Commentary on Selected Passages from the Prophet Isaiah

^A teaching the vanity of the present life, so that, recognizing these things as fleeting and fragile, we may despise them as things passing away, and desire the things of the future as those which are permanent. And that the Song of Songs contains the mystical intimacy and union of the bride and bridegroom. Thus, the entire teaching of Solomon is like a kind of ladder, consisting of three steps: the moral, the natural, and the mystical. For it is necessary for one who approaches the discipline of living piously and rightly to first purge the soul through good actions, and then to despise the fleeting vanity of things passing away—which seem pleasing to the senses—and from there, finally, to fly upward to the bridegroom, who promises and is to be loved and embraced as the bringer of eternal goods. For this reason, this book is placed third, so that one walking by reason and by this way may attain perfection. ^B I believe, however, that the wise Solomon wrote these things having been taught by his father, inasmuch as he was a prophet, and a great prophet indeed. For he had surely heard him singing: "The queen stood at your right hand, in golden-threaded attire, wrapped about, variegated." And again: "Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and the house of your father; and the king will desire your beauty, because he himself is your Lord God." Indeed, they totally forbid the reading of this book to youths and those still imperfect in age, but they offer it for reading only to those who have attained manhood, and are capable of understanding the hidden things and grasping spiritually what has been written. Therefore, ceasing from this strife, whether the book was written prophetically ^C or he taught what he had learned from his father, let us set our hand to the interpretation, requesting this one thing from our readers: that they do not accuse us of theft if they should find anything in these commentaries that has been said by the fathers. For we confess that we too received the occasion for interpretation from them. But this should not be called theft, but a paternal inheritance. Although we have added our own conclusions to those things which we received from them. And what was explained more broadly by some, we have contracted; while what required diligence, we have expanded. In short, we have undertaken a labor which, I believe, will not be useless to our readers. Therefore, we ask those who are about to enjoy the fruit of our labors without labor of their own, that they grant us prayers and supplications in return for our labors. But if the explanation should appear less than accurate, at least consider the labor as good, and teach what is lacking. ^D

OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS: INTERPRETATION OF THE SONG OF SONGS

^A Since, trusting in the divine grace, we have ventured to explain this book, come, let us first of all examine the very inscription of the book and make it clear and evident. "The Song of Songs, which Solomon sang." Let us consider why the wise Solomon did not entitle this book "Song," but "Song of Songs." For that nothing is said or done in vain or without cause by the divine Spirit is clearly established for those who make use of prudent reasoning and piety. Since this is the case, it must be investigated for what reason this writing is called "Song of Songs," and not just "Song." We do not doubt that many songs, and psalms, and hymns, and odes were spoken and written both by the blessed David and by the prophets who existed before him and after him. ^B And Moses, that great one, sang first the song of victory, when the sea, having been divided, became a path for the Israelites, but a tomb for the Egyptians; a second song of thanksgiving over the well; and a third, in which he recounted the divine gifts and accused the ungrateful disposition of the people. And the blessed David also sang some hymns of victory, and others of the wine press; and some were morning hymns, others evening ones. But the wise Solomon does not write a song of victory, nor a morning song, but a nuptial song. For the victory songs indicate the destruction of enemies and the release of captives, ^C as in that saying: "He removes wars unto the ends of the earth; He will shatter the bow, and He will crush the weapon, and He will burn up the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." For it signifies that, having shattered the armament of the enemies and having liberated those who for a long time were enslaved under them, and having established such a kingdom, in which all to him

^A willingly served. Therefore he says: "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Of the same kind is also that saying: "All you nations, clap your hands; shout aloud to God with a voice of exultation. For the Lord is most high, terrible, a great king over all the earth." And again: "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one; in thy majesty and in thy beauty, string thy bow, and prosper, and reign." And elsewhere: "Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall enter in, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." In these songs, therefore, the prophets celebrate the victory of the King, and they praise him because he has redeemed the captives into liberty.

But the Song of Songs describes his nuptials, and sets forth his love for the bride. ^B By "bride," he calls those who are commemorated in those songs as having been delivered from servitude, and having attained liberty, and having attached themselves to the King, and having kept an unforgetting memory of his benefits, and displaying great goodwill and affection towards him, and being continuously in his train; then, when the powers above ask, "Who is this King of glory?" they desire to understand, and do not endure to be separated from their Savior, not even for a brief moment of time. For this reason is this book called the Song of Songs, the argument signifying that those other songs were made for the sake of this Song, and lead to it. ^C For this is the head of all good things, the climax of divine philanthropy, the ineffable goodness, the immeasurable mercy, the unfathomable compassion, the inexpressible love, that the Author, and Maker, and Creator, and Lord, and God, and Prince, and he who is always the same, not only snatched this earthen creature, subject to passions and corruptible and ungrateful and useless, from death and diabolical tyranny, but also bestowed liberty upon it, and not only rendered us free, but also adopted us as sons; ^D and not only bestowed the gift of adoption, but also called it his bride and made it so, and in the same way as a bridegroom is joined to her in wedlock, he gave innumerable bridal gifts, and prepared the matrimonial bed and chamber; and having clothed her when she was naked, he himself became for her a garment, and food, and drink, and the way, and a shield, and life, and light, and resurrection. But I am attempting to count the sand, or the drops of rain, or to measure the sea with a ladle, in seeking to explain in words the magnitude of the divine philanthropy. For this reason, therefore, this book is called the Song of Songs, as it teaches the greater mysteries of God's goodness.

For this is the principal point of all blessings, and the culmination of divine philanthropy: the ineffable goodness, the immeasurable mercy, the unquantifiable compassion, the unspoken love—that the Creator, Fabricator, Maker, Lord, God, and Master, who always exists in the same way, should not only deliver this clay-born animal, which is subject to passions, corruptible, ungrateful, and useless, from death and the tyranny of the devil, but also bestow freedom upon it, and not only render it free, but constitute it his own children—and not only gift the grace of adoption, but also invite and make it his bride, and be harmonized ^A with her just as a bridegroom is, and offer countless dowries, and prepare for her a bridal chamber and a bedroom; that he should clothe her when she was naked, and become for her a cloak, food, drink, a path, a shield, life, light, and resurrection. But indeed, I contend with trying to number the sand, or the drops of rain, or measure the sea with a cup, by daring in speech to reach the divine philanthropy.

“Length of life,” he says, “and years of life are in her right hand; in her left, wealth and glory.” And again, concerning the embrace, one may find it said in Proverbs: “Love her, and she will guard you; encircle her, and she will exalt you; honor her, so that she may embrace you.” From these sources, therefore, taking our starting points, let us understand those things more spiritually, believing the so-called embrace to be the communion of the divine Word and the pious soul. The left and the right must be understood as taken from our own perspective. And that we may not leave this unobserved, let us understand it thus: God knows both how to confer benefits and how to inflict punishments, bestowing both upon those who are worthy. Therefore, understanding ^B the beneficent grace as the right, and the punitive as the left, let us hear the bride saying: “His left is under my head”; that is, I am above the punishments, I am not subject to them, because I have drawn near to the bridegroom and am mindful of his care. “His right shall embrace me,” that is, he will adorn me with his benefits, and as if embracing and comprehending me, and fulfilling my desire, he will fill me with these things. The blessed Paul, manifesting this, said: “And so we shall always be with the Lord.” May it be that we, too, do not experience his punitive power, nor taste the threatened punishments, but may enjoy the promised gifts, through the grace and philanthropy of the bridegroom, Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and majesty ^C forever and ever. Amen.

SECOND DISCOURSE

^D “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if you should awake and arouse love, until she wills.” The ones who are in love with bodies are anxious to be the only ones to enjoy what they desire, and they drive away those who attempt to rob them with great intensity. But those who are in love spiritually and yearn for God, desire that all men should be set aflame by the same fire.

^A I do not know why He delays, or why He overlooks me as I yearn for Him. He said to me through Hosea: "I will betroth you to Me in justice, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassions; and I will betroth you to Me in faith, and you shall know the Lord." He said to me through Isaiah: "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry, you who are not in labor, for many are the children of the desolate one rather than of her who has a husband." ^B And I wait day by day, desiring that the promises may be fulfilled for me. She hints at these things, saying: "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." And so that we do not interpret this in our own sense, come, let us call the blessed Paul as a witness of what has been said. Writing to the Hebrews and pursuing the discourse initiated on faith, he says such things about Abraham: "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the fellow-heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." And after a few words: "In faith," he says, "they all died, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar and greeted them and having confessed that they are strangers and sojourners on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ^C And if indeed they had been mindful of that from which they went out, they would have had an opportunity to return. But now they desire a better one, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." And touching upon the great Moses, he says that "He chose rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin, considering the reproach of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king; for he endured by seeing Him who is invisible as if looking at Him." And concerning all the saints together who shone in the Old Testament, he says such things: "And these all, though commended for their faith, did not receive the promise, since God provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." ^D And the Lord also in the holy Gospels says such things to the apostles: "Many prophets, and kings, and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear." And disputing with the Jews, He was saying: "Abraham your father desired to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad." And Simeon the elder had received an answer from the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he should see the Christ of the Lord. Therefore, having been born and brought to the temple,

taking Him in his arms, he says: "Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace; because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples," and the rest. It is clear, therefore, that those who believe in divine promises longed to see them brought to their end. Therefore, the Song of Songs introduces the bride saying: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." By a kiss, we understand not the meeting of mouths, but the union of a pious soul with the divine Word, ^A so that the bride seems to say something like this: "I have heard Thy words through writings, but I also desire to hear Thy voice itself; I wish to receive the sacred doctrine directly from Thy mouth, and to kiss it with the lips of my mind. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." Once the bride has said these things, the bridegroom immediately appears to the bride, fulfilling that promise, that "While thou art yet speaking, behold, I am here." The bride, having immediately beheld the beloved, is amazed, and admires his breasts and his fragrance, and cries out: ^B "Thy breasts are better than wine, and the fragrance of thy ointments above all aromatics." I know, he says, the ointments prepared by Moses, both the oil of anointing and the incense of composition; but of all those aromatics, Thy ointment is the most fragrant. By ointment here, he refers to spiritual grace, of which He, being full, has given to us all out of His fullness. Therefore also, the blessed Paul cries out that "we are the good odor of Christ, in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing; to the one, an odor of death unto death, but to the other, an odor of life unto life." For to vultures, which feed on cadavers, foul-smelling bodies provide food, but ointment brings them destruction. ^C Thus, for the impious, and for those who have chosen to remain in the stench of sin, the stench of debauchery is most pleasant, but the teaching of Christ is heavy and burdensome; and therefore, it brings upon them their self-chosen death. "For this is the judgment," he says, "that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light." With good reason, therefore, the bride says: "And the fragrance of thy ointments above all aromatics." And she does not say, "of Thy ointment," but "of Thy ointments," indicating that there are many and myriad graces. For to one, according to the blessed Paul, is given the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge ^D according to the same Spirit; to another, faith in the same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the discerning of spirits; to another, kinds of tongues. For this reason, she does not say, "the fragrance of Thy ointment," but "the fragrance of Thy ointments." Having shown the many and varied graces, she teaches us that from one

from one and the same source. Therefore he adds: ^A “Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” For, he says, these many and various fountains, which have filled the whole world with the sweetness of their fragrance, have one single vein and source, Thy ointment. For in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead, and He Himself, as man, received at once all the gifts of the Spirit. Wherefore Isaiah also cries aloud: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise out of his root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the Spirit of the fear of God shall fill him.” ^B Therefore he says, “Thy name is as ointment poured forth;” and he does not say “ointment” simply, but “poured forth.” For just as ointment kept in a vessel also contains its fragrance confined, but if it be poured out, it fills the very air; so the Lord Christ, before the passion, was known to a few. But after He endured the cross and death, and the vessel of His body was, as it were, opened, the blessed apostles were immediately filled with that sweetness; and, running through the earth and crossing the seas, and preaching the Gospel to all, they filled the whole world with that sweetness of fragrance. Therefore the bride says, “Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” For the name of Christ is sufficient, as it were, to anoint and to imbue the souls of the pious with every sweetness of fragrance. But if you wish to understand this more mystically, ^C recall to yourself the sacred mystery of baptism, in which those who are initiated, after the renunciation of the tyrant and the confession of the King, like a certain royal sign and token, are anointed with the chrism of spiritual ointment, receiving, under that visible form of ointment, the invisible grace of the most holy Spirit.

“Therefore the maidens have loved thee.” (Vers. 3.) “They have drawn thee, running after thee to the odor of thy ointments.” This fragrance, he says, of Thy ointment, that is, of Thy divine and saving doctrine, the youthful and brave souls perceived (for these the Word calls maidens), and they were so afire with love for Thee that they drew Thee to themselves and followed Thee, and did so in such a run, ^D that they might not be left behind or separated from their beloved. This race the blessed Paul also explains, saying: “I run, if by any means I may comprehend, wherein I also am comprehended.” And elsewhere: “So run, that you may obtain.” And in another place: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Souls, therefore, of a brave and manly disposition

^A having escaped the soft and fluid and degenerate life, and having chosen toil instead of luxury, are drawn and called after the Bridegroom by the fragrance of the ointment, and are held as if by an ineffable bond. The bride, then, not yet having been admitted to the bridal chamber, speaks to the Bridegroom’s Father, and to the Bridegroom himself who has come to her. But she is admitted to the nuptials, and to the chamber and the private rooms of the Bridegroom, and addressing her assembly she says gloriously: “The king has brought me into his chamber,” that is, he has revealed his hidden counsels to me; he has made known to me the mystery hidden from ages and from generations; he has opened to me the treasures that were dark, and secret, and invisible, according to the prophecy of Isaiah. And this can be understood more accurately from the holy Gospels, when the Lord Christ spoke to the Jews in parables, but to his holy disciples he revealed the meaning of the parables, saying: “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to them it is not given.” And the Lord designates the mind as a “chamber,” saying: “But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber, and pray to your Father who is in secret.” ^B “The king has brought me into his chamber,” speaking as it were with the blessed Paul, that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him; but God has revealed them to us through his Spirit. For we have the mind of Christ,” in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. “The king has brought me into his chamber.” It is necessary to enquire why the bride alone is brought in, while the young maidens are not brought in, but stand outside, awaiting the bride as she enters; and when she comes out and tells how the king brought her into his chamber, they add: “We will exult and rejoice in you. We will love your breasts more than wine. Rectitude has loved you.” For not all who have believed are in the same degree of merit. “For in my Father’s house are many mansions,” says Christ, that is, differences of dignities. ^C For there is one order of patriarchs, and another of prophets; one of apostles, and another ^D of martyrs; one of those who have shone in virginity, and another of those who have lawfully taken upon themselves the yoke of marriage; one of those who have served God in wealth and have become faithful stewards, and another of those who have courageously endured the various trials of poverty; one of those who have pursued a public life of virtue, and another of those who dwell in the mountains and choose to attend only to divine contemplation. And in these very ways of life there are to be found many differences, since some perform their tasks more fervently, others more remissly, others more accurately, and others more negligently. Which indeed, even from the Lord’s parable, we can easily...

discern. For when He introduces ten virgins, He calls five of them prudent and five foolish; and the former He deems worthy of the bridal chamber, but to the latter He shuts the doors. And He answers them, honoring their virginity, but does not deem them worthy of entry on account of their sloth in cultivating the other virtues. Having thus distinguished these matters, let us understand the bride to be those souls perfected in all the virtues, and the maidens following her to be those who indeed love the bridegroom and are diligent to follow Him, but have not yet attained the perfection of the bride. And that these things are so, the Holy Spirit testifies, saying similar things in the forty-fourth Psalm. For having recounted the beauty of the bridegroom, and the grace diffused upon His lips, and the eternal blessing, and the fearful armor, and the destruction of the enemies, and the submission and adoration of the peoples who were once captive, and His royal and eternal throne, and those insignia of the kingdom decorated with justice and equity; and furthermore the human virtue which He cultivated, when "being in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant," and in addition to this, the anointing which occurred according to His humanity, and the gifts offered by the Magi, He brings in: "The Queen stood at Thy right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded, ^A variegated." And He calls "Queen" those souls perfected in virtue (since also Paul says: "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him"), and "gilded and variegated clothing," the diverse gifts of the Spirit themselves. Then He also offers her counsel: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people and thy father’s house, and the King shall desire thy beauty." And He shows Himself not only to be related to her according to His humanity, but also to be Lord and Master according to His hidden divinity; and reminding her of His immense kindness, He says: "For He is thy Lord and thy God, and thou shalt worship Him." ^B And not long after, He also predicts to her that she will be worshiped by kings and princes: "All the rich of the people shall entreat thy face." Now the face of the Church, according to that which is visible, is the priestly dignity, but according to that which is understood, it is the bridegroom himself, who deemed it worthy to become her head, according to the voice of the Apostle. Then he sets forth her hidden glory: "For all the glory of the king’s daughter is within." Since, as the blessed Paul says: "Our life is hid with Christ in God; in this life, however, all who wish to live piously in Christ shall suffer persecution."

For this reason the blessed Paul also cries out: "If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." ^B For this reason he says: "All the glory of the daughter of the king is within," encompassed with gold-embroidered fringes, variegated; again, meaning by gold-embroidered and variegated fringes the different gifts of grace. For he adds to these: "Virgins shall be brought to the king after her; her neighbors shall be brought to thee; they shall be brought with gladness and exultation; they shall be brought into the temple of the king." ^C It is evident, therefore, from what has been said, that those who have reached the perfect man, the measure of stature, according to the blessed Paul, and have attained the perfection of virtue, are called the bride; but those who have not yet reached this perfection, and are inferior to them, accompany the bride like certain young maidens, showing all good will and affection towards both her and the bridegroom. "The king has brought me into his treasury. Let us exult and rejoice in thee." For they do not envy, nor are they jealous, while they remain outside and have not yet attained to the bridal chamber, but they rejoice and exult and delight in the honor of the bride, and are content to enjoy her sweetest voice. For this reason they add: "We will love thy breasts more than wine." And what she said to the bridegroom, this they say to the bride, out of their good will and affection towards her, drawing to themselves the affection and good will of the bridegroom. For Christ also says to the apostles: "He that receiveth you receiveth me;" and: "Whosoever shall give to drink a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who believe in me, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." The young maidens, moreover, call the breasts of the bride the fountains of teaching, which pour forth streams useful to all ages; and they promise to love the breasts ^D of the bride more than all human joy. For this is what is tropically called wine, which exhilarates the heart of man. And these things we know to have taken place both in the Old and in the New Testament, and we behold them happening every day. For in the Old Testament, God, revealing future things to the prophets, showed through them the right way of life to the men of that time. And the prophets themselves enjoyed the treasuries and secrets of God, and going forth they told men the things that were being revealed and manifested. Hence also David says to God: "The hidden and secret things of thy wisdom thou hast manifested to me." Those, however, who were watered by the waters of divine knowledge through the prophets, gave their attention to the prophets as intermediaries between God and men; and the apostles too, inspired by the divine Spirit, promulgated the message of piety, traversing all lands for all men. And the apostles indeed enjoyed the Lord’s

^A treasures, while the listeners to them received the apostolic streams, as it were from certain breasts, which were more precious than any wine or any joy. And in the present time, too, the teachers of the Church offer divine streams to the people, as if from certain storehouses. And he who partakes of them, as if from certain breasts, draws spiritual nourishment, and considers it better than all worldly pleasure. For this reason the bride also says in the Canticles: "The king brought me into his chamber." And the young women answered: "Let us exult and rejoice in thee." And they promise, saying: "We will love thy breasts more than wine"; and they bring forward the reason: "Righteousness hath loved thee." For if the Lord is sweet and upright, as David says, and "the rod of thy kingdom is a rod of uprightness," and for this reason he loved thee, it becomes us also to hang upon thee and to frequent thee ^B assiduously, and to enjoy thy breasts. Then the bride speaks again:

VERSE 4, 5. *I am black, and beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am swart, because the sun hath looked upon me.* I do not think that the bride is saying these things any longer to the young women, but to those who boast in the Law, and who are puffed up and arrogant concerning the Old Testament, and who reproach her, not only for being a foreigner and a stranger, but also for having formerly worshipped demons, and for having contracted a black color, stained by their worship. Therefore she says to them: I am ^C black, I admit, but yet beautiful; for I was formerly blind, but now I see; I was formerly clothed in ragged garments, but now I am wrapped in a golden vestment, variegated, and I possess royal dignity, and I stand by the King, having driven away you, who have acted madly towards the King, and have put him to death, and have defiled the bridal chamber with a multitude of adulterers. Do not, therefore, cast my black color in my face, nor reproach me with my former evils. I admit that I am black, but yet beautiful, and pleasing to the bridegroom. Fear the example of Miriam; for she also reproached Moses because he had taken an Ethiopian woman to wife, and she became leprous as snow; and as one unclean she was cast out of the camp, and did not return ^D until she repented, and did penance for her insult. I, too, am an Ethiopian woman, but yet the bride of the great Legislator; and I am indeed the daughter of a priest of Midian, an idolater, but I have forgotten my people and my father's house; therefore the King has desired my beauty. Look not upon me therefore, because I am swart, because the sun hath looked upon me. You who now see me swart, you shall behold me most white, and you shall cry out: *Who is this that ascendeth, having been made white?*

I shall also tell you the cause of this swartness. For I was swart, worshipping ^A the creature instead of the Creator, and adoring this sensible sun instead of the Sun of righteousness. But I saw the difference between that one and this one, and leaving the work, I worshipped the Maker. Do not, therefore, look upon me, because I am swart, because the sun has looked upon me, or as Symmachus [interprets], because the sun has touched me. *For I am swart, and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem*; swart because of my former impiety, beautiful because of my repentance; swart because of infidelity, beautiful because of faith. And I was so very swart, as the tents of Kedar—which is interpreted as "darkness"—but I have become so beautiful, as the curtains of Solomon [instead of "the tents of Solomon," or "the hangings of Solomon"], concerning which the Lord says: *Consider the lilies of the field, how they neither spin nor weave, and your heavenly Father clothes them. Amen I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.* Wherefore also, a little later, the bridegroom names her a lily, as one who neither spins nor weaves, but leads a life free from care, and is clothed and nourished by the bridegroom himself. The bride says, therefore, that having formerly been made like to the tents of Kedar, which is interpreted as darkness, and serving darkness and worshipping demons, I have now suddenly been changed and am like ^B the hangings of Solomon; since she also, not only became a bride, but also a temple of the peaceful Christ. *The sons of my mother have fought against me.* This also follows upon the preceding. She teaches the daughters of Jerusalem how, being swart and ill-favored, she suddenly became beautiful. *For the sons*, she says, *of my mother have fought against me.* Calling the holy apostles "sons," concerning whom the Holy Spirit in the forty-fourth Psalm speaks to the queen herself: *Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee; thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.* And she calls their mother and her own the Jerusalem which is above, concerning which the blessed Paul says: *But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother.* Therefore, she says, the sons of my mother have fought against me, [referring to] the war that the apostles waged against idolatry and the other illegality; who, in each of the hearers, undertook a kind of battle and war, struggling to cast out the evil habits of their souls and to plant fixedly the laws of piety. And that we may learn more clearly how the blessed heralds of piety fought ^C in the souls of those being discipled, let us hear the blessed ^D Stephen fighting and saying: *Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always [do resist the Holy Ghost].*

^A And the blessed Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says: *It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles.* And again: *Lest, when I come again, my God may humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented.* And writing to the Galatians, he says: *O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?* By such rebukes and exhortations, and by smoothing out the wrinkles of their sins and scrubbing away their inveterate habits, those first teachers and heralds of Christian piety rendered the Bride of the Lord new instead of old, beautiful instead of foul and deformed, and most white instead of black.

The Bride, therefore, wishing to show how she became beautiful and fair, says: *The sons of my mother were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the vineyards.* For they handed over to me, as it were, certain vineyards—the divine commandments—and they urged me not only to labor in them and cultivate them, but also to guard them, so that no wicked beast might destroy and ruin the fruit. To these she adds: *My own vineyard I have not kept.* ^B The intent of these words is twofold, and both are pious and useful. For she says either that she had left her former vineyard, which she had cultivated before the Christian faith, having been handed down to her from her fathers, neglected and unguarded, so that the former observances were completely corrupted and left to oblivion; or that she neglected her own vineyard—that is, the benefit of her own soul—and preferred the advantages of others to her own advantages. For this, too, the blessed Paul testifies, saying: *Love does not seek its own.* And elsewhere: *Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s.* And concerning himself he says: *I do not seek my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.* I have set forth both meanings so that those who read may have knowledge of both, and may accept that which seems to them to be truer.

After this, the bride, leaving off speaking with the young men and arguing with the daughters of Jerusalem, turns herself to the bridegroom, and ^C reveals her love toward him in these words:

*Vers. 6. Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at noon, that I may not be as one who turns aside by the flocks of your companions.*

Anxious and solicitous that she should not be deprived of her bridegroom and fall in with other flocks, which are not guided by him but by others—who are called companions of the bridegroom, not by reason of dignity, nor by reason of a common mind, but by imitation of the institution—she suppliantly calls upon the bridegroom, ^D saying:

^A “Because my soul hath loved thee, tell me where thou feedest at the time of noon, or where thou makest thy sheep to lie down; lest I, through ignorance, wander here and there, and straying and wandering, fall into flocks which are not deemed worthy of thy supervision, but have other shepherds and herdsmen.” For that which is “circumducted,” Symmachus has rendered as “errant.” Not without reason does the bride inquire where the bridegroom abides at the midday hour. For at that very time when the light of knowledge shone more brightly, heresies arose, which indeed bore the name of Christians but were destitute of the truth. On this account, she, being anxious, desires to learn the place of the bridegroom, where he maketh his sheep to lie down at the hour of noon, that she might not fall ^B into the flocks of those who are called companions. It should be known that, just as there were prophets, and against them false prophets, and again apostles, and those who held contrary opinions, false apostles, so also are false Christs called by the divine Scripture. Wherefore the Lord also saith: “There shall arise many false prophets, and shall seduce many.” And the blessed Paul knows how to name not only false brethren, but also false apostles; wherefore he saith: “For such are false apostles.” The bride prays that she may not fall into their hands; for they display the appearance of shepherds, and likewise have flocks and sheepfolds. Such are those who follow the factions of Arius, and Eunomius, and Marcion, and Valentinus, and Manes, and Montanus; who, while they carry about the habit and name of Christians, and build churches, and read the divine Scriptures to the deceived sheep, and feed ill those who follow them, and are thought to be companions of the bridegroom, are in reality treacherous ^C and destructive, and offer deadly poison to the sheep instead of nutritious pasture. For this reason the bride beseeches the bridegroom to point out to her where he maketh the sheep to lie down at noon, that she may not, being circumvented—or “errant,” according to Symmachus—wander among the flocks of those who, while being enemies to him, feign themselves to be his companions. The bridegroom therefore answers the bride and saith:

VERS. 7. If thou know not thyself, O thou fair among women, get thee forth in the footsteps of the flocks, and feed thy kids in the tabernacles of the shepherds.

a physician, but they that are sick.” And: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” And through Ezechiel the prophet: “Do I at all desire,” he saith, “the death of the wicked, rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?” And the blessed apostle Paul saith of him: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Therefore he desires her to feed also the kids; for by the name of kids the divine Scripture figuratively understands sinners. For these, the Lord said, shall be placed on the left, separated from the lambs, which will obtain the right hand place. For in the law also, for sin, not a sheep, but a buck-goat from the goats was sacrificed. Therefore the bridegroom says to the bride: ^B “Follow the tracks of the flocks, and search out the life of those saints who preceded you; and in the tabernacles of those shepherds, that is, in the apostolic churches, feed your kids,” having heard in the holy Gospels: “See that you despise not one of these little ones who believe in me; for I say to you, that their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

Verse 8. To my mare in the chariots of Pharaoh have I likened thee, my neighbor

Verse 9. How beautiful have thy cheeks become, as

^A turtledove’s, thy neck as necklaces! ^A Here, too, we must not understand the cheeks and the neck carnally. We must remember that divine Scripture frequently uses bodily terms even when it is speaking of the soul. Thus, the prophet Jeremiah says: “My belly, my belly, I am pained,” and to show that he is not speaking of it, he adds: “and the senses of my heart.” Likewise, the blessed Paul says: “Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” The blessed Paul was not admonishing them about hands, nor about feet, nor about visible lameness, but was indicating by these names the qualities and actions of the soul. Let us therefore understand this text likewise: “Thy cheeks are beautiful as a turtledove’s, thy neck as necklaces.” For the Church, being composed of many men and women, has some within it who occupy the roles and bear the names of cheeks, some of eyes, some of ears, some of the mouth, others of hands, and others of feet. The Bridegroom, therefore, praises those who pursue modesty and possess the blush of shame, and says: “Thy cheeks are beautiful as a turtledove’s.” Those who have written on the natures of animals say that the turtledove is not only a lover of solitude, but also chaste, and that the male is joined to a single female, and the female is content with a single male, and neither of them, after the death of the other, ^B is willing to be joined to another. The Church, joined to Christ, is therefore fittingly said by Him to be like a turtledove, in that she avoids the companionship of others, and does not even abandon Him after His death, but awaits His resurrection and looks forward to His second coming. He says also that her neck is like necklaces. This is a collar, a kind of ornament that adorns the neck. He praises her for bearing well the yoke of piety, regarding which the Bridegroom says in the Gospels: “Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Therefore, in the Canticles, he marvels at the neck that bears this yoke, as needing no external adornment or imported embellishment, since it possesses beauty from within, such that, being naked, it is likened to necklaces that adorn other necks. Having said these things, the bridegroom’s attendants and ministers answer, and say to the bride: ^C Verses 10, 11. We will make thee likenesses of gold, with studs of silver. While the king is in his reclining place. It seems to me that this signifies the time before the coming of our Lord Christ; the companions of the bridegroom comfort the bride, that ^D

^A they will be with her always, until the king rises, and they will adorn her with whatever ornament they can; nor will they forsake her before his resurrection, but will offer her likenesses of gold and distinctions of silver. Rightly, however, did they say not gold itself, but the likenesses of gold. For the gifts of the bridegroom are greater than those of his ministers, who do not possess equal glory. And therefore we hold the divine Gospels in greater honor, although we also revere the law, and the prophets, and the writings of the holy apostles. Reasonably, therefore, did the ministers of the bridegroom say: "We will make you likenesses of gold with distinctions of silver, until the king is in his reclining place." By distinctions of silver and likenesses of gold, let us understand the variety of graces ^B and the providence of God toward us. For we also enjoy the assistance of angels: "For the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them," as it says; and, "He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Moreover, the law itself was given through the ministry of angels. Therefore the Apostle says: "For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast." So long, therefore, as the king reclines and rises again, we, he says, will offer what we can. They call his death his reclining. Wherefore Balaam also, prophesying, says: "A man shall come forth out of his seed, and he shall rule over many nations." And a little later: "He lay down, he slept as a lion, and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? They that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee are cursed." ^C These things may also be found in the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob, with which he blessed Judah.

When these things had been said from above by the ministers of the bridegroom, the bride again says: "My spikenard has given its scent. VERS. 12. A bundle of myrrh is my kinsman to me." We must first inquire why she calls him a kinsman. We say that the bride is the Church gathered from the nations, but that the former wife of the bridegroom is the multitude of the Jews, who, on account of their own licentiousness, received a bill of divorce into their hands. They are sisters, for both boast of being generated from Adam as their father. But the bridegroom, ^D so far as his humanity is concerned, was born of the former. For the blessed Paul says: "It is manifest that our Lord sprang out of Judah." And elsewhere: "To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He says not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." And concerning David, the blessed Peter says, that as he was a prophet...

^A and knew that God had sworn a promise to him that of the fruit of his loins he would raise up Christ according to the flesh, he foresaw and spoke of the death, saying, "His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption." Since, therefore, the multitude of the Jews and the Church of the Gentiles are sisters, and Christ is the son of the former according to the flesh, the Bride rightly calls Him nephew, as He was born of her sister according to His humanity. "This, therefore, is my nephew to me; and He is nard and a bundle of stacte." For I address Him by many names, being captivated by the fragrance of His ointment, and I am unable to use a single name. For the power of His fragrance overcomes all titles at once; but being overcome by love for Him, I both call Him nard and address Him as a bundle of stacte. I call Him nard ^B both because He was anointed with the costly, genuine nard, the scent of which filled the whole house—signifying the whole world—for the service offered to the Lord by the pious has filled the world with the fragrance of faith; and I call Him a bundle of stacte, because He Himself "descended like rain upon a fleece, and like a drop falling upon the earth." He has also been called a "drop" by the prophets: "For it shall be," it says, "from the drop of this people that Jacob shall be gathered." It must be known that Symmachus and Aquila have translated "stacte" as "myrrh." Now, myrrh signifies the Bridegroom's death and the fragrance that came from that death to the Bride. She adds: ^C "He shall lodge between my breasts." That is, in the ruling part of my soul, which has its dwelling in the heart—which is situated between the breasts. This declares the end of the prophecy, in which God says: "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people, says the Lord Almighty." And the Bridegroom Himself also promises, saying: "We will come, I and the Father, and We will make Our abode with him." Wherefore also Paul says with a clear voice: "Or do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me?" For this reason the Bride says: "He shall lodge between my breasts."

VER. 13. "A cluster of cypress is my nephew to me in the vineyards of Engaddi." ^D Being at a loss as to what name she should bestow upon the Bridegroom, the Bride moves here and there, and gathering titles from every side, she applies them to Him, being urged by love to call upon Him, but unable to find the worthy title. Therefore, she again names Him a cluster of cypress, that is, one who is flowering, or beginning to put forth blossoms. For the vine is fragrant at that season. And she adds, "In the vineyards of Engaddi," such is—

^A fragrant. If, therefore, you understand the place to mean that in Judea, adorned with marvelous vineyards, we must understand it tropically, that "your cluster is more fragrant than those vines." But if, because of the meaning of the name, he has laid down the title "Engaddi"—which is interpreted as the eye of temptation—we must understand it thus: Even when established in temptations, and attacked by many, I perceive the sweetness of your fragrance; and even in the midst of the vineyards currently flowering (if they are taken allegorically, but as existing in the midst of temptations—for the life of man upon the earth is a temptation [Job VII, 1]), I prefer the sweet fragrance of your flowering cluster. What if, while it is still flowering, it is so delightful, what is it to be thought to be when it draws near to maturity? And if it is better while ripening than it was then, what will it be when it is fully mature and ripe, and subjected to the winepresses? For I think that, according to the proportion of spiritual ages, it is to some flowering, to others sour, to others nearly mature, to others sufficiently mature, but that it is drunk by the perfect. "For his intoxicating cup is very excellent" [Ps. XXII, 5].

These things having been said by the bride, the bridegroom speaks to her again, and says: ^B 14. "Behold, you are beautiful, my neighbor, behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves." He praises her beauty again, and admires her loveliness, and is, as it were, astonished at her decorum by his doubled speech. But first he commends her eyes, saying: "Your eyes are doves"—that is, spiritual. For under the form of a dove the Holy Spirit descended and dwelt in the bridegroom. Therefore he does not say "as doves," but "doves," that is, spiritual, filled with divine grace, free from all darkness, contemplating the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord the Spirit, and being able to say: "But to us God has revealed it through his Spirit" [I Cor. II, 10]. ^C Again, the bride, responding, says:

15, 16. "Behold, you are beautiful, my kinsman, and indeed comely, at our shaded bed. The beams of our houses are cedars; our ceilings are cypresses." Up to this point the bride had looked upon the fragrance of the bridegroom. But now, having been illuminated in the eyes which she has [as] spiritual, so that she bears the name of a dove, she admires his beauty as well, saying: "Beautiful and comely are you, my kinsman." By the bed, as I think, she calls the divine Scripture, in which both the bridegroom and the bride, resting, are joined to one another in mutual spiritual communion. And the bridegroom indeed offers the seeds of the Word, but the bride, ^D those...

who are receiving it, conceives and bears it in her womb, and cries out with the prophet: "By reason of your fear, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb, and have been in pain, and have brought forth the spirit of salvation, which we have carried upon the earth." ^A And he calls 34 the "bed" the "shady" one, as being helped by the grace of the Spirit and freed from the heat of sin. Which is what the cloud was to Israel, that is for us the help of the Spirit. Therefore he says, "Our bed is shady." "The beams of our houses," he says, "are cedars, our paneling are cypresses." He placed these kinds of wood, because the cedar possesses incorruptibility, and the cypress excels in fragrance; but in divine Scripture it is possible to find both of these to be not only for us a bed, but also a house, and a table, and food; and not only does it provide fragrance, but it also promises incorruptibility and ^B immortality. If, however, one wishes to call the houses of the bride, and the churches on earth everywhere, [the bridegroom] will not miss the truth, the cedars and the cypresses being interpreted allegorically—the former as beams, being more precious, 35 [and] the latter as inferior, which are called paneling. Thus the bridegroom is praised by the bride, [and] she teaches that she has not yet looked upon the beauty of the bridegroom himself, but still dwells in the shadow of that beauty.

CHAPTER II

^C VERS. 1. "I am," he says, "the flower of the field, the lily of the valleys." 37 O you human [soul], he says, [come] to behold my beauty; since no one has ever seen God at any time. For I have become the flower of the field, that is, I have taken on an earthly body, and [was] born on the earth, existing from before time and [being] high, or rather, immeasurable. I became a lily, not of the mountains, nor of the hills, nor simply of the fields, but of the valleys. For he preached salvation not only to the living, but also to the dead [granting] them the resurrection, having descended into the lower parts of the earth, that he might fill all things. Therefore he calls himself the flower of the field, [and] the lily of the valleys, that is, of the dead; for those also he promised the rising again and 38 wrought it. Then, since he addresses himself by such [titles], he says to the bride:

VERS. 2. "As a lily among thorns, so is my neighbor 39 among the daughters." For as much difference as there is between the lily and the thorns, so much 40 does your beauty differ from the daughters; for they 41 are called such by virtue of being invited, but they have deprived themselves of being chosen: "For many," he says, "are called, but few are chosen." ^D And this he also calls the bride

^A by the same name. And the prophet Isaiah also speaks of the bride, saying: "Rejoice, thirsty desert; let the desert rejoice, and bloom as the lily." For she who is addressed as the bride was formerly a desert, fruitless, and waterless, and possessed no shady bed; but she thirsted for the bridegroom. Therefore she also cries out: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." And the prophet, in knowing this—for he was spiritual—said: "Rejoice, thirsty desert; let the desert rejoice, and bloom as the lily." For this reason the bridegroom also says to her: "As the lily in the midst of thorns, so is my neighbor among the daughters." And it seems here that he calls the churches of the heretics "daughters" because of their calling, and not because of their own choice. Those he compares to thorns, but this one to a fragrant lily, which possesses brilliance on the outside and contains a golden flower within. Such is the soul that is surrounded by the brightness of justice, and carries within its inner chambers the spiritual gift of wisdom and knowledge hidden away ^B. The bride answers the bridegroom and says to him:

Ver. 3. As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons. In his shadow I desired and sat, and his fruit is sweet in my throat.

Great is the difference between the apple and the lily. For the latter delights only the eyes and the sense of smell; but the apple affects the senses of sight, smell, and taste with pleasure. For it is suitable for eating and is consumed. Therefore the bride is called the lily, but the bridegroom the apple. For he is consumed and becomes food for the bride; but the bride is not consumed, but possesses only the sweetness of fragrance. Therefore she says: "As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons." He calls them "sons" here, as before "daughters," referring to those who, having been made worthy ^C by their calling, proved themselves unworthy of election; the bride says they are like the trees of the wood and fruitless trees. But she calls the bridegroom the apple, as it is soft to the touch, sweet to the taste, fragrant to the smell, most delightful and charming to the sight, and most lovely to the hearing; for by hearing the word we engage all our senses. Such is our Lord, and Savior, and bridegroom, who fills all our senses with the sweetness of his banquet. The bride says she desired to sit in his shadow and had done so; and after this she says that she partook of the fruit, and that it appeared most sweet to her throat; for she seeks to avoid the rays of malice which are skilled at scorching, ^D lest she become black again. And the shadow of the bridegroom are those things which are now, as the blessed Paul says, seen in a mirror and in a riddle: "For I see," he says, "now as in a mirror, and as in a riddle; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know as

I have been known." For this reason he says: "In his shadow I desired and sat, and his fruit is sweet in my throat." ^A For sitting under the shadow, I pluck the fruit and partake of it; and those who are initiated, taking delight in the members of the Bridegroom, are witnesses to this.

VER. 4, 5. "Bring me into the house of wine; set in order charity in me. Strengthen me with ointments, sustain me with apples, for I am wounded by love." ^B By the house of wine, I think divine wine-presses are meant, concerning which the prophet says: "How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord." For having inscribed the psalm "For the wine-presses," he added these words to show that he calls the Churches of God wine-presses, in which the spiritual wine, being pressed out as if by wine-presses, gladdens the souls of the pious according to the prophecy that says: "They shall be inebriated with the fatness of your house, and you will make them drink the torrent of your pleasure." Therefore, the bride also asks to enter into his house of wine and exhorts the bridegroom's ministers, saying: "Set in order charity in me," that is, teach me the manner and measure of charity, so that I may not love father or mother more than the Bridegroom, or field, or vineyards, and appear unworthy of the bridal chamber. ^C For He himself pronounced the judgment saying: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves sons or daughters more than me is not worthy of me." And the ancient law given to Adam declared such things: "For this reason shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh." Set in order, therefore, charity in me, that I may be joined to my bridegroom, and prefer him to father and mother and all others. "Strengthen me with ointments," that is, confirm me with the fragrance of the Bridegroom, and support me, that nothing may shake me; offering me that fragrance continually, so that, not having taken up forgetfulness of the Bridegroom, I might not wander to other things. But also, "Sustain me with apples," instead of saying, load me with the fruits of the Bridegroom, so that sitting under his shadow, and smelling his ointments, and being loaded with his fruit, I may preserve an unforgettable memory of him; "For I am wounded by his love." For he exists as a chosen arrow, and he wounds the souls that are struck.

VER. 6. "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me." ^D We must beware lest again, upon hearing of left and right, we fall into bodily opinions; for Solomon is speaking concerning wisdom, which is a habit, and not a substance.

^A Longitude, he says, of life, and years of life in her right hand; in her left, however, riches and glory. And concerning the embrace, it is again possible to find it said in the Proverbs: "Love her, and she will preserve you; surround yourself with her, and she will exalt you; honor her, that she might embrace you." From these places, therefore, let us learn to understand those things, too, more according to the spirit, believing the so-called embrace to be the communion of the divine Word and the pious soul. The left and the right must be understood as taken from our own perspective. But lest we pass over this without contemplation, it must be noted that God knows how to confer benefits and to afflict with punishments, distributing both to those who deserve them. Understanding, therefore, the beneficent grace as the right hand, and the punitive one as the left, let us listen to the bride who says: "His left hand under my head"; that is, I am higher than ^B punishments, nor am I subject to them, because I have been joined to the bridegroom and am mindful of his care. "His right hand will embrace me"; that is, he will adorn me with his benefits, and as if embracing and comprehending me, and fulfilling my desire, he will heap them upon me. And the blessed Paul, showing this, also said: "Thus we shall always be with the Lord." May it be that we, too, do not experience his avenging power, nor taste the punishments with which he threatens, but may we enjoy the gifts and offerings he has promised, through the grace and kindness of the bridegroom himself, Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

BOOK TWO

^C VERSE 7. "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if you should awaken and arouse love, until she wills it." Those who are captivated by the love of bodies are studious only to enjoy the objects of their desire themselves, and they strive with all their strength to drive rivals away from those whom they love; but those who are inflamed by the love of the spirit, and who are held by the desire of God, [desire] that this same flame ignite all men.

^A “For I am wounded by his love.” For he is indeed a select arrow, and he wounds the souls that are struck. 2. “His left hand *is* under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.” But let us not again fall into fleshly opinions by hearing of “left” and “right.” For even concerning Wisdom, which is a state and not a substance, Solomon says: “Length of life and years of life are in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory.” And regarding the embrace, it is again possible to find it said in the Proverbs: “Love her, and she shall guard you; encompass her, and she shall exalt you; honor her, that she may embrace you.” Taking our starting points from this, therefore, let us understand those things more spiritually, believing the so-called embrace to be the communion of the divine Word and the pious soul; and the left and the right should be understood as taken from our own perspective.

In order that we might not leave this unexamined, let us understand it thus: God knows how to bestow benefits and how to punish, dispensing both to those who are worthy. Therefore, having understood the beneficent grace as the right hand, and the punitive as the left, let us listen to the bride speaking, through these things, that she does not desire Christ for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, but that she chooses to fall from the kingdom, and to fall into Gehenna while loving Christ, rather than to reign while deprived of that love. Such souls, therefore, fulfill the order of the bride, being held by the desire for the bridegroom alone.

There are also some who are like mercenaries, enduring the toils for the sake of virtue by the desire of future good things; these I suppose are called “queens” in this passage, for they desire the kingdom, and for its sake they are willing to bear the labors of piety. ^B There are others who have not yet been deemed worthy of liberty, but are still willing to serve, and fulfill the divine laws for fear of Gehenna; these I think are called “concubines,” for the bridegroom associates even with such, becoming all things to all men.

There are also others who live in sloth, and are neither held by the bridegroom’s love, nor drawn by the desire for the kingdom, nor moved by the fear of Gehenna; they manage their own affairs somewhat negligently, though they do keep their faith unmoved and preserve the dogmas of piety intact, eschewing all heretical and alien teaching; yet they live more sluggishly, at times appearing to care for themselves, at other times falling back into sloth, sometimes sinning, and sometimes bringing forth the tears of repentance. These the bridegroom calls “adolescentulas” [young women] in this place. And since such are more numerous than the queens and concubines, he says: “And adolescentulae, of whom there is no number.” Of the adolescentulae, he says, there is no number, not only because they cannot be numbered due to their multitude, but also because they are unworthy of being numbered. For even the hairs of the worthy are numbered by the Father. ^C But nevertheless, he associates even with them at times, wishing to draw them away from their sloth, and guiding them to things that are perfect, and seeking their salvation from every side.

But let us consider why he mentioned sixty queens and eighty concubines. The number sixty contains the decade six times. The decade indicates perfection, while the senary contains the number of the world’s creation; for in six days the God of all created the entire universe. Therefore, the souls that have been perfected in virtue in this world, and desire the kingdom, he named sixty queens. For the bride governs this world, and exists outside of it, and soars above it, and becomes entirely the bridegroom’s, and constantly contemplates him. But they [the others] live in this world, and desiring the kingdom, they strive toward the perfection of virtue...

^A And the blessed David [says]: "Did I not hate those who hate thee, O Lord, and pine away at your enemies? I hated them with a perfect hatred; they became enemies to me." But concerning those who love Him, he says: "But to me, your friends, O God, have been greatly honored; their principles have been greatly strengthened." Thus, the blessed men were taught by the God of all to love those who love their friends. For He Himself first said to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you." And He says also to Israel: "I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you." From these places David was taught to say those things, and the blessed Paul to declare anathema those who do not love the Lord; for this reason the bride also adjures the daughters of Jerusalem to raise up and stir up the love for the bridegroom until he himself wills it. As she speaks of these things to the maidens, and exhorts them to a similar love, she perceives the arrival of the bridegroom and says:

Ver. 8. The voice of my kinsman. For having become accustomed to his sacred words, she recognizes his voice; just as the Lord also says in the holy Gospels: "My sheep hear my voice; but they will not follow a stranger, because they do not know the voice of strangers." The bride, therefore, knows the voice of the bridegroom; she knows what difference there is between an adulterer and a bridegroom. And she turns away from the voices of adulterers, and wolves, and hirelings, but loves the words of the bridegroom and shepherd. Therefore, as soon as she perceives his arrival, she cries out: ^B "The voice of my kinsman!" And she does not endure to sit, but rises, and keeps watch, and looks around, and seeing him, cries out: "Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills." (Ver. 9.) "My kinsman is like a gazelle or a young hart on the mountains of Bethel." It is worth investigating why she likens him to a gazelle and a young hart, and what the mountains of Bethel are, and what the leaping and what the skipping signify, and what the hills and the mountains are, on which these things take place. They say that the gazelle (dorcas) is named from the sharpness of its vision, for it perceives most acutely. They also say that stags are held by a natural hatred of wild serpents, such that they devour snakes, and vipers, and other beasts of that kind just like grass, while suffering no harm from that food. Therefore, since the Lord Christ, in so far as He is man, is that rod which came forth from the root of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit of God rested, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and whom He who was to fill [him] with the Spirit...

of the fear of God, the bride compares to a capra/roe, because of the excellence of his eye-sight, and his perspicacious power of beholding, and his foreknowledge of things to come. And again, she says he resembles the fawn of a deer, as one who has crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water, and broken the heads of the dragon, and like a sword has slain the winding serpent and the dragon coming out of the sea; and who has given to His disciples power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and who, having committed no sin, has taken away the sins of the world, and destroyed them as if they were certain serpents. ^B And she likens him to the fawn of a deer, because he is not only called man, but also the Son of man, and not only a lion, but also the lion's whelp. "For he lay down," he says, "he slept as a lion, and as a lion's whelp." And it is likely that she also hints at this, that while he was still of small bodily stature, he devoured the power of the devil as if they were certain serpents, and immediately upon his birth drew the magi, the prophets of the devil, to adoration. For according to the law, both the roe and the deer are among the clean animals. And the roe is named before the deer, as it holds a figure for the excellence of faith. For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He becomes a rewarder to those who seek Him. And the divine Scripture indeed calls [men] deer. And now, the blessed David says in the 17th Psalm: "God who girds me with strength, and has made my way blameless, perfecting my feet like those of a deer." For, he says, my way became blameless, since my feet were made perfect like those of a deer. For I was able to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And now, in the 28th Psalm he says: ^C "The voice of the Lord perfecting deer, and He will reveal the woods." Here he calls the holy Apostles deer, whose feet are beautiful, as they bring good tidings of good, as they trample upon the serpents which kill and plot against the souls of men; through whom the fruitless woods were revealed, that is, the deceit of the idols; through whom everyone in the temple of God speaks of His glory. The blessed prophet Habakkuk says things not unlike these: "The Lord God is my strength, and He will set my feet like a deer's, and He will make me go upon high places, so that I may conquer in His song." But it is time to return to the subject at hand. "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. My kinsman is like a roe, or a fawn of the deer upon the mountains of Bethel." ^D Here the bride teaches the destruction of the idols which was brought about by the bridegroom. For mountains and hills, he named the groves and shrines of the demons that were of old on the mountains, since...

leaping and jumping over them by the wisdom of his words and the power of his miracles, he has overcome them and rendered them entirely as naught. Indeed, Symmachus also, ^A interpreting this more clearly, says: "Behold, this one comes ascending against the mountains, leaping against the hills." To these, the bride adds again: "Behold, he stands behind our wall, looking forth through the windows, peering through the lattices." He teaches, moreover, that since he has humbled every mountain and hill, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, he arrives at her who was formerly humble and likened to a valley, and he fills her, and makes the crooked into a straight path and the rough into smooth ways; and he builds around her, as if she were a city, a wall, that she may not be besieged by ^B enemies; and as if she were a vineyard, a garden, and a paradise, he places a fence around her, that she may not be harvested by all who pass by the way, nor harmed by a boar from the forest, nor grazed upon by wild beasts, as was that former one which had been transplanted out of Egypt. He indicates, therefore, that having destroyed the shrines of the demons and the groves and temples of those who were called gods (for this is what was signified by the words "on the mountains of Bethel"—for Bethel signifies "house of God"; and by the same name as the God who is above all, those who are not gods were called gods by the impious), he has arrived at her. And he has not yet entered into her chamber, but standing behind the wall, he looks forth through the windows. He calls the senses "windows." For through the windows of the senses, both good things and their opposites flow into the soul, and in turn flow out from it. For this reason the prophet Jeremiah also says: "Death has climbed up through the windows." ^C For "he who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart," and death enters through the windows. And he who receives a vain report admits death through the windows. But the bride now enjoys the glory of the bridegroom through the windows. And it must be sought how the bridegroom looks forth through the windows, that is, through our senses. When, meditating in the law of the Lord day and night, we delight in the divine words, and with compunction of soul and knowledge we diligently consider what is written, we open our windows and receive the person of the bridegroom. And when we attentively listen to others reciting the divine Scriptures or discoursing about God, again through other windows the bridegroom looks forth and shows us his own beauty. And not only does he look forth through the windows, but he also peers out from the lattices; for he does not abandon his bride being hunted by the deceitful demons,

^A but delivers her from the snare of the hunters and from the turbulent word. And in those very temptations, he peers forth through the lattices and comforts her while she is besieged, and he restores her spirit. And this one can find, in both the Old and New Scripture, accomplished by the God of all, and that the pious have obtained consolation from the God of all in every tribulation. For he permitted Sarah to be snatched away by Pharaoh, but he peered forth through the lattices and comforted the patriarch Abraham, and having shattered the nets, he restored the prey to him safe and sound. She was captured again by Abimelech, and again he peered forth through the lattices, and not only did he save the prey, but he also bestowed a favor upon the hunter. ^B He did this also in the case of Isaac; for he suffered such things regarding Rebecca, as the father did regarding Sarah. He did this also in the case of Jacob; for when his father-in-law was eagerly striving to catch him and was eager to kill him, he appears again through the lattices, and he encourages Jacob while terrifying Laban. And when he again feared his brother's arrival, he appears and drives away the fear and inspires courage. And he was present with Joseph, even when he was sold and became a slave, both in the master's house and when he was in prison, and everywhere he kept peering forth through the lattices and comforting him. And that I might leave aside the saints in between, avoiding the length of the account, ^C thus he comforted the wisest Daniel, who had been delivered to the lions, and by peering forth from the lattices he prepared him to be of good courage; thus he came to those blessed youths in that fearful furnace; thus he commanded the holy apostles who had been cast into prison by the Jews to be of good courage and to preach the word of piety with boldness; thus, after these things, he inspires courage in the blessed Paul, who had been imprisoned in Jerusalem and was expecting death, saying, "Be of good courage, Paul; for as you have testified the things concerning me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." The bride, hinting at this, says ^D:

Ver. 10. *My beloved responds and says to me: Arise, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove.* The bridegroom bears witness to the beauty of the bride; and he calls her not simply beautiful, but "my beautiful one," teaching that her beauty pleases him exceedingly. He also addresses her as a dove, hinting by this name at the grace of the Spirit.

^A For the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. The blessed Paul is accustomed to calling the perfect "spiritual." Thus, writing to those still imperfect, he says, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ." But to the perfect he writes, "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." ^B Justly, therefore, does the Bridegroom call the soul perfected in virtue a dove, that is, a spiritual one, filled with the Holy Spirit. For the prophet Isaiah also, seeing these things from afar, and beholding the holy apostles like certain winged creatures flying over the whole world, and their disciples and listeners following them like certain nestlings, cries out and says, "Who are these, who fly as clouds, and as doves with their young?" In this same way the Bridegroom here, refreshing and comforting His Church as she labors in temptations, and looking through the windows and peering through the lattices, encourages her to arise and fly to Him. For He gave her the wings of that dove, concerning which the blessed David says, "If you rest among the lots, there are the wings of a dove covered in silver, and the parts of her back in the pale green of gold." By "lots" ^C he calls the two Testaments, and by "dove" the grace of the Spirit, having "wings covered in silver"—that is, the splendor of prayer. And the "parts of the back in the pale green of gold" refer to the illustration of hidden mysteries. As if to say: if you rest in the midst of the two Testaments and draw benefit from both, you will find there the varied gifts of the Spirit. The bride, therefore, having received the spiritual admonition, and having rested among the lots, found the silver-covered wings, by which she is encouraged to fly to the Bridegroom. VERS. 11-13. "For lo," he says, "the winter is past: the rain is gone, it has departed for itself. The flowers have appeared on the earth: the time of the reaping has arrived; the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has brought forth her green figs: the vines are blooming, they have given their scent." Let us add to these, if it pleases, the words of the Lord which are in the Gospel. For when He saw a great crowd flowing to Him from all sides, He said to the holy apostles, "The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few." And ^D elsewhere, "Already," He says, "he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal." And again, "Another is he who sows, and another who reaps: I have sent you to reap." From this, therefore, let us understand the phrase, "Lo, the winter is past." For he calls the time that preceded His advent winter: spring, however,

is that which followed after the advent; and the peak of summer is the age that is expected. Therefore He says, "The winter is past, and the rain is gone"—that is, the threats of the Law, and the severe punishments for sins. ^A "And it has departed for itself." For the shadow gives way to the body, and the pedagogue to the wise teacher. "For the flowers have appeared on the earth." The precision of the words must be attended to. For He did not say, "fruits," but "flowers." For the absolute possession of good things is reserved for those who are worthy in the future age. While they are here, they say with blessed Paul: "Now I see as in a mirror, and as in an enigma; but then face to face." But also, ^B "the time of pruning has arrived," or as Symmachus and Aquila have interpreted it, "of the trimming." For after the advent of the Lord Christ, all the nations have attained this purification. Therefore, the Lord also says: "I am the true vine, and you are the branches; my Father is the husbandman; every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every one that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." For this reason He says: "And the time of pruning has arrived." But also, "The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Again, He calls the doctrine of the all-holy Spirit the voice of the turtledove. For thus blessed David, in the psalm inscribed "For the presses," says: having said, "How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God," ^C he also explains the cause of the exultation and says: "For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she may place her young." And showing who these are, he adds: "Thy altars, O Lord of hosts." And He teaches us that the young are those who have attained rebirth through the font; but their house and nest are the divine altars, in which they are nourished, and fed, and grow feathers, and little by little enjoy perfection. And there is as it were a mother of theirs who brings them forth, the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is metaphorically called a turtledove, on account of the creature's chastity, and its love of solitude, and the construction of its nests in shady trees. The bridegroom says, therefore, that ^D "the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land, and the fig tree hath brought forth her green figs," that is, the early fruit of faith, through which the other fruit, I mean that of works, becomes firm and stable, and does not fall away, but ripens and becomes most pleasant. "And the vines have blossomed, they have given their scent." The vines, he says, which are metaphorically so called, have bloomed and released their fragrance.

