{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-pater-si-possibile-est","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-pater-si-possibile-est","title":"In illud Pater si possibile est","title_source":"In illud Pater si possibile est","author":"John Chrysostom","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T07:05:42Z","cost_usd":0.007314},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-pater-si-possibile-est","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-pater-si-possibile-est","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20illud%20Pater%20si%20possibile%20est.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":13,"english_words":3282,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":12865,"commentary_units":76,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":1,"ambiguities":20,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-pater-si-possibile-est","abstract":"This work is a homiletic exposition on the Lord's Prayer attributed to John Chrysostom, likely delivered extemporaneously during his presbyterate in Antioch (386–397 CE). The register is rhetorical and parenetic, aimed at a lay audience. The text survives only in later medieval manuscripts and was widely excerpted in Byzantine catenae and florilegia. The present edition by khazarzar is a modern compilation without critical apparatus, so variant readings and scribal interventions are not identified. The homily uses vivid similes, such as comparing the teacher to a mother transitioning from milk to solid food, and engages directly with Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36).","historical_context":"The work belongs to John Chrysostom's early preaching period in Antioch, where he served as presbyter from 386 to 397 CE. Antioch was a major center of Antiochene exegesis, known for its literal and historical approach to Scripture. Chrysostom's homilies were typically delivered in the Great Church (the Golden Church) to a mixed congregation of literate and illiterate Christians. The Lord's Prayer was a central catechetical text, and Chrysostom's exposition reflects the Antiochene tradition of practical moral instruction. The text survives only in later medieval manuscripts, with no autograph or early witness; the earliest codices date from the 9th–10th centuries. It was transmitted through Byzantine catenae and florilegia, often excerpted for liturgical or catechetical use. The present edition by khazarzar is a modern compilation, not a critical edition, and does not collate manuscripts or identify variant readings.","significance":"This homily is a key witness to Antiochene interpretation of the Lord's Prayer and to Chrysostom's pastoral method of using vivid, accessible imagery. Its influence on later Eastern Christian commentary is evident through its inclusion in Byzantine catenae and florilegia. The work also illustrates the rhetorical and parenetic style that made Chrysostom a model for preachers in both Eastern and Western traditions.","timeline":[{"date":"386–397 CE","event":"Probable delivery of the homily during Chrysostom's presbyterate in Antioch."},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Chrysostom's homilies are transcribed and circulated in Antioch and Constantinople."},{"date":"9th–10th c.","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript witnesses of the homily."},{"date":"Medieval period","event":"The homily is widely copied and excerpted in Byzantine catenae and florilegia."},{"date":"Modern","event":"Edition by khazarzar compiled without critical apparatus."}],"relations":[{"work":"Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew","relation":"Chrysostom's other homilies on the Lord's Prayer and related passages","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"De oratione dominica (Cyprian)","relation":"Earlier Latin treatise on the Lord's Prayer","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Catechetical homilies of Cyril of Jerusalem","relation":"Contemporary catechetical exposition of the Lord's Prayer","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Byzantine catenae on the Psalms and Gospels","relation":"Transmission of excerpts from this homily","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Florilegia of John Chrysostom","relation":"Compilations that include passages from this work","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The date of delivery is not precisely known; the range 386–397 CE is inferred from Chrysostom's tenure as presbyter in Antioch.","The text survives only in later medieval manuscripts; no early witnesses exist.","The present edition by khazarzar is a modern compilation without critical apparatus; variant readings and scribal interventions are not identified.","Attribution to Chrysostom is traditional but not independently verified by external evidence for this specific homily."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.00051,"generated":"2026-11-15T07:05:41Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20illud%20Pater%20si%20possibile%20est.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-pater-si-possibile-est","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":13,"translated":13,"commentary_passages":13,"commentary_units":76,"english_words":3282,"source_letters":12865,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The treatise is a homiletic exposition on the Lord's Prayer, likely delivered extemporaneously. Its register is rhetorical and parenetic, aimed at a lay audience.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's tenure as presbyter in Antioch (386–397 CE) is the probable context. The work is not precisely datable but belongs to his early preaching period.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The text survives only in later manuscript traditions; the earliest witnesses are medieval. The edition by khazarzar is a modern compilation, not a critical edition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This homily was widely copied and excerpted in Byzantine catenae and florilegia, influencing later Eastern Christian commentary on the Lord's Prayer.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The present edition does not provide a critical apparatus or collation of manuscripts. Variant readings and scribal interventions are not identified.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 13 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"1 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":13},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Εἰς τὸ, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ. Τῇ μεγάλῃ Παρασκευῇ.\n\nΟὐδὲν ἀπεοίκασιν οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι μητρὶ φιλοτέκνῳ, πάντα πόνον καὶ κάματον ὑπομενούσῃ διὰ τὴν τῶν φιλτάτων τέκνων ἀνατροφήν. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκείνη τὸν μασθὸν προΐσχουσα, τὴν τοῦ γάλακτος ἀκάματον τροφὴν τῷ φιλτάτῳ παρέχει, ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλος τὴν θηλὴν τῆς διανοίας προβαλλόμενος τοῖς παισὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, πόθῳ ψυχῆς ὑφέλκειν τὸ γάλα τοῦ λόγου παρακαλεῖ. Καὶ ὥσπερ ἡ μήτηρ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος ἀνατροφῆς διαγωγὴν, καὶ τὸν δύσθρυπτον ἄρτον διαλύει, καὶ τὰ λαχανικὰ βρώματα ἀρτύμασι νοστήσασα, καὶ πυρὶ περιλειώσασα, ὑπηρέτις τῆς ζωῆς τῶν οἰκείων τέκνων γίνεται· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ὁ διδάσκαλος μετὰ τὴν κατήχησιν τῶν θείων λογίων, καὶ οἱονεὶ μετὰ τὴν γαλακτοτροφίαν, καὶ τὸν δυσερμήνευτον ἄρτον τοῦ λόγου τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τοῦ πνεύματος διαλύσας, καὶ τῶν ποικίλων καὶ διαφόρων ἑρμηνειῶν καὶ θεωριῶν Γραφικῶν εἰς μίαν κρᾶσιν διδασκαλίας συναγαγὼν, νόστιμον τὸν λόγον τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τρεφομένοις παισὶ μεταδίδωσι.","english":"On the phrase, \"Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.\" On Great Friday.\n\nThe teachers of the Church are in no way unlike a mother who loves her children, enduring every toil and labor for the rearing of her dearest children. For just as she, offering her breast, provides the tireless nourishment of milk to her beloved, so also the teacher of the Church, putting forward the breast of his mind, invites the children of the Church to draw forth the milk of discourse with desire of soul. And just as the mother, after the period of rearing with milk, also dissolves the hard-to-break bread, and, having seasoned vegetable foods with condiments and softened them with fire, becomes a servant of the life of her own children, in the same way the teacher, after the catechesis of the divine scriptures, and, as it were, after the milk-feeding, having dissolved the hard-to-interpret bread of discourse with the knife of the spirit, and having brought together the various and different interpretations and scriptural contemplations into one blend of teaching, imparts the discourse, made savory, to the children nourished by him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"Εἰς τὸ, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The title quotes Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36), a key moment of Christ's human vulnerability.