Athanasius of Alexandria — Commentary on Scripture

Ecclesiastes 6:2

A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

Let none of us entertain the desire for possessions, for what gain is it to acquire those things which we cannot take with us? Why not rather acquire those that we can take: prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, understanding, charity, love of the poor, faith in Christ, gentleness, hospitality? If we obtain these, we shall find them there before us preparing a welcome for us in the land of the meek. LIFE OF ST.

Ecclesiastes 7:17

Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

And as God promises to them that serve him truly, “I will fulfill the number of your days,” Abraham dies “full of days,” and David called on God, saying, “Take me not away in the midst of my days.” And Eliphaz, one of the friends of Job, being assured of this truth, said, “You shall come to your grave … like as a shock of corn comes in its season.” And Solomon confirming his words, says, “The souls of the unrighteous are taken away untimely.” And therefore he exhorts in the book of Ecclesiastes, saying, “Be not overmuch wicked, neither be hard: why should you die before your time?”

Ecclesiastes 7:24

That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?

Consider therefore how it is written in the book of Ecclesiastes, “I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who shall find it out?” [Consider] what is said in the Psalms, “The knowledge of you is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” And Solomon says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing.” [Therefore] I frequently designed to stop and to cease writing; believe me, I did. But lest I should be found to disappoint you, or by my silence to lead into impiety those who have made enquiry of you and are given to disputation, I constrained myself to write briefly, what I have now sent to your piety.

Ecclesiastes 7:26

And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Although a perfect apprehension of the truth is at present far removed from us by reason of the infirmity of the flesh, yet it is possible, as the Preacher himself has said, to perceive the madness of the impious, and having found it, to say that it is “more bitter than death.” Therefore for this reason, as perceiving this and able to find it out, I have written, knowing that to the faithful the detection of impiety is a sufficient information wherein piety consists. For although it is impossible to comprehend what God is, yet it is possible to say what he is not.

Ecclesiastes 7:29

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

For [the soul] is made to see God and to be enlightened by him; but of its own accord in God’s stead it has sought corruptible things and darkness, as the Spirit says somewhere in writing, “God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.” Thus it has been then that people from the first discovered and contrived and imagined evil for themselves. But it is now time to say how they came down to the madness of idolatry, that you may know that the invention of idols is wholly due not to good but to evil. But what has its origin in evil can never be pronounced good in any point—being evil altogether.

Ecclesiastes 9:12

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Now as these things are written in the Scriptures, the case is clear, that the saints know that a certain time is measured to every person, but that no one knows the end of that time is plainly intimated by the words of David, “Declare unto me the shortness of my days.” What he did not know, that he desired to be informed of. Accordingly the rich man also, while he thought that he had yet a long time to live, heard the words, “You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided?” And the Preacher speaks confidently in the Holy Spirit, and says, “Man also knows not his time.” Wherefore the patriarch Isaac said to his son Esau, “Behold, I am old, and I know not the day of my death.” Our Lord, therefore, although as God and the Word of the Father, both knew the time measured out by him to all and was conscious of the time for suffering, which he himself had appointed also to his own body. Yet since he was made man for our sakes, he hid himself when he was sought after before that time came, as we do; when he was persecuted, h…

Now as these things are written in the Scriptures, the case is clear, that the saints know that a certain time is measured to every person, but that no one knows the end of that time is plainly intimated by the words of David, “Declare unto me the shortness of my days.” What he did not know, that he desired to be informed of. Accordingly the rich man also, while he thought that he had yet a long time to live, heard the words, “You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided?” And the Preacher speaks confidently in the Holy Spirit, and says, “Man also knows not his time.” Wherefore the patriarch Isaac said to his son Esau, “Behold, I am old, and I know not the day of my death.” Our Lord, therefore, although as God and the Word of the Father, both knew the time measured out by him to all and was conscious of the time for suffering, which he himself had appointed also to his own body. Yet since he was made man for our sakes, he hid himself when he was sought after before that time came, as we do; when he was persecuted, he fled; and avoiding the designs of his enemies he passed by, and “so went through the midst of them.” But when he had brought on that time which he himself had appointed, at which he desired to suffer in the body for all men, he announces it to the Father, saying, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son.” And then he no longer hid himself from those who sought him but stood willing to be taken by them; for the Scripture says, he said to them that came unto him, “Whom do you seek?” And when they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” he said unto them, “I am he whom you seek.”

