{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-94","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-94","title":"In Psalmum 94","title_source":"In Psalmum 94","author":"John Chrysostom","genre":"commentary","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":"2026-11-15T06:51:44Z","cost_usd":0.005225},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-94","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-94","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%2094.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":9,"english_words":2491,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":10174,"commentary_units":53,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":13,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-94","abstract":"John Chrysostom's homily on Psalm 94 is a continuous commentary from his Antiochene period (c. 386–397), surviving in a single Greek manuscript tradition with lacunae. The homily interprets the psalm as a call to communal joy and repentance, using military and musical metaphors—such as the hoplite and trumpet—to rouse the faithful. Chrysostom emphasizes the urgency of repentance in the present life, closing with a rhetorical question about Hades. The text was not included in the standard Byzantine liturgical cycle for Psalm 94, contributing to its neglect in transmission. No modern critical edition or translation exists; the present digital edition is based on a 19th-century print without manuscript collation.","historical_context":"The homily belongs to Chrysostom's series on the Psalms, preached in Antioch during his presbyterate (c. 386–397). Antioch was a major center of Antiochene exegesis, emphasizing literal and historical interpretation. The community was predominantly Greek-speaking Christian, with a strong tradition of psalmody in liturgy and catechesis. The homily's survival in a single manuscript tradition, with lacunae, suggests limited circulation; its exclusion from the Byzantine liturgical cycle for Psalm 94 further explains its rarity. The text was transmitted through medieval Greek manuscripts, but no critical edition exists. The present edition relies on a 19th-century print (khazarzar), which does not collate manuscripts or report variants, so the accuracy of the underlying text against the manuscript tradition cannot be verified.","significance":"This homily exemplifies Chrysostom's pastoral exegesis, blending Antiochene literalism with moral exhortation. Its neglect in liturgical use highlights how selection biases shaped the transmission of patristic commentaries. The work also provides insight into late antique military and musical imagery as rhetorical tools for Christian preaching. Its lack of a modern edition underscores the need for further textual criticism.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 386–397","event":"Chrysostom preaches homilies on the Psalms in Antioch."},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Homily transmitted in Greek manuscript tradition."},{"date":"Byzantine period","event":"Homily excluded from standard liturgical cycle for Psalm 94."},{"date":"19th c.","event":"Print edition produced, serving as basis for digital transcription."},{"date":"21st c.","event":"Digital edition published by khazarzar without manuscript collation."}],"relations":[{"work":"Homilies on the Psalms (Chrysostom)","relation":"Part of the same series of continuous commentaries.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Psalm 94 (LXX)","relation":"Biblical text being commented upon.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Antiochene exegesis","relation":"Exemplifies literal-historical interpretation typical of Antioch.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Byzantine liturgical cycle","relation":"Excluded from this cycle, affecting transmission.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["Date of the homily is uncertain; it is assigned to Chrysostom's Antiochene period (c. 386–397) but lacks a secure internal date.","The text survives in a single manuscript tradition with lacunae; no complete critical edition exists.","The present digital edition is based on a 19th-century print that does not collate manuscripts or report variant readings, so accuracy against the manuscript tradition cannot be verified."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000403,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:51:44Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20Psalmum%2094.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-psalmum-94","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":9,"translated":9,"commentary_passages":9,"commentary_units":53,"english_words":2491,"source_letters":10174,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives only in a single Greek manuscript tradition, with lacunae in several homilies. No complete critical edition exists.","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), but Psalm 94 lacks a secure internal date.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This homily was not included in the standard Byzantine liturgical cycle for Psalm 94, which may explain its relative neglect in later manuscript transmission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The source edition (khazarzar) is a digital transcription of a 19th-century print; it does not collate manuscripts or report variant readings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"No modern critical edition or translation of this homily exists; the present edition cannot verify the accuracy of the underlying text against the manuscript tradition.","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: commentary in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 9 narrative."},{"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":9},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ, Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Ἐγείρει τὸν ὁπλίτην πρὸς πόλεμον ἡ τῆς σάλπιγγος βοὴ, καὶ τοῦτον ἕτοιμον πρὸς μάχην τοῖς πολεμίοις παρ ίστησιν· καὶ ναύτας παρ' ὅρμον βαίνειν ἐπὶ νηὸς ἡ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἔκβασις κατηνάγκασεν. Καὶ ἡμᾶς ὁ μελῳδὸς Δαυῒδ διὰ τῆς πυκτίδος πανηγυρικὸν ἠχήσας μέλος, ἐπὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν ταύτην εὐωχίαν ἤγαγε σήμερον. Τί γάρ φησιν; Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλαλάξωμεν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ σωτηρίῳ ἡμῶν. Προφθάσωμεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐξομολογήσει. Ὢ Δαυϊδικῆς φωνῆς· ὢ κλήσεως ἀγαθῆς· ὢ πνευματικῆς ἐδωδῆς· Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλαλάξωμεν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ σωτηρίῳ ἡμῶν. Προφθάσωμεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐξομολογήσει. Ὢ δεσποτικῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας· ὢ προφητικῆς παραινέσεως καλούσης εἰς μετάνοιαν.