Defective Speech

Περὶ βλασφήμου καὶ μεγαλοῤῥήμονος.  Εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν· Λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ, λέγων· Ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἐὰν καταράσηται Θεὸν, ἁμαρτίαν λήψεται· ὁ ὀνομάζων δὲ ὄνομα Κυρίου, λίθοις λιθοβολείτω αὐτὸν πᾶσα συναγωγὴ υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ. Μὴ ἐξελθέτω μεγαλοῤῥημοσύνη ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν. Τί ἐτόλμησεν ἡ καρδία σου, ὅτι θυμὸν ἔῤῥηξας ἔναντι Κυρίου;  Ἐξολοθρεύσει Κύριος πάντα τὰ χείλη τὰ δόλια, γλῶσσαν μεγαλοῤῥήμονα· τοὺς εἰπόντας, Τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡμῶν μεγαλυνοῦμεν, τὰ χείλη ἡμῶν παρ' ἡμῖν ἐστι·τίς ἡμῶν κύριός ἐστιν;  Ἀφανισθήσεται Σαμάρεια, ὅτι ἀντεῖπε πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν αὐτῆς· ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ πεσοῦνται αὐτοὶ, καὶ τὰ ὑποτίτθια αὐτῶν ἐδαφισθήσονται. Μεθύσατε αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἐπὶ Κύριον ἐμεγαλύνθη. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Ἐπειδὴ δέδωκας τὴν καρδίαν σου ὡς καρδίαν Θεοῦ, ἰδοὺ ἐπάγω ἐπὶ σὲ ἀλλοτρίους, λοιμοὺς ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἐκκενώσουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ κάλλος τῆς ἐπιστήμης σου, καὶ στρώσουσι τὸ κάλλος σου εἰς ἀπώλειαν. Φιλάνθρωπον πνεῦμα σοφίας, καὶ οὐ κατορθώσει βλάσφημον ἀπὸ χειλέων αὐτοῦ. Πᾶσα ἁμαρτία ἀφεθήσεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις·  τῷ δὲ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα βλασφημήσαντι οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται, οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι, οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. Ὁ μὲν ἁμαρτάνων, παραβαίνει νόμον· ὁ δὲ βλασφημῶν, εἰς αὐτὴν ἀσεβεῖ τὴν Θεότητα. Τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει βλασφημοῦντας, σωφρόνιζε· κἂν ἀκούσῃς τινὸς ἐν ἀμφόδῳ, ἢ ἐν ἀγορᾷ, ἐπιτίμησον, κἂν πληγὰς ἐπιθεῖναι δέῃ, μὴ παραιτήσῃ.Ῥάπισον αὐτοῦ τὴν ὄψιν, σύντριψον αὐτοῦ τὸ στόμα, ἁγίασόν σου τὴν χεῖρα διὰ τῆς πληγῆς. Κἂν ἐγκαλῶσί τινες, κἂν εἰς δικαστήριον ἕλκωσιν, ἀκολούθησον. Καθάπερ ὁ λίθον ἀκοντίζων εἰς τὸ ὕψος, τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μὲν τὸ σῶμα διατεμεῖν οὐ δύναται, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸ ὕψος φθάσαι ἐκεῖνο, τὴν δὲ πληγὴν τῇ ἰδίᾳ δέχεται κορυφῇ, πρὸς τὸν ἀκοντίσαντα ἐπανιόντος τοῦ λίθου· οὕτως καὶ ὁ βλασφημῶν εἰς τὴν μακαρίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐσίαν, ἐκείνην οὐ παραβλάψει ποτὲ, πολλῷ μείζονα οὖσαν καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν· κατὰ δὲ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς τὸ ξίφος ἀκονᾷ, ἀγνώμων περὶ τὸν εὐεργέτην γενόμενος. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Τὰ Ιἐρα Παραλληλα, Στοικειον Β'  Τιτλ Ηʹ. Migne PG 95 1285-1288

On Blasphemy and Proud Speech The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'A man who curses God shall bear his sin; he who uses the name of the Lord shall be stoned by all the gathering of the sons of Israel.' 1 'Let not a proud word pass out your mouth.' 2 'For what dares your heart that impassioned you would rise up against the Lord?' 3   The Lord destroys all the lips of the cunning, the tongues of the proud speakers, those who say, 'Our tongues we magnify, our lips are ours; who is our Lord?' 4 'He shall obliterate Samaria, for it has spoken against its God. By the sword they shall fall and the babes at breast shall be cast down to the ground.' 5 'Make him drunk, because he has spoken against the Lord.' 6   Thus says the Lord: Because you claim your heart as the heart of a God, behold I shall lead over you foreigners and pestilence from the nations, and they shall draw out their swords over you, and over the beauty of your knowledge, and they shall crush down your beauty into the dust.' 7 'Benevolent is the spirit of wisdom and it does not let blasphemy come from its lips.' 8 'Every sin shall be forgiven men; yet if a man blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, he shall not be forgiven, not in this age, nor the age to come.' 9 'He who sins indeed violates the law, but he who blasphemes against the Divine name is impious.' 10   Chastise those who blaspheme in the city. And if you hear them in the street, or in the forum, denounce them. And even if the matter should come to blows, do not hesitate to do this. Set yourself against his face, smash his mouth, sanctify your hands through blows. And even if they accuse you, even if they haul you off to judgement, do this. 11   As he who casts a stone into the air, and for certain it cleaves the air above, yet it is not able to come to the heights, rather it may just fall with a blow on his own head, so like a stone thrown in this manner is he who utters contumacious and impious words against the blessed of God. Certainly he does no harm to Him who is at such a far distance and height, but truly in his own soul he drives a sword, senseless concerning the doing of good deeds. 12   Saint John of Damascus, Sacred Parallels, Part 2, Chap 8 1 Levit 24.15 2 1 Kings 2.3 3 Job 15.12 4 Ps 11.3,4 5 Hosea 14.1 6 Jerem 48.20 7 Ezek 28. 6-7 8 Wis 1.6 9 Mt 12.31 10 Basil 11 Chrysostom 12 Chrys Hom 3 On the Incomprehensible.