Commentary on Isaiah

PROCOPIUS OF GAZA, CHRISTIAN SOPHIST, EPITOME OF VARIOUS COMMENTARIES ON THE PROPHET ISAIAH. BY JOHN CURTERIUS, INTERPRETER.

^A A prophet is one who predicts things future, or things present that are hidden, as Paul saith: "If ye prophesy, and there comes in one that is an unbeliever or unlearned, the secrets of his heart are made manifest." And Elisha: "Did not my heart," he saith, "go with thee, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet thee?" But the prophet sees with the leading faculty of his mind, as if formed by a dream while awake; or as one might see a picture of good or evil things on a tablet. It is not because of an ecstasy of mind, as some have maintained, by which the human intellect is covered by the Spirit—a thing unworthy of a divine visitation, to make God the author of a man becoming senseless and near to madness. For the Divine, in whomsoever it dwells, is perfecting, not depriving one of natural rational faculties. Nor is it reasonable that the word which profits others should be unknown to itself, and deprived of the utility of its own speech. And how should the Spirit of Wisdom fill one with ignorance? For light does not cause blindness; rather, it excites the faculty of sight into action, as God also [invites] a pure mind to spiritual contemplation. But it is of an evil power alone to induce a stupor of the mind for the deception of those by whom it is admitted. For how, since the Apostle is wise, does he not have the ability to follow what he says? "For the wise man," he writes, "will understand what is from his own mouth, and bears discernment upon his lips." How then, he asks, "was Isaac struck with amazement at the entrance of his son?" And the great David says: "But I said in my ecstasy..." ^B

^A Indeed, he calls it consternation. Of the same kind is that which says: "The heavens were shaken, and the earth shuddered." There is also prophecy through dreams, by which Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon predicted future things. And it is no wonder if Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar saw such visions. For it was fitting that those who presided over others in the state of worldly affairs should foresee the future, that the people might trust in them. Nay, even Balaam and Caiphas foresaw what was to be, both having those over whom they presided; the one as high priest, the other as a soothsayer. Thus, this is a dispensation, not a pure mind shining within. Sometimes, therefore, the prophets speak the things revealed so clearly that there is no need for any interpretation thereafter, such as: "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord; I am full," and the rest. At other times they do so through symbols, as in the dreams of Joseph and Pharaoh, when the one beheld through grain-stalks what would happen to himself and his brothers, while the other beheld future times. Of this kind is also that saying: ^B "My beloved had a vineyard in a horn, in a fat place," and what follows. And Daniel also saw the successions of empires in the forms of wild beasts. Furthermore, some things are said in a complex manner, some of which refer to the letter, others to the meaning, as when the Savior says: "Do you not say that there are still four months, and the harvest comes?" These things are to be taken according to the letter. But those which follow regard the meaning: "Lift up your eyes and see the regions, for they are already white for the harvest." Such also is that in Isaiah: "Because this people rejects the waters of Siloe, which go quietly," and the rest. For in these, Siloe and what is called the rapid river are spoken of tropically. But it is taken according to the letter as: The people wanting Raasin, who is the king of Damascus, and the son of Romelia reigning over Samaria. For divine Scripture, which was given for the common benefit of all, is accustomed to offer an easy meaning to the more unlearned or even the more sluggish, and to grant ^C more abstruse things to the more diligent, on which they may sharpen the edge of their mind. And in this way God also regulates all human coordination for the most part. For the scarcity of necessary things exercises the mind, as do the circumstances and all sudden accidents. Such also is the obscurity of the Scriptures, so that by being occupied with them, one may be drawn away from worse things. And that because things obtained with labor are beloved and precious. Nature also for this reason presents dreams as obscure, God exercising the power of understanding, as sometimes there is need of a divine gift for discernment, our own conceptions not sufficing for the hunt of truth. Wherefore they judge Joseph and Daniel. At the same time, also, through constant study, the divine oracles are imprinted upon the soul and become still more venerable. For one must learn the entire life through both knowledge and action. Just as Moses, having learned the wisdom of the Egyptians for forty years, on the pretext of pasturing, went into the deserts, and ^D spent time in the contemplation of things that are, and failing to be sent for the care of men...

^A nor even then being attached solely to external action, but often returning to contemplation, even when they turned to the making of the calf. Such was Elias, escaping the crowd of human affairs. If, therefore, the acquisition of truth is attained by the saints through labor, and Elias was deemed worthy of God after countless retreats, how is it reasonable for us to step into higher things without sweat and with unwashed feet? Yet, one must have common and worthy reasons when encountering the expressions concerning God. For the Scripture speaks to us, being human, in a human way. Thus, even if Scripture says that God is angry, or grieving, or repenting, it is fitting to seek the meaning of the word ^B as it suits the notions appropriate to God.

Since prophecies are about the future, the times are prefaced by the kings. Since the state of affairs then among the Jews was related to others, and what had not even come to mind was to happen in long times afterward, it was intended that it be known how long before it was spoken it came to pass. And that "where weakness had abounded, strength superabounded." For almost most of them converged with one another in time. Thus in the days of Ozias, and in the days of Jeroboam. Micheas in the days of Joathas and Achaz. Sophonias in the days of Josias, son of Amon. Now there are set before us the kings Ozias, Joathas, Achaz, Ezechias; and he shows that he saw the things decreed against Judea and Jerusalem not under one king alone, but under the four. For you would find him in every reign rebuking the Jews, and foretelling the things that lay in wait for them after times, until the end of the Book, ^C so that the whole subject, as he says, is a vision against Judea and Jerusalem, which the Holy Spirit showed him as in a mirror. By Judea he denotes here the nation of the Jews, or the land itself. By Jerusalem, the city, or the worship then in it according to the Law, the destruction of which, and the new polity of Christ, he fore-showed. For the Jews were driven out because they were disobedient to the constant exhortations; but the Gentiles were called, having ceased from the error of idols. When he was about to speak of visions against Egypt, and Damascus, and Babylon, and to mention many others, he did all these things in the second part. But he made the beginning from those dedicated to God, according to that which is said: "Begin from my holy ones." And: "The mighty shall be mightily tested." And: "To whom much is given, from him shall much be required." ^D For having received most blessings from God, they became unworthy of them. And he addresses the rulers and the followers severely, ignoring every danger and fear with divine boldness. One is the book, then. It has been said...

in part, at various and long intervals of time. And it is difficult to accurately apply the times to the narratives and to assign the administration of affairs to the actions taken during specific reigns. For the entire time of the kings mentioned comprises fifty years, within which the discourse has enclosed the prophecy. It is said that when the prophet was proclaiming the words from God, there were present certain persons called "recorders," who noted down what was said, both in the house of God and at the gates. For they used to deliver their messages there, because of the crowds entering in. Thus, after the prophet's narration, they would compile what had been spoken. ^A

CHAPTER ONE

Vers. 1. *The vision which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw, which he saw concerning Judæa and Jerusalem, in the reign of Uzziah, and Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who reigned in Judæa.*

Sight is the most certain of all the senses for the investigation of truth. For hearing and sight do not perceive pleasant or formidable things in the same way. Hence, the contemplation of true things is called "vision," on account of their evident certainty. For this reason the prophet was called a "seer," and one who looks forward, like Amos and Samuel: both because he had knowledge of future things, and because he contemplated the inclination of the divine will. It is our duty to cleanse ourselves in order to see; but it is God's duty to illuminate our mind for the revelation of ineffable things. ^B By placing "Vision" first, he indicated the argument of the book. For he does not proclaim what he received by hearing, but the sentiment which he has impressed upon his mind. There is need, therefore, of discourse for the explanation of those things which are seen: and God informs the mind when He touches the soul of those who are worthy. By indicating his paternal prophecy, he also adds his father. The word "saw" is taken in two ways: partly to denote the communion of the vision, and partly to establish the difference of the species. Furthermore, he makes the discourse visible, according to what is written in Exodus: *And all the people saw the voices* (Exod. xx, 18). As for the other prophets, some have placed "Vision" and some "Word" at the beginning of their prophecies. Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk placed "Vision" first; whereas Hosea, Amos, Micah, Jonah, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah placed "Word." But Malachi says, "The burden of the word of the Lord." And Nahum says, "The burden of Nineveh." And Habakkuk, "The burden which Habakkuk saw," denoting that they do not possess the power of prophecy from themselves, as ^{C D}

^A Migne’s Latin note: see facsimile. Isaiah, therefore, having prefixed the name of "Vision," subjoined the words; but Amos, having premised the words, added what he saw.

Now, among those who define the times (for there are also those who have written while neglecting the chronological order), some have prefixed to their writing the kings of their own nation, others those of the barbarians, perhaps led by the reasoning that they held power over affairs, and their rule was more illustrious. There are not lacking those who have also added their own fathers, whom others have passed over. And it is not perhaps alien to the truth that they say that those who were more celebrated were named by their sons in order to gain greater credibility, since we more easily believe those whom we consider to be more excellent, whereas those who were considered obscure were passed over in silence. Some say that Isaiah’s father is not one of the Twelve Prophets. For that Amos is pronounced with a slender aspiration, and signifies a "hard word"; but the father of Isaiah is aspirated, and signifies perfection, and power, and strength.

The same man was called both Ozias and Azarias. For in the second book of Chronicles, he is named Ozias; and in the second book of Kings, Azarias, and ^B both have the same father and mother. For the mother is Chana, and the father is Amasias. And the time of their reign is the same, fifty-two years. Now, in the time of Ozias, who is also called Azarias, Isaiah, Osee, and Amos prophesied. But since we read in Osee, "The beginning of the word of the Lord to Osee," does it not follow that he began to prophesy first? And since Amos writes that he began two years before the earthquake, might it not be that he began to prophesy before the vision of Isaiah, in which he says, "The lintel was raised up"?

Verse 2. Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken.

He strikes the hearers with amazement, so that even things devoid of sense might hear the words of God, which they, though endowed with reason, have rejected. Perhaps, however, not seeking credible hearers of his speech, but rather judges, before whom he was about to accuse the people, he immediately calls the powers in heaven and those on earth, obscurely signifying the nations which God calls into the place of the ungrateful Jews, and which condemn their stubbornness. Or certainly, because the things being prophesied were to come to pass after long ages, and no one of those who were then hearing would be alive at their fulfillment, he calls upon the divine powers and the everlasting parts of the world as witnesses to the things which were to happen ^C thereafter. Perhaps, however, as if the Jewish nation were no longer worthy of the divine voice, he calls out to those from among the nations who might taste something heavenly, and to those who might more greedily embrace earthly things; and therefore to the former, as being prudent, he assigns "to hear," and to the latter, "to give ear." More corporally—

^A however, he attributes it to the hearing of the ears. For to perceive by the ears is indeed more dull. Or certainly, because among the Jews there were some who were sublime, such as the prophets and those similar to them, though they were few, while all the rest were addicted to earthly and humble things: he therefore called them both. Perhaps, however, he calls them as witnesses, in whose times the Law was given, wishing to convict their transgression in their very presence. For he says: "Gather to me your commanders, and your elders, and your judges, and your teachers, that I may speak into their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them." To this end Moses also calls them, as it were, as witnesses: "Hear, O heaven, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth." And to signify that those things would without doubt come to pass, he subjoins: "Because the Lord hath spoken." For he says: "God spake, and they were made." ^B As, therefore, the assumption of the people of Israel was most manifest, when for their sake all things that God created were moved to the destruction of the Egyptians and other enemies, so also he willed that their rejection should be manifest to all. Furthermore, since they had despised the Law and served the creature rather than the Creator, adoring the host of heaven and idols that consist of matter; by a marvellous prudence he indicates their impiety concerning these things through that invocation. For this reason the Lord also addresses a certain prophet thus: "Arise, and contend in judgment against the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O mountains, the judgment of the Lord, and, ye valleys, the foundations of the earth; for the Lord hath a judgment with his people, and will plead with Israel." For the judgment is not directed toward the mountains and hills, but toward the impiety which is perpetrated upon the mountains and hills. Moreover, he provided a goad for their memory. For heaven and earth, if they are observed, ^C perpetually shake off the oblivion of received benefits from the minds of those who gaze upon them. Therefore, one should think that the word "to hear" is to be referred to all, since the discourse is about human beings, whom he deigns to grace with the title of sons. Then, since every human being consists of a soul and a body, which are participants of heaven and earth, and have a kinship with both; through these he convicts his sin.

"I have brought up children, and exalted them: but they have rejected me. [VER. 3.] The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood."

To the Word, who is God, this discourse seems suitable, ^D when he speaks of animals endowed with reason: "I have brought up children, and exalted them." He brought them up, indeed, if you look at it in either way: whether because, when they were nothing before, he first created them; or because he labored to make them better through the pursuit of virtue and doctrine: by which reason also he here employs the word "exalted." Indeed, Paul also travails with those in whom Christ must be formed. For he gave them the Law, and sent the prophets. Or "exalted," because he brought them out with glory from Egypt, and performed so many miraculous things against those who provoked them. And indeed, paternal affection...

^A he demonstrated toward them, for instance, by giving bread from heaven and a table in the wilderness. He calls them sons, therefore, and as rational creatures, and as those having received more care than others, when it was brought to pass: "Jacob was the portion of the Lord, his people, the cord of his inheritance, Israel." Therefore, he deemed them worthy of this appellation, even if they became unworthy of it. And therefore they had the naming of "son" only figuratively. For their true adoption is that of those "to whom he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." ^B Such is he who, for the sake of discernment, is called "Israel the firstborn," but not the "only begotten." Let not the Jews, therefore, be proud when they hear, "Israel is my firstborn son," since Cain was also a firstborn and was cursed, while Abel was honored. And Ishmael was a firstborn, but not an heir; and Esau was also a firstborn, but was hated. For, he says, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." And Reuben was a firstborn, but was rejected, inasmuch as Judah was preferred for the promise concerning Christ. God, then, as far as it depends on him, both generates and exalts, and grants to the worthy to say, "Our Father who art in heaven." ^C But those from Israel set him at naught, not fearing him as God, nor honoring him as Father. For they bestowed the worship belonging to [God] upon idols, saying to the wood, "You are my God," and to the stone, "You gave birth to me," writing the devil down as their father. "For he who commits sin," he says, "is born of the devil." And to the evildoers he says, "You are of your father the devil." These things it is also fitting for the Savior to speak prophetically, since those from Israel did not receive him, but honored him with a cross—the only people, out of all the nations, among whom he deigned to dwell. Therefore he says: "Israel did not know me, and the people did not understand me." For they did not understand ^D what manner of person he was—he who had been seen by their fathers in human form in various ways. Therefore he says: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." And: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would have gathered your children, and you were not willing!" For every man, therefore, who has lost the dignity of the image and the reason [of God], it has been said: "And he who was in honor did not understand; he was compared to the senseless cattle and became like them." But the Jews, having enjoyed such great honor, not only becoming rational, but also named as the people of God—these, he says, have appeared more irrational than the irrational cattle, neither knowing their master like the ox. For natural instinct knows this. Neither like the ass, [knowing] the manger of its lord.

For the ass recognizes the manger because of its gluttony. Wherefore, since animals are ill-suited to each other, we read in Deuteronomy that it is forbidden to plow with an ox and an ass together—that is, you must not yoke the active and industrious part of the soul with the pleasure-loving and passive part. ^A For God has no care for oxen. Yet elsewhere, on the other hand, you may see them yoked together. For it is written: “Blessed is he who sows upon all water, where the ox and the ass tread.” That is, he who by the word of instruction rouses the industry of the soul, and heals its pleasure-loving side; for the appetitive part, when heavily burdened with the weight of sin, is like a beast of burden carrying a load. “Me, therefore,” he says, “it did not know,” the Benefactor and Maker of all things. Indeed, as much difference as there is between an ox and an ass, just so much difference—or rather dissimilarity—is there between Israel, who sees God, and the people who are merely called by the common name. ^B

VERS. 4-6. Woe, sinful nation, a people full of sins, a wicked seed, lawless children, etc.

The name of “nation” and “people” is often used in conjunction. Hence the saying: “In the multitude of a nation is the dignity of a king, but in the scarcity of a people is the destruction of a prince.” And that: “Why did the nations rage, and the people meditate on vain things?” But here, starting from the fact that it was a “sinful nation,” they made progress in wickedness, so that they emerged as a “people full of iniquities,” and being previously a “wicked seed,” they have now become “lawless children”; for the increase in virtue and vice proceeds from smaller beginnings. ^C Accordingly, after the word “seed” follows “child” [or son], and this is interpreted with regard to the soul. For the seed of instruction is the foundation of learning. A child, moreover, is anyone who becomes like the one who taught him, whether in the pursuit of virtue or of vice. But the one is called a son of the kingdom, the other a son of hell. He reproaches the Jews as being worse than the other nations. For neither adoption nor the height of glory nor the variety of stripes, with which he is accustomed to treat those whom he holds in the place of sons, made them better. But since they boasted of their corporal splendor of lineage, as being of the seed of Abraham, he calls them a “wicked seed” and “lawless children,” as also “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah,” showing that nobility and its opposite are acquired through the intent of the soul and through life. ^D These indeed had illustrious patriarchs as their ancestors; but springing from evil fathers who came after, they became wicked—not by nature, but by the imitation of their chosen way of life. Nor is the accusation light, in that he calls the whole nation sinful, as if no one in it were held by the zeal for doing right. Then, by [calling them] a people full of sins, he indicated every kind of wickedness. Such is [the phrase]: “Filled with all injustice.” And that: “For the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up.” And the Savior also says: “Fill up also you the measure of your fathers.” And a “wicked seed,”

^A some say “every head” refers to every individual person, as in: “Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their heads.” As if no one were found worthy to escape the threatened judgment.

A “wound” is a dissolution of the continuity of the body, with a small part of the connection being severed, which may signify the schisms of the Church. A “bruise” is the bloody trace of a blow, the body having been crushed by the impact of that which struck it. And this also consists in a particular part, which signifies ulcerous hearts. “Inflammation” is a fiery swelling, with humors flowing together to the weak part, and with the unnatural heat inflaming the affected area; this signifies an elation of the soul, swelling from irrational conceit, and for this reason lifting itself up against the knowledge of Christ. ^B He speaks concerning the Jews, that they have not one specific passion, but the evil lies upon them unitedly, so that all the passions are wholly confused together, and each passion does not receive the appropriate remedies.

An “emollient” (softening plaster) is, therefore, the word that, with gentleness and reasonableness, humbles vain puffings of pride. ^C Some say “every head” refers to every individual person, as in: “Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their heads.” As if no one were found worthy to escape the threatened judgment. A “wound” is a dissolution of the continuity of the body, with a small part of the connection being severed, which may signify the schisms of the Church. ^D A “bruise” is the bloody trace of a blow, the body having been crushed by the impact of that which struck it. And this also consists in a particular part, which signifies ulcerous hearts. “Inflammation” is a fiery swelling, with humors flowing together to the weak part, and with the unnatural heat inflaming the affected area; which signifies an elation of the soul, swelling from irrational conceit, and for this reason lifting itself up against the knowledge of Christ. He speaks concerning the Jews, that they have not one specific passion, but the evil lies upon them unitedly, so that all the passions are wholly confused together, and each passion does not receive the appropriate remedies. An “emollient” is, therefore, the word that, with gentleness and reasonableness, humbles vain puffings of pride.

^A Oil corresponds to the compassion and sympathy that smooths over the treacherous, deceitful, and harsh words of those who speak falsely in hypocrisy. A “bandage” is what binds together those things that are rushing toward dissension. As for the phrase, “There is no soundness in it,” and what follows, Symmachus renders it as follows: “There is no health in it, but a wound, and a bruise, and a sore, with the wound not closing, nor being bound up, nor softened with oil.”

VERS. 7-9. *Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire. Your region, strangers devour it before you*, etc. ^B He foretold these things in the reign of Uzziah; they were finished in part by the Babylonians, but were completely fulfilled during the time of the Roman siege, as they are seen even to this day. By the name of “vineyard” he signifies the nation itself. For he will say later: *For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel.* ^C He gives the cause of the desolation, namely, that having abandoned the quiet and mild spirit, they embraced clamor. For God makes a just requital, when he abandons those by whom he himself has been abandoned. The “tent” in the vineyard is a sign of complete abandonment. For as long as the vineyard has fruits, the tent is inhabited by the one who guards it; but when the fruits have been gathered, it is left desolate. Thus, while the whole nation was bringing forth fruit, the divine temple stood firm. From that watchtower, God was keeping guard in his name, he who says: *I will be for her, says the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I will be glory in the midst of her.* ^D Therefore, it was fenced about by angelic powers. But when it brought forth the thorns of sins, and produced the grape of gall and the vine-branch of Gomorrah, God says through the Psalmist: *I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be for a spoil,* and the rest. And through another prophet he says: *I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage,* and the rest. For he relates that, in the capture...

^A of the city, Josephus 71 says that, before the city was taken, voices of angels were heard by the priests, which warned them to depart because of these things. But so far is it, he says, from having produced the most excellent of the remaining fruits—the grape—that it did not even produce the fleeting fruits of autumn, that is, the corporeal worship of the Mosaic Law, which, while beautiful and green in appearance, is nonetheless temporary; to which also this desertion of the tent is referred, by which the temple can also be signified. A "cucumerarium" (a cucumber patch) is indeed a place where cucumbers are kept, for when we forsake the true God ^B and lift up our hands to a strange god, we are delivered to destroyers. Understand the earth, moreover, as the soul, as one that has received the seeds of the Word. And "deserted" as that which is deprived of virtues and divine worship. Such is the city set on fire, which has much vanity of works, wood, hay, stubble, which in the day of judgment are consumed by fire.

It is also the same region which strangers devour, not filled with the fruits of the Spirit, of love, of joy, and of the other fruits, but consumed by other alien thoughts rushing in; and which the aliens—in truth, the demons—subvert; nor do they stop until, with virtues removed on all sides, they have driven it into error of judgment. Thus, all who are without fruit ^C are deprived of the guardianship of God; but those who produce fruit worthy of the eternal granaries have the divine Spirit as a guardian, who wards off the enemies. Let us also take the autumn fruits as the pleasures of life, by whose allurements it is not fitting for the soul to be caught, which is the true vine of God, and which, sown in the image of the Creator, is pruned by the same when it produces fruit, for a more abundant yield. For He assists those who are willing in the cleansing of their affections, and, after the manner of a husbandman pruning vines and restricting the forest of shoots, he brings the pursuit of what is honest to perfection: when the wall of the unwilling soul, that is, the assistance of the angels, falls down, and it lies open to those passing by and desiring to despoil it; and a fierce boar destroys and tramples everything. ^D Truly, these powers that effect vices and penetrate into us, even those less foreseen, are strangers. But as boars, rushing with irrational impulse alone and delighting to wallow in foul mire, do affections occupy a soul of this kind, because it has in no way produced fruits worthy of the divine granaries, but flowing and foul pleasures; by the desire for which, when the people were once held, they were buried in the desert. For they were weeping, he says, mindful of the cucumbers and the melons 72, the Egyptian food, which he who is a true Israelite, nourished by the heavenly bread, would never eat; which they, disdaining, demanded onions and garlic. For such is the life that indulges in pleasure—itchy and acrid, emitting a stench from the depths, and provoking tears in those living according to its ways. And these again, as an obsested city, are abandoned

^A by those who make a practice of laziness within, so that they may be attacked while unguarded. He called her "daughter" ^B from the name of the previous one. Following this, he introduces the things dared against the Savior: *And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed.* This would refer to that of which God speaks to Abraham:

“For I will give it even to thy seed.”

permitted, as they entered with a new people, to be a type of the remnant of Israel, which was to be saved through obedience and faith in Christ, and having crossed the holy Jordan with us, were to have the prospect of inheriting the kingdom of heaven.

^A VERS. 10. *Hear the word of the Lord, ye princes of Sodom; attend to the law of God, thou people of Gomorrah.*

He had previously called heaven and earth to witness; but now He addresses the Jews themselves, distinguishing them into princes and people. He calls them by the names of Sodom and Gomorrah, either because they were to suffer similar things, or certainly because of the similarity of their character; as He will say in the following. Their own wicked deeds, like those of Sodom, revealed their iniquity and manifested their injustice, since they took wrong counsel against themselves, saying: *Let us bind the just, for he is useless to us.* Therefore, the transgression committed against the one who is called the Just One—that is, Christ—made them liable to such a designation. He also punishes their pride, which they displayed as if from the nobility of Abraham, showing, according to the divine Apostle: *For not he who is so in secret is a Jew,* and so forth. And again: *For not all who are of Israel are Israelites, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children.* It is possible, therefore, from the contrary and different nations, for there to be princes of Israel and a people of God, provided that the dignity of works is added to the consensus of dogmas.

^B When that seed which was left for us had been separated, he fittingly attributed such names to the remaining princes, calling them princes of Sodom, because, as that city was preeminent, so also wickedness abounded there more than elsewhere, and its princes surpassed the people by far in crime and misdeed. ^C He appropriately also added the people, because just as they rejected Lot, who judged rightly, taunting him with the words: *Thou hast come to dwell, certainly not to act as judge?* so they also rejected the just Judge, saying: *Crucify, crucify, take away such a one.* Moreover, those had been injurious to strangers; these, however, to Him who had come into His own. Those against angels; but these against God Himself. And thus Jerusalem itself, on account of its impiety, became Sodom. For just as God, seeking in them, did not find ten just men for whose sake the city ought to have been saved; so too Jerusalem had a great scarcity of the just. Wherefore, to Jeremiah interceding for her, God said: *Go about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and consider, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, and seeketh faith, and I will be merciful to it, saith the Lord.* And deprived of every good, they arrived moreover at the summit of impiety, having killed Christ; which thing, indeed, happened especially on account of the unsanctity of the princes. For, knowing that He is the heir, ^D they attempted to kill Him, desiring His vineyard.

Concerning these, God says in the prophets: "Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard," and so on. And again: "The pastors have done foolishly, and have not sought the Lord. Therefore, all the pasture did not know, and they were scattered." For they ought, having believed in Moses, to have recognized the Lord, and to have guided the others to Him. "For he wrote of me," He says, when he says: "A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear." Hence, with stinging admonition, the prophet humanely leads them toward the necessity of acknowledging Him, addressing the princes, as being sharper, with the "Word"—since to hear is a matter of the intellect—which is why the Lord, stirring them to know the will of His own words, says: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." But to the people, as being less intelligent, He assigns "attending," or as others have rendered it, "receiving with the ears," which signifies catching and drinking in a faint sound. Wherefore also in Exodus the people say: "All things that the Lord hath spoken we will do, and we will be attentive." For those who are not yet perfect operate by observing the bodily things of the Law; wherefore it is previously held: "But the perfect man hears," turning his mind to the will of the Law. Again, by this reasoning, He assigns the "Word" to the princes, and the "Law" to the people. For the law is a rule of the just and unjust, commanding what is to be done and forbidding what is to be escaped—which, though the purpose is otherwise ignored, not a few mortals have studied to keep. But the "Word" even demonstrates and teaches the cause for which each thing is said, showing the Law to be spiritual. He calls them "princes of Sodom," not only as being leaders of the wicked, but as being such themselves. Nor does He keep silent about the wickedness of their subjects, when He names the people "of Gomorrah." For it was sufficient at the beginning to have noted the sins of the people. But He assigns far greater things to the princes, because Sodom easily held the first place among the five cities; whence their iniquity is signified as the chief and the greatest of all. However, we know from history of no "princes of Sodom" other than those who were destroyed. But it must not be omitted that the prophet was accustomed to rebuke those who sinned with great freedom, of which Paul wrote in these words: "Isaias also is very bold, and saith." Therefore, men say that this was also one cause of the plots against the prophet. Furthermore, these things may not ineptly be applied to absurd and insolent prelates of the Church, and to the lawless people themselves.

VERS. 11-15. *To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?* saith the Lord: *I am full,* etc.

The discourse introduces the promulgation of the new law, putting aside the old, which, according to its institution, had nothing carnal to

^A profit the nations. For the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, even if those who were sinning through these things thought they were being reconciled to God. But since the seed, which the Lord God had left, is taken away, we must reasonably suppose that the word is directed at the rulers and the followers who dared to do such things against Christ. Therefore, He says, *I will no longer forgive your sins.* For He did forgive those who were taken to Babylon after seventy years had passed, as Zacharias says: *Thou hast overlooked the cities of Juda this seventieth year.* But to those who crucified Christ, He says He will not forgive, except that in the last of the days a remnant shall be saved. And He brings forth the cause of such abandonment, saying, *For your hands are full of blood,* indicating the murder of Christ. For He notes that nowhere does He now accuse them of being idolaters, but that they did not know the Lord, and that they abandoned Him, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. For this reason, He turns away from their sacrifices as those of impious men, and of those who are intent on sins. *For a sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit.* For it is necessary for each person to offer himself as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, a rational worship, a sacrifice of praise. For these were the things that the former sacrifices also, ^B possessing a shadow of the good things to come, hinted at, even if they were accommodated to those who were dull-witted at that time, according to appearances, until the time of reformation; since, as far as pleasing God is concerned, He would not have legislated those sacrifices. But since the multitude of sacrifices under the law is rejected, He accepted one sacrifice in the last ages for the putting away of sin, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And when the truth has appeared, the shadow is useless. And it is necessary to offer virtues and faith to God. For with such sacrifices God is pleased. For even of old, they were offering for their own transgressions, and Christ was allowing it, being typified in the things being offered. But now, having arrived, He has put an end to the types. And the phrase *I am full* must be taken by itself, not joined to what follows. For to God alone pertains ^C to be full of every blessedness, but not to those things subsequently mentioned. *For of His fullness we all received.* For all things desire Him, while He desires nothing. From Him Stephen was *full of grace and power.* And Paul, after his recognition, *full of the Spirit,* journeyed back to Jerusalem. Thence Abraham was *full of days.* And in the people who shall return, *full days* shall be found. But if He rejects all the worship through Moses, how does it say, *Not one iota shall pass away from the law until all things happen?* Is it not therefore evident that, by casting out the carnal, He promises to fulfill the spiritual? ^D See, however, that He does not reject every blood, but that from

^A irrational animals, in contrast to Him who was poured out in the last days for the remission of sins, and who speaks far better than that of Abel. When sacrifices are transferred to the spiritual realm, the priesthood also had to be transferred, so that the one according to the order of Melchizedek might enter in. One must also distinguish the burnt offering and thus join it with the rams, so that it may be consistently brought to bear upon the words "I do not want." To this must be added that which follows: "Nor if you come to appear before me." For the "I do not want" is common. Along with the sacrifices, He also abolishes the command that every male must appear before the Lord, because they were full of every wickedness and deceit. But it is written: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous." And: "His countenance beholds uprightness." He also says: "Who has sought these things from your hands?"—the carnal things of the law, evidently. For the whole law is summarized in the saying: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ^B And, He says, "You shall not add to tread my courtyard." So fearful a thing is it to despise the Church, after having been separated, unless one voluntarily embraces the greatest and most severe of punishments. He notes their insolent entry, as of those who trample upon holy things. Among those who enter, one proceeds even to the Holy of Holies, having removed the veil of carnal things from the inner mysteries, and possessing the naked contemplation of intelligible things; another, however, touches only the more carnal worship. But he who is now being brought in is commanded to step only into the courtyard; he is not admitted even to the places of external worship. But He calls us to the spiritual contemplation of the law through that rejection of carnal things. For spiritual fine flour is discourse about God separated from the thought of carnal things. It is also unworthy of God to believe that He is pleased by the pleasure of smell, and not to understand by "incense" the sanctification of the body ^C brought about by the temperance of the soul, whenever the parts of the soul agree with one another in equal temperament for the composition of the incense. He also exhorts us to observe the new moon, worthy of eternal years, and those solemnities which, by the help of penance, restore things to their ancient state. For the new moon is the beginning of a life that has failed in the light, when a change for the worse occurs; but the solemnity itself is the return to it. By the name of Sabbath, no other cessation is signified than that which is from vices. But as for the "great day," others have translated it as "famous"; so that it signifies not one single day, but any day famous in the Law—namely, the first and the seventh of the Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost itself, and the tenth of the month; ^D and, in short, all the [index: entries preserved] official feasts. He also desires a fast that, without showing off, enslaves the mind of the flesh, which comes to pass not through the satiety of foods, but through good conduct and the fellowship of those things that are profitable. Nor is it right to intensify the abstinence from foods so as to break the tone of the body and drag the mind into inattention.

since, while the Bridegroom is present, we are forbidden to keep a fast of the word.

^B Vᴇʀs. 16-20. *Wash yourselves; be clean. Put away the evil from your souls, from before my eyes. Cease from your evils,* etc.

Following this, he urges those who have moved away from the self-willed religious worship according to the law of the flesh to become subjects of the New Testament. Therefore, he introduces its mysteries, saying almost what is proclaimed in the Gospels: "Unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." And that word: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." But how, having previously said to those who have sinned incurably, "If you multiply your prayer, I will not hear," does he now speak as one who can heal them through the washing? It is because Christ, having come, fulfilled the inability of the law, not by cleansing a corporal filth on each occasion, nor by ordering the washing of a garment, but by cleansing our souls through baptism and urging us to build up virtues upon that baptism. For the cleansing of the washing is a work of God's love for mankind; but the putting off of the habit of evils is our task, with God helping us there as well and leading those who desire it toward virtue. For one who leans upon the grace of baptism must not be inactive. For the washing cleanses, but the virtues make one radiant. ^C "From before my eyes," he says, because while it is possible for us to seem good to men deceptively and through hypocrisy, God, who enters into hearts, sees even the hidden things of the mind—meaning that no action is performed properly unless it is carried out with piety toward Christ. It is necessary, therefore, to cleanse our thoughts, not only to cut off the operation of evil, which is the head of perfect love. For according to Paul, "Love does not think evil." And this is truly what it means to be baptized by the Holy Spirit and with fire, to melt away every stain. An oracle somewhere also commands: "With all watchfulness keep your heart." He also says, "Learn to do good." The ethical discourse is not straightforward, for "Justice, justice you shall pursue," he says, as if turning us toward justice, so that we might perform the just action. "Seek judgment." Or it refers to the duty of ever thinking of and being anxious about the judgment-seat of Christ (for He will render to each according to his works), and the study of this restrains one from evil and urges one toward virtue. Or that one ought to do each thing with judgment. ^D "For with counsel," he says, "do everything." And the word...

of the just are judgments. Since there is a two-fold kind of injustice, the one pertaining to things of the soul and the other to things of the body, the former is ^A greater and its hindrance also greater. "For evil communications corrupt good manners," as regards both virtue and doctrines. And one must help these by refuting their deception. "For rescue," he says, "those led to death, and do not spare those being led to be killed." One must also ward off bodily injustice as much as one has the power. "Judge for the orphan." For he is deprived of a father and is unable because of his age to help himself. And if God is the Father of believers, if someone having transgressed should desert the faith and the works suitable to the faith, he has become an orphan of God, being destitute of His providence. But one must lead him back from whence he has fallen with moderate correction and suitable words. But also he who does evil things has the devil as a father, from whom, having deserted him, he has become a blessed orphan, and he needs one to lead him by the hand to the truly existing Father, God, if he wishes to be reborn through the Gospel. Let him therefore obtain the ^B fitting economy from those who administer common affairs. And the widow, the one who is truly a widow and destitute of all help and devoted to the service of God, and the soul which is analogously a widow, having turned away from its spouse, the Word, and having gone out to the demons, each ought to receive the help fittingly corresponding to its condition. You might also call the Church of the Israelites according to the flesh a widow, having cast off the yoke of the law, so that she no longer bears the name of an adulteress, having become the wife of another man, Christ, whom it is just for us to hold as righteous, having learned the justice of the Gospel. All these things must be present in us before God, not in outward appearance, nor so as to be wolves within, ^C nor so that one, according to Jeremiah, "speaks peaceable words with his mouth, but internally holds hatred." Concerning whom David says: "His words were smoother than oil, and yet they are darts." For even if they strive to hide, yet He who dwells in the heavens will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them, knowing their reins and hearts. Wherefore Paul also says, "Providing for what is honorable not only before the Lord, but also before men." But if someone removes his wickedness from before the eyes of the Lord, he becomes a true Israelite, a Nathanael, in whom there is no guile. And such a person, having gained a certain confidence, approaches the tribunal of God. For he asks, on account of His benevolence towards us, to be reproved before us, so that He might show how great things He has conferred, and what great benefits we have in turn ^D rendered. And yet He grants oblivion to the aforementioned, and makes those who have been reddened—however much—with blood clean, provided it is through the washing of regeneration, and He promises the kingdom of heaven.

To whom we shall say, being convicted: "What shall I render unto the Lord for all that He has rendered unto me?" ^A We have it in many places of Scripture that God descends to judgment with men, as if on an equal footing. For the prophet himself says: "The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of the people and the princes thereof." And Micah also says: "Hear ye the word of the Lord. The Lord said: Arise, contend thou in judgment against the mountains, for there is a judgment for the Lord against His people, and He will plead with His people." For that judgment which is common and not tyrannical is fitting for God, as it provides a place for defense for those who are judged. But these are Scriptural personifications that put into us a concern for that defense which comes from works. For we shall not hear or say anything. But there will be a judgment, in the day when God shall judge the hidden things of men, ^B between thoughts that accuse or even defend one another. This is what the books also signify by what is said in Daniel, teaching that the forms of deeds performed are stirred up in the memory of men, as each one remembers and sees the things for which we are punished. Therefore, the conviction is not as though we were being judged by the Master (for "He will be justified in His words, and will overcome when He is judged." For no one is clean from filth, nor will he boast of having a pure heart), but it is rather as if we were being convicted within ourselves, as "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us." Some say that the divine laver is sufficient to whiten us as snow. For they say nothing is hard to wash away when God is scouring it. According to Paul, who said: "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." And, "It is God that justifieth: who is he that shall condemn?" ^C Others say that it cleanses indeed, but that works are necessary for such brilliance, such as the judgment of the orphan and the justification of the widow. And the scarlet is redder than a crimson color, whence he compares the one to snow and the other to wool. He likened sins to a red color, as being the scarlet of our souls. But one is fixed as in dye, and is indelible. The other, having only the order of the surface, is easily washed away, according to the account of the sins, as the soul is cleansed either more easily or with difficulty. Now, wool, although it is sometimes by nature white, becomes whiter than itself through some care. Even so, man, by perfecting his natural instincts through exercise, can go far in the advancement of virtue. But snow, being water in the clouds, is whitened by the force of the spirit being compressed, swelling up into foam, and taking on a freezing consistency ^D by the cold of the air, and being moved and inclined towards the lower weights. Just so, the soul, with its natural instincts through its own exercise and with the help of the

Holy Spirit, becomes worthy in the just judgment of God ^A of the splendor of grace which is granted to the saints through Him. The power of obtaining this is offered to us by the following statement, in these words: *If you are willing and obey me, you shall eat the good things of the land*. Here, He encourages the Jews—who were endowed with a dense and sluggish nature—either by adding the reward of corporeal things, or by the name "land"—following the parable of the sower in the Gospels—He understands the soul which receives seed sent down from heaven, the "good things" of which are the advances in virtue; or certainly the promises in the kingdom of heaven are signified, according to which we read, *Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth*; or finally, He designates those "good things" which *eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man*. Thence also, He promises Jerusalem and Mount Sion—these celestial things—to those who will believe; but to those who will not believe, He threatens the sword. According to the exterior sense, this is to be thought of as the Roman sword, from which they were immediately attacked; but according to the spiritual sense, it is the diabolical sword, under which they have fallen by denying the grace of Christ—that is to say, simply some living and intelligible power, concerning which it is written that it was made drunk from the blood of the wounded. The "mouth of the Lord" is perhaps the Holy Spirit, who cooperated in these things being written. For that we might not despise these threats, ^B He says that the mouth of the Lord, which is foreign to falsehood, has spoken these things. Nor does He say that the impediments have been incurred from anywhere else than from an averted will, that He may demonstrate that the principle and cause of evils lie within ourselves; with a wonderful consensus, clearly, with those things which were spoken by God through Moses, where we read: *Behold, I have set before your face life and death*; whence He mentions first that evil must be removed from our thoughts. For no one can bring as much benefit or harm to another as each person can to himself. But when that which is proper has been done, then finally we flee as if to a physician, who may soften and heal the conscience, hardened in our sins by the length of time.

VERS. 21-23. *How has the faithful city Sion become a harlot, full of judgment, in which justice rested, but now murderers, etc.*

It was said before that the daughter of Sion would be abandoned; by which name He called the city which was situated on Mount Sion, just as if it were the daughter of the mountain, or meant the temple in the city; now, however, as if stunned, He marvels at the cause of such a change for the worse ^D. For, having been educated in the divine law, *how has she become a harlot?* First, because of idolatry; then, because from the coming of the Savior, she embraced the disciplines and commandments of men. The cause, indeed, of the fornication of the soul and body is unbelief. For no one, believing that God is present everywhere, and that He sees what lies hidden in the minds...

Πίστις... ^A He designates as a faithful city that which is inhabited by faithful dwellers, among whom virtue and justice reside and, as it were, rest. For this is what is signified by the word "rest." He seems, moreover, to intimate the times of David. For when he had taken this city from the hand of the foreigners, he placed the ark of God and the tabernacle therein; and in it, because it was a holy place, it dwelt. For it was at that time faithful and just. David indeed ordained choirs to sing hymns to God, and psalms, and a more rational worship, of which he himself was the author, along with other prophets who were with him, Nathan, and Gad, and Asaph, and those things concerning Idithum and Eman and the sons of Core, and as many as were assigned to their choirs. ^B It is also likely that after David, under pious kings, it was pleasing to God, as it abounded in citizens recommended for their faith, justice, and religion. But it is called a harlot on account of the fornications of its inhabitants, whom he also calls murderers. For finally, after the blood of Christ was shed, they dared to say: "His blood be upon us." And before this, they slew the prophets. For he says: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets." For which of the prophets did not your fathers kill, is the reproach that Stephen casts upon the Jews? But the statement fits more aptly to those times in which the Savior dwelt among us; ^C whence he was also accustomed to call those very same people an evil and adulterous generation. Therefore, the prophet now accuses them not of idolatry, but of murder. And since, after such an audacious crime against the Lord, they wished to be considered teachers of piety, and added fabulous traditions to their interpretations of the Scriptures, he not undeservedly says that their silver is impure; and that they "tavern-keep," that is, dilute the pure and evocative meaning of the Scriptures with water, and adulterate that wine which is said to gladden the heart of man, with their fabulous traditions. "And thy princes," he says, "are disobedient." For they would by no means listen to the admonitions of Christ; rather, they preferred to be associates of the thief Judas; ^D for they were present with him, sharing in the betrayal. And they betrayed what was just, being corrupted by bribes, preferring disgrace to utility. Again, whereas the care of the needy—the orphans and widows—had been entrusted to them, they neglected them; and in all these things, since the city of God had committed fornication, it has rightly been called a harlot. Thus, too, Jeremiah designates it with these words: "Seest thou what the house of Israel hath done to me? They went up upon every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and they committed fornication there." And again: "And thou hast fornicated with many shepherds, and thou hast returned to me, saith the Lord." But the one inveighs against the worship of idols, the other truly against all kinds of vices. Which, however, concerning the...

Church, may God forbid should be heard; and ^A nor let her, having cast away the word of faith which the Fathers delivered from the beginning, who delivered her as a virgin intact to Christ, admit many and various seeds of the word from those who have corrupted the venerable majesty of the mysteries; who are also rightly called ^B murderers of souls, taking away the life of the simpler ones by deceit and guile, as if with a sword, by the word of the wisdom of this world. Of these, the word of faith being fashioned is as dross/unapproved silver, not bearing the royal image which the apostles and prophets delivered, which the enemies, having distorted and cast into a hostile form, introduce into the royal treasuries, corrupting the divine wealth. And the wine which, through the pouring forth of the Spirit, produced eternal gladness, they are accused of diluting with water to the destruction of the hearers; ^C indeed, by mixing in their own ingenuity, and not believing in the Spirit, but preparing their subjects to resemble their own life; for they love to mirror the leaders. Therefore, it is no wonder now if, having repudiated the faith, the city itself has become a whore. In addition to these things, he calls them companions of thieves, not of those who are caught in petty thefts, but because, having become leaders of nations or cities, they scrape together public goods from everywhere, and on the pretext of religion and piety, offer from those things which they have unjustly seized. Others, however, whose duty it was to warn and rebuke, do not only receive the offerings, but often even call those from whom the hope of receiving has shone forth ^D blessed. He says, therefore, that they love gifts, for the sake of which they permit many forbidden things to those who approach them, and seek retaliation, which is above all else alien to a ruler, [when it is fitting, or whom it behooves] to ward off injury by every means. For how could it be that he would even teach not to return evil for evil? But he added that their arrogance is shown to be worse than that of the judge of unrighteousness, by their not attending to the judgment of the widow. For that man, even if he were unsympathetic, because of the perseverance of the widow who approached him, attended to the judgment; but these did not deign to attend to it at all.

Vers. 24-31. 33 "For this reason, thus saith the Lord of hosts: Woe to you that are mighty in Israel! For my fury shall not cease against my adversaries, and I will take judgment upon my enemies, etc."

Sabaoth is interpreted as "Lord of hosts," or "Lord of armies," if you seek the reason for the word, and it is referred to the Savior himself, who is the Son of God. For in the twenty-third Psalm, speaking of his ascension into heaven, he added: "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." Of whom Paul also says: "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." He attributes the causes of the whole corruption of Jerusalem to the princes, who, having shown the path of sin to the people, stood forth as the authors of crimes to them. And these were the ones against whom the Savior used similar language, consistent with the present text: "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." And his own wrath

acting in a way that suggests human fear intended for the rulers. For the least of people is pardonable by mercy, but the mighty shall be mightily examined. For those who are powerful in wealth, or in word, or in any other capacity, and do not extend the appropriate assistance to the weaker ones in the Church, pay the penalty everywhere to God, who exacts the work according to what has been given. And he calls these persons "adversaries," as if they had taken his commandments heavily, from which he does not cease his wrath as long as they happen to be adversaries. He calls these "enemies," and says that he will execute judgment from them. For he himself said: "He who believes in me is not judged. But he who does not believe has already been judged." The enemies, then, are the cause of the judgment. "For the wrath of God comes," he says, "upon the sons of disobedience." He speaks of bringing punishments upon them definitively, according to their worth and the magnitude of their sins. But since the Word is a lover of mankind and does not desire the death of the sinner, as he does his repentance, he promises to bring a healing hand to those who do not require his wrath, and through this to burn in order to cleanse and to distinguish the better from the worse. ^B Therefore, Symmachus said: "Into the pure your dross." But Aquilas said: "Your grape-skins," just as those who smelt copper or iron cast away the dross, and the grape-skins in the winepresses. He indicates that these are the ones whom he brings up, the lawless and the proud—things that are more clearly stated by the Seventy, who have interpreted the allegory. The others have translated it as "tin." Some, however, understanding both wrath and hand to refer to the same things, and each as referring to the same subjects, say: "See the auspicious end of the judgment of God." For he grows angry in such a way as to benefit the sinners by correcting them, but not by punishing them to destruction. And the Lord himself says this: "He shall come like the fire of a smelter, and like the herb of launderers. And he will sit smelting and cleansing as if it were silver and gold." What, then, is the utility resulting from this? "They shall be," he says, "offering a sacrifice to the Lord in righteousness." It is likely that he calls the calamities arising from war and other oppressive circumstances "fire," which happened formerly because of idolatry, and later because of the insolence toward Christ, when he also applied his hand to them, just like some skilled artisan, separating the counterfeit from the genuine in the fire, keeping the one for himself, and delivering the other to destruction. ^C For he "baptizes in spirit and fire, and will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor," and so forth. Therefore, after selecting the apostles, he delivered the lawless and the arrogant to the Romans, as they were disobedient ^D

to the law, and having raised their horn on high, spoke iniquity against God. ^A Yet it is a great benefit to the soul that the lawless and those who are authors of apostasy should be separated from it. For this reason, the forms used by the Church isolate those who commit forbidden acts, so that a little leaven may not leaven the whole lump, being a type of those who are separated from the fearful judgment into the darkness—a thing which those who do not understand often fail to perceive. Paul demonstrates the harm resulting from not separating the lawless, when he rebukes the Corinthians because they did not mourn, so that the wicked might be removed from among them. ^B But, he says, when these have been removed, "I will restore your judges and counselors as they were at the first, like refined gold." For if they had not had such men of old, they would never have heard this from the same prophet: "Behold, the Lord of hosts will take away from Jerusalem." Then, having said who they are, he adds: "And a judge, and a prophet," among whom is also the wonderful Counselor, through whom at that time there existed a city faithful and full of judgment and righteousness; according to whom he promises to make the apostles, the remnant according to election, of whom he said: "Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed," when it shall be called by a new name, a city of righteousness instead of a harlot; and instead of a city of murderers, a city faithful and of righteousness; and instead of a city, a metropolis. ^C And it is a leader to others for salvation, and as it were sending out as colonies the system of monastics. This formerly existed among the Jews and has fallen away, but now it is seen throughout the whole inhabited world in the Churches of Christ, which are founded upon the rock, having taken its beginning from the apostles, and in the order of succession presiding in the Churches, concerning whom David spoke in wonder: "Instead of your fathers, sons were born to you." For though they were Jews and disciples of Jews and sons of that Synagogue, they passed into the order of fathers, leading the ancient mother Synagogue to Christ. And another prophet also says concerning Christ and his disciples: "Behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall rule with judgment." ^D But why, passing over the kings, did he mention the judges, even though there were some among the kings who could be commended in the name of probity? Because under the judges the government was autonomous, and they acknowledged God alone as King. For by their own will, and not from sound counsel, they demanded a king for themselves. Therefore, it was worth the effort for those graced with such benefits to return to the blessed state of their former life, having the freedom. "For there was no king in Israel, but everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Or perhaps it is because, when the true King arrived, there was no longer a time for kings, but for judges, concerning whom it is said: "You shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Again, because of free will, he promised to give counselors. A King

's ^A province is to command, but a counselor's is to teach those who do not see for themselves what is right. Let bishops, therefore, remember that they are given to the people not as princes or emperors, but as counselors (such as the prophets themselves and Moses were; to whom they ought in all respects to be similar): "But I myself give counsel, as having obtained mercy from God."

But in truth, because the discourse is about few, it proceeds from the remnants of the Jewish people with these words: "For with judgment shall its captivity be saved, and with mercy;" or, as others have interpreted, "with justice." For only those whom God has judged worthy of salvation shall be partakers of the promise, however much the Jews may dream of I know not what kind of conversion of their entire nation. By the liberation of captivity, he denotes that change which will occur away from error, with the mind renewed unto the knowledge of God, and which will have no intermission thereafter; whence comes that saying of the Savior: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me." In which place he confirmed that it was said of himself: ^B "To preach deliverance to the captives." For the prophet is not discussing here at all those enemies that fall under the senses; indeed, every sinner is bound by the enemy, and...

...seeking glory from men with a feigned countenance, after those things which are hidden have been revealed (at which time all things will naturally become naked and laid open, and there will remain no place for any creature to hide), then, the fraud having been exposed, they will present a spectacle so unpleasant that not undeservedly has He likened them to an oak; for thus have the others rendered "terebinth," and in Genesis they have learned that the oak and the terebinth are the same. Moreover, their strength shall be "as a spark of flax," and not of grain or of other things more necessary; ^C since "there has been taken from them all strength, and the strength of bread, and the strength of water, the giant and the man of war," whereby it has come about that they cannot say with Paul: "I can do all things in him who strengthens me, Christ." "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" For, their liberty having been utterly lost, they serve whatever Roman emperors they happen to have, and that strength of idols, in which they trusted so greatly, now appears a vain name of strength. Thus is each one bound by his own sins as if by chains. For these things have turned out to be fire and wood for them. And the power that was expected ^D has delivered them to everlasting fire, just as it delivers all those who commit transgressions on our part to fire, even if they boast of being Christians. For "the lawless shall be broken," he says, "and the sinners at the same time." Let no one, therefore, boast in the bare name of Christianity. For deeds become the cause of fire for all who build not with gold, nor silver, nor precious stones, but only with stubble, as the discourse is about the Jews, whose capital city and sensible things were consumed by fire, they having been intemperate toward Christ. Some, moreover, through the things set forth, said that after the captivity...

[alt-version omitted]

otherwise than as all things are done improperly by us, however much we may glory in the Christian name ourselves. For, he says, the wicked and sinners shall be burned up together. Let everyone, therefore, cease to boast confidently of the bare name of Christian. For fire is the cause of whatever works—those which build up not gold, nor silver, nor precious stones, but mere stubble; just as the present discourse indicates regarding the Judeans: for that fire, which falls under the senses, did not spare even their chief city, because of the injury inflicted upon Christ. There are not wanting, however, those who think that by the things preceding is demonstrated their state which followed the captivity; since the Judeans were ashamed to have lost the splendor of their ancient glory, their good judges, and the worship of true piety toward God. They say also that they were touched by this shame only when they were afflicted by captivity. For they were ashamed, they say, even then mostly, when, destitute of all aid, and having learned that they were feeble in that hope upon which they had placed their trust in idols, they had enkindled the fire of divine wrath against themselves. But who can impede the decrees of the divine will? ^A

Chapter II

Verses 1-4. *The word that came to Isaiah the son of Amoz, concerning Judea and Jerusalem, etc.* The first vision was inscribed against Judea. But the present one is concerning Judea, or, according to Symmachus, *over Israel*. ^B Certainly, if it were concerning this [people], after he reached the threats, it would have been appropriate for him to have added the things which are favorable, and to call it a change. But because he again added concerning this [people] the things which are sad in these words: *He has abandoned his people, the house of Jacob*, etc. And likewise: *Behold, surely the Lord of hosts will take away from Judea*, and what follows: consequently, these things also are referred to the vision which preceded regarding Judea, as if they had the repetition of that [former] one through inertia. But these are also inscribed concerning Judea for this reason: that along with the nations, concerning whom the discourse now is, he also calls the Judeans to the knowledge of the truth in these words: *And now, O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord*. ^C Perhaps, however, he calls them first. For having abundantly exhorted them by the preceding vision, after having rejected them except for a few, he proceeds to the nations, with whom he nevertheless also calls those [Judeans]. Therefore, also, Paul says: *To you it was necessary that the word of God be spoken first; but because you reject it, behold, we turn to the nations*. This also has happened now in the words of the prophet. Nor does it seem absurd, moreover, to admit the inscription *over Judea*, since it is known that the grace of the Gospel—by the power of whose preaching and healing Christ wrought his works—began from that place. For the fact that He threatened them does not prevent that same grace from having been communicated to them first. Thus, also, Zechariah preached concerning this in these words: *Praise and rejoice, O daughter of Sion*, which are the same as these. ^D But if one looks to the intent, it might seem that the discourse is now regarding another Judea and Jerusalem; or, as Symmachus interprets, *for* Jerusalem. For he introduces a new law beyond the one given by Moses, and another word, and another new mountain—venerable from of old, but now become manifest, and a house of God known to the nations,

^A nor to the Jews. Consequently, Judea and Jerusalem must be understood as promised to the nations. Concerning her, He says, "God is known in Judea." [Psal. LXXV, 1.] The soul that has received the knowledge of God, which the first people did not possess, could be intended by this. For He said, "But Israel has not known Me, and the people have not understood Me." [Isa. 1, 3.] Hence, they became the people of Gomorrah and the rulers of Sodom. Consistently, therefore, with the calling of the nations being prophesied, it was necessary to place the Word of God first, in agreement with John, who made the beginning of the Gospel from this: "In the beginning was the Word." [Joan. 1, 1.] For the prophet also announces Him now. Vision and word, moreover, are the same thing. For neither is sensible. For what one hears, he sees with the mind. And of what he sees again, he bears the words within himself. And again, the grace of the Spirit is one, providing power from God to the holy ones for the discernment of unknown things through revelation and the illumination of the heart; but according to the difference of the things about which the knowledge is concerned, it is fittingly called either a vision or a word. ^B Above, therefore, what was present was being seen: the wickedness of the people, the separation from God, the ingratitude toward the Benefactor; here, the future is foretold. For this reason, a word about the nations is foretold now. For God is not only of the Jews, but also of the nations. And according to the divine Apostle, "He is not a Jew who is one openly, but he who is one in secret." [Rom. 11, 28, 29.] To those in the open, therefore, the aforementioned things refer, but to those in secret, the things to be said. The house of God is the Church from the nations, founded upon the firm and saving rock. He calls them "the last days," those near to the end of the present age; for time is related to the things that are seen, and it perishes along with those that perish. Jacob, in agreement with these things, has prophesied what would be at the last, promising to tell his children: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until He comes for whom it is reserved, and He shall be the expectation of the nations." [Gen. XLIX, 10.] And now, he says, "All nations shall come to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of God," ^C making manifest the Church of Christ, regarding which He Himself says: "A city cannot be hidden when situated above a mountain." [Matth. v, 14.] Paul explained to us "at the top of the mountains," saying, "Built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets." [Ephes. II, 20.] You might, perhaps, speak of the mountain of God in a more corporeal way, as the Jews do, as being in the land itself. But how, he says, will it be apparent, as if it were previously hidden? For the fleshly Israel awaits neither the birth of another mountain nor the construction of a second house upon other mountains; but according to the times of Isaiah, both Mount Zion and the temple were apparent to all—according to our current understanding, the high and heavenly mountain of the Lord is the evangelical one. Or, as the great Paul teaches that Zion is a heavenly mountain, and the Jerusalem above, which he says is the mother of us all. This was not, therefore, apparent ^D to the ancient people,

before Christ, ^A the destroyer of sin, who became the rock upon which He built His own Church, was made known on earth. For now the evangelical Word has been revealed to all together with the rock that underlies it, when the mystery that had been hidden from the ages was made manifest at the consummation of times.

The descent of the Lord to earth is likened to a mountain, because a mountain is something that rises high upon the earth; and the flesh of the Lord, being earth according to its common nature, was lifted up and raised on high through the union it has with God. Those who imitate Him are called mountains and rocks supporting the house of God, such as Peter was, to whom it was said: "And upon this rock I will build my Church." And likewise, everyone who has elevated his mind above earthly things and excels them, and receives the divine knowledge through the greatness of his intellect and the purity of his actions, is such a person. ^B Such are the mountain peaks upon which the house of God is built, being lifted up above the hills, which are certain mounds of earth that have a modest elevation from the ground, excelling the lowly but falling short of the highest.

Since, then, the superiority of the Lord’s humanity (if you consider all those who have been most illustrious for their achievements) is incomparable, for this reason it is said to be lifted up even above the hills. For He was deemed worthy of greater glory than Moses, insofar as he who has built a house has more honor than the house itself; and than Abraham, who rejoiced to see the day of the incarnation, and he saw it, and was glad, and gave tithes to Melchizedek, ^C who was a type of the Lord.

Such, then, was the dispensation of the Lord’s incarnation: "For he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." For far be it from us to seek glory for God from a superiority to things subject to Him, by which His magnificence is exalted above the heavens. "For every nation," he says, "will come to the house of the Lord." They will come, summoned by the saving preaching: "For this Gospel will be preached in the whole world"; and the voice of the apostles has gone out into all the earth.

But how does he, in one place, say that all the nations will come, and in another, that many will walk? It is because the one is ordained for believing, but the other, "to walk," is for living according to the commandments. For we all profess the faith, but ^D we do not all walk according to the commandments. For concerning this way of life, the divine David also said: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." How then does he say "many nations," when the Lord says that few are those who find the way? Because "nation" is one thing—the totality—and another is the multitude under it. There are many nations, then, in which there are those who live rightly; but of those in each nation, the few.

^A Furthermore, through the testimony of Sophonias: "All the kings of the earth shall come, so that they may serve him under one yoke." For the nations, having rejected the fallacious multitude of gods, and having repudiated the mountains consecrated to demons—or to those whom they previously worshipped—are now hastening to Him who is truly God, thus provoking one another: "Come, and let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob." It is not said now "Lord and God of heaven and earth," but "of Jacob"; because He appeared to Jacob in human form, and changed the patriarch's appellation, naming him Israel. For which reason he also called that place the "face of God," saying: "For I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved." He suggests, then, that He who is that same one will now be known to the nations, just as He had promised the calling of the nations unto Jacob; to whom He now prophesies that the mountain and the house ^B of God, which are in the heavens, will be manifest and known, as Paul says: "But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother." And: "You have approached Mount Sion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." But those who have progressed in knowledge, and have, as it were, taken possession of the things above, provoke those who remain immersed in earthly things to a like zeal. For he who has been awakened with Christ, and seeks the things above, guides those who think on earthly things. And it is to be prayed that those ascending may not fall back. For the relationship is twofold. It might be rightly understood in terms of the economy of the flesh, with God descending into communion with the flesh, and this being raised up by the union with Him. Let us, therefore, encourage one another to ascend to the height of theology, beginning from the passion, and first to the mountain of the Lord, according to the common notions concerning God; then, with ^C progressing knowledge, we shall add the peculiar distinction of the God of Jacob. "For I am," He says, "the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. This is my name forever." For He joined the saints to Himself, showing that there would be an everlasting memory of them among those who never forget God. But he who still struggles and supplants the demons, learning what is attainable and fitting for himself, will know the God of Jacob; and he who has received the perfect contemplation will know the God of Israel. But the God of Jacob will not announce to us His own way, unless we first ascend to the mountain. For how, unless we first admit the Gospel, could we live according to His instruction? But those who provoke one another—if they are the same—how do they know the way? It is evident that they manifest their zeal, and thus, too, the obtainment of good things; as if someone were now saying to others: "Come, let us depart from earthly things, ^D let us think on heavenly things, let us enter into the house of God, and let us [seek] the way from there...

which lies open to the ascent unto perfection." But from where were the nations incited, and by whose precept are they saying this? "Come, let us ascend," he added, saying: "For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." For this law is new, and the word is strange compared to that which was delivered on Mount Sinai, ^A that, I say, which is signified to go forth from Sion and to teach the nations. For the evangelical law of Christ, having started from on high, from the heavenly Sion—or rather from the earthly one, in which the Savior suffered for us, and having suffered, rose again—and having taken its beginning from the mystical commandments of the New Testament, it went forth into all the world. For those who think that these things are said concerning the law of Moses must be asked how it went forth from that Sion, and how he prophesies the future going forth of it. ^B And what is the word? For if it is the prophetic [word], how did it go forth from Jerusalem? For it has existed everywhere in Judea, and indeed even where they were held captive, and in Nineveh also. Therefore, let them accept the law of the Lord as having come from the watchtower (that is, from his flesh, from which he looked upon our affairs), from which also the word, having made a beginning of teaching from Jerusalem, was spread to the whole world. Therefore, those calling to one another say that either we shall receive the word from the house of God, and having arrived there we shall know it, or [they say] that the law has abandoned Sion and has departed from it, and the divine word has turned away from Jerusalem, because those people acted insolently toward it.

From which the prophet says: "And I said, I will not feed you: that which dies, let it die, and that which is cut off, let it be cut off," and the rest, "and let everyone devour the flesh of his neighbor." For this vision and prophecy were confirmed by the very event that followed the cross of the Savior. ^C Therefore, Paul also addresses those who had not received the word with these words: "Behold, we turn to the nations; for so the Lord has commanded us." And the same "He shall judge among the nations," having placed those worthy of him apart, and having separated those who are not such from the called ones. For standing in the assembly of gods, God shall judge; but among the nations, he shall pass judgment. For it is fitting that he should discern among the saints, for the sake of the surpassing knowledge of him, while among those who have lived in vain, it is fitting that he should pass judgment. ^D And for this reason, some say that all those who do not cultivate piety will be judged; but the judgment will also be different according to the manner of life of each person. Thus, therefore, the evangelical word (after it had distinguished the people from among the nations) rebukes either those who believed, when it exposes their former error, or those who, not believing in him, perished by their own fault.