Ecclesiastes 10:8

He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

The Jews in their imaginings, and in their agreeing to act unjustly against the Lord, forgot that they were bringing wrath upon themselves. Therefore does the Word lament for them saying, “Why do the people exalt themselves, and the nations imagine vain things?” For vain indeed was the imagination of the Jews, meditating death against the Life, and devising unreasonable things against the Word of the Father. For who that looks upon their dispersion, and the desolation of their city, may not aptly say, “Woe unto them, for they have imagined an evil imagination, saying against their own soul, let us bind the righteous man, because he is not pleasing to us.” And full well it is so, my brethren; for when they erred concerning the Scriptures, they knew not that “he who digs a pit for his neighbor falls into it; and he who destroys a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” And if they had not turned their faces from the Lord, they would have feared what was written before in the divine Psalms: “The heathen are caught in the pit which they made; in the snare which they hid is their own foot taken…

The Jews in their imaginings, and in their agreeing to act unjustly against the Lord, forgot that they were bringing wrath upon themselves. Therefore does the Word lament for them saying, “Why do the people exalt themselves, and the nations imagine vain things?” For vain indeed was the imagination of the Jews, meditating death against the Life, and devising unreasonable things against the Word of the Father. For who that looks upon their dispersion, and the desolation of their city, may not aptly say, “Woe unto them, for they have imagined an evil imagination, saying against their own soul, let us bind the righteous man, because he is not pleasing to us.” And full well it is so, my brethren; for when they erred concerning the Scriptures, they knew not that “he who digs a pit for his neighbor falls into it; and he who destroys a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” And if they had not turned their faces from the Lord, they would have feared what was written before in the divine Psalms: “The heathen are caught in the pit which they made; in the snare which they hid is their own foot taken. The Lord is known when executing judgments: by the works of his hands is the sinner taken.”

Ecclesiastes 10:20

Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

If then those things, which are spoken in secret against you that are kings, are not hidden, is it not incredible that I should have spoken against you in the presence of a king and of so many bystanders?

Ecclesiastes 12:14

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Consider how grave an error it is to call God’s Word a work. Solomon says in one place in Ecclesiastes that “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.” If then the Word is a work, do you mean that he as well as others will be brought into judgment? And what room is there for judgment, when the Judge is on trial? Who will give to the just their blessing, who to the unworthy their punishment, the Lord, as you must suppose, standing on trial with the rest? By what law shall he, the Lawgiver, himself be judged?

Ephesians 4:6

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

The Father makes all things by the Word in the Spirit. So it is that the Unity of the Trinity is safeguarded. So it is that in the Church is proclaimed the one God who is ‘above all and through all and in all (Eph 4.6)’. He is ‘above all’ as Father, as author and source; ‘through all’ by the Word; ‘in all’ in the Holy Spirit.”
- "Letters to Serapion on The Holy Spirit, 1.28"

Ephesians 4:8-9 · 2 passages

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

We know that He, the Only-begotten Son of God, at the Father's bidding came from the heavens for the abolishment of sin, and was born of the Virgin Mary, and conversed with the disciples, and fulfilled the Economy according to the Father's will, and was crucified, and died and descended into the parts beneath the earth, and regulated the things there, Whom the gate-keepers of hell saw [Job 38:17] and shuddered; and He rose from the dead the third day...

This Body it was that was laid in a grave, when the Word had left it, yet was not parted from it, to preach, as Peter says, also to the spirits in prison [1 Peter 3:19].