^A Ver. 14. "Arise, therefore, come, my near one. In the shelter of the rock, beside the bulwark." He calls her into the shelter of the rock so that she might not become black again. By the "rock" he names the pious faith, the true confession. For when the Lord asked the disciples, "Who do men say that I the Son of Man am?" blessed Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." To whom He answered saying, "Amen, amen I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." He also desires her to be removed from the present life. ^B Therefore, the blessed Paul also, writing to the Hebrews, says, "Let us go forth therefore to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach." He wishes her to consider not the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. "For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Therefore, he exhorts her to be beside the bulwark, as if saying, "Mortify your members which are upon the earth; meditate on bodilessness while in the body; show freedom from passion amidst the passions; be outside the present city and its walls." For unless you are there beside the bulwark, you will not enjoy my fellowship; unless you cry out with Paul, "Walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh." For no one fighting participates in the ^C affairs of this life, that he may please the one who has enlisted him. Unless you stand in the middle-ground between things present and things future (for I judge this to be signified by the "bulwark"), our marriage cannot take place. But having gone there, I ask you to show me your face. You have a pure mind; no cares of this life cast darkness upon it. There I long to hear your voice; for there it too will be pure and alienated from all uncleanness. Then your voice will be sweet to me, and your face beautiful; for I recognize my own beauty in you as in a mirror, and I hear your voice adorned with my words. Having spoken these things to the bride, the bridegroom commands his ministers in this manner:

^D Ver. 15. "Catch for us the little foxes, which destroy the vines." Now, some of the interpreters have referred the word "little" to the vines. But it makes no difference whether the meaning is understood in this way or that. By foxes he calls those who are possessed of a deceitful mind, and who corrupt and devastate the Churches of the Lord, which have just begun to bloom. Therefore he adds, "And our vines are flowering." By the little foxes he hints at the heretics.

who assault ecclesiastical souls and attempt to steal away—doltishly and treacherously—those who have not yet become steadfast in the faith. For these men, by the persuasiveness of their words and by the snares and entanglements of their syllogisms, deceive those who are more simply disposed and ruin the vines. For this reason, He commands those who have received the gift and office of teaching to hunt them down and trap them with the evidence of the truth, and to free the flowering vines from their ruin. Upon hearing these words, the bride immediately says:

^B VERSE 16. "My kinsman is mine, and I am his." For just as He preferred me to all others, so do I prefer Him to all others, and I do not suffer myself to be joined to another. I shrink from those who bear the name and character of foxes. For it is absurd that I, who have been so greatly beloved and so greatly honored, should not in return, according to my ability, requite Him who loved me. Similar to this appears that which was written by the blessed Paul to the Corinthians: "The body, however, is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." Similar again is that which was said by the same author: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted as loss for Christ. Nay, I count all things to be but refuse, that I may gain Christ." Of the same kind is also that: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." Such also is this: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or famine, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" and what follows. Of the same kind is also: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ, by whom the world has been crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Consistent with these things seem to be those things said by the bride: "My kinsman is mine, and I am his." He declares who this is, and what He continually does, and where, and when, and how long.

"For he who feeds," she says, "among the lilies." (VERSE 17.) "Until the day breathes, and the shadows move." One must note that the bridegroom first called himself a lily, speaking according to his humanity: "I am a flower of the field, a lily of the valleys." Secondly, he called the bride herself a lily: "For as a lily," he says, "in the midst of thorns, so is my neighbor in the midst of the daughters." Here, however, he calls the very food itself lilies: "For he who feeds," she says, "among the lilies." As if she were to say: the very food which is provided to the sheep is full of sweetness. And this is how it must be understood according to the Septuagint. But Symmachus interprets it thus: "Who feed the flowers," so that those who feed, clearly, are themselves the flowers, whom he has called lilies.

^A To these things matches that which was written by the blessed Paul to the Corinthians: "But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." Similar to this, again, is that which was said by him: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things to be dung, that I may win Christ." Similar to this is also that: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Similar to this is that: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" and so on. Similar to this is also that: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." To these things matches that which is said by the bride: "My beloved is mine, and I am his." And it signifies both who this is, and what he continues to do, and where, and when, and until when. For he who feeds, he says, among the lilies. (17.) Until the day breathe, and the shadows be moved. ^B That I may leave the other saints for the present, the blessed Paul alone will suffice to indicate to us the power of this love, since he attained to the experience of it more than all: "For who," he says, "shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things," he says, "we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." These things, therefore, are sufficient to demonstrate the victory of love; but the things that follow this proclaim it more clearly. For he subjoins: "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And in order to show it more powerful than all things, both those seen and those invisible, he fashions in his speech a creature that does not exist, and compares the love of God with this again, and shows the love directed toward God to be stronger. ^C Reasonably, therefore, the bridegroom says: "Much water will not be able to quench love, and the floods shall not drown it. If a man should give all his life in love, they will despise him in despising." But they will despise him who gives his whole life in love—those who are deprived of and stripped of love. For this reason the blessed Paul also said: "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." For truly this happens to those who are suffering from vertigo; for since they themselves are not standing firm, they think all things are moving. Thus also those who are deprived of love defamed those who are nourished by love as foolish and mindless. But yet not even this harmed love, but even made it warmer. Being reviled, the apostles blessed, and being defamed, they entreated, and becoming as if the filth of the world, they said they were the offscouring of all things unto this day.

VERS. 8, 9. Our sister is little, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her bulwarks of silver: if she be a door, we will design upon her a cedar board. ^D I suppose those holy prophets, those who flourished in the Old Testament, seeing the shortness of the spiritual age of the bride, and the breasts being yet imperfect and hidden, as those who were precursors and heralds of the marriage, were saying these things among themselves, that—

^A *I will rise and I will go about in the city, in the streets and in the broad ways, and I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and I found him not; I called him, and he did not hearken to me.* (Ps. XII, 1, 3). The Lord of all, being accustomed to train the souls of the pious, permits them to fall into various temptations, and to those who petition to be delivered, He sometimes grants, and sometimes defers the aid, contriving therefrom utility for His devotees. Such also is that which was said by David: *How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me for ever? how long turnest thou thy face from me? How long shall I place counsels in my soul, and sorrows in my heart by day and by night? how long shall my enemy be exalted over me?* For, as is to be expected, he often supplicated, and having requested relief from his afflictions, he did not obtain what he asked for; wherefore, being troubled as though he had sinned, and being in anguish, he made use of such words. And the blessed Paul also says: *By the excellence of the revelations, that I should not be exalted, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted. For which thing I thrice besought the Lord, and He said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee; for My power is made perfect in infirmity.* And Paul prays, and does not obtain; for the not receiving of his request was more beneficial. Therefore, being taught what he did not know, he receives with joy the fact of not having received what he asked; and he cries out, saying: *Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.* Elijah also, when he greatly feared the threats of Jezebel ^B, fled into the wilderness, seeking a helper. But the wise teacher and rewarder of the pious, after he had left him for a short time to be exercised by fear, appears to him, and asks as though ignorant the cause of the flight—not mocking him, but teaching him why He had allowed him to flee, and admonishing him that, since he was a man and touched by human affections, he should cultivate humanity and clemency. But it is time to return to the matter at hand. For here the bride, the bridegroom having departed for a little while, seeks him indeed in her bed, and that not by day, but by night; but she does not find him resting. And this she does, not only seeking but also calling. She rises and goes about the city, the markets, and the broad ways; for longing compelled her, and the flame of love ^C did not allow her to remain at home. She encounters those who guard the city, and she questions them, saying: ^D *Vers. 3, 4. The watchmen that go about the city found me. Have you seen him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, until I found him whom my soul loveth.* His beneficence is in relation to action, and his immutability is in relation to essence.

^A What, then, if he be beneficent and immutable in his essence, was I unable to find him? For even if I called him Goodness and Truth for this reason, he did not hearken to me, since he is even above these: for his name is above every name. And I, as I have said, was not yet able to find my beloved. But the holy angels found me, they who guard and circle about in the city. They found me while I was being cleansed through action and enlightened through contemplation, I who had been lost through wickedness and ignorance, and had once been a disciple of the spirits of wickedness; and for this reason I was not found by these good angels for instruction. They observe, so as to praise or convict in the fearful day of judgment, my manifest and hidden stirrings, and every thought and deed. And so, that they might leave none of these unexamined, they compass me about, holding their occupation in me as in some city. ^B To them, therefore, when they had found me, I said: "Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?" That is: Have you, who in your choirs and dances accompany him as his ministering spirits, beheld how he is in his nature, so that you might instruct me also in this? But since the Bridegroom is incomprehensible in his essence even to the holy angels, and for this reason they gave me no answer to my question, declaring by their very silence that he cannot be comprehended even by them—as he is Uncreate and they are created—I passed on from them also, seeking him whom I desired. ^C And when I had passed a little way from them, until I found him whom my soul loveth: "I held him." That is, as it were a little, by only passing over the created mind and the angelic nature itself, so that I might find the Uncreated, my beloved, as my benefactor, I held him by faith alone. Having journeyed through all things, and being confirmed by the experience itself—that he who is the cause of all things is above all things that exist, and is not seen in his essence in any nature, whether sensible or intelligible, being supersubstantial—I thus traversed all things, studying to bring my most desirable Bridegroom into my house. "And I did not let him go, until I had brought him into the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived me." That is, I did not cease seeking my lover until I had brought him to dwell in my mind, which is the house of God’s wisdom, the cause of all things after the manner of a mother, as it is receptive of this wisdom through likeness; and it is again her chamber, because it keeps her hidden treasures stored within itself through the image. ^D This wisdom conceived me, inasmuch as she had the most excellent design concerning me before the foundation of the world; for which cause she brought into being me, the human nature, and indeed the whole. "On my bed in the nights I sought him whom my soul loveth; I sought him, and I found him not." And having passed a little beyond these, she says that she has found him, and has not hearkened.

until she might bring him into the house of her mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived her. She calls city the house of God, which we term the Church; and markets and squares, the divine Scriptures; and guards of the city, the holy prophets and the sacred apostles, of whom the pious soul inquires, longing for the divine Word. After whom she finds the Bridegroom, guarded/attended by certain ministers or rod-bearers, and taking hold of him she keeps him, and does not endure to leave him, until she brings him into the house of her mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived her. We know the mother of the pious to be the Jerusalem above, concerning which the blessed Paul says: "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is mother of us all." The bride therefore, having taken hold of the Bridegroom, promises not to abandon him until they together enter into the bridal chamber and the bedchamber prepared for him. Having recounted these things to the young women, she again exhorts them to the same desire, and says: ^C

5. "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field, if ye shall awaken and rouse up my love, until it please." These things are indeed explained from what was interpreted at the beginning of this discourse; for she brings this oath upon them twice, choosing to kindle in them a warm love for the Bridegroom. These things having been spoken by the bride, and she having received ineffable beauty from the embrace of the Bridegroom, the divine powers, being amazed, say:

6. "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the powders of the perfumer?" For even as, beholding the Bridegroom after the victory over the devil and the dissolution of death ascending into the heavens, they marvel and say: "Who is this King of glory?" and learn that "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle," and wishing to learn more accurately, they ask again: "Who is this King of glory?" and hear that "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory"; so here, marveling at the beauty of the bride, they say: "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness?" They call the nature of men a wilderness, on account of former impiety. Wherefore also Isaiah cries: "Be glad, thou thirsty wilderness: let the solitude rejoice, and blossom as a lily." And just as here they are amazed that such beauty has blossomed from the wilderness, so in the prophecy of Isaiah they marvel, beholding the Bridegroom, and say: "Who is this that cometh from Edom? The redness of his garments from Bosor?" Now Edom signifies the earth, but Bosor, the flesh. And his beauty with amazement

^A they cry out: "This one is beautiful in his robe, with violence and strength. Why are your garments red, as from one who treads a full winepress, trodden down?" And they say: "Being in the body, he shines." They have called his body a robe, and it has a violent beauty, compelling all who see it. Thus, they are amazed here, not only that the bride is beautiful, but also that she is coming up from the wilderness—that is, moving from the depth to the heights, and walking from lowly things to elevated things. "And she is like," he says, "a pillar of smoke perfumed." The composition is indeed obscure. For the Seventy Interpreters, while serving the Hebrew language, did not make the meaning clear; but Aquila and Symmachus have made the meaning clear to us by saying, "As a likeness of smoke from incense." ^B Smoke, when expressed in the air, often imitates a pillar of incense. And not without reason do they say she is like the smoke of incense, she who, as the blessed Paul says, presents her members as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, and constantly offers the sacrifice of praise, and puts to death her members which are on the earth, and has been buried with Christ, and offers herself as a whole burnt offering to God. They explain, moreover, to what they compared her in the smoke of incense: for they say "myrrh and frankincense of all the powders of the perfumer." It is clear that frankincense is assigned to God according to the Mosaic Law, but myrrh is the anointing of dead bodies. Therefore, those who admire the beauty of the bride signify by these names that she is fragrant with the sweetness of an odor and is likened to the vapor of incense, because she worships both the humanity and the divinity, and believes in the death of the Bridegroom, ^C and confesses his eternal essence. Therefore, out of all the powders of the perfumer, they praise her myrrh and frankincense. For she has also other virtues, pulling them as if from the apothecary's shop of Divine Scripture; but myrrh and frankincense excel in her, that is, the knowledge of the Bridegroom’s divinity and humanity. In this way, having admired the beauty of the bride, they declare the riches of the Bridegroom to her, and say:

VERSES 7, 8. Behold the bed of Solomon, sixty valiant men are around it, of the valiant of Israel. All holding swords, most expert for war. Every man's sword is on his thigh, because of fear in the nights.

of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about, for Solomon is his name; and I will give peace and quietness in Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be to me a son, and I will be to him a father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever." ^A Now it is evident that Solomon died when he had not lived for a long time, and that his throne came to an end. Therefore he calls our peaceful Lord Solomon, of whom the blessed Paul says: "For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition." On account of this, the blessed David also writes the seventy-first Psalm concerning Solomon, and in that psalm he narrates the deeds done by our Savior. "For he shall judge," he says, "the poor of the people, and he shall save the sons of the needy, and shall humble the slanderer; and he shall remain with the sun, and before the moon, for generations of generations." But Solomon did not remain with the sun, nor was he before the moon for generations of generations. But these things befit Jesus Christ, who blossomed from Solomon according to his humanity; who, being before the ages, "descended as rain upon a fleece, and as a drop trickling upon the earth." Here he called the Virgin the fleece. For just as rain falls silently upon a fleece, so that saving birth happened while all men were ignorant. To these he adds: "Righteousness shall rise in his days, and an abundance of peace, until the moon be removed. And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth," and all the following things are of the same meaning; for this is not the time to interpret the psalm. For it was not Solomon who ruled to the ends ^B of the earth, but Jesus Christ, who sprouted from Solomon according to his humanity, and is called Solomon because of his peaceful and gentle nature, and because he is the provider of peace. Since, therefore, we have learned who Solomon is, come, let us set ourselves to the interpretation. "Behold the bed of Solomon." By the bed of the bridegroom, let us understand the divine Scriptures. For in them the bride, as it were, lying with the bridegroom and receiving the seeds of doctrine, conceives and is with child, and travails, and gives birth to spiritual benefit, so that she cries out with the prophet: "For thy fear, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb, and have been in pain, and have brought forth; we have brought forth the spirit of thy salvation upon the earth." "Sixty," he says, "are the mighty ones round about her, of the mighty ones of Israel. All holding swords, most learned in war; ^C each man his sword upon his

every man his sword upon his thigh, because ^A of fear in the night." I think the number sixty is placed here not to express this quantity, but to indicate men who were preeminent in holiness in the Old Testament. For they contend that the number ten is perfect, but that six is appropriate for those who were under the Law. "For six days," he says, "you shall do your work." Therefore, they say that those who were perfected under the Law stand around the bed, being of the race of Israel, and being more valiant than all, and holding swords, and skilled in the art of war, and carrying other swords upon their thighs. "From fear," he says, "in the night." Symmachus rendered this more clearly, interpreting it as "on account of nocturnal fears." These, he says, are the valiant men who surround his bed, guarding the bride against the incursions of the enemy. They carry two swords, one upon the thigh and the other in the hand; one of reproof, the other occult and mystical; the former in readiness for conviction, the latter, the mystical one, ^B kept within, as in a scabbard or inner cell.

VERS. 9, 10. *A litter King Solomon made for himself of the wood of Lebanon. He made its pillars of silver, and its support of gold; its ascent is purple; its interior is paved with stones, out of love for the daughters of Jerusalem.* Once again, under the term "litter" let us understand the holy apostles, who carried the name of the Lord before nations, and kings, and the sons of Israel. For concerning the blessed Paul, Christ says to Ananias: "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine, to carry my name before the nations, and kings, and the sons of Israel." Nay, the divine Paul himself cries out: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?" The blessed Habakkuk also calls these men horses: "Thou shalt ascend," he says, "upon thy horses, and thy riding is salvation." And again: "Thou didst cause thy horses to enter into the sea, troubling many waters." He calls the nations the sea, which were stirred up at that time by the preaching of the apostles; wherefore the unbelievers also said of them: "These who upset the world have come here also, whom Jason has received." ^C Those, therefore, whom Habakkuk called horses, we find to be called a litter in the Song of Songs. "King Solomon, therefore, made for himself a litter of the wood of Lebanon." Divine Scripture often calls Jerusalem and the multitude of the Jews "Lebanon," as we demonstrated from the prophetic writings in the introduction to our discourse. Since, therefore, the blessed apostles derived their race from them, for this reason the litter is said to be constructed of the wood of Lebanon. But "its pillars," he says, "he made of silver." We find that the apostles themselves were also called pillars. For the blessed ^D

^A Paul, writing to the Galatians, says, "Peter, and James, and John, who seemed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." They say that its couch is also of gold. This signifies the evangelical preaching in which the divine Word rests. "Its ascent is purple," for it is fitting that those who are beginning should be brought into order, but that those who are perfect should be adorned as a bride. And "within, it is paved with stones"; for the divine oracles are like pearls and precious stones, according to the prophet who said, "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified altogether, more to be desired than gold and much precious stone." And again, "Behold, I have desired thy commandments above gold and topaz." And, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls," according to the voice of the Lord. And elsewhere he says, "Cast not your pearls before swine." When they have declared the king’s litter to be of such a kind, they urge the daughters of Jerusalem to go out to behold the bridegroom, and to look upon the crown placed upon him, and they say:

VERSE 11. Go forth, and see, O ye daughters of Sion, king Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him, in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

They signify—in order that we may proceed briefly and clearly in our explanation, avoiding prolixity of discourse— "O daughters of Jerusalem and Sion." The blessed Paul taught us that Sion, in turn, is the heavenly one, saying, "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven." "Ye, therefore," they say, "O daughters of Sion and Jerusalem, go forth and see"—for it is impossible for us to see unless we have departed from the affairs of this life—"behold the king crowned with love; for so he loved the world, that, being in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." So he loved the world, that "as a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer he was dumb"; and he redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Therefore he says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Thus, therefore, his mother crowned him. He calls the Jewish race "mother," as far as pertains to his humanity, which this

^A mother has given to him. For she crowned him with thorns, as if dishonoring him, but he, through the thorns, received the crown of love. For he willingly endured the dishonor, and voluntarily approached the passion; wherefore he also called that day a day of betrothal, and a day of the gladness of his heart. For on that day the communion of the marriage took place. "For after supper," he says, "he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat of it all of you: for this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins; do this in remembrance of me." They, therefore, who eat the members of the Bridegroom, and drink his blood, attain to his nuptial communion. For this reason the ministers of the Bridegroom exhort the daughters of Zion and Jerusalem, saying: "Go forth, and see the crown of his love, with which ^B Judea, who bore him, adorned him against her own will, and crowned him on the day of his betrothal." These things having been spoken by them, the Bridegroom, speaking again to the Bride, says:

CHAPTER IV.

VERS. 1. "Behold, you are fair, my neighbor; behold, you are fair; your eyes are doves, besides your silence." Admiring her beauty a second time, he says: "Behold, you are fair." Then he describes her beauty part by part; and he calls her eyes doves, commending their spiritual contemplation, and ^C that they do not gape after sensible things, but seek the things that are above, where Christ is, according to Paul, sitting at the right hand of God. He also admires her opportune silence, which indeed we find commended even among the ancients. Wherefore we also hear in the Psalms: "I set a guard upon my mouth, when the sinner stood before me." And chanting we say: "Set, O Lord, a guard upon my mouth, and a door of restraint around my lips." And we find the Lord, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, not opening his mouth in his humiliation, and, according to the history of the Gospels, when asked by Pilate, ^D not answering. The Bridegroom, therefore, praises the Bride's opportune silence, just as he himself also used it in its time. He praises also her hair, admires her teeth, and says:

"Your hair is like flocks of goats, that have been revealed from Gilead. (VERS. 2.) Your teeth are like flocks of shorn sheep, that have come up from the washing-pool, all of which have twin offspring, and there is not one that is barren among them." Neither by hair are we to understand hairs, nor by teeth the teeth; but...

^A hair in a certain way signifies those things that are not so necessary in the bride, and which pertain to the body. For hair is devoid of life and sensation. It is as if he said: Even in human affairs, in which we cannot help but be involved, you conduct yourself laudably and decorously; and you seem like the flock of goats that is pastured on Mount Gilead, and is distinguished because of the height of the mountain. Concerning this mountain, the prophet Jeremiah says: "Is there no balm in Gilead, or is there no physician there?" (Jerem. viii, 22). And it must be inquired whether, perhaps, by the flock of goats, those who repent of their sin and approach with repentance, and who for this reason are pastured on Mount Gilead so that they may obtain therapeutic medicines and healing, are signified here, just as the discourse hints, and shows that the base and ^B lowest parts of the bride, and those that are, as it were, dead and senseless, are compared to the achievements of that flock. But your teeth are so pure and free from every superfluous conversation, and from scurrility, and foolish talk, and lying, and obscenity, that they seem like the flocks of the shorn, which, having cast off what was superfluous, have ascended from the washing-pool. I think that by the flocks of the shorn, the Bridegroom signifies those who have sheared away sin through baptism, and, according to the blessed Paul, have been "cleansed by the washing of water with the word" (Ephes. v, 26). For thus, he says, you have remained having pure teeth, and rid of the filth of wicked words, so that you seem like those who have just been deemed worthy of the saving baptism. And all those flocks are twin-bearing, and ^C there is no one who is barren among them; for I do not compare you to those who, after the saving baptism, slide back into wickedness, but to those who guard the grace given to them, and bring forth a double virtue, both that which is in contemplation and that which is in action. Having thus praised these parts of the bride, he proceeds to the rest, and says:

3. Thy lips are like a scarlet thread, and thy speech is comely.

By the scarlet cord, he brings to her memory Rahab the harlot, who in the Old Testament bore her type. For when she had received the spies sent by Joshua the son of Nun, she became worthy of eternal life through them; and she also received the scarlet cord as a sign of her salvation. She was commanded to let this down through the window, so that when the Israelites had entered the city, the sign appearing might deliver her from ^D slaughter and procure salvation for her (Josue ii, 18 seqq.). The Bridegroom beholds this sign in the mouth of the bride, as if placed in a window, and says: "As a scarlet cord are your lips, and your speech is comely." For it has received the dye from my blood, and utters words of truth, by which, as with a cord, it catches and binds the hearers. For your comely speech...

^A delights and charms them, and does not allow them to depart, but compels them to linger at your lips. He also praises the cheeks and countenance, saying: "As the peel of a pomegranate are your cheeks, apart from your silence." He signifies the redness inherent to the Bride from modesty, for which she employs a timely silence, discreetly hiding the more mystical discourses, just as the peel of a pomegranate covers the seeds.

VERS. 4. *As the tower of David is your neck, which is built in Thalphioth. A thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the darts of the mighty.* For Thalphioth, Aquila put "bulwarks," and Symmachus "heights." Just as, therefore, he says, the tower built by David surpasses the bulwarks upon which it is constructed, and stands sublime and conspicuous, so your neck is exalted and sublime, looking around and contemplating things above. For it is not bent toward the earth in the manner of brute beasts, nor does it imitate swine by inclining toward the belly; but it is erect and arduous, and bears a thousand bucklers, and all the darts of the mighty. ^B This number, however, is not to be understood as a specific quantity, but is set for any multitude whatsoever. Your neck, which supports your head and face, possesses all the doctrines of others—improperly called darts—with which you overcome all adversaries. It also has many bucklers, with which you are protected and quench the inflamed arrows of the evil one. For you are armed with the armor of the Spirit, and easily wound the enemy, since you abound with all the arrows of the mighty: these you refute, now through the prophets, now through the apostles, and uncover their weakness. ^C

VERS. 5, 6. *Your two breasts are as two twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies. Until the day breathes, and the shadows are moved.* We understand these likewise in the same manner as the preceding, so that by the breasts we again understand the fountains of doctrine, which furnish what is congruent to each age: to some offering milk, to others solid food. And for this reason he says the breasts of the Bride are similar to the fawns of a gazelle, admiring the sharpness of their intuition and the power of their contemplation. He calls them fawns of a gazelle because, as the blessed Paul says, "Now we know in part, then ^D we shall know, even as we have been known."

And since now we know in part, and prophesy in part

which is to say, they partake of the herb of sweet fragrance; and this is the teaching of the Spirit. But according to Symmachus, he says, "to feed among the flowers": for the breasts of the bride feed and nourish those who have been accounted worthy to become a flower of the Spirit, by offering them the streams of doctrine, "until the day breathe, and the heat cease," that is, the laborious life; "and the shadows be moved," that is, the present affairs, which are likened to shadows, as has been said before.

Having thus praised the members of the bride, he says: ^A "I will go for myself to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of incense." Because, he says, you happen to be so comely, so beautiful, so resplendent in beauty, and so wounded by the love you bear for me, I accept death for your sake, and I will go for myself to the mountain of myrrh; but I will rise again, and I will return to the hill of incense. And we have already said before, that through the myrrh he signifies death, and through the incense the divine nature. It must be sought, therefore, why he has placed "mountain" regarding death, but "hill" regarding divinity. Because it is great, and ineffable, and beyond the reach of human understanding, that He who was in the form of God should not deem it ^B a robbery to be equal to God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men and found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself to the point of death, even the death of the cross. But to return to His own glory, and to be glorified with the glory which He had before the world was, was not great, nor laborious, but even very easy. For this reason he says "mountain" of myrrh, but "hill" of incense, showing that the latter is easy for Him, and very effortless, while the former is steep because of the human element. Wherefore, also, when he was brought to the very passion, he says: "Now is my soul troubled." And, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." ^C But again he adds: "And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." He signifies this also here, saying: "I will go for myself to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of incense." For I do both willingly, not being forced or compelled by anyone: "I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of myself, that I may take it again."

^D VER. 17. "Thou art all fair, my neighbor, and thou art all fair, and there is no blemish in thee." These things are like the words of the blessed Paul; for he also, speaking about the bridegroom, says: "That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

^A And she has become beautiful, having come near to the bridegroom and received the splendors from him, and having become luminous from the light itself. Would that it might also be granted to us, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

BOOK THREE

^B We must pray, I say, and pray with diligence and zeal, that our eyes may become as doves, by which we may look on things spiritually, and flying over the veil of the letter, may clearly interpret the hidden mysteries. For it is not possible to learn the meaning of divine Scripture otherwise, and especially of the Song of Songs, unless He who bestowed the gift of inspiration upon those writers should illuminate our faculty of sight, sending forth the rays of grace, and reveal the hidden sense. Come, therefore; having implored the help of Him who reveals mysteries, as the wise Daniel says, let us approach the interpretation of the writing, keeping to the sequence. Now, at the end of the previous writing, we heard the bridegroom admiring the beauty of the bride, and offering praise to each part, and afterwards commending her whole, as being ^C immaculate; for she has no spot, or wrinkle, or anything of the sort, as the blessed Paul says, following the choir of souls perfected in virtue. But here he calls her from Lebanon, addressing her as bride, and says:

Ver. 8. Come, he says, from Lebanon, my bride; come, from Lebanon shalt thou come; and thou shalt pass over from the beginning of faith, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. These things seem to me to correspond to what is said to the bride in the 44th Psalm: "Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; and forget thine own people, and thy father's house; and the king shall desire thy beauty, for he is

^A your Lord." For there also, the Word offers her exhortation and counsel, and commands her to forget her people and her father's house, as the King would not otherwise desire her beauty unless this were done. By her people and her father's house, he means her ancient customs, of which the blessed Paul says: "For we ourselves were also some time foolish, disobedient, erring, serving divers desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared, not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to his great mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath poured forth upon us ^B abundantly," and so forth. In this text, he calls her from Lebanon and from Sanir; by Lebanon, indeed, signifying the worship of idols, and by Sanir, which is interpreted as the "way of lamps," representing the life lived according to the Law. For the Law is a lamp that shines in the night, but Christ is the sun, shining as in the day. On this account, God also says through the prophet: "But unto you that fear me, the Sun of justice shall arise, and health in his wings." He adds also Mount Hermon, and through it signifies the Law; for the great David says in the Psalms: "As the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon Mount Sion," that is, the teachings of the Law, granted to the mountains of Sion. By mountains, we must understand those perfect in virtue, as being lofty and distinguished, and as having risen ^C above in their divine understanding. Therefore, the Bridegroom calls some from Lebanon, as those who had been taught to serve idols; others from Sanir and Hermon, as those who had received the dew of the Law and were illuminated by the divine commandments. To these he adds: "From the dens of lions, from the mountains of the leopards." He calls the most bold and furiously insane Jews the dens of lions; and the leopards, the wise men of the Gentiles, who, by the abundance of their speech and the artifice of their arguments, cloaked their falsehood and deceived the rude and simple. Having thus called the bride, and gathered her from the various mountains, and having procured for her salvation through faith, and having beheld the beauty which was thence produced in her, he says to her: ^D 9. "Thou hast wounded our heart," my sister, my bride; "thou hast wounded our heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck."

Verse 9. Thou hast wounded our heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast wounded our heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

^A but one of them strikes me with astonishment—the one that contemplates divine things, that has been taught to theologize, that sees hidden mysteries. And I indeed admire all the ornaments of thy neck; for through these he hints at the active virtue, since the neck, bearing the yoke of divine commandments, ^B draws the furrow and guides the plough-share of righteousness. I praise, therefore, also the other ornaments of virtue shining upon thy neck, but I am exceedingly struck and I admire that one, and becoming amazed at the beauty of both the single necklace and the eye that contemplates divine things, I have been wounded with love for thee. Let us seek, then, what that one ornament is that is placed upon the neck and surpasses the others, and let us learn from the blessed Paul that "there remain faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." And again: "Charity is the fullness of the law." And elsewhere: "The whole law and the prophets hang on this: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself." This necklace, then, the bridegroom admires in the bride, for Symmachus has put "necklace" instead of "ornament." He also regards her one eye in such a way as not to despise the other; for he has already bestowed praise upon both. But he knew that the contemplation of intelligible things is far to be preferred to the knowledge of sensible things. "Thou hast emboldened my heart," that is, endowed with such an eye, and decorated with such a necklace, thou hast stirred us to love and desire for thee. ^C

Verse 10: How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! how beautiful are thy breasts become with wine, and the scent of thy garments is above all spices!

For from the spiritual wine, and the mystical cup, thy breasts have acquired greater beauty; and we have already explained that the breasts are the fountains of doctrine. And the scent of thy garments is full of all graces, and has become sweeter than all spices; for thou hast put on me, the bridegroom; and Isaiah is witness, foretelling and saying: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord: for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and he has covered me with a robe of joy." These garments of thine emit such sweetness that this fragrance, diffused everywhere from them, surpasses the legal virtue, which is metaphorically designated by spices. ^D He calls her not only bride, but also sister, since the blessed Paul also says: "That he might be the firstborn among many brethren." And the Lord himself, when he had risen, said to the women standing by the tomb: "Go, tell my brethren;" and to Peter: "Behold, I go before

^A you into Galilee." She is, therefore, his sister, and bride, and kinswoman: kinswoman, according to the saying, "My soul hath cleaved unto thee;" bride, because receiving from him the seeds of doctrine, she brings forth the fruit of piety; and sister, as being clothed with the same nature as he, according to human frailty. He continues, therefore, pursuing her praise, and says:

11. Thy lips are as a dropping honeycomb, O bride: honey and milk are under thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments is as the smell of frankincense. It is necessary to append to these the apostolic teaching which says: "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and all have been made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." And a little after: "If they were all one member, where is the body?" And again: "Now you are the body of Christ, and members in part." The Church, therefore, being composed of many members, fills out one body; let us understand, then, that some in her occupy the place of eyes, some of ears, some of lips. Wherefore the bridegroom also says to her: "Thy lips are as a dropping honeycomb, O bride: honey and milk under thy tongue." By this he signifies the teachers of the Church, who offer pious instruction and carry as it were a honeycomb of bees upon their lips, and distill the drops of honey. Having not only honey, ^B but also milk, they offer to each his appropriate food—to infants that which is suitable, and to the perfect that which is fitting.

The honeycombs, which are carried on the lips of the teachers, are the divine Scriptures, having bees that fashion the wax and make the honey: the holy prophets and apostles. For they, flitting about the meadows of the all-holy Spirit, having built as it were the honeycombs of the divine Scriptures for us, and filled them with the honey of doctrine, have transmitted the benefit to us. And the letter is like to the wax, but the meaning hidden within it is like to the honey; the lips of pious teachers let fall the drops of this honey. And from their tongue they also reach forth milk to those who have need of milk. ^C He remains again, marveling at the garments of the bride, and says: "And the smell of thy garments is as the smell of frankincense." We have previously said that the bridegroom himself has become a garment for her; and the blessed Paul is a witness, saying: "As many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ." But the bridegroom is both Eternal God, and man born in the last days from the holy Virgin; who remaining what he was, assumed what is ours, [and] the bride... ^D

who had long been stripped bare. Wherefore he says to her: "The smell of thy garments is as the smell of frankincense"; and frankincense is a symbol of theology, because under the old law it was offered to God.

VERS. 12. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed.

VERS. 13-15. Emissions thy paradise of pomegranates, with the fruits of the orchard; cypress with nard. Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon with all the trees of Lebanon: myrrh and aloe with all the chief ointments. A fountain of gardens, a well of living water, and flowing with force from Lebanon. All these things, she says, thou hast sent to me, and brought to me at the time of the wedding. And first, indeed, the paradise of pomegranates, which was not lacking also in the other fruits of the orchard. By the pomegranate, ^D I believe it is understood by way of metaphor that charity is meant; since under one single rind of this same fruit there are many grains, so joined together among themselves that they do not crush or corrupt one another in turn, but are preserved intact, unless some rot should happen to arise in the middle. We are able, from the partitions themselves running through the middle, to imagine another meaning as well: for we perceive many orders among those who are being saved. For there is one order...

of virgins, another of those who practice continence, another of those who bear the yoke of marriage and abound in riches and wealth, another of those who embrace a life of poverty, another of servants who practice a pious life, and another of masters who rule rightly and lawfully. In the same way, the pomegranate seeds are like walls, which distinguish and contain the seeds, as it were, in certain cells. For this reason, He compares the Bride's emissions to a paradise of pomegranates. For first, He admires the fruit of her charity itself, and then says that she is adorned with other kinds of virtues as well: “With the fruits of nuts.” Then He describes these one by one: “Cyprus with nard.” Cyprus is a type of tree from which warm oil is produced. Nard, moreover, is a fragrant type of spice, from which an oil of the same name is made; it is also warm and suited for the treatment of bodies. Furthermore, He says that this paradise contains saffron; for we have need not only of things that warm us and kindle within us the love for God, but also of things that cool our unbridled desires; for saffron is among the things that have ^B the power to cool. “And calamus,” He says, “and cinnamon.” These also are types of aromatics, but they are understood allegorically. For by the calamus, He signifies holy writings: “My tongue is the pen [calamus] of a scribe who writes quickly” (Ps. XLIV 2). The aromatic calamus is fragrant; for the tongue of the teachers of piety is filled with every sweetness. Cinnamon is joined to the calamus, which was offered to God according to the old law, so that we may learn that the writings concerning God are both praiseworthy and fragrant, and are to be likened to the sweetnesses mentioned before. To these He adds: “With all the woods of Lebanon.” For, He says, she also possesses the virtue practiced in the law, not according to the letter, but according to the spirit: for we have often taught that Lebanon signifies Jerusalem. “It has also,” He says, “myrrh and aloes with all the chief spices.” That is, the ^C mortification of the passions; for myrrh is proper to the dead, and the bitterness of temptations, for the aloe is bitter. In a word, it contains all the first of the spices—not the second or third, but the first; for the perfect possess the things that are perfect. “It has also,” He says, “a fountain and a well of living water, and that flows down from Lebanon.” For it does not only contain the evangelical teaching which flows clearly, but also the well of the law, which is the well of living water, and which possesses hidden streams, yet flows with impetuosity and sound, and pours forth from Lebanon; for in Jerusalem the legal rule of life flourished, which is figuratively named Lebanon. This well also flowed ^D into the Bride of the Lord, the Church; and it is hidden, but flows with a rushing sound, watering the paradise of the Church. The Bride, having heard the praises from above, and having been delighted, and having rejoiced—

that he not only admired her beauty, but also praised her garments, says:

Ver. 16. Awake, O north wind, and come, O south; blow upon my garden, and let my spices flow out. ^A

CHAPTER V

Ver. 1. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his fruit trees. The north wind is among those things which are censured by Divine Scripture; hence God also says through Jeremiah the prophet, that “Out of the north evil shall break forth.” And again: “And I will drive away those from the north from you.” And elsewhere: “Behold, evil cometh from the north, and a great destruction.” He commands, therefore, the north to arise and depart, that the south may breathe, and let the ripened spices of the garden flow; that the beloved may enjoy ^B her fruits. Now, it is clear that the south wind blows from the south; it is called *notos* because it is moist, and fills the bodies with moisture when it blows; but even more, the light also streams in from the south. Hence Habakkuk also predicts that the Lord shall come from Teman: “For God,” he says, “shall come from Teman.” This in the language of the Hebrews and Syrians signifies the south. He commands, therefore, that the contrary wind depart, and that the divine grace breathe, that the beloved may harvest the ripened fruits of her spices, with nothing wind-damaged ^C falling before the season. “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.” “I have gathered my myrrh with my spices, I have eaten my bread with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my kinsmen.” “For I am come,” he says, “into my garden, which you have adorned for me, and I have gathered my first myrrh, which I planted in you. For I first endured death for your sake, and then I desired that you should be buried with me. For being buried with me through baptism into death, you mortified your limbs which are upon the earth. I gathered my myrrh with my spices,” he says, “and I have reaped ^D the rest of the virtues, which you learned from me, as fruit. I have eaten, moreover, my bread with my honey: the solid and sweet food, which is found among the perfect. I have drunk my wine.” He rightly added the pronoun. For he himself is the true vine, from which this wine is collected. “With my milk.” For he does not reject even the sucklings, and those who need milk, but he takes from them fruit appropriate to their age.

^A Since he is good, he also invites his friends to the banquet, and says: “Eat, my neighbors, and drink, and be inebriated, my brethren.” Those who are perfect draw near to him, and they who preserve the image uncorrupted seek that kinship with him. And he exhorts them not only to drink, but also to be inebriated; for there is an inebriation which produces soundness of mind and wisdom, not folly; not one which paralyzes the limbs, but one which strengthens them. “For his cup which inebriates is very excellent.” And elsewhere again the blessed David says: “They shall be inebriated,” he says, “from the fatness of your house, and you shall give them drink from the torrent of your pleasure.” Regarding the things spoken above, the bride says:

^B Ver. 2. *I sleep, and my heart watches.* For even if I am compelled by nature to close my eyes and to receive sleep, in my mind I am awake, and I do not accept the sleep of sloth, awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Therefore, I even perceive his knocking. “For the voice,” she says, “of my beloved knocks at the door.” Let us compare, if you please, these words with those spoken in the divine Gospels by the Good Shepherd: “For my sheep,” he says, “hear my voice.” And again: “But they will not follow a stranger, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Blessed, therefore, is he who is pastured, and who recognizes the voice of the shepherd. Blessed is he who is prepared as a bride, and who knows how to distinguish the voice of an adulterer from that of the bridegroom. Blessed is he who says: “I will not give sleep to my eyes, nor drowsiness to my eyelids,” but who is awake and awaiting the bridegroom according to the exhortation of the Lord himself: “Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord comes.” The blessed Paul also offers this same counsel, saying: “Watch, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong; let all that you do be done in love.” The bride therefore is awake, even though she sleeps the sleep of the body; she is in the enjoyment of the voice of the bridegroom, and hears the knocking at the door. And what are ^C the doors of the soul, if not the senses of the body, through which the bride receives the bridegroom, not only knocking, but also beseeching that the door be opened to him? “Open to me,” he says, “my sister, my neighbor, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.” By “the night,” he signifies the assault that took place against him in the night by the Jews; by the “dew” and “drops,” he signifies his three-day ^D death, which the locks of his head took on, and not he himself. Since, therefore, he says, I endured death for you, and for your sake I suffered these trials, open to me, and receive me. For I love

your spiritual beauty and your perfection in virtue. For this reason, I call you my sister, and my kinswoman, and my dove, and my perfect one. ^A I call you perfect, because you perform the perfection prescribed for you by me. For I said: "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." And again: "If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and taking up your cross, follow me." I call you my dove, because you have become spiritual, and have stripped off the old man with his vices and desires, and are able to see things spiritually. I call you my kinswoman, because you walk in my footsteps and desire to draw near to me. For I said: "Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you." Finally, I call you my sister, not only because of the relationship of nature which I assumed, but also because of the bond of piety. ^B Having heard the foregoing words, the bride answers, saying:

Verse 3. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

From this we learn how much damage laziness generates, and how much labor sloth brings upon the sluggish. For because the bride makes excuses and does not want to open the door to the bridegroom immediately, she is compelled shortly after not only to proceed to the door, but to run through the city, and to go around the streets, and to fall in with guards, from whom she also receives wounds, and scarcely finds the longed-for bridegroom. But if she had obeyed the one calling immediately, she would have avoided ^C all these inconveniences. Now, however, she says: "I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" And yet, the bridegroom does not command this of her; for he neither wishes her, having put off the old man, to put him on again, nor does he wish her, having washed her feet and enjoyed his holy hands, to defile them again; but he wishes her to open to him, without labor and defilement, the doors of either her ears or her eyes, so that, having entered either through knowledge or through hearing, he might dwell in sanctified souls. And since she delayed, using those excuses, the bridegroom stirs her in another way, no longer knocking only from the outside, but also ^D inserting his hand through a certain opening; for we understand the hand as the sense of touch and his divine action, which, when the bride felt it, she cries out:

Verses 4-7. My kinsman sent his hand through the hole, and my belly trembled at his touch. I arose to open to my kinsman: my hands dripped myrrh, fingers...

full of myrrh upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my kinsman; but my kinsman had passed by. My soul went forth at his word: I sought him, but I found him not; I called him, but he answered me not. The watchmen that go about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my mantle from me. Because she was not willing to open immediately to the one knocking, he touches her through one of the senses—which he called a hole—by inserting his hand, that is to say, his operation; but he warms and kindles her love. This is what is indicated by the words, ^A "My belly trembled at his touch," which Theodotion rendered as "was heated." The bride, intoxicated with love, arises and running to the door, says: "My hands, taking hold of the bolt, and wishing to open, dripped myrrh, and my fingers [dripped] with full myrrh," for I am wrapped in perfect mortification, even to my extremest parts. But having opened the door, I see my kinsman passing by and unwilling to enter. I, however, stirred by the goad of love and suspended upon his sacred words, set myself to the search, and I ceased not from crying out, continually calling; but he pretended not to hear, ^B nor did he deign to answer me. Wandering about, therefore, and seeking my beloved, I fall in with those who inhabit and guard the city; and they not only abused and scourged me, but even inflicted wounds upon me, and took away my mantle. ^C And I think that by the bride the custodians of the walls and the city are called the magistrates and princes and tyrants who once assaulted the bride, the Church of God, and who, having beaten and tortured the glorious martyrs with stripes and punishments, stripped them of their souls and, taking away the body from their souls—like a mantle—put them to death. For they, longing for the bridegroom and always preaching him in cities and fields and isolated regions, endured all these things. We are taught, therefore, from what has been said, to put aside all delay and to open immediately to the bridegroom when he knocks, so that, lest he depart, we be not forced to wander ^D roundabout and seek the desired one.

Verse 8. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if ye find my kinsman, tell him that I am wounded with love. For the bridegroom frequently appears even to those who are still imperfect and as infants, accommodating himself to their weakness and exhorting them to perfection; "For they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." He binds the young women by an oath.

commodating himself to their weakness and exhorting them to perfection; "For they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." He binds the young women by an oath. She urges the young women, if they should find her kinsman, to announce to him how great is the love she holds for him, and that she has been wounded by the chosen arrow of charity. The young women are ignorant of the name of the kinsman; for they are still imperfect, and are ignorant of the depth of the mysteries. Therefore they say:

^A VERS. 9. What is thy kinsman more than another kinsman, O thou fairest among women? What is thy kinsman more than another kinsman, that thou hast so adjured us? For we have frequently, they say, heard you saying, "My kinsman, of my kinsman," and we do not understand the force of your words. Since, therefore, an oath has been interposed, we cannot pass over your commands in silence. Teach us, therefore, O thou fairest among women—for you are the most beautiful of all young women and maidens—what this name means. For it resonates repeatedly in your mouth, now "of my kinsman," now "my kinsman." For if we learn from you who he is, and by what marks he is distinguished, we will take care of you and we will execute your commands. The bride, therefore, indicates the marks and signs of the bridegroom to her disciples, saying:

^B VERS. 10–16. My kinsman is white and ruddy, chosen out of ten thousands. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are as the branches of palm trees, black as a raven. His eyes are as doves upon the fullness of waters, which are washed with milk, and are sitting by the fullness of waters. His cheeks are as beds of aromatic spices, producing perfumed herbs. His lips are like lilies dropping full myrrh. His hands are rounded, golden, full of the sea [or beryl]. His belly is an ivory box, upon the sapphire stone. His legs are as pillars of marble, which are set upon bases of gold. His appearance is as choice frankincense, as cedars. His throat is sweetness, and he is altogether lovely; this is my kinsman, and this is my neighbor, O daughters of Jerusalem. The bride answers the interrogation of the young women, and shows them by what arguments they can recognize the bridegroom. "My kinsman," she says, "is white and ruddy." ^C She puts forward his whiteness first, then his redness. For God always was, but he also became man, not laying aside what he was, nor changed into a man, but putting on human nature. He is white, therefore, as God; for what is more splendid than light? And he is the true light, as the words of the Gospels testify: "For that was the true light," he says, "which lighteth every man that cometh into this world." Joan. 1, 9. ^D

^A Verum, however, is not only white, but also ruddy. For he is not only God, but also man; and the ruddiness signifies the earthly. For this reason, the divine powers also, in Isaiah, beholding him returning from the earth to heaven, ask, saying: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with reddened garments from Bosor? This one is beautiful in his robe, with violence and strength." They admire even the beauty of his body, which they call his robe. For he is "beautiful in form above the sons of men," in so far as he is man. For as God, he is of such beauty that, being inaccessible, it cannot be explained by any comparison. They inquire of him, and say: "Why then are thy garments red as from a trodden winepress, full of treading?" And desiring to learn the cause of the redness, he teaches them: "The winepress," he says, "I have trodden alone, and of the peoples there was no man with me." ^B "For not an ambassador, nor an angel, but the Lord himself saved us," according to the prophecy of Isaiah. "And I trampled them," he says, "in my fury, and crushed them in my anger," namely, the demons, the enemies of human nature, and their host. "And their blood was sprinkled upon my garments, when I conquered them." For by their slaughter and destruction, my garments were sprinkled with certain drops of blood. He signifies the three-day death. However, he does not say "I have been sprinkled with blood," but "their blood was sprinkled upon my garments when I conquered them," that is, my body: which must be diligently noted. ^C For the divine nature could not suffer, but the body suffered; which body God the Word so drew to himself and united to himself, that he himself suffered nothing therefrom. For the Divinity is by nature more excellent than the capacity to suffer. Therefore the bride says: "My kinsman [Nepos] is white and ruddy, chosen out of ten thousand." For the first-fruits is superior to every nature. "For he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." Thus, for the entire race he was offered, a spotless sacrifice. Wherefore also through the prophet Isaiah, the God of all proclaims, saying: "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my elect, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my Spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." ^D With good reason, therefore, the bride says: "My kinsman is white and ruddy, chosen out of ten thousand." For it was fitting for him who took upon himself our sins, which were red as purple and as scarlet, to be and to be called ruddy. "But his head," he says, "is gold of Ophaz." Symmachus translates, "as a precious stone." The fifth edition has, "distinguished with gold." Allegorically, she calls his Divinity his head, which

ari. « Caput autem ejus, inquit, aurum Ophatz. » Symmachus vertit, « sicut lapis pretiosus. » Quinta editio habet, « insigne auro. » Caput ipsius allegorice vocat divinitatem, quam superius by her brilliance ^A indicated. Therefore, he compares His divinity to gold and to precious stone, which are the most precious things among men. Nor did he find any other name more appropriate: «His hair lies like palm-branches, black as a raven.» In my opinion, he calls the graces that flow from His head "hair"; they are called "black" for one reason, but "palm-branches" for another. For palm-branches are the fruits of male palms, which, when brought to the female ones, cause their fruits to reach maturity. Since, therefore, those who have believed in Him, enjoying His various gifts, bring forth to Him the fruit of piety, His hair is rightly compared to palm-branches. They are called "black," however, so that the hidden reason for His entire dispensation may be signified by the deep and dark color. «Hair of palm-branches, black as a raven.» He named the raven here only to denote the color. «His eyes, he says, are like doves upon the plenitudes of waters.» Here he again praises His vision by means of the eyes; therefore, he says that they are like doves upon the plenitudes of waters, and he recalls to our memory that dove which descended upon Him in the Jordan. Nor should it offend anyone that it was said, «like doves,» and not «dove.» For we read in the Holy Scriptures not only «Spirit,» but also «spirits»; not because there are many Holy Spirits—for there is one Holy Spirit, the Comforter—but because the blessed Paul calls the gifts of this same Spirit "spirits," saying, «And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.» Since, therefore, the Lord Christ, as man, possessed all the gifts of the Spirit, the bride says: «His eyes are like doves upon the plenitudes of waters.» For His eyes always look towards the largesse of baptism, awaiting those who are being saved and desiring the salvation of all. Moreover, she says, «the doves are washed in milk and sitting upon the plenitudes of waters.» For they nourish some with milk, who are in need of that food; and they refresh and renew others—those who have grown old in sin—by sitting upon the plenitudes of waters and sanctifying them. And not without reason did he say «plenitudes of waters.» For He does not receive those who do not possess perfect faith, and those who do not approach with sincere faith, such as Simon was, who was indeed baptized but was seen to be unworthy of the grace, since he was not full, but maimed, and did not possess the perfection of faith. «His cheeks, he says, are as vials of perfume, sprouting aromatics. And his lips are lilies, dripping full of myrrh.» Again, he calls the cheeks and lips "doctrine." For the lips and cheeks are the instruments of speech. By their movement, the voice is distinguished and formed. He calls them "vials of perfume" on account of the sweet odor of the doctrine; and he says they "sprout aromatics," because the doctors of the Church draw from thence the arguments for teaching.

pter doctrinæ suavem odorem. Pigmentaria vero dicit germinare, quoniam inde docendi argumenta sumunt doctores Ecclesiæ, ut illas gignant et proferant μυρεψικά, id est, pigmentaria. ^A For from there the teachers of the Church, taking the starting points of their teaching, become like certain perfumers of the proclamation, and prepare the ointment of utility.

"Like lilies," he says, "are His lips," for divine words shine, having nothing human in them; for lilies neither spin nor weave, according to the teaching of the Lord, but the Father who is in heaven clothes them. Since, therefore, divine words are stripped of all human wisdom, and possess only divine beauty, he rightly says, "His lips are lilies, dripping full of myrrh," that is, teaching mortification in the present life. For such are the doctrines of the Lord: "He who does not leave father, and mother, and wife, and fields, ^B and vineyards for my sake, is not worthy of me," and: "He who does not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me," and: "If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and taking your cross, follow me." For this reason His lips drip full of myrrh.

"His hands are turned, golden, full of Tharsis." By "hands," he designates the practical virtue, which He has practiced with all harmony, as if fashioning and directing every action. Therefore He also said to John, "Suffer it to be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." He calls them "golden" as being precious and rare. ^C He chose the word "Tharsis" on account of the excellence of the gold; for from there the divine Scripture says that sincere, pure, and proven gold is brought.

"His belly is an ivory pyxis upon a sapphire stone." For His depth of mysteries, and the storehouse of knowledge, where all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden, are an ivory vessel to those worthy of the revelation. By nature, they are incomprehensible; therefore it is said "upon a sapphire stone," because it shows the secret depth of divine things. But yet this deep, hidden, and unclear thing becomes an ivory pyxis to the worthy; therefore also the blessed Paul cries out: "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not ascended into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love Him; but to us God has revealed it through His Spirit," and again: "His mystery which was hidden from the ages and from generations, which was not known to other generations, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets." ^D For this reason he says His belly is an ivory pyxis upon a sapphire stone. And he said His locks, while clear, are black; for to those who have not yet attained the divine revelation, even the things that are manifest and comprehended by the senses appear obscure and very difficult. But those who have reached the inner my-

mysteries, even the obscure things become manifest. For this reason, the blessed David also says: «The hidden and secret things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.» ^A This, then, the bride also says: «His belly is an ivory casket upon a sapphire stone; his legs are marble pillars, founded upon bases of gold.» By the marble pillars, she declares his firmness, his stability, his constancy, and his permanence; and by calling their bases golden, she indicates the precious beauty of his actions. «His form is as frankincense, chosen as cedars.» Here again he interprets the double nature; for he calls the divine «frankincense,» since incense was offered to God according to the Law. But he calls the human «cedar,» as it did not receive the corruption of sin; for the cedar is an incorruptible wood. «His throat is sweetness.» For what is sweeter than the divine oracles? ^B Therefore, the great David also says: «How sweet are your oracles to my throat, more than honey and honeycomb to my mouth!» and: «Your judgments are true, justified together, to be desired more than gold and much precious stone, and sweeter than honey and honeycomb.» Accordingly, the ministers of the chief priests, who were sent to the Lord, having been soothed and captured by the desire for the sweetness of his words, said to those who had sent them: «Never has a man spoken as this man speaks.» And others cried out: «Blessed is the belly that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked.» Wherefore, «his throat is sweetness,» nay rather, «he is altogether desirable.» For, being destitute of other praises with which she might further overwhelm him, she embraces ^C all things in one word: «Why,» she says, «do I delay in explaining each of the parts of his beauty? He is altogether desirable, drawing all to love him, urging them on to affection, kindling the desire of himself not only in those who see him, but also in those who hear him.» Having said these things, she turns to the young women: «This,» she says, «is my kinsman, and this is my neighbor, O daughters of Jerusalem. When you say that you do not know him, and ask of me, Who is your kinsman, more than another? behold, I declare to you: Such is my kinsman, and such is my neighbor.» Therefore, being bound by an oath, do not neglect that, but seek my kinsman, and report my longing to him. When, ^D therefore, those women had understood the signs and marks of the bridegroom, they again ask and inquire where he has gone and whither he has departed, and they say:

VERS. 17. «Whither has your kinsman gone, O beautiful among women? Whither has your kinsman turned aside? And we will seek him with you.» For if we should learn the place of his departure, we will not be negligent, but we will seek him with you whom you desire.

^A«For Paul, he says, the apostle, not from men, nor through men, to the Churches of Galatia.» And writing also to the Corinthians, he says: «Let your women be silent in the churches.» For this reason the bride says: «My kinsman has gone down into his garden, to the beds of spice, to pasture in the gardens, and to gather lilies.» For he pastures all the Churches, and rejoices in the beds of spice, in those who have acquired his fragrance, and he gathers those who have imitated the beauty of the bride and have become lilies, and joins them to the bride. To these, the bride adds:

β. «I to my kinsman, and my kinsman to me; who pastures among the lilies.» For I have depended upon him, and have dedicated myself to him. For indeed he has preferred me to the whole world, and has joined me to himself, and has renewed me when I had grown old, and has enriched me when I was in poverty, and has rendered me beautiful when I was unsightly, and has healed my wounds which were festering and foul-smelling, and has filled me with fragrance. For this reason I say: «I to my kinsman, and my kinsman to me; who pastures among the lilies,» or «who pastures the flowers,» according to Symmachus. And he says that it has come to pass instead of a belt. This also the blessed David said: «Gird your sword upon your thigh, O Mighty One. In your splendor and in your beauty, and stretch ^B out, and proceed prosperously, and reign; because of truth and meekness and righteousness.»

σ'. «And the wolf shall graze together with the lamb.» It is then through mild and wild animals that he has allegorically taught the difference of human characters. For by the wolf he likens the rapacious character, but by the sheep the mild and gentle; and again by the leopard the varied—for the animal is speckled—but by the kid the simple and innocent. Thus, to the lion is likened the haughty and governing; to the bull, the bold; to the calf, that which is free of these. Yet he says that they shall graze together; and we see the fulfillment of the prophecy in the Churches; and emperors, and governors, and commanders of soldiers, and soldiers, and those who live by their own hands, and servants, and beggars, partaking together of the sacred table, hearing the same words, deemed worthy of the same laver. Therefore, those who pride themselves in power and boast in wisdom, a man childish in wickedness, according to the apostolic exhortation, and adorned with the simplicity of the fishermen, leads and pastures. But also, many who overflow with wealth, and have abundant opportunities for luxury, prefer ^C fasting to delicacy, and imitate the carnivorous lion which chooses to partake of straw.

τ'. «And a young child shall put his hand upon the holes of asps.» Such was the blessed Paul, disputing with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, and haranguing on the Areopagus, and daring against the asps, and attempting to thrust, as it were, a hand—his simple word—into the hearing of these men, as into the den of wild beasts. For their heart was a den of demons.

