A to him; he says: "Do you wish, O David, to have your enemies fought against?" And David: "Yes, Lord, and I very much wish for them to be fought against." B The Only-Begotten: "And if your enemies suffer these things, where is your forgetting of injuries? Or how can you sing with truth, 'Lord, if I have rendered to those who rendered me evil, may I then fall empty from my enemies?'" And David: "Yes, Master, for I sing this truthfully; but if You should fight against them, everything that comes from You is [done] in ways known and incomprehensible. So You also commanded me: 'Do not avenge yourself; to Me belongs vengeance; I will repay them.'" The Only-Begotten: "And how is it necessary for your enemies to be fought against? Speak and declare the reason." And David: "You have no need, Master, of questioning or reminder, being foreknowing and knowing those things that belong to foreknowledge, and what kind of disposition the man who is about to be born possesses. Nor are You like one of the rulers, B ignorant of the laws, or needing an advocate or an assessor, who give their opinion on each individual point. For You are co-enthroned with the Father, the inventor of the laws, the corrector of the wise, the dispenser of justice, the protector of those who are suffering, the avenger of those who are slandered. For You delivered Susanna, who was slandered by the dissolute elders, from the sentence of death, having sent the wise and incorruptible orator Daniel to plead her case. Since, therefore, You have knowledge of all things, and You know how it is necessary for them to be fought against; if, however, You allow me, I will speak; for I am a servant of Your philanthropy, and an unprofitable one at that, and I cannot resist Your command." The Only-Begotten: "I allow you, so speak without fear and unreservedly." And David: "Take hold of armor and shield, and rise up to my help." The Only-Begotten: "And what armor am I to take hold of, or what shield? Or how am I to rise up to your help? Should C I perhaps take hold of that armor or that shield which you took away from the foreigner Goliath, whom you struck in the valley, when I guided the stone to his featureless and unillumined face? But know this clearly, that I have absolutely and totally no need of such armor. For if I should even hold back the spirit, all flesh moving upon the earth dies." And David: "I also know, Master, that You have no need of these arms, being a mighty king, omnipotent, invincible, eternal. But I implore Your incomparable goodness to take hold of armor and shield, that is, the incarnation and the passion; and to rise up for my help on the third day." The Only-Begotten: "And from where do you know these divine and hidden mysteries, 'into which the angels desire to look'?" And David: "I received the knowledge of them from the Holy, Paraclete Spirit." The Only-Begotten: D "Since you know these things, speak: if you have anything else, I will gladly listen to you on this matter and with equanimity." David, however: "Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.'"
'" The Only-Begotten: "You have this; therefore, take heart, for I will save your soul through my Incarnation and my Passion." David: "I was greatly A emboldened," and immediately he adds in return: "Lord, who is like unto thee?" The Only-Begotten: "The Father." Whence also I say: "He that hath seen me hath seen my Father." Go in peace, awaiting the blessed hope of the promises.
3. Thus, when these had finished, the angels cried out with a loud voice: "If any other person has a plea such as the prophets have, let him enter without hindrance, and let him plead for the truth." At this command, Naboth the Israelite enters, and the Only-Begotten, having beheld him, says: "With whom do you have a dispute, or against whom do you wish to litigate? If you yourself are unable to set forth the argument of your case, but have an advocate, let him also enter without hindrance and plead the truth with you." Naboth: "Yes, B Master, I have a most righteous advocate, Elijah the charioteer; but my suit is joined against false witnesses." Wherefore, beginning my case, I will speak as follows: "Unjust witnesses rose up, asking me things I did not know," affirming that I had blessed God and the King. The Lord, having questioned them, said: "Tell me the truth of the matter: who compelled you to slander my servant and keeper of the law?" They answered: "Ahab and his wife Jezebel." The Only-Begotten: "Let Ahab, therefore, be struck in battle by an arrow shot straight into his liver, or rather into his lung, for he who unjustly draws breath for the greed of possession. But let Jezebel be cast into the open courtyard, and let it be a C tomb for dogs. And as for Naboth, let him inherit the luxury of Paradise and eternity in place of the vineyard that was taken away."
4. Furthermore, after this sentence had been rendered in the record, there enters that man of great voice, Isaiah, crying out: "Lord, hear me kindly and with justice." The Only-Begotten: "Speak against him who has wronged you; especially since you are a prophet, just and spiritual, and capable of setting forth the argument of your own case." The prophet: "I have a suit against Manasseh, because, while I was diligently and tirelessly preaching the divine and God-inspired Word, he cruelly and without any mercy slew me with a wooden saw." The D Only-Begotten: "If Manasseh did this, let him be delivered to the Chaldeans into captivity, and into mockery and slaughter, so that kings may learn not to insult or slay my prophets, but to honor and magnify them; considering that through me every king reigns, and the powerful decree justice."