\n\nΕἶδες, ἀγαπητὲ, δεσποτικῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας ἀγαθότητα, καὶ προφητικοῦ κηρύγματος ἱλαρότητα· πῶς πάντας ἡμᾶς προτρέπεται εἰς μετά νοιαν καὶ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καλεῖ καὶ σωτηρίαν, λέγων· Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Κύριος ἐκέλευσε, προφήτης ἐκάλεσεν, ἡμεῖς ὑπακούσωμεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ φθαρτὸν ἄριστον ἐκάλεσεν, γαστρὸς ἐπιθυμίαν κορέσαι βουλόμενος. Οὕτως ἡμᾶς διὰ τῆς ἡδυφώνου λύρας καλεῖ· Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Πάντες οὖν οἱ ταῖς σειραῖς τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ συσφίγξαντες, καὶ τὸν ζυγὸν τῆς ὑπακοῆς βαστάζομεν, προσέλθωμεν τῷ Δεσπότῃ, καθάρσιον τῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πεπραγμένων κακῶν ποιήσαντες. Μετανοίας γὰρ ὁ παρὼν βίος, ἀπειλῆς δὲ καὶ κρίσεως ἡ μέλλουσα παρουσία. Ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντο· Ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ τίς ἐξομολογή σεταί σοι;","english":"Of the Same Author, on the verse \"Come, let us rejoice in the Lord.\" The blast of the trumpet rouses the hoplite to war and presents him ready for battle against the enemy; and the escape from the storm compels sailors to board a ship from the anchorage. And the psalmist David, having sounded a festive melody through his psaltery, has led us today to this spiritual feast. For what does he say? \"Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us shout to God our deliverer. Let us anticipate his face with confession.\" O Davidic voice! O good summons! O spiritual food! \"Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us shout to God our deliverer. Let us anticipate his face with confession.\" O lordly compassion! O prophetic exhortation calling to repentance.\n\nYou see, beloved, the goodness of lordly compassion and the cheerfulness of prophetic proclamation: how he urges us all to repentance and calls us to piety and salvation, saying, \"Come, let us rejoice in the Lord.\" The Lord commanded, the prophet called, let us obey. For he did not call us to a perishable feast, wishing to satisfy the belly's desire. Thus he calls us through his sweet-voiced lyre: \"Come, let us rejoice in the Lord.\" Therefore, all who are bound by the chains of his love and bear the yoke of obedience, let us approach the Master, having made a cleansing of the evils committed during the day. For the present life is for repentance, while the future coming is of threat and judgment. Listen to the prophet himself saying, \"But in Hades, who will confess to you?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ, Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ","severity":"info","text":"The opening formula 'Of the same author, on the verse' marks this as a continuous commentary on Psalm 94, following an earlier homily in the same series.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ","severity":"info","text":"This phrase is the incipit of Psalm 94 (LXX), which Chrysostom treats as a call to communal joy and repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁπλίτην","severity":"info","text":"The hoplite (ὁπλίτης) is a heavy-armed infantryman; the trumpet (σάλπιγξ) was a standard military signal in Greek and Roman armies, used here as a metaphor for David's psalmody rousing the faithful.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"πυκτίδος","severity":"info","text":"πυκτίς (psaltery) is a stringed instrument; Chrysostom uses it to denote David's musical composition, emphasizing the festive and spiritual character of the psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ τίς ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom closes with a rhetorical question about Hades, underscoring the urgency of repentance in the present life, a theme common in his pastoral exhortations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"παρ' ὅρμον βαίνειν ἐπὶ νηὸς","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'to board a ship from the anchorage' is ambiguous: it may mean sailors leave the harbor to board a ship at sea, or that they board from a mooring; the sense of urgency is clear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'παρ' ὅρμον βαίνειν ἐπὶ νηὸς' is syntactically ambiguous: it could mean 'to go from the anchorage onto a ship' or 'to go to the anchorage onto a ship'; the context of escape from storm favors the former.","The identity of 'the same author' (τοῦ αὐτοῦ) is not specified in the passage itself but is conventionally attributed to John Chrysostom."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Μὴ τρίνυν πολυπλόκοις σειραῖς δεσμείσθω ἡμῶν ἡ διάνοια, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας ἱκετεύσωμεν αὐ τόν· ἕτοιμος γάρ ἐστιν ἀκούειν δεήσεως αἰτούντων· μόνον σὺ μὴ ὀλιγωρήσῃς τοῦ αἰτήσασθαι αὐτόν. Ἑτοι μότερός σου ὁ Θεὸς πάρεστιν. Οὐ χρεία σοι ὁδοιπορίας πολλῆς, οὐδὲ πελάγη διατεμεῖν· ἀλλ' ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ λέ γοντος· Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν. Οὐ χρεία σοι ἀναλωμάτων πολλῶν καὶ δαπανῶν, ἀλλ' ἀποστραφεὶς στέναξον, καὶ εὐθέως ἵλεω τὸν Δε σπότην κατέστησας. Ἐστράφη ποτὲ Ἐζεκίας πρὸς τὸν τοῖχον, οὐ τὸν ἐκ λίθων συγκείμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸν διὰ προφητικῆς καὶ ἀποστολικῆς διδασκαλίας οἰκοδομούμενον. Τοῖχον ἐκεῖνον λέγω, περὶ οὗ Παῦλος καυχᾶται λέγων· Ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον τέθεικα· τοῖχον ἐκεῖνον λέγω, ἐφ' ᾧ ὁ ἀκρογωνιαῖος λίθος ἐτέθη· λέγω δὴ Χριστὸν, περὶ οὗ εἶπεν ἡ Γραφὴ, ὅτι Λίθοι ἅγιοι κυλισθήσονται· τοῖχον ἐκεῖνον λέγω, δι' ὃν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ᾠκοδομήθη ναός.\n\nΤί ποιεῖς, ὦ Ἐζεκία; τί ἀποστρέφῃ πρὸς τοῖχον; Φησὶν, ὅτι ἐκεῖνον ζητῶ, τὸν ζωῆς δω τῆρα καὶ θανάτου λυτῆρα· ἐκεῖνον ζητῶ, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν καταφεύγω. Ὅμως στραφεὶς καὶ μετανοήσας τὴν ζωὴν ἐκαρπώσατο, καὶ ἀπόφασιν Θεοῦ κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ἔφυγε, καὶ δεκαπέντε ἔτη ζωῆς προσέθηκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· καὶ πολεμίων κύκλῳ περιτειχισαμένων, καὶ κυκλωσάντων τὴν πόλιν, ἄγγελος ὑπέρμαχος ἐγένετο, καὶ τὰ τοσαῦτα πλήθη τῶν Ἀσσυρίων κατεστρώννυεν. Τοσοῦτον ἴσχυσεν ἡ μετάνοια· Ἐξῆλθεν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἄγγελος Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τὴν παράταξιν τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἀνεῖλεν ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδας·","english":"Let us not, then, bind our mind with intricate chains, but with our whole heart let us beseech Him; for He is ready to hear the petition of those who ask. Only do not neglect to ask Him. Your God is more ready than you are present. You have no need of a long journey, nor to cross seas; but hear Him saying, \"The kingdom of heaven is within you.