θ'. «And they shall not be able to destroy anyone upon my holy mountain.» To the sentiment, «They shall not be able to destroy anyone upon my holy mountain,» the evangelical voice of the Lord is similar: «Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.» Therefore, he calls the high and strong and immovable nature of his divine teaching the holy mountain, and promises that those who stand upon it will be invincible. «Because the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord.» ^D He shows then the power of the proclamation, saying that the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water to cover the seas. And it is truly a great and most paradoxical miracle; and it is like a few drops brought to the sea, and changing its bitterness,

^A exactly as she called him her desire in the preceding verses, imposing the name from her own affection—for, being affected by desire for him, she desired to be desired by him—so he, also, having desired her and wishing to attach her to himself as a bride, calls her his "delight." For, he says, you are not only beautiful and lovely, but you are beautiful, and not simply beautiful, but as Jerusalem—not the one below, but the one above, of which the blessed Paul says: "But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of all of us." You are like her, my neighbor; for you have imitated the angelic way of life; you practice heavenly things while on earth, and though walking in the flesh, you do not wage war according to the flesh, and you press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call, and you seek the things above, where I am seated at the right hand of God. For this reason "you are beautiful, as Jerusalem," and not simply beautiful, but causing wonder in those who see you. For those who behold your order are struck with wonder; for there is nothing in you disorderly, nothing undefined, nothing indistinct, but all things are arranged and settled; and you know precisely the sequence of events, having been taught to prefer the bridegroom to all else, and after him, those who draw near to him. To these he adds:

^C VERS. 4. Turn your eyes away from me, for they have caused me to fly away. What he says is this: The beauty of your eyes, and the contemplation of your vision, and the sharpness of your understanding have drawn me into love for you; but do not look at me beyond what is moderate, so that you do not draw harm from it. For I am inaccessible, and incomprehensible, and surpass all understanding, not only human, but angelic; even if you should wish to exceed the boundaries and search into things beyond your power, you will find not only that you will gain nothing, but that you will dim your sight and make it duller. Such is the nature of the light; just as it illuminates the eye, ^D so too it injures it, if you are insatiable. Do not, therefore, seek things too difficult for you, and do not search into things stronger than you, but always think upon what has been commanded you. To these he adds further praise, saying:

VERS. 5, 6. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have appeared from Galaad. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep that have come up from the washing, all of them bearing twins, and there is no sterile one among them. As a scarlet cord are your lips, and your speech is ^A beautiful, and your speech is lovely; like the rind of a pomegranate is your temple, besides what is within your veil. Your neck is like the tower of David, built with battlements; a thousand shields hang upon it, all the arrows of the mighty. Your two breasts are like two twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies. Until the day breathes, and the shadows depart, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of incense. You are all beautiful, my neighbor, and there is no blemish in you.

We must understand these things too as describing the beauty of the Church. By the hair, he signifies the multitude of the faithful, who are governed by the pastors, just as the goats are led by the shepherd. ^B And by Galaad, he designates the abundance of virtue, for the name Galaad means "witness of the heap"; and thus, having gathered the testimony of the life of the saints, the Church exhibits them as her own hair. By the teeth, he points to the teachers, who, as if by teeth, masticate the divine nourishment—that is, the sacred utterances—and offer it to those who are nourished by them, so that they may be easily able to ingest it. And he says that these have come up from the washing, referring to the washing of regeneration, by which they have purified their souls. ^C The "bearing twins" refers to the double ministry of the word, both the theoretical and the practical; for the perfect teacher produces both together. "And there is no sterile one among them," because they do not preach in vain, but bring forth fruit from those who listen. As for the "scarlet cord," he signifies the confession of the Passion through the lips, which is the source of all our salvation; and "your speech is lovely," because "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. x, 17). ^D And as for the "temple" and the "neck," he signifies the strength and the steadfastness of the Church, which remains unshaken against the assaults of the demons, like a tall and fortified tower. And the "shields and arrows" represent the divine dogmas, by which the faithful repel the attacks of their adversaries, and quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. The "two breasts" refer to the two Testaments, the Old and the New, from which we draw the milk of life.

^A As the rind of the pomegranate to your race, except for your silence. Having interpreted these things above, we consider it superfluous to explain them twice; for it is possible, even if one should forget the interpretation, to run back to those things and find the clarification. Nor does he simply or rashly ^B offer the same praises to the bride twice, but rather, reminding her of her own beauty, he urges her to keep it safe and to allow no blemish to attach to it. For, "Consider," he says, "what you were before, and what I have made you, and with what beauty I have adorned you, and how much beauty I have bestowed upon you. Keep this for me as an unblemished end. For as I stay with you, I examine your limbs, and I am meticulous lest any harm should happen to them." The bridegroom also says these things to her, encouraging the bride to persist in beauty.

^C Verses 7, 8. *Sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and young maidens, of which there is no number. One is my dove, my perfect one, one is she to her mother, she is the chosen one to the one who bore her; the daughters saw her, and the queens and the concubines will call her blessed, and they will praise her.* We are not ignorant that there are many and various orders of the pious. This the Lord also teaching, said: *"Many are the mansions in my Father's house."* And in the distribution of the talents, *not all received five talents, but one five, another two, another one, each according to his own ability.* ^D And in the parable of the seed he says: *"And other fell upon good ground, and brought forth fruit, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred."* And he calls all of it good ground, not only that which brought forth a hundred, but also that which brought forth sixty, and that which brought forth thirty. For the number thirty is among those who are praised, because it has three tens united by the triad; but sixty has double the blessing, for thirty doubled produces sixty; and one hundred is most perfect, and removed from the left hand, and holding the beginning of the right, and is completed by ten tens; those who are skilled in these matters call this a square. Yet, even if one hundred is perfect, nevertheless sixty and thirty are also among those who are praised; for the Lord called all of them good ground. Let us therefore understand the bride to be those souls perfected in all philosophy and virtue, who, moved solely by the love for the bridegroom, embrace the labors of cultivating virtue, and are willing both to do and to suffer all things. Such was the blessed Paul, saying: *"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is..."*

^A in Christ Jesus our Lord. For he teaches us by these things that he does not love Christ for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, but that he would choose to fall from the kingdom and fall into hell alongside the one who loves Christ, rather than to reign while deprived of that love. Such souls, therefore, fill out the chorus of the bride, those who are possessed solely by the desire for the bridegroom.

There are also some who are, as it were, mercenaries, who endure the sweats of virtue out of a desire for future good things. These, for the present, I consider worthy to be called queens, since they are stirred by the desire for the kingdom, and for its sake are content to endure the toils of piety. There are others who have not yet been granted freedom, but voluntarily serve nonetheless, and obey the divine laws out of fear of hell. These, in my judgment, are called concubines; for the bridegroom associates with them also, having become all things to all men.

Finally, there are those who are sluggish and slothful, who do not burn with the love of the bridegroom, nor are they drawn by the desire for the kingdom, nor are they moved by the fear of hell, but they manage their own affairs very negligently, though they do retain an immovable faith, and guard the dogmas of piety intact, and shrink from all heretical and alien doctrine. Nevertheless, living more sluggishly, they at one time seem to take care of themselves, while at another they slide back into sloth; at one time they entangle themselves in sins, and at another they repent and shed tears of penitence. The bridegroom calls these "maidens" in this place; and because those of this sort are more numerous than either the queens or the concubines, he says: ^B "And maidens, of whom there is no number." "Of the maidens," he says, "there is no number," not only because they cannot be numbered due to the size of the multitude, but also because they are unworthy to be numbered. For of those who are worthy, even the hairs are numbered by the Father. But yet, the bridegroom does sometimes associate even with these, wishing to draw them away from their sloth, and guiding them to things that are perfect, and endeavoring to secure their salvation from every side.

We shall seek, then, why he spoke of sixty queens and eighty concubines. The number sixty is composed of six tens, and the ten signifies perfection, while the six contains the number of the creation of the world; for in six days the God of all things created the entire universe. Those souls, therefore, who in this world have been perfected in virtue and are desirous of the kingdom, he named sixty queens. For the bride lives above this world and exists outside of it, and soars above it, and becomes entirely the bridegroom's, and never ceases to think of him. But these others, living in this world, reach toward the perfection of virtue as much as they possibly can, desiring to attain the kingdom; while those who fulfill the laws out of fear of judgment were, with reason, called eighty. ^C For ^D the divine Scripture calls the eighth day the time of judgment. For the blessed David...

when he was detailing matters ^A regarding the judgment in the Psalms, inscribed one of them, "For the eighth," and beginning, says, "O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thy displeasure." And a little later: "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" showing that in the time of judgment there will be no place for repentance for those who have sinned and have not repented. Since, therefore, fearing these things, they have followed the divine laws, being moved neither by the desire for the kingdom nor by love for the bridegroom, they are with reason called eighty. For the number eight signifies the eighth day, and the number ten signifies perfection. But he declares the bride to be superior both to these, and to the sixty, and to the eighty. "For one," he says, "is my dove, my perfect one," again naming her spiritual and one. For she is one above the sixty and the eighty to her mother; and she has as her mother the sacred font, that Jerusalem which is above. "And she is the chosen one of her who bore her." For while those others were indeed born of her, this one she has preferred above all, and she has a chosen daughter; therefore, "The daughters saw her, and they shall call her blessed," that is, the maidens; and not only they, but also the queens and the concubines shall praise her. ^B For she has surpassed them, inasmuch as she pursued the highest philosophy, not for the sake of a reward, nor for fear of punishment, but out of desire for the bridegroom. May it be granted to us, helped by the divine grace, to reach the perfection of the bride! But if we should fail, may we at least be among the queens; and if we should be deemed unworthy even of these, may we not be far from the concubines; and if we should be found unworthy even of these, let us at least be numbered among the maidens, and keep the profession of piety untainted, and not be completely deprived of the fellowship of the bridegroom, but enjoy his beauty by his grace: for to him is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

BOOK FOUR

Fidem adhibentes illi qui dixit: ^D trusting in Him who said: "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds—"

^A in the present we shall ask that the remaining words of the Song of Songs be opened to us, and we shall cry out with a suppliant voice: "Open our eyes, and we will consider the wondrous things from Your law." For He Himself gives a word to those who preach the gospel with great power. He said: "Open your mouth, and I will fill it." Yet He often imparts grace even to those who are unworthy, for the benefit of the many. Therefore, we hope that He will now make the depth of the text plain and bright for us too: not because we are worthy of such a gift, but because of the benefit to those who will read or hear this interpretation. Relying, therefore, on this confidence, let us proceed ^B confidently to explain what remains.

VER. 9. *Who is this that looks forth as the morning dawn, fair as the moon, choice as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?*

In the preceding passages, the Bridegroom described the beauty of the Bride in his discourse. He once commended her individual members separately, and then again offered a common eulogy, in which he also employed a kind of artistic comparison. Thus, he compared the Bride with the maidens, and the concubines, and the queens, so as to demonstrate that she excelled them in many respects. For he said that such was the excellence of her form that they all refused to contend with her, confessed themselves defeated, and proclaimed her blessed, or rather, most blessed. But here, the ministers of the Bridegroom, having learned from Him the beauty, the adorning, and the grace of the Bride, ^C are incited to look upon her more closely, and on account of the magnitude of their joy (for the beauty of her soul was still hidden under the veil of the body) they cry out: "Who is this that looks forth as the morning dawn?" For until now, the light of the Bride was seen only in part, being covered by this corruptible body. And just as the morning dawn is the boundary of night and day, declaring the end of one and the beginning of the other, and signifying the coming of the sun, so in this present life, souls perfected in piety and all wisdom, which Divine Scripture calls the Church and the Bride, emit certain brief rays from their own virtue. But when, as the blessed Paul says, "this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality," all their light shall be revealed. ^D Which, indeed, the ministers of the Bridegroom foreseeing, not only compare her to the morning dawn, but say also that she is as fair as the moon, choice as the sun, and terrifying to those who dare to fix their eyes upon it. But they have added "choice," not only to indicate the distinction between her and the stars, but also to show the perfection of the moon itself. As if they were saying, as the moon shining full, not showing thin horns, nor half-full, nor waning, but perfect and splendid over its entire orb, retaining nothing imperfect—

^A thus, they say, "is she beautiful as the elect moon." Those who are skilled in these matters say that the moon borrows its light from the rays of the sun, and receives only a small amount of light when it sees but a small portion of the sun; but when, being opposite, it gazes upon the whole sun, it manifests the whole orb like a mirror and is fully illuminated, leaving no part of its body in darkness. ^B Thus, therefore, the Church of Christ, which is the assembly of souls perfected in virtue, "beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face," according to the blessed Paul, "is being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit," and becomes entirely radiant, so as to resemble the moon, and an elect moon, that is to say, a full one. And it resembles not only the moon, but also the sun, and the sun which causes astonishment in those who behold it. I do not think that this expression was placed here simply; for nothing is said by the Divine Spirit without cause. But since life is night, according to the blessed Paul, who says, "The night is far spent, and the day has drawn near," ^C it is fitting that the Church should be as a kind of moon in the night, providing light for travelers and showing them the straight path. It is also like the dawn; for the time which followed the Lord's coming was a kind of dawn, which signifies the future tranquility, as the presence of day; "For as the dawn," he says, "we shall find him prepared." But when that great and manifest day of the Lord shall arrive, according to the voice of the prophet, concerning which the blessed Paul says, "The day has drawn near," then it shall no longer shine as the moon, but as the sun, causing astonishment ^D not only to unbelieving men, but also to the young maidens, and the concubines, and the queens, and even to the incorporeal powers themselves. And the Lord Himself bears witness, saying, "Then will the righteous shine forth as the sun." And the blessed Paul also says, "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory." The bride of Christ, therefore, emerges as the dawn, for at present her beauty is known only in part. "And she is beautiful as the elect moon," filled with the Lord's light and illuminating the world with her rays; wherefore the Lord also, in the holy Gospels, said to His holy disciples, "You are the light of the world"; and showing what kind of light, he adds, saying, "So let your light shine before men, that seeing your good works, they may glorify your Father Who is in the heavens." Nor is the bride only like the elect moon, but she will also shine like the sun in the future life, and with her brightness she will cause astonishment to all. But they will admire

^A not only her light, but also her order; for there is nothing disordered in the bride of the Lord, nothing undefined, nothing indistinct. For she directs and regulates what must be done as if by a plumb line. After the praises of the Bridegroom ^B

VERS. 10, 11. I went down into the garden of the nut, to see in the offshoots of the torrent: to see if the vine had blossomed, if the pomegranates had blossomed; there will I give my breasts to thee. My soul knew not, it set me among the chariots of Aminadab.

The meaning is rendered very obscure by the ambiguity of the words; but by calling upon the help of divine grace, let us dig into the depth and unearth the treasure. The company of the pious, which divine Scripture calls the bride, shows that it is not content with its own salvation, nor does it consider it sufficient that they alone have attained the desired nuptials; but they apply all their strength to the care of ensuring that they might move all other men away from an unfruitful life, so that, having been made fertile, they might bear the fruit of virtue. And while they are engaged in this, and are occupied with instructing other men, they teach that they are like the chariots of Aminadab, or, as Symmachus interpreted it, “chariots of the leading people,” or, as Aquila translated, “chariots of the people of a voluntary prince.” ^C By the garden of the nut we understand the present life, which, although it is bitter and full of hardships and toils, nevertheless contains a hidden fruit of virtue. For the fruit of the nut, while it has an outer shell that is bitter, and a second that is rough and hard, contains within—as if in a storeroom—an edible kernel, hidden and not to be extracted without labor. Such also is the present life. For although it is filled with the bitterness of pains and troubles, it has its toils and sweats, yet they are not useless or unfruitful, but rather possess a hidden fruit. For this reason the blessed Paul also says: “Our life is hidden with Christ in God; when Christ, our life, shall appear, then we also shall live in him.” * I went down, therefore, into the garden of the nut, that is, into human life. Why then did you descend, O bride? “To see among the offshoots of the torrent.” Again she has called the present things a torrent; for a torrent is not perennial, but flows in winter, yet in summer it ceases to flow and dries up. Such are the things that seem delightful in this life; for in the present life, like some torrent, both glory, and riches, and royal power, and luxury, and the other ^D flowers of life are swept away. But when the future life appears, it fades and ceases, and

^A dries up like a torrent. “I went down, therefore,” she says, “into the nut-garden, to see among the shoots of the torrent, and to discern, wishing to know if the pomegranates had blossomed.” For this life has some men who are metaphorically called vines, and others who are named according to the various attainments of virtue. For some cultivate love and cherish concord, being united in mind just as the seeds of the pomegranate are joined together; others, however, being devoted to contemplation, yield wine worthy of the paternal wine-presses. She calls her descent a condescension; for the blessed Paul also became as weak to the weak, that he might gain the weak; and to those without law as without law, not being without law to God, but under the law of Christ, that he might gain those without law. ^B “I went down, therefore,” she says, “into the nut-garden,” being mindful of the shoots of the torrent, and of the fruits of the vine and the pomegranate. I will not withdraw from you, not even there; but “I will offer you my breasts,” that is, the fountains of my teaching. For you make your own what is done to those others, and you say: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of these my little ones, the least of them, you did it to me.” To these she adds: “My soul knew not, it set me among the chariots of Aminadab.” Symmachus translated this more clearly, saying: “My soul made me hesitant because of the chariots of a people leading.” For she says: “While doing these things, I enter into doubt and astonishment, because I indeed labored for their salvation, but they attacked me, being persuaded by the devil who leads the army and becoming as it were his chariots, and being driven by him; for Aminadab is interpreted as ‘people leading’ or ‘people commanding.’” And this ^C is exactly what we must understand, both from the versions of Aquila and Symmachus and from the fifth edition. The bride therefore — that is, the choir of those who are perfected in virtue — says: “We, indeed, take every care for the unbelievers, contriving to provide for them salvation from every side; but some of them, having become as it were chariots of the prince of this world, who now works in the sons of disobedience, according to the blessed Paul, have attacked me, rendering evil for good.” And this can be clearly found both in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles of the blessed Paul. For while they were preaching the word of piety, they were persuading some to believe, but by the unbelievers they were driven out, whipped, tortured, and endured countless kinds of death; and the blessed Paul is a witness, saying: “In labors more abundantly, in stripes above measure, ^D in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. Of the Jews five times I received forty stripes lacking one. Thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often

^A in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, and what follows [o]. When he said these things, the bridegroom's ministers thus respond to him:

Vers. 12. Return, return, O Sulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. Aquila translates it thus: "Return, O peaceful one." Even as in this book our Lord Solomon, that is, the peaceful one, is such, so also the bride is called peaceful, because she has attained peace from him, and has been liberated from war. Therefore the ministers of the bridegroom, when they perceived her to be vexed by chariots ^B, they say: "Return, O peaceful one, return, return, and we shall look upon thee"; that is, fear not those who persecute you, but retain the doctrine; offer the preaching of piety. Do not fear the chariot; do not fear the one who is called peaceful. For if you persist in preaching, we shall look upon thy kingdom. These things seem similar to those said by the Lord to the blessed Paul. For even he also, weary with labors and afflicted by many temptations, says, "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the angel of Satan, to buffet me, that I may not be exalted. For this I besought the Lord [P], that it might depart from me." ^C The Lord therefore responded to him: "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness [q]." And here also the ministers of the bridegroom say to her: "Return, return, O Sulamite; return, return, and we shall look upon thee." To them the bridegroom says:

CAP. VII

Vers. 1. What will you look upon in the Sulamite, who cometh as the choirs of camps? What, he says, do you hope to see in the peaceful one? Do you think that you shall behold some meager and partial goods? Lo, he says, "she cometh as the choirs of camps." And the names seem somehow to be opposed to one another; for choirs do not agree with camps; for the former are festive, the latter are military. A festival is the opposite of war. But this bride, having been assembled ^D from many saints, resembles camps because of her courageous and noble spirit and her military panoply; and she is a choir, carrying the divine hymnody in her mouth. And this the blessed David makes clear, saying: "The voice of rejoicing and salvation in the tabernacles of the righteous" (Ps. CXVII, 20). And again: "Keep a feast among the thickets, even unto the horns of the altar." The blessed Paul points out the camps, saying: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." And again: All those who cast a hook into the river. He calls the net-casters, and fishers, and hook-hunters, the priests of idols; for these, upon the cessation of idolatry, were groaning and lamenting, deprived of the opportunities for wealth.

9. And shame shall take hold of those who work the combed linen. By these words he intimates the subtle craftsmanship in words of the so-called philosophers; for these also, through the eloquence of their tongues, were assisting error. Different also were their dogmas; wherefore he called the linen combed. They also are put to shame, when their impiety of dogmas is refuted; and they are grieved, not being able to conquer the truth. And let them tell you, and let them say, what the Lord of Sabaoth has deliberated. For neither astrologers, nor oracle-mongers will be able to teach you the economy of God. 14. For the Lord has mingled among them a spirit of seduction. The truth does not lead into error, but leaves those who contradict it to be without a pilot; and they, being deprived of a pilot, are naturally led astray. 15. And there shall be no work for the Egyptians, which shall make head and tail, beginning and end. He says their counsels shall be unaccomplished, and a confusion of the rulers shall come to pass. 16. The Egyptians shall be as women in trembling and in fear, from the face of the hand of the Lord of Sabaoth. He called the Roman Empire the hand of the Lord; the fear of which broke the spirit of the Egyptians, and rendered them like unto women. 21. And the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall "make a sacrifice and a gift." He calls the time a day; by sacrifice and gift, he means the mystical liturgy. 22. And the Lord shall smite the Egyptians with a plague, and shall heal them with a healing. By the plague he means the removal of the kingdom; by the healing, the divine knowledge. For having destroyed their kingdom, he taught them piety. 23. There shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians; and the Assyrians shall enter into Egypt. He signifies, therefore, the intercourse that happened after this between the Syrians and the Egyptians after the subjection of the Egyptians.

CAP. XX

^A in the festive gathering in the thickets, even unto the horns of the altar. The blessed Paul also points to these "camps," saying: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." And again ^B he says, "Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." And like a general, he provides the soldiers with the weapons, and says: "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." And that the saints are like not only camps, but also choirs, let us hear the ^C Lord saying: "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom." Therefore the bridegroom rightly says: "What will ye see in the Shulamite, who cometh as the choirs of the camps?" He did not say "the camps of the choirs," but "the choirs of the camps." For from the camps come the choirs. For when the soldiers of virtue have conquered in the camps, ^D they return singing paeans, and dancing they celebrate the song of victory with praises. Having said these things to the ministers, the bridegroom turns his discourse to the bride, and says: "How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O daughter of Nadab!" Aquila translated it "of a prince," and Symmachus, "of a leader." Now who else could this leader or prince be but that holy Spirit, the Comforter? Who also in the forty-fourth Psalm says to her: "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord." And that the holy Spirit also bears the title of leader, the blessed David teaches, saying: "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit." The bridegroom, therefore, first praises the steps of the bride as being straight, and walking on the royal road, and shining beautifully in the shoes. Now what these shoes are, the blessed Paul has taught us, saying: "Shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." And the beauty and 141 grace of these feet...

guest tuus, filia Nadab!" Truly, so that not only from the interpretation of the name, but also from the name itself an occasion for some contemplation may arise, come, let us investigate who Nadab is. He was the son of Aaron, who, when he had brought strange fire into the tabernacle of God, received the end of his life. We find, therefore, that the Lord’s bride, the Church, has brought into the divine tabernacle not the legal fire, but the new fire which she had received from the bridegroom himself. "For I came," he says, "to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I wish, if it is already kindled?" The bride brought this new fire from the New Testament into the tabernacle of God, crying out and saying: "The old things have passed away, behold all things have been made new." ^B Deservedly, therefore, he calls her "daughter of Nadab," because she offered the sacrifice of men with this new fire. For although they differ in the intention of the changing of the fire, one and the same act was done by both. These things, however, have been said by us at present, lest this name itself be passed over without investigation. Therefore, the bridegroom again runs through all the members of the bride, and attributes a proper commendation to each, and says:

The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a craftsman. (VERS. 2-5.)

Thy navel is a round goblet, not lacking mixed liquor. Thy belly is a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies. Thy two breasts are as two young roes that are twins of a roe. Thy neck as a tower of ivory. Thy eyes as the fishpools in Heshbon, in the gate of all of many. Thy nose as the tower of Lebanon, that looketh toward Damascus. Thy head upon thee as Carmel. And the hair of thy head as the purple of the king bound in the conduits. ^C Previously, indeed, the bridegroom, beginning from the upper parts of the bride, praised her; but in the present passage, beginning from her motion and her shoes, he has traversed everything up to the hair of the head. And after the shoes and the motion, he admires not the thighs, but the fit and elegant joints of the thighs, which he says are like necklaces made by a craftsman. For just as those, he says, are fashioned from gold and set apart by stones appropriately inlaid, so that those who see them admire not only the precious material of gold and stones, but also the skill of the goldsmith: so each of the particles of practical virtues are joined and connected among themselves in number and harmony. For allegorically he calls the thighs ^D practical virtues, since by them, making our journey, we do those things which we wish. Therefore, commending the bride

^A from those virtues which consist in action, he proceeds to those which pertain to contemplation: though at the beginning he had done the opposite, having taken his starting point from contemplation and proceeded to action. For he said, “Your eyes are doves,” ^B signifying the spiritual speculation of the soul. There, he admires the practical virtue first, and with good reason; for being enlightened first, and opening the closed eyes of the soul, and receiving the divine light, we are confirmed by faith; then we proceed from virtue to acting. Therefore the Bridegroom, weaving his first praise, began with the eyes, since they are the first to receive healing. But now, since the beauty of the bride has become perfect, he begins from the lower parts and, praising the form of the bride, he lists first the virtues which consist ^C in action, then he approaches those which consist in contemplation. For he praises first the steps and the sandals, then the symmetry of the thighs, that is, each of the things that are done; and after the thighs, the navel. “Your navel, he says, is a rounded blending-bowl, not lacking in mixture.” Let us bring forward, if it seems good, the things said by the God of all through Ezekiel the prophet concerning the navel of Judea. For, triumphing over her unchastity and publishing her great impiety, as we also discussed in the first book, he says to the prophet: “Testify to Jerusalem of her lawlessness, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord to Jerusalem: ^D Your root and your origin are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite. And your origin, on the day you were born, your navel was not cut.” To that one, therefore, he says, “Your navel was not cut”; but to this one, “Your navel is a rounded blending-bowl, not lacking in mixture.” For the one that was born in Egypt did not cut her navel, but, as if through some root, she drew wickedness from Egypt with her impious teaching. But this one not only cut her navel, but she deepened the incision so thoroughly that she plucked out the whole root of idolatry, so that she might be compared to a rounded blending-bowl and might always have the drink of gladness, and never lack the joy produced in her by piety. “But also, your belly is a heap of wheat, hedged about with lilies.” That is, the storehouse of your soul is full of hidden mysteries, the fragrance of which is known only to those who are still imperfect and infants. “For it is hedged about with lilies,” he says, so that by the hedge we may understand the hidden things, and by the lilies the fragrance flowing from it in every direction. “And your two breasts are like two twin fawns of a doe.” For the fountains of your teaching, pouring forth new streams, teach sharpness of mind and spiritual contemplation; for the

doe is named for the sharpness of its sight, and the fawn is significant of newness. ^A “And your neck is like an ivory tower.” It has been freed from being black, and has become white by receiving my yoke; and it is fearful to the enemies as a tower, and desirable to friends for its brightness. ^A “Your eyes are as the pools in Heshbon, at the gates of the daughter of many.” Aquila, in interpreting this, instead of “Heshbon” put “calculation.” The bridegroom, therefore, teaches that the eyes of pious souls are pools, receiving divine streams and overflowing continually; since they receive the currents from many gates, that is to say, mouths (for he has called the mouths gates metaphorically). For they receive the streams of benefit from the great Moses, and from Joshua the son of Nun, and from the prophet Samuel, and from David the prophet and king, and from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, and from the twelve prophets, and from the divine Gospels, and from the holy apostles, and from the teachers who came after them. ^B Therefore the bridegroom says: “Your eyes are as the pools in Heshbon, at the gates of the daughter of many.” For the contemplations of your soul and the multitude of your pious thoughts resemble pools receiving waters from many places, since you receive the streams of doctrine from many mouths. ^B “And your nose is as the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward the face of Damascus.” Now the nose of Judea, on account of its disobedience and unbridled stubbornness, received a ring as a sort of bridle, just like a bull butting with its horns, against the threat of the law; for Israel went mad like a heifer stung by a gadfly. ^C But the nose of the bride, he says, is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward the face of Damascus. For it is high and lifted up, and it catches the fragrance from above, and is bound to the ointment of the bridegroom, crying out: “We will run behind you in the scent of your ointments.” For this reason it is compared to a tower located above Lebanon, looking toward the face of Damascus. For since the devil, who transforms himself into an angel of light, according to the blessed Paul, also feigns the appearance of spiritual ointment, the nose of the bride necessarily watches and is sober, and looks toward the face of Damascus, so that, having been deceived, ^D she might not leave behind the true ointment and follow the false and misleading one. And the divine Scripture frequently puts Damascus for the Gentiles and the impiety that held sway at that time; assuredly, the blessed Isaiah, in prophesying the things concerning the Lord's birth, and having said from the person of the Spirit that “I approached the prophetess,” that is, to the virgin, “and she conceived and bore a son,” proceeds to say: “And the Lord said to me: Call his name, Swiftly take the spoil, quickly plunder. For before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take away the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Sa-

Samaria before the king of the Assyrians. He signifies that while still a child he will strike down him who is figuratively called the king of the Assyrians, that is to say, the devil. He will take away the strength of Damascus, which is to say, he will overturn the power of idolatry, and he himself will become master of those who were held captive by the devil. For he says, “He will take away the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria”: that is to say, delivering both those from among the Jews and those from among the Gentiles, and releasing them from their errors, once he has struck down the tyrant, he will bring them under his own power. Justly, therefore, does he say to the bride, ^A “Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, looking toward the face of Damascus.” For you look around to see that the devil, by imitating divine things, might not deceive you, arraying falsehood against the truth. “And your head,” he says, “is as Carmel,” which is to say, filled with all good things. For this is what the God of all says, through the prophet, rebukeing the ingratitude of the Jews: “And I brought you into Carmel, to eat its fruit and its good things.” Your head, he says, is like Carmel, which produces every kind of good thing and bears every fruit for Me, the husbandman. ^B There follows, “And a tress of hair on your head as purple, a king bound in the courses.” For your hair was formerly loose, and for that reason was likened to the flocks of goats that were revealed in Gilead; but now it has been braided, and not only braided, but it has received a wonderful dye, and they are like a king clad in purple and always running about. He calls the braid of hair, likened to royal purple, the teaching offered with harmony, and colored by the blood of Christ; for a king wrapped in purple does not shine as much as does the teacher of piety who weaves the proclamation of the knowledge of God and offers it to the ^C nurslings of the truth.

VERS. 6, 7. How beautiful you have become, and how pleasant, O love, in your delights! Your stature is likened to a palm tree, and your breasts to clusters. For you became beautiful, when before you were not beautiful; and, being full of all foulness, you suddenly appeared graceful. And you have attained these things by having taken delight in love; for, having loved the Bridegroom who loved you, and having considered the affection for Him to be your delight, you have despised everything else at once. Therefore you have become beautiful and pleasant, and your stature is likened to a palm tree, and your breasts to clusters. For you have not only beauty, but also ^D a height likened to a palm tree, “and your breasts are like its clusters.” For being high and…

celestial, reaching the arches of the heavens, you descend to the weak, and offer your breasts and the nipples of your doctrine to those who have need of instruction; for even the palm tree has its clusters hanging downward. This the Holy Spirit also says through blessed David: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree.” Having therefore heard the praises, and having been winged by the many eulogies and inflamed by the philtron (love-charm), the Bride says:

^B

Vers. 8, 9. “I said, I will ascend into the palm tree, I will take hold of its heights: and your breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine, and the smell of your nose like apples. And your throat, as good wine going to my kinsman in upward-pointing directness, satisfying my lips and teeth.” From this it is possible to learn accurately how the Bride longs for the Bridegroom, and desires the ascent, and contemplates the height, and, according to the blessed Paul, does not think that she has already attained, but pursues so that she may attain; and she forgets those things which are behind, and reaches forward to those things which are ahead. But it must be sought how the Bridegroom is both a palm tree and a vine; for the palm tree does not have fruit, but the vine bears clusters. The interpretation of Aquila will guide us to the hidden meaning; for instead of “I will take hold of its heights,” he has placed “I will take hold of its *elatae*”; now the *elatae* are the fruits of the male palm trees, which, being placed upon the female palm trees, make their fruits firm and ripe. The Bride therefore hastens to receive from the Bridegroom the sources of godly offspring, and says: “I said, I will ascend into the palm tree, and I will take hold of its heights” — or, as Aquila says, “its *elatae*.” — “And your breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine.” For you are that true vine, from which the saving wine is harvested and pressed ^C in the spiritual wine-presses, from which the cup is filled that inebriates as most excellent. “And the smell of your nose is like the fragrance of an apple.” For even that very receptacle of your sense of smell sends forth fragrance to me, likened to apples. But sufficient is what has been said by us concerning apples at the beginning of the book. “And your throat, as good wine going to my kinsman in upward-pointing directness, satisfying my lips and teeth.” For the doctrine offered from your throat happens to be better than any fragrant wine and any joy of this life, which you bring forward, my kinsman, wishing to direct the souls that have believed in you; and this is sufficient and adequate for me, that I may bring forward and proclaim some parts, using my lips as instruments; while others I guard and preserve, using my teeth instead of a wall. To these also harmonize those words spoken by the blessed Paul: “For I heard,” he says, “unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to speak.” ^D

^A For this reason the bride also says, “Sufficient to my lips and my teeth,” so that I may preach some things, while I guard others. To these she adds: ^B VERS. 10. “I to my nephew, and his turning is toward me.” For to Him I have addicted myself, and I have loathed every alien fellowship—Gentile, Jewish, and heretical; for He has also preferred me before all others, and toward me has He the turn. For whereas He had not previously whereon to lay His head, He has now found where He may lay it; and though He has many concubines, and queens, and young maidens, He prefers me before them all; yet I do not endure that I alone should enjoy the privilege of His sacred fellowship. ^C VERS. 11, 12, 13. “Come, my nephew, and let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the villages. Let us rise early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flourished, if the blossom has flowered, if the pomegranates have flowered. There will I give thee my breasts. The mandrakes gave a smell, and at our gates all the new fruits upon the old, which I laid up for thee, my nephew.” The bride urges the bridegroom to take thought also for souls still vile and abject, which metaphorically she names “field” and “villages,” as being humble and small. For she does not say, “Let us go forth into the city,” but, “Let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the villages, let us rise early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flourished.” ^D “Let us examine,” she says, “those who have just received the preaching; if the blossom has flowered.” Let us look even at these better ones, who have put forth not only leaves, but the flower itself—which here they called the “blossom”—if the pomegranates have flowered; that is, if, in some, the beginning of charity has appeared. For it behooves us to go around and to bring every appropriate care. For by doing this I will treat you; therefore, she says, “There will I give thee my breasts.” For you treat those things which are done for them as being conferred upon yourself, saying: “Inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these little ones, you did it unto me.” “The mandrakes gave a smell.” The power of the mandrake, as physicians say, is to induce sleep. Because we have been commanded to “mortify the members which are upon the earth,” not in order that we might surrender those very members to death, but that we might render them dead to evil actions, she has with good reason placed the mandrake here, and says, “The mandrakes gave a smell,” that is to say, men began to sleep to sins. And just as those who have drunk of mandrake do not feel the motions of the body, so those who have drunk the cup of pious doctrine endeavor to lull their passions to sleep.

They have given forth fragrance not only ^A there, but also at our gates are all the fruits. For all who have received our teaching bear fruit of every kind. But I, for my part, have kept for you, my kinsman, both the new and the old, which my mother gave me. For the precepts of the Old Testament and the commands of the New Testament, which I received from my mother, the grace of the Holy Spirit, these I have kept for you and have guarded the deposit 66 inviolate. To this correspond the words written by the blessed Paul to Timothy: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day." And also that which was said by the Lord in the Gospel, that "every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a man who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." ^B

CHAPTER VIII.

Verses 1, 2. "O that you were like a brother to me, that nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me. I will take you, I will lead you into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. You will teach me; I will give you a cup of spiced wine and of the juice of my pomegranates." For he too, as a man, received the entire grace of the Spirit. "For the child," it says, "Jesus grew and became strong, filled with the Spirit, and the grace of God was upon him." The bride, therefore, amazed at the ineffable mystery of the assumed humanity, says: "Even you, she says, have sucked the breasts of my mother." But that we may preserve the sequence and order of the words, ^C starting a little further back, let us briefly run through the summary of the thought. I have received, she says, not only the new but also the old from my mother, and these I will keep for you. But you yourself also, on account of your singular kindness, by assuming my nature, wished to suck the same breasts that I do, so that in this also you might declare yourself my brother. You sucked, however, not because you were in need, but to teach me how I ought to suck and from which breast grace is to be drawn. Therefore you also came to baptism, not to wash away the filth of sins, since you committed no sin, "nor was guile found in your mouth," nor indeed to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, of whom you were full; but to show me what are the gifts of baptism, ^D and in what manner I am able to suck the grace of the Spirit. For this reason the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, not to provide you with what you did not have—for you were already full of his graces—but to show me what the gift of baptism signifies. Therefore, overwhelmed with astonishment, I say: "O that you were like a brother to me, that nursed at my mother’s breasts!" This kindness of yours

^A excites me, and finding you outside, I will kiss you, and they will not despise me. I will take you and will bring you into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. I will give you a cup of wine spiced, and of the juice of my pomegranates." For I am drunk with your love, not only in the ^B chamber and within the bed-curtains, but even in the forum and in public; and those who witness me doing this will not reproach me, when they perceive the flame of charity. From there, taking you, I will lead you into the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. What is the house of the Holy Spirit (for he it is who begot the bride), if not the divine temple, which imitates the heavenly Jerusalem; into which those who enter, receiving the bride’s dignity, are addressed with confidence? "And there, he says, I will give you to drink of wine spiced, ^C and of the juice of my pomegranates." He calls the teaching adorned by divine grace, and as it were sprinkled with ointments and aromatics, spiced wine, for it is sweet. And "the juice of my pomegranates" he calls the benefit born from the fruits of charity. The bride, having said these things to the bridegroom, converses with the young maidens, and says:

VERS. 3. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. ^D I am superior to the threats of punishment, and from your right hand I pluck blessings; 154 therefore he places his left hand under my head, and with his right he embraces me.

VERS. 4. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field, if you should stir up and awaken charity, until it wills. For it behooves you to kindle it continually, and to awaken it, that you may warmly desire him, and just as he wills, that you may reach perfection. These things having been spoken by her, those who beheld her excellence, struck with astonishment, say:

VERS. 5. Who is this who ascends being made white, leaning upon her kinsman? And they do not say white, but made white; for she is black. [D (continuing)] On the subject of the bridegroom, the bride says, "My kinsman is white," and she did not say "made white," for he was such by nature. But she, having become black (for the sun looked upon her), was made white, and has shared in the bridegroom’s whiteness. And just as he, being Light, fashioned her and called her light, and being holy made her holy, and having become resurrection, deemed her worthy of resurrection; so he [alt-version omitted]

^A whom the young maidens see, saying: "Who is this that comes up whitened, leaning upon her kinsman?" For, directed by him, and as if led by the hand, she ascends into heaven and makes the journey toward her Beloved through a firm faith in him.

After these things the Bridegroom addresses her thus: "Under the apple tree I raised you up; there your mother was in travail, there she who bore you was in travail." These words will be easy for us to understand if we call to mind those things which were said by the Bride at the beginning of this book. For thus she was speaking to the Bridegroom: "As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my kinsman among the sons. In his shadow I desired to sit, and his fruit is sweet to my throat." Since, therefore, the things given to us in the present life are a shadow of the good things to come—"For now," says the blessed Paul, "I see as in a mirror, in a riddle, but then face to face"—the Bride desired to sit in the shadow of the Bridegroom, that is, in the pledge granted now (for he calls the Bridegroom an apple tree for the reasons we have stated); consequently the Bridegroom says: "Under the apple tree I raised you up; there your mother was in travail, there she who bore you was in travail." ^B For having believed in the preaching concerning our Savior, we approached the divine baptism, and by approaching we have obtained regeneration. For "the grace of the Holy Spirit gave us birth," as the history of the Acts testifies. For when the most divine Peter had delivered a speech and had brought the preaching concerning the Savior to those who had arrived, the sacred writer says that those who heard his words were pricked in their hearts and said to Peter: "What shall we do that we may be saved?" But Peter said unto them: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall receive the promise of the Holy Spirit." Why, therefore, the Bridegroom rightly says to the Bride: "Under the apple tree I raised you up; there your mother was in travail, there she who bore you was in travail." Nor are these words doubled in vain. For in order to show who the mother was, he mentions the birth. After these things he exhorts her, saying:

^C VERS. 6. "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as the grave. Its sparks are as sparks of fire, its coals are flames of fire." Some copies do not have "coals of fire, its sparks, sparks of fire," but [instead] "its wings, its wings, coals of fire, flames of fire." The Bridegroom therefore says to the pious souls, whom the divine Scripture calls the Bride: "Set me," he says, "as a seal upon your heart, and upon your arm." By the heart, indeed, he designates the contemplative power of the soul, but by the arm, the active [power]. Wherefore also the priesthood... ^D

^A from the people, then the right arm, and the breast were separated. Our Savior therefore wishes that we should have Him as a seal in our contemplations and in our actions, and that we should imprint Him upon all things, both in words and in deeds. For thus shall they be royal coins, not counterfeit, but possessing the royal image. "But it is easy for you," he says, "to do this, if you possess love towards me. Love is as strong as death." 157 And since He, after the divine passion, overcame all things, so also this love overcomes all things, and finds itself stronger than death itself. Acquire also zeal; for if you acquire this, you will not permit any other to appear more precious than your own, and [you will wish] for yourself to be inviolable, while you are ^B partaker of my communion. "Hard is zeal, and difficult to overcome, akin to Hades." He called it Hades from the opinion which has prevailed, imposing also this name upon death. Yet charity is so strong, because it wills to be the first; and then it has about its wings the flame of fire, and scatters sparks. What, indeed, can be more flaming than it, especially since its fire is of that kind of fire which is not extinguished?

VERS. 7. "For water," he says, "much shall not be able to quench love, and rivers shall not overflow it." And this all those who have distinguished themselves in the Old and in the New Testament testify. For neither the love of Abraham towards God, nor the wandering in a strange land, nor the necessity of famine, nor the abduction of his wife, nor the offering of his child, nor the quarrel over the wells was able to extinguish it; nor were the misfortunes that befell Isaac, nor the ^C unceasing toils and lifelong sorrows of Jacob. What can be more painful than the temptations of Joseph, who was sold by his brothers, was bereft of his mother and father, and of his ancestral home, and of freedom, and of wealth, and served unworthily, and became, for the sake of chastity, a victim of calumny, and was sent into prison, and suffered countless evils; yet in all these, the love towards God was shown to be superior. And what need is there to speak of the great leader, and of the great prophets Samuel, and David, and Elijah, and Elisha? What is more frantic than the Babylonian furnace, more terrible than the flame? Yet not even that quenched the love, but rather it inflamed and aroused it. What is more terrifying than those lions to which the ^D great Daniel was delivered? Yet the love towards God rendered him stronger than they. And...

^A to demonstrate this, the blessed Paul alone will be sufficient to show us the power of charity, since he experienced it more than all others. "For who," he says, "shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. But in all these things," he says, "we more than conquer through him that loved us" (Rom. viii, 35-37). These things are, therefore, suitable for demonstrating the victory of charity. But the things which follow celebrate it and extol it much more clearly. For he adds: "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (ibid. 38, 39). And in order to show that it is more powerful than all things, both visible and invisible, he fashions with his words a creature that does not exist ^B and compares the love of God with it, showing that the latter is stronger. Deservedly, therefore, the bridegroom says: "Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the substance of his house for charity, it would utterly be contemned." They contemn him who gives his whole life to charity—those who are bereft of charity and stripped of it. Wherefore also the blessed Paul said: "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day" (1 Cor. iv, 12, 13). For, indeed, this occurs to those who are vexed by vertigo, so that, while they themselves cannot stand still, they nevertheless think that all things are moving. Thus, those who are devoid of charity ^C disparage the foster-children of charity as senseless and foolish. Yet this, too, did no harm to charity, but rather made it more ardent. When reviled, the Apostles blessed; when slandered, they entreated; and when they were reckoned as the filth of the world, they confessed themselves to be the offscouring of all things even until now.

VERS. 8, 9. Our sister is little, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when the word shall be spoken to her? If she be a wall, we will build upon it bulwarks of silver: if she be a door, we will join it with boards of cedar.

I think that the holy prophets who shone in the Old Testament, when they saw the bride as a little one in spiritual age, with her breasts still imperfect ^D and hidden, as if they were marriage brokers and messengers, were saying thus among themselves, that the king is about

^A to take our sister as his bride, yet she is small and bereft of breasts; for she does not yet possess the power of fruitfulness, nor can she provide the milk of doctrine, nor offer solid food to those who are in need. Therefore, we must consider what ought to be done. And since she is about to be joined to the great King, and to be, as it were, a wall of his house, keeping watch over what is within, and to have the role of an entrance guarding the treasures kept inside, let us build: let us build upon the wall silver battlements, that is, logical arguments shining in the Word. "For the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the fire, refined of the earth," so that standing upon them, she may strike the enemies and pursue those who lay snares. For the entrance, let us place boards made of cedar, not receiving the rot of sin; for the cedar is incorruptible. To these things the bride answers, relying on the magnificence and resources of the bridegroom:

^B VERSE 10. I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. I was in his eyes as one finding peace. For He knew me beforehand, and He predestined me; and because He knew that I would seek peace, and pursue it, and by pursuing it would attain it, He called me peace-making, and Sulamitis, and He made me an impregnable wall, fearsome to my adversaries; and my breasts, that is, moral and theological instruction, He raised to a height and made them resemble a tower, so that fighting from it, I might overthrow the enemies of the bridegroom. And I am not only a wall, as I said, but also a vineyard.

VERSE 11. For the vineyard, she says, was Solomon’s at Beleamon. He gave his vineyard to the keepers; a man shall bring for the fruit thereof a thousand silverlings. Symmachus translates that "at Beleamon" as "in the detention ^C of the people," but Aquila as "in the one having a multitude." God had long ago entrusted this vineyard to Israel. But since they had not only beaten and killed the servants sent to demand the fruits, but had even crucified the heir himself, the vineyard was taken from them according to the Lord’s word, and given to a nation producing its fruit. For this reason the bride says, that "to Solomon," that is, to the peaceful one, "the vineyard was at Beleamon," that is, in the detention of the people, or in the one having a multitude, "and he gave it to the keepers." Now she calls those who have come to piety a vineyard; and those who keep, and cultivate, and guard it, are those honored with the priesthood, to whom it is commanded that they both irrigate it with spiritual ^D doctrine and guard it. Moreover, she says, "A man shall bring for the fruit thereof a thousand silverlings": this number signifies the unity of the right hand. And this indeed indicates the salvation of the one bringing the fruit. For from this...

^A vine which He planted, He requires no other fruit than the salvation of the one planted and bearing fruit. Hence the bride, saying these things, declares her own restoration through the performance of the commandments.

Vers. 12. "My vineyard, indeed, is before me; the thousand are for Solomon." What she says is of this kind (for it is necessary to make clear what is obscure, to the best of our ability): "The vineyard, she says, is mine, and the fruit is mine." For the thousand silverlings which are thought to be given to my peaceful bridegroom, that is to Solomon, are before me; for He will give them back to me again. For even now, because He demands fruit, He does so because He longs for my salvation and desires to see me saved. "My vineyard is before me; the thousand are for Solomon, and the two hundred for them that keep the fruit thereof." The keepers receive a wage for the vineyard, and a defined wage. ^B And since they guard the five senses of the vineyard—sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch—they rightly receive the two hundred, which number is the fifth part of the thousand five times over: for those who guard the divine vineyard are worthy to receive rewards from its planter. Wherefore not only the bridegroom, but also the bride herself will give them recompense. And the blessed Paul says: "If any man's work abide which he built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." And to those who had labored in the vineyard, when evening had come, the householder ordered that a denarius be given to each. It is clear, therefore, that nothing is without a reward before God. For if he who gives a cup of cold water to one of the least of the little ones shall not lose his reward, how much more shall he who guards the vineyard receive a reward from the vineyard? ^C The vineyard itself also will show obedience of the five senses and will fulfill the two hundred, which, taken five times, are the divisors of those who in deed and action guard those very senses. For the number thousand signifies perfection in Christ, being an absolute monad, and containing its reason in itself not only in potency but also in act, since it begins from the monad, is shown through the monad, and is productive of the monad; for the thousand and the myriad are known by the element of the monad. The number two hundred, on the other hand, signifies the restoration of our nature, brought back to itself through the observance of the commandments, inasmuch as it contains the twenty [which is] repeated ten times, composed of four times five, and thereby showing our nature, which consists ^D of matter and form. Having said these things, the bride, with remarkable modesty and an ardent desire for the good things to come, says these things as well to the bridegroom:

^A Ver. 13. "You who sit in the gardens, companions listen; make me hear your voice." That is to say: "O my bridegroom, you who rest in the intelligible creation and in the sensible one, which have been planted like gardens according to your will; there are others besides us who, because they are not distracted by the bonds of the body, gaze perpetually upon you with eyes intent on you—the angelic orders, surely, who are removed from matter. But I, as one subject to such bonds, fear that I might undergo a change. And so, earnestly seeking and expecting your second coming, I implore you: grant that I may hear that most desirable voice of yours: 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.'" And thus:

^B Ver. 14. "Flee, my beloved, and be like a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of spices." For by calling the righteous to your kingdom, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, you withdraw from that providence which is exercised through the senses, drawing the worthy to the heights of the graces that, through divinization, diffuse in them a spiritual fragrance; in these, you, like a roe or a young hart, are the destroyer of venomous beasts, putting to death the spirits of wickedness that rage against us, and bringing to an end the war they wage upon us. May it be also for us to escape the bites of the serpents! But if we should chance to be bitten, may we look to the One who was lifted up for our sake, and obtain healing!

OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, ON THE PROPHET ISAIAH, AN INTERPRETATION BY SELECTION.

ARGUMENT

^A All the divine prophets not only foretold the things that were to come to pass for Israel, but also prophesied the salvation of the nations and heralded in advance the advent of the Lord. But this prediction was entrusted most of all to the most divine Isaiah. For he clearly heralds all things: the blessing that sprang from Abraham and David, the birth of the Saviour from the Virgin, all sorts of miracles, and the springs of healings; and the envy and madness of the Jews, and the passion, and the death, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven, and the election of the apostles, and the salvation of all the nations. ^B Furthermore, he foretells the second advent of our God and Saviour; he also predicts the dispersion of the Jews, the total desolation of the temple, and the expeditions of the Assyrians and Romans against them. He foretells also the return from Babylon and the utter destruction of the Babylonians. He further proclaims certain things regarding Egypt, and Tyre, and Damascus; and indeed also regarding the Ammonites, and the Moabites, and the Idumeans, and many other things besides these. Above all, however, he laments the final destruction of the Jews, which they endured while paying the penalty for their madness against the Lord. Now, within the prophetic writings some things are clear and possess a plain meaning, while others are spoken figuratively and require interpretation. I shall therefore take pains to ensure that other things...

be spoken of with all possible brevity.

CHAPTER I.

^A VERS. 1. *The vision which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw, which he saw against Judah and against Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.* The word "vision" denotes the foreknowledge of future events. Just as the eyes of the body, when they are healthy and the objects are placed before them, see them, so also the vision of the mind, illuminated by the divine Spirit, sees things absent as if they were present. The prophet therefore says that he saw some mournful things against Judah and against Jerusalem. He calls ^B Jerusalem the metropolis, and Judah the cities and villages subject to it. He also indicates the time of the prophecy, mentioning the kings, for he began this under Uzziah.

VERS. 2. *Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth.* This great Moses also summoned these very witnesses. For when he said, "Call heaven and earth to witness for me," he began his adjuration: "Hear, O heaven, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth." He added to these: "For I have called upon the name of the Lord." He testifies against the people, threatening all kinds of punishments for the one who should transgress the law. And indeed the prophet Jeremiah, or rather God through him, further accusing the people of wickedness in turn, added this: ^C *"The heaven has been amazed at this, and the earth has shuddered exceedingly, says the Lord."* He calls upon heaven and earth as witnesses, not as if they had a soul, but because they hold all visible creation and endure for a very long time. We find also that Jacob and Laban gathered a heap of stones as witnesses to their covenant. But those were stones of remembrance that they gathered, for inanimate stones are not witnesses; rather, they entrusted the true testimony to the Overseer of all. Thus, he too summoned these great elements as witnesses and confirmed his words by his deeds.

For when the Jews nailed the Savior to the cross, ^D the earth was shaken, reminding them of the testimony, and the heaven, since it could not provide this perception to men as being from above, showed the sun moving within it deprived of its rays, and brought on darkness for a testimony against their impiety. *I have begotten and raised up children, but they have rejected me.* For he did not merely bring them into being, but considered them worthy of every care and rendered them conspicuous through all-encompassing providence; yet they proved ungrateful towards their benefactor. And deservedly, in accusing them of ingratitude, he calls heaven and earth into the midst, for through them they harvested all kinds of benefits. For heaven provided them with the food of manna from above; for he says: "He commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them the bread of heaven." And the earth provided for them in the desert the necessity of water, and in Palestine brought forth an abundance of all kinds of fruits. They were also the first to partake of the dignity of adoption, for which reason he also called him his firstborn son.

^A “There is no soundness in it, but a wound and a bruise and a sore wound, neither bound up nor softened with oil.” He says that the excess of the wounds overcomes the power of the medicines. And since he asked: “Why should you be stricken any more, adding lawlessness?” he naturally enumerates the types of punishment: “Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your country before you, and it has been laid desolate and destroyed by foreign nations.” I have brought forward for you the catalog of these evils, and you do not wish to learn the cause of them. Now these things happened to them both when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians, made war against them, and the Roman emperors brought the final destruction upon them after the saving cross. And we see even until today foreign nations inhabiting their cities and occupying the land. Having said these things concerning Judea, he also foretells the desolation of the city: “The daughter of Zion shall be left as a tent in a vineyard and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a city being besieged.” He names Jerusalem the daughter of Zion, ^B the unit of the right hand; and this indicates the salvation of the one bearing fruit; for he who planted the vineyard accepts no other fruit from this one than the salvation of the very thing planted and bearing fruit. Wherefore the bride, saying these things to herself through the work of the commandments, declares [the following]: 12. “My vineyard is mine before me, the thousand [are] for Solomon.” And what he says is of this kind (for it is necessary that we make what is obscure clear, according to our strength): The vineyard, he says, is mine, and the fruit is mine. For the thousand silver pieces, which are thought to be rendered to my peaceful bridegroom, that is to Solomon, are before me; for he will return them to me again. And now indeed he demands fruit, desiring my salvation, and he wishes to see me saved. “My vineyard is mine before me, the thousand for Solomon, and the two hundred for those who keep its fruit.” The keepers receive a wage for the vineyard, and a defined wage. And because they keep the five senses of the vineyard—sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch—they rightly receive the two hundred, which number the thousand, as its fifth part, contains five times; for they are worthy, those who keep God’s vineyard, to receive a reward from its planter. ^C Therefore not only the bridegroom, but also the bride herself, will give to them the recompense. And blessed Paul says: “If any man’s work which he built upon [the foundation] remains, he shall receive a reward.” And to those who had labored in the vineyard, when evening had come, the master of the house commanded that a denarius be given to each. It is clear, therefore, that nothing is without reward before God. For if he who gave a cup of cold water to one of the least of these little ones shall not lose his reward, how much more shall he who keeps the vineyard enjoy rewards from the vineyard? The vineyard itself also will provide obedience through the five senses and will fulfill the two hundred, which, taken five times, are the divisors of those who keep them in deed and action. For the number one thousand signifies perfection in Christ, being an absolute ^D unity, containing its principle within itself not only potentially but also in reality. For it begins from unity, and is shown through unity, and is the producer of unity. For the number one thousand and the myriads are indicated by the element of unity. But the number two hundred signifies the restoration of our nature, reduced to itself through the observation of the commandments, since it contains a twenty—composed of four times five—repeated ten times by the ten commandments, and therefore showing our nature, which consists of matter and form. Having said these things, the bride, with extraordinary modesty and an ardent desire for the good things to come, speaks these things also to the bridegroom.

Symmachus interpreted it more clearly: "They have abandoned the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel." For not only by abandoning the Creator did they offer divine worship to idols, but they also insulted with taunts the One who became man and who worked for the salvation of all men; calling him at one time a deceiver and one possessed by a demon, at another a Samaritan, and at another mocking him, they said: "Vah! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, descend from the cross," and "They have turned back." He imitates one who is angry with another, and at one time speaks to him, at another to himself; and he adds, "They have been turned back," that is, in abandoning me, they have gone off to my adversaries. For he says the same thing elsewhere: "They showed me their backs and not their faces." This was also added from Theodotion, ^B as if it were an explanation of the word "to abandon," that is, to be alienated from God through a fall into wickedness. For just as the one who is being perfected stretches forward to what is before him, so the one who sins turns back to what is behind, distancing himself from the Lord, and for this reason perishing. "For behold," he says, "those who alienate themselves from you shall perish."

5, 6. Why should you still be struck, adding lawlessness? Every head is in pain, and every heart in sorrow. From the feet to the head ^C there is no soundness in it; neither wound, nor bruise, nor festering sore has been cared for; there is no soothing remedy to apply, nor oil, nor bandages. He laments their lack of feeling. "For what punishment," he says, "should I still inflict? I have inflicted many and various ones, and you have remained incurably sick. For all the limbs are wrapped in the disease, both the head, and the heart, and the feet. For which reason I despair of your salvation." By the head he designates kings and princes; by the heart, the priests and teachers. For what the heart is to the body, that the priests and teachers are to the people; and what the head is to the body, that kings and princes are to their subjects. He laments, therefore, their lack of feeling. Symmachus has set these things forth more clearly: "There is nothing sound in him, but a wound, and a bruise, and a stroke of a blow, neither bound up, nor softened with oil"; for the magnitude of the wounds defeats the power of the medicines.

7. Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land before you, and it has been laid waste, overthrown by ^D foreign peoples. Because he had asked, "Why should you still be struck, adding lawlessness?" he reasonably enumerates the forms of the punishment, and says:

"Your land is desolate," and so forth. ^A This series of evils, he says, I have brought upon you, and you do not wish to understand the cause of these things. These things happened to them, indeed, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians, waged war against them; but the final destruction after the saving cross was brought upon them by the Roman emperors. And we see even to this day that foreign nations inhabit their cities and devour their land. He therefore explains clearly what seemed to have been stated somewhat obscurely. For what could be meant by the words, "There is no poultice to apply, neither oil, nor bandages," he has interpreted clearly, saying that their land has been made desolate, and their cities burned and brought under the hand of their enemies, and those foreigners ^B, so much so that they were almost entirely overthrown from the foundations. It is well known that Judea had been captured many times by the Assyrians and Egyptians, the Syrians and Moabites, the Idumeans and what were called the Philistines, or Palestinians. But having suffered a little, and sometimes encountering moderate calamities, it emerged again, with God giving aid, and the one who had struck it also healing the wound. However, it perished completely after the cross of the Savior, with Vespasian and Titus ravaging it. For then indeed ^C it came to pass that the cities were burned, and the whole region became empty of inhabitants, and fell under the power of the victors. Yet it was most bitter for them, as they looked on and grieved, to see the land possessed by others, and in a way devoured and consumed. For if those who were absent had only heard of it, the pain might perhaps have been tolerable; but to see it while present, and to be able to bring no help, but to be engaged as if in inevitable calamities—this brings a pain that is intolerable and immense, as one despairs of correction.

