§4Ταῦτα μὲν ἐρεῖ ὀ μὴ βουλόμενος ἀγῶνα παραδέξασθαι, ὅτι Σαμουήλ ἐστιν ὄντως ὁ ἀναχθείς·
one who does not wish to accept the struggle—namely, that the one brought up is truly Samuel—will say these things.
ἐπεὶ δὲ δεῖ εὐγνώμονα εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν τῶν γραφῶν, πιθανῶς καταβομβήσαντος ἡμῶν τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἀληθῶς δυναμένου ταράξαι καὶ κινῆσαι ἡμᾶς, ἴδωμεν πότερόν ποτε νενόηται ἡ γραφὴ τῷ τοῦτο μὴ παραδεξαμένῳ, ἢ ἀπὸ ἐνδόξων μὲν ἐπιχειρεῖ, ἐναντία δὲ λέγει τοῖς γεγραμμένοις.
But since one must be fair-minded in listening to the Scriptures, even though that argument has persuasively buzzed in our ears and is truly capable of troubling and shaking us, let us see whether the Scripture has been understood by the one who does not accept this, or whether he starts his argument from plausible premises but says things contrary to what is written.
τίνα γάρ ἐστιν τὰ γεγραμμένα;
For what are the things written?
»καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή· τίνα ἀναγάγω σοι; ‘τίνος πρόσωπόν ἐστιν τὸ λέγον· »εἶπεν ἡ γυνή«;
'And the woman said: Whom shall I bring up for you?' Whose person (narrator) is the one saying: 'And the woman said'?
ἀρα τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐξ οὗ πεπίστευται ἀναγεγράφθαι ἡ γραφή, ἢ ἄλλου τινός;
Is it the person of the Holy Spirit, from whom the Scripture is believed to have been written down, or someone else's?
τὸ γάρ διηγηματικὸν πρόσωπον πανταχοῦ ὡς ἴσασιν καὶ οἱ περὶ παντοδαποὺς γενόμενοι λόγους) ἐστὶ πρόσωπον τοῦ συγγραφέως· συγγραφεὺς δ’ ἐπὶ τούτων τῶν λόγων πεπίστευται εἶναι οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ συγγραφεὺς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ κινῆσαν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους.
For the narrative voice everywhere (as also those who are experienced in all kinds of literature know) is the person of the author; and the author of these words is believed to be not a human, but the Holy Spirit who moved the humans is the author.
οὐκοῦν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον λέγει· »καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή· τίνα ἀναγάγω σοι;
Therefore the Holy Spirit says: 'And the woman said: Whom shall I bring up for you?
καὶ εἶπεν· Σαμουὴλ μοι«. τίς λέγει· »καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ τὸν Σαμουήλ, καὶ ἐβόησεν ἡ γυνὴ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ λέγουσα«;
And he said: Samuel for me.' Who says: 'And the woman saw Samuel, and the woman cried out with a loud voice, saying'?
ἐροῦμεν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὸν τοσαῦτα ἡμῶν καταβομβήσαντα καὶ μυρία εἰρηκότα ὡς ἄρα Σαμουὴλ οὐκ ἠν ἐν ᾅδου· »εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ τὸν Σαμουήλ«, ἡ διηγηματικὴ φωνὴ τοῦτο ἔφησεν, »καὶ ἐβόησεν ἡ γυνὴ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Σαούλ· ἵνα τί παρελογίσω με;
We shall say to that one who has so loudly buzzed in our ears and said countless things [to the effect] that Samuel was after all not in Hades: 'The woman saw Samuel'—the narrative voice said this; 'and the woman cried out with a loud voice and said to Saul: Why have you deceived me?
καὶ σὺ εἶ Σαούλ.
Indeed, you are Saul.
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ βασιλεύς·
And the king said to her: What is it?
τί γάρ ἐστιν; μὴ φοβοῦ· τί ἑώρακας;
Do not fear; what have you seen?
καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ πρὸς τὸν Σαούλ· θεοὺς εἶδον ἀναβαίνοντας ἐκ τῆς γῆς.
And the woman said to Saul: I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· τί τὸ εἶδος αὐτοῖς;
And he said to her: What is their appearance?
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀνὴρ πρεσβύτερος ἀναβαίνων, καὶ αὐτὸς περιβεβλημένος διπλοΐδα ἐφούδ«. λέγει αὐτὴν ἑωρακέναι καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον τὸ ἱερατικόν.
And she said to him: An old man is ascending, and he is clothed in a double-mantle ephod.' [The Scripture] says that she also saw the priestly garment.