^A But it is shown here that by the word of rebuking, the very equity of true judgment is made evident. "I will rebuke you," He says, "and set it before your face." But here the rebuke is by means of witnesses; in that secret court of judgment, however, the very facts themselves stand before us, with each sin appearing in its own form to the one who has sinned. And there, the rebuke is for the establishment of the justice of the judgment; but here, it is for correction. For we are cruelly tormented when we receive a consciousness of our sins, having been insensible before.

Those, therefore, who have accepted Him, being freed from every inclination toward war, live in peace, having been delivered from the demons that previously ruled them, to whom the Savior says: "My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you." This is what the discourse also gave as a sign of the times, saying that the instruments of war were to be transformed into instruments of peace, when previously all were raging against one another. For one could not find such a state of peace as that which existed after the advent of the Savior under the Roman empire, throughout nations, cities, and fields. Therefore He says, "and they shall learn war no more." The useful end of these rebukes is the transformation of turbulent men into those who love peace. For the Law and Word of Christ preached peace to those near and to those far off, to Jews and to Gentiles, becoming a plow to soften hearts that have been hardened and to uproot thorns—making those seeds of life, which by the benefit of wisdom are born in rational souls, ready to grow. The spear, which was accustomed to strike and thrust from afar, is turned into that which has the power to gather and bind together. For the sickle, gathering what was scattered, prepares the sheaves for the harvest. These things contribute to the harvest of the Word, concerning which it is written, "Lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white," to which Christ also sends His disciples. ^B For no one who wages war is fit for such a harvest. Since, therefore, they had no instrument of war in their hearts, He gave them the authority to bring peace into the houses to which they arrived; ^C which was not permitted as long as the discourse of worldly wisdom was raging fiercely within. For there was great care to sharpen the sword of speech, which flashed with the appearance of probability, as if a whetstone had been applied to it, and they were drawing it against one another. But from the moment that "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men" began to be announced, the truth suppressed every falsehood, so that those who taught the battles of words did not dare even to mutter anymore. And with great humanity He calls even the Jews to the grace of the saving bath.

^D VERS. 5–9. And now, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord. For He has abandoned His people, the house of Jacob, etc.

^A He invites his own with great affection to accept the peace that has been poured out upon all nations and the light of the Gospel. And he brings forward the urging with a very lively exhortation. He does not call them Jacob (for they were unworthy), but simply "the house of his." Defending God, he alleges the causes for which the people were abandoned. And there is something else that is clearer: after "the mountain of the Lord," he added also "the house," to signify the ascent of those who were progressing, who, being illuminated by a purer and more splendid light, enjoy the pleasure of blessed and intelligible sights known by the sole movement of the mind. Such is that passage: “Come to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be put to shame.” For how could they be ashamed, upon whom the light of the countenance of the Lord has been marked? And because they believed themselves to have an abundance of light, which was illuminated by the legal and prophetic [books], he added the word "of the Lord" by way of interpretation. For the law and the prophets were like a lamp and stars before the rising of the sun; ^B once the sun began to shine, it is certain that those became useless and were hidden. And so the Savior also exhorts them thus: “While you have the light, walk in the light, so that the darkness may not overcome you,” speaking of Himself: “I am the light of the world.” And now the prophet, as it were, transforms the letters of Moses into the truth. But since they thought that because of their ancestors they were a concern to God, even if they sinned grievously and would not approach Him who was incarnate for our sake, he says to them: “For He has abandoned His people.” Another prophet indicates this, saying: “And they coveted fields and plundered orphans, and oppressed households.” And they became arrogant against the Lord, saying: “Is not the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon us.” For this reason: ^C “Because of you, Zion shall be plowed like a field,” and what follows. This is also what the Savior said to those who were unwilling to receive Him: “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” But for what reason He abandoned them, the prophet added: namely, because they imitated the impiety of those who previously inhabited the region. And abandonment by God is a most grievous penalty. For, as if He were holding them by the hand through the protection of God, he says "You have abandoned," no longer providing for the people. And see how many evils the omen-taking that becomes a cause of abandonment by God [brings], because of those among the faithful who occupy themselves with such things. For the law of Moses also denounced all these things as inventions of demons. “But to you, the Lord your God has not given ^D such things.” For it is clearly absurd for those who have the support from the righteous ordinances of God to be led away to things that happen by chance. Omens seem to be an invention of the Philistines, as astrology is of the Chaldeans, and the incantations and sorceries of the Egyptians, and the bird-divination of the Cretans. And, he says, "foreign children were born among them." For when a city accepts wicked customs, the sin of the fathers becomes thereafter like a law for their successors; and immediately from birth, it becomes foreign.

^A to God, acting as aliens. And if this proliferation of fornication perhaps came from women of foreign nations, then, in the soul, these foreign children are the fruits gathered from doctrines outside of piety. Moreover, it shows how great an evil it is to love money, by ranking it among such impieties. For, apart from unjust acquisition, poverty is a guide toward piety, while wealth is an occasion for insolence; that is why He says not to store up treasures upon the earth. "Of horses," he says, "there was no number," as the Law says: "Do not multiply for yourself a horse." And every saint has avoided the use of them. By this he reveals the arrogance of the Jews. But the statement, "there was no number," is either hyperbolic or signifies that, before God, none of these evils are held in account; not a woman, due to the weakness of her sex; not a child, as one easily despised, unless one excepts the firstborn and those of the Levitical line; not a slave, due to his lowly condition; not ^B a stranger, due to the diversity of his morals.

Next, he speaks also of abominations. For it was fitting that those who began with divination, and progressed through greed and a mania for horses, should end up at idolatry; those who trusted in the uncertainty of riches and in lying horses for salvation, but not in Him who is mighty to crush wars. Now every unlawful act is an abomination before the Lord. But as regards idolatry, to which the Scripture here refers, every representation of false doctrines imprinted upon the mind may rightly be termed an abomination. And according to the visible sense, Scripture also says: "Cursed is the man who shall make a carved or molten image, [an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of craftsmen]." The prophet, lamenting this, ^C adds: "And man was bowed down, and man was humbled." Was he who was most honorable after the angels among rational beings, honored with the image of God, to fall down to an idol as if it had the power to save, bowing down to the earth, and not even worthy to look up to the heavens because of his own sin? Therefore, he says, he was humbled, having fallen from such a height, though he had Christ as his head, and it is the greatest of disgraces that even a man... for which reason, when they arrived at idolatry after such lawlessness, he brought it on: "I will not forgive them," because they have disgraced themselves and offered the dignity due to God to idols, and also because they did not cease from divine benefits. For indulgence is an occasion for licentiousness, ^D while affliction produces remembrance of God.

Note, however, that the other interpreters, instead of "for he has dismissed his people," refer the word to God. Aquila said, "you have left," Symmachus, "you have cast off," and Theodotion, "you have dismissed." These even signify that certain foreign nations were destined at the prophesied times to inhabit the land of the Jews, namely, the Romans, who take pleasure in wealth, in divination, and in horses, and in their idolatry, which they will fashion with their own hands. These things happened to the Jews who did not receive the Savior, having disobeyed the prophet who said: "Come and let us walk in..."

the light of the Lord." ^A But regarding things happening from the foreigners, the prophet, being indignant, said to the Lord: "You have abandoned your people, Jacob." And he set forth proof of this abandonment, namely, what was being done by the foreigners. And after these things he says: "And do not forgive them." For in place of "I will not forgive them," Aquila rendered it, "You shall not forgive them," and Symmachus, "And do not forgive them." This could not reasonably be said concerning the Jews (for how would the prophet pray against his own people?), but rather concerning the nations that have settled in Judea. Therefore, in the passages before us, he mentioned neither the nation nor the people, but the country and the land, as being about to be filled with foreign inhabitants. This happened after the presence ^B of the Savior. Before this, foreigners do not appear to have inhabited Judea. For before they were led away into Babylon, those of the line of David were ruling; and during the captivity, it was completely desolate; and after this, the Jews inhabited it again until the siege of the Romans. After which, the city became inaccessible to them. For settlers, brought in by the Romans, took possession of the places.

VERSES 10-21. And now enter into the rocks, and hide yourselves in the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his might, when he shall arise to shake the earth, etc.

^C Finally, they will cast them away out of fear of the Lord who shakes the earth; which things indeed even happened in part at his first coming, when those who were once worshipped as gods were exposed as false. For they were unable to even help themselves. From this, therefore, their worshippers are humbled, but the Lord of all is exalted. And fearing the loss of the precious material of which the idols consisted, when they were trying to hide the royal men in dark places, as the prophet says, they were hiding them. ^D As for that which the Septuagint translators do not have, "Cease for yourselves from man," it seems not to be added consistently with what preceded. But since many things have been discussed beforehand regarding the proud and haughty, the discourse now encourages us not to pay attention to them, neither to hope in any mortal man, who possesses life in his nostrils. Perhaps also, even in the invisible

^A powers (which he tropes as bats) he commands them to cease from henceforth lying in wait for men, however weak and infirm they may be in the flesh; yet God holds them dear, and permits nothing concerning them to remain unexamined. Others, however, interpret the preceding words differently, repeating the beginning from higher up, and maintain that here a different exhortation for the better is being made to the house of Jacob. For by what reasoning, they ask, was it said, "Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord," and likewise, "Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord"? In the same way, they think, it is also said here: "Enter into the rock, and hide yourselves in the earth for fear of the Lord." For who would dare to slander Scripture, as if it were counseling one to flee from the face of the fear of the Lord by hiding in the caverns of the earth? "For where," he says, "shall I go from Your Spirit, and where shall I flee from Your face?" Therefore, of the evils enumerated above, there is one escape: to enter into the shelter of the rock, into the firmament of faith in Christ, where even Moses was placed when he was about to see God. And "to be hidden in the earth" means burying ourselves through baptism, so that having been co-buried with Him, and having died to sin, we may walk in newness of life. For thus we turn away from the fear of the Lord, who shakes the earth, the earthly things, and the man of earth, so that we may have life in the Spirit unhindered. And thus we may attain to His resurrection with power and glory. And so that you may not think He is counseling a bodily withdrawal from God, He shows that God, surveying from on high, is unaware of nothing below. A man is low ^B or "humble" in no way when compared to God, whether it be he who has put aside arrogance for a moderate mind, or he who has fallen from on high through sin; but in the present passage, the humbleness of human high-mindedness is spoken of in praise, as they lay aside their vain pride and return to their own proper worth. For previously, the phrase "a man bowed down, and a man was humbled" was spoken as a reproach; but now the discourse concerns those who have fled to the rock and been buried with Christ. For having recognized the lowliness of their nature, they bear witness that loftiness belongs to God alone. But that day, he says—speaking as if of a predetermined time, or as one creating not a physical light that begins and ends, but one that is immovable and similar to itself—in it, he says, "the Lord alone shall be exalted." For every elevation and every brightness, even if it were of the most intellectual powers, is eclipsed by the brilliance of the divine glory; and every great thing, both of prophets and of apostles, and of all who are in heaven, when He appears, will be humbled. For these things are great and lofty to us, who are poorer. For beside Him, there is no one capable, no one wise. Before Him, even Moses was "of small speech and slow of tongue," and Abraham was "earth and ashes." For as a lamp and a wick, beside the light of the steady meridian sun, they are outshone. But he says the day of the Lord [will be] upon every insolent and haughty person. For this is the beginning of evils. For with satiety ^D he speaks as if of a thing settled and certain, that those which are otherwise attributed to spiritual powers, the one excellent splendor of divine glory overcomes and obscures by its own magnitude. For whether you consider the sublimity of the prophets, or of the apostles, or finally of all the heavenly ones, at the coming of that one [Splendor], all will be humbled. For they are, if compared with us, more feeble.

^A For the devil, having acted with insolence, departed from God and took others as associates, saying: “I will set my throne above the stars,” and after saying other things, he declared: “I will be like the Most High.” It was necessary, therefore, that the punishment should begin from this point. For insolence precedes pride. For the one who looks down upon others initiates arrogance. For pride signifies being seen as above others. For related offenses are punished in a similar way. But the lofty and the high differ from these in their behavior. For he lifts and raises himself up by himself, having nothing established because of his fickleness. And he who is ignorant of himself is punished. For the elevation, he says, is sin. He calls those who are insensibly puffed up "the cedars of Lebanon." For these, being very high, produce useless fruit, and do not age easily, nor do they rot. And Lebanon was full of every kind of idol worship; and ^B the cedars signify the powers that dwell in it, [those] of destruction, the heights of wickedness that are raised up against the knowledge of God; concerning which, David says: “The Lord shall break the cedars of Lebanon.” They also signify manners that are puffed up with emptiness, without underlying fruits; for it is possible to be puffed up on account of some advantage, even if [done] wrongly, yet for a reason. And how are these [like] Lebanon? Firstly, because every elation is demonic; secondly, because trees on a mountain seem somehow greater by an alien height. Such are also those who are puffed up by things not within our power. But you may also find cedars being praised: “For the trees of the field shall be satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted.” And [again]: “Praise the Lord, you fruit-bearing trees and all you cedars.” For it is shown that nothing is evil by nature. But by oneself one becomes estranged from God, and is joined [to evil]. Yet these [trees] of Lebanon, when cut down (which refers to idol worship), are taken up into the construction of the temple; but while remaining [as they were], they are utterly broken. In general, however, both the habits of animals and the species of plants are taken for the various character types of men. The oak tree of Bashan signifies a hard and defiant character. ^C And common usage compares such people to an oak, whose fruit is food for swine. Whence it is called the tree of shame. For this is what Bashan is interpreted to mean. Therefore, they also are punished whose glory is in their shame. But according to the literal meaning, men say that this place in Judea is Bashan, the present-day Batanaea, which is a producer of the best trees. And Scripture calls not only and unchaste life but also idol worship "shame." As Elijah said to Ahab: “Send, he says, the prophets to him to Mount Carmel, the men of shame, who ate at the tables of Jezebel.” However, “Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire in the day of the Lord.” And he says, “against every mountain and against every hill.” These are the evil powers, the measures of the...

^A iniquities of which vary among one another, just as mountains and hills differ in the magnitude of what lies beneath them. For there is one intent and one purpose in them, differing only in magnitude. The high tower, moreover, is a watchtower, created for the safety of the city and for the knowing of enemy approaches, such as the mind that was given to us by God—a guardian of good things and one that foresees those plotting against it. It is not right for this one to busy itself with the ascent to heaven through earthly things while within itself; for the Lord descends to it when it has fallen low due to its mindset, shattering its agreement with evils for the sake of salvation. Concerning the building of this, the Lord commands us first to calculate, and then what we have acquired for its completion. He says that one who is high-minded must fear the day of the Lord. And a wall, too, which guards a city, repels the onsets of enemies.

So too with the doctrines within us: some are ^B guardians of the dogmas of the truth, enclosing the mind so that the dogmas may not be destroyed; while others are for the strengthening of falsehood, and are practiced with the goal of keeping vanity through external reasoning. For dialectic is a wall, not allowing those who wish to plunder and dissolve the dogmas. Therefore, the walls of the Jerusalem that is in mind are inscribed upon the hands of the Lord, while those of Jericho are destroyed by Joshua, dissolved by voice alone. Above, then, only the high things are reproved. But here, also, those which possess a certain strength along with their height—the persuasiveness in demonstrative methods that have been greatly strengthened and exalted—these the prophet, speaking figuratively, calls a “high wall,” asserting that it will be destroyed in the day of the Lord. Scripture delivers these things through names for the sake of exercise, so that nothing may be received in vain, nor should it accustom the mind to remain on the ground. ^C After the high-minded intellect, which is not easily led astray by low things, it again hints at bodies, calling them “ships of the sea.” For the day of the Lord is not fearful to lifeless things, but to those who are tossed about in the saltiness of this life through their bodies—which those who live in the flesh, but do not wage war according to the flesh, trample upon, performing work in many waters, when they even descend into this life to gain some of those who have been submerged. Wherefore ^D they saw the works of the Lord, the reward of their labor

that is, they are said to have perceived the cognition of divine works and of the wonders in the deep. He also threatens those who zealously adorn their bodies, and who are foolishly excited by the contemplation of these things. For it is not the sight of ships that is to be feared, but the contemplation of bodies which are sought for the sake of ^A pleasure. But that what was said above are enigmas, he showed by saying, "And every man shall be humbled," that is, every kind of evil in men shall fall. But, he says, the Lord alone shall be exalted. For once the light has dawned, darkness is put to flight, and once the truth is demonstrated, the nature of falsehood is exposed. And when every true theory is grasped, what previously seemed high and lofty becomes despicable, as every reasonable nature testifies that height belongs uniquely and exclusively to God. ^B The prophecy discourses interchangeably concerning the two advents of Christ. For the things said before are understood of the second. But those that follow concerning idols are of the first, from which idols—wood and stone—are considered to exist. Demons flee both the sight and the name of the Cross. Nor does the discourse entirely differ from the second, if one looks to the complete destruction of impiety. By idols, we meant the opinions which everyone fashions for himself out of false dogmas. When, therefore, the true light has shone, each one, having acknowledged his own dogmas, will hasten to cast these aside, hiding them as if in caves and crevices, seeing from the operation that the fearful power of God shatters things material and earthly for the sake of the manifestation of things spiritual; and just as it is necessary for the image of the earthen to be destroyed, in order that that of the heavenly may appear. But those who at first hide their idols, later cast them out. For it is necessary first to be ashamed of the falsehood, and then to cast it from the heart. Now, silver idols are false dogmas ^C which are asserted with plausible words; golden ones, however, are the thoughts stored up in the mind against the truth. He is said to worship bats who attributes some divinity to the power of demons, which is otherwise akin to darkness; from whom anyone who desires to be recalled must seek to enter the strong clefts of the rock, which are opened only according to the measure of faith in Christ. Moreover, the fissures of the rocks signify the passion of His body, to which all who have care for their salvation pray to flee and be hidden and, as it were, permanently covered under its shelter. But if you look at the letter, it makes the Jews who flee and seek hiding places very ridiculous, and foolishly mocks the weak and infirm power of the gods which they served. For those who fashioned them derived no profit from the idols. And perhaps they even built temples to the bats. For this animal delights in dark places, if indeed it is also filled with stench. They will therefore consider ^D

1893 COMMENTARII IN ISAIAM. 1894

that, in truth, they rather worshipped bats—idols which nest in cavities and possess mere sensation—than their own dwellings which are devoid of all sensation. And they were eager to be buried together with their gods, yet they were not hidden, being with the God of all; but Pharaoh, while pursuing, was engulfed. Nor was God hidden, even when Rabsaces threatened, when He punished the impious. ^B

CHAPTER III

1. Behold, the Lord of Hosts shall take away from Judea and from Jerusalem the mighty man and the mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water. The giant and the mighty man, and the man of war, etc.

Having spoken concerning the day of retribution, he now begins from another point to threaten the removal of the gifts of God from the former people; not, he says, because of idolatry, nor because of other actions, but because of the counsel which they devised against the Just One. For after killing the prophets, they finally impiously raged against the Master of all, killing, as far as pertained to them, the Author of life. He takes away, first, the "mighty man and the mighty woman" (in the words of Aquila, the "support" and the "supportress"; according to Symmachus, the "stay" and the "staying"), signifying, in the language of the Apostle, those who are preeminent according to God, whom he calls pillars and foundations. Such did the ancient people once have, as does he who by divine impulse masters the passions. But among the Jews today there is no such person. For they cannot say: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me," for they have grown weak through their unbelief regarding the cross. ^C

For he who does not possess Christ, who is the power of God, does not possess strength. "Strength of bread," he says, "and strength of water." He did not say bread or water in a simple sense, but the strength [ thereof], which another prophet interpreted by saying: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord." They think they partake of these when they go through the divine Scriptures and are fond of learning them, yet they do not possess the strength of the nourishing words nor the source of life-giving water. The bread which he means is that of which David spoke: "He gave them the bread of heaven." And regarding the waters of which the prophet speaks: "Draw water with joy from the fountains of the Savior." And the Savior Himself says: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." And again, "My flesh," He says, "is true food, and my blood is true drink." Not having these, they did not have...

the strength of bread and water. ^A And since the foods were weak, those who were fed by them were weak. The strength of the prophetic spirit also failed them, and through thirst for this they are consumed. Now there is among us also a kind of food that, while impotent for nutrition, yet wards off death and prolongs life, such as that which is read to have been served to the Corinthian infants. Indeed, herbs are even the food of the infirm; for solid food belongs only to the perfect. But it behooves one to open the eyes, so that we may be filled with that bread and that water. "For open," He says, "your eyes, and be filled with bread." And we read that Hagar opened her eyes and saw the water. ^B We may also say in another way that the life-giving bread has been taken away from the Jews—that is, He who gave life to the world—and that the water of holy baptism has been taken away, and that power itself which is accustomed to remit sins, and by the renewal of the Spirit to render men conformable to Christ, and to grant the faculty of entering the kingdom of heaven. "For unless one," He says, "is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." But as for "giant," neither the Hebrew speech itself nor any of the other interpreters have used this term; but in its place, Aquila gave "powerful," Symmachus "strong," and Theodotion "dynast," which you might call in Latin a prefect or one very powerful. Although, however, we find the name of giant used in a good sense in this place, as also in that passage: "He rejoiced as a giant to run his way." ^C The appellation of giant signifies that man who has attained the highest summit of spiritual fortitude. Now "strong," or "powerful," signifies him who is made slightly inferior, and is surpassed by that greatness which is contemplated in the former; for it is certain that to each one a measure of grace has been granted by God. For Paul says: "I would that all men were even as myself. But each one of you has his own gift from God, one thus, and another thus." Yet a giant can also signify something else: namely, him who, by the benefit of nature, has privately attained something excellent for the reception of doctrine or for the exercise of virtue; for the strength of giants is natural. ^D But the "strong" man is he who by care and labor alone perfects and completes what is granted by nature. Indeed, there remain no warriors among the Jews any longer, because no one is now enrolled in military lists; but, conquered by the allurements of pleasures and the affections of the soul, and by contrary reasonings, they are no longer able not only to arise superior to these, but they are not even able to consider or determine in their mind that which is just. For they are so destitute of God as ruler and guide to that which is equitable, that as

^A they are judged by those who shall even judge angels. And if they are not such, but are judged by the unbelievers owing to a lack of Saints, then this is a sign of abandonment.

He will also take away the prophet. For the grace of prophecy has ceased among them; and vision and prophecy have been sealed according to Daniel. For the gift of prophecy remained among them only up to John. But in the Church, God has set first apostles, second prophets. "For if," he says, "you prophesy, and an unbeliever or unlearned person enters, he is reproved." ^B Indeed, the prophet, by the revelation of the Spirit, foretells future things; whereas the conjecturer, aided only by the experience of things and by comparing the similarity of events, makes guesses about the future: just as, for instance, if someone were to warn us that if we imitate the sins of the Sodomites, we will suffer things not unlike those which they endured, but if we repent of our wicked life, we will experience the same things as the Ninevites.

He calls him an Elder, not simply one who has been deemed worthy of leadership, but one who is adorned with nobility of mind, and who bears the character of an elder intact; for the most part, a man who has not married; or if not, the husband of ^C one wife, having faithful children, and so forth; holding fast to the faithful word according to the teaching, so that he is able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict it. It is necessary for him to surpass many in age, being experienced through time, and exhibiting the stability of his character from the conduct that flourishes in him. For the glory of an elder is white hair. And if, in his youth, one should find a mature judgment, the gift is not to be despised. For wisdom in men, he says, is as white hair.

Now that the ^D Elder is removed from Jerusalem, the elders among the Jews are now elders in name only. Through this removal of the captain of fifty, he shows that the entire orderly economy that was around them will be in confusion, naming the whole by a part, in accordance with what Jethro advised Moses. And he shows the total political order. For while Christ was still with them, and calling them to eternal life, they still had chief priests and leading Scribes and Pharisees among them. Having dared to handle the Lord with such severity, they have been deprived of all goods, and of counselors who would suggest what was needed. For such men are useful for the affairs of life, and for spiritual matters they are utterly saving to those who obey them. He who lacks such men is like a ship without a rudder, surrendered to the surging waves. From the time they made that wicked counsel—as to how they would deliver up the wondrous Jesus—they were deprived of the counselor whose counsels they had admired.

^A For they were astonished at his teaching, but they were not persuaded by his exhortations. And how is he not wondrous, who, instead of "an eye for an eye," advised turning the other cheek to the striker, not to be angry, not to go to law, not to desire evil, not to judge an enemy, but to conquer hatred with love? The Lord, therefore, withdrew that counselor who gave such advice, because he was not received by them, just as He had previously taken away the prophets ^B who had been suggesting to the Jews the things for salvation. A wise architect is everyone who knows how to build the Church, as Paul said: "As a wise architect, I have laid a foundation." According to whom also the Holy Spirit acts as an architect for the Church of God, so that it may be "built together into a habitation of God in the spirit." And that "through the ministration of the Spirit it is built together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord." Therefore, those who rejected that wondrous counselor, the Word of God, He deprived of the benefit of the Holy Spirit, that is, of the wise architect. ^C Furthermore, He also takes away the prudent listener; him, namely, who has the discernment of the Spirit, and who knows who is speaking in the Spirit of God, and who in Beelzebub. Hence also Paul says: "Become prudent money-changers; test everything, hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil." But if, according to Solomon, a valuable word penetrates into a hearing ear, where the Word is not, there is no need for hearing. The wondrous counselor having been taken away, the prudent listener is also removed. ^D For if coins are lacking, the money-changer must also be idle. But it is also very troublesome, whenever speech is difficult and abstruse to understand, that there is no one present to understand it, because he cannot prick up the ears of his mind and apply them; which, nevertheless, Christ demanded for the listening of his discourse when He said: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And from all these things it is confirmed that these things have by no means met their end after the saving advent. For neither in the age of Isaiah, nor at the time of the Babylonian conquest, could these things have occurred; since it is certain that before the siege there were very many prophets and administrators, and after the return not a few, and that they had many judges of the people. For it is known that Daniel judged the elders in Babylon; and after the return there was Jesus, son of Josedec, and Zorobabel, son of Salathiel; then after them, Ezra and Nehemiah. Moreover, they lacked neither the ornament of prudent elders, nor indeed military virtue, if you look to the times of the Maccabees. Certainly, there were not lacking also fifty-men [original-script column: see facsimile]

^A quagenarii, as it were, in military array; and as it is probable, marvelous counselors and experts in the sciences of architecture—that I might speak with Paul as a builder of the Church—and likewise prudent auditors who, by the spirit of discernment, could judge the discourse of the prophets and judge and reject the false from the true, according to the faculty handed down to some of prophesying and to others of discerning. But having fallen from all these things after the plot against the Savior, they were handed over to mocking masters and youthful princes. Yet the kind of vengeance is not one and simple, which threatens that those deprived of good things will also be handed over to worse ones. For it is no light evil for the state to be administered by youths, who it is agreed are liable to a thousand inconveniences on account of their levity and inconstancy. ^B But especially since He had said "the mighty and the strong" and the other things comprehended in the category of useful objects, He threatens the evils in the number of the multitude; accusing the youth not indeed in age, but in character. For even the Lord Himself, when He was meeting with Jeremiah, forbade him to say that he was younger, so as to show that one who is possessed of the perfection of a mature mind is not at all a youth. "For," He says, "mockers shall rule over you," who have given yourselves over into the yoke and slavery of sin. For when that common enemy comes into his own dominion and his own possession, he does not treat his subjects as his own household, ^C but insults them proudly as a victor over defeated enemies, not sparing even the Lord Himself, by whom he contrived for them to fail. Hence it is, therefore, that he who had experienced his power cried out that his loins were full of delusions. But the Lord says that He will not now give such mockers, like the youthful princes; but that those who are attracted by their works from each person to the license of ruling will rule of their own accord. Since they mocked Christ before the cross, they were handed over to the more recent Roman empire, and mockers ruled over them who indeed possessed no truth, but were led only by the opinion of virtue—nay, even they who at times purchased for themselves the title of Rabbi with money. Who would not judge such men to be youths in mind? It is certain that the teachers of the Jews existed entirely in this way. May it be far from us to see the Church reduced to the same state by those who, in the pursuit of private gain, cunningly feign integrity and—by plausible but false interpretations of the Word—lead unwary auditors into deceit. ^D Who indeed would not rightly call these men mockers? But so that you might not doubt what outcome these things will finally have, He adds that the people will collapse, and "man shall fall against man," so that he might note a state of mere confusion and agitation, and the overthrow of all modesty and order. Furthermore, He explains the losses of the final conquest openly, and no longer through enigmas. For they filled the city with sedition and slaughter: not at the hands of enemies,

^A but from among those who were closely bound to one another, yet who, in their desire to rule, were carried away against each other; finally, they did nothing according to the admonitions of the elders, but, just as each was most infamous in wickedness and baseness of life, so they insulted the upright and honorable men with arms.

67 Fame furthermore, as they wasted away and consumed one another, when they sought leaders and governors, they enrolled for themselves—not those whom they judged to be better, or those who were more closely related by kin, by which they might be more moved to compassion—but those whom they thought to be wealthier, or from whom they might be sustained and nurtured: those who, in their turn, met them with equal penury. For as sedition raged, an election was no longer held with an equal right of suffrage for those who could preside over the rest; but any chance person was assumed. ^B May this disease depart from the Church; and may we never assume as a leader for ourselves one who lacks the wedding garment, and who is unable to feed those invited to the spiritual banquet, and who cannot bring forth from the hidden storehouse of the mind that true bread which strengthens and confirms the heart of man. And indeed, among the Jews, those who were called to command did not promise to possess that which they lacked; but among us, there is no lack of those who, neither having put on Christ, nor being moved by the bowels of mercy, nor called to command, do not fear to hasten forward of their own accord. They were in need of the splendid and honest garment of the Word, with which they might hide the turpitude of their own soul. But as for those who were called, He signifies that they did not simply reject authority from themselves, but only that of this people; and He adds the cause when He subjoins that Jerusalem is to be abandoned. For if formerly it was kept in the hand of the Lord by the bond of connection, now it is abandoned; and with the foundations removed, Judea itself falls. ^C They had the tongues of iniquitous men, who, being entirely abhorrent from God—in whose law they ought to have meditated day and night—were not ashamed to call Him a Samaritan, a glutton, a wine-bibber, and finally a bastard and a demoniac. For which reasons one might not unjustly say that nets are spread for birds. But the end of wicked men cannot be otherwise than unhappy. Therefore, having lost all confidence completely, they cannot raise themselves to God. For their crimes are so grave that they are compared to the Sodomites themselves; by whose example, with no shame, they did not doubt to reveal their own flagrant acts, and to boast of them, and to proclaim them to all. For just as the Sodomites, demanding the men from Lot, openly displayed the wickedness of their own lust; so truly did these [display] their own depravity, while with a loud voice they cried out to Pilate: "Away, away, crucify him." Whoever plots evils against another, he meditates ruin for himself; ^D just as we see that weapons which are cast against solid bodies return against those from whom they proceed. What, therefore, is this counsel? "Let us bind the just man, because he is useless to us." For they led Christ bound to Caiaphas. Moreover, justice is—

^A—not useless to insulting and injurious men; just as it is not to those with bleary eyes. But the fruits of their works arise: captivity, dispersion, the overturning of the temple, rejection, ruin, confusion of face; which, because they sinned so contumeliously and impiously against the Word—against the truth, the light, the justice, the Savior, and finally the Physician, God and Vindicator of liberty (by which we understand that Christ is variously signified)—doth not suffer [them] to lift their eyes to God, being deprived of the Word, the light, and the truth, reaping a harvest worthy of the seed they had sown. "For whatsoever a man shall sow, that shall he also reap." Finally, just as they had delivered Jesus to Pilate and the raging soldiers, so they themselves were delivered to the Roman forces. Nor do the things which we read in Ezekiel fit these men badly: "As you have done, so shall it be to you. Your retribution shall be returned upon your own head." But these things must be thought to be said concerning the final judgment of God, by which what is just shall be repaid to each. But if he says this because of the evil of [their] lot, since it shall be done to him according to the work of his hands; shall we think that retribution itself and a curse are to be expected even for him whose iniquity has not yet proceeded to some work, but has remained conceived in him alone? Doubtless, when he said what is maximum and perfect in wickedness, he signified that the same must be thought regarding the rest. For the work is surely perfect, while the impetus of the thought still remains imperfect. Moreover, regarding what is read here as "their tongues," Aquila translates it as "practices." Also, regarding that which belongs to the Lord, [but which] they do not believe, Symmachus translates "that they might provoke him." Then, from the place where it is written: "Woe to their soul, because they plotted an evil counsel," we judge that the prophet, lamenting, spoke this when he saw their shameless and Sodomitic audacity regarding impiety.

^{B C} VERS. 12-25. "O my people, your oppressors are gleaning you, and exactors dominate you. O my people, they who call you blessed deceive you, and they disturb the way of your feet," etc.

Of those who sin in some way, some fall through an error of knowledge, yet overcome by malice, while the conscience resists; others, however, [sin] in ignorance, living like cattle. But the worst of all are those who even drive others to wickedness by robbery. Now, the Word of God, seeing that not a few in Judea were sinning in an error of opinion, separated them from those previously accused and, exhorting them kindly after the manner of a father, addressed them by the name of "My people." For all are his, even those of us burdened by sins. And hence it is that He cries out that He desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth; and that He does not desire our destruction, ^D but our repentance: that is, that we (because we can, if we wish) might become His people. Furthermore, while granting pardon to those sinning in ignorance, He convicts those who were the authors of sinning for them of infidelity. He makes them guilty in Himself; those whom He had previously named "mockers," he now calls "gleaners of the people," because, intent on the exacting of first-fruits and tithes, they would not allow [them] to embrace the faith of Christ. For in those things where the hope of increasing their wealth had shone forth, they ordered the law alone to be kept, while neglecting other commandments in which—

little concerned with the commandments. Christ therefore called them miserable ^A because they tithed mint, dill, and cumin, but neglected judgment, mercy, and faith, which were weightier matters of the law. Sometimes they even dragged those who had slipped into court, so that anyone caught would, terrified by the accusation, offer them gifts beyond his means. For this reason, He used the word "gleaning," as if they were laying hands even on those things left behind by the gatherers. He calls them exactors; for they did not exercise their power over them gently, as teachers ought to toward disciples, but as hard and cruel masters forcing them to do what they pleased—a method entirely contrary to what was prescribed by Peter, who ordered teachers not to dominate the clergy, but to show themselves to be patterns of life, which he calls forms, to the flock. To these are added the exactors of souls, the evil powers who urge the pursuit of wickedness within us; and therefore Scripture calls those blessed ^B who have not heard the voice of the exactor: that is, those who have escaped above their agitations and have not permitted their mind to be harvested or gleaned. Indeed, the Pharisees, wishing to do these things in every way among the Jews, partly terrified them, as has been said; partly, by wandering through the houses of the Jews, they tried to flatter them, calling them a blessed people and the portion of God, and for the sake of gain persuaded them to violate the law of God. For they were accused by the Lord as those who abrogated the commandment of God because of their own tradition. While they admit such things, He says, they do not allow you to persist on the way of the saving Word, knowing well that with the law made obsolete, there would be no further utility coming to them from those things. Therefore they were throwing into confusion the ways of those they taught to acquiesce in shadows. Nor does it do little harm for one who calls people blessed in a flattering manner, since, with the sense of sins removed, he closes the way that leads to repentance. For affliction produces humility, whereas the proclamation of happiness produces swelling and pride. Flattery therefore raises up the simpler sort; but neither does dispraise ever contract a strong soul, nor does praise make it arrogant. ^C

CHAPTER V

^D 72-73 Verses 1-8. I will sing now to my beloved a song of my beloved, concerning my vineyard, etc. . . . and every one that beareth fruit, he will prune it, that it may bring forth more fruit. This the bad steward did not do, who affirmed that he was unable to dig. Now, because it was neither pruned nor dug, it follows most of all that, as in uncultivated land, thorns should grow, which the Lord did not wrongly compare to the cares of this life. It was said above, then, that He made thorns; but here He added, "they shall grow up." For the discourse signifies nothing other than the magnitude of wickedness and a profligate lust for vices. Since, therefore, He says it was expected to bring forth fruit, but it produced thorns of its own accord, I shall now make it a desert, and I shall take it away entirely; for it has rendered itself worthy of these punishments. Indeed, He even commands the clouds that they should not rain upon

^A His vineyard, by calling the prophets, by reason of their pure and clear life, for which the heavenly Word was granted to them. For just as a cloud is air ^B that is moist, consisting of vapors from the earth, and being raised aloft by the winds, when it receives from them a significant gathering, and sufficient weight is generated from the moisture sown within it, it then lets down drops upon the earth. And as the nature of rain itself is indeed moved from earth to earth, so too the prophets, while originating from our common nature, yet by the purity of soul are exalted by the power of the Spirit, and distill drops of life-giving words onto good and fruit-bearing souls. Such was Moses, who said, “Let my teaching be expected as rain.” And again, “My words shall be as rain upon the grass, and as snow upon the herb.” They are therefore commanded not to rain upon the ^B thorn-bearing vineyard, which crowned my Lord with its own thorns, and stirred up an impious cry against Him, “Away, away, crucify Him.” For this, He says, is the cause of the abandonment, by which both the temple is on the ground, and the nation is without oversight, and there is no heavenly rain for them; although even in Egypt and in Babylon the prophets were with them, and after their return from there; but now they have entirely ceased.

But if someone says that they had ceased even before the coming of Christ, it is not all of them; for the temple still stood, and they performed the legal worship until His arrival. But now, both the destruction of the tower, and the desolation of the vineyard, and the failure of the prophets have taken the place of those thorns and the cry which every sin that leads to death releases, with the deed itself crying out, just as we read regarding the blood of Abel. ^C But everyone who acts without the rule of justice, or of law, and indiscriminately does what seems best to him, commits iniquity, being the cause of outcry, turmoil, and confusion; just as peace follows just judgments, those who are judged calmly accepting what is determined. Hence Paul also says, “Let all outcry and clamor be taken away from you.” But there is also an honorable cry, which the Lord, standing in the temple, uttered. Or which David also used, saying, “With my voice I have cried to the Lord,” which denotes the high-sounding and noble nature of the heavenly doctrines. For the first outcry is akin to that from Sodom and Gomorrah. The name of Jacob was divided into Israel and Judah; ^D and first indeed in the case of David, after the death of Saul, in David himself and the son of Saul; later, when Jeroboam caused the ten tribes to revolt from Rehoboam. Hence He mentions both names now. Israel committed greater sins, and therefore was taken captive sooner. Hence, even here, the thorn-bearing vineyard becomes the house of Israel; but the man of Judah.

not a vineyard any longer, but a new plant, not uncultivated, but beloved. ^A Since there is no mention here of a vine-dresser, for that reason Christ sets forth to the rulers of the people the parable that is set before us, as one well-known, and adds the husbandmen, fulfilling what was lacking; in which He says, "He let out the vineyard and went abroad." But they, when the servants arrived at the proper time to receive the fruits, killed them, and after them they also attacked the son and heir. Wherefore, He threatened that He would destroy the wicked husbandmen miserably. Let us, therefore, pray that we may be attached to the true vine, being filled as branches with its life-giving richness. For thus, through spiritual intimacy, we become fruit-bearing. Therefore he says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." He Himself, therefore, makes us fruit-bearing. He Himself builds the hedge, and by raising a wall, He will stop those who pass by. For regarding Him, another oracle says: ^B "And thy waste places shall be built, and they shall be a monument to generations of generations; and thou shalt be called the builder of fences, and thou shalt cause the paths that are in the midst to cease."

VERS. 8-17. Woe unto them that join house to house, and lay field to field, that they may take something from their neighbor. Shall ye dwell alone upon the earth? For these things were heard in the ears of the Lord of hosts, etc.

These things may be understood commonly as directed towards those who suffer from the disease of lust and avarice; they may also be joined to the preceding, and separately applied to the thorns which he said the vineyard had brought forth. And again, the ^C afflictions which were to happen to the Jews because of these things, and for the consequences of which they were little concerned, while they indulged meanwhile in robberies and drunkenness, not fearing to commit the most grievous outrages against the Lord. But since each one of us also carries within himself a field of cultivation, let us beware, first of all, lest we offend God. For then, possessing virtue as a stable and safe house, we shall dwell, and we shall multiply grain like the valleys. For by a blessing the seeds of our righteousness will be increased, to use the words of Paul; who likewise asserts that the drunken will never be heirs of the kingdom of God. For the prophet laments these even now, who are not permitted to behold the works of the Lord ^D with a sober mind. For inflamed by wine, the flame itself revealing the heat, a flame which is excited by other perturbations and which increases these in return, they do not make an end of drinking. It is excited also

^A by musical instruments, whose author we have learned was Jubal, who was of the lineage of Cain; and we know that Jacob himself, when his brother sought to draw him toward such things—which he believed would prove an impediment to him—fled in order to contemplate the works of the Lord. But the Babylonians, who lent their ears to such things, fell. Yet those who avoided the wine and the table of that king, and did not fall down and worship, extinguished the power of the fire themselves. Therefore, he who, stirred by these things, meditates in his mind on invisible realities, is the one who truly considers the works of the Lord ^B by the eyes. For we behold these things when we compare them in thought with the works of the intellect. But how could this come about if the mind is blinded by drunkenness and cannot even see God? The "works of the hands" and the retribution expected in Hades—the fire, the dried-up tongue, and the rest—are punishments. Therefore, let us resolve to live like priests. For God said to Aaron and his sons: "You shall not drink wine and strong drink whenever you enter the tabernacle of the testimony." According to the Hebrews, "strong drink" comprises anything capable of producing drunkenness. He then proceeds to the terrible things that these people subsequently suffered at the hands of the Roman emperors Vespasian and Hadrian. For, having been deprived in their understanding of the substantial and rational bread of life, they hunger ^C severely, according to the passage: "They shall return at evening, and they shall hunger like dogs, and they shall circle the city." And having denied the Author of life, they have fallen into the death of the soul; having turned away from Him who came to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, they were handed over to invisible enemy captors. Thus, they perished not by lack of bread or thirst for water, but by a famine of hearing the word of the Lord, and a thirst for that water which he who draws from the Lord shall never thirst again. For the Lord does not allow the souls of the righteous to starve, nor does the seed of the righteous seek bread; nor do the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is present with them. ^D Now, the phrase "Hades has enlarged its soul" signifies the suffering of those who perish. For he does not mean this as a living creature, nor as a power extended against those who are dying. By saying "mouth," he represents a certain place within the innermost parts of the earth—a lightless place receiving those who descend through a certain opening. One is taken captive being led away by deceit from the blessedness in paradise. He is dead, not having the life that comes from the commandment. And he who is by nature of wickedness, separated from God—having a disposition contrary to the good—descends into Hades.

But, in contrast, the righteous man is raised with Christ and sits with Him in the heavenly places. Those who descend into Hades are, first, the illustrious, who seemed to be good but did not possess such works. Then the great, who were superior to the many in power and authority, or those who became wealthy through injustice, or those who had an insatiable desire for more, and all the plague-stricken, who teachers...

wicked things by their words, or provoke others to sin. But the person living according to the institution of the flesh, ^A a Jew, exults in the earthly Jerusalem, not attending at all to that grace which is laid up for the saints. That person, however, who is simply a man—who, by the help of common knowledge and the virtue which he received from his first formation, has risen higher—is humbled through the sympathy he has with those who are inferior. But he who has now become worthy of the name of a man, if he be broken by perturbations, is struck with ignominy, being deprived not only of that which he has in common simply, but also of that good which he has acquired for himself through exercise. “For those who glorify me, I will glorify; and those who despise me shall be dishonored,” ^B he says in the first book of Kings. And he despises God who transgresses His commandments. And the eyes are called “lofty” whose thought is lifted on high. For, having contemplated the Maker of all things, and having become superior to objects of sense, through a false opinion and a delight in the study of earthly matters, they are deservedly said to be depressed. God is exalted in judgment on account of the just retribution of the merits of which we have spoken. Furthermore, we exalt God in every well-performed action. For whatever we do well, we do it entirely with Him as its Author and Helper. Thus it says: ^C “I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up.” We exalt Him again when we contemplate His wisdom, power, and judgments; not otherwise than as it is said of the righteous man: “The high things of God are in his throat.” And he who contemplates the Lord exalted in judgments, the same also beholds the glory of His justice. But for that which is, “And the despoiled shall feed as bulls,” Symmachus has: “Their lambs shall feed according to their order.” And strangers shall eat the deserts of the lawless; which also came to pass in the end. For the princes of the people, leading like a herd of bulls, having been taken away into migration and despoiled in a foreign land, certain neighbors and sojourners came and occupied their deserted regions; which also the words warned, when it said: “And strangers shall eat your region before you.” ^D These things were clearly at variance with those which the Lord was accustomed to fight for His own people. But now through another prophet, God says: “Glean, glean, I say, as a vine, the remnants of Israel. Return as a grape-gatherer to his basket.” He signifies, therefore, here also, that those who were formerly despoiled by the Jews—when the Lord was fighting for them—shall themselves feed upon the Jews, not dissimilar in strength to bulls. He says further: And [shall feed upon] the deserts, the herbage of those besieged, that is to say, which grows abundantly in the desert—that the lambs of the nations shall feed upon these; understanding by the name of bulls those who are preeminent in strength, but by lambs, those who are not such. Such things indeed we suffer when, being overcome in war by the opposing powers and by irrational impulses, we shall pass our time like bulls in the desert of this life. Whence he did not say, oxen. For they are gregarious. But the bull, being spirited, is torn away from the others.

^A VERS. 18, 19. Woe to you that draw sins as with a long rope, and iniquities as with the thong of a yoke of a heifer: who say, Let his work make speed, that we may see: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know.

And these things are consistent with what was previously said. For having heard many teachings of the Savior, and afterwards of the apostles, they persisted in unbelief and heaped sins upon sins, ever weaving to those that came before others—just like those who weave a rope, when the material fails, they add new parts one after another, wishing to make it long. Now every one who sins fashions for himself bonds by which he sins, making a rope with which he is bound, either long or short, according to the measure of his sins. For through this we become prisoners, according to the voice of Jeremiah. For everyone is tightened by the cords of their own sins. And what we do against our neighbor, not by chance but by design and ambush and long-contrived preparations, is a long rope, through which we drag to ourselves sins that are laid far off—or rather, the punishments for them. And the Scripture knows how to call even this "sin." For in a certain way we compel the judgment of God to come upon us, so that to each of us it may be said: "Do you despise the riches of his goodness, and patience, and long-suffering?" ^B Symmachus rendered it: "Woe to those who draw iniquities as with a rope of vanity, and sin as with a cart-rope." For ropes, being long, are hard to undo, being thickened by the tension of sins. For the yoke-straps are not easily broken, even by the strongest yokes and when the burdens are dragged by force. He increased the strength by saying "of a heifer," that is, of a robust animal, one neither exhausted by labors nor by time. Or perhaps, just as those who submit heifers or oxen to yokes sometimes drag them with great force into labors and bind them, in the same way, those who were of their own accord subjecting themselves to the impending divine wrath did not hesitate to provoke it with these words: "Let his work make speed, and come,"—that is, the threats of the prophets and of the Savior himself inculcating the same, ^C inviting upon themselves the same with great insolence for their own destruction. Hence it is that a certain prophet imprecates them with these words: "Woe to those that desire the day of the Lord! And it is darkness, and not light." It is right, however, that he who is impeded by the bonds of sin should follow Christ, who will release with his voice those held in bonds, and command them to go forth. He signifies by the "Holy One of Israel" the only-begotten Word of God.

^D VERS. 20. Woe to you that call evil good, and good

^A evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

And these things are applied to the same people. For, rejecting the good and prudent counsels of the Savior, they welcomed the contrary reasonings. Instead of the evangelical light, they embraced the darkness of their own error as if it were a light, and pursued the bitter nature of wickedness as if it were some sweet pleasure. Just as now we see them turn away from the truth of the Gospel, and marvel at and retain old wives' fables. Such was it to deny Christ and petition for Barabbas, having become part of the thieves' faction; to approve of idolaters, and to persecute the honorable and prudent people of Christ. Having thrust away the illumination which comes through Christ, they have remained in darkness, according to that word: "To those expecting light, darkness came to pass, and those expecting splendor were surrounded by gloom." It is for the perfect man, who has his senses well-exercised by habit, to be able to distinguish the nature of the good from the evil, just as a skillful money-changer retains what is good; whereas we call him inept who has his instruments of judgment disposed contrary to nature. Three pairings have now been set forth, differing indeed in corporeal ^B things, but being occupied in various senses regarding one thing, which pertains to the soul. They define the good, therefore, as that which is honorable and laudable; to which is opposed that which is base, now called evil, by which name that which is to be censured is signified. Light, moreover, is a substance that dissipates darkness; and darkness is air destitute of light. There is, furthermore, the sweet, which exhilarates the sense with the mildness of humor or juice: but the bitter is that which irritates the taste.

This, then, may be the trivial and easy explanation. But the discourse should by no means be taken regarding those things that are perceived by the senses. But because the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes, he who does not direct the course of his life according to its norm, but is deluged by the muddy allurements of pleasures, considers those pleasures to be light, and the commandment of the Lord to be darkness. ^C Furthermore, if you attend to the consideration of dogmas, he who does ^D not believe in the true light makes that light darkness, and makes the devil light. And, if the words of the Lord are sweet to the throat of the just, he who flees the burden of the commandments, having embraced the sweetness of pleasures, overturns the nature of sweet and bitter. Moreover, having regard for dogma, the Lord is sweet to those by whom he has been skillfully tasted: "Taste, for he says, and see that the Lord is sweet." But anyone who does not believe in him says that the sweet is bitter. And that is truly good, which in all respects adapts itself correctly to virtue. For virtue is a mean, of which the excess or the deficiency is vice; as in courage, cowardice is the deficiency, while rashness is the excess, both of which work shame; and he who does not believe in the Lord

does not adhere to the nature of the honorable and the beautiful. For the honorable is properly the good, according to the testimony of the Psalmist singing: "In your splendor and your beauty" ^A; but the fount of baseness is the devil. Since, therefore, there is no fellowship of light with darkness, nor agreement of Christ with Belial, these things must be separated from one another; and let us not be led astray, imagining that he who transforms himself into an angel of light is light, nor prefer bodily pleasure and beauty to that of the soul. But why, in the case of the good, is it said "saying," while in the case of light and the sweet it is said "setting"? In one respect, saying is simpler than acting, but in another respect, it is also more bitter. For we go astray in the first errors of life only through the word. But when we perform evil, and persist in it after experience, we establish, as it were, unchangeable boundaries for ourselves in our works of wickedness. ^B Even if one does not transfer himself from debauchery to temperance, he sets before himself that which is bitter as sweet. And worse than this is to advocate for evil, and to call the good evil; for, he says, they not only do these things, but also concur with those who do them. To "set," therefore, is to do. To "say" is to dogmatize. Some have declared that the sin unto death is that of those who consent to sins, but are not pricked in their conscience by the things in which they sin; from which it follows that there is no repentance.

^C VERSES 21-23. Woe to those who are wise in themselves, and before themselves are men of knowledge. Woe to you that are strong, that drink wine, and are powerful, and that mix strong drink. Who justify the ungodly for the sake of gifts, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.

And these things are again fittingly added to the above, even though the threat is leveled under a common name against those who seem wise to themselves, such as were the teachers of the Jews in the first instance, who taught the people nothing accurately or well, but were wholly given over to drunkenness, and despoiled the people of their goods. For although the law ordered them to judge a righteous judgment, the prophet thus rebukes Jerusalem: "Thy princes are disobedient, companions of thieves, loving gifts, following after rewards, not judging the orphan, and not attending to the cause of the widow" ^D. For, led by the desire for shameful gains, they committed wicked deeds to foster the luxury of their lives. Looking to which, another prophet said that they drank the wine of those unjustly condemned. For being masters of wickedness, they were shrouded in the darkness of ignorance, and they mixed for others a deceitful drink—the strong drink, that is—peddling the Word of God; wherefore it was cast in their teeth that their tavern-keepers diluted wine with water, and condemned the innocent while letting the guilty go free.

^A That which is said, "those who are prudent in their own eyes," is to be understood not only of those who appear to know what they do not know, but also of those who have received the gift of knowledge but do not share it with others. For what profit is there in a hidden wisdom and a buried treasure? Such a man was he who buried the talent and preferred to be wise for himself alone. And if anyone uses knowledge for evil, and not for the glory of God, he is not wise before God, just as he is not who ascribes a success to his own virtue and does not praise God as the author of such a gift. To such a one it is opportune to say: "What do you have that you have not received? But if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" ^B Understanding is indeed called a kind of easy apprehension of the soul, which immediately gathers the notions of things into one; or an agile sharpness of mind, which finds what is proper to each individual thing. Science is a habit confirmed in itself and immutable by reason. Wisdom, however, they say, is the science of divine and human things, and of the causes of these. And since Christ is wisdom itself, we shall call him wise who, by participation in Christ (insofar as He is wisdom), has been perfected, like the craftsmen of that tabernacle: "For I will fill them," it is written, "with the spirit of wisdom and knowledge," which, unless one joins to himself, he proves himself to be miserable and unhappy. It was forbidden to the Nazirites, and to the priests themselves, whenever they were to enter the Holy of Holies, to drink wine and strong drink. Solomon also says in Proverbs: "Let not princes who are prone to anger drink wine, lest when they have drunk they forget wisdom." For it behooves one who is dedicated to the ministry of God, and also one to whom the care of men has been entrusted, to have a pure and sincere mind. For as the least of men is easily forgiven, so "the mighty shall be mightily tormented." And "to whom much has been entrusted, much more will be asked of him." He is, in turn, called inebriated as long as anyone is constrained by his passions; for as long as he is dislodged from the empire of reason, he allows himself to be held in the confusion of these passions and the oblivion of wisdom. But how can a man who has wisdom be irascible, unless one speaks of him who is not yet entirely freed from the passions? But regarding the man who is only moderately troubled, it is also said elsewhere: "A fool reveals his anger on the very day he is irritated; but a wise man stores it away and defers it for a time." For he curbs his distress with reason as if with a bridle, as it is written: "Be angry and do not sin." But the Lord, who commands more perfect things, has forbidden anger altogether. ^{C D} Verse 24-30. Therefore, as the stubble is burned by the fire of coal, and consumed by the flame of a dry plant, so their root shall be as dust; and their blossom shall ascend as soot. For indeed, they did not wish—

^A to accept the law of the Lord of hosts, but provoked the oracle of the holy One of Israel, etc.

He again proclaims punishments ahead of his threats, so that if they hear them, they might, if possible, repent. He says, "For this reason," that is, because of the things mentioned—not because of some chance occurrence, or natural necessity, or fate, but because of the crimes they committed. For since, instead of grapes, they have produced wood, and hay, and stubble, and a multitude of thorns, it is not without reason that it is said, "As stubble is burned": and he calls the uncontrollable flame that which is unquenched, and which, with no one to hinder it, advances with authority. By ^B "beauty," he means the beauty of the body, the glory of wealth, and the splendor of the entire nation, which, he says, shall be scattered like dust. Nor does he now accuse them of idolatry, but of their failure to accept the law, concerning which it was said: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." He might also mean the law of Moses: "For if you believed," he says, "Moses, you would have believed me; for he wrote of me." But they did not accept the evangelical word either. Hence, he says, the Lord was angered against His own people. For He wished them to be His own people, but they did not accept Him; consequently, he foretells to them the incursion of enemies, and a multitude of the slain, such that even the mountains are filled with the corpses of the bodies.

"As if the anger of God were still remaining upon them," it is said, "His hand is still ^C lifted up." The one who interprets this, Paul, says: "But the wrath has come upon them to the end." Why then does he subsequently introduce such deadly things, describing the incursion of nations and a military battle array? And why were the mountains provoked, or rather, as Aquila has it, "agitated," or as Symmachus pleases, "disturbed"? It was not that they acted of their own accord, but as if drawn by God for the siege of those who had sinned, that He might indicate the Roman army speeding from the western parts, from the ends of the earth. For Scripture is accustomed to call the Babylonians and Assyrians by name, or from the north. For these are more northern than Judea. But here, speaking of the Romans, he says: "They roar like lions, and [they stood] as the cubs of a lion." ^D Denoting both their multitude and the confused noise of their voices, he likened them to a surging sea. Regarding those who are being besieged, he says: "They shall look to the earth. And behold, hard darkness in their distress," indicating the perplexity arising from terrors, who shall also be subjected to the enemies like dung. By "standard," he says, he means the things indicated to the armies by elevated or lowered banners. They have suffered these things because they turned away from the Word of the Lord, just as Jeremiah also says: "They were terrified and were taken." Is there any wisdom among them, because they rejected the Word of the Lord?

^A He therefore not unfittingly compares them now to straw, which is hollow within, rests upon a weak base, and possesses uneven growth, such as one might imagine the notable people of this world to have. For they are hollow in the inner man, and leaning on weak things, they follow a path of life that is intemperate and uneven. Now, a coal is that earthly fire which, after the flame has passed, is accustomed to remain in the thicker matter. To those, therefore, who by their own passions are inflamed, and who carry the cause of the burning within—such as that which scorched the rich man—and such as those who are burnt by the drinking of wine, whom the prophet now pursues, he threatens an ultimate destruction by fire.

Again, they overturn the laws themselves for the sake of receiving gifts. And this is why he signifies that he will burn their root—that is, the desire for wealth—which is not accustomed to bear fruit. But what sort of flower is this? It is not undeservedly likened to dust, which by its nature can neither stand firm in one place nor resist the dispersing wind. Furthermore, just as if it were to stick in one’s throat, it hinders breathing and plots against our life; so too do the flowers of avarice, namely the insane desire for possession, lying, and slander, take away our true life, obstructing the purity of the Spirit. ^B But because he had said above, "Woe to your strong and mighty ones," now he says, "And the Lord was angry with wrath against his people," as though he too, according to zeal, had sinned along with those who were in charge. For from them the wrath had made its passage to him; for "fury" and "wrath" are used metaphorically regarding God. And perhaps "wrath" denotes corrective discipline, while "fury" is named for the rebuke that brings confusion to our thoughts. "For in his fury," he says, "he will disturb them," deeming them not yet worthy to receive a word. But wrath disciplines, according to the verse: "Then he will speak to them in his wrath." Therefore, fury accomplishes less, while wrath disciplines. Hence Jeremiah says: "Discipline me, Lord, but in judgment, and not in thy fury." For he did not say, "And not in wrath." Discipline from judgment is kinder than that from fury and wrath. For he who is disciplined in judgment is enlightened by the judgments of God, so as to do all things with judgment and reason. For the thoughts of the righteous are judgments. ^C But in saying that the Lord sent his hand against the people, he signified a chastising power, not otherwise than as it is read concerning Job: "For the hand of the Lord has touched me," of which even the devil himself speaks thus: "Not so, but put forth thy hand and touch his bones." Then, he continues, the mountains were exacerbated; as when the creation is moved along with God toward justice. Thus, the plagues of the Egyptians were from all sides: from the air, from the earth, from the water. And fire, in addition to these, was setting things ablaze. Some say that in this way the authorities of the Romans are spoken of, because of their appearance in glory and their exaltation in honors. But he likens the dead to dung because of their dishonor. Such are those who have persisted in their sins, and who are under ^D

of the contrary powers being trampled underfoot. For on account of their unrepentant heart, he says, his anger shall not be turned away, and the hand remains raised for punishment, against whom even the intelligible mountains are provoked, the principalities, and powers, and world-rulers, by whom the soul dies when God no longer restrains them; just as for the righteous the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. This is the end of the prophecy concerning King Uzziah which began from, "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth." That which follows after the death of Uzziah refers to Jotham, who succeeded him.

CHAPTER VI

1-5. "And it came to pass in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up. And the house was full of his glory, and the Seraphim stood round about him, etc." ^B Through direct vision he confirms that he has grasped the Lord, whom he had previously proclaimed many times as Sabaoth. But this is without doubt the only-begotten Word of God, who, resting in the bosom of the Father, occasionally lowers his own greatness and renders himself visible to men. He was seen many times by Abraham, as the Scripture says, and fashioned in the form of a man, even to the point of being under the oak, washing his feet, and partaking of a meal. He was also seen by Isaac often, and by Jacob, who experienced him as a man while wrestling. Moses also asked to see God openly, but heard what follows: "You cannot see my face; for no man shall see my face and live." For the divinity of the only-begotten Son of God remains invisible to all. ^C Ezekiel also beheld his glory, but through riddles. And it is proven, even by the testimony of John, that this prophet was deemed worthy of an honor for such a great matter. For when he had used the testimony of Isaiah, saying that their eyes were blinded, and the rest that follows, he finally adds: "These things Isaiah said, when he saw his glory." For that is the very thing which Isaiah now says: "Hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand," and the rest that follows. And so the prophet saw the glory of Christ through the things set before him, not necessarily with the eyes of the flesh, but with those illuminated within by the Holy Spirit. ^D For we see with the eyes of the mind through the cooperation of light, just as we do with the eyes of the body. Hence the Savior says: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Being such, Isaiah saw the Lord Sabaoth, but not while Uzziah was alive; for this [vision] took place upon the

^A accomplishment of God’s works, things which the God-fearing man performed first, [and] he forced his way into the priestly ministry, until leprosy broke out upon his forehead and he was driven away. Since the law commanded that the leper be sent away from the camp as one unclean, Uzziah dwelt in Jerusalem, defiling the whole city. Hence the Master kept silent—not dishonoring the prophets, but judging those who dwelt with the unclean as unworthy of His admonition; for He says to Ezekiel: "And I will make your tongue cleave to your palate, and you will be mute, and you shall not be a man who rebukes them, because they are a rebellious house." And now, too, He is silent out of indignation, and for this reason Jerusalem shall be shaken. Amos ^B has declared this, saying: "The words of Amos." Then, having mentioned the kings in whose time the words had been spoken, he added: "Two years before the earthquake." With the king having passed away, the silence was also brought to an end, with Jotham reigning, who is also testified to as having done what was right before the Lord. He saw, therefore, the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the house was full of His glory. But the prophet saw the Lord not in the house, but on a throne; concerning which Scripture certainly says: "The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord—His throne is in heaven." And the Lord Himself says: "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet." And another: "His throne has been lifted on high," since the kingdom of God is beyond every nature. But that it makes Him sitting indicates a stable and firm condition of the same good things. Thus David himself also says: "God sits upon His holy throne." And Jeremiah: "For You sit forever, and we are perishing forever." He saw the Lord above, then, while he gazes upon the house that is on earth as full of His glory, just as if illuminated by the rays of heavenly light from above and by the brilliance of the divine Word. For at the time when Israel had not yet acted so impiously against the Master Christ, the glory of the Lord was wont to fill the temple that was there. ^C But from the moment they once renounced His kingdom, they immediately heard: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." And Seraphim, if you interpret it, signifies "burners," or "those who are fervent." For there is nothing cold or sluggish among the highest powers; furthermore, anyone who joins himself to the Lord becomes fervent in spirit and is kindled with love for God. And the powers that he says encircle God are acknowledged to be those which Daniel also indicated, when he said: "Thousands of thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him." He does not allow, as some have supposed, two

^A Seraphim to be understood from the fact that he said they are in the circuit of God and encompass his throne, as though they were animated and illuminated by him; on account of which powers he is also called Lord Sabaoth, that is, Lord of powers, or Lord of hosts. He says that six wings are natural to each, which are certain innate virtues, by which they are elevated so much that they are near to God, having their mind in the ineffable elevations of thoughts. For just as we have certain natural senses of the body, so it is likely that they are endowed with certain divine powers, effective of marvelous things, though unknown to us; and these virtues themselves are to be considered not of choice, but of nature. That we should think this is confirmed by him who fell, Lucifer. But these wings can in no way be corporeal, just as they are not understood literally where it is written: "Who walkest upon the wings of the winds." From the number of wings spoken of in this way, with two they covered their own face; indeed, Symmachus translated it, "their own face," as if to signify that they dared not gaze intensely upon what was being contemplated: "For no one knows the Son, except the Father who begat him." And with two they covered their own feet, the extremities of their own journey, as one might say their footsteps, shading the actions of their life, so that they might not stand before their King with uncovered feet. And by covering the journey of their life, they offered their middle state to be seen. And they also exceedingly admired the wisdom of the providence and governance of the Only-Begotten, which appears to all in the midst, and they dared not look upon the face of his divinity, nor the infinite magnitude of his eternal and incomprehensible nature, which he called feet. For, struck with amazement at these things, they would cry out according to the capacity of each, often to one another this hymnic chant; for they did not send forth one single voice, nor indeed all at once, but one showing the wonder to the other. But they were especially struck with astonishment by such a great descent of the glory of the Word of God from the highest things to the lowest, so that not only did the heaven possess his glory, but it reached even to the earth, and filled it—which is an excess of philanthropy. ^B When, therefore, the vision of these things took place, the house in Jerusalem alone of those on earth was full of his glory. For this is what the prophet said. But when they learned by foreknowledge of the future that the whole earth would be full of his glory, then the lintel was lifted, and the house was filled with smoke. For through these things was being shown both the removal of the security, the temple being stripped, and the conflagration that would befall the house, once Christ had been made known to the nations, when also the glory of his theology was shown to all, not one house any longer, but more, ^C being established as better houses throughout the whole inhabited world. For as the "Holy, holy, holy," was not appropriate to the Synagogue of the Jews (for the hymn was reserved for the Church ^D throughout the whole inhabited world), the grace from above is taken away.

