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Barnabas (Lightfoot)

3.

1. Λέγει οὖν πάλιν περὶ τούτων πρὸς αὐτούς·Ἱνατί μοι νηστεύετε, λέγει κύριος, ὡς σήμερονἀκουσθῆναι ἐν κραυγῇ τὴν φωνὴν ὑμῶν; οὐ ταύτηντὴν νηστείαν ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην, λέγει κύριος, οὐκἄνθρωπον ταπεινοῦντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, 2. οὐδ̓ἂν κάμψητε ὡς κρίκον τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν καὶσάκκον ἐνδύσησθε καὶ σποδὸν ὑποστρώσητε, οὐδ̓οὕτως καλέσετε νηστείαν δεκτήν. 3. πρὸς ἡμᾶς¹ δὲ λέγει· Ἰδοὺ αὕτη ἡ νηστεία, ἣν ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην,λέγει κύριος· λύε πάντα σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας,διάλυε στραγγαλιὰς βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων,ἀπόστελλε τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει καὶ πᾶσανἄδικον συγγραφὴν διάσπα. διάθρυπτε πεινῶσιντὸν ἄρτον σου, καὶ γυμνὸν ἐὰν ἴδῃς περίβαλε·ἀστέγους εἴσαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκον σου, καὶ ἐὰν ἴδῃςταπεινόν, οὐχ ὑπερόψῃ αὐτόν, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῶνοἰκείων τοῦ σπέρματός σου. 4. τότε ῥαγήσεταιπρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτιά² σου ταχέωςἀνατελεῖ, καὶ προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡδικαιοσύνη, καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ περιστελεῖ σε. 5. τότε βοήσεις, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐπακούσεταί σου, ἔτιλαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῖ· Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι· ἐὰν ἀφέλῃςP. 348 ἀπὸ σοῦ σύνδεσμον καὶ χειροτονίαν καὶ ῥῆμα γογγυσμοῦ,καὶ δῷς πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον σου ἐκ ψυχῆςσου καὶ ψυχὴν τεταπεινωμένην ἐλεήσῃς. 6. εἰςτοῦτο οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ὁ μακρόθυμος προβλέψας, ὡςἐν ἀκεραιοσύνῃ πιστεύσει ὁ λαός, ὃν ἡτοίμασεν ἐντῷ ἠγαπημένῳ αὐτοῦ, προεφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν περὶπάντων, ἵνα μὴ προσρησσώμεθα ὡς ἐπήλυτοι³ τῷ ἐκείνων νόμῳ.

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The Epistle of Barnabas

Chapter III.--The fasts of the Jews are not true fasts, nor acceptable to God.

He says then to them again concerning these things, "Why do ye fast to Me as on this day, saith the Lord, that your voice should be heard with a cry? I have not chosen this fast, saith the Lord, that a man should humble his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you sackcloth and ashes, will ye call it an acceptable fast." ¹ To us He saith, "Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord, not that a man should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity, untie the fastenings of harsh agreements, restore to liberty them that are bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry with thy bread, clothe the naked when thou seest him, bring the homeless into thy house, not despise the humble if thou behold him, and not [turn away] from the members of thine own family. Then shall thy dawn break forth, and thy healing shall quickly spring up, and righteousness shall go forth before thee, and the glory of God shall encompass thee; and then thou shalt call, and God shall hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He shall say, Behold, I am with thee; if thou take away from thee the chain [binding others], and the stretching forth of the hands ² [to swear falsely], and words of murmuring, and give cheerfully thy bread to the hungry, and show compassion to the soul that has been humbled." ³ To this end, therefore, brethren, He is long-suffering, foreseeing how the people whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His Beloved. For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as rash acceptors of their laws. ⁴