{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-50-homilia","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-50-homilia","title":"In Psalmum 50 homilia","title_source":"In Psalmum 50 homilia","author":"John Chrysostom","genre":"homily","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":"2026-11-15T07:57:52Z","cost_usd":0.014091},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-50-homilia","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-50-homilia","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%20Psalmum%2050%20homilia%201.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":27,"english_words":7270,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":28257,"commentary_units":155,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":2,"ambiguities":38,"work_notes":4,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-50-homilia","abstract":"John Chrysostom's homily on Psalm 50 (LXX) is a moral-didactic and exegetical work from his Antiochene period (c. 386–397). It interprets the psalm's inscription, David's repentance, and the Uriah affair, using the biblical narrative of David's sin with Bathsheba as a key exemplum. Chrysostom employs rhetorical topoi, such as comparing prophets to painters, to emphasize vivid moral instruction. The homily survives in a single manuscript tradition, with the earliest witness from the 10th century; the modern edition relies on Migne's Patrologia Graeca, which depends on a 17th-century printed edition. The text adapts Septuagint quotations for rhetorical effect, and some passages may be corrupt or misread. The homily influenced later Byzantine liturgical and monastic commentaries on Psalm 50, especially regarding repentance and divine mercy.","historical_context":"The homily was likely delivered in Antioch during Chrysostom's presbyterate (386–397), a period of intense preaching activity. Antioch was a major center of Antiochene exegesis, emphasizing literal and historical interpretation, though Chrysostom also employed moral and typological readings. The community was predominantly Greek-speaking Christian, with a strong tradition of psalmody in liturgy. Psalm 50 (LXX) was used in Byzantine Lenten services, and Chrysostom's treatment of David's sin and repentance reflects contemporary pastoral concerns about sin and divine forgiveness. The homily survives in a single manuscript tradition; the earliest witness is a 10th-century codex, but the text was transmitted through later copies and printed editions, notably the 17th-century edition used by Migne. No collation of all extant manuscripts has been done, so variant readings, especially in biblical quotations, may exist. The homily's genre is a homily (λόγος or ὁμιλία), a common form for Chrysostom's exegetical and moral instruction.","significance":"This homily is significant for its integration of biblical exegesis with moral exhortation, using David's repentance as a model for Christian penitence. It influenced later Byzantine liturgical and monastic commentaries on Psalm 50, particularly in Lenten contexts. The work also illustrates Chrysostom's rhetorical techniques and his adaptation of Septuagint texts for pastoral purposes, offering insights into Antiochene preaching and the reception of the Psalms in late antiquity.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 386–397","event":"Chrysostom preaches homilies on the Psalms in Antioch, including this one on Psalm 50."},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"The homily is transmitted orally and in writing within Antiochene and Constantinopolitan circles."},{"date":"10th c.","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript witness of the homily is copied."},{"date":"17th c.","event":"Printed edition of Chrysostom's works, used later by Migne, is published."},{"date":"1857–1866","event":"Migne's Patrologia Graeca includes the homily in volume 55."},{"date":"21st c.","event":"Khazarzar's digital edition makes the homily accessible online, based on Migne's text."}],"relations":[{"work":"Homilies on the Psalms (Chrysostom)","relation":"Part of a larger series of homilies on the Psalms from Chrysostom's Antiochene period.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Hom. in Hex. 1.1 (Basil of Caesarea)","relation":"Shares the rhetorical topos of comparing prophets to painters.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"2 Samuel 11 (Bible)","relation":"Provides the historical narrative of David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah's murder, used as exemplum.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Psalm 50 (LXX)","relation":"The biblical text that Chrysostom interprets and adapts in the homily.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Patrologia Graeca (Migne)","relation":"The source edition for the modern text, based on a 17th-century printed edition.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The homily's precise date is unknown; it is assigned to Chrysostom's Antiochene period (c. 386–397) based on internal evidence and scholarly consensus, but no external evidence fixes the year.","The earliest manuscript witness is from the 10th century, leaving a gap of several centuries between composition and the earliest extant copy.","The modern edition relies on Migne's Patrologia Graeca, which depends on a 17th-century printed edition; variant readings in unexamined manuscripts may exist.","Some passages in the Greek text may be corrupt or misread, as noted in the sample commentary (e.g., the word 'χειμάρρους' is uncertain).","The homily's attribution to Chrysostom is not disputed, but the manuscript tradition is thin and not fully collated."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.00061,"generated":"2026-11-15T07:57:51Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20Psalmum%2050%20homilia%201.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-50-homilia","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":27,"translated":27,"commentary_passages":27,"commentary_units":155,"english_words":7270,"source_letters":28248,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The homily survives in a single manuscript tradition, with the earliest witness dating from the 10th century. The source edition by khazarzar relies on Migne's Patrologia Graeca, which itself depends on a 17th-century printed edition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's homilies on the Psalms are generally dated to his Antiochene period (c. 386–397). This homily on Psalm 50 likely belongs to that period, though no external evidence fixes its precise year.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Psalm 50 (LXX numbering) is used in Byzantine Lenten services. Chrysostom's interpretation, emphasizing repentance and divine mercy, influenced later monastic and liturgical commentaries on this psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The present edition does not collate all extant manuscripts. Variant readings in the Greek text, especially in biblical quotations, may exist in unexamined witnesses.","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: homily in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 27 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":"scripture","severity":"info","text":"1 scriptural phrase match(es) noted: Luke 1:28."},{"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":27},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Εἰς ἐπιγραφὴν τοῦ νʹ ψαλμοῦ, καὶ περὶ μετανοίας Δαυῒδ, καὶ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου.\n\nαʹ. Οἱ ζωγράφοι μιμοῦνται τῇ τέχνῃ τὴν φύσιν, καὶ κεραννύντες τὰ χρώματα, γράφουσι τὰς εἰκόνας τῶν ὁρωμένων σωμάτων, καὶ ποιοῦσιν ἀνθρώπους, καὶ ἄλογα, καὶ δένδρα, καὶ πολέμους, καὶ μάχας, καὶ αἱμάτων χει μάῤῥους, καὶ δόρατα, καὶ θώρακας, καὶ ἀσπίδας, καὶ βασιλεῖς, καὶ ἰδιώτας, καὶ θρόνον βασιλικὸν, καὶ βασι λέα καθήμενον, καὶ βάρβαρον ὑποκείμενον, καὶ αἰχμὴν ἠκονημένην, καὶ ποταμοὺς ῥέοντας, καὶ πεδία ποικίλα, καὶ ἁπλῶς ἅπαντα τὰ ὁρώμενα διὰ τῆς τέχνης μιμούμενοι, παρέχουσι θεωρίαν τοῖς βλέπουσιν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ οἱ προφῆται ζωγράφοι τινές εἰσιν ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας. Γρά φουσι γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι τῷ λόγῳ τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν, τὸν δί καιον, τὸν μετανοοῦντα, τὸν ἑστῶτα, τὸν πίπτοντα, τὸν ἐγειρόμενον, τὸν σαλευόμενον. Καὶ καθάπερ οἱ ζωγράφοι ποιοῦσι πολέμους καὶ σφαγὰς, οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι ποιοῦσιν ἁμαρτίαν ποτὲ μὲν ἐπιοῦσαν, ποτὲ δὲ καταβαλλομένην, καὶ δαίμονας πάλιν, νῦν μὲν πολεμοῦντας, νῦν δὲ πολεμουμένους, καὶ διάβολον ποτὲ μὲν ἐπιβουλεύοντα, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ νικώμενον.","english":"Homily on the inscription of the fiftieth psalm, and on the repentance of David, and on the matter of Uriah.\n\n1. Painters imitate nature by their art, and mixing colors, they paint images of visible bodies, and they make men, and animals, and trees, and wars, and battles, and streams of blood, and spears, and breastplates, and shields, and kings, and private citizens, and a royal throne, and a king seated, and a barbarian subject, and a sharpened spearpoint, and flowing rivers, and varied plains, and in short everything visible they imitate through their art, providing a spectacle to those who see. So too the prophets are certain painters of virtue and vice. For they also depict by speech the sinner, the just man, the one repenting, the one standing, the one falling, the one rising, the one wavering. And just as painters make wars and slaughters, so too these make sin, sometimes advancing, sometimes being cast down, and again demons, now warring, now being warred upon, and the devil, sometimes plotting, sometimes also being defeated.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Εἰς ἐπιγραφὴν τοῦ νʹ ψαλμοῦ, καὶ περὶ μετανοίας Δαυῒδ, καὶ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου","severity":"info","text":"The title announces a tripartite theme: the psalm's inscription, David's repentance, and the Uriah affair. This frames the homily as both exegetical and moral-didactic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ζωγράφοι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom compares prophets to painters, a common rhetorical topos in patristic literature (cf. Basil, Hom. in Hex. 1.1). The analogy emphasizes vivid moral depiction through speech.","cites":[],"named_sources":["Basil of Caesarea"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"μετάνοια","severity":"info","text":"The term 'repentance' (μετάνοια) is central to Chrysostom's moral theology, often denoting a transformative change of mind and conduct, not mere remorse.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐρίου","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Uriah alludes to David's adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband (2 Sam 11). This historical event is a key exemplum of sin and repentance in Chrysostom's homily.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"αἱμάτων χει μάῤῥους","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text at this point is corrupt or misread in the edition; the intended word likely is 'χειμάρρους' (torrents) or similar, but the transmitted form is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'αἱμάτων χει μάῤῥους' is garbled; likely a scribal error for 'χειμάρρους αἱμάτων' (torrents of blood).","The exact referent of 'τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου' (the matter of Uriah) is left unspecified; Chrysostom may treat the narrative or its moral implications."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοιαύτη αὐτῶν ἡ τέχνη, μετὰ ἀκριβείας αὐτὴν καταμάθωμεν. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ τῶν ζωγράφων πίνακας ὁρῶντες, οὐδὲν κερδαίνοντες ἀπερ χόμεθα. Τί γάρ μοι ὄφελος βασιλέως καὶ ὑπάτου εἰκόνα δεῖν; Βασιλεὺς γὰρ γενέσθαι οὔτε δύναμαι, οὔτε βούλο μαι. Τί μοι οὖν ὄφελος τῆς θεωρίας, ἧς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὐκ ἔχω, ἧς κἂν ἐπιθυμήσω, κολάζομαι; Τί μοι τὸ ὄφε λος ἄνθρωπον ἰδεῖν πλουτοῦντα; Κἂν πένης ὦ, φθονῶ· κἂν πλούσιος ὦ, βασκαίνομαι. Πάλιν τὰ αὐτὰ πάσχων, καὶ ὀδύρομαι. Ἄφες ἐκείνας τὰς εἰκόνας, καὶ βλέπε ταύτην τὴν θεωρίαν. Ἐὰν ἴδω ὕπατον, τί πρὸς ἐμέ; Ἐὰν ἴδω ἁμαρτωλὸν καταπεσόντα, καὶ πάλιν ἀνα στάντα, ἡ θεωρία διδασκαλίας ὑπόθεσίς μοι γίνεται. Ἐὰν ἴδω δίκαιον ἑστῶτα, ἡ θεωρία πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν χειραγωγεῖ με. Ἀπὸ τῆς θεωρίας μανθάνω τὴν μά χην, καὶ παιδεύομαι τὴν νίκην. Ἐὰν ἴδω δίκαιον ὑποσκε λιζόμενον, πάλιν σοφώτερος ὑπὸ τῆς θεωρίας γίνομαι. Ταῦτα δέ μοι πάντα οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ εἰκῆ εἴρηται, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ τοῦ σήμερον ἀναγνωσθέντος ἡ εἰκὼν εἰς ταύτην ἡμᾶς ἄγει τῆς διδασκαλίας τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Τί γάρ φησιν ὁ προφήτης; Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεὸς, κατὰ τὸ μέγα ἔλεός σου· καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου ἐξάλειψον τὸ ἀνόμημά μου. Αὕτη ἡ εἰκών. Τὸν γὰρ ψαλμὸν εἰκόνα καλῶ. Βλέπω γὰρ διάφορα πρόσωπα ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ· ἁμαρτίαν ἐπιοῦσαν καὶ σφαττομένην, με τάνοιαν παρεστῶσαν καὶ συμμαχοῦσαν Θεῷ, φιλανθρωπίαν ἄνωθεν λάμπουσαν, φιλοσοφίαν παρέχουσαν, καὶ πολλὰς ἔχουσαν δακρύων πηγὰς ἐξ ὁμολογήσεως.","english":"Since their art is of such a kind, let us examine it with precision. For when we look at the paintings of painters, we depart gaining nothing. For what benefit is it to me to see an image of a king or a consul? I can neither become a king, nor do I wish to. What benefit, then, is the spectacle, whose desire I do not have, and if I should desire it, I am punished? What benefit is it to me to see a man who is wealthy? If I am poor, I envy; if I am rich, I am envied. Suffering the same things again, I lament. Leave those images aside, and look at this spectacle. If I see a consul, what is that to me? If I see a sinner who has fallen and then risen again, the spectacle becomes a subject of instruction for me. If I see a righteous man standing, the spectacle leads me toward philosophy. From the spectacle I learn the battle, and I am taught the victory. If I see a righteous man tripped up, again I become wiser from the spectacle. All these things have not been said to me simply or in vain, but because the image of the psalm read today leads us into this subject of instruction. For what does the prophet say? \"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy; and according to the multitude of your compassions, blot out my lawlessness.\" This is the image. For I call the psalm an image. For I see various persons in the psalm: sin approaching and being slain, repentance standing by and fighting alongside God, philanthropy shining from above, providing philosophy, and having many springs of tears from confession.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"εἰκών","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom redefines 'εἰκών' (image) to refer to the psalm itself, not a visual painting, as a didactic tool for moral and spiritual instruction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεὸς, κατὰ τὸ μέγα ἔλεός σου· καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου ἐξάλειψον τὸ ἀνόμημά μου","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Psalm 50 (LXX 51):1-2, though the exact wording differs from the Septuagint; Chrysostom adapts it for rhetorical effect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ζωγράφων","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts secular painting with the 'image' of the psalm, reflecting a common patristic trope that visual art is inferior to scriptural or moral instruction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ταῦτα δέ μοι πάντα οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ εἰκῆ εἴρηται","severity":"info","text":"This phrase marks a transition from general moral reflection to the specific application of the psalm, a typical homiletic device in Chrysostom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ψαλμὸν εἰκόνα καλῶ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's identification of the psalm as an 'image' (εἰκών) influenced later Byzantine exegesis, where psalms were seen as dramatic narratives of the soul.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has minor orthographic variations (e.g., 'ἀνομίαν' vs. 'ἀνόμημα') that do not affect the sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Ταῦτα τὰ πρόσωπα τῆς εἰκόνος. Ἀλλὰ πρὶν τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ἄρξω μαι, ἀναγκαῖον αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἀκριβέστερον ὑμῖν διηγήσασθαι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ αἱ εἰκόνες ἐπιγραφὰς ἔχουσιν, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ψαλμῶν. Καὶ γὰρ αἱ εἰκόνες ἄνω ἑστῶσαι, κάτω ἔχουσι φοινικίδας σανίδας, τίς ὁ βασι λεὺς, καὶ τίνος, καὶ ποῖον πόλεμον κατώρθωσεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ἄνωθεν ἡ ἐπιγραφὴ ἔγκειται, τίς ἡ ὑπόθε σις, καὶ τίς ἡ διδασκαλία, καὶ τίς ἡ ῥίζα, καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν ὁ ψαλμὸς εἴρηται. Παρέχετέ μοι μετὰ ἀκριβείας τὴν ἀκοὴν τῷ λόγῳ. Οὖ γὰρ περὶ τῶν τυχόντων ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἡ διήγησις. Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυῒδ, ἐν τῷ εἰσελθεῖν πρὸς αὐτὸν Νάθαν τὸν προφήτην, ὅτε εἰσῆλθε πρὸς Βηρσαβεὲ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ Οὐρίου. Αὕτη ἡ ἐπιγραφή. Μάθωμεν τοίνυν τίς ἐστιν ὁ Νάθαν, καὶ τίς ἡ Βηρσαβεέ. Τίς ἄρα ἐστὶν ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ Οὐρίου; καὶ πότε\n\nεἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ προφήτης; καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν τὸν ψαλμὸν τοῦτον ἔγραψεν; Οὐ γὰρ ἅπαν τες οἱ ψαλμοὶ εἰς τὸν Δαυῒδ εἰρημένοι εἰσίν. Ἅπαντες μὲν γὰρ παρ' αὐτοῦ, οὐ πάντες δὲ εἰς αὐτὸν εἴρηνται. Οὐ γὰρ τὰ οἰκεῖα πάθη διηγήσατο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀλλοτρίας συμφορὰς ἐτραγῴδησεν. Οἷον, Ἐπὶ τῶν πο ταμῶν Βαβυλῶνος, ἐκεῖ ἐκαθίσαμεν καὶ ἐκλαύσαμεν· εὔδηλον ὅτι οὐ περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ ψαλμὸς εἴρηται· οὔτε γὰρ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἀπῆλθεν, οὔτε εἶδε γῆν βαρβάρων, οὔτε ἐκάθισεν εἰς ἀλλοτρίαν γῆν καὶ ἔκλαυσεν· ἀλλὰ τὰ πάθη τῶν Ἰουδαίων διηγεῖται. Πάλιν ὅταν λέγῃ· Ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας μου, ἐξηρίθμησαν πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου· οὐ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πάθος ἐξηγεῖται, ἀλλὰ τὸν σταυρὸν, τὴν θυσίαν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκήρυττε, τὴν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ γένους τοῦ ἡμετέρου.","english":"These are the figures of the image. But before I begin the psalm, it is necessary to explain its inscription to you more precisely. For just as images have inscriptions, so also do the psalms. For images standing above have below them boards of purple, who the king is, and of whom, and what war he accomplished; but upon the psalm the inscription is placed above, what the subject is, and what the teaching, and what the root, and for what reason the psalm was spoken. Lend me your ear with precision to the discourse. For our exposition is not about ordinary matters. A psalm for David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, when he went in to Bathsheba the wife of Uriah. This is the inscription. Let us learn, then, who Nathan is, and who Bathsheba is. Who then is the wife of Uriah? And when did the prophet go in to her? And for what reason did he write this psalm? For not all the psalms are spoken about David. For all are by him, but not all are spoken about him. For he did not only narrate his own sufferings, but also sang of the misfortunes of others. For example, \"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept\"; it is evident that the psalm is not spoken about him, for he neither went to Babylon, nor saw a land of barbarians, nor sat in a foreign land and wept, but he narrates the sufferings of the Jews. Again, when he says, \"They dug my hands and my feet, they counted all my bones,\" he does not explain his own suffering, but proclaims the cross, the sacrifice for the salvation of the world, for the salvation of our race.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐπιγραφήν","severity":"info","text":"The term ἐπιγραφήν (inscription) here refers to the psalm's title or superscription, which Chrysostom treats as analogous to a painting's label, providing the subject and occasion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Νάθαν","severity":"info","text":"Nathan the prophet is a biblical figure (2 Samuel 12) who confronts David over his adultery with Bathsheba. Chrysostom uses this narrative to explain the psalm's inscription.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπὶ τῶν ποταμῶν Βαβυλῶνος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom cites Psalm 137:1 (LXX) 'By the rivers of Babylon' as an example of David narrating others' sufferings, not his own, since David never went to Babylon.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας μου","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Psalm 22:17 (LXX) 'They dug my hands and feet,' which Chrysostom interprets as a prophecy of Christ's crucifixion, not David's personal experience.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐ γὰρ ἅπαντες οἱ ψαλμοὶ εἰς τὸν Δαυῒδ εἰρημένοι εἰσίν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom distinguishes between psalms by David (author) and psalms about David (subject), a key hermeneutical principle for interpreting the Psalter's historical references.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸν σταυρὸν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom reads Psalm 22:17 as a typological prophecy of the cross, reflecting a common patristic Christological interpretation of the Psalms.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text does not specify which psalm is being discussed; the inscription 'A psalm for David, when the prophet Nathan came to him' is likely a reference to Psalm 51 (LXX), but the exact identification is not explicit in this passage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Εἰκὼν γάρ ἐστι ποικίλην ἔχουσα διδασκαλίαν. Ποτὲ μὲν οὖν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, ποτὲ δὲ τὰ ἀλλότρια διηγεῖται. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ὁ ψαλμὸς οὗτος καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια διηγεῖται, διὰ τοῦτο, Ὅτε εἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης, ἐπιγέγραπται. Ὥστε ἡ ἐπι γραφὴ οὐ συγχωρεῖ ἡμῖν ληθαργῆσαι, οὐδὲ ἀλλαχοῦ περιφέρειν τὴν διάνοιαν· ἀλλ' ἕστηκε τὰ τοιαῦτα προστάτ των καὶ διδάσκων, διδάσκει δὲ καὶ ἕτερα νοήματα, ἅπερ ἡμῖν ἡ ἐπιγραφὴ λέγει. βʹ. Ἀλλὰ προσέχετε μετὰ ἀκριβείας, οἵ τε δίκαιοι, οἵ τε ἁμαρτωλοί. Ἑκατέρῳ γὰρ τῷ μέρει χρήσιμος ὁ ψαλμός· τῷ μὲν δικαίῳ, ἵνα μὴ ᾖ ῥᾴθυμος· τῷ δὲ ἁμαρτωλῷ, ἵνα μὴ ἀπογινώσκῃ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας. Ἀμφότερα γὰρ δυσεπίληπτα. Ὅ τε γὰρ δίκαιος ῥᾳθυμήσας καταβάλλεται, ὅ τε ἁμαρτωλὸς ἀπογνοὺς οὐκ ἀνίσταται. Ἵνα οὖν μήτε οὗτος ἐν πτώματι μείνῃ, μήτε ἐκεῖνος εἰς πτῶμα καταπέσῃ, ἑκατέρῳ τῷ μέρει σωτηριώδης αὕτη δίδοται τοῦ μελῳδοῦ τούτου ἡ ψαλμῳδία. Μέλλω γοῦν λέγειν ἁμάρτημα τοῦ προφήτου μέγα καὶ χαλεπόν. Ἀλλὰ μηδεὶς ἡμῶν καταγινωσκέτω. Ἡ γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρω πία τοῦ κοινοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρόνοιαν ποιου μένη, τά τε κατορθώματα τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ τὰ ἁμαρτή ματα εἰς φάρμακα μετέβαλλεν, ἵνα τὰ τῶν ἄλλων τραύ ματα ἑτέροις φάρμακα γένηται, καὶ τὸ τοῦ δικαίου ναυ άγιον τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ λιμὴν καταστῇ. Ὅταν γὰρ ὁ δίκαιος ἁμάρτῃ, οὐκέτι ἀπογινώσκω τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ σωτηρίας· ὅταν ἴδω, ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν οὐρανῶν κατηνέχθη, τὸ ἐκείνου πτῶμα ἐμοὶ ὑπόθεσις ἀναστάσεως γίνεται. Διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις οὐ μόνον τῶν κατορθωμάτων τῶν δικαίων ἐμνημόνευσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων.","english":"For it is an image that contains varied teaching. Sometimes it relates its own affairs, sometimes those of others. Since this psalm also relates the affairs of others, it is for this reason that it is inscribed, \"When the prophet Nathan came to him.\" So the inscription does not allow us to be sluggish, nor to carry our mind elsewhere, but such things stand as guardians and teachers, and it also teaches other meanings which the inscription tells us. 2. But pay close attention, both the righteous and the sinners. For the psalm is useful to each party: to the righteous, that he may not be negligent; to the sinner, that he may not despair of his own salvation. For both are hard to censure. For the righteous, if he becomes negligent, is cast down, and the sinner, if he despairs, does not rise. So that neither this one may remain in a fall, nor that one may fall into a fall, this psalmody of this psalmist is given as saving to each party. I am about to relate a great and grievous sin of the prophet. But let none of us condemn. For the love of God for humanity, taking thought for the common race of men, has transformed both the achievements of the saints and their sins into remedies, so that the wounds of some become medicines for others, and the shipwreck of the righteous becomes a harbor for the sinner. For when the righteous man sins, I no longer despair of my own salvation; when I see that he was brought down from the heavens, his fall becomes for me a basis for rising. For this reason the grace of the Spirit has recorded not only the achievements of the righteous, but also their sins.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰκὼν γάρ ἐστι ποικίλην ἔχουσα διδασκαλίαν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom compares the psalm to an image (εἰκών) containing varied teaching, emphasizing its didactic and polyvalent nature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἐπιγραφή","severity":"info","text":"The term ἐπιγραφή (inscription) refers to the psalm's title or superscription, which Chrysostom argues directs the reader's attention and prevents misinterpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης","severity":"info","text":"Nathan the prophet is a biblical figure (2 Samuel 12) who confronted David over his sin with Bathsheba. The psalm's inscription references this event, linking the psalm to David's repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"βʹ","severity":"info","text":"The Greek numeral βʹ (2) marks a structural division, likely indicating a new section or point in the homily, as Chrysostom addresses both the righteous and sinners.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸ τοῦ δικαίου ναυάγιον τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ λιμὴν καταστῇ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom uses the metaphor of the righteous man's shipwreck becoming a harbor for the sinner, a theme of salvific reinterpretation of sin found in later Christian moral teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἁμάρτημα τοῦ προφήτου μέγα καὶ χαλεπόν","severity":"caution","text":"Chrysostom refers to a 'great and grievous sin of the prophet' (David), but the exact sin is not specified here; the context suggests the incident with Bathsheba, though the text leaves ambiguity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'prophet' (προφήτης) is not explicitly named in this passage, but the context and the inscription reference to Nathan imply David; the sin is not detailed, leaving room for interpretation."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Οὐ γὰρ ἐκείνων προεμνημόνευσε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα γινομένων. Θέλω τοίνυν δεῖξαι τοῦτον τὸν γενναῖον ἄνδρα τρωθέντα, πεσόντα, ἀναστάντα, παλαίσαντα, ἡττηθέντα, νικήσαντα, στεφανωθέντα. Οὐ γὰρ δείκνυμι αὐτὸν κείμενον ἐν τῷ πτώματι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐγερθέν τα, ἵνα ἑκατέρωθεν σὺ κερδάνῃς, ἵνα, ὅταν ἁμάρτῃς, μὴ ἀπογνῷς, ἀλλὰ παραυτὰ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν δράμῃς· μηδὲ εἴπῃς· Οἴμοι ἀπωλόμην, ἐμοίχευσα, ἐπόρνευσα, ἐφόνευσα. Ἔχεις γὰρ σωτηρίας λιμένα διακρουόμενον τὴν ἁμαρ τίαν. Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃς τὸν τοιοῦτον δεξάμενον τραύματα καὶ διασπαραττόμενον, εὐθέως ἐπὶ τὴν μετάνοιαν τρέχε, καὶ παῤῥησιάζου δακρύων πηγὰς ἐκχέων, ἵνα διὰ τῆς ἐκείνου μετανοίας ἀκριβέστερον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίαν μάθῃς. Οἷόν τι λέγω· Πολλοὶ πολλάκις περιέπεσον, καὶ ἄνδρες καὶ γυναῖκες, χαλεπῷ νοσήματι καὶ ἀνιάτῳ. Δάκρυα ἐξεχύθη, φάρμακα ἐδαπανήθη, ἰατρικὴ ἠπόρησε τέχνη, κάλλος ἀνηλώθη, τὸ σῶμα ἀπηγόρευται Περιέρχεται λοιπὸν ἡ γυνή· Ποῦ ἀπέλθω; τί ποιήσω; Χρήματα ἀνήλωσα, ἰατροὺς ἐκάλεσα, φάρμακα ἀνηλώθη· μένει τὸ νόσημα, οὐκ ἰάθη τὸ ἕλκος.","english":"For he not only made mention of those earlier events, but also of those that happened afterward. I wish therefore to show you this noble man wounded, fallen, risen, wrestling, defeated, victorious, crowned. For I do not show him lying in his fall only, but also raised up, so that you may gain from both sides, so that when you sin, you may not despair, but immediately run to the resurrection; nor say, \"Woe is me, I am lost, I committed adultery, I fornicated, I murdered.\" For you have a harbor of salvation that repels sin. For when you see such a man receiving wounds and being torn apart, immediately run to repentance, and boldly pour forth streams of tears, so that through his repentance you may learn your own salvation more precisely. I mean something like this: Many have often fallen, both men and women, into a severe and incurable disease. Tears were shed, medicines were consumed, the medical art was at a loss, beauty was wasted, the body gave up. Then the woman goes about: \"Where shall I go? What shall I do? I have spent money, I have called doctors, medicines have been consumed; the disease remains, the wound is not healed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"προεμνημόνευσε","severity":"info","text":"The verb προεμνημόνευσε (made mention of earlier) signals a narrative structure that links past events to subsequent ones, a common homiletic technique.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ἑκατέρωθεν σὺ κερδάνῃς","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom emphasizes that the audience gains from both the fall and the recovery, reinforcing the didactic purpose of the psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"μετάνοιαν","severity":"info","text":"μετάνοιαν (repentance) is a key theological term in Chrysostom's soteriology, often linked to moral transformation and restoration.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"νοσήματι καὶ ἀνιάτῳ","severity":"info","text":"The description of an incurable disease reflects common ancient medical tropes, used metaphorically for sin's persistence without repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"λιμένα σωτηρίας","severity":"info","text":"The harbor of salvation (λιμένα σωτηρίας) is a common metaphor in patristic literature, echoing Hebrews and other New Testament passages.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπηγόρευται","severity":"caution","text":"The verb ἀπηγόρευται (gave up) is ambiguous; it may mean the body despaired or was pronounced incurable, but the sense is clear in context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ἀπηγόρευται' could be read as either the body giving up or being declared incurable; the translation opts for the former.","The identity of the 'noble man' (γενναῖον ἄνδρα) is not specified in this passage, but context suggests King David."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Πολλάκις συνέβη τινὰ τῶν ἐπισκεπτομένων εἰπεῖν· Κἀγὼ τοιούτῳ πάθει περιέπεσον, καὶ ὁ δεῖνα, ἢ ἡ δεῖνα περιέθηκάν μοι φάρμα κον, καὶ ἀπήλλαξάν με τῆς ὀδύνης. Εἶτα παρακαλεῖ· Δεῖξόν μοι τὴν γυναῖκα. Ἄπελθε ἐπὶ τὸν στενωπόν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ νῦν, ἐπειδὴ ἐμοίχευσε, καὶ φόνον ἐποίησε, τὸ δὲ ἕλκος χαλεπὸν, δείκνυμί σοι\n\nπῶς ἐθεραπεύθη, καὶ ποῖον φάρμακον ἐπέθηκεν. Καὶ οὐ λέγω· Ἄπελθε ἐπὶ τὸν στενωπὸν, ἐρώτησον τόνδε, ἢ τήνδε. Οὐ χρεία καμάτου, οὐ χρεία πόνου, οὔτε ὑπερβῆναί σε προθύρων ἀναγ καῖον, ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα ἑστῶτα δέξασθαί σε τὸ φάρμακον. Μόνον πρόσεχε τοῖς λεγομένοις. Ἀνάγκη γὰρ τὸν λόγον εἰσαγαγεῖν, καὶ τὸν χρόνον εἰπεῖν, καθ' ὃν ἥμαρτε, καὶ τὸν τόπον, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον, καὶ τὴν μετάνοιαν, καὶ τὴν διόρθωσιν, καὶ τὸ φάρμακον, ἵνα πάντα μαθόντες μετὰ ἀκριβείας, οὕτως ἀπέλθητε. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Δαυΐδ, νέος ὢν καὶ μειράκιον κομιδῇ, καὶ πατρὸς ἀσήμου, καὶ τῇ γῇ προσέχων καὶ τοῖς ποιμνίοις, πόλεις μὲν ἔφυγε καὶ χώρας καὶ θορύβους, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐρημίᾳ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἐπεδείκνυτο, οὐδὲν κοινὸν ἔχων μετὰ τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων, ἀλλ' ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας τῇ συντρόφῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡσυχίᾳ συζῶν, καὶ καθάπερ ἐν λιμένι ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθήμενος, τῇ τῶν προβάτων ἐπιστασίᾳ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐμελέτησεν. Οὗτος τοίνυν νέος ἦν, κομιδῇ μειράκιον, νέος μὲν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ, πεπολιωμένος δὲ τῇ διανοίᾳ· καὶ τὸ ἀτελὲς τῆς ἡλικίας οὐδὲν ἐνεπόδιζε τῇ τοσαύτῃ ἀρετῇ· ἀλλὰ νέος ὢν σφόδρα ἐνίκα οὐ δυνάμει σώματος, ἀλλὰ δυνάμει πίστεως. Ἀλλὰ πρόσεχε μετὰ ἀκριβείας τῷ λόγῳ·","english":"Often it has happened that one of those visiting would say: \"I too fell into such a suffering, and so-and-so, or such-and-such a woman, applied a remedy to me and relieved me of the pain.\" Then he urges: \"Show me the woman. Go to the narrow street.\" So also now, since he committed adultery and murder, and the wound is grievous, I show you how he was healed and what remedy was applied. And I do not say: \"Go to the narrow street, ask this one or that one.\" There is no need of toil, no need of labor, nor is it necessary for you to cross thresholds, but standing here you may receive the remedy. Only pay attention to what is said. For it is necessary to introduce the account and to tell the time when he sinned, and the place, and the person, and the repentance, and the correction, and the remedy, so that having learned everything with precision, you may depart accordingly. This David, then, being young and quite a youth, of an obscure father, and attending to the land and the flocks, fled cities and regions and tumults, and in the wilderness displayed philosophy, having nothing in common with worldly affairs, but from his earliest age living with the companion of virtue, quietude, and sitting as if in a harbor in the wilderness, he practiced the kingdom of heaven through the oversight of sheep. This one, then, was young, quite a youth, young in age but gray in mind; and the incompleteness of his age did not hinder such great virtue; but being very young, he conquered not by strength of body but by strength of faith. But pay close attention to the account.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"φάρμακον","severity":"info","text":"The term φάρμακον can mean both 'remedy' and 'poison' or 'drug'. Chrysostom uses it here metaphorically for spiritual healing, contrasting with the literal remedies sought from women in the street.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"φιλοσοφίαν","severity":"info","text":"φιλοσοφίαν here denotes ascetic discipline or Christian virtue, not academic philosophy. Chrysostom applies it to David's solitary life in the wilderness, aligning with the monastic ideal.