And this above all shows the foolishness of those who say that the Word was changed into bones and flesh. For if this had been so, there were no need of a tomb. For the Body would have gone by itself to preach to the spirits in Hades. But as it was, He Himself went to preach, while the Body Joseph wrapped in a linen cloth, and laid it away at Golgotha. [Mark 15:46]

Esther 9:15-23 · 2 passages

For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.

When the whole nation of Israel was about to perish, blessed Esther defeated the tyrant’s anger simply by fasting and praying to God. By faith she changed the ruin of her people into safety. Those days are feast days for Israel; they used to call a feast when an enemy was slain or a conspiracy against the people was broken up and Israel was delivered. That is why Moses established the Feast of the Passover: because Pharaoh was killed and the people were delivered from bondage. So then, especially when tyrants were slain, temporal feasts and holidays were established in Judea. Now, however, the devil, that tyrant against the whole world, is slain. Therefore, our feast does not relate only to time but to eternity. It is a heavenly feast! We do not announce it as a shadow or a picture or a type but as the real thing.

In the face of all this, brothers and sisters, what should we do but give thanks to God, the king of all? Let us start by crying out the words of the psalm, “Blessed is the Lord, who has not let them eat us up.” Let us keep the feast in that way that he has established for our salvation—the holy day of Easter—so that we, along with the angels, may celebrate the heavenly feast. Remember that Israel, coming out of affliction to a state of rest, sang a song of praise for the victory as they kept the feast. And in the time of Esther the people kept a feast to the Lord because they had been delivered from a deadly decree. They called a feast, thanking and praising the Lord because he had changed the situation for them. Therefore, let us keep our promises to the Lord, confess our sins, and keep the feast to him—in behavior, moral conduct, and way of life. Let us keep it by praising the Lord, who has disciplined us so lightly but has never failed us nor forsaken us nor stopped speaking to us.

Exodus 12:14

And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

As also the Word of God, when desirous [to establish the paschal feast] said to his disciples, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.” Now that is a wonderful account, for a man might have seen them at that time girded as for a procession or a dance and going out with staves and sandals and unleavened bread. These things, which took place before in shadows, were typical anticipatory symbols. But now the truth has drawn near to us, “the image of the invisible God,” our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light. Instead of a staff, he is our scepter; instead of unleavened bread, he is the bread which came down from heaven; who instead of sandals has furnished us with the preparation of the gospel. It is he who, to speak briefly, by all these means has guided us to his Father. And if enemies afflict us and persecute us, he again, instead of Moses, will encourage us with better words, saying, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the wicked one.” And if after we have passed over the Red Sea, heat should again vex us or some bitterness of the waters befall us, even then again the…

As also the Word of God, when desirous [to establish the paschal feast] said to his disciples, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.” Now that is a wonderful account, for a man might have seen them at that time girded as for a procession or a dance and going out with staves and sandals and unleavened bread. These things, which took place before in shadows, were typical anticipatory symbols. But now the truth has drawn near to us, “the image of the invisible God,” our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light. Instead of a staff, he is our scepter; instead of unleavened bread, he is the bread which came down from heaven; who instead of sandals has furnished us with the preparation of the gospel. It is he who, to speak briefly, by all these means has guided us to his Father. And if enemies afflict us and persecute us, he again, instead of Moses, will encourage us with better words, saying, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the wicked one.” And if after we have passed over the Red Sea, heat should again vex us or some bitterness of the waters befall us, even then again the Lord will appear to us, imparting to us of his sweetness and his life-giving fountain, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.”

Exodus 12:43

And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:

But the deceitful, and he that is not pure of heart and possesses nothing that is pure (as Proverbs says, “To a deceitful man there is nothing good”) shall assuredly, being a stranger and of a different race from the saints, be accounted unworthy to eat the Passover, for “a foreigner shall not eat of it.” Thus Judas, when he thought he kept the Passover, because he plotted deceit against the Savior, was estranged from the city which is above and from the apostolic company. For the law commanded the Passover to be eaten with due observance. But he, while eating it, was sifted of the devil, who had entered his soul.

