Exposition on the Prophet Hosea

^A and at last Shalmaneser carried them away to Babylon. Nor were the remaining two tribes amended. God, therefore, shows His own humanity, so that He may teach us to demonstrate the same. Such, then, according to the letter, is the purpose of the prophecy of Hosea; but may the Spirit uncover our eyes, so that we may both discern the miracles delivered through this [prophet], and through the letter itself, as a mirror, be able to behold the mystery which pertains to Christ, and to perceive the beauty of virtue which shines forth in the same prophet, and calls us to the correct discipline of morals.

COMMENTARY ON HOSEA

CHAPTER ONE

VER. 1. *The word of the Lord, that came to Hosea the son of Beeri.* Isaiah, indeed, sees, so that he may terrify the hearers all the more, as if the evils themselves were present before their eyes; but to Hosea the word comes, as if God were a teacher speaking more gently to the disobedient, and turning them back through what He says and what He does. The Word of God also, and God the Wisdom of the Father, seems to come to Hosea, and through this prophet to speak words. Moreover, to all those who perform the things that pertain to salvation, the Word comes, which indeed dominates within them and rules and moderates the part of the soul that is devoid of reason.

^B *In the days of Uzziah, and Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel.* He clearly shows that the prophet was sent as an instructor to both kingdoms: both to that which consisted of two tribes, and to that other which consisted of the other ten tribes, which at that time Jeroboam ruled—not the one who had formerly led the people astray (for that one was the son of Nebat, but this one is the son of Joash); for because of the homonymy, the name of his father is also added. He shows, furthermore, that he labored for a long time preaching, for two reasons: ^C the first, that we might understand that we also ought to do the same, not correcting those who commit faults once or twice only, but frequently and for a long time; the second, that it might become plain to all that no one ought to accuse God for having utterly destroyed such a great people. For a fair and just punishment clearly appears to have been inflicted upon them, from the fact that, ^D although God had tolerated them for such a long time and warned them, they were never brought to bear good fruit.

Exposition on the Prophet Hosea

^B *Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms.* When God sent the prophets to harsh and churlish men, He commanded them to do such things as would move them most deeply. For so He commanded Isaiah to go about naked and unshod, and thus to pour forth his prophecies; and Jeremiah, to put chains about his neck; and Ezekiel, to dig through the wall and go forth: so that when those men saw such things being done by such people, they might not treat them with contempt, but search out the reasons why they were done, and, upon learning them, be brought to a sound mind. So also in this instance, even if it does not seem so to the teachers of the Hebrews, Hosea takes the harlot so that they might learn that they themselves are the harlot, and that God, being the bridegroom, tolerates them, though they are wallowing with idols; and if the harlot is something shameful, they too are shameful and must change their lives. Remarkable, however, are the prophets, in how they obeyed God even in matters that appeared so absurd and blameworthy; for where there is a command of God, there is nothing foul or sordid there. For, indeed, things are judged by their purpose, and by reason of the purpose the same things often do not appear to be the same: as, for instance, the union in marriage and in adultery is the same act, yet in marriage it is not reprehensible, but in adultery, on the contrary, it is to be most severely punished. Cain was condemned for the murder of his brother because he killed him out of envy; Phinehas, on the other hand, was deemed righteous because he was led by zeal to commit a similar killing. Theft is not permitted by the law, yet Jacob purloined the blessing. Elijah fasted as a temperate man; so did those who bore false witness against Naboth—as calumniators. Saul spared Agag, whom God had ordered him to kill, and he was condemned; Samuel slew him, and he pleased God. ^C And so, in this case, the prophet, not yielding to desire but to the commandment of God, took the harlot, and did not...

thereby defile himself or his body. Just as God is not defiled when He mingles Himself with the unchaste Synagogue of the Israelites. Thus, if reason is present, it adorns what is done, even if they might otherwise be unseemly. And the mind of the zealous man takes the harlot—that is, the faculty of sense ^A previously foolishly poured out upon every pleasant sensible thing and entangled with it, and becoming one with it—as a wife for himself, persuading it to understand its own dignity and to be joined to it, and not to be deceived by the apparent form of sensible things, but to perceive their nature, that it is transitory and unstable, just as the harlot-like matters are faithless and uncertain. And from this he teaches it neither to be puffed up by pleasant things nor to collapse under painful ones, because of the short duration in both.

For it is seen from this, that not even God, when He is with the unchaste ^B Synagogue of the Israelites. Thus where the Word is present in these matters, it adorns them, even if they were otherwise unseemly. And the mind of the zealous man takes the harlot—sense—previously foolishly poured out upon every pleasant sensible thing, and entangled in it, and becoming one with it, as a wife for himself; persuading it to understand its own dignity, and to be joined unto it, and not to be deceived by the apparent form of sensible things, but to consider their nature—that it is transitory and unstable, just as are the harlot-like passages, faithless and uncertain. And from thence he teaches it neither to be puffed up by things that are pleasant, nor to fall down at things that are painful, because of the short duration in both.

"For the land, committing fornication, shall commit fornication, leaving the Lord." The word is used for "has committed fornication." It says that the entire region of the Israelite tribes had played the harlot, that is, it had turned aside from following the Lord and followed idols. Perhaps also the expression is inclined toward the future. By this, however, the Word wished us to understand the treachery of the Jews toward our Lord Jesus Christ, who might justly be called "earth," since they would not wish to think of anything high or heavenly. Moreover, so far were they from following Christ, that when they saw others following Him, they said, complaining madly: "Behold, the world goes after him." When, therefore, the earth that is in us—that is, the body of our lowliness—follows the true Master and who is by nature Lord, and takes up His cross, it may be said ^C of it: "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." The fullness of the body, however, is the members that complete it. But when it does not follow the Word, who is Master by nature, it might be called the land of alien demons.

Verses 3, 4. "And he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Decilaim, and she conceived and bore him a son, and the Lord said unto him: Call his name Jezrael." The prophet did these things in a sensible manner, even if, as was said above, the Hebrews do not at all admit that the prophet would do such things—being truly foolish themselves. For since the prophet clearly says, "I went and took," how do they deny that the thing happened, unless indeed all other things are also false? Yet he was adumbrating the Synagogue of the Jews, which had poured itself out into polytheism, from which was born Christ according to the flesh, who is interpreted as "Jezrael." But Christ was born of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, if the mind should beget anything, ^D

^A from the desire that was once a harlot, and united to itself, it will be a seed of God, as if cast by God, which altogether requires our care in order to grow and reach maturity. ^A Thus, he who from the greatness and beauty of created things discerns the Creator himself, and contemplates his invisible works through those things which are presented to the senses, he too produces a certain seed of God.

For "yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezrael upon the house of Jehu." Even if some copies have "upon the house of Juda," nevertheless it must be written "upon the house of Jehu," as the sense also demands. For it is absurd to understand this of Juda. Many interpretations are indeed brought forth for this passage, but they are not very apt. Yet these are learned: Jezrael was called both Naboth and Achab. For since they were kinsmen, both rejoiced in the same name, as if it were ancestral. ^B Therefore God says: "Just as when Achab was worshiping idols and committing ten thousand other injustices, I sent Jehu as his punisher, and I promised him that if he destroyed the race of Achab, I would grant him the kingdom of the ten tribes to the fourth generation; so now I will take vengeance upon the house of Jehu itself, that is, upon his descendants, who are reigning and are still the ten tribes, and who are doing the same things as Achab, and I will avenge the blood of Jezrael, that is, of Achab—not because he was unjustly murdered in truth, ^C but because the house of him who murdered him is guilty of the same faults as Achab himself. Those who, because they are partakers of the same wickedness, appear to live unjustly, after Achab was destroyed by these very ones who spend their lives imbued with the same morals as he. For it was fitting for him to be killed, not by these wicked men, but by others who were truly good and honest." This same thing the Apostle says: "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in what you judge another, you condemn yourself. Or do you think that you will escape the judgment of God?"

"And I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease; and it shall be in that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrael." Since those descendants of Jehu who were reigning in Israel, as we have said, became impious and lawless, and led the people into the same things, he says ^D that "I will cause the kingdom of Israel to cease," which also came to pass: for Hazael came upon them, and other kings, and finally Salmanasar, when indeed the kingdom of the ten tribes, that is of Israel, suffered utter destruction. "And in that day," that is to say of the vengeance, "I will also break the bow of Israel," that is, their power. And he said it emphatically, "the bow," in order to show that they had placed their hope in the bow, and not in God. We have observed in Scripture that the bow is rejected more than other weapons, because it contributes greatly to deceit. Wherefore the more famous...

Hebrews did not use it, except perhaps for the profane Esau and the sons of Ephraim, who had accustomed themselves to bend bows and shoot arrows. But in the valley of Jezrael, He said He would break the bow, in order to remind ^B them of the death of Ahab, who, on account of his idolatry and other iniquities, had suffered a similar fate, and at the same time to deter his followers and imitators from like atrocities. The blood of Christ, too, who is truly Jezrael, as we have said, was avenged a little while after His death, since those who cried out, "His blood be upon us and upon our children," were utterly destroyed. Understand the valley of Jezrael as the rejection and humiliation of Christ, and as His burial. For after He had humbled Himself and brought Himself low even to the cross, and was buried, He broke the bow of Israel—that is, their foolish boasting in the letter of the law, and the calumnies with which they slandered Him, as if He were an adversary of God, bending their bow against Him. It is a grave sin indeed to pierce an innocent man with traps. Yet He was entirely innocent, who committed no sin, "neither was guile found in his mouth," as He Himself testifies, saying: "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" In us likewise, human thoughts extinguish the seeds of God; thoughts which indeed seem to prevail greatly, and in a way to reign and rule, and to carry crooked sophistries like bows; but in the valley—that is, in the humiliation of the divine Word—they are broken. For "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."

VERS. 6. And she conceived yet again, and bare a daughter, and said unto him: Call her name, Not having obtained mercy: for I will no more add that I may have mercy upon the house of Israel, but in opposing I will oppose them. This saying is clear; for the prophet teaches that God will no longer treat Israel with His accustomed kindness, but will rather take note of him as a rebel and an enemy; and not lightly, but most severely, as the words "in opposing I will oppose them" show. And you may properly understand the daughter "Not having obtained mercy" as the generation of the Jews which survived after the sojourn of Christ, which the Father no longer pitied, but rather He Himself opposed them, because they insulted His Son. And in the movements of our mind, if there is anything ^D feminine, and resembling appetite, and possessed of much weakness, so that it cannot remain in Christ, who strengthens His disciples in all things, our God the Word does not pity it, but opposes and resists it.

VERS. 7. But I will have mercy upon the sons of Judah, and will save them in the Lord their God. And I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. Through these words He clearly revealed the events that occurred in the slaughter of Sennacherib; for at that time the Assyrians were defeated, not by any battle or clash of arms, but by an angelic

^A power, when one hundred and eighty-five thousand were utterly destroyed. He foretells these things also to render the sons of Judah more eager for divine love (for although there were some among them who were impious and sinful, yet there were also those who served the Lord), and to turn the sons of Israel away from wickedness, persuading them to imitate those others and to pursue virtue, so that through it they might obtain mercy from Him. And those are saved even from the generation of the Hebrews, as many as are of Judah—that is, of confession and repentance—to whom Peter also spoke in the Acts: "Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." And indeed, those who obeyed him were saved, about three thousand souls. And they are saved not by Greek wisdom, nor by syllogisms, nor by the persuasive words of human philosophy ^B, from which arise strife, debates, and wars, but by the faith of Christ, who is our peace. And among us, too, confession is the source of salvation, but only this: that which is done in the Lord God, which is accompanied by contrition and humility. For it happens that someone may call himself a sinner with arrogance; this is merely an appearance of humility, not humility itself. We must not, he says, trust in works, but in the Lord God, according to the words of him who said, "But I have trusted in the mercy of God forever," and according to Paul, "But I obtained mercy; for by works no flesh is justified." For who can boast that he is clean from filth, or will be bold to say that he has a pure heart? For often even that which one seems to be doing well is not blameless before God. For in many things, he says, we all offend; and, "I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this."

And she weaned Not-Pitied. A great benefit for the generation of the Hebrews ^C that was not pitied, to depart from the legal milk which nourishes infants, and to stand in need of solid food, which they require who for the sake of discernment of good and evil have exercised their senses through habit, and to be nourished by the bread that came down from heaven. But we also, as long as we are infants, attend to this world and delight in it as if in milk, possessing much sweetness; but when we ponder more perfect things, then we are said to be weaned and seek to be nourished by the fruits of paradise.

And she conceived again, and bore a son, and said: Call his name, Not-my-people, because you are not my people, and I am not yours. See that ^D

^A men first desert God, and for that reason cease to be His people, and only then does God desert them, and no longer be their God. For when the matter concerns our being received into His friendship, He Himself urges and pursues us, as David also says: "Your mercy shall pursue me" (Ps. xxii, 6); and Paul, "I was apprehended by Christ" (Philipp. iii, 12). But when, on the contrary, it concerns our defection from God, the situation is not the same. It is we, rather, who first withdraw from Him, and only then does He Himself—compelled, in a manner of speaking—withdraw from us with reluctance.

Paul, moreover, understands by "Not-my-people" the assembly of the Gentiles, who afterwards became the people of God through faith, and are called the sons of the Synagogue, because those who originated from the Jews gave birth to them through the Gospel. And when anyone assumes labor and gives birth to iniquity (for not even shameful deeds are devoid of labor and travail), he is certainly not worthy to be called God’s. For he is not so disposed as was Joseph, who says, "I am of God." Therefore, not even God is called his God, as He was called the "God of Abraham," and as David said, "The Lord is my God," and, "The God of my heart" (Ps. lxxii, 26).

15 ^B VERSE 10. And it shall be that the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which shall not be measured, nor comprehended by number. Do not think, he says, that the hearer should imagine that God rejects the Hebrews for the reason that they are few, and comprised of a meager number; for they are as many as God Himself promised to Abraham would exist (Gen. xxxi, 53). But God does not rejoice in a vast multitude; since "where two or three are gathered in his name, there is he in the midst of them" (Matt. xviii, 20). Thus He preferred Noah to all men; thus Abraham, thus Moses. But He calls their descendants—though they exceed all number—"Not my people." He compares to the "sand of the sea" the Synagogue of the Jews that killed the Lord, both because they cling to the sea and to the good things of this turbulent world, and think of nothing heavenly ("For how," He says, "can you believe, you who seek glory from men?"), and also because they are held together by no right of covenant, nor any bond of faith, just as the grains of sand are. For they are separated from one another. ^C Would that the soul elected by Christ, which is ordered to undertake a heavenly rule, not suffer this from this world, so that it may not be said of it also, "It shall not be measured, nor comprehended by number." For virtue holds to the middle, and therefore, inclining neither to the right nor to the left, it proceeds along the middle and royal way. In vice, on the contrary, there are many oblique paths and windings. And the Lord does indeed count the stars—that is, the bright-visaged men—and He has them already perceived, they who, as shining lights, have a way of life in this world. And besides, those who are saved are few, and easy to count; many, on the contrary, are the more obscure men who are carried headlong to perdition.

And it shall be in the place where it was said to them: You are not my people, they also shall be called sons of the living God.

^A Being a lover of mankind, God follows those harsher pronouncements with gentler words, and he takes into his friendship those whom he had long rejected. Observe his kindness: those whom he did not even deem worthy of the name of "people," he now names "sons of the living God." But what is the meaning of, "In the place where it was said to them"? Learn this: while they were in their own land, they were idolaters; for this reason it was said to them there, "Not my people." But having been led away as captives into Babylon, they neither sacrificed nor sang the songs of the Lord. For how, he says, "shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" Since, therefore, after returning from Babylon they made use of the law again and did all things as elect ones and sons of God, he says that you shall return to your own lands, and there you shall please God, where formerly, when you were there, you were called "not his people." Since the law, understood according to the letter, kills, but according to the spirit, it gives life, it is fitting that the Hebrews are called "Not my people" in one and the same place when they serve the letter, ^B but "Sons of the living God" when they understand it spiritually and, having believed in Christ, receive the adoption through the Spirit. A soul that sins, whether through thoughts or through bodily instruments, is also called "not God's people"; but when it is corrected through these same things, it becomes a son of God, when it obeys the law of God with its mind and presents its members as weapons of righteousness to God; and to speak briefly, having purified itself from every defilement of flesh and spirit, it glorifies God in its body and in its spirit.

^C VERSE 11. *And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together into one, and they shall appoint for themselves one head, and they shall go up from the land.* He foretells the going up from Babylon, and that upon returning from there, they would no longer have divided kings, so that one is called king of Judah and another king of Israel; but being united, they would have one ruler. This happened under Zerubbabel, when all the captured people went up from the land of the Babylonians. Now, those from among the Hebrews who believed also set for themselves one head—I speak of the cross of the Lord, concerning which it is said: "Whose government is upon his shoulder." They were gathered into Christ by the law; for the law is a pedagogue, leading us to Christ. But also when someone gathers his own thoughts from their wandering about external things, and having been driven to a realization of his own evils, he becomes a son of Judah through confession, and having been purified thereby, he is shown to be a son ^D of Israel, that is, a "contemplator of God"—then he sets for himself one head, God, and is led by Him, saying truly to Him: "Let thy will be done."

and, I have become as a beast in thy sight, yet I am continually with thee," so that God may be all in all to him, while he himself possesses nothing human but has utterly denied himself, just as he who says: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." For then he truly ascends from the earth and from earthly things, always pressing forward, and forgetting the things that are behind, he strains toward those that are before him.

"For great is the day of Jezrael." Since, He says, I brought a great punishment upon you, on the day when the slaughter of Jezrael was avenged, I shall also deem you worthy of a great salvation, and delivering you from slavery, I shall bring you back to your fatherland. Great, then, was the day of the Cross and of the resurrection ^B of Christ, who is called Jezrael. And for the one who rises up from earthly things and progresses in virtue, the day also becomes great, through the light of the knowledge of Christ; so that he may say: "This is the day which the Lord has made [not mine, nor won by my labor, but by his help and benefit]; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

CHAPTER II

Verses 1, 2. "Say to your brother, My people; and to your sister, She who has obtained mercy. Judge your mother, judge." You, He says, who have returned home from Babylon, be judges of my mother and of me—that is, of your ancestors who transgressed against me. Something similar is found also in Isaiah: "And now, O house of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard."

"For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband." A divorce, He says, took place between me and her, after she had been loaded with so many benefits by me; and indeed, she herself brought forward the cause of the divorce, not I; for she herself ceased to be my wife first, and consequently I also ceased to be her husband. These same things can be said also to the apostles who followed Christ, who "shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," ^C condemning, that is, all those from the Synagogue [which truly was the mother of those judges] who did not believe. The ancient nation of the Hebrews, too, when it departed from Egypt, did not yet possess the law, nor did it enjoy so many and such great precepts and sacrifices of God; and for this reason the Lord is not said to be her husband. And when the appetitive faculty of the soul departs from the mind, and does not enjoy the world for the glory of the Creator, then from the true concepts of the mind, which are ^D [by the mind and sense] judging the twelve tribes of Israel,

as being born of the mind and sense for the knowledge of God. What do I mean? A person sees creation, knows that it is good, and, having seen it, admires the Creator. Another sees the same thing and makes it into a god, because he used only the sense as a mother, which has abandoned the mind. Such a person is condemned by the former. A person sees the beauty of a body and admires the craftsman, how in clay and filth he could fashion such brightness; another, having seen it, is pathologically disposed toward it, because he followed the sense without the mind. Will not that person be at the judgment of the former?

"And I will remove her fornication from before my face, and her adultery from the midst of her breasts." He shows that the divorce which I made with her, I made for her benefit, in order to free her from fornication, that is, from idolatry. For having been taken into captivity to Babylon, she will no longer sacrifice to the golden calves which she sacrificed to previously, since that Jeroboam set them up, nor will my face behold her, ^B worshipping such abominations; but I will draw out her fornication from the midst of her breasts, that is, from the heart, from which proceed evil thoughts, envies, murders, adulteries, fornications. Or he demonstrates the shamelessness through the breasts, which they had, going with a bare head toward every evil. For he says, she showed her breasts, and thus she displayed her wickedness openly and uncovered. Therefore, every correction of the Lord, and the turning away that seems to happen, is for our benefit, freeing us from wickedness, according to that which is said: "It is good for me that you have humbled me, that I might learn your statutes." Fornication was also the voice of those who said: "We have no king but Caesar," and who departed from the true King, who were also removed from the face of the Lord, having been delivered to those whom they chose to be kings. But perhaps the breasts are the Law and the prophets, from which the Hebrews sucked the elementary milk of the letter. Their fornication, therefore, has been removed from the midst of such breasts. For the Law and the prophets no longer acknowledge them, nor do they feed them. Yet who would not pray for the fornication of senseless perception to be removed and blotted out, so that it might not appear in the sight of God? The mourning prophet, he says, "You have set our iniquities before you," and again elsewhere, praying, he says, "Turn your face away from my sins." ^C Indeed, the adulterous desire for money is nourished by wealth, the desire for glory by the rule of many cities.

^A and physical fornication by the sight of beauty, and yet others by other things. These are the breasts for every passion, and it is a good thing for a man when wickedness is removed, not being nourished by the materials that feed it.

*Verse 3. And I will strip her naked.* By my power, he says, I will strip her, and I will cause her to be unsightly, defeated by her enemies; whereas, on the contrary, when I was recently defending her and rendering her invincible, I was making her not only beautiful, but also most glorious.

*And I will set her as in the day of her birth.* That is, just as she served the Egyptians, so too will she serve the Assyrians. He calls the time of the sojourn in Egypt the "day of her birth," because they multiplied there. For having gone down as only ^B seventy-five souls, they became six hundred thousand, considering only those who were able to bear arms. The Father also stripped those who did not have faith in Christ, taking away from them all the glory of the Law, and restoring them to that state in which they were before receiving the Law. For they neither have a temple, nor do they sacrifice, nor do they do anything else prescribed by the Law. And when anyone, having put on Christ through baptism, puts Him off through fleshly pleasure, God strips him of His grace and adoption, and causes him to be characterized by the properties of fleshly and passionate birth—which is to live according to the flesh, and walk as a man. For where there are strifes, and jealousies, and dissensions, there is the life lived according to the flesh, and it is the mere man appearing.

*And I will set her as a wilderness, and I will make her as a land without water, and will kill her with thirst.* I will make her a wilderness, he says, of my help, and I will not provide the water of my providence to her; but I will kill her, that is, I will deliver her to death at the hands of her enemies, thirsting for help and deprived of the alliance that comes from me. The Synagogue of the ^C Hebrews, which is now present, has also become a wilderness, deprived of every good; for all good, and the very Self-Good, was the Lord, and having killed Him, how shall they be partakers of any good? Neither is there in them the water which Christ provides, springing up into eternal life. He was saying this, he says, about the Spirit which those who believed in Him were about to receive. Those, therefore, who hold the killing letter of the Law ^D and do not receive the Spirit, are naturally earth, as those who lie below, and...

who understand everything in a carnal way; but they are "waterless," as those who do not possess the Spirit, which we said above is water. Now, whoever sins is not indeed appointed as a wilderness, yet he is in a state of wilderness, so that he may not despair, and he is positioned as waterless earth for the same reason. For even if God knows the end of each person, He does not appear to prejudge him. He, therefore, who makes himself fruitless and does those things which that rich man did, who requested of Abraham that he send Lazarus, so that he might dip the tip of his finger into water and refresh him, is like thirsty, waterless earth.

^B Verse 4. *Neither will I have mercy on her children, for they are the children of fornication.* That is to say, born of idolatrous parents, they emulated their uncleanness; for it is clear that he calls idolatry fornication.

*For their mother has played the harlot.* She did not play the harlot simply, but played the harlot excessively, embracing idolatry and the worship of created things; for they even offered incense to those trees [of] whatever was most lofty and shady.

*She that bore them is put to shame.* That is to say, she practiced every disgraceful thing; or, she shamed her children, having rendered them shameless by the very fact of begetting them and rearing them in idolatry.

*For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread, and my water, and my garments, and my wine, and my oil, and all things that are fitting for me.* She supposed, he says, that from her lovers—that is, from the idols—she obtained all things necessary and useful for her life, and not from Me, the true God; for this reason she made her children unworthy of My mercy. And the Hebrews of our own time also go after such lovers—demons, and teachers who lead them astray—believing that they will receive the loaves of the presence, and the water of lustration, and the priestly garments, and the wine, both that which is for libations and that which is given to the priestly race according to the law as first fruits and tithes, and the oil of anointing, and all the other things that belong to the worship according to the law. But if injustice and greed are inventions of demons, let anyone who thinks that he cannot live in any other way, or that he cannot increase his own livelihood except through injustice and rapine, perceive that he too is walking after them as if they were giving him bread, and garments, and all things that are befitting. ^D Observe, however, he did not say, "Those children..."

but, "My bread," and likewise concerning all things. For he who uses wealth as it pleases God has nothing of his own; but he who walks after the demons claims everything as his own. Thus also he in the Gospel who gathered treasures for himself, and not enriching himself in God, said, "My goods" and "my barns." For in other ways, too, such a person was most devoted to corruptible and fleeting things, he who also studied to make his own soul—which is exempt from corruption, as far as was in him—liable to corruption, by making it carnal. ^B

VERS. 6, 7. *Therefore, behold I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and will build up the ways thereof, and she shall not find her path. And she shall follow after her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, and shall not find them.* Even God’s punishment is good and merciful, by which an end is denounced to impiety. For I will put thorns, he says, in her way, that is, I will bring upon them many bitter and painful things—I mean wars, and captivity, and servitude, and famine; constrained by which, they will no longer be able to serve the golden heifers. For how could they do that, when they are deprived of their very liberty, and will no longer enjoy the accustomed freedom of action, even if they should wish to greatly? Then, therefore, they will both recognize the weakness of the demons, when, invoking them in calamities, they will receive no solace from them. ^C

And she shall say: *I will go, and return to my former husband: for it was better with me then than now.* Afflicted with calamities, he says—when she understands the weakness of the demons, who, though formerly worshipped by her, could not rescue her from miseries—she will remember God, and will return to Him, who, though by nature He is Lord, is nevertheless called her husband, because the affection of a woman toward her husband is greater than the disposition of servants toward their master, and God wills that there be such a relationship in men toward Him as a woman has toward her husband. Or as the Apostle also seems to say: *He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.* And again, *The two shall be in one flesh. This is a great sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church.* Moreover, the ways to legal worship were shut off to the God-killing Jews, since it had been utterly abolished; and thorns to them were the Romans who destroyed the temple, or perhaps even the cross of Christ, which they fixed into the ground along with two others, which cross was their destruction. Therefore, they seek their lovers, the priests and high-priests, and nowhere do they find them. For they do not exist at all. Wherefore, very many of the Synagogue will betake themselves to Christ, whom you would rightly call his husband, insofar as He was born of her; ^D

^A but also "the former," insofar as He existed even before He became man, as God. Punctuate, therefore, after "the husband," and then say "the former," that is to say, the one who existed beforehand, the one before all things, the one who was from the beginning. Furthermore, Christ was also the "former" husband of the Synagogue of the Hebrews; for He Himself was their leader, the commander-in-chief of the Lord of Hosts, and the spiritual rock that followed them. And signs also were performed through the power of God. But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ^B Indeed, anyone who, trusting in the strength of his body and puffed up by temporal goods, despises God and gives himself over to wicked desires, when he falls into thorns—that is to say, into temporal hardships, or sicknesses, or poverty—is no longer able to attend to the same things. Rather, the paths toward those passions are blocked for him, however much he may be carried along by great zeal for them, and however much he may greedily seek and pursue them; he is hindered by hardships from enjoying them.

VERS. 8. *And she did not know that I gave her the grain, and the wine, and the oil, and multiplied to her the silver; and she made them into silver and gold for Baal.* He repeats this and reproves the vice of ingratitude in the Israelites, who did not ascribe the abundance of the goods granted to them to God, but to Baal—that is, to the god of the Babylonians, whom the Greeks called Bel, and taught that he was the same as Zeus. Therefore, he says, when they held him in honor, they hung gold and silver votive offerings upon him. ^C He gave, therefore, to the Hebrews both the drink offerings, and the firstfruits, and the silver, that is to say, the oracles of the Law and the Prophets. When, therefore, you see the Hebrews not using the things of Scripture rightly, nor coming to the knowledge of Christ, nor ascribing to Him the gold and the silver (the gold, as indicative of His Divinity; the silver, as indicative of His humanity, which He brightened within Himself, scraping away all the virus of sin; or again, the gold as suggesting a pure life, and the silver as bright teaching and dogmas, in which He abrogated the law of commandments), but rather referring everything to the future and the man of lawlessness expected by them, and ascribing these things to him—consider these to be the ones reproved here. Furthermore, the Greeks and those from the heresies, having received from God their mind as gold and their eloquence as silver, and having abused these for the ruin of many souls, ^D and having consecrated these—that is to say, having attributed them to natural accounts, and dialectics, and sophistries, and having violently carried off the things that belong to us and to nature and to the motion of the heavenly bodies—they seem to be like those reproved here. And the rich man, too, when he does not use his wealth for the assistance of the needy, but rather for oppressing them, or even for debaucheries and

^A scandals, seems to attribute the gifts of God to Baal.

VERS. 9. *Therefore I will return and take away my corn in its season, and my wine in its time, and I will take away my garments and my linens, that they may not cover her shame.* "I will return," he says; that is, I will walk another path, one of harshness, and I will no longer deem them worthy of my good things. Nay, I will also take away from them the corn and the wine, and—what is more grievous—at the proper time; that is, when the fruits are ripe and fully mature, then I will deprive them of these, so that they may the more be grieved and tormented. By "garments" and "linens" he refers, perhaps, to these things which are subject to the senses; for, being taken into captivity, they walked about naked and unsightly. But perhaps he also refers to His protection and help, which, while they possessed them, made them most glorious and enabled them to rule over others, free from that ignominy of slavery which they are now to experience. He took away also from the Synagogue of the Jews ^B at the opportune time—when the fullness of time had come—the first fruits and the tithes, which are signified by the corn and the wine. For He was made flesh at the time that was opportune, when all wickedness had been completed and no form of it was wanting, but rather it had burst forth in its own malice. Then came the Physician, applying the great medicine of His Incarnation to the disease. And if the mysteries of the Church are also perfected from corn and wine, which—through the blessing—are transformed into the body and blood of Christ, let the unbelieving Hebrews consider how the prophecy verifies itself in them. It is well added, *in its season*, and, *in its time*. For now they possess a time and a season for these mysteries to be perfected through corn and wine; but in the Kingdom of Heaven, they shall be perfected in a different way, more mysterious and wondrous. But those deprived of the sacred washing of the font are also deprived of the garments of Christ: *for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ*. ^C But also from those within the faith of the Church, when they sin, the corn and wine—that is, the communion of the sacred mysteries—is taken away. And because this is done in proportion to the sins, therefore He said, *In its season*, and, *In its time*. For it is not for all sins (48), nor for any random faults, that the punishment of being deprived of communion is fixed, nor is the same time spread out for all who are punished with such a penalty; rather, it is imposed upon some, and restricted for others. And such people are stripped even of the divine grace and help, which, as long as it is present with us, makes us walk seemly, covering and protecting our weakness.