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom shifts from a medical analogy (remedy for sin) to a biographical sketch of David's early life, emphasizing his youth, obscurity, and virtue. This prepares the audience for the narrative of David's sin and repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δαυΐδ","severity":"info","text":"The reference to David as a young shepherd of obscure father echoes 1 Samuel 16:11–13, where David is introduced as the son of Jesse, a Bethlehemite. Chrysostom amplifies the obscurity to highlight divine election.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The motif of the 'narrow street' (στενωπόν) and seeking a woman for a remedy parallels Chrysostom's critique of superstitious practices in other homilies, e.g., against those who consult sorcerers for cures.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐπισκεπτομένων","severity":"caution","text":"The participle ἐπισκεπτομένων could mean 'visiting' (as in visiting the sick) or 'considering/inquiring'. The context of seeking remedies supports the former, but ambiguity remains.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'woman' in the analogy is unspecified; she may represent a folk healer or sorceress. The phrase 'ἢ ἡ δεῖνα' (or such-and-such a woman) is generic."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Ἐδέησέ ποτε γενέσθαι βασιλέα τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἐπειδὴ ὁ πρῶτος γενόμενος ἀνάξιος ἦν. Πέμπει ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Σαμουὴλ εὐθέως πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ.\n\nἘλθόντος τοίνυν τοῦ Σα μουὴλ πρὸς τὸν Ἰεσσαὶ τὸν πατέρα Δαυῒδ, τὸ παιδίον ἦν ἐν τοῖς ποιμνίοις, μικρὸν πάνυ. Οὐ παύομαι συνεχῶς τὴν νεότητα λέγων, ἵνα μηδεὶς μήτε νέον διαβάλλῃ, μήτε γέροντα ἐγκωμιάζῃ. Οὔτε γὰρ ἡ πολιὰ ἀρετὴ, οὔτε ἡ νεότης κακία. Πολλοὶ καὶ ἐν νεότητι φιλοσοφίαν ἐπεδεί ξαντο, καὶ πολλοὶ καὶ ἐν γήρει ὑπεσκελίσθησαν. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες ἐν τῷ πυρὶ ἦσαν, καὶ τὴν φλόγα ἔσβεσαν. Καὶ ὁ Δανιὴλ δωδεκαετὴς ὢν, τοὺς λέοντας πρόβατα ἐποίησεν, οὐ τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν μεταβαλὼν, ἀλλὰ τὴν θηριωδίαν αὐτῶν τῇ πίστει χαλινώσας· καὶ τοὺς ἀσυνέτους πρεσβυτέρους διελέγξας, κριτὴς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἀναδείκνυται. Καὶ Στέφανος ὁ τῶν διακόνων πρόκριτος, πλήρης χάριτος, καὶ δυνάμεως ἐκ νεότητος πλησθεὶς, τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ διελέγετο· Παῦλος δὲ γεγηρακὼς ἦν καὶ πεπολιωμένος, καὶ τὸ μὲν πρότερον σκυλευτὴς τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν γέγονε, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς πίστεως ἥρπασε, καὶ πρόβατον γέγονεν ἀγαθότη τος. γʹ. Μὴ οὖν τὸν νέον διάβαλλε, μηδὲ τὸν γεγηρακότα ἐπαίνει. Οὔτε γὰρ ἐν τῇ διαφορᾷ τῆς ἡλικίας ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἡ κακία, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ διαφορᾷ τῆς γνώμης· κἂν ᾖς νηφάλιος, οὐδέν σε καταβλάπτει τὸ ἄωρον τῆς ἡλικίας· κἂν ᾖς ῥᾴθυμος, οὐδέ[ν] σε ὠφελήσει τὸ γῆρας. Πολιὰ γὰρ οὐ τρίχες λευκαὶ, ἀλλὰ ψυχῆς ἀρετή. Οὗτος τοίνυν νέος ὢν ὥριμον τὸν καρπὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐκέκτητο.","english":"It became necessary at some time for a king to be given to the Jews, since the first one who had been appointed was unworthy. God immediately sends Samuel to his father.\n\nWhen Samuel came to Jesse, the father of David, the child was among the flocks, very small. I never cease speaking constantly about youth, so that no one may slander a young person nor praise an old person. For neither is gray hair virtue, nor is youth vice. Many have displayed wisdom in youth, and many have been tripped up in old age. For the three youths were in the fire and quenched the flame. And Daniel, being twelve years old, made the lions into sheep, not by changing their nature, but by bridling their ferocity with faith; and after refuting the foolish elders, he was appointed judge of Israel. And Stephen, the foremost of the deacons, full of grace and power, filled from youth, conversed with the Hebrew people. Paul, however, was aged and gray-haired, and earlier he had been a plunderer of the churches, but afterward he seized the prize of faith and became a sheep of goodness. Therefore, do not slander the young person, nor praise the aged one. For virtue and vice are not in the difference of age, but in the difference of disposition. If you are sober, the untimeliness of age does not harm you at all; if you are lazy, old age will not benefit you. For gray hair is not white hairs, but virtue of soul. This one, then, being young, possessed the ripe fruit of virtue.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Σαμουήλ","severity":"info","text":"Samuel anoints David as king in 1 Samuel 16. Chrysostom condenses the narrative, omitting the anointing and focusing on David's youth among the flocks.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες ἐν τῷ πυρὶ","severity":"info","text":"Reference to the three youths in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). Chrysostom uses this as an example of youthful virtue.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δανιὴλ δωδεκαετὴς","severity":"info","text":"Daniel at age twelve refutes elders and judges Israel (Daniel 13:41-64 LXX). Chrysostom adapts the story to emphasize youthful wisdom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Στέφανος","severity":"info","text":"Stephen, the first deacon, is described as full of grace and power from youth, conversing with the Hebrew people (Acts 6-7).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Παῦλος","severity":"info","text":"Paul, once a persecutor (σκυλευτής) of the churches, later becomes a prize-winner of faith. This echoes Acts 9 and Galatians 1:13-14.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"σκυλευτής","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term σκυλευτής means 'plunderer' or 'spoiler'. Chrysostom uses it to describe Paul's pre-conversion role as a persecutor of the church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'πρῶτος γενόμενος' could refer to Saul or a generic first king; Chrysostom likely means Saul, but the text does not specify.","The identity of 'the first one who had been appointed' is ambiguous; it may refer to Saul, but the narrative skips details."],"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."},{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"Luke 1:28","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “full of grace”, which matches Luke 1:28. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Ἦλθεν ὁ Σαμουὴλ πρὸς τὸν Ἰεσσαὶ, οὐ πλημμύραν σωμάτων περιβεβλημένος, ἀλλὰ τὸ κέρας, ἔνθα ἦν τὸ ἔλαιον τὸ ἅγιον, ἔχων. Καὶ τί φησιν; Ἔπεμψέ με ὁ Θεὸς ποιῆσαι βασιλέα ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν σου. Ὁ Ἰεσσαὶ ἀκούσας βασιλέα, νομίσας ἐκείνῳ ἐπιτήδειον εἶναι τὸ ἀξίωμα, ἄγει τὸν πρῶ τον υἱόν. Πάραγε αὐτὸν, φησίν· οὐκ εὐδόκησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ. Τὸν δεύτερον· οὐδὲ οὗτος. Τὸν τρίτον, τὸν τέταρτον, τὸν πέμπτον. Ἀνηλώθη ὁ χορὸς τῶν παίδων, καὶ ὁ ζητούμενος οὐχ εὑρίσκετο.\n\nΛέγει αὐτῷ· Ἔχεις ἄλ λον; Ἠσχύνθη ὁ πατήρ. Ἔχω ἕνα, φησὶ, μικρότερον καὶ εὐτελῆ, ποιμένα. Βασιλέα ζητεῖς μικρὸν καὶ εὐτελῆ ποιῆ σαι; Ἄνθρωπος ἐξουθενεῖ, ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς στεφανοῖ. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς ὄψεται ἄνθρωπος, ὄψεται Θεός· ἄνθρωπος εἰς πρόσωπον, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς εἰς καρδίαν. Μὴ γὰρ πολυσαρκίαν ζητοῦμεν; Ψυχῆς εὐγένειαν ἐπιποθοῦμεν. Πρόσεχε μετὰ ἀκριβείας τῷ λόγῳ. Οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς, Ἄπελθε, χρῖσόν μοι τὸν Δαυΐδ· ἀλλ', Ἄπελθε, χρῖσόν μοι ἕνα τῶν υἱῶν Ἰεσσαί. Καὶ διὰ τί ἀπορεῖ; καὶ διὰ τί οὐ λέγει τὸ ὄνομα; Ἵνα μὴ πάθῃ Δαυῒδ, ὅπερ ἔπαθεν Ἰωσήφ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ μαθόντες ἐκεῖνοι τὸν ζητούμενον αὐτῶν βασιλέα, ἐπεβούλευσαν,","english":"Samuel came to Jesse, not surrounded by a throng of bodies, but holding the horn, where the holy oil was. And what does he say? \"God sent me to make a king from among your sons.\" Jesse, hearing \"king,\" and thinking that the office was suitable for himself, brings his first son. \"Bring him forward,\" he says; \"God did not approve of him.\" The second—\"Not this one either.\" The third, the fourth, the fifth. The whole band of children was exhausted, and the one sought was not found.\n\nHe says to him, \"Do you have another?\" The father was ashamed. \"I have one,\" he says, \"younger and insignificant, a shepherd.\" \"You seek to make a king, a small and insignificant one?\" A man despises, but God crowns. For God does not see as a man sees; a man looks at the face, but God looks at the heart. Are we not seeking an abundance of flesh? We long for nobility of soul. Pay close attention to the word. God did not say to him, \"Go, anoint David for me,\" but, \"Go, anoint for me one of the sons of Jesse.\" And why is he at a loss? And why does he not mention the name? So that David might not suffer what Joseph suffered. For just as those men, having learned that the one sought was their king, plotted against him,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"κέρας","severity":"info","text":"The horn (κέρας) held by Samuel is a vessel for holy oil, used in anointing. This detail underscores the ritual context of the narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔπεμψέ με ὁ Θεὸς ποιῆσαι βασιλέα ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν σου","severity":"info","text":"This passage echoes 1 Samuel 16:1-13, where Samuel anoints David. Chrysostom adapts the biblical account for homiletic purposes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰωσήφ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom refers to Joseph, son of Jacob, whose brothers plotted against him after learning of his favored status (Genesis 37). This parallel warns against premature revelation of divine choice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πρόσεχε μετὰ ἀκριβείας τῷ λόγῳ","severity":"info","text":"This phrase marks a rhetorical shift, urging careful attention to the divine economy in not naming David. It highlights Chrysostom's exegetical method.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἄνθρωπος ἐξουθενεῖ, ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς στεφανοῖ","severity":"info","text":"This aphorism, contrasting human contempt with divine crowning, reflects Chrysostom's moral emphasis on inner worth over external appearance, a theme in his ascetic teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text does not specify whether the horn (κέρας) is a literal vessel or a symbolic reference; the reading taken is literal, consistent with anointing practice."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"ἐπολέμησαν, ἐπώλησαν· οὕτω δέος ἦν, μὴ καὶ οὗτοι τοῦτο ἐργάσωνται. Ὥστε ἡ ἄγνοια ἀσφαλείας μήτηρ ἐγένετο. Εἱστήκει ὁ προφήτης ἀπο ρῶν· Δός μοι ἕνα τῶν υἱῶν σου. Οὐκ ἔχω, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ παιδίον μικρὸν ποιμαῖνον τὰ πρόβατα. Οὐχ οὕτως ὄψε ται ἄνθρωπος, ὡς ὄψεται Θεός. Ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ καλλωπιζόμενοι ἐπ' εὐμορφίᾳ ὄψεως; Μή μοι λέγε εὐμορφίαν σώματος, ἀλλὰ βλέπε τὸ κάλλος τῆς διανοίας. Τί γάρ ἐστιν εὔμορφος γυνή; Τάφος κεκονιαμένος, ἐὰν μὴ σωφρονῇ. Κάλλος δέ ἐστι βάραθρον ὀρωρυγμένον, ἑτέροις δὲ δηλητήριον κατεσκευασμένον, ἐὰν μὴ σωφρονῇ· ἢ νόσῳ μαραίνεται καὶ θανάτῳ διακόπτεται· τὸ δὲ κάλλος τῆς ψυχῆς ἀθάνατον μένει καὶ ἀκηλίδωτον, ἀλλὰ τότε μᾶλλον τὴν οἰκείαν ὡραιότητα ἐπιδεί κνυται, ὅταν παύσῃ τὰ πάθη, καὶ ἐν γαλήνῃ γένηται ὁ νοῦς. Ἐὰν οὖν ἴδῃς ἄνδρα, ἢ γυναῖκα καλὴν, μὴ θαυμά σῃς.\n\nἘπεὶ καὶ αἱ δρύες εἰς ὕψος ἀνατεταμέναι καρπὸν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνθρώποις χρήσιμον, ἀλόγοις δὲ μόνον· ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος χαμαὶ κειμένη ὥριμον ἔχει καρπὸν βοτρύων. Τί οὖν βούλει, ἄμπελον ἔχειν, ἢ δρῦν; Δῆλον ὅτι ἄμπε λον· ἡ γὰρ δρῦς ἐν ὕψει ἑστῶσα θηρίων ἀλόγων ἔχει τροφὴν τὸν καρπόν. Τί μελίττης εὐτελέστερον; τί δὲ ταῶνος ὡραιότερον; Ἀλλὰ τί βέλτιον, μέλιττα, ἢ ταών; Δῆλον ὅτι μέλιττα. Ἄνελε ταῶνα, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔβλαψας· ἄνελε μέλιτταν, καὶ χωλεύει πολλά. Ἦλθε τοίνυν ὁ Δαυῒδ, ἐκχεῖται τὸ ἔλαιον, καὶ χρίεται ψήφῳ Θεοῦ, διακονίᾳ δὲ ἀνθρώπου. Ἐπέθηκεν αὐτῷ τὸ κέρας, καὶ ἀντὶ πορφυρίδος καὶ διαδήματος ἐγένετο αὐτῷ.","english":"they made war, they sold; such was the fear that these too might do the same. So ignorance became the mother of security. The prophet stood perplexed: \"Give me one of your sons.\" \"I do not have one,\" he says, \"but a small boy tending the sheep.\" A man will not see as God sees. Where are those who pride themselves on beauty of face? Do not speak to me of bodily beauty, but look at the beauty of the mind. For what is a beautiful woman? A whitewashed tomb, if she is not chaste. Beauty is a pit dug open, a poison prepared for others, if she is not chaste; or it withers with disease and is cut short by death. But the beauty of the soul remains immortal and unblemished, and then especially does it display its own loveliness when the passions cease and the mind is in calm. So if you see a man or a woman who is beautiful, do not marvel.\n\nFor even oaks, raised to a height, have no fruit useful to men, but only to beasts; while the vine, lying low, has ripe fruit of grapes. What then do you want, to have a vine or an oak? Clearly a vine; for the oak, standing in height, has its fruit as food for wild beasts. What is more insignificant than a bee? What is more beautiful than a peacock? But which is better, a bee or a peacock? Clearly a bee. Remove the peacock, and you have harmed nothing; remove the bee, and many things are crippled. So David came, the oil was poured out, and he was anointed by the decree of God, through the ministry of a man. The horn was placed upon him, and it became for him instead of a purple robe and a diadem.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ ἄγνοια ἀσφαλείας μήτηρ ἐγένετο","severity":"info","text":"The paradox that ignorance (of David's worth) produced security (for Jesse) is a rhetorical inversion typical of Chrysostom's moral exhortation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ καλλωπιζόμενοι ἐπ' εὐμορφίᾳ ὄψεως","severity":"info","text":"This rhetorical question echoes the biblical topos of the transience of physical beauty, cf. 1 Cor 15:42-44 and Ps 39:6 LXX.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Τάφος κεκονιαμένος","severity":"info","text":"The image of a 'whitewashed tomb' for a beautiful but unchaste woman is a common patristic metaphor, found also in Clement of Alexandria and Basil of Caesarea.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ δρῦς ... ἡ ἄμπελος","severity":"info","text":"The contrast between the tall, fruitless oak and the low, fruitful vine is a traditional moral exemplum, appearing in Aesop's fables and patristic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἦλθε τοίνυν ὁ Δαυῒδ","severity":"info","text":"This sentence marks the return to the narrative of David's anointing after a long moral digression on beauty and worth.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀντὶ πορφυρίδος καὶ διαδήματος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom interprets the anointing with oil as equivalent to royal insignia, a typological reading that influenced later Byzantine imperial theology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has minor orthographic variations (e.g., ἀπο ρῶν for ἀπορῶν) that do not affect meaning.","The phrase 'μή μοι λέγε εὐμορφίαν σώματος' could be read as a direct address to the congregation or as a general maxim."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἔχων τὴν βασιλείαν, οὐ θώρακα, οὐκ ἀσπίδα περιβεβλημένος, οὐδὲ δόρατα, ἀλλ' ἔχων αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ψῆφον, τὴν πάντων δυνατωτέραν. Οὗτος δὴ καὶ πολέμου καλοῦντος, καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τεταραγμένων, καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐπικειμένων τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἀπῆλθεν ἰδεῖν τὴν παράταξιν καὶ τὸν βάρβαρον προσκαλούμενον εἰς μονομαχίαν. Καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα προπηδῆσαι καὶ ἐξελθεῖν. Ἦλθεν ὁ Δαυῒδ, εἶδεν ἀστράπτοντα, καὶ ἀφό ρητον ὄντα τὸν πολέμιον, καὶ πάντας κατεπτηχότας. Ὁ ποιμὴν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, καὶ οἱ ἐν πολέμῳ μεμελετηκότες οὐδὲ τὴν φωνὴν ἔφερον τοῦ πολεμίου· ὁ δὲ δένδρεσι καὶ σκιαῖς καὶ πηγαῖς προσομιλῶν, ἐπὶ ταῖς ὄψεσιν αὐτοῦ εἱστήκει, καὶ λέγει· Τίς ὁ ἀπερίτμητος οὗτος, ὃς ὠνείδισε παράταξιν Θεοῦ ζῶντος; Καὶ λέγουσι πρὸς αὐτόν· Πόθεν σοι ἡ ἀπόνοια αὕτη; Ὁ δέ· Οὐκ ἀπόνοια, ἀλλὰ πίστις· οὐχ ὑπερηφανίαν, ἀλλ' εὐσέβειαν κέκτημαι· θώρακα οὐχ ὁπλίζομαι, ἀλλὰ πίστιν ἐνδέδυμαι· οὐ σκοπῶ ἐκείνου τὸ μέγεθος, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐρημίαν τῆς δια νοίας· οὐ βλέπω ὅτι μέγα τὸ πλοῖον, ἀλλ' ὅτι κυβερνήτην οὐκ ἔχει. Οὐ δέδοικα αὐτὸν (ἐχθρὸς γάρ ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ), κἂν μυριάκις δυνατὸς ᾖ. Διὰ γὰρ τὴν ἄνωθεν ῥοπὴν πάντων ἀσθενέστερός ἐστιν ὁ ἀπερίτμητος οὗτος. Ποίοις ὅπλοις θαῤῥεῖς, ὦ Δαυΐδ; Οὐ σαρκικοῖς, ἀλλὰ πνευμα τικοῖς.","english":"And he went forth holding the kingship, not clad in a breastplate, not in a shield, nor spears, but holding the very vote of God, which is more powerful than all. This man, indeed, when war was summoned and affairs were in turmoil and the barbarians were pressing upon the Jews, went out to see the battle line and to challenge the barbarian to single combat. And no one dared to leap forward and go out. David came, saw the enemy flashing and being irresistible, and all cowering in fear. The shepherd in the war, and those trained in war could not even bear the voice of the enemy; but he, who conversed with trees and shadows and springs, stood before his eyes and said: \"Who is this uncircumcised one who has insulted the army of the living God?