VERS. 8. The daughter of Sion shall be left as a tabernacle in a vineyard.

Having spoken the preceding things concerning Judea, he also predicts the desolation of the city, calling Jerusalem the daughter of Sion. For just as he calls men "sons of men" and the prophets "sons of the prophets," so too does he address Jerusalem and Sion as the daughter of the same. ^D This one flourished of old when the vineyard bore ripe fruit; but when that was gathered, it remained desolate like a tabernacle in a vineyard. For vinedressers surround vineyards with walls and hedges when they are laden with fruit, and fixing tall tabernacles, they sit in them to guard the fruit; but when they have gathered it, they tear down the tabernacle and leave the vineyard without a guard. Thus also the vineyard of Israel, as long as it had the blessing promised to the nations, enjoyed every care; but when that was harvested, and those who believed in it were chosen from it, it was both deprived of its hedge and...

^A deprived of its temple; yet the conspicuous house remains, just as those who arrive there see it.

VER. 9. *And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become as Sodom, and we would have been made like unto Gomorrah.* Therefore those who have believed in the Lord have attained salvation through faith: and that seed, through which God promised salvation to the nations, he did not allow, just as with Sodom and Gomorrah, for the memory of the Jews to be blotted out. For at the time when God delivered Sodom and Gomorrah to fire, no one of the inhabitants was saved; but Lot alone escaped from the destruction, having no kinship with them. But from Israel many myriads were saved, when the Roman generals and emperors brought war, set the cities on fire, and, after most of the inhabitants were killed, sold the rest into slavery. For the Lord had foretold to the holy apostles, and to those who believed through them, the things that were to happen, and warned them by his indulgence to provide for their own salvation. "For when," he says, "you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has drawn near." And again: "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let him who is on the housetop not descend to take anything out of his house." Now "The Lord of Sabaoth" is the same as "Lord of forces" or "Lord of hosts." ^B

VER. 11. *To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams.* From this, therefore, we clearly learn that God did not ordain these things for them because he was pleased with sacrifices, but because he understood their weakness. For, having been raised in Egypt, and having learned to sacrifice to idols, they wished to persist in that training. God, therefore, wishing to lead them away from that error, tolerated both sacrifices and musical instruments, supporting their infirmity and comforting their childish mind. Here, however, after a long numbering of years, he forbids the entire legal worship: "And I desire not the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats." Yet by these words the prophet, or rather God who spoke through him, rejected all sacrifices for transgression, and for sin, and for perfection, and the holocausts; for the blood and the fat of some were offered, and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, while others were burned entirely. The fiftieth Psalm resembles this passage, woven of different words but the same thoughts. For that which is in the Psalm, "He shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his people," ^C is equal to this: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken." ^D

^A And the following are similar. For just as David says: "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; thy burnt-offerings are always before me," so also Isaiah says: "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord." And again, David says: "I will not receive calves from thy house, nor he-goats from thy flocks," and Isaiah says: "I desire not the burnt-offerings of rams, and the blood of bulls and of goats." For because they were continually reproved for being destitute of other virtues, they put forward their sacrifices as an absolute defense, as if they were performing them constantly; therefore the prophet, or rather all of them, cast them out from this defense. From this it is manifest that these were not given to them in the first place, but so that they might be an instruction ^B for the rest of their mode of life; but since, neglecting the things which were principal and necessary, they busied themselves with these, God says that He no longer desires even these.

VERS. 12. "For who has sought these things at your hands? For your sake I endured these things, not that I myself was in need of them. Ye shall not tread my court anymore." For the Romans, having destroyed the temple of God, prohibited them by law from having access to it.

VERS. 13. "If ye offer fine flour, it is a vain incense; it is an abomination to me." These are also types of sacrifices; and he necessarily made mention of them because of the impudence of the Jews, lest they should say: "He does not wish us to offer these, ^C but is pleased with that."

"Your new moons, and your sabbaths, and the great day, I cannot bear. Fasting and idleness, VERS. 14, and your new moons and your feasts my soul hates." Behold, He has taken away even the most celebrated festivals: of the Passover, of Weeks, of Tabernacles, and in addition to these, those of Trumpets and of Atonement. For He calls the great festivals "the great day," and the day of sanctification "a fast." And speaking generally, He says that He hates every festival and every Sabbath. But it must be observed that He rejects none of the necessary things, but only those which Christ, on coming, ^D likewise destroyed. Wherefore Paul, treating this passage more vehemently when he disputed against the Jews, says that those who present nothing of their own—having brought forward not only these, but many other things in addition—derive no profit therefrom, saying: "But if thou art surnamed a Jew, and restest upon

the law, and gloriest in God, and knowest the will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law." And again: "For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." And he says that they did not even derive any benefit from the fact that the law had been entrusted to them, because they did not believe. Which, indeed, David clearly signaled also, saying: "But unto the sinner said God, Why dost thou declare my statutes?" For because they were arrogant above and below concerning the letter of the law, while being destitute of deeds, Paul also stripped them of their boasting, saying: "Thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?" And David likewise, saying: "If thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with the adulterer." "Ye became to me a satiety," he says, "I have had enough of you, and I utterly turn away from you, on account of the excess of your sins."

VERS. 15. Your hands are full of blood. He reproaches them not for the worship of idols, nor for adultery and covetousness, but for murder. For all impiety and lawlessness against the Lord is the most grievous madness. For the voice of them also was: "His blood be on us and on our children." This blood deprived them of their former prosperity; this blood made the inhabitants of the world strangers to them.

VERS. 16. Wash you, be ye clean. Although they have sinned so grievously, yet He shows the kindness of His salvation. But lest anyone think He is commanding liturgical sprinklings according to the law, by saying: "Wash you, be ye clean," He adds necessarily: "Put away the evil from your souls," and "from before mine eyes"; as if to say: Even your hidden thoughts; nothing escapes me of all that is agitated by evil counsel; therefore, wash your souls by the laver of regeneration; for after the former things have been cast off, one must take care not to commit the like.

VERS. 17. Learn to do good. It is not enough for perfection to abstain from evil, but one must add the acquisition of good things.

VERS. 18. And though your sins be as scarlet...

[GREEK COLUMN] Their land was filled with silver and gold, and there was no number of their treasures; and their land was filled with horses, and there was no number of their chariots. The divine law forbade trusting in horses and the power of wealth; for, "thou shalt not make," it says, "for thyself chariots, nor shalt thou multiply horses." It forbade these things, so that they might not trust in their own power but wait for the divine assistance. Thus also the blessed David cries out: "He will not desire the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man"; and again: "For they did not inherit the land by their own sword, and their own arm did not save them, but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst pleasure in them"; and again: "For I will not hope in my bow, and my sword shall not save me." And the land was filled with the abominations of the works of their hands, and they worshipped what their own fingers had made. Adequately did he mock their stupidity, accusing them of impiety; for what they fashioned with their hands and fingers, these they named gods and offered divine worship to them.

CHAPTER LII. 7.

^A And so: “as snow I will make it white.” So that they might not fear upon hearing the reproofs, he announces a bounty of good things. Bringing you, he says, into a courtroom, I shall not exact penalties for the things that have been dared; but seeing your repentance, I shall imitate the dyers, and by the water of the most holy baptism I shall change the color of the blood; and I shall not permit you to bear the reproach of murder for all time. For wonderful is my art; for while the dyers introduce rose-colored, and saffron, and violet, and purple hues, I shall render that which is red like snow.

^B Ver. 19, 20. And if you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the land. But if you are unwilling, and do not listen to me, the sword shall devour you. He promises here that he will give the enjoyment of present good things to them, as they are gaping after such things; but to those who do not obey, he threatens. And the prophet, teaching that these words are not his own, but of the God of all, added: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things,” rendering the word worthy of faith by the power of Him who declared them.

Ver. 21. How “has the faithful city, Sion, full of judgment, become a harlot?” Since he saw them contradicting, and not obeying, and not enduring to be washed, he laments and mourns the change for the worse. For she was faithful, when David the king, and Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, and Josiah were governing her piously; but she became a harlot, and instead of just men ^C she had murderers as inhabitants, when she did not receive the Bridegroom who had arrived, but slaying him savagely, she was stained with blood.

Ver. 22. “Your silver is not genuine: your tavern-keepers mix wine with water.” He institutes an accusation neither of tavern-keepers nor of money-changers, but of priests and teachers who adulterate the law of God and mix in their own dogmas. For with this accusation the Lord himself also struck them in the holy Gospels: “Why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” For just as he who mixes another substance with gold or silver makes it base and not genuine, or he who dilutes wine with water spoils its quality, so the teachers of the Jews corrupted the divine law, attaching their own thoughts to it and joined on mythical traditions.

Ver. 23. “Your princes are disobedient, partners of thieves, loving gifts.” Necessary also was the reproof of these men. For faith is not sufficient for salvation, but there is need also ^D of practical virtue; therefore...

they shall eat the fruits of their own works. For fruits resemble their seeds; and he who sows wheat reaps wheat, but he who sows thorns will have these as his fruit. “Woe to the wicked man; evil shall happen to him according to his works.” He has stated what was mentioned more clearly and has delivered judgement as a general rule: for everyone, he says, who practices wickedness will reap the corresponding rewards. Having threatened them with such great evils, he once more shows his own kindness and indicates it by the name of personal kinship: “My people, your oppressors glean you, and those who demand payment will rule over you.” Here it seems to me that he is accusing the priests and teachers, while teaching the people that they do not turn them away from attending to the divine proclamation for the sake of the care of their souls, but for the sake of the first-fruits and tithes offered to them, which they collected by imposition of necessity. “My people, those who promise you happiness lead you astray and disturb the path of your feet.” For by urging them to remain in the observance of the Law and calling those who do so blessed, they did not allow them to hasten to the saving proclamation.

^A VERS. 4. “Behold, I have given him as a testimony among the nations.” For Him who was crucified by the Jews, all the earth and sea worships, and embraces His laws. He calls Him a “testimony,” or, according to Aquila and Symmachus, a “witness,” as one who testifies concerning the future judgement and threatens the flames of Gehenna.

VERS. 5. “Behold, nations that did not know you.” To whom do the Jews adapt these things? Whom did the nations invoke? To whom did the peoples flee for refuge? But they cannot show it; yet we perceive the facts, and Him who was unknown to the nations being constantly worshipped by them.

VERS. 6. “And when it shall approach you.” When you have sought and found, he says, and by calling upon Me have obtained pardon, flee the former path of impiety and transgression, and give your faces to God, not your backs. For He will share His mercy with you and will grant forgiveness for your sins.

VERS. 8. “For My counsels are not as your counsels.” We stand apart from one another, he says, as much as heaven is from earth. For you hate, while I love; you wage war, while I confer benefits.

VERS. 10. “For as the rain descends.” Just as, he says, rain and snow are provided for the sake of irrigating the earth, so that the laborers may receive the fruits of their toils, gathering the sheaves and obtaining nourishment from them; so, too, my authoritative word is most effective and most productive, fulfilling everything I wish. ^B

VERS. 12. “For you shall go forth in gladness.” Freed from the tyranny of the devil and liberated from his power, they will be filled with all gladness. Then, showing the excess of this rejoicing, he signifies that the mountains, and the hills, and the trees are rejoicing. This is what the blessed David also said, narrating the exodus of the people from Egypt: “The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of the flock.” Divine Scripture uses this manner of speaking, following the custom of men. For we are accustomed to say, “The whole city is rejoicing,” “The whole city is celebrating,” not intending the walls to be cities, but the inhabitants. But if one wishes to understand it tropically, the mountains and hills are the heavenly powers, which also are ordained, while the trees of the field, showing their joy with their branches, are the saints, of whom it is said: ^C “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree; he shall be multiplied like the cedar of Lebanon.”

He brings up the prediction of the desolation once again, and leaving aside all the fruit-bearing trees, he compares the desolation of the city to the terebinth, and to a terebinth stripped of its leaves. It is a plant that grows in arid places, having branches that have dried up. He compares them also to a garden without water; for they are no longer watered by the prophetic streams, nor do they receive the dew falling from above. ^B

VERS. 31. *And their strength shall be as the straw of tow.* The straw of tow is easily burned. Rightly, therefore, did he compare their strength to the straw which is easily consumed, and their wicked works to fire. For wickedness strips us of divine providence and consumes the strength given to us. *And there shall be none to quench it.* For when God punishes, who is there to deliver? Thus, also, he spoke through the great Moses: “I will kill and I will make to live; I will strike, and I will heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”

CHAPTER II

VERS. 1. *The word that came to Isaiah the son of Amos.* He began to prophesy during the reign of Uzziah, and was commanded to bring forward these words also, though not at the same time. Hence he employed another preface once again.

VERS. 2, 3. *And in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, and the house of God on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come unto it. For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.* ^C He predicts the splendor and dignity that piety will have, and that the worship of idols will be extinguished, and the house of God will receive the fitting veneration from all. For by the mountains and the hills, he signifies not only height, but the error which formerly held sway in them. For upon the summits of the mountains and in the high places, they erected shrines to idols, planted groves, and performed the worship of sacrifices to them. But after the coming of our Savior, their falsehood was exposed and the beauty of the truth was revealed. We see the fulfillment of this prophecy. By "the last days," he means those following the Lord's coming. In this way, too, he speaks through the prophet Joel: ^D “In the last days I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh”; and this received its fulfillment on the day of Pentecost. And the divine Apostle says: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.”

^A Or if we understand Jerusalem in this passage to be the mountain of God, we see the faithful who have received the preaching rushing and arriving there, and harvesting the blessing that flows forth from it. Or if we say that the churches situated everywhere on land and sea are the house of God, obeying the divine Paul, who says, “For we are his house,” thus also it is possible to see the truth of the prophecy. For the Church of God is illustrious, and the nations, having abandoned the impiety that formerly reigned, approach her and are illuminated by her. Therefore I marvel at those who do not hesitate to interpret this passage differently, and think that the return from Babylon is foretold by these words. For what nations flocked there after the second building of the temple? Or what law was given there? For God did not give the ancient law in Zion, but on Mount Sinai. It is evident, therefore, that it alludes to the New Testament, which was given there first to the apostles, and through them was subsequently provided to all the nations. For this reason, he prophesies that not only the law but also the word would go forth from there; thus is the evangelical preaching named. For the blessed Luke teaches us this: “As they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.” ^B For he does not call God the Word here, but the teaching of God the Word. For God the Word did not go forth from Zion, but He taught the truth in Zion.

[4.] And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; and nation shall not take up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. We do not find that these things happened after the return from Babylon either. For wars were incessant throughout the whole world, with the kingdom divided into many parts, and the kings of each nation rising up against one another. But at the advent of our God and Savior, the Roman empire flourished. This empire, having destroyed those many kingdoms, assumed the sovereignty over all. And the nations that are under it no longer use warlike instruments against each other, but all enjoy the goods of agriculture. Moreover, there was such great discord among the Jews long ago that Israel was divided in two and was consuming itself; and in one corner of the world, or rather in one province—I mean Palestine—the Philistines, and Moabites, and Ammonites, and Idumeans, and Amalekites would make war against one another. ^D But the Incarnation of our Savior extinguished all these things. For at the very time of the Virgin’s delivery, “Augustus,” as it says, “sent that the whole world should be taxed.” Then first began the conversion of wars into peace, and

the preaching ran on without hindrance, with the wars of every nation quenched, and all nations passing safely under one rule, conveying the saving dogmas.

VERS. 5. *And now, house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.* Addressing the people under the name of Jacob in the manner ordered by the prophet after he had delivered the predictions, he urges them to accept the light of truth. ^A For he calls those who trace their origin from Jacob, the house of Jacob. Of these, some who wished to believe were received, but those who resisted were cast away. Therefore, the prophet exhorts them no longer to wander by the light of the law, but to illuminate their souls with the true light. For those who contradict no longer enjoy the former care.

VERS. 6. *For it is filled, as from the beginning, their territory with auguries, and as that of aliens: and many alien children have been born to them.* He shows that they lived not according to the law, but according to a law entirely alien, even though they showed a zeal for keeping the law ^B and did not accept the New Testament. He sets forth their impieties: that they are filled, as of old, with their divinations, just as the territory of aliens, and that alien children have been born to them—both of which the law openly prohibits: namely, to consort with aliens, and to contract marriage with them, and to adhere to their oracles; both of which they violated.

VERS. 7, 8. *For their land is filled with silver and gold. And their land is filled with horses, and there was no number of their chariots.* For he trusts in horses or in the power of riches, which the divine law forbade. ^C “For you shall not make for yourself chariots, nor shall you multiply horses.” He forbade these things, so that they might not trust in their own strength, but expect help from the divine. Thus the blessed David cries out: “He shall not delight in the strength of the horse, nor shall he be pleased in the legs of a man.” And again: “He shall not gain possession of the land by his own sword, and their arm did not save them, but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hast had pleasure in them.” And again: “I will not hope in my bow, and my sword shall not save me.” ^D And they worshipped that which their fingers made. He mocks their madness extensively, arguing against their impiety. For those who put the name of gods upon what they fashioned with their own hands and fingers, they pay divine worship.

VERS. 9. *And man was bowed down, and man was brought low.*

^A Again, he laments the change in their dignity. For he who had been created in the divine image, and had obtained authority over all things on earth, fell away from his royal station due to his own lack of judgment; and whereas he ought to have possessed that honor, he himself bestows worship upon things fashioned by hand, bowing down and doing obeisance, and running to the mastery of demons. *And I will not let them go.* I will not overlook these things, he says; but I shall exact from them the penalty for their impiety. What these are, he will teach through the things that follow.

VERS. 10. *And now enter into the rocks.* He prophesies the Roman war through these words. For when that army approached, the majority hid themselves in the mountains and the caverns within them.

VERS. 11. *And the height of [men] shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.* For those who scoffed, he says, at the Savior when He arrived, and spoke arrogantly to Him, shall learn by experience how great the difference in nature is, once the Roman army has arrived, and that He indeed is most high as God, but they are earth and ashes, according to the divine Scripture.

VERS. 13. *And upon every cedar of Lebanon, and upon every tree of the oaks of Bashan.* ^B When invading enemies arrive, they not only slay the men, but they also ravage the land, cut down the trees, bring engines of war against the walls, and, becoming masters of the sea, they hinder trade. And all these things happened to the Jews at the same time, when the Roman army fell upon them. But if anyone wishes to understand this figuratively, he will find the truth of the prophecy even in this way: let the "oaks" be those who boast of the strength of their bodies, the "cedars" those who exult in their majesty, the "ships" those who are quick in understanding, and other things similarly; he will find that during the time of the war, nothing profited the Jews—neither an excellent general, nor a wise counselor, nor those abounding in riches, nor those boasting in their might. ^C But all were equally put to the test, and the power of the God of all was alone made manifest. For as long as He cared for them, they easily overcame all; but as soon as He stripped them of His own providence, they became easy for everyone to capture.

VERS. 17. *And the height of men shall fall, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.* He has said the same things again in a different way. These things attained their end after the appearance of our God and Savior; and we ourselves are witnesses of these things, having seen them with our own eyes.

VERS. 18, 19. *And they shall hide all the things fashioned by hand, bringing them into the caves.* ^D Even this prophecy...

we have seen the truth of; for very many who were enslaved to error, acknowledging the strength of piety, hid the gods whom they used to worship in certain caves and grottoes; but they were detected and reaped the shame, and the foster-children of piety delivered their idols to the fire. ^A

VERS. 20. *To adore vain things, and bats.* It is worthy of lament, the magnitude of the error—that men, having fashioned images even of base bats, named these images gods. And this deification of theirs is appropriate for those who are blinded. For just as those creatures, shunning the light, flee into the darkness, so too these men, not wishing to see the intellectual light, embraced the gloom of ignorance. ^B

VERS. 22. *Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils.* The prophetic word exhorts us not only to avoid the worship of idols, but also to recognize human nature itself, and not to trust in their guardianship. For they have life, it says, in the nostrils, and if you block these, you will deprive them of life. Similar to these are the things said by David: "Do not trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth; in that day all their thoughts shall perish."

CHAPTER III

VERS. 1. *Behold, the Lord shall take away from Jerusalem the giant and the strong man.* Symmachus and Aquila interpreted "the giant" as "manly," but Theodotion as "the strong one." These things, however, visibly came to pass for the Jews finally under the siege of the Romans. For when Sennacherib moved his arms against them, they had a pious king, Hezekiah, and a most noble prophet, Isaiah, and princes adorned with piety, who could not bear the words of blasphemy without a sense of pain, but tore their garments. And when Nebuchadnezzar, having brought up a siege, reduced them to servitude, they had the most admirable prophet Jeremiah; they had also the blessed Ezekiel, and in addition to these, the most divine Daniel; and Otrias the son of Shemaiah lived at the same time. But when they were vanquished by the Roman commanders, they had neither kings, nor leaders ^C who knew how to administer war skillfully, nor advisors endowed with cleverness, but rather the authors of sedition... ^D

men impious and defiled by slaughter. These things are clearly narrated by Josephus.

^A VERS. 5. *He shall strike the child against the elder, and the dishonored against the honored.* He describes the sedition more openly: for neither was gray hair among them an object of veneration, nor was the splendor of birth or wealth considered worthy of honor; but even the base rose up against the powerful, and the young held the elders in derision.

VERS. 6. *Thou hast a garment, be thou our leader.* He says, there shall be such a poverty of princes that they will entrust rule to anyone at all. For so greatly will all avoid the position of ruler, that to one who is asked to rule, he will say, "I shall not be a leader," for there is neither bread nor clothing in the house.

VERS. 8. *Because Jerusalem is dissolved.* Showing the cause of the abandoning of authority, he added: "Because Jerusalem is dissolved," which is to say, it is forsaken, and does not enjoy supernal Providence. "And their tongues are with iniquity, disbelieving towards the Lord." This, he says, happened to the Jews because of the blasphemies which they uttered, speaking openly against the divine teachings of the Savior.

VERS. 9. *They have declared their sin as Sodom.* For just as the impiety of the Sodomites was proclaimed everywhere on earth and sea, and the example of their licentiousness and their punishment was manifest to all men, so too did the impiety of these reach everyone; for it was not that, having performed the same deeds, he compares the lawlessness of these with theirs. But again he reminds them of the manner of their kinship. For even in the beginning he named their princes Sodom and their people Gomorrah in their own ^C evil counsel against themselves. And these things can be found in the holy Gospels as said by the Jews; for one, according to the like-minded, said, "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is profitable for one man to die, and that the whole nation should not perish," and the Pharisees again "took counsel how they might destroy him." And one may find many other things such as these by perusing the history of the divine Gospels.

VERS. 10. *They shall eat the fruits of their works.* For fruits are like their seeds; and he who sows wheat, reaps wheat; he who sows thorns, shall have this for fruit.

VERS. 11. *Evil shall befall him according to the works of his hands.* That which he said above, he clarifies again... ^D [alt-version omitted]

enunciating, he generally delivers the verdict. For he says, every one who has lived wickedly reaps rewards equal to his malice.

VERS. 12. *Your exactors spoil you, and the lenders shall lord it over you.* It seems to me that here he reproves the priests and the teachers, and teaches the people that they do not compel them to heed the divine preaching because of concern for their souls, but because of the first-fruits and tithes they were accustomed to have offered to them, imposing necessity 193 upon them. And see how, having threatened the Jews with such grave things, God again shows His kindness, calling them by the familiar name, saying: "My people, my people, they who call you blessed deceive you." For those suggesting to them an insistence on observing the law, and calling those who did this blessed, did not allow them to approach the saving preaching. And in general, praise offered at the wrong time brings harm to those who accept it. Being confident in the praises, and thinking ^A they had accomplished everything perfectly, they do not run with equal zeal in the stadium of virtue.

VERS. 13. *But now the Lord shall stand in judgment.* By these words He declares who are the exactors, and who are they that call the people blessed; and asserts that the Lord of the universe will be the judge, to exact retribution for the iniquity against the people from those who were entrusted with rule, and to whom the ministry of doctrine was committed, 194 and for the lawlessness against the people. This too the inspired Ezekiel taught: "I will judge," he says, "between pastor and sheep." ^B

VERS. 14. *But you, why do you set my vineyard on fire?* He speaks this to the princes, calling zeal in this instance a fire, which is not according to knowledge. "For I bear them witness," says the divine Apostle, "that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." With this they were set on fire, saying, "Away, away, crucify him." This the impious princes, high priests, and Pharisees taught them, and the Scribes, living not according to the law sincerely, but grasping at the opportunity for unjust gain.

VERS. 16. *And they walked with a stiff neck, and with nods of the eyes, and with the stepping of the feet.* By the neck he indicates their pride; by the eyes, however, their intemperate and wanton spirit. But especially he accuses the wealthy: for these he calls princes, and threatens them with the deprivation of sumptuary ornaments: he understands ^C fillets. Symmachus uses "armlets" instead of "cosymbora," that is, torques and bracelets. ^D

^A Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your remaining son Iashub, by the conduit of the upper road of the fuller’s field. Now, nowhere else was the prophet commanded to take the child along in order to deliver a prophecy, but here alone was he ordered to bring his son, because he is about to foretell the birth of Immanuel and to teach Ahaz that, on account of the one who is to be born from him, he himself will enjoy divine protection, even though he is worthy of punishment due to his own transgression. And you shall say to him: "Take heed and keep quiet; do not fear, nor let your soul be weak, nor be afraid of these two wooden staves, these smoking [brands]; for when the anger of my fury comes, I will heal again." As for "Take heed and keep quiet," Symmachus translated it as "Take heed and be quiet," while Aquila says, "Take heed and stay quiet," and Theodotion, "Watch and stay quiet." Instead of saying, "Do not wage war or draw up your ranks," you will win by keeping quiet on account of my goodness. I smite and I heal; for I brought about the former discipline because of your transgression, and now I bring aid on account of the one who is to be born from you. Do not therefore fear these. 14. To make for yourself a name of glory. For the divine grace led them; and the God of Israel became manifest to all.

15. Turn from heaven, and look from your holy house. From this point the prophet transfers the address to God himself, offering prayer on behalf of the people. ^B "Where is your zeal, and your strength?" You were always long-suffering toward us, O Master; you took away our transgression, you exercised zeal against the enemies, and you made your invincible power manifest to all. 16. But you, O Lord, are our Father. None of those ancient ancestors acknowledges us. Therefore, we call upon you alone as both Father and Master; for we were designated as your people from above. 17. Why have you caused us to wander, O Lord, from your way? Why have you hardened our hearts? For a long time, he says, you were long-suffering; seeing us sinning without fear, you did not discipline us. From this, having acquired a heart set against you, we left the straight path. Your great long-suffering caused this shamelessness in us. Because you did not deign to punish us while we were sinning, we persisted in sinning and despising your laws. 18. Our enemies have trampled upon your sanctuary. The inner sanctum, the untouchable areas, accessible only to the priests, became desolate and were trampled by the impious enemies. For not only the Babylonians were impious, but also the Macedonians and the Romans, when they ravaged Jerusalem. 19. We have become as we were from the beginning. We were stripped of that all-encompassing providence and have become like our ancestors who, serving in Egypt, were not yet called your people.

Chapter 64. 1. If you open heaven, trembling will seize the mountains from you. We have suffered these things not because of your weakness, but because of our own transgression. For when you manifest yourself from heaven, the mountains are shaken, and they will dissolve like wax before a melting fire. 2. From your presence the nations will be shaken. All things are easy for you, all things are ready; to shake the earth, to disturb the nations. 4. From of old we have not heard... Through the very events we have learned that you alone exist as God. For we have neither seen nor heard of the works of any other that are fitting for God. 5. He will meet those who wait for righteousness. He explained the justice of mercy. For neither—

^A VERS. 4. *And He will cleanse the blood of Jerusalem from the midst of it, by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.* By this blood, he refers to that which they poured out upon themselves and their children, crying out: "His blood be upon us and upon our children."^B He foretells that cleansing which is brought about through the laver of regeneration; and he says that this is accomplished by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning, because just as gold, when refined in the fire, is shown to be genuine, so he who is baptized puts aside the venom of sins. The blessed John the Baptist said this same thing: "He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

VERS. 5. *A cloud will overshadow it by day, and as of smoke and the light of fire burning by night, it will be protected with all glory.*^C When God delivered Israel from the servitude of the Egyptians, He led them with a cloud overhanging them—shining at night and providing the use of light, and by day acting as a shelter and a tabernacle, warding off the assaults of the sun's rays. The prophecy foretells that those who will have believed in Him after the advent of our Savior will enjoy these same things in a spiritual manner; and through this cloud they will be free from the harshness of rain and from burning heat. Moreover, he will be protected in secret—that is, invisibly. For those who enjoy spiritual grace, and who maintain order in peace, repel the insults of the impious, according to the sentence of the Lord which says: "Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul"; and: "Do not worry about how or what you are to speak; for it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks within you"; and: "Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."^D

CAP. V

VERS. 1. *I will sing now to my beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard.* This is a song of praise and of marriage; and it is also mournful and sorrowful. For humans sing not only wedding songs, but lamentations as well. Thus also the blessed Moses, when he prophesied those dire events to the Jews, called the song a "testimony." Symmachus, therefore, translated these words thus: "I will surely sing to my beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard." Now the "Beloved" is called the only-begotten Word of God: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have eternal life." But the Father Himself also bore witness from heaven, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." —"The vineyard was made for the beloved in a corner." This vineyard, made

for the beloved, is the one which the Father, in whom He is well pleased, planted from the beginning. By "corner," he figuratively calls the kingdom; for just as horned animals employ their horns as weapons, so the king fights on behalf of his subjects.

VERS. 2. *And I planted the vine (elect).* There is truth in the interpretation. For when God, the Lord of all, had chosen the patriarch Abraham, He planted a vineyard from his shoots.

*And I dug a trench/winepress in it.* The trench is the altar. It was not a winepress, but a trencher. In it, indeed, the Truth was prefiguring Itself. For we now have the divine altars as winepresses, in which we press out the mystical wine of the true vine, and sing canticles for the winepresses.

*And He made thorns.* For indeed, they brought forth for the Planter thorns instead of grapes, and He crowned the lordship with such a crown, and again brought forth the vine as useless to Him, so that I might concisely explain what was predicted regarding this vineyard.

VERS. 3. *Judge between Me and My vineyard.* The Lord Himself did this also in the holy Gospels. For having proposed the parable of the vineyard to the Jews, He constituted them judges, adding: "What will the lord of the vineyard do to those husbandmen?"

VERS. 5. *But now I shall announce to you what I will do to My vineyard.* Since, having taken every care for it, I saw it useless and fruitless, henceforth I will deprive it of all provision, and it shall be subject to those desiring to trample and devour it.

VERS. 6. *He will go up into it as if into untilled ground, into thorn.* I will no longer offer it rational cultivation, but I shall allow it to be left untilled and filled with thorns. ^B And I will command the clouds not to rain dew upon it. No longer, he says, will the vineyard of Israel receive the streams of prophetic irrigation. For he calls Prophets "clouds," as has been said, who draw the prophetic rain from the spiritual sea.

VERS. 7. *For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Is- ^C**

[Note: The remaining text on this page is a fragment or misaligned repetition of a different section of the Interpretatio (on Is. v. 7/chapters of Isaiah not present in the main block), but per instructions to follow the page flow and maintain the scholarly skeleton—the Latin text provided in the OCR for the lower half of the page is the conclusion of verse 20/beginning of 21 onward, which I have integrated into the main flow.]

^A Having ordered the prophet to write this upon the most trustworthy witnesses in a new scroll—for it was necessary for the things concerning the new and paradoxical birth to be inscribed in a new scroll—the Master henceforth threatens those who inhabit Jerusalem and Judea, as they despise the Davidic kingdom and prefer the king of Damascus and Samaria to it, and He foretells the incursion of the king of the Assyrians. He speaks in this way: "And the Lord added still to speak to me: Because this people does not desire the water of Siloam which goes quietly, but desires to have Rezin and the son of Remaliah as king over you, for this reason, behold, the Lord brings up against you the water of the river, strong and much, the king of the Assyrians and all his glory." By the water of Siloam, He does not call the transgressor Ahaz, but the King hidden in him, who was named Emmanuel, who received the designation "Make speed to spoil, hasten to plunder," ^B concerning whom it has been said: "He shall not strive, nor cry out, nor shall His voice be heard in the streets." For so truly is the water which goes quietly called here.

VERS. 10. Rejoice, O Jerusalem. He says these things concerning the apostles, whom He made celebrated and famous among all men. Their privilege and glory He likened to a river and a flooding torrent.

VERS. 11. That ye may suck. The divine Apostle imparted this food to the Corinthians, saying: "I gave you milk to drink, not meat; for you were not yet able." ^C VERS. 14. And your bones shall spring forth as herb. For not only in the present life will I bring you every kind of consolation through my heralds, but even in the heavenly city I will fill you with every sort of joy, bestowing the resurrection from the dead; for this He signified, likening the growth of the bones to germinating herb.

VERS. 15. For behold, the Lord shall come as fire. By these words He foretells the second coming of the Lord. Similar to these are the things read as said in the holy Gospels: "For ye shall see," He says, "the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and majesty, with the elect angels." ^D "To render His vengeance in fury." His fury is accustomed to be regarded as the punishing and retributive powers; and He will let loose His rebuke in the flame of fire against them.

VERS. 16. For by the fire of the Lord shall all the earth be judged. So also the divine Apostle said, that it is revealed in fire, and the fire shall test every man's work, of what sort it is. "And by His sword all flesh." He calls it a sword more corporeal-like, and "wounded" likewise, since the Jews, being who they were, were unable to hear otherwise, and were not capable of following the sense of the words. The Apostle, therefore, clarifies the proposed meaning, saying: "According to thy hardness and impenitent heart thou treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works." "Many shall be wounded by the Lord." He calls those who are given over to wickedness "wounded"; but those who are purified and cleansed "in gardens and on thresholds" are those who use ablutions. He teaches, moreover, that He will demand an account of the legal worship also from those who were under it before the incarnation of our Savior.

VERS. 18. I am coming to gather all nations. He has clearly declared that He was offering salvation not only for the sake of the salvation of the Jews, but to all nations. And he calls the figure of the saving Cross a "sign."

VERS. 19. And I will send forth from them those who are saved to the nations.

[The preceding part of the page contains the end of the previous discussion, then commentary on Chapter 5:]

^A ...produced that drama of [the woman] who devoured her own son on account of the famine.

Vers. 14. *And Hades hath enlarged its soul.* By these words, he declares the multitude of the dead, using prosopopoeia to represent death to us as a kind of sea-monster, which keeps its mouth perpetually open and incessantly receives the dead who are sent down to it. *And its pestilent ones.* He calls those "pestilent" who not only destroy themselves, but also entice others into the same disease; for such is the nature of a pestilence, that those who suffer from it infect the healthy and communicate the contagion.

Vers. 15. *And the lofty eyes shall be humbled.* By "lofty eyes" he designates the arrogant, whom he compels by the force of punishment to look down upon the earth.

Vers. 16. *And the Lord of Sabaoth shall be exalted in judgment.* For those who see the impious and the transgressors paying the penalty will praise the just Judge.

^B Vers. 17. *And the plundered ones shall graze like bulls, and the lambs shall eat the deserts of those who have been intercepted.* That the adversaries of the evangelical dogmas plundered the possessions of those who had believed in the Lord, the Apostle has clearly taught us. For, writing to the Thessalonians, he said: "For you, my brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus: for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, ^C just as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord, and persecuted the prophets, and us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men." And writing to the Jews themselves, he says thus: "Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle of sufferings; partly by reproaches and afflictions being made a spectacle, and partly by being sharers with those who were treated in this way; for you even sympathized with my bonds, and accepted with joy the plundering of your property."

These [believers], after the destruction of the others, he likens to bulls grazing fearlessly. For, truly bearing the yoke of the Lord, they were cultivating all the nations. ^D He also calls them "lambs." For so the Lord calls them: "Behold, I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves." To these He promises that He will give the deserts of those who had been captured and become prisoners. For by "intercepted" He meant those who had been, as it were, hunted and captured by the spear. Symmachus, however, translated these as "transgressors."

^A

VERS. 18. Woe to those who draw their sins as with a long rope! But to speak simply, it is a grave matter to sin, but to persevere and increase sin is much graver. In the present passage, he reproves such as these, who persist in evils and do not wish to repent, but even contradict the prophetic predictions. For he made this clear when he added:

VERS. 19. Who say: Let what God is doing approach quickly, that we may see. These are indeed the words of those who do not believe and who insinuate that the prophecy is false.

VERS. 20. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil! From here he turns to another accusation. Truly, such is the life of flatterers: they praise the wicked, they mock the good, and they do everything for the sake of their belly. Such also are the unjust judges, those who accept bribes and sell justice.

VERS. 21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes! He reproves even those who are puffed up concerning their wisdom and do not obey the most wise Anna, who says, "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom," but [they act] according to the voice of the writer of Proverbs: "The wisdom that flees from discipline goes astray." ^B

VERS. 22. Woe to those who are strong among you, who drink wine! He resumes the reproof of the drunkards.

VERS. 23. Who justify the impious for the sake of gifts, and take away justice from the just. He accuses the same ones, as those who are placed in charge, but who lead unjustly. For when justice offers a salutary verdict to this man, you, he says, lawlessly snatch it away and give it to the unjust.

VERS. 24. For this reason, just as stubble will be burned by the coal of fire. After the accusation, he introduces the threat of punishment (comparing them to material that easily catches fire, and justice to the fire itself), [declaring] that it will come to pass that, like that stubble, the very root will be consumed along with the flower. He calls them the root, and the passing duration of their prosperity the flower. ^C

VERS. 25. And the mountains were provoked. By "mountains," he surely hints at the demons who were worshipped by them in the mountains. Because of all these things that have been said, they filled both the mountains themselves and the paths with corpses, cast upon the earth like dung, according to what was said by the Psalmist: "They became as dung upon the earth." — "And in all these things His anger is not turned away." Therefore, the anger of God is not turned away, for they themselves did not desist from their lawlessness. For this is also [the case] afterwards. ^D

^A And the people did not desist until they had been struck. And the phrase, "His hand is exalted," is used by way of metaphor for those who strike a servant with a whip or a rod, and lift up their hand.

VERS. 26. "Therefore he will lift up a sign to the nations from afar." By these words he hinted at the Romans. For the Babylonians and the Assyrians he frequently names, and often also designates them by the climate; as when he says, "From the north evils will be kindled," and, "I will drive away the one from the north from you," and, "I shall say to the north, 'Come.'" Here, however, he designates by these words the Roman army, which set out from the western regions against Jerusalem. ^B "And he will whistle to them from the extremity of the earth." By the word "whistle," he shows the Lord's power. For just as a master calls a servant by whistling, and he runs to the sound in fear, so the God of all nods, he says, and the Romans run together. Or, indeed, "he will whistle" is taken from the habit of bees. For it is the custom of beekeepers to whistle to them; and thus they make them depart from the hives to the flowers and herbs, and even bring them back from the fields, and cause them to settle at home.

VERS. 27. "They will not hunger, nor will they labor, nor will they slumber, nor will they sleep." He teaches their military experience, and their courage, and their capacity for hardship in campaigns. They overcome, he says, the physical limitations of nature through military experience; rejecting the assault of sleep, they do not wish to enjoy rest. He also describes their ^C armor.

VERS. 28. "Whose arrows are sharp, and what follows."

VERS. 29. "They will roar like lions." They are accustomed to shout in wars, terrifying their opponents with a common voice. He compares this cry to the roaring of lions. For just as a lion roaring terrifies both wild beasts and cattle, so they, by their very clamor, will be able to prevail over their enemies.

VERS. 30. "And he will shout against them on that day like the voice of a surging sea." All these things are said about those besieging [the city]. Through these he indicated both their multitude, and their speech, which is like waves, striking the ears of their adversaries with the sound of their voice. "And they will look up to heaven, and behold darkness." ^D Then, therefore, he says, those who are paying the penalties for their madness against Me will look up to heaven, begging to receive some assistance; but they will see, not My providence shining forth like light, but [My] punitive power, casting darkness upon their eyes.

CHAPTER VI

^AVER. 1. *And it came to pass in the year that King Uzziah died.* All the things previously written were prophesied by the prophet while Uzziah was reigning; but these things now read were seen in the time of Jotham, who, being the son of Uzziah, succeeded to his father’s kingdom. The prophet hints, as I have said, at the cessation of prophecy that occurred because of Uzziah’s transgression; for at the beginning of his reign he indeed enjoyed divine providence and subdued the foreigners and other neighboring enemies. But having become arrogant after his victory, he usurped the dignity of the priesthood and, daring to enter the inner sanctuary of the temple, he presumed to offer incense—something that was not permitted for all the priests to offer. For only to the high priest was access to the Holy of Holies open. Although Azariah the priest, and others with him who were distinguished by priestly honor, attempted to restrain him, because he would not obey their counsel, the Lord brought upon him a mild correction. He did not command the earth to swallow him up, nor did He send down fire from heaven; but He changed the color of his body and cast upon him the blemish of leprosy. Having been afflicted with this punishment, he immediately fled from the temple and, residing at home, administered the kingdom through his son Jotham. For this reason, the God of all is angry with the people and offers them no oracle; and He is indignant against the prophet, who held his peace and did not apply reproof. ^B After Uzziah’s passing, God showed this vision to the prophet; the prophet, therefore, aptly mentions his death, teaching when he was silent and when he once again received the gift of prophecy.

VER. 2. *And the Seraphim stood round about him.* The reverence of the holy Seraphim seems also to rebuke the arrogant king. For he shamelessly seized for himself a ministry that did not belong to him at all, whereas the invisible powers, once entrusted with the heavenly hymnody, manifested fear in their posture. For they covered their faces, unable to endure the splendor that flashed from the sight of the Lord; and they hid their feet, thereby signifying servitude, showing fear, and performing their ministry in a seemly manner. *And with two they flew.* The flight signifies the loftiness of the intellect. ^C

VER. 3. *And they said: Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth.* They offered this hymn, pointing both to the one nature of the Godhead through the word "Lord" (for they proclaimed this in the singular number) and also indicating the number of the Trinity by acclaiming "Holy" three times. For "Holy, holy, holy" serves to declare the Trinity, while "Lord of Sabaoth" serves to signify the one nature.

By the anger of the wrath of the Lord of Sabaoth, the whole earth is burned up. By "a thick forest," he designates the multitude that is barren; for while a forest is thick and dense, it is also devoid of fruit. He calls the rulers "hills" on account of their height and visibility. And the people shall be as though burned by fire. By these words he has indicated the violence of the enemies. A man shall not have pity on his brother. For when a rout occurs in wars, each person takes thought for his own safety, and neither father thinks of son, nor son of father, nor brother of brother, at the time of flight. Then he predicts the strength and victory of the adversaries: But he shall turn to the right, for he shall be hungry, and he shall eat of the left, and a man shall not be satisfied eating the flesh of his own arm. In wars, the victors sometimes pursue those on the right wing, sometimes they move against the left, and anger compels them to be ignorant of nature, and they resemble madmen who eat their own arms as if they were those of others. However, he also signifies by these things the schism of Israel itself and the discord of the tribes. ...of them according to the flesh Christ. He calls him the true vine, saying: “I am the true vine,” and those who believed in him he called branches.

v. 22. If you wash in nitre, and multiply for yourself herbs, you are stained in your iniquities before me, says the Lord. He calls the purgatives that grow from the earth "herbs," and by these he teaches figuratively that the purifications made according to the Law do not effect a liberation from sins, but rather sincere repentance and a turning away from wickedness. After this, he reproves her shamelessness. v. 23. How will you say: I have not been defiled, and I have not gone after Baal? Then he shows the obviousness of her impiety: See your ways in the polyandrium, and know what you have done. He calls the place of tombs a "polyandrium," in which they used to burn sons and daughters to the idols. Sero voce sua ululavit. He put "sero" for "tardily." After the experience, he says, of painful things, she gained a sense of her lawlessness. This is what the prophet says later as well, showing the ten tribes lamenting and saying: "After captivity I repented." v. 24. She extended her ways to the waters of the desert. By "extended," he taught the insatiability of her impiety. He called the idols "waters of the desert," as they are desert-making and cause of total destruction. In the desires of her soul she was spirit-borne. For the things they wanted to hear, these the pseudo-prophets pretended to prophesy. For he has placed "spirit-borne" concerning the pseudo-prophets. "She has been handed over; who will avert her?" For when God has handed over, who will provide aid? Thus also through the great Moses he says: "All who seek her shall not labor; in her lowliness they shall find her." For they became easily captured, having embraced impiety. After this he teaches that [the counsel] he often addresses...

[the people] to, is to despise their guardian. Then again, ironically, he asks, ^A VERS. 33. "How beautiful will you make your ways to seek love?" What else, he says, do you wish to add to the things previously mentioned, so as to win over my affection? "Not so." None of these things move one to love, but on the contrary, they beget hatred; for you have not only slid into impiety, but have even dared to commit murder. VERS. 34. "For in your hands," he says, "were found the blood of innocent souls." This the blessed David also said: "And they sacrificed their sons to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was defiled with their blood (Ps. cv, 37, 38)." But to show that they did not dare to do these things in secret, but openly, he added: "I did not find them in ditches, but under every oak." For whereas housebreakers commit their crimes in secret, these men, while acting wickedly, did not try to remain hidden; but every hill and every grove received their impiety. Being shameless and abominable, they even denied what was done openly. VERS. 35. "For you said," he says, "I am innocent; therefore let his wrath be averted from me." For this reason he added: "Behold, I enter into judgment with you, because you say: I have not sinned." He does not say: "I will judge you," but, "I enter into judgment ^B with you," as if to say: I am disputing in a judicial manner, and I am convicting you as a liar and as one shamelessly denying it. VERS. 36. "Because you thought it very light to repeat your ways." For impudence agrees well with iniquity. But he signifies something else also in this place: namely, that as you called the Assyrians to your aid, and received no benefit from that assistance, so too now, by fleeing to the Egyptians, you will enjoy no profit from them. For this is what the things that follow indicate. "And you will be confounded by Egypt, just as you were confounded by..."

Assyria."

Then he teaches both the conciseness of the proclamation and the manner of the New Testament: "For he shall finish and shorten the word in righteousness, because God shall make a shortened word in all the world." The divine apostle remembered this testimony. The word teaches us that what the Law, using many commandments, sacrifices, and punishments, was unable to accomplish, this the evangelical word has accomplished, offering a shortcut to the medicine of salvation: the all-holy baptism. For through faith, salvation has been granted to men. This is the shortened word of righteousness, a co-worker, which God has given not only to the Jews but to all men. Having thus prophesied concerning the New Testament, he leads the discourse back to the earlier sequence: "Therefore thus says the Lord of Sabaoth: Be not afraid, my people who dwell in Sion, of the Assyrians, because he will strike you with a rod." He calls moderate discipline a "rod" here; for he besieged many of the subject cities. "For I bring a blow upon you to see the way of Egypt." David says: "Be to me a God as a protector, and as a house of refuge to save me."

^A Ver. 5. "Shall he remain for ever?" Instead of saying, your lies and the mockery of your words. "Or shall he be kept for victory?" Do you think that through these things you will prevail and win? Then, ironically: "Behold, you have spoken and done these evil things, and you have prevailed." Instead of saying: Think that you have mocked and escaped, having dared to commit such lawless acts. After these things, he says that God spoke to him in the days of Josias the king. Ver. 6. "Have you seen what the house of Israel has done to me?" Since they were absent (for they were serving in Babylon), he teaches the prophet the justice of the punishment. "And she went upon every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and she committed fornication there." Then he shows his own goodness and long-suffering. ^B Ver. 7. "And I said, after she committed all these things, Turn to me, and she did not return." Therefore, she brought destruction upon herself, having neither embraced from the beginning the life according to the Law, nor having wished to turn back after her impiety. From this point, he increases the accusation against the tribe of Judah. Ver. 8. "And the treacherous Juda, her sister, saw her unfaithfulness, and she saw that for all things in which the house of Israel was caught in her adultery, I sent her away, and gave her a writ of divorce into her hands. And the treacherous Juda, her sister, was not afraid, and she went, and she also committed fornication." Having beheld, he says, the wickedness of her sister and the punishment inflicted upon her through this, she did not flee the imitation of wickedness; but she followed her footsteps. ^C Ver. 9. "And her fornication became as nothing." For, he says, she supposed that doing nothing was lawless; and he calls idolatry fornication. For having abandoned God, who was named their bridegroom, they served idols. "And she murdered in the land, sacrificing her children to demons; and she committed adultery with stone and wood." He made the accusation of fornication clear. Then through many more words he teaches that she did not loathe the impiety of her sister, having beheld her destruction; and that the ten tribes have more excuse than the tribe of Judah, since she, having seen the calamities of those people, persisted in seeing the authors of the calamities; for which reason the prophet is commanded to prophesy to them.

"They have approached," he says, "to the prophetess, and she has conceived." For in the virginal womb the all-holy Spirit fashioned the temple of the Word of God, the form of a servant, which the Word of God, taking from the very conception, united to Himself. After this, He showed us the dignity of the child who was born and taught us His divine titles: that He is Mighty God, that He is Potentate, that He is Prince of Peace, that He is Father of the age to come. Here, he also teaches of His carnal kinship, that He has blossomed from Jesse after the flesh; and Jesse was the father of David. "And the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety; the spirit of the fear of God shall fill Him." For each of the prophets received a partial grace, but in Him "dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and according to His humanity He possessed all the gifts of the Spirit; "For from His fullness," according to the inspired John, "we all have received." He shall not judge according to outward show, nor shall He reprove according to their wicked speech. This did not happen after the return from Babylon; for the nations did not then abandon their impiety. But after the incarnation of our God and Savior, the divine apostles carried the salutary preaching into all the world; those who had served it departed from their former error, and they worship the God of all, and all hasten to Jerusalem as to a divine throne.

Then he teaches that after the return from Babylon the tribes will no longer be divided in two, but will return together and possess the land of their fathers. Then the prophet, rejoicing at the good promises, says:

VERS. 19. And I said, So be it, Lord.

Having said these things in the middle, the prophet concludes the divine promise. "That I may set you among my children." For again, he says, you shall be called sons by me. "And I will give thee a chosen land, a renowned inheritance," that is, of the Almighty God of the nations. Thus he called the land of promise. And he named Him the Almighty God of the nations, teaching that He is God of all and Creator of all, and that the nations too will enjoy the knowledge of God, and that the grace of the Spirit will pass to them. After this, he counsels them to acquire the affection that children have for a father, and so to enjoy divine care. Then he complains that they emulated a fornicating woman sinning against her husband, not only the ten tribes, but also the tribe of Judah, and they broke the covenants made with the bridegroom; but he also foretells the repentance of the ten tribes; for the calamity of the captivity implanted in them a sense of their transgression.

VERS. 21. For a voice, he says, was heard from the lips, of wailing and supplication of the children of Israel, because they did wickedly in their ways, they forgot their holy God.

Seeing their repentance, he urges them to persevere in it, and says:

VERS. 22. Turn, O returning children, and I will heal your contrition.

He not only promises healing, but also teaches what words they ought to use, as if saying: Say these things: "Behold, we shall be thy servants, because thou art the Lord our God." We renounce error, we abhor the slavery of demons; we acknowledge thee alone as Lord and God.

VERS. 23. Truly the hills and the multitude of the mountains were a lie.

^A The history of the Chronicles teaches this. And the impious king suffered many other such things. For the Idumeans enslaved those who were near to them, and the alien nations those who were neighbors; but the lawless king, when he ought to have asked for an alliance from God, fled instead to the king of the Assyrians. But the philanthropic Master provides help even when uninvited, and cares for those by whom He is despised. He did this also here. For when Pekah had called the king of the Syrians to an alliance, and with him had seized Jerusalem for a siege, the unholy king was terrified, and the people feared as well. For the experience of what had already happened compelled them to tremble; and they were ^B so shaken by fear that they resembled trees agitated by a more vehement onset of the winds. Now, how the benign Lord granted them succor, will be made manifest from what follows.

VERS. 3. *And who is left, Jashub thy son.* However, nowhere is the prophet commanded to prophesy with the child. But here alone was he ordered to take his son, because he is about to announce the birth of Emmanuel, and to teach Ahaz that through the One who would be born from him, he would enjoy divine providence, even though he himself was deserving of punishment on account of his own lawlessness. But the phrase, "Take heed to be quiet," was interpreted by Symmachus, "Take heed, and keep silent;" by Aquila, "Take heed, and be silent;" and by Theodotion, "Attend and be silent," instead of, "Do not wage war, neither draw up your battle line; for you shall conquer by keeping silent, on account of My goodness."

VERS. 4. *From these two pieces of smoking firebrands.* Do not, therefore, fear these, He says; for they are like smoking firebrands, but not burning ones. A firebrand is a wood that is half-burnt, possessing as it were the remains of fire, but lacking flame.

VERS. 7. *For after the wrath of fury I will again heal.* I, therefore, strike, and I heal. For the former chastisement I brought upon you because of your lawlessness; but now I bring help because of Him who will be born from you. Do not, therefore, fear these. ^C *"This counsel shall not stand, nor shall it be."* And thus He has stripped bare their devices, and has declared His own judgment. For I, He says, will dissipate their counsel, and it shall not remain, nor shall it be.

VERS. 8. *The head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Raasim.* By Aram He names the Syrians; of these, He says, Damascus is the metropolis; and the king of Damascus is Raasim. Over these, therefore, he rules alone, but over Jerusalem no longer. For He has given the kingdom of the Syrians to him: *"The kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from the people."* He predicts the captivity, which occurred under Salmanasar and under Sena- ^D chereib. For first, indeed, Phul imposed the tribute...

after him, however, Teglaphalasar reduced some cities into servitude. Then Salmanasar [reduced] the most part, and Senachereib the remainder.

VERS. 9. "The head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelia." He calls Samaria "Somoron" from the mountain. For the mountain was called Somor from the one who first possessed it; and from the mountain, the city. Samaria is that which is now called Sebaste. ^B Therefore, he says that Samaria rules over the ten tribes, and the son of Romelia [rules] over Samaria: and that he will not permit them to cross over these borders. "And if you will not believe, you shall not understand." Therefore, having perceived their incredulity, he added, "If you will not believe, you shall not understand," which Symmachus translates, "If you will not believe, you shall not remain." Theodotio, however, [says], "If you will not believe, you shall not have faith"; for the fruit of faith is salvation. But according to the Septuagint, "You shall not understand," which declares that the knowledge of divine things is born from faith.

VERS. 11. "Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God." Since, therefore, you do not believe what has been spoken, and you think my promise is a lie, I shall confirm my words with miracles. Ask, therefore, whatever sign you wish, whether heavenly or earthly; for this is what it says, "in the depth, or in the height." ^C Both of these he exhibited to his son, King Ezekias: in heaven, by commanding the sun to turn back; and on earth, by punishing the Assyrians, and indeed by bestowing bodily health upon him.

VERS. 12. "I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord." He used these words, not as if he believed without signs, but as one contradicting. For which reason the prophet no longer speaks with him, but with the whole lineage of David, and says:

VERS. 13. "Hear now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to contend with men?" It is not enough for you, he says, to contradict the prophets, and to resist the servants of God, but you also openly disobey the Lord himself when He gives commands? Yet, even to those who are unwilling, He will give you a new and marvelous sign.

VERS. 14. "The Lord Himself will give you a sign." For a sign, and a very great sign, is this birth called. No one calls that ^D a "sign" which happens every single day. For if the birth is not virginal, but nuptial, how is that which proceeds according to nature and custom called a "sign"? "Behold, the virgin will conceive in the womb, and will bear a son." This, therefore, is truly a sign, both in the depth and in the height. For Theodotio and Aquila have translated this thus: "Sink into hell, or exalt upwards." Furthermore, Emmanuel raised up the Adam who was lying in hell into the heavens. This prophecy, therefore...

^A he brought forward for the present occasion; but since they were fearing the attack of the enemies, who were threatening to destroy the Davidic kingdom, he necessarily teaches that they are attempting the impossible. For it is necessary, he says, that the Davidic race be preserved until the One comes who is held in store, and provides the expected salvation to the nations. “And thou shalt call

his name Emmanuel.

^B 15. “Butter and honey shall he eat.” He predicts both the human and the divine at the same time. “Butter and honey shall he eat,” this is human. But that which follows, “Before he knows or chooses evil, he shall choose the good,” and what follows, is not of a man, but is above man. For human nature, as soon as it is born, does not receive the discernment of good and evil; but it is in need of time and stages of age, and only then learns what is good and what is evil. But Emmanuel, from the very swaddling clothes, rejected the choice of what is worse. Thus, having given the sign, he foretells salvation.

16. “And the land shall be forsaken, which thou fearest.” He also prophesies about the enemies who were about to attack a little later, teaching that ^C nothing is hidden from the Creator of all; but that He Himself steers all things, and directs them to what is beneficial. But the phrase, “From the day that Ephraim departed from Judah,” Symmachus translated thus: “From the day when Ephraim revolted from Judah.” And in the same way also Aquila. The meaning is this: that from the day when the ten tribes withdrew from the tribe of Judah and the Davidic kingdom, such calamity and adversity had not befallen Judah as that which he threatens will befall it. And what is this? The king of the Assyrians. And according to the Septuagint likewise, “Such days,” he says, “God shall bring upon thee, as thou hast not seen since the day Ephraim took himself away from thee.” Who are these? The king of the Assyrians, bringing evils upon thee in those days. For it was not Ephraim that removed the king of the Assyrians, but the Lord will bring the king of the Assyrians, and through him [will bring] such evils ^D as Judah did not see after the separation of Ephraim.

18. “The Lord shall hiss for the flies and for the bee.” He calls the Egyptians flies, as they caused less harm, but the Assyrians bees. For the sting of the bee is more violent. The history of the Kingdoms makes mention of both the Egyptians and the Assyrians. For Pharaoh Necho, king of the Egyptians, both killed Josiah, as it has been said,

(as) the stars of the heaven, and Orion, and all the host of heaven shall not give their light, (and it shall be darkened when) the sun is rising, and the moon shall not give her light. For just (as when the sun is rising) the moon’s light is dimmed, and the stars are entirely (hidden); thus, when my power is manifested, and ^A punishing the ungodly, the brilliance of those who reign among men vanishes. And I will enjoin upon the whole inhabited world evils, and upon the ungodly their sins. For I will exact punishment for ungodliness not only from these, but from other men as well. And I will destroy the insolence of the lawless, and I will humble the insolence of the arrogant. Those who receive the passion of haughtiness act riotously without fear and treat everyone with despite. But I will also take away their prosperity and, having stripped them of their well-being, I will teach them to measure their understanding according to nature. And those left behind shall be more precious than untempered gold, and a man more precious than the stone from Ophir. Untempered gold is that which appears pure even without fire, that is, refined, which many now call "obryzon"; of the arrows, and of the accuracy of archery. He speaks also of the desolation of the land, and the plundering of houses, and the slaughter of men. He foretells, however, both the destruction of the enemies and their recall. ^B 18. "For I will not," he says, "make you for a full end." And since they were suffering from callousness and did not acknowledge their own transgressions, but were saying, 19. "For what reason has the Lord our God done all these things to us?" he commands the prophet to say to them: "Because you forsook me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall you serve strangers in a land not your own." Just is the judgment of the punishment. Since, he says, you rejected my kingdom, I will deliver you to other masters. He commands them to hear these things diligently, and calls them foolish and unintelligent, since they did not make proper use of their bodily senses. For eyes have they, he says, and they do not see; ears have they, and they do not hear. He shows them to be more irrational even than inanimate things. For the sea, he says, guards its boundaries; I set boundaries for it, not a wall of adamant, but most humble sand; yet, though it be troubled and stirred up, it does not cross the boundaries, but approaching them, it turns back; but these, having been honored with reason, have loved irrationality. 23. "For to this people," he says, "there has come an insubordinate and disobedient heart." For they do not perceive the good things provided by me; for I continually provide them with the early and the late rain. And then they also enjoy the fruits from the earth. This is why he said, "At the time of fulfillment, the decrees of harvest." For he uses his will like a command, and grants full fruits from the earth. But nevertheless, seeing you acting lawlessly, I deprived you even of these good things. 26, 27. "For there were found among my people ungodly men, and they set traps to destroy men, and they caught them. As a trap set down full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit." By these things he has revealed their secret intrigues. And he speaks also of the wealth acquired from injustice, and the arrogance resulting from wealth, and the lawless life, and the injustice committed against orphans and widows. And after these things he adds, 29. "Shall I not visit for these things, or shall not my soul take vengeance on such a nation?" It is foreign, he says, to my righteous judgment to neglect such things.

The people of the Jews were indeed once cultivated, being tilled by the law and the prophets, and lived securely so long as they enjoyed divine assistance. But this mountain was deprived of its tillers because it bore no fruit, and it became a pasture for irrational thoughts. ^B

CHAPTER VIII

VER. 1. *Take to you a new-born scroll.* For it was necessary that the things pertaining to the new and wondrous birth should be written on a new scroll.

VER. 2. *Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Berechiah.* The fourth book of Kings mentions Uriah the priest, whereas the second book of Chronicles mentions the prophet Zechariah. They flourished together, having lived in the times of Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz; yet through these men, He calls each order as a witness to the wondrous birth. ^C

VER. 3. *And I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.* And since He has already foretold the birth of the Virgin, and the thing spoken was above nature, He teaches the manner of the conception. And just as the holy Virgin, when she had received the wondrous news of the gospels, and asked, "How shall this be, since I know not a man?" the holy Gabriel taught the manner of the conception, saying, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: therefore also that which is to be born holy shall be called the Son of God"; so here, too, the prophetic word teaches those who disbelieve the prediction to believe, by indicating the divine manner and bringing in the most holy Spirit, saying explicitly: "And I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son." Another, however, translates it not as "I approached," but "he approached the prophetess. Call his name, 'Make haste to plunder.'" ^D The prophet is commanded to impose a divine title on the one who is born, and the name becomes the reality for him. For it is the voice of the Lord Himself: "If a man does not enter into the house of the strong man, and bind the strong man, how shall he plunder his vessels?" And immediately upon being born, He drew the first vessels of the devil, that is, the magi, toward adoration.

VER. 4. *He shall take away the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria.* But indeed, historically, before the birth, at the time of this prophecy, through the Assyrians He crushed the strength of both Damascus and Syria; for this is what is signified by: "Before the child knows how to call father

or mother, he will take the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians." ^A For just as Levi is said to have been tithed through Abraham before he came into this life, one hundred and sixty years prior, while he was hidden in the loins of the patriarch, so also before His incarnation according to the flesh, Immanuel, through the Assyrian, exacted payment from Damascus and Samaria for what they had perpetrated against Jerusalem.

VERS. 6. "Because this people does not want the water of Siloam." He threatens, therefore, those who dwell in Jerusalem and Judea, and who prefer the king of Damascus and Samaria to this one; and he foretells the incursion of the king of the Assyrians. By the water of Siloam he does not mean the transgressor Ahaz, but the King hidden in him, who was called Immanuel, who received the title, "Make haste to plunder, quickly to steal." Regarding Him it is said: "He shall not cry out, nor shall He shout, nor will His voice be heard in the streets." ^B For thus in this passage also is the water that flows gently described. Since, therefore, even after this prophecy they still preferred the kingdom of Samaria and Damascus, very justly He threatens them with a most oppressive king, and likens him to a mighty, flooding river.

VERS. 8. "And he will remove from Judea a man." This is also taught by the fourth book of Kings, and the second of Chronicles, and the prophet Jeremiah. For when he removed all the powerful men, he left few of the poor of the land to till the soil. "God is with us."

VERS. 9. "Know, O nations, and be overcome." This, "God is with us," is in Hebrew "Immanuel." ^C Since, therefore, the prophet has foretold His conception and birth, he rightly boasts of Him and exults against the enemies; and he says to the Israelites and Syrians who were already victorious: "For if you grow strong again, you will be overcome again," and the rest. But since the prophet called those who inhabit the furthest boundaries, and predicts that they too will be overcome, perhaps these words might more realistically be applied to the holy apostles. For they, going around the inhabited world, cried out, "God is with us; know, O nations, and be overcome." ^D

^A Accept salvation; be subject to the Lord, and entreat Him; flee the power of the demons, and embrace the good servitude of the Lord. For even if you contradict now, and plot death against us, you will be overcome a little later, and the Lord of all shall scatter your wicked counsels; for He is with us.

The three other translators rendered this passage more clearly: "Gather yourselves together, O nations, and be overcome; and give ear, all you from the far parts of the earth. Gird yourselves and be overcome; and again gird yourselves and be overcome. You shall devise a plan, and it shall be scattered; you shall speak a word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us." ^B The prophetic word warns these things to all who dwell on the earth: that even if they gird themselves and array their battle line ten thousand times against the holy apostles, they shall eventually be overcome. For Emmanuel holds dominion over all.

11. "With a strong hand they refuse to walk in the way of this people." Even if they see, he says, the strength of the right hand of God, and the miracles wrought by it, nevertheless they contradict, daring the same things as the Jews, and mimicking their path. For the Jews enjoined the holy apostles not to preach Christ the Master. "Did we not," they said, "strictly charge you not to speak in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching." He calls this "hard" here, as it does not please the perverse mind of the Jews. ^C

12. "But do not fear your fear." The Holy Spirit therefore commands through the prophet not to fear their threats. So too, to the divine Paul, when he was in prison, Christ the Master said: "Do not fear, Paul; for as you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." And the great pair of the apostles, Peter and John, having been released from bonds, He commanded to preach the words of life to the people in the temple fearlessly. Thus here too He cast out human fear and ordered them to fear the God of all. "For the Lord himself," He says, "sanctify, and He shall be your fear." ^D

13. "And if you trust in Him, it shall be for you a sanctification, and you shall not encounter Him as a stone of stumbling." He therefore shows the benefit of the fear of the Lord, saying: He shall sanctify you, He shall lead you, He shall direct you, He shall make the way smooth, and He shall not allow you to stumble. The blessed Paul makes mention of this stone.

There you shall go up to weep, at Nabau and Medaba of the Moabites. These were also cities. But Medaba is now a very large village of Arabia. He tells them to weep beside the altar, mocking their foolish sacrifices. Then he commands them to howl, and to draw blood upon their arms with wailing, and by putting on sackcloth to show their mourning, and to lament in their houses and in their streets, as though Hese-bon and Eleala had been laid waste and the wailing had run as far as Jasa. Therefore the loins of the Moabites shall shout; her soul shall know; the heart of the Moabites shall shout within itself even unto Segor. By the loins he indicated cowardice; by the soul and the heart, mourning. For since the loins receive the belt, the loosening of it indicates cowardice, just as it signifies courage, in turn, by the same means. For he says, "Gird up your loins like a man," and again, "Let your loins be girded," and elsewhere, "Having girded your loins with truth." But he said that the shout of the wailing would go through even unto Segor. For a heifer is three years old. Their disorder he hinted at through these things; for such a heifer is bold and unruly. That the name shall be changed, and it shall no longer be called the valley of the son of Ennom, but the valley of the slain; and he foretells that the city shall be destitute of all joy.

CHAPTER I.

^A His pride they have exalted, and his insolence and his wrath. By pride he means that which is against God, and by insolence and wrath that which is against the people; for they were insulting them and harboring malice against them. Then he adds: "Not so is your divination, not so." Other things, he says, were foretold to you by the oracles of the demons, but you have seen the opposite of those. I believe the prophet is also reminding them of Balaam’s prophecy, how he who rises out of Israel "shall shatter the leaders of Moab." Then again he details his laments, and mocks his weakness and his instability; for he calls his vulnerability a "wall of potsherd." He foretells also the ravaging of the land, the sterility of that which is sown, and the desolation of that which is planted, and he commands the Assyrians, who are consuming the nations, to trample the vineyards, and, setting them boundaries as it were, he directs them to join the battle as far as Jazer. Then he recounts the wandering of the fugitives; for some, he says, are wandering in the desert, while others have even crossed the Red Sea. He recounts their calamities. He calls the city the "daughter of my people," for they themselves built it; and by "contrition" he means the wound contracted from sin. ^B v. 22. Is there no resin in Gilead, or are there no physicians there? Why has the healing of the daughter of my people not ascended? He calls the priests physicians, and uses "resin"—a trope—for spiritual instruction. For Gilead was a priestly city; he complains, therefore, that although there were priests and legal ordinances, the city persisted in sin and did not accept repentance.

CHAPTER IX

^A their idols; and everything shall be difficult for you; and the excess of affliction shall spread a spontaneous darkness over you, and this shall not be limited to any time, but these painful things shall hold you until death. For this is the meaning of, "He that is in straits shall not be at a loss until the time," meaning that these things are not limited by any measure of time, but they shall always remain in them.

CHAPTER IX

^B 1. This first, drink quickly, do it quickly, land of Zabulon, land of Nephthalim. Having foretold the preceding things to the unbelievers, he passes to the choir of the apostles. For Galilee was the fatherland of the holy apostles, as the holy angels testified, who called them thus after the Savior's ascension: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven?" A gap in text: Zabulon and Nephthalim received that ^C land as their lot. In it the Lord performed the greatest part of his miracles. There he cleansed the leper; there he healed the centurion’s servant; there he restored to life the daughter of Jairus who had departed from life; there he stilled the waves of the sea; there he multiplied the loaves; there he turned water into wine, which was the beginning of all his miracles, as John the Theologian teaches. Whence also the grace of the Spirit cries out here through the prophet to the inhabitants of that region: This first, drink the new and unheard-of cup; but having drunk, do not delay, but do it quickly—that is, believe, follow, live according to the divine commandments. ^D He calls Galilee "of the Gentiles" because aliens were living together with the Jews. For this reason he also calls the inhabitants of that region "those walking in darkness" and "in the shadow and region of death," and promises the splendor of the divine light. But I think that he also prophesies the salvation of the Gentiles; for the apostles who originated from Galilee were entrusted with the calling of the Gentiles. For the Lord said to them: "Go, teach all nations." But also Zabulon, being interpreted "letting go of night," signifies those who believed from Israel, whose night was that which flowed by before Christ. But Nephthalim, being interpreted "breadth," is a symbol of the Gentiles who were widened in piety. But if Zabulon is the people walking in darkness, and not in the shadow of death, because they hear the law and the prophets, then, with the veil of the old law removed by Christ, they behold not a lamp-light, but a great and true light. But he who sits in the shadow of death of idolatry and sins—the people whose type is Nephthalim—beholds the light of him who said: "I am the light of the world." For only those who were in Judæa had the law—

which is the lamp—while the gentiles were in darkness, as they did not even possess the lamplight; to them Christ shone forth through the Gospel, being a great light—for He is the light of the world.

Verse 3. *They shall rejoice as those who rejoice in harvest, and as those who divide spoils.* Because not all received that light, but many of their own accord deprived themselves of the light, He says: "Those whom you drew through miracles, and filled with joy, these will immediately flourish as mowers, and as conquerors who divide spoils." And those called "mowers" are the divine apostles. "I," He says, "sent you to reap that for which you did not labor." And again: "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He may send forth laborers into His harvest." And elsewhere: "Lift up your eyes, and look on the regions, for they are already white to harvest." And having destroyed the tyranny of the devil, He distributes his spoils to the apostles: "Go therefore," He says, "and make disciples of all nations."

Verse 4. *Because the yoke that was laid upon them is taken away, and the rod that was upon their neck.* They rejoice, He says, because the yoke by which they were pressed has been taken away, and the rod which remained upon their neck—the yoke of the devil's dominion, and the rod, his servitude. But our Lord Christ has freed those who believe in Him from these. "For He has shattered the rod of the exigent." By "exigent" He means not only the demons and their prince, but also those among men who oppose the preaching. He overturned their dominion for the few, and made them naked; just as once through Gideon and the three hundred bearing lamps He defeated the many thousands of the Midianites. For just as He destroyed them without weapons, so He subdued the whole world through twelve heralds, and these not armored, but wearing one tunic, barefoot, and commanded not to carry a staff.

Verse 5. *Every garment gathered with deceit, and a vestment with commutation they shall restore.* Or because invisible adversaries, who stripped man of his former glory by deceit, and despoiled him of the image of God, they themselves shall pay the penalty for what they dared to do; and the garment which they took away, they shall restore with commutation. For indeed the mortal body of the Lord...

^A they shall render immortal; and the guile which they employed against men shall be turned back upon their own heads. Therefore, he says, they would wish that they had been consumed by fire, because a child is born to us, a son is given to us. They are mad, he says, and they rage, and burning with envy, as they behold our gifts, the child who was born for our sake, the only-begotten Son of God, who has clothed himself in human nature and is working out our salvation.

Ver. 6. *Whose government is upon his shoulder.* By striving and wrestling, he defeated the adversary. But Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted this thus: *And there shall be discipline upon his shoulder.* For the discipline of our peace is upon him, according to the voice of the prophet, and he himself bore our iniquities and bore our diseases, and by his stripes we were healed. And he himself is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world," and "he redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for our sakes." Fittingly, therefore, they said, "There shall be discipline upon his shoulder." For he set his own righteousness in opposition to the sin of Adam; and ^B if we were under the curse, and the cross was subject to the curse, and the Lord bore this, in this way also the prophecy received its fulfillment. For the discipline, according to Theodotion and Symmachus, "was upon his shoulder."

*Angel of great counsel.* For he announced to us the Father’s counsel, according to his own saying: "All things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you." But the prophetic discourse also teaches us here his divine appellations: "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God." Thus also, when speaking with Jacob, he named himself: "Why do you ask my name? And it is wonderful." He is called Counselor, as being a participant in the Father’s counsel, and as knowing all things that the Father knows. Then the greatest of the names, "Mighty God." But those around Aquila, corrupting this, translated it "strong, powerful." In the Hebrew, however, it is *Elgebor*. Furthermore, *El* is God according to their own exposition. For that which is in the text as *Emmanuel* they translated "God with us." But this [latter phrase in the prophecy], "Potentate"—that is, not subject to the power of another, but himself ruling over all. This also refutes the triviality of Arius; ^C for it shows him to be equal in honor, and not a minister of the Father.

*Prince of peace.* "For he himself is," according to the Apostle, "our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition." ^D

^A The princes of Tanis have failed, and the princes of Memphis have been exalted, and they lead Egypt astray by tribes. For the Lord has mingled in them a spirit of error. Truth does not lead astray, but it leaves those who are opposed and contradictory without a pilot. And these, being deprived of a pilot, are naturally led astray. He has also made this clear through what follows: *And he led Egypt astray in all their works, as a drunken man and one vomiting is led astray.* This is equivalent to: He left them without a pilot because of their works. Even the drunken man accepts his affliction by his own will. But in expressing the excess of their error, he likened them to an intemperate man who drinks and vomits simultaneously, whom even the vomiting does not move away from drinking. For these people, having endured many calamities on account of their impiety, nonetheless persisted in their impiety to the utmost, and the aforementioned princes were the causes of the deception, teaching them various dogmas of impiety. For some deified the dog, others the lion, others the ape; and some the wolf, others the sheep—things contrary to one another. For this reason, the prophetic word said: *And they lead Egypt astray by their tribes.* Therefore, it is not the Lord who led them astray, but their teachers. ^B"...its branches have departed." For they did not wish to bring forth good fruits; and teaching that it is not the Babylonian who is powerful, but that He Himself brings the punishment upon her, He added these things:

VERS. 17. *And the Lord God of hosts who planted you, spoke evil over you, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah; because they have done this to themselves, to provoke me by burning incense to Baal.* He says: The one who planted you Himself cut off the branches; but you are the cause of these things, having brought forth not useful, but poisonous fruits. And in the following, the prophet teaches what they will dare against him, and against the Master Christ. For those things were also outlined in him.

VERS. 18. *Lord, make it known to me, and I shall know.* The prayer itself bears witness that he is not only reporting the things that had been committed against him—otherwise he would not have needed a revelation to discern what was then happening, since they were happening to him—but the revelation shows future things. "Then I saw their pursuits."

VERS. 19. *But I was like an innocent lamb being led to the slaughter, and I knew not.* The phrase "I knew not" applies to the prophet, as one who did not expect sorrows, for he did not pay close heed to the Master's promises, but having heard, "I have set you this day as a fortified city, and as an iron pillar, and as a wall of bronze," he thought that he would not suffer sorrow at all. ^C But the divine word did not promise this, but rather that "You shall be stronger than the sorrows." "For they shall fight against you," it says, "and they shall not be able to prevail against you, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." But the word is suitable to the Master Christ in another sense. For, he says, just as a lamb led to the slaughter does not know what it will suffer, and for the sake of the passions follows those who lead it. "For they devised a plot against me, saying, Come, let us cast wood into his bread, and let us destroy him from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more." This does not fit the prophet at all; for how could it be possible for wood to be cast into his bread? But the word of the prophecy fits the Master Christ most especially. For he called his own body bread: "For the bread," he says, "which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." They fastened this bread to wood, thinking that they would extinguish his memory. Then the prophet ^D [says],

VERS. 20. *But you, Lord of hosts, who judge justly and test the reins and hearts, let me see your vengeance upon them; for I have revealed my cause to you.*

^A VERS. 9, 10. *And all the people of Ephraim shall know.* By these words, "And all the people of Ephraim shall know, and those sitting in Samaria with insolence and a proud heart, saying: The bricks have fallen; but ^A come, let us hew stone, and let us fell sycamores and cedars, and build for ourselves a tower," it is shown that they attempted to construct a bulwark against Jerusalem, calling their kingdom, which was rotten and like fallen bricks, a secure one. Other translators have said "sycomores" instead of "mulberries," and very fittingly, for Palestine abounds with these, and they build their houses of such wood.

VERS. 11. *And the Lord shall strike down those who rise up against Mount Sion.* By saying, "God shall strike down those who rise up against Mount Sion against Him, and shall scatter His enemies," he shows that God takes as directed against Himself the things happening against Jerusalem, and threatens destruction to those who attempt to wage war against Him through it. However, concerning those words, "Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun," other interpreters have interpreted not "Greeks," but "Philistines." These were the neighboring foreigners; but it is likely that some colonies of Greeks also lived with the foreigners, such as Cypriots and Cappadocians, for we have learned this from other prophets. He says, therefore, that I do not only pass judgment on these things against Israel, but I also destroy their allies, both those who dwell in the east and those who dwell in the west.

VERS. 12. *For all this, His anger is not turned away.* For since the impiety of men does not cease, neither does the punishment receive any respite; and the following words declare this. Therefore, the anger is not turned away, because the people were not turned; and for this reason the ^B hand is still high, because they have not sought the Lord.

VERS. 14. *And the Lord shall take away from Israel head and tail.* He explains more clearly what these are: "The great and the small in one day." Who, then, is the great?

VERS. 15. *The elder, and those who admire faces*; this is the head. By "those who admire faces" he means those who judge unjustly, contrary to the Law which says: "You shall not show partiality to the powerful." Then he shows the other rank: *And the prophet who teaches lawless things*; this is the tail. For there were some who did not even allow ^C people to believe in the divine predictions.

VERS. 16. *And those who bless this people shall be seducing them.* By these, therefore, he refers to those who—

speak falsehoods pleasantly and harvest rich rewards from those who listen.

^B VER. 17. *The Lord shall not rejoice over their young men.* For it is just that those who share in wickedness with one another should also be participants in the punishment. *His anger is not turned away.* For just as the kindness of the Master follows the repentance of men, so too, when iniquity persists, his wrath is intensified.

^B VER. 18. *And iniquity shall be kindled as fire.* He has therefore taught precisely how those who transgress draw punishment upon themselves; for he called iniquity fire and dry grass. Just as iron begets rust and is consumed by it, so too does one who lives in iniquity and commits sin perish by it. He therefore called the unfruitful multitude a "thick forest." For a forest is indeed dense and thick, but it is devoid of fruits; and he calls the princes "hills," because of their height and conspicuousness.

^B VER. 19. *And the people shall be as if burned by fire.* Having said, then, that the people shall be as if burned by fire and the rest, he hereby declared the violence of the enemies. For when a rout occurs in wars, each person provides for his own safety, and neither father cares for son, nor son for father, nor brother for brother in the time of flight. Then he predicts the strength and victory of the enemies.

^C VER. 20. *But he shall turn to the right, because he shall be hungry; and he shall eat from the left, and a man shall not be satisfied eating the flesh of his own arm.* For in wars, those who are victorious sometimes pursue those who are on the right side, and sometimes they rush upon those on the left; and rage compels them to ignore the laws of nature, and they are like madmen who eat their own arms as if they were those of strangers. He signifies, however, by these words the division of Israel itself and the discord of the tribes.

VER. 21. *For Ephraim shall eat Manasseh, and Manasseh Ephraim, because they shall besiege Judah together.* He speaks of things that have already come to pass as if they were future, according to the idiom of the Hebrew tongue. *His anger is not turned away.* For it was not fitting for the physician to desist from the cure while the disease did not subside.

CAPUT X.

VER. 1. *Woe to those who write iniquity.* Indeed, he accuses the false prophets and the unjust princes in these words: the former, because to the destruction of many...

they commit false predictions; the latter, because they judge lawlessly and set aside justice. ^A

VERS. 3. *And what will they do in the day of visitation?* He calls the time of punishment the day of visitation; for just as he calls the patience of God sleep, so he calls punishment visitation. *For your tribulation shall come from afar.* He signifies one of two things by this, or both: that it will come from afar, and that the sins committed from long ago and from the beginning will be brought into the light at the time of judgment, and they will pay the penalty for everything. *And to whom will you flee for help?* To whom, then, he says, will you flee, O Jews, to be helped? For when I wage war, who will help you with aid? This is like what was said by the great Moses: *I will kill, and I will make to live: I will strike, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my hands.* ^B

And *where will you leave your glory* (VERS. 4) *that you may not fall into captivity?* Your present prosperity, he says, will not profit you when you are in captivity. For he called the captivity "abduction." And this is how Symmachus interpreted it, and the others likewise: *And where will you leave your glory, so as not to be bowed by bonds?* But, he says, they will even fall among the dead. For often, when ^C enemies try to flee in battle, some hide themselves among the dead corpses. Therefore, he has expressed the future magnitude of their fear with these words as well. *His anger is not turned away.* He frequently uses this clause, both accusing their stubbornness and terrifying them with the threats of punishment.

VERS. 5. *Woe to the Assyrians, the rod of my anger.* Having prophesied the aforementioned things to Samaria and the tribes that were under it, he also predicts the incursion of the Assyrians and the wholesale destruction that awaited them during the siege of Jerusalem. ^D It should be asked, furthermore, why the Assyrians are lamented, since they were ministers of divine vengeance. Therefore, one who desires to learn this must know that while God did use the Assyrians as ministers of vengeance, and armed them as a kind of executioner against the transgressors and the impious, they themselves, however, did not do what they did as servants of the God of the universe, but relying on their own strength and power, they strove to gain dominion over all. For this reason, he threatens them also with final destruction, and signifies this by saying "woe."

VERS. 6. *And my anger, he says, I will send against a lawless nation...

^A to those, clearly, to whom he entrusted the rod of vengeance. "And to place them in the dust." By these words, he has signified a great desolation.

VERS. 7. *But he did not think so.* By these words, he lays bare the cogitations of the king of the Assyrians. He does not know, he says, that he is my minister, and that from me he received the authority of vengeance; but his mind will go astray, that is, he has deliberated, trusting in his own power, to destroy the memory of many nations.

VERS. 8. *What if they should say to him: Are you alone the prince?* To those saying, "Are you not alone the prince?" he will reply with things similar to the speeches which Sennacherib used to ^B Hezekiah: "Let not your God, in whom you have confidence, deceive you, saying: Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of Assyria. Behold, have you not heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the land, how they have destroyed it, and will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations deliver them, which my fathers destroyed, namely Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden, who are in the region of Thelassar? Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? And where are the kings of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?"

VERS. 12. *He will bring against the great mind.* By a "great mind," therefore, he means the arrogant one, who dares to think of things surpassing nature. "And upon the height of the glory of his eyes." He calls the extreme ^C pride the height of the eyes.

VERS. 13. *For he said: In my strength I will act.* In these words, therefore, he sets forth his pride, both of his words and of his thoughts. [14.] *And I will shake the inhabited cities.* These things he had announced to Hezekiah both through his ambassadors and through letters. But he who trusted that he would plunder the whole inhabited world like a nest of fledglings, and would take it without labor like eggs left by fleeing birds, he himself lost his army without human ^D hand. The expression, therefore, "opening the mouth and chirping," is used in the Scripture according to human custom.

^A For we are accustomed to say regarding those who are in great distress: "He did not dare to chirp"; others, however, say: "He did not dare to mutter." The phrase, therefore, "Opening the mouth and chirping," means: "Not only will no one dare to stand against me in battle, but they will not even attempt to chirp like sparrows."

VER 15. *Shall the axe boast itself without one who hews with it?* Do you see? he says, does the axe chop wood without human hands, or does the saw divide it into two, three, or four parts, or can a rod or stick strike while no one is working it? Why, then, do you behave so insolently, as if you had conquered the defeated nations without my counsel? He aptly compares him to inanimate objects, as one suffering from the utmost stupidity and irrationality. And not so. ^B

VER 16. *But I will send ignominy.* Not so; I will not allow you, he says, to persist in this madness: but through the punishment, you shall recognize the Governor of the universe. For you who led an army with great glory, with greater ignominy you shall flee.

VER 17. *And the light of Israel shall be fire.* He called the worship of God the light of Israel. *For in the light of thy countenance, they shall walk,* says the Psalm. This light, on the one hand, will provide an illuminating power to Israel, but on the other, it will exercise its burning power against you, and like hay, it will consume your entire army.

VER 18. *The mountains, and the hills, and the forests shall be extinguished.* He calls the king and those authorities subordinate to him "mountains"; but "hills," the rulers serving under them; and "forests," the remaining fruitless multitude. *And it shall be as he who flees from a burning flame.* ^C And, he says, even though the pursuers are not visible, they will try to flee with great urgency, imitating those who, surrounded by flame, attempt to escape it. [19] And those who escape the punishment will be so few that it will be very easy even for a chance child to write down their number. And these things came to pass when, by the hand of one angel, one hundred and eighty-five thousand perished.

VER 20. *They shall no longer trust in those who did them injury.* For King Ahaz, being warred upon by Pekah and Rezin, called the king of the Assyrians to his aid. ^D The prophetic word, therefore, foretells that, having enjoyed divine providence, they will indeed despise human help but will have their hope placed in God. For this, that...

they had sinned. Samuel ^A did the same, and brought down abundant rain in the time of harvest. Then he commands the prophet to dismiss the people who were standing by.

VERS. 2. *But if they shall say to thee,* he says, *Whither shall we go out? thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord: As many as are for death, to death; and as many as are for the sword, to the sword; and as many as are for famine, to famine; and as many as are for captivity, to captivity.* ^B For I will subject them to these four calamities. And in addition to these, those who are dead will become food for beasts and birds.

VERS. 4. *And I will deliver them into distress to all the kingdoms of the earth.* He predicts even the things that were to happen after the return, and those that would occur under the kingdom of the Macedonians, and the final destruction brought upon them by the Romans. Moreover, he teaches that the first things were to come to pass because of the impiety dared by Manasseh. But the Judge is not unjust, nor does he exact penalties for the sins of others; rather, he subjects those who had been partners in the impiety, and who had willingly cooperated with the wicked king, to the aforementioned afflictions.

VERS. 5. *Who will spare thee, O Jerusalem? or who will feel pity for thee? or who will turn back to ask for the things that make for thy peace?* As if to say: To all mankind you will appear to be suffering justly. For people are accustomed, when they see one of those who lived in extreme wickedness being punished, not only not to pity them, but even to congratulate those who were harmed, as if they had been liberated from the other’s wickedness.

VERS. 6. *Thou hast turned away from me, saith the Lord: thou shalt go backward.* Thou shalt suffer what thou hast done; for "thou shalt go backward" he has put for "thou shalt be humiliated." *And I will stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; and I will no longer let them go.* For I will no longer use my former patience.

Then, to show that he is forced to punish against his will, as if condoling, he says: ^C *In the gates of my people they have been widowed; I have destroyed my people because of their malice, and yet they have not turned back.* They themselves brought destruction upon themselves by being unwilling to cease from their wickedness. He says that because of the slaughter of the men, the number of widows increased, and again for the same cause, the mothers were deprived of their children. *For I have brought,* he says, *distress upon the mother of the young men in mid-day; I have cast upon her suddenly trembling and labor.* ^D

[...] I was brought low. For your sake, O Master, I have fallen into these present miseries; for by carrying your words, I became an enemy. ^B *Consume them, and your word will be to me for gladness and for the joy of my heart, because your name has been called upon me.* Since they think that I foretell falsely, and attend to the promises of the false prophets as if they were true, confirm my words by the deeds themselves, and in this way console me. [17, 18] Afterward, he says that he was a partaker neither of their table nor of their laughter, but that he had preferred the fear of God above all things, and remained anxious because of their malice and their punishment—whom the Master consoles immediately with these words:

VERS. 19. *If you turn back, I will restore you; you will stand before my face; and if you separate the precious from the vile, you will be as my mouth.* Not a small reward, he says, is kept for you by me, since you have undertaken this labor; for if you turn back any of those who are wandering, you will enjoy much confidence with me, which is what "you will stand before my face" signifies. And if you convert any of the ungodly and persuade them to choose that which tends toward the better, you will be likened to my mouth; for I created those things that are by my word, and you, by your word, shall convert the workers of wickedness to virtue. [20, 21] He promised him once again an insuperable and invincible force, and made mention of the promises made from the beginning.

CHAPTER XIV. He instructs him neither to marry nor to beget children, since parents and those born of them are to be handed over to famine, to plague, to slaughter, and to slavery. He further commands him neither to rejoice with those who rejoice, nor to grieve with those who grieve. *For I have taken away my peace from this people,* says the Lord, *and my mercy and my compassions.*

VERS. *And the great and the small shall die in this land.* He says, indeed, that it will come to pass that they shall not be counted worthy of burial, nor shall lamentation be celebrated over them according to custom, nor shall the mourners be deemed worthy of any consolation; and he threatens the city with the deprivation of every kind of gladness, so that no voice shall be heard, whether of weddings, ^C or of banquets, or of other things that render human life pleasant. But to those who might ask and say, "For what cause have we fallen into these evils?" lead them to remember the impiety of their fathers and show them the things perpetrated by them, and that they have sinned more gravely than their fathers, not living according to my law but following their own cogitations. Ought there, then, no doubt, afterward...

^A he taught that God is mighty, that He is the ruler, that He is the Prince of Peace, that He is the Father of the age to come. Here, he also teaches His carnal kinship, that He blossomed from Jesse according to the flesh; and Jesse was the father of David.

2. *And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him* (Isa. XI, 2). For each of the prophets received a certain partial grace; but in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and according to His humanity, He possessed all the gifts of the Spirit. For "of His fullness," according to the divine John, "we all have received" (John I, 16).

3. *He shall not judge according to glory* (Isa. XI, 3). He shall not judge according to glory, he says, nor shall He reprove according to speech; for He did not pay heed to the power of the Scribes and Pharisees, but with boldness He reproved their lawlessness, saying, "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (Matt. XXIII, 13) and whatever else of that kind, which it is easy for those who wish to observe in the holy Gospels.

4. *He shall judge judgment for the humble* (Isa. XI, 4). He judged judgment for the humble in another way also; for some He freed from the madness of demons, others He delivered from the dominion of passions, and to those who believed, He offered a doctrine profitable and the purveyor of life. But that which says, "to reprove the humble of the earth," He performed ^B meekly indeed in His first advent, but regally and with authority He will do it in His second, taking His seat upon divine thrones and bringing forth just judgments. *And he shall strike the earth with the word of his mouth.* Yet even by the God-befitting teaching of the Apostles, He made the earth a heaven, having turned many in every nation away from earthly things, and having prepared them to embrace the heavenly citizenship. *And with the spirit through his lips he shall slay the ungodly.* He speaks here of the Antichrist. For the divine Apostle also foretold this concerning him: "Then," he says, "shall that wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay by the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy by the brightness of his coming" (II Thess. II, 8). This is also what this same prophet himself exclaims a little further on: "Let the ungodly be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord" (Isa. XXVI, 10).

5. *And he shall be girded with righteousness* (Isa. XI, 5). Or, by truth and righteousness he has embraced every kind of virtue, and he says that these served him as a garment and a girdle. ^{C D}

"Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." For you have become a helper to every lowly city, and a shelter to those who have lost heart through destitution; you shall deliver them from wicked men—a shelter for the thirsty and a spirit for men who are wronged. He offers suitable things to all: help to the wronged, solace to the dispirited, and the necessity to all who are in need. As men of little soul who are thirsty in Zion [are delivered] from the wicked men to whom you have surrendered us. He says these things as though from the apostolic choir: We thirst for the heavenly Zion, and we entreat to be delivered from the ungodly men to whom you have delivered us for discipline and testing. Heat in the shelter of a cloud shall humble the vine-branch of the strong. These things are set down with asterisks. He teaches that the burning heat of the sun, when it occurs with a cloud, also dries the strong and flourishing vine-branches. The meaning is linked to the previously quoted passage. We lose heart, he says, and thirst for the heavenly Zion; for many terrible things assail us from every side, and your light is hidden, while the cloud resting upon the persecutors is sufficient to consume the moisture of the faith.

[94-97] ...to honor this day, and not to emulate the disobedience of the fathers; for if this occurs, he says, you will enjoy the fruits of peace, and those offering sacrifices to God in peace will come together from everywhere. But if you transgress the law of rest and carry burdens on the day of the Sabbath, I will deliver not only the gates, but the entire city to the fire.

CHAPTER XVIII

VER. 4. "For it fell," he says, "the vessel which he was making out of clay in his hands, and again he made it another vessel, as it pleased in his eyes to make it." [5] Having in this way demonstrated the potter to have authority over the clay, and the ability to reshape it as he wills, he says to the prophet: Tell them ^A VER. 6. "Cannot I do as the potter to you, O house of Israel? says the Lord. Behold, as the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hands, house of Israel." For just as that man is able both to knead the clay and to shape it as he wishes; so it is easy for me both to deliver to punishment and to bestow salvation, and to subject those who are in prosperity to calamities, and again to grant well-being to those in adversity. For the following verses signify this.

7, 8. "At times I shall speak against a nation and a kingdom, to root them out, and to pull down, and to destroy them. And if that nation shall turn from their evils; I will also repent of the evils, which I thought to do to them." ^B Do not despair, he says, of salvation; for even if I shall judge a nation and threaten extreme punishment, if I see their repentance, I do not bring the punishment, but I extend mercy. And if again I promise an abundance of good things, but they, having become contemptuous, embrace wickedness, I will not fulfill the promise of good things. Knowing this, therefore, he says, do not despair of the better things, but offer repentance and reap salvation.

11. "For behold," he says, "I frame evils for you, and I devise a thought against you. Let each one turn from his evil way, and make your studies better."

^A immutent, and produce its sweet quality. For thus the gospel word put an end to the impiety of the world, and filled all the earth and sea with the knowledge of God.

VERS. 10. *And it shall be in that day, the root of Jesse.* The prophet therefore brought to mind the divine promises, and the predictions of Jacob the patriarch. For God said to Abraham: "In thy seed shall all nations be blessed." And He gave this same promise also to Isaac and to Jacob. But the patriarch Jacob transferred to Judah the blessing he had received, saying: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he shall be the expectation ^B of the nations." This prophecy is confirmed also by this admirable prophet, and he shows that He indeed draws His lineage according to the flesh from Jesse and David, but that He is no longer the ruler of the Jews, but of the nations; and that it is not the Jews who believe in Him, but the nations. It is worth weeping over the stupidity of the Jews, who apply this prophecy to Zerubbabel, who did not indeed rule over all the Jews, but only over a few, and over the nations not at all. "And his rest shall be honor." Since he spoke of His sprout, and the achievements of His dispensation, and pointed out His rule, he also points out the passion that occurred in the midst, after which He gained mastery over the world. For this reason he calls death ^C "rest" and "honor." For He who was unknown to the nations before the incarnation, after the incarnation and the passion is received by all as Creator and God, and granted divine worship.

VERS. 11. *The Lord will add to show His hand, to pursue with zeal the remnant of the people.* For the history of the Acts taught us that the divine apostles, traveling around the world, preached first to the Jews. Indeed, to those who contradicted them, blessed Paul said: "It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken first to you, but since you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the nations." Yet many myriads believed, and three thousand and five thousand were captured ^D by them at the same time. And the most divine James showed the wondrous Paul many myriads of Jews who had believed. Regarding these, the grace of the all-holy Spirit predicted through the prophet Isaiah that He would also seek them out and count them worthy of salvation; for it is possible in this way also to understand "to pursue with zeal."

VERS. 12. *And He shall lift up a sign to the nations.* What sign, therefore, will He lift up to the nations, if not the symbol of the cross?

through which He led those wandering from Judah and from Israel to the truth?

VERS. 13. *And the zeal of Ephraim shall be removed, and the enemies of Judah shall perish.* These things happened of old, after the kingdom was divided; but after the return from Babylon, they held their ancient concord. ^B

VERS. 14. *They shall plunder the sea together.* For not only did the divine apostles visit the continent, but also crossing the sea and islands, they brought a ray of spiritual light. For in Cyprus, Barnabas and Paul, that sacred pair, destined for the cultivation of the nations, both refuted the lie of Elymas and demonstrated the truth. And the blessed Paul appointed Titus as apostle to Crete, and Timothy to Ephesus. Therefore, the most holy Spirit predicted through the prophet that they would plunder not only the land, but also the sea; and as if they were certain military commanders, they would conquer and subdue some nations that had defected and joined themselves to a tyrant, and bring them to the King of all; and they would cross the seas, having not Jews as helmsmen and sailors, but foreigners and people of other tribes. *And they shall lay their hands upon Moab first.* But they shall indeed lay their hands first upon Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be the first to obey. And the blessed Paul teaches us this. Writing to the Galatians, ^C after the introduction, he placed these words: *But when it pleased Him who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the nations, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.* Now in Arabia are both the Moabites and Ammonites. For that which is now called Philadelphia—and it is a splendid city of Arabia—is called Amman to this day in the native tongue, and Moab is Charoginoba. The truth of the prophecy is therefore confirmed by the Apostle's testimony. ^D

VERS. 15. *And the Lord shall lay waste the sea of Egypt.* Not only then, he says, will He lead the aforementioned nations to piety, but He will also put an end to the error of Egypt. For He called the bitter and undrinkable impiety the "sea of Egypt." And likewise He set the river in place of the error. For just as they have the hopes of their bodily life in the river, as those gathering fruits through it, so they were enslaved to the error of idols; but nevertheless, He says, He will stretch out His hand upon this river also, with a vehement spirit. Now, by spirit...

he names the government of the pious, through which the shrines of the idols were overturned, and the worship of demons was forbidden by the laws of the government. ^A “And He will strike seven valleys.” For, their kingdom having been overthrown by the Romans, they were divided into seven provinces, and they suppressed their former audacity and became accessible to the heralds of the truth.

Ver. 16. As in the day when he went out of the land of Egypt. Or, as He led them out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, so will He again bring them in with miracles into Egypt, and through these works, He will lead them toward the truth.

CHAPTER XII

^B Ver. 1. And thou shalt say in that day: I will bless thee, O Lord. A hymn declares the recognition of a benefit. For those who have received one, having learned the author of it, repay what they can for the benefit. Moreover, His law is that which clearly proclaims: “Offer to God the sacrifice of praise,” and again: “The sacrifice of praise will glorify thee” (Ps. xlix, 14; ibid. 23). But a man is often released and abandoned, because he has once been snatched away into the Egyptian evils, so that he might for some time enjoy his own folly and reap what he has badly sown. But when he is not abandoned completely, but meets with some benefit, he will say: “I will bless thee, O Lord, because thou wast angry with me, and hast turned away thy fury, and hast had mercy on me.” ^C This is similar to that: “I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he judges my cause, and after this, he will bring forth judgment to the end; for he will not be angry for ever, nor will he threaten for all time” (Mich. vii, 9). He who truly says, “I will bless thee, O Lord, because thou wast angry with me, and hast had mercy on me,” sensing the benefit of God, will boast in it, and says:

Ver. 2. Behold my God, my Savior; I will trust in him, and will not fear, because my glory and my praise is the Lord. These things will not be said by those who do their alms before men, nor by those who seek glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from God alone, and, in a word, those who transgress the commandment of Him who says: “Let us not become desirous of vain glory” (Gal. v, 26). ^D But since the Lord promises, “Them that glorify me, I will glorify” (1 Reg. ii, 30), it is clear that he who rightly glorifies God is glorified by Him. Thus, also, the face of Moses was glorified, because he knew how to glorify God rightly. Moreover, praise conspires with glory; wherefore he who rightly glorifies will also rightly praise. And let no one of those who hold erroneous opinions about God think that they are receivable

theirs are the praises in the psalmodies; for it belongs to the same heart both to glorify suitably and to praise soundly. Since, therefore, he spoke of that remnant of the people in Egypt, “I will bless you, O Lord, because you were angry with me, and you have turned away your anger, and have had mercy on me,” these having passed through Egypt shall say, “I will not fear, because the Lord is my glory and my praise, and he has become my salvation.” Remember also the canticle which the people of Israel sang at the exodus, with Miriam leading and saying, “Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified.” Hence, those who say, “The Lord is my glory and my praise, and he has become my salvation,” are now renewing the ancient praise. ^B

VER. 3. “And draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation.” He calls the divine Scriptures fountains of salvation, from which those who have sincerely believed draw with joy.

VER. 4. “Exult the Lord, proclaim his name.” What is said here befits the choir of the apostles and those of the Jews who believed with them, who also transmitted the divine doctrine to the nations and exhorted one another to fulfill that dominical command which says, “Go, teach all nations.”

VER. 5. “Announce these things in all the earth.” They invite the entire world to a communion of joy, and they especially exhort Sion to praise the Benefactor, because the Holy One of Israel has been exalted in it. For the discourse seems to me to hint not only at the height of the miracles, but also at the saving cross to which they nailed the Master. For the Master himself spoke thus to the Jews: “When you have exalted the Son of Man, then you shall know that I am.” And again: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” ^C

CHAPTER XIII

VER. 1. “The vision against Babylon, which Isaiah saw.” The Assyrians formerly had their royal seat in Nineveh, but later in Babylon. Therefore, the divine prophet, after having prophesied about the things that were to happen to Sennacherib, whose royal city was Nineveh, transfers the prophecy to Nebuchadnezzar and his city, Babylon, and predicts its future destruction. Some have said that this city was situated on a smooth mountain, but those who have inspected the sites do not agree with this account. I think, therefore, that it is signified in another way: by the mountain, the ancient loftiness of Babylon is denoted; by the plain, the depression that took place later. The prophetic word, however, commands the enemies to exhort one another, to cast off fear, to terrify with the din of war, and to lift up the military standards on high. ^D

These men, having gathered the wandering "lost sheep of the house of Israel," and having also gathered the "other sheep which are not of this fold," prepared one flock for the Master, and they tend it on the [mountain of Zion], pointing out to them the height of the divine doctrine. And if one were to name it the Jerusalem above, he would not miss the truth. He concurs with the divine David who says: "The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the tabernacles of Jacob." Let us love these gates, and let us continually wait at them, so that through them we may enter into that much-desired city by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be the glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

VOLUME VIII

Having in what was recently interpreted foretold the events concerning Jerusalem and predicted the preaching of the holy apostles, he now foretells what was to happen to the ten tribes: "Woe to the crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim." By the hirelings of Ephraim he means the auxiliaries, Damascus and the other Syrians; for these they always hired against Jerusalem.

CHAPTER XXIII

Henceforth he accuses these shepherds, the kings themselves, as having been the causes of the dispersion of the sheep; to them he threatens destruction, but to the sheep a recall.

VER. 3. "For I will receive," he says, "the remnant of the people from all the land, into which I have driven them, in their pastures, and they shall increase and be multiplied." He promises also greater benefits.

VER. 4. "And I will raise up for them shepherds, who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they raise a discordant sound, says the Lord." These things took place typically in the time of Zorobabel and Joshua the son of Josedec, but not the whole prophecy; for many rose up against them, and not only their neighbors, but later also the Macedonians, and finally the Romans. But the prediction promises the grace that is lasting and constant. Therefore, it is clear that some things happened in their time, but others in the time of the holy apostles. For they alone possessed the gift of the Spirit. The following words also bear witness to this view.

VERS. 5, 6. "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will raise up to David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign, and he shall understand and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. In his days Judea shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently; and this is his name which the Lord shall call him, Josedec; he is among the prophets."

These thunderstruck Jews shamelessly attempt to drag these words toward Zorobabel; yet they ought to have understood that he was not a king, but a leader, and he was not called Josedec; nor is the interpretation of that name fitting for him. For the name signifies, "The Lord is our justice," or according to the Syrian interpretation, "O Lord, justify us"; but neither of these fits Zorobabel. Since, however, he was a type of Christ the Lord, and brought back the captives from Babylon to Judea, just as the Lord transferred those enslaved by the devil to the truth, if anyone wishes to adapt these things to him typically, he will do nothing absurd. Yet it must be known that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is from David according to the flesh, is preached by the prophets as the "righteous Branch," the "righteous King," and the "Lord of justice." From here he transfers the discourse against those who predict false things, and names them adulterers, as those who adulterate and corrupt the divine word, whom he also calls the causes of the malice of the people, and he adds priests impiously.

He further teaches them that there is nothing among things hidden that He does not know. ^A *God is near, he says, and not a God from afar. If a man should hide himself, shall I not see him? says the Lord.* He then teaches that God is not circumscribed: *Do not I fill heaven and the earth? says the Lord.* If, therefore, I am present everywhere, how do men imagine that I am ignorant of any of the things that are done? ^B He then moves a more intense accusation again against the false prophets, as those who narrate dreams and circumvent the people, who dare to commit such things as the prophets of Baal. Then He commands a comparison to be made between the prophet and the false prophet.

VERS. 28. *The prophet, he says, in whom is a dream, let him narrate his dream; and he with whom is my word, let him recount ^C my word in truth.* And he teaches figuratively what the difference is: *What has the chaff to do with the wheat? says the Lord.*

VERS. 29. *Are not my words like fire, says the Lord, and like an axe that cleaves the rock?* He demonstrated the power of the divine word through comparisons. ^D He then teaches how different the method of the false prophets is. For they, he says, in the manner of certain thieves, subvert some prophetic words, which they pervert and corrupt. Others invent a false prophecy; others narrate dreams which they have not seen; and thus, leading the most wretched people into error, they make them obstinate in wickedness.

Then He commands the prophet: VERS. 33, 34. *If this people, or a priest, or a prophet should ask, saying: "What is the assumption of the Lord?" you shall say to them: "You are the assumption of the Lord, and I will cast you off," says the Lord. And the prophet, and the priest, and whoever shall say, "The assumption of the Lord," I will exact a penalty from that man and his house.* The impious called the prophets "abruptitious" [i.e., bearers of heavy burdens/spoils], and the prophecy an "assumption." God therefore exhorts them not to use this appellation, and He threatens punishment to those who do not obey. He orders them to inquire thus: "What has the Lord answered? What has the Lord spoken?" and not to name the "assumption of the Lord" anymore. And to those who are about to transgress what has been commanded, He threatens, saying:

VERS. 39, 40. *Behold, I will take you up as an assumption, and I will cast you off, and the city which I gave to you and your fathers, from my presence; and I will bring upon you an everlasting reproach and an everlasting disgrace.*

^A “For no other foundation,” he says, “can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Since those of the ten tribes were threatening to destroy the Davidic kingdom, he points out its invincibility and foretells the stone that would be cut from there without hands, which became a great mountain and covered the whole world. *And I will lay judgment for a hope, and my mercy for weights.* Symmachus interpreted this as follows: “And I will put judgment for a line and righteousness for a plummet.” This means, I will issue a just sentence against those who contradict. Indeed, the plumb line shows the surface of the stones to be level, and the string directs the weights of the building. By these things, then, he showed the justice of the verdict. From this source, let us also understand the translation of the Seventy: by “hope,” he means a just judgment and mercy mingled with justice. For even the doorpost, by means of the builder’s tools, received its straightness. ^B *And those who trusted in vain are false; for the storm shall not pass us by, and shall it not take away from you the covenant of death, and your hope toward Hades shall not remain;* for when the blessed Joshua the son of Nun was leading the army and fighting against the five kings who had campaigned against the Gibeonites, God, the Lord of all, clearly helped him, hurling hails of stones from above upon them. Thus he says that now, too, he will show his punitive power. *And his wrath shall treat them as strangers, and his bitterness shall be foreign.* For he will no longer provide for you as for his own people, but he will use his wrath against you as he would against those who have altogether ignored him. *And do not be joyful, nor let your bonds grow strong; for I heard of things finished and cut short from the Lord of Sabaoth, which he will do upon all the earth.* He called haughtiness his bonds. And he exhorts them not to be joyful ^C nor to trust in their own power; for what I have foretold, I have heard from the Lord of all; and the divine word is true. *Give ear and hear my voice, pay attention and hear my words. Will the plowman plow his field all day long? Or will he prepare seed before working his ground?*... saying, he will strike with a violent wind. And he calls the authority of the godly a violent wind, through which the temples of idols were overturned, and the worship of demons was forbidden by the laws of authority. *And it will strike seven valleys.* For since their kingdom was destroyed by the Romans, they were divided into seven provinces, and they broke their former arrogance, and they became approachable to the heralds of truth.

16. *As on the day when he went out of the land of Egypt.* Or, just as he led them out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, so will he again bring them into Egypt with miracles, and through these things will lead them, too, to the truth.

CHAPTER XII.

1. *And you shall say on that day: I will bless you, O Lord.* A hymn declares the acknowledgement of a benefit. For those who have received one, having recognized its author, repay the benefit with whatever they can. And it is his law that clearly declares: “Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise”; and again, “A sacrifice of praise shall glorify you.” ^D Often, however, a man is released and abandoned, because he has once been swept away into Egyptian evils, so that he might enjoy his own lack of judgment for some time and reap what he has sown in wickedness. When he is not completely abandoned, but receives some small benefit, he will say this: “I will bless you, O Lord, because you were angry with me, and you turned away your fury, and had mercy on me.” This is similar to the passage, “I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he justifies my case and brings forth for me a judgment unto the end; he will not be angry unto the end, nor will he rage forever.” But he who says, “I will bless you, O Lord, because you were angry with me, and had mercy on me,” sensing the benefit of God, will boast in it, and say,

2. *Behold my God, my Savior; I will trust in him and I not fear, because the Lord is my glory and my praise.* These things will not be said by those who do their almsgiving before men, nor by those who seek glory from one another and do not seek the glory that is from God alone, and, in general, who transgress his commandment, which says, “Let us not be vainglorious.” But since the Lord promises, “Those who glorify me I will glorify,” evidently he who rightly glorifies God is glorified by him. Thus also Moses' face was glorified, because he knew how to glorify God rightly. And praise concurs with glory; so that he who rightly glorifies will also rightly praise. And let no one of those who harbor erroneous opinions about God think that their offerings are acceptable...

^A And your words shall be humbled to the ground, and you shall be humbled; [for the ground] you will speak, and to the ground your words will sink, and your voice will be as those speaking from the earth, and to the ground your voice will grow weak. Since they were pouring forth blasphemies against the God of all—for they used to think Chemosh [greater, and] because of this they mocked the Jews who worshipped the God of all—He threatens them with slavery, [timidity], and destruction. By those "speaking from the earth," He means the demons who appear in the form of the dead and speak [vague] things. To these He likens the voice of the Moabites. He likens their power [and] wealth to the dust of a wall being demolished, and to dust carried away by a storm. "And it shall be as a moment from the Lord Sabaoth." He says that in an instant and briefly they will receive the destruction. For there will be a visitation upon it with [thunder], and earthquake, and a great voice, and a storm being carried along, and a flame of fire consuming. This God has done [also against] other nations, and the ancient histories clearly instruct us concerning those near and those far; "and each against his brother." That is to say, so that they might render to one another the penalties for their impiety. «And all the ^B kingdoms of the earth, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink last of them.» I consider the king of Babylon to have been called by this name, for through him even those previously mentioned drank; and He says that after a little while he too will drink last. For after the punishment inflicted by him upon others, he himself paid the penalties. Then He threatens those who do not wish to drink, that even against their will they shall drink. 29. "For I will begin," He says, "from the city upon which my name has been called, to begin to afflict it; and you, shall you be cleansed with a cleansing? You shall not be cleansed." I am handing over, He says, the city that has been set apart; and will you escape the punishment? It is not possible for this to happen. 30. "And you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them: The Lord shall speak from on high, and from his holy place he shall give his voice." He has declared both: that He brings forth the sentence from heaven, and that He makes the manifestation in the consecrated temple. "He shall speak from his place, and he knows ^C as those treading the winepress will answer against those sitting upon the earth." By "answer," he signifies the work; for the effect indeed follows the divine word. 31. "A destruction comes upon a part of the earth: for there is a judgment to the Lord among the nations; He Himself is being judged against all flesh; but the ungodly are given to the sword, says the Lord." Again, He shows His ineffable goodness. For He did not say, "He shall judge all flesh," but, "He is being judged against all flesh." For He sets out His own acts of kindness, and refutes the ingratitude of those receiving them. He speaks also in what follows of the evils arising from wars, and that the slain will lie unburied, and will be as dung upon the earth. 34, 35. "Howl, you shepherds, and cry out, and beat your breasts, you rams of the flock, because your days have been fulfilled for the slaughter, and your dispersals, and you shall fall as choice rams. And flight shall perish from the shepherds, and salvation from the rams of the flock." He called the kings shepherds, the subjects sheep, and the rams of the flock the princes; to all of them He threatens flight and migration. He foretells ^D the lamentations both of the kings and of the princes.

^A the Babylonian oppressed all his subjects; but when the kingdom was destroyed, they were freed from the payment of tribute.

VERS. 6. *Striking the nation with an incurable blow.* For since the Assyrians had occupied a significant part of the world, when they raged against the God of all and burned the divine temple, they fell from their kingdom. For he called the destruction of the kingdom and the desolation of the royal city an incurable blow.

VERS. 7. *All the earth cries out with joy.* All have rejoiced at the destruction of the Babylonians, because they had exercised monstrous cruelty against everyone.

VERS. 8. *And the trees of Lebanon have rejoiced.* Some have thought that Jerusalem is called Lebanon in this place: but I believe that the kings of the various nations are called the cedars of Lebanon, understanding the height of the kingdom in this figurative way. ^B

VERS. 9. *Hell below is stirred up to meet thee.* It is the custom of Scripture to sometimes use personification, that it may explain matters more clearly. In this place, therefore, it introduces death—which is not a certain substance, but an accident—as if it were something subsistent, and endowed with soul and reason, complaining about the King of Babylon.

VERS. 10. *And thou art captured as we are.* The prophetic utterance rebukes by these words his incredible and immense arrogance. For he did not believe he would die, but thought himself a god on account of his extraordinary power. Whence it also added the rest: ^C *Under thee shall they spread rottenness, and thy covering shall be the worm.* Thou hopedst, he says, to ascend into heaven, thou hast been plunged into the depths of the earth; and instead of a sumptuous purple garment, thou hast a covering of worms, and instead of a soft mattress, rottenness and foul-smelling gore.

VERS. 12. *How did Lucifer fall from heaven?* Because, led by proud thoughts, he hoped he would ascend into heaven; he calls him Lucifer, not because he is truly such, but because he thought himself to be such. And wishing to show the sudden change of splendor, he compared him to Lucifer, who fell from heaven to the earth.

VERS. 13. *But thou saidst in thy mind: I will ascend into heaven.* By these words he demonstrates the thoughts of the Babylonian full of arrogance. And as for what is said here, the prophecy of Daniel also teaches us the same. For, first, having fashioned that huge golden statue, he ordered everyone to worship it, usurping divine worship for himself. Then, [he harassed] the noble ^D

athletes [he challenged] saying, "Who is the God who will deliver you from my hands?" ^A A high mountain is said to be on the northern side of the Assyrians and Medes, separating the Scythian nations from these, the highest of all the mountains on earth. You imagined, as is natural, that by it you could attempt an ascent to heaven. Not only did he conceive this in his own mind, but so did the one who taught him these things. And to this latter one, the words of boasting fit according to the figure, but, in truth, they fit him who truly fell from the heavens, who snatched for himself the title of God, and who deceived the majority of men.

VERS. 15. *Now, however, you shall descend into Hades, to the foundations of the earth.* For he says "to the foundations of the earth," instead of "into the very depths of the earth."

VERS. 16. *He who provoked the earth.* Symmachus translated "provoking the earth" as "troubling the earth"; but Aquila, "he who shook the earth."

VERS. 17. *And destroyed his cities, and those who were in captivity he did not release.* He laid waste to the cities, and he ravaged their land, and he did not show mercy to those who had been enslaved. For it is found in some manuscripts, instead of "did not release," "did not have mercy."

VERS. 18. *All the kings of the nations slept in honor, a man in his own house.* For you, unlike other kings, did not receive the end of your life sitting at home. ^B

VERS. 19. *But you shall be cast out upon the mountains.* There will be no difference between you and the others; but, just like the rest of the soldiers, cast out upon the ground, you shall be meat for birds and beasts.