^A Since it is necessary that the doorposts be easily shaken, wherefore every hand shakes the Jewish things. Hence a certain prophet said: "I will make Jerusalem as a shaking threshold." This indeed came to pass when the whole earth was filled with His glory. And this had also been foretold to Moses when he implored God regarding the people’s making of the calf: "But as I live, and as My name lives, because all the earth shall be filled with My glory." And in the seventy-first Psalm he says: "And all the earth shall be filled with His glory. So be it, so be it."

Just as even now the Seraphim were crying out, seeing that His glory was about to shine upon the earth, and perceiving that it would suffer nothing from the earthly substance, they articulated the sanctification not once, but many times, or rather even infinitely; and the one would declare to the other his own wonder ^B—that is, they would answer one another in turn, not because of the toil of singing, but to provide space to offer up praises in turn; for it is not right to think that things which happen above are not done with adornment and grace. By repeating the "Holy" three times, they conclude the sum of the praise in this, that by saying "Lord Sabaoth," they posit the Holy Trinity in one nature of divinity.

But the prophet, having learned of the desolation that was about to overtake them, fears lest he himself should be destroyed together with the multitude. And comparing human nature with that which he had seen, he cries out that he is a wretch, confessing not the impurity of his soul or of his body ^C in its entirety, unless one should understand the whole from a part, rather than agreeing that he was pure in all other respects, and in his heart itself; for he could not have seen the Lord otherwise. From where, then, did he say that he had unclean lips, if not from his daily association with impure men, with whom he lived, and whose wickedness he was not undeservedly forced to challenge? For he existed in such purity that, for the slightest cause, he was moved to compunction and lamented himself as miserable and unhappy. For a righteous man is his own accuser.

So truly Abraham, in his earlier conversation with God, as soon as he had beheld Him, was not afraid to say that he was earth ^D and ashes, not having professed this beforehand, just as neither did Isaiah exclaim "Woe is me" before he had beheld God. Nay, even that Moses, instructed in the discipline of the Egyptians, and, as is fitting, far superior to them in talent and prudence, had noted the stammering and slowness of his own tongue. But from the moment he heard God delivering oracles, he not only immediately recognized the defect of his tongue, but accused it. Furthermore, we read that it was provided for by the laws of Moses, and observed with no small diligence, that the profane should not be mingled with the holy. And hence it is that Peter, in the abundance of the catch, having experienced the power of Jesus, when at His command he let down the net, said: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For otherwise he would not have deemed it necessary to ask Christ to depart from him. And the Gergesenes, too, after the experience of such great wonders, entreated Him to depart from their borders.

^A For although it was necessary to rather hold fast the one who drives out demons and acts as a healer of every disease. Hence, even the Pharisees, when Matthew was called to salvation and invited Jesus into his own house, because many sinners and tax collectors were present, kept saying to His disciples: "Why does your Master eat with sinners and tax collectors?" God also accuses the leaders of the Jews, saying, "You did not distinguish between the holy and the profane." Therefore, even now the prophet is struck by his conscience, he says, because when the holy powers were singing hymns to the Lord with all-holy lips, he could not join them in singing, knowing that "praise is not beautiful in the mouth of a sinner." Consequently, Symmachus gave out: "Woe is me, for I have been silent." For Israel was truly impure in its lips, having blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ. But the prophet, in addition to the reasons we have brought forward, out of modesty joins himself with the people. Perhaps he also confesses the sickness of human nature, in accordance with the saying of David: "I said in my ecstasy: Every man is a liar." For falsehood is a sickness of nature, even if some sober men have been able to avoid it. That it is necessary to praise God with pure lips is shown by one of the disciples regarding the tongue, saying: "With it we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse men who have been made after the likeness of God." ^{B C} But Symmachus rendered it even more clearly, saying: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the things beneath His feet were filling the temple. Seraphim standing above." For since heaven is His throne and the earth is the footstool of His feet, the temple on earth stood within His footstool; reasonably, the things that fill the house on earth were said to be "at the feet of God." But the Seraphim stood above the house. For it was not indeed above the Lord, nor even inside the house (for then they would have been under the feet of God), but they were above the house, surrounding the royal throne. Let us not be ignorant, however, that some have said the "house" is the entire system of the intelligible and sensible creation, and "the throne lifted up" is the principle over all. But these [interpreters] ought to have added how the house understood in this way was filled with smoke.

^D VERS. 6-13. And there was sent to me one of the Seraphim, and in his hand he had a coal, which he took from the altar with the tongs, and touched my mouth, and said: Behold, this has touched thy lips, etc.

To Jeremiah, who had said: "Ah, Lord God, behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child," [the Lord] stretched out

^A his hand and touched his mouth, filling him with the grace of prophecy, since he had no need of cleansing. But now, for him who is in need of this, it is not the Lord [Himself], but one of the Seraphim who brings the cleansing coal; whence they are deservedly called "burning ones," or "kindling ones." For this reason it is written of the angelic powers: "Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire." For they possess the power of [effecting] the purgation for those who stand in need of it. God fills His own altar with cleansing coals; wherefore we read elsewhere that coals were kindled by Him. And Moses called God a consuming fire. Furthermore, the Savior baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. For it is certain that no one can be cleansed except through divine fire. "For the fire itself shall test what sort of work each one's work is; and he shall be saved," he says, "yet so as through fire." ^B Perhaps, indeed, Christ is signified by the name of the coal or ember, which, being wood by nature, is nevertheless entirely filled with fire, and retains its power and action. For Holy Scripture is wont to compare God willingly to fire. But "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." For in Christ "dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead," according to the mode of the union. Hence the flesh of the Savior is also a worker of miracles. For as soon as He touched the bier, the widow’s son was made alive again. The same, moreover, restored sight with spittle, which, now applied to our lips, cleanses us as often as we confess our faith in Him. ^C Hence also that saying of Paul: "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach," and what follows. For by His work we are cleansed from the stains of sins and become fervent in spirit, because His flesh took away the sin of the world. And David also says: "Thy word is tried in the fire exceedingly, and thy servant hath loved it," after he had experienced its power. Akin to this is that fire which appeared to Moses in the bush on Mount Horeb. Nor does it differ from that which kindled the hearts of Cleopas and Simon when the Lord was opening the Scriptures to them. Jeremiah felt such a fire too, when he said: "And it was made as fire in my bones, and I was broken on every side." This is the same fire that the Savior also came to cast upon the earth. "And what will I?" He says. "But it is already kindled." ^D This fire, then, one of the Seraphim takes from the altar, which is the heavenly place of the purification of souls, from whence the purgatorial fire is sent forth to the sanctifying and illuminating Powers. They, indeed, discharging the duties assigned to each by God under the title of honor, come under one yoke and order of service. For, obeying the divine nod, they receive servitude in the measure of their honor. Wherefore even now

one of the Seraphim serves the purification of the prophet, having taken the coal from the altar with the tongs, clearly signifying the honor which he shows to the altar, since he does not dare to touch it with his hand. For the fire was true, not foreign, with which we read that Nadab and Abihu were burned. For it is brought to the prophet's lips in such a way that it does not burn. The tongs here are not for the purpose of avoiding the power of burning, but that the capacity for grace to be received from God, according to the proportion of virtue existing in each, might be demonstrated. Or certainly, because we receive the faith and knowledge which is in Christ, as with tongs, through the teachings of the law and the prophets, by whose testimonies the apostles, confirming their own words, persuaded those who heard, bringing the coal as it were to their lips and preparing them to confess the faith. Having once received this, the prophet ^B gains confidence, no longer crying out, "Woe is me," but of his own accord hastens to the mission of Him whom he saw. So great is the service of the ministering powers towards those who are to inherit salvation; yet they are not sent by their own authority or of their own volition. For their primary and natural life is to gaze forever upon the beauty of God and to praise Him unceasingly; but the incidental activity for them is the care and turning towards us humans. Such also is the one who now brought the coal. Let us understand this to be the true Word, which sharply and clearly destroys the false, wherever it has turned the powers of its virtue. It is fitting, however, to understand by the hand of the Seraphim the very power that effects and bestows good things. The Lord, moreover, does not send the purified prophet by command, but says, "Who shall go?" This voice is that of one testing him and provoking his alacrity, promising it as though it were the reward of a good purpose. He also seems to reproach the Israelite people quite severely, as having always been refractory to those sent to them, and as having afflicted them with various kinds of torments. Therefore, even now the Lord addresses Ezechiel himself: "But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they refuse to listen to me, since the whole house of Israel is delighting in contentions and is of a hard heart." Whence it seems that He is in doubt, asking, "Who shall be able to persuade Israel?" But this man, as one who has partaken of the divine coal, is indeed pure, yet also eager and youthful for the mission, to which Christ's disciples, being more fully partakers, became even more fervent in its fulfillment. God did not ask Moses, as He did Isaiah now, but as one having him ready, He says, "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh king of Egypt." And yet he refuses, whereas this one, carried by the greatest love, having heard the word indeterminately, offers himself, having considered nothing of what he was about to suffer. But Moses had not a disposition contrary to this. He knew the situation, however, into which he was being sent, and how unyielding is Pharaoh. ^{C D}

he had learned the people’s stubbornness by experience.

For they had compelled him—who had deserved well of them—to seek safety in flight, and under the pretext of a shepherd’s life, to avoid the tumults of men. Yet what his own sentiments were, he made clear enough afterwards. For it is certain that by his own prayers he averted from Israel the punishment for the molten calf; when the Lord said to him: "Go and be the leader of this people, and I will send my angel before you," he immediately replied: "I pray, O Lord, if You do not resolve to show Yourself as our leader, do not lead us away from here." And for what reason? Because, forsooth, the sinful people had need of the remission of sins, which angels cannot bestow. For angels can indeed punish those who sin, but they cannot likewise remit sins. Whence he said also, as stated above, that another one should be brought forward to be sent—that true Legislator, who alone has the power to grant salvation, and who alone can remit sins. But he was by no means hearkened unto, because the fullness of time had not yet come, and it was fitting that humanity be accustomed and taught through figures beforehand.

But Isaiah, having obtained the remission of sins when he had said that he dwelt "in the midst of a people having unclean lips," and having then heard, "Who shall go to this people?"—thinking that a mission was sought for the purpose of granting a like benefit to them—submitted himself out of exceeding joy, so that their sins might be forgiven. He made his answer secure, however, as one who had been benefited by the cleansing of the coal already. For to two distinct questions, "Whom shall I send?" and "Who will go?", he satisfied both with a single answer, saying, "Behold, I am here, send me," not adding, "I will go." For it is in our power to accept a mission, but the strength to perform the journey is from God, who bestows this grace; therefore he left this to God, promising nothing regarding the weakness of his own nature. What he did not take upon himself, the Lord grants him, saying, "Go and say to this people." ^C But the words, "Behold, I am here," are the words of one who is confident, as of one who is now a partaker of the Being, and counts himself in the number of those who are, after his purification. Since, however, God established first apostles, then prophets, for this reason Isaiah first receives the grace of apostleship; and Moses hears: "Come, I will send you," and Jeremiah: "To all to whom I shall send you, you shall go." But he hears the voice of the Lord who, being fashioned in his intellect by Him, and through the purity that was in him listening to the Word resounding within him, as if writing divine thoughts upon a book—his soul. What then is Isaiah commanded to say? "Hear with your hearing and you shall not understand, and seeing you shall see and you shall not perceive." ^D But whom they shall see, or whom they shall hear, he has left for us by leaving this...

^A to be inferred from the context of the discourse. The person whom you, O prophet, have beheld as Lord, this same one then this people also shall see; and whom you have heard, he also shall hear; but he shall not understand, nor shall he know, since he is unwilling to receive his grace, because he appeared as a man upon the earth. Therefore, proceeding, he says, "For your sins you were sold, and for your iniquities I sent away your mother. For I came, and there was no man, I called and there was no one to hear." And demonstrating the manner of the seeing, he added that their eyes were closed. For he, indeed, being Light, illuminated the souls of all, so as even to grant sight to the blind. But those who closed their eyes, though seeing, did not see; that is, being able to see, they did not wish to. This occurs either from the contempt of the one beholden, causing the eyes to turn away, or by a pretense of not having seen what one has seen. Thus, to see was available to them from the grace of the One who appeared, but that they did not see has come about because they closed their eyes. Thus one who hears does not hear unless he understands what he is hearing; which indeed happened to them during the time of the Savior's sojourn. For seeing him present with their eyes, they did not see, and they did not endure ^B him teaching the mysteries of the kingdom. For so also Paul, reflecting on this in the Acts, speaks to the Jews who were in Rome: "Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying: Go, and say to this people," and the rest, referring the passage to the sojourn of the Savior. And this, indeed, was also very clearly that which Christ said to those of Israel who were disobeying: "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him." And again: "Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned, comes to me." Therefore they were not called to the recognition of the Son through the revelation of God the Father, because they were not worthy of his salvation or his life; and in this the reasonableness of the judgment of God appears. For since Isaiah had said, "That I have unclean lips," and again similar things regarding the people, to him indeed was given, through the coal, the grace of forgiveness; but to them, no longer. For the one who saw the Lord Sabaoth believed what he beheld; but those who saw the Lord sojourning did not believe. And the one who heard the doxology understood; but those who heard the Savior did not accept. And the one who was pricked felt his own sin, and cried out "Wretched!" to himself; but the heart of the others was hardened, so as not to be sensible of their own evils, and not to approach the One who grants forgiveness. Therefore the Lord says to them: "That you shall die in your sins." Now, it might seem to hinder [the passage] from being brought forward to ^C these times of the Savior, the phrase "(Say to this people)," ^D and he left it for us to learn from the progress of the discourse, for he added that the people indeed would see; whom he likewise would hear: but he, the one whose grace they were unwilling to receive when he appeared as a man on earth, they would neither know nor understand. Therefore, he says afterwards: "In your iniquities you were sold, and in your transgressions you sent away your mother; because I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was no one to hear." And expressing the manner of seeing, he adds that their eyes were closed. For he, indeed, because he was Light, illuminated the souls of all, to the extent that he even restored sight to the blind; but as for those who wished to close their eyes, though seeing, they did not see; that is, although they could see, they did not wish to. And this comes about, either when we turn our eyes away through contempt of what is being beheld, or when we pretend not to see the things which we ourselves see. They could, therefore, have seen if they had embraced the grace of the One on whom they ought to have looked. But that they did not see is solely for the reason that they closed their eyes. In the same way, one who hears, if he does not understand what he hears, is to be considered as not hearing. And that this certainly happened to them while the Savior was acting on earth, there is no one who would doubt. For they could neither see him present and obvious to their eyes, nor endure him teaching the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom. For so also Paul, reflecting on this in the Acts, and chiding those Jews who had met him at Rome, says: "Well indeed did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers saying: Go, and tell this people," etc., which he related to the Savior’s sojourn with us. And that this very thing exists is clear; which Christ was saying to the Israelites who were refusing faith: "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me, unless the Father, who sent me, draws him." And again: "Everyone who has heard from the Father, and has learned, comes to me." Therefore, they are not called to the recognition of the Son, through that which is the revelation of God the Father, because they were unworthy of his salvation and the gift of life: by which the rectitude and justice of the divine judgment appears in the highest degree. For we see that Isaiah, when he had confessed that he and the people had unclean lips, obtained the grace of remission through a coal being applied; but these, however, did not. For the former, having contemplated the Lord Sabaoth, believed what he saw; whereas the latter, having looked upon the Lord dwelling with them, did not believe in the same. The former also understood the praises he heard; whereas the latter, having experienced the Savior sounding in their ears,

^A in a demonstrative way, were not persuaded. For of the shown people, who was about to hear the Savior, or to look upon His ^B wonders? We shall understand this from a similar case. It was said to one of the twelve: "My people, what have I done to you? Answer me. Because I brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, and sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam." Just as then, the people who were alive at the time of the prophet had not seen Egypt, nor had they been led by those mentioned, and yet, as if ungrateful regarding these things, they are reproached; so also now, those who were living at that time were being shown, but the things of the prophecy were coming to pass at the time of the Savior's sojourn. This kind of speech is also familiar to us, which some have called "altered." For we call the same "chorus" or group, even when, as each individual who composed it previously fades away, others take their places and assume their positions. This is something that cities also experience, being filled up again as offspring are substituted in the place of those who die. In this way, the people shown to the prophet can be said to be the same as those who were alive in the Savior's time, not through the duration of the individuals, but by the common name of the nation. Hearing these things, the prophet inquires, "How long, O Lord?" For what will be the end of such great blindness of theirs? By what He adds, God signifies the evils that happened to the Jews under Vespasian, after the Savior’s cross, when many cities were made to disappear, so that not even their names remained, just as Josephus has recorded. And how many houses were emptied of their inhabitants, destroyed by the sword, and by famine, and by flights and captivity. ^C Instead of the words, "And after these things God will remove the people," Symmachus gave a clearer translation, saying: "The Lord will make the people far off." This signifies the captivity and the scattering of the flight. Some say this signifies the turning away of the Jews from God, to whom a partial blindness had occurred, so that the fullness of the nations might enter in. For they were made far off, having slaughtered the holy ones, and having added to this the killing of the Author of life Himself. But he says that "those who are left will be multiplied," even though they are so few that they seem to be but a tenth part of those destroyed. And what will also be the end of these, he added. "And again it shall be for a despoiling," and the rest; for which Symmachus gave: "And again it shall be for a grazing, as an oak, and as an ilex which, having shed its leaves, stands alone." The discourse predicts the complete desolation that occurred under the Emperor Hadrian, when by imperial decrees and laws it was not permitted for them to see the desolation of their own metropolis even from afar; when foreign people occupied the place which had been Hellenized, and the city took on an appellation named after the one who besieged it last.

^A He employs very appropriate examples, such as the terebinth, or the oak, or the acorn when it has fallen out of its husk. For he says that they shall no longer be the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth, nor like the paradise of God, nor like the beautiful olive, nor like the palm to which the just man is compared, nor any other of the tame and essential plants; but rather he predicts that they will be like an acorn—and not even one that remains firm, but one that is deciduous, lying on the ground having left its husk; or like a terebinth, or (if one follows other interpreters), like an oak and an acorn, and a thicket, and other such trees as are fruitless and wild, which is how the Scripture is accustomed to refer to alien nations. He believes that the Jewish nation is destined to fall in a similar way, he says, differing in no way in manner or life, except for the worse, in that the former occupy their own regions and bring forth fruits according to their nature, whereas the latter have fallen from their own and do not even act like them; hence they seem to be compared to a wild plant and to the fruit of an acorn, which nourishes irrational animals.

Following this, with the addition of asterisks, he adds remarks concerning the holy seed that would arise from them, concerning which it was formerly said: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed.” For Theodotion said, “The holy seed is its support”; but Aquila said, “a structure.” Symmachus said “its persistence.” For “persistence” of the fallen people is that holy seed from among them which did not endure a fall like the rest. These are they who received the saving grace, and having understood the hearing, and having seen, they beheld. Being blessed by the Savior, He said: “Blessed are the eyes that see, and your ears that hear.” ^B Some have taken the words, “And those who are left shall be multiplied,” as referring to those who believed in Christ. But if he says, “And they shall be for a gathering,” and what follows, they say that he signifies the gradual transformation from Jewish customs to the life according to the Gospel. For these shall again be gathered for a harvest, just as the fruit of the terebinth is gathered, and as the acorn, already ripe for picking. For then the fruit, already ripened and matured by time, is released from the bond by which it is held in the husk. Perhaps, they say, it is also because they were scattered on account of their sins that they are compared to an acorn that has falling out of its husk. ^C But they are gathered like the terebinth and the acorn when the holy seed comes to be in their standing and firmness, according to the addition of Theodotion.

Others have understood it in this way: The prophet asked, “Until when is the hardening?” and God, declaring the consummation of the present life, brought forward the things that follow. For it is necessary that we first hear of wars, and rumors of wars, and that ^D nation rise against nation, and that cities and houses be laid waste, and then the end.

after which, when the time of the resurrection has been ^A completed, they shall be prolonged, and, having been purged for all eternity of every corruption and sin, they shall lead an everlasting life. But that Israel which is now blinded, the divine Scripture testifies, shall be called in the last times of the age.

CHAPTER VII

Verses 1-9. *And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, and could not prevail against it, etc.*

The first of the prophecy in the series of the narrative existed under King Uzziah. Jotham succeeded Uzziah; immediately upon his reigning, there followed the vision concerning the Lord of Sabaoth and the Seraphim, in which the divinity of the Only-Begotten was signified. But it was not until sixteen years had passed (for Jotham reigned for no fewer than that) that the most impious Ahaz came to the helm of the kingdom; in whose time this prophecy ^B concerning the generation of the Only-Begotten according to the flesh, upon whom we are now dwelling, was delivered. For the order demanded that this discussion should follow those things that had preceded concerning the divinity. The subject of the prophecy is of this kind: against the impious Ahaz and his subjects, not without the just vengeance of the Divinity, the two kings of Damascus and Samaria conspired—the first named Rezin, the second Pekah. Therefore, they slaughtered one hundred and twenty thousand of them and took two hundred thousand captive. After such a slaughter, having gathered an army again, they came with the hope conceived of capturing the city and killing Ahaz, so that they might set up as king in his stead the one now called Tabeel. When these things were announced to the house of David (for thus they called all the descendants of this king, along with their subjects), all of them were shaken in soul, fearing the future on account of the experience of what had passed. The second book of Chronicles ^C declared these things with precision. Their agitation it likens to the wood of a forest, not taking as a comparison any noble or cultivated tree. But He who does not delight in the death of the sinner, but rather in his repentance and conversion, and ultimately in his life, toward those whom He had previously punished severely, now turns His humanity and clemency. For He sends the prophet to Ahaz, together with the son who had been left to him, whom He names Shear-Jashub [Iasub]. Now that one was left, whether he had escaped the death of his brothers, or had not participated in the error of the many Jews. For it was necessary that he who had been saved from the error be instructed by the Father through the fact that he was present before God with confidence, and was doing what was commanded; and He commands him to say: *Take heed, and be quiet.*

Ὅπερ Symmachus renders, "Take heed, and be quiet." Theodotus says, "Watch, and be quiet." ^A He calls the two kings "smoking firebrands," as having neither light nor burning power, being already extinguished. For if, he says, I have pursued you with a corrective power—which the Scripture is accustomed to call wrath—by delivering you into the hands of enemies, I will heal those who have been provoked to piety through both, calling you to true religion, because now the counsel of these kings is useless.

By Aram he means Syria, and by Samaria, that which we now call Sebaste. For he says, it is sufficient for Samaria to have Damascus as its head, and for Rhaasson to be its king; and for Ephraim, [it is equivalent to] Samaria. This is the name by which they called the ten tribes of Israel, because they had the commander and leader from that Ephraim, the son of Rhomelia. ^B Know this also, O Achaz, in addition to the rest: that within a space of sixty-five years, the kingdom of Samaria, with the king himself and his subjects, will be dissolved and overthrown, having been led into captivity by the Assyrian. The Lord commanded that these things be said to king Achaz, by meeting the prophet at a place which He knew to be suitable for an encounter with Achaz. When the time was fulfilled, Damascus and Samaria, and their kings and subjects, were captured by the Assyrians, as the fourth volume of Kings reveals. For Teglathphalasar took Damascus and Rhaasson, ^C and Salmanasar took Osee and Samaria. The clause "shall fail" is common to the next sentence: "the head of Samaria."

As for the sixty-five years, the Hebrews insist that they can be calculated exactly from the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Ozias. For in his time, Isaias and Amos were prophesying together. But Amos was the first to prophesy that captivity of the Israelites which occurred under Ozias, king of Judah, it is said two years before the earthquake occurred, at which time Ozias entered the sanctuary, became leprous, and the fat of the altar was poured out. ^D There remain twenty-seven years of the reign of Ozias. For he reigned fifty-two years in total, from the twenty-fifth of which Amos first prophesied concerning the captivity of Israel; after whom were the sixteen years of Joatham, and as many for Achaz, and six of the reign of Ezechias. These, when added together, make up the sixty-five. For in the sixth year of Ezechias, Israel endured the final captivity. These are the things which God foretells. But seeing that Achaz and the people under him did not believe what was said, He added: "If you will not believe, you shall not understand." For to those who insult the word of God with unbelief, there can be no understanding from Him. But, "Go forth" to...

the prophet, understood in a lofty sense, demands explanation. For a soul, when gathering itself for the contemplation of things that are, is said to depart from its entanglement with the body. But when it is occupied with human affairs, or with the necessary care of the body, or when it is unable to reach further toward the higher things, it enters, as it were, from things external into things internal. It was necessary, therefore, that the word "Go forth" should be heard by the prophet intending to receive instruction from God. Thus, He says to Abraham, "Go forth from your land." For one must rise above the earth—that is, from bodily things—departing from it. Then one must also depart from one's kindred, which are the senses, and from your father's house, which is the attachment to evil habits. Together with these, it is written how God led him out, perfecting his zeal for the departure. For this reason, Moses also pitches his own tent outside the camp. Having departed from human affairs, he pitched his tent outside the camp, establishing his own life unshaken. ^A Jasub is interpreted as "turning back," showing that those who desire to return to the way are able, along with the prophet, to accomplish the departure, emerging from the passions of the flesh. Some say that Jasub signifies "remnants" or "what is left," as a type signifying that the remnant of Judah that has remained with God will be saved; for the prophet is taken as a type of God. He is ordered to go up to the ascent which leads to the pool. For the place was also famous in history; for it is written that the king of the Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem with a great force, and he stood at the conduit of the upper pool, on the way of the fuller’s field. At the same time, it teaches us to withdraw from abject and lowly things. ^B For to those who rise on high, water is for purification, and the fuller's field is for him who cleanses away filth, as the Preacher commands: "At all times let your garments be white." The Lord also commands Moses that those who are to hear God must wash their garments. Whoever reaches this point will have the wedding garment in readiness, so that he may not be cast out of the bridechamber, having been bound hand and foot. Some have also declared the pool to be a type of holy baptism. And those words, "See, that you remain quiet," will be of no small benefit to us, by which we are warned to guard our heart with all watchfulness. For when the strong man guards his own court vigilantly, all that he possesses is in peace. He, likewise, remained quiet and felt no trouble from the crowd, but being well strengthened by the spirit of fortitude ^C and soul, ^D

^A he is no longer agitated by the fear of perturbations that are wont to beset the mind. By the "two smoking firebrands," however, we are admonished no longer to fear the plausible trifles of the nations, nor to dread the blasphemies of men who think evil. For the firebrands have been deprived not only of the common life of plants, but also of the strength of wood, and finally of that brightness which is wont to shine in fire; they have only this much strength, that they can blacken those by whom they have been seized, and provoke tears in the eyes of those who look upon them. Hence, in Solomon, we read that in the same way as teeth are harmed by a sour grape, and the eyes by smoke, so do crimes bring harm to their authors: since by the sourness of the grape the work of sin is signified, and by the smoke, the stains of a depraved judgment, by which the light of our mind is confounded. After these plagues, then, he says, with which I have made use of in order ^B to provoke you to conversion, I am sending forth—I make things that were more bitter, after the manner of a physician, to heal the wound itself after the cauterization or incision.

VERSES 10-17. And the Lord added to speak unto Achaz, saying: Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God, either in the depth, or in the height. And Achaz said: I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord. And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David, etc.

That faith might be added to the gift of salvation, because they were serving idols (and that kind of men is wont to seek after the prediction of future events most especially when they are involved in some great danger, by means of oracles and magical arts), God wishes to make the promised grace firm and certain by means of a given sign. But that He might ^C call them away from such things, He commands the same man to ask a sign from Him. Previously, therefore, Achaz was bidden to rest and to fear no more; but here, as if giving faith to the teaching prophet, he is rendered worthy of the voice of God without further medium. For the faith which is applied to the ministers of God causes us to be able to hear God Himself. Although there are not lacking even those who, as of old Abraham, Moses, Elias, and Jeremias, being as it were pure, are able to be capacious of spiritual revelations without any intermediary.

And therefore it follows: *he added*, so that the series of the discourse might be connected with the preceding; for it was consistent that after the prophecy which had preceded concerning the instant defection of Ephraim, that is, of Israel the deserter, another should follow concerning Emmanuel. Or, indeed (since Achaz so rejects the request ^D for a sign that he neither acknowledges nor reveres the true God), he signifies that He will not, however, be perpetually unknown to Israel, but will eventually, at certain times, be clear. Therefore, having as it were deemed Achaz unworthy of his conversation, who had otherwise disguised his own contumacy with the mask of piety and reverence, he converts his discourse to the house of David, from which Christ was about to arise according to the flesh, and to whom He was primarily about to come. For that it was not out of modesty,

^A that he refused to ask a sign of the Lord, if it were unprofitable, which he, having reckoned it so, avoided. But others direct the scope of the prophecy concerning Christ thus to the matters set before them: They say that the prophet speaks from his own person: "Hear now, O house of David." For God, as a lover of mankind, willed to provide for you a sign of salvation, by which you might overcome the two kings. But since you were disobedient, even so He did not overlook you as you were perishing. For He bestows the sign upon you even though you are unwilling; a sign, I say, which surpasses all opinion, and the like of which nature itself does not know. For God shall be born of a Virgin, without nuptial intercourse. Therefore, you who are about to fight against the kings, invoke this very One, inasmuch as the truth of the name demonstrates the faith of his virtue (for in saying "God with us," He signifies that He will extirpate the gods of Damascus and the rest who are falsely called by this name). Use it continually in the conflict, Emmanouel; for which reason it has "You shall call," and not "They shall call," as was erroneously written in the Gospels. For neither does the Hebrew codex allow this, nor has anyone translated it thus. ^B

For the invocation of Emmanuel is not concerning the future. Nor has He said it as though all will call him so. For the angel who appeared to the mother would have called Him so, and not Jesus, which is the name signifying salvation. They shall not call, therefore, but do you now call Him so, invoking as God-with-you Him who is later to appear in the last times, but who is now able to save you by His own power, not by prestige or the incantations that are of demons. For your seed shall in no way be able to fail, however much fear may occupy you, until the Virgin has conceived. Having said so much about the scope of the prophecy regarding the Saviour, we shall henceforth proceed from the beginning, having sought a higher starting point, and having first set forth the interpretations of others. For in place of "in the deep, or in the height," Symmachus says, "Deepen into Hades, or lift up on high." Aquila says, "Deepen into Hades, make high on high." And Theodotio says, "Deepen into Hades, lift up on high." For a sign is a manifest thing having within itself the declaration of something hidden and obscure; as the sign of Jonas signifies the descent into Hades and the return from there. But a sign should be considered according to the present, while that which is signified is sometimes divided into three periods of time: the present, as when smoke issues from a house, we say it is a sign of the fire existing within; the future, as the concurrence of visible clouds is the sign of the rain about to happen on the earth; and the past, as the embers of the pile previously burned. Scripture calls by the name of signs those things that are paradoxical and suggestive of some mystical doctrine. From those things that were in Egypt ^D [index: entries preserved]

it is sufficiently known what is meant here by "in the deep" or "on high," since it is said: "He sent signs and wonders in the midst of thee, O Egypt." From the earth there arose frogs, locusts, lice, and flies, which are called dog-flies; from heaven, hail, fire, and darkness for three days; of which kind was also the retrocession of the sun in the time of Hezekiah; and Samuel, ^B who was called up from the underworld as a reproach to Saul. And that which was brought forth from the deep was Jonah, when he returned unharmed from the belly of the whale.

Achaz is therefore commanded to ask for a sign from wherever he wishes; or rather, for that which is the most paradoxical of all, and most divine, and which comprehends both within itself. This, however, only God is able to provide. Therefore He says: "Ask of the Lord thy God." Since, then, of creation, heaven is the highest and earth is the lowest; and since the Word became flesh, "the deep" signifies the earth, from which the flesh was taken, while "the height" signifies the Word who is above every principality and power, who was in the beginning with the Father and God. But perhaps "deep" signifies the lowest parts of the world, and "height" the supercelestial region. According to that saying: "Say not in thy heart: Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down; or: Who shall descend into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead." Since, therefore, it is the same One who descended and who ascended, the one signifies the Lord’s descent, the other His being above the heavens.

It is necessary, they say, that words about such great matters be spoken to the king who held power at that time, so that the things prophesied might be proclaimed through him to all; for Isaiah might perhaps have been disbelieved because of the envy of the men of his day, or because of the general humility of his life, as if he had concocted the oracle concerning the coming of the Savior out of his own mind. But Achaz received this word just as Laban did, as Abimelech, as Nabuchodonosor, as Pharaoh, as Caiphas—not because of the worthiness of his life, but because of the credibility that belonged to him by virtue of his station. ^C Accordingly, either the Lord or the prophet turns the speech toward the house of David and says: "Is it a small thing for you to weary men? And how do you weary the Lord?" This is what Aquila translated thus: "Is it a little thing to weary a man, that you weary God as well?" The sense of the matter before us is of this kind: You do not cease from causing trouble for your own salvation, not only by plotting against the men of God—that is, the prophets—but even against God Himself, the Creator of all, by attending to idols and refusing to obey Him concerning the things He has promised you. Now, *agōnia* (weariness/struggle) is a fear of falling. But such a passion is not predicated of God; rather, by this word He indicates the opposition of those who stand against His commandments. "Yet," He says, ^D

^A even if no person worthy of receiving the sign is found, the Lord Himself will give it in accordance with the preordained dispensation of Christ's birth from the flesh—that is, not through some other intermediate agent or minister, but by Himself—thereby indicating the magnitude of the benefit bestowed. For He ordained the Law through angels by the hand of the mediator, Moses. But this sign He gives Himself. If you wonder, hearing of God being born, believe that He will also make use of infant enjoyment just like other children; for He will not appear as a man in mere phantasm, though this truly belongs to human nature. But that which is demonstrative of His divinity is that He will not wait for the proper age for the discernment of good and evil. For, being a judge from the very beginning of His birth, He will by nature possess the power of choosing what is good and fleeing what is evil, from which you may understand that impartial judgment of His for all—by which, as if advanced in years, He will be able to reject crimes and choose the virtue that is held among the good. Now the Jews oppose the interpretation of the Seventy, because "Virgin" is used, and not "young woman" as the Hebrew Scripture has it—which denotes one who is in her prime, but not necessarily a woman entirely inexperienced in marriage. And what sort of sign—or rather, what miracle—is it for a woman who has known a man to give birth? For a sign is a demonstration of something prodigious and removed from the customs of men. Furthermore, how can that which is born of the will of the flesh be called Emmanuel? For if what is given is a sign, then the birth itself must of necessity be miraculous. But if the manner of generation is ordinary, ^B who can claim it as a sign, or how can it again be named Emmanuel? But lest they think that the name is used peculiarly only for a virgin, this will be made clear from the words of Scripture in Deuteronomy, for it is written thus: "But if a man find in the field a young woman who is betrothed, and he, having laid hold of her, lies with her, the man only shall die; the young woman shall suffer nothing." Furthermore, in the third volume of Kings, the virgin who warmed David, named Abisag, is called a "young woman" [neanis], whom the history testifies the king did not know. Therefore, that Emmanuel was born of an holy Virgin, to whom, when she asked how this would be since she knew not a man, the angel answered that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. She is not subject to the law concerning purification. For it says in Deuteronomy: "A woman who is inseminated and bears a male shall be unclean for seven days." But the mother of Emmanuel, not having been inseminated, remains pure and undefiled. For since the first Adam was not begotten through nuptial intercourse, but was fashioned having been taken from the earth, and the last Adam, renewing his corruption, had His body fashioned ^D within the virginal womb

^A so that it might have a likeness to that which was born through the flesh from sin. And that the paradox of the birth might not become unbelievable to those who do not accept the divine economy, the Creator of some living things willed them to come into being from the female alone, without males. For such things are recorded about vultures in books on animals. Again, the Jews say that these things are spoken concerning the wife of Ahaz, indicating that Hezekiah was born from her. And who called him Emmanuel? And how did he refuse evil before knowing good or evil? And how is this a sign? We shall say the same thing again: What was the point of speaking now concerning his birth, when he was already born, if one should consider the times of the present prophecy and of his birth? Therefore, Emmanuel is the Word of God incarnate, whom you also, He says, O house of David, shall call; that is, you shall confess that God has appeared in human form, ^B restoring Adam. Therefore, just as he was before sin, in ignorance of good and evil by experience, so also Emmanuel, in His childhood disposition, imitated the uncorrupted and invulnerable state that was still Adam's. And in rejecting evil, He corrected the lawlessness that came from disobedience. For the present, therefore, He says, take courage because of My kindness. For the kings shall not take your land; but rather, as a trustworthy pledge—that the land for which you have been afraid shall be delivered—let them now take as a sign the miracle that is to happen later concerning Emmanuel. For it is not possible that, once the Savior has been announced, liberty should not exist for you who are now besieged. But there shall come upon you, O house of David, things such as never were before; signifying the calamities brought by the Assyrians, or, according to some, by the Romans, such as have not happened ^C since the Samaritans drew upon themselves the incursion of the Assyrians. For by proving to be worse, they did not allow you to be the first to suffer. And as for the land being abandoned, some have interpreted it in this way: when the virgin, having conceived in her womb, shall bear a child, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, then all those who harass the holy land shall abandon it. For those who warred against the Church, having seen her unconquerable nature, have given up and left her, as one saved by God. And as to the phrase, "Since Ephraim took away from Judah," some have interpreted it thus: Since Ephraim departed from Judah in the days of Jeroboam, from that time, therefore, days such as the Lord shall bring have not come to the house of David. And what sort of days does He say? I mean the king ^D of the Assyrians.

VERS. 18-25. And it shall be in that day, the Lord shall hiss for the flies, which rule over part of the river.

[of] Egypt; and for the bee, which is in the land of the Assyrians. And they shall come, and rest all of them in the valleys of the land, and in the caverns of the rocks, etc. ^A By the name of flies, He signifies the military forces of the Egyptians, either because, being intent on the worship of idols, they resemble flies in delighting in pus and blood; or because he thus demonstrates their multitude and the thinness of their voice. He shows, moreover, that by the nod of God, as if by a hiss, the Egyptians were roused and called forth—not from all of Egypt, but from a certain part of it—to invade Judea. He says that the Assyrians also would come, whom He likens to bees, on account of their use of a military sting and their mastery at that time over the remaining nations. Or, it is because the bee is variegated and of beautiful color. Such, too, were the Assyrians in their garments, who, having made their incursion into Judea, would penetrate into forbidden and hidden places, let alone being held back by the cities; that is (as he continues to demonstrate in the allegory of the flies), they would so thoroughly search the whole region that nothing hidden could escape them. Consequently, these are the ones to be feared, not the two smoking firebrands. Historically, these things came to pass at the time when Necho Pharaoh, having set out against the territories of the Assyrians, slew Josiah who attempted to oppose him, and taking away Joachaz, his son, as a captive, and having imposed tributes on Judea, raised up Eliakim as king, whom Jechonias and Zedekiah later followed. In his times, moreover, when Nebuchadnezzar had broken into Judea and gained possession of the region—having sold all the inhabitants into slavery, with a few exceptions—he sent Assyrians to dwell in those places as if in a colony; and they themselves, having laid waste the cities, inhabited the very dens and caverns and woods. ^B After this, he also prophesies the ruin of the Assyrians, who, having mastered the whole of Asia, Egypt, and Libya, flourished for roughly thirteen hundred years. But because, after capturing Jerusalem and burning the temple, they had dared to consecrate the sacred vessels to their own idols, it was not long after that they themselves were destroyed by the Medes. Cyrus was the first of the Persian race to rule over them, by whom they were later sent back to their own country, and the ordered restoration of the temple was carried out, and its sacred vessels were restored. And this is what is meant by the words: *In that day the Lord shall shave the head of the king of the Assyrians*, not only that head which once possessed glory and pride when he ruled over the whole world, but also the hair of the feet—that is, the strength of manly form, or the common and base multitude—and the beard, which has been granted to men by the benefit of nature as an ornament and a symbol of fortitude. ^C For it was judged a matter of the utmost disgrace to shave the head and the beard; for this is what some even of the enemies used to do to the dead, treating them with ignominy. ^D For it is even forbidden to the priests by the law of Moses:

^A Jeremiah also says, when Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar: "And there came men from Shechem, and from Salem, and from Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and cutting themselves." These signify mourning and ignominy. He says, therefore, that he will show the kingdom of the Assyrians to be humbled, unmanly, and unseemly. By "drunken razor," he means the sword that smites without distinction and is saturated with the blood of the fallen. Some, however, say that the scripture implies a hired force, denoting one who is paid wages, who will denude the kingdom of the Assyrians. But after the capture of Jerusalem, the discourse indicates extreme poverty for those who remained. For he says that one will scarcely possess not a herd of oxen, nor a flock of sheep, ^B but a single heifer and two sheep. And by saying they will be fed with butter and honey, he represents a famine of bread. It will seem that the milk from these will be very abundant, because of the small number of those being fed. Thus, those who disobey God will pine away, reduced to a small number for want of spiritual goods, and lacking bread that knows how to nourish unto mental health, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ; to whom God says: "Behold, they who serve me shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, they who serve me shall drink, but you shall be thirsty." But to those who think the things that are His, He says: "Eat, drink, and be drunken, O neighbors." The discourse denotes more clearly the poverty of those who remained, saying that every vineyard will be desolate, even if it has a value of a shekel. He says the land will bring forth only thorns, so that instead of bread and wine, they will be forced to use butter and milk. Scripture sets these things forth after the capture by the Babylonians, ^C saying: "And from the poor of the land the captain of the guard left some as vinedressers, over whom he set Gedaliah." Showing the desolation and thorniness of the land, he says that one will not be able to walk through it unarmed, without bolt and bow. For the thorns stand against those passing by like bolts. And consequently, the intelligible vine having failed us, all manner of wickedness rises up in us. The end of the thorn is fire. Wherefore Paul also says: "For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh upon it," and so forth. He says, therefore, that the few who were left will be seized with such fear that they will make their dwellings in the mountains, and hide themselves in forests and thickets, according to what was said by the Savior: "Then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains." These they also strove to cultivate, since the best land was left desolate, so that they might possess only necessary food, considering the safety of dwelling there. ^D The remaining land, left desolate, shall be for the grazing of sheep and the trampling of cattle, that is, for the pastures of sheep. Perhaps for this reason, the milk and butter will be abundant.

^A There are not lacking, furthermore, those who explain the passage posited above as if he were saying that his people had descended into Egypt to dwell there, and had been led away by force into Assyria. And so he prophesies concerning the birth of Immanuel, saying that if anyone of the people should be in Egypt or among the Assyrians, they will come forth, and having arrived in the land of Judea, will seek out hiding places and caves for their rest. Moreover, when he said that flies dominate the part of the Egyptian river, but bees are in the land of the Assyrians, he signified the vileness of the hostile army. For a fly is an animal species troublesome and odious to men, born from dung itself; as its life is annoying, so its death is foul and odious. ^B And they will dominate the part of the Egyptian river: for the Nile, beginning on high from the Ethiopians, has Egypt adjacent to a small part of itself, where it empties into the sea; in which place it is established that every kind of irrational animal is held for a god. The Lord, therefore, will destroy these flies — that is, the weak nature of the opposing power — with his own hissing, that is to say, with the breath of his mouth. And the bee too is a small and weak animal, in which it dies while taking revenge on an enemy. For having struck with its sting, dying because of the blow, it receives greater injury than it inflicted, having imitated the ways of the most wicked. After the birth of Christ, therefore, with all the forces of the hostile army broken and dissipated, the sons of Israel will be gathered into the spontaneously formed shelters; and then, freed from the yoke of captivity, they will rest through the great disgrace of the kings who plotted against them. At which time, there will be such fruitfulness of the region and abundance of grain ^C that whoever possesses one heifer and two sheep, by that means will have enough for nourishment. For all will be fed with butter and honey (that is, by work, and by the gentle and easy study of cultivating and exercising the soul). For from the wool of sheep comes to us the capacity for garments and adornment, just as life blessed is supplied to every excellent person from the mantle of virtue. Therefore, because it is a certain spiritual nutrition and a certain adornment, for this reason a man is said to be fed by a heifer and two sheep. But he calls butter and honey the first rudiments of divine doctrine and the first precepts; for this is the first food of infants, with which, when they have grown into men, they advance themselves to more spiritual disciplines worthy of men. Then, so that he may signify those who are of the circumcision, he institutes a discourse concerning the thousand vines: "For he transplanted a vine out of Egypt," and what follows. For this, although well-cultivated at first, yielded many and sweet fruits; but being neglected, at length it turned to bitterness. And it escaped into solitude, because the enemy army, rushing upon it with a hail of arrows and missiles, brought about ^D desolation. Behold the plowed mountains, for the souls that have believed in Christ, formerly...

neglected and uncultivated, and bristling with the thorns of a lack of Christ, have been understood. Since He came for the fall and resurrection of many, and called those things which are not that He might destroy the things which are, therefore those of the circumcision, having lost their burgeoning growth and fruitfulness, have turned themselves into wasteland; but the system gathered from the nations—the plowed mountain—is plowed, having been freed from all fear of enemies. For the mountain is the soul raised up by the teaching of the Lord; upon His arrival, Israel was plucked out, but the nations were planted, so that by their lapse, salvation might be dispensed to all, and sheep and oxen may graze in these mountains without fear, providing abundant benefit to their owners. By the name of sheep are signified those endowed with good character; by oxen, those who are most industrious in the work of necessities. ^B

CHAPTER VIII.

Verses 1-4. *And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself a large new book and write in it with the stylus of a man, that he may quickly make plunder of the spoils. For he is present. And take for me as witnesses faithful men, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Berechiah, etc.*

Having explained the calamities that were to come upon them, he returns to the discourse concerning Emmanuel. For since the sign of the boy born of the virgin was wondrous, he reveals the mode of the mystery no longer to Ahaz or the house of David, but to the prophet himself. For in instructing him as to what he must write in the new book, he speaks in his own person: "I approached," he says, "the prophetess." By which he signified nothing other than what he had said: "Write." Since the ears of all could not bear these things, he commands the prophet to take a book, or a volume, or a parchment, or a scroll, as the others have translated. He calls it "new and great," so that it might shadow forth the figure of the new and great covenant, as the first one had grown old. For it was weak and had no power to make perfect. But "for thyself" he adds, so as to distinguish those who believe from those said to be disobedient. For to the former are given the things that in a new book contain the mystery of Christ. ^C The book is also called great, because it does not contain the humility of the legal history; on account of which Paul also gladly admits that he counts it as dung for the sake of the surpassing knowledge of Christ. For, as the same apostle says, the new law has been decreed upon better sacrifices. He says "with the stylus of a man" because the words of the Gospel were written in human dialect and in a language intelligible to the many. For there is another kind of Scripture, not human, in which, by the help of the Spirit, those who are written in the book of life are recorded. Perhaps the things concerning the Godhead of the Only-Begotten are not of a human stylus. ^D

^A nos, regarding the Incarnation of this One, regarding the divinity of the Only-begotten, it is perhaps not a work of human style. For that pen exists far otherwise; as it is also signified by the holy David, when he says: "My tongue is the pen of a ready scribe." For "no one knows the Son, except the Father, nor the Father except the Son, and he to whom the God may wish to reveal Him." For by a human stylus, says John, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; all things which follow these are spoken according to the flesh. He writes, therefore, so that he may quickly perform the plundering of the spoils. For the time draws near at which it is necessary for these two kings to suffer at the hand of the king of the Assyrians, by the power of Emmanuel, whom He ordered the Jews to invoke in the battle. And at His very presence, there came a teaching swifter than the lightning and the Gospel, plundering the prince of this age throughout the whole world, and drawing away those who had been taken captive toward the obedience of Christ. And let Uriah and Zechariah, he says, be witnesses of the things being written in the Gospel. For Uriah was at that time a priest, as is evident from history, and Zechariah a prophet. For it came to pass in the time of Hezekiah, as is written in the Chronicles. ^B He calls them as witnesses, however, in a symbolic sense. For the priest signifies the Law, which he taught; but the prophets are signified by Zechariah. And the Gospel is established, being testified to by the Law and the Prophets. Whence, at the time of the Transfiguration on the mountain, Moses and Elijah were conversing with Him concerning Christ and the exodus which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem—which signifies the end of the dispensation, the Cross, the death, the resurrection, the ascension. Now Uriah, if the reason of the name is regarded, means "Splendor of God," and Zechariah "Memory of God"; and as the son of Berechiah, "the blessing of God." And who could be a witness more trustworthy than one illuminated by God and possessing the memory of God? He writes of those very things: "I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son." For the Lord says that He Himself will approach the prophetess. He thus calls the Mother of Christ [the prophetess] because of her participation in the Holy Spirit, according to that: ^C "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you." For the prophet is instructed that the birth of Christ shall not be of the blood of the flesh nor of the will of a man. For Christ is the first-fruits of those who are to be reborn in Him, concerning whom these things are said. Receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit coming upon her, the Virgin thus prophesied concerning herself, saying: "For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed," and what follows. But the term "I approached," he says, using as is the custom of Scripture the present tense for the future. He commands him who is born, he says, "Make haste to plunder, be quick to spoil." Since even before the birth according to the flesh, and before he was inscribed with fleshly parents, He now overthrows the two kings. And He will do this

^B by means of the king of the Assyrians, as he says, using my power, he destroys their kingdoms.

There is another interpretation also: "He was quick to spoil the strong one," who was keeping those sold under sin and bound by death as if they were his own possession. And he plundered him, having handed over the faithful to be guarded ^C by his own powers; for even if the angels, as it says, look upon the face of My Father who is in heaven. And the swiftness of his plundering is shown by that: "Having ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men," which was fully accomplished by Him when, "having entered into the house of the strong one, he plundered his vessels," as he himself says in the parable. And the prophet also says elsewhere: "He has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives." ^D By saying "is present," he at the same time indicates that the punishment of the kings would not be far off. At the same time, he says that the events of the Savior's advent are drawing near. And he whom he called Immanuel, he has now called "Make haste to spoil, be quick to plunder." For it is the custom of Scripture to name God from His various operations, as also "Jesus," because of the salvation given to us by God. "The power of Damascus" means those from the nations who believe. "The spoils of Samaria" means those from the circumcision who would be faithless. For Damascus is the metropolis of the Syrians, and Samaria of Israel. How did the infant, born as he was, immediately spoil them? This he said either because he was about to do the same not long after; or certainly, because the Magi having come to him worshipped him as God, and offered gifts, being spoiled toward piety while he was still an infant, he having warred on their behalf and that of others, against the intelligible king of the Assyrians.

And the phrase, "and I approached the prophetess," some say was not said from the person of the Lord, but from the prophetic person; even if the "approached," they say, is used instead of "I drew near by the spirit and by the foreknowledge of future things to the prophetess." For I attained, and as it were drew near to the prophetic foreknowledge, and I saw the conception from afar, having looked forward to it by the gift of prophecy. ^B They also raise the question: how, when the prophet was ordered to take a scroll, does he do something else, going to the prophetess? But it is clear, they say, that the silence signified his assent and action to that command. For how would the prophet have disobeyed God? But it is clear that while he was instructed in that, the account concerning the prophetess is delivered from a special beginning.

VERS. 5-8. And the Lord further spoke to me yet again: For the reason that this people does not want the waters ^C of Siloam that go softly, but wants to have Raasson, and the son of Romelia as king...

over you; therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon you the water of the river, the strong and the many, the king of the Assyrians, and his glory, etc. ^A And these things also are of the same argument; which the Lord directs not now to the people, but to the prophet, because the people disobeyed, having been commanded not to fear kings, but to trust in the invocation of Emmanuel. Not doing this, they preferred to serve the kings, not receiving the water of Siloam, which signifies Emmanuel himself, who is the fountain of living water gushing forth into eternal life, whom they would not admit either at the time of this war or at the time of His incarnation, preferring rather to serve kings.

^B Now, if you look at the truth of the matter, the waters of Siloam flow quietly, just as it is narrated here. But it indicates Christ, who, not yet brought forth into the light, and not yet preached to the nations, was nevertheless accustomed to reside secretly with His people, to irrigate and feed their souls, and was not yet preached to all the nations; silently and without noise He made His advent. The appellation itself is also fitting; for Siloam signifies "one who is sent." Thus, Paul also calls Him the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. And the Savior sent the man who was blind from birth to Siloam symbolically, at which place he received his sight. But the people who are accused in this passage by the Lord, not believing in Siloam—which is Emmanuel—are left destitute of Him; and instead of the two kings whom they loved, they are delivered up to serve the Assyrians, and the one who intellectually rules over them, because they did not wish for the water of Siloam, or rather, as Symmachus would have it, they rejected it (according to, "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner"). Because of this, He says that He will bring upon them the water that is both ^C much and strong—the Assyrian—setting him against that quiet water. By his "glory," he designated the commanders under him and the peoples. Now, it is customary in the Holy Scriptures to liken a multitude to water. For the words of the prophets thus hold: "And Nineveh is like a pool of waters, her waters." It will not remain, he says, a man lifting up his head; that is, one who is able to rule. But that very multitude will cover the face of the entire region, just as it is certain happened in the times of Jeremiah, on account of the forces of Nebuchadnezzar.

VERS. 9, 10. Nobiscum Deus. Know, O nations, and be vanquished. Hear even to the ends of the earth, you who have prevailed, be vanquished. For if you prevail again, you will be vanquished again; and whatever counsel you enter into, the Lord will dissipate, etc.

And these things also are connected to those concerning Emmanuel who is God with us.

^A This is now declared a second time by the prophet. Having reproved those who refused to believe, and freeing himself from their charge, he exclaims with the greatest joy, on his own behalf and on behalf of those like him, "God is with us," having turned his address toward the Gentiles. He exhorts them to know this Emmanuel, whom the circumcised people neither knew nor understood. "But you," he says, "allow yourselves to be overcome by this noble defeat, being taken captive into the obedience of Christ, through whom you will be made free from the slavery of the law of sin." Listen, therefore, to those sent to the ends of the earth to proclaim the Gospel to you: "Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." And you who are strong and powerful in speech among yourselves, be vanquished by the preaching of piety; for even if you are unwilling, you will be defeated, being reproved for your vain counsels against God, and by the words spoken in warning. He might also mean that they should lay aside their physical strength and take upon themselves the weakness of the flesh, so that the power of God might be perfected in weakness. But if the mind of the flesh rises up against you again, subject it once more to the Spirit, so that your counsel and your word may be made idle, for it threatens: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent." For the angel of the great counsel causes human counsel to cease, and the Word of God ^B invalidates human speech. It is useful to say these things to those who persecute the Church.

Some say that the first part is spoken both to the Gentiles and to the Jews, but that from the words "you who were strong are vanquished," it is directed to the Jews; for they prevailed against Christ as much as they could, by handing him over to the cross. But they took counsel which they will not be able to establish. For how could they have subjected the Author of life to death? Therefore, he says, you are vanquished from now on, after such a senseless, bold act. But if you again oppose those who preach the Gospel, you will again be vanquished, finally paying the penalty to the punishing Judge. For when Christ was taken up, they even plotted against the apostles themselves, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to speak in this name. And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching." And although when they beat them they seemed to be powerful again, the disciples prevailed, saying: "Because God is with us." For which reason they paid the penalty, being vanquished by the Romans. ^{C D}

Verses 11-13. Thus says the Lord: With a strong hand they turn away from the path of the way of this people, saying: Do not ever say hard. For whatever this people says,

^A *conspiracy, etc.*

132. It appears that He is directing this discourse against the unbelievers, whether the Jews, as some would have it, or those who, as others suppose, are understood by the name of the Gentiles. The "strong hand" is the creative power of all things, through whom all things were made, the Son of God, who also destroyed death, crushed Satan, despoiled hell, and renewed the race for immortality, which the Jews—who were called but did not receive Immanuel—and also those among the Gentiles who remained irreconcilable to the faith, opposed. For we are brought to the knowledge of God in two ways: either by utilizing natural perceptions, drawing knowledge of the Creator from created things, or through the instruction of the law given to us. But these people followed neither the works of that strong hand—of which it is said: "Your right hand, O Lord, is glorified in power," and, "My hand has established the heavens"—nor the Way. But He Himself says: "I am the way." He calls the legal path of life a journey, while the Lord calls the teachers of the law blind guides. It is said, "I delighted in the way of your testimonies," and, "I shall live in your way," and, "Blessed are the blameless in the way." ^B These things, therefore, are rightly said in regard to the Greeks. But if it concerns the Jews, it must be by ellipsis, so that it might mean: and the path of the journey for those walking is not straight or belonging to the Lord. After this people has disobeyed, He says—whose person He assumed just lately, saying "God is with us"—that he calls the evangelical path the one ignored by the shadow of the law. The version of Symmachus bears witness to this interpretation by ellipsis. For he says: "The Lord said to me, as if with a strong hand, He also withdrew me from walking in the way of this people, saying: Do not say, Conspiracy; everything that this people says is a conspiracy." He indicates that he, the prophet, was summoned by God's own hand not to hold the same path as the impious people who denied the faith of the prophecy by calling upon Immanuel; because they judge your withdrawal from them to be a conspiracy. But you shall not say this. According to the Seventy, He says: Do not say the word is hard, ^C as these people think regarding the need to withdraw from the path of this people; and even if they plot against you because you have withdrawn, you must not fear them at all, but only God. "For the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord," by which every fear of men is driven away. And then, at length, He shall be for you a sanctuary, no longer needing some bodily sanctuary. Thus they [the people] called the temple established among them, and its inner parts. Therefore, the Lord Himself shall be a sanctuary for you, if you are trusting ^D

^A in Him. But according to those who understand the "people" to be the faithful who are ranked with the prophet when he said, "God is with us," one must understand the phrase, "Lest you say: It is hard," because the word of the holy apostles seemed hard to the Jews, who could not bear to remain in the shadow of the Law. Therefore, He encourages the apostles not to fear the fear that is in the Law, but to be God-fearing only. That is to say, since they were afraid of offending God if they should reject the legal worship by obeying the Savior who was destroying the shadow. For this reason they said, "If this man were from God, He would not break the Sabbath." But you, even though you are from among them, be not overcome with the same fears. Rather, let the Lord of glory, that is, Christ, be sanctified by you.

But according to those who imagine that this word is directed toward those from among the Gentiles who are unbelieving, and who are persuaded neither by natural law nor by written law, it might be said that they cannot endure the commandments of the "way of the people," not bearing the hardness of the things ordained, just as the Jews also, being vexed at the Lord's teachings, said, "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" For to the fornicator, temperance is hard, and to those in wickedness, the yoke of virtue is hard. For while the former is enticed by the smoothness of pleasure, the latter is obtained through labors. ^B Whence the former has the most, but the latter has very few lovers, who say, "By the word of Thy lips, I have kept hard ways." Who also, going forth, went on and wept, casting their seeds. For the present afflictions are the seeds of the good things to come. Therefore, the Gentiles turn the people away, and they do not hesitate to call the things hard to them, as they have been hesitant to draw near—formerly to the Law, and now to the Faith—not bearing the yoke of the one, nor the manner of life of the other; to whom He says: "Fear not their fear," that is, of those virtues.

Or, having turned toward the people, He addresses them, as if those men had supposed these things concerning you, fearing the unity with you through the laws, but you must not be disturbed by their plots. "But let the Lord be your fear." It is a great thing for perfection to be educated to fear, and not to be jittery. Concerning whom David says: "There they feared a fear where there was no fear." Therefore, await the coming of that One; fear the judgment of that One, and His coming ^C upon the earth with the angels. For if you are trusting in Him, you shall not stumble as at a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. For as the blind stumble over stones, and those with unsteady footing slip upon rocks, so the man blind in soul, and not having recognized the coming of the Lord through the teaching of the Scriptures, stumbles and is scandalized by the evangelical preaching, saying, "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is." And these, having stumbled at the Word, have fallen; but to those who have believed, ^D He [alt-version omitted] becomes a sanctuary, but not a stone of offense, through the birth of the Emmanuel from the Virgin...

^A Paul also taught these things, saying that Christ is a stumbling block to Jews, and folly to Gentiles. And again, when he says that Israel, while chasing after a law of righteousness, did not attain to the law, why? Because it was not by faith, but as if by works of law—he stumbled at the stone of stumbling, as it is written: “Behold, I lay in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and everyone who believes in Him shall not be put to shame.” ^B Therefore, the Apostle took from this place the “stone of stumbling” and the “rock of offense,” but the phrase “everyone who believes in Him shall not be put to shame” was taken from a different part of the same prophecy, where it is written in these words: “Behold, I lay in Sion a corner stone, elect, precious, and he who believes in Him shall not be put to shame.” But the same Lord becomes a sanctuary to some, and an offense to others. And perhaps the offense to the Gentiles themselves, who seek wisdom, is the folly of the preaching; but to the Jews who seek signs, it is a rock of offense. To us, however—who have never attempted to measure the simplicity of the preaching by logical demonstrations, nor to put the truth to the test through signs—Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ^C But when He mentions the “house of Jacob,” he means the Jews, who, suffering from great madness against Christ, are asserted to be not unlike those who, having been caught in the snares of hunters and having fallen into pits, are kept for slaughter. “They will draw near,” he says, “to everyone able to shake them,” being themselves destitute of all strength, and not able to speak in the manner of the faithful: “My strength and my praise is the Lord.” For all of the Israelites who, having considered themselves secure against visible and invisible enemies, were unwilling to place their trust for the help that is sought, will be taken. For God has attested His care for Jerusalem in these words: “And I will be a wall of fire for her round about”; but grace having been transferred to the Gentiles, from the time that they practiced savagery against Christ, they were exposed to the plunder and pillage of the enemy. ^D But the interpretation of Symmachus reads thus: “Into a stone of stumbling, and into a rock of ruin for the two houses of Israel, into a snare and into a stumbling block for those who inhabit Jerusalem.” And by “two houses,” along with the other interpreters, he signified the princes themselves and the subjects, indicating the whole nation. And the others also handed down “the two houses.” For this reason, he says, many among them will be powerless, for it is evident that He has become for them a stone of stumbling. And in place of “they will draw near,” Symmachus translated, “And they will be ensnared and

they will be captured”; and the words, “Men who are in security,” are superfluous, and therefore marked with an obelus. ^A

VERS. 16-18. Then those who seal the law so as not to learn will be made manifest. And he will say: I will wait for God, who turns away His face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in Him, etc.

Symmachus rendered the first verse thus: “Bind the testimony, seal the law among my disciples,” with which the interpretation of Aquila also agrees. Then, he says—that is, after the things which were spoken have happened to the two houses of Israel—then, I say, bind the law. For there will then no longer be any need for the Mosaic law, nor for the testimonies from it, when the new doctrine is being handed down to His disciples, who are called from the Gentiles, who will be made manifest as sealing the law so as not to learn it, ^B as it no longer has any usefulness when compared with the more excellent thing. Shall we, therefore, abstain from the legal readings, since it is established that Christ said: “Therefore, every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings forth from his treasure things new and old”?

