the universe; nothing does He ask of anyone, except that con-
EpIsTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS
4I justly established among us. 3 It is better for a man to make a clean breast of his failings than to harden his heart in imitation of those who, after rebelling against God's servant
Moses, *** hardened their hearts, and whose condemnation was brought to light: 4 alive they went down to Hades, where death shall be their shepherd. 5 Pharao and his army and all the leaders of Egypt, including the chariots and their riders, were swallowed up by the Red Sea and perished for no other reason than that their foolish hearts were hardened after striking exhibitions of power had been performed in Egypt by God's servant Moses.*"
52. In need of nothing, brethren, stands the Master of the universe; nothing does He ask of anyone, except that confession should be offered Him; 2 for David the chosen says: *°° I will confess to the Lord, and it will please Him better than a calf with budding horns and hoofs. Let the poor see it and rejoice. 3 And again he says: *** Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay to the Most High your vows; call upon me in the day of your affliction, and I will rescue you, and you will glorify me. 4 For a sacrifice to God is a crushed spirit.
53. Surely, you are acquainted, beloved, and well acquainted, with the Sacred Scriptures, and have explored the oracles of God; and therefore we write these things merely to serve as a reminder. 2 Now, when Moses ** had gone up the mountain and spent forty days and forty nights in fasting and chastizing himself, God said to him: Descend in haste, for your people whom you led out of the land of Egypt, have broken the law; they have quickly deviated from the way you had marked out for them: they have made themselves molten images. 3 And the Lord said to him: Once and even