\" You have no need of great expenses and outlays, but turn away and groan, and at once you have rendered the Master propitious. Hezekiah once turned toward the wall, not the one composed of stones, but the one built up through prophetic and apostolic teaching. I mean that wall of which Paul boasts, saying, \"As a wise architect I have laid the foundation.\" I mean that wall on which the cornerstone was placed; I mean Christ, of whom the Scripture said, \"Holy stones will be rolled.\" I mean that wall through which the temple of God was built.\n\nWhat are you doing, O Hezekiah? Why do you turn toward the wall? He says, \"I seek that one, the giver of life and the deliverer from death; I seek that one, and I take refuge in him.\" Nevertheless, having turned and repented, he reaped life, and escaped the sentence of God pronounced against him, and God added fifteen years of life to him; and when enemies surrounded the city and encircled it, an angel became a champion and laid low the vast multitudes of the Assyrians. So great was the power of repentance. For it says, \"An angel of the Lord went out and in the battle array of the Assyrians slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Μὴ τρίνυν πολυπλόκοις σειραῖς δεσμείσθω ἡμῶν ἡ διάνοια","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom urges the mind not to be bound by 'intricate chains', a metaphor for distractions or false doctrines that hinder prayer.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν","severity":"info","text":"This saying is not a direct biblical quotation but echoes the concept of the kingdom within, as in Luke 17:21 or Matthew 6:33; Chrysostom attributes it to Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐζεκίας","severity":"info","text":"Hezekiah's repentance and the angelic slaughter of 185,000 Assyrians (2 Kings 19:35) is a key example of repentance's power; Chrysostom adapts the story to his homiletic purpose.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Λίθοι ἅγιοι κυλισθήσονται","severity":"info","text":"This phrase is not a direct biblical citation but likely alludes to Zechariah 9:16 or a liturgical text; Chrysostom uses it to link Christ to the cornerstone of the spiritual wall.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Παῦλος καυχᾶται λέγων· Ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον τέθεικα","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom attributes to Paul a boast about laying a foundation, which is not a known Pauline quotation; it may be a paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 or a free invention for rhetorical effect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐστράφη ποτὲ Ἐζεκίας πρὸς τὸν τοῖχον","severity":"caution","text":"The narrative of Hezekiah turning to a wall is not in the biblical account; Chrysostom allegorizes the wall as spiritual teaching, but the historical basis is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'kingdom of heaven within you' is not a direct scriptural quote; its source is ambiguous.","The Pauline boast about laying a foundation is not attested in the Pauline corpus; it may be a rhetorical invention.","Hezekiah's turning to the wall is an extra-biblical detail; its origin is uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"τὸν δὲ τούτων ἡγούμενον τὸν Σεναχηρεὶβ ζῶντα ἀπέλυσεν, δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον, ὡς ἔγωγε νομίζω, ἀλλ' ἢ εἰς με τάνοιαν αὐτὸν προσκαλούμενος ὁ Θεός. Ἀμέλει γοῦν ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς μὴ πεισθέντα, μηδὲ ἀποστραφέντα, τῆς αὐτοῦ κακίας, ἀλλ' ἀμειλικτόν τινα καὶ\n\nδυσέντευ κτον ὄντα, ὑπὸ τῶν δύο υἱῶν αὐτοῦ τοῦτον ἐθανάτωσεν. Ὅταν γὰρ προσεδόκησε τὸν πανώλεθρον καὶ θεήλατον ἐκφυγεῖν θάνατον, καὶ εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ τυγχάνειν γῆν, καὶ τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης αὐτῷ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ γενέσθαι, τότε Ἀδραμέλεχ καὶ Σαρασὰρ οἱ δύο υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ σφάζουσιν αὐτὸν, καὶ φεύγουσιν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Ἀραράτ. Θεωρεῖς, ἀγαπητὲ, πόσον τῷ Ἐζεκίᾳ συνεβάλετο ἡ ἐξομολόγη σις; πόσον δὲ τὸν Σεναχηρεὶβ εἰργάσατο κακὸν τὸ ἐπι μένειν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις; Θέλεις σοι καὶ ἄλλην ὑποδείξω μετανοίας ὁδὸν, καὶ θύραν ἐξομολογήσεως; Μίμησαι τὴν τῶν βαρβάρων ἐκείνων μετάνοιαν, τῶν Νινευιτῶν λέγω δή. Ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ προφήτου κατήκοοι γεγονότες, οὐκ εὐαγγελικὰ δεξάμενοι ῥήματα, οὐ προφήτην Θεοῦ ἀκούσαντες, οὐ βασιλείας οὐρανῶν εὐαγγελισμὸν δεξά μενοι, βλέπε πως προσέρχονται Θεῷ, πῶς δυσωποῦσι Θεὸν, πῶς ὀργιζόμενον αὐτοῖς ἀντικαταλλάσσουσιν τὸν Κύριον· πῶς ἀπόφασιν Θεοῦ ἔλυσαν· πῶς ὀργὴν Θεοῦ ἀπώσαντο, καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν ἐπεκαλέσαντο· πῶς βάραθρον καὶ κατάπτωμα τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν τυγχάνουσαν, τείχους αὐτὴν ἰσχυροτέραν ἐποίησαν, καὶ παντὸς ἀδάμαντος στεῤῥοτέραν. Οὐκ ἐδυσώπησε Θεῷ πορφύρας ἀξίωμα, ἀλλὰ σάκκος· οὐδὲ διάδημα βασιλικὸν, καὶ κράτος, ἀλλὰ σποδὸς μετὰ σάκκου· οὐ χρυσοκόλλητος θρόνος ἐκ λίθων συγκείμενος, ἀλλ' ἐξομολόγησις.","english":"He released Sennacherib, the leader of these, alive, for no other reason, as I think, than that God was summoning him to repentance. At any rate, when God saw that he was not persuaded, nor did he turn away from his own wickedness, but was some implacable and hard-to-approach person, He caused him to be killed by his two sons. For when he expected to escape the utterly destructive and god-driven death, and to reach his own land, and for his affairs of peace to be secure, then Adrammelech and Sarasar, his two sons, slay him and flee to the mountains of Ararat. Do you see, beloved, how much confession benefited Hezekiah? And how much evil persisting in sins wrought upon Sennacherib? Do you wish me to show you another path of repentance and a door of confession? Imitate the repentance of those barbarians, I mean the Ninevites. For they, having become obedient to a prophet, not having received evangelical words, not having heard a prophet of God, not having received the good news of the kingdom of heaven, see how they approach God, how they appease God, how they reconcile the Lord to themselves when He is angry with them; how they dissolved God's decree; how they thrust aside God's anger and invoked His philanthropy; how they made their city, which was a pit and a ruin, stronger than a wall and more solid than any adamant. The dignity of purple did not move God, but sackcloth did; nor did a royal diadem and power, but ashes with sackcloth; nor a throne inlaid with gold and composed of stones, but confession.