But when it is taken away from us, it abandons us and allows us to commit shameful deeds. Likewise, for those who sin in the priesthood and are deposed from their rank on that account, God takes away his garments and sacerdotal linens, so that their deformity may no longer be hidden—those who, previously, because they performed sacred duties, seemed altogether innocent.^A

Vers. 10. *And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers.* Or he says this: just as she abandoned me, so will she abandon them, having perceived their weakness, and she will appear unfaithful even to them, according to the saying, "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him" (3 Kings XVIII, 21). When I show her thus behaving shamefully, they will not be able to help her, as they are powerless. But hear also what follows: *And none shall deliver her out of my hand.* By "hand," he designates a punishing power, which the killers of the Lord also experienced, having been delivered to the Romans. And those who sin and are delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved, according to the one who had committed fornication in Corinth (1 Cor. V, 5), also experience the hand of the Lord. For you shall call the power that chastises them in accordance with divine dispensation or the permission of God, the "hand." Thus also for Job, he says, "The hand of the Lord hath touched me" (Job XIX, 21); and the arrows of the Lord in his body were said to be the wounds brought upon him by the enemy by divine permission.^B

*I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.* For when they had been taken captive to Babylon, they had no opportunity either to rejoice in other matters or to celebrate feasts. "For how," they say, "shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Ps. CXXXVI, 4). Since they worshipped neither God purely nor idols, but were vacillating, he says that, having been surrendered to the Babylonians, they will celebrate neither the feasts for God—that is, the Sabbaths and the new moons—nor the other solemn feasts for Baal. ^C One should know, however, that a solemn assembly and a feast are not the same. For it is possible to have a solemn assembly without a feast; but a feast without a solemn assembly, that is, a gathering, cannot be. Therefore, the term "solemn assembly" is more common. Those who killed Christ are suffering these things even now; for it is not permitted for the impious to rejoice. For where today are there for them feast days, or new moons, or Sabbaths held according to the law? But those who sin are likewise required to mourn and be dejected, and to wash their bed with tears.^D

spiritual joy. They have neither new moons—that is to say, any beginning or generation of spiritual illumination—nor Sabbaths, that is, divine rests; for their conscience does not allow them to have good hope concerning things to come. ^A

VERS. 12. *And I will lay waste her vine and her fig trees, of which she said: These are my wages which my lovers have given me.* She said, he says, that it was from the idols that she received the things that contribute to life, as a reward given to her for her worship, namely, the enjoying of these goods. I will lay waste these things, therefore, says the Lord, since she ascribes the reception of them not to me, but to her idols. *And I will make them a testimony, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, and the reptiles of the earth shall devour them.* ^B Being devoured by the birds, the beasts, and the vipers, these goods shall bear witness against them, because, as the land is desolate of men, they were not worthy to enjoy them. And for this reason, some who were slain there by the Babylonians, and others who were led away captive, abandoned these to the beasts. Or by the beasts he means the Babylonians, who devoured the goods in the fields of the Israelites, while they themselves were shut up in the cities and suffering from famine.

The law and the prophets may also be understood by the vine and the fig tree. For the vine, like wine that gladdens the heart of man, ^C is being consumed, because of the evangelical administration in which, although there is a pressing because of the laborious nature of the commandment, it nevertheless contains joy because of the promises of heavenly things. *For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us.* Rom. viii, 18. Altogether, the law, understood according to the Spirit, gladdens within itself both the grace and the way of life of the Gospel. In this way, therefore, the law and the prophets are the vine and the vineyard. They were also the fig tree, because they offered to the infant Israel the sweet fruits of the promise of earthly goods. ^D *For if*, he says, *you will hear me, you shall eat the good things of the land.* Isa. i, 19. They also had a roughness in their leaves, that is, in transitory and easily perishable things; for they did not threaten them with hell and the outer darkness, or with falling away from the kingdom of heaven, but with captivity, servitude, and temporal death, and all such punishments. These things, then—both the vine and the fig tree—were taken away from Jerusalem and given to the nations, which were likened to the birds of the air, because of the lightness and senselessness of their mind, and because they were subject to the prince of the power of the air; and to the wild beasts and reptiles, because of the ferocity of their character. These nations, therefore, having followed Christ, who was made for us wis- ^A

wisdom from God, cast away their foolishness, and were trained to set their minds on things above, where Christ himself is; and learning from Him that He is meek and humble in heart, they corrected the bitterness of their own characters. ^A For to the nations was given the vine of the Law, as the Lord also says in the Gospel: "He will give the vineyard to other husbandmen," that is, to a nation bringing forth its fruits. The Lord is also the Vine, who said, "I am the true vine"; and He is the fig tree, as sweetness and all desire. So long as we do not commit fornication away from God, we luxuriate in the Lord; but when we sin, becoming birds of the heaven through pride, or beasts of the field—that is, cattle—through desire, or reptiles of the earth through anger (for anger, he says, is in them according to the likeness of the serpent), we then surrender the divine Word within us to the passions, by which we are consumed and left without nourishment ^B.

VERS. 13. "And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she sacrificed to them, and put on her earrings and her necklaces, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the Lord." I will do these things to her, He says, because of those days in which she sacrificed to the Baalim—that is, to the idols of Baal—and celebrated their festivals, using all manner of adornment. Now, earrings are the ornaments placed in the ears; and necklaces are the ornament hanging from the neck; for a necklace is neck-adornment. With such adornment, he says, she celebrated festivals for the idols, but forgot me. Perhaps to this day the Hebrews wear such earrings and necklaces, receiving into their ears the false teachings of the Pharisees, which, as they descend into their hearts, might well be called necklaces, by which they are persuaded that they will again take up the legal observance and celebrate festivals to idols—that is, to the figments of their own imagination, according to which they form in their minds a temple, and sacrifices, and other such things. ^C And when you see a young man turning his mind to words of lasciviousness and lust, and receiving such things into his ears, and letting them down into his heart rather than the discourses concerning temperance and self-control, and celebrating festivals to idols—I mean, indeed, to pleasures, which are not truly pleasures but idols of pleasure, because they have a fleeting and false enjoyment, but a lasting and true pain—recite these prophetic words to him.

VERS. 14. "Therefore I will cause her to err, and I will set her as a desert." You may understand this in two ways: ^D either that I will prepare her to be in error, and from place

^A to place I will cause her to migrate—at one time when she flees, and at another when she is taken captive—and I will deprive her of all the good things mentioned above; or that, while she is running swiftly in wickedness and being carried toward idols, I will cause her to wander, that is, I will remove her from such a way, which is a very great benefit. For he who is caused to wander from an evil path, that is, who is turned around, is by all means transferred toward the good path. And I will also make her a desert, that is, dry and completely useless to idols. Formerly, ^B indeed, she seemed well-watered to them, and demons dwelt in her as if they were resting and completely at ease; but now I will render her a desert, holding nothing of what is pleasant to them, and for this reason she will be something to be avoided by them. Thus also in the Gospels the unclean spirit, passing through waterless places, finds no rest. For holy and God-loving souls are waterless places to the demons, not having the fluid life, which is pleasing to them. God also caused the Synagogue of the God-slayers to wander and to roam everywhere, having dispersed them into all lands, and they do not have a certain country; and he set them as a desert, that is, as the multitude of the Gentiles was formerly, ^C which was called a desert, of which it has been said, "More are the children of the desert than of her who has a husband." But would that it might be for everyone who runs swiftly toward vices to be made to wander from this way, that is, to be turned around and to be ordered from disorder, that is, to receive order, so that desire and anger may no longer rule within him, but rather he may rule over them; for this belongs to order, to both become a desert and to be waterless, not having that [(64)] [(65)] fluid water, for which David prays: "Let not the tempest of water drown me," and, "If it had not been that the Lord was in us, the water would have drowned us." Such water ^D could be the trials and assaults of the Evil One, in which souls that are not able to lift themselves up and swim through are suffocated.

VERS. 14, 15. "And I will speak to her heart, and I will give her her possessions from thence." That is, I will cause her to gain a perception of both my glory and power, and of her own transgressions; and I will give her from thence—from the captivity, that is—once she has returned, her possessions, which are the regions and lands which she formerly possessed when, having cast out the Canaanites, she inherited their land. And aptly does he here promise the grace to be communicated through Christ, when God speaks to the heart of those whom he had before rejected, just as he also says in another place: "Giving my laws into their heart, and upon their hearts I will write them." And they shall all be taught of God.

^A, having the Spirit of God, who teaches them all things, and Christ dwelling in their hearts. He bestows upon them also their possessions: the adoption of sons, grace, glory, and the privilege of reigning together with Christ. But what is the meaning of "from thence"? That is to say, from the fact that he speaks to their heart; for from this we have been enriched with such possessions. And the possessions of everyone who has been baptized into Christ are the remission of sins, and the mansions above, which each person acquires for himself, with each path leading toward it. But as there are many and diverse mansions, so there are many and diverse paths. These possessions, however, the one who sins loses and is deprived of, so long as the divine Word is silent within him. But when, having touched his heart, it speaks within him, then these possessions are given to him from thence, that is, from the heart; for the kingdom of heaven is within us, and our heart either takes these away from us or returns them ^B.

"And the valley of Achor, to open up its understanding." When Jesus, the son of Nave (Joshua), was warring against Jericho, he proclaimed that no one of the soldiers should acquire any spoil from it, as it was devoted, that is, consecrated to God; and that for the one who acquired it, the penalty would be death, as a sacrilegious act. Therefore, all the people, at the command of Joshua, stoned Achor in the ravine, who had stolen from the spoils and was caught, which from that event was called the valley of Achor, which is "Achar." He says, therefore, here: "The valley of Achor I will give to them"; for we must understand "I will give" (as the phrase is carried over), so that having considered what Achor suffered in this valley, they themselves might receive understanding, with their minds opened so as not to commit transgression nor resist the commandments of God. ^C And in another way: Since the people were defeated on account of the theft of Achor, but after his death, weeping and lamenting, they propitiated God, he says also here that just as those of old, through the punishment of Achor, learned how great an evil transgression is, so also these, through the captivity, will receive an awareness of their own transgressions. But also the Lord Jesus destroys in the valley those who disobey His commandments and make the spoils of this world their own, and do not render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. For sin is a ravine and a valley: a valley, as it makes one humble and casts one down to the depths; and a ravine, as it separates us from God; and Achor, as it signifies perversion ^D; for it is thus interpreted.

Bonifatii Finetti notes.

κοιλάδα τὴν συγκατάβασιν, Ἀχὼρ δὲ διαστροφήν. ^A Christ, therefore, in answering the Hebrews who were tempting him, descended to them as if into a valley, and sustained them, perverting their questions with harder ones to solve: not that he might keep them in suspense, but that he might open their understanding and bring them to the knowledge of the truth. Thus, when they asked him, "By what authority do you do these things?" he countered by asking: "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?" Perversion is sin, which turns us aside from our natural uprightness. For God made man upright, but he himself sought out many ^B reasonings. When, therefore, sin in us has a valley, that is, a humiliation and a dejection, or when sin—the word of God touching our conscience—has been depressed, it opens to us the understanding and knowledge of divine things. For in the extermination, he says, of sinners among you, you will see—that is, you will behold—divine things.

"And he shall be humbled there according to the days of her infancy, and according to the days of her ascent from the land of Egypt." Just as, he says, they served the Egyptians, and after coming out of Egypt, ascending toward Palestine, they suffered affliction in the desert; so there, that is, serving among the Assyrians, they shall be humbled. For he calls their sojourn in Egypt "infancy," both because the people there began to multiply and increase, and because the law had not yet been established, but they were free; for to be governed by established laws is the mark of men. Yet it is a benefit for the arrogant Synagogue of the Hebrews to be humbled and subjected to Christ; just as in the beginning they obeyed Moses when he called them to freedom from the land of Egypt. And after they went out, ascending again, they obeyed the lawgiver, saying: "Everything that God has spoken, we will do, and we will hear." And just as when ascending from Egypt ^C they passed through the sea, and in this way inherited the land; in the same manner, those from among them who now believe in Christ, by passing through the death of baptism, inherit the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone who has recently been born of water and the Spirit, and is an infant in Christ, also be humbled, and let him not be exalted over the gift of the remission of sins, but let him say: "By grace we have been saved, and not from works of righteousness which we have done." But if he has ascended from the land of Egypt and has progressed so far, laboring in the practice of the virtues, and has arrived at the point where he can say, "I labored more abundantly than them all," let him add: "Yet not I, but the grace of God."

^D VERS. 16, 17. "And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, you shall call me 'My husband,' and you shall no longer call me..."

^A Baalim, and I will take away the names of Baalim from her mouth, and they shall no more mention their names. No longer, he says, will they set my name—that is, the word "God"—upon their idols, nor will they say that Baal is God "in that day"—that is to say, in the time of affliction and captivity. But they will recognize me as God and as the bridegroom, long since joined to them; and henceforth, they will not even remember the names of the Baalim, by which I mean the idols of Baal. ^B By saying, "I will take away the names of the Baalim," he shows that this was his own work. And how did he take them away? By casting them into calamities and tribulations. And when the Sun of righteousness, Christ, shone forth and made the day of his presence on earth—that is to say, the season—every form of idolatry was taken away, both from the Jews and from the nations, and the knowledge of the true God is shared by all. Furthermore, in those who repent, when the light of the Word shines and makes it day, all idols and the passionate phantasms of sins are taken away, and no longer is the belly made a god, nor is avarice, which is idolatry, along with other evil passions and desires, allowed a place there.

^C VERS. 18. "And I will make a covenant for them in that day with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heaven, and with the reptiles of the earth." This means that just as when I was angry with them, I delivered the fruits of the land to the beasts and the birds and the reptiles; so, when I am reconciled to them—as if having made a truce with them—even those creatures will cease to devour the fruits. Or, by "beasts and reptiles," he means the enemies who were previously attacking them, and says: I will cause them to establish peace with the Israelites, and to behave toward them with the greatest familiarity and friendliness. For this reason, he adds: "And I will break the bow, and the sword, and the war from off the earth." This refers either to Judea or to what happened afterward across the whole earth after the coming of Christ, which the word predicts. And, visibly, all men having been brought under one rule—that of the Romans—most wars ceased. Moreover, God made a covenant with the nations and the Synagogue of the Hebrews, having made them one flock, and having made both one, and becoming the corner-stone, so that ^D he might fashion the two into one new man, introducing peace through the evangelical law and persuading them to despise all things—even the body itself—on account of which wars occur. For he who said, "Of him that takes away your goods, do not ask them back," and other things of this sort, wished for us to have the peace which he also left to us. That man enjoys this peace who has subjected his passions to the Word. When

does this come about? "When," as someone might say, "he has put to death the members which are upon the earth, he makes a covenant; for a covenant is firm over the dead."

*And I will make you to dwell in hope.* I will not only deliver you from the hardships of captivity, but I will also settle you in your own country, and I will instill in you good hopes, persuading you to be hopeful regarding both present and future things. Consider that these words are now spoken also to the Church gathered from the Gentiles and the Jews, which He has now settled in His house, having granted her the remission of sins, and given her to hope for the ^B good things in heaven; to her, too, the things which follow beautifully apply, so listen:

*And I will betroth you to Myself forever.* What is meant by "to Myself"? Perhaps it means: "Because it was not through an angel, nor through any great personage, but the Lord Himself saved us." For in times past the Lord spoke to the fathers by the prophets, but to us by His Son. Or, perhaps it is because He betrothed that ancient Synagogue to Moses, for which reason He also said to him: "Your people have committed iniquity." But the Church that believes in the incarnate arrival of the Son, He betrothed to Himself, just as Paul also testifies: "But I speak concerning Christ and the Church." ^C Furthermore, He did not betroth that Synagogue to Himself forever, for the service of the law was temporary; but now He betroths to Himself forever those who believe.

The Bridegroom, the Word, might also say to the soul that has been purified through penitence, "I will make you to dwell in hope," when, after casting her out from the Church, which is the house of the living God, because of her sins, He receives her again when she has turned, and dwells in her once more, and does not repel her on account of her previous impure life and arrogance. Then He also imbues her with better hopes, because she is to be received even into the heavenly seat, when the Bridegroom becomes eternal to her also, according to the word which says: ^D "Whatever you bind upon the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose upon the earth shall be loosed likewise in heaven."

*I will also betroth you to Myself in justice and in judgment, and in mercy and in compassion.* In justice, indeed, in that just as through a man came death, so also through a man came the resurrection of the dead; for He Himself, having become man, inaugurated the resurrection. In judgment, in that He condemned the prince of this world. For when that prince could not find sin in Christ, He put Him to death—that is, He stripped him of his power. And He exhibited mercy and compassion toward all men, whom He saved not out of their own works, but according to His own mercy, through the laver of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

^A And I will betroth you to Myself in faith, and you shall know the Lord. Since it was necessary that we who have been shown mercy should not be altogether idle and useless, but should also ourselves contribute something, He says: I will betroth you to Myself in faith; for he who approaches God must believe. And from faith comes the knowledge of God. For if you do not believe, He says, you will not understand. See, then, that it is not in sacrifices, nor in the legal cult, but in faith that the Lord betroths those whom He betroths; and let those who boast in the Law cease.

And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will answer the heaven, and the heaven shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the wheat, and the wine, and the oil, and these shall answer Jezreel. After the prediction regarding heavenly goods, He promises also bodily gifts to them. For being earthly and groveling, they were drawn to these things rather than to those. He promises, then, that "I will answer the heaven"; that is, I will consent to the heaven and give way to it, so that it may rain, for although it has the nature to do this, it is restrained by my wrath. For as the heaven, having the disgrace of not doing its customary work, was as it were offering a supplication ^B for this very reason, I will therefore answer it, and I will resolve this disgrace. And the heaven shall answer the earth; that is, it will satisfy its desire, as the earth is thirsty and in need of rain, and as if crying out through its dryness that the drought must be broken. And the earth shall make prayers to the fruits, and shall release them in abundance; and the fruits, which were formerly hidden and not appearing to Jezreel—that is, the son born of the harlot, or the people who had formerly practiced idolatry—shall answer and appear to those who call upon them. Consequently, when the vineyard of the Lord, that is, the Israelite people, produced thorns, then the Lord commanded the clouds—that is, the angelic powers and the prophets—not to rain upon them, whence they were left irrational and uninstructed. But when they were grafted onto the true vine, Christ, then He fattens them with the outpourings of wisdom ^C and knowledge by means of angelic powers, and with the irrigation of prophetic oracles. For those truly possess the prophets and enjoy them, who receive those prophesying among them. And those who formerly dwelt on the earth and set their minds on earthly things possess the wheat and the wine—that is, the reception of the mysteries—and the oil, by which they are anointed for the struggles and for the wrestling against the principalities and powers. But they receive these things then, when they become Jezreel and the seed of God, having been perfected as children of God, through the ^D baptism in the Spirit. Anima etiam usque dum peccat, nulla cœlestis super eam cogitatio cadit, sed enim terra facta, et quasi in carnem mutata, arida est. Quando vero desponsata fuerit Verbo, tum supernos affluxus recipit atque cœlestia fluenta, ac producit frumentum, solidam

solidam nutrimentum vivificans, and wine, by which I mean divine joy, and oil, which is cheerfulness and gentleness, and tolerance or patience toward the weak, noting Paul who says: "If a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; and him that is weak in the faith, receive." ^A And the soul, so long as it sins, has no heavenly understanding falling upon it, but having become earth, or having almost put off the flesh, it is parched. But when it is wedded to the Word, then it receives the influxes from above, and brings forth grain as fruit, the solid and life-giving nutriment; and wine, the divine joy; and oil, the cheerfulness and the gentleness of the birth of baptism. And the soul, ^B even toward the weak, [exercises] condescension, listening to Paul, who says: "If a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness"; and again, "Him that is weak in the faith, receive." "And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to my people, Thou art my people; and he shall say, The Lord my God art thou." That is to say, I will show her to be my own field, and I will cast into her the seeds of justice and of the knowledge of God. These things typologically occurred in the time of Zerubbabel after the return from Babylon; but in truth, after the incarnation of the Son. For then did those who believed in Him truly become His people, and He was called their God truly and purely; and as if it were a fertile field, the Son of God sowed for Himself the souls that were suited for the faith. And seeing them already bringing forth fruit, as were the souls of the Samaritans, He said to the disciples: "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest"; and again elsewhere, "The harvest truly is great," that is, many are prepared for the faith, "but the labourers are few," that is, the apostles, who are about to take them up for teaching. No one, then, who has mammon as his lord and the belly as his god, can say to the true Lord and God: "Thou art my God."

CHAPTER III.

^C VERS. 1-4. "Then said the Lord unto me, Go, yet love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine with raisins. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without an priesthood, and without images." The former wife, whom the prophet took, was a type of the former generation of the Jews, that committed fornication and fell away into the worship of idols. But this latter one, whom the prophet is now commanded to take, is a type of those who were taken captive. For just as she, having previously ^D been separated from her lovers, wished to dwell with the prophet, and yet the prophet was not joined to her for the purpose of practicing idolatry,

just so these also, having been harlots in the past, as those who were given over to idolatry and who offered cakes, that is, loaves made of fine flour with raisins, to the demons (for such a kind of offering was pleasing to the demons, the offerers indicating that they held them to be the givers of both corn and wine), will, when led away into captivity, cease from idolatry. Yet, they will not perform divine sacrifices, but will remain idle and sluggish, as those who are unable to sacrifice or exercise the priesthood, because there are no altars. And, with the priesthood removed, neither will there be the *dêloi* (manifestations).

Learn what this means: There used to hang upon the breast of the high priest a quadrangular textile of a span's length, called the *logeion* [or oracle], having twelve stones, through which the things to come were signified to the high priest, some divine signs being produced in them; whence this *logeion* was said to have the *dêlôsis* [declaration] and truth. He says, then, that there will not even be the *dêloi*, that is, the divine signs through which the future was signified. Thus much for the text.

You will understand the former harlot to be a type of the Synagogue before Christ, which was also given over to idolatry. But the one now taken is a figure of the Synagogue after the coming of Christ in the flesh, which is indeed also received by God on account of those who, from among it, are to believe at various times according to the election of grace. This one, however, is also an adulteress, giving herself up to the Pharisees and Scribes who teach doctrines and commandments of men, and not being perfectly betrothed to the Word of Christ.

The prophet hires her for fifteen pieces of silver, that is, for the five books of the Law and the ten commandments; for they are subjected to the letter and are drawn by it, so that they seem to acknowledge God, albeit wrongly. For he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father; and, "Neither do you know me," He says, "nor my Father." And the barley signifies the irrational food on which they feed, understanding nothing spiritual and worthy of rational souls. And the *nebel* [flagon] of wine signifies their drunkenness and derangement; for seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not understand, which is characteristic of the drunken and those full of wine.

Therefore, those who do not believe in Christ sit idle, remaining immovable in their unbelief, and neither having a king according to the senses, or a ruler, nor according to the mind; for there is no mind in them reigning or ruling, since they are not even the children of free Sarah, which is interpreted as "ruling," but are the offspring of the handmaid, who bears children into slavery. Nor is there declaration or truth among them, but they are truly blind, in that they sit in the darkness of falsehood, neither themselves understanding the truth, nor...

having the power ^A to declare it to others. For how could they, seeing that they crucified the Word, who said, "I am the truth," and who declared to us the things from the Father? "For all that I have heard from my Father," He says, "I have made known to you." These are those mentioned here, who also love pastries with raisins, not receiving the bread which is seen to nourish the soul, because in those [pastries] there is no delight or pleasure. Such entirely are the explanations of the teachers, having the sweetness of raisins, promising ^B perceptible goods which are utterly withered and easily fall away. Similar to this woman is he who seems to serve God for the sake of a reward and for the provision of perceptible goods—wealth being signified by the silver pieces, the number of which is fifteen, so that you may learn that the perception of such a person has united and joined to itself the whole body, soul, and spirit, while the things necessary for life, liquid and dry, indicated by the wine and the barley, signify the proportion of such a life. But he who seems to serve God for such a reward will quickly transfer himself to another master when the reward ceases. Thus also does David speak concerning such a one: "He will ^C confess to Thee when Thou hast benefited him"; that is to say, He will give Thee thanks, O Lord, when Thou hast given him good things; but as soon as these have flowed away, he will blaspheme Thee. Just so, the enemy, hoping that holy Job would be such a person, attacked him; wherefore he also said, "Does Job reverence the Lord for nothing? Hast Thou not fenced in his inner and outer parts?" And later, again forcing him to blasphemy, he said, "Speak some word to the Lord, and die." He who serves God for such good things, and not for the sake of the Good itself, loves the pastries with ^D raisins, not choosing the new and evangelical law, which appears raw due to the harshness of its discipline, but that which is baked, easily processed, and sweet. Since, however, according to the Proverbialist, he who pursues sweetness and is free from labor and pain "will end in poverty," it is not without reason that such a one sits idle, doing nothing holy, nor being able to say: "The dark and hidden things of Thy wisdom Thou hast manifested to me."

VERS. 5. And after these things the sons of Israel shall return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king, ...

^B and His benefits in the last days. The tribes were divided, as has been said from the beginning, and they became two kingdoms: one of the ten tribes, which was also called Israel and Ephraim; and another of the two tribes, which was called Judah most frequently, and sometimes Benjamin as well. And they existed in this state until they were led captive into Babylon. But after the return from there, the twelve tribes, having received sense of God and having sought Him, were united and had one leader, Zorobabel, whom they also named David, because he was of the Davidic line, in whom they also received the enjoyment of the God-given good things.

Since, however, even after the fullness of the nations, all Israel shall be saved, the sons of Israel shall seek—through faith—the king David, that is, Christ, the "strong in hand" (for this is what David is interpreted as meaning), who having shattered bronze gates, bound the strong man Death, and plundered his spoils, namely us.

Apply these things also to the inner man. For the faculty of sense is a harlot and an adulteress, looking toward things alien, that is, toward all things that are not proper to our nature, nor following us after our death. Riches are alien; for no one, as it is said, shall take everything with him when he dies. Glory is alien; for his glory shall not descend with him. Pleasure is alien; for the other forms of it are temporary, and what is eaten and drunk, passing into the belly and the drain, flows away. The prophetic word, dwelling within this, makes it for the present to abstain from habitual things, and to decline from evil, through the fifteen pieces of silver—by which I mean the oracles, both those of the law (for there are five books of the law, given to the imperfect and those living according to sense) and the Lord's [oracles], which are perfect and make one perfect (for the number ten is perfect)—and through the wine of a more severe turning about, and the memory of eternal punishments, and the homer of barley, that is, a more refined and humble conduct.

He teaches, however, that such idleness is not praiseworthy; for it is necessary that those who are called sons of Israel, that is, of the contemplative mind, should be kings and rulers, ordering what needs to be done, and priests, sacrificing the passions of irrationality and offering these to God: the spirit—in being zealous for Him, as Phinehas and Elijah were; and desire—in desiring divine things, such as was Daniel, the man of desires. For thus will the revelation from above, and the illumination of the Spirit, follow such conduct, so that one may say with ^C Paul: "But to us God revealed them through His Spirit." Nevertheless, the soul that is for the present idle from evils will later receive the king David, the one "strong in hand," that is, by practical power, and will stand in awe before the Lord and His good things. For in truth the soul stands outside of its nature when, by God...

^A lifted above all nature, and entirely established there, it enjoys His goods alone and is satisfied.

CHAPTER IV.

VERSES 1, 2. *Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a judgment against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God upon the earth; cursing, and lying, and theft, and adultery have overflowed upon the land, and blood touches blood.* Having said that in the latter days they will enjoy good things, and having given them good hopes so that they might not despair ^B altogether, He now again calls to their memory the evils committed by them, so that they might hasten to amend themselves, as they have an indulgent Master who still sustains them even as they live in such a way; and at the same time, that they might know that it is justly that He will deliver them to the Babylonians, seeing that they are so wicked. For this reason He says, *For the Lord has a judgment.* For there is a tribunal against us, in which He shows that it is not unjustly that He has decreed that you should be destroyed. Therefore, by saying, *There is no truth, nor mercy,* He teaches us from where this comes: from the lack of the knowledge of God. For /Psal. xiii, 1/ *the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God,"* and from this they have been corrupted and become abominable in their pursuits. Perhaps someone might argue the contrary, that it is because there is no truth, nor mercy, that there is no knowledge of God either. For God is far from sinners, as Solomon says; and rightly so. For he who has cast much dust into the eyes of his soul and blinded them, how, I ask, will he see the light? ^C By "cursing" (*exsecratio*) he means railing (*convicium*) and slander (*calumnia*). Therefore, because there is no truth, there is "cursing," that is, railing and slander, and lying; but because there is no mercy, there is murder, and the "mingling of blood with blood"; and because there is no knowledge of God, these things exist, along with theft and adultery. These things could also be said regarding those who killed the Lord. For mercy and truth is Christ Himself, and the knowledge of God as well. For, He says, /John xiv, 9/ *He who has seen me has seen the Father.* But these men did not accept Him, nor was He in them. But what was in them? "Cursing," that is, railing; for they called Him a Samaritan, and a drunkard, and one born of fornication. And they lied against Him, saying that He had a demon, and was against God, and that He cast out demons by Beelzebub. And theft was also in them; for they secretly bribed Judas, through whom they also accomplished the murder of the Savior, and they mixed His blood with the blood of the prophets, and after that, the blood of the apostles. And adultery was practiced ^D indeed by their chief priests, by hiring...

^A the high priesthood year by year, and using it insolently. But if the soul that is attached to earthly things is called "earth," see that there is no truth and no mercy upon such an earth. For he who loves false wealth, and false pleasures, and faked glory, has no truth; and therefore he receives no mercy from God, nor will he recognize Him in the day of revelation as God—that is to say, as a gracious one—but as a Lord, which is to say a Master and a punisher, which one of the ^B patriarchs, praying against it, said: "Let the Lord be God to me." Those of the heresies also mix blood with blood, who, having killed themselves through heresy, go on to kill others—those who are instructed by them. And when someone, having corrupted his own soul, takes in a new soul and corrupts its character through evil talk, this man also mixes blood with blood.

For this reason, the earth shall mourn, and shall be diminished with all who dwell upon it, and with the beasts of the field, and with the reptiles, and with the birds of the sky; and the fish of the sea shall fail, so that no one may either judge or convict anyone. Such a multitude of enemies, he says, shall I bring upon you for such deeds of yours, that not only will the rich be consumed—who, like beasts and reptiles and birds, loomed over the poorer ones, and being lifted up, as if on some wings, by their wealth and power ^C against the more humble, they bore down heavily upon them from on high—but also all the rest, who, like certain fish, are submerged in the sea of life. And since the Israelites were without a king, he rightly compares them to animals that have no king. When this happens, he says, the land will be destitute both of those who judge and those who are judged; that is to say, false accusations, and false testimonies, and unjust votes, and convictions ^D will cease.

The land of Jerusalem also mourned, having been captured by the Romans, together with its magnates, who were like wild beasts, according to the text: "He lies in wait in secret, as a lion, to seize the poor"; and like reptiles, according to the text: "Ye offspring of vipers"; and like the birds of the sky, because of their haughty disposition, such as those who say: "Do not touch me, for I am clean." To whom God, being displeased, says this: "The smoke of My wrath." But these were also as fish, as cannibals. Or perhaps the common crowd is also called fish, as being most irrational, and most speechless, and submerged in the cares of life. Moreover, judgments and convictions will fail. For since, he says, having slanderously accused the Lord, you spoke false testimony against Him and condemned Him, you shall deservedly be stripped of

the authority to judge or reprove, as you have employed both judgments and reproofs in a way that is contrary to the law. But it is a cause of blessing for a soul that dwells on earthly things to mourn out of repentance; and for the haughty mind to be humbled is no small good. For as the outer man is decaying, so is the inner man being renewed. ^A And together with the wild beasts and reptiles and birds within us, which have already been defined as to what they are, let also the fish within us be diminished, concerning which we form this opinion: one man does evil, but is stung, sensing that he acts wickedly; another, when sinning, does not even think he is doing any evil, but even when accused, stands in defense of such an action as if it were good. This kind of fish has life-giving water—that which is truly salt, but which appears lethal to others. If such things are absent from anyone, there will be no judgment or reproof for him (for "he who believes," he says, "does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life"); for to sinners God has said: "I will reprove you, and set your sins before your face."