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"Τῇ μεγάλῃ Παρασκευῇ","severity":"info","text":"Great Friday is the Greek term for Good Friday, the commemoration of Christ's crucifixion, setting the homily's liturgical context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"τῆς διανοίας","severity":"info","text":"The 'breast of the mind' (τῆς διανοίας) is a metaphor for intellectual or spiritual nourishment, paralleling the mother's physical breast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τοῦ πνεύματος","severity":"info","text":"The 'knife of the spirit' (τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τοῦ πνεύματος) is a metaphor for spiritual discernment used to dissect and interpret scripture.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Καὶ ὥσπερ ... τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον","severity":"info","text":"The passage uses a double simile (ὥσπερ ... τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον) comparing the teacher to a mother, first with milk, then with solid food.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's image of the teacher as a nursing mother was influential in later monastic and catechetical literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is from a later manuscript tradition; the original Coptic cues for structural classification are not present in the Greek."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Διὸ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἐν ταῖς προλαβούσαις ἡμέραις τοῖς εὐθυλύτοις λόγοις ὑμᾶς γαλακτοτροφήσαντες, νῦν πρὸς διδαγμάτων θεωρίαν ἄγωμεν, τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος νόστιμον ὑμῖν τὸν λόγον τῆς διδασκαλίας ἀρτύοντος. Ἔστι δὲ ἡμῖν προκείμενος ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν Γραφῶν τραπέζης, ὁ ἄρτος τοῦ λόγου τοιοῦτος· Διὰ τί ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὑπὲρ τῆς πάντων ζωῆς ἐληλυθὼς ἀναδέξασθαι τὸ παθεῖν καὶ θανεῖν, ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀοίδιμον σταυρὸν λέγει· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ. Πολλοὶ γὰρ μὴ νοήσαντες τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς σοφίας, καὶ τὸν κεκρυμμένον θησαυρὸν ἐν τῷ ῥήματι, μὴ προσεσχηκότες, δειλίας αὐτοῦ καταγγέλλουσιν.\n\nἈλλὰ δεῦρο καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀγαπητοὶ, τέως πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὥσπερ νήπιοι διαλεχθῶμεν, ἵνα τὰ ὑπ' ἐκείνου ἡμῖν νοήματα ὡς νηπίοις διαπορθμεύσωμεν. Εἴπωμεν τοίνυν πρὸς αὐτὸν, οὐχ ὥσπερ τέλειοι, ἀλλ' ὡς νήπιοι· Τίνος ἕνεκεν, Κύριε, ἐλθὼν τοῦ παθεῖν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἐλθὼν τοῦ σταυρωθῆναι, δειλιᾷς καὶ εὔχῃ λέγων· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ; Εἰ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσας μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, μηδενός σε ἀναγκάσαντος, τί νῦν ἄλλον ἀξιοῖς καὶ λέγεις· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω; Καὶ μὴν συνείχου καὶ ἔσπευδες τοῦ πιεῖν τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο. Ἔλεγες γὰρ, Βάπτισμα ἔχω βαπτισθῆναι· καὶ πῶς συνέχομαι, ἕως οὗ πίω αὐτό; καὶ ὁ συνεχόμενος καὶ σπεύδων τοῦ πιεῖν αὐτὸ, παραιτεῖς καὶ λέγεις· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Μὴ γὰρ ἠγνόεις, ὅτι ἤμελλες ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν θάνατον ὑπομένειν; Καὶ μὴν σὺ ἔλεγες, ὅτι·","english":"Therefore, beloved, having nourished you in the preceding days with straightforward words like milk, let us now lead you to the contemplation of teachings, as the Holy Spirit seasons the discourse of instruction for your enjoyment. The bread of discourse set before us on the table of the Scriptures is this: Why did our Lord Jesus Christ, having come to undergo suffering and death for the life of all, upon arriving at the glorious cross say, \"Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me\"? For many, not having understood the purpose of the wisdom, nor having attended to the hidden treasure in the saying, accuse him of cowardice.\n\nBut come, beloved, let us for now converse with him as children, so that we may convey to you the meanings from him as to children. Let us therefore say to him, not as mature persons, but as children: \"Why, Lord, having come to suffer for us, having come to be crucified, do you shrink back and pray, saying, 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me'? If you emptied yourself, taking the form of a servant, with no one compelling you, why do you now ask another and say, 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass'? Yet you were constrained and eager to drink this cup. For you said, 'I have a baptism to undergo; and how I am constrained until I drink it.' And the one constrained and eager to drink it, you now beg off and say, 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass.' Did you not know that you were about to undergo death for us? Yet you yourself said that—","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Διὸ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς... γαλακτοτροφήσαντες","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom extends the nursing metaphor from the previous passage, stating that earlier days provided 'milk-like' (εὐθυλύτοις) words, now transitioning to 'contemplation of teachings' (θεωρίαν).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"εὐθυλύτοις","severity":"info","text":"The adjective εὐθύλυτος, here in dative plural, is rare; it likely means 'easily dissolved' or 'straightforward,' contrasting with the deeper teaching to follow.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ","severity":"info","text":"This is a direct quotation of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36). Chrysostom uses it as the exegetical crux of the homily.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Βάπτισμα ἔχω βαπτισθῆναι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom attributes to Christ a saying about being 'constrained' to undergo baptism, likely alluding to the notion of Christ's own baptism as a type of his passion, though the exact source is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἴπωμεν τοίνυν πρὸς αὐτὸν, οὐχ ὥσπερ τέλειοι, ἀλλ' ὡς νήπιοι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom adopts a rhetorical device of addressing Christ as a child would, framing the objection to the prayer as a naive question to be resolved by deeper exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"δειλίας αὐτοῦ καταγγέλλουσιν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom notes that some accuse Christ of cowardice (δειλία) for his prayer, a charge he refutes by uncovering the 'hidden treasure' in the saying. This reflects early Christian apologetic concerns.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is complete and clear; no textual ambiguities. The reference to Christ's saying about baptism (Βάπτισμα ἔχω βαπτισθῆναι) is not a direct canonical quotation and may be a paraphrase or apocryphal tradition."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Δεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδοθῆναι καὶ σταυρωθῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἀναστῆναι. Τί οὖν ἐλθὼν ἐγγὺς τοῦ σταυροῦ παραιτῇ καὶ λέγεις· Εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω; Καὶ εἰ τοῦτο ἐβούλου, τί τῷ σῷ μαθητῇ Πέτρῳ κωλύοντί σε ἐπετίμησας; ἔλεγες γὰρ, Δεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου σταυρωθῆναι καὶ ταφῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἀναστῆναι. Ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ Πέτρος· Ἵλεώς σοι, Κύριε, οὐ μὴ ἔσται σοι τοῦτο· πρὸς ὃν ἀγανακτήσας ἔφης, Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ· σκάνδαλόν μου εἶ, ὅτι οὐ φρονεῖς τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Εἰ οὖν ἐκείνῳ ἐπετίμησας τότε, ὡς ἀνθρώπινα φθεγγομένῳ, τί νῦν ἐπιζητεῖς ὃ τότε ἐκεῖνος ἐκώλυε, καὶ λέγεις· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω;\n\nΣὲ κτιστὴν τῶν ὁρωμένων καὶ μὴ ὁρωμένων μανθάνομεν εἶναι· καὶ γὰρ νόσους ἁφῇ χειρὸς ἐθεράπευσας, καὶ νεκρῶν λελυμένα σώματα διὰ ῥήματος ἔπηξας, καὶ πηγὰς αἱμάτων κρασπέδοις ἱματίων ἐξήρανας, ἐκ πέντε ἄρτων πεντακισχιλίους ἄνδρας εἰς κόρον διέθρεψας, ἀνέμοις καὶ θαλάσσῃ ἐπετίμησας, καὶ πάντα σοι ὑπήκουσαν τρόμῳ· καὶ ὁ τοσούτων θαυμάτων δημιουργὸς, καὶ θανάτων λυτήριος νῦν θάνατον φοβῇ, καὶ λέγεις· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω; Καὶ εἰ σὺ θάνατον φοβῇ, ἐν τίνι λοιπὸν ἕξομεν τῆς ζωῆς τὰς ἐλπίδας; καὶ εἰ φοβῇ θάνατον, πῶς λέγεις, Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀνάστασις; ζωὴ γὰρ καὶ ἀνάστασις θάνατον οὐδέποτε φοβεῖται. Τί δέ ἐστι καὶ ὃ λέγεις· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω; Ἆρα ἀγνοεῖς, ὁ εἰδὼς τὰ πάντα πρὶν γενέσεως αὐτῶν, ἀγνοεῖς πότερον δυνατόν ἐστιν, ἢ ἀδύνατον παρελθεῖν τὸ ποτήριον;","english":"It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed and crucified and rise on the third day. Why then, when you came near the cross, do you beg and say, \"If possible, let this cup pass\"? And if this was your intention, why did you rebuke your disciple Peter when he tried to prevent you? For you said, \"It is necessary that the Son of Man be crucified and buried and rise on the third day.