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Σεναχηρεὶβ","severity":"info","text":"Sennacherib, king of Assyria, is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38 as murdered by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer. Chrysostom adapts the biblical account to illustrate repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀδραμέλεχ καὶ Σαρασὰρ","severity":"info","text":"The names Adrammelech and Sarasar (Sharezer) derive from 2 Kings 19:37 (LXX: Ἀδραμελέχ καὶ Σαρασάρ). Chrysostom follows the LXX tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"τῶν Νινευιτῶν","severity":"info","text":"The Ninevites’ repentance is a classic example from the book of Jonah (Jonah 3). Chrysostom uses it as a model of effective repentance without prior Christian teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἐξομολόγησις","severity":"info","text":"Ἐξομολόγησις (exomologēsis) in Chrysostom denotes confession of sins, often public and penitential, distinct from mere acknowledgment. It is a key term in early Christian penitential practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Θέλεις σοι καὶ ἄλλην ὑποδείξω μετανοίας ὁδὸν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom transitions from the Sennacherib example to the Ninevites with a rhetorical question, marking a new illustrative unit in the homily’s exhortation to repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"σάκκος ... σποδὸς","severity":"info","text":"Sackcloth and ashes were traditional signs of penitence in early Christian and Jewish practice. Chrysostom contrasts them with royal insignia to emphasize humility before God.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has a lacuna or uncertain reading at δυσέντευ κτον (likely δυσέντευκτον, 'hard to approach'). The translation 'hard-to-approach person' is adopted.","The phrase 'τῆς αὐτοῦ κακίας' could be read as 'his own wickedness' (referring to Sennacherib) or 'his (God's) malice'; the former is contextually preferred."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Ὦ σάκκου δύναμις παρευδοκιμοῦσα καὶ νικῶσα πορφύραν βασιλικήν· ὦ σποδοῦ δύναμις διαδήματος καὶ θρόνου βασιλικοῦ ἰσχυροτέρα. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ διαδήματι τυγχά νοντος τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἐν τῇ πορφύρᾳ καὶ τῷ θρόνῳ τῷ κατέχοντι αὐτῷ τὸ κράτος, τουτέστι τὴν ῥάβδον τὴν βασιλικὴν, κύκλῳ τῶν στρατοπέδων αὐτῷ περιεστώτων, καὶ δορυφορίας πολλῆς περιστοιχειουμένης, εἰσέρ χεται εἰς τὸ μέσον ὁ προφήτης γυμνὸς, κεκονιαμένος ποσὶν, ἱδρῶν τῷ προσώπῳ, καί φησιν· Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέ ραι, καὶ Νινευὶ καταστραφήσεται. Τί ποιεῖς, ὦ προφῆτα; Εἰ ὅλως Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐν σοὶ, διὰ τί οὐ γινώ σκεις τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ ἀποκτεῖναι βουλό μενος, ἀλλ' εἰς μετάνοιαν ἐπανακαλέσασθαι, διὰ τοῦτο ἔδωκε τὴν ἀπόφασιν; Οὐδέν μοι, φησὶν, εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς ἕτερον, ἀλλ' ἢ τοῦτο μόνον εἶπεν, ὅτι Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέ ραι, καὶ Νινευὶ καταστραφήσεται.\n\nΤί ποιεῖς, ὦ Ἰωνᾶ; διὰ τί καὶ διδασκαλίαν ἑτέραν οὐ προστιθεῖς; Τί γὰρ ἄλλο ἤκουσεν Ἡσαΐας παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραήλ; Οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ λόγον ἕνα. Ποῖον δὲ τοῦτον; Εἰπὸν, φησὶ, τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. Καὶ βλέπεις πόσην ἄλλην διδασκαλίαν καὶ κατήχησιν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐνήχησεν; πόσην προτροπὴν καὶ παράκλησιν καὶ ἔλεγχον; Ἔλεγχον μὲν ἐν τῷ λέγειν αὐτόν· Ἔγνω βοῦς τὸν κτησάμενον, καὶ ὄνος τὴν φάτνην τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ. Ἰσραὴλ δέ με οὐκ ἔγνω, καὶ ὁ λαός με οὐ συνῆκεν. Ταῦτα ἐλέγχοντος ἦν. Ἄκου σον δὲ καὶ προτρεπομένου αὐτοῦ· Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν. Πῶς δὲ πάλιν παρακαλεῖ·","english":"O the power of sackcloth, which outshines and conquers royal purple! O the power of ashes, stronger than a diadem and a royal throne! For while the king was on his throne, in his purple, and holding the scepter that gives him his power, with his armies standing around him and a great bodyguard surrounding him, the prophet entered into their midst, barefoot, covered with dust, sweat on his face, and said: \"Three more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.\" What are you doing, O prophet? If the Spirit of God is in you at all, why do you not know the will of God, that He did not intend to kill, but to call them to repentance, and that for this reason He gave the pronouncement? \"Nothing else,\" he says, \"did God tell me, but only this: 'Three more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.'\"\n\nWhat are you doing, O Jonah? Why do you not add further teaching? For what else did Isaiah hear from God to say to Israel? Nothing other than a single saying. And what saying was this? \"Say,\" he says, \"to this people: 'You will hear with your ears and not understand, and you will see with your eyes and not perceive.'\" And you see how much other teaching and instruction he sounded into them, how much exhortation, consolation, and reproof! Reproof, in his saying: \"The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's manger. But Israel did not know me, and the people did not understand me.\" These were words of reproof. But hear him also exhorting: \"Wash yourselves, become clean, remove the wickedness from your souls.\" And how again he consoles:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὦ σάκκου δύναμις","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom apostrophizes the power of sackcloth and ashes, contrasting prophetic humility with royal pomp. The exclamation 'O' (Ὦ) marks a rhetorical address typical of his homiletic style.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι, καὶ Νινευὶ καταστραφήσεται","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Jonah 3:4, where Jonah proclaims Nineveh's destruction in three days. Chrysostom uses it to highlight Jonah's literal obedience versus God's deeper intent.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε","severity":"info","text":"This echoes Isaiah's prophecy (cf. Isa 6:9 LXX), where the people hear and see but fail to understand. Chrysostom contrasts Isaiah's fuller teaching with Jonah's single message.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔγνω βοῦς τὸν κτησάμενον, καὶ ὄνος τὴν φάτνην τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ. Ἰσραὴλ δέ με οὐκ ἔγνω","severity":"info","text":"This reproach is drawn from Isaiah 1:3 LXX, where the ox and donkey know their masters but Israel does not know God. Chrysostom cites it as an example of prophetic reproof.