VERS. 4, 5. *And my people, as a priest who is gainsaid, shall be weak for days; and the prophet shall be weak with him.* Just as, he says, if someone were descended from the priestly line but suffered from some bodily defect, being one-eyed or lame or injured in some other part of his body, he is not brought to the priesthood, but is "gainsaid"—that is, he is challenged on account of this defect and barred from the priesthood; and even if a priest already established happens to fall into some charge and controversies arise against him regarding his office, he is stopped from performing holy rites and is disgraced; ^B so, he says, my people also, although they descend from priestly ancestors, shall nevertheless, because of their soul's corruption, be dishonored before me and shall be weak for many days. But also the prophet—that is, the false prophet—shall no longer have boldness; for in truth those false prophets used to speak with boldness in times of peace, saying that "the evils shall not come," but in times of dire events they drew back, proving themselves weak and liars. And the God-killing people also became as a gainsaid priest. For just as one who is challenged either does not serve as priest at all, or, if he has served, is stopped from ministering, so also do these no longer possess priesthood or sacrifice by their own strength, nor do they enjoy the prophecies of prophets. ^C Yet they shall not remain so enervated for all time, but only for certain days; for a time is reserved for them for faith in Christ. Whoever, therefore, acts as a priest and slaughters irrational passions, offering them to God as mentioned above, is in truth a divine and real priest. But if someone instead slaughters the Word, he is a gainsaid priest; for he acts contrary to what

he is called. But as long as it is night and there is ignorance of duty, he will commit these things, and he will be strong and powerful in wickedness; but when day has come, and divine knowledge has shone forth, he will be weak; and the false prophet with him will also be weak, which is the hope that was promising ^A to him that good things would happen in the future, and was strengthening him to do such things.

*I have likened thy mother to the night; my people have been likened, as one not having knowledge.* The mother of the people is the Synagogue, which, because it was overwhelmed by the darkness of ignorance and had not received even a small ray of the knowledge of God, is compared to night; and therefore the people born from her, being entirely like their mother, were themselves also likened to night, as not having knowledge. And the Hebrews of the present day, sitting in the legal shadow, are also rightly likened to night, especially since they killed the true light. But since our mother is disobedience, ^B because we were conceived in sins, God, wishing to do us good, likened this to night, and set it before our eyes as formless, ugly, and shameful; but we, as being likened to those who have no knowledge, do not see it as night, but as bright, and we run toward it as if it were very beautiful, which [light] we study so diligently and therefore pursue.

*Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shouldst not perform the priesthood for me; and thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.* Thou first, He says, rejected the knowledge of my lawful ordinances and commandments; then, in this way, I will reject thee from not performing the priesthood for me, that is, from not ^C putting forward priests from the nation in the future, nor shall there be a priesthood among you; for surely the whole people does not perform the priesthood. He spoke more piercingly, however, when he said, *I will forget thy children,* so that he might grieve them all the more. For we do not care as much for ourselves as we do for our own children. Therefore, he says, I will forget those who are dearest to you. [††] Where now is the priesthood among the Hebrews who rejected Christ, who is knowledge, as has been said above? Since they also forgot the law of God, which says: *The Lord thy God will raise up a prophet for you* [Deut. XVIII, 15], and, *Ye shall see your life hanging before your eyes, and ye shall not believe* [17]; for this reason, ^D he says, I will forget thy children, having abandoned them to be circumcised in the flesh, and not to be marked with the true seal of baptism. Moreover, knowledge is sought everywhere, even in practical life, so that we may not fall into the worse as if it were the better, as when we fast, like those who practice self-control, or avoid marriage. For thus, even if we do many good deeds, according to the...

and for this reason we should flee from nuptials, as if by this pact we might remain continent. For in this way, even if we had produced many good works, as they appear, God will nonetheless forget them, as things that were not done according to His law. For no one is adorned with a crown unless he has competed according to the rule. ^B

VERS. 7. *According to their multitude, so have they sinned against me.* I cannot, He says, find a measure or number of the things sinned by them; whence, not having another measure, I say this, that just as they themselves are innumerable, like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea, so too are the things they have sinned against me innumerable. But it also indicates their ingratitude, that though they were so favored by me, and had become so many, they did not remember the favor, but instead they increased the sins against me in proportion to their own multitude; so that neither wife, nor child, nor elder is found pleasing to me. Similarly, those who seized the Lord came against Him according to their multitude. Thus it happens in the soul, where, once the guidance of the one leader has been repelled, the passions become a multitude, and at that time we sin against God.

*I will change their glory into dishonor.* They themselves, He says, consider their own population as glory. But I, having consumed them through war, will make them few, and then they will be turned into dishonor. Or: Even now, while they are doing evil, they boast in them; there will therefore come a time when they will recognize the works of their dishonor, and will be ashamed of them. Their glory has been dishonored, and in as much they were sons of the kingdom, they were cast out; and the circumcision that was celebrated among them is now uncelebrated and inglorious. Besides, when anyone makes bad use of a gift received from God, such as wealth or eloquence, and God therefore abandons him, this turns to his dishonor. ^C For this reason, He handed over the wise Greeks to a reprobate mind, abandoning them. Thus that rich man is roasted more harshly, as on a frying pan, in hell on account of his wealth. Furthermore, the kings of the Hebrews, when led into captivity, held their glory and their wealth for greater dishonor. For it is not the same thing for someone born in poverty to be led away captive, as it is for one who was born, raised, and reigned in royal opulence, and to whom the scepter was entrusted. ^D

VERS. 8, 9. *They will eat the sins of my people, and they will receive their souls in their iniquities. And as the people is, so also is the priest.* Having accused the people, He moves on to the priestly class, and says that they themselves eat what is offered by the people for sins; for He calls these things "sins." And yet, in the meantime, while they were receiving such great benefits from the people,

^A they did not reprove them for their deeds, as if they were acting wrongly, but they themselves took their souls upon themselves, saying, "The condemnation be upon us," just as those who said to Pilate, "His blood be upon us." What, then, will be the result of this? That the priest will be such as the people, as one who truly consents to the things being done by them. Behold, then, their glory, that is, the noble race of priests, has turned into dishonor. Some have understood the words, "They shall take their souls," in this way: The priests, he says, by eating the things offered by the people for sins, were taking their own souls in place of those who sinned, so that they might offer these to God as a sacrifice. For the priest, being a mediator between God and men, takes his own soul and offers it to God, just as the Lord also laid down His own soul for us. But yet, he says, although they were appointed for this, that they should be a sacrifice to God, they did not show this, but have become like the people. All these things are said toward every priest and ruler, together with the threatening that is brought upon them, which, listen: And I will avenge upon them their ways, and will recompense him for his counsels. Calling their deeds "ways," he says that I will bring all the judgment and punishment upon them for their deeds. And I will not only avenge the deeds, but also his counsels, that is, of the people; for we give an account not only of deeds, but also of wicked thoughts. He also avenged the ways of the God-killing people, ^B that is, the incursions which they made against Christ, and the counsels which they plotted against Him. Someone goes into sin, but not from premeditation, but by being carried away; therefore, he is simply punished. But when the way also has a counsel, that is, if the evil has received support from deliberation, then the vengeance is doubled. And they shall eat, and shall not be satisfied. That is, I will bring upon them continuous and successive evils. For just as the gluttonous, while eating, are not satisfied, so they too shall eat the fruits of their deeds, that is, the punishments, and as if they had neither eaten nor been punished, so they will invite other punishments. The teachers of the Hebrews today also seem to feed souls by reading the law; but this is not so; for they hunger and are not filled, because they have removed Christ, the bread that came down from heaven, from among themselves. And he who commits sin is not filled, because the pleasure is fleeting and temporary. ^C They have committed fornication, and shall not be in the right way, because they have abandoned the Lord, to keep fornication, and wine and strong drink has taken the heart of my people. He accuses the people of two things: one, that they have committed fornication, having rolled away from Him into idolatry; ^D and another, that they have addicted themselves to drun-

- ^A kenness, which means they have poured themselves out into every kind of luxury. These things are also said concerning the priests of the Jews, whether those of that time or those who lived after Christ, because they, being teachers, were guarding the people's fornication, which ought to have been eradicated and destroyed. Others, by their doctrines, were actually preserving it, establishing this very fornication. Therefore, "the heart of the people received wine and drunkenness"—that is, their doctrine, which makes them reckless and bereft of reason. Observe that as soon as someone commits fornication, they turn away from the good and are not directed aright. For virtue, being a mean, is a sort of straight path; but vice holds to obliquities, being considered in terms of excesses and deficiencies, since God ^B truly is straight, but the dragon is crooked. For it says: "He shall take his sword against the dragon, that crooked serpent." 15 Indeed, every movement that falls away from reason is said to produce temulency or drunkenness. Drunkenness is impiety or madness of soul; drunkenness is sorrow; drunkenness is the love of riches—that is to say, avarice—which weighs down the head, causing one to fix their eyes on the ground or to let their head droop and sway. For anyone languishing in such an affection fears all mortals, just as the ambitious man fears the censure of even the basest person who is scarcely worth three obols. May our heart, therefore, never admit such drunkenness, which approaches it so sweetly and pleasantly. For such appears to be the meaning of the phrase, "It received."

VERS. 12. "In signs they questioned." The priests—he says—who ought to have established the people in piety and the true worship of God, these men, while promising divinations, if anyone came to them intending to inquire about his own affairs, would question the demons through symbols, that is, through certain signs. ^C For they used either the flight of birds as signs of future events, or the ascent of the smoke from slaughtered and sacrificed victims, seeing whether it swayed to the side or went straight up. Moreover, they observed the entrails of the sacrificed animals, and through their colors, or forms, or dispositions, they presumed to conjecture and understand what they willed.

"And they declared to him in his rods." Of whose rods? Of the people's, clearly. For they would set up two rods, murmuring certain incantations or charms; then, as the rods fell by the operations or effects of demons, they would observe how each of them fell: whether they fell forward, or backward, to the right or to the left. And thus they would give answers to the foolish, using the fall of the rods as signs. In the same manner ^D did Nebuchadnezzar practice divination, as Ezechiel says.

^A Verses 12, 13. *For they have been led astray by a spirit of fornication, and they have committed fornication away from their God; they sacrificed upon the tops of the mountains, and upon the hills they offered incense, under the oak, the poplar, and the shady tree, for the shelter was good.* These things which I have mentioned, He says, they performed because they had a great impulse toward fornication, or toward idolatry, or toward the passion itself. He calls the disposition here a "spirit," or because a demon delights in each of the sins—and in this one, as has been said, a fornication understood in both senses—they were inflamed by a demonic spirit; and, delighting through effeminacy and softness in the spreading branches of the trees which provided a good shelter, they sacrificed to them out of their malice. For the Greeks used to hold as doctrine that some trees were appropriate to certain gods, just as oaks to the nymphs, laurel to Apollo, the rose and myrtle to Aphrodite, and others to others. They ascended to the tops of the mountains as if the largest and shadiest trees were there; or perhaps because the diviners—the demons—met them there exclusively. Observe, moreover, how those people, because of love of pleasure and luxury, ^B departed from God. With good reason, then, did Paul say that those who love pleasure are not lovers of God; thus it is always good to be temperate and to live without superfluity. But if our evil deeds are called "wood" by the Apostle, he who is placed under every evil deed and is enslaved to it is himself led astray by a spirit of fornication, committing fornication by it away from the action that is fitting and naturally suited to his nature, toward that which is unfitting and contrary to nature; for every sin is contrary to nature. We are enslaved to things of this sort, as they possess the shadow of a good; for this is what leads us astray. But if you take the mountains and hills to be the opposing powers, both the greater and the lesser, because of the puffed-up and swelling affection within us, observe that when evil reasonings and thoughts are brought to a peak in us, then we set our hands to the deeds.

^C Therefore, *your daughters shall commit fornication, and your brides shall commit adultery, and I will not visit your daughters when they commit fornication, and your brides when they commit adultery.* Your daughters, He says, having become captives, and the wives of your children, that is, the brides, will be exposed to insults from their captors, and I will not visit them—that is, I will abandon them and allow them to suffer these things. ^D God visits those who sin in another way when He has mercy upon them, by hindering their impetuous path toward wickedness and by handing them over to discipline, according to the verse: *I will visit their sins with a rod.*

and I will not scatter my mercy away from them. For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth, as a son. For what son is there, whom the father doth not chastise?

^B *For they were growing together with harlots.* By harlots, he here specifically means the very priests of Beelphegor. This was an idol known among the Greeks as Priapus, a lord of lust and wantonness, as even its very form indicated. Those who cultivate such a shameful abomination are all harlots. *And with the initiated they sacrificed.* He calls those initiated, the sacred mystagogues of such an idol, those judged worthy of the mysteries kept secret among them, as being by now more "perfect." These men, while appearing to be male, were effeminate, and using cymbals and feminine ululations, they would go about the crossroads, performing the sacraments of Beelphegor. They were sacrificing, therefore, he says, to this shameful idol, using as teachers those called "the initiated." So long as anyone is merely thinking about a sin, he is not yet said to sacrifice with the initiated; but when he performs it, then he is said to sacrifice with those who have been initiated for him. The soldiers who killed the Lord upon the cross sacrificed with the initiated—that is, with those who were thought to be wise in more perfect things, and with the priests and high priests who were learned in divine rites.

^C *And the understanding people was joined with the harlot.* What has been recounted so far, he said regarding the ten tribes, which were also called Israel; but this he now says regarding the two—I mean the kingdom of Judah—because even they, having been thought to possess the knowledge of God, as those reigning in the city of God, Jerusalem, were sacrificing to the idol of Astarte, that is, of Venus. For this he has named a harlot. And indeed, her image stood naked, breathing out fornication and abomination by its very sight and appearance. Solomon had set up an idol to Astarte, doing a favor to his wife. A harlot, too, was the cohort—as though serving idols—which the "understanding people," that is, those of the party of Annas and Caiaphas, consorted with in order to seize the Lord. And the mind within us that is endowed with understanding, when it has dissolved its own kingdom and raised up a turbulent empire of base impulses, becomes a "people": then indeed it is joined with the harlot of sensory perception, not taking her to itself, but being taken by her.

VERS. 15. *But do thou, O Israel, not be ignorant; and you, O Judah, do not enter into Galgala.* He addresses the twelve tribes collectively here; and because Israel—that is, the ten tribes—were suffering from a lack of understanding, being altogether devoted to idols, he says to him: *Do not be ignorant*—that is, instead, take knowledge, cast off thy lack of understanding. But to Judah he said no such thing. For they indeed seemed to possess the knowledge of God, and yet in the meantime they were secretly sacrificing to those who were not gods. He says

^A therefore to them: "Go not into Galgala." This was a city that was vehemently given to idolatry, in which Joshua, son of Nun, circumcised the uncircumcised with stone knives, and placed the twelve stones taken from the Jordan, that they might be a memorial of that most admirable divine benefit. It was, therefore, very absurd that that city, in which so many signs of divine benefit were stored, should be shown to be a metropolis of impiety by those going up to it and sacrificing to idols. These things are also commanded to the murderers of the Lord: "Do not ignore the Savior, who for the sake of bestowing benefit upon human nature came in the flesh," you who are called Israel. For you are named "observer of God"; be wise in things worthy of your name. And you, O Judah, who bear a name identified with confession, do not go to the will of your ancestors, nor to the precipice down which your fathers were led, killing the prophets and stoning those who were sent to them. But even if you have sinned, by laying snares for the Savior, heal this through repentance and confession; for "Galgala" is interpreted as "rolling." And one who has been enlightened and has seen the divine mysteries is admonished not to ignore the grace he has obtained, but to strive through a good life to preserve it; and he who through confession has received remission of his former sins, not to go back again to downward sin and the precipice, running voluntarily into its innermost and most dangerous parts.

^B "And ascend not to the house of injustice, and do not swear by the living Lord." He calls Bethel the house of injustice, in which Jeroboam set up one heifer, having set up the other in Dan. These idols were of Apis, the Egyptian ox; and Jeroboam learned such idolatry from Egypt. Bethel is interpreted as "house of God." They were therefore unjust and ungrateful toward their benefactor, those who dedicated his house to an idol. But as for that which is said, "Do not swear by the living Lord," some have understood that you ought not, while swearing by the true God, ascend into the house of the idol, which is what Paul also says: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons." Others, however, were swearing by the idol itself as the living Lord. The Israelite tribe was also the house of God, according to that saying: "I will dwell among them and will walk among them, and will be their God." ^C But it became a house of injustice — of the devil, I mean — since it rejected Christ, who was born for us as righteousness from God, and it committed injustice both toward itself and toward the truth, which it killed by not confessing His glory. For these people swear by the living Lord, thinking they honor the Father. They are deceived; for they show the Lord to be dead—He who nevertheless [though they do not believe it] ^D

lives by the power of God. And when someone keeps the commands of the Son, He and the Father come to him and make their abode with him. It is not fitting, therefore, for such a house, that is, for such a soul, to become a house of iniquity, oppressing those who are humbler out of greed. This passage also serves for our edification, if taken simply: "Do not swear by the living Lord," but let your word be, "Yes, yes; no, no" ^A, ^B as it were saying, I myself say to you, do not swear at all; but let your "yes" be "yes" and your "no," "no."

Vers. 16. *For as a heifer provoked by a gadfly, Israel has been provoked; now the Lord will pasture them, as a lamb in a spacious place.* A gadfly is a small kind of fly which, as soon as it bites a heifer or ox, drives it into such a frenzy that it runs up and down, and sometimes is carried over a precipice. He says, therefore, to Judah, that Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, are like a heifer that has gone astray and been carried over a precipice because it received the gadfly of idolatry. But the Lord, by delivering him into captivity, will pasture him—that is, will shepherd him—no longer as one disobedient, but as a most gentle lamb; for captivity will humble him. By "spacious place" He designates the region of the Persians and Medes, in which they wandered as captives, changing one master after another. The Hebrews ^C have suffered this even today in their present dispersion, migrating from one place to another, because they raved against Christ like a heifer that has not yet experienced the yoke; for they did not accept the yoke of the Gospel, having been driven by the gadfly of envy to the precipice of deicide. And if a soul should at any time, being carried in a disorderly way by some passion, as if by a gadfly, slip toward the precipice of sin, let it pray that the Lord might shepherd it as a lamb, not contending nor crying out, nor having a will of its own, according to the word: "I have become as a beast of burden before Thee, and I am always with Thee," but living according to His commands. For thus it will be in a spacious place, according to Him who says: "Thy commandment is exceedingly broad." For truly he has breadth and rest who lives according to the commands. "For learn from me," He says, "that I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Vers. 17, 18. *Partaker of idols Ephraim has set stumbling blocks for himself. He chose the Canaanites; they committed fornication, they loved ignominy from their shouting.* He seems to speak still to Judah, that Ephraim has become a partaker of idols, having worshipped the heifers, which became stumbling blocks and snares for his soul to him. ^D Not only this, but he also emulated the Canaanites, serving Beelphegor, their idol.

^A, and preferred this ignominy to me; for it is truly an ignominy for rational men to worship such things. He had this ignominy from having despised me and having acted insolently toward my honor. Were not those people of the same kind who used the soldiers of the nations and idolaters as partners to kill Christ, and became partakers in the impiety? They set before him, that is, before Christ, stumbling blocks, and loved his ignominy, crucifying him as a lawbreaker. They did these things out of insolence, just as David also says: "Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things?" Thus, among all men, those who rage gain ignominy. For it has been said, "Every proud man is unclean before the Lord," and "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled." And he who loves to dishonor and to loathe his neighbors, and suffers this from insolence, let him see with whom he is joined—with the partakers of idols, and other such things as are brought forward here.

^B VERSE 19. "A whirlwind of spirit shall hiss in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices." Just as birds, he says, by the movement of their wings, with a certain spirit and sound, cut through the air, so this—the Synagogue of the ten tribes under the kingdom of Ephraim—will be carried away like a winged creature as a captive into a foreign land, my wrath pushing it there and pulling it like a certain whirlwind of spirit. It endures this shame of captivity because it sacrifices to idols. But if the scripture holds thus: "A whirlwind of spirit, thou art in its wings," it should be understood in this way: that God is speaking to Judah, "Thou, O Judah, ^C didst become the cause for the kingdom of the ten tribes to turn to the worship of idols." For having seen you worshiping idols—you who were so learned in the law and who sat by the temple—it ran even more quickly to idolatry. For it indeed had wings moved toward idols, but you, like a certain whirlwind of spirit, didst blow upon its wings and made them more nimble. In this way, also, the teachers of the Jews made the proselytes who looked to them sons of Gehenna; which must be heeded, since according to the word of the Lord, "Whoever shall cause one of these little ones to stumble, it is better for him that a millstone be hung about his neck." The whole Synagogue also had wings—the Law and the prophets—by which it was lifted up to the heavenly height ^D of knowledge and of upright living. It is in these works, then, that the Spirit will hiss—that is, will sound and utter a loud report—the Spirit, turning the letter and persuading it to be understood spiritually. Whence they, not receiving this Spirit, will be put to shame, falling away even from their sacrifices. The soul has two wings, the natural law and the doctrinal; through which, moved toward what is honorable, it is borne upward to heaven. But it is the duty of the Spirit to be present, providing the aid that turns itself always within the soul, so that it may never forsake it, if

it is to be more easily moved. Such a soul, even if at some time it sacrificed and bowed down to the passions, will now be ashamed of them, bewailing its own folly.

CHAPTER V

and false testimonies did they spread out like nets? ^A Furthermore, he who has been appointed to act as a teacher and to instruct from an elevated position, if he leads a blameworthy life or spreads perverse and adulterous doctrine, becomes a snare to those who fix their eyes upon him—he himself, I say, being placed in a watchtower. And he becomes a net—not such as the disciples of Christ, the fishermen, possessed, which was indeed interwoven with miracles, but rather such as the demons, who are always hunting the catch of souls, have fixed. We also, who destroy souls, shall hear to whom we belong as a net, and that we do not belong to God, even if we stand in the watchtower.

Verses 2, 3. *And I am your chastiser; I know Ephraim, and Israel has not hidden from me; for now Ephraim has committed fornication, Israel is defiled.* ^B Because, he says, you have become such, I will bring upon you a chastisement, namely captivity, both upon those of note, whom he understood by Ephraim, and upon all the people, whom he marked by Israel. For I know their works, in that I have not so distanced them from me as to be far from them and not look upon them, but God is one who draws near, such am I. Perhaps, because all the chastisement of the Lord comes from love, according to Solomon, "I know" is placed here instead of "I have loved," so that God is saying: "I chastise them because I have loved Ephraim, and I have not distanced Israel from me." For even if he commits fornication and follows idols, not even so have I repelled him, but I am with him. ^C These things chime with what was said in the beginning to the prophet, when he was commanded to take a harlot as a wife. Who, then, would not love such a master, one who chastens not with indignation and fury, but with love? These things ought to be a lesson to every ruler, so that he may not punish out of anger, but for chastisement and benefit.

Verse 4. *They have not yielded their intentions to return to their God; for a spirit of fornication is in them, and they have not known the Lord.* By these words, their wickedness is shown to be intentional and voluntary. For "they have not yielded," he says, their thoughts at all to the true knowledge of God, because they received into themselves the spirit of fornication, both the idolatrous and the bodily one; and for this reason, they did not know the Lord. ^D For what communion has light with darkness? How can anyone serve two masters? So also, within souls, it is impossible for mercy to exist and love of money, or luxury and temperance, or anger and humility, or truth and eye-service.

^A *Ver. 5. Humiliabiturque injuria Israel, in conspectu ipsius.* By "injury," he means contempt for God and the defection from Him which, in a certain way, came upon those taken captive—or [he means] the arrogance with which they labored, luxuriating in an abundance of things. Therefore, they shall openly see what kind of fruit impiety and arrogance has; for this is what is indicated by the words, "in his face." Furthermore, the servitude to idols is no small insult to Israel. For what is more vain than for a man, endowed with reason, to worship wood or stones in place of God? The insult of the deicides against Christ was also humbled. Since the face is most especially the character and mark [of a person], he turned his gaze upon that which was most well-known to them, namely the Law and circumcision. For the Law was a most distinct character for them. For he says, "He made known his justifications and his judgments to Israel; he did not do so for every nation." And circumcision was a seal and a badge for them. And for a soul that uses divine goods injuriously, dejection is profitable, especially if it happens "in its face"—that is, if it perceives the cause of the humiliation and, receiving perception, recognizes it. ^B

*Israel et Ephraim debilitabuntur in injustitiis suis, et languebit Judas una cum ipsis.* Having been weakened in war, they will be defeated, and at the time of the captivity, they will be as weak servants. Furthermore, the kingdom of Judah will be weakened along with them. For both the kings of Syria and the Babylonians destroyed many of its cities, after the ten tribes in Samaria had been enslaved; for this reason, he made mention of Judah in the latter place. Why, then, will both suffer these things? Because of their injustices, by which they harmed both one another and God, transferring to others the honor that, in nature, belongs to Him. Therefore, he who does not have the Lord is weak; for David says, "The Lord is my strength and my praise," and Paul says, "I can do all things in him who strengthens me, Christ." For Christ is the power of God, and without Him we can do nothing. How, therefore, will either a Greek or a Hebrew perfect virtue? ^C

*Ver. 6. Cum pecudibus et vitulis proficiscentur exquirere Dominum, et nequaquam invenient eum. Declinavit ab ipsis, quoniam Dominum dereliquerunt.* Being placed in perils and calamities, he says, they will attempt to appease Me through sacrifices, but they will not find Me; for I have turned away from them, and the cause is that they were the first to abandon Me. Why, then, did the Lord not appear to them as they were sacrificing? Perhaps it is because they were not doing this from their whole soul, but coldly and toward ^D

^A a time? For the Law commands that one love God with all one’s heart, and with all one’s soul, and with all one’s mind. Or it is because they were setting out toward false gods as if they were the Lord; yet the One who is truly the Lord was not found by them, just as they claimed the idol was a living Lord. Observe, moreover, the indication of the two persons. *He has declined*, He says, "from them, the Lord," because *they have abandoned the Lord*. But if the Spirit also says these things in the prophet, behold the third person as well. Consider, furthermore, that the legal sacrifices have now ceased; for it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For the Lord, who remits sins, is found only through faith and baptism. Furthermore, to the soul seeking the Lord with the stupidity which beasts manifest, He is not found: *Be ye therefore*, He says, *prudent as serpents*, and, *Walk in wisdom*. Neither is God found through bodily power, which the race of oxen signifies. For the power of God is perfected in weakness, and: *As the exterior man is destroyed, so the interior is renewed*.

Ver. 7. For strange children are born to them, and now the rust shall devour them and their lots.

These are either godless dogmas or lawless deeds. Then the mother of such things, the soul, is corrupted by the blight—the disposition born in it from the prince of the power of the air, who works in the children of disobedience; and not only the soul itself, but its portions (69) are corrupted. For it is deprived of the mansions in the heavens which it was to inherit, directed toward each one by each specific virtue, those which the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ distribute, of whom David also says: *In Thy hands are my portions*.

VERS. 8. *Blow the trumpet on the hills, sound among the high places, publish in the house of On*. Having said above that *Now the blight has devoured them*, and indicating by the word "Now" that the harsh things will come upon them without delay, he now mocks the weakness of the idols, saying: Since you sacrificed upon the hills and upon the high tops in Bethel (71) (which he named the house of On, that is, of the useless. For what the Seventy called On, the other translators have rendered as "useless." Now there was an idol or image of a heifer in Bethel [72]), call upon the help of the gods worshiped in these places, and use the war trumpets and the clamors from the high places, making those very places where you sacrificed your launching points against the enemies, and having with you the help of the gods who receive the sacrifices.

VERS. 8, 9. *Benjamin is taken away, Ephraim has gone into extinction*. By Benjamin he refers to the kingdom of the two tribes, which in many places (73) he calls Judah; for sometimes he calls the whole by Judah, and sometimes by Benjamin, synecdochically. He says, therefore, that those in Jerusalem also were "taken away" ^C—that is, they were removed from the midst, they perished, as those who themselves acted impiously. For they sacrificed to the goddess Astarte in the high places, and they worshiped the sun, as Ezekiel also testifies (74); whence some have understood them to be called the house of On, that is, of the sun; just as the pious are called the house of God.

*In the day of rebuke among thy tribes, O Israel, I have shown faithful things*. What I said to them, he says, through the prophets, in whom no faith was placed in me, these things I will now show as faithful through the works themselves to all the tribes, in which days I will rebuke their iniquities, punishing them. For "I have shown" is used instead of "I will show," just like the passage, *They dug My hands and My feet*, ^D instead of "they will dig." The Scripture uses verbs in this way to show that for God nothing is future, but He anticipates all things by foreknowledge and predefinition; and at the same time, to assure us that what is spoken will certainly come to pass. And just as it is impossible for things that have already happened not to have happened, so it is impossible for these [cont.]

^A future things which are spoken of not to come to pass. He showed them to be faithful both in the days of the cross and of the resurrection, by shaking the creation, and by this means convicting those men, while confirming his own divinity. Benjamin is called the "son of sorrow"; for indeed Rachel, while giving birth to him, was in peril in her labor and, as she was dying, called him "son of my sorrow," but his father named him Benjamin. Every sinner is a "son of sorrow"; if he looks toward repentance, he is here in sorrow and mourning; but if he departs from this world without repentance, he is liable to everlasting sorrows. Such a person, even when he sins, is said to "exceed" [or "depart"]; for sin is an excess from that which is according to nature, and it otherwise happens from folly. Hence David also says sometimes, "from the face of my folly my wounds stank," and sometimes: ^B "I said in my ecstasy: I have been cast away from before the sight of your eyes." But when he repents, he certainly departs from his custom. And if Ephraim also is said to be an "increase," let him who increases in malice watch, lest he come to destruction. When? When in the days of reproof, that is, of the last judgment, he will sit with his twelve disciples, who judge the twelve tribes of Israel, showing his divinity to be faithful. For then they will look upon him whom they pierced, and they will know that he was not a mere man.

Vers. 10. *The princes of Judah have become like those who move boundaries; I will pour out my indignation upon them like water.* That is, they were moving my laws just as those who move the landmarks in fields, by which each person's lot ^C is known, and they were thus transferring the honor owed to me to idols; or he also reproaches them as covetous. Therefore, he says, I will rush upon them like a torrential flood, and like some mountain stream, made rough by many rains and snow, and carrying itself along with irresistible force. Those who misinterpret the law of the Hebrews and strive to hold onto it still also move the boundaries. For until John, its custody was defined. Hence the wrath of God, poured out upon them like water, scattered them. But when any prince of Judah, having confessed and promised and determined no longer to pay heed to the same things, moves such boundaries and turns back, like a dog to its own vomit, the wrath of God is poured out ^D upon such a person all at once, just as the water of the Red Sea upon Pharaoh, who had lied many times and, according to his own impenitent heart, was kept for a demonstration of the power of God. For God is not mocked.

^A Ver. 11. *Ephraim oppressed his adversary, and trampled upon judgment, because he began to walk after vain things.* When he had spoken concerning the princes of Judah, that they had moved the boundaries, and had accused them of being both impious and covetous, he likewise censures Ephraim for the same things. For he rebukes him as a man of violence, and one who, in his power, tramples upon judgment—that is, upon justice—neither passing the sentence he ought himself, nor following those who judge rightly. The cause of this is his devotion to and pursuit of idols. For he calls idols "vain." If, he says, they had worshipped me, they would have loved my laws, by which justice is sanctioned. Yet these things could be understood in another way. Judah was not entirely turned away from the law; for there were among them those who complained about the worshippers of idols and groaned over those who transgressed the law, as Ezekiel testifies. But Ephraim, he says, bore away a most evil victory; for he oppressed my law, as if it were a certain enemy, which he hated. Interpreting more clearly, he said: *He trampled upon judgment*, that is, he did not care for legal justice, because he loved idols. These things will also befit those who raged against Christ, having Him as their adversary because He spoke and did things contrary to them; they were powerful against Him, and trampled upon the judgment regarding Him when Pilate gave sentence that He should be released; for they followed their own vain teachers. But if all things are vanity of vanities, as Ecclesiastes said, the beginning of evil gain and injustice is to travel behind the goods of this world, and to have them as a middle barrier, which prevents one from seeing the things that are before us, and indeed the future things.