\" And Peter also said, \"Mercy on you, Lord, this shall not happen to you\"; at which you became indignant and said, \"Get behind me, Satan; you are a stumbling block to me, because you do not think the things of God, but the things of men.\" If, then, you rebuked him then, as one speaking human thoughts, why do you now seek what he then prevented, and say, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass\"?\n\nWe learn that you are the creator of the visible and the invisible; for you healed diseases by the touch of your hand, and you fixed the dissolved bodies of the dead by a word, and you dried up sources of blood with the hems of garments, from five loaves you fed five thousand men to satiety, you rebuked winds and sea, and all obeyed you in trembling; and the creator of so many wonders, and the deliverer from deaths, now fears death, and says, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass\"? And if you fear death, in whom then shall we have hopes of life? And if you fear death, how do you say, \"I am the life and the resurrection\"? For life and resurrection never fear death. And what is it that you say, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass\"? Do you then not know, you who know all things before their generation, do you not know whether it is possible or impossible for the cup to pass?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδοθῆναι καὶ σταυρωθῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἀναστῆναι","severity":"info","text":"This echoes Jesus’ prediction of his betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection on the third day, as in Matthew 17:22–23 and parallels.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ· σκάνδαλόν μου εἶ","severity":"info","text":"The rebuke of Peter as ‘Satan’ and ‘stumbling block’ is not found in canonical Gospels; it may derive from apocryphal tradition or Chrysostom’s own elaboration.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀνάστασις","severity":"info","text":"Alludes to John 11:25, where Jesus says ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ Chrysostom uses it to contrast Christ’s claim with his apparent fear of death.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐκ πέντε ἄρτων πεντακισχιλίους ἄνδρας εἰς κόρον διέθρεψας","severity":"info","text":"Refers to the miracle of the multiplication of loaves (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:35–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–14), here adapted to five loaves feeding five thousand.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Σὲ κτιστὴν τῶν ὁρωμένων καὶ μὴ ὁρωμένων μανθάνομεν εἶναι","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from a narrative of Peter’s rebuke to a direct address to Christ, listing his miracles to highlight the paradox of his fear of death.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase ‘Father, if possible, let this cup pass’ is not attested in canonical Gospels; Chrysostom may be drawing on a non-canonical source or creating a rhetorical device.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the dialogue between Jesus and Peter (with Peter called ‘Satan’) is unclear; it may be Chrysostom’s invention or from an apocryphal tradition.","The phrase ‘let this cup pass’ is not found in the New Testament; its origin is uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Καὶ πῶς ἔλεγες· Οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱός; καὶ τὸν μὲν Πατέρα ἐπιγινώσκεις, οὗ μεῖζον οὐδέν ἐστι, τὸ δὲ ποτήριον, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστι παρελθεῖν, οὐ γινώσκεις; Πῶς δὲ καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν, ὅτι· Οὐκ ἔστι κτίσις ἀφανὴς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, πάντα δὲ γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ; καὶ πάλιν, Ζωὴ γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐνεργὴς, καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον, καὶ διικνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς τε καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν, καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας. Εἰ οὖν οὐκ ἔστι κτίσις ἀφανὴς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, πάντα δὲ γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ, πῶς σὺ νῦν, ὡς ἀγνοῶν, λέγεις, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ἐὰν μή τι ᾖ ἀποκεκρυμμένον μυστήριον ἐν τῷ λόγῳ; Οὐ πρέπει σοι, Κύριε, ὁ λόγος οὗτος· Θεὸς γὰρ εἶ, Θεοῦ Υἱὸς, Λόγος, σοφία, δύναμις, φῶς, ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης, πηγὴ ἀθάνατος, ζωὴ αἰώνιος, ἀνάστασις ἡμῶν τῶν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ τεθανατωμένων. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Ὢ πῶς δυσέφικτός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος καὶ δυσθεώρητος καὶ δυσδιάκριτος; ὢ πῶς στενός ἐστι καὶ τεθλιμμένος παρὰ πολλοῖς ἀνθρώποις; Δίδαξον ἡμᾶς, Κύριε, τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο τοῦ λόγου σου· σοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν, καὶ σοὶ ἐπιστεύσαμεν.","english":"And how did you say, \"No one knows the Father except the Son\"? And you know the Father, than whom there is nothing greater, but do you not know whether the cup, if possible, can pass? How also does Paul say, \"There is no creation hidden before him, but all things are naked and exposed to his eyes\"? And again, \"For the Word of God is life, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and critical of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\" If, then, there is no creation hidden before him, but all things are naked and exposed to his eyes, how do you now, as if ignorant, say, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me,\" unless there is some hidden mystery in the saying? This saying is not fitting for you, Lord; for you are God, Son of God, Word, wisdom, power, light, sun of righteousness, immortal spring, eternal life, resurrection of us who have been put to death by sin. \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass.\" Oh, how difficult to grasp is the saying, and hard to contemplate, and hard to discern! Oh, how narrow and constrained it is for many people! Teach us, Lord, this mystery of your saying; for we are yours, and we have believed in you.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱός","severity":"info","text":"This echoes a Johannine claim about exclusive Son–Father knowledge, possibly alluding to John 8:19 or similar passages.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐκ ἔστι κτίσις ἀφανὴς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, πάντα δὲ γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom attributes this to Paul; it is not a direct biblical quotation but a paraphrase of the idea of divine omniscience, possibly from 1 Corinthians or Romans.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ζωὴ γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐνεργὴς, καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον","severity":"info","text":"This description of the Logos as a two-edged sword is not a direct biblical citation but reflects Chrysostom's exegetical expansion of Hebrews or Wisdom traditions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"τετραχηλισμένα","severity":"info","text":"The rare verb τετραχηλισμένα (from τραχηλίζω, 'to bend back the neck, expose') vividly conveys total visibility, a key point in Chrysostom's argument.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"This phrase quotes Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42), which Chrysostom treats as a crux for Christ's knowledge.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πῶς δὲ καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom shifts from direct address to Christ to citing Paul, creating a layered argument that juxtaposes apostolic authority with the Gospel narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text does not specify which Pauline passage is being paraphrased; the citation is loose.","The phrase 'unless there is some hidden mystery in the saying' leaves open whether Chrysostom ultimately accepts a mystical interpretation or insists on literal consistency."