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν","severity":"info","text":"This exhortation to wash and remove wickedness is a paraphrase of Isaiah 1:16 LXX, where the prophet calls for moral purification. Chrysostom uses it to illustrate Isaiah's consolatory role.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡσαΐας","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom compares Jonah unfavorably to Isaiah, who received a single saying but expanded it into extensive teaching. This reflects a common patristic trope of prophetic exemplarity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has a lacuna or unclear reading at 'τῷ κατέχοντι αὐτῷ τὸ κράτος' (the dative 'αὐτῷ' may be a scribal error for 'αὐτῷ' as possessive or reflexive). The translation follows the sense of 'holding the scepter that gives him his power'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Ἐὰν θέλητε, φησὶν, καὶ εἰσακούσητέ μου, τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε. Καὶ ἕτερα δὲ τούτων πλείονα προσδιαλέγεται αὐτοῖς, βιβλίον ὁλόκληρον γράψας μαρτυρίας χάριν. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστη μέχρι τούτου, ἀλλὰ καὶ μάρτυρας ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐπάγει λέγων· Ἄκουε, οὐρανὲ, καὶ ἐνωτίζου, γῆ, ὅτι Κύριος ἐλάλησεν. Τί ἐλάλησεν; εἰπὲ τρανῶς, ὦ Ἡσαΐα. Υἱοὺς, φησὶν, ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα, αὐτοὶ δέ με ἠθέτησαν. Σὺ δὲ οὐδὲν τούτων ἐποίησας, ὦ Ἰωνᾶ, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν καταστροφὴν ἐκήρυξας εἰπών· Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι, καὶ Νινευὶ καταστραφήσεται. Περὶ δὲ Θεοῦ οὐδὲν πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἶπες, οὐδὲ εἶπες, Ὅτι Κύριος ἐλάλησεν, κατὰ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν· ἀλλ' ἀνήμερον καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον ἐκφέρεις τὴν ἀπόφασιν.\n\nἈλλ' ὅμως οἱ Νινευῖται, εἰ καὶ διδασκαλίας κατήχησιν οὐκ ἐδέξαντο, εἰ καὶ προφητῶν κατήκοοι οὐκ ἐγένοντο, οὐκ εὐαγγε λικῆς χάριτος ἐπαγγελίας ἔλαβον, οὐ βασιλείας ἔρωτα, οὐ κολάσεως φόβον, ἀλλὰ κτηνώδη τρόπον ἔχοντες, καὶ βάρβαρον\n\nκαὶ ἀπάνθρωπον ἔχοντες ἦθος, ἀκούσαντες τὴν ἀπόφασιν, εὐθέως ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν τρέπονται, ἐξομολογούμενοι τὰ πεπραγμένα αὐτοῖς, καὶ ταῦτα μὴ εἰδότες εἰ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτοῖς. Τί γὰρ, ἔλεγον, Τίς οἶδεν, εἰ ἐπιστρέψει ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ μετανοήσει, καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς; Οὐ γὰρ ἴσασι πρὸς ἑτέρους μετανοήσαντας καὶ σωθέντας ἀποβλέψαι, οὐ πρὸς Νινευίτας ἑτέρους, ἀλλ' ἔτι περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν ἀμφιβάλλουσιν· ὅμως μετανοοῦσι. Καὶ εὐθέως ὁ βασιλεὺς διάδημα ῥίψας καὶ πορφύραν, σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν περιβάλλεται, καὶ πᾶσα δὲ ἡ πόλις ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐ μόνον οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τὰ κτήνη καὶ οἱ βόες καὶ τὰ πρόβατα.","english":"If you wish, he says, and if you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the earth. And he also discusses many other things with them beyond these, having written an entire book for the sake of testimony. And he did not stop at this, but he also brings in witnesses at the beginning of his teaching, saying: \"Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, that the Lord has spoken.\" What has he spoken? Speak clearly, O Isaiah. \"I have begotten and raised up sons,\" he says, \"but they have rejected me.\" But you, O Jonah, did none of these things; rather, you proclaimed the destruction, saying: \"Yet three days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.\" But you said nothing to them about God, nor did you say, \"That the Lord has spoken,\" according to Isaiah; instead, you utter a savage and inhuman pronouncement.\n\nYet the Ninevites, even though they had received no instruction in teaching, even though they had not become hearers of prophets, even though they had received no promises of evangelical grace, no desire for the kingdom, no fear of punishment, but having a bestial manner and a barbaric and inhuman character, upon hearing the pronouncement, immediately turn to repentance, confessing the deeds they have done, and this without knowing whether they will be forgiven. For they said, \"What? Who knows if God will turn back and repent and save us?\" For they do not know to look to others who have repented and been saved, nor to other Ninevites, but they are still uncertain about their own salvation; nevertheless, they repent. And immediately the king, casting aside his diadem and purple, puts on sackcloth and ashes, and the whole city does likewise, from the smallest to the greatest, and not only the people, but also the cattle, the oxen, and the sheep.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἄκουε, οὐρανὲ, καὶ ἐνωτίζου, γῆ, ὅτι Κύριος ἐλάλησεν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom adapts a prophetic call formula; cf. Isaiah 1:2 (LXX: 'Ἄκουε, οὐρανέ, καὶ ἐνωτίζου, γῆ') and similar invocations in Deut 32:1.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Υἱοὺς, φησὶν, ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα, αὐτοὶ δέ με ἠθέτησαν","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Isaiah 1:2 LXX, where God laments Israel's rejection; Chrysostom attributes it directly to Isaiah.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι, καὶ Νινευὶ καταστραφήσεται","severity":"info","text":"A paraphrase of Jonah 3:4, where Jonah proclaims Nineveh's destruction in forty days; Chrysostom shortens it to three days for rhetorical effect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν περιβάλλεται","severity":"info","text":"Sackcloth and ashes were traditional biblical and early Christian symbols of penance and mourning; Chrysostom contrasts them with royal regalia to highlight humility.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts the failed prophetic approach of Jonah (mere threat) with Isaiah's theocentric teaching, then praises the Ninevites' spontaneous repentance despite lack of instruction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's exaltation of the Ninevites' repentance, even without prior catechesis, reflects his pastoral emphasis on moral transformation over doctrinal instruction alone.