^B Ver. 12. *I, however, am as a disturbance to Ephraim, and as a goad to the house of Judah.* Since the kingdom of Ephraim perished earlier at the hands of the Syrians and Babylonians, and that of Judah later: "I will disturb Ephraim," he says, namely, when he is already in a state of confusion as if war were at hand; but to Judah, I will be a "goad." For seeing the others perishing, he himself is not a little anxious, and is struck by the pricks of concern, hoping that he will suffer the same things. And Christ is neither a disturbance nor a goad, but "as" a disturbance and "as" a goad; for, he says, I preach peace and cure diseases. But they are goaded by envy and are disturbed, saying: *Behold, the world goes after him.* ^C And when we are fortunate in our sins and say: "There is peace and security" (or when we console ourselves with thoughts after performing evil, saying: "God cares for us kindly and humanely"), then He either disturbs this faster course in wickedness or scatters our thoughts, casting in the goad of the memory of death and the punishments that follow after death.

Ver. 13. *And Ephraim saw his languor, and Judah his pain.* By the experience itself, he says, Ephraim learned his own weakness, and how...

his strength had languished; and Judah, the multitude of his own pains. ^A And Ephraim went to the Assyrians. For when Phoua, king of the Assyrians, went up against the ten tribes, they approached him, and by means of money and an embassy they made a covenant. And he sent ambassadors to King Jarim. When the Assyrians came again (for they had broken the treaties), they sent to the king of the Egyptians, whom he calls Jarim, not as though his name was that, but because *Jarim* signifies "avenger"; for they called upon him as one who would take vengeance. That he is speaking about the king of the Egyptians, the following context will make clear. And he could not free you, nor will he cause pain to cease from among you. You, indeed, called upon the Egyptian as an avenger; but he was proven weak, and from that time greater pains came upon you, inasmuch as you had utterly despaired of your salvation. ^B And indeed, everyone who has offended God has one remaining resource: to be reconciled again to Him. Thus, he who has lavished countless gifts upon others in order to secure them as his allies and confederates, will not for that reason cause the pain he suffers to cease—being troubled first by the bitter things he suffers in his soul, and then on account of the expenses he sees he has made in vain. And you will most aptly assert that this was also spoken concerning those who killed the Lord, who called in Vespasian as an avenger. And the intention of the Assyrians was the same, [to wit], that he might restore their city, but he could no more benefit them; nor did the pain cease from among them—indeed, they were then cast into immense evils while their foundations were being dug up, and afterward they were led away by faithful kings.

*For I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to Judah.* ^C By the panther, he shows that the evils will be set upon them quickly and sharply; for the panther is a swift and agile beast. And by the lion, that they will be great and fearful; for such is the lion. Thus, too, God quickly raised the Romans against the Jews (for it was a short time after the crucifixion) both swift and fearful; for they annihilated everything. And to the soul growing in malice, the Word becomes as a panther, swiftly plundering it, according to what has been said: "Call his name, Hasten to plunder." And this happens when He removes the thoughts that plead for sin within us, and "every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God." ^D But to Judah—that is, to the one who confesses—the Word becomes a lion by reason of His kingly nature, already legislating for him according to that which is said by David,

the Lord will set for him a law in the way he has chosen. And: "Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I will seek it continually." Or, as if encouraging him that, by turning away from evil, he may hereafter pursue what is good.

"And I will snatch and go away as a panther." For being light, it snatches and flees.

"I will take, and there will be none to deliver." This will be as a lion, on account of the strength of its claws and its indefatigable power.

^B VERS. 15. "I will go and return to my place until they are destroyed." As, he says, wild beasts after the hunt return to their own lairs, calming the pain from the exertion of the hunt, so also I, he says, will go to myself having rest, and not at the beginning revealing the providence which I have toward you, but as if being at leisure, until you are destroyed by us. For God is present to the worthy, as He also says to Joshua the son of Nun: "As I was with Moses, so will I also be with you." And: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the days." And: "God is with us." But He is absent from the unworthy; as: "Why, O Lord, have you stood afar off?" And: "Come to help us," and things of that kind. Then, "He who has bound the strong man," snatches us who were held by him. And no one was able to rescue us from His holy and mighty hand; just as He says in the Gospel, that no one snatches my sheep out of my hand. And He took the first-fruits of our nature, and went up to the heights to His own place, where He was before in the bosom of the Father, and immediately all things which pertain to the administration of the law were destroyed. Do you not see that God even in us not rarely takes away the material for sins? There are riches for someone, by which he is puffed up against those who are poorer, God snatches them away. Thus, one using ^C strength or beauty wrongly, has languished and been rendered deformed. He who through honor is puffed up and raised even to foolishness, falls into dishonor. Therefore, God acting thus goes and moves rightly, having previously obtained no passage in such a soul, and returns to His own place. But the place of God is the rational mind of man, in that it is purged of surrounding transgressions, having become worthy of divine succession, until there is a total destruction of human thoughts.

CHAPTER VI

VERS. 1. "They will seek my face in their affliction, and by the morning they will come to me, saying: Let us go and return to the Lord our God." As in bodily afflictions which cannot be cured by mild remedies, there is need ^D of more severe medicines;

so it is with men: as many as are not led to repentance by the clemency of God ^A are, by being chastised through more severe measures, brought to recognize what is fitting. For even as they, while in the enjoyment of good things, do not seek the face of God—that is, His oversight, His visitation, and His providence—so, when they are widowed of good things, they seek Him as their guardian and tutor, and come to Him at the morning hour, that is, they hasten; or else, as if awakened from some night of darkness of their former ignorance, they exhort one another to turn back to me.

^B VＥＲＳ. 2. *For he has torn and will heal us.* Some of the books have, *He has snatched away*, and perhaps not wrongly; for he said above, "I will snatch away." He, he says, has snatched away, he has torn, and he himself will heal us; for when God snatches away or strikes, there is no other physician anywhere. Thus, in tribulation, they remembered God. You may understand these things likewise of those who, among the Hebrews, were destined to believe in Christ hereafter. For they, in this thirst and long captivity, will seek, he says, the face, that is, the Son. For He is the character of the essence of the Father; and for those who turn to the Lord, the veil which is laid upon their heart is taken away. And you shall find this in each individual case as well, that they turn more to the Lord in tribulations, He who strikes our sensible and bodily parts, and heals our souls.

^C VＥＲＳ. 3. *He will strike and will heal our wounds. He will heal us after two days; on the third day we shall rise, and we shall live before him, and we shall know.* According to the literal sense, he says this, that God does not require a period of time for healing, but will provide health instantly. However, he also adumbrates the mystery concerning our nature. For He gave over [our] nature, which had been struck, unto death; but He intervened for the stricken nature with His own Son, as a kind of remedy, who, having been placed in the wound of death, healed us and rose on the third day. For having raised up the taking-up—that which He assumed from us—He granted the resurrection to all of us, which we shall have in His own times, and we shall live. For since one died for all, the same one also rose again for all, and we shall live, not being far removed from Him, but beholding Him face to face, and then we shall attain ^D a more perfect knowledge of Him. For "Now," says divine Paul, "I see in a mirror and in a riddle; but then I shall know, even as I have been known." (I Cor. xiii, 12.) The blameworthy ardor and impulse in the soul is also struck, and the blameworthy concupiscence, so that it may not in vain

^A rage, but that they may have the Word, like a sort of poultice and bandage, replenishing their emptiness. We are healed also according to the life that consists in action, when these two affections—anger and concupiscence—have not approached the works of darkness, but rather those of light and day; ^B so that it may be said also of us: "So then we are not of the night, but of the day." We rise also on the third day, when the third part of the soul, namely the rational and speculative part, has been illuminated; for then we shall live before God himself, that is, beholding him face to face. Wherefore he adds, "And we shall know."

"We shall hasten to know the Lord; as the dawn, we shall find him prepared." We shall seek him, he says, with diligence and with great desire. For just as the dawn dispels the darkness of the night, so also will he promptly and quickly exhibit the rays of his providence, and will deliver us ^C from the night of afflictions.

"And he will come to us as the morning and evening rain to the earth." The earth also needs the morning rain, in order that, as it brings forth the seed committed to it, it may have fatness whereby it nourishes it. But it needs the evening rain most of all, lest the grown crops wither away; for they have need of very much moisture for their nourishment, inasmuch as they are bringing forth fruits at that time. And so to us, he says, God will come as the morning rain, when he shall begin to free us from captivity; and as the evening rain, when, restoring us to our homeland, he defends us and takes care of us. And Christ also, after his resurrection, showed himself in the morning to the women, and in the evening, when the doors were shut, to his disciples. And this happens to every soul as a morning rain, when God reveals the knowledge of the Old Testament, which dawned at the beginnings of divine knowledge. And as an evening rain, when he imparts to it the understanding of the Gospel, which dawned late and in the last times. And then he transforms the soul into a divinely-watered earth, of which the Prophet says: "Thou hast visited the earth, and hast inebriated it."

"What shall I do to thee, Ephraim? What shall I do to thee, Judah? Your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning." After God had announced to them that he would take them up again—but they were ^D about to fall into many calamities because of their wickednesses after this taking up—lest they should think that he had lied to them and had not given sufficient grace, he foretells to them that they themselves would be the authors of their own evils. He mingles discourse with them, however, like a father loving his own children, saying, as it were, such things as these: "I indeed desire to grant you every grace and pardon, and I wish to grant you everlasting mercy; but your mind, being transitory, and like to a cloud..."

appearing at early dawn and dispersed by the sun, or like a little dew consumed and vanishing by the rays (for this is what "proceeding" means), causes my mercy, with which I pity you, to be likewise transitory." Let us ^A listen, for we are the measure of divine mercy, either extending it through a continuous repentance, or cutting it short by turning backward with haste. And let us [(97)] strive to make ourselves objects of pity for a longer time. For thus the kingdom of heaven is within us, and God is a follower of our own disposition. It is brought forward also in another scripture, "My mercy": and you shall understand it thus, that God is complaining here, saying, "I have shown and demonstrated every way ^B for your correction; for indeed I sent down my mercy to you, that it might take hold of you, like the dew of dawn proceeding," that is, being diffused by the Spirit over the land, and as a morning cloud cooling the fruits; but you did not receive it. But neither did the Hebrews receive the Son, who, being the mercy of the Father (for through Him we have been pitied), was sent as a cloud, on account of the thickness of the body; and as a morning one, because He came as the shadow of the Law, and in order not to be overtaken by the darkness of the devil and of sin, but also to become for others the beginning of light, just as the morning is for the day. And He Himself was also like the dew ^C falling from above; and "proceeding," because His knowledge was not to be confined to one place, but was to proceed to all mankind. For formerly He was known in Judea; but now, after the voice of the apostles has gone out into all the earth, the earth has been filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covering the seas. And His lightnings shone to the world, and all the ends of the earth saw the salvation of God.

"Therefore I have mowed down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth, and my judgment shall go forth as light." You, He says, are in such a state, that you show a certain cold and short-lived repentance, and for this reason you make My mercy also such as that. Nevertheless, I did not cease to deem you worthy of the providence that befits you, so that even to the holy prophets whom I sent to you as [(99)] exhorters, I became the cause of death (for this is what "I have slain" means); and because I have given them the word of My mouth to prophesy, I am thought to have slain them. However, even if you slay them all, you cannot make the things prophesied about you false; but My judgment, that is, the verdict which I have decreed for you, shall shine forth ^D as light.

^B Some, however, understood "your prophets" as the false prophets. "I have slain them by the word of my mouth," that is, by My command; "and My judgment among them, as a bright light, shall not be hidden, but shall shine and be made known to all through their works." For both Elijah slew the prophets of Baal and the priests of the groves, and Jehu, who also destroyed the race of Ahab, feigning a festival to celebrate for Baal, having gathered them into one house, slaughtered them all.

VERS. 6, 7. "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But they are as a man transgressing the covenant." ^C In the preceding verses He brought a charge against them, accusing them of the injustice they committed against their neighbors and the worship of idols; and now He says that I welcome mercy toward one's neighbor more than sacrifices, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. For in setting forth the Law, He commanded these two things: "You shall love the Lord your God," and, "You shall love your neighbor." But you have transgressed this covenant of Mine and the Law. For towards your neighbors you are unjust and unmerciful, and furthermore, you have cast off the knowledge of Me. ^D One might say: since the Jews, while performing the sacrifices but not having mercy, were transgressing the covenant, it is clear that the Law, in speaking of sacrifices, meant other, more mystical and spiritual things. By "mercy," therefore, the practical life is indicated, and by "the knowledge of God," contemplation. The judgment of God shall also go forth in the world to come as light, through the Only-Begotten. "For the Father judges no one, but has handed over all judgment to the Son," who, by His arrival into the world, did not save us through sacrifices, but through His own mercy; and He justified us not through burnt offerings, but through knowledge and faith. And He taught us mercy when He said: "Blessed are the merciful," and, "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do also to them." And when He brought forward this saying, "I desire mercy," etc., as a testimony, He commanded the knowledge of God in countless other ways, especially when He attributed all His words and works to God, and ascribed them to Him alone, and when He said to Philip: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Hence He also said: "I have manifested Your name to men," not to the Jews only, but to all. Therefore, those who have not received Him have altogether transgressed the covenant of the Father, which also made the Son the heir of the vineyard. The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts was the house of Israel itself, and the man of Judah, the beloved plant; but when the Son came into His own, He taught,

^A His own did not receive Him, but said: "This is the heir; come, let us kill Him." But the very testament of the Father made them heirs of adoption, of glory, and of the kingdom of the heavens; yet they were unwilling to follow the testament even in this regard, but rather transgressed it in both ways, both by refusing to have the Son reign over them, and by rendering themselves unworthy of heavenly glory.

"There Galaad scorned me, a city working vanity, troubling the water." I did not, He says, slay the false prophets without judgment. And there ^B—that is, at that time when Israel turned away—Galaad scorned me, because it was distributed to the priests and Levites as an inheritance; and those who ought to have instructed the people in the knowledge of God were themselves working vanity, that is, they were themselves manufacturing idols. They were also troubling the water of doctrine, not offering it pure to the people.

"Thy strength, as of a pirate; the priests have hidden the way, they have murdered Sichem, because they have wrought iniquity in the house of Israel. I have seen there the horrible fornication of Ephraim." Sichem is a city near the city of Galaad. Certain people, therefore, from Sichem, having received the memory of the God of their fathers, wished to ascend as far as Jerusalem to worship God. But the Levites and priests who were in Galaad, having found this out, hid certain robbers in the way and put the Sichemites to death. For this reason He says, "Thy strength, O Galaad, is that of a pirate," that is, of a robber. ^C For while a pirate is strictly a sea-robber, yet in the Holy Scripture the term is used for a robber on land. And for this reason He calls this fornication even more horrible, because not only were they themselves not doing what was good in the house of Israel—that is, among the Israelites—but they were also murdering those who proposed to do so. Or again, in this way: just as pirates attack those sailing by in a hidden manner, so you who are idolaters in Galaad make idols move by means of certain secret sorceries, in order to show that they share in divine power; and the priests, when they ought to be refuting these things and making known the way of God, conceal them. Yet it was meet for them ^D to bear in mind that their ancestor Levi put all the Sichemites to death when Emmor, the son of Sichem, did violence to his sister Dina. And he indeed was zealous for the virginity of his sister, but they do not show zeal for me. For this reason, He says, the priests concealed the divine way, they who...

^A of old murdered the people of Shechem, being inflamed with emulation. For what their forefather Levi did is ascribed to the priestly lineage. These are also the accusations against the Synagogue that killed the Lord. For they too were working vanity—I mean calumny and the cross—for their thoughts were truly vain, inasmuch as He who was crucified shone forth all the more and reigned. And they were troubling the water, confusing both the knowledge of the Scriptures and the teaching of the Savior, which was spirit and life, slandering it. And their strength was like that of a pirate; for they picked up stones against Jesus, and went out against Him with swords and clubs, and at night, which is the practice of those who hasten to escape notice. And their priests concealed the way, that is, they put to death the Lord, who said: I am the way. ^B They also murdered the Shechemites—that is, Jesus, the fruit of temperance and virginity—since Shechem was the exceptional portion of the temperate Joseph. And in the Church you will see some performing vain deeds, being of a wicked life. These, therefore, also trouble the water of spiritual teaching, slandering matters concerning resurrection and judgment, and deceiving themselves so as to sin without fear; their strength is not that of a man who saves, but of a pirate, of whom the Lord said: The thief does not come except to steal, and to slaughter, and to destroy. And the priests also conceal the way of the Lord, perhaps even when they do not rebuke those who sin, disobeying the One who says: Rebuke the sinning one before all; perhaps also when they themselves do not walk in it, but pursue another way of life. For this reason, they will also murder the Church, which was set apart for Joseph, whose name is interpreted as "addition." ^C Such is also the Lord, adding to the law what was lacking; for this reason He also said: I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill. For the "addition" and completion of "You shall not commit adultery" is "Do not even look at a woman"; and of "You shall not murder," it is "Do not be angry"; and similarly with the rest.

"Israel has been defiled, and Judah has neglected his harvest." This is the most dangerous and most horrible thing of all: that when it was fitting for Judah to harvest the fruits of the divine promises, he then imitated Israel, who had been defiled by idolatry, and neglected such a harvest.

"Begin to vintage for yourself when I restore the captivity of my people, when I heal Israel." He says these things to Judah: Begin to vintage,

that is, stay in the law, and seek to pluck the fruits that grow from such a way of life. Pluck them for yourself; for we bring no profit to God by living according to the law, but to ourselves. The phrase, "When I heal Israel" signifies: When I comfort him in all the sorrows which he bore while in captivity, and lead him back from Babylon, do you understand what is fitting for you, and begin a good life. ^A

CHAPTER VII.

^B VERS. 1. *And the injury of Ephraim shall be revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have wrought falsehood, and a thief shall enter in to them, a robber teaching in his way.* ^B Again He teaches that God justly punishes those around Ephraim, and says that their lawlessness will be manifest to everyone, because they wrought falsehoods, that is, idols. And finally, the enemies, coming upon them like thieves and robbers, will strip them and make them naked of all the good things they possess. Almost exactly this, Christ also says to the Jewish people: "Begin to vintage for your salvation, and to gather fruit, now at least, when I have come to turn back the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and to heal the broken." For those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Then all the wickedness of the people was revealed, when upon Pilate asking, "Whom shall I release to you?" they replied, "Release to us Barabbas, but crucify Jesus." And while the elements of the law were being made new, they remained in their wickedness, when even the thief and robber, who was crucified with Him, came in unto Him—that is, was saved through faith, and became with Him in paradise. These things are also an exhortation to the soul, which returns from the captivity in which it was held captive while serving the passions, and which is healed from the wounds and sores of sin, which cannot otherwise be cured unless they become foul-smelling and loathsome to the soul itself. For then at last it seeks a physician, when it is disgusted and distressed by the stench, just as David, when he had said: *My wounds have stank and are corrupted*, added: *Do not forsake me, O Lord my God, do not depart from me.* ^C Then, therefore, O soul, having been delivered from sin, vintage the fruits of virtue; but vintage them for yourself—do not do anything for display, but work the good in yourself. And the vanity of wickedness is revealed to it then. For then it sees how the works of wickedness are false and deceptive, and through them the thief and robber, the devil, entering in, strips the man and leaves him naked of all divine ^D grace.

^A In every path of life, for in whatever living way it may be, whether in the priestly, or in the monastic, or in the secular; for in every way of life he plunders. To some, indeed, the devil approaches as a thief, stealing them away in secret, and in the night, when he persuades them to attend to the worse as if it were the better; for example, by slandering marriage, wine, and the entire creation, as if they were the incentives and starting points of sins. But upon others, he attacks as a robber, openly and shamelessly persuading them to reach for things that are clearly condemned.

VERS. 2. *Ut concinant veluti canentes in corde suo.* The enemies, he says, shall attack them like thieves and robbers; but they shall persist in lamentations and wailing, not daring to weep aloud or to mourn fully their own calamities, but in their hearts and in their mind offering up their dirges. These things can also be applied to the robber on the cross, whose heart was in harmony with that of Christ; for he was confessing, and Christ was bestowing grace upon him.

^B *Omnia scelera eorum recordatus sum; nunc circumdederunt eos adinventiones suæ, coram facie mea factæ sunt.* "When I had long," he says, "been patient, and though it seemed that I was not judging those things dared by them, now at last I clearly observe them, and they have been set before my face." For all things have been gathered together, and they have stood round about them—not only their works, but also their "consultations," that is, their thoughts, showing me that they are worthy of punishment. But perhaps, since God punishes more severely those sins which are committed from premeditation and consultation, for this reason He said here, "Their consultations have surrounded them." For they did not, he says, simply perform evil acts, nor from sudden impulse, but with counsel and deliberation. Thus also on the final day of judgment, not only ^C works, but also the thoughts according to which they were performed, are judged; and in these things especially lies the authority for either remission or condemnation. The Hebrews also killed the prophets, and God, being long-suffering, while they were the killers of the Lord, and had filled up the measure of their fathers, God did "remember all their iniquities," so that there might come upon them all the righteous blood, from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias the prophet.

VERS. 3. *In malitiis suis exhilararunt reges, et in mendaciis suis principes.* Through their malice, he says, they ran headlong to destruction, becoming authors of joy to the kings and princes who warred against them. Or, that they ran with their kings toward idolatry, and attended to them and observed them, performing the same things, and in their "lies"—that is, in their idols, or ^D in their flatteries, or with empty praises, they made them glad [with their flatteries, and with lying praises they made them glad, for whose sake and…]

^A indeed Isaiah said: "Those who call you blessed lead you astray"; and, "Woe to those who call bitter sweet, and sweet bitter." And the Jews induced their own kings—demons, the rulers of darkness—to rejoice with their slanders and lies against Christ; ^B and furthermore, Herod, Caiaphas, and Annas, who in the condemnation of Christ returned to friendship with one another, though they had previously been of hostile feelings.

VERS. 4. "All committing adultery, are as an oven heated for baking, [which has ceased its] burning from the flame." By adultery you may understand the corporal kind, since God says that all the inhabitants of Jerusalem are adulterers; and thus, being burned by the fire of licentiousness, just as an oven, ^C the burning of which comes from the flame, which burns for the purpose of baking—that is, for the cooking of bread. The fire of licentiousness will bring upon them the flame of captivity, by which they will be burned, and will be useless for the baking of the rawness which they still possess. You will understand "adultery" also as the idolatry in which they were inflamed, having followed the first among them to be an idolater, Jeroboam.

VERS. 4, 5. "From the mixing of the dough, until the whole is leavened, are the days of your kings." "Stear," or "stais" (which is flour), signifies the whole people, and he says: As leaven transforms the flours mixed with it into itself, ^D so also from the time that the people began to be mixed with the leaven of Jeroboam’s impiety, until the whole was leavened and transformed into it, this whole duration of time are the "days of your kings." By this he indicates that throughout all the kings from Jeroboam and those beneath him, idolatry was practiced. By "adulterers," conceive of the adulterous and sinful generation of the Christ-killers, who were inflamed with envy, and having pondered the cross for the baking, that is, the destruction of the heavenly bread, Christ, they did not cease until they had finished their work. These days, however, are of those who rule and are prominent among them, that is, the ancient [times] of the elders. For the Scripture calls a "day," as we said also above, a calamity. And just as he who does not believe is already judged even before the final judgment, so also he who commits adultery is already being burned even before that burning by which he will then be burned for the baking and the cessation of his wickedness. For wickedness will no longer be active after the final judgment, nor will anyone have a friendly disposition toward it; but there will be an eternal hatred toward it for those who now love it, because for its sake they are eternally punished. For now it entices the foolish with a seeming pleasure, but then, when its ugliness has been revealed, repentance...

will be visited upon those who in this life were deceived by it, and they will weep, lacking all consolation, because they preferred that which is so unlovely and unsightly to divine beauty. The adulterer, therefore, is already burning, according to the words: *Walk by the light of your fire, and by the flame which you have kindled* ^A. But since, as a mixture is made from leaven and flour, so also action is made from thoughts and activity, he says that the thoughts reigning in the adulterer do not appear to be turbid or sad, but to have a certain tranquil and cheerful state, from the mixing of the flour, until the whole is leavened—that is, from the time they begin to meditate on the evil until they have finished it.

*They began to rage, the princes, from wine.* Having accused all collectively as adulterers, he now accuses all the princes as drunkards, and therefore as those who are incensed ^B.

VERS. 5, 6. *He extended his hand with pestilences, for their hearts were kindled like an oven, while they offended them.* Every one, he says, of the princes extends his hand to receive gifts, and associates with pestilential and corrupting men, loving them, for they are most fervent in plot-making, that is, in conspiring and harming those of the same race. From the drunkenness of envy the princes of Israel also raged against Christ. Thus the disciple Judas extended his hand when he received the silver of the betrayal, agreeing with the pestilential Pharisees and Scribes, who were seething with plots by which they might lacerate and cast down the Lord; and the hearts of the soldiers also were kindled as they kept watch ^C near the sepulchre of the Lord.

VERS. 6, 7. *All the night Ephraim was filled with sleep; in the morning he went forth, he was kindled like the splendor of fire; all were warmed like a burning oven, and he devoured their judges. All their kings fell, and there was no one among them who called upon Me.* And as for the literal sense, it follows for those drunken ones mentioned above that they should indulge in sleep all night, which is a very great disgrace, especially for the princes of the people; for this shows that they have no concern at all for their subjects. But in the morning, he says, they were kindled like fire, both for drinking and for anger, and for taking bribes, and for all other such base deeds. And not only the princes, but all without exception are like an oven, kindled toward sinning as each one is able. And rightly that fire of vices caused their judges—that is, their kings and princes—to fall, inasmuch as they had power as their fuel; and all their kings ^D

fell with a great fall, being frustrated in their hopes. Moreover, he who sins sleeps through the entire night of his life, being insensible. For this reason the divine Paul exhorts Timothy, his genuine child and son of the day: ^A *Be thou vigilant in all things*. But when the morning comes, that is, the future state, then the perception of the deeds he has done is ignited and shines within him—not indeed as a lamp, but as the light of a fire: for it consumes him, and then it devours as fire his thoughts which were formerly his judges, the ones judging that it was then the time to act. For all these men, reigning and holding power beforehand, were the causes of the fall of sin, and they did not call upon God at all.

^B *Ephraim was mingled with his peoples*. He says it was fitting for him to lead others to the good, but he was mingled with the multitudes in wickedness; and the king transgressed equally with the others. For the tribe of Ephraim held the kingly scepter, as we have often said.

*Ephraim became a cake not turned*. For just as a cake, when it is in contact with the fire on one side, is burned and becomes useless—since it is necessary for it to be turned so that it may be baked on the other side as well—so he too remained in wickedness, and was consumed by it.

*Strangers devoured his strength, and he did not know it*. Since he mentioned bread, he continued with the metaphor and says that foreigners fought against him; they consumed all his strength, both that which lay in men and that which lay in wealth. And he did not even then recognize God who was chastising him.

*And grey hairs sprouted upon him, and he did not know it*. He says he was chastised for a long and drawn-out time, and as it were reached old age under chastisement; but he was not taught what was necessary even by time. And the leaders and teachers of Israel, ^C having been of the same mind as the vulgar crowd, did not wish to turn from the letter to the spirit. For this reason, the nations, which were alien to the covenants of God, devoured his strength (and the strength of Israel is the Law); but they... ^D

were blinded and did not know, remaining instead in the administration of the letter. ^A Now everything that grows old and decays is near to disappearance. And when someone gives himself over entirely to the flame that burns him, pursuing secret sins which it is shameful even to mention, and does not turn back from such a state, the demons—who have become our aliens and enemies, envying the glory of man—devour the strength he received naturally from God for good deeds. Therefore, because he is grown old in sin, he possesses a total ignorance of the good.

^B V. 10. *And the pride of Israel shall be humbled to his face.* That is: before his own eyes he shall see the calamities, just as those who despised the Lord Christ were humbled when their temple and city were destroyed.

V. 10, 11. *And they have not returned to the Lord their God, nor have they sought him in all these things. And Ephraim was like a mindless dove, not having a heart. He called upon Egypt, and he went to the Assyrians.* I, says the Lord, brought afflictions upon them so that, understanding, they might turn to me and call upon my help; but they fell back upon human aids. For they sought the help of the Egyptians. Then, being attacked by the Assyrians and worn out, they called upon those same ones, exhibiting the mind of a senseless or foolish dove. For just as that creature, when its chicks are taken away, does not fly away but remains in the same places, so these too ran to their enemies; for the Assyrians were admittedly their enemies, and so were the Egyptians. But the dove is a type of lasciviousness and incontinence. ^C When, therefore, a soul that is intemperately addicted to the pleasures of darkness loses its reason and thinks that no evil is present to it, it forms a friendship with Egypt and the Assyrians: with the one because of the works of darkness, and with the others because of its own pride and opinion—from whence it shall also be heard: *Depart into the outer darkness, which is prepared for the devil and his angels*, who are the intelligible Assyrians. These things also fit the Synagogue that killed the Lord: for they did not know, nor did they understand, but because of their pride and opinion, they travel in darkness.

V. 12. *As they go, I will cast my net upon them; as the birds of the sky, I will bring them down; I will chastise them in the hearing of their affliction.* As they go, he says, to summon allies and helpers, I will cast upon them the enemies as if they were a net, and I will bring them down—that is, I will pull down their pride and humble them. ^D I will first attempt, however, to instruct them by foretelling the imminent events, so that they may know what calamities are to befall them. But if they are not chastened and do not amend themselves, then I will bring the afflictions themselves upon them. Or: The enemies will be so terrible that not only when present, but even when merely announced, they…

suffice for our correction. ^A The net of God is His manifold wisdom, by which, being known to us, He frequently casts obstacles in our way when we are moving forward to perform some evil deed. Those who are high-minded, like the demons who dwell in the air, He brings down and humbles; and by foretelling Gehenna, the worm that does not die, and the unquenchable fire, He instructs us through such proclamation, as a humane and merciful Father. Furthermore, upon the slayers of the Lord who were walking in error, He cast His net—that is, the teaching of the fishermen—so that He might bring them down to the humility and obedience of Christ and persuade them to learn that Christ is meek and humble of heart, and that they should not boast in the works of the Law, but rather pray to Him who justifies freely by His grace. He instructed them through the proclamation of their future affliction, saying that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the nations, and concerning the temple, that not a stone would remain upon a stone, and, "Blessed are the barren who have not given birth," and whatever else He prophesied there concerning the capture of Jerusalem.

"Woe to them, for they have started away from me!" They are wretched, because they have acted impiously against me. Among the sick, so long as there is hope of health, those who care for them both say and do everything; but as soon as they despair of their recovery, they mourn them for the future. God does the same with His people; perceiving that His care is of no avail, He laments them, as those who have started away from Him through evil deeds and acted impiously through godless worship.

"I redeemed them." The former ones, indeed, from the Egyptian servitude; the latter ones, however, Christ redeemed from demons, diseases, and infirmities; and finally, through His own blood, in which we found redemption.

"But they have spoken false things against me." And when they stood around the calf and said, "These are your gods, O Israel!" And when they said, "Since he struck the rock, and waters gushed forth, could he not also give bread?"

"And they did not cry out to me with their hearts." They honored me with their lips only, ^C but their heart was far from me; that is, because they did not acknowledge me as their benefactor, but rather the idols.

"But they wailed upon their beds; they cut themselves for grain and wine." Having enjoyed the land promised to their fathers and having obtained their portions—for these He named "beds," because in them they had rested from the labors of the desert—they did not thank me, but by performing idolatrous rites, they wailed, raving as the idolaters are accustomed to do. And having grain and wine, my gifts, and taking pleasure in these, they performed ritual incisions ^D in honor of the demons, beating their breasts and...

^A arming their arms. Or he says this, that they used to do this worshipping Rhea, the mother of the gods. For by them they were cut—for the [i/] galli and bacchae were so called, as they used to cut themselves and remove their generative parts. And the Israelites did these things for the sake of grain and wine, asking for these things from idols. The Christ-killers also spoke against the Lord, saying, "By Beelzebub he casts out the demons." Again they said, "Good Teacher, we know that you speak the way of God, and you do not look into the face of men." Yet they did not say these things from the heart, but from a certain hidden, wicked counsel. ^B For he indicates this when he says: "In their chambers," murmuring and groaning against him, because while doing such things he still lived; and when he said, "My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed," they were severed and fell away from him, and factions arose among them, saying, "This is a hard saying; who can hear him?" The Lord also redeemed us from all impurity. But many of those who sin speak lies against him, saying, "Who knows if there will be a judgment, if he will come to examine our affairs? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." And indeed they proclaim Mammon to be their lord, and they cut themselves for the sake of grain and wine—perhaps those who are drunk and delighting in luxury, ^C proceeding thence to quarrels, wounds, and murders; or perhaps those who stir up wars for the sake of grain and wine and other goods of the earth. Therefore, "they turn to nothing." For all such zeal for such things brings nothing to any pleasing end.

