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Translation
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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
John Chrysostom
That you may not suppose that this is spoken from ill-will, I say not to you alone, he says, but to every one who receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole Law. The parts of the Law are linked one to the other. As he who from being free has enrolled himself as a slave, no longer does what he pleases, but is bound by all the laws of slavery, so in the case of the Law, if you take upon you a small portion of it, and submit to the yoke, you draw down upon yourself its whole domination. …
Theophylact of Ohrid
Lest anyone think that this is said out of enmity, he adds: I am declaring this not only to you, but to everyone who is circumcised, that you are laying a great burden upon yourselves. The ordinances of the law are closely connected with one another, and if you acknowledge even a small portion of the law and subject yourself to this yoke, then you subject yourself to the dominion of the entire law. …
Oecumenius
"that he is a debtor to do the whole law." Against the statement, he says, that no longer does one receive anything from Christ, which is more grievous than ten thousand Gehennas. And such persons lay upon themselves a useless burden. For he who keeps the law in one point will be compelled to keep it in all things, since all will fail. What, then, is weightier than the observances of the law?
Western Saints
Jerome
However, I testify to every man who circumcises himself that he is obligated to keep the entire Law. God, who first commanded circumcision to Abraham and then through Moses in the Law, established not only circumcision but also many other observances: the celebration of feast days in Jerusalem, the offering of burnt sacrifices morning and evening, the sacrifice of the Passover lamb in one designated place, the rest of the land during the seventh year, the fiftieth year of jubilee, and other things that can easily be …
Thomas Aquinas
Furthermore, it is a heavy burden, because it obliges to the impossible. And this is what he states: "I testify again to every man circumcising himself, that he is a debtor to do the whole law". As if to say: I say that "if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing". But in addition to this, "I testify to every man", both Jew and Gentile, circumcising himself, "that he is a debtor to do the whole law". For one who professes a religion makes himself a debtor to all that pertains to the observances of that religion. …
Hippolytus of Rome
And certain other (heretics), contentious by nature, (and) wholly uniformed as regards knowledge, as well as in their manner more (than usually) quarrelsome, combine (in maintaining) that Easter should be kept on the fourteenth day of the first month, according to the commandment of the law, on whatever day (of the week) it should occur. (But in this) they only regard what has been written in the law, that he will be accursed who does not so keep (the commandment) as it is enjoined. …
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