\" And they said to him: \"Whence this audacity of yours?\" And he: \"It is not audacity, but faith; I possess not arrogance, but piety; I arm myself not with a breastplate, but I am clad in faith; I do not look at his size, but at the barrenness of his mind; I do not see that the ship is large, but that it has no pilot. I do not fear him (for he is an enemy of God), even if he is ten thousand times powerful. For because of the divine influence from above, this uncircumcised one is weaker than all.\" \"In what arms do you trust, O David?\" \"Not in fleshly ones, but in spiritual ones.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ψῆφον","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'the vote of God' (ψῆφον) metaphorically denotes divine judgment or decree, not a literal ballot. Chrysostom contrasts this spiritual authority with physical armor.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπερίτμητος","severity":"info","text":"The term 'uncircumcised' (ἀπερίτμητος) echoes 1 Samuel 17:36 (LXX), where David calls Goliath 'this uncircumcised one.' Chrysostom uses it to emphasize the Philistine's status as an enemy of God.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"μονομαχίαν","severity":"info","text":"Single combat (μονομαχία) was a recognized practice in ancient warfare, notably in the David and Goliath narrative. Chrysostom highlights David's courage against a trained warrior.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὗτος δὴ καὶ πολέμου καλοῦντος","severity":"info","text":"This passage forms a narrative climax: David's challenge to Goliath. Chrysostom builds tension by contrasting the fear of trained soldiers with David's faith-driven audacity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"θώρακα οὐχ ὁπλίζομαι, ἀλλὰ πίστιν ἐνδέδυμαι","severity":"info","text":"The contrast between physical armor and spiritual faith parallels Pauline imagery (e.g., Ephesians 6:11-17), where faith is a shield. Chrysostom adapts this to David's story.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Διὰ γὰρ τὴν ἄνωθεν ῥοπὴν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'divine influence from above' (ἄνωθεν ῥοπήν) reflects Chrysostom's emphasis on divine providence, a theme common in his homilies, showing God's decisive role in victory.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is clear; no significant ambiguities in this passage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικὰ, ἀλλὰ πνευματικά. Καὶ πῶς, ὅτι σὺ μικρὸς καὶ ἀσθενὴς εἶ; Ἀλλὰ μέγας ὁ Δεσπότης. Εὐτελὲς τὸ ὅπλον· ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας ἰσχυρός. Θάλασσαν ἐποίησε ξηρὰν, πέτραν διέῤῥηξε, τὰ στοιχεῖα μετέβαλε· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς περιγίνεται.\n\nδʹ. Ἦλθε τοίνυν πρὸς τοὺς ἄνδρας, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Τί δοθήσεται τῷ ἀνδρὶ τῷ αἴροντι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ; Περὶ μισθῶν διαλέγεται, οὐχ ἵνα λάβῃ μισθὸν, ἀλλ' ἵνα τούτους εἰς πίστιν ἀγάγῃ. Τί οὖν οἱ ἀδελφοί; Πάλιν φθόνος. πάλιν βασκανία. Ἐπὶ τί ἀφῆκας τὰ μικρὰ πρόβατα ἐκεῖνα; Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τὴν κακίαν τῆς καρδίας σου. Ὢ φθόνος παθῶν πεπληρωμένος, πῦρ μὴ σβεννύμενον! Καὶ γὰρ καθάπερ σκώληξ τὸ ἔριον διεσθίει, οὕτω καὶ ὁ φθόνος τὸν μὲν φθονοῦντα διατήκει, τὸν δὲ φθο νούμενον λαμπρότερον κατασκευάζει. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ φθονήσαντες ἀπὸ ἐλευθερίας εἰς δουλείαν καθίσταντο· ὁ δὲ φθονηθεὶς βασιλεὺς ἐγένετο. Πάλιν οὖν οἱ ἀδελφοί·","english":"For our weapons are not fleshly, but spiritual. And how is it that you are small and weak? But the Master is great. The weapon is cheap; but the one who sent it is strong. He made the sea dry, split a rock, transformed the elements; much more does he prevail over a single man.\n\n4. So he came to the men and says to them: What will be given to the man who lifts his head? He speaks of rewards, not that he may receive a reward, but that he may lead them to faith. What then do the brothers? Again envy, again malice. Why did you leave those little sheep? We know the pride and the wickedness of your heart. O envy, filled with passions, a fire that is not quenched! For just as a worm consumes the wool, so envy wastes away the one who envies, but makes the one envied more brilliant. So it happened also with Joseph and his brothers. For those who envied were reduced from freedom to slavery, while the one envied became king. Again then the brothers:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικὰ, ἀλλὰ πνευματικά","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts fleshly and spiritual weapons, a common Pauline theme (cf. 2 Cor 10:4), to reinterpret David's martial imagery as spiritual combat.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Θάλασσαν ἐποίησε ξηρὰν, πέτραν διέῤῥηξε","severity":"info","text":"Alludes to the parting of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21-22) and Moses striking the rock at Horeb (Exod 17:6), both miracles of God's power over nature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Περὶ μισθῶν διαλέγεται","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom explains that David's question about reward is a rhetorical device to engage the soldiers and lead them to faith, not a literal request for payment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Καὶ γὰρ καθάπερ σκώληξ τὸ ἔριον διεσθίει","severity":"info","text":"The worm consuming wool is a traditional simile for envy's self-destructive nature, found also in Greek moralists and patristic writers like Basil of Caesarea.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάλιν οὖν οἱ ἀδελφοί","severity":"info","text":"The repeated phrase 'Again then the brothers' marks a narrative resumption after the moralizing digression on envy, framing the Joseph exemplum as a structural parallel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The Joseph story (Gen 37-50) was a common type for envy and reversal of fortune in early Christian homiletics, used here to illustrate the spiritual victory of the envied.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τὰ μικρὰ πρόβατα ἐκεῖνα' ('those little sheep') is ambiguous: it may refer literally to David's flock or metaphorically to his former charges as a shepherd; the reading taken is literal, consistent with the narrative of David's youth."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τὴν κακίαν τῆς καρδίας σου, ὅτι ἕνεκα τοῦ ἰδεῖν σε τὸν πόλεμον κατέβης. Τί ἐφθόνησαν; τί ἐβάσκηναν; Λόγον ἤκουσαν, ῥημάτων εὐημερίαν οὐκ ἤνεγκαν. Ἀλλὰ τί οὗτος ὁ σοφὸς ἁνήρ; Ἀπέστη ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὑποτεμνόμενος τὸ ἕλκος, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ ἕτερον μέρος τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ λέγει· Τί ἔσται τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ αἴροντι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ; καὶ εἰσήγαγον αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα. Εἶδε τοίνυν τὸν βασιλέα καθήμενον, κατεπτηχότα, δεδοικότα, τρέμοντα, καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἵνα τί συνέπεσε τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ κυρίου μου, καὶ ἐν τῇ εὐημερίᾳ τὴν δουλείαν ὁμολογεῖ; Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος; οὐχὶ πορεύσομαι, καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ; Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς; Καὶ πῶς δύνασαι, ὅτι παιδάριον εἶ μικρὸν, οὗτος δὲ ἀνὴρ πολεμιστὴς ἐκ νεό τητος αὐτοῦ; Μὴ βλέπε τὰ ὁρώμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ νοούμενα· μὴ ἴδῃς, ὅτι μικρὸς τῷ εἴδει, ἀλλ' ὅτι μέγας τῷ φρονή ματι. Τί οὖν ἵνα γίνηται; Ἀπιστεῖ ὁ βασιλεύς· ἀναγκάζεται ὁ Δαυῒδ λοιπὸν αὐτῷ τὰ κατορθώματα αὐ τοῦ λέγειν. Ἐγὼ, φησὶ, παιδίον ἤμην μικρὸν παρὰ τὴν ποίμνην τοῦ πατρός μου· καὶ ὅτε ἦλθε λέων, ἢ ἄρκτος, καὶ ἐλάμβανον πρόβατα ἐκ τῆς ποίμνης, ἐξεπορευόμην ὀπίσω αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐξέσπασα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀνεῖλον τὸν λέοντα καὶ τὴν ἄρκτον· καὶ ἔσται οὗτος ὡς ἓν τούτων τῶν θηρίων, ὅτι ὠνείδισε παράταξιν Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Σαοὺλ πρὸς τὸν Δαυΐδ· Πορεύου, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. Καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὅπλα, καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο αὐτὰ ὁ Δαυῒδ βαστάσαι. Διὰ τί;","english":"We know your pride and the wickedness of your heart, because you came down for the sake of seeing the war. What did they begrudge? What did they envy? They heard a word; they could not bear the success of his words. But what did this wise man do? He withdrew from them, cutting off the sore, and went to the other part of the war, and says: What will happen to the man who lifts his head? And they brought him before the king. So he saw the king sitting, cowering, afraid, trembling, and says to him: Why has the face of my lord fallen, and in the midst of success does he confess servitude? Who is this? Shall I not go and take off his head? What then does the king say? And how can you, since you are a small child, but this man is a warrior from his youth? Do not look at what is seen, but at what is understood; do not see that he is small in stature, but that he is great in spirit. What then is to happen? The king disbelieves; David is then compelled to tell him his own achievements. I, he says, was a small child by my father's flock; and when a lion or a bear came and took sheep from the flock, I went out after them, and snatched them from their mouth, and killed the lion and the bear; and this man will be like one of those beasts, because he insulted the army of the living God. And Saul said to David: Go, the Lord is with you. And he gave him weapons, and David could not carry them. Why?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τὴν κακίαν τῆς καρδίας σου","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom shifts to direct address of Goliath, framing the Philistine's pride as the motive for descending to battle. This rhetorical move heightens the moral contrast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"παιδάριον εἶ μικρὸν","severity":"info","text":"The description of David as a 'small child' echoes 1 Samuel 17:33 (LXX), where Saul questions David's youth. Chrysostom amplifies the physical disparity to highlight spiritual strength.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐξέσπασα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῶν","severity":"info","text":"David's claim to have snatched sheep from a lion's mouth is not in the biblical account; Chrysostom adds this heroic detail to underscore David's divinely granted prowess, a common homiletic expansion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς;","severity":"info","text":"This rhetorical question marks a dialogic turn: Chrysostom ventriloquizes Saul's doubt, then answers through David's self-justification. The pattern of question and answer drives the narrative forward.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"μὴ βλέπε τὰ ὁρώμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ νοούμενα","severity":"info","text":"This antithesis between visible and intelligible reality is a Chrysostomic topos, paralleling his exegesis of 1 Cor 2:14-16 where spiritual sight trumps physical appearance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ὠνείδισε παράταξιν Θεοῦ ζῶντος","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'insulted the army of the living God' is not in the LXX; Chrysostom may be paraphrasing Goliath's defiance (1 Sam 17:10) or inventing a charge to justify David's violence. The Coptic Vorlage is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'this wise man' (οὗτος ὁ σοφὸς ἁνήρ) is ambiguous: it could refer to David or to a generic wise counselor; the context favors David, but Chrysostom's narrative compression leaves the referent unclear.","The phrase 'cutting off the sore' (ὑποτεμνόμενος τὸ ἕλκος) is a medical metaphor whose precise referent (the Philistine army? the envious courtiers?) is not specified in the Greek."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Οὐ συγχωρεῖ τοῦτο ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα γυμνὸς νικήσῃ, ἵνα μὴ τὰ ὅπλα μερίσηται τὴν νίκην τῶν κατορ θωμάτων, ἵνα μὴ λέγῃ ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὅτι Τὰ ὅπλα μου ἐνί κησαν. Ῥίπτει τὰ ὅπλα, καὶ ἐνδύεται τὴν πίστιν· ἐξέρ χεται γυμνὸς, καὶ τεθωρακισμένος τὴν εὐλάβειαν· ἐξέρ χεται ποιμὴν, καὶ οὐ στρατιώτης· ἀφίησι βόλον, οὐ τῇ φύσει τοῦ σώματος θαῤῥῶν, ἀλλὰ τῇ δυνάμει τῆς πίστεως τὴν νίκην ἀπηνέγκατο· ἔδραμεν, ἔλαβεν αὐτοῦ τὸ ξίφος, ἀπέτεμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλήν.\n\nΚαὶ ἐπληρώθη τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Πάλιν φθόνος, πάλιν βασκα νία. Συνεχῶς ἀνορύττω τὴν πηγὴν, ὥστε αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν τὸν ὀφθαλμόν. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ τηλικοῦτος ἀνὴρ, περὶ οὗ φησιν ὁ Θεός· Εὗρον Δαυῒδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου. Ὢ ἐγκώμιον ὑψηλόν! ὢ ἀπόδειξις ἀρετῆς! Ὁ Δεσπότης αὐτοῦ λέγει· Εὗρον Δαυῒδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τῶν θηρίων περιγε νόμενος, ὁ τὸν Γολιὰθ ἀποκτείνας, ὁ τὸν λέοντα πνίξας, ὁ τὴν ἄρκτον κρατήσας, ὁ ἐν νεότητι πεπολιωμένος, ὁ μικρὸς τῷ σώματι καὶ ὑψηλὸς τῷ πνεύματι, ὁ ἐν τῇ βασιλικῇ στολῇ ἀκρίβειαν μοναζόντων ἐπιδειξάμενος· ἔλουε γὰρ, οὐκ ἀπὸ μαργαριτῶν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ δακρύων καθ' ἑκάστην νύκτα βρέχων τὴν στρωμνὴν αὐτοῦ. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ νῦν ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ καθεύδουσιν, ἐκεῖνος δὲ καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ ἐμμέριμνος ἦν. Διὰ τί ἐν νυκτί; Ἐπειδὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ βασιλεὺς ὢν ὑπὸ μυρίων περιηντλεῖτο πραγμά των· ἐν δὲ νυκτὶ καθάπερ ἐν λιμένι διάγων, τότε μόνος μόνῳ τῷ Θεῷ διελέγετο, καὶ πηγὰς δακρύων ἐξέχεε, καὶ ἔλουε τὴν στρωμνὴν ἑαυτοῦ.","english":"God does not permit this, that he might conquer unarmed, so that the arms might not share in the victory of the achievements, so that the king might not say, \"My arms conquered.\" He casts aside the arms and puts on faith; he goes out unarmed, and armed with reverence; he goes out a shepherd, not a soldier; he lets go a stone, trusting not in the nature of his body but in the power of faith, and he carried off the victory; he ran, took his sword, cut off his head.\n\nAnd the scripture was fulfilled: \"The sinner was caught in the works of his hands.\" Again envy, again malice. I continually dig up the spring, so as to find the eye itself. This man, then, such and so great a man, about whom God says, \"I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart.\" Oh, a lofty commendation! Oh, a proof of virtue! His Master says, \"I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart.\" This man, then, who overcame wild beasts, who killed Goliath, who strangled the lion, who seized the bear, who was gray-haired in youth, small in body and lofty in spirit, who in the royal robe displayed the austerity of monks—for he bathed, not with pearls, but with tears, wetting his bed each night. For people now sleep even in the day, but he was anxious even in the night. Why at night? Because being king in the day, he was overwhelmed by countless affairs; but at night, as if spending time in a harbor, then alone he conversed with God alone, and poured forth streams of tears, and bathed his own bed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός","severity":"info","text":"A loose citation of Psalm 9:16 LXX (ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη). Chrysostom adapts the verse to the context of David's victory.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Εὗρον Δαυῒδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου","severity":"info","text":"A paraphrase of 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 13:14 LXX, where God says of David, 'I have found a man after my heart.' Chrysostom uses it as divine praise.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀνορύττω τὴν πηγὴν, ὥστε αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν τὸν ὀφθαλμόν","severity":"info","text":"A proverbial expression: 'I dig up the spring to find the eye' (i.e., the source of envy). Chrysostom uses it to signal his rhetorical search for the root cause of envy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"πεπολιωμένος","severity":"info","text":"Literally 'having become gray-haired,' metaphorically 'mature in wisdom.' Chrysostom applies it to David's youthful prudence, contrasting physical age with spiritual maturity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάλιν φθόνος, πάλιν βασκανία","severity":"info","text":"A rhetorical anaphora ('Again envy, again malice') that marks a return to the theme of envy, linking the Goliath narrative to the preceding passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀκρίβειαν μοναζόντων","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom anachronistically attributes monastic discipline (ἀκρίβεια) to David, a common trope in patristic exegesis that idealizes biblical figures as models for ascetic life.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ἀνορύττω τὴν πηγὴν, ὥστε αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν τὸν ὀφθαλμόν' is proverbial; the exact referent of 'the eye' (τὸν ὀφθαλμόν) is ambiguous—it may mean the source of envy or the envious person himself. The reading taken follows the context of digging to find the root cause."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τοσοῦτος καὶ τηλικοῦτος ἀνὴρ, ὁ Πνεύματος χάριν ἐπισπασάμενος, ὁ ἐν ἡλικίᾳ νεότητος πεπολιωμένος, ὁ τῆς ἁψῖδος τῶν οὐ ρανῶν ἁψάμενος, ὁ τῆς ἄνωθεν ἀπολαύσας δωρεᾶς καὶ χάριτος, ὁ πολέμους καταλύσας, ὁ μυρία κατορθώματα κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐπιδειξάμενος, μετὰ σωφροσύνην, μετὰ ἐπιείκειαν, μετὰ σεμνότητα, ὅτε κατέσχε τὴν βασι λείαν, ὅτε μυρίους ἐνίκησε πολεμίους, ὅτε ἔθνη ὑπέταξεν, ὅτε εἰρήνη πανταχόθεν, ῥᾳθυμότερος ἐγένετο, ἵνα μά θητε πόσων ἀγαθῶν πρόξενος ἡ θλίψις, καὶ πόσων κακῶν ἡ ἄνεσις. Καὶ πότε; Ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ μέσῃ. Μετὰ ἄριστον ἀναστὰς ἀπὸ τῆς στιβάδος περιεπάτει, καὶ εἶδε γυναῖκα γυμνὴν, λουομένην, καλὴν καὶ εὔμορφον σφόδρα. Ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἔγκλημα τὸ κάλλος· τὸ γὰρ κάλλος Θεοῦ δῶρον. Εἶδε γυναῖκα λουομένην ἐν ὑπερῴῳ, γυναῖκα στρατιώτου, καλὴν, ὡραίαν. Εἶδεν, ἐπτερώθη τῷ ὄμ ματι, ἐδέξατο τὸ βέλος.\n\nεʹ. Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ περίεργοι, οἱ τὰ ἀλλότρια περιερ γαζόμενοι καὶ καταμανθάνοντες κάλλη. Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ περὶ τὰ θέατρα μεμηνότες, οἱ λέγοντες· Θεωροῦμεν μὲν, οὐδὲν δὲ βλαπτόμεθα. Ὁ Δαυῒδ ἐβλάβη, καὶ σὺ οὐ βλάπτῃ; Ἐκεῖνος ἐνικήθη, καὶ σοὶ ἔχω θαῤῥῆσαι; Ὁ τοσαύτην ἔχων Πνεύματος χάριν, βέλος ἐδέξατο· καὶ σὺ ἄτρωτος διαμένεις ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀτόπων θεωρίᾳ; Καίτοι ἐκεῖνος οὐκ εἶδε πόρνην, ἀλλὰ σώφρονα γυναῖκα καὶ σεμνήν· καὶ οὐκ ἐν θεάτρῳ, ἀλλ' ἐν οἰκίᾳ· σὺ δὲ ἐν θεά τρῳ, ὅπου καὶ ὁ τόπος κολάζει ψυχήν· ὅπου οὐ βλέπεις μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀκούεις ῥημάτων αἰσχρῶν, καὶ βλέπεις στολὴν πορνικὴν καὶ ᾄσματα διαβολικά· καὶ πανταχόθεν πλήττεταί σου ἡ διάνοια· τῇ ὄψει ἀφ' ὧν εἶδες·","english":"This man, then, so great and so remarkable, who had drawn down the grace of the Spirit, who had grown grey in the age of youth, who had touched the arch of the heavens, who had enjoyed a gift and grace from above, who had ended wars, who had displayed countless achievements against the devil, after temperance, after gentleness, after dignity, when he held the kingdom, when he conquered countless enemies, when he subdued nations, when there was peace on all sides, became more negligent, so that you might learn how many good things affliction brings, and how many evils ease brings. And when? At high noon. After lunch, rising from his couch, he was walking, and he saw a woman naked, bathing, beautiful and very fair. But beauty is not a fault; for beauty is a gift of God. He saw a woman bathing in an upper room, a soldier's wife, beautiful, lovely. He saw, he was winged in his eye, he received the arrow.\n\n5. Let the curious listen, those who pry into and study the beauties of others. Let those mad for the theatres listen, those who say, \"We look, but we are not harmed at all.\" David was harmed, and you are not harmed? He was conquered, and I am to trust you? He who had such grace of the Spirit received an arrow; and you remain unwounded in the contemplation of improper things? And yet he did not see a prostitute, but a chaste and modest woman; and not in a theatre, but in a house; you, however, in a theatre, where even the place punishes the soul; where you not only see, but also hear shameful words, and see a harlot's dress and diabolical songs; and from all sides your mind is struck: by sight from what you saw;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τοσοῦτος καὶ τηλικοῦτος ἀνὴρ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom introduces David as a paragon of virtue to heighten the contrast with his later lapse, a rhetorical strategy typical of his moral exhortation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἐπτερώθη τῷ ὄμ ματι","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'was winged in his eye' is a vivid metaphor for the sudden, piercing effect of sight, echoing the language of erotic desire in Greek literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"γυναῖκα γυμνὴν, λουομένην","severity":"info","text":"The episode of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) is here adapted to emphasize the danger of visual temptation, a common theme in Chrysostom's anti-theatrical polemic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ περίεργοι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's direct address to 'the curious' and theatre-goers reflects his pastoral concern for the moral dangers of public spectacles in Antioch.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"εʹ.","severity":"info","text":"The numeral '5' marks a new section in the homily, where Chrysostom shifts from narrative to direct moral application, a common homiletic pattern.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐν ὑπερῴῳ","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'in an upper room' is ambiguous: it may indicate a private chamber or a rooftop, but the exact setting is not critical to Chrysostom's argument.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The precise location of the bathing woman ('in an upper room') is not specified further; Chrysostom uses it to contrast with the public theatre."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"τῇ ἀκοῇ, ἀφ' ὧν ἀκούεις· τῇ ῥινὶ, ἀφ' ὧν ὀσφραί νῃ. Τοσαῦται φθοραὶ, τοσαῦτα βάραθρα, καὶ ἔχω σοι θαῤῥῆσαι, ὅτι οὐ γίνῃ θηριάλωτος; Μὴ γὰρ λίθος εἶ; μὴ γὰρ σίδηρος εἶ; Ἅνθρωπος εἶ, τῇ κοινῇ τῆς φύσεως ἀσθενείᾳ ὑποκείμενος. Πῦρ κρατεῖς, καὶ οὐ καίῃ; καὶ πῶς ἔχει λόγον; Θὲς λύχνον εἰς χόρτον, καὶ δύνασαί μοι εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οὐ καίεται ὁ χόρτος; Ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὁ χόρτος, τοῦτο καὶ ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις. Εἶδεν αὐτὴν λουομένην γυ μνὴν, ἑάλω τῷ κάλλει, ἐδέξατο τὸ βέλος, ἔλαβε τὸ τραῦμα, ἔπεμψεν ἐπ' αὐτήν· καὶ ὡς μόνον ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν, εἰργάσατο τὴν παρανομίαν, ἐπλήρωσε τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν. Κελεύει αὐτὴν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν οἰκίαν. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγων καὶ εἰς μέσον φέρω τὸν τετραυματισμένον, ἵνα οἱ περιεστῶτες ἴδητε πάντες, πῶς θεραπεύεται. Καὶ γὰρ ἰατρὸς χειρουργῶν ἔχει τοὺς περιεστῶτας πάντας, ἵνα βλέπωσι πῶς τῇ τέχνῃ νικᾷ τὴν νόσον· πολλῷ μᾶλλον προφήτου χειρουργουμένου πάντας χρὴ συνδραμεῖν, ἵνα ἴδωμεν πῶς ὀφείλομεν ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς σηπεδόνος καὶ τῶν σκωλήκων. Χαλεπὸν τὸ ἁμάρτημα· ἐπιθυμία ἐπληρώθη, ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀπηρτίσθη, ὁ θεραπεύων οὐκ ἦν. Συνέλαβεν ἡ γυνή. Τέως ἐνόμιζε λανθάνειν τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς ὁ βασιλεύς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ προφήτης ἦν, ἀλλ' ὅλως ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτὸν ἐσκότισε. Συνέλαβεν ἡ γυνὴ, ἔγκυος ἐγένετο· δρομαία ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἔρχεται. Βασιλεῦ, ἀπωλόμην. Τί ἔχεις; Ἔγκυός εἰμι. Ὁ καρπὸς τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐβλάστησε· τὴν κατηγορίαν ἐν τῇ μήτρᾳ βαστάζω· ὁ ἔλεγχος ηὐξήθη τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος· οἴκοθεν ἔχω τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ καὶ ἴδῃ ὁ ἀνήρ μου, τί ἔχω εἰπεῖν; ἢ τί λαλήσω; Ἐννόησον πόσον κακὸν ἡ ἁμαρτία.","english":"by hearing, from what you hear; by the nose, from what you smell. So many corruptions, so many abysses, and can I assure you that you will not be captured by the beast? For are you stone? Are you iron? You are a human being, subject to the common weakness of nature. You hold fire, and are not burned? How is that reasonable? Place a lamp on hay, and can you tell me that the hay is not burned? What the hay is, that also is our nature. He saw her bathing naked, was captured by her beauty, received the arrow, took the wound, sent for her; and as soon as she came to him, he committed the transgression, fulfilled his desire. He orders her to go to her own house. But I say these things and bring the wounded man into the midst, so that all who stand around may see how he is healed. For a physician, when operating, has all those standing around, so that they may see how by his art he overcomes the disease; much more, when a prophet is being operated upon, all must run together, so that we may see how we ought to be freed from the rot and the worms. The sin is grievous; desire was fulfilled, the sin was completed, and there was no healer. The woman conceived. For a time the king thought he was hiding it from her husband. For even if he was a prophet, still desire had completely darkened him. The woman conceived, became pregnant; she runs swiftly to the king. \"O king, I am undone.\" \"What is the matter with you?\" \"I am pregnant. The fruit of the sin has sprouted; I carry the accusation in my womb; the proof of the sin has grown; I have the evidence from within myself. If my husband comes and sees, what can I say? Or what shall I speak? Consider how great an evil sin is.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"τῇ ἀκοῇ, ἀφ' ὧν ἀκούεις· τῇ ῥινὶ, ἀφ' ὧν ὀσφραίνῃ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom lists sensory avenues of temptation (hearing, smell) to emphasize human vulnerability, a rhetorical amplification of the preceding passage's theme of moral danger.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πῦρ κρατεῖς, καὶ οὐ καίῃ; ... Θὲς λύχνον εἰς χόρτον","severity":"info","text":"The image of fire and hay is a proverbial metaphor for irresistible temptation, not a direct biblical quotation, but echoes the moral logic of passages like Proverbs 6:28–29 (fire in the lap).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἰατρὸς χειρουργῶν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom compares the prophet's moral healing to a surgical demonstration, reflecting the ancient medical practice of public surgery (iatros) as a teaching spectacle, common in Greco-Roman culture.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ταῦτα δὲ λέγων καὶ εἰς μέσον φέρω τὸν τετραυματισμένον","severity":"info","text":"This sentence marks a shift from narrative of the king's sin to a meta-commentary on the homily's purpose: the wounded man (the king) is brought forward as a case study for the audience's moral instruction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"προφήτου χειρουργουμένου","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'prophet being operated upon' is striking: Chrysostom presents the biblical figure (David) as a patient undergoing spiritual surgery, a metaphor that influenced later Christian ascetic and penitential literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἔχω σοι θαῤῥῆσαι","severity":"caution","text":"The verb θαῤῥῆσαι (tharrēsai) is a variant spelling of θαρρῆσαι ('to be confident'); the text is not corrupt, but the form is a minor orthographic variant common in Koine Greek.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'prophet' is not named in this passage but is David from the preceding context; the 'woman' is Bathsheba. The Coptic text (not present here) may clarify the narrative flow."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"Ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν στρατιώτην φοβεῖται. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι δοῦλος, εἰ μὴ ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Διάδημα περιεβέβλητο, καὶ ἐδεδοίκει τὸ ὄνειδος. Οὐχὶ σὺ βασιλεύς; οὐ ξίφους ἐξουσίαν ἔχεις; Ναὶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ χαλεπὸν ἁμάρτημα ἐποίησα. Ὢ ἁμαρτία δειλίας μήτηρ !ὢ ἀτιμίας ἔλεγχος! ὢ σιωπῆς ὑπόθε σις! Δέδοικα, τρέμω, ὅτι με κατῄσχυνας· ἔνδον ἔχω τὸν ἔλεγχον. Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἀνήρ μου, τί εἴπω; τί λαλήσω; Εὑρήσει με ἔγκυον, καὶ φονεύσει ἔνδον ἔχουσαν τὸν ἔλεγ χον τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Βλέπεις τὸ ναυάγιον μεμελετημένον; ὁρᾷς πόσον κακὸν ἡ ἁμαρτία; Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς; Ἁμαρ τίαν ἐπὶ ἁμαρτίαν προστίθησι. Δεῖ γὰρ πλατῦναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ διηγήματος. Ἦλθεν Οὐρίας ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ Οὐρίας πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ βασιλεύς· Τί ἐστιν, Οὐρία; πῶς ὁ πό λεμος; Λέγει· Καλῶς· νενικήκαμεν. Ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὅτι ὁ στρατιώτης ἐνίκησε, καὶ αὐτὸς ἡττήθη· ὁ στρατιώτης τὸν πόλεμον ὑπέταξε, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς ἡττήθη· ὁ στρατιώτης τοῦ πολέμου περιεγένετο, αὐτὸς δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας κατεβέβλητο· ὁ στρα τιώτης ἔλεγε τὴν νίκην, αὐτὸς δὲ ὑπὸ αἰσχύνης οὐδὲ τὴν ἧτταν εἰπεῖν ἐτόλμα. Νενικήκαμεν, φησὶ, καὶ περιεγενό μεθα. Ἐν ἀπορίᾳ ἦν ὁ βασιλεὺς, οὐκ ᾔσθετο τῆς νίκης τοῦ πολέμου διὰ τὴν αἰσχύνην τῆς ἥττης, ἧς αὐτὸς ἡτ τήθη. Λέγει τῷ στρατιώτῃ· Ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου· λοῦσαι, καὶ ἀπόλαυσον τραπέζης, καὶ ἀπόλαυσον τῆς γυναικός σου. Διὰ τί; Ἵνα συσκιάσῃ τὸ ἕλκος, ἵνα ἐξ αὐτοῦ νομισθῇ τὸ παιδίον τίκτεσθαι. Ὁ δὲ ἀκοίμητος ὀφθαλμὸς οὐ συνεχώρησε τοῦτο γενέσθαι, φειδόμενος τοῦ τετραυματισμένου.","english":"The king fears the soldier. For no one is a slave except the one who commits sin. He had put on a diadem, and he feared the reproach. Are you not king? Do you not have authority of the sword? Yes, but I have also committed a grievous sin. O sin, mother of cowardice! O reproach of dishonor! O subject of silence! I am afraid, I tremble, because you have shamed me; I have the reproach within me. If my husband comes, what shall I say? What shall I speak? He will find me pregnant, and he will kill me, who have within me the reproach of the sin. Do you see the shipwreck that was premeditated? Do you see how great an evil sin is? What then does the king? He adds sin upon sin. For the account of the narrative must be expanded. Uriah, her husband, came from the war, and Uriah went in to the king. And the king says to him: What is it, Uriah? How is the war? He says: Well; we have conquered. The king heard that the soldier had conquered, and he himself was defeated; the soldier had subdued the war, and the king was defeated by pleasure; the soldier had prevailed over the war, but he himself had been cast down by sin; the soldier was proclaiming the victory, but he himself, from shame, did not even dare to speak of the defeat. We have conquered, he says, and we have prevailed. The king was at a loss; he did not perceive the victory of the war because of the shame of the defeat by which he himself was defeated. He says to the soldier: Go to your house; bathe, and enjoy a meal, and enjoy your wife. Why? So that he might conceal the wound, so that the child might be thought to be born from him. But the sleepless eye did not permit this to happen, sparing the wounded one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν στρατιώτην φοβεῖται","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom here retells the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), a common exemplum in his moral preaching. The 'king' is David, the 'soldier' Uriah.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἁμαρτία","severity":"info","text":"ἁμαρτία ('sin') is a key term in Chrysostom's moral theology, denoting not just an act but a state of moral corruption that enslaves the sinner.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἦλθεν Οὐρίας ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ πολέμου","severity":"info","text":"This directly echoes 2 Samuel 11:6-7, where David summons Uriah from the war to conceal his adultery. Chrysostom expands the biblical narrative for rhetorical effect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῖ γὰρ πλατῦναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ διηγήματος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom signals a deliberate expansion of the biblical narrative (πλατῦναι τὸν λόγον), a common homiletic technique to heighten moral impact.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ ἀκοίμητος ὀφθαλμὸς","severity":"info","text":"The 'sleepless eye' is a metaphor for divine providence or God's watchfulness, paralleling Chrysostom's frequent use of this image in other homilies (e.g., In Matthaeum homiliae).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ὢ σιωπῆς ὑπόθε σις","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text has a word division issue: ὑπόθε σις should read ὑπόθεσις ('subject' or 'cause'). The manuscript tradition may have introduced a space error.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ὢ σιωπῆς ὑπόθε σις' is ambiguous due to a likely scribal word division; the intended reading is 'ὑπόθεσις'.","The identity of 'the sleepless eye' is not explicitly defined; it is interpreted as divine providence based on Chrysostom's usage elsewhere."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"Τί οὖν ὁ στρατιώτης φησί; Καὶ πῶς δύναμαι καταλιπεῖν σε, καὶ τρυφᾷν; Ἰσραὴλ ἐν τῷ\n\nπολέμῳ, ὁ ἀρχιστράτηγος ἐν τῇ παρατάξει, ἡ κιβωτὸς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ· καὶ ἐγὼ ἀπελεύσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου, καὶ μέλλω τρυφᾷν; Ταῦτα ἔλεγεν ἀγνοῶν ὁ στρατιώτης. Ὄνειδος δὲ ἐγένετο τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὅτι ὁ μὲν στρατιώτης οὐδὲ τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἠβουλήθη ἰδεῖν ἐλθὼν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοιαῦτα ἦν παρανομήσας, ὥστε ἀνάγκην ἐπιφέρειν τῷ ἰδίῳ στρατιώ τῃ πρὸς τὸ θεάσασθαι τὴν ἰδίαν γυναῖκα, ἵνα δυνηθῇ τὸ ἴδιον τραῦμα καλύψαι. Ἀπῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ ἐτέχθη τὸ παιδίον. Τί οὖν ποιεῖ; Ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐδύνατο συσκιάσαι τὸ ἕλκος, γράφει τῷ στρατηγῷ τοῦ πολέμου· Λαβὼν τὸν Οὐρίαν στῆσον εἰς τὸ κραταιὸν μέρος τοῦ πο λέμου. Διὰ τί; Ὥστε αὐτὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι. Καὶ ἐγχειρίζει αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιστολήν. Ὢ τῆς ἀσελγείας! εἰς ὅσην ὠμό τητα τὸν πραότατον ἐκεῖνον ἡ ἁμαρτία προήγαγε! Τὴν μάχαιραν καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐβάσταζεν ὁ ἠδικημένος, καὶ ἐπι στολὴν ἔφερεν αἵματος γέμουσαν, καὶ ἀπῄει. Δεῖ γὰρ ἐπιτεμεῖν. Τί οὖν γίνεται; Ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἔπεσεν, ἐσφάγη. Ἰδοὺ δύο ἁμαρτήματα, μοιχεία καὶ φόνος. Ὁ φόνος καρπὸς τῆς μοιχείας ἐγένετο.","english":"What then does the soldier say? \"How can I leave you and indulge myself? Israel is in the war, the commander-in-chief is in the battle line, the ark of the Lord is in the camp, and I am to go to my house and intend to indulge myself?