Susanna's Trial

Ἡ δὲ ἧν κλαίουσα. Διὰ γὰρ τῶν δακρύων ἐφεθκετο τὸν ἀπ' οὐρανῶν Λόγον, τὸν μέλλοντα διὰ δακρύωμ ἐγείρειν τὸν Λάζαρον τεθνηκότα Καὶ ἐπίστευσεν αὐτοῐς ἡ συναγωγή. Δεῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς ἐν παντὶ πραγματι ἐδραίους γενομένους, μὴ τοῖς ψευδέσιν προσέχειν, μηδὲ προσώποις ἀρχόντων εὐκόλως συναρπαζομένους πείθεσθαι, γινώσκοντας, ὅτι λόγον ἔχομεν δοῦναι τῷ θεῷ· ἀλλὰ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ στοιχοῦντες, καὶ τὸ ἀκριβὲς τῆς πίστεως ἐπιζητοῦντες, εὐάρεστοι ἐσόμεθα τῷ θεῷ. Καὶ εἰσήκουσεν ὁ Θεὸς τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῆς. Ὅσοι γὰρ ἐπικαλοῦνται αὐτὸν ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας, τούτων ὁ Θεὸς ὑπακούει· ὅσοι δε ἐν δόλῳ καὶ ὑποκρίσει, ἀποστρέφει τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπ' αὐτῶν. Πεπαλαιωμένε ἡμερῶν κακῶν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ φθαταντες ἐν τῷ προοιμίῳ, διηγησάμεθα, ὅτι οἱ δύο πρεσβύτεροι εἰς τύπον ἀναφέρονται τῶν δύο λαῶν, τοῦ τε ἐκ περιτομῆς καὶ τοῦ ἐξ ἐθνῶν, οἵ καὶ ἀεὶ ἐπίβουλοι γίνονται τῆς Ἐκκλησίας· ἵδωμεν τα ῥήματα αὐτοῦ τοῦ Δανιὴλ, καὶ μάθωμεν, ὅτι ἐν μηδενὶ ἡμᾶς διαψεὺδεται ἡ Γραφή. Τῷ γὰρ πρώτῳ πρεσβυτέρῳ διαλεγόμενος, ὡς νομοθέτῃ ἐπιτιμᾷ· τῷ δὲ ἑτέρῳ, ὡς ἑθνικῳ διαλέγεται, σπέρμα Χαναιὰν ἀποκαλῶν· καίτοι ὄντα ἐν περιτομῇ Ἤδη γὰρ ἄγγελος Θεοῦ. Δηλοῖ δὲ, ὅτι ἡνίκα προσηύξατο ἡ Σωσάννα πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ εἰσηκούσθη, τότε ἐξαπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος βοηθήσων αὐτῇ, ὄν τρόπον ἐπὶ τοῦ Τωβία καὶ τῆς Σάῥῥας συνέβη. Προσευξαμένων γὰρ αὐτῶν, τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ καὶ αὐτῇ ὠρᾳ εἰσηκούσθη ἡ δέησις ἀμθοτέρων, καὶ ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἀγγελος Ῥαφαὴλ ἰάσασθαι τοὺς δύο. Καὶ ἀνέστησαν ἐπὶ τοὺς δύο πρεσβυτέρους. Ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ εἰρημένον· Ὁ ὀρύσσων βόθρον τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, εἰς αὐτὸν ἐμπεσεῖται. Προσέχειν οὖν ὀφείλομεν πᾶσιν, ἀγαπητοὶ, φοβούμενοι μή τις ἔν τινι παραπτώματι κρατηθεὶς, αὐτὸς τῆς αὐτοῦ ψυχῆς ἔνοχος γένηται, γινώσκοντες ὅτι ἔκδικος ὁ Θεὸς περὶ πάντων γίνεται· αὐτὸς ὤν ἐν κόσμῳ πραττομένων οὐδέν. Δι' ὃ ἀεὶ ἐγρήγοροι καρδίας καὶ σωφρόνως βιοῦντες, τὴν Σωσὰνναν μιμησώμεθα. Ἅγιος Ἱππόλυτος Ρώμης, Εἰς Των Σωσανναν Source:  Migne PG 10 696d-697b

And she was weeping. 1 For by her tears she attracted the Word from heaven, who with tears was to raise the dead Lazarus. And the assembly believed them. 2 We must, then, be steadfast in every affair, and give no heed to lies, and be convinced that we should not be carried off by persons in power, knowing that we have to give an account to God; for if we stand with the truth and accurately pursue the faith we shall be well-pleasing to God. And God heard her voice. 3 For Gods hears those who call upon Him from a pure heart. But God turns away His face from those who do stand in deceit and hypocrisy. You that have grown old in evil. 4 Now since at the outset we explained that the two elders are to be understood as a type of the two peoples, that of the circumcision and that of the Gentiles, they who are always opponents of the Church, let us consider the words of Daniel, and let us learn that Scripture deceives us in nothing. For, addressing the first elder, he reproves him as one who is schooled in the Law, but he addresses the other as a Gentile, calling him 'seed of Canaan,' although he was of the circumcision. For now the angel of God. 5 It is clear that when Susannah prayed to God and was heard, then the angel was sent then to help her, just as he came to Tobias and Sara. For when they prayed, the prayer of both was heard in the same day and the same hour, and the angel Raphael was sent to heal both. And they rose up against the two elders. 6 That the saying might be fulfilled: 'He who digs a pit for his neighbour, he shall fall into it.' 7 To all these things, then, we should give heed, beloved, fearing lest anyone be seized in any transgression, being guilty in his soul, knowing that God is the Judge of all things, whom nothing done in the world escapes. Therefore, always watchful in heart and prudent in life, let us imitate Susanna.  Saint Hippolytus of Rome, On Susanna 1 Dan 13.35 2 Dan 13.41 3 Dan 13.44 4 Dan 13.52 5 Daniel 13.55 6 Dan 13.61 7 Prov 26.27