Not at all, certainly not entirely, but we shall turn away from the carnal understanding of it. There are some who think that by these words those who closed their ears to the divine law are being rebuked, even if they are said to be “sealing it,” as they made themselves similar to the form of the adversary, not wishing to be formed with Christ in themselves. Preferring the image of the earthly to the heavenly, the law itself was sealed by ^C its own nature through the obscurity of the words, having been handed down in this way for the exercise of the mind. And he who does not attempt to break the bond of ignorance through study is said to seal it. The teachers of the Jews also used to seal it under the pretext of observing the letter, not uncovering the mysteries that were in the depths. Concerning whom the Savior says that you have “taken away the keys, and you neither enter yourselves, nor do you permit those who are able to enter.”

Such a person, says the Jew, “I will wait for God who turns away,” and the rest. He says: I do not accept the Emmanuel, even if I have now been abandoned; but I will at some time await the visitation of God who has now turned away from us. But according to the former interpretation, those who have hoped in Christ say these things, ^D turning away from the law and awaiting the grace of Christ, so that it may become their sanctification; according to the verse, “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me.” He who also endures the things that are pleasing to God, and tolerates the struggles on behalf of piety, makes a secure standing in God, through looking at how God turned away from those who disobeyed Him. But some of those who say these things argue that the person of the Only-begotten will be introduced, saying concerning them:

^A “Behold, I and the children whom God has given me.” And Paul also cited this in the Epistle to the Hebrews. For [he indicates] Jewish children born of a man and a woman, but those of the Lord who proclaims these things were not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God—the Father having gifted Him such children—and not according to the flesh. For in that He is God, He has authority over all things by nature, no longer attending to the law of Moses. By “children,” he means the believers, as having been reborn by the Spirit and having stripped off the old man: those endowed with simplicity of character and devoid of malice, already weaned from rudimentary teachings and advancing toward the sustenance of the more perfect mysteries. And having granted us also to cry out in the Spirit, “Abba, Father,” He has addressed us as brothers to the Father, as if returning those whom He had received; to whom He also says: ^B “Those whom You gave me from the world, they were Yours, and You gave them to me.” According to that: “Ask of me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance.” And by means of these children, He says, there shall be signs and wonders. Hence, the others have rendered it thus: “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, for signs and wonders in Israel.” For He says, “He gave them to me to perform wonders through them.” To whom also the Savior, when He was sending them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, was saying: “Heal the sick, cast out demons; you received freely, give freely.” Through which signs, the calling of the Gentiles also came to pass. For the fact that knowledge has disrupted ignorance, and probity has disrupted wickedness, and that the Church of God has finally laid its foundations everywhere on earth, these are established as manifest signs of God's grace, which of necessity must be attributed to no other than the Lord of Hosts. For who else is the Lord of Hosts, if not He who is called the commander-in-chief of the army of God, from whom the signs are given to the children who have believed in Him? ^C Regarding whom, as they were shouting, “Hosanna in the highest,” He says that what was spoken was fulfilled: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have perfected praise.” Regarding whom, as He confesses to the Father, He says that You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to infants. Calling as “mystical children” those infants who have attained the revelation of the mysteries through His teaching, to whom He has revealed Himself, He who dwells on Mount Zion, on the heavenly mountain. Regarding which the Apostle says: ^D “You have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.”

^A

Vers. 19-22. And if they say to you: Seek from the pythonesses, and those who speak from the earth, who say vain things, who answer from the belly. Does not a nation seek from its God? Why do they seek from the dead on behalf of the living?

Emmanuel weaves a certain formula of instruction for the sake of those whom He has accounted as children, that He might recall them, as disciples, from ancient superstition. For He says: If your kinsmen or friends attempt with their words to draw you back to former errors under the pretext of foreknowledge, reject such advice. For demons contrive such things for the destruction of those who do not fear to put them to the test. They are able both to heal diseases and to predict the future: the former, because they are more discerning than those who are more carnal, as to the qualities of plants and their appropriate uses and applications; the latter, because they are the first to observe what has happened, and they set these things forth as if they were things that were to come to pass. For example, knowing the things decreed concerning Saul and the judgment of God which had been published, they assumed the person of Samuel immediately, and recounted these things as if they were his own decrees. He says, however, that the pythonists speak from the earth, because they utter nothing heavenly: and this is made clear even by the testimony of the little woman who, speaking to Saul, declares that she sees gods ascending from the earth: doubtless because they are said to evoke the souls of the dead from the underworld for the clarification of the things being asked. He calls these also vain-talkers, and those who speak from the belly, whom they also call pythons; perhaps also because they speak from their own heart, that is, from what they have fabricated according to the disposition of their listeners. ^B They might also be spoken of in this way, as those whose god is the belly, even if they pretend to piety and teach, desiring to stuff and satisfy it. For they speak vain things, since they speak contrary to the intent of the soul. Nor indeed does he profit toward the persuasion of utility who teaches in words what in reality he does not perform. But concerning what follows, "Does not a people inquire of its God?" it should be thought that this is put by way of interrogation, and thus by way of a lack (as if to say that it is necessary for them to supply the rest themselves). For if every people embraces and consults its own gods (not, however, without error), what is it fitting for those to do who have attained the true knowledge of the Divinity? Is it not to inquire of their own God? And not to inquire about matters from those who are completely deprived of life? He understands either idols, or those very ones who have fallen away from what is truly called life, such as the demons themselves are, who on account of their rebellion do not admit into themselves the living Word of God; or also because it is absurd to inquire about those who are surviving from those who lie in the bowels of the earth. For all such superstition is accustomed to revolve around tombs. But the phrase “What will they inquire?” expresses the emotion of a soul bearing heavily and bitterly the madness of those people; for they are not afraid to call upon the mute, being endowed with reason, and becoming participants in death on account of their contumacy. ^{C D}

^A If, however, you have embraced the word of God and the evangelical law, let the future no longer torment you; but use the present for what is useful. For you have received the law as an aid, being endowed with a great natural aptitude for that which is honorable; and because God wished to perfect this, He also added the support of the law. If you ask for faith to be given to you regarding the future, perform what is commanded by the law, and await the enjoyment of good things. This law, however, he says, is not like this utterance of a ventriloquist. For it was not devised for the sake of fraudulent gain, but is a teacher of truth offered freely to all, with Isaiah himself as a witness when he says: "All you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and those who have no silver, come, buy without silver and price." ^B For one benefit is most worthy of our freedom: the very observance of the given law; whereas there [in the ventriloquists], oracles are mostly sold that are fabricated for the sake of fraud. But if you do not attend to this law of God, He says, a hard famine will come upon you. For thus is God accustomed to teach His own, and thus to lead them to repentance. "I afflicted you," He says, "and brought famine upon you, in order to do you good." But is the famine only of grain or of other foodstuffs? It is called hard, and rightly so, being implacable, through which He wishes to cause sorrow for an unregretted salvation. And perhaps to those who have fallen from the divine law, a hard famine is brought, not of bread or water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. For this is the bread from heaven that gives life to the world. Symmachus, however, translated it thus: "And he will pass away from it scandalized, and will hunger. And it will be when he hungers and is exasperated, he will curse his king." ^C For whoever, having despised the divine law and been scandalized by the deception of demons, from whom he expects knowledge of future things, suffers from a famine of rational food, of ecstasy, and of exasperation, to the point that he does not hesitate to revile his own king, or, as the Seventy interpreters have it, his prince and his ancestral laws. For as if having nothing holy or venerable in the Church rites received from the Fathers, they will revile them and Christ, the one who taught them, whom they have also forsaken, having turned away from the light of the Gospels, so that intellectual darkness will receive them. Some, however, understanding those of whom the discourse treats as having been provoked and helped to repentance by the famine, say that they repent and want to revile the prince of this world ^D—of whose injury they have received an awareness—while their "fatherland" is the pursuits of those who live in sins: the works of the flesh, namely, by which they are entangled and turned away from the divine law. But those who are such cannot, for that reason, not be blessed, because they will find the true prince and the fatherland, which is Jerusalem, those who will look up to the heaven above, having long been bent down and unable to discern the things on high of the divine contemplations; but now, having dissolved the bond to earthly things, and [having freed themselves] from the intellectual...

that Jerusalem are to discover. The same persons, also, being raised on high toward heaven, will behold—they who formerly were unable to conceive in their minds the sublime theorems of divine things; but now, with the bonds of earthly things loosened, they have dared to contemplate the nature of intelligible things, and the place where it is fitting to lay up treasure. Furthermore, they themselves will look down upon the earth, so that those who were formerly lifted up and did not think humbly of themselves might recognize the vileness of their own nature, from the kinship it has with the earth. But they will be astonished and confounded at the miracle of such great things, and moved and troubled by the very wonder of the things received: "For when a man has finished," he says, "then he begins; and when he has rested, then he will be in doubt." For no one knows how much he does not know, unless he has tasted a small particle of knowledge, according to that saying: "I said, I will be wise; and it departed far from me." Yet God, who is good, promises better things to these. For he who is in straits will not, he says, be confounded until a time; that is, the ignorance itself will not occupy mortals forever. For he who anxiously seeks after the truth will at last behold it found, face to face, when the final end of the ages has arrived (which "until a time" signifies). ^B There are not lacking those, however, who think that what is stated—"a sharp famine shall come upon you"—is an apostrophe to the Jewish nation, which, having received the law from God, would not accept Christ; and having fallen from him, they have fallen into a spiritual famine. But if, once awakened, they look toward the evils which they are suffering, and if they heap reproaches upon the leader himself—that is, the overseers of the Scribes and Pharisees, and the very customary observations of the law by which they turned the people away from Christ and incited them to his murder, teaching nothing less than the doctrines of men—then indeed, blinded, they will be confounded: when the nations themselves, which now the straits and the famine press, shall be partakers of the table of Christ, when their time of calling has arrived.

CAP. IX.

^A in which the preaching of the Gospel had begun, and in which He was accustomed to frequent, should be named. He addresses it, therefore, with pleasant speech: "Drink this first"; which the two tribes, Zabulon and Nephthalim, had obtained by lot, and which certain foreign nations inhabited in the country between them. To signify this, he added: "And the rest, who inhabit the seacoast, and beyond the Jordan," so that he might distinguish Galilee of Palestine from that which is adjacent to Phoenicia. By the seacoast he means that whole region which is around the Lake of Gennesaret, which the Gospel is accustomed to call "the sea." For it says: "And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers," for from thence were the disciples. There were also about that lake Capharnaum, and Bethsaida, and Chorazin, and other villages, which he mentions.

There is also Galilee beyond the Jordan, in which the Savior very often resided: whence ^B he first announces to those who inhabited it the saving drink and the great light. The Savior afterward provided a manifest image of this life-giving and saving drink to our bodily senses, when he changed water into wine at the wedding, and as John says, it received the beginning of his miracles, from which his glory was immediately manifested, and his disciples believed in him. Hence, therefore, it is said by the prophet in this manner: "Drink this first; do it quickly." For he wishes the fruit of the rational drink to be returned and performed by those who, in reality, become partakers of the divine apparition and great light. Perhaps also he says this because he announces to a thirsty people the grace that was long ago ^C awaited. For someone of this kind would more quickly drink up the cup with pleasure: that is, with a joyful and eager mind, having embraced the dogma of Salvation, believing nothing to be before it or more excellent than it. For what is more ancient than the Creator? Or what is more excellent than the firstborn of every creature? Drink, therefore, this very thing, which you are told was "the Word in the beginning." There is nothing more ancient than the beginning. There is nothing before that which was in the beginning. Do not drink in an Aeon, nor any interval of place or time: but betake yourself with intensity and with all the diligence you can to the reception of this work. For Paul himself, as soon as he drank of the faith, did not postpone the preaching of the Gospel for any time—he who even says that he did not yield to flesh and blood—but ^D like an excellent runner, he hurried immediately toward the goal, to receive the prize of the heavenly calling, having been given the signal. To those, therefore, who before the Savior’s advent were walking in the darkness of ignorance, the Gospel was announced; and by this very rising of the light, which "illuminates every man coming into this world," they saw a great light. For how is it not great, which shines upon both the intelligible and the sensible? Which also dwells with the Father, and illuminates all things? They were "in the shadow of death" who were sinning unto death, according to the saying, "The soul that sins, it shall die." But such a one, as long as he happens to be in this present life, has not yet been swallowed by death, being able to repent, though he has not yet been delivered entirely.

He is therefore said to be in the shadow of death. And alternatively, they were overshadowed ^A by death. For a deep cloud of idolatry lay upon them. Henceforth, the discourse shifts to the person of the Lord: "The majority of the people whom you brought down, in gladness." For in this region He acquired a vast number of people, and His apostles as well. But for "you brought down," the others interpreted it as "you magnified." "They shall rejoice," it says, "as in the harvest." Literally, this refers to those for whom He blessed the loaves in this region, the seven and the five, and satisfied so many. For at the time of harvest, people are accustomed to gather together and feast in like manner. Regarding the deeper meaning, it is because the apostles, and those who even now are their successors, rejoice before the Savior, working like reapers processing the harvest of the nations; to whom He was saying, "The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few"—and how could they not be ^B few, as they were the ones who, as was fitting, were leading the way to the great and abundant harvest of the Gentiles? They, too, were dividing among themselves the spoils of the polytheistic deception, which the Savior had given them to plunder, as spoken of before: "Make haste to plunder, speed to take spoil." For according to the parable, the one who is stronger than the strong man took away his armor, and distributed the spoils. By "armor," he means the wicked powers through whom he works idolatry. By "spoils," he means the souls of men, which, having surreptitiously stolen, he held under himself, having used the methods and violence of a robber. But He who is truly the Strong One, having cast down idolatry and liberated ^C the despoiled souls, distributed them to the disciples to provide for them and to heal them; who also rejoice as in the harvest of the Church, seeing the crops. And in another way, "what each one sows, that also he shall reap." Therefore, in the retribution, those who received the Word and brought forth fruit, receiving from the righteous Judge a reward proportionate to what was sown here, shall rejoice in enjoying the fruits of their own labors. For those who grow rich from spoils receive the occasion of their wealth all at once; wherefore he speaks of both: both the goods from the requital, and those which are given by grace from Him who bestows great things; but let us return to where we started. The disciples of Christ, therefore, down to this day, rejoice because the yoke that once lay upon the spoils is removed, ^D as is the rod upon the neck of the spoils. For a yoke and a deadly rod were bending their neck. For the one who had plundered them for this purpose had subjected their souls to the slavery of sin; for he stood over human life like a collector, beating them with a rod, and making them incline toward the earth through their attachment to the passions. Struck by this rod, David said: "My wounds have stunk and rotted." For a wicked rod produces foul-smelling wounds on the one who is struck. Consider the...

man who is agitated by many lusts; you will surely find him similar to one struck by a rod. For the unbridled libido of the intemperate rankles not without ^A grave pain, until it has imprinted a foul-smelling scar upon the unhappy soul, which the very memory of a base life operates. Therefore, He will dissipate that rod, not otherwise than as we read the empire of the Midianites was dissipated through His work. Scripture remembers the book of Numbers; and that which is also called Judges. Numbers, indeed, in these words: "They battled against the Midianites, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they slaughtered everything of the male sex, and the kings of the Midianites" ^B. And Judges, where it makes Gideon speak thus: "Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of the Midianites into our hands." This the discourse seems to signify even more explicitly. For just as, with Gideon as leader, the enemies were overcome not by the force of arms, but by a hidden and divinely inflicted plague; so too are the enemies of our souls, and the rod of those by whom the yoke was laid upon them—both upon the Gentiles through idolatry, and upon the people of Israel through the Pharisees—dissipated. For in addition to the yoke from the Law, of which the disciples say: "And now why do you tempt God to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither you nor your fathers were able to bear?" they themselves added even ^C heavier ones, out of their insatiable desire to devour the people. One might also not wrongly understand by the name of "rod" the immoderate desire of these men for possession, who would have preferred to suffer anything whatsoever, rather than behold the advent of Christ. Therefore, the rod of the exactors is dissipated; for they, too, having been overcome, will restore every garment gathered by deceit, and the clothing together with a change. For since the devil, aided by familiar powers, dared by deceit and fraud to plunder the adornment of the soul and its garment, and finally the cloak of virtue itself, and to leave it naked ^D and defiled, therefore, he says, they will restore; then, fearing the time of the restoration, they will desire, if they had been born, rather to be burned by fire than to behold the Savior of all acting among mortals. For, shuddering at Him, they said: "What is there between us and you, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?" But the fact that he says "with a change" signifies an increment. For we do not only recover what we were deprived of, but by the addition of faith in Christ we are rendered far better than before. "For he has clothed me," he says, "in a garment of salvation and a tunic of joy." And he says "gathered" [meaning] that which was secretly taken away. And as to who this was at whom they shuddered, he added: "That a child is born to us, a son," the same as Emmanuel, who is now called both son and child. This is the third time he is called son and child in the present prophecy. For he said, "The Virgin shall bring forth a son, whom you shall call Emmanuel," to which he added, "Before the child knows good or evil." And again, "The prophetess," he says, "conceived and bore a son." And he added, "Because before the child knows how to call father or mother."

^B And now, for the third time, that a child has been born to us. This Son, therefore, and Child, being the gift given to us who have believed by God, and born for our sake and not for his own, having many names, is named at the present time the Angel of Great Counsel. For he himself, having announced the great counsel which was hidden from the ages and not manifested to other generations, manifested his own unsearchable riches among the nations, so that the nations might be co-heirs and fellow-body, he whose principality was made upon his shoulder. This is the kingdom and the power in the cross, upon which, when elevated, he drew all to himself. For he signifies the strength through the shoulder. For all our strength is in the shoulders and arms. For it has also been called the "arm of the Lord," according to: "And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" He began, therefore, to those in the heavens through his own power. For he is the strength of God and the Father. But some have said [this refers to] the cross, because he bore it upon his shoulder. And how he is the Angel of Great Counsel, John has manifested by saying: "For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God." And the Savior says to the apostles: "But I have called you friends, because all things that I heard from the Father I have made known to you."

But Symmachus rendered it: "And his name shall be called Paradox, Counselor, Mighty." And Aquila: "Wonderful, Advising, Mighty." And Theodotion: "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty." For all, by common consent, rendered the word *El* which is found among the Seventy as "Mighty" (God), as if they were hesitant to apply the name of God to a child being born. But the Seventy, gazing upon the things divinely spoken about him, rightly interpreted the *El* (אֵל) among the Hebrews as God. For if he is called the Prince of Peace, he is also called the Prince of the future age, and has peace that is unending. For the word *El* is often taken in Scripture for God. For even where it says, "And in you they shall pray, because God is in you," instead of God, it has the Hebrew *El*. And again, when it is said, "For you are God and we did not know," again *El* is brought forward. And again in those places where it is said, "I am God, and there is no other." The *El* is instead of God. Therefore, even now, the *El Gibbor* (אֵל גִּבּוֹר) is rightly interpreted as "God Mighty." Since even he who was born of the virgin, Emmanuel, having the *El*, is "God with us," and is translated by others. That ^C...

now *El* is set here, that it signifies God, appears manifestly even from the progress of the discourse. For it says: "And they shall be relying upon the God, the holy one of Israel, in truth; and the remnant of Jacob shall be upon God mighty." ^A For in place of "God mighty," the Hebrews again have *El gibbor*. Looking to this, the Seventy interpreted it as "God." And hence it is that, summing up the things which follow concerning him with a certain peculiar and diverse understanding, they said, "And his name shall be called Messenger of Great Counsel," being astonished.

How, moreover, he is also called "Father of the age," we may understand even by the words of Paul, when he says: "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." ^B For Christ is the first-fruits of the new age; then those who are of Christ; and he would be called the "Prince of peace." For "He himself is our peace," through whom all things that inhabit heaven and earth have obtained peace. Through whom, finally, the whole world has been reconciled to the Father. But as he is named differently and differently according to the reason of his actions, so also did he receive the name Jesus in his own time, when he lived among the living for the sake of their salvation. For the name Jesus is interpreted as that which saves, or he who gave salvation. Therefore, when Gabriel had said, "And you shall call his name Jesus," he immediately added, "For he shall save his people."

It follows then: "For I will bring peace upon the ^C princes, and health to him." In which place, certainly, by the name of princes, he indicates nothing else than the prelates and teachers of the Churches, to whom he himself also grants health of soul and mutual peace among themselves, saying: "My peace I give to you; my peace I leave with you." ^D But in that he added "health to him," he looked to show that the discourse proceeds from the Father concerning the Son on account of the mystery of the resurrection. For since he was crucified out of weakness, but lives by the power of God, for this reason, he says, he is about to bring health upon the infirmity of the flesh which he assumed for our sake. For he does not assume these things as God, but becomes the dispenser of health and peace. And the peace which the Father here says he will give to the princes, the Son, claiming for himself the things that are the Father’s, is not afraid to call his own, using these words: "My peace I give to you"; receiving back the peace in turn from those who have accepted it. Hence it is, therefore, that Isaiah says: "Let us make peace with him; let us make peace, we who are coming." He receives indeed health; that is to say, the resurrection, having himself worked this very thing again. For he says: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." For he is himself the power of the Father; he himself is the resurrection and the life. To these is added, "Great is his authority." For he ruled not only over Judea, but rather over the entire inhabited world. And the greater matter, Paul demonstrates, saying: "According to the working of the might of his strength, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead,"

and set him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named." ^A "And there shall be no end of his peace." For it has been said, "In his days shall righteousness spring up, and abundance of peace," regarding which, after saying, "My peace I give unto you," he added, "Not as the world gives unto you." The gift, therefore, since it is above the world, has no end. For if it were of the world, it would have been completed with the constitution of the world. It will therefore remain with him who received it from him forever; but the peace of Solomon is restricted to fixed years. That Christ came to liberate the nation of the Jews is indicated by the mention of the throne of David. It had also been said that a ruler would not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until those things which were laid up for him should come. For all declare that Christ, according to the flesh, is from the seed of David. He did not say, "You shall sit upon the throne of David," but simply "upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it," we being expected to understand that he would come to establish the throne of David and the tabernacle of David which had fallen. For it had been overthrown from the time when Nebuchadnezzar tore it down. ^B But the prophets predicted that it would shine throughout the whole inhabited world like the sun. Christ, therefore, came to fulfill the promise, being from the seed of David according to the flesh, illuminating the souls of men, and strengthening his kingdom throughout the whole world, even though it had been pulled down by the Jews. He was to establish it in judgment and in justice. "For your judgments," it says, "are a great deep, and your righteousness is as the mountains of God." Neither, then, are his judgments comprehensible, nor is his righteousness to be viewed according to the worthiness of its height. And he performed these things "from henceforth and for ever": "from henceforth" signifying a fixed beginning of time, through which the season of his sojourn among men was indicated; "for ever" signifying his infinite kingdom. And see how the prophecies proceed in order. ^C The first promised that he would be born of a Virgin. But as though it were being asked, How shall this be? the second brought forward the Lord saying, "And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a son." And as though we had learned these things, the third goes through the details concerning the child, teaching us his ineffable theology. ^D Finally, the prophecy concerning him concludes by saying, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." And the zeal is good, and becoming to him, to save those held by the devil.

^A They provoked him to jealousy, the men of Israel. Therefore, Moses says in the Canticle: "They have provoked me with that which is no god, and I will provoke them with a nation which is no people" (Deut. xxxii, 21). These things are according to the Seventy translators. But according to Symmachus, whom the others followed, the reading is stated in this way from above: "The first hastened the land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, and the last aggravated the way that is by the sea, beyond the Jordan." By this he signifies that the first—those who hastened—is the apostolic choir, which grew out of the region of the aforementioned tribes. Regarding them, David says: "In the congregations bless ye the Lord God, from the fountains of Israel. There is Benjamin the younger, in the trance of the mind, the princes of Zabulon, the princes of Nephthalim" (Ps. lxvii, 27–28). For Benjamin signifies Paul, who claimed he was of ^B the tribe of Benjamin. And the princes of the two tribes signify the rest of the apostles. For coming forth from the region of these, they were the first to receive Christ, whence they are called princes. Therefore he also says now: "The first hastened the land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim." For when Jesus said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," they immediately left their nets and followed him. These, then, "hastened." But the last, he says, "aggravated the way." For those who were called last after the first did not obey; whom he also laments, saying: "Woe to thee, Chorazin, woe to thee, Bethsaida, for if in Tyre and Sidon..." and the following (Matt. xi, 21). But even now the Jews are held by their unbelief. For he says, "The heart of this people has been made fat," and the things that follow (Isa. vi, 10; John xii, 40). But instead of "border of the nations"—which Symmachus provided instead of "Galilee" as the Seventy have it—Aquila provided "the borders of the nations," ^C signifying the multitudes of the foreign nations, which were formerly uncultivated and fruitless. And for "the greatest part of the people whom you brought in joy," we have "Thou hast multiplied the nation, which thou didst not magnify." For you will find that Symmachus rendered it thus. For the nation which he had formerly cast away because of impiety, the saving Word now makes abundantly full through spiritual blessing, according to that: "Increase and multiply" (Gen. i, 28). Again, where we have: "Every garment gathered with guile, and a garment with exchange they shall pay back; and they shall wish, if they had been born, to be burnt with fire," Symmachus says: "All force has been put under force in an earthquake, and a garment has been stained with blood, and it shall be for burning and food for fire," signifying that every human soul suffered violence before the advent ^D by Satan, through whom the vestments and superior condition of the soul were stained, which shall be for burning on account of him who was born for our sake, whom he calls "a youth." Instead of "beginning," he says: "And the discipline shall be upon his shoulder," signifying his passion, through which we have been disciplined. This is the end of the prophecy concerning Emmanuel.

^A 155 Vers. 8-15. "The Lord sent a death upon Jacob, and it came upon Israel. And all the people of Ephraim shall know, and they who sit in Samaria in pride and loftiness of heart, saying: The bricks have fallen," etc.

Having completed the theme concerning Emmanuel, he returns again to the goal he had set for himself at the beginning and recounts the destruction caused by sin, saying: "The Lord sent a death upon Jacob, and it came upon Israel." But the others rendered it, "He sent a word." A word, that is to say, clearly a prohibitive word of wrath against the two kings who had joined forces against Judah, whom, as one being of a different race and an ally, he now puts aside, regarding the Syrian, and speaks of Samaria. For since Sennacherib had arrived before Jerusalem and had previously destroyed Samaria (for Israel had sinned more grievously than the Jews, and was delivered up first by God), for this reason he says that the evils sent against others were drawn upon themselves by those from Israel. And when Samaria had been taken, it was fitting that those who were left, having learned by experience how terrible a thing it is to offend God, should appease Him through repentance; but, on the contrary, being utterly demented, they said, "Let us build towers," no longer like the former ones (for as they were made of brick, it is not surprising that they were captured), but of stones and incorruptible wood. Instead of their impiety, they blamed the bricks for the capture; and instead of divine aid, they trusted in the solidity of the materials. He says that these are the words of arrogant and proud men, who "shall also know," that is to say, they shall enjoy the fruits of their own opinion. For after Sennacherib, and the evils brought about through him, Nebuchadnezzar again campaigns in the times of Jeremiah, and he took Jerusalem and Samaria; a matter about which Jeremiah also speaks to those who were then headstrong: "Cursed is the man who puts his hope in man, and will make flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord." ^B Yet God, who strikes and heals, exhorts through both to holiness, which the one who now is suffering the destruction is promised. For finally, Nebuchadnezzar, having campaigned against both Judea and Samaria, took them. And they were captives for seventy years. Yet by the philanthropy of God, they received back their own land; and while they were attempting to build both the city and the temple, they were hindered by the surrounding nations, and especially by the Syrians, but they prevailed by divine favor. ^C Then, as time went on, Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, reigning over Asia, having engaged in war against Ptolemy, who ruled over Egypt, thought it would be a consolation for the defeat he suffered if he should dare something against Judea, and having taken their metropolis and plundered the temple, he left his general, Lysias, as its guardian. But while the Jews were rising up against him... ^D

a messenger reached the king, and having cast off his sadness of mind, he exchanged life for death. ^A Since God promises that His own assistance will be ready and prepared for those who have escaped the captivity of the Assyrians against those who are about to rise up against Mount Zion, He does not allow us to doubt who these are, since He subjects Syria from the east—when they were being hindered from the restoration—and the Greeks from the west. For Antiochus was a Greek by race, from Macedonia, which, if compared [with Judea], is situated more to the west. He had been exceedingly bitter toward the Jews when the affliction of the Maccabees was pressing upon them. But divine justice quickly avenged this man also, as it did the Assyrians who were devouring the holy people with their whole mouth. But although the Jews had suffered so many and such great evils, the hand [of God] is still uplifted for judgment, ^B and the most ready blow is imminent against them on account of the very great impiety which they dared to commit against the Savior, for which they were delivered to the weapons of the Romans to be punished by a perpetual destruction; as if, however, a sufficient penalty had not yet been paid, the hand of the Lord is still stretched out against them, and is ready for vengeance, so that they might be vindicated for the crime they impiously dared against the Savior by their destruction at the hands of the Romans.

There are some, however, who think regarding this passage that "Death" or the "word of wrath" (as a messenger) attacks those recognized as the better among them, who are called Israel and are worthy of wrath and death, and avenges itself upon them. For the patriarch had the name Jacob for his carnal generation, but after he prevailed with God, he was called Israel. ^C When, therefore, it was sent against the less rational, it found others who seemed capable of reason worthy of it. But some, interpreting the word in a positive sense, maintain that Scripture, through great mercy for the infirm, desires to accommodate itself primarily to their understanding; but those who are more perceptive, being stirred up by its utility and forestalling the sluggishness of those to whom it was sent, grasp the word themselves. For the Father sent to Jacob the Word that was in the beginning with God, which he who knew it with a purged and pure mind received. Such, however, were those who sit in Samaria, previously insolent and arrogant. For we read in the Acts that the apostles heard that Samaria had received the Word of God. But the prophet earlier exposed their insults, how they railed against Judea, attributing strength to themselves and cowardice to them.

There are others, however, who explain it thus: they wish that those who now insult Jerusalem dwell in Samaria, but, being Israelites and the people of Ephraim—because they obey those who are of the tribe of Ephraim—they mock Jerusalem, saying it is built of bricks, and promising that they will make their own buildings far better; and ^D instead of the temple which was built by Solomon, they desire to construct a tower for themselves, thinking similar things to those who were in Chalane. For those also said: "Come, let us make bricks for ourselves, and let us bake them with fire." And again: "Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, whose top shall be"

^A unto heaven." But for what reasons is that tower subsequently rendered foolish, which to the wisdom of this world seems to possess a light and meager sweetness? For sycamores, too, according to the consideration of the word, are found to be of this sort. But those who are such are also called cedars, in a different sense, being puffed up with the pride of a falsely named knowledge, and possessing hard and unyielding temperaments. Hence it is that ^B the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon; and for this reason He says: "I saw the ungodly man being lifted up and exalted like the cedars of Lebanon," whose destruction is swift. "For I passed by, and behold, he was not." There are not wanting those who say that the structures built in the dogmas of the pious are falling bricks. But those which are called the cedars of the Lord are by no means of such a kind, but are men who seek the things above, having their citizenship in heaven together with those fruit-bearing trees which are taken up for the praise of God, concerning whom it is written again: "The trees of the field shall be filled, the cedars of Lebanon, which He planted." Since, therefore, they acted so audaciously against Israel, what does He say? "And God will break those who rise up against Mount Sion and against Him." ^C For those who have risen up against the God honored therein shall be humbled. And He says that all the enemies—those in Damascus with those in Samaria—who even fought together with Israel, and all who rise up against Mount Sion (that is, against the God honored there, He threatens destruction), of whom some were indeed from the east, others from the west, and in the middle of these were the Greeks, who were devouring Israel, and through whom they were preparing them to act impiously, promising them help. For they devour with a whole mouth, those who by the craftiness of the wisdom of this world draw men away from piety. Wherefore the anger of God, being the manifest cause of just punishment, was prepared against them; but they did not return according to their impenitent heart, storing up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath; and because this people is not cured by a word but by a blow, it is written: "And all this people did not turn, until they were struck." We have therefore the reason why ^D calamities are brought upon men. For we must know entirely that they are sent because those who sin do not turn.

18-21. "And the Lord took away from Israel head and tail, great and small, in one day, the elder, and those who admire faces. This is the beginning, and the prophet teaching lawless things, this is the tail. And they who call this people blessed shall be seducing them," etc.

The word "took away," Theodotion renders as "will take away." And the rest are in the future tense; indeed Aquila says "will destroy," and Symmachus, "will utterly destroy." For God predicts before He brings about the conversion, and by saying "in one day," He indicates a certain and specific time, the Roman one, clearly.

Some, however, following this, say that from the moment the word sent to them arrived, He signifies that their whole perverse order would be confounded. Then, by the name of head and tail, he hints at an irrational animal, to which he likened the people—that is, the rational and the irrational, or the ruler and each of the ruled—which he further clarified by saying "great and small." He also says "elder" and "those who regard faces," perhaps indicating those who have obtained the priesthood, to whom the apostles are famously recorded as saying: "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are examined today for the good deed done to the infirm man," etc., who also, taking bribes in judgment, used to regard the faces of the rich; instead of this, Symmachus called "those who regard faces" the "respectable." Thus, therefore, the respectable man and the elder can be the head. For the priest is the head of the peoples when he is considered as in one body. But the tail is the teacher who teaches lawless things, a prophet having no rank or order among the people, but self-appointed and feigning a prophetic spirit for himself, such as Ananias was in the time of Jeremiah, and such as in the time of Micah—in whom there was a false spirit, which deceived Ahab into joining battle with the Syrians. Others say that he refers to those who interpreted the Law of Moses, to which they attached unwritten traditions, the commandments of men, who also persuaded [the people] to disobey Christ—whom he calls the tail, as following the opinions of the priests, whom he also calls prophets, and who were teaching lawless things. For there were indeed false prophets in Israel at the time when the true prophets were there. But after the destruction of Jerusalem, we would not be able to say that such people had existed, unless one were to mention Theudas and Judas, of whom Gamaliel made mention, and count them in that number. Those, ^C therefore, who teach things contrary to these, and pronounce the people blessed, he calls deceivers, so that they might swallow the people for the sake of gain.

For they encouraged them to offer gifts to God for the sake of profit, not for the sake of piety. For which reason, they neither received Christ themselves, nor allowed the kingdom to be opened to others. Hence the Lord declares He will not rejoice over their adults. Now there are adults in the ^D Church who have gained spiritual strength, to whom John says that you are strong and have overcome the evil one. And there were also before the Advent some who showed themselves men, fulfilling the commandment. But after the shadow in the Law, the Lord does not rejoice over those who cling to the letter in a youthful way. By orphans he understands those who lack spiritual education; and by widows, those who are destitute of the divine Word super-sown in them. For these shall suffer as wicked and impious; for they put to death Him who calls them to life. But He proclaims these things as a good God, so that their iniquity, like wood-devouring herbage being consumed by fire, might be destroyed; this...

He signifies when He says: ^A *Iniquity shall kindle like a fire*, and what follows, where by "iniquity" He has signified the iniquitous, as if to show how exceedingly iniquitous they are. But regarding those for whom He says it shall be kindled as a fire, some interpret this as if they shall become a fire against themselves. For no other person shall bring the flame upon them, but they shall suffice one another for this, which is a far worse kind of flame. But there is a much more excellent interpretation, which others cleverly philosophize about the nature of grass. For as long as the soul is weighed down by earthly passions, those passions, like grass produced from the nourishment of the flesh, are accustomed to creep and to produce others from themselves. For this kind of herb is most fertile, and, making no end to its growth, from whatever point one might think it ceases, it takes from that point the beginning of a fresh growth. Such is the nature of sins. For fornication draws fornication, and theft moves one to theft, and to a lie a lie follows. But if through confession we lay the sin bare, we make it dry and worthy to be consumed by fire. ^B It is burned, moreover, in the dense thickets of the woods. In the first book of Kings, we read how the people, being harassed by war, retreated into the forest and perished, suffering from a scarcity of provisions; likewise, that Absalom, when he was being warred upon, entered into a forest. He might be referring to those who are crafty and possess obscured minds, and who keep the greatest number of evils within them. Others say that flames consume more readily when they have fallen into timber that is easily set ablaze. Through this, therefore, he portrays the magnitude of these flames. By the name of dry grass and dense forest, he seems to indicate the common multitude, as they were gathered together and clashed with one another in faction, as Josephus records. But the calamity will lay hold even of those who seem to be of some standing; ^C this he indicates by saying, *And it shall devour all that are around the hills.* For he calls those "hills" who are somewhat preeminent above the rest. For to such as these, the faction that was in the cities tended to cling. More simply, it should be understood that by these examples, the wrath of God signifies that when He rages against those of whom we have spoken before, He will cause such utter confusion that no compassion will be shown even for one’s own kin. Indeed, he says, brother will turn away from brother, even if he asks for something at his right hand. For, as if driven by a rabid famine, they will be driven this way and that, biting those on their right and those on their left. ^D Nay, they will not even spare their own flesh; brothers will rise up against one another, one against one, and two against another, just as long ago Ephraim and Manasses bit one another, and together attacked Judah—by whom he signifies the tribes. For both were under a single kingdom and inhabited a single city, Samaria, and were descended from one head, Joseph, and yet they would rise up against one another; and he says that these, no longer having leisure for the war against Judah, will consume one another with their swords.

And these things shall befall them according to the divine wrath, which profitably sends hatred among them—not unlike that which, in olden times, once dissolved the conspiracy between the woman and the serpent that had begun for their ruin. The Savior himself signals this, when he declares that he came not to send peace upon the earth, but a sword. For he says they are ill-disposed toward one another, yet will agree in their conspiracy against their neighbors. For together they shall besiege Judah, those who confess God and remain in his service; for "Judah" is interpreted as "confession." For wickedness, though at variance with itself, agrees in the battle against virtue. For example, consider audacity and cowardice: though they are contrary to one another, you will see them besieging the courage that lies in the middle between them from both sides. One must also note the phrase, "He shall be hungry, and shall eat on his left hand." For he who does not work with his right hand in ways worthy of approval will be filled with things forbidden and sinister. Throughout, he indicates the beastly nature of the dissension and the mutual slaughter.

CHAPTER X

^A et Damascum, et Samariam. God, therefore, having used this as a tool, delivered His own people to it—as it was thought to be—to slaughter the men, to strip those who lay fallen, and to divide the spoils (for he calls this "plunder"), and finally to raze the cities to the ground. But he, not understanding this, imagines that he has prevailed by his own power; and, turning his mind toward this, he establishes himself as the only ruler whom his subjects admire. "Do not yet," he says, "call me lord, before I have mastered the others." For I have not yet mastered those above Babylon, nor Calneh, where God divided the tongues at the tower-building. ^B In the days of Ahaz, a part of the people in Samaria was indeed taken by the Assyrians. But in the time of Hezekiah, who followed Ahaz, they led all the people into captivity, as they had not at all repented from the first blow. Yet, out of love for mankind, He again foretells what is to come to those in Jerusalem, reproaching them for their impiety. For they, too, had engaged in idolatry under Ahaz and the times succeeding him. But how do the graven images howl? Those that are insensate, by no means; but the demons that dwell in them, which are synonymous with them, enjoy the pleasure coming from the defilements; wherefore those who eat of idol-offerings are said to be partakers of the table of demons. This is what He reveals, and then says, ^C «And then the Lord comes into Egypt, and the hand-made things of Egypt shall be shaken, and their heart shall be defeated.» For it was shaken, being driven into the abyss at the time of the Savior’s advent. For this reason, cursed is he who shall make a graven or molten image, and place it in a secret place. For he stores up a bad treasure for himself, namely the demon that accompanies the graven image.

Verses 12-19. And it shall be, when the Lord has finished all His work on Mount Zion, and Jerusalem, He will come upon the great mind, the ruler of the Assyrians, and upon the height of the glory of his eyes. For he said: "By my strength I will do it, and by the wisdom of my understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations," etc.

He says further, "I still yield to the Assyrians, until they also subdue Jerusalem even as they managed to subdue the Israelites." For after these things, He says that He will come upon the "great mind"—indicating the one great in wickedness, whether he is so by his own account, or called such by the flattering of his subjects. For in the strict sense, a "great mind" ^D is one who is perfect in virtue and knowledge, and thinks nothing small concerning God and His judgments. He says He will come upon him because he did not give glory to God for the things delivered to him, having set his own power in front, or that of the idols to which he even dedicated the holy vessels of God. By way of allegory, He calls the "great mind" the original author of evil, who led many away to himself, and who is tropically signified here by the Assyrians; that is to say, the opposing power in general, ruling the Assyrians, just as one speaks of the prince of the kingdom of the Persians, or of the Medes, or of the Greeks.

^A Since he attributes whatever the Assyrians have done to his own power and might, thinking himself to be great, he does not set the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, before his eyes, but is puffed up with proud eyes against God. One might also call "great mind" that craftiness which is turned toward evil, just as the serpent is said to be the craftiest of the beasts upon the earth; which the divine Apostle explains to the Corinthians, saying, "I fear, lest as the serpent beguiled Eve by his craftiness," and so on. And the Savior Himself says that "the steward of iniquity acted prudently," and that "the children of this world are wiser than the children of light." Since they say that what is called "mind" is prudence turned in upon itself. This mind, then, since it knows that the eyes of the wise man are in his head, honors its own eyes, as being superior to earthly things, seeing upward and not bending toward the earth. For such are the wise men among the Greeks, living badly, yet by what they say concerning heaven and the things on high, they attribute a certain glory to their own eyes. By "eyes," therefore, He means thoughts. But He who looks upon hearts and reins, and makes hidden things manifest, says that he, having considered this with confidence in his manifold power and military skill, planned to remove the boundaries by which the nations are distinguished from one another, and to make one single territory for one empire, subjecting to his own scepters those things which God had well defined when "the Most High divided the nations." For he believes that no one sees, and that the Lord of things on earth cares not. ^B This is what the abandonment of the eggs and the chicks signifies. And he brought in the eggs after the chicks in an intensification of his negligence. But you ought to have considered, He says, that you became an instrument of God, like an axe, a saw, and a staff, which require the one who moves them. For they have no power of their own for movement. But since you did not think this way, nor did you recognize the source of your strength, the Lord of hosts will replace your honor with dishonor. And by "honor" they mean the army subject to him, in which he had taken pride. And this, He says, fire will consume. According to some, glory differs from renown. For renown is the praise that comes from the many, but glory is that which comes from the good. And honor is sometimes from those one happens upon, but a prize is the reward of virtue. Then He adds to these that God, who of old enlightened His own people and sanctified them, will become fire to you who are proud. For instead of "and He will sanctify him in a burning fire," Symmachus rendered it: "and His holy one into a flame." And instead of "he shall consume like hay as the wood," it shall consume those things laid up for him, and those things guarded for him, in one day. And the glory of his forest, and of his Carmel, shall be consumed from soul even to flesh. ^C And it shall be as one fleeing and wounded. And the remaining trees of his forest shall be a number, and a child shall write them. ^D

The multitudes with him are called the people; Carmel, their wealth and luxury, which, he says, are to be consumed by the punishing power of the aforesaid fire. Fleeing with those with him as these things befall him, he shall escape; and those who remain will be so few that a child can record their number. The power of the Assyrians was destroyed immediately, according to the things foretold.

Some interpret "He shall sanctify him"—that is, "He shall show Israel to be set apart for God"—in this way, for such is also the saying, "Sanctify unto Me every firstborn that openeth the womb, the males unto the Lord," instead of "Devote." For to be sanctified does not mean exclusively to participate in holiness, but also to be reserved for God. For if He did not consider them His own people, He would not have kindled the fire against the enemy. He likens the multitudes of the Assyrians with their leaders to hills, mountains, and forests; they who were once terrible and hot shall be extinguished. For death shall consume not only their souls but also their bodies, as a small remainder is left. Some understand the present punishment to have happened to Rabshakeh, with whom those who were left behind announced the number to the king of the Assyrians.

Since the activity of fire is twofold, he distributes the illuminating part to Israel and the burning part to the Assyrians, because of the pride of a great mind moving toward an order of things contrary to nature. They say that the fire "sanctifies" when it consumes wood like grass. Since, therefore, God is a consuming fire, what has come from matter will be consumed—the passions—and then the burning of the wood shall cease. But the fire of these rational mountains and hills and forests, starting from the souls, shall reach even to the flesh itself. They say that Scripture calls "mountains" those who have risen in preeminence, in terms of their construction, and "forests," those who are fruitless and do not have the planting of the true Husbandman. Yet the fire touches all, beginning from the passions of the soul in the mind; if evil remains only at that stage, it consumes the material here. But if these things proceed to action through the flesh, it will also reach the flesh itself. For instance, if adultery stops at the soul, the fire also stops; for he has only lusted after a woman, but he has not destroyed the temple of God, making the members of Christ members of a harlot. But if it proceeds to the body, the fire moves forward to that extent, and he shall be, he says, as one fleeing from burning flame. Perhaps the one fleeing from the conflagration flees the punishing flame through repentance and conversion.

Those who are left shall be a "number," not only because they are easy to count, but also because they are worthy to be taken up into the divine number, like those numbered in the Book of Numbers. "Rejoice," says the Savior, "because your names are written in the heavens." The child recording this, concerning whom it was said, "A child is born to us, a son, whom all sha

and is responsible for this description is to be understood as no other than the one of whom it was said before: "A child is born to us," the Son, indeed, whom we are certain the Magi worshipped, who descended into Egypt, and who returned again into the land of Israel; the same, I say, who writes down those who betake themselves to God through repentance of life.

^B 171 VERS. 20-25. *And it shall come to pass in that day, the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord the Holy One of Israel in truth,* etc.

After the power of the Assyrians has been overturned, he says, those of the people who were carried away into captivity who remained behind—whom Cyrus later sent back to liberty—will no longer place their trust in the Assyrians, those who caused them injury, as Ahaz once did, who, having sent the sacred and royal treasures to the king of the Assyrians, said: "I am thy servant. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel," who, returning upon this, having slain King Rezin, captured Damascus. Therefore, they will no longer place their trust in man, but in God alone, from whom they have obtained salvation. ^C He also hints at this, that they should not again pay heed to the demons by whom they have experienced such great injury to their souls.

To some, indeed, it is pleasing that these words be understood as referring to those who, having returned to God, have placed all their hope in Him. For those who embrace wicked deeds follow the party of those from whom they suffer injury. On the contrary, he alone trusts in the Lord in truth who neither relies upon any things that are seen, nor is his hope divided and placed elsewhere; but he commits his whole self to God.

But as to the "remnants" which he spoke of indefinitely as being about to be saved, he signified something different from that which he said would "no longer be added" to the remnant of Israel. For this latter refers to that which returned out of captivity; but the former signifies something else, such as the sand of the sea: infinite in number, but useless for agriculture. When, therefore, the Israelite people, having become numerous, became useless regarding the fruits that are according to God, the multitude of them will perish, but the "remnant" will be saved. For from the return out of Babylon until the Roman times, the same people grew not a little, and increased into a thoroughly useless multitude: from which, nevertheless, only those who believed in Christ were saved. This, he says, will be, "when he shall make a finished word upon the earth." Such as is the gospel [word], not containing the precepts given by Moses. And these words...

are ^A also in that Epistle which is to the Romans, transposed by Paul with a few changes. For he does not, as we are accustomed to do, follow the words of any interpreter; but being a Hebrew, he expresses the Hebrew himself according to his own judgment. Nor are there wanting those to whom the apostolic interpretation is more pleasing. He forbids us to wonder that we hear of a "few" being described by the child: since while in name there are very many, it is certain that in work few profess Christ. But the best method of attaining salvation is if you embrace the gift of the Law and the very sanctions of the prophets in the few chapters of the Gospel. "For you shall love," he says, "the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself." He, therefore, who fulfills this and brings the word into action, and by contracting and recapitulating its breadth into the most brief precepts, ^B he, we believe, is the remnant that is being saved. "All things," he says, "whatsoever you wish that men should do to you, according to these do also to them. For this is the law and the prophets." You see in natural understanding the whole word being completed and contracted, which we were saying before concerning "God the strong," that among the Hebrews the word *El* signifies God; which is now also confirmed: for the Hebrew has *El* for "God the strong."

^C VERS. 24-32. *Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: Do not fear, my people, who inhabit Sion, from the Assyrians, because he shall strike you with a rod. For I will bring a blow upon you, to see the way of Egypt. For yet a little, and the anger shall cease*, etc.

Having finished the discourse concerning the punishments of the Jerusalemites and the Israelites, and concerning the calamities that awaited the Assyrian, and also concerning the pious who would be in the future (things which, however, were fulfilled long times afterwards), he applies himself next to those things which happened in his own age, when the Assyrian attacked Jerusalem in the reign of Hezekiah. For he exhorts those who were living then, who were dismayed at the news of such an expedition, not to fear the Assyrians, lest they should also prove to be unprepared, as those in Samaria had suffered, and be brought to trust in them. ^D For he will indeed come, he says, and you will experience a small blow, being struck as it were by a rod, but he will depart unsuccessful, being struck by a blow more divine. The cause of these things is Hezekiah, who was pious and, not becoming like his father Ahaz, turned his subjects to piety. For this reason he says, "Do not fear, my people." For you shall not be struck by war. And the rod against you becomes short-lived. Yet you shall indeed be struck, because you surrendered yourself to the way of Egypt through zeal for idolatry in the time of King Ahaz. But as for the pious, the Assyrian will flee more quickly, shamelessly changing from place to place, through your land and cities. And he describes the flight before their eyes, showing things that are to come as if they were present. And the "blow" [is]...

induced upon you, that you might see the way of Egypt; thus Symmachus rendered it: "He will strike with a rod, and will lift up his staff against you, for the sake of the way of Egypt." ^A Others say that Osee, the son of Ela, king of Israel, when he was oppressed by the servitude of Salmanasar the Assyrian, begged for help from the king of Egypt (whom they call Sigor); wherefore the Assyrian was indignant and held Osee in chains, as is written in the fourth book of Kings. For the Lord was indignant, they say, because [Israel], not trusting in Him, had placed their hope in the Egyptian, just as, indeed, when Achaz summoned the Assyrian against Damascus. But this has nothing to do with those who are in Jerusalem, to whom this speech is now addressed, even if Israel called upon the Egyptian. For [the prophet] says that the Lord will raise up a scourge against the Assyrian, according to the blow of Madian. But for "in the place of affliction," Symmachus gave "Sur Choreb," so that we might not understand the blow that was struck against the Madianites in the time of Gedeon, but rather the one struck through Moses. For the wilderness was called Sur, and the mountain was called Choreb, as we have learned ^B from the book of Numbers, when they also killed every male and the kings of Madian; and the Assyrians, being struck by My scourge, will turn back by the way that is by the sea. For the Assyrian, fleeing the way toward Egypt, will retreat, the Ethiopians having risen up against him, according to the history which says: "And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians fighting against Labna, for he had heard that he had departed from Lacheis. And Tharacha, king of the Ethiopians, heard say, Behold, he has gone out to fight against you." There are those who think that the king of the Assyrians, indignant that he had heard the Egyptian was bringing aid to Osee, the king of Israel, marched against the Egyptians, which they say in agreement with what has gone before. But we have said that this has nothing to do with Jerusalem. And even now the discourse prophesies that there will be a flight of the Assyrians, but not such prosperity that they would be able to attack others in war. But he, he says, will suffer these things. ^C You, however, will find consolation, you who will no longer endure the yoke of the Assyrians. For the history of the Kings relates that the Assyrian demanded three hundred talents of gold from Ezechias as tribute, to pay which it was necessary to exhaust the sacred and royal treasuries; which is not undeservedly signified by the name of the "yoke." And hence it is that those who have the ability to do so are ordered to console the people. But what, then, is this consolation? It is, of course, that they should remain and not, out of fear, betake themselves to flight. There are some, however, who say: "Console [them] to remain in this way of piety"; and as for the things that are about to happen, ^D that he [the prophet] might see the way of Egypt," Symmachus interpreted it thus: "He will strike with a rod, and will lift up his staff against you for the way of Egypt." Others say that Osee, son of Ela, king of Israel, having been enslaved to the king of the Assyrians, Salmanasar, transgressed and called upon Sigor, king of Egypt, for an alliance; but the Assyrian, having become indignant, made him a prisoner, as is said in the fourth book of Kingdoms. For the Lord, they say, was indignant because [he] had not trusted in Him, but had hoped in the Egyptian. Thus, then, as when Achaz had called the Assyrian against Damascus. But these things are nothing to those in Jerusalem, to whom the discourse is now directed, if Israel has called upon the Egyptian. To the Assyrian, he says, the Lord will raise up a scourge as [in] the blow of Madian. But instead of "in the place of affliction," Symmachus gave "Sur Choreb," so that we might not be able to understand the blow in the time of Gedeon against the Madianites, but the one in the time of Moses. For the desert was called Sur. And the mountain was called Choreb, as we have known from Numbers, where they also killed every male and the kings of Madian; and the Assyrians, struck by My scourge, will turn back by the way that is by the sea. For the Assyrian fleeing the way of Egypt will turn back, the Ethiopians rising up against him, according to the text which says: "And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians fighting against Libna, because he heard that he had moved on against Lachis. And Tharacha, king of the Ethiopians, heard and said, Behold, I have gone out to fight with you." Some say that the king of the Assyrians, having become indignant against the king of Egypt because of what he had promised to ally himself with Osee, the king of Israel, marched against the Egyptians; saying things consistent with what has gone before. But we have said that these things are nothing to Jerusalem. And now the discourse foretells that a flight of the Assyrians will take place, but not such prosperity as to also wage war against others. But he, he says, will suffer these things. But you will attain consolation, no longer being subject to the yoke of the Assyrians. For it says in the Kingdoms that the Assyrian imposed a tribute of three hundred talents of gold on Ezechias. And after having moved the sacred and royal treasuries, he gave it to him. He rightly, therefore, called this [yoke]. Therefore, those who are able are ordered to urge [or console] the people. And what is this "to urge"? To remain, and not to consider flight out of fear. Some say, "Urge them to remain in this way of piety"; and as for the things that are soon to happen—

the discourse is held as if regarding things present, so that it may seem to have added a mark of distinction regarding those things which are to be, long after, concerning the Assyrian and the remnant of Jacob, which were spoken of before the things now set before us. Therefore he says: "Urge them today not to flee," namely, the coming incursion of the Assyrians impending in the time of Hezekiah. By "hills" he means the prophets and priests, who have ascended in soul and spirit, for he says elsewhere: "Comfort my people, says God, O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, urge her." And he speaks according to the counsel of the Assyrians, meaning: "They shall quickly suffer what they have devised against you." ^B

VERS. 33, 34. Behold, the Sovereign Lord Sabaoth shall disturb the glorious ones with might; and the high ones by injuries shall be crushed, and they shall be humbled, and the high ones shall fall by the sword; but Libanus shall fall with the high ones.

Having sufficiently spoken concerning the arrogance of the Assyrians and their overthrow, he now turns his discourse to the nations, according to the variety of their kingdoms. For their princes were such that, having despised the worship of the Creator, they embraced idols, and were greatly puffed up and exalted in the ferocity of their spirit; wherefore he prophesies also their destruction. Some say, however, that he is speaking concerning the advent of the Saviour, and that he is threatening to overthrow those who formerly took pride in the shadow of the Law. ^C For truly they had become powerful in arrogance, not only having murdered the prophets and saying shamelessly to the disciples who advised them for the best, "Speak to us another error," but also sharpening their tongues against Christ himself; against whom God brought in the sword of His fury—which he calls a sword—so that it might cut off the priesthood from them. One might also say it refers to the sword of the enemies which went out against them. But he says "Libanus shall also fall with the high ones," thus signifying the temple together with the puffed-up priests. Scripture is accustomed to call Jerusalem "Libanus," and it is to her that Zechariah speaks when he says: "Open, O Libanus, thy gates, and let fire devour thy cedars. Howl, O fir tree, because the cedar has fallen. Howl, O oaks of Basanitis, for thy dense forest has been plucked up." ^D But if you look to the former interpretation, having sufficiently explained the destruction of the kings of the nations and of the very people living according to the Law, he adds at what time these things shall be, speaking of the coming of Christ to men. For it was fitting that one who had already taught concerning His birth from the Virgin, and the manner of His birth, and the eminent appellations of the powers conceived in Him, should subsequently explain from what race, of what tribe He should be, and what things His coming to men was to accomplish, among which is the removal of the local rulers.

(in which the very ruin of the invisible and visible principles, by which they were led into the error of idolatry, exists) to explain. He has very often called them "the lofty," whose assembly, on account of their height, he likens to Lebanon and its cedars, according to that saying: "I have seen the impious one exalted above the cedars of Lebanon." ^A Likewise: "The voice of the Lord breaking the cedars," and, "It shall crush them like the calf of Lebanon." But indeed, in order to signify Jerusalem herself, with the priests and the teachers of the law who are in her, he added that Lebanon, with its "lofty ones," would fall.

CAPUT XI.

VERS. 1-10. *And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, etc.*

Nor did he wish to remain ignorant of how this would come to pass, when he stated that a rod would spring from the root of Jesse, one which would crush all the lofty ones. In this place, where we have "root," you will find that the others generally translated it as "trunk." For indeed that tribe, and that family from which Christ came ^B forth, was like a certain trunk, stripped of the honor of its branches, since from the time of the Assyrian conquest the succession of kings in the family of David had ceased. But where we read "rod," Aquila said "little rod," that he might signify the submission and abjection of Christ in the flesh. For we read that it was predicted to David in these words: "Of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne." To these things all the prophets also assent, so that what is testified on every side may not be doubted as an accomplished fact. It is certain that Paul also had respect to this when he says: "Which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David according to the flesh." ^C By the name of "rod," either the dignity of him of whom the prophecy speaks is signified, because the rod contains the symbol of royal majesty, or that supreme power by which he moderates all things, or which sustains the weakness of men, according to that of David: "Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me." For the Lord sustains the upright of heart, according to the writing, by this rod, which is called the "illustrious rod," the "rod of majesty."

The rod can also be interpreted in another way, since he is a good shepherd. ^D For a certain prophet addresses him by this name, saying: "Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy inheritance." The rod may also be spoken of as a judge, who renders to each according to his works, to whom that refers which was said concerning the faithless Israel: "Thou shalt feed them with an iron rod." In type of which, that rod of Aaron, which is recorded to have once yielded almonds, has been assumed. They think, indeed, that it is so small a thing, even the Lord. But in the words of the prophets, it is truly called a rod.

^A That time when the Saviour lay dead in the sepulchre, when the plant is believed to dissipate such sleep, is shadowed forth. Making use of such a rod—one truly divine and escaping our senses—Moses, that worker of miracles, asserted the freedom of the Israelites. And so he did not hesitate to call it the rod of God. For to him it became a rod of power, as it is written. It is also called a flower. For in it our nature bloomed again toward the immortality of a new life. It is also called a flower on account of the intelligible fragrance of him who is perceived by the mind. "For I am," he says, "a flower of the field, a lily of the valleys." ^B To this the divine Apostle himself also assents, saying: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests the fragrance of his knowledge through us in every place; for we are a sweet fragrance of Christ to God." The flower also signifies his visit, which was pleasing to all, for by bestowing the grace of his incarnation in a short time, he made his visit swift and, as it were, passing.

He says that the Spirit of God, having many operations, will rest upon him; not that he was a mere man who became spirit-bearing, but that God, having become incarnate, appropriates the things proper to humanity. ^C For a man does not have the gifts of the Spirit from within himself, but this very thing is a gift and a present from God. "For what do you have," he says, "that you did not receive?" Therefore, being God, he did not receive these for himself, but for us who are in need of every good thing. For he himself is the dispenser of the Spirit, and he gives not by measure, but as from his own fullness. Therefore, for him to receive is not reckoned as a measure of emptying; but he says that he will rest upon him, having not rested upon Adam, who inclined toward sin, as did those after him. "For all have turned aside, together they have become useless," but the Only-begotten, though he became like us, was unassailable by sins. ^D The Holy Spirit rested, therefore, on human nature, as in him first, and as in the second beginning of the race, so that he might also rest in us who believe. For we inherit the gifts of Christ, just as we inherit the calamities of the first-created man.

That he did not have a partial participation in the Spirit, but was the fullness of the Godhead, dwelling as in his own temple in flesh animated by a rational soul, he signifies by saying: "And he will fill him with the Spirit of the fear of God," and what follows. For the Spirit is not a different gift in each case, but through one and the same Spirit come diverse operations, according to Paul, who says: "One and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually as he wills," just as the Word of God also works in many ways. For he is life, and light, and power.

Chapter XI

^A The Gospels bear witness to these things. For he reproved the priests with boldness, saying, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits." And again to the Scribes and Pharisees, reproving them many times for these things.

He did not, however, reprove according to speech, but, breaking into the innermost parts of the heart with the keenness of his eyes, when the Herodians—from whom the taxes were collected for the publicans, and who were tempting him and asking craftily whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar—tempted him, he replied that they should show him the coin of the census, and the rest that follows. Although they pretended an honest appearance of words, calling him a Teacher and saying that he taught the way of God in truth, he nevertheless exposed them as evildoers. And he judged with lowly judgment, and he reproved the humble of the earth, or, according to Symmachus, the poor in uprightness; of whom he said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," meaning all his own disciples, whom he reproved, saying at one time, "Are you also even yet without understanding?" And again, "Do you not yet conceive?" Or addressing Peter specifically, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And by saying most such things he reproved them. To whom he says: *And he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth.* It is similar to the saying: "I came not to send peace upon the earth, but a sword." The sword is the word of his mouth, by which he cuts away the earthly thoughts of those who have believed in him. But some say that the divinity of the Savior is presented through these things. For by earth he means, most especially, that which he had cursed. And it is true that it should be said of all the human race as well. For he cursed the whole nature of man, saying, "Earth you are, and to earth you shall return." And he drowned a world of wicked people with water; and furthermore, he says to Judea, because of the insolence she suffered against him, "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." For having been abandoned by him, it was completely consumed by sword and fire. And to this he adds his divine nature, so that it might not be hidden: *In the spirit of his lips he shall slay the ungodly.* For he rebuked the unclean spirits; and so far as the condition of humanity allowed, the voice was uttered through mouth and lips. But by the ineffable power of the Spirit, the race of demons was shattered, so that they cried out, saying: "What have we to do with you, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." And it shall be, he says, *clothed with righteousness about his loins, and girded about the flanks with truth.* But according to Symmachus, *And righteousness shall be* ^B

the girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his flanks.* For he shall have none of those insignias of majesty in which men take pleasure, and which are adorned with gold and gems; but he promises that he shall be girded with justice and truth. Truly, these things also show the deity of the Word, who became for us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption, according to the divine Apostle. And the Savior himself says, "I am the light, and the truth, and the life." These things tightened about him who had come forth from the root of Jesse like a girdle; and the prayer signified by this royal and military habit that he provided aid against visible and invisible foes. Nor is ^A it indeed discordant that the preaching of the Gospel should be designated by these things; according to that: "Thy justice is justice forever, and thy law is truth." For the law itself also taught justice. But it did not remain forever, since it was ousted by that which is more perfect. It was also an image of the truth; but we have the testimony of his own words that Christ is truth itself. Therefore, having, as it were, sketched and shadowed forth the one prophesied by this prophetic narrative, he next turns to explain the things that have been gloriously accomplished by him, saying that men, once rapacious and savage, having changed their manner of life, would wholly apply themselves to contrary pursuits; and at the same time, he said that they who are newly born in the Church (no differently than we see calves and bulls feeding together) would be partakers of the same nourishment of the divine Words. Nor will there be anything to make you doubt at all the faithfulness of this prophecy, when you see kings, and those who are in authority, associating in the Church with the common people and the poor. But if anyone says that by the savage animals, the nations are signified, he might think not wrongly, in my judgment; provided that he assumes that one kind is denoted by one species of absurdity and savagery, and another by another.

