Exegesis on the Soul 2

1Now, concerning the prostitution of the soul, the Holy Spirit prophesies in many places, saying through the prophet Jeremiah:

2“If a husband divorces his wife, and she goes and takes another man, can she return to him again? Has that woman not completely defiled herself? ‘And you prostituted yourself to many shepherds, and you returned to me,’ said the Lord. ‘Look carefully and see where you prostituted yourself. Were you not sitting in the streets, polluting the land with your prostitution and wickedness? And you took many shepherds as a stumbling block for yourself. You were shameless with everyone. You did not call on me as a relative, or as a father, or as the guardian of your virginity.’” (Jeremiah 3:1–4)

3Again, it is written in the prophet Hosea:

4“Come, bring charges against your mother, for she will not be a wife to me, and I will not be a husband to her. I will remove her prostitution from before me, and I will remove her adultery from between her breasts. I will strip her naked as on the day she was born, and I will make her a wilderness, like a land without water, and I will make her [yearn in childlessness]. I will not have compassion on her children, for they are children of prostitution, because their mother prostituted herself and [acted shamefully toward her children]. [] For she said, ‘I will prostitute myself to my lovers. They gave me my bread and my water, my clothing and my garments, my wine and my oil, and everything I needed.’ Therefore, look: I will close them in so that she cannot run after her lovers. When she seeks them but does not find them, she will say, ‘I will return to my former husband; I was better off then than I am now.’” (Hosea 2:2–7)

5Again, he says in Ezekiel:

6“‘After much wickedness,’ said the Lord, ‘you built a brothel and made a place for your beauty in the streets. You built brothels on every street, squandered your beauty, spread your legs in every alley, and multiplied your acts of prostitution. You prostituted yourself to the sons of Egypt, your neighbors, men great in flesh.’” (Ezekiel 16:23–26)

7What, then, does “the sons of Egypt, men great in flesh” mean, except the kingdom of the flesh, the perceptible realm, and earthly affairs? These defile the soul here, as she obtains from them bread, as well as wine, oil, garments, and other senseless external things surrounding the body—things she believes are necessary for her.

8Concerning this prostitution, however, the Savior’s apostles insisted, “Guard yourselves from it; purify yourselves from it.” This applies not only to bodily prostitution, but especially to the prostitution of the soul. For this reason, the apostles write [to the churches] of God, so that [this kind (of prostitution)] might not happen among us.

9Nevertheless, the most difficult [challenge] concerns the prostitution [] of the soul. Bodily prostitution also originates from it. Therefore Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, “I wrote to you in the letter, ‘Do not associate with prostitutes’—not at all referring to the prostitutes of this world, or the greedy, or robbers, or idolaters, because then you would need to leave the world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9–10) In this case he is speaking spiritually: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” as he said, “but against the world rulers of this darkness and the spirits of wickedness.” (Ephesians 6:12)

10For as long as the soul continues running everywhere, having sex with everyone she meets and defiling herself, she suffers what she deserves.