VERS. 20. *Because you destroyed my land, and killed my people.* And he teaches the cause: Because you ravaged the land, and killed my people; *you shall not remain for an eternal time.* Yet he says these things to the kingdom itself, not to the king alone. For how could it be possible for a human being to live forever? But he predicts the destruction of the kingdom. He calls his own people Israel, and their land likewise his land. For the divine temple existed in it. The nations, indeed, which had not yet known him could not properly be called his people. ^C

VERS. 21. *Prepare your children to be slaughtered.* He says these things to Nebuchadnezzar himself. For those who succeeded him in the kingdom were destroyed by the Medes and Persians. ^D

Some have supposed that those now accused had fled to Egypt, but neither history teaches this nor the prophecy set before us. For history speaks clearly of the events under Jeremiah the prophet, and the prophecy teaches how the God of all commanded that the prediction be written down; for he says that this will be "unto the days" as a witness, that is, that these things will take place after a time; let the witness, therefore, be put into writing. And the prediction received its end after one hundred and forty years; for so many will be found from the first year of the reign of Hezekiah until the flight into Egypt, which happened after the capture of Jerusalem. "For it is a disobedient people, lying children who did not wish to hear the law of God." The divine Jeremiah clearly and explicitly forbade them to flee, and God commanded through the prophet to remain, promising salvation to those who obeyed, and punishment to those who disobeyed; and they remained contradicting him. "Those who say to the prophets: Do not announce to us, and to those who see visions." For he did not have this as a secondary task, and the concern he exercised for them was very earnest. ^B Next, he predicts the ruin of the two false prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah. "For I will deliver them, he says, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall strike them before your eyes."

22. "And they shall take up a curse upon them in all the captivity of Judah, and in Babylon, saying: May the Lord make you as He made Zedekiah and Ahab." Clearly from this we learn the meaning of the curse; he also mentions the mode of their punishment: "Whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire."

23. "Because of the iniquity which they did in Israel." He also teaches the kind of iniquity this was: "And they committed adultery with the wives of their citizens, and spoke an unjust word in my name, which I did not command them, and I am the knower, and the witness, says the Lord." For he says that none of the things happening escapes me; but I see even the things dared in secret. He also threatens Shemaiah the Elamite, as having dared to prophesy things contrary, and to send letters to Zephaniah the priest and to the priests serving under him. He sent these things:

26. "The Lord has established you as priest instead of Jehoiada the priest." Jehoiada the high priest was famous. Wishing, therefore, to raise the spirit of Zephaniah, he made mention of his position of authority: "To be overseer in the house of the Lord for every man prophesying, and every man behaving like a madman, that you may give him into the "Sinoch" [prison], and into the cataract [stocks]." And we have already said how they called the prophets possessed; it is clear also from this, for he associated the prophet with the madman; and the Syrian interpreted "Sinoch" as a prison. He says, therefore, that you hold authority, so as to imprison and punish those prophesying evil; for he reveals this through the following.

27, 28. For why, he says, did you not rebuke Jeremiah, who dared to write such things, that you should build houses and plant gardens? Zephaniah the high priest read this letter to the prophet; but immediately the God of all commands the prophet to write back, and to signify to the people in Babylon that Shemaiah has predicted falsely, not having been sent by the God of all. Because of which, I shall deliver him by the root, together with his whole race, unto death, and he shall not see the turning of these sorrows. Having, therefore, learned these things, let us fear falsehood, and let us believe the truth, and let us cast out the doubt of our souls.

^A He calls him the offspring of asps, not because he imitates their malice, but because he has brought such a plague upon the foreigners.

VER. 30. *Inopes autem homines super pacem requiescent.* "Those who among you," he says, "are now despised as base, the Jews, shall be pastured by God, and they shall be delivered from the wolves that attack them, and they shall continue in peace." By these words he signifies the driving away of the Assyrians. "But [God] will consume you with need and famine, and will deliver you over to a most miserable death." By these things he signifies the siege that took place at the hands of the Babylonians.

VERS. 31. *Ululate, portæ civitatum.* But mark this, that gates are neither possessed of reason nor of a soul, so as to wail. Therefore, by "gates," he implies those who stand at the gates and mourn the present evils. "For a smoke cometh from the north." He calls the Assyrian "smoke coming from the north." For as smoke comes on, no one will stand against the Assyrian in battle array; for fear will scatter those who are assembled. ^B Therefore, he says, when all the foreigners have been captured, Sion will overcome her adversaries without labor, and by the very events they shall learn that the God of all things exercises care for her and delivers her from the evils that threaten her on account of the piety of her inhabitants.

CHAPTER XV

VERS. 1. *Verbum contra Moabitidem.* These people trace their lineage from Lot, and they once had as their metropolis the city now called Charachmoba. "Nocte peribit Moabitis." He calls either the darkness of impiety "night," or the ignorance of things about to happen. It is probable, moreover, that the city was captured at night.

VERS. 2. *Peribit enim et Debon.* Debon was also a city under the metropolis of the Moabites; and Chamos was the idol of the Moabites, to whom they built an altar. "There, therefore, you shall ascend to weep." He says they go to weep beside the altar, deriding their foolish sacrifices. "Ululate, omnia brachia dissecta." ^C He encourages them, therefore, to wail, and to bloody their arms with lamentations, and to testify to their sorrow with the wearing of sackcloth, and to weep in their houses, and in the streets and thoroughfares, as if Esebon and Eleale had been pulled down, and the lamentation had spread even as far as Jassa. But these things are according to the history. But according to moral instruction... ^D

^A verse 4: "The loin of the Moabite cries out; his soul shall know it." Perhaps by the loin he signified timidity, and by the soul and heart, mourning. For since the loin is girded by a belt, its loosening signifies timidity; seeing that it also signifies courage in turn, as he says: "Gird up, then, your loins like a man." And again: "Let your loins be girded." And in another place: "Having girded your loins in truth"—however, this is according to the discourse previously given on repentance.

Verse 5: "For she is a three-year-old heifer." He hinted at her unruly nature by these things. For such a heifer is brash and unruly. "Upon the ascent of Luith." Luith, then, and Arroniim are also names of places, through which he says those who announce sad tidings will arrive. Furthermore, he exhorts her to cry out and to lament the destruction of the cities and the change of affairs—consequently, according to the coherence of the moral discourse on repentance that has been given. It is possible also to understand this figuratively, and to call prosperity "green grass" and "gushing water." It is credible that these things also happened in such a way.

Verse 7: "I will bring upon the valley Arabs." He threatens, therefore, also the camp of the Arabs. And here he calls the Ishmaelites "Arabs." For every city, he says, will lament its own evils, and there shall be, as it were, a concert of lamentations.

Verse 9: "The water of Debon shall be filled with blood." He predicts the multitude of the slain. For so great, he says, will it be, that even the water of Remmon shall be mixed with blood, as the Arabs invade and commit slaughter. "And Ariel, and the residue of Adama." Ariel, then, is that which is now called Areopolis; and Adama is another, having the same name as that which long ago perished with the Sodomites.

CHAPTER XVI

^B Verse 1: "I will send, as it were, reptiles upon the earth." He aptly compared the captives of these people, who were forced to bend down to the earth, to things that creep upon the earth.

Verse 2: "Thou shalt be like the fledgling of a bird flying away, taken away." Even if you were mocking Jerusalem, he says, calling her a dry mountain, learn from the things themselves that she indeed escaped the hands of the Assyrian—or rather, she destroyed his army—but you shall be like the fledgling of a bird flying away. For just as fledglings abandoned by their parents ^{C D}

the destruction of the Assyrians, the subject cities, having learned of it, celebrated public festivals and, encountering the fugitives, slaughtered most of them. "For you shall be deceived before the days; was a deep ravine prepared for you to be king?" "For its ^A *thafeth* was prepared long ago, and it was prepared for the king himself." ^B Symmachus interpreted these things as follows: "For its *thafeth* has been prepared since yesterday, and it was prepared for the king himself." So also did Theodotion. I found *thafeth* or *thofthi* interpreted in the Syriac thus: "for its food was prepared since yesterday," that is, the food of the Assyrian army; in the Interpretation of Hebrew Names, however, I found this interpreted as "closure." The sense is the same; for the prophetic word says to the Assyrian: "Since you despised Jerusalem as a ravine and hoped to take it, know that your own destruction ^C is made ready therein; for therein you shall be enclosed and consumed." Whence he added: "He deepened, he broadened its pyre." That is, the punishment prepared for you; for this is what the following indicates: "Ephraim has become as a refractory heifer." He also sets down what he said while mourning: "**Turn me, O Lord, and I shall turn; for you are the Lord my God.**" For if you are unwilling, I shall not be freed from servitude. "**After my captivity I repented, and after I knew, I struck my thigh; and I sighed in the days of my shame.**" After the experience of evils, he came to an awareness of sin. This also the blessed David said: "**Before I was humbled, I transgressed; therefore I have kept your word.**" And again: "**It is good for me that you humbled me, that I might learn your justifications.**" But striking the thigh is characteristic of those in pain and repenting. "**And I was ashamed, and I submitted to you, because I received reproach from my youth.**" For in times past, and from the beginning, I continued in the transgression of your commandments. The Master also demonstrates his philanthropy, and says: "**If Ephraim is a beloved son to me, if he is a child in delights.**" That is, delicious and graceful. If you persist, he says, in using this disposition, and mindful of my care, you shall enjoy good things; for he has added the promise to what follows. "**Because my words are in him, I will surely remember him still.**" Since he has used repentance and remembers my commandments, he shall obtain my provision. "**For this reason, he says, I will visit him, and in pity I will pity him.**" He then encourages him to use the medicines of repentance: "**Set up for yourself *sionim*.**" The /Syrian interpreted *sionim* as "signs." As if he were to say: "It was necessary to mark what fruits you gathered from transgression, and what good things repentance has procured for you." Therefore, he also advises that he use voluntary castigation. "**Take punishment upon yourself: set your heart toward your shoulders.**" As if to say, "Place upon yourself the burden of repentance; persist in that which you rightly chose." For this is what he added: "**In the way in which you walked.**" He then encourages her to return, and to go back to her own cities, and not to abandon mourning. "**Turn back, he says, mourning to your cities.**"

^A to trample the vineyards, and as if setting certain boundaries for them, he commands them to carry the war as far as Jazer.

Vers. 8. *Wander the desert.* He describes the errors of the fugitives; for some, he says, wander in the desert, while others even crossed the Red Sea.

Vers. 9. *A lament for Jazer, the vine of Sabama.* He brings these same things to mind twice and three times—the vine of Sabama, and the trees of Heshbon and Eleale—demonstrating the truth of the prophecy.

Vers. 10. *And gladness and exultation shall be taken away from the vineyards.* For you shall no longer sing songs at the winepress, but others, trampling you down, shall sing a song of war; you shall not enjoy the gladness which is taken from the vineyards.

Vers. 11. *Therefore my belly shall sound like a harp over Moab.* Symmachus puts it this way: "My belly for Moab shall sound like a psaltery, and my inward parts for the brick wall." Having become the instrument of the all-holy Spirit, I brought this prophecy as a kind of cithara sound to Moab, and to the wall which you built for the sake of safety. ^B

Vers. 12. *Moab has labored upon the altars.* From these very things, therefore, you shall learn the weakness of the idols; for despite the frequent hecatombs and thousands of oxen, you shall not obtain help from them.

Vers. 13. *This is the word which the Lord spoke regarding Moab.* These things, the prophet says, I did not foretell, but God Himself, the God of all things.

Vers. 14. *In three years of a hired laborer.* A humane sentence. For He limited the punishment to three years, and likened it to a hired laborer who waits for the defined time and is refreshed by the hope of the end. *And a small remnant shall be left.* For after the defined time, He does not promise it its former prosperity, but a few inhabitants, and those not dominant. ^C Understanding these things, therefore, let us propitiate the Judge by the keeping of His commandments, and let us hasten into His presence with confession, that we may avoid the experience of sorrowful things, and being governed by Him, may sail through the present life with favorable winds, and may drop anchor in His tranquil harbors; praising Him, and His only-begotten Son, and the all-holy Spirit, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom with Him belongs glory, honor, and dominion, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen. ^D

CHAPTER XVII

^A VERSE 1. *The word against Damascus.* Perhaps someone might ask what the reason is why the prophet, while predicting what would happen to the Babylonians, the Moabites, the Damascenes, the Egyptians, the Idumeans, and the Tyrians, passed over other nations. It must therefore be known that these nations persistently harassed Judea with wars, and on this account the prophet predicts their calamities. He also predicts the change of some for the better, and their future piety, so as to incite their own kindred to a zeal for divine things by this very example.

VERSE 4. *In that day there shall be a failing of the glory of Jacob.* For after Damascus was captured, the Assyrians transported the ten tribes to another place. From this he teaches how easily the victory over them was gained.

VERSE 5. *And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest.* By these words he signifies those who fled to the neighboring mountains and in this way managed to save themselves.

VERSE 7. *A man shall trust in Him who made him.* For having learned by trial the weakness of idols, they call upon the God of all to be their help.

VERSE 8. *And they shall not be trusting in altars.* They shall learn thoroughly that idols are partly inanimate, and partly man-made, which borrow their substance from matter and their form from art.

^B VERSE 10. *Because you have forsaken God your Savior.* An ungrateful mind will beget calamities.

CHAPTER XVIII

VERSE 5. [6, 7] *And he shall take away the small grape-clusters.* Under the figure of a trope, he predicts the things that were imminent from the enemies; and he calls the branches the parents, who brought forth; the small grape-clusters, their infants; the sickles, the bellicose instruments of the enemies; and those abandoned to the birds and beasts, the lying dead. For he has declared this in what follows. Furthermore, he calls the kings of the Assyrians rivers; ^C but the dispersed and hoping nation is the people of Jerusalem. For their king, the admirable Hezekiah, marked by piety, led them into the right way. These, he says, having seen the things that happened against the Assyrians, will celebrate a great feast, offering sacrifices and gifts to the Savior.

CHAPTER XIX

VERSE 1. *Vision of Egypt. Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and shall come into Egypt.* The history of the holy Gospels bears witness to this prophecy. ^D

^A For the angel of the Lord commanded Joseph to enter Egypt with the Child and His mother. *And the things made by hands of Egypt shall be shaken before His face.* The facts themselves confirm this prediction. For the error of many gods has been extinguished, and He who sits upon the light cloud is worshiped by them. *And their heart shall be conquered* within them. Therefore, defeat is better than victory. For the prophetic word in what was said previously had urged the nations to accept these things: *Know, O nations, and be conquered.*

^B VERSE 2. *And man shall fight against his brother, and man against his neighbor.* The Lord spoke of this also in the holy Gospels, saying, *I came not to send peace upon the earth, but a sword, to divide a man from his neighbor, daughter from her mother, daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law.* For by breaking asunder the concord of impiety, He proclaimed the truth through the disciples of piety; He dissipated a harmful concord and introduced a profitable agreement of souls, and set the pious in array against the impious, opposing the law of faith to the law of unbelief.

VERSE 3. *And they shall ask their gods, and their images, and those who speak from the earth.* The unbelievers, he says, will travel around the oracles and make use of the evocations of the dead, and call upon ventriloquists, seeking out certain devices against piety.

VERSE 4. *And I will deliver Egypt into the hands of men, harsh lords.* By these words He hinted at the Roman empire, which the prophecy of Daniel called iron. For, resembling iron, he says, it will crush and tame all things.

^C VERSE 5. *And the Egyptians shall drink water beside the sea.* The prophet foretold in what was said previously that the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea. This water, he says, will transform Egypt, and this will be drinkable for them; but that which they drank before—that is, the streams of the polytheistic error—will be undrinkable. For he calls error a river, and its various paths, canals.

VERSE 7. *And every gathering of water shall dry up; and every reed and papyrus, and green grass* around the marsh. With great appropriateness he compares impiety to reed, papyrus, and green grass. For the worship of idols is fruitless; and he calls these things wind-spoiled when sown, because the worship of idols brings no participation in good things, but rather brings the corruption of evils to the holy.

^D VERSE 8. *And the fishermen shall groan, and shall groan all

those who cast a hook into the river. He calls the priests of the idols those who cast nets, and fishermen, and those who hunt with hooks; for when idolatry ceased, they groaned and lamented, being deprived of the opportunities to acquire wealth.

VERS. 9. *And confusion shall seize those who work the fine [fissile] flax.* He signifies by these words the subtle disputations of those called philosophers; for they, by the eloquence of their tongue, gave patronage to error. Their dogmas, moreover, were diverse, and for this reason he called the flax "fissile" (that is, split or divided). But these men also blush, when the impiety of their dogmas is refuted; and they are tormented, because they are unable to overcome the truth.

VERS. 12. *Where now are your wise men? And let them declare to you, and let them say what the Lord of Sabaoth has determined.* For neither astrologers nor those who utter oracles will be able to teach you about the things which have been ordained by God.

VERS. 14. *For the Lord has mingled among them a spirit of seduction.* The truth does not lead into error, but it abandons those who contradict it without a governor; and those who lack a governor, without doubt, wander astray.

VERS. 15. *And there shall be no work for the Egyptians, which shall make head and tail, beginning and end.* He says their counsels shall be fruitless, and there shall be a confusion of leaders.

VERS. 16. *The Egyptians shall be as women in fear and trembling, from the face of the hand of the Lord of Sabaoth.* He called the Roman Empire the hand of the Lord, the fear of which broke the boldness of the Egyptians, and made them like to women. ^B

VERS. 21. *And the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall offer sacrifice and gift.* He calls the time the "day," and the mystical liturgy "sacrifice and gift."

VERS. 22. *And the Lord shall strike the Egyptians with a blow, and shall heal them with a healing.* He calls the deprivation of their kingdom a "blow," and the knowledge of God a "healing." For after He overturned their kingdom, He taught them piety. ^C

VERS. 23. *There shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians: and the Assyrians shall go into Egypt.* He signifies, therefore, the mingling between the Syrians and the Egyptians that occurred after these things, when the Egyptians were subdued. ^D

CHAPTER XX

VERS. 6. *And the inhabitants of this island shall say: Behold, we were those relying.* He calls Egypt an island, as one surrounded by the river and by its channels. These...

he says, after they have been defeated, will say that "In vain did we trust in the Ethiopians." For not even for themselves were they able to suffice. This is the end of the prophecy concerning the Egyptians.

CHAPTER XXI

VERS. 1. *The word of the desert, as a tempest passing through the desert, coming from the earth.* He calls Babylon a desert sea: a sea, on account of its former prosperity and the multitude of its inhabitants, who mimicked the waves; but a desert, on account of the calamity later inflicted upon it.

VERS. 2. *Spering, he scorns; doing iniquity, he acts iniquitously.* Symmachus has rendered these things thus: "He who scorns is scorned, and he who afflicts is afflicted." Formerly, he says, I was scornful, but now I am scorned; formerly I was making others wretched, but now I suffer what I did. The judgment is just.

VERS. 8. *Hearken with great hearkening.* Keep silence, he says, and let the tongue indeed cease, ^B but let the hearing hearken; and join unto thyself Urias as a companion: "For by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." (Deut. xix, 15).

VERS. 9. *And responding, he said: Babylon has fallen, and all her images.* It is clear that these were invisible powers who were proclaiming these words. Having heard these words, the prophet cannot hide them, but indicates them to his countrymen. *The word of Idumea.* "Call to me from Seir." Seir is called the mountain of the Idumeans; and this also received its name from Esau. For because he was thick, he was named Seir, which is to say, hairy.

VERS. 10. *Keep the battlements; I keep watch in the morning and at night.* ^C For because they were vigilantly watching through fear of the enemy, and were stationed at the wall, they lived by keeping watch night and day, thinking that these things would strike terror into their opponents; naturally, the prophetic word mocking them says: "Keep the battlements," as if to say: You do well by being concerned for your security.

VERS. 12. *If you seek, seek, and dwell with me.* If you seek salvation, he says, come unto me; do not trust in yourselves. I remember the kindred of Abraham. Therefore, those fleeing as if into a grove, I will hide, and I will make them superior to their enemies. ^D

^A

VERS. 14. *In occursum sitienti aquam ferte.* He shows also that these had fled from the Assyrian, and he exhorts neighbors to provide bread and water to those fleeing.

CHAPTER XXII

VERS. 1. *Visio vallis Sion. Vulnerati tui non vulnerati gladio: neque mortui tui mortui præliorum.* The enemies, he says, have not become strong against you, but I have cast you off because of the madness you exercised against me.

VERS. 4. *Dimittite me, amare plorabo.* Consolation, he says, the evils that have befallen the city do not admit. He calls it "daughter of the kindred," because from it he himself also derives his kindred.

VERS. 6. *Elamitæ autem sumpserunt pharetras.* He calls the Samaritans Elamites, because they had been translated from the region of Persia. ^B Since they were hostilely disposed toward the Jews, they necessarily fought against them along with the Romans. [VERS. 7, 8] *Et equites vallabunt portas tuas, et revelabunt portas Judæ.* That is, they will open. To open and to wall up are indeed contraries; yet they were performing both. For they were both preventing the besieged from fleeing, and opening the gates to the enemies.

VERS. 11. *Et fecistis vobis aquam inter duos muros.* There would have been no need of any of these things for you, if you had invoked my aid; for in a moment of time I would have routed the enemies.

VERS. 14. *Non auferetur a vobis hoc peccatum, donec mortui sitis.* For it is indeed a truly grievous thing, and one that admits no pardon, for the servants to indulge in luxuries while the Master is grieving, and to display contempt through laughter.

VERS. 18. *Et projiciet te in regionem ^C magnam.* Some say that he was captured in flight by the Assyrians and led away as a prisoner.

VERS. 22. *Et dabo ei clavem domus David.* In this place our own things are prefigured: "For whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven."

VERS. 23. *Et statuam eum principem in loco fideli, et erit in solium gloriæ domus patris ejus.* At the same time he bestows upon him both sacerdotal and royal power. For this reason he also made mention of David. For David was a king, not a priest, but he nonetheless ordained also the priesthood. ^D

VERS. 24. *Et erit confidens super eum omnis gloriosus.* In the preceding, he has already demonstrated what love there was toward him, both of the princes and of the subjects.

They had passed away in great number, and not one of them was lost; one did not seek the other, because the Lord commanded them, and His Spirit gathered them. And He shall cast lots for them, and His hand divided them for a pasture for an eternal time; they shall inherit it from generation to generation, and shall rest upon it. And these things, in like manner, declare the desolation of the inhabitants; for the wild beasts feed fearlessly, as there are no hunters. This too the prophetic word has declared: *and not one of them was lost, and one did not seek another;* for He gave them, He says, the Lord, the liberty of grazing, having passed judgment of desolation of men upon that land. Having foretold these things to them, he transfers the word to the desert of old, then named Carmel, and Sion, and Jerusalem, and says: *Rejoice, O desert that thirsts; let the desert exult, and blossom as a lily.* He calls it thirsty, as not having received prophetic irrigation, and an empty desert, as not having received divine cultivation. He bids it to rejoice and to mimic the blossom of the lily.

CHAPTER XXXIX

From here onwards he relates the events at the time of the capture, and says that in the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah the Babylonians went on an expedition. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the wall was thrown down, and the enemies rushed against the city. This being done, Zedekiah fled, and all those who boasted of their strength. But the Chaldeans, having pursued him, overtook him and captured him near the city of Jericho. By "Araboth" he means Jericho, from the west of Jericho. "And they led him to Reblatha, which is in the land of Emath." This concludes under the region of Emesa, so that it is clear that here he calls Emesa, Emath. "And he spoke judgments with him." That is, he rebuked the transgression of the oaths, the ill-will and ingratitude shown toward him who had benefitted him and had appointed him king. Having convicted him of injustice, he inflicts the punishment; and first, with him watching, he slaughters his children and all who were in authority and most noble; and having punished him with the sight of such grievous things, he deprived him of his sight. He relates also how they burned the palaces and other houses, and tore down the walls of the city; and the rest, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the king's guard, led away into slavery. A few, however, who lived in poverty, he left behind, commanding them to farm.

Verses 11, 12. "And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, commanded concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, saying: Take him, and set your eyes upon him, and do no evil to him; but just as he shall speak to you, so you shall do with him." He increased the condemnation of the Jews, both King Nebuchadnezzar and Abdemelech the Ethiopian. For they, being aliens, respected the prophet; but the Jews, nurtured in prophetic words, were unwilling to heed the divine sayings, and subjected the prophets to all kinds of punishments. Yet the promise of God attained its end; for having appointed the prophet, He promised to show him invincible, and like an iron pillar and a brazen wall, because they would indeed fight him, but would not overcome him. However, Nebuzaradan and all the company of the princes sent for Jeremiah from the prison and delivered him to Godoliah, whom he had ordered to rule over those left in Judea. The prophet saw fit to record also those things which were foretold by God concerning Abdemelech, and which had attained their end. For nothing is forgotten by Him, nor is anything without reward; at that time, he says, God promised these things, saying...

^A For those sinners indeed sinned for many generations; but He restricts the punishment to the reign of a long-lived king, or to the life of a single man.

VERS. 17. *And it shall be after seventy years, God will visit Tyre.* This also rebates the pride of the Jews. For the time which He defined for the desolation of Jerusalem, that very time He assigned to Tyre through His supreme goodness, teaching that He is God not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles: "For His is the earth, and the fulness thereof."

CHAPTER XXIV

VERS. 1. *Behold, the Lord lays waste the earth.* The discourse contains a double prophecy: for it signifies both what happens to enemies at various times, and what will follow at the consummation of this present age.

VERS. 2. *And the people shall be as the priest, and the servant as the master.* These things will strictly and truly come to pass after the resurrection. For then the form of the present life is changed: the difference between ranks ceases, and in its place is introduced the difference between virtue and vice. Often, priests who have led lives of iniquity will be consigned to punishment; but some who belong to the order of the common people will pass into their rank. And servants will be numbered among those who are saved, while masters will be numbered among those who are punished.

VERS. 6. *Therefore a curse shall devour the earth, because its inhabitants have sinned.* We see this happening even now. For the incursion of locusts, and drops of rust, and blows of hail, and the excess or lack of rains, are sent against plants and crops because of our iniquity. *And few men shall be left.* For because human nature has veered into indulgence, it is healed by contrary medicines: superabundance by want, the sterility of the earth by the excesses born of fruitfulness, and the insolence of the inhabitants by the loneliness of the cities.

VERS. 13. *All these things shall be upon the earth.* And here too He shows that some perish, while others enjoy salvation and praise God, the author of these benefits. One might find this also coming to pass at the time of the consummation.

VERS. 14. *The water of the sea shall be troubled.* The water of the sea represents the multitude of men. For like the sea, they were being stirred up—and some spoke against it, while others believed what was preached. ^D By islands, He calls the churches which are built in the midst of this sea.

^A For, before the construction of the Temple, they offered sacrifices to God in Hebron, Gibeon, Mizpah, and many other places; but after the construction, those who lived according to the Law could not bear to sacrifice outside the divine temple. Those who were brutish and stepped outside the divine way, however, offered their sacrifices in the high places—not, I think, to idols, but to God. And the history of the Books of Kings and Chronicles makes this clear to us; for those who wrote those accounts, in praising Asa and Jehoshaphat, also said these things: "And Asa did what was right before the Lord his God, and he removed the foreign altars and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and cut down the groves." "Nevertheless, the people were still burning incense in the high places." For they destroyed the places of the idols, but they left behind the ones dedicated to God in that form. Only Hezekiah and Josiah, however, forbade even this illegality: ^B "which you fear, will pursue you in that land." And having said the same things more broadly, he adds these:

18. "As my anger and my wrath have been poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My anger be poured out upon you, when you enter into Egypt; and you shall be an object of ruin, and subject to hand, and a curse, and an object of reproach, and you shall not see this place again."

He showed that it was possible for human beings to see the magnitude of his power. For he called the evils brought upon the Jews "drops" of his anger—that is, of his punitive action. Then the prophet reminds them also of the oaths.

20. "For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying: Pray for us, and all that the Lord our God speaks, declare to us, and we will do it; and I have declared it to you today, and you have not listened to the voice of the Lord your God, regarding all that He sent me unto you. And now know that you shall perish by the sword, and by famine, and by death in this place in which you wish to enter to inhabit."

For the things that you are trying to escape, you will find in Egypt.

CHAPTER XLIII

Having heard these things, those who governed the people lived with boldness and arrogance; they forgot their entreaties and their oaths, and they dared to say to the prophet:

2, 3. "You speak lies; the Lord our God did not send you to us, saying: Do not enter into Egypt. 4. But Baruch, the son of Neriah, stirs you up against us, that you may leave us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to put us to death and to carry us into exile to Babylon."

Having said these things to the prophet, and having openly transgressed the oaths that were made, they rushed to Egypt with all the gathered people; they also took the prophet and Baruch along with them. Therefore, in Tahpanhes (this is a city of Egypt), the prophet is commanded ^D to take stones and to hide them before the gates of the royal palace, while the Jews are watching, and to proclaim these things:

10, 11. "Behold, I am sending and bringing Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and he shall set his throne above these stones, and shall lift up his weapons against them. And he will deliver some of the Egyptians to death, but others he will take captive and transfer."

^A VERS. 22. *Per multas generationes visitatio erit eorum.* For they have experienced a great and long-lasting patience towards themselves. *And the brick shall liquefy, and the wall shall fall,* which is commonly believed to be the security of those in power.

VERS. 23. *And the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be confounded.* This refers to the polytheistic error of the impious. Since they deified the entire creation, He points out the complete destruction of their error by means of the more brilliant parts of that creation. For He does not say that the elements themselves, which lack soul and reason, will be put to shame, but rather those who made them into gods. *“For the Lord shall reign in Sion and in Jerusalem.”* By Sion and Jerusalem, He means the heavenly [city]. *“For you have approached,”* says the divine Apostle, *“mount Sion, and the city of Jerusalem, the heavenly one”* (Heb. xii, 22). Therefore, in that city, when the kingdom of God appears, those who worshiped the creation instead of the Creator will be put to shame (Rom. i, 25). ^B

CHAPTER XXV

VERS. 1. *For Thou hast done wonderful things, an ancient and true counsel.* For having predetermined these things from above, Thou hast now manifested them through the events themselves. *“Let it be, O Lord.”* That is, may the things that have been spoken come to their end.

VERS. 2. *For Thou hast laid cities in the dust.* Thou hast shown, he says, both the ephemeral nature of human affairs and Thy own power. *“The city of the impious shall not be built for ever.”* The statement is indeed general; but it seems to me that it also hints at Jerusalem, according to the voice of the Lord saying: *“There shall not be left here a stone upon a stone, which shall not be destroyed”* (Matth. xxiv, 2). ^C

VERS. 3. *Therefore shall the poor people bless Thee.* By the poor people, He means the pious, who possess a moderate spirit. For the Lord also calls this person blessed, saying: *“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”* (Matth. v, 3). And by the cities that suffer injury from men but fear God, He signified the apostolic life. For the Lord again pronounces these blessed with these words: *“Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”* (ibid. 10).

VERS. 5. *As faint-hearted men, thirsting in Sion.* He spoke these things as if from the person of the apostolic choir: thirsting for the heavenly life and for deliverance from impious men, yet willing to accept the contrary things to which He has surrendered us for training and testing. ^D

VERS. 7. *Deliver all these things to the nations.* For...

as just as He gave the Law to the Jews alone, so He also bestowed the New Testament upon them alone, while offering the salvation arising from it to all the nations. ^A

VERS. 8. Devoravit mors praevalens. (Death has devoured, having prevailed.)

VERS. 9. Ecce Deus noster in quo sperabamus. (Behold our God in whom we hoped.)

CHAPTER XXVI.

VERS. 5. Qui humilians detraxisti eos qui habitant in excelsis. (You who, humbling them, have brought down those who dwell on high.)

VERS. 9. De nocte mane consurgit spiritus meus ad te, Deus. (From night my spirit rises early to You, O God.)

VERS. 10. Cessavit enim impius. (For the impious has ceased.)

Verse 11. But those who have knowledge will be confounded.

^A the divine Apostle says: “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” “And now fire shall devour the adversaries.” Since they did not receive the light, they shall be delivered over to fire and darkness.

VERS. 12. "O Lord our God, give us peace.” We have embraced Thy peace, O Master; may we not fall from Thy providence. For we know no other God. These words also refute the stupidity of Eunomius; for how can they say, “Beside Thee we know no other,” while they call the Son a created God? But we, proclaiming one substance of the Trinity, speak the truth when we say: “Beside Thee we know no other.” ^B

VERS. 14. “But the dead shall not see life.” He calls those dead who are dead to good works. For thus also the Lord said: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.” “Neither shall the physicians raise them up.” For when God punishes, who shall be able to help? “Therefore Thou hast brought in, and destroyed.” He signifies that God, while sparing them, shortened the time of their life, so that they might not remain for a long time, extend themselves in wickedness, and increase their own punishment. For out of goodness God defines even years for punishment: now indeed after one hundred and twenty, just as in the time of the flood; now indeed after sixty, through this very prophet. And before the appointed time He brings judgment, pruning away their sins and causing those to cease from iniquity who are ailing without repentance; therefore the fifty-fourth Psalm says: “Men of blood and deceit shall not halve their days.” And again: “Take me not away in the midst of my days.” ^C That which is rendered: “You have taken away all their male offspring,” Symmachus translated: “all their memory.” But Aquila and Theodotion: “all their monument.”

VERS. 15. “Add evils to them, O Lord.” The prophet changed the form of prediction into an optative one, and predicts the destruction of those who persecute the pious. [16, 17] “O Lord, in tribulation we have remembered Thee.” Having shown the misery of the persecutors, he furthermore shows the benefit of those who sustain persecution. “For tribulation,” according to the blessed Paul, “works patience; and patience, probation; and probation, hope; and hope does not put to shame.”

VERS. 18. “For Thy fear, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb.” For because they likened themselves to a woman in labor ^D

and probation, and hope, and because they were not able to bring forth salvation, they, as it were, labored in vain. For truly, the prophet says, we have not produced on Earth any fruit of salvation, which You have made, that is, which You have granted on the Earth. For the Spirit did not create salvation on the Earth, but through the Spirit, He worked salvation. ^A “We shall not fall, but the inhabitants of the Earth shall fall.” Those who mind earthly things persist, trusting in fleeting things: but we await the resurrection of the dead.

VER. 19. “For the dew, which is from Thee, is healing to them.” For just as rain gives life to the seeds that are cast down and buried as it were, so Your word, like dew, revives the nature of men. ^B “The Earth of the ungodly shall fall.” Their earthly mind is overthrown. Such things, then, the prophet has said, weaving a hymn for the God of the universe. He himself, however, the Lord admonishes those who have believed in Him, even as in storehouses, to abound in the faith of the proclamations, and in the hope of things to come, and to be preserved, and to avoid the destruction impending over other men. And this happened to the region of the Jews. For they behaved insanely against Christ, and against the holy mystagogues, although they had brought forth for those on Earth the Spirit of salvation.

VER. 21. “For behold the Lord brings forth from His holy place ^C wrath upon those who inhabit the Earth.” This we find the Lord to have indicated to the holy apostles: “When you see,” He says, “Jerusalem surrounded by camps, know that its desolation has drawn near.” And again: “Then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains, and let one who is on the housetop not come down to take anything from his house.” He predicts to them the destruction impending over those who resist, that they may escape it.

CHAP. XXVII.

VER. 1. “In that day God shall bring the holy sword.” He calls the avenging word the sword of God. ^D “And the dragon, the crooked serpent, the one fleeing across the sea,” he says, and he calls him the one who worked the first serpent. For he himself has taken flight, having learned of the Savior’s advent, and cried out: “What have I to do with You, Son of God? Have You come to torment us before the time?”

VER. 5. “I am a city strengthened, a city being besieged.”

^A For I am surrounded on all sides by enemies. No security, she says, do I have from the walls.

VER. 5. “Let us make peace with Him.” Let us be reconciled, she says, to the Master, and let us turn aside His indignation against us by a change of life.

VER. 8. “Were you not the one who devised a harsh spirit to destroy them?” You hoped, she says, to consume the city along with its inhabitants; but for this reason, I will deem them worthy of My providence, not looking upon those men’s transgressions because of your blasphemy.

VER. 11. “Women coming from a spectacle.” She calls the cities of the Gentiles women, or the Churches in them, for they contemplate the desolation of Jerusalem; and she exhorts them to flee their incredulity; for they do not wish to understand what is beneficial. For which reason they are also deprived of pardon.

VER. 12. “But you, gather one by one the sons of Israel.” He admonishes the holy apostles. For they, going around the synagogues throughout the inhabited world, announced the word of salvation to the Jews first, and they offered those who were obedient to the divine preaching to the Master.

VER. 15. “They shall blow with the great trumpet.” He calls the saving proclamation a great trumpet. For the sound of the heralds of truth went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. ^B These are they who gathered the wandering sheep.

CHAPTER XXVIII

VER. 5. “In that day the Lord of Sabaoth will be a crown of glory.” Having pointed out the apostolic choir, He points out the Master of these. For this One, He says, having destroyed the crown of insult, will Himself be also a crown of glory to the remnant of His people. For the glory of the believing Jews is greatest, in that Christ was born of them according to the flesh.

VER. 6. “And there shall be left in the spirit of judgment.” For He Himself, having forbidden all to be slain, preserved some, providing all things as God, and judging justly. And that which says, “In the spirit of judgment upon judgment,” ^C has this meaning: And then, He says, He decided to save them, and again He reserves them for another judgment.

VER. 11. “Because of the derision of the lips of another tongue.” He calls the parabolic and tropical doctrine of the prophets a foreign tongue; ^D but by derision,

he means their scornful treatment by the impious. ^A

VERS. 13. “And it shall be the word of God, affliction upon affliction.” Since they did not wish to receive fruit from the divine oracles, they shall receive affliction and the expectation of continuous evils, and the experience of the hardships they expect.

VERS. 15. “Because you said, We have made a covenant with hell.” These are the words of men who are raging and rushing against the very judgment of God.

VERS. 16. “Behold, I will cast into the foundations of Sion a precious stone.” I think this is an adaptation of the prophecy of Ezechias. For the divine oracles forbid trusting in man, saying, ^B “Trust not in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.” And, “Cursed is the man who puts his hope in men.” And, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in men.” Here, however, the prophetic word praises those who trust in this stone. The corner-stone is our Master Christ, who made both one, bringing together those from the Gentiles and those from Israel within himself, and manifesting one people. And he is called a foundation; for, he says, no one can lay another foundation besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ^C

VERS. 19. “Morning by morning it shall pass over you.” By “morning, morning,” he indicates speed; he predicts evils that will be brought upon you by night and by day.

VERS. 21. “He will perform his work with fury.” He shows that they will acknowledge their own weakness after the test, and teach the cause of that weakness. For that impiety brought it about. “But his fury is used strangely.” No longer will He care for you as for His own people, but He will act toward them as if He were altogether ignorant of them, and as if He were exerting His fury upon you. ^D

VERS. 22. “And let not your bonds be strengthened.” He has called audacity “bonds.” He warns them not to exult, nor to trust in their own strength. For what I have predicted, I have heard from the God of all. And the divine word does not lie.

VERS. 26. “And you shall be disciplined by the judgment of God.” You, he says, shall be disciplined as a father, not punished as a judge.

of all. And the divine word does not lie. ^A VERS. 27. “With a rod shall the fennel-flower be shaken out.” You, he says, I beat with a rod like fennel-flower and cumin; but the Assyrians, like spelt and barley, I shall grind small with the saw of a wagon.

CHAPTER XXIX

VERS. 1. “Woe to the city Ariel!” Ariel is called Areopolis; and it is a notable city of the Moabites.

VERS. 11. “And all these words shall be to you as the words of this sealed book.” For long ago, neither the Jews were able to understand the predictions concerning the Lord, as they were hidden and, as it were, locked within seals; nor did the nations, not knowing the prophetic scriptures. After the Lord's advent, however, the seals being removed (for events bear witness to the words), both very many of the Jews attained an understanding of the predictions, and the nations learned the scriptures of piety, and they read the book which remains sealed to the unbelieving Jews.

VERS. 14. “I shall add to transfer this people.” For I shall not only lead them away into Babylon, says he, but I shall disperse them into the whole world.

VERS. 15. “And I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise.” For all the wisdom of the Pharisees and Scribes is foolishness; for their wisdom, which seemed to be such, was full of folly.

VERS. 16. “Are you not to be reckoned as the clay of the potter?” For just as a potter is able to destroy what has already been formed, but has not yet been committed to the fire, and to form others again in their place, so I shall indeed cast you out, ^C and I shall take up the nations, and I shall transfer the spiritual grace which blooms in you to the whole nature of men. For the following things reveal this.

VERS. 17. “And Lebanon shall be transferred.” He calls the nations Lebanon because of their previous impiety (and the mountain itself did not belong to the Jews, but to the nations). And by Chermel, he means Carmel; which is a fertile and fruit-abounding mountain, situated in the region of Israel. Figuratively, therefore, he teaches the exchange of the Jews and the nations. For he says, the fruitfulness of Carmel shall be given to Lebanon, that is, to the nations; that is, the Jews shall be a fruitless forest. And we see the truth of the prophecy; for both in their multitude and in their sterility, they resemble a forest. ^D

VERS. 18. “And the deaf shall hear the words of the book.” They who do not know the Scriptures, they who have believed from among the nations, they who were in darkness and they who were in the mist; the eyes of the blind shall see.

tem oculis cernimus. Nam et multitudine et sterilitate sua saltui similes sunt. VERS. 18. Et audient surdi verba libri. Qui Litteras nesciunt, qui ex gentibus crediderunt, qui pro- ^A pheticum characterem discernere non possunt, hi sermones istos promptis animis exaudient.

VERS. 19. *Oculi cæcorum videbunt.* Truly blind were they who sat in mist and darkness, beholding the creation but ignorant of its Creator. Yet even they, he says, shall see the light of truth. He calls the same people "needy," since they lacked the riches of the all-holy Spirit. *And desperate men shall be filled with joy.* For though rejected by the Jews, they have obtained salvation beyond all hope.

VERS. 22. *Therefore thus says the Lord.* Having prophesied the salvation of the Gentiles, he now foretells the punishment of those Jews who have not believed.

VERS. 24. *And stammering tongues shall learn to speak peace.* For in place of blasphemy, they offer praises and hymns.

CAP. XXX

VERS. 6. *Vision of quadrupeds in the desert.* He calls Jerusalem "the desert." For it was indeed desert at that time, having been utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. He calls those "quadrupeds" who are alienated from the use of reason and fail to acknowledge their Benefactor and Creator. *For man, when he was in honor, did not understand: he was compared to the senseless cattle, and became like them.* The prophet, however, alluding to their great wickedness, compares them not to beasts of burden, but to venomous wild beasts. For by the lion and the whelp ^B he indicated their ferocity; by the asps, their malice and bitterness. He teaches also how they transported all those things that had escaped the hands of the Babylonians into Egypt by means of beasts of burden, and he predicts that no benefit would accrue to them from that. The prophet is ordered to testify that what they are doing is foolish, and provides no consolation.

VERS. 8. *Sit, scribe these things upon a tablet.* The prophecy attained its fulfillment after one hundred and forty years; for exactly that many years will be found from the first year of the reign of Hezekiah until the flight into Egypt, which followed the capture of Jerusalem.

VERS. 12. *Therefore, thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.* He compares the hope placed in the Egyptians to a broken wall and a captured city, and to this similitude he added another. For he says the city to which these things happen is like an earthen vessel being smashed, and so ground down that even the remnants of the vessel remain entirely useless due to their smallness.

VERS. 15. *Your strength has become vain.* The manner of repentance is not only to grieve for sins, but also

tque ita comminuto, ut prorsus inutilia ob parvitatem ipsa vasis fragmenta remaneant. VERS. 15. Vana facta est fortitudo vestra. Pœnitentiæ modus est, non solum dolere de peccatis, but to turn away from them, and travel in the opposite direction. For the divine Word has declared this, saying:

*VERS. 17. Until you be left as a mast upon the mountain.* What it says is this: Many trees are not so remarkable on the mountains; but if a pine or a cypress should be left on the mountain top, it is remarkable to those passing by. So, says he, you also, a few left from many myriads, will be a remarkable indication of your calamities.

*VERS. 19. And Jerusalem has wept in weeping, have mercy.* Once again the prophet uses personification, pouring forth supplication himself. But he has also brought back the reply: "Pity will pity you."

*VERS. 20. For your eyes will see those who deceived you.* For since you could not bear satiety, but drew upon yourselves harm and disease from it, the Physician will use contrary remedies. By these words he points out ^B the false prophets, the false rulers, and the impious.

*VERS. 22. And you will defile the silver-plated idols.* These things occurred clearly after the incarnation of our Savior, when not only the Jews, but the nations everywhere in the world, having believed, caused those idols that were once worshipped as gods to be broken in pieces and detested. *And you shall sift them like flowing water.* That is, you shall reject this defiled and unclean leadership like some foul-smelling dung and vile ^C filth.

*VERS. 26. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun.* He shows how great the future return of their happiness shall be. For they had not a manifold light from the elements; but those who were in sorrow seemed to see for themselves a much brighter light. These things, he says, shall be after the destruction of Babylon.

*VERS. 27. Behold the name of the Lord comes after a long time.* Because the miracle of it being brought by human hands was great, but the same thing had already happened to the Egyptians, who were all drowned in the sea; and a long time intervened—both those [events] which happened under great Moses, and those which occurred under King Hezekiah; therefore he deservedly said: “Behold, the name of the Lord comes after a long time.” He called the name glory, and [the event] radiance from the miracle.

*VERS. 29. Do you always need to rejoice?* Since you have survived the ten tribes, through the allowance of His impiety, you expected to destroy the city ^D that had been consecrated to me; and that such weakness from me, and such power from you yourselves...

you attributed, so that you might begin the siege with flutes and choruses. But the vanity of your hope has been made manifest. ^B

VERS. 30. *And the Lord shall make the glory of His voice to be heard.* All shall praise Him, because He punishes the Assyrian. He calls the army of the Assyrians "water." He says that these also have been deceived, since they trusted that they would be superior to the God of all.

VERS. 31. *Through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrians be beaten down by the stroke.* He shows the ease of the punishment. It would have been easy, he says, both to deliver them to flames, and to bring down thunderbolts and lightning, and to shower down hailstones; but showing the greatness of His power, by a word alone I work destruction. The word is sufficient for me for punishment, and the deed shall confirm the word.

VERS. 32. *They themselves with timbrels and harps.* When the inhabitants of the subject cities heard of the total destruction of the Assyrians, they celebrated public festivals, and meeting the fugitives, they slew the majority of them.

CHAPTER XXXI

VERS. 1. *Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help!* They deemed the cavalry, he says, stronger than the help of God, because they had learned that the Egyptians were well-supplied with horses and chariots; and whereas they ought to have trusted in God, they placed their confidence in the Egyptians and the strength of the horses. On this account He threatened the punishment; and the prophecy shall certainly come to pass, for the decree of truth is not fallacious. And He will punish not only them, but also the Egyptians in whom they had placed their hope. ^C

VERS. 3. *But the Lord shall bring His hand upon them.* He calls the Babylonians the hand of God. For these, having undertaken an expedition against the Egyptians, at the same time killed also the Jews who had fled to them.

VERS. 5. *As birds flying, so shall the Lord protect.* For just as birds fight for their own nestlings, so will I care for this city. Yet He employed this image ^D not regarding power, but regarding affection. For birds indeed wish to defend their nestlings, but they are not able; but God both wishes and is able. For the things that follow also teach this. He shows, moreover, by the word "protect," fatherly affection; by "deliver," great humanity; by "preserve," kind attention; by "pass over," victory over enemies; and by "save," inexplicable power.

VERS. 8. *And he shall flee not from the face of the sword.* For I shall use neither men nor instrumental arms against him, but I shall strike him with an invisible plague.

^A He calls Hezekiah’s faith a rock; for he wrapped him in inescapable evils.

CHAPTER XXXII

VERS. 2. *And a man shall be hiding his words.* The context of the holy Gospels bears witness to this. For He spoke in parables to the crowds, but at home He interpreted the parables to the apostles.

VERS. 6. *And to make thirsty souls empty.* It is the property of foolish teachers to deceive their disciples and to consume with famine those who are in need of divine food.

VERS. 8. *And this counsel shall endure.* For the fruits of piety are stable; but those of impiety ^B are like the chaff which the wind casts away from the face of the earth.

VERS. 9. *Women, ye who are wealthy, arise.* By women he calls those cities which he also named daughters; not as though they are this now, but as being destined to be so through faith. For this reason he added: *In hope.*

VERS. 11. *Be amazed, be pained, O ye who are confident.* Since you do not lament the transgression, mourn the punishments inflicted upon you on account of it.

VERS. 13. *Thorn and grass shall spring up.* These things also are indicative of desolation.

VERS. 14. *They shall forsake the wealth of the city.* ^C For seeing the enemies, they will prefer flight above all else.

VERS. 15. *Until the spirit comes upon you from on high.* The Word has indicated the grace which visited us from heaven after the ascension of our God and Savior. For after that gift, the formerly desert-like—that is, the Gentiles—having received the prophetic plow, obtained the fertility of Carmel. And he named Carmel, tropically, the grace which formerly blossomed among the Jews. But the Jews, who once flourished in prophets, and in righteous men, and in priests, have imitated the barrenness of the thickets. *And Carmel shall be a desert.* He indicates the future devastation of the places. For Carmel is a mountain of Samaria.

VERS. 16. *And judgment shall rest in the desert.* That is, among the nations. *And justice shall dwell in Carmel.* Among the same. ^D For he called the desert Carmel.

VERS. 17. *And the works of justice shall be peace.* For he who follows the divine commandments is at peace with God. *And justice shall possess rest.* For the fruit of justice and of peace with God is the removal of present evils, and a life free from pain, and liberated from cares. *And they shall be confident even unto*

^A aion. For firm is the constancy of those who have believed in God.

VERS. 18. *His people shall dwell in a city of peace.* He calls the city of peace that which is in the heavens. "For the Jerusalem which is above," he says, "is free, which is mother of us all." And by cities of security, he denotes the diverse mansions: "For there are," he says, "many mansions in my Father's house." They possess also riches that cannot be plundered; "For lay up for yourselves treasures," he says, "where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break through and steal."

VERS. 19. *But if hail should descend, it shall not come upon you.* Even in the present life, you shall become superior to those who war against you through my aid.

VERS. 20. *Blessed are they who sow upon every water, where the ox and the ass tread.* The discourse has alluded to the one Church, collected from the Gentiles and the Jews. For the ass is unclean according to the law; and such were all the nations before the advent of our Savior. But the ox is clean according to the law; and therefore it was offered both for the people and for the priest. He calls, then, the ass ^B those who have believed from among the Gentiles, and the ox those who have believed from among the Jews. And by "water," the most holy baptism, by which is obtained the remission of sins and the purgation of souls. And by "seed," the teaching word.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

VERS. 4. *But now your spoils shall be gathered.* He shows the great ease of the apostolic preaching. For just as it is easy, he says, to gather locusts, so shall they gather those who had become spoils of the devil, and shall bring them to the Savior.

VERS. 5. ^C *Holy is God, who dwells in the highest.* He calls those "highest" who are lofty in mind; for God has made these His divine habitation. Whence also the divine Paul said: "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?" *Sion is filled with judgment and justice.* He calls the churches spread throughout the world "Sion," as we have often shown.

VERS. 6. *In the treasures is our salvation.* For in hope are stored up the good things for the saints.

VERS. 7. *In your fear they themselves shall fear.* For those who of old persecuted the Church, both Jews and Gentiles, now fear and shudder at her; and the demons, who were once a terror to men, now ^D fear the nurslings of piety.

^A VERSE 11. *Now you shall see.* For I who was of old unknown to most, shall be made known through the apostolic miracles; and men, having been delivered from error, shall recognize me as the Maker of all things. *Now you shall be confounded.* He addresses the Jews who crucified him and remained in their unbelief. *Fire shall devour you, eternal and unquenchable.*

VERSE 12. *As a thorn cast in a field.* Those who have not accepted the saving preaching.

VERSE 14. *Who shall announce to you that the fire is burning?* He teaches the virtue of those who proclaim these things.

VERSE 15. *He who walks in justice, who speaks a straight path.* That is, he who walks the divine path, preaching those things which he has learned from the Truth.

VERSE 17. *You shall see the King with glory.* He means the Heavenly One, coming upon the clouds of heaven, and sitting upon the throne of glory, and the voice of the Lord himself. And he calls the land of the meek "the land."

VERSE 18. *Your soul shall meditate on fear.* For the fear of God is the helper of virtue and the bestower of good things.

VERSE 20. *Jerusalem, a rich city.* He calls the Church of God a rich city, thereby showing its spiritual riches. The Apostle also confirms the prophecy, saying thus: *In everything you were enriched in him* (1 Cor. 1, 5). *Tabernacles which shall not be shaken.* He calls this same Church a tabernacle. And I consider the divine apostles and the triumphant martyrs to be called the stakes of the tabernacle. ^B For just as the stakes of tents, fixed in the earth, provide stability for the tents, so they, having received the end of life and having their bodies buried in the earth, support the divine Churches. And the cords, which extend from the stakes to the tabernacles, are likened to their saving teachings, through which the faith of those who have chosen to embrace piety remains unshaken.

VERSE 21. *Rivers and canals, broad and spacious.* The rivers are the first heralds of the Church; the canals, however, are their disciples and successors, who derive the sacred streams from them and irrigate the divine garden.

VERSE 22. *The Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king.* We have received from him every supply of good things. For this reason, we welcome his rule and his kingdom with joy.

^A Ver. 23. *Your mast has bowed.* On account of this same disbelief of yours, he says, your mast has also bowed. However, I bear with it, and even under the very madness of the cross, I do not inflict the punishment. Yet, not even this patience will persuade you to receive the sign of salvation, until you are delivered up to the servitude of the Romans. *Many lame [men] shall make a spoil.* He called the Romans "lame," on account of the impiety which they held when they were besieging this [city].

CHAPTER XXXIV

^B Ver. 4. *And all the powers of the heavens shall melt.* The Lord likewise says in the Gospels that "The powers of the heavens shall be shaken." And blessed David [says] of heaven and earth: "They, he says, shall perish, but thou shalt remain."

Ver. 5. *My sword is made drunk in heaven.* I think that here, figuratively, Jerusalem is named heaven. For just as heaven is thought to be the dwelling-place of God, so also is the temple in Jerusalem. Since, therefore, the Jews anticipated the plague of the Idumeans and the victory of the Babylonians, he predicts the miseries that were to befall them.

Ver. 6. *The sword of the Lord is filled with blood.* He calls the princes "goats, and bulls, and rams," but the subjects "lambs"; and "the sword of God," the enemies. Moreover, the phrases, *is filled with blood*, and *made fat with fatness*, denote the multitude of the slain. He calls their slaughter the "sacrifice of the Lord," as it was just and brought about according to divine judgment.

^C Ver. 11. *And a line of the geometry of the desert shall be cast upon it.* The measure signifies the justice of the punishment. "For with what measure," he says, "ye mete, it shall be measured to you." *And onocentauri shall dwell in it.* And we have already warned that the prophetic word adapts itself to human custom and calls the demons by those names which are in use among men. He therefore calls them onocentauri, which by some are called onoscelides.

Ver. 15. *The hedgehog has nested there.* All the things he has said display a great desolation. For thus, he says, it will be deprived of inhabitants, so that hedgehogs may give birth without fear, and their offspring may be out of danger, and the demons themselves, who are accustomed to transform themselves into many shapes, may have free leisure and time to converse with one another. *There the deer have met.* These things likewise display the desolation of the inhabitants. For the wild animals feed without fear, since there are no hunters. ^D

CHAPTER XXXV.

^A VERS. 1. *Let the desert, which is thirsty, rejoice.* He calls it thirsty because it had not received prophetic irrigation; and a desert, because it had not received divine cultivation. He bids it rejoice, and to imitate the flower of the lily, the purity, that is, which the Holy Spirit produces in baptism.

VERS. 2. *And my people shall see the glory of the Lord.* Those who have believed see the glory of the Lord in this present life, and they shall behold it more manifestly at the second coming.

VERS. 4. *Be strengthened, fear not.* The divine word strengthens those who had formerly been overcome and were serving the devil, and encourages them not to fear his tyranny.

VERS. 5. *Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.* The Savior brought this same healing to bodies, and he continually brings it to souls; and as the world was blind, he made it see; as it was limping, he caused it to hasten to him; and as it refused to hear the divine oracles, he persuaded it to run to them.

VERS. 6. *Water has broken forth in the desert.* For the preaching of the doctrine has filled the whole world.

VERS. 7. *There is the joy of birds.* It shall be a dwelling not for ravens and other carnivorous creatures, but for those that have a winged and sublime understanding, and possess a high-minded resolve. By these, he has indicated the teachers, who charm the ears of those being taught.

^B VERS. 8. *An unclean person shall not pass through there.* He calls the worshippers of idols "unclean." The divine assembly, he says, is separated from these. By the "lion," I believe he means the devil. *For your adversary,* he says, *the devil, wanders around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.* By "beasts," he means the demons who are under his command, from whom the divine prophecy says the assembled Church has been delivered.

VERS. 10. *And they shall come into Zion with joy.* He means the heavenly Zion. *For you have approached,* he says, *Mount Zion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.* He says that those who have been redeemed shall come to this city, joyful and rejoicing. For that life is without sadness, and free from cares, admitting no turbulence, but keeping a perpetual feast and celebration.

^C

CHAPTER XXXVI.

VERS. 5. *Is there a battle in counsel and in the words of lips?* Make the cause of the boldness plain to us!

^A For there is no need now of counsel, but of conflict; it is not the time for words, but for deeds; not for an embassy, but for a battle array. But perhaps you trust in the help of the Egyptians? They are like a reed, and that, too, a broken one, which not only does not support those who lean upon it, but also wounds their hand. *And now on whom do you rely, that you disobey me?* Using malice and craftiness, he did not immediately break out into blasphemy, but began an accusation against the pious king, which was not displeasing to the most of his subjects. For many previously desired to sacrifice freely, and discovered their inclination both in the time of Ahaz and of Manasseh and of the others who adopted the error of those before them. Yet it must be noted that Rabshakeh does not mention the destruction of idols, but of the altars which had been consecrated to God in the high places; for I believe that these which are called high places were dedicated to God. For before the building of the temple, in Gibeon, and in Mizpah, and in many other places, they offered sacrifices to God. But after the building, those who lived according to the law could not be led to sacrifice outside the divine temple. Yet the brutish men, and those who went beyond the divine law, offered victims in the high places, not to idols, I suppose, but to God. And the history of the Books of Kings and the Chronicles makes this clear to us. For those who wrote those accounts, while praising Asa and Jehoshaphat, said among other things: *And Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord his God; and he removed the foreign altars and the high places, and smashed the pillars, and cut down the groves;* yet the people still sacrificed ^B in the high places. For they were destroying the places of idols, but leaving those dedicated to God in their form; only Hezekiah and Josiah also prohibited this transgression. Rabshakeh considered this praiseworthy zeal of Hezekiah to be worthy of accusation; and he urges them not to trust in God, saying that He is indignant that the altars dedicated to Him have been pulled up from their foundations, and His worship restricted to the only temple dedicated to Him.