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Μὴ ἐπαιρέσθω ὁ γίγας ἐν τῇ βλασφημίᾳ αὐτοῦ Εὐνόμιος, μηδὲ ὀνειδιζέτω παρεμβολὴν Κυρίου Ἰσραήλ· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὀνειδίζει, εἰς σὲ δὲ τὸν Δεσπότην ἡμῶν ἀνατρέχει ἡ ὕβρις. Ἐξέγειρον τὸν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἡμῶν ἐγκείμενον νοῦν, καθάπερ τὸν πραότατον Δαυΐδ· δὸς ἡμῖν ἕνα λόγου λίθον, ἵνα δι' αὐτοῦ σφενδονήσαντες, τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς δυσσεβείας αὐτῶν διαλύσωμεν, ἵνα γνῷ πᾶσα ἡ παρεμβολὴ σήμερον, Ὅτι σὺ εἶ Κύριος ὕψιστος, μόνος ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. Πολὺς ἡμῖν ὁ αἱρετικῶν ἐπίκειται σύλλογος, τί λέγων; Ὁρᾷς πῶς φοβεῖται καὶ δειλιᾷ; ὁρᾷς πῶς εὔχεται τῷ Πατρὶ λέγων· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω; Νῦν Εὐνόμιος χαίρει, νῦν Ἄρειος εὐφραίνεται, ὡς εὑρηκότες ῥήματα βλάσφημα κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας συρίζοντα. Ἀλλὰ μὴ εὐφρανθείητε, πάντες οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι· συνετρίβη γὰρ ὁ ζυγὸς τοῦ παίοντος ἡμᾶς. Μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός. Γνῶτε, ἔθνη, καὶ ἡττᾶσθε. Ἐὰν γὰρ πάλιν ἰσχύσητε, πάλιν ἡττηθήσεσθε, καὶ ἣν ἂν βουλὴν βουλεύσησθε, διασκεδάσει Κύριος. Τὸ γὰρ στόμα Κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Ὢ ποτήριον ζωῆς καὶ ἀθανασίας μεμεστωμένον! ὃ λαβόντες Εὐνόμιος καὶ Ἄρειος, τῇ οἰκείᾳ κακοπιστίᾳ ἐπιθολώσαντες, ποτίζουσι τῷ πλησίον ἀνατροπὴν δολερὰν, οἱ τὴν ἐν αὐτῷ γλυκεῖαν κρᾶσιν τῶν νοημάτων πικρὰν εἶναι νομίζοντες, καὶ μήτε τὴν, Οὐαὶ, φωνὴν φοβούμενοι, λεγούσης τῆς Γραφῆς· Οὐαὶ τῷ ποτίζοντι τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀνατροπὴν δολεράν! Οὐαὶ οἱ λέγοντες τὸ πικρὸν γλυκὺ, καὶ τὸ γλυκὺ πικρόν· οἱ τιθέντες τὸ φῶς σκότος, καὶ τὸ σκότος φῶς!","english":"Let not the giant Eunomius be lifted up in his blasphemy, nor let him reproach the camp of the Lord of Israel; for he reproaches us, but the insult runs back to you, our Master. Rouse the mind that lies within our heart, as the most gentle David; give us one stone of reason, that by slinging it we may shatter the head of their impiety, so that the whole camp may know today that you are the Lord most high, alone over all the earth. A great assembly of heretics presses upon us; what does it say? Do you see how it fears and trembles? Do you see how it prays to the Father, saying, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass\"? Now Eunomius rejoices, now Arius exults, as though they have found words that whistle blasphemy against the truth. But let not all the aliens rejoice; for the yoke of him who strikes us has been broken. God is with us. Know, nations, and be vanquished. For if you prevail again, you will be vanquished again, and whatever counsel you take, the Lord will scatter. For the mouth of the Lord spoke these words: \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass.\" O cup filled with life and immortality! which Eunomius and Arius, having taken and clouded with their own evil faith, give to their neighbor a treacherous draught, thinking the sweet mixture of thoughts in it to be bitter, and not fearing the \"Woe\" cry, as Scripture says: \"Woe to him who gives his neighbor a treacherous draught!\" Woe to those who call the bitter sweet and the sweet bitter; who set light as darkness and darkness as light!","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Εὐνόμιος","severity":"info","text":"Eunomius was a leading proponent of Anomoean Arianism, arguing that the Son is unlike the Father. Chrysostom here polemically conflates him with Arius as twin heretics.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"This phrase, repeated twice, is not a direct biblical quotation but Chrysostom’s paraphrase of Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane (cf. Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36). The ‘cup’ here is the cup of martyrdom or suffering.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐαὶ τῷ ποτίζοντι τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀνατροπὴν δολεράν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom adapts a phrase from the Septuagint (Habakkuk 2:18?; cf. Proverbs 26:23?); the exact source is uncertain. The ‘woe’ formula is typical of prophetic denunciation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Μὴ ἐπαιρέσθω ... μηδὲ ὀνειδιζέτω","severity":"info","text":"The passage opens with a double prohibition (rhetorical aposiopesis), then shifts to a prayer for divine aid, followed by a dramatic dialogue with heretics. The repeated ‘Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν’ frames the polemic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"γίγας ... Εὐνόμιος","severity":"info","text":"Calling Eunomius a ‘giant’ may allude to the biblical Nephilim or to classical gigantomachy, implying hubris against God. This rhetorical trope appears in other anti-heretical works.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"παρεμβολὴν Κυρίου Ἰσραήλ","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase ‘camp of the Lord of Israel’ is ambiguous: it may refer to the Church as the true Israel, or to a specific monastic community. The Coptic Vorlage may clarify, but the Greek is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'camp of the Lord of Israel' is ambiguous: possibly the Church or a specific community.","The exact scriptural source of the 'woe' saying is uncertain; it may be a conflation of several Old Testament passages."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Οὐαὶ οἱ συνετοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐνώπιον ἑαυτῶν ἐπιστήμονες!\n\nἩμεῖς δὲ, ἀγαπητοὶ, λαβόντες τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, τὴν ἐν αὐτῷ γέμουσαν διδασκαλίαν πόθῳ ψυχῆς ἀρυσώμεθα. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστι, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Οὐχ ὡς σὺ νομίζεις, Ἄρειε, ἄρα δειλιᾷ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν, ἢ φοβούμενος τὸν θάνατον ταῦτα λέγει· πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἐφοβήθη ὁ ἐξουσίαν ἔχων θανεῖν καὶ μὴ θανεῖν; λέγει γάρ· Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἠναγκάζετο ὑπό τινος, καλῶς ἔλεγες αὐτὸν δειλιᾷν· νῦν δὲ αὐτὸς λέγει, Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν· τοῦτ' ἔστιν. Οὐκ ἀναγκάζομαι ὑπό τινος, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω λαβεῖν αὐτήν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐμαυτὸν ἐκένωσα, μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, μηδενός με ἀναγκάζοντος, καὶ ἐμαυτοῦ τὸ σῶμα ᾠκοδόμησα. Ἡ γὰρ σοφία ᾠκοδόμησεν ἑαυτῇ οἶκον· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον δύναμαι καὶ λυθέν μου τὸ σῶμα θανάτῳ διὰ τῆς ζωῆς ἐγεῖραι. Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ λέγων, Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν. Ὥστε οὖν οὐ δειλιῶν, οὐδὲ φοβούμενος τὸν θάνατον ταῦτα λέγω, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω, ἀλλ' ἀποκρύφου μυστηρίου λόγον προβαλλόμενος. Τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα δέλεάρ ἐστι τῷ διαβόλῳ· δεῖ με αὐτὸν τούτοις τοῖς ῥήμασιν ἀγκιστρεῦσαι.","english":"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and knowledgeable before themselves!\n\nBut we, beloved, taking the cup of our Lord, let us draw out the teaching that fills it with the desire of our soul. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass. Not as you think, Arius, does our Lord shrink in fear, or speak these things because he fears death; for how could he who has power to die and not to die be afraid? For he says: I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it again. For if he were compelled by someone, you would rightly say he shrinks; but now he himself says, I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it again; that is to say: I am not compelled by anyone, since he also said: I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it again; but just as I emptied myself, taking the form of a slave, with no one compelling me, and I built my own body. For wisdom built a house for herself; in the same way I can also raise my body, dissolved by death, through life. For I am the one who says, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it. So then, not shrinking, nor fearing death, do I say these things, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass, but I put forward the word of a hidden mystery. This saying is a bait for the devil; I must hook him with these words.