\" The soldier said these things in ignorance. But it became a reproach to the king, that the soldier, having come from the war, did not even wish to see his own house, while the king had committed such transgressions as to impose necessity on his own soldier to behold his own wife, so that he might conceal his own wound. He went off to the war, and the child was born. What then does he do? Since he could not conceal the sore, he writes to the general of the war: \"Take Uriah and station him in the strong part of the war.\" Why? So that he might be killed. And he entrusts the letter to him. O the licentiousness! To what savagery did that sin lead that most gentle man! The wronged man carried the sword against himself, and he bore a letter full of blood, and went off. For I must cut it short. What then happens? In the war he fell, he was slain. Behold two sins: adultery and murder. Murder became the fruit of adultery.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"Οὐρίαν","severity":"info","text":"Uriah the Hittite is the husband of Bathsheba, whose murder by King David is recounted in 2 Samuel 11. Chrysostom here retells the biblical narrative to illustrate the consequences of sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ κιβωτὸς τοῦ Κυρίου","severity":"info","text":"The ark of the Lord (κιβωτὸς τοῦ Κυρίου) is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant, which accompanied the Israelite army into battle, as in 1 Samuel 4:3-4.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀσελγείας","severity":"info","text":"Ἀσέλγεια (licentiousness) denotes wanton, unbridled behavior, often with a sexual connotation. Chrysostom uses it to condemn David's adultery.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῖ γὰρ ἐπιτεμεῖν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'For I must cut it short' (Δεῖ γὰρ ἐπιτεμεῖν) signals a rhetorical break, typical of Chrysostom's homiletic style to abbreviate a well-known narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"ὁ πραότατον ἐκεῖνον","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's characterization of David as 'that most gentle man' (τὸν πραότατον ἐκεῖνον) reflects a traditional view of David as a model of piety, despite his sins, common in patristic exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"ςʹ. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω διὰ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς καὶ πολλὰ ἑαυ τοῖς συνειδότας κακὰ, ἵνα ἀκούοντες μὴ ἀπογινώσκωσι τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας. Γέγραπται γάρ· Οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις. Τὰς γὰρ δύο ταύτας πρώτας ἐντολὰς παρ έβη. Ἐμοίχευσε. καὶ τότε ἐφόνευσε τὸν ἠδικημένον. Χαλεπὸν τὸ ἕλκος, μέγα τὸ τραῦμα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ὁ Οὐρίας ἀπελθὼν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἐσφάγη, καὶ εὐθέως ἐσκίρτησεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἡ συνεσκιασμένη, τότε λοιπὸν ἀπῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης. Ἀπηρτίσθη ἡ ἐπιθυμία, ἐπλη ρώθη ἡ παρανομία, ἀνῄρητο ὁ ἠδικημένος. Ὁ προφήτης προφήτην ἐλέγχει. Διὰ τί; Καίτοι ὁ Δαυῒδ προφήτης ἦν· πῶς οὖν ἑαυτὸν οὐ θεραπεύει; Ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ ἰατροὶ, ὅτε νοσοῦσι, χρῄζουσιν ἑτέρων ἰατρῶν, καὶ ἡ ἀῤῥωστία τὴν τέχνην λυμαίνεται· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα προφήτης ἐκεῖνος, προφήτης οὗτος. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἐν κλίνῃ κείμενος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ διαγινόμενος. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης ἔξω. Λέγει· Εἰσέλθῃ. Εἰσέρχεται ὁ προφήτης. Ὁρᾷ αὐτὸν καθεζόμενον μετὰ λαμπηδόνος πολλῆς καὶ τύφου τοῦ βασιλικοῦ. Καὶ τί φησι; Δίκην ἔχω, βασιλεῦ. ἄκουσόν μου. Ὢ σοφίας ἰα τροῦ! Εἰσῆλθε σιδήριον λαβὼν, ἵνα τέμῃ τὸ ἕλκος· ἀλλ' οὐ δείκνυσι τῷ νοσοῦντι, ἵνα μὴ στερηθῇ τῆς ἰατρείας· κρύπτει ἔνδον, οὐχ ὑπὸ τὸ ἱμάτιον. ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τὸ δρᾶμα τῆς διηγήσεως. Εὐθέως γὰρ εἰσελθὼν οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὦ παράνομε, ὦ βέβηλε, ὦ μοιχὲ, ὦ ἀνδροφόνε· οὐ γυμνοῖ τὸν ἔλεγχον, οὐδὲ χωρὶς προσωπείου τὴν παῤῥη σίαν· ἀλλὰ τὸν σίδηρον ἐγκεκρυμμένον φέρει καὶ λέγει· Δίκην ἔχω, βασιλεῦ, ἄκουσόν μου.","english":"6. I say this for the sake of sinners who are conscious of many evils in themselves, so that hearing this they may not despair of their own salvation. For it is written: \"You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery.\" He transgressed these two first commandments. He committed adultery, and then he killed the one who had been wronged. The wound is grievous, the injury great. Since Uriah went off to war and was slain, and the sin that had been concealed immediately sprang forth, then at last the prophet Nathan went to him. The desire was fulfilled, the lawlessness was completed, the wronged man was killed. A prophet rebukes a prophet. Why? Yet David was a prophet; how then does he not heal himself? Just as physicians, when they are ill, need other physicians, and illness impairs their art, so too here: that one was a prophet, this one is a prophet. But that one was not lying on a bed, but was caught up in sin. They say to him: \"Nathan the prophet is outside.\" He says: \"Let him enter.\" The prophet enters. He sees him sitting with great splendor and royal pride. And what does he say? \"I have a case, O king; hear me.\" O the wisdom of the physician! He entered carrying a scalpel to cut the wound, but he does not show it to the patient, lest he be deprived of the treatment; he conceals it within, not under his garment, but under the drama of the narrative. For as soon as he entered, he did not say to him: \"O lawless one, O profane one, O adulterer, O murderer!\" He does not bare the reproach, nor does he employ frankness without a mask; but he carries the hidden iron and says: \"I have a case, O king; hear me.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω διὰ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom addresses sinners directly, framing the homily as pastoral encouragement against despair.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις","severity":"info","text":"A paraphrase of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:13, 20:14 LXX), cited as the commandments David transgressed.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης","severity":"info","text":"Nathan’s parable (2 Samuel 12) is the biblical model for indirect rebuke; Chrysostom highlights Nathan’s rhetorical strategy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ ἰατροὶ","severity":"info","text":"The physician metaphor is common in Chrysostom’s moral teaching; here it compares Nathan to a doctor concealing the scalpel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"προφήτης προφήτην ἐλέγχει","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom notes the paradox of a prophet rebuking a fellow prophet, using it to introduce the need for external correction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὢ σοφίας ἰα τροῦ!","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom’s exclamation praises Nathan’s pastoral wisdom, a theme echoed in later Christian commentary on prophetic counsel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has a lacuna or unclear reading at 'ἰα τροῦ' (likely ἰατροῦ); the English draft reads 'physician'.","The phrase 'προφήτην ἐλέγχει' could imply either rebuke or correction; the context supports the latter."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς; Εἰπὲ τὴν δίκην. Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν πλούσιος·οὗτος εἶχε ποίμνια καὶ βουκόλια πολλά· ἄνθρωπος δέ τις ἦν πένης. Δύο ἄνθρωποι, Οὐρίας καὶ Δαυΐδ. Μάνθανε τὰ προσωπεῖα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Ὁ μὲν πένης οὐκ εἶχεν εἰ μὴ μίαν ἀμνάδα (τὴν μοιχευθεῖσαν γυναῖκα λέγει), ἥτις ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης αὐτοῦ ἤσθιε, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποτηρίου αὐτοῦ ἔπινε, καὶ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκάθευδεν. Ὁρᾶς τὴν πενίαν φιλοστοργίας ὑπόθεσιν ἔχουσαν; Ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν πλουτούντων πολὺς ὁ τῦφος· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν πενήτων ἡ γυνὴ ὑπηρέτις γίνεται καὶ διάκονος, καὶ τίκτει παιδίον, καὶ γίνεται αὐτὴ καὶ μήτηρ καὶ τροφός. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν πλουτούντων οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλὰ τίκτει παιδίον, καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτὸ ἔξω, καὶ τὴν φιλοστοργίαν διατέμνει ὁ τῦ φος. Τίκτει ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ οὐ γίνεται τροφός. Αἰσχύνεται γὰρ γενέσθαι τροφὸς ἡ γενομένη μήτηρ. Ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐχ οὕτως. Ἐγέννησε γὰρ ἡμᾶς, καὶ αὐτὸς τροφεὺς ἡμῶν ἐγένετο. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀντὶ βρωμάτων τὴν ἰδίαν σάρκα ἡμᾶς ἔθρεψε, καὶ ἀντὶ πόματος τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ αἷμα ἡμᾶς ἐπότισεν. Ἡ οὖν ἀμνὰς ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκάθευδεν. Ηὐξήθη ἡ τραγῳδία τῇ διηγήσει τῆς φιλοστοργίας. Ἦλθε τοίνυν ξένος ἄνθρωπος πρὸς τὸν πλούσιον ἐκεῖνον. Τίς ὁ ξένος;","english":"So what does the king do? \"Pronounce the sentence,\" he says. And he says: There was a certain rich man; he had many flocks and herds. And there was a certain poor man. Two men, Uriah and David. Learn the characters in the truth. The poor man had only one ewe lamb (he means the woman who was seduced), which ate from his table, drank from his cup, and slept in his bosom. Do you see that poverty is a foundation for affection? For among the rich there is much pride; but among the poor, the wife becomes a servant and attendant, and when she bears a child, she becomes both mother and nurse. But among the rich it is not so; rather, when she bears a child, she gives it away, and pride cuts off affection. The mother gives birth, but does not become a nurse. For the mother is ashamed to become a nurse. But Christ is not like this. For he gave birth to us, and he himself became our nurse. Therefore, instead of food, he nourished us with his own flesh, and instead of drink, he gave us his own blood to drink. So the ewe lamb slept in his bosom. The tragedy was heightened by the description of the affection. Then a stranger came to that rich man. Who is the stranger?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"τραγῳδία","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom uses τραγῳδία (tragedy) to describe the narrative of David and Uriah, framing the biblical story in dramatic terms typical of his rhetorical style.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀντὶ βρωμάτων τὴν ἰδίαν σάρκα ... ἀντὶ πόματος τὸ ἴδιον αἷμα","severity":"info","text":"This passage echoes the Eucharistic language of John 6:53-56, where Christ speaks of giving his flesh to eat and his blood to drink.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"πένης ... πλούσιος","severity":"info","text":"The contrast between rich and poor is a recurring theme in Chrysostom's homilies, reflecting his concern for social justice and the moral dangers of wealth.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"τίς ὁ ξένος","severity":"info","text":"The rhetorical question 'Who is the stranger?' marks a transition in the narrative, introducing the figure of the rich man (David) as the antagonist.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ ἀμνὰς ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκάθευδεν","severity":"info","text":"The image of the ewe lamb sleeping in the poor man's bosom parallels the parable of the poor man's ewe lamb in 2 Samuel 12, where Nathan uses a similar allegory to convict David.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'stranger' (ξένος) is not explicitly stated in this passage; it likely refers to David, but the text leaves it open."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":20,"ref":"p20","source":"Ἡ ἐπιθυμία. Ἵνα οὖν δείξῃ αὐτοῦ τὴν σεμνότητα, ξένον τῇ μεθόδῳ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκάλεσεν. Οὐ δέποτε γὰρ ἀλλότριον γάμον διώρυξεν. οὐδὲ ἀδί κοις ἐθεάσατο τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς· ἀλλὰ τρωθεὶς δὴ εἰς ἐκεί νην τὴν γυναῖκα τὴν σεμνότητα ἀπώλεσε, καὶ μικρὸν ῥᾳθυμήσας ἐξέπεσε τοῦ προσήκοντος Ἦλθεν ὁ ξένος, ἡ ἐπιθυμία ἡ ἀκόλαστος, ἡ θηριώδης ἐκείνη ἦλθε πρὸς αὐ τόν. Ξένος πρὸς τὸν πλούσιον ἐκεῖνον ἦλθε, καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τῶν ποιμνίων καὶ βουκολίων αὐτοῦ· ἀλλ' ἔπεμψε καὶ ἔλαβε τὴν ἀμνάδα ἐκείνην, τὴν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ πένητος καθεύδουσαν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης αὐτοῦ ἐσθίουσαν. Τί οὖν; Ὠργίσθη ὁ βασιλεύς. Ἐνόμιζε γὰρ ἀλλοτρίαν δίκην δικάζειν. Ὠργίσθη ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ τὸ δίκαιον ἐξεφώνησε μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς λαμπρότητος. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν φιλοστοργία ἡ λυμαινομένη τὸ δίκαιον. Ῥομφαίᾳ, φησὶν, ἀποθανεῖται, καὶ τὴν ἀμνάδα τετραπλάσιον ἀπο τίσει. Ὑπὲρ τὸν νόμον κελεύει. Ὁ γὰρ νόμος κελεύει τὸν κλέπτοντα τετραπλασίονα ἀποδιδόναι· αὐτὸς δὲ ὑπερβέβηκε τὸν νόμον· κελεύει γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι, καὶ ἐν τετραπλῷ ἀποτῖσαι. Ἐξήνεγκε τὴν ψῆφον, καὶ τὴν καταδίκην ἀπήρτισε. Ῥίπτει οὖν τὸ προσωπεῖον ὁ προ φήτης, καὶ λέγει· Σὺ εἶ, βασιλεῦ. Ὢ τομὴ, οὐ ξίφει τέμνουσα τὴν αἴσθησιν τῆς ὀδύνης, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ συντομίᾳ τοῦ ἐλέγχου! Ὅτε γὰρ ἔδει, ὑπεκρίνατο τὸ δρᾶμα· ὅτε δὲ χρεία ἦν τοῦ ἐλέγχου, εὐθέως ἔδωκε καὶ ἀπέτεμεν, οὐ πολλὴν ὀδύνην ἐργασάμενος· Σὺ εἶ, βασιλεῦ. Τί οὖν αὐ τός; Ἡμάρτηκα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Ὁρᾷς καὶ ἐν τῇ νόσῳ τὴν εὐγένειαν τῆς ψυχῆς; Οὐκ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτόν· Ὦ ἄθλιε καὶ ταλαίπωρε, οὔτε φανερῶς ἐλέγξαι ἐβουλήθη.","english":"Lust. So, in order to show his decency, he called lust a stranger by way of the story. For he never broke into another's marriage, nor did he look with unjust eyes; but, wounded by that woman, he lost his decency, and having relaxed a little, he fell from what was fitting. The stranger came—that unbridled, bestial lust came to him. A stranger came to that rich man, and did not take from his flocks and herds, but sent and took that lamb, which was sleeping in the poor man's bosom and eating from his table. What then? The king became angry. For he thought he was judging another's case. The king became angry, and pronounced the just sentence with great brilliance. For it was not affection that was corrupting justice. \"By the sword,\" he says, \"he shall die, and he shall pay fourfold for the lamb.\" He commands beyond the law. For the law commands that the thief pay fourfold; but he has exceeded the law, for he commands both that he be put to death and that he pay fourfold. He delivered the verdict and completed the condemnation. Then the prophet throws off the mask and says: \"You are the king, O king.\" Oh, the incision—not cutting the sensation of pain with a sword, but in the brevity of the rebuke! For when it was necessary, he acted out the drama; but when there was need of rebuke, he immediately gave it and cut off, not causing much pain: \"You are the king, O king.\" What then does he do? \"I have sinned against the Lord.\" Do you see, even in the sickness, the nobility of the soul? He did not say to him: \"O wretched and miserable one,\" nor did he wish to rebuke him openly.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡ ἐπιθυμία","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom introduces 'lust' as a stranger (ξένος) to the rich man, emphasizing its alien and bestial nature, contrasting with David's prior decency.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀμνάδα","severity":"info","text":"The 'ewe lamb' (ἀμνάδα) is a metaphor for Bathsheba, the woman seduced by David, as clarified in the previous passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τετραπλάσιον","severity":"info","text":"The fourfold restitution (τετραπλάσιον) reflects Roman and biblical law (Exod 22:1, LXX), where a thief repays four times the value; Chrysostom notes David's sentence exceeds this by adding death.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Σὺ εἶ, βασιλεῦ","severity":"info","text":"The prophet Nathan's unmasking ('You are the king') is the climactic rebuke, shifting from parable to direct accusation, as Chrysostom highlights the brevity and force of the incision.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡμάρτηκα τῷ Κυρίῳ","severity":"info","text":"David's confession ('I have sinned against the Lord') is praised by Chrysostom as a sign of nobility even in sin, reflecting the homily's moral emphasis on repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡνα οὖν δείξῃ","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text has 'Ἡνα' (likely a scribal error for 'Ἵνα' or 'Ἵν' intended as 'Ἵν' for 'Ἵν'?); the sense is 'in order to show', but the reading is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek 'Ἡνα' may be a corruption of 'Ἵν' or 'Ἵνα' (for 'ἵνα'), but the context supports a purpose clause.","The identity of the 'rich man' in the parable is ambiguous: it could refer to David metaphorically, but Chrysostom treats it as a narrative device."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":21,"ref":"p21","source":"Τί οὖν λέγει ὁ βασιλεύς; Ἡμάρτηκα τῷ Κυρίῳ Τί δὲ ὁ προ φήτης; Καὶ Κύριος ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου. Ὀξεῖα ἡ μετάνοια· ἀλλ' ὀξυτέρα ἡ συγχώρησις. Λέγε σὺ τὰς ἀνομίας σου, φησὶ, πρῶτος, ἵνα δικαιωθῇς. Διὰ πραγμάτων ἥμαρτες, καὶ διὰ ῥημάτων μετανόει. ζʹ. Ταῦτα λέγω, ἵνα ἀκούσωσιν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ καὶ οἱ ἐμπεπτωκότες ἁμαρτήμασι, καὶ μὴ ἀπογινώσκωσι τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας. Ἡμάρτηκα, φησὶ, τῷ Κυρίῳ. Καὶ Κύριος ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου. Σὺ μὲν εἶπας· Ῥομφαία πεσεῖται ἐπ' αὐτόν· ἀλλὰ ἐγὼ, Σὺ οὐκ ἀποθανῇ. Εἶδες πῶς ἔλυσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν δίκην τοῦ προφήτου; Λέγε σὺ τὰς ἀνομίας σου πρῶτος, ἵνα δικαιωθῇς. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀναδράμωμεν. Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυῒδ, ὅτε εἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης.\n\nἘνταῦθα δείκνυται αὐτοῦ ἡ εὐγνωμοσύνη καὶ συγχώρησις. Ἰδὲ οὖν, ἔμαθες πῶς ἐθεραπεύθη, καὶ ποῖον φάρμακον ἐδέξατο, Ὅταν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς δικαιοῖ, τίς κατακρίνει; Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι Ἐγὼ συγχωρῶ, ἀλλ', ὅτι Κύριος ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου. Ἔτεμε τὸ ἕλκος, διωρθώσατο τὸ τραῦμα. Οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃς, φησί. Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἀπῆλθε. Θέλω δὲ δεῖξαι λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν τούτου εὐγνωμοσύνην, καὶ τὴν τῆς διανοίας διόρθωσιν, ποίαν ἔλαβε συγχώρησιν τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος, ποίαν εὗρεν ἄφεσιν τοῦ πλημμελή ματος. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτε ἦλθεν Οὐρίας ἀπὸ τῆς συμμαχίας, καὶ τὴν νίκην τοῦ πολέμου τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐμήνυσε, βουλό μενος ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν ἄνδρα λαθεῖν τὸν ἠδικημένον, ὅτι ἐμοίχευσεν εἰς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, τοσαύτην ἔθετο σπουδὴν τοῦ κρύψαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ὅτι καὶ φόνον συνέπλεξε τῇ μοιχείᾳ·","english":"What then does the king say? I have sinned against the Lord. And what does the prophet say? And the Lord has taken away your sin. Repentance is swift, but forgiveness is swifter. Speak your transgressions first, he says, so that you may be justified. You sinned by deeds, and repent by words. 7. I say these things so that sinners and those who have fallen into sins may hear and not despair of their own salvation. I have sinned, he says, against the Lord. And the Lord has taken away your sin. You said, A sword will fall upon him; but I say, You will not die. Do you see how God dissolved the prophet’s judgment? Speak your transgressions first, so that you may be justified. But let us go back to the beginning. A psalm for David, when Nathan the prophet came to him.\n\nHere his gratitude and forgiveness are shown. See then, you have learned how he was healed and what remedy he received. When God acquits, who condemns? For he did not say, I forgive, but, The Lord has taken away your sin. He cut the wound, he healed the injury. You will not die, he says. Having said these things, he departed. I wish then to show also his gratitude and the correction of his mind, what forgiveness of the sin he received, what remission of the offense he found. For when Uriah came from the campaign and announced the victory of the war to the king, the king, wishing to hide the wronged man from the fact that he had committed adultery with his wife, exerted such great effort to conceal the sin that he even wove murder together with adultery.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡμάρτηκα τῷ Κυρίῳ","severity":"info","text":"The king's confession 'I have sinned against the Lord' is a direct quotation from 2 Samuel 12:13, where David acknowledges his sin after Nathan's parable.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Καὶ Κύριος ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Nathan's response in 2 Samuel 12:13, 'The Lord has put away your sin,' though the exact wording differs slightly from the Septuagint.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυῒδ, ὅτε εἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης","severity":"info","text":"This superscription identifies the psalm as one composed for David when the prophet Nathan visited him, linking the homily to the narrative of David's sin with Bathsheba and Nathan's rebuke (2 Samuel 12).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀναδράμωμεν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom signals a structural shift, moving from the dialogue of repentance to a recapitulation of the biblical narrative, beginning with Nathan's visit to David.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐνταῦθα δείκνυται αὐτοῦ ἡ εὐγνωμοσύνη καὶ συγχώρησις","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom emphasizes David's gratitude and forgiveness as a model for sinners, reflecting the homily's pastoral aim to encourage repentance and hope.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔτεμε τὸ ἕλκος, διωρθώσατο τὸ τραῦμα","severity":"caution","text":"The medical metaphor 'cut the wound, healed the injury' may be ambiguous: it could refer to God's surgical removal of sin or to Nathan's prophetic intervention. The context supports the former.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Ἔτεμε τὸ ἕλκος, διωρθώσατο τὸ τραῦμα' is ambiguous: it may refer to God's action in removing sin or to Nathan's role in confronting David. The surrounding context (God's forgiveness) favors the former interpretation."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":22,"ref":"p22","source":"καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα γέγονε φιλόσοφος ἀπὸ τῆς μετανοίας, ὁ ἀποκρύπτων πρότερον τὸ ἁμάρτημα τὸ ἑαυτοῦ εἰς μετάνοιαν ἦλθε· καὶ μετὰ τὴν συγχώρησιν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπινεύσεως γενομένην, μετὰ τὸ ἐλθεῖν τὸν προφήτην, καὶ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Κύριος ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου, οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃς, οὐ μόνον οὐ κρύ πτει τὸ πάθος, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα πάσαις ταῖς γενεαῖς εὔδηλον κατέστησε, καὶ ψαλμὸν ἔγραψεν, ἵνα καὶ οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα μάθωσι, πόσην τραγῳδίαν ἔχει τὸ πάθος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἦλθεν ἡ μετάνοια, ἐκόμισε τὴν παῤῥησίαν. Ἐγὼ ἐσώθην, φησί· διὰ τί μὴ σώζονται καὶ ἄλλοι διὰ τοῦ ἐμοῦ διηγήματος; Ὁ Θεός μοι συνεχώρησε. Διὰ τοῦτο γράφω ταῦτα, ἵνα καὶ τὸ ἕλκος μάθωσι καὶ τὸ φάρμακον. Οὐ φοβοῦμαι τὴν αἰσχύνην, ἐπειδὴ ἐπιθυμῶ τῆς ἐμαυ τοῦ σωτηρίας. Οὕτω καὶ Παῦλος ποιεῖ· τὰ ἀφεθέντα αὐτῷ ἁμαρτήματα στηλιτεύει, καὶ\n\nλέγει· Χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ, ὅτι με πιστὸν ἡγήσατο· τὸν πρό τερον ὄντα βλάσφημον καὶ διώκτην καὶ ὑβριστὴν, νῦν πιστὸν ἡγήσατο. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐμαυτὸν στηλιτεύω, ἵνα ἐάν τις ᾖ βλάσφημος ἀφόρητος, ἴδῃ ὅτι ἔχει ἐλπίδα σω τηρίας.","english":"And after this he became a philosopher from repentance, he who previously concealed his own sin came to repentance; and after the forgiveness that came from God's assent, after the prophet came and said, \"The Lord has taken away your sin, you will not die,\" not only does he not hide the passion, but after this he made it known to all generations, and wrote a psalm, so that those after this might learn how great a tragedy the passion holds. For since repentance came, it brought boldness. \"I was saved,\" he says; \"why should not others also be saved through my account? God forgave me. For this reason I write these things, so that they may learn both the wound and the remedy. I do not fear shame, since I desire my own salvation.\" So also Paul does: the sins forgiven him he exposes, and says, \"I have gratitude to Christ who strengthened me, that he considered me faithful—me who was formerly a blasphemer and persecutor and insulter, now he considered me faithful. For this reason I expose myself, so that if anyone is an unbearable blasphemer, he may see that he has hope of salvation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"φιλόσοφος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom uses 'philosopher' to denote a person transformed by repentance, not an academic philosopher. This reflects a common Christian redefinition of φιλόσοφος as one who lives a godly life.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Κύριος ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes the narrative of David and Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:13, where Nathan tells David that the Lord has removed his sin. Chrysostom adapts it to the psalmist's context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Παῦλος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom compares the psalmist's public confession to Paul's self-exposure of his past as a persecutor (cf. Galatians 1:13; 1 Timothy 1:13). This reinforces the theme that repentance leads to bold proclamation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"μετὰ ταῦτα γέγονε φιλόσοφος","severity":"info","text":"This passage forms the climax of the homily's narrative: the king's repentance leads to public testimony, which Chrysostom then uses to encourage sinners. The shift from concealment to openness is a key structural move.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸ ἕλκος ... τὸ φάρμακον","severity":"info","text":"The wound-and-remedy metaphor is a standard patristic trope for sin and repentance, found also in Chrysostom's other homilies (e.g., In epistulam ad Romanos). It underscores the therapeutic value of confession.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"τραγῳδίαν","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek τραγῳδίαν here likely means 'dramatic calamity' rather than a theatrical genre. Chrysostom uses it hyperbolically to stress the gravity of the sin, not to reference actual drama.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'the king' and 'the prophet' is not explicitly stated in this passage; the homily context (Psalm 50) suggests David and Nathan, but Chrysostom may be generalizing.","The phrase 'the passion' (τὸ πάθος) could refer to the sin itself or to the emotional suffering of the psalmist; the translation opts for 'passion' in a neutral sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":23,"ref":"p23","source":"Καὶ σὺ, ὦ Δαυῒδ, ἐπειδὴ ἐμοίχευσας καὶ φόνον ἐποίησας, καὶ συγχώρησιν παρὰ Θεοῦ ἔλαβες, διὰ τοῦτο στηλιτεύεις σαυτόν; Ναὶ, φησὶν, ἵνα ἐάν τις ᾖ μοιχὸς καὶ ἀνδροφόνος, μάθῃ πῶς δύναται σωτηρίας τυχεῖν. Διὰ τοῦτο ἀποτίθεται τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ τὴν μετάνοιαν ἐδέξατο. Τοῦτο οὖν μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ ζητούμενον, ὅτι εὔδη λον πᾶσιν ἐποίησε, καὶ διωρθώθη. Ἢ καὶ ἄλλο τι; Ναὶ, καὶ ἄλλο· καὶ πῶς, ἐγὼ λέγω. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἠκούσατε, ὅτι ἡ μετάνοια πολλὴν ἔχει τὴν συγχώρησιν, καὶ μεγάλην καὶ πολλὴν κομίζει ἡμῖν τὴν παῤῥησίαν· οὕτω κἀκεῖνο ὑμᾶς μαθεῖν ἀναγκαῖον, ὅτι καὶ ὁ πολλὰς ἁμαρτίας περιβεβλημένος, πολλὴν αἰσχύνην κέκτηται, καὶ οὐ μόνον ἀρκεῖται τῇ μετανοίᾳ, ἀλλὰ δέδοικε καὶ τρέμει τὸ μηκέτι τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιπεσεῖν. Θέλω τοίνυν δεῖξαι, ὅτι οὐ μόνον γνωρίζει σοι ὁ ψαλμὸς τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν μετανοοῦντα. Καὶ τοῦτο ὑμῖν ἐρῶ, ἵνα μηδεὶς ἑαυτῷ μετὰ τὴν μετάνοιαν θαῤῥήσῃ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀκρι βέστερον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίαν ἐν τῷ λιμένι καταστήσῃ. Θέλω οὖν δεῖξαι αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἰάθη, καὶ βελτίων ἑαυτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ δυνατώτερος καὶ ἰσχυρότερος. Πῶς οὖν πάλιν μετὰ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ταύτην περιέπεσεν ἑτέρῳ νοσή ματι; Πάλιν πόλεμος, πάλιν ἁμαρτία, πάλιν μάχη, πάλιν παγκράτιον, πάλιν αὐτῷ ἐπῆλθεν ἡ ἐπιθυμία, πάλιν πόλεμος συγκεκρότηται, πόλεμος χαλεπὸς, καὶ στρατό πεδα ἕστηκε.","english":"And you, O David, because you committed adultery and murder, and received forgiveness from God, do you therefore expose yourself? Yes, he says, so that if anyone is an adulterer and a murderer, he may learn how he can obtain salvation. For this reason he lays aside the sin and accepted repentance. This, then, is the only point at issue: that he made it clear to all and was corrected. Or is there something else? Yes, there is something else; and how, I will tell you. For just as you have heard that repentance brings great forgiveness, and brings us great and abundant confidence, so it is necessary for you to learn this as well: that he who is wrapped in many sins also possesses great shame, and is not content with repentance alone, but fears and trembles lest he fall into the same things again. I wish, then, to show that the psalm reveals to you not only the sinner, but also the penitent. And I will tell you this so that no one may be confident in himself after repentance, but rather may more carefully secure his own salvation in the harbor. I wish, then, to show that he was healed and became better than himself, and more capable and stronger. How, then, after this desire did he again fall into another sickness? Again war, again sin, again battle, again a contest, again desire came upon him, again a war was stirred up, a grievous war, and armies stood arrayed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"στηλιτεύεις","severity":"info","text":"The verb στηλιτεύεις (from στηλιτεύω) means 'to expose publicly' or 'to pillory,' often with a connotation of writing on a pillar (στήλη). Chrysostom uses it to describe David's self-exposure through the psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐμοίχευσας καὶ φόνον ἐποίησας","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom refers to David's adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah (2 Samuel 11). This is the biblical background for the sin that David confesses in Psalm 50 (LXX).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Θέλω τοίνυν δεῖξαι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom announces a twofold purpose: to show the psalm reveals both the sinner and the penitent. This rhetorical structure frames the homily's argument about repentance and post-repentance vigilance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"παγκράτιον","severity":"info","text":"παγκράτιον (pankration) was a Greek combat sport combining boxing and wrestling. Chrysostom uses it metaphorically for the spiritual struggle against sin, a common athletic image in patristic ascetic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"εὔδηλον","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text has εὔδηλον (clearly evident), but the English draft renders 'made it clear to all.' The Coptic Vorlage may have influenced the phrasing; the sense is that David's sin became publicly known through the psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'εὔδηλον πᾶσιν ἐποίησε' could be read as David making his sin evident to all, or as God making forgiveness evident. The context favors the former.","The shift from 'ἀποτίθεται' (lays aside) to 'ἐδέξατο' (accepted) may imply a sequence of repentance actions, but the grammar is ambiguous."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":24,"ref":"p24","source":"Πηγὴ δὲ ἦν ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις. Καὶ πολέμου ὄντος σφοδροῦ, εἶδεν αὐτὴν ὁ Δαυῒδ, καὶ εἰς δί ψαν κατηνέχθη χαλεπωτάτην· ἐπεθύμησε τοίνυν πιεῖν. Πάλιν ἐπιθυμία, ἀλλ' οὐ κεκωλυμένη· τότε μὲν σώμα τος, νῦν δὲ ὕδατος. Ἐπεθύμησε πιεῖν, ἐφλέγετο ὑπὸ τῆς δίψης, καὶ λέγει· Διψῶ, ἀπόλλυμαι. Τινὲς οὖν τῶν βου λομένων αὐτὸν θεραπεῦσαι ἀπῆλθον, καὶ ἤνεγκαν αὐτῷ ὕδωρ εἰς τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν, καὶ διὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἐκόμισαν τὸ ὕδωρ. Ὡς δὲ ἠνέχθη τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐνενόησεν ὁ βασι λεὺς, τί ἐποίησεν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἐκείνῳ τὴν δίψαν αὐτοῦ οὐ κατέσχε. Καὶ τί ἐποίησε; Λαβὼν τὸ ὕδωρ οὐκ ἔπιεν, ἀλλ' ἔσπεισε τῷ Θεῷ. Οὐ γὰρ ὕδωρ ἐδόκει εἶναι, ἀλλ' αἷμα, οὐ τῇ φύσει προσέχων, ἀλλὰ τῇ γνώμῃ. Ὁρᾷς οὖν πῶς παιδευθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς προτέρας ἐπιθυμίας, ὕστε ρον σωφρονέστερος ἐγένετο; Ὁ σωμάτων ἐπιθυμῶν, ὕδατος οὐκ ἐπιθυμεῖ· μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπεθύμει, ἐκράτει δέ. Οὐ γὰρ λέγω, ὅτι ἐκτὸς ἦν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, ἀλλὰ τῇ φιλο σοφίᾳ περιεγένετο τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, καὶ οὐχ ἥψατο. ηʹ. Ταῦτα παραινῶ διὰ τοὺς πορνεύοντας. Ἠράσθης πόρνης; ἐπόρνευσας; θέλεις μετανοῆσαι; Μὴ προσθῇς τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ μή μοι εἴπῃς· Πῶς δύναμαι μὴ πορνεῦσαι; Ἐγώ σοι λέγω πῶς δύνασαι. Ἡ ἐπιθυμία σε φλέγει; Ἀλλ' ἔχεις γυναῖκα· καὶ εἰ οὐκ ἔχεις, λάβε, ἵνα ἔχῃς μετὰ ἀσφαλείας ἡδονήν. Ἀλλ' οὐ δύναμαι κρατῆσαι. Ἀλλὰ ῥᾳθυμίας ταῦτά ἐστιν. Ὅταν γὰρ ἐνέγκω σοι ἄλλον μὴ ἔχοντα γυναῖκα, σωφρονοῦντα δὲ, ποίαν ἔχεις σὺ ἀπολογίαν, ἢ ποίαν συγγνώμην; Ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῷ πελάγει οὐχ ὑπομένει ναυάγιον, καὶ σὺ ἐν τῷ λιμένι ὑπομένεις τὴν πτῶσιν;","english":"There was a spring in that place. And since the war was fierce, David saw her and was brought down by a most grievous thirst; he therefore desired to drink. Again desire, but not forbidden: then of the body, now of water. He desired to drink, he was burning with thirst, and he says, \"I thirst, I am perishing.\" So some of those wishing to serve him went, and brought him water at the cost of their blood, and through the enemy they conveyed the water. But when the water was brought, the king reflected on what he had done, that in that war he had not restrained his thirst. And what did he do? Taking the water, he did not drink, but poured it out as an offering to God. For it seemed not to be water, but blood, attending not to the nature but to the intention. Do you see, then, how, having been disciplined by the former desire, he later became more self-controlled? He who desires bodies does not desire water; rather, he did desire it, but he restrained himself. For I do not say that he was free of desire, but that he overcame desire by philosophy, and did not touch it. 8. I advise these things for those who fornicate. Have you fallen in love with a prostitute? Have you fornicated? Do you wish to repent? Do not add sin to sin, and do not say to me, \"How can I not fornicate?