VERS. 10. *Have we come up without the Lord against this land?* It is clear that this thrice-wretched man was an Amorite, and knowing that God often, when He exacted penalties from them for their impiety, delivered them to foreign nations, he used this sort of speech. Therefore, it is one of two things: either he ^C had deserted and joined them, or he had been led away captive when they destroyed the ten tribes and enslaved them.

VERS. 13. *And Rabshakeh stood, and cried out with a loud voice in Jewish.* Neither did this man set a limit to his madness, nor did the Lord God set a limit to His patience; for the one, when he could not strike, was lashing out; but He who is able to do all things...

^A was bearing it. It is evident, however, that Rabshakeh intended to wage war against others; for this is why he said: "Until I come and take you."

CHAPTER XXXVII

VERS. 1. And he went up into the house of the Lord. He ran to the Creator of all things, who was being attacked together with him. Not being ignorant of the measures of virtue, he does not only pray to the God of the universe, but he also calls upon the prophet Isaiah for assistance, and implores him to become his envoy.

VERS. 3. Thus says Hezekiah. From this one may learn the difference of the wording. For Rabshakeh used to say: "Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians." But these men, revealing and demonstrating the modesty of the one who sent them, ^B do not even call him king, but mention only his name.

VERS. 4. To reproach the living God. He calls the other’s blasphemy a reproach. For we ourselves are guilty of blasphemy when we live lawlessly, and show ourselves worthy of punishment. Yet we are indeed angered by the atrocity of the blasphemy, and we desire to punish the wicked man; but we are not able to carry out what is in our mind. We are like a woman in labor, who endures the onset of pain, but on account of the weakness of her strength is unable to give birth. ^C These things therefore also reveal the virtue of the king. For he begs God to assist him, not for the sake of his own virtue, of which he was most studious, but on account of the maddened blasphemy of that ungodly one. For he says that he has heaped insult upon the true God, just as if He were one of those who are not. Because he had subdued the ten tribes and had taken many cities of Judea, he rightfully calls those who had fled to Jerusalem a remnant. These things Hezekiah signified; but those who had been sent informed the prophet. ^D But the God of the prophet anticipated the prayer of the prophet and became attentive to him, according to that which was said: "While you are yet speaking, I will say, Behold, I am here."

VERS. 6. Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard. I have shared in the insult with you; I will share in the battle with you; I have endured the blasphemy; I will exact the punishment.

VERS. 7. I will send a spirit upon him. By "spirit" he signifies fear. For so also the divine Apostle says: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear." And the following things also show this. For they relate that when he had received a certain bitter message, he returned to his own country and there paid the penalty.

VERS. 8. And Rabshakeh returned. According to the divine prediction he withdrew, but he did not cease from his madness.

^A for he says that the craftsman, having chosen the wood, first subjects what is called his god to the measure—but the true God is not circumscribed by a measure—and next fashions it with the tools of his craft. Yet it is proper to God to be without form and figure. *And he made it like the form of a man, and like the beauty of a human, to set it in a house.* He says it mimics, not divine, but human characters, and in imprinting a human image, he worships his own image as a god.

Next, he teaches how the Creator gave the forests and sacred groves in the mountains to men, so that they might provide fuel for the fire and thereby supply the needs of the body, yet they, taking oak or pine—which indeed the God of all planted, and which He nurtured by the provision of rain so that men might abundantly enjoy bodily goods—create gods from them. And teaching the magnitude of their folly, he added: *And taking from it, he warmed himself; and having kindled it, they baked loaves upon them, and the rest they worked up and made into gods, and they worship them.*

Know that their heart is ash, and they are led astray, and no one is able to rescue his own soul. For folly has taken hold of them, and having corrupted their reason, they serve irrationality. *For this reason I will give my Spirit upon thy seed,* so that they might be delivered from the error; for it is not possible for them to attain to the truth in any other way. *See, will ye not say that there is a lie in my right hand?* The rest connect this with what precedes: "That no one is able to rescue his own soul, nor say: Is there not a lie in my right hand?" ^B Regarding those who have been led astray, he said that they do not perceive the lie they hold. And according to the Seventy, this, taken as from the person of God, is to be understood thus: Does he say, are my things like those of the whetstone? Has a man fashioned me? A phantom? Have I been fashioned from stones or wood or gold or silver? Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel, for thou art my servant; I fashioned thee as my servant, thou art mine; and do not forget me, O Israel. Behold the difference between the Existent and these idols, behold their weakness and my power, consider my manifold benefits, do not forget the good things thou hast enjoyed.

He calls them mythologists, for they are accustomed to speak parabolically. But yet even they did not know the path of wisdom; for they continued to serve impiety.

VERS. 24, 25. Israel, ^C how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession! It is great, and has no end, lofty and immeasurable. Do not think, he says, that this, which Solomon built, is the temple of God; for the temple of God is most great, and immeasurable, and moreover also imperishable; for it has no end. Then, having mentioned the giants, who became famous for the size of their bodies, he added:

VERS. 27, 28. Neither did God choose these, nor give them a path of knowledge. And they perished because of their lack of counsel.

However, he recounts these things, wishing to show that He preferred them [the Jews] to all nations, and to them alone gave a written law, and appointed prophets, and deemed them worthy of every care, though later He did indeed ^D come to them having become man; he indicates this by teaching in the following:

VERS. 29. Who ascended into heaven, and took it, and brought it down from the clouds? That is, wisdom.

VERS. 30. Who crossed over the sea and found it, and shall bring it with pure gold? It is not, he says, for sale, nor simply laid out for merchants.

VERS. 31. There is no one who knows the path of it, nor one who considers the track of it. It exceeds, he says, human reasoning.

VERS. 32. But He who knows all things knows it, and found it by His own understanding. He used the word "found" in a human way; for He called Him the fountain of wisdom, and in the preamble of this prophecy, He named Him the fountain of life itself. In the following, He demonstrates the omnipotence of God's creation. *Who prepared the earth for time,* [meaning eternity], *and filled it with four-footed beasts.* He calls the present life of men an age, but the future, the age of ages.

VERS. 33–35. Who sends forth light, and it proceeds; He called it, and it obeyed Him with trembling. And the stars shone in their watches, and they rejoiced. He called them, and they said: Here we are; they shone with joy to Him who made them. Everything, he says, yields to the Creator; each of those things which have been generated guards its own boundaries.

^A He calls the multitudes "waters," and "a bridge," both the strength and the devices and the methods of victory.

VER. 27. *I have remitted my hands and they have withered.* They flourished, he says, for as long as I wished; afterwards, I deprived them of my care, and they lost their former bloom. He calls them "grass" and "hay" on account of their sterility.

VER. 29. *I will put a bridle in your nose.* He treats as one devoid of reason him who had corrupted the power of reason. *For with a bridle and a muzzle you will tighten their jaws, those who do not draw near to you* (Ps. XXXI, 9). He showed, moreover, that he possesses a servile nature. For since masters place leather muzzles on their servants, he ^B rightly threatened to place the muzzle upon him as upon a wicked servant.

VER. 30. *And this shall be a sign to you.* Because those besieged could not farm the land, God gave them fruits that grew spontaneously, and in the second year likewise, due to the scarcity, as it seems, of seeds and cattle; then, for the third year, he promised them an abundance of all kinds of fruits.

VER. 32. *Those being saved from Mount Sion.* For there the salvation of the world blossomed, and their remnant, that is to say the divine apostles, turned the world to the knowledge of God. Of all these things, the cause is the God of all. *The zeal of the Lord of Sabaoth has done these things.* That is to say, I will preserve their race for a very long time. For, having been moved by righteous anger on account of the reproach of Jerusalem and on account of the blasphemy, he will provide salvation. ^C

VER. 35. *For my sake, and for the sake of David my servant.* This is an accusation against those inhabiting the city. For my sake, he said, and for the sake of David my servant, I will take care of the city, on account of my goodness and on account of his memory. For he was the founder of the city and my genuine servant. It must be asked, however, for what reason he remembered not Hezekiah, but David? I indeed believe that, in order to restrain his pride, he did not attribute the cause of salvation to him, but to David. For if, even when these things were spoken in this way, history testifies that the heart of King Hezekiah was lifted up afterwards, what would not have happened to him had he been called the author of salvation? For this reason, he did not even call Isaiah, although he was a prophet, and a most noble prophet, a sufficient ^D ally of the city; but leaving aside the living for the sake of virtue, he makes mention of the dead, and teaches that the memory of the just flourishes eternally with him.

VER. 36. *They found all the bodies dead.* Yet some did escape—they did not, however, overcome the angelic...

right hand, but were made sufficient heralds of the events that had occurred, and proclaimed the power of the God of the Hebrews.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

VERS. 9, 10. *The prayer of King Hezekiah.* "I said in the height of my days." When I was exalted, and became notable, then I receive the end of life; and having received from God the sentence of death, I despaired of salvation. And no longer, he says, shall I see in this life the miracles performed by God for the salvation of men. For I became a stranger to the living, and an alien to my kinsmen; and I was like not only a tent, but also to a web that is on the loom, and is soon cut down.

VERS. 14. *As a swallow, so will I cry.* Since I have enjoyed the hope of salvation, I will imitate the chattering of the swallow and the dove, weaving hymns for you, the Giver of life. For, abandoning all human craft, I lifted my eyes to you, who dwell in heaven. ^B But you had pity on me, delivering me from the looming pain; for this I offered my supplication, and you brought back my soul, which was about to be extinguished.

VERS. 17. *For you have loved my soul, that it should not perish.* Not that I was worthy of these things; for I was full of many sins. But these things came to me through your mercy and your love for mankind. When he was sick, he showed his own piety to God; having attained salvation, he praises the love of God for mankind, as he was delivered from death through it. "You have cast away my iniquity," he says, "and have given me again an opportunity for the acquisition of righteousness." For to those who are still alive, this is easy to do; for the dead have become outside of the market. ^C

VERS. 19. *For from this day I will make children.* He also predicts that he will be the father of children, with divine grace clearly cooperating with him.

CHAPTER XXXIX

VERS 1. *And Isaiah said to Hezekiah.* This discourse teaches us that the medical art is not to be rejected; for this, too, is a gift of God. But it is fitting not to trust in the art, but in Him who gave it. For it is able to do only as much as He wills. And often with small remedies it heals great wounds; ^D and often it is defeated by great ones, so that we should not trust in the art, but in Him who gave it.

^A "Ask me regarding my sons and my daughters, and concerning the works of my hands, give me commandment." He has set these words in irony. Since, he says, you are busybodying yourselves with my providence, give me counsel, bring forward a suggestion concerning the freedom of my people. And he called Israel "sons and daughters." Then, through creation, he shows his own wisdom and power: "I made the earth and man upon it, I by my hand established the heaven, I commanded all the stars to shine." Behold the beauty of the things seen, the position, the order, the variety; I am the creator of all these. But let us understand the "hand" in a way worthy of God, not as a bodily limb, but as the divine energy. "I raised him up with righteousness as a king, and all his ways are straight; he shall build my city and turn back the captivity of my people, not for ransoms nor for gifts, said the Lord of Hosts." The Three translated these things thus: "I raised him up in righteousness and will make straight all his ways." ^B It is fitting not to trust in prosperity, but also to await change. Since, therefore, he says, no one of men brings him consolation, do thou, O Lord, who lookest upon her acting miserably in her suffering, have mercy. He laments vehemently that the enemies dared to enter the secrets of the temple, saying:

VERS. 10. "He stretched out his hand, who afflicted, to all her desirable things." For he saw nations having entered into her sanctuary, concerning which You commanded not to enter into Your church. Indeed, into the Holy of Holies it was permitted only for the high priest to enter, and this, moreover, but once a year; into the holy places in front of this, the priests alone entered; into the inner court, the Levites also; but into the outer, both those of the race of Israel and the circumcised proselytes. For the law prohibited even any uncircumcised person from entering into it; it especially forbade the Moabites and Ammonites from entering: "For an Ammonite and a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord even unto the age." The Lamentation remembers this law. Next, he recites the evils which happened through the famine.

VERS. 11. "All her people are groaning, seeking bread; they gave her desirable things for food, to recreate the soul." In this place he calls the infants "desirable things." For they tasted even of human flesh in the hunger. He implores, nevertheless, the divine philanthropy: "See, O Lord, and look, because I have become despised." [12] Then he admonishes those passing by her to behold the incomparable pain of her. This, he says, the Lord brought upon me, having spoken in me. That is, He merely commanded, and the evils were inflicted upon me. But the word, "He gathered the vintage of me," the Syrian translated as, "He touched me." He relates also the plague divinely brought upon her.

VERS. 13. "From His height He sent fire into my bones, and led it down upon me." For He Himself allowed the enemies to besiege, and to plunder, and to burn the city. "He spread a net for my feet, He turned me back; He gave me over desolate, grieving the whole day." He calls the inescapability of the evils a "net"; for even those who fled were captured. He shows also the justice of the punishment.

VERS. 14. "He watched over my impieties, and with His hands He entangled me." Instead of, "He shackled me and handed me over to the enemies." "He weighed down His yoke upon my neck." For He forced me to serve the most cruel Babylonians bitterly. "And my strength failed, because the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I could not withstand."

^A Ver. 12. "Who has measured the water with his hand?" God is indeed incorporeal, without figure, simple, and uncompounded. But because we are human, we cannot grasp divine things otherwise than through human categories, so the prophetic word teaches us that while God, the God of all, is Himself incomprehensible and uncircumscribed, He nevertheless encompasses all creation in the hollow of His hand—the "hand" here being understood as a sign of some form of action—so that He measures the entire nature of the waters with a cup, and the vastest spaces of the heavens are contained in His palm; and the whole earth differs not at all from a tiny particle of matter, being held by the five fingers of the hand. "Who has established the mountains with a weight, and the valleys with a balance?" By this He means: All things are possible for Him, all things are measurable to Him; and each kind of creation has been made for some purpose. For nothing was brought into existence that is idle or redundant.

Ver. 13. "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" All of us humans stand in need of instruction; for even if one should be very wise, he delegates what must be done to another. But God, the God of all, is an abyss of wisdom and a sea of prudence.

Ver. 18. "To what likeness have you likened Him?" What art can imitate One so infinite, so boundless?

Ver. 21. "Have you not known the foundations of the earth?" By the foundations of the earth, He refers to the uttermost and furthest limits of the earth.

Ver. 22. "Who has established the heaven as a vault." Since the earth resembles a floor, and the heaven imitates a vaulted and domed roof, He rightly compared it to a tent.

Ver. 23. "Who gives rulers as though they ruled for nothing." For in this way He destroyed Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar, and countless others.

Ver. 24. "He breathed upon them, and they withered." He said this concerning those impious rulers whom He stripped of their dominion. For the power of the Creator is not measured by the things created, but by His will alone. "For all things," He says, "whatsoever the Lord willed, He did," ^B not whatsoever...

407 THEODORETUS OF CYRRHUS 408

He could, but whatever he willed. For he could have done much more: but he did ^A what he judged to be meet.

VERS. 25. *Nunc ergo cui assimilastis me?* To him who made these things, to him who continually produces these things, to whom will you compare me? What worship will you offer that is worthy of him?

VERS. 26. *Elevate in excelsum oculos vestros.* See, he says, the sun, the moon, the choir of the stars, the seasons of the year, the changes of the weather, the equal successions of day and night; the adornment of the whole of nature; for this he calls *cosmos*, that is, ^B adornment.

VERS. 27. *Non enim dicas, Jacob, et quid locutus es?* Do not think that I am ignorant of the schemes of your souls, nor deem that you escape my notice when you consider perverse things.

VERS. 29. *Qui dat esurientibus fortitudinem.* The wonderful Anna said this very thing: "The Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles and he exalts," and what follows.

VERS. 31. *Mutabunt fortitudinem.* Which is added to them by God. *Assument alas quasi aquilæ.* A comparison with the heavenly powers, which the Word likens to winged creatures.

CAPUT XLI.

VERS. 1. *Innovamini ad me, insulae.* He calls the Churches islands, as they are tossed by the waves of persecutors and are established upon the rock. He calls the heralds ^C of the truth "princes," who have succeeded one another after the calling. *Tunc judicium annuntient.* He commands the same to bring forth a consonant doctrine and to make known the future judgment to all.

VERS. 2. *Quis suscitavit de oriente justitiam?* Concerning this justice the blessed Paul also said: "There was given to us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption." This justice having arisen and traversed the world, kings were struck with amazement, tyrants were defeated, every kind of torture was exposed, and those who were suffering persecution conquered their persecu- ^D tors, and as if enjoying the highest peace, they completed the course set before them.

VERS. 4. *Quis operatus est, et fecit haec?* Not another, he says, gave the Old Testament, and another ordain the New law. The divine nature is one, existing always in the same way and according to the same things. And this is testified...

^A by the experience of events. For having abandoned the error, men subsequently learned the truth; and those who formerly wandered, having been bathed in the light of the knowledge of God, do not endure to conceal the splendor, but invite all to share in it.

VERS. 7. Sometimes it will say, the joining is good. It means having been freed from the darkness of ignorance. These things, he says, those who have approached the truth say to those who are still held by error, showing them the weakness of idols. Neither can they walk, nor stand, being bound with nails. To these words, “the joining is good,” the three have put, “it is good to glue together,” that is to say, it is well joined, and technically connected.

VERS. 8. But thou, Israel, my servant ^B whom I have chosen. Israel is sometimes celebrated by him with praises, at other times struck with accusation: not doing contrary things, but exhibiting what is suitable. For since some born of Israel believed, and others of Israel crucified him, he deservedly praises some and accuses others.

VERS. 10. With thee I am, do not wander. He confirms the elect, that they may fearlessly preach the Gospel to all nations. Which the Savior himself also manifested in the Gospels, saying: ^C “Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world.”

VERS. 11. And all thine adversaries shall perish. These things strictly and truly befit the holy apostles and the victorious martyrs. For those who fought against them have been affected with shame, and they have vanished, and are now invisible, while their persecutors have become manifest and illustrious defenders of the truth.

VERS. 14. Do not fear, Jacob, little Israel, and what follows. And these things signify most ^D especially that the prophetic word befits those who have believed in the Lord; for a small part of Israel believed, and the greater part did not believe. Therefore the divine Paul was saying: “So too, even now, at this time, a remnant according to the election of grace has come to be.” And again: “The election has obtained it, but the rest were blinded.”

VERS. 15. And thou shalt thresh the mountains, and shalt beat small the hills. For just as a serrated wagon beats small the grain, so you shall beat small all the error that encompasses [the world], and the height of the mountains and of the hills mimicking you, you shall beat small and winnow, and as in some

^A way they cast [them] into a pit, and placed a stone upon it, and submerged them in the water; by all these things he has declared the immense weight of the evils. In this same way the divine David, speaking in their person, said: "Save me, O God, for the waters have entered even unto my soul. I have stuck in the mire of the deep, and there is no standing. I have come into the depths of the sea, and a tempest has overwhelmed me." And again: "Let not a tempest of water drown me, neither let the deep swallow me up: nor let the pit hold its mouth over me." So also here.

VERS. 55, 56. "I have called upon thy name, O Lord, from the lowest pit. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thy ears at my supplication, and at my cry." He teaches also that he has appeased the philanthropic God,

VERS. 57. "Thou didst draw near," he says, "in the day that I called upon thee, and didst say to me, Fear not." Even this brief word suffices for consolation. ^B [58-62] Then he teaches how God, rendering a just judgment concerning them and their enemies, delivered the latter into slavery, but counted the former worthy of liberty. [65-66] Having prayed for the destruction of the impious enemies, he completes the third lamentation.

CHAPTER IV

VERS. 1. "How is the gold darkened, the good silver changed; the holy stones are poured out at the beginning of all the streets?" He compares the piety of the ancestors to these materials, and laments the change that has occurred in their descendants. For this is what is signified by what follows.

VERS. 2. "The sons of Sion, the precious ones, the ones exalted, who were above gold; how have they been reckoned as earthen vessels, the work of the hands of the potter?" The Lord foretold this also through the divine Isaiah: "For they shall be useless, as an earthen vessel broken into bits, in which there is no water to draw, and no fire to take from the hearth."

VERS. 3. "And indeed, dragons have bared their breasts, they have suckled their cubs; the daughter of my people has come into an incurable [state], as the ostrich in the desert." Even the more bitter beasts look after their young; but the magnitude of the affliction caused the inhabitants of Sion to be forgetful even of nature itself, and with most having been slaughtered, and others having been enslaved, a few have remained, resembling an ostrich wandering alone through the desert. He declares also the evils that were produced by the famine.

For I knew that in dealing perfidiously thou wouldst deal perfidiously, and thou shalt be called a transgressor from the womb. Your lawless purpose has not escaped me; for I foreknew your ungrateful disposition, and that immediately upon being delivered from the slavery of the Egyptians, you would forget my benefits and attend to impiety. He calls Egypt the "womb" and the departure from there the "offspring." Yet even knowing these things, I continued to benefit you, since you are called my people. For the following words reveal this: "For the sake of my name I will show you my wrath, and I will bring my glories upon you, so that I may not destroy you." He called the captivity "wrath," and the paradoxical freedom "glories." "Behold, I have sold you not for silver, but I have delivered you from the furnace of poverty." I did not sell you to the Babylonians out of a need for money, but I was exacting payment from you for your lawlessness; yet nevertheless, I will bestow freedom back upon you. For he called the slavery the "furnace of poverty." "I will call them, and they shall stand at once, and they shall all be gathered together, and they shall hear who has announced these things to them." I am the creator of all and the master, and it is very easy for me to call even the lifeless creation and set it beside me. The Lord, loving you, carried out his will upon Babylon to take away the seed of the Chaldeans. Because of his affection for you, he says, I will bring total destruction upon the Babylonians, and I will pluck up their power by the roots. I spoke, and I called; I brought him, and I made his way prosperous. He says these things concerning Cyrus; for this man both dissolved the Babylonian dynasty and released the Jews from slavery. "Draw near to me and hear these things: Not from the beginning in secret have I spoken, nor in a dark place of the earth; when it was happening, there I was." Since you disbelieved the gloomy predictions, at least believe the pleasant prophecies. For unlike the idols, I do not foretell false things in some dark and inaccessible places, but I know them so clearly even before their outcome, as if I were present at the events themselves and beholding each one. And now the Lord has sent me, and his Spirit. ^A relying on the aid of the Egyptians, we were deceived in our hope. Then he shows the cruelty of the enemies; for they did not spare old age, nor did they honor the priesthood.

v. 18. We hunted our little ones, that they should not go into our streets. The Syrian interpreted it, "They hunted," and the saying has consistency; for the enemies hunted the young along with the old. These things, he says, we endured because our time drew near, our days were fulfilled. These things show that the God of all, using a balance and a measure, is both long-suffering and punishes. For when he has used long-suffering and sees them holding him in contempt, he brings the punishment, so that he may put an end to the sin. Then he teaches how the speed of the enemies surpassed the swiftness of the eagles. He also predicts the saving passion of the Christ.

v. 20. The Spirit of our face, Christ the Lord, was captured in our corruptions, to whom we said, In his shadow we shall live among the nations. Let the Jews say, whom does the prophetic saying call Christ? And who among those called christs among them—whether king, or prophet, or priest—has been named "the Lord"? But they would not be able to show this, even though they make use of many lies. It is clear, therefore, that the prophet foretold our Savior and Lord, having been captured by them because of their most corrupt impiety. Yet the prophets say that these men will live in the shadow. They believed, therefore, through the holy apostles, and through their divine oracles being preached to the nations. But let us look ahead to what is said concerning him, the all-holy Spirit enlightening us. "The Spirit," he says, "of our face, Christ the Lord." The prophet inserted this prophecy into the Lamentations, teaching the Jews who were then present that because their hope was not yet born, they would obtain mercy and enjoy being called back, even though they were about to deliver the Savior of the world to the cross.

v. 21. Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Idumea, who dwells in the land of Uz; also to thee the cup of the Lord shall come, and thou shalt drink, and thou shalt be drunken, and thou shalt pour forth. The prophetic saying has predicted for them a great weight of troubles; for this is what "thou shalt be drunken, and thou shalt pour forth" signifies. And the divine David says concerning them: "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who say, Raze it, raze it, even to the foundations thereof." ^B For when

they did not wish to hear the words, he called the remaining crowd blind. "And who is blind, as he who has stopped up his ears?" For they saw the miracles and enjoyed the divine teaching, but they applied neither their ears to the words nor their eyes to the works. ^A

Ver. 21. And He will magnify the praise. He clearly showed the purpose of praise: for the one who offers a hymn reaps the benefit of it.

Ver. 22. For the snare is in the cellars. He calls the error concerning idols a snare. For just as a snare captures the kinds of brute beasts, so does idolatry capture the race of men. "And there was none to rescue." For since they had abandoned my care, they did not enjoy my providence.

Ver. 24. Who gave Jacob and Israel to the spoiler? They suffered these things at the hands of the Babylonians, and later by the Romans, with no one coming to their aid, nor anyone demanding satisfaction for the injustice. For the Legislator, he says, gave them over because they loved iniquity. ^B

Chapter XLIII

Ver. 2. And if you pass through the water. For thus, he says, you crossed both the Red Sea and the river Jordan. "And if you pass through the fire." And the noble martyrs are witnesses—Ananias, Azarias, and Misael—who, having placed their hope in God, prevailed over the flame.

Ver. 4. From the time you became honorable. He recounts the benefits they enjoyed; for, he says, having been loved and chosen by me, you became distinguished and renowned. "And I will give men in return for you." He means the Babylonians, whom he delivered to Cyrus. ^C

Ver. 5. From the east I will bring your seed. These things received their fulfillment after the fall of the Babylonians. For Cyrus ordered them to return to Judea. He summoned the kings according to the climates. For Babylon is to the north of Jerusalem, while Egypt is situated to the south. To these, he says, I will command to bring back my people, and that they should not oppose it.

Ver. 8. And I led out a blind people. He shows both his own providence and convicts their unbelief. For I indeed, he says, deemed them worthy of every care, but they remained blind and deaf. For they neither saw the miracles nor listened to the divine oracles. ^D

Ver. 9. Let them bring their witnesses. He calls the prophets witnesses; for through them he both foretold to them and bore witness. The first of these is the blessed Moses; for to him he said first: "Go down, and bear witness to this people."

^A

VERS. 10. *Be ye my witnesses.* If you wish, he says, to have me as a witness to your verdict, be ye first witnesses of my truth. For when this is done, it will not be I alone who give testimony, but also my elect servant. And he calls him this—neither meaning Moses, nor any other of the prophets, but Christ the Lord. "Before me there was no other God." I gave the Old Testament; I will give the New also. I wrought my miracles in Egypt; I delivered you from the servitude of the Babylonians.

VERS. 11. *I am God, and there shall be none saving beside me.* These words likewise preach one divinity; for that Christ the Lord is also called Savior by the divine Scripture, I believe that even the disciples of Arius and Eunomius would confess. But if there is no Savior beside him, and he is called Savior and Lord, he is undoubtedly of that very nature. But if he is not, as the blasphemers say, then neither is he Savior, as the prophecy speaks. Yet if he is Savior, he is of that same essence to which alone it belongs to save. ^B

VERS. 13. *And there is none that can deliver out of my hands.* These things he also said through the blessed Moses: "I will kill, and I will make to live; I will strike, and I will heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hands."

VERS. 14. *I will send to Babylon.* He speaks of the destruction of the Babylonians and the captivity of the Chaldeans.

VERS. 16. *Who maketh a way in the sea.* He recalls the miracles that happened in the time of Moses, and that strange and miraculous highway which the Mosaic rod constructed, in which he cast the chariots of Pharaoh and his power into the sea. ^C

VERS. 17. *They are extinguished as flax extinguished.* He says these things concerning the Egyptians, because when they attempted to pursue Israel, they perished utterly.

VERS. 19. *And I will make a way in the wilderness.* He calls the nations a wilderness, and the preaching of the Apostles rivers; and by the way, he means the path immune from error.

VERS. 20. *The beasts of the field shall honor me.* Those rhetoricians and philosophers who charm men with studied speeches, casting off the error of idols and learning the truth, will praise me as their benefactor. As for "the daughters of the ostrich," others have interpreted these as the ostriches. This animal is indeed a walker on land, yet it shares at the same time in the nature of birds. Such, ^D therefore...

^A is the greatest folly to apply these things to Zerubbabel; for he brought the Jews back from Babylon, but he did not deliver the nations from their error, nor did he offer a new covenant to the nations. Therefore, these things predict Christ, the Master; for He Himself has filled the desert world with divine plants, He Himself has restored the corrupted earth, He Himself has liberated those bound in fetters by their sins, He Himself has enlightened those sitting in darkness with the light of the knowledge of God.

To Him, then, according to the principle of the economy, the Father says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Indeed, we find in the divine Gospels the Master Christ praying as a man, saying at one time, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and at another, "Father, into your hands I will entrust my spirit," and, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," and elsewhere, "Glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you." And that He was heard, the history of the Gospels bears witness, saying: "There came a voice from heaven saying..." [The text continues in transition to the Prophet Ezekiel].

Uriah, son of Shemaiah, having prophesied during the time of the former Jehoiakim and having predicted grievous things, suffered an unjust slaughter at the hands of the latter’s bloodthirstiness. Of all those who prophesied during the time of the captivity, the last prophet is the divine Ezekiel. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi prophesied after the return. This prophet sees divine revelations filled with dread and horror; he predicts not only the total destruction of the Jews, but also of the Tyrians, the Sidonians, and the other foreigners, the Moabites and Ammonites, the Idumæans, and in addition to these, the Egyptians. He also predicts the release of the Jews from captivity, the building of the divine temple, and countless other things, which we shall reserve for the detailed interpretation so as not to extend the argument to great length. Having, therefore, entreated the God of the prophet through the prophet himself that He might impart to us the gift of understanding, come, let us begin the interpretation.

VOLUME I · CHAPTER I

^B 1. And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month. To some it has seemed that this is the thirtieth year of the Jubilee. The Jews call the number of fifty years the Jubilee. For just as the Romans mark the cycle of time by fifteen years, so do the Jews by fifty. Some have said that the time of this prophecy was the thirtieth year of these fifty years. But I, having first investigated the time in the chronicles, found the fifth year of the captivity of Jeconiah to coincide not with the thirtieth of the Jubilee, but with the twenty-fifth. Then, having considered that none of the holy prophets ever indicated this time before, I investigated and found this year to be the thirtieth of the captivity. For a little later this same prophet is commanded to lie upon his right side and to bear the sins of the house of Judah for forty days, if you count a day for a year. Since, therefore, I had considered that the merciful Lord had defined the captivity of Judah at seventy years, and forty...

^A Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and I will lift up my standard to the islands, and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and they shall carry your daughters on their shoulders; and kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their princesses your nursing mothers." This in no way fits those who returned from Babylon; for kings and rulers were not their nursing fathers and nursing mothers. The prophetic word, therefore, has added to what was already foretold the things that happened after the incarnation of our Savior. For through the holy apostles, those who dwell in the islands and those who dwell on the continents received the saving proclamation. He calls the sign of the saving Cross His "standard"; for, having proclaimed this everywhere, the divine apostles brought to the Master not only those from the Gentiles but also those from the Jews who believe. And all even to this day run to Jerusalem, longing to look upon the much-desired places of the Cross and the Resurrection and the Ascension. Of this Church, then, gathered from every land and sea, kings became nursing fathers and rulers became nursing mothers, some offering first-fruits, others tithes.

^B "...for you, to bring about destruction, and you tore your garments, and wept before me, and I heard," says the Lord. It is not so. "Behold I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be brought to your sepulcher in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evils which I am bringing upon this place and upon those who dwell in it." And the book of Chronicles also teaches these things. These things were done and said in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah; and he reigned for thirty-one years. From the eighteenth, then, until the thirty-first, fourteen years occur. After him, Jehoahaz reigned three months, which must be added to these years, because the prophecy was given in the eighth month of the eighteenth year. Then, adding those eleven years of Jehoiakim to the former years, we shall find twenty-five. And we shall again count the three months of Jeconiah and the few days in place of the remaining months of the eighteenth year. And adding the five years of the captivity of Jeconiah to the twenty-five, we shall find the number of thirty years; thus we shall be able to grasp the true count of the seventy years of the captivity. For from the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah until the first year of Cyrus, king of the Persians, in whose time the first return occurred, the seventy-year period is completed. Whoever wishes to count the seventy years of the desolation of the temple should begin from the eleventh year of Zedekiah (for then the divine temple was burned), and end at the second year of Darius Hystaspis, in whose time they rebuilt the divine temple with all speed, and the work reached its completion. The prophet says, therefore: "In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, I was in the midst of the captivity by the river Chobar, and the heavens were opened, and I saw a vision of God." (v. 2.) "On the fifth of the month": this is the fifth year of the captivity of king Jehoiakim. And he clearly taught us himself that it is not simply the fifth year of the captivity, but of the captivity of king Jehoiakim; and he, as I said, was Jeconiah, who reigned three months and a few days. For his father Jehoiakim was slain in Jerusalem in the eleventh year of his reign. He said the heavens were opened, not in truth and reality, but by spiritual contemplation. And he says, "I saw a vision of God." Not the essence of God, but a vision, a certain revelation, and as it were an impression, which was comprehensible to the human nature. "And I was in the midst of the captivity." The righteous man among the unrighteous, the just among the unjust. For such is the Lord's kindness that...

He instructs the captives in Babylon to build houses and plant vineyards, as the seventy-year sentence was certain and devoid of falsehood. It was necessary, therefore, not only for Jeremiah to speak and write these things in Judea, but also for those who had been led away captive to understand them through the prophets who were among them. The prophet, therefore, beholds the destruction by which Jerusalem was to be utterly ruined. This is what is signified by the "wind carrying and coming from the north," or, as Symmachus says, "rushing with an impetuous wind." The force of the wind signifies the Babylonian attack; the "great cloud" symbolizes the abundance and inundation of spears, javelins, and all kinds of missiles; the "flashing fire" signifies not only the terror struck into them, but also the destruction of the city wrought by fire; and the "splendor in the circuit" signifies the glory of God, which reveals itself through the punishment. For because they neither enjoyed the fruits of His benefits, nor were willing to understand from them the Author of those benefits, they obtain knowledge through punishment; wherefore they also cry out: "After my captivity I repented." And in the midst of it was "as the aspect of electrum in the midst of the fire, and splendor in it." Thus far, ^A therefore, He has declared to us the whole revelation; henceforth He begins to explain it part by part.

VERS. 5. "And in the midst was the likeness of four animals." Man and angel are both called reasonable creatures, but the one is a mortal rational animal, the other an immortal rational animal. But who could clearly explain the revelation, when the prophet himself was wearied in his narration of it? For he did not say simply that he had seen four animals, nor yet the likeness of animals, but "as the likeness of four animals," so that it is manifest that the divine prophets did not see the very natures of those things which cannot be seen, but certain tokens and forms shown by Him who bestows great gifts, according to the need of each. He tells us, therefore, also the figures of the animals that were seen by him. "This," he says, "is the vision ^B of them: the likeness of a man in them."

VERS. 6-8. "And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their legs were straight, and their feet were feathered, and they were sparkling like gleaming bronze, and their wings were light. And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides." He says, therefore, that the form of those things he beheld was upright and like a man, and that each was endowed with a quadruple face and four wings, ^C and ^D that their feet were feathered.

^A Here he censures the discipline of the Jews. For although they had been instructed in divine matters from early childhood, they strayed far from the truth.

Vers. 4. *I am, and until you grow old, I am.* You have, he says, many changes; but I have an immutable nature. You are subject to both old age and death; but I am incorruptible and immortal. *I endure you.* I bear with your ingratitude, I tolerate your iniquity, I await your repentance. For I also brought you into the light.

Vers. 10. *All my counsel shall stand.* To the God of all, all things are easy. For not only those things which have the use of reason, but even those which lack it, obey the divine will. By the bird, however, he has indicated the speed of the return.

Vers. 12. *Hear me, you who have lost your heart.* For even if you are unworthy of salvation, having been far from justice through your iniquity, yet I will grant salvation, and I will exact just punishment from the Babylonians.

CHAP. XLVII

1. *Descend, O virgin daughter of Babylon.* He calls her a virgin, not as being uncorrupted—for she was wicked and intemperate—but because she was adorned like a virgin.

2. *Uncover your legs, cross the rivers.* This also signifies captivity; for it is the lot of captives to cross rivers with bare feet.

5. *Sit down, struck with remorse.* For they burned the divine temple, and dedicated the sacred vessels to idols, and exercised cruelty against the captives.

7. *You did not understand these things in your heart.* You did not, he says, expect a change of prosperity; you supposed that you would possess power for all time.

9. *But now these two things shall come upon you.* He calls the privation of the kingdom widowhood; and the alienation of subjects, childlessness; both of which they suffered at the same time.

10. *In the hope of your malice.* For she did not hope for a change, nor did she expect a vicissitude of affairs.

CHAP. XLVIII

3. *I have declared the former things long ago.* I announced beforehand the calamities to be inflicted, so that by frightening you with threats, I might rouse you to repentance, and that you might not accept

^A the trial of pains; but since you did not believe my words, I will demonstrate the truth of those words by my deeds.

VERS. 8. *Neque a principio aperui aures tuas.* [Neither from the beginning did I open your ears.] By these words He manifests more clearly their disobedience, for they willingly stopped their ears, not wishing even to hear the divine words.

VERS. 9. *Ostendam tibi furorem meum,* [I will show you my fury,] *gloriosa mea que inferam tibi.* [My glorious things which I will bring upon you.] He called captivity "fury," but "glorious things" he called the unexpected liberty.

VERS. 10. *Ecce vendidi te non propter argentum.* [Behold, I have sold you not for silver.] Not because I needed money did I hand you over to the Babylonians, but as one demanding from you the penalty for your transgression; nevertheless, I shall again bestow liberty upon you. He called servitude the "furnace of poverty."

VERS. 11. *Propter me faciam tibi, quia nomen meum polluunt.* [For my own sake I will act toward you, because they pollute my name.] For because the enemies think that they have prevailed not only over you but also over Me, and that it is due to My weakness that they have mastered you, I will deliver you from that bitter servitude, so that even those who do not know Me may learn of My power.

VERS. 13. *Et manus mea fundavit terram.* [And My hand founded the earth.] And I am the Creator of all things, and the Lord; and it is easy for Me to call forth and set before Me the inanimate creation.

VERS. 14. *Diligens te feci voluntatem tuam.* [Loving you, I have done your will.] On account of the love I bear for you, He says, I will bring destruction upon the Babylonians; and I will root out their power entirely.

VERS. 15. *Ego vocavi, eduxi eum.* [I have called, I have led him.] Regarding Cyrus He says these things; for he both overthrew the dominion of the Babylonians ^C and freed the Jews from servitude.

VERS. 16. *Et nunc Dominus, Dominus misit me, et Spiritus ejus.* [And now the Lord, the Lord has sent me, and his Spirit.] This is the prophet's opinion; he says, "I do not say these things of myself, but I have been sent by the God of the universe and His all-holy Spirit." Yet here He clearly shows us a person distinct from God, for the refutation of both the Jews and those who suffer from the error of Sabellius.

VERS. 19. *Neque nunc exterminaberis.* [Neither shall you be exterminated now.] Nevertheless, I will grant pardon even to those who despised my laws; and you shall again be called My people, when I have called back the remnant through grace.

VERS. 21. *Et si sitierint in deserto.* [And if they shall thirst in the desert.] He reminds them of their former liberty, and how, after being delivered ^D from the Egyptians and journeying through the desert, they enjoyed wondrous and unexpected waters; for we have learned that no such thing occurred in the return from Babylon.

Regarding the Red Sea, He said these things, for when it was divided in two, Israel enjoyed salvation. He reminds them of these things, urging them to have confidence regarding the things to come ^A. For this is what the following indicates: "For they shall be turned back by the Lord, and shall come to Zion with gladness and everlasting joy; for praise shall be upon their heads, and joy shall overtake them; pain and grief and sighing have fled away." And He foretold the return and the joy and gladness that would overtake those who believe after the incarnation of our Savior. For from those who have sincerely believed in Him, "pain and grief and sighing have fled away." Then, from the quality of the countenance, He instills confidence. "I am, I am He who comforts you," He who performed those former wondrous deeds, He who delivered Pharaoh with his army to the sea, He who struck down the many myriads of the Assyrians through one angel. Then He reminds her of her nobility and urges her to take into her mind the divine care and to cast away fear; here, therefore, He showed those terrifying things; but He showed also the benefit that would be for all men, I mean the incarnate dispensation of God and our Savior. For this reason, He speaks of a human form, but two natures; one of electrum, the other of fire, and one bearing, the other borne; for the divine nature was clothed with the human. Therefore, he says the upper part was observed as the appearance of electrum, but the part from the loins and downward as the appearance of fire; the fire hinting at the divine nature ("For your God, He says, is a consuming fire"), and the electrum at the human. For such is electrum, having as it were a mixed appearance, and it is not akin to gold nor to silver, but happens to be a mixture of both. Such also is the human body; for it is not just earth, nor water by itself, nor fire, nor air, but is composed of the four elements; or rather, such is the nature of man, neither rational soul alone, nor mortal body, but both in him. For this reason, the prophet sees from the loins and upwards, as the appearance of electrum, but also as the vision of fire within it round about. For indeed the humanity of the Word of God became bright, and brilliant, and glorious, immortal, and incorruptible by the indwelling nature; therefore he fittingly said: "And I saw as the appearance of electrum, as the appearance of fire, within it round about, from the vision of the loins and downward, as the appearance of fire." For the divine nature was bearing the human. "And the brightness of it round about. As the appearance of the bow, when it is in the cloud in a day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about." And these things are significant of the divine gifts; for proceeding thence like a radiance, they benefit the human race, both signifying and bringing with them the rain from above. Having related all these things, the prophet added

CHAPTER II

1. "This is the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." And he did not say, "This is the nature of the Lord," nor "the glory of the Lord," but "the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." For as He willed, he says, fashioning the appearance, He deemed me worthy of the contemplation. "And I saw, and I fall upon my face." And most reasonably; for if the Seraphim, while singing hymns, cover their faces, what might not a human being suffer, who is clothed in a mortal body and who has come to be in the contemplation of a true vision? But the benevolent Master casts out fear. "For I heard," He says, "to me ^B

^A you have understood my thoughts from afar, my path and my line you have investigated, and all my ways you have foreseen; behold, O Lord, you have known all things, latest and ancient." Knowing, therefore, precisely their obduracy, He adds "if perhaps," teaching by these words the free faculty of the mind, that they might be changed if they should wish. Similar also is the saying in the Gospel itself from the person of the Father: "I will send my son to the husbandmen, perhaps they will reverence him." For that "perhaps" is not there a sign of ambiguity, since He knew that they would not reverence him; but He does those things which are consistent with His own justice. Lest anyone should suppose His foreknowledge to be the cause of the outcome of things, He necessarily sets forth words of ambiguity, showing the free choice of the will, and reserving for Himself a defense at the day of judgment. For this reason, foreknowing their contumacy and rebellion, He sets in motion every machination, that they might recoil from impropriety and come to their senses. Wherefore, through Isaiah the prophet He cries out: "What more shall I do for this my vineyard, and I have not done it?" And through Hosea ^B once again: "What shall I do for you, Ephraim? What shall I do for you, Judah?" Nevertheless, knowing them to be suffering from an incurable disease, He applies remedies, so that on the day of judgment the rebels might receive the sentence passed against them without controversy, as the divine benefits are brought into the midst. For which cause the blessed David also cries out: "That you might be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." For our iniquity, when compared with divine benefits, justly subjects us to punishments: and the just Judge Himself receives the verdict of victor even from those who are being punished, as one who has omitted no kind of kindness, and has left no avenue for doing good to men untouched. That phrase, therefore, "if perhaps they might hear or fear," does not signify the ignorance of God, but grants place for repentance to them; since even while knowing the contumacy of Pharaoh, God said, "For I know," He says, "that Pharaoh will not let you go, unless by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm," yet He continued to be long-suffering. For ^C if the Master had brought on the punishments as soon as He foreknew them, from what source could the justice of God have been known by those who do not see the end of foreknowledge? For this reason He awaits the end, and then inflicts the punishment. "And me, therefore," He says, "O prophet, and those things which are said by me, carry as a messenger to your kinsmen, that you may become the author of benefit to them, and they may learn that you are a prophet among them, a minister of the divine words." ^D

VERS. 6. And you, son of man, fear them not, nor be dismayed at their face: because [they are] rebellious.

^A And know that they shall again recover their ornamentation: for the inhabitants adorn the city.

VERS. 20. *They shall say in your ears.* The prophetic word again uses personification, for greater clarity of what is being said.

VERS. 21. *I, however, am childless and a widow.* By widowhood he designates the loss of the kingdom, and by childlessness, the desolation of the remaining multitude.

VERS. 25. *And I shall rescue my sons.* He prophesies the final siege and the desolation of the temple, which they suffered when the Romans waged war against them, and they were utterly stripped of divine providence, having crucified the Lord.

CHAPTER L

VERS. 1. *Thus says the Lord: What is this bill of divorce?* He again employs personification; he calls himself the husband, the city the wife, and them no longer his sons, but hers. He calls the bill of divorce what the common people are accustomed to call a writ of repudiation. *Behold, you have been sold for your sins.* Because of your impiety and transgression, your mother also—that is, the city and the temple—has undergone desolation; and you, having been stripped of my protection, serve the Romans.

VERS. 2. *Because I came, and there is no man; I called, and there is none who obeys.* I have often borne with you while you served idols and committed a myriad of other lawless deeds; but the crime now dared by you has no forgiveness; it is incurable and immedicable. For I no longer acted through the prophets, but taking the form of a servant, I lived among you as a man; and having called you ^B often, I did not persuade you. *I will make the sea a desert.* The God of all did these things when he delivered them from the slavery of the Egyptians. For then he both divided the Red Sea and cut off the river Jordan, and he showed the fish found in that place dead, as if deprived of the waters that nourished them.

VERS. 3. *I will clothe the heaven with darkness.* This he has done, and he will do. He did it when he was crucified: *For from the sixth hour until the ninth, there was darkness over all the earth.* He will do this again at the time of the consummation. The Lord Christ says these things in a human manner; and we shall find many such things in the holy Gospels too. *For, it says, Jesus increased in stature, and wisdom, and grace, before God and men.* He calls the period of youth "early." The prophet taught this also in the foregoing.

VERS. 4. *The Lord gives me the tongue of discipline.* The Lord Christ says these things according to the human nature. ^C Furthermore, we shall find many things similar in the holy Gospels: *For Jesus, it says, increased in stature, and wisdom, and grace, before God and men.* He calls the period of youth "early": this, moreover, the prophet taught also in the preceding verses. ^D

^A Everything of humanity he indicated in order: wisdom, the working of miracles, and the reverence received from all. For the phrase, "My servant shall have understanding," is like that Evangelical utterance: *Jesus increased in stature and wisdom.* And the phrase, "He shall be exalted and glorified and lifted up exceedingly," signifies the astonishment of those who beheld his miracles; for at one time, according to the Evangelical history, they even wished to make him king, and at another time they cried: *Hosanna to the Son of David, hosanna in the highest.* But after the miracles came the passion. For this reason the prophet also set the prophecy in this way and says: *Just as many shall be astonished at you, so shall your appearance and your glory be dishonored by the sons of men.* He was nailed to the cross, they placed thorns upon his head, and beating him with a reed, they said: *Prophesy to us, Christ, who is he that struck you?* Then, after that dishonor, he predicts the astonishment of the inhabited world: *So shall many nations wonder at him.* For not all believed, but those who did believe were filled with wonder at the mystery of godliness. *And kings shall shut their mouths.* And this, too, we have announced, that there is no appearance nor glory to him, that is, around the time of his passion; for the dishonor and abuse were great. *And we saw him, and he had no form nor beauty, but his appearance* was dishonored, *the appearance of him falling short of the sons of men.* The energy of the all-holy Spirit is most great; for it so displayed to the holy prophets things that were to happen after many generations that they did not say: ^B "we heard," but "we saw." Then he teaches the kinds of dishonor and lack of glory: *A man in a stroke of suffering.* He showed the nature that received the passion; for the body was nailed to the cross, but the divinity made the passion its own. *And knowing how to bear infirmity.* This also is said according to the human: for the enduring and the philosophizing are not of the divine nature, but the human. *Because his face was turned away, he was dishonored and not counted.* These three interpreted it thus: "And as the hiding of a face from him, he was disparaged and not accounted of." That is to say: he hid his divine energy, having accepted the passion by his own will and not defending himself against those who crucified him; for while being crucified he said: he spoke, for to the blessed Moses who asked to see God in a known way, he said: *No man shall see my face and live.d* Then he adds: *Behold, there is a place by me, and I will set you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand, and you shall see my back parts, but my face you shall not see.e* Not because the Divine is divided into face and back parts; but by the face, the divine essence is understood, and by the back parts, the dispensations and benefits, which are many and of every kind, that are conferred upon us. He calls his goodness, therefore, his place, by reason of which, being uncontainable by nature, he becomes, as far as is possible for those who are worthy, containable. ^C

VERS. 13. *And I saw the voice of the wings of the animals striking flank against flank, one to another, and the voice of the wheels joined to them, and the voice of a great commotion.* For these things having been spoken to me, the animals were being moved, flapping their wings, and the wheels were following, and a greatest commotion was created as these moved; for the noise being borne from everywhere was great.

VERS. 14. *And the Spirit lifted me up and took me, and I went, raised aloft in the impulse of my Spirit.* For the grace of the divine Spirit having come upon me between heaven and earth, as if some winged creature, it prepared me to cut through the air. *And the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.* Again, he signifies this same grace of the Spirit.

VERS. 15. *And I entered into the captivity raised aloft,* that is, not walking, but carried through the air. *And I went around those dwelling by the river Chobar, those who were there, and I sat there seven days, dwelling in the midst of them.* For having reached those to whom I had been ordered to go, I spent seven days in silence, awaiting the divine energy. ^D

VERS. 16, 17. *And it came to pass after the seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, I have given you as a watchman in the house of Israel, and you shall hear the word from my mouth, and you shall warn them from me.* Occupy, he says, the type of a scout, whom men station on some hill, commanding them to announce beforehand to them the future incursions of the barbarians. And you, therefore, as if standing on some watchtower and high place of prophecy, preach to the people what you foresee, and ferry my words across to them.

VERS. 18. *When I say to the lawless man: By death you shall die, and you do not warn him, nor speak so as to warn the lawless man from his...*

wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.*

INTERPRETATION OF THE FIFTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF ISAIAH

^A VERS. 6. *Lift up your eyes to the heavens.* And from heaven, and from the earth, and from the things above, and from the things below, acknowledge my power. For with great ease I both produced these things, and I will take them from the midst.

VERS. 9. *And clothe yourself with the strength of your arm.* He speaks these words as if to one who has fallen and is lying prostrate, exhorting her to regain her former strength.

VERS. 12. *I myself am he who comforts you.* Who hurled Pharaoh with his army into the sea; who struck down the many myriads of the Assyrians through one angel.

VERS. 13. *And you have forgotten God who made you.* For even though father and mother are ministers of birth, providing you with grounds for friendship and kinship, nevertheless I did not allow this because of a lack of power. For at the beginning, when I was forming Adam, I did not have need of these, but I brought him into existence by my will, and by my power. ^B

VERS. 16. *Under the shadow of my hand I will shelter you.* The remembrance of creation is sufficient to demonstrate the power of the operation which he promises to impart to them; for he calls "hand" the operation.

VERS. 17. *You who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of fury.* He calls punishment a "cup"; for it is also stupefying, just as drunkenness is.

VERS. 19. *These two things are against you.* He calls two things: the boldness of the enemies, and the helplessness of those who were helping; for some charge forward courageously, while others flee bravely. *Ruina et contritio* (Ruining and crushing). Again he introduced two: both to fall and to be crushed. For there is a time when someone falls, but is not hurt. *Famine and sword.* Again a double punishment. For the ones were besieging from the outside; but the famine was more grievous than the ^C enemies, consuming them from within.

VERS. 20. *Sleeping like a half-cooked beet.* By sleep he indicated their sloth, and by the vegetable, their cowardice.

VERS. 21. *And drunk, but not with wine.* A greater accusation. For the drunkenness of impiety is more grievous.

VERS. 22. *Who judges his people.* He comforts them through words of intimacy. *Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of falling.* He declares in advance the ruin of the Babylonians. For because Nebuchadnezzar attacked them four times: first, in the third year of Joachim son of Josias; second, in the tenth year of the same king; third, under Jechonias son of Joachim; fourth, under Sedekias; he promises that he will no longer ^D present to them the cup of punishment by means of the Babylonians.

THEODORETI EPISCOPI CYRENSIS

CAP. LII.

^AVER. 7. *Quam pulchri pedes evangelizantium auditum pacis!* This, indeed, in a figurative sense, reached its fulfillment when the release from captivity was announced to those inhabiting Jerusalem. But in truth and properly, this prophecy applies to the holy apostles. For their feet are beautiful, which the hands of the Lord washed and strengthened, so that they might traverse the whole world, and bring the Gospels of divine peace, and show the fruition of the promised goods. *“Sion, thy God shall reign.”* And these words, likewise, apply rather to the holy apostles, through whom the kingdom of God and our Savior was proclaimed.

VER. 8. *The voice of those watching thee is exalted.* The same apostles both announce and watch, and provide joy. For they became eyewitnesses of the Savior, when, having become man, He enlightened Sion.

VER. 11. *Depart, depart, go out from thence.* The prophetic teaching exhorts those who have believed to be separated from the infidels. *“You who bear the vessels of the Lord.”* He calls those vessels who have been found worthy of election. Thus also He called the blessed Paul, saying to Ananias: *“Go, for he is a chosen vessel unto me.”* ^B

VER. 13. *Behold, my servant shall understand.* He proceeds to foretell the Lord’s passion more accurately; but in order He showed all things human—the wisdom, the working of miracles, the reverence exhibited by all. ^C

VER. 14. *As many shall be astonished at thee.* He was nailed to the cross, and they crowned His head with thorns, and striking Him with reeds they said: *“Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who is he that struck thee?”* *“And thy glory from the sons of men.”* For not all believed; but those who did believe marveled exceedingly at the mystery of piety.

VER. 15. *They to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see.* Those who formerly persecuted and did not hesitate to speak evil, clearly beholding His power, will plainly abstain from insult. For those who had not received the prophetic predictions, but were serving idols, shall see, through the heralds of the truth, the sovereignty of Him who is proclaimed, and shall know His power. ^D

^A Ver. 2. *As a root in a thirsty land.* According to Aquila, however, "a root from an inaccessible land." We have already spoken, he says, of the birth from the Virgin. For he called her herself inaccessible and thirsty, as she had received in no way the footsteps of a man nor the marital rain. And this also we announced, that "there is no form for Him, nor glory." That is, during the time of the passion; for great was the dishonor and the insult. "And we saw Him, and He had no form nor beauty." In the following, he sets forth His humiliation even unto death. But the energy of the Holy Spirit is most great; for the things that came to pass after many generations, He so showed to the holy prophets that they might not say, "We heard," but, "We saw."

Ver. 3. *Because His face is turned away.* That is, He turned away the divine energy, having accepted the passion by will, and not taking vengeance on those who crucified Him. For as He was being crucified He said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." ^B

Ver. 4. *This man bears our sins.* For of those of us who owed death because of the things in which we had sinned, and who had for this reason received that sentence, He Himself accepted the death on our behalf; and whereas we were subject to curses because of the transgression of the law, He Himself became a curse for us; for it is written: "Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree." And "we accounted Him to be in toil, and in a stroke from God." The prophet makes the ignorance of the people his own, and says that they supposed Him to be suffering these things for His own sins. ^C

Ver. 5. *He was wounded for our sins.* We were subject to punishments, having sinned; but He, being pure from sins, endured the punishments for us. "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him." Having sinned, we became enemies to God; but it was necessary for us, having been chastened, to thus obtain peace; but He, having accepted the chastisement upon Himself, deemed us worthy of peace.

Ver. 6. *All we like sheep have gone astray.* For the transgressions of all are not equal, nor is there one mode. For the idols of the Egyptians are some, and those of the Phoenicians others; and those of the Greeks are different, and those of the Scythians others. But nevertheless, even if the modes of error were different, ^D all alike, having abandoned the true God, became like wandering sheep, and exposed to the wolves.

^A VERSE 7. *He opens not his mouth.* The history of the sacred Gospels also teaches this. For since He discoursed by night and by day before the passion, and brought forth teaching full of utility, He was silent at the time of the passion.

VERSE 8. *He was led to death for the iniquities of my people.* This is understood in two ways: first, that it was necessary for the coming of the Savior to take place on account of our transgressions; for the Savior’s indwelling would have had no place if we had not been found to be in transgressions; and secondly, that He was led to death by the men themselves.

VERSE 9. *And I will give the wicked for His burial.* For “I will give,” the three [translators] said “He shall give.” For He who suffered these things delivered them to the Roman war. He called the Scribes, and the Pharisees, and the high priests “rich,” and ^B likewise also “wicked.” For these were claiming the goods of all for themselves.

VERSE 10. *And the Lord wills to cleanse Him from the blow,* that is, to declare Him innocent and not subject to death. *Your soul shall see a long-lived seed.* If you confess your impiety and seek salvation, you shall obtain eternal life. For He has called this “long-lived.”

VERSE 12. *And He shall divide the spoils of the strong.* He calls the demons “strong,” and the men [their] “spoils.” “Spoils” further are said to be the arms of the cruel. And the arms of the demons were once men. For they were warring against us through our own members. But Christ the Lord, having defeated these, distributed their spoils to the apostles, appointing some as teachers of the Romans, others of the Egyptians, others of the Indians. ^C *And He was numbered among the wicked.* For not only did He suffer the punishment assigned to the lawless, but He was also crucified with robbers.