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστι, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom interprets Christ's Gethsemane prayer (Matt 26:39, Mark 14:36) as a strategic ruse, not fear. The phrase 'let this cup pass' is read as bait for the devil.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν","severity":"info","text":"This saying is not a direct biblical quotation but a paraphrase of Christ's power over life and death, possibly echoing John 10:18 or similar claims of authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν","severity":"info","text":"An apparent allusion to the destruction and rebuilding of the temple, metaphorically applied to Christ's body. Not a canonical verse; may reflect a lost saying or typological exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡ γὰρ σοφία ᾠκοδόμησεν ἑαυτῇ οἶκον","severity":"info","text":"Echoes Proverbs 9:1 ('Wisdom built her house'), a common patristic type for the Incarnation. Chrysostom uses it to argue Christ's body is self-constructed, not compelled.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα δέλεάρ ἐστι τῷ διαβόλῳ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's 'bait for the devil' motif appears in other homilies (e.g., In Matt. hom. 55). It presents Christ's apparent weakness as a trap, a distinctive anti-Arian polemical strategy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν","severity":"caution","text":"The repeated claim of power to 'lay down' and 'take again' the soul is not a known scriptural verse. It may be Chrysostom's paraphrase or a lost source; its origin is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the repeated saying about power over the soul is unclear; it may be a paraphrase or a lost apocryphon.","The phrase 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it' is not a canonical quotation; its referent is ambiguous."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Εἶδέ με ὁ διάβολος πολλὰ σημεῖα πεποιηκότα, ὅτι νόσους ἁφῇ χειρὸς ἐθεράπευσα, ὅτι λεγεῶνας δαιμόνων ῥήματι ἐφυγάδευσα, ὅτι λεπρῶν χαλαζώματα δίκην πτύου τῷ λόγῳ ἀπέξεσα, ὅτι παραλελυμένα γόνατα φωνῇ ἔπηξα, ὅτι ἀνέμοις καὶ θαλάσσῃ ἐπετίμησα, καὶ πάντα μοι ὑπήκουσαν τρόμῳ· καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων θεωρήσας με εἶναι Υἱὸν Θεοῦ, ἐνόησεν ὅτι, Ἐὰν ἐγὼ σταυρωθῶ, ἐκεῖνος ἀπώλετο· ἐὰν ἐγὼ κατέλθω εἰς τὰ καταχθόνια, τοὺς μοχλοὺς αὐτοῦ τοὺς σιδηροῦς συντρίψω, καὶ τὰς πύλας αὐτοῦ τὰς χαλκᾶς συνθλάσω. Καὶ ταῦτα θεωρήσας, φοβούμενος φεύγει στῆσαι τὸ πολυτίμητόν μοι [τὸ] τρόπαιον τοῦ σταυροῦ. Τί οὖν ἐγὼ ποιῶ; Ὡς σοφὸς ἁλιεὺς ὑποκρίνομαι δειλιᾷν, ὑποκρίνομαι φοβεῖσθαι τὸν θάνατον, καὶ λέγω· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω· ἵνα ἐκεῖνος ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ταπεινῶν μου ῥημάτων νομίσας με ἄνθρωπον εἶναι δειλὸν, φεύγοντα τὸν θάνατον, σπεύσῃ ἐν μέσῃ τῇ γῇ στῆσαι τὸ ξυλοπαγὲς μυστήριον τοῦ σταυροῦ, ὡς νομίζει, κατ' ἐμοῦ. Δεῖ με οὖν ὡς σοφὸν ἁλιέα τεχνάσασθαι κατ' αὐτοῦ, δεῖ με πάντα ὑπομεῖναι ὑπὲρ τῆς πάντων ζωῆς. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐτεχνάσατο ἐξ ἀρχῆς κατὰ τῆς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἀπωλείας, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐγὼ τεχνάσομαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πάντων σωτηρίας. Ῥήμασι δολεροῖς ἠπάτησε τὸν Ἀδὰμ, ῥήμασι θεϊκοῖς ἀπατηθήσεται ὁ δολερός. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ. Ἐὰν μὴ ὁ ἁλιεὺς, ὅτε χαλάσει τὸ ἄγκιστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, ποτὲ μὲν ἐνδῷ τῷ ἀγκίστρῳ, ποτὲ δὲ ὡς φεύγοντα δείξῃ τὸν σκώληκα, τῇ χειρὶ ὑφέλκων, οἱ ἰχθύες οὐκ ἐφάλλονται.","english":"The devil saw me performing many signs—that I healed diseases by the touch of my hand, that I put legions of demons to flight with a word, that I scraped away the leprous eruptions like bran with my word, that I set paralyzed knees firm with a voice, that I rebuked the winds and the sea, and all obeyed me in trembling. And from these very deeds, having observed that I am the Son of God, he understood that, \"If I am crucified, he is destroyed; if I descend into the underworld, I will shatter his iron bolts and crush his bronze gates.\" And having observed these things, fearing, he flees to set up my most precious trophy, the cross. What then do I do? Like a wise fisherman, I pretend to be timid, I pretend to fear death, and I say: \"Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass by,\" so that he, from such humble words of mine, thinking me to be a cowardly man fleeing death, might hasten to set up in the midst of the earth the wooden mystery of the cross, as he thinks, against me. Therefore I must, like a wise fisherman, contrive against him; I must endure all for the sake of the life of all. For if he contrived from the beginning for the destruction of Adam, much more will I contrive for the salvation of all. With deceitful words he deceived Adam; with divine words the deceiver will be deceived. \"Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass by from me.\" If the fisherman, when he lowers the hook into the sea, does not sometimes yield to the hook, and sometimes show the worm as if fleeing, drawing back with his hand, the fish do not leap forth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἶδέ με ὁ διάβολος","severity":"info","text":"The devil is portrayed as a witness to Christ's miracles, a narrative device that underscores the cosmic stakes of the crucifixion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"λεγεῶνας δαιμόνων ῥήματι ἐφυγάδευσα","severity":"info","text":"Echoes of exorcism narratives in the Gospels, e.g., Mark 5:1–20, where Jesus expels legions of demons.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"This phrase is the homily's leitmotif, drawn from the Gospel of John (18:11) where Jesus asks to avoid the cup of suffering, here reinterpreted as a strategic ruse.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ὡς σοφὸς ἁλιεὺς","severity":"info","text":"The fisherman metaphor is a patristic commonplace; cf. Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 2.7, where Christ is the angler of souls.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῖ με οὖν ὡς σοφὸν ἁλιέα τεχνάσασθαι","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from narrative to deliberative rhetoric, with Christ explaining his strategy in a first-person monologue.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ῥήμασι θεϊκοῖς ἀπατηθήσεται ὁ δολερός","severity":"info","text":"The inversion of deception (divine words tricking the deceiver) is a theme later developed in anti-Arian polemic, as seen in Cyril of Alexandria's works.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is clear; no significant ambiguities."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Περιέθηκα τῷ ἀγκίστρῳ μου τῆς θεότητος τὸν σκώληκα τοῦ σώματος· ἐχάλασα τὸ ἄγκιστρον κεκρυμμένον ἐν τῷ σκώληκι τοῦ σώματος εἰς τὸν βυθὸν τοῦ βίου τούτου· ἐὰν μὴ ὁ σκώληξ ὡς σκώληξ κινηθῇ, ὁ ὀφείλων ἀγκιστρευθῆναι οὐκ ἐπέρχεται τῷ ἀγκίστρῳ. Δεῖ με τοίνυν ὡς σκώληκα σχηματίσασθαι, καὶ λαλῆσαι· Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι σκώληξ, καὶ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος· ἵν' ἐκεῖνος ἐπιδράμῃ καὶ ἅψηται τῷ ἀγκίστρῳ, καὶ ἑλκυσθῇ ὑπ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ πληρωθῇ τὸ γεγραμμένον ἐν τῷ Ἰώβ· Ἄξεις δὲ δράκοντα ἐν ἀγκίστρῳ. Γίνομαι ὡς ἄνθρωπος δειλιῶν, γίνομαι ὡς φεύγων τὸν θάνατον· εἴπω, Περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου· εἴπω, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Ἀκούων ἐκεῖνος τούτων τῶν ῥημάτων, χαίρει καὶ εὐφραίνεται· σπεύδει γὰρ τὰ ἐναντία μου πράττειν. Ὅταν ἀκούσῃ, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω, εὐφραίνεται· καὶ τί λέγει ἐν ἑαυτῷ; Καὶ οὗτος ἄνθρωπός ἐστι. Κατέπιον τὸν Ἀβραὰμ, τὸν Ἰσαὰκ, τὸν Ἰακὼβ, τοὺς πατριάρχας καὶ τοὺς προφήτας· καταπίω καὶ τοῦτον. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, ὡς ἄνθρωπος, δειλιᾷ· ἄνθρωπός ἐστι· καταπίω αὐτόν. Καταπίῃ με ὡς ἄνθρωπον, καὶ","english":"I placed the worm of the body upon my hook of divinity; I let down the hook hidden in the worm of the body into the depth of this life; if the worm does not move like a worm, the one who ought to be hooked does not come to the hook. I must therefore form myself as a worm, and speak: \"For I am a worm, and not a man,\" so that he may rush up and touch the hook, and be drawn up by me, and what is written in Job be fulfilled: \"You will draw the serpent with a hook.\" I become like a man who is afraid, I become like one fleeing death; I say, \"My soul is sorrowful unto death\"; I say, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass.\" Hearing these words, he rejoices and is delighted; for he hastens to do the opposite of what I do. When he hears, \"Father, if possible, let this cup pass,\" he is delighted; and what does he say to himself? \"This too is a man. I have swallowed Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs and the prophets; I will swallow this one too. For behold, like a man, he is afraid; he is a man; I will swallow him.