^B But by the tame and clean animals, those Israelites are signified who have become milder through the teaching of the law; and the Word indicates that, out of both—the tame and the savage, the holy and the profane—a single fold shall be composed through the work of him who is the Prince of shepherds, skilled in the art of feeding, who, as the prophet says, is able to lead them into the best pasture and onto fertile ground. By "calf," he means the new people of the believers who are infants in Christ. And by "bull," perhaps [he means] Israel, as being more advanced in age; that is, the former [the calves] are those being brought into the faith, and the latter [the bulls] are those who are superior in virtue and knowledge. According to [the psalm]: "Bless, O Lord, the little ones with the great." And David also says: "Let the elders with the younger praise the name of the Lord." For John, too, indicating the ages in Christ, writes to children, and fathers, and young men. And he says, "A child," that is, an infant, "shall lead them." The word *axei* (shall lead) is used for *synaxei* (shall gather). And this also, along with the other things, it is permitted to see in the churches, [namely] those ^D whose distinctions of age in Christ he wished to show, as John [shows] by writing to boys, and fathers, and to the adolescents themselves.

^A And the little child, he adds, shall lead them. In this place, "to lead" is put for "to gather together" and "to bring together." This indeed, one may see even in the churches, in which the greatest part of the leaders, by the simplicity and goodness of their character, nothing differing from infants, yet lead those who have gathered together into one from every kind of human being. And the ox, he adds, and the bear shall feed together, and their young shall be together. For the children of farmers and rustics, of the poor and the rich, of the wicked and the good, come together in the Church. Perhaps, however, by the name of "children," he signifies the consensus of soul and faith of those of whom we have already spoken. The lion, again, an animal by nature feeding on flesh, now, by the death of those that feed on grass, accustomed to feed on chaff, could be called a man who, endowed with a fierce and savage mind, delights in the bare words of holy Scripture, which the Word calls "chaff." For the mind that is in the secret depths, and the Word that is the food of souls, is rightly called "wheat." Moreover, in addition to these, [he says that] a little infant, such as he was of whom we spoke a little before, shall put his hand upon the hole of the asps and upon the lair of the offspring of asps, without harm. By these words he signifies bodies which are infested by demons, in which the spirits, creeping and venomous, lying in wait, incubate as it were in holes in the senses of the body. But against these, the one who is a child of Christ, a man who is simple and a child in malice, trusting in the power of the Savior, puts forth his hand; ^B to whom there is no power to do harm, because of Him who came forth from the root of Jesse, having granted to His children the power to trample upon serpents and scorpions. Further, you may understand the holes and lairs of the asps as the refuges and hiding-places of the heretics, into which those who exist as children in Christ can safely put their hands, since He takes away the power from their venomous bites. ^C But because he added "the holy mountain," he understands the Church herself, who is eminent by the probity of her morals and doctrine, and by the very promulgation of the heavenly Word. And that he might divert our mind from that which is in Judea, because "the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the sea," he added this: that he might signify that the Church, which is contained in the whole world, would destroy, by pious doctrine and by the knowledge of God, whatever the wicked life has of saltiness or brackishness, as if by a great river-like inundation. He states, however, and at the time designated by the prophecies (when, namely, He shall have risen from the dead), ^D that He who is to come forth from the root of Jesse shall rule over the nations. For He will not be content with that kingdom of the Jews, which is contained in a small corner of the land (as David once was, and his successors), but He shall rule alone over the whole world, and all shall hope in Him: just as we read was written of old by Moses, that there shall not fail a prince from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until there shall come He for whom it is reserved, and He Himself shall be the expectation of the nations. It is indeed to be considered that the tribe [is mentioned] by Moses;

^B For where we have, *Who rises to rule the nations*, Aquila rendered it, *Who rises as a sign of the peoples*; ^A but Symmachus, *Who rises as a signal for the nations*. Therefore, the nations that have believed in Him bear about the seal of His Passion and the saving sign. *And there shall be*, he says, *his rest, honor*—or, as it pleases Symmachus and Aquila, *glory*. Very appositely indeed does this signify the beginning, the middle, and finally the end which the economy was to have; for it does not speak of His death, but of rest and honor, since His body rested for a short time, which is considered the final end of the economy among men. For He said to the Father: "Father, glorify Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." For He has been glorified after enduring the cross for our sake, in accordance with the saying, "Glorify Me," spoken to the Father. And again: "Now is the Son of man glorified," and what follows. For while it was mockery to the folly of those who dared these things, by the resurrection it arrived at glory. For the Passion was not, as they supposed, involuntary. Furthermore, this rest of Christ is the honor of those who honor Him; through which they confess Him as the Word of God, and Wisdom, and Power, signifying His consubstantiality with the Father, His equality of honor, and His eternal existence. You may also call it rest because He gives rest to those who love Him. According to another, *I glorify those who love Me*. For the rest which the Lord gives is an honor, which will be distributed according to the righteous judgment of God in proportion to the worth of what has been done. For *there are many mansions with the Father*, and *one star differs from another in glory*. And here, too, He makes all those in whom He dwells honorable. For if anyone, He says, hears My words, "My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." He shall rise, therefore, not only to rule the nations, but to grant also to them honor and glory, and the rest which He Himself possesses. ^B

VERS. 11-14. *And it shall be in that day: the Lord shall add the showing of His hand to be zealous for the remnant of the people which shall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and from Arabia, etc.*

Having made mention of the faith of the nations in Him who was to come from the root of Jesse, he does not forget the part of the Jews; lest the presence of the Lord might seem useless to them.

^A For, he declares, "In that day the Lord will add [the work of] showing His hand to zeal for the remaining remnant of the people." Instead of this, Aquila says: "The Lord will add a second time His hand to possess the remnant of His people." Symmachus says similarly: "a second time." For just as He liberated them while they were being oppressed in Egypt by bringing His miracle-working hand upon the Egyptians, so again He would move it through miraculous works in order to possess and stir to zeal the remnant of the people, concerning whom, if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us seed, the prophet foretold not, signifying the portion of the apostles and of those from Israel who have believed. This truly has become a remnant by the election of grace, from the entire dispersion of the Jews among the nations against those who fought them in various ways. For those who believed everywhere are called a remnant by the election of grace. And He says that He will glorify them, as is fitting. For the Churches everywhere were established through them. And the divine Gospel was preached to the nations, with God bearing witness to them through signs and wonders, and glorifying them before all who believed.

Some, however, say that "remnant" refers to those who escaped unharmed from enemies, to whom the signs in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and through the Son, and through the Judges did not seem ^B sufficient for the knowledge of God. Therefore, He says He will lay His hand a second time at the time of His advent, so that He might bring the remainder of the people to zeal, so that they would not surrender this to the nations. Similarly, he says that Christ is described as leader and ruler, who claims through the voice of David: "But I was established as king over them, upon Sion His holy mountain." For He kept saying that He came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And He instructed His own disciples not to depart into the way of the nations. But since the people of Israel, with few exceptions, did not accept Him, when grace passed to the nations, the first became last, and the last first. Hence it is that now the prophet, having first mentioned the nations, set the Israelites after them in order, as if laid upon the back in the "remnants," according to the divine David. This remnant, he says, will raise a sign among the nations, ^C and before all will gather the lost of Israel; for to them they preached first. These lost sheep, the Savior says, they will gather in agreement. And who will gather them, if not the choir of the apostles, or He who is rising from the root of Jesse? For He gathered into one Church those who were previously standing against one another. For they were divided between Jerusalem and Samaria; but the sign which He raised is that of which the Savior speaks: "And they shall see the sign of the Son of Man," meaning, of course, the cross, through which the world has been crucified to the holy ones, and they to the world. Of which now the prophecy signifies the power, and for whose sake salvation is brought through the cross to the faithful from the four corners, he says, of the inhabited world, of the extremities of the

^A earth coming together, and the virtue reaching from the same to the four extremities. For the parts of the cross are divided in four ways, by which they are gathered, having the power of stripping rulers and authorities, as he stripped them on the wood and triumphed over them. Paul, who understood this, being of the lost from Israel, says: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ." Yet from history, a thing of the mind has become a starting point for the prophet. For as Judah and Ephraim, having been taken captive and then obtaining release, no longer dwelt separately, but all in Jerusalem, no longer having a partitioned rule, but all under one Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, who was of the seed of David and the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedech, who was currently high priest. So now, the precious cross having been raised, there has been a release of those in intelligible captivity, and a gathering of all into the unity of the faith, and having been delivered from unclean spirits, they came into the Church of Christ, the intelligible Sion, that is to say, Jerusalem, being subject to one King, Christ, ^B of whom Zorobabel, leading Israel out of captivity, and Jesus the great priest, were types. For in the same person both are understood: Christ is both King and High Priest, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, according to the word of Paul. He who for the whole nation accepted the cross, gathering together both Judah and Ephraim. According to Caiaphas, who prophesied due to his priestly office. And not only for his own nation, as John says, but that he should gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad. For he has made peace for all, having broken down the middle wall of partition. And the phrase, "They shall fly in the ships of the aliens, and shall plunder the sea together," hints at the journey to the nations by land and sea, not involving Jews as captains, but those who had accepted the word of Christ, and thus, simply, the Gentiles. For ^C Paul, being on the sea, said: "A night and a day I have been in the deep." Luke says that he traveled in an Alexandrian ship with the sign of the Dioscuri. For they always used to draw figures of gods on the prows, as is now the case with holy martyrs. To this the prophecy concerning the "aliens" is fittingly pre-ordained from long ago. For they supposed the Dioscuri to be saviors of those sailing. And in the same place, he says, "they shall plunder the sea," calling the islands thus. For while passing them by in transit, they brought the good tidings to those dwelling there. ^D

^A As indeed Paul did to those living in Melita, when he was hastening toward Rome. Having performed many healings there, he transferred many to piety. And otherwise, those who plunder the sea are those who, having become superior to the dragon and those under him, take those who are wandering as their own spoils. For here, "sea" must be understood as the place of affliction, which we have learned elsewhere to call the valley of weeping. These are also said to plunder Idumea, prevailing over earthly matters. And Moab, which is interpreted as "from the father." Toward whom the Savior was speaking when he reproached them as being born "of your father the devil." ^B By saying that they would cast their hands upon them, he signified nothing other than that they would surpass them by the goodness of their works and bring them into subjection to themselves. But the sons of Ammon, he adds, shall be the first to obey. For indeed those who are less in wickedness are quicker to take hold of the obedience of Christ. Ammon is interpreted as "people with us." According to history, the nations mentioned here were hostile to the God honored among the Jews at the time of the prophet. Whence he named them by name, as those who were also about to embrace piety. These nations were those living in Arabia. For the disciples of Christ filled these regions with the Churches of God, when they extended their own hands, and the actions performed through them, unto Arabia. Being neighbors to the Jews, it is likely that they were also the first to receive the proclamation. However, neither the Hebrew text, nor the rest of the interpreters, contain the addition of "first." ^C

VERS. 15, 16. And the Lord shall desolate the sea of Egypt, and shall cast his hand upon the river with a violent spirit, and shall strike seven valleys, so that one can cross it in sandals, etc.

This discussion here is not about Egypt (for this prophecy has its own particular heading). But it is adapted to those mentioned before, as to Him who came forth from the root of Jesse, who would free and deliver those addicted to the vainest religion, along with the nations neighboring Judea, from their error, through the remnants of the disciples from Jerusalem, chosen according to election, with nothing being able to be an impediment to them. For formerly, when nations had not yet learned to be open to one another, but were carried against one another, it was not safe enough to pass from some to others: ^D but especially if someone had attempted to move those things that were fixed and established. But God, when He had purposed to open the freedom of the way for the apostles, whom He was commanding to traverse the stadium of the whole world, having torn down all the powers piece by piece, and submitting everything to the Romans, a symbol of the dissolution of the

^A falling empire of demons, He indicated also the single form of the republic and monarchy, just as He showed that there would be one Church and one faith. This is the very time, surely, when Caesar Augustus took possession of Egypt, God Himself having impelled the water of the river into the sea with a violent south wind, by whose assistance the Egyptians thought that Egypt could be kept safe from Caesar without arms, because of the immense size and frequency of the lakes which the Nile creates as it flows down from above in its lower parts through the seven mouths, by which it is discharged towards the sea—which the prophecy indeed calls "ravines."

The prophet himself teaches us this again, saying: "Thus says the Lord of hosts: And the Egyptians shall drink the water which is by the sea; but the river shall fail and be dried up," and what follows. It is customary for divine Scripture to call the lakes themselves "seas." And by the "most violent spirit" he signifies the onset of the south wind raging against the waters, by whose blast the very mouths of the Nile were so dried up that they could be crossed even by those wearing shoes. ^B There are some who think that in the prophets some things are to be understood literally, but others through allegory. For example, literally "Jesse," but figuratively the "rod" from his root. And literally "the nations," but figuratively the "beasts" meant by those previously mentioned. In the present passage, therefore, they say that "Egypt" is the perceptible country of the Egyptians, which the Lord says He will not lay waste, but by the "sea being dried up," he means the multitude of idols. For this is prompted by the Hebrew, and the rest of the versions having spoken in consensus, saying "the Lord will dry up the tongue of the sea of Egypt." The Word is accustomed to call the "sea" either the multitude of the impious or the flood of wickedness, filled as it were with salty waters. Therefore He says that the "dragon" dwells in it. For David also says that there is a dragon in it: "And this dragon which You formed to play in it." ^C And now, therefore, the Word signifies by these things the tongue of the impious who long ago did not know God, as Pharaoh said: "I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." He says He will destroy this tongue, so that they may not strengthen error in the Egyptian language, but may learn to speak the oracles of God, and to swear by the name of the Lord of hosts, which he says further on. Thence the oracles among them fall silent, and all sorcery and error ceased after the sojourn of the Savior of those who formerly acted like Egyptians.

As for seeing the river being struck, we shall take the causes from what was said before, because this people did not want the water of Siloam, which goes quietly. For this reason, behold the Lord brings ^D upon you the water of the river, the strong and the

^A many [waters], the king of the Assyrians. Thus, therefore, now the prophet indicates the kingdom that existed from of old in Egypt, just as he himself, having previously touched upon the king of the Assyrians, has interpreted. And Ezekiel [also] allegorically speaks of the rivers of Egypt, which Pharaoh boasts of having made. Now, the desolation which is sent on account of crimes, if it happens at an opportune time, is to be counted as a great benefit from God. And if you were to call the violent spirit the Roman emperor, by whom the overthrow of the Egyptian kingdom began, you would not deviate from my judgment. For there were afterwards other prefects appointed over Egypt by the Romans, who by a distinct and peculiar office administered their urban and military affairs—whom he now calls "valleys," so that you may understand that the concavity of the place, and at the same time the summit, which was previously designated by the name of a river, has now become more humble. ^B By the number seven, then, he expressed the multitude of those who rule over Egypt. With these things at length accomplished, the region of Egypt itself lay open to those preaching the Gospel. For by the name of the "people left behind," who are to cross the river shod, he perhaps intends this: that we read that Moses and Joshua were commanded to take off the sandals from their feet, on account of the holiness of the land which they were treading; but since Egypt is very different from that (being, of course, profane and impure), they are commanded to cross the river with feet shod. But that which is overcome and defeated by the violent spirit of God dries up. Therefore, the soil of Egypt is unworthy to receive the bare footprint of the saints passing through it. Hence also, those who were commanded to eat the passover must have their feet protected ^C with sandals. But whoever reaches a holy place, let him now remove his sandals. Hence it is that we read that Christ forbade the apostles to carry any. And it shall be, he says, to Israel, as the day when he went out from the land of Egypt. For then, they say, both the Red Sea and the river Jordan themselves were open to those who were shod. Some, however, say that in the same way they will feel that they are crossing the river with their feet, making their way through the whole of Egypt unhindered, and singing a song which the prophet sets forth, being similar to this: "Let us sing to the Lord; for he has been gloriously glorified."

CAPUT XII.

V. 1-6. And he shall say in that day: I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, for thou wast angry with me, and thou didst turn away thine anger, and hast had mercy on me. Behold my God, my Savior. I will be confident in him; I shall be saved in him, and will not fear; because the Lord is my ^D glory and my praise, and he has become my salvation, etc.

For when they were preaching the Gospel in the synagogues of the Jews, but forming Churches from the conversion of the nations, they taught those who were benefited by them to sing a new song. For as if the river of old amongst them, and the tempestuous sea having been removed, they say: Behold my God, my Savior.

^A many waters, and to avoid them I shall be confident in Him. And I shall not fear, now that those who hindered piety have been removed. Instead of the demons of old, my glory and my praise is the Lord. But as for the statement, "You were angry with me," he says this regarding his confession, acknowledging that he had suffered rightly for having turned away from God. He indicates the forgiveness of sins granted through Christ, saying, "You have turned away your anger, and you have had mercy on me." For often, one who has been left to his own devices, having once been carried away by Egyptian ways, is allowed for a time to enjoy his own foolishness, so that he may reap what he has badly sown. But having been shown mercy through a calling back, he sings the present hymn. This is similar to the passage: "I will bear the anger of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him," and to the one which says, "He will not be angry to the end, nor will He keep His wrath forever." Becoming aware of the benefit, and saying that "You were angry with me, and You have had mercy on me," he says, "Behold my God, my Savior." Neither those who perform almsgiving before men, nor those who seek glory from one another, can say that the Lord is my glory and my praise. But those who look for the glory that is from God alone, and for His ^B praise, do not become vainglorious, nor do they transgress the commandment. For since God promises, "I will glorify those who glorify Me," it is evident that anyone who glorifies God well is himself glorified by Him. For even the countenance of Moses was glorified because he knew well how to glorify God. No one who has erroneous concepts about God possesses an acceptable form of praise. For it is one and the same to praise and glorify well. And we possess both of these, having been shown mercy by God. For the grace given to us is not according to the works we have done, but according to His abundant mercy. Furthermore, the events in Egypt are similar to those of our present sojourn; for liberty has come from slavery, then from a sensory Pharaoh, but now from an intelligible one. Then the water was changed into blood, but now it has become saving through holy baptism. Those who pursued Israel were drowned in the Red Sea; but through the holy disciples, men are taught to swim through the waves of the present life and the turbulence within it. Then there was a terrible hail; but now the divine rain has descended into their minds, producing fruit. Then there was deep darkness; but now there is light in Christ. The Egyptians mourned their firstborn; but now the firstborn from the dead has saved them, just as the firstborn of Israel were saved of old. How then was it not appropriate, in view of these things, for those rejoicing to hymn the Giver of these gifts? And God, being ready to grant a recompense, rewards those who genuinely glorify Him with spiritual gifts, saying, "And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation." And someone will understand this upon hearing the Savior say, "If anyone..."

^A Who then would judge it unfitting to praise Him who is the author of such great benefits, if one is mindful of them with great pleasure? But God, who is in no way a laggard in recompensing grace, if at any time He is worthily glorified, immediately responds with spiritual gifts: *And you shall draw water*, He says, *with joy from the fountains of the Savior*. And if this seems obscure to anyone, let him hear the Savior Himself in these words: *If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.* And again: *If anyone drinks of the water that I shall give him, it will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.*

The fountains of salvation, therefore, are either the holy apostles or the spiritual words poured out from the Holy Spirit like rain. The prophetic words were also called the fountains of Israel, for David says: *In the churches bless God the Lord from the fountains of Israel.* But if the people are accused for their idolatry, where it is written, *They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water*, it is clear that whoever believes and is watered by divine doctrines draws water with joy from the fountains of salvation, from which the Egyptians are prophesied to drink, along with those who served them that saving drink.

^B The joy of those who drink this is expressed by what is written in these words: *My soul thirsted for the strong, living God*; for as much as anyone thirsts, he is so much the more delighted when he drinks. Indeed, he is said to draw water with joy who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. *For the mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom*, says the Psalmist. For by seeking rightly, and by understanding the spiritual intention of Scripture, he will draw water with joy, and he will find the Word of God, that living water, which He displayed through the Spirit, causing it to spring forth for all mortals by the agency of the disciples, who were previously unknown to them. Regarding them, we find David speaking thus: *The fountains of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were revealed.*

For Christ is the elect stone in Zion, that is, the Church, said to be placed by the Father as the foundations; by faith in Him we are built into a spiritual house, a holy temple, into a habitation of God in the Spirit. And the stones after Him—that is, the foundations of the earth—are those who, by their preaching, hold us fast in the steadiness and truth of faith.

^C It should be noted that the present passage mentions Jesus, the common author of all our salvation, if you look to the Hebrew words; for where we use the term "Savior," the Hebrew contains "Jesus." For instance, where it is written: *Behold, God is my Savior*; and there: *He has become my salvation*. And finally here, when He speaks of the fountains of the Savior. For it would not have been fitting for the prophecy concerning the root of Jesse to be devoid of the title of Jesus the Savior, when it was composed about Him. For He was the one being prophesied. Following this, He addresses the Evangelists, regarding what must be said to those from

to teach those of Egypt, it is fitting to say, "Praise," he signifies, when he admonishes to sing a hymn to the Lord and to call upon His name, that they should remember also to announce these things to others when it happens that they are filled with spiritual drink. ^A Now, a cry is a speech raised with such exertion of voice that it may reach the ears of those who are far away. When he commands to "cry out," therefore, he does the same as if he were commanding them not to think lowly thoughts of God, but to philosophize about Him with a mind raised on high, and to discourse in such a way that the word of salvation may become clear and celebrated even to the most remote nations through the very clarity of the teaching. You should not doubt that this is signified if you look at the things that follow. For he says: "Announce His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell of His wonders." That is, show to the foolish the order of the world, so that they may be drawn to the love of the Creator. ^B He calls those things lofty which He has made in heaven and on earth, both intelligible and sensible things. Or it is about the goodness toward us, because He exalts the humble and those who are broken in heart. For those who were humbled by their own sin, He highly exalted with glory. Some say that the things set forth apply to one who has recently been initiated, who, having drawn from the fountains of the Savior, has made such progress as to manifest an apostolic ministry to others, and to sing, saying, "O Lord." But whom does he command to cry out? He added, saying: "Announce His glorious deeds among the nations." For how is the re-creation of the human race not glorious? Or the overthrow of demonic tyranny, the freedom of captives, the recovery of sight for the blind, justification, sanctification, the adoption of those who were once fugitives from God, the knowledge of God, the dead being raised, the lepers being cleansed? Those sick in infirmities were strengthened; demons were chased away; he dried up the raging sea. ^C Because of these things, he says, "Exult, you who dwell in Zion," who have a firm faith in the Church. For Zion is the evangelical word upon which the Church of God has been built. Therefore, since the Holy One of Israel has been exalted in the midst of the Church, "rejoice," you who have Him in your midst, according to the word, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Therefore, He was exalted in her midst, even if He became a man, taking the form of a servant; yet through His very works—by which He was unknown—He was demonstrated to be the true God. By the addition of the names Israel and Zion, he makes the Jews more eager, so that when they think the discourse is being instituted about them, they may embrace the reading of this book, which prophesies such excellent things about them.

CHAPTER XIII

1-11. The vision against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. "On a level mountain lift up a signal. Raise the voice to them. Do not be afraid. Encourage with the hand; open, O princes. I command, and I lead them. They have been sanctified, and I lead them. Giants..."

come to fulfill my wrath, rejoicing at once and insulting. The voice of many nations upon the mountains, like many nations, etc.

Chapter XIII

^A Having finished the prophecies concerning Christ, he begins a different subject, envisioning nine visions against foreign nations, starting from Babylon. In these, he includes even the valley of Sion, having gathered the Jewish people among the foreigners, and he mentions these nations—which alone were constantly attacking the Jews—for that reason. Therefore, he consoles those who have suffered injury, and announces that punishment is impending for the perpetrators of the injuries, along with a recall for the former from exile; so that, when the event proves the prophecy to be true, they might more firmly embrace God, whom they have seen both avenging crimes and predicting them long before they happen. Moreover, the things that are profitable for the knowledge of God are announced and proposed not only to the Jews, but to all nations whatsoever. For immediately at the very beginning of the whole book, when he began to speak the prophecy concerning Jerusalem, he takes the beginning of that which concerns the nations from the Babylonians, so that he might finally return again to Jerusalem itself. So far ^B is there no respect of persons with God; for He willed to begin with His own, and to end with the same. Now the Assyrians held the rule of the world for one thousand three hundred years, until, having besieged Jerusalem, they became more cruel and inhuman towards the conquered, not attributing glory to the God by whose power they had gained the mastery over their enemies, but impiously dedicated the sacred furniture of the temple to idols. ^C The prophetic vision occurs when the mind itself, divinely illuminated, and the very interior eyes—not in the manner of those who, placed outside themselves, are tormented by demons—behold future things as if they were present. For they do not see the images which they have within them, but falsely imagine that they see; not otherwise than those who are insane, who think they see mountains and rivers, and men and beasts that are not present; the vision of whom is nothing else than an error of the mind lacking its own proper operation. But God says: "I have multiplied visions"; and when He bestows these, He does not blind the mind which He Himself constructed and adorned, but by the presence of the Spirit makes it brighter and clearer. Hence also, the prophets were called "seers," as if one were to say endowed with a great and acute vision of the mind. Who then made the seer and the blind man? The one, the prophet; the other, the one who through his own wickedness is utterly blinded in the knowledge of future things? For profane eyes are never to behold the spectacles of the blessed. Whence He says: "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind." ^D Indeed, the name of the Father is added by the prophet, so that there is a teacher in the discipline of prophesying; one whom not

^A a little concerned about his holy education, used to teach. But whom do we suppose is marked out here as Babylon, against whom the vision is directed? If you look to the history, it is the very place where we have received that the tongues of those who were building the tower were confused. For if the account of the name is sought, it signifies confusion. But if you demand a mystical understanding, you would best call the mind Babylon, which, confused by its own evils, is always at enmity with God, and which is lifted up—while it delights in them—by dogmas forged and alien, ^B and by forming strange doctrines, and by appearing to be uplifted along with them.

The prophet therefore, leaping forth against the Babylonians, says, "On a mountain of the plain lift up a sign." Because they dealt excessively with those from Israel, even if they had been given over to them on account of idolatry, God is reasonably indignant, and through Zechariah says: "I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy. And I am greatly angered with the nations that are at ease: for I was angered but a little, but they added to the evils." And furthermore, He says to Babylon: "I gave them into your hands, but you did not show them mercy." And from this it comes that it was subjugated by Cyrus, the king of the Medes and Persians, concerning whom you may find the Lord speaking in Isaiah in these words: "Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before his face; and I will not let cities be shut up. I will go before you, and make the mountains level. I will break in pieces brazen doors, and I will smash iron bars." Having conquered, he released Israel from captivity and rebuilt the temple. Accordingly, Jeremiah, having spoken concerning the capture of Babylon, and how "a nation from the north" ascended against it, added: "In that time the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together. They shall go on their way weeping, searching for their God." And again, having said, "I will take vengeance upon the king of Babylon," he added: "And I will restore Israel to his pasture."

The prophet therefore speaks to the Medes and Persians, as if they had already mastered Babylon, to lift up high the symbol of victory, and to raise a visible trophy over the unhappy city, concerning which he himself says: "How is the hammer of the whole earth caught and broken?" declaring its cruelty and vanity. Wherefore, in the end, those from Israel were given over to them, having extended their impiety, having before been given over to neighboring nations. He called the hilly ground a "mountain of the plain." For trophies used to be erected on a moderate height. But to the mind, it is shown how the dominion of those who work confusion is captured, whenever we ascend a mountain—not one that is precipitous, but such as to have height because of its stature, yet to provide safety for those who make their stand upon it because of its gentleness. For He wishes us to understand both things concerning God: that they are lofty, and safe. And he who proclaims the things concerning the cross with a loud voice, thus ^C raised the sign upon a mountain, being able to magnify the discourse concerning the Passion, delivering it by leveling and with clarity concerning the things that are promised; and concerning such things he added: "Lift up the voice." That is, from yourselves take the height of the

^A voice, having stirred up the impulses existing within you from common notions toward the glorification of God. For he who looks downward and is earthly has a humble voice regarding God, dwelling as if in a ravine. For each passion, with which one preaches, produces a humble voice. Let us not, therefore, yield—not to fear, not to gain, not to temptations—so that our proclamation may be exalted. According to the letter, he commands to shout to the Persians against Babylon, and to raise a triumphal voice. Perhaps he also commands them to take courage for the battle against them. For this signifies not to fear, as God conquers even the invincible power. Then he says, "encourage with the hand." For in war, things that seem best are signaled by gestures, since no voice is sufficient across the tumult. ^B And in another way, he who brings consolation to those who are oppressed by means of good works comforts poverty with a generous hand. For by giving, one will console more than by advising in words to bear poverty courageously. He urges to open the hand to such people, which signifies giving, according to the words: "When you open your hand, all things will be filled with goodness." This he wishes the princes to do first, so that they may become a pattern to those under their hand. And it is necessary also to open the things of Scripture that are closed to those who are ignorant. Which the Scribes did not do, although they held the keys of the kingdom. ^C For such are princes who have the power of the keys of knowledge. Hence Paul says: "Our mouth is opened to you, O Corinthians." But according to the letter, either he commands to open the gates to the Babylonians, as those who are already conquered; or to the holy powers, having entered into an alliance with the Persians. For showing the invincible power of the hand, he says, "I give orders, and I lead them." Or according to contemplation, he seems to exhort us to the zeal of action according to our power. For they have as leader the Lord, who orders each one in the body of the Church according to his own worth. Following which he adds, how many he leads against Babylon. They come as giants. Rejoicing indeed, as confident that they will conquer. Despising, however, their adversaries as weak—which he termed insolence. He threatens also in another way the arrival of some who war against God for the punishment of those who do wrong; from whom, desiring to rescue his own, he led them to a level mountain, giving them the sign as a protection. And he prescribes the provision through good works to encourage those who are oppressed, and to open the mouth to those who wish to learn, so that they might escape the giants who are for the most part arrayed for evil,

while committing many evils with an evil end, are able to incite [them]—for it is probable that by the name of evil angels David understood them; who, when they see us cruelly struck down, rejoice, and taking pleasure from the severity of our suffering, insult us contumeliously; ^A though they are permitted by God to effect nothing greater than what is granted to them. "The voice of many nations on the mountains," and what follows; he shows the promiscuous voice of those who are in battle—of men, of horses, of those who are conquering, and of those who are fleeing—such that no one would say it refers to a few men, but to many princes and subjects; that is, of the mourning Babylonians and the exulting Persians, whom he asserted to be warlike, and a nation coming from afar, that is, from the very north and the places adjacent to it. He calls them His own, so that you might not doubt that they progress according to the will of God. But in saying "perished land," he does not mean the whole world, but rather indicates the region about which the discourse is being held; which perhaps he named in this way so as to show it to be a great and populous nation, and to distinguish that solitude which followed the taking of the city. Nor is it incongruous that by such things the voice of various nations in the Church (which he understood through the flat mountain) is signified; to which, for the collection of the multitude, he ascribes the amplitude of the place, since many ascend to it because of the loftiness of divine knowledge. Though it is one and the same in the consensus of the faith, it seems manifold because it was divided by fiery tongues, by the work of the Holy Spirit, upon each of the apostles who were about to preach the Gospel to all nations; of whose number he calls those who were chosen "kings," as being sons of the kingdom. ^B From the saying, "The Lord has commanded the warlike nation to come," we are taught that punishments are brought upon us by the judgment of God, and that we must not fear the one who strikes, but rather pray to the One who commands; nor are we to imitate those who say impiously that it is necessary to offer sacrifice to evil spirits, so that we might appease their wickedness. For whether you court them or not, it is necessary for them to act and rage according to the measure granted to them by the One who commands. The panoply of these is directly contrary to that of the righteous. For the latter have the shield of faith, while the former have that of unbelief. For the latter there is the sword of reason and the Word; for the former, that of irrationality. For the latter there is the breastplate of justice unto security; for the former, that of injustice. For the latter there is the helmet of salvation; for the former, that of perdition. For the latter the feet are prompt and ready unto following the Gospel of peace; for the former they are swift unto shedding blood. They are also from a far-off land—far removed indeed from God, and summoned from afar to punish the wickedness of this life. ^C For those whose works we use for our salvation are not foreign, but domestic and neighbors. But Providence uses the cruelty of the former for our healing and cure, not otherwise than a physician uses the venom of a viper; for they are given over to the flesh alone, in order that the spirit might be kept safe, so that, as with Phygellus and Hermogenes, they might be brought to the flesh not for destruction, but so that they might be instructed not to blaspheme.

^A He said again that they come from a land afar off, because they have chosen a place on the earth to dwell, and they are not far removed from the highest heaven, from where their first fall occurred. Then he says: "Howl, for the day of the Lord is near," as if warning that nothing now remains for the Babylonians but lamentation and mourning. For when God strikes fear into their souls, every hand shall be dissolved, and every human soul shall be afraid. For then, all things will be of no avail for hindrance. For who shall turn back the exalted hand? As it is written; and otherwise, regarding the threat of God which he spoke of as impending from the warriors, howling and lamentations are prescribed, by which it is possible to appease God; for being a lover of mankind, He threatens, and turns away the threat from those who repent. For if He did not desire the repentance of the sinner, why did He proclaim the threat to the Ninevites? For from Him comes the crushing, which destroys things worthy of crushing. As we read that the Lord crushes Satan under the feet of the righteous; and the Lord crushing wars; and, "The Lord crushes the cedars of Lebanon," that is, the arrogant and those rising up against the truth. ^B It behooves those who desire to escape the crushing of God to crush their own exalted and swollen heart, so that its humility may take the place of a sacrifice. For if one is compared with God demanding punishment, every hand is weak, and every soul is fearful. But they say that the word "of man" was not added without reason; since that [fear] which belongs to the angels is not at all subject to timidity; on the contrary, that of the brute animals; which, while they indeed dread and are terrified, those who define timidity as a failure of the principles that are sought from fortitude, do not wish to be called "timid." By "ambassadors" he says they will be "troubled," meaning the worshipers of idols, who, as is to be expected, were divining prosperous things regarding the expected arrival of Cyrus, and were offering up supplications to the demons, interceding for the region. But they will be suffused with shame when they see that all things have turned out to the contrary, and they will lament with one another. For this is the very thing he signified by the word of condolence. Perhaps they were using "woe," and any such pronouncements of miseries. ^C And so their faces will turn black from the greatest anguish of mind, so that they appear to be remnants of withered ash: unless you think he also wished to signify the blush that arises from shame. For the time is already drawing near when the implacable wrath of God will ravage the whole land of the Chaldeans and destroy the sinners from it; that is, He will destroy all who are sinners. For He does not distinguish that there are righteous ones in Babylon. And because the magnitude of the calamities fills the human mind with darkness and mist, even if the time of day should happen to be on its side, and even if the night is illuminated by the moon and stars, for this reason he says these things, [that it] will be darkened; not by nature, but it so appears to those who are despondent. And "I will command evils" is instead of, "I will threaten," or, "I will decree that they be brought down." And by Orion he denoted the bright stars. ^D In another way, this star is called [something else] among the Hebrews, [which] the interpreters...

have adapted to the manner of speaking that prevailed in Greece at that time. Next, in the Book of Job, [the fact] that he speaks of "the Pleiades and Arcturus and the chambers of the south" ^A should, as we must suppose, be spoken according to the custom of the Greeks. There are not wanting, however, those who explain the above in this way, since they see that evils are being denounced to the entire world. For they say that when the prophet intends to issue specific threats against Babylon, he sets forth the judgment of God in a general sense, describing in a global way the things that the impious will undergo; and only then does he turn to the specific punishment of Babylon. ^B Regarding the general sense, he says for the time being: "Raise a signal on a level mountain." This the prophetic Spirit utters from the person of the divine Word, and he commands the angels who are with Him to open the doors that are closed, and to command those who are within to come out, and to hasten to the punishment of the impious. By these things it is likely that a region set apart is signified, existing as a kind of prison for these opposing powers. Might this be that very abyss, ^C which Scripture calls "serpents and all deeps" 88, signifying that it is to be filled with serpents; into which the demons begged Christ not to be cast before the time, as if knowing that a time for this would one day come? He calls such powers giants, or as if they were the souls of giants; or those angels who descended from heaven, from whom were born the giants by mingling with the daughters of men 89; or, indeed, other apostate powers who are bound until the time of judgment. ^D For when God’s tribunal shall stand, He will send, as He Himself says, "his angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect, from one end of heaven to the other" 91. And [God] will inflict punishments upon those to be punished through these opposing powers, as if they were executioners, commanding the angels who are attendant upon Him to release the bonds of these [powers], so that, having set out, they may punish the impious, though they themselves are also destined to receive their own judgment afterwards. By "level mountain" he designated the earthly place, and every habitation of men, where he commands that the sign of the coming judgment of God be displayed (to which perhaps he has well referred the saying, "And they shall see the sign of the Son of man" 92) and to summon everyone to the tribunal with a loud voice. Then he says, "Encourage with the hand; open, ye princes." Instead of which Symmachus says: "Move the hand, and let the doors be opened." It is clear that [they are to come] from that outer darkness in which they happen to be imprisoned, from which they would not have departed, had the Judge not commanded it. And he adds that the giants are those...

^A whom Aquila and Symmachus interpret as the avenging powers. For Scripture bears witness to this when it speaks of the Egyptians in this manner: "He sent upon them the wrath of his indignation; indignation, and wrath, and tribulation, a sending of evil angels." By this it signifies the cruelty toward those who are punished, calling it their joy and insult. So much, then, for these matters.

Following this, a discussion is instituted concerning the nations that are to be judged, which will utter voices against themselves, bearing witness to their own calamity by their lamentation—subjects and kings alike—on account of the warriors who, by God’s command, are destroying the whole earth. He said that these were giants who were far off long ago, and as though locked away in the foundations of the heavens; ^B they, who have been called at the proper time, are destroying the whole world of the wicked after the separation of the righteous. Exactly the same things are also used in the Gospels, where we read that those on the right are called to the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, while those on the left are terrified by the punishment of eternal fire.

Having said these things concerning the future judgment, since its time has not yet arrived, He urges sinners to repentance long before it happens, and strives to provoke them to mourning by revealing the impending evils. For, he says, the day of wrath foretold will come, and it is near. Yet great is the time since it has been ^C said to be drawing near, with all the prophets testifying to its nearness, so that no one who has fallen away might, as if it were procrastinating, be found unprepared.

Who, indeed, are these envoys who will be troubled when the day of the Lord arrives? Clearly, those whom the Lord hinted at in the parable. "A certain nobleman," He says, "went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." Then, having finished the discourse about the ten minas, he adds: "But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'"

For how should we not call Him noble, who has His existence from the substance of the Father? ^D Furthermore, being man according to the flesh, and tracing His lineage to David, He might not undeservedly be considered noble. He goes, therefore, into a far country: but not a country separated and distant by the extent of places, but rather by the state of affairs. For God is near to the good, but has withdrawn from those who commit sins. He, seeing the world oppressed by diabolical tyranny, moved by such a miserable condition, took upon Himself the task of ruling and protecting them. And there is surely no reason for the end of His empire to be expected until He has subjected His enemies under His own feet. He comes, therefore, into a region far from God, so that He might receive a terrestrial place, that is, the empire over the nations, according to the passage: "Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance." But those who live under the prince of this world do not...

^A merely resist men, but even powers; they would by no means bear his rule. But when he commanded what needed to be done, having been sent to him as an embassy, they afterwards denied and abjured him as their own king. Perhaps the envoys themselves may not inappropriately be called those who were the authors of his death, who, thinking that they could tear his kingdom to pieces upon the cross, cried out to Pilate, not that he should write that he was the King of the Jews, but that he said he was King. But they, being condemned by their own wickedness, were unable to become an obstacle to the dispensation. For no one who does evil desires to be ruled by Christ. Concerning those who will be troubled, the prophet says, when they see the Lord coming with glory. "For behold, the day of the Lord cometh, implacable." They say that this is different from the former, concerning which he said: "The day of the Lord is near." For that one concerns every man's own summation, which is near at hand; but this one concerns the universal [judgment], which is properly called the Day. For it is not interrupted by night. And for this reason, the hidden things of darkness are revealed in it. But the present life is night, in which these things are concealed. Therefore, he called that one implacable, whose pains nothing can heal. They think it is provided and wisely done, that as long as it is day, we might work, by striking fear into those involved in matters. For night comes, when no one can work; but each one, bound as it were by the fetters of his own sins, in his hands and feet, is cast into the darkness. For then, he says, by the command of the Lord, the stars of heaven themselves will not give light; but the misery of those times will immediately receive them ^B with darkness, and the other things that follow, by which he gathers that all the tribes of the earth will be cut off. Such was also that which was previously said: "The voice of many nations on the mountains; the voice of kings and nations gathered together."

Verses 12-16. "And I will destroy the injury of the wicked, and I will humble the insolence of the proud. And those who are left shall be more precious than fine gold, and a man shall be more precious than the stone from Suphir," etc.

And these things, again, some say pertain to the universal judgment, while others refer them more specifically to the Chaldeans; but the goodness of God is displayed in the fact that he says he will destroy and repress the injury and pride of the wicked, so that he may make his own work empty of all wickedness and stain; just as a disease is said to be destroyed by the aid of a physician, or darkness chased away by the coming of the sun; so he convicts and overthrows the wisdom of the wise as being corrupt (even if it appears true and correct to those who are in error). Thus also Jacob, when praying for good things for his sons Simeon and Levi, cursed their fury, so that after the evil habit had been destroyed by the curse, what remained in them might become worthy of the patriarch's blessing. Just as we must also take the words of Noah, by which he execrates ^C Canaan. For although it was Ham who had caused the grief, yet he did not curse him, but his offspring, ^D so that the evil habit might be consumed by the curse, just as it was being consumed by the physician’s medicine, and what was left might become worthy of the patriarch’s blessing.

^A It is interpreted, in fact, as "agitation." For the state of being, when it occurs in motion, brings about the passion. And regarding the work by which it is symbolically named Chanaan.

Now, the injury ^B which He says He will destroy is an indication of every iniquity. For the iniquitous act with injury against the temple, and against their neighbor, and against that which is according to the image [of God]. And through the image, the injury ascends toward the Creator, just as it happens with a king, when the image is injured. And above all, through the things in which someone sins, he injures himself; therefore, every sin is the offspring of injury, and it first lays hold of the one who is the injurer; in this way also, pride is the sister of iniquity. For whatever one sins, he treats the opposite virtue with pride through his offense. Therefore, the Lord who sets Himself against the proud and humbles the sinners to the earth, promises that He will humble the injury of the proud, rescuing them from the likeness to the devil, who is the father of pride, leading them to be disciples of Him who said, "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart."

These things, they say, are spoken generally concerning the judgment that is to be at the consummation of the world; hence, in these passages, having made mention of the whole inhabited world, He has made no mention of Babylon. But after the things mentioned have been brought to pass, those who are found out of the vast number, who have preserved the integrity of their mind and have not entered into fellowship with the lawless, but having been tested through myriad torments of temptation, have given precise testimony of their own will, will be more precious than anything that seems honorable among men; they will be found worthy of the name of "man," and will manifest their natural capacity for reason, not having become beastly like the others.

^C Now, pure gold is that which, because it is by nature clean and unmixed with other things, does not need to be smelted. And Suphir is a region of India where they say the most precious stones are found. It signifies, therefore, either the scarcity of those who have virtue, or of those who are alive at all after the capture of Babylon. But if the discourse is concerning this, being that in which He subjects the wrath of heaven, we do not think that it is asserted to be a living entity, as it has pleased some, but that the powers within it are designated. By this species of locution, when we say that "the city has gone out," and that "it has asked something of its prince," we understand nothing else than the citizens of the city. ^D For the fabric of the world is moved along with the Lord Himself, having embraced the cause of its Author against the impious, not otherwise than how the heaven is said to rejoice and be glad on account of those who repent. And elsewhere, again, on account of the wicked, the heaven is amazed and shudders; for even in Egypt, He turned water into blood; and the earth brought forth frogs; and the heaven sent down hail; and the air was the deepest darkness. Thus, even now, we must understand the "wrath of heaven" as those fearful things which are brought upon those being punished from it—eclipses of the stars, thunderbolts, and harsh peals of thunder, and the mist of the air, which comes about on account of the intensity of the anger of the Lord, as it is called in regard to the punishment...

and the ignition upon those who have sinned. ^A The earth, he says, shall be shaken from its foundations; this means that it does not have its turbulence from an accidental cause. The Lord in the book of Job declares that the foundations of the earth are unknown to human nature: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you understand wisdom, who set its measures, if you know? Or who stretched a line over it? Upon what are its sockets fixed? Or who placed the cornerstone upon it?" Those of the external philosophy say that the earth is founded at the center of the sphere of heaven that encompasses it. For being balanced and standing equidistant ^B from all sides, it is immovable; and this, they say, truly signifies the completion. Those who think that this is spoken concerning the Babylonians say that the prophets, when they receive the divine and ineffable power into their mind, raise their voices exceedingly high and embellish their narrations with a distinguished and lofty style of discourse. And those, he says, who at that time try to flee the terrors will appear to resemble young deer, but not mature ones, having a light and rapid gait; for the animal is timid, and does not know how to stop its flight. ^C And as a wandering sheep they shall be. For a sheep does not have its own understanding, so as to set out for nutritious pastures, or to be folded in safer places, or to seek out drink for itself, unless there is someone shepherding and leading them to these things. Thus, therefore, he says to those fleeing, there will be no leader who is able to both gather them and provide them refuge. For some of the fugitives will be dispersed; while those who remain will be defeated; or also, according to other interpreters, will be pierced through. And even if they gather together, they will fall under the sword of the anger of God. And not only will the avenging powers, that is, the Persians against the Babylonians, do these things to the ungodly, but they will also rage against wives and children, ^D as likewise being ungodly. But "to chase into his own land" is instead of "to be hastened." For fearing the enemies, he says, they will flee even the region most pleasant to them. And that which is said concerning the children is in harmony with what David says to Babylon: "Blessed is he who shall take and dash your little ones against the rock." But if it is necessary to speak in a spiritual sense concerning the things that happened to the Assyrians, you would find that the things said regarding the spiritual Babylon, and its ruler, apply without impediment to the prophecy spoken concerning Christ,

^A which, according to history, is a king who ever wars against those who are dedicated to God, and makes many captive, exulting over those whom he has driven from their homeland and the holy land. But the sign of the Savior, that is, the divine cross, has been raised up, and we have shouted against him, singing a song of victory to Him who for our sake and on our behalf has conquered, and we have raised our voice, making a confession of faith. The Lord has also commanded the warlike nation to come: namely, the saints, who, having gained the victory in the battle waged not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, have sacked these as if they were a city—that is, the once grim and impregnable stronghold of idolatry—with Christ as their leader and the angels protecting them, so that few even of their company whom they had captured remain, and these indeed are struck with great fear and, being utterly unable to offer resistance, remain. Wishing to draw us to such a contemplation of allegory, the prophet, after he had spoken of the Savior, judged that he must deal with the Babylonians.

VERS. 17-22. Behold, I stir up against you the Medes, who do not esteem silver, nor do they have need of gold. They shall break the bows of the young men, and they shall not have mercy on your children, nor shall their eyes spare your sons. It comes quickly, and it will not tarry.

Those who think that the preceding verses ^C refer to the general judgment of all things wish to establish from this point a specific discussion concerning the Assyrians. But it is known from history that not long after this prophecy did the Medes invade the kingdom of the Assyrians; rather, Cyrus, the first of the Persian kings, who also granted liberty to the Jews and who is subsequently mentioned by the prophet by name, first brought them under his own subjection.

Furthermore, it is shown to be true even now that it is said that it will not be inhabited ^D forever. Although there are some who contend that the time of solitude and desolation is defined, after which it might again be inhabited. But he understands by the name of the Arabs those whom we now call Saracens, who formerly, for the sake of trade, pitched their tents in Babylon itself; in which sense we think Symmachus said that the Arab would not pitch his tent there: or indeed those who, being neighbors to the Persians, inhabited that prosperous Arabia. But since shepherds, having led their flocks in great numbers into the solitudes for pasture, are wont to pitch tents there for themselves and their sheep; he signifies that Babylon will not be suitable even for this purpose, but that, being vacant of animals endowed with any mildness and reason, it will be a haunt for demons and wild beasts. For demons rejoice in deserted and uncultivated places. Finally, it should be noted that some of the interpreters, having translated the Hebrew word *siim*, have rendered it as "wild beasts," while others have rendered it as "sirens," or "ostriches." For the animal is solitary by nature, in the wild...

^A parts as sterile as possible it dwells. Again, in place of the name "onocentaur," they have used the Hebrew *siim*, and for "urchins" they have used "sirens," perhaps implying the nature of demons, which is prone to deceit, just as the fables handed down regarding the sirens suggest. Indeed, there are some who interpret the sirens to be a certain kind of bird that has learned to modulate and sing, or an owl, as the Hebrews would have it; they interpret the onocentaurs as wild asses, and the urchins as mice bristling with sharp quills—all of which signifies desolation and solitude. And so, he says that the houses will be filled with sound, signifying the roar of places that are uninhabited.

He speaks of the Medes because, on account of their wealth, they despise money, in such a way that it is impossible for the Babylonians to purchase the sacking of their city from them. Furthermore, the name "Mede," when translated, signifies "from the capable." Therefore, the One who is capable of bringing ^B to each person everything according to their merits—He it is who stirs up the Medes. Or perhaps, since Madai is the founder of Media, which is translated as "measuring," the Medes might be spoken of as being brought in to punish those who have lived poorly, according to a measure. For with the measure that each person uses to measure good or evil, he shall receive his reward or punishment.

It is consistent with this to think of the "children of Babylon" as the fruits and offspring of their souls; such as those of the one whom the Psalmist blesses—the man in whom his wife is Wisdom, whom he sought out and led as his bride, the righteous man having become a lover of her beauty. And the offspring of the Mind and Wisdom cohabiting together, such as these, he presents in the 136th ^C Psalm, saying: "Daughter of Babylon, miserable. Blessed is he who shall dash your children against the rock," foreseeing at the same time that no mercy would be forthcoming from the Medes. He does not bless the one who kills a Babylonian child in any manner whatsoever; rather, he blesses the one who does not allow infants and the newborn to come to maturity—so that they might not grow even worse—and the one who, by his own wisdom, shatters the offspring of the confused mind (which is named "Babylon") against the rock; and the rock, in this context, is Christ. This would come to pass when evil doctrines are clashing with the Word of Truth.

He says that these things will come to pass swiftly. For even that which is very long for us is very short in the eyes of God. For "a thousand years in His sight are as yesterday," it is said, "and as a watch in the night." ^D And they say that the prophecy came to pass not long after. At the same time, it introduces more bitter anxiety for the Babylonians, but for the Israelites, it brings consolation on account of the captivity.

The name of Babylon was, as it were, a namesake of "glorious." And they used to say: "The glorious Babylon." He shows very clearly from what a state it will fall into what a state. The cause is the king of the Chaldeans, having made it a kingdom strong and brilliant. He likens it to Sodom and Gomorrah, according to the interpretation of these names. "Sodom" is translated as "blindness," and "sterility," and "standing silence," and "likeness," and "accusation," and "their foundation." "Gomorrah" means "measure" and "standing." To these, Babylon likewise...

will be turned, for God, while benefiting ^A those who are being turned, acts like a doctor who overturns blindness. But the overturning of blindness is the beginning of sight. He also overturns sterility, driving out agony and bestowing the produce of works of righteousness, and a "standing silence," so that He may cast a word into the heart for the glorification of God. And [he overturns] "measure" and "standing," so that He may put an end to the measure of wickedness within it and its turmoil, just as those who are seditious [might be], so that those who are in a state contrary to peace might be improved, measuring out virtue against wickedness.

But everyone who acts as an ambassador for fate and posits that the movement of the stars is a necessity for all things, insofar as it depends on him, is removing his hearers from piety and calls the affairs of the Babylonians glorious. For these things are confounding to the intellect, abolishing Providence and the power that lies within us, and they are worthy to be given the name of Babylon; for the star-gazing of the Chaldeans has become a discovery. This the Lord overturns, and demons take up residence when God has departed from it—whether you wish to call it a city or a soul, in which, once it is overturned, the good shepherd no longer pastures the flock. It is filled with sound, having no clear or articulated speech within it, but the confused noise of passions, which evil powers soothe by the inflection of their voice, bringing about pleasure by speech or some other way, for the sake of hunting and causing the forgetfulness of one’s own fatherland.

An echo is a voice reflected from solid bodies, returning again to the one who emitted it—a thing which is unobstructed in solitude. But in inhabited places, it is accustomed to be broken by the voices echoing from elsewhere, and by the air being disturbed by vessels or bodies being carried about—from which night is more free, and thus more resonant. Such also is he who has an itching in his ears, turning away from truth and ^C having turned to fables, not enduring sound doctrine nor the rebuke of cross-examination, but rejoicing only in what flatters.

The demons that work the passions within us are said to dance, assuming the role of a dancer, appearing now as one passion, now as another, transitioning from one to another as in the movement of limbs; for they dance and leap about within us. The name of the "onocentaurs" is a composite one, signifying a certain strange demon, one that sometimes causes us to look toward human things, and at other times drags us down toward the passions of beasts. Some say that Aquila called these "hairy ones," indicating a dark and obscured demon. And the "hedgehog" is another demon, difficult to grasp and crafty. Such is he who, by an itching of the ears, has been diverted from the truth, while following the emptiness of fables ^D; he abhors the effective and rigid word, and will not permit himself to be rebuked or corrected, but dissolves entirely into flattery and softness. Moreover, the demons are said to dance within us—those which moderate our affections with us—when, having assumed the persona of a dancer, they pass from one thing to another, as if in the movement of limbs. For they revel within us, and as if—

The name of onocentaur was not added as a simple term, but so that a certain monstrous type of demon might be signified, by whose impulse we might suddenly turn our eyes toward the contemplation of human affairs; and next, we might be swept away by the affections of brute beasts. And so, they say, Aquilas called these "hairy ones," so as to indicate an obscene and murky demon. Furthermore, the hedgehog signifies another demon, cunning and difficult to catch.

CAP. XIV

^A 219-220 VERS. 1-7. *And the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and they shall rest in their own land, and the stranger shall be joined to them, and shall be joined to the house of Jacob, and the nations shall take them, and bring them into their place, and they shall possess them, and be filled in the land of God, for menservants and maidservants, etc.*

Having set forth the hardships which Babylon was to suffer, he now adds the things that are joyful and prosperous for the Jews under Cyrus—namely, their return. But as for the one whom he here calls a stranger, in Greek *geiōras*, others translate it as "proselyte." Some interpret this not simply as a proselyte, but as one who is devoted to the cultivation of fields. Therefore, it is properly the same as a native or indigenous inhabitant. However, it was to come to pass that those among the Babylonians who would follow the native Jews would have the name of proselytes among them, whereby it happens that the sense of both falls into the same meaning. For he says that the affairs of the Jews would reach such a height of happiness that those by whom they were previously captured would themselves be with them in Judea, having been persuaded to migrate there ^B partly by kinship contracted with them, and partly by long communion in religion; nor would they refuse, having cast aside the idols they formerly worshipped, to become menservants and maidservants of God.

Indeed, he signifies that the Jews would not return to their fatherland without an escort of nations; which we read was first done when Cyrus commanded it, when they had Joshua and Zerubbabel as leaders of their return: then, under the rule of Cyrus's successor Xerxes, when he sent Ezra instructed with many letters to the governors, and surrounded by a large guard of nations; and finally under Artaxerxes, when he sent Nehemiah, to whom the king, having granted the power to return to Judea, besides the letters he gave for Mesopotamia, also added military forces for the security of the journey. For thus did Ezra record it in letters.

He prophesies, however, that the Babylonians who had captured ^C Israel would at that time themselves be captured by Cyrus. Or perhaps he also signifies that they were to be captured in that beautiful and salutary way, because, having followed them on their return, they would not refuse to submit to the yoke of the Law. *But at that time,* he says, *you will put an end to your anger.*

CAP. XV

^D VERBUM CONTRA MOABITIDEM. 222-223 VERS. 1-9. *In the night Moab shall perish, for in the night the wall of Moab shall perish. Be grieved in yourselves. For Gebon shall also perish, where your altar is; thither you shall ascend to weep over Naban of Moabitis, etc.*

^A For those in the night, the very wall—that is, the sophistical battlements—falls. For they gloried in these as if they were most secure; and now that they are overturned and destroyed, those who even held absurd notions about God lament without honor. They construct an altar for Debon, which returns oracles; those who are repenting are ordered to ascend it—not as they did before, when, having despised the Creator, they served the creature, offering sacrifices of praise upon strange altars; rather, they are ordered to mourn for these things, and to be afflicted with that pain which is according to God and brings about a salvation that is not to be repented of. ^B I would also call those people "such as these" who have placed their hope in transitory things. Therefore, He commands those whose good character has been corrupted by bad company to mourn; and, as one must be stripped of such teaching, He teaches through the "baldness"—an indication that such a discarded ornament is to be cast off—that they ought to cast off those doctrines. For teachers are like the head, and according to the text, this signifies disgrace. For baldness is a symbol of disgrace, just as the "cutting of the arms" is a symbol of wailing and mourning; or because it was customary for idolaters to lacerate their faces and arms. But these things hint that, through a good way of life, one must render worthless the practical instructions of evil teachers, bringing them to the test ^C through—as it were—dissection. For these teachers, while often appearing to hold an upright life, pull others down into absurd doctrines; and when they are detected, they make others like themselves in their way of life, leading them along the broad road of amusements that bring pleasure. Wherefore, He commands those who have chosen a life tested by fire, and who have repented of their pleasures, to be cut—seeking the narrow and afflicted way—and, wearing sackcloth, to gird their loins (with which they have so often sinned) and mourn. For by the term "loins," the generative parts are often understood, since Scripture says Levi was still in the loins of Abraham, and elsewhere it ^D warns us to have the "loins girded," that is, to restrain the appetites that serve generation. He describes the capture of the city, in which, while some run about the streets and alleyways with a great wailing, the women themselves, looking upon the enemy forces with their infants, lament miserably. He calls the high and empty teachings "rooftops," and the divisions of their reasonings as it were "the streets" of the Moabitess; whether one has been lifted up on heights against the knowledge of God, or whether one appears to distinguish clearly concerning any problem proposed for debate through some dialectical division of arguments: such a one should wail through repentance. For the teachings of the Moabites were not divine, but human reasonings. But how shall we understand the phrase according to the letter, "the loins of the Moabitess shall cry out, and her soul shall know"? Is it because terrible despondencies of the soul always precede those notable calamities which cannot be avoided?

^A This cry of the loins therefore signifies that the Moabitess is already travailing, concealing pains, naturally sensing them, and being shaken by the rumors. For she cries out as far as Segor, which they say marks the boundary of the Moabitess—that is, the whole region comprised within her borders, where Palestine meets Arabia. Otherwise, the sorrow befalling the Moabitess was an occasion for a more temperate life. Furthermore, Eleale and Jassa cry out to the cry of Esebon; by which words the progress and utility of repentance are shown. For when we ourselves mourn our own lot and that of those who have sinned with us, we become, through this cry, an example of repentance to them for the future, as if publishing it publicly. Now the towns and cities of the Moabitess mentioned here are names known to this day, all of which endured the plundering by the Assyrians. For Ariel remains to this day a very large village of Areopolis, just as the others do. And it is empty to allegorize about these matters, for it is sufficient to know so much, as it proclaims the destruction of their idolatry through the desert, because of the altar of the ^B demon and the prince, near which now the knowledge of God and churches have been established everywhere. And he adds for what reason these aforementioned things happen to the Moabitess, saying: "She is a three-year-old heifer." For the third year is sufficient for irrational animals for their prime, and for working up that vigorous power in them. The Moabitess, therefore, being powerful and having never experienced the yoke, used to leap upon her neighbors, kicking out in a way against those who were weaker; or rather, the three-year-old heifer is something perfect, for it has the power both to beget and to submit the neck to the yoke, by which he shows that those who are able to turn back are such that they are perfected according to the age of the soul, and possess a logos capable of submitting to the yoke of truth. Yet one who is deprived of these is not required to perform works of repentance.

Wherefore God also said to Abraham: "Take for me a three-year-old heifer and a three-year-old ram." But he did not limit the dove and the turtle-dove by time, because these animals begin their breeding immediately. But ^C as for the "ascent," he says, of "Luith, they shall go up weeping." For the beginning of joy is to weep well, and sadness according to God causes an ascent through progress. Over this Paul also rejoiced, seeing that his words brought those who heard them to realization. For someone weeping over his own evils, no longer having a descent, will not enter into the lowest places of the earth. But such grief guides him toward ascending. They say that the "Aroniim" is a high and public road, and that those fleeing from other cities were accustomed to take refuge in it; for which reason he says, "they shall go up weeping." And the voice to those who weep, a crushing [is] ^D [the note on the variation marks the end of the text on this page].

reason that grips the mind, crushes what is wicked, and, like the sea, stirs itself up against its own thoughts, in order that some may be rooted out, and sounder arguments be introduced in their stead. For this reason, "a broken heart God will not despise." For when the wicked disposition has been crushed, they shall weep and shall go up; for neither of these things will be possible while it remains established and unshaken. ^B "The water of Nebrid shall be desolate." Concerning this city, they say that it is situated in the furthest reaches of the region, and is near to the Red Sea, and is so rich in water and pasture as to be sufficient for a large number of horses, and that those who dwell there are most warlike; but that when enemies approach, it shall be destitute of waters and of green grass, so that the horsemen, their cavalry being destroyed by famine, grow weak. When this has come to pass, he says, will it not be that which has so magnificently valued itself [in its own conceit]? But he signifies also that the water of depraved opinion, which previously flowed abundantly, shall cease: to which is opposed that which is called the water of refreshment; with which the Lord is wont to nourish His own flock; and which He bestows upon those who believe in Him, so that they may have in themselves a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. But the evil water nourishes only grass. "And it shall be," that is, those souls which have been taught this transitory and quickly fading glory of the world shall quickly wither, the word which, as it were, watered them having been cut off, and they being about to die in a short time. ^C But because he asks, "whether it can be saved in such a way," he signifies that the land of Moab can be led to salvation by a certain method and by a more severe regimen of life. And as for the fact that he previously affirmed that it would perish by night, and other things of that kind, he demonstrates that these things are brought about for its salvation. "For I will bring," he says, "the Arabians upon the valley," perhaps signifying the neighboring Arabians, or even the Saracens who are far in the interior: to whom he threatens that he will also deliver up the Moabites, perhaps because they themselves had followed the Assyrians. For instance, extending from Damascus as far as Persia, they campaigned alongside the Babylonians. ^D Furthermore, it is reasonable to call it the valley of Nebrid, to indicate the concavity of the place, as the site of others is more elevated. And he signifies that the former [group] will be saved through weeping, but that the others, on account of the stubbornness of their spirit, will perish through the blow received from the Arabians. Now the Arabians, if you follow the reason for the name, are the same as those of the west: or [they are] those powers accustomed to darkness, through whom corrective blows are sent to those who have a stubborn heart. And the fact that he says the crying touched the borders of Moab signifies that it filled the whole region. Then, because the same thing can be both the beginning and the end of the Moabite nation, now it has taken its designation from the beginning. "And its howling has filled everything as far as the well of Elim." He names specifically Agallim and the well of Elim, as [places] outside...

as if they were foreign cities, and located upon their very borders. Remmon, however, which he says abounds in water, he signifies will be defiled with the blood of the slain. Then follows the water of Deebon; by which, again, he understands doctrine, and says that it is full of ^A blood, to demonstrate that evil teachers bring the cause of death through their own precepts. For such are the discourses devised for the ruin of souls. And I will take away, he says, the seed of Moab. Meaning, of course, that which would in no way pass over to better things, but chose rather to remain with those who have not entered into the Lord’s Church. For the Moabites shall not enter into the Church of the Lord even unto the tenth generation, and even unto eternity; he threatens therefore to root them out. Which he also names the seed of Ariel, which is interpreted as saying: for the Lord also says that those who are prudent have been born of the devil, seeing the intention of the Jews which was murderous towards ^B Him, saying: "You are of your father the devil, and you do the works of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning." Therefore the seed of Moab are those who desert the Church. But the seed of Ariel are those who, thirsting for the blood of their brothers, do not fear to deliver their souls to death by means of perverse discourses. Next he says, and the remainder of Adama. This signifies the virgin earth from which Adam was fashioned.