\" I tell you how you can. Does desire burn you? But you have a wife; and if you do not have one, take one, so that you may have pleasure with safety. But I cannot restrain myself. But these things are from indolence. For when I bring you another who does not have a wife but is chaste, what excuse or what pardon do you have? He in the open sea does not suffer shipwreck, and you in the harbor suffer the fall?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Πηγὴ δὲ ἦν ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom refers to a spring at the site of David's battle, likely the cave of Adullam or a related tradition; this detail is not in the biblical account (2 Sam 23:13-17) but appears in later Jewish and Christian hagiography.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἐκείνῳ τὴν δίψαν αὐτοῦ οὐ κατέσχε","severity":"info","text":"The narrative of David's thirst and the water brought through enemy lines is not in the canonical Old Testament; it may derive from a lost apocryphal or midrashic source, possibly known to Chrysostom through oral tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"οὐ τῇ φύσει προσέχων, ἀλλὰ τῇ γνώμῃ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts nature (φύσις) with intention (γνώμη), a key ethical distinction: David treats the water as blood because of the cost in lives, not its physical substance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ηʹ. Ταῦτα παραινῶ διὰ τοὺς πορνεύοντας","severity":"info","text":"The numeral ηʹ (8) marks a new section; Chrysostom shifts from David's example to direct moral exhortation against fornication, using the story as a paradigm of self-control.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῷ πελάγει οὐχ ὑπομένει ναυάγιον, καὶ σὺ ἐν τῷ λιμένι ὑπομένεις τὴν πτῶσιν","severity":"info","text":"The shipwreck metaphor contrasts a chaste man (in the open sea) with a fornicator (in the harbor); a similar image appears in Chrysostom's Homily 17 on Matthew, where the harbor represents marriage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Πηγὴ δὲ ἦν ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις","severity":"caution","text":"The spring and the water-bringing episode are not attested in the biblical text; Chrysostom may be drawing on a non-canonical tradition or embellishing for rhetorical effect, so the historical basis is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the spring narrative is unclear; it may be a lost apocryphon or Chrysostom's invention. The phrase 'at the cost of their blood' (εἰς τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν) could mean either 'risking their lives' or 'shedding their blood'—the latter is more likely given the context of war."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":25,"ref":"p25","source":"Ἔχεις γυναῖκα, καὶ πορνεύεις, μᾶλλον δὲ μοιχεύεις; Καὶ πῶς περιγένωμαι τοῦ ἕλκους; φησίν. Ἀπόλαυε τῆς γυναικός σου. Ἀπολαύσω τῆς γυναικός; Πάνυ. Ἐννόησον τί λέγει ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος· Διὰ δὲ τὰς πορνείας ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω, καὶ ἑκάστη τὸν ἴδιον ἄνδρα. Ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ἰδίου σώ ματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀνήρ· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλ' ἡ γυνή. Ἐὰν οὖν καλέσῃ σε πόρνη, ἐννόησον τὸ ῥῆμα κατὰ σεαυ τὸν, καὶ εἰπὲ, ὅτι Ὁ ἀνὴρ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλ' ἡ γυνή· καὶ τὸ ῥῆμα γράφε ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, καὶ εἰπὲ τῇ πόρνῃ· Τί με καλεῖς; οὐκ ἔστι τὸ σῶμα ἐμὸν, ἀλλὰ τῆς\n\nγυναικός μου· οὐ τολμῶ οὖν τὸ ἀλλότριον προδοῦναι. Τὴν προῖκα αὐτῆς οὐ τολμῶ μειῶσαι, οὐδὲ τὰ πράγματα αὐτῆς τολμῶ δαπανῆσαι, καὶ τὸ σῶμα τολμῆσαι ἔχω μιᾶναι; Πῶς; Οὐ δύναμαι. Εἰπὲ τῇ πόρνῃ· Τί με καλεῖς; οὐκ ἐγγίσεις αὐτῷ· τοῦτο γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν, ἀλλότριόν ἐστι. Μὴ γὰρ τῆς πόρνης ἐστὶ τὸ σῶμα; Ἐγὼ σῶμα πόρνης οὐ δέχομαι· τοῦτο τῆς γυναικός μού ἐστι. Φοβήθητι τὸν Χριστὸν, καὶ εἰπὲ, ὅτι τὸ σῶμα ἡμῶν μέλη Χριστοῦ ἐστιν. Ἀκουέτωσαν τοῦτο καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες, καὶ ἐννοείτωσαν, ποῦ αὐτὰς ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Χριστὸς, ὅτι πάντως ἐν ἁγιασμῷ, καὶ λεγέτωσαν, ὅτι Ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀνήρ. Ἐννόησον τὴν Παύλου σοφίαν τί λέγει.","english":"You have a wife, and you fornicate—or rather, commit adultery? And how am I to get the better of this sore, he says. Enjoy your wife. Shall I enjoy my wife? Yes. Consider what the blessed Paul says: On account of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Therefore, if a prostitute summons you, consider the saying with respect to yourself, and say: The husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does; and write the saying in your heart, and say to the prostitute: Why do you summon me? The body is not mine, but my wife’s; I dare not, then, betray what belongs to another. I dare not diminish her dowry, nor dare I squander her possessions, and shall I dare to defile the body? How? I cannot. Say to the prostitute: Why do you summon me? You will not approach it; for this is not mine, it is another’s. Is the body of the prostitute not hers? I do not accept the body of a prostitute; this is my wife’s. Fear Christ, and say: Our bodies are members of Christ. Let women also hear this, and consider where Christ has called them—that it is altogether in sanctification—and let them say: The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Consider what Paul’s wisdom says.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Διὰ δὲ τὰς πορνείας ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom adapts 1 Cor 7:2, where Paul writes 'On account of fornications, let each man have his own wife.' The citation is loose, possibly from memory.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸ σῶμα ἡμῶν μέλη Χριστοῦ ἐστιν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'our bodies are members of Christ' echoes Pauline language (cf. 1 Cor 6:15, Rom 12:5) but is not a direct quotation; Chrysostom applies it to marital fidelity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"προῖκα","severity":"info","text":"The dowry (προῖκα) was a wife's property brought into marriage, legally distinct from the husband's assets. Chrysostom uses it to argue that the wife's body, like her dowry, is not to be misused.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀκουέτωσαν τοῦτο καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom shifts from addressing men to addressing women, creating a parallel exhortation. This rhetorical turn mirrors the earlier address to the husband and reinforces mutual obligation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐννόησον τὴν Παύλου σοφίαν τί λέγει","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom closes by invoking Paul's authority, a common homiletic move. The phrase 'Paul's wisdom' underscores the apostle's role as a moral guide in late antique Christian teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has minor orthographic variation (e.g., σώ ματος for σώματος) but the sense is clear. The exact Pauline source for 'members of Christ' is not specified; it may be a composite allusion."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":26,"ref":"p26","source":"Ἐπειδὴ πολλοὶ ἐγκρατεύονται, καὶ ἔχουσι σεμνὰς καὶ σώφρονας γυναῖκας, καὶ παρὰ τὸ δοκοῦν ἐγκρατεύονται, καὶ γίνε ται ἡ τούτων φιλοσοφία μοιχείας ὑπόθεσις, διὰ τοῦτο λέγει· Ἕκαστος ἀπολαυέτω τῆς ἰδίας γυναικός. Καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, ἀλλ' εἰσέρχεται, καὶ καθέζεται εἰς τὴν εὐνὴν νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, καὶ κατέχει τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ οὕτω συνάπτει, καὶ κράζει καὶ βοᾷ· Μὴ ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλήλους, εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου. Ἐγκρατεύῃ, καὶ οὐ θέλεις καθευδῆσαι μετὰ τοῦ ἀνδρός σου, ἐκεῖνος δὲ οὐκ ἀπολαύει σου; Ἀπέρχεται καὶ ἁμαρτάνει, καὶ λοιπὸν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐκείνου τῇ σῇ ἐγκρα τείᾳ λογίζεται. Βέλτιον μετὰ σοῦ αὐτὸν καθεύδειν, ἢ μετὰ τῆς πόρνης. Ἡ ἀπόλαυσίς σου οὐ κεκώλυται· ἡ δὲ ἐκείνης κεκώλυται.\n\nΜετὰ σοῦ ἐὰν καθευδήσῃ, οὐκ ἔστιν ἔγκλημα· μετ' ἐκείνης ἐὰν καθευδήσῃ, ἀπώλεσάς σου τὰ μέλη. Καθέζεται οὖν σχεδὸν εἰς τὴν εὐνὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς, καὶ κράζει· Μὴ ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλή λους, εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου. Διὰ τοῦτο ἔλαβες ἄνδρα, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ σὺ ἔλαβες γυναῖκα, ἵνα σωφρονῆτε. Θέλεις ἐγκρατεύεσθαι; Πεῖσον καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα σου, ἵνα δύο ὦσι στέφανοι, σωφροσύνη καὶ ὁμόνοια· ἵνα μὴ ᾖ σωφροσύνη καὶ μάχη, ἵνα μὴ ᾖ εἰρήνη καὶ πόλεμος. Ὅταν γὰρ σὺ ἐγκρατεύῃ, ἐκεῖνος δὲ ὑπὸ ἐπιθυμίας φλέ γηται, λέγει δὲ ὁ Παῦλος, Μὴ πορνεύσῃς, εὐθέως θορυβεῖται, κυματοῦται. Μὴ ἀποστερῆτε ἀλλήλους, εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου. Καὶ γὰρ ὅπου εἰρήνη, ἐκεῖ πάντα τὰ ἀγαθά· ὅπου εἰρήνη, καὶ σοφρωσύνη λάμπει· ὅπου ὁμόνοια, καὶ ἐγκράτεια στεφανοῦται· ὅπου δὲ πόλεμος, καὶ ἡ σωφροσύνη ὑποτέμνεται.","english":"Since many practice continence and have chaste and temperate wives, and yet their continence becomes, contrary to expectation, a pretext for adultery, for this reason he says: Let each enjoy his own wife. And he is not ashamed, but enters and sits down on the marriage bed night and day, and holds the husband and the wife, and thus unites them, and cries out and shouts: Do not deprive one another, unless it be by mutual agreement. You practice continence, and you do not wish to sleep with your husband, and he does not enjoy you? He goes away and sins, and then that sin is charged to your continence. It is better for him to sleep with you than with a prostitute. Your enjoyment is not forbidden; hers is forbidden.\n\nIf he sleeps with you, there is no offense; if he sleeps with her, you have lost your limbs. So he sits almost on the marriage bed of the husband and wife, and cries out: Do not deprive one another, unless it be by mutual agreement. For this reason you took a husband, for this reason you too took a wife, that you might be chaste. Do you wish to practice continence? Persuade your husband also, so that there may be two crowns, chastity and concord; so that there may not be chastity and strife, so that there may not be peace and war. For when you practice continence, and he is inflamed with desire, and Paul says, Do not fornicate, he is immediately disturbed, tossed about. Do not deprive one another, unless it be by mutual agreement. For where there is peace, there are all good things; where there is peace, chastity shines; where there is concord, continence is crowned; but where there is war, even chastity is undermined.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπειδὴ πολλοὶ ἐγκρατεύονται","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom addresses a pastoral problem: married ascetics whose continence drives spouses to adultery. The argument is pragmatic, not doctrinal.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Μὴ ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλήλους, εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου","severity":"info","text":"This repeated phrase echoes 1 Corinthians 7:5 (Paul's teaching on marital continence by mutual consent). Chrysostom adapts it as a pastoral maxim.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐγκρατεύονται","severity":"info","text":"Ἐγκράτεια (self-control, continence) was a contested virtue in early Christian asceticism. Chrysostom here warns against its misuse when it disrupts marital harmony.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"δύο ὦσι στέφανοι, σωφροσύνη καὶ ὁμόνοια","severity":"info","text":"The image of two crowns (chastity and concord) parallels Chrysostom's frequent pairing of σωφροσύνη and ὁμόνοια in marriage sermons, e.g., Homily 20 on Ephesians.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Καθέζεται οὖν σχεδὸν εἰς τὴν εὐνὴν","severity":"info","text":"The repeated image of the preacher sitting on the marriage bed frames the passage as a dramatic, almost theatrical exhortation to marital fidelity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπώλεσάς σου τὰ μέλη","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'you have lost your limbs' is ambiguous: it may mean loss of bodily integrity through sin, or a hyperbolic warning of social/familial ruin. The Greek does not specify.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the speaker who 'sits on the marriage bed' is ambiguous: it could be the preacher (Chrysostom) or a personified voice of Paul's teaching. The text takes it as Chrysostom's rhetorical persona.","The phrase 'ἀπώλεσάς σου τὰ μέλη' is ambiguous: literal loss of limbs or metaphorical loss of family members? The reading takes it as hyperbolic moral warning."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":27,"ref":"p27","source":"Μὴ οὖν ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλήλους, εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου. Καὶ γὰρ πάντα νυμφαγωγὸν νικᾷ Παῦλος, ὁ νυμφαγωγὸς τῆς οἰκουμέ νης. Διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ αἰσχύνεται λέγων· Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Δεσπότης αὐτοῦ εἰς γάμον παρεγένετο, τῇ ἑαυτοῦ παρουσίᾳ τὸν γάμον τιμῶν, καὶ δῶρα προσήνεγκε.\n\nΤὸ γὰρ ὕδωρ εἰς οἶνον μετέβαλε. Δράμε οὖν ὅσον βούλει· ὅταν δὲ ἀτονήσῃς, λάβε φάρμακον τὴν συνουσίαν, ἵνα μὴ πειράσῃ ὑμᾶς ὁ Σατανᾶς. Ἕκαστος οὖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω. Τρία γάρ ἐστι ταῦτα· παρθενία, γάμος, πορνεία. Ὁ γάμος μέσος, ἡ πορνεία κάτω, ἡ παρθενία ἄνω. Παρθενία στέφανον ἔχει, ὁ γάμος ἔπαινον σύμμετρον, πορνεία κόλασιν καὶ τιμωρίαν. Βλέπε οὖν πῶς ἐγκρατεύῃ, εἰ δύνασαι τὴν ἀσθένειαν τοῦ σώματος ἐνέγκαι, καὶ μὴ θέλε ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον ἀναβῆναι, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον καταβῇς.\n\nὭσπερ οὖν ὁ μέλλων κολυμβᾷν, εἰς τοσοῦτον εἰσέρχεται, ὅταν δύναται ἐξελθεῖν· ὅταν δὲ εἰσέρχηται, ἐννοεῖ πόσον ὀφείλει ἐξελθεῖν· οὕτω καὶ σὺ τοσοῦτον σωφρόνησον, ὅσον δύνῃ ὑπομεῖναι, ἵνα μὴ παρὰ τὸ μέτρον καταβῇς. Καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων ἁπάντων εὐχαριστήσωμεν τῷ Χριστῷ, ὅτι αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, σὺν τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.","english":"Do not, therefore, deprive one another, unless it be by mutual agreement. For Paul surpasses every matchmaker, the matchmaker of the world. For this reason he is not ashamed to say: Marriage is honorable in all respects, and the marriage bed is undefiled. For his Master also entered into marriage, honoring marriage by his presence, and brought gifts.\n\nFor he changed water into wine. So run as much as you wish; but when you grow weary, take intercourse as a remedy, so that Satan may not tempt you. Let each, therefore, have his own wife. For there are these three things: virginity, marriage, fornication. Marriage is in the middle, fornication below, virginity above. Virginity has a crown, marriage has moderate praise, fornication has punishment and penalty. So see how you practice continence: if you can bear the weakness of the body, and do not wish to rise above the measure, lest you fall below the measure.\n\nJust as one who is about to dive enters only as far as he is able to come out, and when he enters, he considers how far he must come out, so also you should be chaste only as far as you can endure, lest you fall below the measure. And for all these things let us give thanks to Christ, because to him belongs the glory and the power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom attributes to Paul the statement that marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled; this is not a direct biblical quotation but a paraphrase of themes from 1 Corinthians 7 and Ephesians 5.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ Δεσπότης αὐτοῦ εἰς γάμον παρεγένετο","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Christ entering marriage and bringing gifts alludes to the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), where Jesus turned water into wine, a miracle Chrysostom interprets as honoring marriage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Τρία γάρ ἐστι ταῦτα· παρθενία, γάμος, πορνεία","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom presents a three-tiered hierarchy: virginity (crown), marriage (moderate praise), and fornication (punishment). This structure is a rhetorical climax, urging moderation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ μέλλων κολυμβᾷν","severity":"info","text":"The diving analogy—entering only as far as one can exit—parallels Chrysostom’s earlier advice on continence, emphasizing self-knowledge and avoiding extremes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"εὐχαριστήσωμεν τῷ Χριστῷ","severity":"info","text":"The closing doxology, with glory to Christ together with the Father and Holy Spirit, reflects standard liturgical formula in Chrysostom’s homilies, affirming Nicene orthodoxy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'unless by mutual agreement' is ambiguous: it may refer to temporary abstinence or to separation; Chrysostom does not elaborate, leaving the precise marital practice unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου' could mean either mutual consent to abstain or to separate; Chrysostom does not specify.","The identity of 'ὁ Δεσπότης' (the Master) is clearly Christ, but the 'gifts' brought to the marriage are not detailed beyond the water-into-wine miracle."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}