20
Instead of these things thou didst give thy people food of angels, and without their toil thou didst supply them from heaven with bread ready to eat, providing every pleasure and suited to every taste.
21
For thy sustenance manifested thy sweetness toward thy children; and the bread, ministering to the desire of the one who took it, was changed to suit every one's liking.
22
Snow and ice withstood fire without melting, so that they might know that the crops of their enemies were being destroyed by the fire that blazed in the hail and flashed in the showers of rain;
23
whereas the fire, in order that the righteous might be fed, even forgot its native power.
24
For creation, serving thee who hast made it, exerts itself to punish the unrighteous, and in kindness relaxes on behalf of those who trust in thee.
25
Therefore at that time also, changed into all forms, it served thy all-nourishing bounty, according to the desire of those who had need,
26
so that thy sons, whom thou didst love, O Lord, might learn that it is not the production of crops that feeds man, but that thy word preserves those who trust in thee.
27
For what was not destroyed by fire was melted when simply warmed by a fleeting ray of the sun,
28
to make it known that one must rise before the sun to give thee thanks, and must pray to thee at the dawning of the light;
29
for the hope of an ungrateful man will melt like wintry frost, and flow away like waste water.