CAPUT XVI.

Verses 1-5. I will send as serpents into the land. Shall the rock be desert, the mount of Sion? For thou shalt be as the young of a bird flying away, a nestling removed, O daughter of Moab, etc.

I will send as serpents into the land; that is, what remains of men who are addicted to earthly things; ^C when through their own wickedness they have assumed the nature and poison of serpents. Of serpents, indeed, because they have cast off that loftiness which they had obtained from their first creation. But [they have] poison, because they are accustomed to infect and destroy those with whom they live; by which name the prophecy affirms it will send them also. After the first Moabites, therefore, concerning whom things more favorable were predicted, if any one remains in the land like unto that serpent—which we read was commanded to feed upon the earth for all the time of its life—he also shall be sent as serpents. And he eats the earth; he who, having made his sowing in the flesh, reaps corruption from the same ^D ground. And he says that he will send as serpents that which shall survive, because, being loathed for their bitterness and savagery, they are to be driven into captivity, always to be handled like serpents by incantations. Moreover, you may also draw these words to an arcane sense. The soul which is surrounded by the fear of God, as if by a wall, is so strong and powerful that it is not only not conquered, but overcomes principalities and powers.

^A If God’s precepts are once cast off, one is destitute of all help whatsoever; and, as if the wall were taken away, one becomes exposed to all disturbances and very near to destruction—the manner in which some fall into a reprobate mind. For, he says, if he shuts against a man, who shall open? Is Mount Sion a desert rock? For when Salmanasar the Assyrian once attacked Samaria and had captured several cities within it, he had inflicted much slaughter upon Judea. Upon this, the Moabites, stepping in, used to call it a "desert rock," insultingly reproaching the weakness of its God. Therefore, he addresses them with a certain moral tone, as those who were becoming convinced of worse things than those for which they reproached others, and he compared them to a chick stripped of the shelter of its mother. So advantageous it is that, when an enemy has fallen, one should not insult him, since the Lord sees it and it is displeasing to Him, and He turns His wrath away from him.

They used to call Mount Sion a "desert rock" as being small and barren, and insufficient for support—neither for the inhabitants nor for the foddering of livestock. And like a chick, when the mother has flown away out of fear, it is sluggish for defense and powerless for flight. Thus, souls brought up by an evil and restless spirit, if by the goodness of their works and the invocation of the Savior they reach the point of chasing the persecutor away, then, having been deserted in this noble abandonment, they become more fit and capable for the nourishment which effects perfection in Christ.

^B Then, next, he adds: "Arnon, take further counsel." For when the city of the Moabites was plundered, those who had escaped betook themselves to Arnon, a most fortified city, concerning the safety of whose refugees he admonishes here. Furthermore, not without emotion, he exhorts that one should add to the deliberation of this matter reasons drawn also from philosophy, so that, having at last been sated and recognizing the vanity of these things, one may embrace sound doctrine. From one single place in the land of Moab, he represents to us the whole region of Arabia. Then he proceeds to exhort: "Make for yourselves a covering of lamentation." For those who are so afflicted by their own crimes—whether concerning morals or those admitted regarding doctrine—that they are led to true mourning, these are the very ones who make a "covering of lamentation." For the discourse is directed to those who attend to such things, in order that, with the opinions of those who think otherwise excluded, they might concede room for the true light to shine into the hearts of those who believe in Him, in addition to the fact that those who are repentant have become shut away, shrouding themselves in mourning, avoiding the company and the sight of external matters.

^C As for the literal meaning, with the address turned to Arnon, he signifies that a plan full of humanity has been devised by Him (*i.e., God*), who deigned to protect those oppressed by great and intolerable grief. For darkness invaded them at midday—that is, in their minds, as they were disturbed by the agitation of the fear of death; and therefore he added that they were "astonished." For, he says, however much you may save those who flee from war, yet of the dead there remain but very small remnants. For you did not receive the fugitives at the beginning of the war. They dwell with you after much destruction. But you have accepted that they too shall be a covering for you in ^D

^A the time of the face of the pursuer—which is impossible. For your alliance has been taken away, and the prince who trampled upon the earth has perished. For the leader of the Moabites, who always took up arms for you, and who was accustomed to trample those who resisted him like dust, has perished. Thus, for the Moabites, the hope of being able to prevail again has also perished. For the impious, he says, shall be destroyed root and branch from the earth.

But to an anagogical mind, the light of midday seems to be ^B brighter. Since the truth has been capable of being understood from the foundation of the world, and we are illuminated on all sides by the wisdom of God, some have sickened with ignorance of God, being in darkness while things were at midday. Like those who have lost their minds, they have fallen into madness, imagining baseless dogmas. For the interpretation of midday darkness is a state of madness. “Do not be led,” he says, urging us not to be carried away by persuasive words or dogmas, lest by following their teachers we be cast down. “For if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” But the phrase “Do not be led” does not refer back to the beginning, as he said in the previous interpretation, because they did not flee to you at the beginning of the war.

After this, the philanthropic God speaks to the daughter of Sion concerning the Moabites who, after their conversion, are about to dwell with her, having returned after their long-ago flight to their own Master. “For they shall be covered,” He says, “among you, suffering nothing from the face of the pursuer.” For those who were once allies will not pursue the Moabites who have turned to God; just as a fledgling has been snatched from a wicked guardianship, once delivered from the former prince who perished because of his pride and the tyranny of trampling everything. ^C Upon his removal, the prophecy adds the blessings to come concerning the throne of David. He calls him “prince,” meaning the evil demon who lies in wait for the nation, or the leader of the nation, such as the leader of the Greeks or of the Babylonians, who he says will perish. Since he trampled their souls so that they could not look upward—and yet they had long placed their hopes for the alliance of war upon him—now that he has perished, he says that the throne shall be set aright with mercy. For it was necessary that, once idolatry had perished, the hope of good things should be proclaimed: that the tabernacle of David and the throne of God would be established among them, not by the effort of men, but by the philanthropy of God alone.

Aquila and Theodotion issued this: “And a throne shall be prepared in mercy,” that is, accompanied by mercy. And for whom shall it be prepared, if not absolutely for Christ, who was to be born from the seed of David? ^D The prophecy is accustomed to call the Church the “tabernacle of David.” Since it is also the custom to call Christ David, as He is the son of David. And by “throne,” he refers to the one presiding over the Church, who occupies the bodily throne...

as it were reserving the place for Christ. But so that we might not think that by the name of “tabernacle” he meant the Church gathered from the Gentiles, that first bishop of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, James, taught us abundantly in the Acts of the Apostles, where he says: “Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord” (Acts XV, 15-17). This, therefore, demonstrates that these things shall come to pass not through types and symbols, but in truth. For when the Church is established among the Moabites, the one who presides over it shall sit judging justly. Or, at any rate, he mentions the throne to signify that all things are to be ruled and governed by Christ, according to the passage: “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet” (1 Cor. XV, 25). ^A And the throne is set right, by the things being ruled attaining to a setting-right; which occurs not according to the worthiness of those who are to be ruled, but according to the mercy and goodness of God.

“David shall sit,” he says, that is, Christ—the One capable in hand and power—with truth, and He shall reign in the tabernacle until He, as Judge, pronounces the sentence upon all. Moreover, by saying that He will sit with truth, he indicates the overthrow of falsehood and lying. Then, because he says that He will reign until He has executed judgment, he implies that His judgment in all things will be just; He who will pronounce sentence not rashly, not hesitantly, but with great care and diligence, inquiring into what befits each one, so that each may finally attain his due.

There are not wanting those who, ^B following the historical sense, draw these things to the return which occurred by divine mercy during the reign of Cyrus, at which time we read that the affairs of the Jews were restored and returned to their own order. For they say that this is what is signified by the name of the “throne” in which He will sit, judging in truth in the tabernacle of David. And therefore they called the tabernacle of David his palace, in which those who lived there would administer justice according to the sense of the laws; and they were accustomed to occupy the throne justly, even if not all were such. And indeed, from the time of the return, there was no longer any division of the kingdom between Judah and Israel, but all rejoiced under the one ^C authority which was in Jerusalem. And this is what another prophet signified, saying: “And they shall go up from the land, and shall labor a little to anoint a king and a prince” (Osee I, 11). ^D Yet these things are said against Moab, calling Mount Sion the “desert rock,” signifying the recall of the Jews and the eternal destruction of that [people].

^A VERSE 6-14. *We have heard the arrogance of Moab. He is very insolent, I have lifted up his pride. Not so thy divination, not so. Moab shall ululate; for in the land of Moab all shall ululate. But meditate for those who dwell in Seth. And thou shalt not be ashamed of the fields of Esebon, etc.*

Here too, the prophet attacks the arrogance of the Moabites, which we touched upon earlier according to the sentiment of Jeremiah. But where he had brought forth things that were joyous concerning the throne of David, he pauses, as if in mid-course, which is a method customary to Scripture for inciting repentance, and begins another threatening prophecy concerning harsher matters; lest, by despising the riches of [God’s] goodness, they treasure up wrath for themselves. Thus also David, when he had said through the Lord, who is kind in all things, that He “upholds those who are falling” and “gives food in due season,” did not think he should rest in these things, but added that the Lord “guards all who love Him, and shall destroy all sinners.”

Isaiah, however, concealed in the midst of this a mystery, as if it were something secret, which concerned the mystery of the Savior’s advent, inserting it for those worthy to understand such things. Therefore, there is no reason for us to doubt that these words are to be joined to the preceding ones which were spoken concerning the throne of David. It pleases some that, after the completed discourse concerning the reversion of the Israelite people, another discourse is again instituted, as if by the voice of the prophets, against the Moabites, who insulted the same [people] contumeliously, who claim to have heard the injury of the Moabites in order to curb their audacity in impiety. For they say that they congratulate God, who judges them justly, as if they had heard the things which were attempted through Balaam contumeliously against the God of the universe, and the things which they later attempted in war against His glory: for which, God responds to those speaking these things that He has lifted up [their] pride, so as to demonstrate that the Moabites are truly proud—He who is accustomed to set Himself against the proud, and especially those who are sick with impiety.

Hence He turns away from them and says: “Not so thy divination, not so,” signifying that He indeed has cut off Moab. But the divinations amongst them were not predicting this, as they were announcing the opposite. For they thought highly of the demon amongst them that foretold [the future]. But Symmachus says, “Not so his arms,” signifying that the deeds in which he boasts have no likeness [to his claims]. ^D Some say that it demonstrates that the ancient divination of Balaam was useless. “Moab shall ululate,” it shows that what they did not expect from the divination has come to pass. Ululation is that voice of women which expresses the maximum pain of the bitterest mourning. But that which follows regarding those who dwell in Seth meditating, thus signifies both the pain of the plague and the weakness of his affected strength. Moreover, this is [the meditation] of the Moabites...

on the city for which they had perhaps lamented in verses. Symmachus, however, translated it: *Exultantibus in muro testaceo dicite* ("Say to those who exult in the mud-brick wall"), in order to show the weakness of the demon in whose responses they trusted so greatly. ^B It follows: *And you shall not revere the fields of Esebon*, in which the speech appears to be directed to the Assyrians regarding the Moabite city of Esebon, whose extensive suburbs, by which it was itself surrounded, he commands to be harmed together with Sebama, in such a way that the very vines, when cut down, seem somehow to mourn. He calls the Assyrians "nations that swallow up," and commands them to ravage the Moabite territory as far as the city of Iazir in that same region. He might perhaps be speaking of the vines and the inhabitants of the Moabites, whom it is customary in Scripture to call wood and forest, according to that saying: *For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth is the man of Judah, a beloved new plant*. Autumn, and harvest, and vine signify, in another way, the flourishing and entire prime of their age. Strength [is] suitable for every kind of pleasure in which, as if drunk, they were impiously delighting. The fact that he subsequently commands that no one be spared shows this to be the work of God, not the power of the Assyrians; and he orders them in turn not to touch those who have fled into the desert, but to leave them; not to add them to the slain, but to let them be passed over in error and oblivion. For God is not accustomed to lay aside His humanity, even when He avenges crimes. He then calls the Assyrians as if they had been sent by Him. Moreover, by adding that they were abandoned, he signified that the Moabite [territory] would by no means be in these circumstances unless it had been abandoned by God. *For this reason I will wail, as the wailing of Iazir*. This the prophet says, grieving for their calamities. ^C He indicates that Iazir was ravaged more extensively than the others, as was fitting that he should represent it thus while lamenting the others, namely Sebama and Esebon, calling the inhabitants their vines. For at the time of the harvest and the vintage, the army of the enemies spoke the words, "I will trample," and all things shall fall. *And joy and exultation shall be taken away from your vines*. For since they were impious, they delighted in nothing more than in the opportunity to sacrifice to demons and to consecrate themselves to them: by which name he says they shall not trample wine. This, indeed, if it be referred to vines, is clear; but if it is to be understood of men, it is signified that children will perish together with their parents themselves, because not even a pregnant woman is to be spared. Of this kind is that which he threatens, that in those days even the women carrying in the womb will be wretched and unhappy. ^D *But it follows: For this reason my belly shall sound like a harp for Moab*. For he says: having taken away from you every kind of joy, I will proclaim your calamities to all, and I will cause them to turn into a song and a ditty, as if the region had passed into a desert and uncultivated land: whence he has also exhorted them beforehand to groan. For as if suffering keenly over their souls

^A (since, having called them to repentance through lamentation, he did not find them willing to listen), he takes up a lamentation for them, saying even now, "Therefore I will wail." And now, he says, my tears and my lamentation are for no other purpose than that you might be put to shame—that is, you shall be ashamed of having often called in vain upon gods who are not able to save. "As a wall which you renovated." For when the wall had fallen in an earthquake, as we were saying, they renovated it, toiling to no purpose. I will wail, therefore, he says, along with your other calamities, even for this, that you have in vain rebuilt a wall that was brought down by the enemy. Then he says, "This is the word which the Lord spoke concerning Moab, when he also spoke." But the others have rendered it, "In the then and now he has spoken." The Scripture signifies that what was long ago foretold in words is now being accomplished in deeds. For even before the present prophet, it was said through Moses: "An Ammonite and a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord even unto the tenth generation" (Deut. XXIII, 3). He, therefore, who of old spoke concerning it, even now brings this to pass through me. ^B

And now I say, "In three years of a hireling." But Symmachus says it, not "of a hireling," but "as of a hireling." The three [interpreters] have distinguished what follows, saying: "The glory of Moab shall be dishonored." For the conjunction [also] shows that the meaning of what follows is different from what preceded, as they [the interpreters] demonstrate that it was in three years that the Lord spoke concerning Moab through the prophet, having taken a certain worker as an analogy for the meaning of the words. For it is not as we are, reading through the whole passage continuously, that the prophet also was; but he spoke piece by piece at different times until the third year was completed. Some say that "when he spoke" signifies the rareness of the voice of God occurring to the Moabites. For He speaks to Israel continuously, but to the nations, as to strangers, He is silent. Yet He grants even these a taste of His own philanthropy, so that through the trial of small things, they might hasten toward the desire for perfect things. Others, however, say that he brings the discourse to the history of the time when the ten tribes, having been torn away from the kingdom of David, followed the impiety of Jeroboam, who had led them into apostasy. At these things, God, being indignant, as it were, hired the Assyrian, Shalmaneser, who rendered their country desolate, having encamped upon it for three whole years, at which time he also conquered Moab. If, therefore, God spoke long ago, but I now say that "in the three years of the years of a hireling," Shalmaneser, the pride of Moab—that is, the kingdom, or the greatness of the cities, or the multitude of those dwelling there, or perhaps even the fighting age—shall be dishonored. ^D

^A If, however, it pleases us to recall this from the beginning to the laws of allegory, by the contumelious Moab we have understood the author of calamity, the apostate demon. For he was contumelious not only toward the Creator, but also toward men themselves; and those whom he captured, he taught to attack others with reproaches and to swell with depraved and heretical opinions; and finally, when they are refuted by those to whom they can no longer make a fitting response, to rise up with insults. Yet because the Lord desires to heal him, and to free him as if from a grievous disease, He adds that He has removed his pride. But there are also in him, he says, the diseases of injury and fury, which pertain to him by a private right. He will howl, it is said, not without pain, when he has felt the weakness of his own strength. Then, by the name of a "brick wall," he signifies the faculty of disputation of those who take pleasure in swelling with the opinion of wisdom. But that He commands to speak to those who rejoice in this brick wall; He thus demonstrates how vain and weak is the effort of those who ought to have brought their study to the meditation of the Lord's law. And yet, He says, they will not be converted; and for this reason the infertility of the fields of Heshbon will avenge them; if you inquire into the reason of this name, it will signify the same as if you said "thought/reasoning." ^B Therefore, their thoughts, he says, are signified by the name of "fields" because of their breadth, when they will behold their own rash and foolish plan of piety revealed. The vine of Sibmah shall also mourn. For to each nation a certain vine is attributed. For it is written: “Their vine is of the vine of Sodom.” And among Moses: “He destroyed their vine with hail.” There is, again, also the vine which the Lord planted. “I will sing,” he says, “for my beloved a song of the beloved touching his vineyard.” And again, the Lord says that He will take away the vineyard of the kingdom from those who do not produce fruit, and will give it to a nation that produces the fruits thereof, clearly signifying the law and the prophets: whose precepts, when they neglected them, He promises to reveal to a nation which produces the fruits of a way of life. This vine, therefore, is the word of truth; but the vine of the Egyptians is of falsehood and lying, which was given to them for cultivation by the prince of darkness of this world; but the vine of the Sodomites is of a wicked and impure life and of deeds, which the wicked one hired them to cultivate. From these, when the Scribes and Pharisees took their seeds, they were cut off from Him who professes Himself to be the true vine, having the shoots of Gomorrah; whence they gathered a grape of gall and a cluster of bitterness. ^C And their wine is the madness of dragons and the incurable poison of asps. But the vine of Sibmah (which, if you explain the force of the name, is interpreted as "conversion") signifies a discourse fashioned for the appearance of piety. For they fashion an upright life, drawing many into their own perversion, while they are believed to do and urge honest things; ^D whose doctrines and life, having the true vine of Sibmah—and not even being cultivated by the Moabites—produce many fruits of their own that are...

through the exercise of dialectic, swallowing up the uninstructed nations. ^A

He commands, therefore, that those who swallow up should tread upon such arguments; for the leisure spent on this kind of debating does not permit us to be at rest, nor to be joined to Jazer, which means "strength"—which spiritual strength no one will receive unless he has trodden down the vines of Sibmah and, having forgotten his own solitude, left it and ceased to dwell in better places. He adds then, "Those who were sent have been abandoned." For he who feigns the name of an apostle is abandoned by God; and he warns us to beware of such men, who display their strength in their works, lest we be deceived. They are indeed destitute of divine aid because they have not crossed the sea, nor have they escaped temptations. Such is that: "I have come into the depths of the sea." For the athlete draws near to these things, not humbling himself to heathen dogmas, nor wishing to win over persecutions through bodily pleasures. Therefore, he says, ^B "I will weep with the weeping of Jazer," even as those who are powerful according to God weep, groaning over their pilgrimage in this life, and longing for and failing to reach the courts of the Lord; and lest, as strength is lamented when it has withered from disease, so too the vine of Sibmah also, being withered and about to be delivered to the fire, is lamented. He then says to the Moabite that Heshbon and Elealeh have cast down her trees. And Heshbon is interpreted as "reasonings," and Elealeh as "God's passage." Truly, the strange vine and the planting which the heavenly Father has not planted is cast down, being the opinions of heretics, which are overthrown by right reasonings and by the ascent toward God through good works that raises us up. "Blessed is the man whose help is from You, O Lord, in whose heart are Your ascents." ^C

He says next, "On your harvest and on your vintage I will tread," and rightly so; for the wheat that is harvested and the wine that is gathered are opposed to the bread that strengthens a man's heart and the wine that gladdens a man's heart. Therefore, it is trodden upon by God, so that it might not become food or drink for those who, through lack of discernment, do not know that he hinders it. "And gladness and exultation shall be taken away from the vines." For the kingdom of God was taken away from Israel and given to a nation producing its fruits. And the phantom of this falsely-named knowledge, which imparts a joy that is not true to those who are caught, is taken away by God, who helps those deceived by it. You might call the wine-presses the souls that have received this evil doctrine. Then, where the prophet’s belly is said to resound like a cithara for Moab, it signifies musical ^D

a musical tune, which is perfected by the industry of the one striking it; and by the name of the belly are signified those things which David calls "internal," when he exhorts his soul to the praises of the Lord, and those things which are within him to the proclamation of His holy name ^A; implying, that is to say, the honest thoughts of the mind, which are the parents of all virtues. For with those things from which we feel well within, by these same things we are thought to praise and bless God ourselves. Such was Isaiah, whom God had surrounded and fortified, as with a rebuilt wall, regarding the things that were within, so that there might be no access to him for evil thoughts, by which, as if by enemies, we are besieged. Therefore he shows that strong and valid arguments were granted to him by God for this purpose, so that those who do not turn back to Him may be confounded by the strength of the arguments that are brought against them. For as to the word "confound," what is missing must be added from outside. Now he is best confounded in the name of God who, suffused with shame, turns his back on the victor, so that he may no longer incite war against truth and virtue. The things that follow thereafter intimate that the worship of idols will at length be utterly destroyed by the very advent of the Word: for which things he defined the time of the Moabitish punishments and vengeance, which he calls the "three years of a hireling." ^B But the Savior accuses the hireling, as one who is not a shepherd, and who, having taken to flight, is accustomed to betray the flock to the wolves. Moreover, Moses the lawgiver forbids a stranger who serves for hire to a priest from consuming the things that are holy. Moab, therefore, made himself a hireling, who, not from love toward God, but from the opinion of a reward and the expectation of corporeal things, did everything—as those are accustomed to do who dispense to the needy so that they may be praised by men. For they do not do it because they are moved by their misery, but because they vainly hunt for glory, just as they themselves are, who, not by a zeal for virtue but led by the opinion of men, undertake anything. Such men are therefore deservedly inglorious before God, who acquire the ignominy of a hireling, not with an honest affection of the mind, but under a simulated appearance of probity. ^C Furthermore, as much as great riches reflect in this life—if riches are considered vain—so much also of disgrace and ignominy, at the time when it shall come to pass that things hidden are laid open to all, will be stored up under the name of "reward." For by how much more wickedness anyone has admitted, by so much also will he have a greater reservoir for ignominy. He who again stores up the treasures of a lying tongue pursues vain things, and will arrive at the snares of death, and being most destitute and not honorable, will be left behind by the benefit of those who have been heaped together in malice.

CHAPTER XVII. WORD AGAINST DAMASCUS.

VERS. 1-11. *Ecce Damascus tolletur a civitatibus, et erit in ruinam, derelicta in sæculum, in cubile gregum et requiem. Et non erit qui persequatur. Et non erit amplius munita, ut illuc confugiat Ephraim, etc.*

^D Previously indeed (as is evident from what went before), he presented the prince of the Assyrians speaking of Arabia, of Damascus,

^A and of Samaria, being boastful of having occupied them; which we also read in the history of the Kings in these words: "And the king of the Assyrians went up to Damascus, and captured it, and carried it away." Now, however, the discourse is about another future capture, which the Babylonian king accomplished when he came against Jerusalem a second time, and having taken it, leveled it entirely to the foundations. Concerning which Jeremiah also speaks thus: "Damascus is dissolved; it has turned to flight." And after other things: "Therefore, her young men shall fall in her streets, and all your men who are valiant in war shall fall in that day, says the Lord of hosts. And I will kindle a fire on the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the gates of the son of Ader." Here, however, it must be noted that among the Seventy interpreters only, the word "forever" is added after "left behind." For that destruction by the Assyrians, when they also captured Jerusalem, was not perpetual, but for a certain time. For just as this [Jerusalem] was inhabited after being restored to freedom by its own people, so also it happened that Damascus was restored, ^B and even up to the times of the apostles possessed a royal palace, as Paul himself bears witness, where he says: "At Damascus, the ethnarch of Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a guard, in order to seize me."

Therefore, we shall refer the first part of the prophecy to those times of the Assyrians, during which it happened that Damascus suffered a double siege. And they say it is plausible that it also suffered other things in the Persian and Macedonian times, which is signified by these words: "Behold, Damascus shall be taken away from the cities." But the statement that it shall not be a stronghold for Ephraim to flee into, and that there shall no longer be a kingdom in Damascus, can be referred to the Roman times. For after the advent of the Savior, the petty kings everywhere were stripped of their power. ^C For the first words of the prophecy signify a partial fall, not a complete and absolute destruction, as is evident from the fact that it says: "And it shall not be a stronghold." And again: "There shall be no kingdom in Damascus." As if it were going to exist, but not as a stronghold, nor as a reigning kingdom, as it was before. You could also explain it in another way. They say that the humiliation and the more abject life of the private person are signified by these [terms]; for which reason he who is rich is said to fall into poverty, and he who is in honor and dignity, to fall into disgrace and ignominy. Of which kind also is that which we read, that the house of Israel has fallen, and will not rise again thereafter. By parity of reasoning, here too, that which we read as "into ruin"; it could signify that the kingdom is to fall and be taken away. For it formerly held sway over the Syrians, when the successors of Alexander the Macedonian had not yet founded in that region the cities of Antioch, ^D Laodicea, and Apamea, which are flourishing even now. Therefore, he signifies that its inhabitants would be private, and stripped of imperial power, like herds of cattle that are accustomed to be stabled in pens. Therefore, what he says of being "taken away from the cities" must be understood as "from royal cities" (since now it is under the power of the Romans, and no longer able, by reason of their power,

to be vexed by any war whatsoever), it must be understood thus. Now, once it has fallen into this state of affairs, indeed will it be able to bring aid to the people of the Jews, as it did before? Nay, truly, not even in Damascus itself, or anywhere else in Syria—for this is what they believe the "remnant of the Syrians" signifies—will a kingdom remain; but it will be forced to endure the same things as the sinful people of God. ^A He calls the "glory of Israel" and its richness, the kingdom itself, the priesthood, the very sanctification, the worship commanded by law, the prophetic grace, and finally the very freedom of the people: all of which, just as the people of God were immediately deprived of them, so too Damascus itself has lost its kingdom. And therefore, on that day, by which he designated the coming of the Savior, he added [this message]. Observe, moreover, in what way he foretold that it would not be the total destruction of the house of Jacob, but only its glory. When he says that, as in the harvest the ears are gathered, but the empty stalk is left alone in the field, so too would it be for the Jewish people; with those ears, which had flourished among them of old, being cut away, and only the empty stalk remaining among them.

But if anyone worthy of note be found among them, he shall be, he says, not after the manner of the ear of corn which is wont to grow in the field, but in a deep, dry, and hard valley. By the name of "ears of corn," I for my part believe he signifies the choir of the disciples, concerning whom [it was said] above: "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed." ^B Yet he showed those who were preeminent among them by another example, as he said that two or three berries, or four or five, might be left on the topmost branch. For in the times indicated, he says, there will be such a scarcity of those being saved, that they are all to be compared to a single ear of corn, or that those at the very top would be, as it were, two or three. For by saying "on the top of a branch," he hints at their eminence, whom the Savior at one time called in pairs, and at another time by threes—the more elect among the elect, Peter, James, and John; to whom, when present on the mountain, He not only appeared transfigured, ^C but also raised the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue from the dead. And the remaining ones [he accounts] as four or five, that is, nine. But if you gather together the two, and the three, and the four, and the five, you will make a sum of fourteen, when you add Paul, who was himself called an apostle, and finally James, who was the brother of the Lord and is remembered as having been created the first bishop of Jerusalem by the Lord Himself; all of whom remained at the top of the olive tree, that is to say, in the very succession of the Jews, which Paul himself also calls the holy root, the first-fruits, and the good olive tree. After the calling of the apostles, he very congruously puts forward the conversion of the Gentiles themselves, who had embraced a multitude of gods; affirming that they will no longer care for groves, nor for the altars erected in them, but will acknowledge the one Holy One of Israel; whereas before, they were alien to the true knowledge of God, and destitute of the covenants of promise, ^D where he calls that long time, during which the cities of Israel are to be desolate, "the day."

^A For just as when the Amorites left these regions, he says, you were brought into them; so too, you being expelled, others shall inhabit them. For impiety is the cause of expulsion in both cases; and it is certain that Judea is also held by the Gentiles. He signifies that their cities have been reduced to solitude by the Romans for many reasons, because they abandoned their own Lord, that is to say Jesus, according to the voice of the Hebrews; who, however, how much he was always prepared to aid them, will be evident from this, that he laments that he tried in vain to gather her children as a hen does under her wings. Their infidelity is therefore evident, in that they planted a seed of unbelief, from which it is certain that they themselves also went astray. But if your sentiments are changed, he says, and you look toward the morning hour of the gospel light and the Sun of righteousness that rose for the world, you will place another seed in your mind (of which, indeed: "The sower went out to sow"; and: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his own field" is the message); it will flourish in you for the harvest, and you will teach others, as if distributing an inheritance to children.

Some, however, thinking that only one capture of Damascus by the Assyrians is signified, explained the entire passage regarding it, and the times concerning it, which the prophet now says is to be, as though it had not yet occurred, when it will be captured while its inhabitants are perishing. In this, therefore, due to complete desolation, it is signified that flocks will lie down; and there will be no one, he says, to drive them away, since no one will blame the shepherds. And it will not have the power to aid the ten tribes as it was accustomed to doing, which are called by the name Ephraim. ^B With emphasis, he adds that there shall be "no kingdom in it," to show that the power of the kingdom, which before had been strong and mighty, had been diminished. For those who had rule afterward were toparchs and prefects of the nation, rather than kings. The remnant of the Syrians, too, who are in it, shall fail: that is, the whole nation that is subject to it. He signifies that the ten tribes shall perish together with Damascus, and their multitude, as they used to pride themselves, as if they were unconquerable.

Therefore, he also calls these things "glory," as also "fatness of glory" the king of them. For as the fourth book of Kings teaches, Shalmaneser besieged Samaria for three years, and captured it, and carried away Hoshea the king, who was king of them, to Babylon. Unless perhaps he means by "fatness of glory" men swollen with riches and glory, and as it were overflowing, and heaped with honors above the rest. Through the similitude of the ears of corn, but also of the olive, he signifies that the capture by the Assyrians will be easy; to whom it shall be permitted to cut down the enemies with impunity, as if reaping ears of grain; and to pursue and strike the fugitives with such frequent blows, as when olives are beaten down. Yet he does not mean that the nation is to be utterly destroyed for that reason; ^C since a small remnant shall be left, like stubble which is contemptible, those who escaped the eyes of the gatherers, as with olives. ^D

^A Having been instructed, he says, they shall know the Lord. In this way, Paul also exhorts them to endure for the sake of instruction. For although they had not believed the prophets who were preaching out of the divine philanthropy of God, but had behaved petulantly toward God like untrained colts, they suffered what David also speaks of, saying, "You shall restrain their jaws with a muzzle and bit"; and having condemned themselves, they departed from their impiety. But it is more blessed to know the Lord before the experience of evils.

Having imitated the Amorites, they underwent the same things that those people did, having been captured without a struggle and having suffered, sometimes on their behalf when God was helping, and at other times having escaped—for God was evidently standing sometimes against them, and sometimes for them. And they wish to say that these things happened because, forgetful of the benefits received, they had reached such a height of impiety that it lacked little for them to call upon the calves of the idols, saying that those were the gods who led Israel out of the land of Egypt. For with God helping, we conquer the nations that are within us, and the world-rulers of darkness, and the spirit of the one who holds power will find no place in us. But as soon as we cease to rely on God, we shall be trampled like weak and cowardly men by the feet of our enemies. Then he shows how the men from Israel were led astray, relying on their vast numbers as if they could be struck down and defeated by no one, and so they failed of their hope. But when they were saved from captivity in Jerusalem, they adhered to the worship according to God; both they and their children dwelt in security. "For your seed," he says, "and your race shall be unfaithful and unstable while disobeying God"; for seeing this multiplied, you were led astray, as if you were invincible. "But," he says, "they shall fall, being mown down like corn ears." ^C But if you sow in the morning, having been born in the light, knowing only the Savior, then what you have sown will be brought to perfection for you, not perishing prematurely. And thus you will open up to your children, as a kind of inheritance, the way of peace of mind and of obtaining assistance from above from God.

Vers. 12-14. Woe to the multitude of many nations. As the sea fluctuating, so shall you be troubled. And the shoulder of many nations shall resound like much water. As much water, many nations; as much water violently borne along, etc.

Having explained the conversion of the nations and the obstinacy of the Jews toward Christ, he passes on from there to the multitudes that remained in unbelief in Damascus and the other regions, who were about to besiege the Church of Christ, who also shall be shaken like a sea surging at the preaching of the Gospel, being astonished as it destroys idolatry. "And the shoulder of many nations shall resound like water." For just as the backs of the sea are raised by the winds and stand up, and deafen the ears of those who hear with their roar, so the multitude of those who remained in unbelief, if they be harassed by the invisible nations, ^D

^A shall demonstrate their rebellion and onslaught against the Church: whose fury he signified by the surging sea, and whose threats against the faithful he signified by the roaring water. Now, that he adds that the water is driven by force, he does so in order to teach that they are driven by a foreign power to dare such things against the Church: yet, in order to show their end, he affirms that he will exterminate them, at which point it is to be noted that the word for "rebuke" is used by Aquila, and "to threaten" by Symmachus, which is referred to the multitude of the infidels, and the devil who exercises them. And who is it that shall rebuke, if not he of whom it is written: “The Lord who chose Jerusalem shall rebuke in thee”? And what, furthermore, shall happen when he has rebuked? “And he shall pursue him afar, as the dust of the chaff, and as the dust of a wheel, driven by a whirlwind.” Those who are of such a kind, even at the decline of their life—that is, when they cease to exist—shall lament: then, indeed, when in the morning also a new light shall rise for the just in the age to come. Such an end, such a part, and such a lot, in turn, shall they have who pillaged them. Furthermore, there are some who explain the passage before us even in this way: that God, out of His benevolence toward men, after having terrified Israel with threats, prudently seeks in both ways to impel them toward Himself, having set before them the hope of good things.

^B Having, therefore, stated the evils that were to come upon them, and the cause thereof—that they had abandoned the Lord—he now foretells what they who had enslaved them would suffer, predicting the disaster that befell those with Rabshakeh, whom Sennacherib, after having captured all the cities of Judea, had sent against Jerusalem; he who, after having spoken impiously against the God of the Jews, was destroyed by night by an angel. For when the report of this slaughter had reached Sennacherib, he took to flight, and not long after was killed by his own sons. The prophet, therefore, laments the multitude that had come with him, as those who were on the point of perishing, likening their tumultuous invasion to the sea and waters. These he also called the "back" of many nations, as though they were accustomed to conquer. For they had become, as it were, a back, pursuing those who fled at their backs. But, he says, when he has exterminated the leader, he shall pursue him as the dust of a wheel that is wont to be agitated and dissipated by the force of the winds. For thus the Lord addresses him through the prophet Isaiah: “And I will put a muzzle in thy nose, and a bridle in thy lips, and I will make thee return by the way in which thou didst come.” ^D Then, regarding what is held concerning the evening grief of the Jews, who dreamed of evils impending on the following day, he mitigates it by demonstrating what occurred to the enemies by night, when they learned that the army of the enemies was not there, as if signifying that the evening grief would cease at the rising of the other light of God: concerning which David himself seems to have understood when he says: “At eventide shall weeping tarry, and in the morning there shall be gladness.” Therefore, even when evil powers besiege the soul, like a violent water arousing the passions within us, or bringing in thoughts from without, according to Hezekiah,

fear. For the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. ^A Likewise, even if heretics rise up against the truth with the pride of sophistic arguments, or bring on persecutions and tribulations, it behooves us to be confident. For we do not doubt, as Scripture warns, that the Lord with a hidden ^B hand will war against Amalek from generation to generation.

CHAPTER XVIII

VERS. 1-7. Woe to the land of ships, wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. He that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, and bibline letters upon the waters. For swift messengers shall go to a nation tall, and a strange people, and grievous, etc.

We read that the princes of the Jews who were at Rome addressed Paul, from whom they were being taught the faith of Christ, in these words: "We neither received letters concerning thee from Judæa: neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee." And a little later: "For as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against," as if it were signified by letters written everywhere by those who were in Judæa that the preaching of Christ was not to be admitted. But for what we read as "ambassadors," Aquila translated "elders," and Symmachus "apostles." Therefore the prophet laments not only their situation, but also that of the land itself, whose iniquity has grown to such an extent that it has even penetrated to the Ethiopians. And hence it is that, according to Symmachus, we read written: "Woe to the land, the winged sound that cometh from beyond ^C the rivers of Ethiopia." For the sound of those who wrote it has run through even to the borders of Ethiopia and the ends of the earth, as if by certain flying ships. They are the apostles who convey bibline letters, not only traversing everywhere on land, but also sailing by sea. Even until now they call those "apostles" who carry letters around from princes. But instead of "swift messengers shall go," the others say "go," as if it were a commandment given in the beginning to the disciples of our Savior Christ, whom he distinguished from the apostles of the Jews. And Christ says things to them consistent with the present: "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." And when you have gone, teach all nations; and He proposes to them the settled and light [load], making their journey easy for them: "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, nor scrip, nor two coats, nor staff, nor shoes," in short, He ^D allowed them to possess nothing. He commands them, however, to go to a tall and strange nation, and a grievous people. For they were being sent to foreigners living among the Gentiles, who had nothing certain or firm, but who were being carried about by the wind of the error of many gods, and were on that account grievous to them. Indeed, they reached even the furthest limits of the world.

^A And the prophet, proceeding, will say things in agreement with this, that even those who are in despair among men shall be filled with gladness—this was the nation even trodden down by the devil. Then, encouraging them, he says: "Now the rivers of the earth shall abide in your way." By rivers he means the multitude of those turning to God, just as, by the mention of their regions, he signifies the Churches themselves. For just as, by the waves of a troubled sea, he previously compared the unbelievers, so now he compares the believers to sweet rivers moving steadily, concerning which he says elsewhere: "The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, have lifted up their voices" (Ps. XCII, 3). And, "The rivers shall clap their hands together" (Ps. XCVII, 8). Those who were formerly uninhabited were strangers to God, and their land was a desert of piety; which land, together with the rivers, your proclamation will cause to be inhabited. ^B And the sign of the cross shall thus be manifest to all, as if being lifted up on a mountain. And the sound of the trumpet shall seem to be your proclamation, resounding for all to hear. Then he teaches how it will be able to be inhabited without disturbance. For God provides safety for His own city, so that it is aptly said concerning it: "Glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God" (Ps. LXXXVI, 3). And, "The movements of the river gladden the city of God" (Ps. XLV, 5). In which there shall be not just any light, but one like the midday sun. And it shall be harmless to those who behold it, he says. For with it there shall also be a cloud of dew. And the light indeed is the Word of God, who illumines the Church. But the cloud of dew is the Holy Spirit, overshadowing those unable to grasp the supreme theology of the Only-Begotten. ^C For thus shall its purity be tempered, by the intervention of the divine Spirit as if by some cloud. These things, he says, shall be before the harvest, signifying those flourishing in the Churches of God like ears of corn, as he was previously predicting; and "They shall rejoice before you, as those who rejoice in the harvest" (Isa. IX, 3), which regions the Savior also taught were white and in need of many laborers (John IV, 35; Luke X, 2). And these things indeed shall come to pass concerning the city of God before the consummation. But after the harvest of the present life, those who are deemed worthy of that end shall partake of the pure divinity itself. At which time there shall be a discernment of those gathered in the Church of God, of the superfluous branches of the vine and of the clusters being removed from it, and being handed over ^D as food to the punishing powers, while the fruit-bearing souls will attain the hope that is with God. And who will take away, and who will cut off, the Savior Himself has revealed, presenting the vine and the branches, the good and the useless fruits, saying: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me..."

that beareth not fruit, he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." ^A And again, speaking more broadly, He added the parable: "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned," calling Himself the vine, and the disciples the branches. Nor do I think it incongruous to consider that by the name of grapes those who were taught by the apostles are signified; those who, like dead clusters and devoid of vital power, shall be cast away at the time of the consummation, together with the branches that bring forth no fruit. Thus Judas the traitor was cut off, no differently than a useless grape. And furthermore, in the Church, just as there are different kinds of clusters, so too are there different kinds of souls; for while the teachers have the nature of branches, one produces a sour grape, another a perfect and ripe one, and another, finally, one corrupted by the malignancy of the winds. Such, therefore, shall be the end of those who have not been accustomed to bring forth any fruits. Then follows the account of others who are called fruitful, when it says: "And gifts shall be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people oppressed and plucked." ^B Indeed, this might be he who has entered upon the narrow and afflicted way that leads to life, who is plucked away and separated from the common life of men; and it is affirmed that he shall prove great before God, for he is one for whom rational gifts and bloodless sacrifices, which are perpetually offered to God in these our present and future times, shall never be lacking. But they say that by this people, that nation is signified which he previously called trampled upon and hoping. Hoping, indeed, on account of patience, for "patience," by the testimony of the great Apostle, "worketh hope; and hope maketh not ashamed." But trampled upon by their persecutors. For Aquila also translated it, "a nation suffering and trampled upon." After which the prophet says: "which is in the part of the river of his land." But whose, if not God's? For we shall hear that, while it happens that we exist in the Church, "we know in part, and we prophesy in part." For the aforementioned land was not able to contain the whole river, the Word of God. ^C And we shall find that he transferred others whose land the rivers have ravaged. For it is evident that it was because the persecutors had ravaged the land of this people while they trampled upon the city of God, that we read that the rivers have come, and the winds have blown, and the torrent has passed through our soul. But the people of God, having been liberated, shall bring gifts to the Lord on Mount Sion, that is, in the heavenly city, in which, through the high priest Christ, they have been deemed worthy of a place; for we are bidden to ascend "to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." But some, explaining the present passage in a different way, find it strange that, while the discourse is about Damascus, mention should be made of Ethiopia. To which they say that God, having determined to chastise Israel for sinning against Him in various ways, did so by the frequent incursions of enemies; ^D and when they should have repented on account of these things, they would at times invite the Syrians, and at other times the Egyptians, to make alliances, for whose rites they also felt a longing; for when Ahaz was in Damascus, having seen an altar with an unusual construction there, he made one similar to it and set it up in the house of the Lord.

^A The vision is, therefore, against Damascus. But the discourse shifts to the Egyptians, on whose alliance those from Judah were most dependent, at the time when the Babylonians came against them. The word of the prophet sets this forth, saying, "Woe to those who descend into Egypt for help, those who trust in horses and chariots." When Nebuchadnezzar made war against Judea, in passing he plundered the cities of the East. And being unable to take Tyre, which was an island, due to a lack of ships, he joined it to the mainland by constructing a causeway and, crossing on foot, besieged the city. Fearing what was to come, the Tyrians transported their goods to their ships and abandoned the city. Having left this, he went and took possession of the Egyptians, God having delivered them up on account of the arrogance they held against Him, and because the Egyptians, being called upon by the Jews for help, supposed—as if God were unable to save them—that their own gods were more powerful. God declares this to Ezekiel, saying, "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made his army serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn away, and no wages were given to him, or to his army, for Tyre, for the hard service which he served me against it. Because of this, I have given him the land of Egypt." Hence the prophet cries out "Woe" to it. By the rivers of Ethiopia, he signifies the seven mouths of the Nile; and he calls the land beyond the rivers the present Alexandria, then called An. And some who have expounded Jeremiah say that it was called Amon. Now it is distant from the last mouth of the river, which is called the Heracleotic, by about eighty ^B stadia. Therefore, he says, it is "beyond the rivers." But these men sailed the Nile up and down, some to export, others to collect goods. Therefore, he upbraids their merchant ships, by them signifying the passengers, as if their trade would be destroyed at the time they are captured. He calls "sails" the wings of the ships. For, like birds, the ships pass through, with the winds falling upon them.

^C Regarding the fact that he said "the wings of ships," he certainly intended to signify the sails; since we see ships borne through the sea like birds, when the winds rush into them. ^D Furthermore, why he added "hostages by sea" and "papyrus letters," he explains as follows: It pleases certain poets that Cinyras once had relations with his daughter Myrrha, and a son was born from them by the name of Adonis. When the father was ashamed of this affair, he was exposed on a mountain and raised by the Oread nymphs. But when he reached the flower of his youth and was delighting in hunting, Venus, having been overcome by his beauty, had relations with the youth; then Mars, having been seized by love for Venus and bearing this ill, while he[self...]

had transformed into a boar, killed the hunter. Venus, however, since she could not bear the pain of his death, even penetrated to the underworld so that she might bring back her lover from there. But since it came to pass that he was loved there too by the spouse of Pluto, it was agreed that the year should be divided into two, so that each of them might possess the youth for six months alternately. Afterward, when she had returned and told her friends of this, they celebrated the arrival with a festival, just as they had formerly testified to their longing for the absent one with mourning, and they congratulated those who had returned. ^A And both of these customs have prevailed even down to our own times (if we are to believe the author of this opinion) in Alexandria, a kind of ritual which the Jews, forgetful of true piety, also assumed for themselves. For we read in Ezechiel these words: *And I saw, and behold, there sat women mourning for Thammuz (that is, Adonis)*. The inhabitants of that city used to do such a thing: they would take an earthenware vessel and cast into it a letter for the women who were in Byblos, as if Adonis had been found. Then, having sealed it, they would cast it into the sea, having performed certain rites over it, and, as those who were sending it claimed, it was carried of its own accord to Byblos, and it brought an end to the mourning for the women there. Woe, therefore, he says, both to the ships and to those who send hostages into the sea, that is, the pledges of their unanimity to those suffering from the same impiety, who send not ships, but the earthenware vessel upon the back of the sea. ^B

^C Those, therefore, who dwell beyond the rivers of Ethiopia did not only promise help to the Israelites who requested it, but they also sent what they had promised, although they did not succeed very much by sending it. For the Babylonians, being enraged by that, when they were preparing arms against the Egyptians, were informed of this preparation for war by couriers sent from Judea, whom Isaias calls swift messengers. The reason he calls the Egyptians a "lofty nation" is to designate either their pride or their madness. Not otherwise than when he speaks of it as "foreign and grievous," to demonstrate that it conquers all in its harshness, and that there is no one beyond it in this regard. For who, he says, is beyond him? That is, who among those things mentioned is superior to the Egyptians? The Egyptians were, however, most addicted to idolatry; hence he signified that they were a downtrodden nation, as one destitute of faith in God and trampled upon by the deceits of demons. Hence also they were trampled upon by the Assyrians. Nor indeed did he keep silent about the manner of their conquest, when he said that the Assyrians would cross the rivers of Egypt, that is, the diversions of water; and the marshes themselves, in which they boasted so much that they believed Egypt to be impregnable by them, he said would be crossed by the Assyrians, with the entire mass of waters dried up, so that the region would become habitable. And yet, he says, the affliction will be so well known to all the Egyptians that you would think a signal had been raised visibly for the army to behold, or the very voice of a trumpet raised so that it might be heard more easily. Yet he says that in these things there is no reason for you to think that I will allow my city to perish, ^D according to the matters concerning Rabsaces, and

of the hundred and eighty-five thousand men who later perished, signifying the army. Thus, he says, the things of salvation will be plain to all, just as when we look at the light of the sun at midday. Furthermore, he says that for those who are in danger, ^A "as a cloud of dew before the harvest, my protection and my aid" will never be lacking. For harvesters have need of dew, so that the softening of the stubble may be easier: this often happens to those in need exactly as they wish, not otherwise than when salvation was granted to the Jews by the Lord.

From this point on, he uses a metaphor taken from farmers to represent the future sufferings, whether those for the Assyrians who were besieging Jerusalem, or even for the Egyptians. For it is customary, when the grapes have blossomed and have become sour, for farmers to prune the superfluous parts of the vines and the clusters—that is to say, the offshoots—lest they choke what is better and more excellent, ^B once the bloom has been cast aside in the sour fruit, so that whatever is better and more excellent might not be choked.

In this way, therefore, God took away the large and weak people among the Assyrians, whose corpses became food for the beasts and birds. But the king, holding the place of the large cluster, did not perish along with those who listened to him. Regarding the Egyptians, you will understand that the enemies did not capture their entire land, but rather, as if dealing with small clusters, they applied the sword to the dwellings or villages in various places, and they measured the wrath of the kind God, who indeed disciplines those who offend, but does not allow those who are being disciplined to be entirely destroyed. Consequently, he discusses their conversion thereafter. ^C For having renounced the impiety of idols, they will accept the faith in the God of all, offering gifts to the scent of a sweet fragrance: hope, faith, and love. And because of the discipline brought upon them by God, he calls the people themselves "afflicted," along with "uprooted," so that by the transition to a better life, he may show that this, like the transplantation of roots customary among farmers, has contributed not a little to their growth. For having been transplanted, as it were, from error into the true knowledge of God, they never cease to bear fruit. Hence it is that he calls them a "great people," in that they are now as powerful and flourishing in all things according to Christ as they were formerly in error. For where sin abounded, grace superabounded. He called the place of fruit-bearing "Zion," the Church, because of its height, calling it a mountain. For there is nothing lowly in it, and the name itself signifies a "lookout." ^D And the phrase, "which is in a part of the river of his land," indicates that the conversion of the Egyptians toward the God of all, having begun from a part of the country, ran through the whole of it as far as Rhinocolura, or perhaps some of the cities situated there beyond the river. For he will say subsequently: "In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, and a pillar at its border to the Lord." He says that the people were "trampled" by the horrors of war, but that they hope, as indeed having placed their hope in God.

CHAPTER XIX. VISION OF EGYPT.

Verses 1–15. *Behold, the Lord sitteth upon a light cloud, and shall come into Egypt, and the works made with hands of Egypt shall be shaken before his face, and their heart shall be overcome within them. And the Egyptians shall rise up against the Egyptians, and man shall fight against his brother, and man against his neighbor, city against city, and district against district, etc.*

^A Having previously discussed matters relating to the sea and the river of Egypt (whence it was clear that the path would be easy for those who were to announce Christ), we now proceed to matters concerning Egypt; for the most auspicious things are here demonstrated to them. Nor indeed in any of the former visions was it said that the Lord would come upon a light cloud, but you will find that specific and unique things are said in each instance. Now, this is inscribed as a "Vision of Egypt," not *against* Egypt, as were several of the preceding visions, whether because Egypt is considered as having a more discerning mind to behold what is said, or because the prophecy contains the most excellent gifts for Egypt. For what could be more blessed than for the Lord to have sojourned there, and to have made it a participant in the knowledge of Himself? And He "shall come," they say, "upon a light cloud," which is the body that He took from the Holy Spirit and the holy Virgin. For as a cloud has its constitution from nothing else than the air and the exhalation of the earth, so we believe the body of the Lord to have subsisted from the Holy Spirit and an earthly substance. ^B Being carried by this, the God who was yet of an infant age came into Egypt, benefiting it in an ineffable manner through this very sojourn of His. For the Egyptians were in need of this more than all others, having departed so far from religion that they did not even abstain from the worship of brute animals; and, again, because they had a king who, with great arrogance against providence and the governance of the universe, publicly professed that he did not know the Lord. Thus, they held the entire universe to be ungoverned and without providence. Moreover, they were always hostile and persecutory toward those from Israel. Hence it is that the knowledge of Him is predicted so long before to those who were most especially ignorant of Him, with all idol worship being abolished.

But if the text had not added "upon a cloud," one might have thought it referred to a power free from a body, by which He governs the whole, existing in all things. For ^C *He was in the world, and the world was made through Him*;* by which reasoning, no one would deny that He had been in Egypt even before, in which it is established that He spoke to Moses and Aaron. Furthermore, the Lord was also with Joseph; and it would seem superfluous to apply His power to each individual region. In truth, by the name "cloud," He perhaps signified the body itself in which He walked among us, because He was always superior to earthly motions and bodily perturbations, having neither committed any sin nor been found with guile in His mouth.

There are those, however, who suppose that by the "light cloud" is meant the holy Virgin, by whose arms He was carried into Egypt.

* John 1:10. ‡ Isa. 19:1; 1 Pet. 2:22.

^A That is, they say, as if on a lofty throne He was seen by Isaiah being hymned by divine powers. And Daniel saw the Ancient of Days on a throne, and as it were a Son of Man coming with the clouds; and Ezekiel saw a likeness of a man made of electrum and fire. These things hint at a certain manifestation of the glory befitting God and the mystery concerning Christ. Thus, we must understand the cloud now as referring to the rain and spiritual dew, and to the saving baptism itself. Therefore Paul says that those from Israel were baptized in the cloud and in the sea. A cloud went before them by day, and a pillar of fire by night. If, then, it was fitting for the Lord, coming for the destruction of the Egyptians in a manner befitting God, to be seen upon a light cloud, by which alone the stains of idolatry could be washed away—for "light" makes those who have laid aside the burden of their sins light—this "sitting" or "rest" hints at power. For Christ does not rest in the observance of the Law, but in the perfection which is through baptism, by which He also reigns over those on earth. He succeeds in His visit to the Egyptians, so that their idols were shaken, when the Churches of God were set up throughout all of Egypt. And God, while visiting, kept watch over these, according to Him who said, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." He says that the heart of the Egyptians will be defeated, not as resisting the divine proclamation, but as being defeated by a noble defeat. Some say that by "heart" are meant the demons within the images, which were to be defeated, or, according to other interpreters, to melt away by an unseen and invisible power. For their error, from which Churches had come to be for them, was gradually extinguished. The Lord was present among them in His glorious body, the one raised from the dead, which would be the "light cloud," having been changed from corruptible and earthy substance. By this, invisibly borne, He was present in Egypt, working together with those who proclaimed Him. And when He was present to the Egyptians as a child—let us say, by an ineffable power—it is to be understood that the demons were weakened by the presence of Christ, their power having been destroyed. ^B "When," he says, "the Egyptians will rise up against the Egyptians." Instead of "will rise up," Aquila said [the Egyptians will] "be defeated" by the Egyptians; Symmachus said "I will cast" ["I will bring together"], according to the saying, "I have not come to cast peace upon the earth, but a sword." For some ran to it, while others resisted the proclamation, so that every house, every village, city, and region was divided. For they called the regions "nomes." ^C Furthermore, the law of the worship of demons was opposed to that which is according to Christ, being destroyed by Him. ^D And it is not bad, besides, to say that when He was in Egypt as a child, by a certain ineffable presence of His power, the demons themselves, their power having been snatched from them, were defeated and fled, at which time also the Egyptians are to rise up against the Egyptians themselves. At this point, Aquila says that the Lord will stir up sedition among the Egyptians; Symmachus says that He will bring [them] against themselves; for in this way He declares that He has come not to cast peace, but a sword upon the earth. For when some acclaimed the proclamation of the Gospel and others resisted, it came to pass that every house, every village, every city, and finally every region—signified by the term "nome"—was divided. By another mode of interpretation, the very law of the demons concerning the worship of idols,

which was abrogated by the Lord [through the dissipation of their evil-willed consent in Egypt, as if to stir them up and cause dissension by his words], was at variance with the Christian faith. For this is precisely what is meant by those who we read are to be divided, two against three, and three against two. Therefore, the spirit of the Egyptians is said to be troubled; but according to Symmachus it will "be broken," and according to Theodotion it will "be split." According to Aquila, it will "be slackened." All these things will serve to promote the advancement of the Egyptians, since that superstitious counsel of theirs will be scattered, at which time, being in distress, they will turn after their custom to various oracles and divinations. He calls them necromancers, those who speak from the earth. As for the ventriloquists, he calls those who mutter from their own heart, or by the working of the demon indwelling in them, just as he also called the prognosticators those who inspect the entrails. They especially made use of these when the Romans came against them. For he calls them hard, as if they possessed a spirit unconquered and unbreakable by any calamity. Nor did he remain silent regarding the time when their idols would perish, when he noted the destruction of the Egyptian kingdom. For from the time that the proclamation of salvation entered Egypt—or rather, from the birth of the Savior himself—the abrogation of that kingdom began, while Caesar Augustus was reigning. For this powerful king was the first to subject Egypt to the Romans. After him, in like manner, all the mighty kings of the Romans enslaved Egypt, sending military commanders to them. Daniel signified their hardness, calling their kingdom of iron and [a beast] having iron teeth and iron claws.

^B Following this comes: And the Egyptians shall drink the water that is by the sea. Regarding which place Aquila interpreted it as "the waters will be absorbed from the sea," but Symmachus says "they shall be destroyed." Figuratively, however, the "sea" signifies the turbulent multitude of the Egyptians; for this reason, he spoke above of the many nations as a sea tossing with waves. And in the passage where he discourse concerning the root of Jesse, he said: "And the Lord shall dry up the sea of Egypt." Jeremiah also compared this multitude to a swarm of locusts and to a forest, saying: "Cut down its forest, says the Lord, because it will not be counted, because it will multiply more than the locust, and there is no number to them." With that which he said would "fail from the river," he certainly speaks—no differently than before (when the discussion was about the root of Jesse)—of the Lord stretching out his hand against its rivers, and he warned other men of this, ^C as he understood it. And soon he added also that the river would fail, and every gathering of water would be dry. But by saying that the canals also would fail along with the chief river, he demonstrated that the kingdom itself and the leaders would perish one by one, signifying the military forces themselves under the name of "congregation." Nor indeed do these things differ from what Ezekiel says: Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, the leader, the great one, who sits in the midst of his rivers." ^D After which he also says: "Stick..."

^A the fish of the river to your wings." And after other things: "And all will draw their swords against Egypt, and the land shall be filled with the wounded. And I will make your rivers into deserts." And again: "You leapt upon your rivers, and trampled your rivers." And Jeremiah also says: "Who is this? Like a river he shall rise, and like rivers they surge with water. The waters of Egypt [shall rise like a river]." By these words the multitudes of those campaigning among them are signified, in the midst of whom the dragon sat; it is likely that he boasted, and was proud. By the fish, we shall understand the subjects subordinate to the individual princes. And "he leapt upon those who were campaigning under him," whom he says he also trampled being a tyrannical ruler. ^B For they say that it is necessary to understand these things tropologically, as also the previously mentioned nation, hopeless and downtrodden, whose rivers ravaged the land. If, therefore, the prophecy were bringing about the destruction of men as well, nothing would remain to be sought. For it would have followed that along with all the waters, the animals themselves would also perish. But now, after the destruction of the waters, he mentions that there will be a great multitude in Egypt, nay, even an altar, on which the Egyptians will sacrifice [he says]. And how would they come to be, if all the water had failed? Whence these things must be understood tropologically as signifying the kingdom of the Egyptians and the multitudes of their martial power. Others, indeed, understanding the aforementioned things literally, say that Vespasian, having captured Judea, campaigned against the Egyptians. And God, doing everything for him, dried up every gathering of waters, so that by a lack of water, it was necessary for the Egyptians to seek potable water in ditches on the shore, through which the water filtered from the sea might become more drinkable. Then, they say, the heralds of the saving message arrived in Egypt. ^C Of those who dwell in Egypt, some have the fields as their lot, others the marshes, which are called *elioi* (marsh-dwellers) and *boukoloi* (cowherds) because of the multitude of cattle among them. They do not use grain and wine, lacking these, but are sustained by fish and milk and beer and the tender things cut from the marshes, as well as working the split flax. Of all of which, he says, there will be a total shortage when the waters have failed.

But those who brought forward the first explanation also allegorize this meaning again. Understand, they say, by the name of the river, that ancient philosophy which formerly flourished among the Egyptians. For it is said that Moses himself was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, which was famous among all, the parts of which—namely, the rivers and the canals of their individual ^D teachings—were the discourses from which grew…

^A neither olive nor vine nor necessary things, but only reed, papyrus, and bulrushes. And the dragon, which He fashioned ^B to play with, is said by Job to lie by the papyrus and the reed and the pool. Ezekiel also has called Pharaoh a dragon. In order, then, that these might fail—the Egyptian dragon and his philosophy—the Lord rightly comes upon them, causing these things to cease by His presence, and bestowing instead a drink of new and saving waters, concerning which it was said before: "And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation," and instead of a river, a river whose streams make glad the city of God. Do you see how these things are prophesied for the benefit of the Egyptians? Hence, according to the Seventy, it is said: "The Egyptians shall drink the water that is by the sea, but the river shall fail." For since there is no Egyptian water remaining, nor any drinkable water to be found in the sea, a new water is promised to them. But because the Egyptian waters are failing, those who hunt for fish—that is to say, for human souls—are said to be mourning, for they are found to be opposed to those to whom the Savior said: "Come, and I will make you fishers of men." For there, by means of their philosophy and sorcery, they were ensnaring souls as if in a net, catching them with the entanglements of their words. But contrary to this net is that one concerning which it is said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, which gathered of every kind of fish," the word concerning the kingdom of the parable clearly indicating ^C people as the fish. They mourn, therefore, as no longer having any trade due to Christ, who has brought it to an end, according to the saying: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will discard the understanding of the prudent." And those who work in linen—not the solid and unbreakable kind, but the broken and torn sort of reasoning—are discarded. Also, the fine linen of the Egyptians was irrigated by their river. Therefore, the makers of these things shall mourn when they find that these fabrics, with which they were accustomed to cover falsehood like veils by the enticements of false words, are no longer available to them for clothing and as an ornament for their wisdom. Together with them shall also mourn those who made the adulterated wine—not that which is accustomed to be born from the vine. For the provider of all these things is the Egyptian river, from which another prophet, turning away, says: "What is there for you in the land of Egypt, that you should drink the water of Geon?" What follows after this is predicted concerning the obscure princes who lay in wait for the ^D famous and greatest cities, namely, Tanis and Memphis.

Verses 16–25. On that day the Egyptians shall be as women in fear and trembling, because of the face of the hand of the Lord of Hosts, which He Himself shall strike upon them. And the land of the Jews shall be to the Egyptians a terror.

^A in judgment taking vengeance upon those who afflict them. For in this way, that is, at the very time of affliction, which he signified by the name of a day, they shall acknowledge the Lord. There are, however, some who think that this passage refers entirely to the incarnation. For when demons were exercising tyranny over men, and they were oppressed by a most grievous burden of evils, as was evident from the facts themselves, the Lord at length took pity on them. In this way, indeed, the blood of Abel is also said to cry out, as God abominates such an unworthy crime. For they say: how would they have called upon Him whom they previously did not know, except that they were led to do so by the things they suffered when the Word was sent among them in human form? And He saved them by judging; that is, by issuing a just sentence, He delivered them from the chains of darkness by which they were oppressed. And this is what He meant when He said that the judgment of this world was now at hand, and that the prince of this world would now be cast out. Thus, therefore, Christ judged the tyrant and the world; and thus, finally, He drew all the Egyptians to Himself. In memory of which, having offered thank-offerings ^B and having engaged in the struggles of the faith forever (according to that saying, by which one is exhorted to make vows and to fulfill them), they enter into the contest.

