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Dialogue with Trypho
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Chapter 137: - He Urges the Jews to Convert.
SPEAK NO EVIL: my brothers, against Him who was crucified, and do not treat with contempt the wounds by which all may be healed, just as we are healed. It will be good if, convinced by the Scriptures, you are circumcised from hard-heartedness: not the circumcision from the teachings imposed on you; for that was given as a sign, not as an act of righteousness, as the Scriptures compel you to acknowledge. Therefore, agree and do not ridicule the Son of God; do not follow the Pharisaic teachers, and do not mock the King of Israel, as the rulers of your synagogues instruct you to do after your prayers: for if one who touches those who do not please God is like one who touches the apple of God’s eye, how much more so is one who touches His beloved! And that this is He, has been clearly demonstrated.
AND AS THEY REMAINED SILENT: I continued: "My friends, I now refer to the Scriptures as the Seventy have interpreted them. When I quoted them before as you have them, I was testing you to see how you would respond. For instance, I mentioned the Scripture which says, ‘Woe unto them! for they have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying’ (as the Seventy have translated): ‘Let us take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us;’ whereas at the beginning of the discussion, I added what your version states: ‘Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.’ But you were occupied with other matters and seem to have listened without really attending to the words. Now, since the day is nearly over, as the sun is about to set, I will add one remark to what I have said and conclude. I have indeed made this same remark before, but I believe it would be good to consider it once more."