλλότρια] ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ ἁγίᾳ ἀλλοτρίοις προσεκύνησαν· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ γῇ τὸν ἀλλότριον τῆς γῆς προσκυνοῦμεν θεόν, ἀλλότριον τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς πραγμάτων· ἄρχει μὲν γὰρ ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐνθάδε, καὶ ἀλλότριος τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεός. ἀλλότριον τριον δὲ ἂν εἴπω οὐ τοῦτο λέγω. οὐ κτίσαντα τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλὰ ἀλλότριον τοῦ κυρίου τῆς κακίας, ἀλλότριον τῶν παρόντων ἀμαρτημάτων. καίτοιγε καὶ θέλοντες τὸν ἀλλότριον τῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας πρα- γμάτων προσκυνεῖν θεὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ ταύτῃ τῆς κακώσεως, τί ποιοῦμεν ἴδωμεν. οὐ λέγομεν· «πῶς ᾄσωμεν τὴν ᾠδὴν κυρίου ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλοτρίας«; ἀλλά. πῶς ᾄσωμεν τὴν ᾠδὴν κυρίου οὐκ ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλοτρίας; τούτου τόπον ζητοῦμεν τοῦ ᾄδειν τὴν ᾠδὴν κυρίου, τόπον τοῦ προσκυνεῖν κύριον τὸν θεὸν ἡμῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλοτρίας. τίς οὖν ὁ τόπος; εὗρον τοῦτον· ἦλθεν ἐπὶ ταύτην φορέσας σῶμα τὸ σῶσαν, ἀναλαβὼν «τὸ σῶμα τὸ τῆς ἀμαρτίας« «ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας«, ἵν' ἐν τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ διὰ τὸν ἐπιδημήσαντα Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ κα ταργήσαντα τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου καὶ καταργήσαντα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, δυνηθῶ προσκυνῆσαι τὸν θεὸν ἐνθάδε καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο προσκυνήσω ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ ἁγίᾳ. εἰ γὰρ προσκυνήσας τις τὰ εἴδωλα ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ ἁγίᾳ ἁπελήλυθεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν, προσκυνήσας τις τὸν θεὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ ἀπελεύσεται ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν ἁγίαν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ᾦ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.
Ἀμήν.
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.