VERS. 15. *They were disciplined in me, and I strengthened their arms, they devised evil against me.* I, he says, disciplined them and taught them the way of righteousness and all propriety, so that they themselves were able to say with joy regarding themselves: "We are blessed, O Israel, because what is pleasing to the Lord is known to us." And not only this, but I also showed them to be brave warriors and strengthened their arms; yet they devised against me that I am not God.

VERS. 16. *They turned to nothing.* That is, to that which in no way anywhere exists. ^D For this is more wretched, that instead of me they worshipped such things, which he also says elsewhere: "My people have done two evil things: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and have dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water." The Savior also disciplined the Israelites, always teaching in the synagogues to turn to him and believe; but they turned to nothing.

which is to say, to very little. For he says that many of those who believed went back.

They became like a bow stretched taut. That is to say, they became inflexible, in no way slackening or yielding from the tension toward wickedness. But some of the copies have, "Like a bow turned back," signifying that: "I indeed stretched them out like my own bow, so that through them I might strike and put an end to idolatry in the other nations; but they themselves turned back, and did the complete opposite. For, casting aside and destroying my honor, they waged war against me on behalf of idols."

They shall fall by the sword ^B their princes, for the ignorance of their tongue. Princes—these are the priests and the kings; for these were the ones teaching the people lawless things. And the greatest ignorance is to say to wood, "You are my God," and to stone, "You have begotten me."

CHAPTER VIII

This their vilification in the land of Egypt, into their bosom as inaccessible land, as an eagle over the house of the Lord, because they transgressed my covenant, and acted impiously against my law. Just as, he says, their fathers in the land of Egypt vilified the words of Moses and Aaron, sent by me to liberate them; so too have these despised my laws. But this vilification shall be returned into their bosom, and they shall be as inaccessible land. For the ^C war trumpet shall sound, and the king of the Babylonians shall come upon the house of the Lord, with rushing and speed like an eagle. For Nabuchodonosor, having sent his army, burned the temple, of which Ezechiel also speaks: "The great eagle with great wings." And the vilification, moreover, with which the Jews vilified the Savior, was similar to that which occurred in the land of Egypt; for the Hebrew said to Moses, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?" And those others said with regard to Christ, "We have no king but Caesar." This vilification, therefore, shall be heavy for them, just as inaccessible land and dust, which, when cast into the bosom, weighs heavily, and will make them contemptible to all, like a trumpet proclaiming their lawlessness and the passions caused by it; and, like an eagle, it will ^D snatch away the glory of the ancient temple, transferring it to the calling of the nations. And furthermore, whoever vilifies his neighbor in being in Egypt, holding a Pharonic and arrogant mindset, will be

earthly, living after the manner of Egypt, and holds a Pharaonic and arrogant mind, to which that pride shall return into its own bosom, that is, into its inmost self, so that it may inflict punishment upon itself and its own, and it shall be like an inaccessible land; for a mind of this kind is not approached by God. For what is sublime before men is an abomination before God. But why shall these things happen to him? Because, like a trumpet or bugle, he magnified himself and proclaimed himself—a breed to which the Pharisees belonged, who sounded the trumpet for their alms before men; like the one praying in the temple, recounting his own virtues and duties, and meanwhile vilifying the publican. For the house of the Lord is every man who is capable of receiving His great riches, namely, the Word. Therefore, he who exalts himself by despising any mortal is like an eagle ^A over the house of the Lord; his arrogance shall come upon his own head, that is, into his inmost parts, ^B and he shall be like an inaccessible land. For such a soul shall not be passable for God. For that which is high among men is an abomination to the Lord. And why shall these things be his? Because he was like a trumpet, proclaiming or magnifying himself, such as were the Pharisees, who sounded the trumpet for their alms before men; such as the one in the temple praying and recounting his own achievements and disparaging the publican. But the house of the Lord is every man who is capable of receiving His great riches. Therefore, he who is puffed up and high-minded above every man is like an eagle upon the house of the Lord.

VERS. 2, 3. *They shall cry out to me: O God, we have known Thee: because Israel has turned away from good, they have pursued the enemy.* Those who perform such works of impiety, as has been said, and who perform rites for idols, these in their calamities shall cry out to me and shall confess that they have known me. But whence did they know me? Because Israel was deprived of good things and fell into evils; although previously they were overcoming and pursuing the enemies when they were deemed worthy of my assistance. But you may also take it in another way: Because Israel has turned away from the legal goods, they have all but pursued the enemies themselves, that is, they have run to the enemies, drawing them to themselves, just as if someone, seeing a sick man living in an unhealthy way, should say: "This man is pursuing death." And those from the circumcision who believe shall cry out to Christ: "O God, we have known Thee." But as many as have turned away from the goods of His doctrine, they of their own accord have gone over to the spiritual enemy, Satan; and you will find this in the case of each one of us.

VERS. 4. *They have reigned for themselves, and not by me: they have held rule, and have not been known to me.* Here He reproaches the ten tribes because they appointed Jeroboam and the kings after him against His will. And "they have held rule" (*ἦρξαν*), instead of "they have appointed rulers." For they did not ask God if they ought to do this. But one might be perplexed as to how it is recorded in the histories of the Kingdoms that Ahijah the Shilonite, that old man, tore his garment into twelve sections and gave ten to Jeroboam, and foretold to him that he would reign over the twelve tribes; and again it is written that "this word came to pass from me, that Jeroboam should reign"; but here He says: *They have reigned, but not by me.* It may be said, then, that God did not send the prophet Ahijah to the people, but to Jeroboam; and Jeroboam knew that God wished him to become king.

^A The people, however, did not appoint him by fulfilling the counsel of God. For they did not even approach God, nor did they ask Him; and here too He reproaches them for this. Furthermore, consider this: of the things said to be done by God, some are done primarily by Him—that is to say, according to His good pleasure—while others occur by way of permission. When, therefore, you hear God saying, "That word came from Me"—that is, that Jeroboam should reign—understand this as having happened by way of permission. But when He says here, "They have reigned, but not by Me," understand that this did not happen by the primary will of God. These things befit also those who killed God. For although they declared Caesar as their king, they also had those around Annas and Caiaphas, for whom the titles of authority were venal and purchased. And when sin reigns in our mortal body, such a kingdom is not by the will of God. ^B Indeed, even when the flesh reigns in us with its passions and desires, such rule is not acknowledged by God. "For the Lord knows those who are His," yet the passions are not of Him—they are as if they did not exist at all.

"Their silver and their gold they made into idols for themselves, so that they might be destroyed." They were enriched by Me, He says, and having enjoyed My good things, they used those resources to honor idols, making most precious and costly images. These things, however, turned out to their destruction and ruin as a result. Note the word "so that," for it will help you understand the passage where David says: "So that You might be justified in Your words." For neither did those men make the idols with the intention that they should be destroyed, but this happened to them as a result; nor did David sin so that God might be justified, but this comes about from the outcome. In the same way, one who studies philosophy, and receives from God the ability to understand the nature of things with an intellect that is golden and pure, and to interpret those things understood with brilliant and silver-like discourse; ^C if he then sets up idols for himself—whether the Platonic ideas or what are called "spiritual images" according to Chaldean philosophy—or, to put it simply, if he fashions ghosts of human wisdom and empty deception, he will be destroyed from among the people living according to the Gospel, as one who uses the gifts of God wrongly. Such are the Hebrews even today, who use the meanings of the Law—likened to gold and silver—for idols and empty imaginations, fashioning within themselves an imaginary temple and other things through which they hope to be restored. ^D

VERS. 5-6. "Remove your calf, O Samaria. My anger is kindled against them. How long will they be unable to be purified in Israel? For a workman made it, and it is not God; for your calf shall be a source of deception, O Samaria." After the reproaches, He brings forward an exhortation, urging them to remove the calf and to cast away the golden calf entirely.

^A He did well to say "remove it," as if it were a stain or filth. For how much longer, having become unclean through idol worship, will you remain unchanged? Or do you not understand that a human craftsman made the idols? By "craftsman" he means here simply the artisan, not a carpenter; for certainly a carpenter did not fashion the golden calf. Or, passing from the calf to a discourse concerning wooden idols, he remembered the craftsman as well, for the greater shame of the idolaters. For the golden calf, he says, has at least a certain honor on account of its material, deceiving those who see it; but what has been made by the artisan is a more unclean thing that makes you more unclean ^B by being worshipped by you.

"For they have sown wind-blasted things, and their destruction shall overtake them." He says that you reap no fruit from the worship of idols, but they are like those grain-ears of theirs that are blasted by the wind, which provide a display of husks full on the outside, but contain no wheat within. For in this way also the idols have an appearance on the outside, either of a woman, or of a man, or of some other animal; but they are devoid of all strength and activity. Therefore, their destruction shall also overtake them—that is, those who worship them—for both they and the idols will be destroyed and perish together.

"A sheaf has no strength to make meal. If it should make it, strangers shall devour it." He is saying this about the idols, that they have no subsistence; but even if they seem to have some, enemies arriving will take them, being made of gold and silver. And they have no strength to bring help in any other way; but they show that they have strength, in that they make their enemies wealthier by their own material. Or he is also speaking about Israel, saying that he will have such great weakness that he will be likened to a weak sheaf that cannot feed anyone. And if he possesses any strength in riches and other such goods, foreigners shall devour them. The teachers of the Jews have also sown things blasted by the wind and light ^C because, as those who have no weight, they were scattered into all the inhabited world, and their entire ancient polity was overturned, along with them and their dogmas. They are likewise a sheaf that has no strength. For they do not have Christ, the power of God, who gave their meal to the nations that were formerly foreign, granting them to process the things that are in the Law through a solid mind—like a certain millstone—subtly and spiritually, and not crudely, nor to receive these things according to the letter. If you intend to make meal from the Law, place underneath the stone which is Christ; for no one can lay another foundation besides this, ^D because in Him all things were created. And the upper stone…

^A is Christ Himself, who is the head of the Church. And he who sows into the flesh, and from the flesh reaps corruption, sows things perish-able by the wind, receiving this harm from the spirit of wickedness, and having no power to do a work that nourishes the soul. For he cannot say with Paul: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me, Christ." And if he ever does any good, he does not do this according to a divine purpose, but for human glory, or in some other way not worthy of praise, he gives this to the demons.

VERS. 8, 9. Absorbed is Israel, now he has become among the nations as a useless vessel, because they themselves went up to the Assyrians. Just as if one had been shipwrecked by a certain sea of his own sins, he was absorbed. For by requesting the help of the Assyrians, they will be handed over to them into slavery, and they will be useless in the midst of the nations that have taken them captive, fulfilling no liturgy to God, nor celebrating the feasts according to the Law. The Christ-killing people was also ^B devoured through pride, having become accustomed to the spiritual Assyrians—that is, the demons—and having ascended through their haughtiness to their same arrogance; wherefore they have also become a vessel useless to God. For He has no further need of any of them, their bodily worship having ceased. And every proud person, or one aspiring to things above himself, even if he seems to ascend, is nonetheless swallowed by a chasm of the earth, as were those around Dathan and Abiron. (55) For someone rightly defined pride as an ascent to the depths below.

Ephraim flourished by himself; he loved gifts. He further upbraids them for their foolishness. For they thought, he says, within themselves that without Me they would flourish again, and even as a tree ^C in danger of withering from wars would sprout again if they acquired the Assyrians as allies through gifts; for he loved gifts, not to receive them, but to give them. But there is no profit for them from these things; for what they will suffer, hear.

VERS. 10. They will be handed over in the nations. He did not say, "They will be handed over to the nations," but, "In the nations." For this will not be the end of their punishment, that they be handed over to the nations and taken captive; but being in the nations, and having been taken captive, they will still be handed over ^D to other punishments and other afflictions; so that "They will be handed over" signifies the same as "They will be abandoned by God." And when someone, having been increased by God and having flourished, does not acknowledge the benefactor, but lives by himself—that is, by establishing his own will, he thrusts aside the divine laws, and not being content with those things he has from God, he still loves gifts—he will be handed over by God, and will be abandoned, and

^A he will exist among the Gentiles, undoubtedly to spiritual ones (for he made himself of their portion), perhaps he will also be made subject to sensible enemies. The Jews also thought to themselves that they would flourish if they crucified Jesus; and therefore they were fond of giving gifts—this to the betrayer, and that to the soldiers guarding the tomb, in order to conceal the resurrection. They were, therefore, scattered, delivered to all nations, so that they might suffer every evil.

*Now I will receive them.* Heretofore, he says, I permitted them to live unrebuked and uncondemned, on account of my clemency, of course, and expectation of repentance. But now I will receive them, to judge them, of course, and I will call them to trial and exact penalties from them. "Now," that is to say, quickly, or in the land of their enemies, I will receive them. ^B For just as I was leading their fathers, and receiving them into their portions and the regions allotted to them, so, preparing for these the places of captivity as for those worthy of it, I will receive them in Babylon.

*And they shall cease for a little while from anointing a king and princes.* For since, he says, they did not wish to be ruled by me, but chose kings for themselves by their own counsel, I will deprive them of these, and being ruled by their enemies, they shall cease—that is to say, they shall stop anointing kings and princes for themselves. For indeed those whom they did anoint they did not establish for my glory, but along with them they practiced idolatry. See also in the threat, kindness; for he says they shall cease for a little while from anointing. And through this he gives hopes ^C of the return from Babylon.

It must be known that after the captivity, Ephraim, or the ten tribes, no longer had a king of their own in Samaria, but in Jerusalem Zerubbabel was the leader of the whole people, and the twelve tribes were obedient to him. "I will receive," says the Father, "those from Israel who have turned back to Christ"; but when? When they cease to dream of the restitution of their kingdom and priesthood. For it is in their imagination that they anoint for themselves kings and priests, expecting the restoration of the legal polity. And the son of iniquity, whom they themselves anoint, they make their Christ and king.

And each of us, also, when he is received by God and becomes familiar and one of His own, although he might previously have belonged to another court, ceases ^D to have other kings and princes—the world-rulers of darkness, I mean; they are not kings and princes, but we anoint and establish them as kings for ourselves. He alone has God as his King who submits himself to Him, is led by His commandments, and is not troubled by the daily dispensations of his life, even if they should be unpleasant, but patiently bears them.

Vers. 11. *Because Ephraim has multiplied altars, his beloved altars have become for him into sins.* Rightly... [Note: [alt-version omitted]]

he says, will I obliterate your lawless kingdom; for when Jeroboam reigned over them, he led them astray to multiply ^A idol-altars, which became for them an occasion for many sins. For they sinned against my honor, and practiced every other kind of sin; and such altars they loved, and were warmly disposed toward them, though they ought to have been lamenting and bewailing them for their whole life.

Vers. 12. *I will write down for him a multitude, and his ordinances.* Into sin, he says, and into an accusation I will write down and reckon for them the multitude of such altars, and their ordinances—that is, the laws and the customs according to which they performed their idolatrous rites. Or, that "I will make the memory of them written down," as an accusation of their great impiety. To the people who killed Him, the legal altars also became a sin; and as many ordinances as they received from God were written down as an accusation against him who transgressed them. For, he says, *the uncircumcision which is by nature shall judge the law, fulfilling the law, the transgressor of the law through circumcision*; and, *to whom they have entrusted much, of him they will demand much*; and, *He who knows the will of his Lord and does it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.*

^B Altars were deemed as belonging to another. Of the idolatrous altars, he says, they took much care; but my altars were reckoned by him as alien, and were left neglected. Now, there were two altars according to the Law for God: that of the burnt offerings, without in the courtyard, and that of the incense, within in the second tabernacle. Everyone among us also possesses two altars: the one without, upon which he sacrifices bodily labors to God; and the one within, according to the mind, upon which he sends up the incense of prayer and of divine contemplations, ^C the upward-striving and spiritual. And these are those that are truly loved by the One who is. But if someone, casting these aside, multiplies altars for himself, being carried away into many-faceted types of wickedness—tossed about by deeds, and thoughts, and by various and strange teachings—such altars become a sin for him. And those who hold communion with heretics also have things that turn into sin for them.

Vers. 13. *For if they sacrifice a sacrifice, and eat meat, the Lord will not accept them. Now He will remember their injustice, and will avenge their sins.* For since those things which they sacrifice on those many altars, they sacrifice to idols, the Lord will not accept them; but rather, through them, He is reminded even of their other injustices, and is provoked to vengeance. For just as ^D

^A He who is propitiated and becomes gracious through holy sacrifices forgets iniquities and injuries, so, seeing them sacrificing to idols, He enters into a remembrance of their other evils also. What then is this, "If they eat flesh"? Custom had held that those who brought sacrifices, before they were offered, should offer the kidneys with the fat upon them and the lobe of the liver to God, and set apart the right shoulder and the breast for the priests; but the remaining flesh, those who brought the sacrifice ate according to their own will. Some have understood this in this way: that He is not speaking of idolatrous sacrifices, but rather judges their intent by these things. For since He said, "They have regarded my beloved altars as alien," lest anyone should think that God has need of sacrifices, He now says: "I do not have need of victims, but I judge their intent by these things." Observe also the foretold abrogation of the legal ceremonies, and the introduction ^B of spiritual and rational worship, according to that word: "Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows unto the Most High." The faithful man also praises God, making the light of his own works shine before men, so that God may be glorified by those who see them, just as he who does the opposite is the cause that His name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.

"But they have turned back into Egypt." For they begged for an alliance from there, and when calamities approached, they fled thither. Or else, they worshipped the heifers, and honored the bull Apis, as the Egyptians did.

VERS. 14. "And Israel has forgotten Him who made him, and they built temples; and Judah built walled cities. And I will send fire into his cities, and it shall devour its foundations." He reproves both kingdoms ^C and terrifies them: the empire of the ten tribes, because when war was approaching—which I had threatened against them because of their iniquities—they did not take pains to attend to Me, but rather to idols; whence also they built more temples and groves for themselves, thus appeasing their deities so that they might remove the war and [secure] prosperity. But Judah, He says, was fortifying its cities, that it might be saved through them, and not through My help and protection. Therefore, the hostile fire shall consume the foundations of his cities. He builds temples to demons, corrupting the temple of God, that is, himself, through bodily impurities, not only destroying himself, but others as well. For through impurities, those [demons] dwell in him who was previously the temple of God. Now, he who, through ^D the empty knowledge of sophistry, fortifies heretical dogmas, builds walled cities; but the foundations, and the subjects, and the principles of such cities, the fire of the evangelical and apostolic discourse consumes, which the Lord came to cast upon the earth, and the Spirit, whom the Lord sent down in the form of a dove. Furthermore, the fire has consumed the cities of the Israel according to the flesh.

^A A of the Romans, in that they built plots against the Lord, as if by this means they were dedicating certain shrines to God.

CHAPTER IX

Vers. 1. *Do not rejoice, Israel, nor be exhilarated, like the nations, because you have played the harlot from the Lord your God.* I decree against you, he says, sorrows, and I command that there should be no occasion for cheerfulness or joy in you, but that, beyond all peoples, you should be sorrowful. For what reason? Because they were never mine; for they neither received the law, nor were they taught by the prophets. But you, while being mine, have played the harlot. Therefore, it is not fitting for you to be in good circumstances, but to be pressed by evils, from which it follows that there is no rejoicing or being cheerful for you, as it is written: *There is no rejoicing for the wicked*; for mourning is appropriate to everyone who sins. Thus also the blessed Paul complains of the Corinthians, because they did not mourn over him who had committed fornication.

*You have loved gifts upon every threshing floor of grain.* While enjoying my goods, he says, you were giving gifts to idols, dedicating the firstfruits of the threshing floor to them.

Vers. 2. *The threshing floor and the winepress have not known them, and the wine has lied to them.* Since, he says, you dedicate the fruits to idols, you shall henceforth reap nothing—neither grain nor wine; but you shall indeed see the vines thriving, yet in the time of the vintage, you shall be disappointed in your hopes.

Vers. 3. *They have not dwelt in the land of the Lord, Ephraim has dwelt in Egypt.* For they did not live lawfully as in a land consecrated to God, but they practiced every kind of lawlessness, as those who live in the territories of the nations. Therefore, because they emulated Egyptian impiety, they are said to dwell in ^B Egypt. Yet they dwelt in Egypt in such a way that, as mentioned above, they conceded to the Egyptians as if to friends.

*And in Assyria they shall eat unclean things.* Either because, fleeing to the Assyrians as helpers, they shall eat unclean things with them, partaking of the table with them as friends with friends; or because, having been taken captive by them, they shall share in the uncleanness of their foods, as slaves with their masters eating the food set before them. By foods, moreover, understand the remaining kinds of uncleanness as well. For because they lived uncleanly in the land of promise, let them exist in an unclean land, and let them live in uncleanness. And he who does not dedicate to God the firstfruits of the fruits, by sharing them with the needy and doing alms from them, gives these to the demons by keeping and storing them up for himself. Therefore, the threshing floor which is in the heavens and the winepress ^C shall not know them; for they shall not bring fruit there. But also the cheerfulness, the wine—that is, which they seem to have here—shall deceive them, nor shall they dwell in the land of the Lord, ^D

^A but rather Egypt and the outer darkness, which He prepared for the demons that were worshiped, especially in Egypt of old, and their impure works—that is, they shall then eat the fruits of their works, having taken up residence in the portion of the demons, whom we have often understood to be the Assyrians. It is necessary, therefore, to believe that our bread, which strengthens our heart, is Christ from God, just as He Himself said: *I proceeded forth and came from God* (Joan. xvi, 28); and that we should receive Him and dwell in the land of the Lord, I mean the Catholic Church, and by no means in the conventicles of the heretics, which truly are both the land of the Assyrians and Egypt, into which he who enters eats their impure dogmas and mysteries.

^B VERS. 4. *They shall not pour out wine to the Lord, and their offerings shall not be pleasing to Him.* That is: They did not offer any sweet things through incense, but to the idols. Their sacrifices are like the bread of mourning. There was a law that he who had touched a dead body should be considered unclean. Therefore, whatever they ate or drank, or simply whatever those mourning the dead had touched, was deemed unclean, because of the defilement customarily associated with the dead. Their oblations, therefore, and their sacrifices will be unclean, like the bread of mourning. He subsequently infers: *All who eat them shall be defiled, for their bread shall not enter into the house of the Lord with their souls.* ^C That is: It will be useful and edible for them alone; for God will not accept these, just as He did not accept the sacrifices of those who crucified the Lord during that Passover, nor their showbread. Neither were their libations of wine offered to the Lord, nor the sweet things of incense, because they were not offered as He desired. But if we make a sacrifice to God from the goods of an unrighteous party, it could most aptly be called the bread of mourning, as if it were mourning for those who have been cheated and have suffered injury; for God establishes the law that such things are not to be brought into His house, for they are impure; and if those who eat them are defiled, how should defiling things be brought to God? Rather, defiled things are appropriate for defiled souls.

VERS. 5. *What will you do in the day of the solemn assembly, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?* ^D For compelled to serve and to be governed according to other laws, you will not be able to celebrate the divine solemn assemblies according to the Mosaic tradition. Some, however, have understood the time of war and the retribution therein as the day of the solemn assembly and the feast of the Lord, as though the Lord were gladdened and celebrating joyful assemblies over their destruction. These things can also be referred to those about to nail the Lord to the cross, as if the prophet were indignant and exclaiming: O what a deed you are about to commit in the day of the Passover, when there will indeed be a solemn assembly, with the whole people gathered, and

and truly a feast of the Lord. For He Himself established these things, being sacrificed for us. For "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. v, 7). And this could be said also to those who here neglect the works of virtue: What will you do in the day of the future assembly, when we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ? Absolutely nothing; for now you are able to do something, but then you will be able to do nothing at all. And such a day and festival is the Lord’s, when God becomes all things in all.

Vers. 6. Therefore, behold, they shall go forth from the affliction of Egypt, and Memphis shall receive them, and Machmas shall bury them. And when Samaria was captured, the remnant fled into Egypt, and afterwards, when Jerusalem was burned by Nabuzardan, those who killed Godolia fled into Egypt ^B, even though Jeremiah forbade them. Therefore, the Babylonians, being provoked because they trusted in the Egyptians, turned against them, and coming upon them and the Egyptians, they conquered them without effort. At that time, therefore, those who had escaped this affliction and defeat in Egypt ran to Memphis, as it was more fortified because the royal residence was there; but they also fled to Machmas, a city near Memphis, and there they died, not returning to Judea.

Their silver shall inherit destruction. Because, having received it from God, they expended it upon the construction of idols. Or because, however great the gifts they gave to the Egyptians to have them as their helpers, it shall be of no advantage to them.

Thorns in their tabernacles. This means that their land shall be impassable and desolate, so that it may produce thorns. Or that they will appear to be enjoying rest by dwelling in Egypt; ^C but this will not be, but rather, like thorns pricking them, the calamities will be their lot. And as for all those who flee into Egypt—that is, into gloomy, sad, and persecuting sin—even if they have a word as bright as silver, destruction shall inherit them; for the word of God, to which they do not submit, will lead to a greater condemnation and a more bitter destruction. Furthermore, they will sustain the thorns of conscience in their tabernacles, that is, in their bodies. For conscience strikes us as a thorn dwelling with us. And these things are fitting also for the wealthy, who have both silver and tabernacles, or rather splendid houses. By thorns, the Lord entirely hinted at the anxieties which, how great they are in the houses of the rich, is unknown to no one. ^D

^A VERS. 7. *The days of vengeance are come, the days of retribution are come.* Because the empty prophets were slandering the divine and true seers, asserting to the people that what the prophets say will come to pass after long ages, and by this were making many people carefree and unrepentant, God now says that “the days of your affliction have come, and your calamities will not be put off for long.” For this reason, also the divine Paul says: *Now, he says, is the acceptable time*; and the Lord: *Watch, because you do not know at what hour the thief is coming*; and: *Let your loins be girded, and lamps burning; and you be like men waiting for their lord.*

^B And Israel shall be afflicted, as a prophet stunned, a man possessed by the spirit. So great, he says, is the stupor of mind that shall seize Israel, as it falls into miseries and afflictions, that it is likened to a false prophet, agitated by the evil spirit inhabiting him, bereft of wits, snatched and driven hither and thither: thus also shall Israel, at a loss, flee hither and thither. Nor shall Israel alone suffer these things, but the false prophets themselves shall incur not dissimilar tortures and evils.

From the multitude of your injustices, your madness has been multiplied. He calls madness the stupor, the failure of spirit, and the trepidation which they underwent in their calamities. This madness, therefore, being vehement and great, came upon you because of your many injuries which you inflicted upon me, sacrificing to idols, and upon your neighbors, violently oppressing them. ^C Or he calls "madness" vain prophecy, since they were like those who are insane, the subvates of evil spirits. He says, therefore, that just as by having many gods you did violence to my honor (for indeed they worshipped the golden calves, and Beelphegor, and Chamos, the abomination of the Sidonians, and Bel, and Astarte), so also did you multiply false prophets agitated by fury. For one prophesied by birds, another by victims, another by the dead, and another by some other method.

^D VERS. 8. *The watchman of Ephraim, with God a prophet, is a tangled snare over all his ways.* I indeed, he says, having delivered the law to you and given you understanding so that you might know how it behooves you to live, like some watchman and prophet prophesying with God, I showed you to all nations, so that through your knowledge of God and a virtuous life, you might also provide a lead to others, so that they might arrive at the knowledge of me. I found, however, a tangled snare over all the ways of your life; for on all sides the souls of those looking at you have been harmed and ensnared, both by your idolatry and by the rest of the manner of your life. Some, however, thus understood

^A this passage: For Ephraim, having many gods, had a lookout and a prophet established for every god; for some were of Astarte, and others of Chamos, and others of another idol. Because of this, "a crooked snare is upon all his ways"—that is, because of this, he went astray and lost the straight path of both the knowledge of God and of virtue. For the Pharisees, having been appointed as lookouts for Israel, indeed possessed the appearance of God’s prophets, but were ensnaring the people, being crooked, and becoming one thing at one time and another at another; and they also tried to ensnare the Lord with crooked speech, and not approaching Him on a straight path. But if every authority is appointed by God (Rom. xiii, 2), let every ruler observe how he is to be a lookout and a prophet of God. ^B He will be such, if he both announces justice to others in judgments, and himself observes this in his deeds; otherwise, he will be a snare, and that a crooked one, due to the semblance of hypocrisy.

"They have fixed a mania in the house of the Lord." Not only in the other cities, he says, did they set up idols, but they also fixed abominations in the temple of God; for these, he called "mania," as things becoming out of madness, frenzy, and ecstasy. Or by "mania," as was said above, he means false prophecy, which they fixed in the house of the Lord—that is, among the people—and established it as firm and permanent; for they did not cease having false prophets. The house of the Lord is also the God-bearing flesh, in which they who crucified Him fixed their ^C mania, though He suffered for us in the flesh. The house of the Lord is also our mind, in which we fix mania, because we look toward vanities and false manias, raging about this vain life. Mania is lust, mania is anger, mania is the impulse toward any unclean pleasure whatsoever.

VERS. 9. "They have been corrupted according to the days of the hill, He will remember their injustices, He will avenge their sins." Because they attached themselves to the hills, and loved the sacrifices taking place there, they became corrupted in their souls. And hitherto, indeed, God was long-suffering; but now He will execute vengeance, demanding justice for all those days of their iniquity. Or, he also reminds us of an older history. For Gabaa was a city of Benjamin, which is interpreted as "Hill." ^D In this city, when a certain Levite traveler had lodged, the lawless men of that city, having gathered together and taken his wife, abused her through the whole night. Finally, she died that night; and her husband, having cut her corpse into parts, sent them to the tribes, pointing out to them the abomination. Those who were zealous, then, went up against the tribe of Benjamin at Gabaa—that is, at the Hill; and having engaged in battle once and twice, they were defeated

and perished, with the Lord not granting aid to the tribe of Benjamin, as though it had acted well—away with that!—but rather showing to the people of the other tribes that they themselves were worthy of punishment, and for this reason they were handed over to death, because, being lawless themselves, they pretended to avenge lawlessness. Yet in the end, having wept before God, they were strengthened and fought against those in Benjamin. He says, therefore, that just as at the hill of Gabaa both these and those perished, so shall the two tribes of Judah and the ten of Ephraim perish, being entangled with one another. These things happened when Joash, king of the ten tribes, came against Amaziah the king of Judah and tore down a part of the walls of Jerusalem. ^B

Vers. 10. *I found Israel like a grape in the desert, and like an early fruit on a fig tree, I saw their fathers.* They went in to Beelphegor, and were alienated unto shame, and the beloved became as the abominated. He sets it before our eyes that it is not unjustly that He hands them over to destruction. For I, He says, am just as if someone in a desert land, and one entirely devoid of plants, were to find a grape or an early fruit upon a fig tree, and would pluck them with no small pleasure; so, I say, while other men were drawing their spirit in impiety, I found the virtues discovered by Abraham and the patriarchs who descended from him, and I took their descendants for my own. But these, having been born from them, in no way emulated them; rather, having forgotten My benefits, they worshipped Beelphegor and were alienated—that is, they flew away from Me—unto their own shame. For such a god as Beelphegor was in truth their shame and disgrace. Wherefore those who were once beloved by me on account of their fathers became, because of their own impiety, like the abominated Moabites, for they worshipped the idol of the latter. ^C He calls the early fig "a lookout" (scopum), because everyone looks out for it, as the first to appear. And the God-killers, who were formerly beloved by God on account of their fathers, became abominated because they were alienated even from their fathers, not having emulated their virtue, nor that of God, and they fashioned the cross for the ignominy of Christ; because they entered in to the prince of abomination, having become wholly his, and having acquired familiarity with him—for such is what it means to enter in. And yet, the Lord, who in no way wills the death of the sinner, finds in a soul destitute of every good fruit some Israelitic thought, one that breathes of celestial things and is therefore worthy of divine contemplations, as a grape, the offspring of the true vine, which, having been pressed through the narrow way, will produce the wine of compunction. Furthermore, in the fig tree—by which I mean a life of pleasure—some are found by God, ^D

^A who is a farsighted watcher before that final day, foreseeing future things, preparing himself for them, and becoming to others a father and leader of a more divine life. But one must be attentive to this: lest perhaps he be initiated into Beelphegor and the demon of impurity, and by pursuing the works of shame be alienated from God, and he who was formerly beloved become like those who were loathed, namely, those who acted lawlessly at that time when Phinehas pierced the Israelite together with the Midianite. For they, too, as the Scripture says, were initiated into Beelphegor.