It is necessary to pay close attention here, as the text presents to us the rudiments of the new law and the New Testament. For since the law of Moses decreed that an altar must not be erected outside of Jerusalem, and that no tribe other than the Levitical should exercise the priesthood, how does the prophecy assert that an altar will be erected in Egypt, and that the Egyptians will become priests of God? But according to the Apostle, when the priesthood is changed, there must of necessity be a change of the law as well. The prophet adds to the preceding words: And the Lord shall strike the Egyptians with a blow, and shall heal them. For whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. Therefore, He brings a blow upon the Egyptians, whenever they have need of it, not lengthening out His anger. There are some, moreover, who understand by the name of the blow the servitude they suffered ^C under the Romans, through which He healed them, having provided a passage for the saving message to reach them. For it could not previously reach those who were estranged from the custom of other men. But for the sake of utility, and not in anger, does the Lord bring the blow. And since the prophets were by no means ignorant of this, they address Him thus: "O Lord, correct us, but in judgment, and not in anger." And again: "In small affliction is thy correction to us." Then, turning His speech to the Synagogue of the Jews, He says: "In labor and scourges you shall be corrected, Jerusalem." He adds afterwards: In that day, that is, at that time, there shall be a way for the Assyrians to the Egyptians; thus signifying by the ancient and used custom those who inhabit Syria and Mesopotamia, who remained enemies to the Egyptians when, before the Roman rule, they relied upon their own kings. ^D

the former upon those following Antiochus, the latter upon the Ptolemies; while the Jews in the middle were attacked by both sides in turn. But ^A Christ having arrived—the peace of all—did not only join earthly things to heavenly, but also the nations to one another. Just as these three, which were ill-disposed toward each other, He accounted worthy of one blessing, so that Israel might no longer be puffed up as being the people of God and the only one blessed. For all were taught piety, and to hold fast to mutual love. For having beaten their swords into ^A sickles, they no longer raise these against one another, having come under one yoke—spiritually that of God, but bodily that of the Romans.

^B The Egyptians serving the Assyrians signifies the servitude of love. Or, as some say, because of the Roman armies of Syrians in Egypt, meaning that they were subdued by some Syrians by the power of imperial authority. The people, therefore, who are blessed in Egypt and among the Assyrians appears through the multitude of the churches which are in them, while that from Israel flourished at the time of the preaching. For they were the firstfruits of the faith in Christ, from whom also the evangelists, and disciples, and apostles went forth; wherefore all of the three nations upon the earth have been blessed. ^C But in place of "and in the Assyrians," the rest have rendered it "and in Assur," lest anyone should think that the Jews who dwell in Syria are meant, but rather the Egyptians themselves and the Assyrians themselves. ^C But the wonderful thing is that he who is the firstborn of all the sons is named third. For because he acted insolently toward Christ, he is placed behind the nations. For when the fullness of the nations shall have entered in, then also all Israel shall be saved. By the land blessed by the Lord, you shall understand the Church, and especially the heavenly one, which the meek shall inherit, where there is also the heavenly Jerusalem and Mount Sion. Israel might also be understood as the God-loving choir of the saints who have passed out of this life from the nation of the Jews; wherefore it is said, "And my inheritance is Israel." For "the line of his inheritance is Israel," just as Moses says. And the prophet, marveling ^D if the Egyptians, who are more superstitious than others, will honor the God of the Jews whom they hate, very emphatically and continuously added these things concerning the Egyptians: "And the Egyptians shall be swearing by the name of the Lord of Hosts." Then: "There shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians." And again: "The Lord shall be for a sign forever in the land of Egypt." And again: "The Lord shall be known to the Egyptians." And again: "The Egyptians shall know the Lord." And he seems to have included Syria by emphasis, in which they say there shall not be wanting genuine worshippers, and what is more, those who embrace the brotherly and neighborly practice of the Egyptians.

CHAPTER XX

^A VERSES 1-6. In the year that Tanathan came into Azotus, when he was sent by Arna, king of the Assyrians, and fought against Azotus and took it, then the Lord spoke to Isaias, saying: Go, and take off the sackcloth from your loins, etc.

He proceeds to predict the conquest of the Egyptians by the Assyrians, having previously discussed their peace. We shall therefore say that he confirms those things which were to happen at a far later time through those which were already imminent. For the good things that had been spoken awaited the time of the Savior’s coming, who would journey to Egypt as if upon a light cloud. But the things now addressed happened in the prophet's own time. These things were predicted to those Jews who hoped to ward off the imminent conquest by the Assyrians through the alliance of the Egyptians, when the Assyrians had already captured Azotus, the greatest and strongest city of Palestine; so that, terrified by the ^B misfortunes of their neighbors and despairing entirely of any human help, they might turn to the Lord and avoid the approaching calamities. For a certain prophet also said about these things: "And Ephraim was as a senseless dove, having no heart; he called upon Egypt, and they went to the Assyrians."

Indeed, our prophet also says: "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses and chariots." Now Tanathan was the commander of the Assyrian king’s army, by whom Azotus itself was taken. Then the prophet, who previously had worn only his hair-shirt—which was worn and thick—owing to his high pursuit of wisdom and the grief with which he was tormented concerning the impiety of Israel, was now commanded to cast off even this, and to walk around Jerusalem naked and unshod, as an image of the coming captivity of the Egyptians; for the paradox of the sight was more ^C convincing than a mere speech, and it produced fear quite vividly, especially in those who were accustomed to despise prophetic words and to say to the prophets: "Tell us other things and announce to us another deceit." So that, seeing the absurdity of the garb, they themselves might ask the reason for it. The prophetic life is indeed worthy of admiration, concerning which the divine Apostle says: "They went about in sheepskins, in goat-skins." And as they were obedient to God, they surpassed all human glory. But just as the Jews trusted in the power of the Egyptians, so did the Egyptians trust in that of the Ethiopians. Among them are the nation of the Blemmyes, skilled archers who smear the points of their arrows with a deadly poison, by which those who are struck perish as if from the bites of poisonous serpents. For three years, as both were being besieged by the Assyrian, their cities were captured ^D bit by bit by the king, so that the Egyptians were amazed that he was even able to overcome the Ethiopians. Thus it is better to hope in the Lord than to trust in man. And cursed is he who keeps his hope in man, but blessed is he who has trusted in the Lord. And it shall be...

have; whence it happens that the Egyptians marvel at the manner in which the Ethiopians were subjugated. So much better is it to hope in the Lord than to trust in men. Furthermore, accursed is he who places his hope in man, but blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord is his hope. And by calling Egypt an island, he understands that which the Nile encompasses on every side. ^A

CHAPTER XXI: THE ORACLE OF THE DESERT OF THE SEA

Verses 1-10. *As a tempest passing through the desert, coming from the desert, from a land, a terrible and hard vision has been declared to me. The one who acts unjustly acts unjustly. The Elamites are upon me, and the envoys of the Persians are coming against me, etc.*

^B These things are undoubtedly referred to Babylon; whether he asserts that it itself has fallen, and that the Elamites and the envoys of the Persians are to come against it; or if you follow the interpretation of Symmachus, who commands the Elamites to rise up and the Medes to lay siege; since the others also, and the Hebrew text specifically, contain the name of the Medes, by whom the empire of the Babylonians was destroyed; of whom Isaiah also made mention before, when he said: *Behold, I will stir up the Medes against you.* Regarding the same, Jeremiah also speaks thus: *The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes, because his wrath is against Babylon.* And again: *Bring rams against Babylon.* Yet it may also be said, according to the Septuagint translators, that not long after the Medes, the Persians followed, by whom it also befell that the remnants of Babylon were destroyed. ^C But these things contribute somewhat to the vision of Egypt; although, according to some, it is considered as a peculiar vision for Babylon, in order to teach the Jews not to trust in the Babylonians, since they themselves were also going to be captured. For a certain prophet says: *He called upon Egypt, and they went to the Assyrians,* as if the causes were brought forward by which it came to pass that the city and the temple were stormed by the Assyrians, and people were urged on. But if we follow those who are more accurate, after describing the sacking of Egypt and Ethiopia by the Assyrians, he declares what sort of fate awaits the ravagers themselves. For by a just judgment, God handed over the Egyptians to be destroyed by the Assyrians, the Assyrians by the Medes, the Medes by the Persians, and finally the Persians, on account of their pride and arrogance, to others. ^D Indeed, by calling Babylon a desert, he signifies the impending desolation and solitude of it. Furthermore, the fact that the Hebrew text and the other interpreters added the word "sea," thus signified that the city once abounded with people and, as it were, surged. To this opinion Jeremiah is also a supporter, when, as if in the person of God, he threatens that He would dry up the sea itself. The same writer next indicates the multitude of the Medes coming upon it by this name, when he says that the sea has ascended upon Babylon, having previously spoken of the same, in comparison to a multitude of locusts that would swarm into it.

^A As if one said: They desire, however, that the present discourse be distinguished by a variety of persons, and that its beginning be sought from Babylon, which, when it heard of the evils hanging over it, longs to pass through them, like a spirit through the desert. For at the hearing of those things by which we are terrified, what do we suppose we shall do when it happens that we experience them? Far be it, therefore, that we should experience in reality what is bandied about by rumor. Indeed, it pleases some that the prophet, when he heard from God those things which were to happen to him through the Medes, in the manner of a storm of winds raised up through the desert, with dust and nearly everything else stirred up, signifies that the horsemen would strike the desert in this way.

^B He says that it had been announced to him precisely because he learned the outcome of events simultaneously with the vision. Then he adds, "The spoiler spoileth"; so as to demonstrate the audacious ferocity of those who invade, to whom it pleases neither to spare anyone nor to act with any moderation. Indeed, he spoke also in the vision of Babylon in this way: "Behold, I will incite the Medes against you, who do not care for silver, nor have need of gold. They will shatter the bows of the young men." Therefore, as this storm of theirs moves against me, what shall I do, says Babylon, but grieve, consoling my own miseries, I who was previously proud and haughty, and who suggested causes of groaning to others? "For my loins," he says, "at this message have been loosened, like a woman in labor," who was previously firm and preeminent in strength. There are some, however, who, as if assuming the persona of the king of the Assyrians, say these words, "The spoiler spoileth," are to be understood thus. But whether you refer it to the king or to Babylon, it may be said that it is used by way of confession, as if they were to acknowledge that they had acted unjustly so as not to see. For both, having neglected exhortation and that which was right, were little concerned with seeing. Therefore, having shed feminine tears, he laments that he had abhorred seeing, and had not deemed it worthy to behold who God is by nature. For he had heard of the religion of the Jews, when, after the city was taken ^C and they did not spare the temple, they did not even, when drawn to penitence by the words of Jonah, remain so, but immediately returned to impiety.

^D It is indeed the custom of Scripture, for the utility of those who hear, to use the fiction of persons. Next follows, "Prepare the table"; which the prophet says in order to manifest the cause of the divine wrath against them, alluding to the banquet of Baltasar handed down through Daniel, in which the king insultingly abused the holy furnishings of the vessels, and, not knowing that by the power of God Judea had been conquered, but attributing the cause to his own gods, he saw the writing on the wall signifying to him the destruction of his kingdom. Following the custom, therefore, the prophet bids them to live in luxury; and what is after this? Wars will succeed the festival, so that there is little doubt one might believe that they rushed from their cups to arms. There are, moreover, those who think that the words "Prepare the table" are spoken by the prophetic spirit to the Elamites, the Medes, and the envoys of the Persians who are about to invade Babylon, and that they are being invited here to war and the certain hope of future victory, just as they are to the luxury of a feast. "But I, the prophet, who have the spirit, say these things," he says, "For thus the Lord said to me: Go, set a watchman for yourself, and whatever he sees, let him report," the watchman, of course. "And he saw a pair of horsemen." [alt-version omitted] But Symmachus says "a chariot of horses."

^A Likewise, he speaks of two, one riding upon an ass, and the other upon a camel. Those who were on the horses signified the army of the enemy; while those on the pack-animals signified the transport for their needs and the future removal of spoils. For elsewhere he says: "They were carrying their wealth on asses and camels." After these things had been seen by the watchman, the Lord says to the prophet: "Hearken to a great report, and call Urias to the watchtower." But for the name Urias, Aquila renders it "lion," Symmachus "lioness," and Theodotion "Ariel," as it is also in the Hebrew; so that it may not be thought that the priest mentioned above is being signified. "Hearken, therefore," he said, "to a great report, and call Ariel," so that the watchman might behold this with you as well. For, as though standing with him, the prophet says: "I have stood in the watchtower all day, awaiting the future vision of the lion." ^B And having spent the day and the night, he says: "Behold, he comes, the rider of the yoke." This was perhaps some avenging angel sent to bring the punishment of the capture upon Babylon—perhaps named Ariel; or he himself who, "as a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour." But when he perceived that it was the avenging angel, he shouts: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon."

The first watchman, being inferior to the prophet, was looking upon the multitude of those intending to invade Babylon; but the second, who is the prophet himself, sees the angelic and more recondite vision—namely, the fall of Babylon and of its idols, which the Spirit called a "great report." ^C Some interpret the words "Go, set a watchman for yourself" as follows: that it is necessary to gather one’s mind for contemplation and to be in a state of high awareness. For this is the custom of the prophets for the perception of things being shown to them. Therefore, one of them says: "I will stand upon my watch and set myself upon the rock, and will watch to see what He will speak in me, and what I shall answer to my reproof." They say that by "great report" is meant the prodigious narrations of the calamities that were about to invade Babylon; for she has remained so completely desolate and wasted that not even those who hid in caves could escape Cyrus, to whom God said: "I will give thee the hidden, invisible treasures, and will open them to thee." ^D Therefore Jerusalem says to Babylon: "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy." And a little later it says of her that "she shall be for a trampling, as the mud in the streets," and the things that follow. They say that he is commanded to take Urias the priest as a witness so that the Jews, who were not accustomed to believing the prophets easily, might not reject as a companion of the vision the one whom they knew to be the most honored among them. The words "he comes" refer to the Persian, they say, and the Elamite, or Cyrus who leads them; and "fallen is Babylon" is said by God. By "the left behind," he means those not carried away captive along with the others, who indeed were the ones in the land, and the city, and the temple, the

^A rest who were mourning for those who had either fallen or had fallen into the hands of the enemy. To these he announces consolation, when he signifies the calamity of those through whom they had suffered this disaster. There are not wanting, however, those who would have "the left behind" refer to those who, being in no way participants in the impiety of others (though these were few indeed), mourned for the rest who were wandering. To these, surely, he says that the Lord has announced the things above, as if he meant to signify that he himself had made himself known to them, through me as an interpreter. And this is indeed the end of the prophecy concerning Egypt.

THE VISION OF IDUMAEA

And these also were enemies of the Israelites, and were perpetually ambushing them, as David bears witness when he says: "Against you the tabernacles of the Idumaeans have made a covenant, and the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon, and Amalec." For he mentioned the Idumaeans first of all. This is a very great nation by the Petra of Arabia, descended from Esau, who was called Edom, which is interpreted "earthly." For such was his way of life. And for the sake of one meal, he sold his birthright to Jacob, his brother, who was also named Israel, from whom the race of the Jews was descended. For the Jews are ^C children born of brothers, called so from Edom. And yet they did not even allow Israel a simple passage from Egypt when he was traveling toward the land of promise. And after this, they were so bitterly disposed toward them, as the prophet indicates by saying: "For the three impieties of Idumaea, and for the four, I will not turn them away, because they pursued their brother with the sword, and ravaged the father on the earth," but according to Symmachus, "their own bowels," for they were born of natural brothers, as has been said. God seems to be addressing his own acquaintances, saying: "Call to me from Seir," or according to others, "those fleeing from Seir." This was a mountain in Arabia, the bright city of Esau, where his kingdom was established. And the mountain so named is still known to the local inhabitants. ^D Therefore, to those who are anxious because of the fear of the Idumaeans, he says to me: "Come quickly, and being with me, guard your own ramparts, having me too as a guardian by night and by day." Let him, therefore, who is in need of this, seek help from me. Let everyone who is concerned for his own salvation dwell with me. For he promises them his own help, if they should choose to remain with him. What follows, the prophet treats as a different matter.

^A Since he has been taken by the Holy Spirit, he speaks. Therefore he calls his discourse a "taking up" (assumption), not speaking of the Idumaeans alone, but of all those who inhabit Arabia and wage war against Israel. He wishes for these people, having ceased from their ferocity, to recognize instead their own calamities. For when enemies invade them, most are destined to perish, while those few who escape, dissolved by fear and fatigue, are met by the Temanites, who humanely offer food to those who are perishing of hunger in the deserts and forests, wherever night might overtake them in their flight.

He adds also the precise time of the destruction, when he says, "after a year," calculated strictly as the wage of one awaiting his release from service, numbering the time day by day, so to speak. Kedar is a city of Arabia, which he says will perish with the others, signifying that very few out of all will be saved. You might also find in Ezekiel the prophet a distinct prophecy ^B concerning Kedar, Idumaea, and Mount Seir. Moreover, Jeremiah himself sets before us a certain wisdom of the Idumaeans, saying: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Counsel has perished from the prudent. Their wisdom has failed." And he sets forth what their end will be: "I have given you over to the nations, easily to be despised." And again: "Idumaea will be a desert," and the things that follow. There are some who think that to the cruelty which Jerusalem once suffered, these things were also added. For when Jerusalem and the entire region of Judaea had been captured by the Assyrians, and some had fallen by the sword while others had fallen into the hands of the enemy, those who were saved and barely escaped fled into the neighboring and kindred land of Idumaea. But so far were they from being saved there, that they were treated more ^C savagely by them than by the enemy. These things are made plain to all by the voice of Obadiah, when he says, "In that day I will destroy the wise men out of Idumaea." And after other terrible things, he adds the cause, saying: "Because of the slaughter and the impiety which you committed against your brother Jacob." And a little further on: "And strangers entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, and you were as one of them." Therefore, they say that the Assyrians, having captured Judaea and returning to their own country, seized Idumaea in passing and subjected it to themselves. Obadiah addresses the Idumaeans in these words: "As you have done, so shall it be to you; your retribution shall return upon your own head." Hence it is that in this place God commands the prophet to call to Him ^D Seir, as if to signify that they are on the very verge of being turned to flight. This means: let them too come fleeing into Judaea, so that just as they mocked those who had been defeated, they themselves will be laughed at, having been defeated by the Assyrians. In a certain spirit of rebuke, he says to them: "You labor in vain about the walls, hoping to escape those who are coming against you, and not asking for divine aid." And they indeed say: "I keep watch in the morning, and the..."

and the night. But, "Unless the Lord guard the city, in vain does the guard watch." If, therefore, you wish, he says, to seek help, seek it from me who am powerful to save. And dwell with me. That is, "Be mine, and think my thoughts, abandoning idols," according to that: "Let him who loves me follow me." And, "Where I am, there my servant also shall be." But if the enemies are coming upon you, be outside the cities and houses, and dwell together with the wild beasts. For you shall pay the equal penalty. He also sets before them what they ought to have done for those fleeing from Israel. For you ought, he says, O Themanites, to have met those fleeing on the road to Dedan, offering them what was necessary for their need; which, not having done, you shall suffer within a year the most terrible things. For God having spoken, what has been predicted will surely come to pass. ^B You should likewise understand, even when Hellenic persecutions are pressing, those who, while appearing to be Christians, side with the heretics against those who hold the correct views—those whom divine justice will not leave unpunished for long.

CHAPTER XXII

THE VISION OF THE VALLEY OF SION

Verses 1-14. What has happened to you, that you have now all climbed onto the roofs in vain? The city is full of those crying out. Your wounded are not wounded by swords, nor are your dead, dead in battle, etc.

Those who worshipped idols, by doing so, perhaps thought themselves invincible, because they imagined that they claimed God for themselves. Therefore, God speaks to them regarding Jerusalem through the voice of Jeremiah: "And do not say that it is the temple of the Lord; for if you do not thoroughly amend your ways and your deeds, I will make this house like Shiloh." ^C And regarding these things, He also says through Micah: "Her rulers judged for gifts. And her priests answered for a reward. And her prophets divined for silver, and they relied on the Lord, saying, 'Is not the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon us,'" and the things that follow. Therefore, God even now predicts to the idolaters the coming capture by the Assyrians under king Jechoniah. When this was, so to speak, in view, they should have turned to God through repentance and done all that Micah commanded, saying, "Sanctify a fast, proclaim a healing," and the things following these. They did not do these things, but while looking around for the enemy, they lamented—which was useless. And they had already died before the battle from fear, as is likely, and from hunger, and from the lack of water. ^D Justly, therefore, does David say: "O Lord, the God of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You." He calls Jerusalem the "Valley of Sion," as it is situated below the foothills of Sion.

^A He says that the leaders of the city fled because, with the enemies already attacking and having despaired of all human help, the first men of the city fled, just as those who jump overboard when a ship is sinking at sea. He says that those who were captured were bound. For when the Babylonians captured King Zedekiah with his children, they slaughtered the latter, but after gouging out the father's eyes, they led him away—he who had formerly trusted in his own strength, and had not at all endured to say: "I will not hope in my bow, and my sword will not save me," so that he might also have said: "For You have saved us from those who afflict us, and You have put to shame those who hate us."

For which reason the prophet signifies that he has inconsolable grief, lamenting the race. For who shall turn back the hand that is lifted up? For if He closes against a man, who shall open? Then he says: "They wander in the mountains," either introducing them as fleeing, as we were saying, or, in fact, signifying that they used to worship false gods in high places, which was their custom to do amidst great trees. For since he said that destruction was being brought upon them by the Lord of hosts, he also reasonably added the cause thereof, lest God should be thought to act rashly. Therefore we read in Jeremiah: "Have you seen what the house of Israel has done to me? She went up onto every high mountain, and onto every high hill, and onto every leafy tree, and committed adultery there," according to what is said: "They said to the wood, 'You are my father,' and to the stone, 'You have given birth to me.'" ^B And he says that not even a few have suffered this, but from the least to the greatest. Whence God says to Jeremiah: "And do not pray for this people, for I will not listen. For what are these things which their sons do? They gather wood, and their fathers light the fire, and their women knead dough to make cakes for the host of heaven." Not in vain, then, are nets spread for birds.

Furthermore, he subsequently places the war before our eyes, so that, terrified by the Elamites appearing in the city, they might repent; and by the name of one nation he signifies all the enemies and their great multitude. "Your valleys," he adds, "shall be filled with chariots, and those who were gathered and crowded at the gates, having now dismounted their horses, will search out the houses in the middle of the city and will plunder the royal treasures." ^C For he seems to understand this very thing through the citadels of David, from whom the lineage of the kings itself comes. Thus also, invisible enemies, when they have penetrated our minds, helped by our own desires, plunder our spiritual wealth by entering into our intellect. Whence it is said: "If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, do not leave your place, for healing will cause sins to cease." For when such desires have been cut off, they must necessarily wither away. ^D

^A "And they saw," he says, "that they are more numerous." These words refer to those who believed that they alone would prevail over their enemies, since they did not think that such a great multitude of enemies could arrive after such a long journey. Or, he says this because, as the water in the city would not suffice for them (since they were more numerous), as the Jews—who were more numerous—reckoned, having according to Symmachus "numbered the houses," and having diverted the water of the ancient pool into the city, they did not look to God, but relied on human preparations. For as if reproaching them in his custom, he says that they measured the water against their own multitude, thinking it would suffice for the siege even if it extended for a long time, and by tearing down houses, they constructed the walls more securely; whereas it was necessary to look to God, who made the city and became a wall for it. "For mountains are," he says, "round about it, and the Lord is round about His people." This is also promised through the voice of the prophet: "I will be to it," says the Lord, "a wall of fire round about, and I will be glory in the midst of it." ^B Then he says that since so many dangers from God were pressing upon them, it was necessary for them to appease Him with all diligence; yet they, having come to despair, were celebrating, according to the verse: "When an ungodly man comes into a multitude of evils, he scorns." Therefore, they suffered at the end what they ought to have suffered for a short time while supplicating God with tears and mourning, and crying out the words of David: "Look upon my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins." For as for those who do these things, as Micah says: "He is merciful and compassionate, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy, and repents over evils"—[and so on] regarding these things.

^C Some have interpreted the proposed text as follows: that the Lord, not being a respecter of persons, inserted the discourse concerning Zion in the midst of the rebukes against the foreigners, as if He used the Jews as foreigners, to whom He says through Amos: "Are you not as the sons of the Ethiopians to me, says the Lord? Have I not brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the foreigners from Cappadocia, and the Syrians from the pit? Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon all the kingdoms of the earth." From which He now indicates their total rejection, having counted them among the foreigners. This is also indicated by the word "valley." For He did not simply say Sion, but "valley," indicating the fall from the heights of a godly way of life, and hinting that they were lying in the valleys and the depth of wickedness. ^D For Sion is a high mountain on which the temple of God was built; wherefore he says: "Get up upon the high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Sion." And, "You have come to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." It is said also to signify the evangelical word. But those who have fallen from this hope have departed from the manner of life which they used before, and he teaches that they now lie in the deep valleys of vices. For Sion is a high mountain, in which the temple of the Lord had been built, whence it is read: "Get you up into the high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Sion." Then, "You have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." It may also be said to hint at the evangelical word, from whose faith whoever...

turns away falls into evil. For to every virtue, wickedness is adjacent, into which anyone who fails in that virtue must necessarily fall, just as from faith one falls into unbelief. Into this, those of the circumcision were brought down from the evangelical height and the heavenly Sion. Therefore, they were ranked among the Gentiles; yet even so, faring badly and foolishly prideful, they hear from the prophet, "What has happened to you, that you all have gone up to the housetops in vain?" ^A And against Christ, "Take away, take away, and crucify," they did not cease, he says, to cry aloud, and with those voices to fill the entire city. And since there is a sin unto death, by which the soul that sins shall itself die, "Your wounded," he says, "are not wounded by the sword." And "All your rulers," he says, "have fled." According to Symmachus, they were "disturbed," and according to Theodotion, they were "moved." Hence, among them there are no longer kings, nor governors, nor high priests, nor prophets, nor even Pharisees and Sadducees. But those who are still today held by the ravager of souls are bitterly bound. Seeing their fall to be of such a magnitude, the prophet measures his lamentation to the degree of the calamity, foreseeing the rejection of the race, the capture of the city, the tumults, and the error which they wandered into ^B by being abandoned. Then, by naming the Elamites, he signifies invisible powers and enemies, to whom they were handed over by God, who are also interpreted as "those who overlook," since they disregard the salvation of the perishing, sparing no one. Those who are lying in the valley of Sion have fallen.

"These," he says, "will enter your gates," not indeed now, but in that day, in the time marked out by the prophecy; and they will reveal the hidden things of the stronghold of David—the symbols of the kingdom—and the things lying in the sanctuary which were to be viewed only by the high priest. Instead of "And they saw that they are many," Symmachus said: "And you shall see the words of the house of David, that they have multiplied." Now, the water of the ancient pool existing in the city was none other than the word of the old, divinely inspired Scripture, which they turned away from, and devised for themselves alien water, teaching doctrines—the commandments of men—and subverting the word of God for the sake of their tradition. Concerning whom it is said in Jeremiah: "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have hewed out for themselves ^C broken cisterns." And because he signifies the foreign water sought by them between the two walls, he teaches that the account of our life with God must lean upon two walls, as it were: the Old and the New Testament. Of neither of these do those traditions of the elders partake, in the name of which the authors themselves boast among them. Then they dared another thing as well: they tore down the houses of the city for the construction of their own wall. For they take the words of holy Scripture and wall them about with their own mythologies, not having heeded God ^D who made the collection of the divinely inspired Scriptures.

the pool which flows from the fountains of the divine Spirit. Now God, not wishing the death of the sinner, but his repentance, commanded them to mourn over their own destruction. But they, on the contrary, as though despairing of their own salvation, acted as they did, not considering the judgment of God after this life. ^A For this reason Paul, using the prophetic utterances, said: "If the dead do not rise, let us eat and drink. For tomorrow we die." But as if their sin were bound by the chain of God, he adds: "And this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die." Observe the magnitude of God’s threat, and how in no way does he rebuke the people for idolatry, but rather for having ascended onto vain houses, for having filled the city with cattle, for having sought out foreign water while turning away from the ancient pool, and for having built a wall by tearing down the buildings of the city. And they remained insensible to these things. But the prophet wept. The cause of his bitter tears is the threat against them, saying that this sin would by no means be forgiven them.

^B Verses 15-25: "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Go to the steward’s chamber, to Shebna, who is over the house, and say to him: What have you here? And what have you here, that you have hewn out a monument for yourself here, and have built yourself a monument on high, and have engraved a tabernacle for yourself in the rock? etc."

Shebna and Eliakim, whom he mentions here, were contemporaries of King Hezekiah, as can be learned from history. These were they who went out to the Assyrian who was pressing upon the city, as the prophet later signifies through the following passages. The Hebrew says that Shebna was an unseemly and arrogant man, a high priest who lived in luxury, and that he defected to Sennacherib after having betrayed the people. The prophet is now commanded to go to him at the steward’s chamber. This is a place in the temple. Instead of this, Symmachus says "tent-maker" and Aquilas "the one tenting." But having hewn out a high monument for himself in the rock, he inscribed upon it "tabernacle," as if he were to tabernacle therein after death. He inscribed a symbol worthy of his own mind, a fitting inscription for one who was brilliant only in external matters. ^C But he says, "You hew this out in vain. For you shall not possess it." This is what "What have you here?" indicates. For the Lord will shatter the man, since the mightiest were to go away captive with the herds. And you shall be taken away, stripped far from your rank and from the station of serving before God. What need, then, had you of pride and money and a chariot? For the glory of the ruler shall be brought down. ^D What, therefore, shall pride, what shall money, what shall a chariot in the end avail you; when even from the prince

^A you have unworthily transferred the stewardship of the high priesthood, having become an unrighteous judge? But God, having tested your friend Eliakim to be His servant, shall place him in your stead, to hold the rank for those who are under the discipline of the Father. For he shall not be arrogant, nor envious; but being someone meek, he shall possess the glory of the most meek David. He shall rule with great authority, so that he shall have no one to gainsay him. And he shall have power; that is to say, the ability to restrain and hold fast the nations subjected to him. Finally, he shall be firmly established for the fulfilling of his office. For by saying that He will place him in a "sure place," He signified that He would make his rule immovable and stable. Moreover, all who hang upon his care and solicitude shall be as those trusting in a good man. From this we learn that upon attaining dominion over others, we ought neither to become puffed up, nor to forget the divine judgment.

And these things are rightly joined to those which were said concerning the valley of Sion, ^B being brought forward to the time of the Lord’s passion, at which those who were like this Somnas—not only proud and arrogant, but avaricious, and who were performing the priestly office according to the Mosaic Law bodily—fell away. Concerning whom the prophet spoke previously, among other things, saying: "Loving gifts," and "judging not for the orphans, and not attending to the cause of the widow." And he even called them murderers, as slayers of the Lord. Whom also the Savior, lamenting, addressed: "And you have neglected the weightier matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith." Somnas was a prefiguration of these. But Eliakim, interpreted as "the resurrection of God," became a symbol of the new and fresh priesthood, which the resurrection of our Savior established in His own Church throughout the whole world. For Christ was called high priest in their stead, just as Eliakim was in the stead of Somnas. For according to the Apostle, "No one takes the honor to himself, but he who is called by God." Just as Christ did not glorify Himself to become a high priest, but He who spoke to Him: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech." ^C And he is said to receive also the "glory of David," that is to say, the rule and kingdom over the intelligible Israel; for "Not all," he says, "who are of Israel, these are indeed Israel," and what follows thereafter. And it is said that for Christ, who has become High Priest, there shall be none to gainsay Him: "For the enemy shall not prevail against Him, and the son of iniquity shall not add to harming Him." But in another way, if even Israel should gainsay, the nations themselves shall not refuse to submit to the yoke. Therefore, concerning the former we read: "Deliver me from the contradiction of the people." But concerning these latter: "You shall place me as the head of the nations. A people whom I did not know has served me; they obeyed me by the hearing of the ear." And again concerning those same ones: "Strange children ^D have lied to me," and "Because they have grown old and grown lame from their paths." For they have grown old, and have become near to disappearance, having held for a time a broken mind, having become strange children. For whereas formerly they were the first-born Israel, when they lied against Christ, they became strangers, thenceforth [destined for] destruction.

children and called of Gehenna: for which cause he ^A has revealed to us Eliakim. Who also says: "Because of the misery of the poor and the groaning of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord." But in the Church, the house of his father, everyone, he says, shall be confident in Him, both the glorious and the small ^B — and by this I mean according to the world. For God, the creator of all, is no respecter of persons. You will also understand this according to the measure of spiritual age.

CHAPTER XXIII. VISION OF TYRE.

Vers. 1-18. "Howl, ye ships of Carthage, for they have perished, and come no more. From the land of the Kittim a captive has come." To whom have they become like, those who dwell in the island, merchants of Phoenicia, crossing the sea in much water? The seed of merchants, as of harvest gathered in, are the merchants of the nations, etc.

Prophecies speak not only of events which attain the outcome of their prediction immediately; for thus these would seem to have no relevance to us, although by their certainty one ought to be caught up in wonder at God. But now, the things that are to happen to the nations are foretold not only in a general sense, but also with a particular manner appropriate to piety appended to each. As when, while discoursing on the destruction of Babylon, he also discussed the universal and supreme judgment of God. ^C When again he spoke of Egypt, he added that there would be an altar of God in its midst, and a multitude of pious men. And concerning Moab, he affirmed that there would be a Church and a throne of God therein, idolatry having ceased there, just as in Egypt. And concerning Damascus, he says that there would follow a conversion of those who formerly did not know God. And that which he now writes concerning Tyre, apart from noting the impending calamities, foretells that there shall be future offerings to the Lord in her. And you might say also in another way that these prophecies about the nations are foretold for the benefit of those from Israel, so that they might know that God is not only their God, but that His providence extends through all things, and that He is always present to exact penalties for impieties from the other nations also; as [He is] now from the Tyrians, because they mocked the people of God, who were suffering grievous things—not as ^D suffering for their sins, but as if that God who was saving them had grown weak—the God from whom they expected their salvation. Whence it came to pass that when the affairs of Jerusalem were afflicted, whatever neighboring nations were of the same mind as the Tyrians were all likewise utterly destroyed by the Assyrians.

But as to who those were who dared to rise up against his own people at the time of the captivity, David enumerates them, thus saying:

^A *O God, who shall be likened unto thee? Do not keep silence, nor stay thy hand, O God; for lo, thine enemies have made a noise, and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. Against thy people they have craftily devised a counsel, and have taken counsel against thy holy ones. They said, Come and let us destroy them from being a nation, and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.* Because they have taken counsel with one consent; together against thee they have made a covenant: the tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, and the aliens with them that inhabit Tyre. ^B And God also says by the voice of one of the prophets: *And what have you to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the Galilee of the Gentiles? Do you return a recompense to me, or are you mindful of injuries against me? Fiercely and speedily I will return your recompense upon your heads, for that you have taken my silver and my gold, and have brought my choice and beautiful things into your temples; and the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem have you sold to the sons of the Greeks, that you might cast them out of their borders.* And God also says to Ezekiel: *Son of man, Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder peeled, and there was no hire for him, and for his army, for the hard service which he served against Tyre. For this I have given him the land of Egypt.* ^C When, therefore, Tyre endured extreme desolation, it came to pass that the inhabitants, accustomed to navigation, no longer engaged in merchant trade. Wherefore he says: *Wail, you ships of Carthage.* For Carthage, which now inhabits the part of Africa called Cartagena, is a colony of the Tyrians, who used to bring their wares to Tyre while it was still flourishing. Others interpret "Citienses" as "Chetiim," ^D and suppose it refers to the island of Cyprus, in which there is a city by the name of Citium, through which those returning from Tyre were accustomed to sail, perhaps intending to dispose of some things there that pertained to trade. He affirms, therefore, that the Tyrians will no longer engage in trade, for they have so perished, having been led into slavery, that no one else has happened to suffer such things. But as regards the phrase "to whom are they like," Aquila interprets it as "Be silent," while Symmachus says "Be silent, you who inhabit the island." For those who once behaved with arrogant words are now commanded by the discourse to be silent, having been humbled and cast down. Such were the merchants of Phoenicia, who, having amassed wealth in abundance, are compared to a harvest because of the greatness of their commerce, that is, the multitude of them who engaged in trade. Being deprived of these good things, he says that they ought to pour forth shame along with their neighbor Sidon, which some say was the colony from which Tyre was founded, being its daughter, and which was accustomed to boast greatly because it held such power upon the sea. Some, however, said that the words "Be ashamed, O Sidon," were addressed by Tyre to Sidon. For even you—

^A as though wrath were about to overwhelm even her, they have willed. Therefore, the islanders (for He called these the sea), now that Tyre has been captured, approach and proclaim that her pride and haughtiness have fallen: while Tyre, the power of the sea, having looked upon her own desolation, says: "I have become equal to those who have not given birth at all, nor indeed reared either young men or virgins." Some also said that this is a personification, and that the sea itself is almost uttering a voice and lamenting them, because it no longer has young men and virgins whom it might nourish, since of old they were, as it were, the offspring of the sea and were reared by it; but now the sea and its power lament them as lost. Egypt, too, is in anguish, lest she suffer similar things.

Turning, then, the discourse to the Tyrians, He says that when these things have come to pass in this way, as many of you as have been able to escape the slaughter, come ^B to your colonists in Carthage, if it be possible for you, and there mourn the ruin of your fatherland. He admonishes them to blame not others, but their own pride and insolence, for which they had acted insolently against Israel and against God. Consider, therefore, that God, who has brought these calamities upon Tyre, is not doing so by the necessity of fate, nor ought you to think that you have suffered these things through the wrath of any of the false gods. For the Lord of Hosts, who is proclaimed as God only among the Hebrews, has done these things, humbling not only the pride and insolence of Tyre, but also that of the rest of the godless nations, against whom He had already, in previous visions, delivered sentence. For God is He who resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ^C It is, therefore, a grave and dangerous thing for the holy ones, when they are being scourged, to revolt or to think that the hand which has always been accustomed to protect them has been weakened and grown feeble, rather than to believe that they are being tested by God, who often sends adversities. To the wicked it must be said: "Do not act unrighteously," and to those who sin: "Lift not up your horn, nor speak unrighteousness against the height" (cf. Ps. LXXIV, 5, 6). For this reason Tyre was transferred from glory to ignominy. "Do not," He says, "be lifted up by your wealth from the sea, but having been humbled, apply yourself to agriculture." For the profits from the sea have ceased, through which you were haughty and arrogant, provoking the kings round about, and doing injury to Sidon, your neighbor. ^D The experience of evils will cease your injustice. And wherever you may go, you will have no refuge of rest, for God shall encompass you everywhere with evils, and your Chanaanite allies have been devastated. The Citii themselves, who were long familiar to you, will reject you.

And if you shall desert to the Chaldeans, that is, go as a captive, you will find the calamities brought by the Persians and Medes, and you will find Babylon desolate, because of which she acted arrogantly. For her wall has fallen. Thus, He calls the wall or the royal power, by which she was formerly fortified, "the wall." Hence, He says, those who will mourn you...

as one bereft of all hope of salvation, in which you will remember that your defense was once placed. You will be chastised for such a time as that city which is consecrated to God, against which you rose up, and whose equal punishments you are destined to endure. ^A For those [in Babylon] also extended their time in captivity to the seventieth year. Moreover, the time of human life, according to David, is seventy years. For he says: "The days of our years are seventy years." This is also the period of a long-lasting reign. But if a time is defined by God in certain instances, the number is not always fulfilled. And it is not right for you to be disturbed by this, since God is not subject to the limits of His own prediction. For since He is good, He defines times and threatens disasters, not as one who will necessarily bring them about, but as one wishing to turn [men] to repentance; which is also to be learned from the sixty years that were once ^B defined against Ephraim through Isaiah. For it was reduced to thirty. And Daniel, too, when he saw the wickedness of the captive people increasing, besought God not to add anything to the years decreed against them. For God either shortens the term for those who repent, or adds to it for those who persist in their ungodliness. Therefore, in the days of Noah, He decreed the number of one hundred and twenty years, which He shortened out of love for mankind, standing in the way of their evils and preventing them from becoming worse. But when the Ninevites repented, He removed the threats before the set time of days in no other way than a physician is accustomed to abstain from an incision or cauterization previously indicated, when a change for the better has occurred in the body. Then the prophet says: "In those years you will become a song ^C like a woman who has fallen from her own honor." Then you shall go about wandering from place to place, playing the harlot among the rest of the nations, as if forgotten by God. But if you are able, take up your own cithara, and no longer as a harlot, but with skill and expertise, play the instrument with many prayers poured out to God. For thus He will remember you, if you have used the members of your body and the organs of sense as a cithara well-attuned by the law of temperance; for God is delighted by such things, and mindful of you, He will restore you again to your former state, when the time of your chastisement has been fulfilled. ^D But there are not wanting those who interpret what was said about the "harlot" to signify a woman once distinguished for her beauty, who, because she is deserted by her lovers as the flower of her youth is plucked away, devises songs and the sound of the cithara to recall them to the memory of their old love. When Tyre has admitted such things, it signifies that there will scarcely be a memory of her among mortals. But when the times of her chastisement have passed, she will again be the emporium of the whole world, at that time, of course, when the memory of old evils has been cut away, and you will no longer offer the first fruits of your commerce to demons, but rather to God, and the city of God will make you a marketplace. As, therefore,

rather to God, and will deem that gain to be the City of God; as the Scripture testifies has happened in the case of Hiram. Nor would it be unworthy of that repentance, which is stirred by better music, to understand the Christian way of life. And so both Aquilas himself and the Hebrew reading, with no mention of the articles or the word "all," said: "And her emporium and her wares shall be holy to the Lord." For not all her emporium, nor all her wares, but a portion shall be consecrated by way of first-fruits: a thing that even now it is permitted to behold daily in the Churches of God held there. They are brought ^A to those who dwell before the Lord, that is, to those set over the altar, since it has been decreed by the Lord that those who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel, and those who serve the altar are partakers of the altar. There follows next: "All her merchandise, that she may eat and drink and be filled to satiety, as a memorial before the Lord," which Symmachus clearly brought forth in these words: "For to those who dwell before the Lord shall her merchandise be for eating to satiety, and for being clothed that they may grow old." But Aquilas: "To those sitting before the face of the Lord shall her emporium be, that they may eat to satiety, and be clothed in changes of raiment." Theodotio, however: "And to be clothed for the sake of becoming old." But the Seventy Translators: "And concerning those offering them," as if understanding those who in places consecrated to prayer took pleasure in themselves as if at feasts, and no longer, as formerly, held banquets with great celebration in the shrines of idols.

Chapter XXIV.

VERS. 1-23. Behold, the Lord will corrupt the world, and will lay it waste, and will reveal its face, and will scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest; and as with the servant, so with his master; and as with the handmaid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller, etc.

What has been said individually regarding various nations, he now embraces as in a summary, while by the corruption ^C of the world he signifies many nations comprehended under the name of the whole. That he says he will reveal its face signifies that he will show [that he comes] to exact penalties and to expose and refute the impiety which formerly lay hidden under the person of each one’s life. For by the fury of God the merit of those who suffer is shown to us, by which all, whether they have been high or humble, are held to be alike. For an enemy is not accustomed to have regard for those who are distinguished and of high rank, but to confound the order formerly observed. Furthermore, cities and regions also, when they are captured, are greatly cast down by desolation; which is signified by the word "to lay waste." But calamity affects the high and illustrious more grievously, because of the change to the opposite of that of which they have been deprived. Next, in saying that the earth has acted impiously, it signified its inhabitants for the very same reason, just as if, when we speak of a city, we call it impious. For in order to judge the ^D vengeance to be just, he declares that they first transgressed the law.

^A Since they have been captured and all are overcome, only a few will be left in the territories. They will live in poverty, since even when they needed to repent, they remained given over to luxuries, just like the Jews, who said, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Concerning them another prophet says: “Those who sleep on ivory beds and live in luxury.” And after a little: “And they were not grieved at all by the ruin of Joseph.” For this reason, he says, they will mourn the wine; that is, those who are given over to luxuries and drunkenness, displaying the curious enjoyment of wealth and the arrogance that results from it, will mourn.

Next, the cruelty of the victors is described, ^B who search for those to be killed or taken captive—down to one or two—no differently than those who harvest olives; when others have been shaken to the ground, they do not refrain from the rest until none remains. As is the custom of those who finish the gleaning, they send forth a shout of exultation—for this is generally customary for those who harvest. But the Lord by no means allows those who practice piety to fall into these threats. For although he asserts that the same fate will overtake the impious, the Lord will not destroy the righteous together with the ungodly, which we have also learned from the voice of Ezekiel when he says: “Son of man,” he says, “the land upon which I bring judgment is stained with blood. Even if Noah, and Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, they would be saved by their own righteousness, ^C but the land will be for destruction.” And elsewhere to the six men who were following, and to him who carried the battle axe: “Strike, and do not spare.” And after other things: “But do not go near any of those upon whom the sign is.” By Noah he signifies those who are acceptable to Him through faith; by Daniel, those who are wise and discerning; and by Job, those who remain steadfast in all things. Having escaped the destruction, they will praise Him who saved them. But the water of the sea, he says, will be troubled, signifying the multitude of the nations, as also the great David says: “And this is the great and wide sea,” and so on. For he does not wish to speak of the differences of fish, nor of the dragon swimming in the waters, to whom he says God plays—but rather he desires to describe the turbulence of the affairs of life, ^D through which the intelligible dragon wanders and moves.

One might also understand the islands as the cities, or as human souls that have risen above the brine of the passions, in which is the glory of the Lord, as the prophecy now transfers the discourse to Christ. For since the earth has been emptied of the idols and evils with which it abounded, and since mortals have been chastened by various calamities, the glory of Christ the Savior has shined forth upon those on earth who were rescued from idolatry, whom the hope of the good things to come, relying on the aid of divine baptism, recreates, because they will be with Christ in the glory.

^A Then also the water of the sea is troubled, because the apostles everywhere in life preached newer things, and troubled those who heard them with the strangeness of the message. And God was glorified in the holy isles when the Word revealed the Churches. For these have risen above the waves of life, having conquered through Christ those who oppress them. For having called the nations the sea, he naturally called these the isles. And those who dwell in them, together with the glory of the Lord, say to the God of Israel: "From the wings of the earth we have heard wonders," believing that there is hope for the pious. By the "wings of the earth" they designate the apostles themselves, who were winged by the divine words so as to forsake the earth and think on heavenly things, having henceforth their citizenship in heaven. And they say that having received their strange dogmas, we are confirmed by the hope which is through faith in the good things to come. And they lament for those who have not received the law of faith, or rather, even that which was through Moses. For he too wrote concerning Him, that is to say, Christ; and if they believed Moses, they would have believed also in Christ. ^B And those who have received the faith admonish the unbelieving, holding over them the fear that comes from punishment, threatening them with every kind of evil. For this is the "fear," and the "pit," and the "snare"—for even if one escapes one, he will necessarily fall into the others; which things it has been the lot of the Jews to experience in a thousand ways after the cross of the Savior. And he does not remain silent about the cause of these things, adding that "the windows from heaven were opened." That is to say, the Lord visited the earth with inspection; for when God is patient, so as not even to seem to see, heaven is said to be in a way closed, so that sinners may sin with impunity. But when He proceeds against sins, everything is full of confusion and fear, and men are cast about like drunkards into every kind of evil, shaken like a fruit-watcher’s hut. For God endures sins while they are tolerable, but when sin prevails, He punishes those who do the deeds.

A brilliant achievement of the incarnation of the Only-begotten ^C is the scattering of the impiety of those who served the creature rather than the Creator—into which even the Jews have fallen; whose "women," according to Jeremiah, "knead dough, and the sons gather the wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, to make cakes for the host of heaven." And another prophet says: "You took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Raiphan." The hand therefore brought upon these signifies the scattering of those who adore these and suchlike things. You could also take "ornament of heaven" to mean him of whom it is written: "How has the day-star, which rises in the morning, fallen from heaven?" ^D and also the kings of the earth, the world-rulers of this age. For they have reigned over the earth, having established their own worshippers in it, whom Christ sent down into the prison of punishment, who also begged him not to command

^A to depart into the abyss. These, too, having waged war against the glory of God from the creation of the world, extended this until the arrival of the Savior, when, having undergone visitation through many generations, they were cast into the prison. He likens Satan to a wall; for he is terrible in resistance, and as it were a most fortified city; but he has been captured and has fallen, with Christ shaking him down. For it is the custom of Scripture to liken the exceedingly powerful to a wall and cities. God, at any rate, says to Jeremiah: “Behold, I have made you this day as a strong city, and as a brazen wall, strong against all the kings of the earth; and they shall fight against you, and they shall not be able to prevail against you, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” These things also were foreshadowed by Joshua the son of Nun, when he took the five kings by force and shut them into the cave. Except that for the evil powers, even that unbroken wall has fallen—that is, Satan—with the worship of idols having been removed from men, at the time when the Lord reigned in Zion and in Jerusalem. For the Church of Christ is a watchtower and a vision of peace.

^B That which He said before the elders designates the mind of the perfect, whose keenness penetrates into the depth of the mysteries concerning Him. To whom John speaks thus: “I write to you, Fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” For they glorify Christ, recognizing Him as God. But there are not wanting those who refer this entire series of words to the general consummation, thinking that the prophet, after having discoursed about individual nations, consequently establishes his discourse now concerning the whole world (since “the Lord's is the earth and its fullness,” and He cares for all), and concerning that future judgment which is to embrace all, and in which the Lord is about to judge the hidden things of men; and therefore He makes no mention anymore of any nations in particular, but only of the whole world. For the world, because it had a beginning, must also have an end, with a conversion into something better taking place; since, by the testimony of Paul, “the creature itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” And again He says: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” And again: “For the fashion of this world passes away.” And the Savior also says: “Heaven and earth will pass away.” He teaches, therefore, what shall succeed the good and the ungodly, beginning from the gloomy things, so that He may arrive at the brighter things. ^C And consistent with the desolation and corruption of the world is that which was said in the vision concerning Babylon, that armed men would come to destroy the whole world. And that: “The day of the Lord comes, implacable, of fury and of wrath, to lay the world desolate, and to destroy the sinners out of it.” For since He is speaking to men, He made mention only of men, mentioning nothing of the other rational beings.

^A And for those who are on the earth, when they have been judged and translated into other regions of the world, it is necessary that this very dwelling of the earth should remain desolate, since it happens that those who once inhabited it were scattered into other and various regions according to the account of each person’s deeds. For there are many mansions with the Father, and the world itself is sufficient for the reception of everyone who has ever existed—with dark places receiving the impious, according to the text: “They shall enter into the lowest parts of the earth, they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword.” They shall be portions for foxes, while the pious shall be snatched up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus they shall always be with the Lord.

He called the surface of this earth the “face of the earth.” It ^B is revealed that those things covered upon it are brought into the light at the time of the resurrection from the dead, after which all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ, receiving a just verdict without partiality for those who are distinguished by dignity or wealth. For the condition will be the same for all, since only their thoughts and deeds will be judged. And Job also says: “The small and the great are there, and the servant who does not fear his master.” He says that the earth is to be corrupted, meaning those who have a fleshly mindset, according to the text: “You are earth, and to earth you shall return,” and the text: “The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven, spiritual,” and what follows; after which he says: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Those who are such shall be corrupted by their own corruption. For each person is bound by the chains of his own sins. For just as flesh is corrupted ^C by the fever which it kindles from within itself, so those who have stored up wrath for themselves against the day of wrath, having corrupted their own souls, shall be punished when they are delivered over to their own corruption, as if paying a penalty to certain powers who act in the role of executioners, who will perform a sort of pillaging, plundering their souls, when those who have done things worthy of mourning shall themselves also mourn. He indicated the earth which was mentioned as mourning and corrupted by saying “the high ones of the earth”; for God visits these especially (for He stands against the proud)—they who, acting lawlessly, filled the earth with bloodshed and murder.

“For the earth,” says Symmachus, “was blood-defiled by its inhabitants.” And he brought forward the cause of the corruption, that they transgressed the law. For all ^D have transgressed the natural law given to all, the one inscribed upon their own minds, as Paul says: “For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law unto themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts.” And this is also made clear through the voice of John spoken concerning the only-begotten Son of God, that He was the true light, which lightens every man coming into the world. And this has also taken place at the time of the visitation, according to

^A His words: "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts" (Jer. xxxi, 33). They therefore transgressed the natural law, having turned themselves to the lusts of the flesh, and the earth of those who had transgressed has become cursed. For just as in the beginning, while sin had not yet existed, God blessed man, so at the consummation of the age, a curse will devour the earth. But at the place where we have "the poor," Symmachus said that they are to be crushed and oppressed. Furthermore, those who are condemned at the divine tribunal, suffering from a lack of heavenly goods and deprived of that hope which is prepared for the saints, will, when they have been sent down to Hades, leave behind few who possess the treasure which they amassed from virtues. "For many are called, but few are chosen," as the Savior says (Matt. xx, 16). ^B But instead of "the wine shall mourn," Aquila published "the vintage shall mourn," signifying through the example of the fruit-season the temporal nature of the beauty of bodies, and that the condition of those who have given themselves over to debaucheries and drunkenness is no different, for whom, when they are reproved, it is necessary to be ashamed, according to the text: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: some to eternal life, and some to reproach and everlasting shame" (Dan. xii, 2).

Understand also by the name of wine that which is from the "vine of Sodom," and the "cluster of gall," concerning which it is said: "Their wine is the fury of dragons, and the incurable fury of asps" (Deut. xxxii, 33), which is accustomed to intoxicate the soul and derange the mind. When they have become sober from such drunkenness, then they will mourn. And then every city will close its house so that no one may enter. For there will no longer be polities such as there are now, in which the ungodly perform their heart's desires. ^C Whence the Savior says: "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep" (Luke vi, 24, 25). The parable of the rich man also indicates these things—he who saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, who heard: "You have received your good things in your lifetime" (Luke xvi, 25). Thus, indeed, when they are judged, memories of the things lived here will come to them. Therefore they will mourn for themselves. Whence the Savior blesses those in the present life who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, those who weep and mourn, and who have become poor for His sake, and are persecuted. ^D To these the prophet now adds: "All these things shall be in the earth, in the midst of the nations," clearly teaching that what has been said refers to the judgment, which he signified by the very name of the olive, that all without exception will undergo it. As for the rest, where it says "And if the vintage ceases, they will lift up their voice," Symmachus, having made a distinction, presented two meanings by the same words, saying "As gleanings if the vintage be finished." And then from another beginning he says, "Their voice is not for those who are present." For he attributed the first part to the meaning that as...

when the vintage is harvested, they knock with reeds, and leave not even one, as if to say, they cast down in this way; so none of the ungodly shall escape, just as in the case of the grapes, some come back and gather those that escaped at first. And the Savior illustrates this in the parable of the net, where the bad are cast out. But they shall suffer these things. ^B But these shall lift up their voice, it being clear that they are of the better rank. Hence he added: "They shall exult when the Lord is glorified." According to the Seventy: "The ungodly, having suffered the final vintage, shall give voice, crying out while being punished; but the good shall rejoice together with the glory of the Lord, when the Lord shall come in the glory of his Father, with power and great glory." Instead of, "The water of the sea shall be troubled," Theodotion interpreted it, "The waters of the sea gave a sound," indicating the magnitude of the cry of those who glorify the Lord. By "islands" he means the Churches which, in the present life, and before the time of judgment, are left in the midst of the ungodly, as in the midst of the sea, and which are to be illumined by God's glory in the coming age. Therefore the word hymns the God who will perform this, saying: "O Lord God of Israel, from the wings of the earth we have heard wonders." Instead of "wonders," Theodotion translates "psalms," and Symmachus as well. Aquila, however, translates "melodies." For those who follow the side of God, admiring His just judgment, being joyful together with the glory of the Lord, offer to Him hymns and psalms of thanksgiving from everywhere on earth. ^C This is what the prophet also marveled at, having learned that they were accounted worthy to hymn God. And this seemed a wonder, according to the Seventy, that having left their ancestral error, they hymn the God of the prophets, as the end of their hope has come to pass for them. For upon the just judgment of God is added: "Hope to the pious," even if he be a foreigner, clearly, and even if he be a stranger to the seed of Abraham.

Upon which, according to Symmachus, it is said: "And he said, My mystery to me; my mystery to me." For since the prophets, having been moved by the miracle, glorified God and mentioned the hope of the righteous, but did not say what and of what kind the things hoped for were, but longed to learn what God has prepared for those who love Him, God commands them to be silent, saying: "My mystery to me; my mystery to me." For it is not yet the time, He says, to reveal, "what eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not ascended into the heart of man, those things which God has prepared for those who love Him." ^D But the prophet, as he glorified God at the expectation of good things...

^A, so being moved by humanity, he laments for the wicked, while he says, "Woe to those who transgress." For which Aquila said, "Woe to me," for they that transgress have transgressed. And Symmachus: "Woe to me, they that transgress have transgressed." As for the "windows of heaven," you shall refer this to the sense of the explanation already given. For when the Lord takes vengeance upon those who sin, the windows of heaven are opened, that punishment may be brought upon them. Perhaps those [windows], of which David spoke when he said, "Lift up your gates, O you princes," may also be understood. Then, therefore, they shall all be opened when the kingdom of the Lord shall arrive, so that His subjects may enter through them. But what happens now, [at the time] when they are opened? "The foundations of the earth shall be shaken," he says, "and the earth shall be troubled," signifying those who have dwelt upon it, as if they were being agitated by the drunkenness of evils. And such an earth, being the soul of the impious, shall be as a garden-hut. This was also signified by the desolation [mentioned] in the things before, in which it was said, ^B "Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a garden-hut."

These things have happened to those who dwell upon the earth, since iniquity has prevailed over them, and therefore at the end of the discourse he says, "And it shall fall, and shall not be able to rise again." For once having fallen at the end of this mortal life, the earth—being earthly flesh—or the soul that is devoted to the body, or those who of old inhabited the earth, shall attain to the universal resurrection, to stand before the Judge and to receive according to their desert. But when, having been judged, they shall fall from the good hope and be delivered to punishments, having then fallen from God, they shall no longer be able to rise again. Having spoken sufficiently about the earth, that is, about the inhabitants of the earth, he passes over to heaven and the celestial things, saying, "In that day," that is, at the time of the judgment, "God shall lay His hand upon the host of heaven," signifying the consummation of all things, in which heaven and earth shall pass away, ^C as the Saviour says, "And the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall," and the things that follow. And he calls the "host of heaven" the luminaries, according to Moses, who says, "Take heed, lest having looked up to heaven, and seen the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all the host of heaven, you be deceived and worship them." For the prophet also, signifying these things, adds, "And the brick shall melt, and the wall shall fall." Instead of which Symmachus says, "And the moon shall be abashed, and the sun shall be put to shame," and the rest likewise. Which things the Seventy covered, as if they were not handing down the Scripture to Greeks because of the absurdity of the expression. Therefore, God brings His hand upon them, working the consummation. And understand by the "kings of the earth" who are shut up, the princes of this world; as Gabriel also says in the ^D

and according to the manner of Daniel, Gabriel speaks, while he recounts that the princes of the kingdom of the Persians and of the Medes had come out to meet him ^A. For it was fitting that, with Christ now reigning in the new age, the adversaries should be cast down into a proper place. Symmachus translates it thus: *And they shall be gathered together with a gathering of prisoners into a pit, and they shall be shut up into a prison.* For they fell into the pit which they had made, no longer able to trouble those who live under Christ. The text says that it is kept secret, as a hidden thing, by whom their visitation shall be, or according to the others, they shall be visited—by God, obviously. He says that the sun and moon shall be ashamed, because they shall pay the penalty for those among whom they have shone, just as stewards who have long managed the house of a master, when the Master arrives and they see those under their care being punished, [are ashamed] because they were unable to contribute anything to their virtue. Following this is: *The Lord shall reign on Mount Sion.* For it was fitting that, in a discourse concerning the consummation, the future kingdom of Christ should be mentioned after the destruction of the opposing tyrants. By Sion and Jerusalem, along with the great Paul, he understands those heavenly ones, in whom those who are properly elders will be deemed worthy to be partakers of his divinity. ^B

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VERS. 1-8. *O Lord my God, I will glorify thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, an ancient and true counsel; be it, O Lord. For thou hast laid cities in a heap, strong cities, that their foundations might fall. The city of the ungodly shall not be built for ever, etc.*

Having completed the discussion concerning the universal judgment of the righteous and the ungodly, the end of which was the kingdom of Christ, the prophet proceeds to praise and glorify God upon these things. For being abundantly instructed by God concerning these, and then perceiving in his mind the fruit of the grace coming into him, and being moved finally by divine fear and also by his own intuition, he marvels at the kindness of God, as though it proceeds from a ^C wonderful and ancient counsel. Christ did not allow the antiquity of this to be unknown when he said: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And hence those words of the divine Paul also have proceeded: “As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by him.” But if you follow those who refer these things to the coming of Christ, Simeon expressed the antiquity of the counsel when he said: “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.” And Zacharias with these words: “And he hath raised up an horn of salvation ^D for us in the house of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.” It is therefore ancient because of this; and true, because even before the even-

when he shall have subjected all his enemies under his own feet, when he shall have made every principality and power and ^A strength to cease, that he will go forth. For then, indeed, every kind of wickedness having been lifted from the feet, and the last enemy, death, having been brought to naught, God shall be all in all; and our Savior, administering the kingdom of the new age in the sight of the elders, who are to reign with him in the life of the saints, shall be glorified. Because he desires to see the end of these good things as quickly as possible, he prays: "Let it be so, O Lord." He uses the word "thou hast done" concerning things that had not yet occurred, as he shows that it certainly shall come to pass, even if it has not yet happened; he adds, "Let it be so, O Lord." He prays indeed on behalf of those who are to obtain the blessedness. But concerning those in the mortal life who have previously passed away, he says, "Thou hast laid the cities in a heap," ^B praising him also because he overthrew the impious cities of godless men; perhaps signifying their evil works and the adversary powers themselves by the name of cities, which he often called a wall and a city on account of their strength; and not for long, since he said that Christ would so cast them down that they would not be raised up again. Those, however, who escaped their hands—that is, those among the impious men who have been saved—will bless thee, or, as others interpret, will glorify thee. These are truly the people who were impoverished on your account during the former age, and whom those who persecuted them for the sake of godliness injured. I mean those who were formerly poor in every virtue, stripped of the gifts which Israel alone enjoyed; they lay deprived of and destitute of the protection from above. For when all these things have been turned to the contrary for them, they ^C deservedly send up hymns and praises as an expression of their gratitude. For when they were lowly and in dejection, and were tossed about in the midst of the wicked, suffering a total lack of all things pertaining to the comforts of life, you, O Master, proved yourself their helper and protector. At the time when they were so pressed by thirst that they could use that saying of David: "My soul hath thirsted for God, the living fountain," you, like a fountain, watered them with the wave of the Spirit, and recreated those who were dejected by faintness of heart with the power of your only-begotten Word.

And that the Jews might not think that these things were said about them, he sets forth the grace which has been poured out upon all ^D the nations, adding these words: "And the Lord of Sabaoth shall make for all the nations upon this mountain." But what shall he make? According to the other interpreters, a symposium; but according to the Septuagint, they add, "They shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine." Therefore, he does not say that the Lord will prepare the banquet for the Jewish people alone, but for all the nations. Not in valleys, nor in plains, nor in many mountains, nor in any other place whatsoever, but upon that one which he designated with these words, "upon this mountain," he signified that he would prepare the banquet. But what, finally,

Chapter XXV

^A of the King, the Lord on mount Sion? There is the banquet for the nations, and the drink of immortality, regarding which the Apostle says: "You have come to mount Sion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." [Heb. xii, 22.] In these, those who from among the Gentiles are deemed worthy of the promises will drink joy, and they will drink the wine of the true vine. Regarding this, the Savior said: "I will not drink of it until I drink it new with you in the kingdom of heaven." [Matth. xxvi, 29.] But they will also be anointed with ointment; no longer receiving the earnest of the Spirit, but becoming partakers of the very fullness of the divinity that is in the Son of God. No longer knowing in part and prophesying in part [1 Cor. xiii, 9.], but having become participants of Christ in totality, so that they themselves are revealed as anointed ones, and sons of God, and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. [Rom. viii, 17.]

But according to those who interpret this as having been spoken concerning the Incarnation, the "mountain" designates the Church, which is called both a watchtower and a vision of peace, on account of the loftiness of its doctrines and the tranquility of souls; "wine" and "ointment," meanwhile, clearly signify the mystical anointing and the saving blood. For the blessed John also writes: "And you have an anointing from the Holy One." [1 Joan. ii, 20.] For those who are baptized are anointed with this, making the anointing a symbol of having received a share in the divine Spirit. But since Israel showed itself unworthy of these, he says: "Deliver them to the nations," just as one delivers a deposit for safekeeping in a mystery. For this reason, the prophet called these things "wondrous" and "an ancient counsel."