οἶδα δὲ ὅτι ὁ ἐκ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ] λόγου λέγει· »οὐ θαῦμα·
And I know that the one who argues from that position says: 'No wonder!
αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ σατανᾶς μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἄγγελον φωτός.
For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
οὐ μέγα οὖν, εἰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματίζονται ὡς διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης«. ἀλλὰ τί ἐστιν ὅπερ »εἶδεν ἡ γυνή«;
It is no great thing, then, if his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness.' But what is it that 'the woman saw'?
»τὸν Σαμουήλ«.
'Samuel'.
καὶ διὰ τί οὐκ εἴρηται· εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ δαιμόνιον, ὃ προσεποιεῖτο εἶναι Σαμουήλ;
And why is it not written: the woman saw a demon pretending to be Samuel?
ἀλλὰ γέγραπται ὅτι »ἔγνω Σαοὺλ ὅτι Σαμουήλ ἐστιν«. εἰ μὴ ἦν Σαμουήλ, ἔδει γεγράφθαι· ἐνόμιζεν Σαοὺλ εἶναι αὐτὸν Σαμουήλ. νῦν δὲ γέγραπται· »ἔγνω Σαούλ«, οὐδεὶς δὲ ἔγνω τὸ μὴ ὄν·
Instead, it is written: 'Saul knew that it was Samuel.' If it had not been Samuel, it should have been written: 'Saul thought he was Samuel.' But now it is written: 'Saul knew'; and no one can know that which is not.
»ἔγνω« οὐν »Σαοὺλ ὅτι Σαμουήλ ἐστιν« »καὶ ἔπεσεν | | ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ προσεκύνησεν‘. εἶτα πάλιν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γραφῆς· »καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουὴλ πρὸς Σαούλ· ἵνα τί παρώργισάς με τοῦ ἀναγαγεῖν με; « εἶπεν‘φησὶν ἡ γραφὴ ᾗ δεῖ πιστεύειν) »εἶπεν Σαμουήλ· ἵνα τί παρώργισάς με τοῦ ἀναγαγεῖν με; « εἶτα πρὸς τοῦτο ἀποκρίνεται Σαούλ· »σφόδρα οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι πολεμοῦσιν ἐν ἐμοί, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἀπέστη ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη μοι ἔτι, καίγε ἐν χειρὶ τῶν προφητῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐνυπνίοις ἐκάλεσα τοῦ δηλῶσαί μοι τί ποιήσω«. πάλιν ἡ γραφὴ οὐκ ἄλλως εἶπεν, ἀλλ’ ὅτι αὐτὸς Σαμουὴλ ἔφη· »καὶ ἵνα τί ἐπηρώτησάς με; καὶ κύριος ἀπέστη ἀπὸ σοῦ((. ἀληθεύει ἢ ψεύδεται ταῦτα λέγων·
Therefore 'Saul knew that it was Samuel and fell on his face to the earth and prostrated himself.' Then again, the persona of the Scripture [says]: 'And Samuel said to Saul: Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' 'He said,' says the Scripture (which one must believe), 'Samuel said: Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' Then to this Saul answers: 'The Philistines make war against me very fiercely, and God has departed from me and has answered me no more, neither by the hand of the prophets nor by dreams; therefore I have called you to make known to me what I shall do.' Again, the Scripture did not say otherwise, but that Samuel himself said: 'Why then do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you?' Does he speak truth or lie in saying these things: 'The Lord has departed from you and become your enemy, and has made for himself another, in the manner that he spoke by my hand, and will tear the kingdom out of your hand'?
κύριος ἀπέστη ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ ἐγενήθη κατὰ σοῦ καὶ ἐποίησεν ἄλλον αὑτῷ, ὃν τρόπον ἐλάλησεν ἐν χειρί μου, καὶ διαρρήξει τὴν βασιλείαν ἐκ χειρός, καὶ δαιμόνιον προφητεύει περὶ βασιλείας Ἰσραηλιτικῆς;
And does a demon prophesy concerning the Israelite kingdom?
τί φησιν ὁ ἐναντίος λόγος;
What does the opposing argument say?
ὁρᾶτε ὅσος ἀγών ἐστιν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ, χρείαν ἔχων καὶ ἀκροατῶν δυναμένων ἁγίων ἀκούειν λόγων, μεγάλων καὶ ἀπορρήτων τῶν περὶ τῆς ἐξόδου, ἔτι ἐπαπορουμένων τε τῶν προτέρων οὐδὲ τῶν δευτέρων σαφῶν ὄντων.
You see how great a struggle there is in the word of God, which also needs hearers capable of listening to holy words, great and secret, concerning the departure (from life / Hades); since the former questions are still doubted, and the latter are not clear either.