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is clear; no significant ambiguities in this passage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Τί ποιεῖς, ὦ βασιλεῦ; ὅτι ἄνθρωποι ἥμαρτον, τί δὲ καὶ τὰ κτήνη νηστεύειν κατεδίκασας; τί δὲ καὶ αὐτὰ σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν περιβάλλεις;\n\nἩμεῖς, φησὶν, πολλαῖς περιεπάρημεν ἁμαρτίαις, καὶ οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἄξιοι παρακαλέσαι Θεόν. Ποίῳ γὰρ προσώπῳ προσελθόντες ἀξιώσωμεν Θεόν; Διὰ τοῦτο τὰ μὴ ἡμαρτηκότα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρεσβεύειν ἐποιήσαμεν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦτο ἴδοι τις ἂν γενόμενον. Ὅταν γάρ τις προσκεκρουκὼς ᾖ τινι τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ ὄντων, οἱ μὴ προσκεκρουκότες ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἀξιοῦσιν, ὅπως συγχωρηθῇ αὐτοῦ τὸ πλημμέλημα. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιοῦμεν. Ἀναπολόγητα ἡμάρτομεν, οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἄξιοι τοῦ παρακαλέσαι περὶ ἑαυτῶν καὶ δυσωπῆσαι Θεόν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ κτήνη καὶ τοὺς βόας καὶ τὰ πρόβατα προσκυνεῖν καὶ λιτανεύειν Θεὸν ἐποιήσαμεν. Ὦ μετανοίας ἰσχύς· ὦ ἐξομολογήσεως δύναμις. Ἐστήριξε τὴν πόλιν ἡ μετάνοια, λύσασα τὴν ἀπόφασιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἀλλ' ὅμως πρὸς τούτοις ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τὴν Νινευιτῶν σωτηρίαν ἀπιστεῖ· καὶ πορευθεὶς ἀπέναντι τῆς πόλεως ἐκαθέζετο σκοπῶν τί ἀποβήσεται τῇ πόλει· πότερον ἡ ἀπόφασις νικήσει, ἢ ἄρα ἡ μετάνοια. Καὶ ἦν ὡς ἐν ζυγῷ καὶ ὡς ἐν ῥοπῇ πλάστιγγος κείμενα τὰ ἀμφότερα· ἔνθεν ἡ ἀπόφασις, κἀκεῖθεν ἡ μετάνοια· καὶ ἡ μετάνοια νικήσασα τὸν θάνατον, τὴν πόλιν ἀνέστησεν. Εἶτα, ἵνα ἐπιτέμω τὸν λόγον, ἐλυπεῖτο Ἰωνᾶς ὡς ψεύστης μέλλων φαίνεσθαι. Εἶτα τί ποιεῖ αὐτῷ ὁ πάνσοφος Θεός; Κελεύει τῷ ἡλίῳ πυριφλόγους ἀκτῖνας ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ βαλεῖν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ φέρειν αὐτὸν τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου θερμότητα.","english":"What are you doing, O king? Because men have sinned, why have you condemned even the cattle to fast? Why do you also clothe them in sackcloth and ashes?\n\nWe, he says, have been pierced by many sins, and we are not worthy to entreat God. With what face, then, shall we approach and implore God? For this reason we have made the creatures that have not sinned intercede on our behalf. For one might see this happening even among men. When someone has offended one of those in authority, those who have not offended intercede on his behalf, so that his transgression may be forgiven. This is what we do. We have sinned inexcusably; we are not worthy to entreat on our own behalf and to appease God; and for this reason we have made the cattle, the oxen, and the sheep worship and supplicate God. O the power of repentance! O the strength of confession! Repentance strengthened the city, having dissolved the decree of God. But nevertheless, despite these things, the prophet disbelieves in the salvation of the Ninevites; and going and sitting opposite the city, he watched to see what would become of the city—whether the decree would prevail, or whether repentance would. And both were as if placed on a balance and on the turn of a scale: on one side the decree, on the other repentance; and repentance, having conquered death, raised up the city. Then, to cut the story short, Jonah was grieved, as he was about to appear a liar. Then what does the all-wise God do to him? He commands the sun to cast fiery rays upon his head, so that he could not bear the heat of the sun.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"κτήνη","severity":"info","text":"The reference to cattle fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes reflects a penitential practice in the Nineveh narrative, where even animals were made to participate in communal repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰωνᾶς","severity":"info","text":"The passage alludes to the book of Jonah, specifically the prophet's reaction to Nineveh's repentance (Jonah 3–4). Chrysostom expands the narrative with details not in the biblical text, such as the sun's fiery rays.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἶτα","severity":"info","text":"The repeated use of 'εἶτα' ('then') marks a narrative sequence, condensing the Jonah story into a series of dramatic moments, typical of Chrysostom's homiletic style.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ὦ μετανοίας ἰσχύς","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's exclamation on the power of repentance and confession became a celebrated motif in later Byzantine homiletics, often cited in discussions on the efficacy of penance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"πυριφλόγους ἀκτῖνας","severity":"caution","text":"The detail of the sun casting fiery rays on Jonah's head is not found in the biblical book of Jonah; it may be a haggadic expansion or Chrysostom's own embellishment, and should not be read as scriptural.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'king' addressed at the beginning is unclear; it may refer to the king of Nineveh in the Jonah narrative, but Chrysostom does not specify."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Φλεγομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ ἀποδυσπετοῦντος, διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς κελεύει ὁ Θεὸς κολοκύντῃ ἑωθινῇ ἀναβῆναι καὶ σκιάζειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς Ἰωνᾶ. Ἐνταῦθα ἡδέως ἐροίμην τὸν Ἰουδαῖον, λέγων πρὸς αὐτόν· Εἰπέ μοι, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε, ὁ λέγων, Πῶς ἄνευ ἀνδρὸς ἡ παρθένος ἐγέννησε, καὶ πῶς γεννήσασα, πάλιν παρθένος ἔμεινεν; εἰπέ μοι σὺ πρῶτον, πῶς ἡ γῆ ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ τῆς ἑωθινῆς τὴν κολόκυνταν ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἐξέφυσε, καὶ πῶς ἐν μιᾷ ῥοπῇ τοῖς φύλλοις ἐκόμα, καὶ τὸν προφήτην ἐσκίαζε· κἀγώ σοι λέγω πῶς ἡ παρθένος ἔτεκεν, καὶ μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι παρθένος ἔμεινεν. Ἀλλὰ μὴ βάλλωμεν τὰ ἅγια τοῖς κυσίν. Ἐκβαλλέσθωσαν τοῦ ἡμετέρου καταλόγου οἱ ἄπιστοι Ἰουδαῖοι. Εἶτα τῆς κολοκύντης σκιαζούσης αὐτὸν, Ἐκέλευσεν πάλιν ὁ Θεὸς σκώληκι ἑωθινῇ, καὶ ἐπάταξεν τὴν κολόκυνταν, καὶ εὐθέως ἐξηράνθη. Ἴδε, Ἰουδαῖε, καὶ μὴ ἀπίστει, ὅταν Θεὸς μέγιστόν τι κατεργάζηται. Ὑπὸ νύκτα ἐγένετο, καὶ ὑπὸ νύκτα ἀπώλετο. Εἶτα ξηρανθείσης τῆς κολοκύντης, ἀπεδυσπέτει ὁ Ἰωνᾶς καὶ ἀπωδύρετο, καὶ ἀπελέγετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ, λυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ κολοκύντῃ, καὶ ἔλεγε· Καλόν μοι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ ζῇν. Πρὸς ὃν πορευθεὶς ὁ πάνσοφος Θεὸς παραμυθεῖται λέγων· Σφόδρα λελύπησαι σὺ ἐπὶ τῇ κολοκύντῃ; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰωνᾶς· Σφόδρα λελύπημαι ἐγὼ ἕως θανάτου. Πάλιν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός· Σὺ ἐλυπήθης ἐπὶ τῇ κολοκύντῃ, εἰς ἣν οὐκ ἐκακοπάθησας, οὐδὲ ἐξέθρεψας αὐτὴν, ἣ ἐγενήθη ὑπὸ νύκτα, καὶ ὑπὸ νύκτα ἀπώλετο·","english":"As he was burning up for a long time and despairing, during the night God commanded a gourd to spring up at dawn and to cast shade over Jonah’s head. Here I would gladly ask the Jew, saying to him: Tell me, O Jew, you who say, How did the virgin give birth without a man, and how, having given birth, did she remain a virgin? Tell me first, how did the earth in one hour of the morning put forth the gourd from itself, and how in one moment did it grow leaves and shade the prophet? And I will tell you how the virgin gave birth and after giving birth remained a virgin. But let us not cast holy things to the dogs. Let the unbelieving Jews be expelled from our list. Then, as the gourd was shading him, God again commanded a worm at dawn, and it struck the gourd, and immediately it withered. See, O Jew, and do not disbelieve, when God accomplishes something very great. It came to be in a night, and in a night it perished. Then, when the gourd had withered, Jonah despaired and lamented, and his spirit gave out, grieving over the gourd, and he said: It is better for me to die than to live. To him the all-wise God went and consoled him, saying: Are you very grieved over the gourd? And Jonah said: I am very grieved, even to death. And again God said to him: You grieved over the gourd, for which you suffered no hardship and which you did not nurture, which came to be in a night and perished in a night.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"κολόκυντα","severity":"info","text":"The gourd (κολόκυντα) is a miraculous plant in the Jonah midrash, not in the biblical book of Jonah. Chrysostom uses it as a type for the virgin birth, arguing that if Jews accept the gourd's overnight growth, they should accept Mary's perpetual virginity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"background","lemma":"πῶς ἡ παρθένος ἐγέννησε","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's rhetorical question to the Jew mirrors a standard anti-Jewish polemic in patristic literature, where the virgin birth is defended by appeal to miraculous events in the Old Testament or nature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"Ἐκβαλλέσθωσαν τοῦ ἡμετέρου καταλόγου οἱ ἄπιστοι Ἰουδαῖοι","severity":"info","text":"This expulsion formula reflects the late antique Christian practice of rhetorically excluding Jews from the church's catalogue of believers, a common trope in Chrysostom's homilies against Judaizing Christians.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἶτα ... Εἶτα","severity":"info","text":"The passage is structured in two parallel miraculous events: the gourd's growth and its withering by a worm, each introduced by 'Then' (Εἶτα). This parallelism reinforces the moral that divine power can create and destroy in a single night.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὑπὸ νύκτα ἐγένετο, καὶ ὑπὸ νύκτα ἀπώλετο","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes the language of the Jonah story (cf. Jonah 4:6-11 LXX) but is not a direct quotation. Chrysostom adapts the biblical narrative to emphasize the transience of the gourd as a lesson for Jonah.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπεδυσπέτει","severity":"caution","text":"The verb ἀπεδυσπέτει (from ἀποδυσπετέω) is rare and may be a scribal variant or a non-standard form. The sense 'despaired' is clear from context, but the exact morphology is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'Jew' addressed is generic, not a specific interlocutor. The phrase 'Ἐκβαλλέσθωσαν τοῦ ἡμετέρου καταλόγου' may reflect a liturgical or catechetical context, but the exact setting is unclear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ λυπηθήσομαι ἐπὶ Νινευὶ τῇ πόλει τῇ μεγάλῃ, ἐν ᾗ κατοικοῦσιν πλείους ἢ δώδεκα μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν, οἵτινες οὐκ ἔγνωσαν, ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν οἰκούντων, δεξιὰν ἢ ἀριστερὰν, καὶ κτήνη πολλά; Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Φιλάνθρωπος, φησὶν, ἐγὼ τυγχάνω, καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος ἀπολέσαι τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν μου, ἃ ἀγαπῶν ἐποίησα.\n\nΔιὰ τοῦτο ἠπείλησα καταστροφὴν καὶ θάνατον, οὐχ ὡς ἀποκτεῖναι βουλόμενος, ἀλλ' εἰς μετάνοιαν προτρέψασθαι. Τοσαύτας περιόδους ἐτῶν ἐκδεχόμενος τὴν τούτων ἐπιστροφὴν, ἡνίκα δ' ἂν ἐπεστράφησαν, παριδεῖν ὤφειλον; Οὐκ ἔστι παρ' ἐμοὶ τοῦτο, ὦ Ἰωνᾶ. Σὺ μὲν γὰρ ὡς ἄνθρωπος καταδικάζειν βούλει, ἐγὼ δὲ ὡς Θεὸς τὸ φιλανθρωπεύσασθαι ἔχω. Δόξα σοι, Κύριε, δόξα σοι. Πόσος φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἐλεημοσύνης πλοῦτος παρὰ σοί. Οἱ πρῴην θανασίμῳ ὑποβληθέντες ψήφῳ νῦν διδάσκαλοι τῆς οἰκουμένης καθεστήκασι. Πάντες γὰρ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀποβλέποντες χειραγωγοῦνται, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων λαμβάνοντες μετάνοιαν ἀναυάγητοι διαμένομεν. Θεωρεῖς, ἀγαπητὲ, πόσον ἰσχύει μετάνοια; Μὴ οὖν ὑπερτιθέμεθα ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας· Οὐ γὰρ οἶδας τί τέξεται ἡ ἐπιοῦσα. Ἡμέρα γὰρ Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτὶ, οὕτως ἔρχεται. Δεῦτε οὖν, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλαλάξωμεν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ σωτηρίῳ ἡμῶν. Προφθάσωμεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐξομολογήσει. Ἄδηλος γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἔκβασις τοῦ βίου ἡμῶν, οὐ καιρὸν ἐκδεχομένη, οὐ χρόνον τεταγμένη ἐφ' ἡμῶν. Ἀλλ' ἡνίκα δ' ἂν κελεύσῃ ὁ δεδωκὼς πᾶσι πνοὴν, τότε ἡ ψυχὴ ἀποπτᾶσα ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, καταλιμπάνει αὐτὸ ἔρημον.","english":"But I shall not be grieved for Nineveh, the great city, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of men, who, from the multitude of inhabitants, do not know right from left, and many cattle. What he says is this: I am, he says, a lover of humanity, and not wishing to destroy the works of my hands, which I made with love. For this reason I threatened destruction and death, not as one wishing to kill, but to urge toward repentance. Having awaited their return for so many cycles of years, when they did return, ought I to have overlooked it? This is not in me, O Jonah. You, as a man, wish to condemn, but I, as God, have the capacity to show love for humanity. Glory to you, Lord, glory to you. How great a wealth of love for humanity and mercy is with you. Those formerly subjected to a death sentence have now become teachers of the world. For all, looking to them, are guided, and taking their repentance, we remain unshipwrecked. Do you see, beloved, how powerful repentance is? Let us not, then, put off from day to day. For you do not know what the coming day will bring. For the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. Come, then, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us cry out to God our deliverer. Let us anticipate his face with confession. For the outcome of our life is uncertain, awaiting no season, no fixed time for us. But whenever the one who gave breath to all commands, then the soul, flying away from the body, leaves it desolate.