\" He swallows me as a man, and","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"σκώληξ","severity":"info","text":"The Greek word σκώληξ means 'worm' or 'maggot'. Here it is used metaphorically for the human body, which the speaker (Christ) puts on as bait to catch the devil.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἄξεις δὲ δράκοντα ἐν ἀγκίστρῳ","severity":"info","text":"This is a quotation from the Septuagint version of Job 40:25 (LXX Job 40:25), where God says of the Leviathan: 'You will draw the serpent with a hook.' Chrysostom adapts it to the devil as the serpent.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Christ's words in the Gospels (e.g., Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36) during the agony in Gethsemane, where he asks the Father to let the cup of suffering pass. Chrysostom presents it as a feigned weakness to deceive the devil.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Γίνομαι ὡς ἄνθρωπος δειλιῶν","severity":"info","text":"This passage is part of a first-person narrative in which Christ describes his strategy of using human weakness as bait. The repeated 'I become' (γίνομαι) and 'I say' (εἴπω) structure the deception as a series of deliberate actions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Κατέπιον τὸν Ἀβραὰμ, τὸν Ἰσαὰκ, τὸν Ἰακὼβ","severity":"info","text":"The devil's boast of having swallowed the patriarchs and prophets reflects a common patristic theme: the devil 'swallows' the righteous through death or sin, but Christ's ruse leads to the devil's own capture. This motif appears in other works of Chrysostom and in earlier Christian literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Περιέθηκα τῷ ἀγκίστρῳ μου τῆς θεότητος τὸν σκώληκα τοῦ σώματος","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text is clear, but the metaphor of the 'hook of divinity' and 'worm of the body' is unusual and may be misread as implying docetism. Chrysostom's orthodox intent is to show Christ's divine plan using human appearance, not to deny his full humanity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Ἄξεις δὲ δράκοντα ἐν ἀγκίστρῳ' is a quotation from Job, but the exact verse numbering in the LXX varies; the reference is to Job 40:25 in the LXX (chapter 40, verse 25).","The identity of the speaker is not explicitly stated in this passage, but the context (previous passage) identifies the speaker as Christ (the Son of God)."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"εὑρήσει με ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτοῦ ὡς Θεὸν ἐργαζόμενον. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Καταπίῃ τὴν ζύμην τοῦ σώματος, καὶ εὑρήσει τὸν ἄνθρακα τὸν ἄσβεστον τῆς θεότητος, δεινῶς αὐτὸν ἔνδοθεν κατακαίοντα· Πῦρ γὰρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Λαλήσω ὡς ἀρνίον, οὐ θέλω βλέπειν αὐτὸν τὴν στίλβουσαν μάχαιραν τῆς θεότητος, ἵνα μὴ φύγῃ ὁ λύκος. Καταπίῃ με ὡς ἀρνίον, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἔνδοθεν τῆς τριστόμου μαχαίρας κατακεντηθήσεται· Οὐκ ἦλθον γὰρ εἰρήνην βαλεῖν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ μάχαιραν. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω.\n\nΚρύπτω τὸν ποιμένα Θεὸν ἐν τῷ ἀρνίῳ τοῦ σώματος· οὐ θέλω φανερῶσαι τὸν ποιμένα Θεὸν, ἵνα μὴ φύγῃ ὁ λύκος· ἐὰν ἴδῃ τὸν ποιμένα, ἀφίσταται ὁ λύκος. Λαλήσω ὡς ἀρνίον. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Λαλήσω ὡς ἀρνίον μὴ ἔχον ποιμένα· ἐγενόμην γὰρ ὡσεὶ ἄνθρωπος ἀβοήθητος. Καταπίῃ με ὡς ἀρνίον, καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔνδοθεν ποιμένος τῇ βακτηρίᾳ τοῦ σταυροῦ συνθλασθήσεται. Μασήσεται τὸν κόκκον τοῦ σινάπεως, καὶ εὑρήσει τὴν δριμύτητα τῆς θεότητος δεινῶς αὐτὸν βασανίζουσαν· μασήσεταί με ὡς ἄνθρωπον, καὶ εὑρήσει τὴν στεῤῥὰν πέτραν σφοδρῶς τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ συγκλῶσαν· ἵνα μάθῃ μηκέτι ἀνθρώπους μασᾶσθαι· καὶ πληρωθήσεται τὸ γεγραμμένον, Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς συνθλάσει τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω. Εἰ ᾔδει ὁποῖόν ἐστι τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο, ὅπερ ἐγὼ εἰρωνείᾳ ἀπεύχομαι, ἐκεῖνος ἂν ηὔξατο παρελθεῖν· κατ' ἐκείνου γάρ ἐστι κεντητήριον, τοῖς δὲ ἐμοῖς σωτήριον.","english":"He will find me in his belly as God at work. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass. Let him swallow the leaven of the body, and he will find the inextinguishable coal of the divinity, dreadfully burning him from within. For I came to cast fire upon the earth. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass. I will speak as a lamb; I do not wish him to see the gleaming sword of the divinity, lest the wolf flee. Let him swallow me as a lamb, and he will be pierced from within by the three-edged sword. For I came not to cast peace upon him, but a sword. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass.\n\nI hide the shepherd God in the lamb of the body; I do not wish to reveal the shepherd God, lest the wolf flee. If he sees the shepherd, the wolf withdraws. I will speak as a lamb. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass. I will speak as a lamb having no shepherd; for I became as a helpless man. Let him swallow me as a lamb, and he will be crushed from within by the shepherd with the staff of the cross. He will chew the grain of mustard, and he will find the pungency of the divinity dreadfully torturing him; he will chew me as a man, and he will find the hard rock violently shattering his teeth, so that he may learn no longer to chew men. And what is written will be fulfilled: \"But God will shatter his teeth in his mouth.\" Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass. If he knew what this cup is, which I with irony deprecate, he would pray that it pass; for it is a goad against him, but for my own it is salvation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"The repeated refrain 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass' structures the passage as a liturgical or rhetorical anaphora, marking each unit of the deception narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς συνθλάσει τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ","severity":"info","text":"This is a citation of Psalm 57:7 LXX (58:6 MT), where God shatters the teeth of the wicked. Chrysostom adapts it to the wolf figure.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"τριστόμου μαχαίρας","severity":"info","text":"'Three-edged sword' (τρίστομος μάχαιρα) is a rare term, possibly a patristic metaphor for the Trinity or the tripartite nature of divine punishment; it appears in other Chrysostom passages.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"κόκκον τοῦ σινάπεως","severity":"info","text":"The 'grain of mustard' (κόκκος σινάπεως) is a proverbial small object with intense pungency, used here to symbolize hidden divine power that overwhelms the enemy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω","severity":"info","text":"The refrain echoes Christ's words at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36) but is inverted: here the speaker ironically prays for the cup to pass, while the enemy should fear it.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"εἰρωνείᾳ","severity":"caution","text":"The term 'irony' (εἰρωνείᾳ) is explicit: the speaker's prayer for the cup to pass is feigned, but the exact rhetorical stance (whether self-deprecation or trap) is ambiguous.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the speaker (whether Christ, a prophetic 'I', or Chrysostom's persona) is not resolved; the passage uses first-person but the metaphors shift between divine and human agency.","The phrase 'τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο' (this cup) is ambiguous: it may refer to the Eucharist, to suffering, or to a poisoned cup for the enemy; the irony depends on this double meaning."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Ὅταν με καταπίῃ, τότε αἰσθήσεται ὃν κατέπιεν· ὅταν ἴδῃ δι' ἐμὲ ἥλιον ἀφανιζόμενον, ἡμέραν σκοτιζομένην, τότε καὶ αὐτὸς πικρανθήσεται· καὶ πληρωθήσεται τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ὁ ᾅδης κάτωθεν ἐπικράνθη συναντήσας σοι. Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω.\n\nΜὴ οὖν σκανδαλιζέτω ὑμᾶς τὰ τοιαῦτα ῥήματα ἐν σοφίᾳ λεγόμενα· ἐκδέξασθε καὶ ὄψεσθε τὴν ἔκβασιν τῶν λόγων μου, καὶ τότε θαυμάσετε τὴν σοφίαν τῶν ῥημάτων μου. Νομίζει μωρόν μου τὸ τέχνασμα εἶναι· καὶ οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι Τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστί· νομίζει ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ἀσθενέστατόν με εἶναι, καὶ οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι Τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν· οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν πίνω τὸ ποτήριον, ἐκεῖνος δὲ μεθυσθήσεται καὶ σκοτισθήσεται, οἱ δὲ ἐμοὶ ἐξυπνισθήσονται καὶ ἐγερθήσονται. Νῦν χαίρει ἀκούων τῶν τοιούτων μου ῥημάτων, Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο παρελθέτω· ὅταν μέντοι καταπίῃ με, ὅταν ἴδῃ πέτρας σχιζομένας, καὶ τὰ μνημεῖα καὶ τοὺς τάφους ἀναῤῥηγνυμένους, κἀκεῖνον αὐτὸν ῥαχιζόμενον, καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς ἀναπηδῶντας καὶ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἁλλομένους, τότε μετανοήσει καὶ πενθήσει ἐφ' οἷς νῦν χαίρει. Οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι, ἣν ἱστᾷ παγίδα, ἑαυτῷ ἱστᾷ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμπεσεῖται, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Λάκκον ὤρυξε, καὶ ἀνέσκαψεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς βόθρον, ὃν εἰργάσατο· οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι ὃν μέλλει ἱστᾷν σταυρὸν, ἐμοὶ μέν ἐστι παστὸς, ἐκείνῳ δὲ σταυρός· ἐμοὶ μέν ἐστι θάλαμος, ἐκείνῳ δὲ θάνατος.","english":"When he swallows me, then he will perceive whom he has swallowed; when he sees through me the sun vanishing, the day darkened, then he himself will be embittered; and what is written will be fulfilled: Hades below was embittered when it met you. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass.\n\nLet such words spoken in wisdom not scandalize you; receive them and you will see the outcome of my words, and then you will marvel at the wisdom of my words. He thinks my device is foolish; and he does not know that the foolishness of God is wiser than men; he thinks from such things that I am most weak, and he does not know that the weakness of God is stronger than men; he does not know that I drink the cup, but he will be intoxicated and darkened, while my own will be awakened and roused. Now he rejoices hearing such words of mine, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass; but when he swallows me, when he sees rocks split, and tombs and graves burst open, and that one himself rent, and the dead leaping up and springing into the heavens, then he will repent and mourn over what he now rejoices in. He does not know that the trap he sets he sets for himself, and he himself will fall into it, according to what is written: He dug a pit, and dug it out, and will fall into the hole he made; he does not know that the cross he is about to set up is for me a bridal chamber, for him a cross; for me it is a wedding room, for him death.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὁ ᾅδης κάτωθεν ἐπικράνθη συναντήσας σοι","severity":"info","text":"This is a citation of Job 38:17 (LXX), where God describes the reaction of Hades to the presence of the righteous man. Chrysostom adapts it to the context of Christ's descent into hell.","cites":[],"named_sources":["Septuagint"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Λάκκον ὤρυξε, καὶ ἀνέσκαψεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς βόθρον, ὃν εἰργάσατο","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Proverbs 26:27 (LXX): 'He who digs a pit falls into it.' Chrysostom uses it to underscore the self-destructive nature of the devil's actions.","cites":[],"named_sources":["Septuagint"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"παστὸς","severity":"info","text":"The Greek word παστὸς (bridal chamber) is contrasted with σταυρός (cross). Chrysostom plays on the paradox that the cross, a symbol of death for the devil, is a wedding chamber for Christ, alluding to the mystical union of the Church with Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστί","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes the Pauline paradox of 1 Corinthians 1:25, where the 'foolishness' of God is wiser than human wisdom. Chrysostom applies it to Christ's apparent weakness, which conceals divine power.","cites":[],"named_sources":["1 Corinthians"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage is structured as a series of antitheses: the devil's joy vs. his later repentance, the cross as death vs. bridal chamber, and the trap set for Christ vs. the trap for the devil. This rhetorical device emphasizes the inversion of expectations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's homily was influential in later Byzantine exegesis, particularly for its typological reading of the cross as a bridal chamber, a theme later developed in liturgical poetry.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'him' (the swallower) is not explicitly named in this passage, but from context it is the devil or Hades. The Coptic text (not extant here) may clarify, but the Greek leaves it implicit."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Ὢ ποτήριον, διαβόλου κεντητήριον, δαιμόνων φυγαδευτήριον, ἁμαρτιῶν λικμητήριον, ζωῆς ἐργαστήριον, ἁμαρτωλῶν ἱλαστήριον, ἀθανασίας ποτήριον! Πλὴν, οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ' ὡς σύ. Ἔγνω ὁ δύστηνος ὅτι, ὅσα εἶπον, ἐγένετο· ἤκουσέ μου λέγοντος· Εὐχαριστῶ σοι, Πάτερ, ὅτι ἤκουσάς μου· ἐγὼ δὲ ᾔδειν, ὅτι πάντοτέ μου ἀκούεις. Νῦν δὲ ἐπειδὴ ηὐξάμην παρελθεῖν τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ θανάτου, ἵνα μὴ νομίσας διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς μου παρέρχε σθαι τὸ ποτήριον, χαῦνος γένηται περὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦ σταυροῦ, τῆς εὐχῆς μου τὴν ἔκβασιν ἀμφίβολον ποιῶ, καὶ λέγω, Πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ' ὡς σύ. Τῷ Πατρί μου προσάπτω τοῦ θανάτου τὴν ἐξουσίαν· καίτοι αὐτὸς ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν. Κρύπτω τὸ θεϊκόν μου ἀξίωμα πετάλοις λογικοῖς· κρύπτω τὸ ἐξουσιαστικόν μου τῆς θεότητος λόγοις\n\nἀνθρωπίνοις· λέγω, Οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ' ὡς σύ. Οὐκ οἶδεν ὁ τυφλὸς, ὅτι τὸ ἐμὸν θέλημα καὶ τὸ τοῦ Πατρός μου ἕν ἐστι. Πάντα γὰρ ὅσα ἔχει ὁ Πατὴρ, ἐμά ἐστι· καὶ, Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν. Πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ' ὡς σύ. Κρεμάσει τὸν κόκκον τοῦ σίτου, καὶ ὅταν καταπίῃ με, ὄψει αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐντρίτου σχοινίου δεινῶς ἀπαγχόμενον. Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις τῶν ἀκουόντων· Καὶ ἆρά γε ὁ Χριστὸς ἐνέπαιξε τῷ διαβόλῳ; ἢ ἐξὸν ἦν ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ; Πρὸς ὃν ἐροῦμεν, ὅτι Ἀνάγνωθι τὰς Γραφὰς, καὶ εὑρήσεις αὐτὸν τὸν Πατέρα λέγοντα πρὸς Μωϋσέα· Ὁρᾷς πόσα ἐμπέπαιχα τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις; Τοιγαροῦν καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐνέπαιξε τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς δαίμοσιν. Ἔδει γὰρ αὐτὸν ὡς ἀνόητον χλευασθῆναι τὸν μεγαλοῤῥημονοῦντα, καὶ λέγοντα·","english":"O cup, goad of the devil, banishment of demons, winnower of sins, workshop of life, mercy for sinners, cup of immortality! Yet not as I wish, but as you. The wretch knew that all I said came to pass; he heard me saying, “I thank you, Father, that you heard me,” but I knew that you always hear me. Now, since I prayed to pass by the cup of death, so that he might not, thinking that through my prayer the cup was passing by, become careless about the matter of the cross, I make the outcome of my prayer ambiguous and say, “Yet not as I wish, but as you.” I attach to my Father the authority over death, although I myself have authority to lay down my life and authority to take it again. I conceal my divine dignity with rational leaves; I conceal my authoritative power of divinity with human words. I say, “Not as I wish, but as you.” The blind one does not know that my will and that of my Father are one. For everything that the Father has is mine, and “I and the Father are one.” Yet not as I wish, but as you. He will hang the grain of wheat, and when he swallows me, he will see himself terribly strangled by the third rope. But perhaps one of the hearers will say, “Did Christ then mock the devil? Or was it permissible to mock him?” To him we will say, “Read the Scriptures, and you will find the Father himself saying to Moses, ‘Do you see how much I have mocked the Egyptians?’ Therefore the Lord also mocked the devil and the demons. For it was necessary that he who boasted greatly and said,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πλὴν, οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ' ὡς σύ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Yet not as I wish, but as you' recurs three times in this passage, functioning as a refrain that underscores the speaker's rhetorical subordination of his own will to the Father's, while the surrounding context reveals it as a deliberate concealment of divine authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'I and the Father are one' echoes John 10:30, a key text for Nicene Christology. Chrysostom uses it here to assert the unity of will between Christ and the Father, countering any implication of subordination from the preceding refrain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τρίτου σχοινίου","severity":"info","text":"The 'third rope' likely refers to a method of hanging or strangulation in ancient execution or torture. The image of the devil being 'strangled by the third rope' after swallowing the grain of wheat (Christ) is a vivid eschatological taunt, drawing on folk or biblical imagery of divine retribution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὁρᾷς πόσα ἐμπέπαιχα τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις","severity":"info","text":"The reference to the Father mocking the Egyptians alludes to the Exodus narrative, particularly the plagues (Exodus 7–12), where God repeatedly humiliates Pharaoh and the Egyptian magicians. Chrysostom uses this to justify Christ's mockery of the devil as a scriptural precedent.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"πετάλοις λογικοῖς","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'rational leaves' (πετάλοις λογικοῖς) is a metaphor for human words or arguments that conceal divine truth. It may evoke the image of leaves covering fruit or a surface, suggesting that Christ's human speech is a deliberate veil for his divine authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐνέπαιξε τῷ διαβόλῳ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's defense of Christ's mockery of the devil addresses a potential objection from hearers about the propriety of such behavior. This reflects early Christian debates on the ethics of divine deception or mockery, and Chrysostom resolves it by citing God's own actions in the Old Testament.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'third rope' (τρίτου σχοινίου) is not specified; it may refer to a specific instrument of punishment or a symbolic number. The reading taken is that it denotes a method of strangulation in a eschatological context."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Ἐν τῇ ἰσχύι μου ποιήσω, καὶ ἐν τῇ συνέσει τῶν χειρῶν μου ἀφελῶ ὅρια ἐθνῶν, καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην, ὡς νοσσιὰν κατα λήψομαι, καὶ ὡς καταλελειμμένα ὠὰ ἀρῶ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔσται, ὃς ἀντείπῃ μοι.\n\nἜδει αὐτὸν τοίνυν ἐμπαιχθῆναι καὶ τοὺς δαίμονας, ἵνα ἀποδείξῃ τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα καυχωμένους καὶ παιδίων εἶναι ἀνοητοτέρους. Διὸ οὔτε ἔγνωσαν ὃ ἐποίουν· Εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν. Προανεφώνει δὲ καὶ ὁ προφήτης περὶ τοῦ δράκοντος τούτου, ὅτι ἐμπαιχθήσεται, λέγων· Δράκων οὗτος, ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ. Ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ ἐπὶ πολὺ μηκύνοντες τὸν λόγον, δόξωμεν ἐμποδίζειν τοῖς μεθ' ἡμᾶς βουλομένοις φαιδρότερον τῆς Γραφῆς τὸ νόημα παραδοῦναι, ἐνθάδε σιωπῇ τὸν λόγον ἡμῶν στείλωμεν. Προήχθημεν γὰρ εἰπεῖν εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ κεφάλαιον, οὐχ ὡς δυνάμενοι ἀπαραλείπτως εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτῶν δύναμιν διηγήσασθαι, καὶ ἀφορμὴν διδόναι τοῖς φιλομαθέσι· Δίδου γὰρ σοφῷ ἀφορμὴν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται. Καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἐκ τῶν Γραφῶν ἀναλεξάμενοι πρὸς σύστασιν τῶν εἰρημένων, μειζόνως λευκάνατε τὸ δυσθεώρητον νόημα.","english":"I will do it by my own strength, and by the skill of my hands I will remove the boundaries of nations, and I will seize the whole inhabited world like a nest, and I will sweep it away like abandoned eggs, and there will be no one to oppose me.\n\nTherefore it was necessary that he be mocked, and the demons as well, so that he might demonstrate that those who boast of such things are even more foolish than children. Hence they did not even know what they were doing; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And the prophet also foretold concerning this serpent, that he would be mocked, saying: This serpent, whom you created to mock him. But so that we may not, by prolonging the discourse excessively, seem to hinder those after us who wish to expound the meaning of Scripture more clearly, let us here bring our discourse to a close in silence. For we were led to speak on this very subject, not as being able to speak exhaustively, but to expound according to our own ability, and to give an occasion to those who love learning; for give an occasion to a wise man, and he will become wiser. And you, beloved, by gathering from the Scriptures in support of what has been said, whiten the difficult meaning more greatly.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δράκων οὗτος, ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom cites a prophetic saying about a serpent created to be mocked. The source is likely a lost or paraphrased Old Testament passage, possibly alluding to Job 7:12 or a patristic tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Lord of glory' crucified echoes 1 Corinthians 2:8 and is a standard Christological title. Chrysostom connects the ignorance of the crucifiers to demonic mockery.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἐμπαίζειν","severity":"info","text":"The verb ἐμπαίζειν ('to mock, play with') is central: the serpent is created for mockery, and the boastful are shown as foolish. It recurs in the passage to link divine irony with demonic deception.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Προήχθημεν γὰρ εἰπεῖν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom signals a rhetorical break: he claims to have been led to speak on this topic only to provide a starting point for others, not to give an exhaustive treatment. This is a common modesty topos.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Δίδου γὰρ σοφῷ ἀφορμὴν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται","severity":"info","text":"This proverbial saying (cf. Proverbs 9:9 LXX) is adapted by Chrysostom to encourage readers to develop his exegesis. It reflects the catechetical and dialogical character of his homilies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"μειζόνως λευκάνατε τὸ δυσθεώρητον νόημα","severity":"caution","text":"The verb λευκάνατε ('whiten, clarify') is unusual; it may be a scribal error or a rare metaphorical usage. The sense is 'make the difficult meaning clearer,' but the exact reading is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'serpent' (δράκων) is ambiguous: it may refer to a specific biblical figure (e.g., the serpent of Eden) or a symbolic adversary. The prophetic citation is not directly traceable to a known canonical verse.","The phrase 'whiten the difficult meaning' (λευκάνατε τὸ δυσθεώρητον νόημα) is lexically unusual and may reflect a textual corruption or a rare idiom."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Οὐ γὰρ δειλίας ἕνεκα ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν, καθὼς προείπαμεν, ἀπεύχεται τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ θανάτου, ἀλλ' οἰκονομίᾳ θεϊκῇ· ἵνα ἐκ τῶν ἐμῶν ἐλαχίστων ῥημάτων τε καὶ νοημάτων καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὑμετέρων πόνων δόξα Χριστῷ ἀναπεμφθῇ, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.","english":"For it is not out of cowardice that our Lord, as we said before, deprecates the cup of death, but by divine economy; so that from my most humble words and thoughts and from your labors, glory may be sent up to Christ, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπεύχεται τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ θανάτου","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom clarifies that Christ's prayer against the cup of death is not cowardice but divine economy, a key theological point distinguishing fear from providential action.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"οἰκονομίᾳ θεϊκῇ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'divine economy' (οἰκονομίᾳ θεϊκῇ) denotes God's providential arrangement of events, here explaining Christ's apparent reluctance as part of a salvific plan.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ἵνα ... δόξα Χριστῷ ἀναπεμφθῇ","severity":"info","text":"The final clause shifts from Christ's action to the homiletic purpose: the preacher's humble words and the audience's labors together glorify Christ, concluding the work with a doxology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"Ἀμήν","severity":"info","text":"The closing 'Amen' is a standard liturgical formula in Greek Christian texts, indicating the passage's use in a homiletic or liturgical context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is clear; no significant ambiguities."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}