*Ephraim has flown away like a bird.* Swiftly, he says, he fled from me, not having emulated those fathers of his. Or it means that he will be quickly led away into captivity.

*Their glories from birth, and from pangs, and from conceptions.* Because even if they should raise their children, they will be bereaved ^B of men, because woe is also upon them. *They will be bereaved*, he says, quickly, because they did not wish to be glorified in me and by my help; but they considered a multitude of children to be glory, thinking perhaps that they would become stronger through such a multitude. But they hoped for such things in vain; for when they have raised their children, and they have already grown to manhood, war coming upon them will bereave them of these children, and they will undergo the labors of child-rearing in vain.

But why will these things befall them? Because I have cast upon them the woe. And this has happened because I abandoned them, and being abandoned, they did things worthy of the woe. But when I consider how we mortals grasp at everything, and endure all labors and the birth pangs of anxieties for the sake of the perishing glory of the world, I think that these things are said about us too. ^C For whatever works we raise as children, while looking toward human glory, we do not enjoy them, but rather destroy them, receiving our reward here. And perhaps we also have the woe, as despisers of the commandment that bids us do nothing for the sake of human glory.

*My flesh is of them.* These things seem to be spoken as if from the Only-Begotten. For since He said, *They will be bereaved*, He says, "I will not totally destroy them, because my flesh, which I will assume, will be from them." Whence also Paul said, *From whom is Christ according to the flesh.* Or you may understand it in this way also: the prophet, having heard the threats of God against Israel, prays that neither he nor his kinsmen according to the flesh ^D may partake of their wrath. Therefore he also says: *My flesh is of them*, that is,

my kinsmen. For the Apostle also understands "flesh" to mean his kinsmen when he says: *if by any means I may provoke to emulation them that are my flesh*, meaning those who are kinsmen according to the flesh, the Hebrews, and save some of them. David says something similar: *Take not away my soul with the wicked, nor my life with men of blood.*

VERS. 13. *Ephraim, as I saw, has set his children for a hunt*; and Ephraim, *to bring out his children to the slaughter*. These things are said as if in the person of the prophet. "As I see, O Lord," he says, "from the iniquities and wickednesses which Ephraim has committed, he has almost set his own children for a ^B hunt, that is, for captivity, and for slaughter, which is to say, for being killed." For some were taken captive, while others were slaughtered by the enemy; so let him blame no one else for his childlessness, but himself. For by provoking God through his impieties, he himself brought the enemies upon himself, just as those who killed the Lord summoned the Roman as an avenger. Or, because Ephraim sacrificed his own children to idols, and destined them for a hunt and slaughter, therefore he shall not undeservedly be bereft of his offspring: he is deprived not unjustly of those whom he himself unrighteously handed over to idols for slaughter, as if they were some wild beast or prey, just as I saw; and this is by no means a lie. David also testifies to these things, saying: *They shed the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan.* And anyone who becomes an assertor of wicked doctrines, begetting many such children through the word of his sect, delivers them to slaughter—which they suffer in their souls—though first to a hunt. For when the genuine teachers of the Church attempt to hunt them, if they do not succeed, then at last they carry them away, ^C indeed, they slaughter them from the Church with the spear of anathema.

VERS. 14. *Give them, O Lord.* What shall you give them? *A miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.* Because, he says, they trust in the exuberance of their offspring, as though they would prevail over their enemies by reason of their multitude, and therefore despise your help, let their wives not bear at all. But if they do bear, let them not nurse them, let them not raise them, but let the offspring be taken away before their time; for so it will come to pass that, bereft of the hope of having children, they will invoke you as their helper. The prophet prays these things, touched also by care for them, as one who loves his brothers, that they may not bear impious children, nor raise them; and he is zealous for the divine glory, as one who loves God. Furthermore, for every sinner there is a matrix, in which he is conceived in sins, according to that which is said: *The sinners are alienated from the womb.* And what is this? The primary cause of every sin, the fire ^D that consumes them from the Church, they slaughter them with the spear of anathema.

breasts that nurture the evil offspring are the reasonings and words consenting to wickedness, by which it is increased. Therefore, a prayer worthy of a prophetic soul is one that neither brings such wombs to birth nor allows such breasts to spring forth. For the God-killers also, the womb is barren, the legislation of the letter, and the prophetic words are dry to them.

Vers. 15. All their wickedness in Galgal, for there I hated them because of the wickedness of their doings. I will cast them out from my house. Because they were most impious in Galgala, he makes mention of them, and says: Because of the crimes committed there, I hated them. And therefore I shall cast them out ^B of my house, or from Palestine, which they possessed as a house given to them by me, or from my temple; for I shall transport them. And I will no longer love them. For he did not lead them back from captivity, but their descendants; just as the land of promise, which he had indeed promised to give to those in Egypt; but since, when they had come out, they murmured, they themselves perished in the wilderness, but their children received it. But even if he had loved those very people, it would be no wonder. For if you look rightly, you will find prophecy full of threats, and again of good promises, as was said in the preface. ^C Therefore he threatens, so that those who hear may be corrected, and if their life is corrected, he does not bring about the things threatened; but if they are not corrected, they are certainly brought about. These things are clearly appropriate for the God-killers too; for they were cast out of the house: this, in part, when the Lord cast out of the temple those who were making the house of his Father an emporium; but this, in sum, all of them later,4 when he destroyed the temple, and God no longer proceeded to love them. For wrath reached them unto the end, and he bent their back ^D forever, delivering them into slavery, because all their wickedness was meted out against Christ, whom, they said, and insulted him, was born from Galilee. For "Search," says he, "and see, for no prophet is raised from Galilee."48 And since Galgal is interpreted as "a rolling down," see that when we are rolled down to the lowest things, not minding the things above, where Christ is, then we are hated and are cast out of heaven, which is the house of God, justly suffering this, because we do not even look toward heaven.

^A *Cuncti principes eorum inobedientes*. As if to say: If the subjects alone had been impious, perhaps I would have spared them on account of the virtue of their princes, just as I spared the Israelites again on account of Moses. But now the princes themselves are disobedient to me; and not one or two, but all of them universally. Who, therefore, shall I pardon for their offenses? Who shall I spare? Who shall stand as a mediator for the people?

VERS. 16. *Laboravit Ephraim, radicibus suis exaruit, ne fructum porro proferat.* By the roots, he means the kingdom. For having first called the princes to judgment, he now says that this root—the kingdom—has languished, that is to say, it has become rotten and dry, having fallen away from my richness and help, so that it will never again bring forth fruit. For when Salmanasar turned the ten tribes into servitude, the kingdom of Ephraim was no longer established. Or he takes the root simply as the strength of the ten tribes, which has dried up because God was angry with them, so that they no longer brought forth strong children. ^B *Quare si genuerint, interimam desiderabilia ventris eorum.* Their root, he says, is entirely—and therefore their strength is so completely—withered that they shall no longer produce children who might fight for them against the enemy. And those whom they might beget, I shall slay by delivering them to the enemy in battle, even though they are pleasing and delightful to them. For they themselves, in their own right, are not worthy to be desired or loved; but inasmuch as they are the offspring of their wombs, they are dear to them.

VERS. 17. *Repellet eos Deus, quoniam non audiverunt ipsum, eruntque errones in gentibus.* Having repelled them from Palestine, God will make them wanderers and captives, because when he foretold what they would suffer and required a correction of their morals, they did not have faith; they did not obey. Who does not see the Synagogue of the Jews ^C together with its teachers as having withered, not established upon the root of their fathers and forefathers, but broken off and dried up, and no longer bringing forth fruit, or prophet, or teacher? But whatever they beget or conceive are the "desires of the womb." For they speak from the womb, and not from the mouth of the Lord the Almighty God; and these things are killing when understood according to the letter, which is dead and not living. Furthermore, he will make them wanderers among the nations, not only because they are to change place from place, but also because they are to wander in their own minds—which is most clearly demonstrated among the nations. For while the nations have been received in, they themselves not entering in, they are found to be most manifest wanderers; and indeed, we have been established by him as princes: *For thou shalt make them princes over all the earth,* he says, and as Paul says: *A kingdom unshaken...* ^D

^A receive it, lest we be disobedient to him who says: *Take my yoke upon you* [Matt. XI, 29]; nor should our roots, which we hold through baptism, wither, as we receive the Holy Spirit, who gives us the fatness to produce fruit. For everyone who is baptized possesses a holy gift, by which he is strengthened to perform the commandments. It is, therefore, especially good not to have desires of the belly, nor to be occupied and stuck on foods, nor on any other product of human thoughts. But if we should have them, God benefits us by killing this through His word, which is being formed in us, which is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword [Heb. IV, 12]. He also wanders among the nations who attends to the customs of the nations, and follows after divinations, and auguries, and other such superstitions of theirs.

CAPUT X.

VERS. 1. *Vitis palmites proferens ac gemmas Israel, fructus ejus abundans. Juxta multitudinem fructuum suorum multiplicavit aras.* Having said that He has weakened his roots and that he shall be childless [Hos. IX, 16], he now says that previously he was a vine putting forth branches, and extended into a great multitude through its fertility, just as David also says: *He had dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth* [Ps. LXXI, 8]. But yet, he did not use this abundance for the glory of God; but as many as they were, so many altars they raised up; and elsewhere he says that *According to the number of thy cities, O Israel, were thy gods.* And justly shall their multitude be diminished.

*Juxta bona terræ suæ ædificavit columnas.* Expanding in the good things of God, he says, they acted insolently toward Him, and for idols they built pillars, not cheap ones, but costly; and according to the good things which God was giving them, I mean gold and silver and other materials.

VERS. 2. *Partiti sunt corda sua.* They have severed, he says, their hearts from me, so that they have no part with me. Or, because one would raise an altar to one god, and another to another, dividing up the idols, and one giving his heart to one, another to another.

*Nunc excindentur.* Not after a long time, but *Now*. For as long as they had not yet given their hearts to idols, but were behaving wickedly in a more superficial way, their destruction was far from them. But now, since this has happened, and each one is impious from ^C his heart, their destruction has arrived.

*Ipse suffodiet ac demolietur altaria ipsorum, columnæ eorum in miseriam incident.* The same God [from whom they severed their hearts], or the Babylonian king; for he himself also burned the altars in the cities...

and plundered the pillars, which were precious. A vine that puts forth branches ^A and buds is he who lacks none of the goods in this life, being blessed with children and flourishing in other respects; but serving perhaps his passions, he sets up an altar to each of these, presenting his members as slaves to iniquity, for iniquity, according to the good things of his land—that is, according to the extent that his land, or his flesh, takes pleasure in these things and judges them to be goods. And he builds pillars, [establishing] a persistent and unchangeable habit in every vice. Such a person divides his heart, serving two masters. Yet he receives a benefit from God when God demolishes his altars, whether by delivering him to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved, or otherwise by restraining his jaws with ^B bit and bridle, and causing contrition and affliction in his ways, so that he may be moved away from the habit acquired in malice, perhaps through the taking away of his children, or the deprivation of other goods. All these things you will find in the God-slaying Hebrews, even if they did not understand.

VERS. 3, 4. *Therefore now they shall say: There is no king for us, because we have not feared God. But what shall the king do for us? Speaking words, vain pretexts, he shall make a covenant.* He teaches them even now with what words those led by repentance ought to speak. For when they see their kingdom dissolved, they will say: This has happened to us because we did not fear God, in whom it was right for us to trust, rather than in the king. For the king could not bring us help, but rather imposed upon us, promising vain things, and then continually ^C making other pretexts—now striking treaties and reaching agreements about sending aid in war with the Assyrian, now with the Egyptian. The Jews said these very things openly to Pilate concerning Christ: "Do not write that he is the King of the Jews," and they calumniously called the doctrine of Christ "lying words." But He himself shall make a covenant with those who believe in Him, the true New Covenant, which reconciled through His blood things in heaven and things on earth. And truly, for everyone who does not fear God, there is no king; but rather irrationality tyrannizes within him, and the mob-rule of the passions governs, by which the King, the Word of God, is maligned as though He spoke words only, and sent us off to the hope of future things, reminding us of the testament of John, which says: *If you love me, keep my commandments*; and, *I no longer call you servants, but friends*; ^D and, *I go to prepare a place for you*; and again, *Unless one renounces all his own things, he cannot be my disciple*; and, *He who has lost his life shall find it unto life eternal*.

^A *Judgment shall rise like the grass upon the fallow ground of the field.* "Just as," he says, "the grass spreads and multiplies more in the fallow lands of the field, where neither plow nor hoe (76) disturbs it, because it is not cultivable land; so also shall my judgment, and my just decision against you, rise up without hindrance."

*The inhabitants of Samaria shall be neighbors to the calf of the house of On.* They shall attend, he says, upon the idol of the golden calf, which is honored in Bethel; for he calls this the "house of On," that is, *Aon*, which means "useless idol." They attend upon it, moreover, when hardships come upon them, seeking help from it. He says these things, mocking their stupidity, in that they supplicate the idol of a brute beast to help them. The judgment of God also rose up against the fallow people of the Jews, whom neither prophet nor priest any longer cultivated; but it mounted over them, as a thorn upon fallow ground, a stinging sensation, from which they even crowned the Lord with thorns; for by a just judgment they were delivered to the Romans. ^B And even upon the nations that were fallow, in truth, the judgment of God—that is, the Law—rose up. *For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound*. For we possess the Law, we who possess its end; for *Christ is the end of the law*. And it says "rose up," for from the shadow the Spirit appeared. But those who dwell in Samaria—that is, those now called Israelites—are like the Samaritans. For just as those seemed to observe the Law yet did not depart at all from their ancestral traditions, so also these appear to keep the Law, yet they cherish the ancestral impiety toward Christ that was delivered to them by their fathers. Therefore, they dwell in the house of the "Useless One," for the letter is useless.

*Because their people mourned for it, and as they provoked him, they rejoice over his glory.* Not only, says he, did they receive no help from that golden idol, but rather they even mourned for it. For the Hebrew tradition is that when Ader, king of Syria, came down against the cities of Samaria, at that time Menahem, king of Samaria, called for Phua the Babylonian as an ally. And when he had allied with him and cast down Ader, not having the means to pay the wage, which was great, he gave him the golden calf. The people therefore mourned, he says, that their God had been treated with such contumely; ^C nevertheless, they thought, in their folly, that even if they had provoked him to bitterness by such an indignity, the Babylonians would glorify him as honoring him as God. And such hopes as these will make them rejoice.

*Because it has been translated from him.* It has been translated from Ephraim.

^A As regards the words, “The calf is carried off, having been given to the Babylonian Phua,” hear what follows: “And having bound him, they led him to the Assyrians as a gift for King Jarem.” That is to say, to their avenging king, to Phua. ^B Jarem, as was previously mentioned, is interpreted as “avenger” or “punisher.” And he spoke most beautifully the word, “Having bound him,” as if laughing at their folly concerning the calf. “In the house of Ephraim it shall be received, and Israel shall be ashamed in their counsel.” Phua, he says, shall receive the golden calf as if given in the house of Ephraim, that is, in the house of the king. Yet the people shall be put to shame because of their counsels concerning such an idol; for the Chaldeans did not honor it, but breaking it in pieces, they melted it down.

Some have understood these things also as referring to Christ, whom his own people mourned—that is to say, the disciples and the women to whom he said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me.” And others were beating their breasts when he was on the cross. But the Jews, speaking revilingly, embittered him and rejoiced when his glory was transferred from him, at the time when, being crucified, he was dishonored and had neither form nor beauty. And Pilate, having bound him, sent him to Herod, who by reason of his arrogance was an Assyrian king. ^C And sin, reigning in our mortal body, translates from us the Christ who dwells within us, whom we have by baptism living in our inner man; and having bound him, so that he might not work anything that is fitting for the active virtue, it brings him as a gift to the enemy and avenger, that is, to the devil. He, being an enemy of the salvation of him who had committed fornication in Corinth, also became an avenger, taking him into the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved. And those around Phygellus and Hermogenes, having been surrendered to him by Paul, he disciplined so that they might not blaspheme. It is a great gift, then, for such an avenger that we Christians should be bound, doing none of the commandments of Christ, who said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

VERS. 7. “Samaria has cast off her king, as a twig upon the face of the water.” That is, so easily shall the kingdom be taken away from Samaria, just as a light twig is swept away and torn off by the water. Or he calls the calf “king,” which he sent off to the Assyrians without any trouble, as has been mentioned. ^D

VERS. 8. “And the altars of On shall be destroyed, the sins of Israel.” For the altars of the idols, which were the sins of the people, shall be destroyed. For because of them they were provoking the people to anger. “Thorns and thistles shall go up upon their altars.”

^A For when the land and their altars are desolate, the places will be full of thorns. Moreover, they rejected Christ as king, accounting Him as nothing—the Samaritans, as was indicated above, and the Jews. Afterwards, he prophesies the destruction of the idolatrous altars, which happened after the coming of Christ; by the one idol of On, he understands or demonstrates all the rest. The unbeliever also casts off the unbelief and sin that reigned within him upon the face of the water of baptism, and the altars of unbelief within him are destroyed. And then, what formerly appeared to be a smooth religion is seen to be full of thorns and thistles. The believer, too, perhaps casts the sin reigning in him into the water of tears, washing his face with such water that has sense, from which sins—and because of which—there is war for him. And his members, the altars of sin (for sin is an idol, ^B lacking in substance and utility), become at that time full of thorns and thistles; for sins prick and strike for the sake of repentance.

“And they shall say to the mountains, ‘Cover us,’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us.’” Such, he says, will be the severity and bitterness of the calamities that will overtake them, so that each of them will choose to be covered by the mountains and hills falling upon them, rather than to fall into the evils from the Babylonians. He correctly mentions mountains and hills; but because they were sacrificing to the calf in Bethel—and he spoke, having remembered those altars—and in the mountains they worshiped other idols—I mean Astarte, and Chamos, and Baal—he now mentions them as well, as being the cause of the calamity for them, and as ^C not helping them elsewhere, while, before the impending evils, they even killed them, if that were possible. The Lord also spoke these things in the Gospel concerning the evils that would overtake the Jews on His account.

“From when the hills, Israel sinned.” It is not only, he says, from when the calves began to be worshipped that Israel sinned, but even before this, from when the hills received their worship. For Jero-boam set up the calves; but Solomon, having been persuaded by his wives, built an altar on the high hills.

“They stood there; war shall not seize them in the hill; it came to chastise the children of iniquity according to my desire. And peoples shall be gathered against them, ^D to chastise them for their two iniquities.” The Hebrews, he says, stood immovable in the idolatry of the hills, saying that war would not seize them, nor would they fall into any calamity, if they worshipped at the altar. But war truly came upon them, being children of iniquity, to chastise them according to my desire and will. And you will understand this in two ways: either that I will chastise them vigorously and bitterly, or that...

I will chastise them lightly—this, too, in a way that serves for correction. For, strictly speaking, chastisement is that which is moderate and aims at discipline; whereas the other is punishment and destruction. Consequently, many peoples will be gathered against them to chastise them, since they committed two sins: they abandoned me, their benefactor, and ran to worthless and useless idols. They also sinned by putting the Lord to death. For since they fell ill with the passion of avarice—which is called "the hill" because of its haughtiness—they could not bear for the Lord to be glorified. Standing, therefore, in this passion, they were imbued with the perverse opinion that "if we kill this man, no war will overtake us, nor will the Romans come upon us and take us away." But war did come, because they committed two iniquities: they crucified the Lord, and then slandered his resurrection. And against every ruler ^B who does not accept considering himself dust and ashes and keeps his eyes cast downward, but instead remains in the hills and heights, tending to demons—upon him shall come destruction, which is war against sublimitations. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled; and he who exalts his thresholds seeks destruction. For God opposes the proud. For the proud man commits two injustices, exalting himself not only against men, but also against God.

Ver. 11. *Ephraim is a heifer well-taught to love contention.* Ephraim, he says, is untamed, not wishing to be under my yoke, but always loving to win and to do his own will. Or, that I taught him to win and to put enemies to rout, but he did not safeguard this training of mine.

*I will ride upon her fair neck.* That is to say, I will humble him by means of the enemies, and I will persuade him to accept the yoke of my knowledge, and I will above all humble his kings. For he called the kingdom his "fair neck." For the kings were often impious, showing the ^C people the way toward similar impiety. He spoke well, "neck," to show them to be stiff-necked. In this way, the Pharisees and priests were higher than the others; but the One who was crucified by them humbled them.

*I will ride upon Ephraim, and I will pass by Judah in silence.* Since, as was said above, the ten tribes together with their kings had lapsed into every kind of idolatry, while Judah—that is, the two tribes—behaved somewhat more moderately (for Amaziah and Hezekiah and Josiah were pious), he says: I will now climb up upon Ephraim, and I will burden him, bringing the Babylonians against ^D him; but I will for the time being spare Judah. And...

And indeed, when Sennacherim had come and was besieging Jerusalem, the Angel of the Lord destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand in one night. Whence that man fled in terror. The Lord therefore humbles Ephraim, that is, the one increasing in wickedness, being a burden upon him and pressing His hand upon him. But Judah, who makes confession, He does not burden; rather, He shows that he who voluntarily afflicts himself through repentance, for the reason that the momentary lightness of affliction works an eternal weight of glory.

^B Fortis erit in ipso Jacob—He will be strong in him, Jacob. He renders the reason for which He spares Judah for the present, saying that the virtue of Jacob, which is emulated by him, will place strength in him. He hints at the righteousness of Hezekiah; for God, moved by his tears and virtue, caused Sennacherim to depart from Jerusalem without success. Jacob is also said to be the Lord, being guileless on account of His innocence; for no guile was found in His mouth. He also signifies the One dwelling in a house, which is the house of the living God; or the house of the tabernacle not made by hands, which He took from us, for He still dwells in this. He, therefore, was strong among the Jews; for even if He was crucified out of weakness, yet living by the power of God, He avenged Himself on those who insulted Him, and having risen, He repaid them. And all Israel—that is, the supplanter of passions and the destroyer—shall be strong in Judah, which is confession. For he who has learned to supplant his passions, he truly confesses, not returning to his own vomit.

^C Sow for yourselves in righteousness. The manner of the exhortation is twofold. For one exhorts to what is good, either by pointing out the punishments of those who disobey, or the crowns of those who succeed. Here, then, God pointed out both the evils that will overtake those who do not obey, and pointed out the virtue of Judah, for the sake of which he was deemed worthy of being spared. Consequently, He then exhorts the others as well, saying: Sow for yourselves; for you will not profit God, but yourselves; calling righteousness true piety. For it is just to render worship to the Creator and Maker, but not to idols; and [He means] the whole of virtue, which is called righteousness, because he who practices the virtues judges justly, subjecting the passions of irrationality to reason, and not elevating what is inferior over what is superior, which is the act of a depraved and unjust judge.

^D Reap for the fruit of life. Those who sow toward injustice, and act unjustly toward God, by transferring His worship to idols, and that which is by nature...

^A iniquitous because they have preferred vice to virtue; they have reaped unto death, being slain by their enemies. But to us who have sown the things that lead to righteousness (for the seed, in any case, is the good thought which translates into action), the harvest will result in the fruit of life [(93)]. For you shall escape the sword of the enemy, and you shall live—partaking of this life primarily, and subsequently of that which is to come. Moreover, He also promises them the sensible life, as they are still carnal.

"Kindle for yourselves the light of knowledge." That is to say, acknowledge God, departing from idols.

"Seek the Lord until the fruits of righteousness come to you." He shows them a way by which they may sow and be enlightened. And what is this mode? To seek the Lord; to seek Him without intermission, until you have perfected righteousness and its fruits, that is, the other virtues and the light of knowledge. Or, "Seek," ^B instead of "Pray to the Lord," until He, being moved and unbent, reveals Himself to you [(94)]. But if you perform righteousness, do not on that account be overconfident; for without the help of God, righteousness alone cannot deliver you. Therefore, seek Him, beseeching Him that He may deliver you from the dangers you fear. David says things not unlike this: "Our eyes are toward the Lord our God, until He has mercy upon us." But if Christ is righteousness, according to the divine Apostle, this passage seems to exhort the teachers of the Law: Sow in the hearts of those who listen the seeds that lead to the true righteousness, which is Christ. For this is to sow for yourselves; for the progress of the disciples ^C redounds also to the teacher. And reap the letter, not so that you may remain in it, but so that you may harvest Him who said, "I am the life." He therefore adds, "Kindle for yourselves the light of knowledge," you who sit by the Law, having a shadow of the good things to come; kindle for yourselves the light of the knowledge of Christ. But can anyone kindle a light for himself and shine for himself, while He is coming toward us? Yet since David says, "Draw near to Him and be enlightened," we are not unjustly commanded to provide ourselves with light and to kindle the torch. "Seek the Lord, you who act in the Law," for He Himself will give you the fruits of righteousness. For from the works of the Law you will not have righteousness, that is, justification; but you will be justified ^D by faith in Christ Jesus. And if "he who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life," let us take care neither to sow to the flesh, nor, in the case of spiritual matters, to be so hasty to sow that we do so to be seen by men. For we do not thus sow for ourselves, but for the birds of the sky. For seeds that are not hidden are exposed to these. But when, through the work

of faith, we sow, then the light of knowledge and contemplation will shine ^A upon us.

VERSE 13. *Why have you kept silent concerning impiety, and reaped its injustices?* He says, it was fitting for you, being wicked, to use the medicines of repentance, and not to keep silent about impious crimes, but to confess them. But now, not having done this, you have reaped the injustices of impiety, paying the punishments worthy of them. And what are the injustices of impiety? It is said in various ways: for it is understood both as that toward God and that toward one’s neighbor. These things are appropriate for every priest, teacher, and ruler, and indeed, for the magistrate. For it is not proper to pass over faults in silence if brothers act impiously at any time. For the law commanded: *Argue your brother, and you shall not take sins upon him* (Lev. xix, 17). And Paul also commands ^B that he who sins be reproved before all, that the others also may have fear (1 Tim. v, 20). If, therefore, he whose duty it is to speak holds his peace, he himself also reaps the fruits of injustice—not only of that by which the sinner is unjust, but also of that by which he himself is injurious toward the sinner, not cutting off his impulse toward evil.

VERSE 13, 14. *You have eaten a lying fruit, because you hoped in your chariots, in the multitude of your power. And destruction will arise in your people, and all your fortified places will disappear.* He calls vain hope "lying fruit." You, he says, hoped in the huge number of your people and in your chariots: but the opposite will turn out. For the warlike people will perish ^C together with the chariots; and the cities themselves will be demolished, and the safety from the walls will not profit anything at all. These things are also said to every ruler, who thinks to provide for himself safety through human plans and inventions. The Hebrews, too, when they had given sufficient money to the soldiers who were guarding the tomb of Christ, reaped lying, saying that the Lord had not risen; therefore, when the Romans came, they, placing their trust in the multitude of the people and the fortification of the city, perished. And that destruction was in their midst: for they incited sedition among themselves, and they were consumed not only by external enemies, but also by themselves. Furthermore, famine was working up destruction in their midst, so much so that even mothers ^D did not spare their most beloved child.

VERS. 14, 15. *As the prince Salama from the house of Hieroboal, in the days of war, dashed a mother upon her children...*

^A Thus will I do unto you, O house of Israel, because of your wickedness. For once, when the Israelites had practiced idolatry, God let loose upon them the princes of the Madianites, Oreb, Zeb, Zebee, and Salmanan. This Salmanan, whom the prophet here calls Salama, was so cruel and ferocious that he would dash and strike mothers together with their infants upon the ground, and thus deliver them to a most wretched death. He did this to the women of the house of Hieroboal—that is to say, of Gedeon—or rather, to the Hebrew women. For he calls the entire Hebrew kinship the house of Gedeon. "So, therefore, will I do unto you, O house of Israel, and I will deliver you to your enemies because of your sins, who will miserably destroy the infants together with their mothers." Now, Gedeon is called Hieroboal because he performed a holy work, tearing down the pillar of the idol Baal and cutting down the grove dedicated to the idol in one night.

CHAPTER X[I]

VERS. 1. *In the morning they were cast away.* At the morning, he says, they were cast away. When, he says, they were expecting the aid of the Assyrians to appear to them like the morning, while they were in the night of doubt and the straits of war, then were they cast away into Babylon as captives. ^B Or it is because they will quickly and shortly suffer total destruction; for the morning does not contain a very long time, as the sun, following upon its rising, creates the day. Moreover, God, as long as He tolerates evil, is said to sleep; but when He begins to take vengeance, then He seems to arise. He says, therefore, "At other times I was sleeping, as if in the night, overlooking them; but now, as if the morning has appeared, I am awakened, and from here on I will cast them away."

*The king of Israel is cast away.* He is indeed cast away, in so far as the king of Israel was taken away to Babylon. He is also cast away in so far as the kingdom in Samaria ceased to exist thereafter, as has often been mentioned. ^C The Hebrews who chose darkness were also rejected when the light of the evangelical word appeared. But if we receive the precursor, the divine John the Baptist, as the morning, because he announced the coming Christ, they were rejected even then, when he said to them: "Brood of vipers, do not begin to say within yourselves: 'We have Abraham for our father,'" and, "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire." Why, then, did they suffer this? Because they themselves had rejected Christ, the king of Israel. Thus, the things within us that provoke God to anger are indeed cherished by us for a while, so long as we have night and emptiness of sense. ^D But when, having heard the one who says, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light," and when Christ has shone upon us, we have been carried outside that night and insensibility, and have come to a realization of what has been done, we shall think we possess the morning,

and the domain of the day, that is, of a luminous constitution, then those things formerly beloved by us are cast away, and he who previously reigned in us, the prince of darkness, is cast away as well. ^A

VERS. 1, 2. "For Israel is a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called his children." Just as I called his children, so they went away from my presence. And because of their foolishness and infantile thinking, they will suffer this punishment. For I, indeed, called them out of Egypt and liberated them from that bitter slavery; but they went away from my presence, not wishing to show themselves to me, nor to serve me, but to idols. ^B Or you may understand it in this way as well. For as if someone were asking for what reason he called them the “abominable ones” at first, he answers: "Because of the fathers." For Jacob, he says, who was renamed Israel, was an “infant,” that is, simple, unadorned, and unfeigned; and I loved him while he was still in his mother’s womb. For “Jacob,” says the Lord, “I loved, but Esau I hated.” For this reason, I also rescued his children from the servitude of the Egyptians. But they, having been honored for the sake of their fathers, fled from me—not one by one or two by two, but in crowds and by tribes—just as I had called them out of Egypt in a single company. And ^C Christ himself is also called Israel, as one who has seen God (for “no one has seen the Father, except he who is of God”). He, therefore, became an infant, and the Father called him out of Egypt, his truly beloved one. Furthermore, the children of the Jews are also called the children of Christ because of the kinship of the flesh, according to the passage: “Behold, I and the children whom God has given me.” As often as they were called by him, they fled. Hence he said: “How often I wished to gather your children, and you would not!” ^D See, however, that when someone is an infant in malice, then God loves him and makes him an “Israel,” one who sees and knows God (“for wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul”), and he is called out of Egypt—that is, from the many-wandering knowledge of this age, which has withered away. Nevertheless, it is necessary to be sober, lest, after having been called by God to the knowledge of his Son, our children—that is, the human thoughts which we generate—should fall away from God. For “the thoughts of mortals are miserable, and their counsels are insecure.” Hence Paul also said: “If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he deceives himself and is puffed up, knowing nothing.” For “knowledge puffs up.”