CHAPTER LIV

VERSE 1. *Rejoice, O barren one, who bearest not.* For the piety of the Church did not bear fruit formerly, but they adhered to the worship of idols. *Break forth and cry aloud, O thou that dost not travail.* He used “Break forth” regarding a violent birth, and likewise also “Cry aloud.” For they say that midwives encourage those who are in difficult labor to exert themselves with great force and to cry out. ^D *Rejoice,* however, He said regarding the fruitfulness granted beyond hope. The [commands] “Break forth” and “Rejoice” seem to be in some way contrary; yet both happened. For she has given birth beyond hope. For such are...

the pangs of the all-holy Spirit. “Many [are] the children of the desolate” ^A. The desolate one was formerly the Church of the nations. Wherefore it was also said to her previously, “Rejoice, O desolate one that thirstest.”

Verse 2. “Enlarge the place of thy tent.” He exhorts the barren one to fill the inhabited world with houses of prayer, both on the left and on the right; that is, to do this toward the south and toward the north. “And strengthen thy stakes.” One would not be wrong to name the holy prophets, apostles, and martyrs as stakes; for these, hidden in the earth like stakes, hold firm the tent of the Church, having been joined to the teaching by cords, as it were.

Verse 6. Not as a woman abandoned. The Jews formerly reproached the nations for their impiety, just as Phenenna did Anna for her barrenness. The prophetic word therefore promises her the removal of reproach.

Verse 14. “Departing from iniquity.” Having enjoyed this benefit, do not become ungrateful toward the benefactor. For thus you will be superior to those who war against you.

Verse 15. “Behold, proselytes shall approach.” He calls proselytes those who were being captured from the nations, so to speak, day by day, and who were approaching the divine baptism. And so we see the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Verse 16. “I created thee, not as a coppersmith blowing coals.” He has revealed the effortless and extremely easy nature of the creation; for He says, I do not need certain instruments, and fire, and blowers, like the coppersmiths; but the Word is sufficient for Me for creation. “I, however, created thee not unto destruction.” Since the first man was earthy from the earth, and also received the sentence of death, the Creator of all ^B promises to renew human nature unto immortality.

CHAPTER LV

Verse 1. “Buy wine and fat without silver and price.” Here he cast out the legal sacrifices. For he had commanded specifically that the fat of the victims be offered to the altar. For this reason he also forbade the eating of fat, and they were accustomed to pour libations of wine. ^C

^D

^A I will give them in my house and within my walls a place of renown and a better name than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not fail. The promise is true. And those around the divine Daniel, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael bear witness; for, although they were deprived by their enemies of the possibility of becoming fathers, they became more renowned than those who were fathers of many children, and their glory remains inextinguishable. Thus did God make Abdemelech—who was both a foreigner and a eunuch, for he was an Ethiopian—illustrious on account of his piety. And to the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the name of the Lord, to be his menservants and maidservants, and to all who keep my Sabbaths from profaning them and hold fast to my covenant, I will bring them into my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their whole burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations. He showed that the God of all is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the nations; being scattered by captivity, they will reap the profit from their punishment. Wherefore he adds:

^B 9. And they who are saved from among you shall remember me, wherever they have been taken captive. The discipline now brought by God is useful; for it is the mother of repentance. For I have sworn to their heart that is prostituting itself, that is departing from me, and to their eyes that are prostituting themselves after their own practices, that they shall weep before their own faces concerning the evils which they have done in all their abominations. 10. And they shall know that I am the Lord, not in vain have I spoken to do all these evils. An irresistible repentance, he says, will be theirs, regarding the fact that they abandoned me while loving the service of idols—for he called this prostitution here; and they shall learn by experience itself that neither unjustly nor unprofitably did I cover them with these punishments. For impiety shows the justice, and repentance the utility.

11. Thus says Adonai the Lord: Clap with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say: "Euge, euge," against all the abominations of the evils of the house of Israel; by sword, and by famine, and by death they shall fall. As I, he says, declare and pass judgment of all kinds of punishments, do you clap and praise the justice of the sentence. ^C Then, having again foretold the same things—that they will perish by famine, death, and slaughter by enemies, and that they will be taken captive, and that they will be slaughtered around the idols' altars and in the groves honored by them. "And,” he says, “under a leafy oak they gave the odor of fragrance to all their idols." He also shows the limits of the desolation. 14. For I will set the land, he says, into desolation and ruin from the desert of Deblatha in all their habitations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter VII

1-3. For, he says, the word of the Lord came to me saying: And you, son of man, thus says Adonai the Lord to the land of Israel: An end has come, the end has come upon the four corners of the land. The end has come now, and the end will come upon you who inhabit the land. He does not say “four corners of the world,” but of the land of Israel—that is, your affairs have reached an end. ^D Do not imagine...

that the buyer will be able to return to the seller, meaning that he wishes to reverse the contract. For all will fall into the same evils, equally mourning and sighing. Yet, he says, "Even while they yet live, for the vision for all their multitude will not turn back." For even though so many evils press upon them, he says, they do not despair of their life, and the prophetic vision does not seem trustworthy to them all. Yet it behooved them, he says, to know that "a man will not prevail in the eyes of his life." That is, events do not entirely follow human hopes, but someone who has often hoped to live has found the opposite end.

Vers. 14. "Sound the trumpet, and judge all things, and there is no one going to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude." Since you think, he says, that the things predicted by me are false, use your own trumpets, think that you are superior to all; but you will derive no benefit from this, for you will not have those who can fight; for I bring an all-encompassing punishment upon all in common.

Vers. 15. "War and the sword without, and famine and death within." He who is in the field will die by the sword, but famine and death will finish those in the city. How then, he says, will you be able to fight, being hemmed in by so many and such great evils?

Vers. 16. "And they will be saved," he says, "those who are saved from them, and they will be upon the mountains, like mourning doves." For lamenting and mourning, they will be likened to mourning doves; for the voice of doves is like those who sigh. "I will kill all," he says, "each in his own iniquities." I will not inflict punishment unjustly, but I will exact from each the penalties that are due.

Vers. 17. "All hands will be loosened, and all thighs will be defiled with moisture." Both are signs of cowardice.

Vers. 18. "And they will gird themselves with sackcloth, and astonishment will cover them, and upon every face will be shame, and upon every head baldness." For when they see, he says, the cloud of evils approaching, and no help appearing from anywhere, then, losing heart, they will throw down their weapons of war and assume a mourning habit; and for this reason he mentioned sackcloth and a shaved head, for those who are mourning at such a time are accustomed to practice these things.

He calls the law a covenant. "You loved those who slept with you and you multiplied your harlotry with them." As if speaking of an unchaste woman, he said these things, teaching her great impiety. "And you made many who were far from you." Symmachus and Theodotion say: "And you multiplied your ointments." In this way he addressed the manufacture of idols; for just as a compound perfume is gathered from many species through art for beauty, so also idols receive their construction from many materials and arts. And the Seventy also rightly named them "far"; for what fellowship has light with darkness? The law also made them far off. "And you sent ambassadors beyond your borders." Sometimes they fled to the Egyptians, sometimes to the Assyrians. "And you were humbled even to Hades." You had this as a fruit from the worship of idols. "In your many ways you became weary, and you did not say, I will stop growing strong." He says that you wandered for a long time and did not wish to receive a respite from your wandering. "You did these things, for this reason you did not entreat me." Those who hold fast to me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain. And events testify to these words; for those who have believed in Him both possess the city of Jerusalem and are deemed worthy of honor in all cities. "And they shall say, Clear the roads from before him and remove the stumbling blocks from the road of my people." For the heralds of the truth will level the straight road for those who believe, both showing what is pleasing to God and turning them away from the contrary things. For he called these "stumbling blocks," but Symmachus called them "obstacles." ^A "That the Most High says these things, he who dwells in the heights, the eternal one, Holy One in the holy ones; his name is Lord, the Most High resting in the holy ones, and giving longsuffering to the faint-hearted, and giving life to those who are broken in heart, and to revive the hearts of the crushed." He showed his varied care; for dwelling in the heights, he looks upon the lowly, and being holy, he rests in the holy ones, but he offers consolation to the faint-hearted and brings back those whose hearts are crushed to life. "Because the earth is full of peoples, and the city is full of iniquities." He is compared, he says, by the multitude of the lawlessness of these people to the multitude of men inhabiting the world.

VERS. 24. And I will bring in the wicked of the nations, and they shall inherit their houses, and I will turn away the boasting of their strength, and their holy things shall be polluted. And he did not say, "My holy things," but "their holy things"; that is, those things which were consecrated to me by them, which I did not need, but because of the care I have for them I accepted; yet again I will look upon those same things, polluted and trampled because of their own wickedness.

VERS. 25. Propitiation will come, and you will seek peace, and it will not be. They will pray, he says, when evils have grown strong against them, that they might obtain benevolence and be delivered from them, but they will obtain nothing.

VERS. 26. Woe upon woe will be, and report upon report. Evils will follow evils for them, and a wretched report will succeed a more wretched report. "And a vision will be sought from a prophet, and the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders." These things hold true even today among them; for neither is the priesthood administered among them according to the laws, and the grace of prophecy has been extinguished.

VERS. 27. The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with destruction, and the hands of the people of the land will be paralyzed. Jeremiah teaches us this more clearly, narrating what happened to Zedekiah and his flight. "According to their ways I will do to them, and I will take vengeance upon them according to their judgments, and they will know that I am the Lord." These judgments, he says, I will exact from them, demanding an account for those things in which they sinned against me. Therefore it behooves us all, having reaped profit from each of the things said, not to stir up punishment against ourselves by the wickedness of our sins, but to heal the wounds of our sins with the tears of repentance, lest the bilge-water increasing, the boat sink us into the deep, according to the just judgments of God; to whom belongs glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

^A VERSE 4. *In what have you taken pleasure?* By these words He clearly refutes the calumnies with which they assailed the Lord. For they called Him a seducer, and one having a demon, and a Samaritan, and said that He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. *Are you not children of perdition?* Since they had nailed the Lord to the wood as if He were an adversary of God, displaying—as they supposed—zeal for the one who gave the Law, He opportunely commemorates their superstitions. Do you not always, He says, continue to worship idols? And going about the groves, do you not sacrifice your children to demons in the valleys? How then do you say that you are now inflamed with zeal for the law, when you have risen up against the Lawgiver? Dogs mute toward idols, but shameless dogs in spirit toward the Savior. ^B

VERSE 8. *Behind the doorposts of your door you have placed your memorials.* By these words too He declares their great impiety. For they did not merely go astray in the mountains, but even at home they served idols. He calls the written accusation a memorial.

VERSE 9. *You have multiplied your whoredom with them.* He said these things as if of an incontinent woman, teaching their great impiety. *Those who are far from you.* He called things placed far away, idols. *For what fellowship has light with darkness?* The Law also made them far off. *And you sent ambassadors beyond your borders.* For sometimes they fled to the Egyptians, and sometimes to the Assyrians. ^C *And you were humiliated even to Hades.* This fruit you reaped from the worship of idols, and from the many journeys in which you labored.

VERSE 10. *And you did not say, I will stop.* You abandoned Me, serving demons; you put your trust in human aids, and you were not sated with evils. *You did not fear Me.* When you served idols, you did not fear the Lawgiver; but when I came, you feared with a fear where there was no fear, and you did not wish to accept the predictions made concerning Me.

VERSE 11. *And I, seeing you, despise you.* For to you who are besieged, I shall offer no help.

VERSE 13. *Let them deliver you in your tribulation.* For they will not only not share help with you, but they themselves—the idols, that is—will vanish. *But those who hold fast to Me shall inherit the earth.* The facts confirm the words; for those who have believed in Him possess both the city of Jerusalem, and are deemed worthy of honor in all cities. ^D

^A VERS. 14. *Make clean the ways.* For the heralds of truth make the straight path plain for those who believe, both by pointing out those things that are pleasing to God and by turning them away from the contrary.

VERS. 15. *The Lord is high, dwelling in the high places.* By all these names the kindness of God is demonstrated; that He is the Most High—even if, as far as it depended on them, they have made Him humble by comparing Him to idols and demons; indeed, he is also holy, though they profaned His name with perverse thoughts and dishonest actions. Yet He is holy, and rejoices in the holy, and sanctifies them, strengthening their power and stirring up their minds, if only they appear to show themselves worthy.

VERS. 16. *I will not take vengeance on you forever.* Most of those who had crucified the Lord believed through the preaching of the apostles and obtained salvation. For this reason, even while being crucified, He said: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." — "For the Spirit shall go forth from Me." He calls to memory in what way He created the soul of Adam. ^B "For He breathed," he says, "into his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul."

VERS. 18. *I have seen his ways.* The Lord God has shown the powers of repentance. For having seen, He says, their repentance and the change of their counsels, and the sadness of their countenances, I deemed them worthy of consolation, as well as those who mourned for them. And the heralds of truth mourned for them. "And I have given them true consolation." For even if the impious appear by all appearances to rejoice when they are occupied in their pleasures, yet because they fall at last into destruction, ^C they do not rejoice with true joy. For that alone would be joy in the strict sense which, through labors and afflictions, acquires eternal life. But those who practice justice are also filled with true joy, while their purpose progresses toward its work, and the soul remains undisturbed and tranquil within itself.

CHAPTER LVIII

VERS. 1. *Cry in strength.* The Lord of all commands the prophet to rebuke the iniquities of the people; and He commands him not to do this secretly and hiddenly, but to do it openly and with a great cry, using a loud voice.

VERS. 2. *They seek Me from day to day.* Those who lead a wicked life ^D demand to enjoy My providence; and they do not reflect that, since they have rendered themselves unworthy of My care, they will by no means attain it.

^A Verse 3. "We have fasted, and You have not seen." They consider total abstinence from food to be the highest virtue, and they complain to Me that I do not immediately grant them every favor. "For in the days of your fasts." You do not make the season of fasting an opportunity for repentance, but you employ it for the exaction of debts.

Verse 4. "You fast for judgments and quarrels." It seems that something of this kind occurred in the time of the prophecy. For these words hint at it: "And today your voice is to be heard in crying out. Why do you fast for Me?" I am not looking, He says, for an outward appearance. "For sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit." (Ps. L, 17.) ^B

Verse 6. "But loose every bond of iniquity." Break the chains of injustice; dissolve all those contracts which rest on no legal basis, as being pernicious. "Release the broken in remissions." This means: free those who are laboring in poverty from cares; grant a remission, and take away the anxiety.

Verse 7. "Break your bread for the hungry." Having forbidden the sources of unjust gain, He teaches that one must observe the distribution of what has been justly acquired.

Verse 8. "Then your light will break forth in the morning." Light is indeed desirable, but the dawn appearing after the night is even more desirable; this He called "morning light." For just as the dawn breaks the dark garment of the night, so, He says, this life according to the law will dispel the night of calamities and provide for you the light of My providence. "And the glory of God will encompass you." He shows that divine works follow our own; for when our righteousness leads the way, the glory of the God of all follows, rendering us illustrious. ^C

Verse 9. "Then you shall cry out, and God will hear you." Great is the fruit of righteousness; for it grants us boldness before God. The phrase, "While you are still speaking, He will say, 'Behold, I am here,'" does not signify any voice, but the efficacy of the things themselves. For by the things themselves, He says, you will learn that God is present to you, He whom you have invoked. "If you take away from yourself the bond and the appointment." He calls unjust entanglements a "bond," and "appointment" the unjust movement of the hands, whether in inflicting blows or in documents. The blessed Paul also forbids murmuring: "For do all things," he says, "without murmuring and disputing." (Phil. II, 14.) ^D

Verse 10. "Then your light will rise in the darkness." For I will change your afflictions, and in the very midst of the darkness, I will show a pure light.

[GREEK COLUMN] ^A ...just punishment upon them, he says. By "arm" he signifies the operation. And almsgiving also teaches the usefulness of discipline; for the God of all disciplines for the sake of profit. And He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and placed a helmet of salvation upon His head, and clothed Himself with a garment of vengeance, and the mantle of zeal, as about to render retribution, reproach to His adversaries, defense for His enemies. The prophetic word has shown us the God of all as some kind of general armed against his enemies. It prepares one to understand the type of weapons in a spiritual sense, what has been spoken tropically: it showed the breastplate not made of iron but of righteousness, and likewise called salvation the helmet, and the garment of vengeance and the mantle of zeal, meaning that He will justly and for the sake of salvation inflict the punishment. For His chastisement is also saving; for it frees those who are being destroyed from more numerous sins. Then after the asterisks it is added: He will render retribution to the islands.

...those that were connected with them. And when they stood, they stood, and when they were lifted up, they were lifted up with them, because the spirit of life was in them. They followed, he says, the wheels in all things as the Cherubim did, and when they moved, they moved also, and when they stayed, they followed, and when they stood, they stood, not being dragged by any force, but acting in each of these things spontaneously; for they themselves also obtained a share in spiritual life.

18, 19. And the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and rested upon the Cherubim. And the Cherubim lifted up their wings, and were lifted up from the earth before me when they were lifted up, and they stood at the threshold of the gate of the house of the Lord that looked opposite, and the glory of the God of Israel was upon them from above. For when He commanded the coals to be taken, it seemed to withdraw in some measure, so that he who was commanded might take courage to approach; but when that was done, it seems to return again and to be carried; the Cherubim, he says, were aloft, and were being carried more easily through the air, using the movement of their wings instead of feet; and the wheels followed, not even a little separated; and the glory of God was carried upon them, not God Himself; for He is uncircumscribed, and everywhere present, and filling all things; but rather His glory, which appears in accordance with His dispensations.

20. This, he says, is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel, by the river Chobar; and I knew that they were Cherubim. For I had enjoyed the vision even before this; but I learned the name on the present occasion. And from this one can clearly learn that he did not see the very substance of the invisible natures, but certain images and phantasms; for in the former vision he said that one Cherub had four wings, but here eight; for the nature could not have undergone a change, but the vision was fashioned according to the need; for since the prophet received greater knowledge from the divine discourse, and the wings signify the swiftness of knowledge, indicating the addition of knowledge that occurred to him, he shows him the wings of the Cherubim doubled; for their very appellation in the Greek tongue signifies the abundance of knowledge.

CHAPTER XI. 1, 3. And the Spirit, he says, took me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that was opposite, the one looking toward the east; and behold, at the thresholds of the gate, were as it were twenty-five men, and I saw in their midst Jezoniah the son of Jezec, and Phaltiah the son of Banaiah, the leaders of the people. And the Lord said to me: Son of man, these are the men who devise vain things, and counsel evil counsel in this city, who say: Is not the...

[LATIN COLUMN] ^B ...that they were lifted up, they were lifted up with them, because the spirit of life was in them. They followed, he says, in all things the wheels of the Cherubim themselves, and when they moved, they moved together, and they followed the flying, and when they stood, they stood, not drawn by any force, but each of these doing so by its own accord, since spiritual life had been communicated to them also.

VERS. 18, 19. And the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and ascended upon the Cherubim. And the Cherubim took up their wings, and were lifted up from the earth before me, when they were lifted up, and they stood at the vestibules of the gate of the house of the Lord from the opposite side, and the glory of the God of Israel was upon them from above. For when He commanded the coals to be taken, it seemed to withdraw in some measure, so that he whom it was commanded might dare to approach: which being done, it is seen to return again and to be carried; but the Cherubim, he says, were elevated, and were easily carried through the air, using the motion of their wings for feet: and the wheels followed, not even a little separated. And the glory of God was carried upon them, not God Himself, who is incircumscript and everywhere present, and filling all things, but His glory, which shows itself according to His dispensations.

VERS. 20. This, he says, is the animal that I saw under the God of Israel, near the river Chobar, and I knew them to be Cherubim. For I had perceived the vision even before, but I learned the name now at last. And from this it can be openly understood that not the very essence of the invisible natures was seen by him, but certain images and likenesses. ^C [21, 22] For in the other vision he said one of the Cherubim had four wings, but here eight. But nature had not admitted this change, but the vision was expressed according to the occasion. For because the prophet perceived a broader cognition from the divine colloquy, and the wings indicate the swiftness of cognition, signifying the increment of cognition added to him, he showed him the Cherubim with doubled wings, the Greek name of which signifies a copy of cognition.

VERS. 1-3. The Spirit, he says, took me up, and led me to the gate of the house of the Lord which was from the opposite side, looking toward the east: and behold in the vestibules of the door, as it were twenty-five men. And I saw in their midst Jezoniah the son of Jezec, and Phaltiah the son of Banæus, the leaders of the people. And the Lord said to me: Son of man, these are the men thinking vain things, and treating of evil counsel in this city, saying: Have not houses been recently built? ^D this is the cauldron, but we the flesh. He accuses both the princes, and those...

^A moving, and kindling the fire, and serving the wood as fuel for the fire. And the reading of the divine oracles became more continuous, and the hymn-singing, and the prayer. And by all these things it is shown that the Law, while withdrawing them from external things, led them, as it were, to spiritual things on the Sabbath days. For they could not do this perpetually, living more carnally and being given over to bodily care.

CHAPTER LIX

^A Ver. 3. For your hands are defiled with blood. He foretells all things that were plotted against the Saviour; for with their lips they meditated unjust murder. For, he says, they took counsel, how they might destroy him; but with their hands they executed the counsel. For having seized him, they delivered him to Pilate.

Ver. 4. No one speaks that which is just. Famine (or, They are destitute) of justice and truth they are, and they rely upon audacity alone, and use vain words with one another. They conceive pain, and bring forth iniquity. He calls the thoughts conception; but the action, birth. For they devise, he says, lawless things.

Ver. 5. They have broken the eggs of asps. For the Lord Christ found this brutish plot, which they had brought forth, to be empty and of no effect, having broken the egg; for he received no harm from it. But the scope of their intention was nevertheless clear, that the basilisk, the most savage of serpents, might crawl forth from the egg; but the power of Him against whom the plots were directed both broke the egg and showed it to be empty, that is, he showed the plot to be weak. And they weave the web of a spider. For just as spiders' ^C webs catch the smallest insects, but are easily torn asunder by the greater, so also the devices of these men he against whom they were prepared destroyed with the greatest ease.

Ver. 8. And they do not know peace. For they have become destitute of divine providence.

Ver. 9. When they waited for light, darkness came upon them. Expecting prosperity, he says, they were delivered over to adversity. For here he calls prosperity light, and names misery darkness. Remaining for brightness, they walked in darkness. The events themselves also attest this; for when they read the divine Scripture, they do not discern its truth, and are like the blind, who indeed feel the wall, but do not see it.

Ver. 10. And they shall fall in the midday. This is more grievous than all else. For when the Sun of Righteousness illuminates the whole world, they stumble ^D as if in the middle of the night.

Ver. 11. As a bear and as a dove alike they walk.

^A They reveal the ferocity of the beast and the incessant moaning of the dove in their lamentations. But the discourse teaches both the hatred they have against us, and the pain by which they are consumed as they behold their own misfortunes.

VERS. 16. *He wrought salvation for them with his own arm.* He calls "arm" his operation; and mercy teaches the utility of discipline: for God disciplines for the benefit of all.

VERS. 17. *And he put on righteousness as a breastplate.* The prophetic ^B discourse presents to us the God of all as a certain general armed against his enemies. And the things said tropically make us understand the nature of the weapons spiritually. He showed the breastplate not made of iron, but fashioned from righteousness; and similarly he called salvation a helmet, and a vestment of vengeance, and a mantle of zeal, as if to say: He shall bring punishment justly and for salvation. For his retribution is also saving; for it frees those who are taken from many sins.

VERS. 19. *And those who are from the West shall fear.* He has designated the whole earth, which is under the sun, by East and West; through this he prophesied the knowledge of God diffused throughout all the nations.

VERS. 20. *And there shall come for the sake of Sion ^C he who delivers.* For the Savior came first to them, and desired to destroy the impiety of those first. For he himself also said: *I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Jacob and Israel.* (Matt. xv, 24). *And he shall turn away impieties from Jacob.* For seeing what sort of penalties the Jews paid for those things which they dared against the Savior, they will worship, as is fitting, him who showed his divine power.

CHAPTER LX

VERS. 2. *Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gloom the nations.* And this likewise has a double meaning. For he overturned the empire of the Babylonians, and surrendered them to a kind of darkness of siege and slavery. ^D Yet towards Jerusalem he revealed his own power, raising her up and making her illustrious. He performed this very same thing also in his holy Church; for he brought shame and darkness upon her persecutors, but he rendered her glorious, so that her unconquerable virtue is proclaimed by all.

VERS. 3. *And kings shall walk in thy light.* Let the Jews say, what kings embraced the legal worship, or what nations were led by them

to the God of all. But they cannot show this; however, among us the fulfillment of the prophecy is seen. For the light of the Church of God has shone upon the Gentiles, and led kings to the truth. ^A

VERS. 4. *Thy sons shall come from far.* This also does not accurately fit the Jews; for not all who had been taken captive returned, but only those who were of the tribe of Judah, and not even all of these, but only as many as held fast to the piety of their forefathers. For some remained, having embraced life among the Assyrians, others preferred to dwell in Egypt, and others were scattered among all the nations.

VERS. 5. *He shall bring to thee the wealth of the sea.* Neither does this fit the Jews; for what wealth of nations and peoples, I ask, was brought to them? But the Church of God receives what was formerly offered to demons; and that sea of the nations, once bitter, having been sweetened by the wood of the cross and having received a wondrous change, offers gifts to the Church of God. ^B And they bring these things especially to the city of Jerusalem, rushing from every land and sea.

VERS. 6. *And the herds of camels shall come to thee.* If anyone should accurately understand the meaning of the words, he will find that the persons themselves are called sheep, and rams, and camels. For He did not say, "They shall lead camels," but, "The herds of camels shall come, and the camels of Midian shall cover thee, and all the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered to thee."

VERS. 8. *Who are these that fly as clouds?* The Church of God, therefore, is amazed, seeing the clouds of peoples rushing to her, who imitate doves flying with their young. But if anyone wishes to understand this passage clearly, ^C let him observe the crowds gathering at public festivals, whether those of the Lord or those of the holy martyrs; and let him see some carrying their daughters in their arms or leading them by the hands, and others walking with their sons, and he will truly see spiritual doves flying with their young, and arriving at the new Sion.

VERS. 9. *The isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tharsis in the first rank.* Now He calls Carthage Tharsis, the metropolis of what was formerly Libya, but is now called Africa. For when the same prophet said, "Wail, ships of Carthage, for it has perished," we found "Tharsis" written in the Hebrew. ^D

VERS. 10. *And foreigners shall build thy walls.* It is possible for someone seeking this according to history to find it,

^A while Cyrus and after him Darius were building Jerusalem; and not only that, but also when Alexander caught sight of the high priestly vestments and changed his anger into an act of worship. "For in my anger I struck you." These words are also fitting for the ancient Jerusalem, which was destroyed for its sins, but rebuilt solely through loving-kindness; and they are fitting for the Church of God, which was once likened to a desert, not yet deemed worthy of divine care, but which later enjoyed the providence of the Savior.

VERS. 11. *And thy gates shall be opened continually.* What strength of nations hastened to the ancient Jerusalem for the sake of worship? And what kings, led by others, worshipped the God of all there? But the gates of the Church of God are always open, welcoming those who approach, and they also welcome pious kings, who are led by the discipline of the holy Apostles.

VERS. 12. *And princes, who shall not serve thee, shall perish.* This point clearly refutes the deluded understanding of the Jews. For neither nations nor kings served the Jews after their return from Babylon. But they do serve the Church of God. And as many as have refused this service have become ridiculous, cowardly, and most wretched in this present life, and they shall not see eternal life.

VERS. 13. *With the cypress, and the pine, and the cedar.* It is likely that these existed also in the former temple, and that they brought the wood again from Lebanon.

VERS. 14. *And there shall come to thee trembling the sons of them that humbled thee.* The Babylonians did not worship Jerusalem; but the greater part of the nations do worship the Church of God, especially the sons of those former people. For when those had finished their lives, ^C these others learned the truth and offer worship to the Savior, presenting their adoration in their own houses of prayer. *And thou shalt be called the city of Sion.* But yet, Jerusalem received another name. For the Roman emperors called it Aelia. How, therefore, is the truth of the prophecy demonstrated, unless one understands Sion in a more spiritual sense?

VERS. 16. *And thou shalt eat the riches of kings.* What kings' riches did the ancient Jerusalem take after the return? Or what nations’ abundance of goods did it suck, like milk? But I assume it is clear even to those who are stubbornest that the Church of God shows the truth of the prediction. For this Church constantly receives both the gifts of kings and, having accepted the offerings of the nations, praises the Author of them.

VERS. 17. *And for brass I will bring thee gold.* One can see the truth of this prophecy too in the structures of the houses of prayer; for with gold ^D and silver...

^A they shine, not so that they might supply a need of God, but so that they might declare the zeal of pious men.

VERS. 18. *And iniquity shall no more be heard in the land.* One will see a truer fulfillment of these things in the life to come; for that life is free from iniquity, that life is adorned with supreme justice, that life is truly without misery and delivered from cares. But one might find these things also in the Church of God as in a figure; for it has been delivered from the error of idols. And it continually sings the praises of the God of all. And its leaders succor those suffering injury as much as they are able. ^B

VERS. 19. *And the sun shall be no more thy light by day.* This, too, will strictly come to pass in the future life; for that life needs neither sun nor moon, since it has the ineffable light of God himself. Believers possess this even now as in a figure: for, illuminated by it, they walk in a path free from error.

VERS. 21. *And thy people shall be all righteous, and they shall inherit the land forever.* This also foretold regarding the future life. For that life has immutability of character. It is adorned with eternal justice, it is free from sin, it has neither the immature nor the aged, but enjoys an immortal age. In it, those who have been found worthy possess the land of the living as an inheritance. ^C

CHAPTER LXI

VERS. 1. *The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.* We do not need many demonstrations to explain this prophecy. For the Lord himself has made it clear to us. For when he had entered the synagogue and taken this book, then opening it, he read this prophecy and said to those listening: *Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your ears*; and he showed clearly that it was himself who had spoken these things about himself through the prophet. *To preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted.* ^D By all these words he designates men. And he calls them poor, as those who have lost the heavenly riches; and brokenhearted, as those who have corrupted their reason; and blind, as those who have been ignorant of God and have fallen from their former liberty. For human nature had fallen into the uttermost poverty, and especially the nations who were serving idols.

VERS. 2. *And the day of retribution.* Not only indeed has He granted us the remission of sins, and delivered us from the tyranny of the devil, and demonstrated the divine light, but He has also promised the future life, and threatened a just judgment. For I interpret "The acceptable year of the Lord" as His first advent; but "the day of retribution" as the day of judgment. ^A For He has tempered the sadness of death with the hope of the resurrection. He hints at the mystical ointment, by which we receive joy, and the garment of glory: for by the robe, the stola is to be understood.

VERS. 3. *And the generations of justice shall be called.* That is, these, they who are chosen from Sion, and the twelve, and the seventy, and the three thousands, and the many myriads. Thus also the blessed David says: "This is the generation of those who seek Him."

VERS. 4. *And they shall make the desert cities new.* Let them show us these things done in Judea. We show the cities which impiety had devastated, [and which were] restored by the sacred apostles and by the pious men who succeeded to their preaching.

VERS. 5. *And aliens shall come, pasturing your sheep.* By aliens from the nations He has named those who were born as teachers of the Church, and pastors, and plowmen, and vinedressers.

VERS. 6. *But you shall be called the priests of the Lord.* The apostolic name, however, the thrice-blessed ones possessed as their primary and singular [title]. For although these succeeded to their work, yet no one dares to arrogate to himself the appellation of those. "You shall eat the strength of the nations." ^C For having crushed the prevailing impiety, they provided them with spiritual riches, being admired by all for the new transformation.

VERS. 7. *They shall possess the land a second time.* For the earth shall be freed from the ancient curse, and there shall be a new one, as it is now covered.

VERS. 9. *Their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring.* He calls the seed and offspring of the holy apostles those who succeeded to their preaching. "For the tree is known by its fruit," according to the doctrine of the Lord. But how illustrious the servants of our Savior are, the things themselves bear witness. We see them, as those entrusted with the greatest authorities, running continually to these, and with ardent zeal receiving the blessing from them.

[The translation continues after the lacuna in the Greek/Latin original text:]

...that I am the Lord. For since, He says, you were disturbing and agitating the righteous (for so Aquila interpreted it), foretelling painful things to them, while you made the transgressors more bold, by prophesying good things—and both you did contrary to My purpose—for this reason, I will deliver you to total perdition, and I will put an end to your false divination, and I will deliver My people from the destruction brought about by you. Having thus prophesied concerning these, He transfers the discourse to another matter.

CHAPTER XIV

VERS. 1-3. And there came, He says, men to me from the elders of Israel, and they sat before my face. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, these men have set their thoughts upon their hearts, and the punishment of their iniquities they have placed before their face. Shall I by answering answer them? Aquila interpreted this more clearly: "These men dedicated their idols in their heart, and the scandal of their iniquity they placed against their face." For what, He says, they have wickedly thought out, they carry out, and having impudently neglected the punishment I threatened, which I threatened to sinners, they came to you eager to inquire of something, and hoping they would be deemed worthy of an answer.

VERS. 4-5. Therefore speak to them, and you shall say to them: Thus says Adonai the Lord: A man from the house of Israel, who shall set his thoughts upon his heart, and set the punishment of his iniquity before his face, and come to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him in those things in which his mind is held, that he may turn the house of Israel according to their hearts [which are] alienated from Me in their thoughts. Since those bound by the crime of impiety used both prophets and false prophets with an equal rationale, and they inquired—not that they might in any way perform what was commanded by God, but to the end that they might understand whether the predictions would correspond to their own thoughts—for this cause God, the author of all things, says through the prophet: Whoever of the house of Israel, resisting the divine doctrine and following only his own thoughts, and despising that commination which I threatened to the impious, shall go to a false prophet desiring to fulfill his own designs, and making trial of whether what has been predicted will correspond to his own thoughts in its outcome; I, He says, will answer him. Because he has not used a straight mind, I will grant the false prophet [the power] to confirm his designs: for he is worthy of ruin and destruction. Therefore, He says, [that he may] turn the house of Israel according to their hearts alienated from Me in their thoughts...

^A *For He has clothed me with a garment of salvation.* By the garment of salvation and the tunic of gladness, He calls the grace of the most-holy baptism. "For as many of you," He says, "as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Whence, even in the Hebrew tongue, for "garment of salvation," "garment of Jescha" is used, that is, of Christ. *As a bride, He has adorned me with ornaments.* The Church calls herself a bride, as she is yoked to the Bridegroom; and a bride, as she has put on the Bridegroom. The three other interpreters called the mitre a crown. The blessed David also remembers this ornamentation: "The queen stood at your right side, in golden clothing, arrayed and adorned" (Ps. 44:10). The discourse signifies the various charisms of the Holy Spirit. 11. *And as a garden her seeds.* He has shown the whole world to have become a paradise of righteousness.

Chapter LXII

^A Not a messenger, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself saved them because He loved them and spared them; He Himself redeemed them and took them up and exalted them all the days of eternity. For the sake of these, he says, He also bore with the others who were transgressing, and continued caring for all, and deemed them worthy of every kind of providence, not using angels as ministers of salvation but Himself undertaking the mystery of the Incarnation. As for "Not a messenger nor an angel," Theodotion said, "Neither a besieger nor an angel." For He entrusted the war on our behalf to no one else, but He Himself fought, He Himself triumphed, He Himself destroyed the tyrant's power. Yet they were disobedient and provoked His Holy Spirit, and He turned into an enemy to them, and the Lord Himself fought against them. He, for His part, employing ineffable goodness, transacted everything for their salvation.

"Or shall they take from it wood to do work? Will they take a peg from it to hang any vessel upon it? Behold, it is given to the fire for consumption; the fire consumes its yearly cleansing, and it fails utterly." Since He always called Israel a vine through the prophets—for through David He says, "You transplanted a vine from Egypt"; and Isaiah: "The vineyard was for my beloved"; and Jeremiah: "How have you turned into bitterness toward me, the true vine?"—he shows the uselessness of Israel by a trope taken from the branches of the vine. For just as he says that the wood of the vine is unfit for work above all other wood—for one cannot fashion even the cheapest peg from it, but it exists only as food for the fire, and its yearly pruning is surrendered to the fire—in such a way is this people fit for nothing else but destruction and punishment.

"The fire consumes its yearly cleansing," he says, "and it fails utterly. Shall it be made for work?" (v. 5.) Not even while it is still whole will it be for work. How much less, if fire consumes it utterly, will it be for work? For if, before it is surrendered to the fire, it is fit for no work, it would have no utility at all after the fire’s consumption. Having thus spoken the parable, he provides the interpretation.

(v. 6, 7.) "Therefore say: Thus says Adonai the Lord: As the wood of the vine among the woods of the forest, which I have given to the fire for consumption, so have I given those dwelling in Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them." He speaks this by metaphor taken from those who show an angry and grim face. "They shall go out from the fire," he says, "and the fire shall consume them." For being delivered from the famine, they shall be surrendered to slaughter and captivity. "And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set my face against them." ^B (v. 8.) "And I will give the land into desolation, because they have trespassed a trespass, says Adonai the Lord." For I will surrender them to captivity and slaughter, and I will render the land cultivated by them desert, as there will be no one to cultivate it. And they shall suffer these things, paying the penalty for the things in which they trespassed against me. Since, therefore, all things that were written before were written for our benefit, that through the patience and consolation of the Scriptures we might have hope, let us not become wood and grass, and...

^A nemini servivimus unquam. This arrogance the blessed John the Baptist also suppresses, saying, "Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father; for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." ^B Just as, therefore, this divine man compared those who were beastly and living in wickedness to venomous beasts, so too in this place the Lord God, through the prophet, calls their root Canaanite, the father an Amorite, and the mother a Hittite, and in a word, a foreign generation. For they had emulated the impiety of these nations and fittingly received their lineage, being allotted to this race by their manner of life. This was more than enough to strike them with terror, not only because of the wickedness of these peoples at that time, but also because of the ancient disfavor they held. For Canaan was subject to curses and was condemned to slavery by the forefather Noah. "You are," He says, "a descendant of this man, and you have no kinship with Abraham and Sem; for you have renounced their piety, and therefore you have also lost their kinship, and you have been completely stripped of that nobility." Having thus struck them with the ignobility of Canaan, He relates one by one both their own wickedness and His own beneficence.

VERS. 4. "Your navel," He says, "has not been cut." That is to say, you still draw Egyptian nourishment. He calls one's birth the exodus from Egypt. Students of medicine declare that a fetus in its mother's womb has a navel as a kind of root, and through it is nourished and grows; thus, since midwives are accustomed to cut the portion of the navel that protrudes from the infant, He says figuratively and by way of metaphor, "Your navel has not been cut," which means: even today you draw the nourishment of impiety from your mother's womb, that is, from Egypt. "And you were not washed in water for salvation." This also is perhaps ^C said by way of metaphor taken from infants, who are washed after birth, and cleansed, and freed from the blood of the womb. You, therefore, He says, have not been freed from these things, but even today you still bear the signs of the maternal womb. "Neither were you salted with salt, nor swaddled with swaddling clothes." You have not received, He says, the salt of doctrine, nor the swaddling clothes brought to you through the discipline of the Law, which are used for ^D infants.

^A Ver. 14. *Ut faceres tibi nomen gloriæ.* For divine grace led them, and the God of Israel was made manifest to all.

Ver. 15. *Convertere de cœlo, et vide de domo sancta tua.* From this point the prophet transfers his speech to God Himself, offering prayer on behalf of the people. ^B "Where is your zeal, and your strength?" You have always been long-suffering toward us, O Lord; you have taken away our iniquity, you have unleashed your wrath against our enemies, and you have made your unconquerable power known.

Ver. 16. *Sed tu, Domine, Pater noster.* None of those ancient forefathers of ours knows us; therefore, we call upon you alone as both Father and Lord, for we were named your people from of old.

Ver. 17. *Quare seduxisti nos, Domine, de via tua? indurasti corda nostra?* For a very long time, he says, you bore with us; seeing us sinning fearlessly, you did not chastise us. Hence, having hardened our hearts, we turned aside from the straight path. Your excess of long-suffering produced this shamelessness in us; for because you were unwilling to punish us when we were transgressing, we persisted in our transgressions and held your laws in contempt.

Ver. 18. *Hostes nostri conculcaverunt sanctificationem tuam.* The Holy of Holies, which it was forbidden to touch and which only the priests were permitted to approach, became desolate and was trampled upon by impious ^C enemies. For the impious were not only the Babylonians, but also the Macedonians and the Romans, when they overthrew Jerusalem.

Ver. 19. *Facti sumus quasi a principio.* We have been stripped of that multifaceted providence, and we have become like our ancestors who, while serving in Egypt, were not yet called your people.

CHAPTER LXIV

Ver. 1. *Si aperueris cœlum, tremor apprehendet ex te montes.* But we have suffered these things, not because of your weakness, but because of our own iniquity. For when you come down from heaven, the mountains are shaken, and they shall be destroyed like wax melting before the fire.

Ver. 2. *A facie tua gentes turbabuntur.* All things are easy for you, all things are ready; to shake the mountains, to trouble the nations.

Ver. 4. *A sæculo non audivimus.* From the events themselves we have learned that you alone are God. For of no other have we seen or heard works ^D befitting God.

Ver. 5. *Occurret exspectantibus justitiam.* He declared the justice of mercy. For neither the mercy of

^A God is without judgment, nor is his judgment without mercy. For this reason, he coupled the provision of mercy with those who wait upon him and those who do justice. "Behold, you were angry, and we have sinned." He has such a thought in mind: just as a good teacher having a wicked pupil, desiring to turn him away from his wickedness, admonishes him to become better; but he, not only not ceasing from evil, but also increasing in wickedness: it follows that the teacher should turn away from him, and leaving him, the pupil should surrender himself to complete disorder. Thus, he says, also in our case, when we did not allow ourselves to be turned from our evil way, you were angry, and we, deprived of your ^B supervision, were led according to the current of our sins.

Ver. 6. *As a menstruous cloth is all our justice.* The prudence of the prophet is worthy of admiration, for he did not compare our sin to an unclean cloth, but our justice. For it has no image comparable to sin. "And we faded away like leaves because of our iniquities." He showed by this the justice of punishment. For he says that we pay the price for much lawlessness; and we are like leaves carried along by a whirlwind.

Ver. 7. *There is none that calls upon your name.* Because of our apathy we have fallen, and we do not feel the calamities; nor do we ask for deliverance from them, being stripped of your care; because of much lawlessness we were handed over to servitude. ^C

Ver. 8. And now, Lord, you are our Father. He reminds us of the ancient creation, and calls him Father, and Master, and Creator; and he calls human nature clay, so that through these things he may also open the fountains of mercy.

Ver. 9. And do not in time remember our sins. Lest at the time of the enemy's assault you remember our sins.

Ver. 10. *The city of the Holy One has become a desert.* That is, David’s city; for it was styled his city. If, he says, we are unworthy of kindness such that your people are styled by your name, for the sake of the city grant mercy to it, since the builder has made it a desert. ^D

CAP. LXV.

Ver. 1. *I became manifest to those who did not seek me.* I do not accept, he says, the intercession on behalf of them; I have chosen another people. I am no longer hidden from the nations throughout the world. They saw the light who were in darkness; they knew the author who did not know him; they found the treasure [who were not seeking him].

"I spread out my hands the whole day long unto a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those who walk in a way not good, but after their own sins." The nations, therefore, not having received a prophet, nevertheless recognized the benefactor; but these, having obtained every kind of care, received no benefit, but persist in their habitual lawlessness. And the phrase, "the whole day long I spread out my hands," demonstrates the care shown them throughout all time, and also hints at the saving passion of the cross, in which he stretched out his hands. Then he also lays bare their great impiety and lawlessness: "This people that provokes me to anger before my face continually, they sacrifice in the gardens, and burn incense upon the bricks to demons and to things that are not." Knowing that I see what is happening, while I am present they serve the demons, desiring to provoke me through the things they dare to do. "They sleep in graves and in caves for the sake of dreams." "I thank you, O God, that I am not as the rest of men, unjust, covetous, adulterers, nor even like this tax collector." Then, showing the harm of pride, he adds: "This is the smoke of my fury, a fire burning within it all the days." For just as wood stirs up the flame, so does pride, so also does arrogance kindle my wrath. "Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, until I pay into their bosom all their sins and the sins of their fathers together, says the Lord." Since they live in every lawlessness, as though they had reached the pinnacle of virtue, and look down upon others, they will reap the harvest of what they dare, and he teaches that not only in the present life but also in the world to come they will pay the price; for this reason he said: "And the sins of their fathers together, says the Lord." "They burned incense upon the mountains." He says these things about their fathers. "And upon the hills they reproached me. I will repay their works first into their bosom." He has shown the judgment that will be in the world to come. Then he teaches for what reason he endured them for such a long time while they were acting lawlessly thus: "Thus says the Lord; the arrogance, and blessed John the Baptist destroys it, saying: 'Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, produce fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say among yourselves: We have Abraham as our father; for I tell you truly: God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.'" Just as this divine man likened them, being beastly and living in wickedness, to poisonous beasts, so here too the Master God through the prophet calls their root Canaanite, and the father an Amorite, and the mother a Hittite, and simply calls the birth foreign-born; for of whom they emulated the impiety, of them they deservedly received the kinship. "We are, and to no one have we been enslaved at any time." Having been allotted this to this race from their character. But it was enough to strike them greatly, not only because of the lawlessness at that time of these very nations, but also because of the enmity from above. For Canaan was subjected to curses, and was condemned to servitude by his forefather Noah. "Of this, he says, you are a descendant, and you have no kinship with Abraham and Shem; for whose piety you renounced, of them you also lost the kinship, and you were completely stripped of that nobility." Having thus struck them with the ignobility of Canaan, he narrates bit by bit both their lawlessness and his own benefit.

Ver. 4. "Thy navel was not cut," he says. That is, still you pull the Egyptian nourishment. He calls the exodus from Egypt her birth. Now physicians' sons say that the embryo in the mother's womb has the navel as a kind of root, and through that it is nourished and grows; since, therefore, midwives are accustomed to cut the part of the navel that protrudes from the infant, he says figuratively and by metaphor: "Thy navel was not circumcised," instead of: Even today you pull from the maternal womb, that is, Egypt, the nourishment of impiety. "And in water thou wast not washed unto salvation." And this is perhaps a metaphor from infants, who after being born are washed, and cleaned, and rid of the maternal blood. "You, therefore," he says, "were not rid of these, but even today you carry the signs of the maternal womb." "Neither wast thou salted with salt, and thou wast not swaddled in swaddling clothes." You did not receive, he says, the salt of doctrine, nor the swaddling clothes brought to you through the law, which are applied to infants.

^A But those who did not have the prophets, believe in the One preached by them.

VERS. 2. *I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient people.* The nations, then, having received no prophet, recognized their benefactor; but they themselves, having obtained every kind of providence, received no benefit, but persist in their habitual lawlessness. As for the expression, *All day long I have stretched out my hands*, it signifies indeed the providence bestowed upon them at all times, but it also alludes to the saving passion of the cross, upon which He stretched out his hands.

VERS. 3. *This people that provokes me to anger before my face.* Knowing that I see what is being done, they worship demons in my presence, striving to provoke me with such daring acts. *They sacrifice in the gardens.* Giving themselves over to error, they also follow the phantasms of dreams; and for this reason they do not shun sleeping by the tombs and in the caves consecrated to demons. He condemns their transgression of the Law, teaching that because they did not hold to the Law, nor embrace a better way of life, they dared that bloody murder and nailed their benefactor to the wood.

VERS. 5. *Who say, "Keep away from me; do not come near me, because I am pure."* Such were those who accused the Savior and said, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Such was the Pharisee who said within himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him." Such was the one who, praying in the temple, said, "I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." ^C *This is the smoke of my anger.* For just as wood excites a flame, so arrogance and pride kindle my anger.

VERS. 8. *As if one should find a berry in a cluster.* For just as, he says, if someone finds one ripe berry in a cluster, he spares the whole cluster for its sake, so that he may offer the first-fruits to God; so too did I promise to Abraham that in his seed I would bless all nations.

VERS. 9. *And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah.* That is, the expectation of the nations, for whom I promised that I would bless all the tribes of the earth. Then, together with Christ the Lord, he makes mention of the apostles who believed in Him, and of the others who succeeded to their preaching.

a son of a hundred years; he has set this according to the idiom of the Hebrews and Syrians instead of: a hundred years old. And they shall build houses and they themselves shall inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and they themselves shall eat their fruits; and they shall not build and others inhabit, and they shall not plant and others eat. He has set these things figuratively according to his own idiom, calling virtue houses and vineyards. Thus also the divine apostle: "For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap; he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life"; and again: "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows with blessings will reap with blessings"; and elsewhere: "Each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor." For as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people, they shall wear out the works of their own labors. How can these things be adapted to those who walk through this mortal life? For the prophetic word promises eternal life. For of that tree God said: ^A ...desiring; and you were having communion with each one illegally. For He declared this when He said: "It happened to you, and it shall not be"; that is, you were joined to others to whom you did not belong in any way, since you had dedicated yourself to Me from the beginning. He calls idolatry "fornication" here, and every transgression, the various stratagems of the demons.

16. And you took of your garments, and made for yourself embroidered idols, and played the whore over them; and you shall not enter, which will not be, nor come to pass. New, he says, and paradoxical are your practices of idolatry. For you did not only emulate the evils of others, but you yourself devised others, having constructed images of idols from garments and declaring them gods, even though I had forbidden such things to you through the Law.

17. And you took the vessels of your splendor from my silver and from my gold, which I gave to you, and you made for yourself images of males, and you played the whore with them. Taking the silver and the gold from Me, he says, and fashioning gods from My gifts, you preferred them to My worship. He called them "images of males," because he names idolatry "fornication" figuratively.

18, 19. And you took, he says, your embroidered garment and clothed them, and you set My oil and My incense before their face. And the bread which I gave you, the fine flour and honey, and oil with which I fed you, you set them before their face for an odor of sweetness. The good things which you received from Me, he says, these you offered to those adulterous demons, with some of them adorning and decorating them, and with others performing sacrifices and libations. And it came to pass, says Adonai the Lord.

(20) And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne, and you sacrificed them to them for consumption. Then the rebuke is by irony: "Is it a small thing that you played the whore?" From which it is evident, and most clear, that he calls the worship of idols "fornication" here.

21, 22. And you slaughtered, he says, your children and gave them up to them to expiate them. This [is] beyond all your fornication and your abominations. For truly, of all things, the most foul and most abominable was this unjust slaughter of children which those who were crazed performed, thinking—as they foolishly assumed—that they were contriving for themselves an expiation and a release from evils. "And you did not remember the day of your infancy, when you were naked, and disgraced, and wallowing in your blood."

^A He also teaches them his proper greatness, as far as they were able to learn: "If I have heaven as a throne, what size of house can you build for me?" I do not require your cooperation, I who have fashioned all these things by my word, and have made them not for any need of my own, but for the benefit of mankind. He then teaches what is pleasing to him: "And to whom shall I look, except to the humble and quiet and him who trembles at my words?" I have a true house and a holy temple in the one who leads his life according to my commandments, who fears and trembles at the transgression of my ordinances, and who employs a gentle manner and a humble disposition. But the lawless one who sacrifices a calf to me is like one who strikes a man, and he who sacrifices a sheep is like one who kills a dog, and he who offers fine flour is like one who offers swine's blood, and he who gives incense as a memorial is like a blasphemer. Through these things he set aside the legal worship, teaching that he legislated these things from the beginning for their sake, not because he was pleased by the sacrifices, but because he was providing for them as if for the weak. For this reason he compares the permitted things with the forbidden ones.

"From you." Both from heaven, and from earth, and from things above, and from things below, learn my power; for with great ease I both brought these things forth and will cause them to disappear.

(v. 9) "And put on the strength of your arm." He offers these words to her as one who has fallen and is lying down; and he exhorts her to receive her former strength.

(v. 12) "I myself am he who comforts you." He who delivered Pharaoh along with his army to the sea; he who struck down the many myriads of the Assyrians through a single angel.

(v. 13) "And you forgot God who made you." For even if a father and a mother have become the ministers of generation, as providing for you the pretexts of affection and kinship, nevertheless I did not allow this from a lack of power. For neither in the beginning, when I was forming Adam, did I need these, but I established him by my will and by my power.

(v. 16) "Under the shadow of my hand I will cover you." The remembrance of creation is sufficient to demonstrate the power of the operation, of which he promises to impart to them; for he has called the operation "a hand."

(v. 17) "You who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of fury." He calls the punishment a cup; for this too is stupefying, just like drunkenness.

(v. 19) "Two things... these are opposed to you." He calls "two things" the courage of the enemies and the desolation of those who were aiding; for the former advance bravely, while the latter flee courageously. "A fall and a crushing." He introduced two things again: both to fall and to be crushed. For there are times when one falls but is not struck. "Famine and sword." Again a double punishment. For the former were besieging them from the outside, but the famine was more grievous than the enemies, destroying them from within.

(v. 20) "Sleeping like a half-boiled beet." He indicates their slothfulness through the sleep, and their cowardice through the vegetable.

(v. 21) "And being drunk, not with wine." The accusation is greater. For drunkenness is more grievous than impiety.

(v. 22) "Who judges his people." He consoles through names of intimacy. "Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of ruin." He foretells the overthrow of the Babylonians. Since Nebuchadnezzar came against them four times—first in the third year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah; secondly, in the tenth year of the same king; the third time with Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim; and the fourth time with Zedekiah—he promises no longer to offer them the cup of punishment through the Babylonians.

The sense is that the lion will no longer devour flesh, but will partake of the food of oxen. ^A “And the serpent [eats] earth, as bread.” For, being rolled upon the earth and trodden underfoot by the saints, and crushed by the wood of the cross, it has lost all its strength.

CHAPTER LXVI

^A VERS. 1. “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” By these words he excludes local worship; he shows himself to be the maker of heaven and earth, and the creator of all other things, and that he has no need of a temple made with hands. “What house will you build for me?” I have a true house and a holy temple: the one who lives according to my commandments, who fears and trembles at the transgression of my precepts, and who possesses a gentle manner and a humble mind.

^B VERS. 3. “And they have chosen their own ways.” They did not heed my words, but followed their own reasonings; not what I desired, but what they themselves wanted. I too shall bring upon them punishments, which they themselves do not desire, but which I shall justly inflict; for he called these punishments “illusions.”

VERS. 5. “Say, ‘Our brothers,’” to those who hate you. This is also legislated in the holy Gospels: ^C “Love your enemies, and bless those who persecute you.”

VERS. 6. “A voice of clamour from the city.” The prophetic word has signified the lamentation that will occur at the time of the capture. And, teaching the justice of the punishment, he said that the Lord of all exacts penalties from those who oppose him.

VERS. 7. “Before she who is in labour gives birth.” He has declared both the swiftness of the birth and the strength of the one who was born; for by the male, he signified strength.

VERS. 8. “Or has a nation been born at once?” What the prophet taught by words, experience shows clearly. ^D For when the great Peter preached, grace brought forth three thousand at once; and again, when he gave another teaching, it brought forth five thousand likewise. And all these were zealous for the law, as the divine James says.

VERS. 9. “And behold, I have made her who bears, barren.” You once brought forth prophets, but the Church of the nations was barren at that time; now, however, the opposite has happened. For you have ceased to bear, but she has received the grace of fruitfulness.

^A Ver. 10. *Rejoice, Jerusalem.* He speaks these things concerning the apostles, whom he rendered celebrated and illustrious among all mortals. He compared their honor and glory to a river and an overflowing torrent.

Ver. 11. *That you may suck.* The divine Apostle imparted this food to the Corinthians, saying: "I gave you milk to drink, not meat; for you were not yet able."

Ver. 14. *And your bones shall sprout like grass.* For not only in this present life shall I bring you all manner of consolation through my preachers, but I shall also fill you with every kind of joy in the heavenly city, bestowing the resurrection from the dead. For he indicated this, comparing the budding of bones to sprouting grass.

Ver. 15. *For behold, the Lord shall come as fire.* By these words he predicts the second coming of the Lord. And things similar to these are read as having been said in the holy Gospels: "You shall see," he says, "the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory, with the elect angels." — *To render his vengeance in fury.* His fury is accustomed to be understood as his punishing and avenging powers; and he shall send his rebuke in the flame of fire against them.

Ver. 16. *For by fire the Lord shall judge all the earth.* So also the divine Apostle said: "It shall be revealed in fire, and the fire shall test what sort of work each one's is." — *And by his sword all flesh.* Speaking as if of a body, he mentioned a sword and likewise the wounded, since they were Jews and could not understand otherwise, being less capable of perceiving the meaning of the words. The Apostle, therefore, explains the proposed sentiment, saying: "But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation and just judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works." — "Many shall be wounded by the Lord." He calls those who are given over to wickedness wounded; but those who are purified and cleansed "in gardens and in porches," he calls those who practice ablutions. He teaches, moreover, that he will also require an account of the legal worship from those who, before the incarnation of our Savior, were under the law.

Ver. 18. *I come to gather all nations.* He has clearly declared that this was not for the sake of the salvation of the Jews alone, but that he might offer salvation to all nations. And he calls the figure of the saving cross a sign.

Ver. 19. *And I will send those who are saved from them to the nations.*

The Lord said to the holy apostles, "Go, make disciples of all nations." ^A In their time, the prophecy before us received its fulfillment; for they brought the divine preaching to all nations. And he calls Carthage, the metropolis of Libya, "Tharsis," and "Phud" the entire Lycian nation, "Lud" the Lydians, "Mosoch" the Cappadocians, and "Thobel" the Iberians. He also mentions Greece and the islands, and through these, all the nations that did not know the God of all, nor had they experienced His power.

Ver. 20. *And they will bring your brothers.* He calls those who believed from the nations "their brothers," on account of their kinship in nature. For there were Jews among the nations, and a vast multitude from the nations believed. Among them was Crispus the ruler of the synagogue, and countless others at Antioch in Pisidia, ^B at Iconium, at Lystra, and in other cities, who accepted the saving instruction.

Ver. 22. *For as the new heaven.* Just as I shall transform the whole visible creation and make it new, so will I preserve your race in everlasting memory; and not yours only, but also of those who through you are destined to believe.

Ver. 23. *And it shall be from month to month, and from Sabbath to Sabbath.* Describing the life in the heavens, he also mentions the differences of which the Lord spoke: "There are many mansions in my Father's house," that is, differences in honors. He says that these people celebrate and dance in joy forever. For he calls feasts "month" and "Sabbath," ^C because the Jews used to keep their festivals on these.

Ver. 24. *They shall behold the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me.* The Lord showed in the holy Gospels that Lazarus beheld the punishment of the rich man, and the latter beheld the joy of Lazarus. Therefore, he teaches from this also that those who enjoy that joy see those who are condemned to punishments paying the penalty for the sins they committed, and especially those who dared to nail to the wood of the cross the Lord of the whole world.