§13Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ, μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου. Μετὰ τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπαγγελίαν εἰς νῆψιν αὐτοὺς διανίστησιν, τοῦ εὐεργέτου μεμνῆσθαι, καὶ μὴ ἐξυβρίζειν τῷ κόρῳ, μηδὲ περιφρονεῖν τοῦ ταῦτα δωρησαμένου, καὶ ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δουλείας εἰς ἐλευθερίαν αὐτοὺς μετεκόμισεν.
"Take heed to yourself, lest you forget the Lord your God." After the promise of good things, he rouses them to sobriety, to remember their benefactor, and not to wax wanton through satiety, nor to despise the one who gifted these things, and [to remember] that he brought them out of the slavery in Egypt into freedom.
§14Οὐ ποιήσεις οὕτως Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ σου. Αἰτιᾶτει τὸ θύειν τὰ ἑαυτῶν τέκνα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοῖς θαοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὡς ὠμὸν καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον·
"You shall not do so to the Lord your God." He accuses the sacrificing of their own children by men to the gods of the nations as cruel and inhuman, and as an abomination.
ὡς βδελυκτόν. Καὶ τοὺς λέγοντας θύσαι θεοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν οὐ μόνον ἀποστρέφεσθαι δεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν τοῖς λόγ οις αὐτῶν μὴ ὑπέχειν.
And those who say to sacrifice to the gods of the nations must not only be turned away from, but one must not even lend an ear to their words.
§15Οὐ προσθήσεις ἐπʼ αὐτὸ, οὐδὲ ἀφελεῖς ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἁμαρτάνοντες γενικῷ λόγῳ διχῶς ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἢ ὑπερβαίνοντες τὰς ἐντολὰς ἢ ὑποκενοῦντες.
"You shall not add to it, nor take away from it." Men when they sin, generally speaking, sin in two ways: either by transgressing the commandments or by falling short of them.
Ὅταν γὰρ μὴ ἀπὸ ἐπιστήμης πολιτευόμεθα, μηδὲ γινώσκοντες τὰ μέτρα τῆς δικαιοσύνης σφαλλόμεθα, καὶ ἔσθʼ ὅτε ὑπερβαίνοντες τὸν κανόνα, φαντασίᾳ τοῦ ποιεῖν τι κρεῖττον, ἐκπίπτομεν τοῦ προκειμένου.
For when we do not live according to knowledge, nor knowing the measures of justice do we err, and sometimes transgressing the rule, with the fantasy of doing something better, we fall away from what is set before us.
§16Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
By the same author.
Οἱ οὗν μὴ ποιοῦντες πάντα, ἢ οἱ πλεῖόν τι ποιοῦντες, παράνομοι.
Those, therefore, who do not do all things, or those who do something more, are transgressors.
§17Πᾶν κτῆνος διχηλοῦν ὁπλὴν, καὶ ἀνάγον μηρυκισμόν. Τὸ μὲν διχηλεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς ὁπλῆς, τὴν πορείαν καθʼ ἣν πρὸς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἐρχόμεθα τῶν ἀγαθῶν σπουδασμάτων ἐμφάνειεν· ὁδὲ μηρυκισμὸς, τὸ ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω ποιεῖν τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς τοὺς λόγους, καὶ οἷον ἀναμασᾶσθαι καὶ καταλεπτύνειν ἐρεύναις τὰ κεκρυμμένα τῶν θεωρημάτων.
"Every beast that parts the hoof and chews the cud." The parting of the hoof indicates the path along which we come to any of the good endeavors; while the chewing of the cud is the turning of the words of the divinely inspired Scripture up and down, and, as it were, ruminating and refining by investigations the hidden aspects of the doctrines.
§18Πάντα ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτοῖς πτερύγια καὶ λεπίδες, φάγεσθε. Τῶν πτηνῶν οἶμαι ὅσα μὲν σκόλοπας ἔχει κατωτέρω τῶν γονάτων ὑπὲρ τὰς βάσεις καθαρὰ εἶναι βούλεται· ὅσα δὲ μὴ, ἀκάθαρτα.
"Of all that are in the waters, you shall eat whatever has fins and scales." Of the winged creatures, I think that those which have legs above their feet for leaping below their knees are intended to be clean; but those which do not, are unclean.