Exodus 21:13

And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

For there was a command under the law that cities of refuge should be appointed, in order that they who were sought after to be put to death might at least have some means of saving themselves. And when he who spoke to Moses, the Word of the Father, appeared in the end of the world, he also gave this commandment, saying, “But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another.”

Ezekiel 9:4

And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Thus [the devil] suffers and is dishonored; and although he still ventures with shameless confidence to disguise himself, yet now, wretched spirit, he is detected rather by those who bear the sign on their foreheads; and he is even rejected by them, and is humbled and put to shame. For even if, now that he is a creeping serpent, he shall transform himself into an angel of light, yet his deception will not profit him; for we have been taught that “though an angel from heaven preach to us any other gospel than that we have received, he is anathema.”

Ezekiel 16:25

Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

What then has persuaded you to contradict each other and to procure to yourselves so great a disgrace? You cannot give any good account of it; this supposition only remains, that all you do is but outward profession and pretense.… And you make nothing of accusing the Fathers, and you complain outright of the expressions as being unscriptural; and, as it is written, “opened your legs to every one that passed by;” so as to change as often as they wish, in whose pay and keep you are. Yet, though a person uses terms not in Scripture, it makes no difference, so that his meaning is religious. But the heretic, though he uses scriptural terms, because he is equally dangerous and depraved, will be asked in the words of the Spirit, “Why do you preach my laws and take my covenant in your mouth?”

Ezra 1:1

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

[Synopsis on Ezra] These two books were written by the man whose name they bear as a title. This Ezra, being a priest and a scribe, recounted the return of the children of Israel from Persia to Jerusalem. In the first book, he relates how the charge of organizing the return was in the hand of Josue the son of Josedec, and of Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah, a Jewish eunuch. The return was occasioned as follows: three soldiers who guarded the king, one of whom was Zerubbabel, were engaged in a competition regarding a certain question, and a promise had been made that the winner should ask the king for whatever he wanted. When the first soldier had said that wine was stronger, and the second that the king was stronger, Zerubbabel contended that women were stronger, and that truth excelled over all things. Because Zerubbabel spoke these things, he won. When he was told to ask what he wanted, he asked for the captives to be released and for Jerusalem to be rebuilt. And it was done as he asked, and the captives were let go. For at that time sixty years of wrath had been completed. The peop…

[Synopsis on Ezra]
These two books were written by the man whose name they bear as a title. This Ezra, being a priest and a scribe, recounted the return of the children of Israel from Persia to Jerusalem. In the first book, he relates how the charge of organizing the return was in the hand of Josue the son of Josedec, and of Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah, a Jewish eunuch. The return was occasioned as follows: three soldiers who guarded the king, one of whom was Zerubbabel, were engaged in a competition regarding a certain question, and a promise had been made that the winner should ask the king for whatever he wanted. When the first soldier had said that wine was stronger, and the second that the king was stronger, Zerubbabel contended that women were stronger, and that truth excelled over all things. Because Zerubbabel spoke these things, he won. When he was told to ask what he wanted, he asked for the captives to be released and for Jerusalem to be rebuilt. And it was done as he asked, and the captives were let go. For at that time sixty years of wrath had been completed. The people of the tribes of Juda and Benjamin, together with the Levites, who went up from the captivity to Jerusalem, were in all forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty in number. Their menservants and womenservants were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-four. Their singing men were two hundred and forty-five. Their camels four hundred and thirty-five. Their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. The builders were Zerubbabel, Josue the son of Josedec, and Nehemiah. As for Ezra, being skilled in the knowledge of the law, he brought forth the law and read it, and arranged everything pertaining to the temple, and he also it was who used to designate the Levites according to the law. Moreover, he also made sure that strange wives should be cast out by such as had married them during the time of the captivity. They all cast them out indeed, and they cleansed themselves, and, as is written, they observed the phase and a fast according to the law.