And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.11 In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem like the lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of Mageddon.1 In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: for the washing of the sinner, and of the unclean woman.
And in what kind of sensation and punishment the wicked are to be, hear from what was said in like manner with reference to this; it is as follows: "Their worm shall not rest, and their fire shall not be quenched;" and then shall they repent, when it profits them not. And what the people of the Jews shall say and do, when they see Him coming in glory, has been thus predicted by Zechariah the prophet: "I will command the four winds to gather the scattered children; I will command the north wind to bring them, and the south wind, that it keep not back. And then in Jerusalem there shall be great lamentation, not the lamentation of mouths or of lips, but the lamentation of the heart; and they shall rend not their garments, but their hearts. Tribe by tribe they shall mourn, and then they shall look on Him whom they have pierced; and they shall say, Why, O Lord, hast Thou made us to err from Thy way? The glory which our fathers blessed, has for us been turned into shame."
O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!3 In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.4 For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips shall praise.5 Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.6 Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.8 Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:9 My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.
Why do we forget about wickedness? It is due to our remembrance of good things, due to our remembrance of God. If we continually remember God, we cannot remember those things also. For [he says], "When I remembered you on my bed, I thought on you in the morning dawn." We ought then to have God always in remembrance, but then especially, when thought is undisturbed, when by means of that remembrance [one] is able to condemn himself, when he can retain [things] in memory. For in the daytime indeed, if we do remember, other cares and troubles entering in, drive the thought out again; but in the night it is possible to remember continually, when the soul is calm and at rest; when it is in the heaven, and under a serene sky. "The things that you say in your hearts you should grieve over on your beds," he says. For it was indeed right to remember this throughout the day also. But inasmuch as you are always full of cares and distracted amid the things of this life, at least then remember God on your bed; at the morning dawn meditate on him.
For you are all the children of God by faith, in Christ Jesus.27 For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.28 There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.†29 And if you be Christ’s, then are you the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.
Masters, be gentle towards your servants, as holy Job has taught you; for there is one nature, and one family of mankind. For "in Christ there is neither bond nor free."
And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples also were with him: and he asked them, saying: Whom do the people say that I am?19 But they answered, and said: John the Baptist; but some say Elias; and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again.20 And he said to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answering, said: The Christ of God.21 But he strictly charging them, commanded they should tell this to no man.22 Saying: The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day rise again.23 And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.†24 For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it.
(in Matt. tom. 12.) A man also denies himself when by a sufficient alteration of manners or a good conversation he changes a life of habitual wickedness. He who has long lived in lasciviousness, abandons his lustful self when he becomes chaste, and in like manner a forsaking of any crimes is a denial of one’s self.
(ut sup.) He assigns the cause of this when He adds, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; that is, whosoever will according to the present life keep his own soul fixed on things of sense, the same shall lose it, never reaching to the bounds of happiness. But on the other hand He adds, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it. That is, whosoever forsakes the things of sense looking upon truth, and exposes himself to death, as it were losing his life for Christ, shall the rather save it. If then it is a blessed thing to save our life, (with regard to that safety which is in God,) there must be also a certain good surrender of life which is made by looking upon Christ. It seems also to me from resemblance to that denying of one’s self which has been before spoken of, that it becomes us to lose a certain sinful life of ours, to take up that which is saved by virtue.
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)