“They sacrificed to the Baalim, and made offerings to graven images.” Baalim, as has often been said, designates the idols of Baal; graven images, those of other gods. He indicates their senselessness, that having abandoned him who redeemed them from Egypt, they served such idols as these. And he sets his own goodness and kindness in the clear light through the following words.

^A *Vers. 3. I raised Ephraim to his feet, I took him upon my arm.* I showed such goodness toward them that I became to them like a nurse; and just as she, when about to take up some little infant into her arms, gathers his feet together and thus lifts him up—so, too, did I, and as if gathering their feet—that is, drawing their feet together—I took them upon my right arm. By this, it is implied that I did not leave them to wander without order or without law, but I brought together their straying movements by giving them a law, and by offering them my arm, that is, my strength, as an ally in wars, supporting their weakness. He therefore brings in: ^B *And they did not know that I healed them in the corruption of men.* They did not know, he says, that while I was destroying and laying waste other nations, I was healing and benefiting them. For I indeed exterminated the Egyptians and those inhabiting Palestine. The Lord likewise gathered the feet of those who tempted Him with words, answering wisely, and He attempted to take them up upon His arm and to show them the power of the works of His divinity, when He cured the infirm or paralytic, when He restored sight to the blind, when He performed other signs and wonders simply. But they did not know that their physician had been sent, healing those who were corrupted. *For those who are well have no need of a physician.* Furthermore, He gathers by the feet some who are running swiftly in vices, and rightly raises them to their feet, teaching them to turn their course toward His arm, that is, His works, and to imitate His conduct and administration. ^C For the arm is a symbol of strength in active life. But many do not recognize that in the corruption of human reasonings and wills He heals them, that is, their souls, which is what He says elsewhere: *I will strike the worse, and I will heal the better.*

*Vers. 4. I drew them with the bonds of my love.* One who is about to bind someone’s hands extends them so that he may bind them. He says the same thing here, that "I drew them," instead of, "I prepared them, and made them fit to be bound by my love." Or, that "I spread them out," and made them numerous and glorious, because I was bound by my love for them. He said this as of a vine, just as David also says: *He stretched out her branches even to the sea, and her shoots to the rivers.* ^D The Lord also stretched out those with withered hands, and the paralytics, and the woman who was bent over, and the lame, on account of His love, driving away their infirmities and carrying their diseases. Also in the bonds with which He was bound, when on account of His love for us He was led to Caiaphas,

^A He stretched them out, being constrained and pressed by the enemy, having liberated us from such confinement. And when, therefore, someone is bound by sickness or poverty, he is loved by the Lord, according to the Proverb-writer, and this becomes for him an extension toward the things in front. Such was Paul also, taking pleasure in infirmities, in afflictions, and in the bonds he had, not being separated from them, but reaching forward to the things in front.

And I will be to them as a man striking on his cheek, and I will look upon him, and I will prevail for him. Since He said that *as a little child I took him up*, and that *I loved him*, He says that *on account of this, even when he stumbles, I will not inflict bitter wounds, but will chasten him moderately*, striking his cheeks, so to speak, in order to turn him back, just as if one were to strike a child who had sinned. For even if I look ^B only sharply at him, it is sufficient to overcome him and to make the wickedness within him vanish. Such is the meaning of: *In small affliction is your chastening to us*; and: *Chasten us, but in judgment, and not in anger*. But if our cheeks cooperate with us for the sake of nourishment, observe how the Lord struck the cheeks of those in Judea, having sent a famine upon them, while they were besieged by the Romans, so that their cheeks were idle. For He who was willingly crucified out of the weakness of the flesh, this is He who, when He looked at them, demonstrated His power to them. A man is also struck on the cheeks ^C when he falls into disgrace, so that the haughtiness he had when he was previously honored may be brought down; and then God looks upon him. *For upon whom shall I look, if not upon the meek and quiet man, who trembles at my words?* And then, too, God prevails within him. *For in our humiliation the Lord remembered us and redeemed us from our enemies.*

Ephraim hath turned into Egypt, and Assur is his king, because he would not return. This you shall understand in a twofold way: either that by arriving in Egypt he sought the alliance from there, but nevertheless the Assyrians ruled over him after having overcome and routed him, even though he used ^D the Egyptians as allies; or that he will be led away into captivity to Egypt, and the Assyrians will rule over him, because he did not wish to return to Me from the idols.

And the sword has grown weak in his cities, and has rested in his hands, and they shall eat of his counsels. That is to say, no one

^A was found in the cities who was strong and able to use a sword, but the hands of all were loosened and they ceased to perform any martial work, and they will necessarily eat the fruits of their own impious counsels, which are afflictions and tribulations. And the Hebrews, who envied the hardness of heart of the Egyptians, in having descended and fallen from the divine height, and having as their king the great mind of the Assyrians, were also weakened. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is not in them. For how could the Word of God be in them, seeing that they simply put the Word of God to death? For this reason their hands also ceased to perform any work pleasing to God. For they did not wish to repent and return, and to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. These things occur also to everyone who descends to the land of Egypt, wherein the princedoms and powers of darkness rule. For such a person has neither the sword of discernment, by which he might judge the worse from the better, nor is he able to do anything at all to resist those who attack his soul; but he is led away as a captive, bound by hands and feet, and stripped of all practical power.

^B VERSE 7. And his people suspended from their dwelling. That is to say, Ephraim was suspended far from his own land, having become a captive. And the Christ-killer is carried this way and that. Some, however, understand this place as follows. So impiously does the people of Ephraim act, he says, and by this means becomes the cause of its own deportation, that it seems almost to be suspended and poised for captivity. And God shall be angry over his honored things, and shall not exalt him. That is to say, He shall be angry at the kings and leaders, and He shall no longer set up a king in Samaria, nor rulers, and He shall not exalt him—namely, Ephraim—because there will no longer be a king among them. The honored things of the Hebrew people were the temple and what was contained in it, on account of which the Lord was angered and said: Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and the people shall no longer be exalted over them. And he who attacks the more humble from on high, and is always suspended over them and is puffed up ^C by the good things of life—which are those of this sojourn, and which pass away along with it—such a person, I say, discovers God angry over his honored things: I mean riches, and glory, or even wife and children. And having cast him down on account of these, He shall no longer exalt him. For His wrath, he says, shall use others; for against the proud, as one who is of a mind alien to Him, God shall go forth in opposition.

VERS. 6. What shall I do for you, Ephraim? Shall I protect you, O Israel? ^D

^A Israel? What shall I do for you? He appears like one in doubt, from His exceeding great kindness, and says: "I know not how I shall use you. Shall I protect you? But your deeds hinder this, which do not allow it to be." What then shall I do? "I will place you as Admah and as Zeboim." I will destroy you, He says, just like those Sodomite cities; for this is just. "My heart is turned within me." Imitating parents most loving of their children, He says: "In the same," that is, in the while I was speaking against you, "my heart was turned," as if suffering certain pangs, and it endured in pain; therefore He changed the decision. "My repentance is troubled; I will not act according to the wrath of my fury; I will not abandon Ephraim to be abandoned." ^B That is, being troubled by the great affection towards you, I have repented, and I will not act according to my wrath. He says these things, not as though at one time fearing this, at another willing that, but fashioning the discourse into wrath and mercy, into punishment and kindness; and by the former striking fear, while by the latter exhorting and calling to persuasion; as David says: "Not according to our iniquities has He dealt with us, but as a father pities his children, so the Lord has pitied those who fear Him." And in Isaiah: "Shall a woman forget her child, so as not to have mercy on the offspring of her womb? But even if a woman should forget these, yet I will not forget you." ^C He says these things not only that He might benefit them, but that we too might model our own souls after such a prototype of kindness. "For whatever was written, was written for our instruction," and that we might not be wicked and mindful of injuries (for "the ways of the mindful of injuries lead to death"), but that at the same time we might display the steps of wrath for correction, and bring in those of kindness, so that by this, through the goodness of it, we might rather put them to shame and make them respectful. For then we show ourselves to be governing rationally, when we turn them back by kindness rather than by anger; for it is the way of the rational to be governed by cheerfulness. Therefore Peter also said: "Tend the flock that is among you willingly, but not by constraint." "For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in you." As if someone had objected and been in doubt: "Why, O Lord, having threatened such things, have you repented, and do not punish Ephraim?" He says: "Because I am not man, but a good God, evidently not giving the victory to wrath; for this is a human passion. Why then do you punish at all?" Because, He says, I am also holy, hating iniquity, and desiring to be holy in you, that is, through your works, the

so that my holiness may be known, and may not be blasphemed among the nations ^A through your scandalous deeds. This is like the saying, "Hallowed be thy name," [*] that is, may it be shown to be holy and may it be glorified through us.

And I shall not enter into the city. That is to say, I shall not be confined to a place, nor shall I be forced as a man is to dwell in a city; for I am everywhere and present to all. Moreover, He did not enter the city of Jerusalem, to visit it and to provide for it; for because of its wicked inhabitants, He abandoned it.

VERS. 10. *I will walk after the Lord.* ^B He teaches the people, in a certain way, what they ought to say and do, and He brings them in as speaking thus: "Since such is your goodness and clemency, O Lord, I, the people who have offended against you, will walk after the Lord; and whereas I deserved to suffer the most dire things, yet because of your mercy I have not suffered them, and henceforth I will do what is pleasing to you." Such is the meaning of this statement. Some persons, however, reasonably connecting this with what precedes, namely, "I will not enter into the city," say that this also is spoken in the person of the people, as if the people itself said: "Indeed, I fortified cities so that, in time of war, I might have a safe refuge in them; but since the Lord manifests such benevolence toward me, I will no longer enter into a city, but will follow the Lord, who will overshadow me [*] with His shoulders, and will defend and champion me."

VERS. 10, 11. *As a lion he shall roar, and the children of the waters shall be afraid, and they shall come as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of the Assyrians. And I will restore them to their houses.* ^C He foretells the return that would happen after this under Cyrus, a return which was to take place when he held command. He says that he will lead an army against the Babylonians, roaring and raging like a lion. By the lion, he indicates his power; by the roaring and raging, he signifies the sounds of battle. He says that he will strike fear into the Babylonians, and they, struck with terror, will flee from his sight, as "children of the waters," that is to say, as fish—for fish are a very timid kind of animal, which can endure no noise, not even the shadow of a human being. When, therefore, he has subjugated the Babylonians, the Jews shall then depart to their own homes, each one from the region of the Assyrians and the Egyptians. For Cyrus, moved by God, released the Hebrews who were staying in Babylon. ^D When they had returned to their own region and had built Jerusalem by the permission of Cyrus, the Jews who were living in Egypt, having heard of this, took great courage and returned also. But some have thought that "He shall roar" is to be understood of God, as He Himself will strike fear into the Babylonians. For whatever Cyrus was able to do, he could do through God, just as Isaiah foretold many years before, and (O miracle!) even mentioned him by name. For he says: "Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to—"

^A make nations obey him, and I will break in pieces the power of kings. I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be shut." Our Lord Jesus Christ also says: "I will walk after the Lord," for I am not an adversary of God; but He Himself said to me what I should say and what I should speak. And: "The Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him the works," and "Thy will be done." He also cried out and roared like a lion when, having shouted with a loud voice, He gave up His spirit into the hands of the Father, having fallen asleep like a lion. Then the children of the dragon who rules over the waters, that is, his fellow-apostate powers, were terrified, seeing death being despoiled. For many bodies of the sleeping saints were raised, whom the children of the dragon had cast out from Egypt and Babylon. For because the knowledge of God was practiced there, they were driven out ^B from thence and were restored into the abysses of darkness, which were their homes. "Children of waters" are those works related to a fluid and dissolute life, which, when the Lion from the tribe of Judah, Christ, breathes forth from His good heart the good word of the Gospel, He causes to fly away from us. And henceforth we escape from the land of Egypt, flying upward like a bird from a snare; and we fly away like a gentle and innocent dove from the pride of the Assyrians, which, even if it is exalted, is nevertheless earth. And then we are restored by Jesus to the mansions above.

"Ephraim hath compassed me with lies, and the house of Israel and Judah with impiety." I indeed, He says, deemed them worthy of such great care; but they surrounded me on all sides with lies, that is, with idolatry. For wherever I turn, I see no place left for me, but they have dedicated everything to the demons. And many dogs also surrounded the Lord Jesus, fabricating false testimonies against Him.

"Now God acknowledged them, and a holy people shall be called of God." ^C Nevertheless, He says, though they were such, I acknowledged—that is, I loved—them, and I call them My people. Some, however, interpret this passage as follows: I know, He says, the way by which they may please me and be called of God, and that this will come to pass through some discipline, for they depart from me while living in luxury. And the Hebrews also who turn to Christ are called the people of God, concerning whom He seems now to be prophesying.

CHAPTER XII

"And Ephraim is like a spirit of malice, he hath pursued the east wind all day, and hath multiplied emptiness and vanity." By "spirit of malice," He means the wicked impulse and intention which Ephraim ^D possessed, and pursued—that is, requested—the heat of wickedness and of tribulations,

^A abandoning my shadow and protection, and all but rushing headlong into calamities. How? By the multiplication of the vain altars of idols. For the worship of idols is itself a heat, one that destroys all the fruits of Israel. "And they made a covenant with the Assyrians, and carried oil into Egypt." He says that they not only multiplied vain idols, but, neglecting My help, they took refuge with men; and at one time they sought friendship with the Assyrians, and at another time they offered oil to the Egyptians as a gift, as though they lacked it. The region of Samaria was indeed rich in oil. Yet the discourse here is not about such oil, nor did they give oil to the Egyptians, but rather, by offering them gold, they strove to elicit mercy from them.

The Hebrews who still remain in perfidy are also a "spirit of malice," ^B they who through their whole life pursue the heat, and, though burning with intense zeal for the Law, are unwilling to say: "Christ the Lord is the spirit before our face," to whom we have said: "We shall live under His shadow." They are unwilling even to run to the water of baptism; and they possess vain and empty hopes that they will receive back ^C their homeland. For they made a covenant with the intelligible Assyrians, and cast away the mercy of God to the nations who were walking in error; but we have obtained this mercy, as an inheritance, and we have received the oil of the Holy Spirit, with which we were anointed in baptism, having been transferred from the Hebrews to us. For theirs was the oil of unction, a type and figure of the spiritual chrism.

Moreover, he who loves vanity "encircles the Lord in falsehood," and he who seeks a lie—that is, the false goods of the present life. He, indeed, receiving the burning darts ^D of the devil, and walking in the flame which he conceived thereby, pursues the heat, and by the things he does, he constantly runs to meet it, and is carried headlong to the other heat, that of Gehenna. Such a man also enters into friendship with the proud powers of the demons, and transfers into the Egypt of this life the oil—that is, the joyful gifts of the Holy Spirit which he received upon being baptized—and betrays it to the Egyptians, so that in the future he can no longer say: "My old age shall be exalted in rich oil."

VERS. 2. And judgment to the Lord with Juda, to avenge Jacob. Just as He reproved Ephraim above—that is, the ten tribes—and blamed him for having multiplied vain things, so now He says that Juda—that is, the two tribes which dwelt in Jerusalem—is to be judged. Although these tribes were descendants of Jacob, they in no way imitated him and his virtue; but they became for his shame and reproach.

^A He says, therefore, "I will visit now upon Jacob"; for by handing them over to their enemies, I will take vengeance for the insolence which they committed against him.

"According to his ways, and according to his doings." He explains in what manner the vengeance is to be taken, noting that it will be such as his ways, that is, his works and his doings or habits, merit. For often someone does something evil not because he is led by a wicked habit; but these men were walking towards evil and were making these practices their daily study. ^B

"In the womb he supplanted his brother, and in his labors he prevailed with God, and was strengthened with the angel, and prevailed." He brings forward the history of the patriarch Jacob, wishing to rebuke the lawlessness of his descendants, and says that he was chosen by God from his mother’s womb on account of his future excellence in virtue. And he supplanted his brother, or rather the angel; and thus he was strong, so that he struggled with God, even if His thigh grew numb. God, however, wrestled with him, comforting him in his cowardice. For since he was about to meet his brother and was greatly afraid, God shows him that "Since you have prevailed with God, you shall also be able to prevail with man." The prophet here calls the same person both God and angel, as does Moses, so that both might prefigure Christ, who is the Angel of the great counsel of the Father, and God the mighty. For He announced to us the counsel of the Father, which was to reconcile through the blood of His Son those things which are in heaven and those on earth. ^C These, however, were types of things to come. For they signified that the descendants of Jacob would stand against this angel and God; and some, indeed, would have their thigh grow numb—that is, they would limp in faith and would not make their approach to Him—but others would confess, as did Jacob himself when he said, "I have seen God face to face," that is, clearly, having become man. Since Esau was also called Edom, which means "red"—and the body is the brother of the soul—if any soul in the womb supplants the brother Esau—that is, is not overcome by the gluttony of the burning of the blood, but rather conquers it—such a one will engage with God. His thigh will indeed grow numb, that is, the affections of the lowest part; but being purged through continence, he will behold God, and instead of being called Jacob, which means "supplanter" or "active," he will be called Israel, that is, "contemplative," according to the saying, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." ^D

"They wept and entreated me; in the house of On they found me; there it was spoken to them."

^A Other interpreters, namely Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, translate this as if it were said of Jacob: "He wept and entreated Him, and He found Him in Bethel." For when Jacob, fleeing the treachery of Esau and hastening to his uncle Laban, secured that divine revelation in Bethel, he was told: "Fear not, Jacob, for I am with you." And praying to God, perhaps with weeping, he said: "If You give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, and bring me back in peace, the Lord shall be my God, and this stone which I have erected shall be the house of God; and of all that You give me, I will tithe to You." Therefore, these other interpreters, explaining these things, say that in Bethel—which now contains the idol of On—Jacob wept and found Him who appeared and spoke to him, "Fear not." But the Seventy, by saying in the plural, "They wept and entreated," intended to signify to us that He speaks this concerning the people. For, He says, while they were worshipping the idol at other times, even when they appeared to repent, they did not go to the holy temple to weep, but standing before the idol, they invoked my aid. Yet I, though insulted in such a way in that place, nonetheless decided to send my prophet Amos to proclaim my words to them. For it was in Bethel that Amos prophesied when the false priest of Bethel, Amaziah, said to him: "Go away to the land of Judah, and do not prophesy in Bethel, for it is the King's sanctuary"—that is, it is set apart for the idol, which he calls king. ^C Others say that God is now recalling other histories which are referred to the aforementioned Jacob. For when his sons, Simeon and Levi, had killed the Shechemites because their sister Dinah had been defiled by Emmor the son of Shechem, Jacob was greatly distressed, fearing that he too might be killed by the neighboring nations on account of the slaughter of the Shechemites. Therefore, falling on his knees, he prayed to God as a suppliant; and God, hearing him, said: "Ascend to Bethel, and dwell there." Then he addressed all his household, saying: "Put away the strange gods from among you, and change your garments, and let us rise and ascend to Bethel." And they did so. Therefore, He used the plural number here, saying "They wept and entreated me," in order to denote all those around Jacob who went up with him to Bethel and began to offer sacrifices to the Lord. ^D Verse 5. "But the Lord God Almighty shall be His memorial." If the passage is taken as referring to Jacob, you will understand that the Lord has committed him to eternal memory and has bestowed upon him immortal glory. "For as I live," says the Lord, "I will honor those who honor me." But if you think that saying should be referred to the people of the Hebrews, understand it in this way: that God is offering them an exhortation, admonishing them so that, since they possess such a God, who is ruler over all,

^A and who also strengthened their forefather Jacob, they ought always to remember Him and never forget Him. The "House of On," that is, of "Uselessness"—namely, of sin—is this world; for in this world sin is carried out, but in the next it ceases. And nothing is so useless as sin, or rather, it is the cause of myriad harms. Whoever, therefore, in this house mourns and prays, will find God, and it will be said to him, "Your sins are forgiven you." But when this world is dissolved, there is no longer a time for such mourning, for the one being blessed and having consolation. Of the one who mourns in this way, as has been said, God Himself will be the memorial. For having eternal joy, he has it from the fact that he remembers God and delights in Him: "I remembered God," he says, "and I was glad." ^B The "House of On," as has been said—of Uselessness—is also wealth and worldly glory, at least for the majority. Whoever, therefore, uses both wealth and glory according to God, by showing mercy to the poor and supporting the weak, he finds God in the house of On, just as Zacchaeus did. Therefore, it will also be said to him what was said to that man: "Today salvation has come to this house," and such a righteous man will be for an everlasting memorial. Because he dispersed, he gave to the poor; his righteousness remains to the end of the age.

VERS. 6. And you, return to your God; keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God always.

you once thought. ^A But do not suppose that if you return, you will be exempted from duty for the rest of time, as if you were justified by faith alone; rather, also practice the virtues, showing mercy, indeed, but with judgment, so as to give to each according to his need. Then, concluding for the hearer, he says of every virtue: "Draw near to your God always." For sins separate between us and God; but virtues make us draw near through likeness. Observe also the phrase "always," for one must not grow drowsy even for a short time regarding what is good. And let the one turning from sin not think that he turns by his own strength, but in God; for it is God who is working in us both to will and to work for the sake of His good pleasure. ^B It is most fitting for judges, along with showing mercy, to also observe judgment. For many, while ostensibly having mercy on the poor, condemn the rich simply, even if they have justice on their side. For this reason we are commanded by the law not to show mercy to a poor man in judgment. Since it is possible both to show mercy and to judge justly, yet not according to God, but for the sake of pleasing men, he adds: "Draw near to your God"; turn not to men, but look to God, who will render the rewards.

^C *Chanaan in whose hand are the scales of iniquity, he loved to overreach.* I indeed, he says, instruct Ephraim in these things, so that he may observe mercy and judgment, and the rest; but he himself has become Chanaan, having envied the greed and injustice of the Canaanites. Thus also Ezechiel says to Jerusalem: "Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Chanaan." For the customs of those whose ways he imitated, their very name he received. Similar things also David said regarding the men who lived at that time: "The sons of men are false in the balances, to act unjustly."

VERS. 8. *Ephraim said: But yet I am become rich, I have found me a rest.* All his labors shall not be found in him, because of the iniquities which he has committed. Since, he says, through iniquity and the oppression of others Ephraim had acquired wealth, he thought that he would have some rest from it, and that he would be able to refresh himself when he was agitated by the heat of every temptation; but it shall not be so. For whatever he has gathered by labor shall be vain, and utterly useless to him. ^D David also testifies to this: "Trust not in iniquity, and covet not robberies: if riches abound, set not your heart upon them." Those also to whom the Lord said, "If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham," were Chanaan, using the scales of iniquity; for they demanded that the robber Barabbas be released, while they crucified the benefactor Christ, who even while living among them, in envy...

^A burned like a flame, thinking they would find some relief if they killed Him. But, he says, they will gain nothing; for not only were they unable to stop Him from being glorified, but even all their choicest things, over which they labored, were destroyed and scattered by the Romans. Perhaps also someone, having become rich through iniquity, might say: "I have grown rich, I have found relief for myself"; but let such people hear, among other things, that they are children of Chanaan, whom Noah cursed.

^B VER. 9. *And I am the Lord thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt. I will yet cause thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the feast.* You, says he, have put your hope in your wealth gained by iniquity; but as I once brought you out of the land of Egypt and, while you were wandering through the desert, caused you to dwell in tabernacles, so even now I shall displace you and cause you to dwell in tabernacles, just as you were accustomed to dwell in them during the days of the Feast of Tabernacles. For God commanded the feast of Tabernacles for this reason: so that, by dwelling in tabernacles, they might not forget their sojourn in the desert. In this way, also, those who became the God-slayers are being moved from land to land, and are like those who dwell in tabernacles. And if the Lord leads anyone out of sin as if out of Egypt, He teaches him to consider this present life a tabernacle and a sojourn; for then, and only then, can he rightly celebrate this feast to the Lord in the spirit.

^C VER. 10. *And I will speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have been assimilated in the hands of the prophets.* Justly, he says, shall I displace you, because you did not listen to what I was saying to you through my prophets for your correction (for "I will speak" is used for "I have spoken"). And I not only spoke words, but I also multiplied visions, that is, prophecies shown through deeds; just as He also commanded this very prophet, at times to take a harlot, at times an adulteress, instructing them through the works that they saw. He also teaches that He used manifold revelations, not by showing His own nature (for that is invisible), but by showing certain types and likenesses of the divine nature and operation according to every need. ^D For God appeared differently to Daniel, and differently to Ezekiel, and differently to Isaiah, and differently to Micah. Others interpret this passage as follows: "I indeed multiplied the prophetic visions; whereas your false prophets, imitating the works of my prophets and becoming like them, uttered what each one devised in his own heart." For Jeremiah, when he placed wooden yokes upon his neck, signified that they would be enslaved to the king; but the false prophet Hananiah took them and broke them, saying, "Thus saith the Lord..."

So will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon." ^A He therefore reproaches the people because, while He was speaking to the prophets, they did not listen, but preferred to obey the false prophets, who wore the semblance of divine prophecy but spoke no truth. Since, however, the expression "I will speak to the prophets" is spoken in the future tense, it perhaps refers to the apostles and the prophets during their times, to whom that saying of the Lord pertains: "I send them prophets and scribes and wise men." Therefore, He says, "I will speak to such prophets, who foreshadowed My future incarnation through certain figures and images, placing many and various kinds of visions before the eyes of the prophets who lived in the time of the Law." And since we "now see through a mirror in a riddle," ^B any knowledge here is justly a kind of shadow, and every vision is not single and simple, but manifold and various, and it is expressed through certain images which are subjected to the senses. Thus we name God, and the sun, and fire, and life, and other things of that sort.

"If it is not Galgala, then those sacrificing in Galgala were false." I, for my part, He says, thought to instruct you thus through the prophets; you, however, going up to Galaad and Galgala along with your princes, were performing false and vain acts, sacrificing to idols. He makes mention of these two cities because, as He said above, they were more prone to idolatry than the others. Since, therefore, Phua, king of the Assyrians, having invaded, took the city of Galaad first—which was beyond the Jordan—He says that, since Galaad no longer exists (for it was utterly destroyed), ^C it is clear from this that your princes who went up to Galgala and were sacrificing there were false, that is, they were laboring in vain; for it is vanity to sacrifice to idols and seek good things from them.

"Their altars are as tortoises upon the desert of the field." Either the sense is that they were accustomed to build altars high and conspicuous, of the kind that are tortoises (or mounds) which farmers are wont to construct for the sake of retaining water, which are called by that name. Or, something else is hinted at by this: just as the tortoise, being an amphibious animal, often escapes the hunters when it resides in the water, but is easily captured on dry land, so too the altars which you have erected to idols shall be easily plundered by the enemies ^D and utterly overturned. Or, finally, the meaning is that, just as the mind of the righteous is an altar beloved by God, so, conversely, the mind of the impious and flagitious man bears a certain semblance to a tortoise. For it is covered by the thick shell of the body, and heavily burdened by it, it walks slowly; since it is made entirely of flesh, it shows forth nothing lovely which might flow from the image of God, but bears in the open the deformity which flows from sin, and wanders through the barren and uncultivated field of this world.

And when you see a person becoming one thing at one time and another at another, and wavering in their habits, compare him to other amphibious animals, and most especially to a tortoise. ^B

VERS. 12. *And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and watched.* Again, he remembers the patriarch Jacob, and says that he, having been persuaded by his mother, who was warning him not to take a wife from the land of Canaan, fled into Syria to Laban; and he served him for a wife—that is to say, on account of a wife—and he watched to avoid taking a Canaanite wife. Or, he says "watched" because for Rachel's sake he guarded everything that was commanded to him by Laban.

VERS. 13. *And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.* He says that because of his virtue, his descendants, the Israelites, were also loved by God, and He brought them out of Egypt by the prophet Moses, and preserved them through this same prophet in the wilderness, even when many enemies were pursuing them. Or they were also preserved through Joshua, the son of Nun; for he also calls him a prophet. These things are a type and image of Christ; for when He had descended to the earth, He betrothed the Church to Himself, and for her sake served in flesh and sufferings and in the legal commandments, which He observed. And by Him we have been led up out of the Egypt of sin and are being preserved; for He is the prophet of whom Moses spoke: *The Lord will raise up a prophet for you.* And every one who becomes worthy to be called Israel, and to see God, also serves for a wife when he makes provision for the flesh not for the sake of desire; and he is preserved in a wife when he buffets the flesh and brings it into subjection; and he is led up out of Egypt—that is, from this dark mode of life—through a prophet, that is, through the Word, who makes an assurance to us regarding things to come. For if one does not believe the One who says that there will be another, more divine state of life after death, how ^C will he be led up from this world, whose pleasant things are in our hands?

VERS. 14. *Ephraim provoked me to anger, and will stir me up to wrath.* Jacob, he says, was so eager not to transgress his mother’s advice, and chose to perform even a disreputable servitude in order to take a wife from a good lineage; but the people born from him, Ephraim, did everything that moves Me to anger and wrath, having set up golden heifers and worshipping them. *And his blood shall be poured out upon him.* He has provoked Me to anger, he says, but he will be the cause of his own destruction; he summons upon himself all deadly calamities. ^D

^A *The Lord will also return his reproach upon him according to the word of Ephraim.* God calls his own insult a "reproach," the insult with which Jeroboam insulted Him, saying to the people: "Do not go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." Therefore, the Lord will repay him for this reproach and insult—the insult that came to pass against God according to the word of Ephraim, that is, of Jeroboam. Or perhaps it means that Ephraim will be reproached and insulted according to his own word—that is, proportionally and fittingly to his impieties. Reproach was also returned to the Christ-killers, the reproach with which they reproached Christ: "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." How was it returned? In the very way they requested: "His blood be upon us and upon our children."

CHAPTER XIII.

^B VERSE 1. *He received justifications in Israel, and he set them up for Baal.* Having received My laws, according to which he ought to have lived and worshipped Me, he set them up for Baal—that is, he added them to idols, and in a way made covenants with them, so as to serve them. *And he died.* Both in his soul, in that he became a slave to idols, and in his body, in that he was delivered to his enemies for punishment. Perhaps he also wishes to remind us of that ancient history, when the Israelites defected from God to Beelphegor and many thousands of them were struck down, at which time also the Israelite who was consorting with the Midianite woman was killed by Phinehas.

^C VERSE 2. *And now they have added so as to sin, and have made for themselves molten images out of their silver, according to the image of idols, the work of craftsmen, all of it.* They increase, he says, the impiety; for they did not stop at their previous outrages, nor were they brought to their senses by that death, but they even made idols—some molten, which were cast from silver; others the work of craftsmen, that is, wooden ones, which they themselves constructed and fashioned. And this is a shame to them, that they worshipped those things which they themselves had fashioned.

^D *They say: Sacrifice men; for the calves have failed.* Not only, he says, did they make these for themselves as gods, but they also exhorted the people to sacrifice men to them. For they sacrificed, he says, their sons and their daughters to the demons. Then, sharply chiding and mocking their impiety, he adds: *For the calves have failed.* It is as if he were saying: Are the calves truly so depleted, you most impious men, that you must sacrifice human beings? Some, however, interpret this passage so that the sense is: So many were their gods, and so many their sacrifices and altars, that even the calves ran out, and henceforth they had to sacrifice humans. The Hebrews too, who lived after Christ, slaughtered the martyrs, killing them because the calves—used in the legal sacrifices—had failed, since the law was being abolished through the

faith which the martyrs were heralding. Everyone, moreover, who honors pleasure as a good—which is actually an ^A idol of the good, and a shadow of pleasure—instead of slaying the calves (that is, the irrational impulses), slaughters men; he kills the characteristics of the human being who is being renewed according to the image of the One who created him.

"Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff that is blown away from the threshing floor, and as smoke from a chimney." Because of this, he says, this excessive impiety, by which they even become child-slayers, I will destroy them by the incursion of their enemies. For just as the sun easily consumes and dissipates the morning dew and the morning cloud, and just as the wind destroys the chaff from the threshing floor, and vapor from the chimney—that is, smoke—dissolves into the air; so too ^B shall they themselves be consumed by their enemies.