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ λυπηθήσομαι ἐπὶ Νινευὶ τῇ πόλει τῇ μεγάλῃ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom ventriloquizes God speaking to Jonah, reversing the prophet's anger with divine clemency. The rhetorical question frames God's forbearance as a lesson in philanthropy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"φιλάνθρωπος","severity":"info","text":"Philanthropy (φιλανθρωπία) is a key virtue in Chrysostom's moral theology, denoting active love for humanity. Here it characterizes God's restraint and mercy toward Nineveh.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡμέρα γὰρ Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτὶ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'day of the Lord like a thief in the night' echoes Matthew 24:43 and 1 Thessalonians 5:2, adapted to urge immediate repentance. Chrysostom uses it to close the homily.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"δώδεκα μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν","severity":"info","text":"The figure 'more than twelve myriads' (120,000) for Nineveh's population is conventional in patristic exegesis, derived from Jonah 4:11 LXX and possibly from Josephus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῦτε οὖν, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from divine speech to a hortatory conclusion addressed to the congregation, marked by the imperative 'Come, then' and liturgical acclamations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Προφθάσωμεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐξομολογήσει","severity":"info","text":"The call to 'anticipate his face with confession' reflects early Christian penitential practice, where confession precedes communion and prepares for death.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is clear; no significant ambiguities in this passage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Ἕκαστος τοίνυν εἰδὼς τὸ τῆς ἐξόδου ἄδηλον, περιμένωμεν τὸν νυμφίον, καὶ κρούσαντος αὐτοῦ τῇ θύρᾳ, ἀνάψωμεν αὐτῷ τὰς λαμπάδας ἡμῶν διὰ παντὸς ἀνειμένας, ἔχοντες καὶ ἔλαιον μεθ' ἑαυτῶν, ἵνα ἡνίκα δ' ἂν ἦχος γένηται λεγόντων, ὅτι Ὁ νυμφίος ἔρχεται, συνεισέλθωμεν αὐτῷ, μήποτε καὶ ἡμεῖς μετὰ τῶν πέντε μωρῶν παρθένων ἔξω τοῦ νυμφῶνος εὑρεθῶμεν. Μὴ ἀπονυστάξωμεν, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἀλλ' ἔχωμεν ἀεὶ ἔλαιον ἐν ταῖς λαμπάσιν ἡμῶν. Οὐ γὰρ συγχωρήσει ἡμῖν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἀπελθοῦσιν ἔλαιον ἀγοράσαι παρὰ τῶν πωλούντων· ἐνταῦθα γὰρ πωλεῖται, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἀναλίσκεται. Τίνες δὲ οἱ πωλοῦντες, ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ πένητες; Δὸς ἄρτον, καὶ λαμβάνεις Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν, καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσεν, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν. Δεῦτε τοίνυν, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλαλάξωμεν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ σωτηρίῳ ἡμῶν.\n\nΠροφθάσωμεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐξομολογήσει, ὅτι Ἡ νὺξ προέκοψεν, ἡ δὲ ἡμέρα τοῦ ἀδήλου βίου ἤγγικεν. Εἴη δὲ πάντας ἡμᾶς φῶς ἐκ φωτὸς ὑπάρχοντας ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τῆς δόξης Χριστοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν περιπατῆσαι, ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.","english":"Each of us, therefore, knowing the uncertainty of the departure, let us await the bridegroom, and when he knocks at the door, let us light our lamps, which are always kept burning, having oil with us, so that whenever a sound is heard of those saying, \"The bridegroom is coming,\" we may enter with him, lest we too be found outside the bridal chamber with the five foolish virgins. Let us not fall asleep, beloved, but let us always have oil in our lamps. For at that hour, when we have departed, it will not permit us to buy oil from the sellers; for here it is sold, and there it is consumed. And who are the sellers, but the poor? Give bread, and you receive what the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him. Come then, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us shout for joy to God, our deliverer.\n\nLet us anticipate his face with confession, for the night has advanced, and the day of uncertain life has drawn near. May it be that all of us, being light from light, walk in the light of the glory of Christ our Savior, in our Lord himself, to whom is glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"τῶν πέντε μωρῶν παρθένων","severity":"info","text":"The five foolish virgins allude to the parable in Matthew 25:1–13, where the unprepared are shut out of the wedding feast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"νυμφίον","severity":"info","text":"νυμφίον (bridegroom) is a standard Christological title in early Christian exegesis, drawn from the Song of Songs and the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ἔλαιον","severity":"info","text":"Oil (ἔλαιον) here symbolizes spiritual preparedness and almsgiving; Chrysostom frequently uses the metaphor of buying oil from the poor to mean earning salvation through charity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'what the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor entered the heart of man' echoes the language of apocalyptic reward, possibly alluding to Isaiah 64:4 LXX or similar Septuagintal expressions of divine hiddenness.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Προφθάσωμεν","severity":"info","text":"The shift from the parable-based exhortation to a direct liturgical call (Προφθάσωμεν, 'Let us anticipate') marks the conclusion of the homily, moving from instruction to doxology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"φῶς ἐκ φωτός","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'light from light' (φῶς ἐκ φωτός) is a Nicene-Constantinopolitan creedal formula (381 CE), indicating the homily's post-Nicene context and its integration of credal language into paraenesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'sellers' (οἱ πωλοῦντες) is ambiguous: Chrysostom identifies them as the poor, but the metaphor may also refer to confessors or martyrs in other patristic contexts."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}