And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.2 And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.3 And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.4 And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.6 And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.7 Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another’s speech.8 And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.9 And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.
XV. Since, therefore, every city consists of houses and inhabitants, and laws, the houses, in Cain's case, are the reasons which he alleges to prove his point ; by which, as from a wall, he fights against the persuasive attacks of his enemies ; inventing fabulous devices against the truth. The inhabitants are the companions of impiety, ungodliness, self-love, haughtiness, falsehood, vain opinions ; the men wise in their own conceit, the men who know not wisdom as relating to truth, the men who are full of ignorance, and stupidity, and folly ; and all the other similar and kindred evils. The laws are, lawlessness, injustice, inequality, intemperance, boldness, fully, Leviticus xziii. 27. insolence, immoderate indulgence in pleasure, and innumerable appetites in despite of nature. Now of such a city as this, every impious man is found to be a builder in his own miserable soul, until God deliberately causes complete and great confusion to their sophistical arts. And this will be, when not only " they build a city and tower, the head of which will reach to heaven," that is to say,f .... the mind or the reason of each individual as conversant about making great works, which they represent as having for its head a conception peculiar to itself, which is called in symbolical language heaven. For it is plain that the head and object of every reasoning must be the aforesaid mind ; for the sake of which, long digressions and sentences are in the habit of being used by men wrho write histories.
The Lord bringeth to naught the counsels of nations; and he rejecteth the devices of people, and casteth away the counsels of princes.11 But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the thoughts of his heart to all generations.12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: the people whom he hath chosen for his inheritance.13 The Lord hath looked from heaven: he hath beheld all the sons of men.14 From his habitation which he hath prepared, he hath looked upon all that dwell on the earth.15 He who hath made the hearts of every one of them: who understandeth all their works.
It is possible to refer these things to the time of Jesus' passion when they thought that they were crucifying the King of glory, but he through the economy of the cross was renewing humanity. For in the resurrection the counsel of nations, of Pilate and his soldiers, and of whoever was active in the matter of the cross was brought to nought; the counsels of the princes were rejected, and also those of the high priests and scribes and kings of the people. In fact, the resurrection destroyed their every device.… Therefore, when you hear someone making great threats and announcing that he will bring on you all sorts of ill treatment, losses, blows or death, look up to the Lord, who brings to nothing the counsels of nations and rejects the devices of the people.
Consider the lofty spectator; consider him who is bending down regarding the affairs of humankind. Wherever you may go, whatever you may do, whether in the darkness or in the daytime, you have the eye of God watching. "From his habitation that he has prepared." The gates are not being opened, the curtains are not being drawn together, the habitation of God is ready for viewing. He looks on all people. No one escapes his sight; no darkness, no concealing walls, nothing is a hindrance to the eyes of God. He is so far from failing to look on each individually that he even looks into the hearts, which he himself formed without any admixture of evil. God, the Creator of humankind, made the heart simple according to his saving image; but later we made it, by union with passions of the flesh, a complicated and manifold heart, destroying its likeness to God, its simplicity and its integrity. Since he is the Maker of hearts, therefore, he understands all our works. But we call both words and thoughts and, in general, every movement of a person, his works. With what feelings or for what purpose they are, whether to please people or to perform the duties of the commands given us by God, he alone knows, who understands all our works. Therefore, for every idle word we give an account. Even for a cup of cold water, we do not lose our reward, because the Lord understands all our works.
And calling the multitude together with his disciples, he said to them: If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.35 For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it.36 For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?38 For he that shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation: the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.39 And he said to them: Amen I say to you, that there are some of them that stand here, who shall not taste death, till they see the kingdom of God coming in power.1 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them.
(in Matt. Tom. xii. 15) Or else, Mark and Luke, as they wrote that Peter answered, Thou art the Christ, without adding what is put down in Matthew, the Son of the living God, so they omitted to relate the blessing which was conferred on this confession. It goes on, And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
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.)