"I am the Lord your God, who establishes the heaven and creates the earth." You, on the one hand, were sacrificing to idols as to masters and gods; but I am the Lord your God, who establishes the heaven, that is, granting it persistence. Such also is the meaning of "creating the earth," that is, giving the earth the ability to stand as it was created from the beginning, so that it might suffer no harm by the passage of time. So too is the saying: "Who makes his angels spirits," that is, maintaining and guarding them according to the principles by which they were created from the beginning. ^C "Whose hands fashioned the host of heaven." Whether the superior and invisible powers, or the multitude of the stars, and the sun, and the moon, which you did not hesitate to worship.

"And I did not point them out to you to walk after them." It is not for this reason, he says, that I made you a spectator of the beauty of my works, so that you might worship them, but so that through them you might admire me, the Creator of them. For the Scripture did not say that "He set them for worship," but "For illumination." He who still creeps upon the ground, therefore, needs to be created and transformed for the better, and to become in Christ a new creation. But he who already fixes his thoughts on things above, having transcended ^D the humility of his body, and having become a throne of God because God rests in him, being on that account called heaven (for "Heaven," he says, "is my throne")—such a person, therefore, needs to be established, so that he may not fall away from what is good. He is established and solidified by the Word, when, in fact, he puts virtues into practice while also knowing the principles of the virtues; for "By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established." For he who does not pursue virtue according to the Word is easily changeable.

"And I led you up out of the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God besides me, and there is no Savior except me. I was shepherding you in the wilderness, in a desolate land, according to their pastures." After I led you up from Egypt, giving you the law, I commanded you to know no other God besides me; I said—

^A *Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image, nor any likeness of whatsoever things are in heaven above, and whatsoever things are in the earth beneath.* But I did not only free you from the slavery of the Egyptians, but I also fed the people in the desert and in the desolate land according to their pastures—that is, by providing for their needs as they arose from time to time, by supplying their desires: manna, when they needed bread; quails, when they craved meat; water, when they were thirsty. Or, by "pastures," he means the stations and places in which they encamped. For wherever the people encamped, he says, I followed them, fulfilling every need.

^B *And they were filled to satiety.* With the manna, the quails, and the other good things of God. The expression "they were filled to satiety" denotes an abundance, in order to teach how bountiful God’s generosity was toward them, and at the same time to rebuke their intemperance and the vice of their ungrateful spirit.

*And their hearts were exalted: therefore they forgot me.* Moses sang the same thing in the ode: *And Jacob ate, and was filled, and the beloved kicked,* which also happened to the Hebrews subsequently. For after they were delighted with many other miracles of Christ, and especially that by which he multiplied the loaves, they rose up against Christ himself. The same thing happens in the Church. Often when someone receives from God the gift of the Word to satiety, and is enriched through it with all knowledge and wisdom, he uses this for the invention of some heretical dogma, ^C and his heart is exalted, being lifted up against the knowledge of God. For it is not the Son of Man who is exalted in him—who is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God—but rather his own heart, which is the reasoning of human and falsely-named knowledge. Such a heart of his gathered lawlessness to itself, by drawing from certain sophistical premises so-called conclusions, full of all lawlessness, which he himself will enjoy. Observe, moreover, that as soon as someone’s heart is exalted, from that very exaltation he forgets God; for if he remembered God, he would also remember the divine greatness, and would not think himself high; just as when someone looks at the sun, he does not marvel at a lamp.

*And I will be to them as a panther and as a leopard.* Because, he says, they were exalted by conceit, ^D inasmuch as they had overcome their enemies and were feasting on the success provided by my help, now I will bring the Babylonians upon them, like a panther and a leopard, to fall upon them swiftly. For because God himself brings the enemies against those who are in need of correction, he says that he himself will be a leopard and a panther to them.

*As for the way of the Assyrians, I will meet them, as a bear robbed of her whelps.* That is, I will bring the Assyrians upon them,

^A by the road that leads from the Assyrians into Palestine, like a bear that is in straits, that is, distressed and unable to flee. For then, despairing of safety, she attacks those who fight against her with irresistible fury. Or by "the one in straits" he means one who has been deprived of her cubs, which have been seized by the hunters, or one who is hungry and lacking food. But the phrase, *By the way of the Assyrians*, can also be understood in another way. Since they themselves were going away to the Assyrians, seeking an alliance against the Egyptians—which he also mentioned previously—he says that *while they are going* to the Assyrians, I will set over them the Egyptians, who will treat them with extreme cruelty and harshness.

*And I will tear asunder the conclusion of their heart.* I will do these things, he says, so that I may tear asunder their concluded and hardened heart, and open it, and enter into it, and be known to them. Or by "conclusion" he means their security and the boldness and courage of their heart; so that the meaning of the statement is: I will shatter all their security and make their heart fearful.

^B *And the whelps of the forest shall devour them there, and the beasts of the field shall tear them to pieces.* They will experience these evils, he says, not only in their own native land, but also there, that is, once they have reached the land of their enemies, they will have no respite from evils; but their captors will treat them cruelly. For he calls the enemies "whelps" and "beasts." Alternatively, he implies that they will be left unburied and devoured by wild beasts.

The "conclusion of the heart" is the Law, under which they were kept in custody, ^C shut up unto the faith, that is, being pushed by it toward believing in Christ. He therefore shattered this conclusion, since he abrogated the Law of commandments in dogmas. The letter of the Law is also a hedge, not allowing one to enter within and behold the gifts granted to us by God. The Lord therefore shattered this, and gave passage to the Spirit.

Nevertheless, the intelligible beasts devour those of the circumcision there, that is to say: Even though I have torn asunder the letter, they nonetheless cling to it tenaciously, and because they are unwilling to depart from it, the demons devour them. ^D The "conclusion of the heart" also refers to the Greek dogmas of philosophy and of vain deceit, which impose the bars of proofs upon it so that it cannot accept the faith; these are shattered by Him who was pleased through the foolishness of the preaching (I Cor. 1, 21) to save those who believe. But the abundance of worldly goods is also a conclusion of the heart, shutting it up in a dark and gloomy prison,

so that it cannot see the true light. The Lord constrains this enclosure through those words: "Go, sell what you have"; and, "Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses, cannot be my disciple"; and other things of this kind. Those who do not obey are devoured there—that is, on that day—by the punishments, those, namely, by which they will be affected, as it were, on the day of judgment. ^A

VERS. 9, 10. *To your dispersion, O Israel, who shall bring aid? Where is the King? Let him save you in all your cities.* He mourns and at the same time rebukes Israel, and reminds him of his former folly, for which he asked to be ruled by a man, rejecting the kingdom of God. He says, therefore: Who shall aid you in the dispersion that you have suffered, being taken captive by the Assyrians and the Egyptians? You asked for a king, and Saul was then given to you. Let him, then—not indeed Saul himself, but he who now holds that kingdom which you asked for at that time—save you, shielding you in all the cities in which you dwell. Some manuscripts have "To the corruption," and the meaning is the same even there; for he calls "corruption" the utter desolation which they experienced when they were taken captive. ^B

*Let him judge you, whom you said, "Give me a king and a prince": and I gave you a king in my wrath.* You asked for a king, he says; let him judge you, that is, let him avenge you. Then, as if someone had said, "I did indeed ask, but you also gave," he says, "Yes, I gave, but in wrath." I yielded to your foolish desire, so that by the very things and facts you might learn that it is my kingdom, not a human one, that can bring you aid. ^C

VERS. 11. *And I endured in your fury an assembly of injustice.* "I endured" is for "I permitted" and "I indulged"; that is, I tolerated your unjust assembly, that is, your confederacy and conspiracy. For all of you coming together, conspiring, and asking for a king, were harming yourselves, since you were setting aside my kingdom; but I permitted it, not as being pleased with this conspiracy, but as abandoning you; for it was with wrath [that I did so]. Does this not clearly point toward those who said: "We have no king but Caesar"? For since they rejected the Son of God, and took upon themselves that man as king whom the Lord allowed them—by subjecting them to that same Caesar—they were dispersed, and for them so dispersed, no one brings aid. ^D Also, every man-pleaser suffers corruption; for he who wishes to please all, who both say and think contrary things, is distracted into as many parts as there are those whom he studies to please. And for this reason, such a one is ruled by men, and by wicked men at that, neglecting to please God and to fulfill His will. Concerning this, hear also David: "God has scattered the bones..."

of those who please men" ^A (Ps. LII, 6). Furthermore, it does not escape your notice that in the Holy Scriptures, "bones" are often used to refer to men's thoughts.

VERS. 12. "Ephraim, his sin is hidden; the pains of a woman in labor shall come upon him." That is to say, the sin is not superficial, but has struck roots deep down, and is difficult to uproot. Therefore he will have pains, like a woman in labor. You may also understand it in this way: Jeroboam, as we have often said, began to worship idols. He says, therefore, that this man's sin was like seed cast and hidden in the heart of the people, and from that time they practiced idolatry. And since this is the kind of seed it is, the time of pains will come—the time of war and captivity. For such seeds produce such pains. ^B

VERS. 13. "Is this your son, the wise one?" Read this interrogatively; for having said before, "To your dispersion, O Israel, who will bring help?" he now asks, "Is this your son, the wise one?" That is to say, will this king from the tribe of Ephraim, whom you yourself established as king believing him to be wise, save you? For there were two sons of Joseph, Manasseh the elder and Ephraim the younger; and it was proper for the king to be raised from the tribe of the elder. But you, my people, having cast aside the elder, Manasseh, chose for yourself the younger, Ephraim, and created a king from his tribe, as if he were supposedly more energetic and more suitable for rule. But this will be of no profit to you. He also hints at the king who ruled in Samaria, Hoshea, who, when pressed by the Babylonian Shalmaneser in war, called upon the Egyptian for help, ^C as if he were wise (IV Reg. XVIII, 1). But he gained no benefit from this plan; for he himself was led away into captivity along with the people by Shalmaneser. This statement can also be read without the interrogation, and referred to the preceding clauses as follows: "May this son of yours, the wise one, save you and judge you!"—whom he ironically calls wise.

"Because now he shall not stand in the crushing of children." For how could this King Hoshea help you, who, when your children are being crushed, will not be able to withstand the enemies at all? For he himself will be taken prisoner. The injustice of those who killed the Lord was also hidden, and was full of deceit and hypocrisy; for they said that he ought to die because he claimed himself to be the Son of God. But the pains of sorrows came upon that people, who, as those knowing the ordinances of God, should have been wise. And indeed they seemed to be so, though they were not so in truth; ^D for this people is foolish and not wise. Therefore it could not withstand the siege of the Romans, when children were crushed and devoured by their mothers, who were suffering from famine. But if it is true, as David, speaking by the Spirit, says, "I will declare my iniquity against myself to the Lord, and you have forgiven the wickedness of my heart," he said truly; for it is good not to have wickedness hidden, nor to shade it with apologies.

sisti impietatem cordis mei; it will be better not to hide iniquity, nor to cover it with excuses, but rather to reveal it and confess it openly before all. If this is not done, bitter pains will fall upon a man, like the pains of childbirth; that is, the evil itself will attack him more sharply, and the seed which he has hidden in himself will be brought forth more and more, and it may be truly said of him: "Behold, he has travailed with injustice, and has conceived pain, and brought forth iniquity." But when our wicked children—that is, our thoughts and deeds—are crushed by our most benevolent Father like clay and earthen vessels of a potter, so that they may become vessels worthy of the great house of the Church, prepared for honor and useful to the Master, then indeed injustice appears, having no substance or reasonable cause, even if we hasten a thousand times to hide it; but the Word convicts it as ^A irrational and unsubstantial.

*Vers. 14. I will deliver them from the hand of the netherworld, and I will redeem them from death.* After having sufficiently discussed the coming bitter calamities, he returns to his customary clemency and says that he will bring them back from captivity. For he is accustomed to call captivity both netherworld and death. Now these things which happened at the return of the Hebrews were certain shadows and images of future things, which were fulfilled better and more clearly after the Savior's resurrection. For since our first fruits have risen, we have all received the grace and hope of resurrection; just as the revival of the bones in Ezekiel betokened both the return of Israel and the universal resurrection of all people. For those things which happened among the Jews at that time were types of the economy of God for all mankind. He redeemed, therefore, their souls from the hand of the netherworld; for these can be subject to the torments of the netherworld, but not to death, since they are immortal; but bodies are subject to death, for they are mortal. Whoever also sins is in the netherworld, inasmuch as his soul, having become dark, loses the form which is most ^B fitting for it and bears the image of God; and he also becomes subject to death, because his wicked deeds are grievous and mortal. And he also delivered those Jews who believed in Christ from both the netherworld of the soul and the death from the Romans. For, he says, "those days shall be cut short for the sake of the elect."

*O death, where is thy judgment? O netherworld, where is thy sting?* He chants these things as certain victory songs and hymns: "O death, where is thy judgment?"—that is, "What right did you have against those who were formerly under you?"—"Where is the sting with which you killed those whom you swallowed?" Death indeed had a just cause against the captive Israelites—the sin which was also its sting; and it had the same against all mankind. For in whatever hour you eat, he says, "you shall die the death." Rightly, therefore, did death fall upon those who violated this commandment. But He redeemed the Israelites ^C as well, having transcended their iniquities; ^D and later He delivered all mankind, having appeared Himself without sin...

and having destroyed the justice and the sting which death held against us; and that was sin. Some ^A copies read, "Where, O death, is your victory?" This means: You shall reign no longer; for the cause of the victory has been taken away; the disobedience has been dissolved, and sin has been blunted.

^B VERS. 14, 15. "Consolatio abscondita est, quia haec inter fratres dividet" (Consolation is hidden, because this shall divide among brethren). This consolation and refreshment—that is, the hope of escaping from captivity and the expectation of the resurrection—seems to be hidden both from the captive Jews and from all mankind. For this one, that is, death, divides the brothers of the captivity and separates them from one another. And for this reason are men without hope that there will be a release from their troubles. And indeed, in all human nature, since death separates brothers, and all men simply, from one another, the resurrection was hidden. And now it is hidden even from the atheists; wherefore Paul calls it a mystery: "But my mystery," says God, "to me and my own." ^C Some, however, have read it with an interrogative tone: "Is consolation hidden from my eyes?" As if someone, doubting, had said, "How shall this come to pass? How shall death be brought to an end?" God says: "Is consolation hidden from my eyes?" That is, "Am I not able to find consolation?" I am surely able; and it is my only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, whom I have set forth as a propitiation and a Comforter. He shall destroy death and shall divide among brethren. For He came to cast a sword; and because of Him, brother will deliver brother unto death, and fathers their children. And from the eyes of the one who is mourning and weeping for his sin, consolation is hidden ^D now; for in the future age he shall be comforted. And his life is hidden in Christ, as he dies daily in the present life. This one also divides among brethren; for He does not allow the soul to breathe together with the body. But knowing the mind of the flesh to be enmity against God, He makes the exterior man to waste away, but the interior man He renews day by day. He divides, then, and makes a separation between the two brothers, I mean the soul and the body; to the one granting its own proper things, and preserving its dignity; to the other, however, assigning the secondary place, so that it may not live in a disorderly and discordant manner.

"Adducet aestum ventum Dominus a deserto in ipsam" (The Lord shall bring a hot wind from the desert upon it). Upon death, he says, that is

^A to the Babylonians (for these are they who bring death to Israel), he will bring a scorching wind, namely Cyrus, the king of the Persians. He mentions the desert so as to show the intensity and violence of the wind. For from treeless places, winds are more violent. "And he shall dry up its veins, and he shall wither its springs." This is to say, he will destroy the entire royal lineage and will remove the supports of the tyranny; I mean the wealth and other royal goods. For these he has figuratively named veins and springs. "He shall dry up its land, and all its most desirable vessels." ^B And you may understand this in a simple way, namely that he devastated the land, destroying its fruits and leaving the land itself uncultivated, and soon plundered its precious vessels of gold and silver. But you may also understand "land" as the lower order of people, and its "desirable vessels" as the satraps and nobles who moved about the royal courts and were intimate with the Babylonian king. The Father brought forth upon death our Savior Jesus Christ from the desert land, the Virgin, whom no man had traversed; He who is Christ is both wind and heat according to His divinity. For God is spirit and fire. And He dried up the springs of death, our iniquities (for these are the springs of death), and He plundered all their desirable vessels, that is, us. He also dried up ^C His land, this mortal flesh, making it no longer bring forth fruit for death. For it is sown in corruption, but it is raised in incorruption. He also brought in John from the desert as a wind and a heat, as one having gone forth in the spirit and power of the warm Elijah, and burning up the hearers through his rebukes. He began to dry up the veins and springs of spiritual death, cutting away the occasions of every wickedness, of the tax collectors, of the soldiers, and of the rest of the people. For are not the tax collectors desirable vessels of such death, prepared for destruction? And He rendered those vessels fit for the uses of the Lord by commanding them to ask for nothing beyond what was prescribed by the Law. He also dried up the land of Herod, ^D restraining the lust of the flesh and declaring it unlawful for him to keep Herodias. The Word does these same things in each one of those who sin.

CHAPTER XIV

without consolation; for he adds to the bitter things those of consolation, so that they might not come to complete despair, but might learn that God is merciful to them, and is present to those who desire to turn back, to enjoy His goodness; for even when they are sinning He promises better things. And to the consoling things he braids the bitter things at the same time, so that he might not leave them entirely listless ^A but might cast them into fear. For he knows otherwise that some are disciplined by fear and others by better promises; and for this reason he sets forth both.

And now, therefore, since he has spoken the joyful things, and the things of freedom, he again reminds them of the apostasy which they committed from God, and adds to this what they will suffer on account of it. He says, then, that because Samaria has resisted the divine will, her men shall fall by the sword of war; and her nursing infants—that is, the sucklings (for *titthoi* means breasts), who are dashed against the ground—shall perish; and the pregnant women shall have their bellies ripped open, that is to say, cut through, so that they may perish together with their embryos. The boast of the legalistic people also fell by the sword, namely, ^B by the evangelical word; and those who were nourished by the milk of the law, thinking nothing sublime, remained by the letter alone, and were ripped open by the fact that they opposed Christ, who had humbled himself even unto earth. And their teachers, who bring forth their words from the belly and the stomach, who perform everything for the belly, whose god is the belly, were ripped open by envy.

It is good, furthermore, for the wicked offspring of our mind, as long as they are still infants and weak, to be dashed to the ground and cast downward, so that they may not raise themselves above our head, that is, the ruling faculty. The thoughts of pride are also dashed to the ground when we consider that we are earth and ashes. For the belly of envy carries murder; luxury carries ^C profligacy; wealth carries the oppression of the weaker ones, and other wickedness carries other things. These mothers, therefore, must be ripped open and cut asunder by the sword of the word, uncovering their loathsomeness, so that the evils born from them may also perish with them.

Verse 2. Turn, O Israel, to the Lord thy God, for thou hast been weakened in thy iniquities.

He says: I have threatened thee with the things thou hast heard. In order, therefore, that thou mightest not suffer these things, turn to the Lord, because thou wert weakened—thou wert weakened in this weakness, having been handed over to the enemies, because of thy iniquities. So if you are to become strong, approach God. Or "thou hast been weakened" means, "Thou hast grown old ^D in wickedness; thou hast remained in it for a long time."

Verse 3. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord your God.

Not gold, he says, not silver, not any other...

such gift, but offer a suppliant prayer ^A that confesses the majesty of the Lord. Since you confessed the idols to be gods, denying Him, now you must in turn take up words that deny those idols and confess Him to be the Lord God. He then teaches what kind of words you ought to take.

Say to Him, so that you do not receive iniquity, but receive good things. Supplicate Him, he says, and entreat Him, so that you may not receive the fruits of iniquity—which were the captivity and the evils flowing from it—in order that you may receive good things.

And we will render the fruit of our lips. Say also this: "We promise to confess Thy name, and not that of the idols; for this is the fruit of our lips, a fruit which we certainly owe to Thee." Therefore He said "will render," not "will give." For since, they say, Thou art our Creator and hast bestowed many benefits upon us, we deservedly owe this confession to Thee.

^B Verse 4. Assur shall not save us, and we will not ride upon horses: we will no longer say: Our gods, to the works of our hands. We will no longer, he says, trust in any man, neither in the help of the Assyrians, nor in our own cavalry, nor will we call idols gods. Observe, moreover, that he has placed the trusting in men and horses in the same category as idolatry; for both the idols are vain, and man is vanity, and all things that are around him. ^C These things seem to be an exhortation even to those who boast that they are justified by the works of the law, and he says to them: "Turn to the Lord," abandoning the letter of the law and removing the veil which is drawn over your hearts, as Moses when read commands: "Turn to the Lord." But the Lord is the Spirit. And, "If you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, you shall be saved." This is the fruit of the lips, a most acceptable offering. Make ^D your confession, then, that you have been made safe, not through Assur and the boasting with which you glory in your father Abraham, nor through horses and the haughtiness of spirit which you conceived from circumcision, but through faith which works through love. Whoever sins, he bears no rationale with him, for he does everything irrationally; but he who returns and repents, doing all things rationally, is said to take up words. And otherwise, he is one who scrutinizes himself and demands accounts, testing himself before the future judgment, examining what [note: text cuts off at end of page, continuing on next page]

^A is brought forward (for this is the nature of the Assyrians), neither does he mount a horse—that is, the mad love for women, upon which he might sit as if on a horse and take pleasure—nor does he worship other works of his own creating power, as he did before, nor does he label as gods and his masters idols and the monuments of those same deeds.

^B "Who is in you will have mercy on the orphan." That is, "I, the God who dwells in you, will have mercy on you, the orphan, Israel, who have lost me, the true Father, and have been bereft of my guardianship and providence." And the Father who is in the Son, he says, will have mercy on the Gentile people, who were orphaned of the heavenly Father. And it is said to God Himself that, "He who is in you, and has not departed from you, will have mercy on the orphan"; for you are the Father of orphans; so that he who does not have mercy on an orphan is not in you.

"I will heal their habitations." That is, their cities and their villages, and the whole land in which they dwell; for they had received a great infirmity, being deprived of every good thing, just as if of some health or beauty, for I will cause them to have dwellings again. For while they were in captivity, they had temporary lodgings, not dwellings. Therefore, having returned once more, they will take back their cities and their villages, in which they will live securely. ^C Christ also healed, by performing miracles, the bodies of the Hebrews of that time, which were the habitations of their souls; but He did not heal the souls themselves, since they did not wish it. For "How often," He says, "have I wanted to gather your children together, and you have not wanted it!" And the habitations of the Gentiles, full of idols and shameful deeds, were suffering from a sickness unto death, which He healed, having come so that He might take away our diseases and bear our infirmities.

"I will love them unreservedly." That is, without distinction, all of them at once, and not this one, and not that one. Or it means, "I will accept them together with the Gentiles, as they confess my name; for when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved."

"Because my anger has turned away from them." ^D For when they turned their backs to me, and not their faces, my anger remained, pressing upon them; but now that they have turned toward me, my anger has begun to turn away from them.

"And I will be as dew to Israel, and he shall blossom as the lily." I will bestow my benefits upon them like dew, and they shall blossom as a lily. The divine Scripture makes mention of this flower in many places. Isaiah indeed says, "Let the desert rejoice, and blossom as a lily." And Solomon in the Canticle of Canticles: "As a lily among the thorns, so is my sister in

^A the midst of the daughters." Our Lord also says, "Consider the lilies," he says, "of the field." We learn therefore from these things that, besides its fragrance, the whiteness of this flower is also to be admired. Every soul is like this which has been delivered from the stench and filth of sin, and has put on the bright garment of baptism, concerning which Isaiah also says: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for he hath clothed me with the garment of salvation." ^B Therefore, Israel shall likewise flourish like this lily, having recognized God and having received all the dew from above, having received him who "descended like rain upon a fleece," and having become a sweet-smelling fragrance to God, as Paul was, being "to God the fragrance of Christ and the aroma of life."

"And he shall cast forth his roots as Lebanon." Since the lily has indeed a most excellent fragrance, but has no significant size or stability, he makes mention of Mount Lebanon, which is also great, and full of trees that strike deep roots ^C and are able to endure for a very long time, in order to show that the glory of those Israelites who turn to God shall also be great and lasting. And since idolaters also used to spend most of their time on Lebanon, honoring the thickest and tallest of the trees, the word implies that those who were formerly idolaters, both from Israel and from among the Gentiles, shall also strike roots in the Church. And when you see someone in the Church living virtuously, so that his light shines before men, call him a lily; ^D but if he also speaks lofty things about God, and strikes his roots deep, so that his words are more lasting and make disciples of the word of truth, call him Lebanon.

"His branches shall go out." That is, he shall be very numerous, and the children whom war has consumed, he shall acquire again, and they shall extend far and wide. The branches go out for him also who "disposeth ascensions in his heart"; for he does not remain within one species of virtue, but ranges through every kind of virtue. Lastly, the branches of Israel, who is most dear to God, were the apostles, who went forth through the whole world and taught all nations.

"And he shall be as a fruitful olive." Ever flourishing, that is, and not even drying up in the time of temptations, like the olive which does not shed its leaves even in winter. Moreover, since many display only the appearance of virtue, as if they were leaves, "there is need," he says, "that they also bring forth fruit." He is a "fruitful olive" who has mercy on his neighbor, not for display and to capture the glory of men; for his fruits do not fall off, nor does his reward perish.

^A And his scent is as Lebanon. Lebanon is a certain sweet-smelling incense. Therefore, he who presents himself to God by praying in the Spirit, and asks for nothing, as the Gentiles do, he has this scent, like Lebanon.

Ver. 8. *They shall be converted and shall sit under his shadow.* Returning from captivity, he says, they shall have God as their shelter. Or the meaning is that, turning back and repenting of their sins, they shall be sheltered by God, being preserved by Him from every burning heat of tribulation. And observe also the word "shall sit," for this signifies a safe and permanent enjoyment of good things. ^B *They shall live and be sustained by corn,* or as some copies have it, "they shall be inebriated." They shall possess, he says, an abundance of all good things. They shall indeed live, having been born again through regeneration, and having come under the law of the Spirit of life; and they shall be sustained by the mystical corn, and shall be inebriated by the Lord’s blood. And hear also what follows: ^C *And he shall blossom as the vine: his memorial shall be as the wine of Lebanon of Ephraim.* Israel was formerly a vine, as David and other prophets testify; which vine, once its hedge was removed—that is, the divine protection—became a prey and a trampling ground for the Babylonians. It shall bloom again, therefore, he says, as the vine was of old. And his memorial—that is, those who remained from it and were saved from the captivity—shall be like wine, having the sweet scent of the incense of Lebanon, or like wine that is cultivated on the mountain of Lebanon; or it means that it shall be held in high repute, and those who mention him shall gladly remember him. And since the Lord is also mentioned as the vine in the Gospel, and the blood of the grape becomes His blood, according to the saying: "Do this in remembrance of Me," behold, his memorial is wine. He also sustains with corn, as you learned above; so that you have the mysteries foretold. ^D

*What have they to do any more with idols?* So, he says, having enjoyed such care and kindness from Me, you ought to flee from idols. For what communion is there any longer between him and them? For has he not clearly perceived that those are weak, but I am strong? *I have humbled him, and I will strengthen him.* Those things, as I said, were weak, and could neither harm him nor benefit him; but I was the one who could both bring upon him hardships and provide for him things of joy. Similar is that: "I will kill and I will make to live; I will strike and I will heal." The flesh is humbled, so that the spirit may become stronger; for these things...

^A are opposed to one another. Therefore Paul also said: "When I am weak, then I am strong."

"I am as a dense juniper." The juniper is a dense and shady plant, having thick and evergreen branches, and bearing a thorny foliage. He says, therefore: "Thus will I make you dense and shelter you with the thick branches of My assistance, so that dwelling in My assistance, you may abide in the protection of the God of heaven, fearing neither any heat of afflictions, nor rain—that is, relaxation and soft living that relaxes the soul." For the branches of My assistance, being dense and continuous, will not allow to penetrate either the aforementioned heat, which compels you to provoke Me with blasphemies, nor the aforementioned rain, which dissolves you into softness and luxury. ^B But if anyone should approach, intending to harm your branches, he will be repelled, being pricked by the thorns growing upon them, as if struck by certain spikes or darts. In all those who live according to God, the "bramble" is entirely the rugged life, which pricks us with the care of the judgment to come.

"From Me is your fruit found." That is, I will provide you with the fruition of every good thing, and the fruit that is owed to you will be from Me. And what the Lord said elsewhere, "Without Me you can do nothing," this He says here also. For the fruit of virtues flows from Christ, since He Himself is the Word; without which Word, no creature subsists, neither that which is perceived by sense, nor that which is perceived by the mind. Furthermore, the fruit of the Law is the Gospel; for it holds the aspect of a seed, but the Gospel, and grace, and truth, came through Jesus Christ. Weigh the saying, and diligently ^C consider this word, "is found"; for since the Gospel was covered in the Law, it is found by those who seek it. Therefore the Lord also said: "Search the Scriptures." It is also found, as a wonder-working prodigy, by the Gentile peoples who were not seeking it, just as the Lord Himself testifies concerning Himself in Isaiah: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me."

VERS. 10. "Who is wise and will understand these things, or prudent, and will know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just walk in them; but the ungodly will be weakened in them." ^D Having recounted above with what benefits He had once heaped even the ungrateful, and with what punishments He was about to affect them hereafter for their correction; and having furthermore foretold their subsequent return, both their return from Babylon, and that which was to come to pass through Christ for them and all men; and having shown great mysteries through the whole of the prophecy, since He looked upon the foolishness of the listeners of that time, He now seeks the one who will receive these things with an intelligent and wise mind in the future. For all divine prophecy truly has need of wisdom and

^A intelligence, so that by the spirit of revelation, the things spoken obscurely may be brought to light for the hearers, and they may be made to understand these things. Now, one is "intelligent" who is able to understand and know the things spoken by another. Wherefore Isaiah says: "The Lord will take away from Judea the intelligent listener" 88; but one is "wise" who is also able to explain clearly to others what he himself has understood.

The prophet, therefore, seeking the wise man in this place, and since he did not find him, says, as it were, this: "Why do I seek for a wise man? It will be well with me if even an intelligent man is found, who can grasp these things himself, even if he is not capable of explaining them to others." And so, neither having found a wise man, nor the one less than him—the intelligent man—he states the reason why they are not found. And that reason is that the ways of the Lord are straight. Those, therefore, who do not walk in these, but travel those shadowed and sinful paths, do not possess the straight spirit within themselves. And that being absent, neither wisdom nor intelligence is found; for it is called the spirit of wisdom and intelligence.

Or, the meaning is also this: "Since," he says, "I do not find an intelligent and wise listener—one who will know all the things said both wisely and intelligently—summing up the whole in a few words, I say clearly and openly, so that anyone at all may know them, even if he should not be the wise and intelligent man sought after." And what is this? "That the ways of the Lord are straight, and ^B contain no opposition, nor any tribulation or injury; and the just, walking in them, run well; but the impious grow weak in them," that is, they are not able to walk in them. For how can the impious man and apostate from God walk in His ways, having once said to Him, "I do not wish to know Your ways"? He is weak, therefore, by necessity in them, not having the strength to live according to the commandments of God.

But may the wisdom of God and the Father grant both us to understand the things spoken by the prophet and to know them for our spiritual benefit, being strengthened to declare them wisely to our ignorant brothers; and may He grant us to walk in the straight ways of the Lord, not swerving either to the right—which happens to the one who becomes excessively just—nor to the left, which is clearly to be condemned. For thus may we indeed be truly just, keeping to the middle and royal road, which in truth is Christ, who said, "I am the way" 89; through whom, also journeying to the Father, we may enjoy the good things of His kingdom in the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Osee interpreted means "the one being saved." He was from Belelemoth, of the tribe of Issachar, and he gave a sign that the Lord would come upon the earth and converse with men. "And the oak," he says, "which is in Silom, shall be divided." ^D

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