Grace to you and peace be accomplished in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord:3 As all things of his divine power which appertain to life and godliness, are given us, through the knowledge of him who hath called us by his own proper glory and virtue.4 By whom he hath given us most great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature: flying the corruption of that concupiscence which is in the world.†5 And you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue; and in virtue, knowledge;6 And in knowledge, abstinence; and in abstinence, patience; and in patience, godliness;7 And in godliness, love of brotherhood; and in love of brotherhood, charity.
And as, if one devote himself to Ischomachus, he will make him a farmer; and to Lampis, a mariner; and to Charidemus, a military commander; and to Simon, an equestrian; and to Perdices, a trader; and to Crobytus, a cook; and to Archelaus, a dancer; and to Homer, a poet; and to Pyrrho, a wrangler; and to Demosthenes, an orator; and to Chrysippus, a dialectician; and to Aristotle, a naturalist; and to Plato, a philosopher: so he who listens to the Lord, and follows the prophecy given by Him, will be formed perfectly in the likeness of the teacher—made a god going about in flesh.
The praise of a canticle for David. He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.2 He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.14 Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known my name.15 He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.15 He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.16 I will fill him with length of days; and I will shew him my salvation.
In various ways has the devil rivalled and resisted the truth. Sometimes his aim has been to destroy the truth by defending it. He maintains that there is one only Lord, the Almighty Creator of the world, in order that out of this doctrine of the unity he may fabricate a heresy. He says that the Father Himself came down into the Virgin, was Himself born of her, Himself suffered, indeed was Himself Jesus Christ. Here the old serpent has fallen out with himself, since, when he tempted Christ after John's baptism, he approached Him as "the Son of God;" surely intimating that God had a Son, even on the testimony of the very Scriptures, out of which he was at the moment forging his temptation: "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Again: "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee"—referring no doubt, to the Father—"and in their hands they shall bear thee up, that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone." Or perhaps, after all, he was only reproaching the Gospels with a lie, saying in fact: "Away with Matthew; away with Luke! Why heed their words? In spite of them, I declare that it was God Himself that I approached; it was the Almighty Himself that I tempted face to face; and it was for no other purpose than to tempt Him that I approached Him. If, on the contrary, it had been only the Son of God, most likely I should never have condescended to deal with Him."
This power the Creator conferred on his Christ first of all, even as the ninetieth psalm [LXX] says of him: "You shall tread on the lion and the cobra; the young lion and the serpent you shall trample under foot." Isaiah also says, "In that day the Lord God shall draw his sacred, great and strong sword" (even his Christ) "against that dragon, that great and tortuous serpent; and he shall slay him in that day." But when the same prophet says, "The way shall be called a clean and holy way; over it the unclean thing shall not pass, nor shall there be any unclean way; but the dispersed shall pass over it, and they shall not err therein; no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; it shall not be found there," he points out the way of faith, by which we shall reach God; and then to this way of faith he promises this utter crippling and subjugation of all harmful animals.
And he began to speak to them in parables: A certain man planted a vineyard and made a hedge about it, and dug a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen; and went into a far country.2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant to receive of the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.†3 Who having laid hands on him, beat him, and sent him away empty.4 And again he sent to them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and used him reproachfully.5 And again he sent another, and him they killed: and many others, of whom some they beat, and others they killed.6 Therefore having yet one son, most dear to him; he also sent him unto them last of all, saying: They will reverence my son.†7 But the husbandmen said one to another: This is the heir; come let us kill him; and the inheritance shall be ours.8 And laying hold on him, they killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those husbandmen; and will give the vineyard to others.10 And have you not read this scripture, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner:†11 By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.12 And they sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people. For they knew that he spoke this parable to them. And leaving him, they went their way.
(de Con. Evan. ii. 70) Matthew indeed subjoins that they answered and said, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, (Matt. 21:41) which Mark here says was not their answer, but that the Lord after putting the question, as it were answered Himself. But we may easily understand either that their answer was subjoined without the insertion of, they answered, or they said, which at the same time was implied; or else, that their answer, being the truth, was attributed to the Lord, since He also Himself gave this answer concerning them, being the Truth.
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.)