A You for your part, instead of the earthly Jerusalem, shall inhabit the heavenly city, the mother of the firstborn; and he too shall inhabit the place "from which flee away sorrow, grief, and sighing."
5. A This sentence being completed, the most admirable Jeremiah enters, whom the Only-Begotten beholding, says: "And you, with whom do you have a quarrel, or whom do you wish to call to judgment?" Jeremiah says: "I have a suit with the Jews, and I wish to contend in judgment before Thee, Lord, who dost not accept persons." The Only-Begotten says: "And what do you accuse your fellow-countrymen of?" The prophet says: "I accuse them, because they have returned to me evil for good, and hatred for my love. While I was praying for their health and salvation, they meanwhile strove to take me off with poison, hiding it with great treachery in my bread." The Only-Begotten says: "And what do you wish to have done to them?" The prophet says: "Do to them that which is written in the Proverbs: 'He who returns evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.'" The Only-Begotten says: "You have asked for nothing absurd. Behold, evils shall not depart from the house of the Jews, which is Jerusalem, until it is laid waste from the foundations. Do you, however, rest in the capacious bosom of the patriarch Abraham."
6. B This sentence having also been passed, the prophet Zacharias enters, crying out: "Lord, hear me also, I beseech Thee, willingly and fairly." "Speak," says the Only-Begotten, "against those who did you wrong." And Zacharias says: "Those who wronged me are the chief priests and the teachers of the Law." The Only-Begotten says: "And in what way did the chief priests and teachers of the Law wrong you?" Zacharias says: "They murdered me between the temple and the altar. And my blood has indeed been fixed upon the stone, as a testimony of their murderous intent." The Only-Begotten says: "Therefore let them also be murdered C beneath the altar by the Romans; for by whatever means a man sins, by these same shall he be punished. And with the measure with which any man has measured his neighbor, with the same shall it be meted out to him justly from heaven. And as they suffer things worthy of their crimes, do you enter into the spiritual bridal chamber, hearing from me that most desirable voice: 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord.'"
7. D Then, this sentence also being fulfilled, the children slain in Bethlehem enter, crying out and saying: "Lord, we too were slain by the sword for Thy name's sake by the most impious and lawless Herod." The Only-Begotten says: "If for my sake you endured that profitable death, which is far better than life a thousand times over, do not grieve, knowing clearly that those who die for my sake do not perish; for they live unto the ages. Wherefore I command Herod indeed to [bear] the nine incurable diseases, but you to be ranked in the [choirs]
of the victorious martyrs, singing the hymn of victory with them.
8. Finally, the Church enters, who cannot be denied. A The Only-Begotten, having seen her, says: "But as for you, what have you, my bride and immaculate daughter, and undefiled virgin?" Then the Church: "I am oppressed by calamities, wherefore I ask, 'Judge, O Lord, those who wrong me, fight against those who fight me.'" B And the Only-Begotten: "And why are you fought against? Speak and reveal the cause." The Church: "I am fought against, Master, because of the exactness of the evangelical dogmas, and the keeping of the true and immovable Pascha, and because of your venerable and immaculate image, which the God-bearing apostles handed down to me to hold as a pattern B and pledge of your incarnation." Then the Only-Begotten: "Even if you are fought against for this reason, do not be downcast or weary in mind or thought. For this is manifest, that whoever denies the Pascha and my immaculate image, I also will deny him before my heavenly Father and his elect angels. But he who suffers with me because of the Pascha will also be glorified with me. Have you not heard what I commanded the lawgiver Moses: 'Make for me two Cherubim in the tabernacle of testimony, for the pre-signification C of my image'? And again, when the Jews tempted me saying: 'Master, is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?' I said to them: 'Show me a coin,' and I tell you, they offered me a denarius; and I say to them: 'Whose is this image and inscription?' They said: 'Caesar's.' And I said to them: 'Render therefore the things that are Caesar's to Caesar, and the things that are God's to God.' And again to Peter: 'Go to the sea, and cast a hook, and the fish that comes up first, open its mouth, and you will find a stater; give it for me and for you.' This means, give my image and yours in the world. D Have you not heard your teacher Paul saying: 'If we suffer together, that we may also be glorified together'? And to the Athenians: 'In all things I see you as somewhat superstitious. For passing through and seeing your idols, I found also an altar inscribed: 'To the Unknown God.' Therefore, him whom you worship without knowing, him I proclaim to you.' And to the Galatians: 'O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed among you, as crucified?' And to the Corinthians: 'If anyone does not worship our Lord Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh, let him be anathema, maranatha.' But you, my bride, exhort your children to remain in my commandments, and do not fear the angers of kings, or the threats of tyrants, or the raging