Ἑορτὴν σκηνῶν ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας. §19Εὑρίσκομεν ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς τὸ ὄνομα τῆς ἑορτῆς καὶ τῆς πανηγύρεως, ὥσπερ παρὰ τῷ προφήτῃ λέγοντι· « Τί ποιήσετε ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πανηγύρεως καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτῆς Κυρίου; » Ζητητέον τὴν διαφορὰν ἑορτῆς καὶ πανηγύρεως. Πᾶσα μὲν οὖν, ἵνʼ οὕτως εἴπω, ἱλαρὰ ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ προστέτακται ὡς ἐν ἁγίᾳ τάδε τινὰ παρὰ τὰς λοιπὰς ποιεῖν ἐξαίρετα, ἑορτὴ καλεῖται· οὐ πᾶσα δέ ἐστι πανήγυρις, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα, ὅτε ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ συναθροίζονται οἱ πανταχόθεν Ἑβραῖοι.
"You shall keep the feast of tabernacles for seven days." We find in the Scriptures the name of 'feast' and 'solemn assembly,' just as the prophet says: "What will you do in the day of solemn assembly and in the day of the feast of the Lord?" We must seek the difference between 'feast' and 'solemn assembly.' Every joyful day, so to speak, in which it is commanded as on a holy day to perform certain special things besides the other days, is called a 'feast'; but not every feast is a 'solemn assembly,' but according to the name, it is when the Hebrews from everywhere gather together in the same place.
ὥστε κατὰ τοῦτο τὴν μὲν πανήγυριν εἶναι ἑορτὴν, οὐκέτι δὲ πάντως τὴν ἑορτὴν πανήγυριν· οἷον σάββατα καὶ νεομηνίαι, ἑορταί εἰσιν· ἄζυμα δὲ καὶ αἱ ἡμέραι τῶν ἑβδομάδων καὶ σκηνοπηγίαι οὐ μόνον αἱ ἑορταὶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πανηγύρεις, ὅτε προστέτακται πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν φαίνεσθαι ἐνώπιον Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου εἰς τὸν τόπον ὅν ἂν ἐκλέξηται.
So in this respect, while a solemn assembly is a feast, a feast is not altogether a solemn assembly; for instance, Sabbaths and new moons are 'feasts'; but unleavened bread, the days of weeks, and tabernacles are not only 'feasts,' but also 'solemn assemblies,' when it is commanded that every male appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose.
§20Οὐ μετακινήσεις ὅρια τοῦ πλησίον σου. Πλησίον πολλαχοῦ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος εἴρηται.
"You shall not move your neighbor's landmarks." 'Neighbor' is said in many places of every man.
§21Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
By the same author.
Οὔτε γὰρ δεῖ τοὺς πέλας πλεονεκτεῖν, οὐδὲ τοὺς τῶν πατέρων ὅρους ὡς καλῶς παγέντας παρακελεύειν.
For one must neither defraud the neighbor, nor encourage moving the landmarks of the fathers, since they were well fixed.
Τοῦτο γὰρ αἴτιον πάσης συγχύσεως ἔσται, τῶν μὲν ὁμορούντων ὡς ἀδικουμένων, περ φρονουμένων δὲ τῶν ὁρισάντων.
For this will be the cause of all confusion, while those who border on them are wronged, and those who set the boundaries are despised.
Πλησίον δέ τινες πάντα ἄνθρωπον λέγουσιν.
And some say 'neighbor' means every man.
§22Ἐὰν δὲ καταστῇ μάρτυς ἄδικος κατὰ ἀνθρώπου. Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ νόμος πρὸς ἀσθενεῖς τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ὁ ταῦτα νομοθετήσας τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς φησιν· « Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐῤῥήθη, Ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ, » καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, « Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τῷ πονηρῷ. » §23Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
"If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man." The law commanded these things to the weak Israelites; but the Lord who legislated these things says to his own disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye," and so forth, "But I say to you, do not resist the evil man." By the same author.
Ταῦτα μὲν ἐπὶ αἰσθητοῦ καὶ τῶν κατὰ κόσμον, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἡμαρτημένων ἡμῖν, οὐδενὸς δεῖται Θεός.
These things indeed concern the sensible and the things of the world, but regarding our sins, God has need of nothing.
Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐπόπτης ἁπάντων καὶ κριτής.
For He Himself is the overseer and judge of all.