For the law of old, spoken through angels, was not given to Israel alone; but Christ is the expectation of the nations, according to the text: "And in him shall the nations hope." [Isa. xi, 10; Rom. xv, 12.] And the prophet maintains the same character, he says; for as if consoling those from Israel, he spoke of the destruction of the other nations, showing through all things the providence of God. ^C For those from Israel were despondent, seeing God pressing upon them with constant reproofs and chastisements, not thinking these to be proofs of God's philanthropy, but an indication of their own destruction, while they supposed the nations were living in freedom, as if they were not under God, nor were they made to pay the penalty for the things in which they were offending. Thus, even now, through better things, he has manifested his care for all. For the prophet was not telling these things while going about among the nations; but he was instructing the Jews concerning what would come to pass after a long time, confirming these things through what was just about to come to pass at the hands of the Assyrians. But how will the nations, which were ungodly from the beginning, attain these things? He explains that they, having fled through Christ from the death of idolatry—regarding which one would weep, as it carried the reproach of impiety—are converted. And the "tear" was that of those who, through philanthropy, mourned for the destruction of so many souls that had been brought about by the devil, who ^D Neque enim, ut vetus illa angelorum voce promulgata lex, soli Israelitico populo data est; sed est Christus ipse gentium exspectatio; in quem Scriptura teste, sunt omnes gentes sperature. Idem autem, aiunt, ingenium eumdemque morem propheta retinuit. Ut enim cum Israelitas consolaretur, aliarum etiam gentium interitum attigit; ut Dei in omnibus providentiam ostenderet. Gentes enim Israelitæ, in quas Deum plagis et animadversionibus continue incumbere cernebant, negligebant; nec divinæ ista humanitatis esse argumenta, sed suæ ita libertati relinqui, quod Dei cura non regerentur, nec eos attingeret scelerum vindicta, arbitrabantur. Sic jam per meliora, curam se de omnibus habere significat. Neque enim de gentibus ista obiter evagatus propheta retulit; sed, ut per ea, quæ ab Assyriis jamjam instarent, de his, quæ longo postea tempore futura essent, Judais fidem faceret. Cæterum demonstrat qua ratione gentes ab initio impietati ita deditæ, ut ejusmodi opprobrio notatas merito quis lacrymis prosequatur, ista per Christum idololatriæ morte devitata adepturæ sunt. Intelligit autem eos lacrymarum nomine, qui commiseratione commoti, tot animarum interitum

^A they lamented, which had perished through the devil, signified by the name of death. They had perished, therefore, as much as the human condition allowed: but they have been freed by the kindness of God from the disgrace of this shameful and diabolical servitude. You may also say, regarding the tradition of the mystery, that the resurrection of the dead itself was also added in due time, and that from this we profess the resurrection of the flesh at the very time of baptism, and that death, creeping into the human race through Adam, provided us with an occasion for lamentations and tears, the flight of which that resurrection of the Savior after three days—who is truly called the firstborn from the dead and the firstfruits of those who sleep—procured for us. But we shall all follow the firstfruits, and indeed the first, namely Him; whom, the sackcloth having been torn, He fortified with such joy around it, that with these words we do not hesitate to rise against death: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O hell, is your sting? The sting of death, however, is sin." ^B

Every tear has therefore been taken away from us, who, by the benefit of the hoped-for resurrection, are no longer cast down by immoderate grief, like the rest who have no hope. He calls this death the disgrace of the people, as if it had its origin from our transgressions; or even sin, from which corruption itself flowed. But since faith was not given by very many to the mystery of the resurrection, which is truly admirable, he added that the mouth of the Lord had spoken. Or he certainly usurped it for this reason, because no one would have easily believed that the nations could be freed from error. Nor should it seem a wonder to anyone that certain remnants of the worship of idols still survive. For it was fitting that we be taught from what the Redeemer Himself exempted us, when men once sacrificed their own children to demons. Thus, then, the freedom of our own will also appeared. But what he said about the mountain, according to the other interpreters, builds up another meaning. For thus Symmachus openly ^C rendered it: "And he will cast down the face of the ruler, who rules over all nations, upon this mountain: and the judgment, which has been judged against all nations, will cause death to be swallowed up forever: and the Lord God will wipe away every tear from the face: and He will take away the disgrace of His people from all the earth; because the Lord has spoken." 321 To which words Theodotion and Aquila agree with a concordant translation, implying that the Lord, when He will set a banquet on the aforementioned mountain for the nations which He will deem worthy of His secret mysteries; then at last, the face of the ruler having been cast down, He will also overthrow and destroy him who rules over all nations (that is, death, which is said to rule now indeed, but by the Apostle to have reigned from Adam himself even to Moses). These things, therefore, not undeservedly, because death ceases ^D the last enemy,

^A usurpavit. But it must not be passed over that Symmachus and Theodotion rendered "the face of the ruler" as "the face of darkness," teaching that the place abounds in the gloom and shadows of death. At that time, therefore, when the saints are to reign with Christ, then death, which was once accustomed to swallow up all, shall itself be swallowed up. And the cause of this thing is that unction, through which they shall no longer serve death; confirmed by which, the Apostle affirmed that "this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality," and the other things that follow. Then at last every reproach shall also be taken away. For it was no light reproach for men, who had been made in the image of God, to have fallen short of eternal life.

Ver. 9-12. *And they shall say in that day: Behold our God, in whom we hope, and he will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for him, and we shall exult and be glad in his salvation. God will give rest upon this mountain. And Moab shall be trodden down, even as they tread the threshing floor with wagons, etc.*

Death being swallowed up at the time of the resurrection, the sons ^B of the new age, beholding their Savior, shall sing a hymn of thanksgiving, saying: "Behold our God, in whom we hoped"; we who before hoped by faith now behold him with our very eyes and rejoice, having endured the impending sorrows for his sake. In return for which they shall enjoy the promised goods on the mountain of the kingdom. But that Moabitess—or Moab, if we follow the Hebrew letter—shall not escape the punishment for her impiety. Symmachus rendered "instead of him being helped" as "we will thresh." Nor did he conceal who those threshers would be, when he added that it would be trodden under the feet of the meek and the footsteps of the humble. By Moab, understand the demon honored among the Moabites, who ^C exalted himself against God, crushed those subject to him, and compelled the people of Israel to be initiated into Beelphegor. Furthermore, in the previous vision concerning the Moabitess, he affirmed that her aid and the prince who trod upon the earth had perished. Of him, Jeremiah himself speaks thus: "And Chamos shall go forth into captivity." And again: "And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos." He reveals what sort he was when he says: "The day of Moab is at hand, and his malice is very swift." And again: ^D "See how the glorious rod is broken." And again: "The horn of Moab is cut off, and his might is broken, says the Lord. Bind him, because he has magnified himself against the Lord." And again: "And he himself shall be for a derision, because he was a derision to you, O Israel." And next: "I have heard, he says, the pride of Moab; he has been exceedingly insolent, in his height and his pride." Since, therefore, he was thought formidable to the Jews, it was fitting to set forth his judgment to come. But where we have "and he shall humble the height of the refuge of your house," Symmachus says: "And he shall cause the fortification of the height of your walls to fall." The wall and fortification were his forces, with which he had fortified himself. You shall understand, through this one, what those also shall suffer who have deceived the rest of the nations.

interpreted by Symmachus. For it was the demons who were the wall and the fortification of his strength, with which he was fortified. Learn, furthermore, from one example what kind of things the demons themselves, who led the other nations into deceit, are destined to suffer. For the prophet wished this to be gathered for us.

CHAPTER XXVI

^A VERS. 1-8. *On that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judea, saying: Behold a strong city, and our salvation shall set as a wall and a bulwark; open the gates. Let the people that keep righteousness enter in, etc.*

Now, after their destruction, Christ shall reign over his own in that heavenly Jerusalem, which he called by the name of Judea, indicating the breadth of that city; and he calls the rule of life of the saints living therein the city of God, ^B looking appropriately to the region of that earthly Jerusalem; partly, indeed, that he might signify the truth of the things, and partly also that he might console the Jews, and also provoke them to the hope of the things set before them, so that those who have attained the promises might sing the heavenly song. But the song is of this kind: *Behold a strong city, our salvation.* For that lower city on earth is not strong, having been captured and stormed many times. But that one above is both strong and "salvation," which is what "Jesus" signifies in the Hebrew tongue. For he himself is the Savior of the blessed, the city, the wall, and the bulwark. By the naming of its gates, we should understand the entrances to the mansions existing therein, which he says are commanded to be opened, not to the Jews, nor to Israel, or to those who have attained them simply, but only to those who keep righteousness, truth, and peace. Concerning whom everyone who is beloved of God will say: ^C *Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter into them and give thanks to the Lord.* And they are opened to them because they hoped in thee forever, thou who didst destroy those dwelling in the heights and their cities, having ended their mortal life or having utterly destroyed the impious state of their cities.

These things agree with what was said before, where you said that you would turn fortified cities into a mound, so that they might be rooted up from the foundations. But you will exalt your own meek men (such as you affirmed would inherit the earth), who were humble before, at the very time of your righteous judgment, and you will make the heads of the proud, which were previously lifted up, to be trampled upon, when the way of the pious also becomes upright, with no survivor left to hinder it. Nor is there any other cause for this thing than the righteous judgment of God to be examined. There are those, however, who wished the aforementioned words to be understood concerning the coming of the Savior. For when he had delivered those mystical symbols of which he spoke, ^D God would be truly known by those who had received them, even though he had come in the flesh. They say that the discourse is meant for those from Israel, by whom he was expected, as they had learned from the Scriptures; and this is made clear by the example of Symeon and Zacharias, as has already been said, who having attained their hope, made it known. Such ones as these agree to give rest to God upon this mountain, that is to say, clearly the Church,

and for Christ cried out: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." ^A For through Him we have cast off the burden of sin, and the fear of the punishments that follow it. But the goods that lie in hope are also added. For it is written concerning the holy ones that everlasting joy is upon their heads. Then he shows that by the delivery of mystical things, the destruction of idolatry occurs, with Satan being cast down under the feet of the believers, through Him who granted them to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy. But by one idolatrous region, he signifies all of them. He will let go of his hands, he says—the inventor of idolatry, as his power is dissolved, through which he used to oppress man. Instead of his power, he has received the hand, through which he had subjected to himself those created by God for good works. Turning the discourse to the Moabites, he speaks of the height of the refuge of the wall, which is humbled, that is, the one who presided over deceit and idolatry. . . .

9-15. "We have hoped in thy name, and in the remembrance which my soul desired. With my spirit I watch for thee by night, O God, because thy judgments are light upon the earth. Learn righteousness, ye that dwell upon the earth. For the ungodly man has ceased," etc.

. . . for the morrow. As the soul is fed by every word of God, so it is illuminated by every commandment. Let it be your concern, therefore, to learn righteousness; for it is something learnable, not natural, like seeing and hearing; but the mystagogue to this is Christ, of whom it is said: "They shall all be taught of God." ^B And the prophet exhorts this even now to those from the nations who have believed, which is like: "Hear these things, all ye nations; give ear, all ye that inhabit the world." For even now the prophet calls all who inhabit the earth to the evangelical righteousness, not the Israelites alone, as does the law of Moses; but disobedience is not without penalty. For the ungodly man has ceased, being carried away to destruction, everyone who does not learn righteousness, nor perform the truth, that is, the worship and adoration offered, clearly, in spirit and truth. For the law had a shadow of the good things to come. But Christ is the only truth, who has also become to us righteousness from the Father, and what He proclaims is righteousness and truth. But the ungodly man is taken away, that he might not see the glory of the Lord. For He says: "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." And again: "He that believeth on the Son is not judged; but he that believeth not hath been judged already." For if one is not with Christ, ^C how shall he see His glory? This can also be taken to apply to the devil.

^A Since God threatens those who have not learned justice, the prophet recalls the ignorance born of the unbelief of the Jews. For the Son of God, called the arm of the Father through whom all things were made, having become incarnate in order to justify those on earth through faith, performed works surpassing nature and reason, demonstrating by these that He was God. Hence He said: "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not." But those who saw and were taught, instead of believing, insultingly called Him a Samaritan, a demoniac, a drunkard, and the carpenter's son. Indeed, when the Gentiles were being saved, the Jews, burning with wicked zeal, would rather have been consumed by fire than see them saved. The prophet indicated that they felt this way even at the birth of the Savior, because a child was born for us, a Son.

Hence it is that, turning his prayer to the Father, he addresses Him thus: "Lord, high is Thine arm, and they knew not," for they despised Him as some common man, whom they ought to have recognized by His works. But they shall be ashamed, he adds, when they behold His resurrection from the dead, at which time they gave ^B sufficient money to the soldiers, that the report of the matter might not reach everyone. They shall be ashamed also when they see Him coming in the glory of the Father, when those who were esteemed specifically for the sake of their fathers shall be excluded from the bridal chamber; for theirs were the promises, and the legislation, and the testament, but now and then they shall provoke the Gentiles to jealousy, being sent away into eternal fire. "For they," he says, "provoked me to jealousy with that which was not God, and I will provoke them with a non-nation." The prophet asks God for their sake to grant them peace with Him. For so, he says, shall we receive grace in full from Thee, we who have been favored with such great benefits through the fathers. And the prophet might be seen to have related this to himself, as if among the many benefits of God toward him, he confesses that this is the greatest: if he might obtain for the nation peace from Him, according to that word: "Being justified therefore by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Once this has come to pass, we shall become the property ^C and inheritance of God, knowing no other, obeying Thy law which commands: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." He might also call "peace" Him of whom we read: "For He is our peace."

Next, as to what is said: "For Thou hast rendered all things to us," some interpret this as concerning the punishment for sins which they deservedly bore. For, they say, since those [punishments] were justly inflicted upon us, grant us Him who alone is able to deliver us from Thy displeasure. By the reason of sovereignty, all things are Thine.

^A May it be that, having been redeemed through Christ from the death in sin, we may obtain communion with Thy kinship, and, knowing from what we have been delivered, we shall acknowledge no other. But those who remained in the deprivation of vital righteousness, and who have died unto God because of their sins, thus remain lamentable, because they refused to obey any of the spiritual physicians who had the power to heal them. Hence it is that, sparing them, Thou hast brought it about that they perished, not having allowed them to live longer in wickedness, so that they might not become worse through the offspring of sin; just as in the flood Thou didst shorten the one hundred and twenty years, and the seventy years which the prophet here mentions, following what is said in the fifty-seventh Psalm: "Men of blood and deceit shall not halve their days." And again: "Do not recall me in the midst of my days." Some say that one may understand here by the dead those whom Christ raised, such as Lazarus—men whom no other physician could have restored to life. ^B Observing this, Israel ought to have confessed Christ as God. But since it did not do this, it perished. Yet not utterly; for the remnant has been saved. And every male of them is the ruling order; for the male leads the female. You might also say that those distinguished for their counsel and understanding of the Law, according to that prophetic word: "I will go to the nobles and I will speak to them. And behold, they have with one mind broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds." Such also is that word: "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"—upon whom he asks that evils be added. For they not only fell from the intimacy with God because of the contumely they offered Him, but they also perished by the calamities from their enemies. He also called those who were mentioned as "males" noble, as excelling the rest, ^C just as He also calls "evils" those things which are harmful. As in: "He who creates evils." And in: "There is no evil in the city which the Lord has not done."

16-19. O Lord, in affliction we have remembered Thee; Thy correction was to us in a small tribulation. And as a woman in labor draws near to bring forth, and cries out in her labor, so have we become for Thy beloved, etc.

As if the prophet were looking upon the general judgment and standing before the tribunal of God, at one time he confesses, at another he beseeches, and at another he gives thanks. And at one time he enumerates the rewards from God for the good, and at another he enumerates the punishments against them, instructing us in all things as he himself was instructed by the Spirit. He says, therefore, that when the time came, walking the narrow and afflicted way for the sake of the contests of piety, we were empowered by the memory of Thee; so that we may say: we are afflicted, but not distressed; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. For tribulation was instructing us—knowing that whom He loves [He chastens]. ^D

^A For we considered any tribulation small, reasoning that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Therefore, enduring every tribulation, we were like a woman who is pregnant and ready to give birth. For, keeping within us your beloved and only-begotten Word, and the fear of your piety which was sown in us long ago, we endured bravely, fearing to miscarry your beloved one who is being formed within us, and your fear. Accordingly, we did not fall short of our hope, having attained as the end of both the salvation of our spirit. For having brought this forth, we showed it clearly to those on earth, so that those who are zealous might become like us. For those who did not receive this fear, nor bring forth the spirit of salvation, but remained without fetus and fruit, shall fall from the hope that is from you. But those who are of your portion, even if they should struggle against sin unto death, shall never fall from the life that is with you. "For the dead shall rise again"; or, according to Aquila, "Your dead ones shall live." Or, according to Symmachus and Theodotion, "Your dead shall live." And who would these, his dead, be, if not his holy martyrs, who are different from the aforementioned dead? For those who are dead cannot have life, if they have committed things worthy of death; but the dead of the Lord, who have suffered all things for his sake—of whom the interpretation of the rest is not as dead, but as sleeping—in the first sense, "those who are in the graves shall awaken"; ^B and in the second, they shall exult, or "praise" according to Aquila, or "shout for joy" according to Theodotion. For the death of the saints is called a slumber. And the cause of resurrection for them is that dew of yours, that is to say, your only-begotten Word, who, by distilling his own life-giving drops upon his own dead, will at once provide healing for what they have committed humanly, and at the same time grant the resurrection of the bodies scattered on the earth, just as the visible dew that descends by day toward the earth serves to nourish and make grow the seeds hidden within. But the case of the ungodly is not such. "For their land shall fall." ^C And so, as those who have fallen from God, he signified that they are to pay the penalties with their own souls and bodies. "For their land shall fall": thus, it is certain that this cannot be said of the impious. For he says, for their land shall fall, and thus, as if they have fallen away from God, he signified that they are to pay the penalties with their souls themselves and their bodies.

But there are those who interpret these words thus: The prophet, stirred up by great love for God against the daring deeds of the Jews, and saying, "Add evils to them, O Lord," when he ought to have been entreating God on their behalf, if he felt any compassion for them, offers this useful defense for himself, which is perceived from the damages and calamities divinely sent; for the memory of God ^D is wont to be awakened in us by all these things, just as it knows how to cause forgetfulness when things are flowing smoothly. For in tribulation

^A we are mildly instructed, God tempering His anger with gentleness ^A toward all. Therefore, from love comes the statement, "Add evils to them." For to a will that is fruitless, necessity is effectively applied. Such is: "With bit and bridle thou shalt check the jaws of those who do not draw near to Thee." But we, he says, have not been disposed toward Thy beloved Son as they were; rather, like a woman in labor, we have cried out against those who dared these things, our soul being in pain. Such is Isaiah, shouting: "But you, draw near hither, you sons who are lawless, seed of adulterers and of a harlot. In what have you taken your pleasure, and against whom have you opened your mouth?" Concerning whom David also said: "Let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see, and bow down their back always." Some, however, understand the "little" affliction to be only those threats which do not proceed as far as the deed. For in His benevolence toward mankind, ^B God threatens with the sole purpose of wanting to ward them off from evils. For He does not hate His own creation, nor did He bring it forth in order to punish it. For if He were such a one, it would have been possible for Him to carry out the punishment in silence as well. But as it is, wanting to save, He threatens in advance.

Since, therefore, he says that our affairs have reached such a state that our debt must be paid through great punishments, there is need of Thy beloved one to dissolve our calamities by His grace. ^C For from the time when, according to the prophecy, the Virgin is said to have given birth, he makes mention of the Child everywhere at appropriate times. But those who say that it was out of love for God that the beloved of the Father was that which a woman in labor [gives birth to], persist in the figure of speech, saying that they brought forth "spirits of salvation" to those who are on earth; which is appropriate for prophets, apostles, and even evangelists. For being enriched from above with the seeds of divine instruction, they brought forth to those on earth the "spirit of salvation," that is, clearly, spiritual doctrine. For it is customary for Scripture to call the writings of certain people a "spirit" at times, according to the passage: "Test the spirits whether they are of God." For the saving proclamation is called a work of the Holy Spirit, while those things which are contrary to this are called worldly. Hence also Paul’s saying: "But we have not received the spirit of this world, but the spirit which is from God." Therefore, he called the evangelical proclamation, which procures eternal life, the "spirit of salvation." ^D Other people say that the benefit arising from the threat is signified. For having received Thy fear as a good seed, and having conceived of it, we have garnered salvation at the opportune time. For while we were still on earth, Thou didst grant us time for repentance, not striking us down beforehand with the punishment we deserved, but allowing us time to turn back and be saved. And we who were dead in our trespasses will now be raised, as if from tombs, having attained grace from Thee; living under which, we shall rejoice, having abstained from evil deeds. For Thy mercy ^D as

^A Thou sendest down upon us is a healing dew, while the ungodly are perishing. He uses examples consistent with nature for our understanding. Indeed, in Ezekiel, when the Jews had abandoned hope because of the length of time, and God was about to show the prophet the return from captivity and the very restoration of the temple, He commanded that the bones of the dead be recalled to life through the preaching of the prophet, kindling in the doubting people hope through the resurrection of those things which appeared desperate.

Some explain it thus: since He said that the spirit of salvation would bring forth fruit upon the earth, and yet it is apparent that death still holds sway over those who live upon the earth, someone might ask: where is the benefit of the evangelical proclamation? Where is the spirit of salvation? Bringing forth a defense, He says: "The dead shall rise." For Christ, as the Apostle says, tasted death for everyone, and has become the ^B firstfruits of all who have fallen asleep; and when all rise, the power of death will be rendered void, even if we still die at present, because the time for the resurrection has not yet arrived. For then all will rise. And what is the manner of it? "The dew from Thee is a remedy for them." By this He refers to the life-giving energy of the Spirit, through which they will rise. And this is what David says: "When Thou hast turned away Thy face, they will be troubled, and will return to their dust. Thou wilt send forth Thy Spirit, and they will be created, and Thou wilt renew the face of the earth." But those who have fallen in the earth will revive again; yet the earth of the wicked will fall. This surely happened to the land of the Jews, which behaved injuriously toward Christ and those who brought forth the spirit of salvation to those on earth.

VERSES 20, 21.

After the instruction ^C concerning the resurrection of the dead, the prophetic spirit—seeing the saints gathered together in the same place and, on the other hand, the wrath conceived in the mind threatening the wicked—exhorts the saints with a voice to withdraw for a short time, so that they might not even be spectators of the destruction of the wicked. He understands by the name of "chambers" those many mansions which are with the Father, assigned to each according to the measure of their merit; into these, having entered, He says, do not be over-curious about the things that happen far off to the wicked. But when the wrath has passed, having opened the doors of your chambers, with great authority He exhorts you to go forth, contemplating the new age and the kingdom of God promised to you. However, there are some who say that the person of God is introduced here to console those who, while announcing the saving Spirit ^D to all, were destined to be subject to grievous and incurable evils and to death itself on earth, and who are addressed in the words of one person; they say these chambers are the tombs.

^A in this way, welcoming those who hide themselves, and commanding that they close their doors until the wrath of the Lord passes. For it was said to Adam: "Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt return." But it shall be freed from the corruption brought by the curse at the consummation, when death is brought to nought. He advises, therefore, to endure death until it passes, even if it should happen to those who act as guides into the mysteries to suffer this at the hands of those who hate the truth preached by them. For God will bring upon them from the sanctuary the fitting wrath. But the expression, "God from the sanctuary," is like that: "The Lord rained from the Lord sulfur and fire upon Sodom," the Son from the Father. "For the Father," He says, "judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." Since, therefore, the wrath is brought upon those who laid murderous hands upon the sanctified, the earth shall not hide the slain; that is to say, nothing shall escape the judgment of God, He who keeps in memory His holy martyrs. For Moses also said: "The blood of His children." Or he says that no one who long ago on earth lost his soul through sins that lead unto death shall escape the wrath that is being borne down upon them—that is, from the angels who serve in the punishments, according to what was said against the Egyptians: "He sent upon them wrath and anger and affliction, a mission through evil angels." And every soul that is earthly and lover of the body, the bloods—that is, the sins leading to death committed against itself—will surely reveal by confessing them.

^B Others, however, explain it thus: God adapts Himself to the hidden movements in the soul. Since, forsooth, He sometimes threatened and at other times held forth good hopes, by which they were troubled, not knowing what they would do, He rightfully, while working conversion in the soul, commands it to retreat into itself and to contemplate its own works, not moving by a passage from place to place, but by the examination of its thoughts, so that, having anticipated the Judge who was announced, if there is anything evil, they may consume it as fuel for fire, but keep the good as though it were being tested like gold. Likewise, the Savior also commands to close the doors of the chamber, both the sensible ones and also by teaching to be rid of the passion for superfluous things, so that God, seeing the mind at leisure, may write His own counsels as if upon a pure tablet. Thus, when Jeremiah felt ^C similarly toward the things done by the Jews against Isaiah and the other prophets, and expected to suffer things worse and greater than his own strength, to these movements of his soul God says: "They shall war against thee, and they shall not be able to prevail against thee." Because "I am with thee to deliver thee," says the Lord. But the wrath brought from the Lord, He says, is not a turning resulting from anger (for the Divine is impassible), but rather ^D that which is toward [those who provoke Him].

induces not an affection of an angry mind (for God is exempt from perturbations), but signifies the punishments due to our sins; which he understands not as being towards strangers, but towards the inhabitants of the earth, who, delighted only with the pleasure of the present age and having cast away all hope of that which is to come, say: “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die,” ^A whose disposition is entirely contrary to those who dwell as sojourners on the earth. Yet when the punishments are brought, then the iniquities of each will become manifest; which, while God acts patiently and leniently, are hitherto concealed. For when wrath is brought in, it will be impossible for anyone to be hidden, that there is a justice which avenges the wickedness of works, however much it may be ignored previously. That also shall be concerning you, he says, you who sacrificed your sons to demons. And the earth itself shall accuse you, which received their blood. And these things indeed pertain to them.

CHAPTER XXVII.

VERS. 1-11. *In that day God shall bring the holy and great and strong sword upon the serpent the flying dragon, upon the serpent the crooked dragon, and he shall slay the serpent, etc.*

^B But those who wished these things to be spoken concerning the consummation, and to be referred to that judgment which is to come, signified that it would come to pass that, upon their completion, death itself (which is the last of all enemies) would be destroyed: and therefore it is that, at the very extreme of all things, and when all things have been consummated (for this is what is signified by “in that day”), God is to bring the holy sword (whom other interpreters call “hard”) and the strong one, which was preserved ^C for none other according to the measure of his malignity: just as it befell him who supplanted Adam in paradise, and cast him down from the rank which he had attained before God. He, indeed, of whom it is written: “Now the serpent was the most prudent of all the beasts which are on the earth”; he, I say, who having deceived our first parents and their posterity by fraud, is very fittingly called a serpent, because he is wont to creep on the ground and lie in wait for the feet of men, and by injecting poison, drive them from the straight path that leads to God. “For he himself shall crush thy head,” says the Lord, “and thou shalt lie in wait for his heel.” Moses, therefore, content with having recounted his fraud, omitted what punishment awaited him, which is now taught by the prophet. The rod of God, therefore, is straight and suited for discipline; for we read: “The rod of direction is the rod of thy kingdom”; it is preserved for correction for those who admit the medicine ^D of sins. But the serpent is everywhere entirely sinuous and crooked and creeping on the ground upon his belly and breast, and watching the heels of all; after the destruction of all the impious, he shall be delivered to that hard and great and strong sword (which the Seventy interpreters note); by whose name is signified the Word of God, living and effectual and sharper than any two-edged sword, who, coming against the serpent as an adversary, slew him, as they say, destroying his existence from amongst *those things which are* and toward the

^A annihilation of his mode of being. For the wrath of God, which is brought in for correction and conversion (concerning which it is said: "O Lord, do not rebuke me in your indignation, nor discipline me in your wrath"), is not appropriate for him. For one thing is prepared for rebuke, and another for discipline; both of which are suitable medicines for those who have sinned, but not for the Dragon, who deserves only to be destroyed. Seeing the sword brought against him, he will prepare himself for flight, not being able in his folly to say, "Where shall I go from your Spirit, or where shall I flee from your presence?" He will attempt, therefore, to flee into his own ^B recesses and hide himself in the so-called sea, in which it is said that this dragon, "which you formed to play with," exists. Concerning whom Job says: "Will you draw out the dragon with a hook?" And after other things: "This is the beginning of the creation of the Lord, made to be played with by your angels." And again: "He is king over all that is in the waters." He teaches that for this reason life is granted to him, that the saints, mocking him, might exercise themselves in the battle against him. But when the contest is finished, and the sentence against the impious has been passed, and to each that which is just has been repaid according to the measure of his merits, the sword shall be brought against the dragon, the fleeing serpent, against the dragon, the crooked serpent. As Symmachus says, "against Leviathan the crooked serpent, and he shall kill the dragon that is in the sea in that day." As Aquila says, "upon Leviathan the squalid or invalid serpent, and he shall kill the whale that is in the sea in that day."

You will note, moreover, that everywhere according to the Hebrew reading, Leviathan is found as a proper name. For also in the place where it is written, "He who is about to take the great whale," Leviathan is written. And in that: "This dragon." And in that: "Will you draw out the dragon with a hook?" But he is multinominal, as he is multi-headed. He is called Dragon, and Serpent, and Devil, and Whale, and Satan, and Leviathan, and Lion, and Basilisk. But at the first coming, the Savior did not use his sword upon him ^C nor did he slay him, but merely stepped upon him, and trampled down his powers. Concerning whom it is said: "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon." And now, too, He treads upon him, giving to the disciples the power to walk upon serpents and scorpions. But at the consummation, He will slay him completely. And here the discourse concerning the universal judgment of God is outlined. Others say that along with his children who killed the saints, He will also slay Satan, whom He calls "fleeing" because of his cowardice, and "crooked" because of his craftiness. Nevertheless, he shall be slain. For indeed, some say that the Father himself will slay Satan along with his sons, who—

having brought about total destruction and having passed beyond the partitions of the world, which brought him error and desire... my power ^B—shall pay the accounts of his impiety, undergoing the ultimate penalty, being held fast by the gates of Hades, and suffering the endless torment of the eternal fire. Others say that by "sword" here, he refers to the operation of justice, which he calls holy—at once tempering the dread of the threat, and at the same time showing that those being punished will not end in destruction, but that it will be a cause of holiness for them upon their repentance. For God does not wish to destroy those he disciplines, but to purify and sanctify those who turn back. By the name of the "dragon," he refers to the Assyrian or the Chaldean. He then refers ^C to the father of wickedness, the devil, who, when the complete end has been brought about—and when the parts of the world have passed away, which brought him error and desire—shall pay the penalty. But let those who oppose God utilize that. We, however, having become wise from what they have suffered, let us make peace with Him. For the prophet says this to those of his own portion: "For it is fearful to fall into the hands of the living God." He has set forth who those coming are. "The children of Jacob shall blossom," and so on, clearly hinting at the apostolic choir, concerning whom he previously said, "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed." For the Jews, being such, were the children of Jacob. They blossomed ^D not into wood, hay, or stubble, but into good fruit and a fragrant flower, filling the whole earth with the fragrance. To them, therefore, and to their disciples, the prophet exhorts, saying, "Let us make peace with him." These things began to be fulfilled as they preached to the whole inhabited world: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ." Hence, also, they had beautiful feet, by which the good things of peace were announced. Some say that the prophet is exhorting these things to the peoples everywhere. But since Israel acted impiously toward the Redeemer, and the first-born kicked against the goads, we who were to come in due time—from darkness to light, from error to knowledge, from sins to justification—let us make peace, having abolished the ancient enmity. For with sin abolished and Satan rendered powerless, there is nothing to prevent us from sacrificing to the Lord and obeying His commandments. Such also are the words of Paul to the Gentiles: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Having exhorted those who are coming (concerning whom David also says, "The coming generation shall be announced"), he joyfully turned his discourse to the apostles, because they won the inhabited world for Christ. And that which is said, "The inhabited world shall be filled with his fruit," is in harmony with, "Into all the earth their sound has gone out." For those who believe are the fruits of apostolic labors, whom the blessed Paul also called his "joy" and "crown."

^A

Some say that the prophet gives this advice to those of his own time, not wanting them to experience the threats previously uttered. "Change your minds," he says, "you who have declared war against your own Creator, having recognized that his nature is unconquerable." For thus the race will also receive increase, and the entire inhabited world will be occupied by you. Instead of the phrase, "let us make peace with him as we come," some, following other interpreters, have rendered it, "he will bring peace to me as they come," and they said: "For the conversion is [towards] the last ones." Then the prophet says: "Not as he himself struck, shall he himself be struck?" The meaning is: Did they return evil for evil to the nations, those who were preaching peace to them, even while suffering the most terrible things from them? Therefore, he says to the unbelievers: "Were you not the one meditating with a hard spirit to destroy them with a spirit of rage?" But since they were bearing everything bravely for Christ's sake, he added, "The iniquity of Jacob shall be taken away," acknowledging this to be the cause of the remission of sins and of blessing. For if he will be saved through the bearing of children, if they remain in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety, according to the Apostle, it follows that Jacob himself, having brought forth children, should also share in their virtue and blessing. He indicates that many will be saved through the apostolic grace, including those who are related to them by blood. He says that these things will happen especially when idolatry is abolished by the teaching of those who were mentioned. ^B

Some, however, say that because he said that the inhabited world will be filled with the fruit of Israel, someone might object by saying, "And yet he became stiff-necked, and killed the saints." Therefore, he explains that it is not in response to what they did to them that the fountain of gentleness came forth, but that the victorious philanthropy of God will not utterly destroy the race chosen for the sake of the fathers. Therefore, God says through one of the prophets: "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? I will make you as Adama, and as Seboim? My heart is turned within me. My compassion is stirred. I will not execute the fierceness of my wrath. I will not allow Ephraim to be destroyed, for I am God in you, and not man, the Holy One in you." For, as God, he has ineffable gentleness. Others say that they did not receive like for like. For they indeed set up idols for the annihilation of his divinity so far as it depended on them; but he does not utterly destroy them, but by partly rebuking them, and partly reminding them of the good things they had received, he brought about the recall from the captivity. By saying, "Were you not the one meditating with your hard spirit to destroy them?" he reminds them of the threat, of which ^{C D}

they were boldly boasting against idols—that they would crush them—and now he exhorts them to carry out that promise in deed. For in this way, he says, you will also be cleansed of your sins.

But let us return to the first explanation. For when the apostles had accomplished these things, and had filled the earth with their preaching, the flock that formerly dwelt afar will be abandoned. For it did not receive the good shepherd who laid down his own life for the sheep. Therefore, they allowed their own souls, as if they were certain lands, to become pasture which a boar from the forest ravaged and a wild beast grazed upon, and in them the destroyers rested. ^A This is what Symmachus rendered in this way: "For a fortified city alone, beautiful, is left behind, and it is abandoned as a desert. There a calf will graze, and there it will lie down, and it will consume its branches. In the drying up of its harvest, they will be shattered." With these words the interpretation of the others also agrees. And this is that formerly mentioned "fortified city" and "beautiful vine," which he says will be deserted after the preaching of the apostles has been confirmed everywhere, and idolatry has been abolished.

Some say that after he said he would not exact from them the penalty equal to the things in which ^B Israel had offended against the saints, he adds what sort of measure of movement there will be regarding them. "By contending and reproaching he will send them out," that is to say, he will cast them off from his own fellowship and intimacy. For the Savior sent Israel away "contending," that is, rebuking. For he said, reproaching them: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets," and what follows. You see how, by rebuking, he sent them away. Yet, in such a way that a remnant has been saved, as Isaiah says: "If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved." But the holy man also reproaches them with boldness, as those who had made it a practice ^C to kill the saints. And if you wish to deny it, he says, let the one who says, "For which of the prophets did your fathers not kill?" come forward as a witness. And again: "It is not possible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem." But through the middle, having rebuked them, he returns again to the previous sequence, as if speaking from the person of God: "For this reason, the iniquity of Jacob shall be taken away." For what reason? Because he will not be killed in the way that he killed. For He will also remit his debts to him in due time. And this is His blessing. For if He had exacted the penalty according to the magnitude of the offense, He would not have accomplished in deed what had been promised to Abraham: "Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you," ^D even though He was provoked so many times by the sins of his descendants. But, he says, when will he be free of his transgressions? When those who have been called through faith shall make war against the ancient error, wiping out every remnant of it, in accordance with the apostolic…

words—which warned that all Israel would attain salvation only when the fullness of the Gentiles has entered in. ^A He calls Israel a "transferred flock" because it is agreed that it once abounded in good shepherds; but now, abandoned, those wild beasts—that is, the evil powers conceived in the mind—feed upon it with no one to ward them off. Indeed, not even the Romans ceased to plunder it until they saw it destitute even of the smallest things. Nor are there wanting those who say that by the name of "pasture" the payment of tribute imposed by enemies is signified. For just as He promised that He would bless them if they ceased from the worship of idols, so He threatened that He would send them into exile and servitude if they persisted in it.

VERS. 11-13. Women coming from the spectacle, draw near. For it is not a people that has understanding. Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, and He who formed them will not spare them. And it shall be in that day that the Lord will enclose from the ditch of the river, even to Rhinocorura, etc.

^B After having discussed the total and absolute devastation of the Jews, as if no men worthy of salvation were to be found among them, He calls the women themselves as witnesses of wondrous works, that by coming they might enlighten the people lying in darkness and their abandoned city. Hence it is that we read that Aquila interpreted it, "Women coming enlighten it," but Symmachus, "Women coming and showing it." But let us learn who these were. For Matthew says: “There were many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him,” whose names he adds. Luke writes in this manner: “And the women who had come with him from Galilee followed after, and saw the tomb, and how His body was laid; and these, having learned ^C about the resurrection of the Savior, returned from the tomb and announced everything to the apostles.” Since, therefore, the people who had no understanding did not believe in the preaching of the apostles—even though the Gentiles were eagerly embracing the word—the divine Spirit calls the women for this reason. For they were slandering the apostles, claiming that they had stolen the body of the Savior by night. Therefore, He calls those beyond suspicion to refute the madness of these foolish men. For they alone are disobedient, though they see Churches spread everywhere in the world, yet they do not behold the divine power of the evangelical preaching. Women, however, are the first to believe in the resurrection, because a woman was also the first to be exposed to the deception of the serpent. ^D Therefore, through this exercise of the apostolic office, they exempted themselves from the blame of a more serious accusation. For they were commanded to "rejoice" by Him who at the beginning, having put a curse upon Eve—saying, "In sorrow you shall bring forth children"—had originally condemned her.

had decreed that she would give birth to children not without pain. He warns the Jews, however, because they are foolish, that the Lord would not show mercy; but that at a fixed and appointed time He would enclose them from the riverbed; which others have expressed with the word "to strike," in order to signify that the Lord would strike that faithless and foolish people.

^B There follows next a designation of the place, from the riverbed to the torrent of Egypt, as we read in Symmachus and the other interpreters, by which words is demonstrated the war of the Romans against the Jews, which would perhaps range from the river Jordan to the torrent of Rhinocorura bordering on Egypt. But He says, the Lord will strike them with rods—a whip, that is, against them—namely, the army of the enemy, so that He might teach them to repent, leading them on. Hence, therefore, He also used that expression earlier: "Woe to the Assyrians, the rod of my anger and fury is in their hands." Others say that Judea is distinguished as if by the boundaries of the Euphrates and Rhinocorura. Furthermore, by the word "to enclose," He meant to besiege and afflict. For "enclosure" is a blockade of inescapable evils. But indeed the mind of the Jews is also closed off, not admitting the light of the truth. For "blindness," according to the divine Apostle, "has happened in part to Israel, and to this very day, when Moses is read, a veil is laid upon their heart." But to the heralds of the Word, the Lord next gives orders, saying: "But do you gather the sons of Israel one by one." For even if they refuse to come to the faith in a crowd, because it is a people having no understanding, it was not to be scorned, however, to gather some few one by one, to whom the great Peter also cried out: "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your princes did. Repent therefore and let each one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord..." ^C

Chapter XXVIII

VERS. 1-22. Woe to the crown of pride, the mercenaries of Ephraim. The flower that has fallen from its glory upon the top of the fat mountain, you who are drunk without wine. Behold, a strong and hard thing, etc.

349. Leaving behind figures, to approach the liberty of truth. "God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." And indeed the Law itself is a bond which makes no one righteous, but rather keeps them, as it were, fettered for punishment. ^D Moreover, David himself, when he was zealously urging them to hasten toward grace through faith, said: "Let us break their bonds, and cast off their yoke from us," signifying, of course, the weight of the Law imposed upon them, with which the teachers of the Jews were accustomed to oppress those subject to them. He says, prefer to these the short grace of faith, which is contained in small periods of words, not, as was given by Moses from that time only to the Jews, but to all the inhabitants of the earth. For Moses said, "Hear, O Israel."

^A Christ, however, through the one who sings, says: "Hear these things, all nations." Some say that the phrase, "and do not you rejoice," is fittingly addressed to Israel as an exhortation not to persist in the pleasure of their sins, nor to bind themselves with sins, but to shrink back at the hearing of judgment. It is also fitting for the nations, as he prohibits you from rejoicing at the punishment of the Israelites. For the things of the judgment will reach you also, if you continue in your sins.

23-29. "Give ear and hear my voice. Attend and hear my words. Shall the plowman plow all the day to sow? Shall he prepare the seed before he has worked the land? Is it not when he has leveled the face thereof, etc." ^B He still exhorts the crown of pride, which has rejected the precious stone, to give its ears to the voice carried through the air, and to reflect upon and follow what is said. He then uses an example, teaching them that, as they are powerful, so they will be powerfully tormented. For they were princes, and priests, and teachers. For he says, the time for plowing and for sowing is different.

And after the harvest, the cleansing of the fruits differs; some require a wagon, and wheels that cut, as many as are stronger than the others; while others are content with only rods, as they are weaker. In the same way, the word of God, by tilling our souls, at the right time renews them with doctrine, as with a plow, breaking up the hidden thoughts. Whence he also says: "Break up new ground for yourselves, and do not sow upon thorns." ^C But when the face (so to speak) of the earth has been leveled, all thorny wickedness having been utterly extirpated, then at last he casts in the seeds suitable for those receiving them, whether larger or smaller, for there are "divisions of gifts." When the harvest is present (and he taught that this signifies the consummation), then Christ will demand the fruits worthy of the seeds. Of those who do not provide them, those who received the small will be punished moderately, but those who received the great will pay a very great penalty, just as those who were deemed worthy of great things—the priests—and who became the crown of pride and the mercenaries of Ephraim, as they dared to lead the people astray and to reject the elect stone.

^D Then, as for what follows, "and you shall be instructed in the judgment of God," or according to Symmachus, "and his God will instruct him in judgment," it shows that God himself, as is done in natural discipline and that granted by God to the farmer, will judge concerning the varied cleansing of the fruits. But for the passage, "and cumin shall be eaten with bread," Symmachus says: "Cumin is with a staff, but bread will be ground fine," using "bread" instead of "wheat." And as for the words, "For I will not for ever..."

^A be angry, nor shall the voice of my bitterness trample you," Theodotion and Symmachus rendered it thus. "But he shall not be always threshing it, nor shall the wheel of his wagon disturb it, nor shall he grind it fine with his hoofs." That is to say: when the wagon wheel passes over the grain, grinding it, and the oxen at the same time crush the straw around it with their hoofs, he does not destroy the grain itself; just as punishment does not destroy the substance of souls. The Seventy, perceiving this, rendered it: "For I will not be angry with you for ever." This means, I do not chastise unto the destruction of substance, just as the wagon wheel does not destroy the grain, but renders it clean. He says that all these things appear as wonders to those who do not understand; it is not a human being who spoke, but God Himself who declared it. But if you think you can find some consolation against God's counsel, you exalt it in vain. According to Symmachus: "And this has gone forth from the Lord of hosts, he lauded the counsel, he magnified the salvation."

^B There are those who explain the whole passage in this way. The person of Christ is introduced here, who compels the Israelites toward the faith of the evangelical preaching: toward which, he says, there is need of great attention, and one must not listen sluggishly, but observe diligently, and cease from the observance of the law henceforth. For, as the blessed Apostle teaches: "Christ is of no benefit to you, whoever you are being justified by the law: you have fallen from grace." Furthermore, that very attention signifies that Christ is found adumbrated in the law; nor does it, if understood spiritually, dissent from the Gospel. "For if you believed Moses, you would also believe me; for he wrote concerning me." ^C But they used the observance of the law as an excuse so that, being considered pious under this pretext, they might rage against Jesus, as if he taught things contrary to the law. He says, therefore: "Will he who plows, plow all day?" — to teach, of course, that the mind of idolaters is like thorny ground, and that it needs a word, like a catechetical plow by which it may be broken up, so that it may be prepared to receive the seed sent from above and be able to bring forth fruit. This is what happened to the sons of Israel when they departed from Egypt and received that law as a plow, so that it might cut through the hardened land of their souls. It is fitting, therefore, when the plow has ceased, to receive the evangelical seed; that is, once the figures are removed, to embrace the truth. ^D For the farmer, he says, as soon as he has leveled the ground, does not immediately commit the more solid seeds to it, but begins with the thinner ones, as if exercising the land. For such is the method of tilling the soil within your borders. Thus, therefore, the law, when it had leveled the soil, sowed for you the thin shadows of the truth, as it were seeds of cumin or poppy, which, if taken by themselves, contribute nothing at all to food; but only with other things, that is,

[the joining of] barley and wheat, from which bread is made, joined and coupled together.

^B Thus must the Law also be yoked with spiritual doctrine. For since the Law was weak for the cleansing of sins, the shadow has been removed, and the life-giving judgment has been introduced; that is, Christ Himself, who by the short path of faith makes men righteous—something the long periods of the Law could never achieve. And for the believer, just as the Lord—who is Judge—commands what must be done, so too do the things of spiritual joy accompany it. He keeps again to this example as a useful and convenient one, to show how He punished the slothful observers of the Law with moderate judgment. For though He openly complained that He was honored by the people of the Jews only with their lips, and the rest that follows, yet He took vengeance with great humanity, just as if one were to strike a poppy with a rod. Moreover, He says that even if the Law is kept, it is in itself useless if it lacks the junction of bread. But lest He leave His aforementioned humanity obscure, He added: "I will not be angry with you forever, nor shall My judgment pass over you in such a way that you be exposed to being trodden underfoot by the children of wrath." For this reason, He calls it a portent and a thing worthy of admiration, that there should be a place for mercy for Israel, though it was stained by such great filth of sins. Hence also it is that He commands them to take up good counsel, accusing them because, having judged a foolish consolation to be some great and lofty thing, they turn away from what is fitting. And that consolation may perhaps have been that which they spoke of: "We have made a covenant with Hades," and the things that follow. For they heard: "If a rushing storm passes by, you shall be for it as something to be trodden underfoot."

CHAPTER XXIX.

VERS. 1-8. Woe to the city of Ariel, which David besieged. Gather fruit, adding year to year. You shall eat with Moab. For I will distress Ariel, etc.

355 By the Ariel here lamented, they themselves say—the children of the Jews—that Jerusalem is meant, saying that the altar which stood before the temple was specifically called ^C Ariel. Wherefore Ezekiel, describing the temple in his final chapters, says thus: "And these are the measures of the altar, by a cubit of a cubit and a palm." And further on: "And from Ariel upwards, there are four horns; and the Ariel shall be twelve cubits." ^D The interpretation of the word signifies as if you were to say "Lion of God," because whatever was offered on the altar of God, it consumed it all. Some, however, say that the city was given that name because, by the help of God, it would scatter those resisting it just like a lion. They further maintain that the words "city which David besieged" are not found in the Hebrew, but rather "the little city of the circumvallation of David," as Aquila translated it. For it was a city of foreigners, called Jebus, which David took only when he had slaughtered the blind and the lame who resisted him. Just as Christ also showed the inhabitants of this place to be blind—

^A and lame, unwilling to walk straight or to receive the divine light, especially the Scribes and Pharisees. Whence David says, "Alien children have grown old, and have limped from their paths" (Ps. XVII, 46). And Paul, "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest any that is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed" (Hebr. XII, 12). That they were also blind, the Savior Himself plainly declared, saying, "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind" (John IX, 39). For the Gentiles clearly recovered their sight, but those who carried the illumination from the Law were blinded. It is possible also to take the phrase "which David fought against" to mean "because of which he fought." The prophet, therefore, now speaks about this city, following his previous remarks about its princes and the "crown of reproach," for because of their transgressions, the city itself was also destined to suffer.

He says to those who dwell in it: "Gather fruit while there is yet time," that is, as long as the liberty of one year is extended to you, by which he signifies the time of the visitation, during which Christ was preaching the "acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution" (Isa. LXI, 1). Perhaps he seems to have conversed with them for a second or even a third year. He exhorts them, therefore, while they have time, to store up spiritual food for themselves from Him. "For you shall eat," he says, "with Moab," ^B indicating the nations through the name of a single idol-worshipping city; for in the Church there is common food for the people of both. They say, however, that the words "For you shall eat with Moab" are not found in the Hebrew text, nor among other interpreters. And in other ways, they say, the superfluity of the ^C interpretation is proven from the context of the translation. "But if you are unwilling to gather and bring in your intelligible food, I will utterly destroy Ariel, which is Jerusalem." Instead of "And its strength and riches shall be mine," Symmachus said: "And it shall be sorrowful and mourning." One may, however, understand its strength both intellectually and sensibly. The former, because they were broken in war, and their wealth fell to the Romans through plunder. The latter, because they became naked of the ornaments that come from virtue, having lost along with these the wealth of the knowledge of the Law. "As David took you when you were possessed by aliens, so I will make you to be taken by siege." For you have become even now a dwelling-place of aliens, full of wicked rulers, and ^D of the "crown of reproach," who also uttered haughty words against Christ, saying, "We know that God spoke unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is" (John IX, 29). He says that these words—that is, those who say them—will be brought low. For having been afflicted by war, they will use most lowly voices, saying things both pitiful and thin, just as demons do in necromancy.

^A Indeed, they will emit a certain thin and squeaky sound. But Symmachus rendered the statement like this: "And I will build a station against you, and I will raise up a siege against you, and you will be humbled. You will speak from the earth, and your speech will be leveled under the earth, and your voice will be from the earth like a ventriloquist, and your speech will hiss from the earth." Now the Savior, seeing what Jerusalem was soon to suffer, laments her, saying: "If you had known, even you, the things that make for your peace! But days will come upon you, and your enemies will set up a barricade around you," and what follows. The prophet says, moreover, that the evils will be upon you suddenly, as in a moment of time. For it will be a visitation from God, and not from men. He shows that she will be burned with fire, since a thunderclap from God, an earthquake, and a tempest will be brought upon her; that is, that the assault of the enemies will be like some thunder and earthquake, and will become a tempest and a fire consuming her. Having foretold these things concerning Jerusalem, he adds regarding those who besieged her, speaking wickedly of the enjoyment of the luxury of the Roman rulers in this life. For it was fitting for us to learn their end as well. For after the manner... ^B

Verses 9-21. Fail and be amazed, and be drunk, not with strong drink, nor with wine: for the Lord has made you drunk with a spirit of compunction, and He will close their eyes, and of their prophets, and of their rulers who see the hidden things, etc.

For those who ravaged them became like woodcutters to the people of Jerusalem. ^C This is what Zechariah signifies when he says: "Open your gates, O Lebanon, and let fire consume your cedars. Let the pine wail, because the cedar has fallen. Wail, O oaks of Basanitis, because the planted forest has been cut down." At that time, then, he says—at the time when that transformation of the aforementioned book occurs—those who were formerly deaf will hear the words; he indicates the Gentiles, whom he called "Lebanon," the words "sealed" [to] "Carmel," [that is, to] the people of the Jews. Because those who were formerly wild have become tame. But those who were formerly tame have, on the contrary, become wild. And those who were formerly in mist and darkness will see the light of the book. But those who formerly looked upon the mysteries of God will become blind to them. And those [the former] will abound in joy and spiritual salvation, of which they were deprived from the time of their fathers. But those [the latter] will suffer a lack of such things. Having fallen from the hope of which the former have become participants, the former having been

^A without hope, according to the text: "Having no hope and without God in the world." They are within these, not having stumbled at the stone of stumbling, who have believed in the seal set upon the book, which is Christ. For the wicked one who formerly ruled them has failed—that is the devil, whom he calls proud, he says, and those who are wicked under him. For with the author and prince of wickedness, all the other demons also perished. Furthermore, even with the nations being saved, those who are accused, the Jews, will by no means survive; but every proud one among them shall fail, as shall he who mocks the word of Christ. For Symmachus has rendered it thus: "And they were consumed who were mocking, and all were cut off who were leading men into injustice, causing them to sin in word." These, surely, who according to the Septuagint are called "iniquitous" on account of the transgression of the Law; but "proud," because they arrogantly attacked Christ, daring to boast such things as: "Is not this the son of the carpenter? How then does he say, 'I have descended from heaven'?" And again: "Abraham died, and the prophets died, and you say: 'If anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death'?" Moreover they were saying, "He has a demon, and is mad. Why do you listen to him?" These were they who were setting traps in the courtyards for those who instructed them—the prophets, clearly—against whom they hunted for every kind of opportunity for conspiracy. And elsewhere he says: "And they hated those who reproved them in the gates, and abominated the holy word," ^B they who cast aside and rejected both the righteous word and Christ himself—Righteousness itself—in vain, having nothing of which to accuse him. Some interpret "in the gates" as meaning nothing hiddenly, but with total boldness; and they interpret "the righteous" as the Law, among the unjust traditions of the elders, as it has been said.

VERS. 22-24. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the house of Jacob, whom he separated from Abraham. Not now shall Jacob be ashamed, nor now shall his face change: but when their children see my works, for my sake they shall sanctify my name, etc.

The text refers to these same ones, whom he says are called the "house of Jacob"; whom God, as unworthy of the pious Abraham, separated from Himself, according to that word: "If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham." But where we read, "whom he separated from Abraham," Symmachus translated it as, "Who redeemed Abraham," to teach that those against whom he inveighs were by no means redeemed. Therefore, the calling of the nations having been foretold, and your rejection—at which time these things are pronounced—you do not blush, he says, as if you did not believe that these things would come to pass. But the event of the things themselves will provide faith for you in its own time. For then, he says, your children will be ashamed when they see the God of Jacob ^D by the foreigners, who [the foreigners] are his [servants].

with barley and wheat, from which bread is made, and is united and joined.

So too, it is fitting for the spiritual teaching and the law itself to come together. For when the law was weak for the purging of sins, the shadow was removed, and the life-giving judgment was introduced; that is, Christ, justifying through faith, who achieved what the long periods of the Law could never accomplish. And to him who believes, as to a judge who prescribes what is to be done, there follows the joy of spiritual cheer. And as one again lays hold of a useful example, showing how with moderate chastisement he dealt with the laws, even though he says, "This people honors me with their lips," and things beyond this, and yet he punished them philanthropically, as if with a purging rod on a black vine. “Even if it should be kept," he says, "the law, in itself useless, needing the compounding of bread." Making the aforementioned philanthropy clear, he added, "I will not be angry with you forever. Nor will I exact punishment upon you in such a way that you are trampled underfoot by others." Therefore, it is a mystery and worthy of wonder that, while being of such standing, he should be entreated to pity Israel. Whence he says, "Assume the good, being ready to make a great and high petition, regarding it a possession, as is reasonable, to be held in high esteem." It would be as he was saying, "We have made a covenant with Hades," and the rest: "When the onrushing storm passes by, you shall be trampled underfoot by it."

CHAPTER XXIX

8. Woe to the city, Ariel, which David fought against. Gather the fruits year after year. For you shall eat with Moab. "I will bring distress upon Ariel," etc.

9. Those who turn their hands tremble, and Ariel, they say, refers to the children of Judah, that is Jerusalem, and they say the altar that stands before the temple is specifically called Ariel. Therefore, Ezekiel in the final chapters describes the altar thus: "And these are the measures of the altar by cubits, and a span. And beyond..." And a little later: "And upon Ariel, above the horns, cubits..." It signifies, however, the same thing by the interpretation of the word, as if you said, "the lion of God." For what was offered upon the altar of God, it consumed, and all that was offered on it. Some say that since the city is spoken of in this way, because through God, like a lion, it would tear apart those who rose against it. But the city which David fought against, they say is said to be in the Hebrew, but according to Aquila, "a city of the siege of David." For when they were foreigners, what were called Jebusites were taken by David, to kill the blind and the lame who were opposing him. Just as Christ also set forth the inhabitants of this city existing as blind

and convinced that it was under Baruch who hated us, saying that he was not declaring the words of God. And so, having taken him along with Baruch, they all went down into Egypt. ^A Isaiah now foretells these things, having lived nearly one hundred and fifty years before Jeremiah. He laments the turn taken by those who did not believe Jeremiah, and calls those who formerly were enrolled in the order of children "transgressors," having fallen away from God into impiety, even to the slaughter of their own children, and not hesitating to resist the prefects.

It seems, however, to be against the historical record for Isaiah to say, "And they did not ask of me." For they did ask through Jeremiah. But they did not ask as those who ought to ask of God, upon whom it was necessary to be fully persuaded. He showed the equality of honor of the Spirit: for just as he said "not through me," so he immediately added "nor through my spirit."

"Pharaoh" is a name common to the kings in Egypt, just as "Caesar" is to the Romans. For a proper name was also attached to this one, such as Pharaoh Necho. And the wondrous things that were done through Moses, if we believe David, were performed in the plain of Taneos (Tanis). The prophet had previously spoken about Egypt: "The princes of Taneus have failed," he said. And rightly so; for he was speaking about the presence of the Savior. Now, when speaking about the times of Jeremiah, he does not say that they have failed, but that there are certain "princes, ^B evil angels," referring to the same princes of Taneus mentioned above. He is indicating certain demons who brought about what happened in Tanis. For there was the kingdom of Pharaoh at that time.

Furthermore, they will not be able to offer you any help, but will result in your no small confusion and reproach. For the Egyptians will be taken along with the Jews. Some, however, say that the words "those descending into Egypt" are spoken concerning those who rose up against Christ. But as they were devising evil, how could they be devising it with God, with whom alone the one who cultivates justice and piety takes counsel? For it is written, "The reasonings of the just are judgments." Those plotting concerning the Savior said, "What are we to do, since this man performs many signs? If we let him go on like this, the Romans will come and take away from us both our city and our nation." ^C Another said that it is expedient that one man die, and not the whole nation perish. And according to the parable they said, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him," ^D and they killed the prophets as well as the heir. To this he aptly said, "Those adding sins upon sins." That their intention from of old was toward apostasy from God is shown also by the ancient descent into Egypt, which happened against the will of God.

As to the phrase, "For there are in Tanis princes, evil angels," this is because they thought the power of the kings there would suffice for them. But some came bringing unbearable news to the rulers of the land: for the Babylonian marched against the Egyptians. They were put to shame, therefore, by those whom they hoped in, along with whom they were being slaughtered, not having learned from David that "It is good to hope in the Lord, rather than to hope in man."

VISION OF FOUR-FOOTED ANIMALS IN THE DESERT.

^A6-7. In tribulation and distress, the lion and the lion’s cub are from there, and asps, and the offspring of flying asps, which carried their wealth upon donkeys and camels to a nation that will not benefit them for help, but for shame and reproach, etc.

Symmachus uses "assessment" instead of "vision." All others have interpreted "of the beasts of the South" instead of "of the four-footed animals in the desert." Under the name of "four-footed animals," he hints at those creatures which were considered gods by the Egyptians. Now, Egypt is situated toward the southern region of Judea, being a desert empty of God, with every kind of irrationality being honored in it, and of the demons working among them whom they proclaimed as gods, while they were straitened and afflicted in their souls. For in "tribulation and distress," the asps, lions, and suchlike evils held a place, of which the animals honored there as gods were the images. ^B And indeed, they even built cities named after them: the city of lions, and of dogs, and another of crocodiles, and others such as these, to which the Jews carried off their wealth. For they handed over the storehouses of their own souls to the error of the Egyptians, carrying it upon donkeys and camels, which signifies their irrationality and folly. For no Egyptian, whether sensible or intelligible, could help them.

Some say that he calls Jerusalem "the desert" here, just as he previously called it Ariel, reproaching those who dwell in it because they lived after the manner of wild beasts grazing in a desert, not considering the honor given to them by God, through which the city itself grew and had the temple of God, the "Holy of Holies," and shone like a lamp to the whole world; ^C but they turned to irrational pleasures, imitating the customs of irrational creatures —which is why he calls them "four-footed animals," and does not speak of the vision being brought to men.

Others say that in the allotment of the land, the tribe of Judah received the parts of the country toward the sunrise and the south, which lay adjacent to the desert, through which those who wished could go down into Egypt. Therefore, at the time of the Assyrian invasion (for he has called this "tribulation and distress"), he understands "the lion and the lion’s cub" to have come from there. Calling the powerful and the princes "lions," and the "cubs" those immediately following them, or even those ^D born of them; and the rest—

^A according to the measure of their wickedness, he calls them "vipers" and "flying things," on account of the sharpness of their most bizarre activities. The Forerunner of the Savior also used to call them a brood of vipers. And the Scripture says that feminine-mad horses were born. For those who are held fast by evils, when they ought to have fled to God, the fountain of blessings, were transferring their wealth to Egypt—the name of which they ought to have turned away from, keeping in mind their former slavery and how many plagues the Lord had once visited upon it on their behalf. Therefore, he says, "Sitting, write on a scroll these things." He commands these things to be written as though the events were going to happen in due time, in order that it might be shown that they obtained the outcome that happened; for the things of the prophets will be known even until the consummation of this present age. ^B Or they say: "Since the word does not reach the ones being corrected as much as the written voice, for this reason He commanded them to be written." Perhaps, also, the scroll signifies the barrenness of those concerning whom the Scripture speaks.

Therefore, he commands them to place the written testimony house by house and man by man before all, so that they might read, lest, not having learned, they should later make excuses; and the testimony is that they have trusted in false help and in cisterns not able to hold water, neither their own nor that brought from elsewhere, having abandoned me who have always supplied them with all things in abundance. And, being disobedient, they will not even be put to shame by those prophets who were telling them these things at that time, though I had predicted them concerning them. ^C He rightly called them liars, because when Moses presented the law to them, they said: "All that the Lord God has spoken, we will do and we will hear." And when the law commanded, "You shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall you serve, and you shall not make for yourself an idol," they abandoned God and were swept away toward idols. For which reason He calls them "lying children." David also sings: "The enemies of the Lord lied to Him." And as if in the person of Christ he says: "Strange children lied to me." These were things they did by disobeying the law; for they also contradicted Jeremiah in addition to their other acts of disobedience, accusing him of falsehood for not allowing them to go down into Egypt. Therefore, he adds: "Saying to the prophets, Do not announce to us," and the rest. ^D Concerning which Symmachus issued: "And to those seeing, do not see for us things that are right. Speak to us smooth things. See for us errors. Depart from the way. Turn aside from me the path. Make the Holy One of Israel cease from before our face." Concerning which, he says, as though the city had been conquered, the wall itself—that is, the sin—will be cut off from you most quickly; and the city itself will be so crushed, like an earthen vessel being broken into fine pieces, so that it is useless for the carrying of coals or of any little water, [5 note: which signifies the punishment of these things to no one.]

^A that it is sufficient to be carried away and left behind. By this He demonstrates that it is not permitted for any of these to escape vengeance; or that the hoped-for help from the Egyptians will be like a wall cast down and shattered.

But Christ, being God, also sets forth the causes of these threats, and instructs us on how it is possible to avoid them, not wishing the death of the one who is dying, but that he should be turned from his evil way and live, as He says somewhere in Ezekiel; and even now He has said: "Whenever you repent and groan, then you shall be saved." But Symmachus says: "In repentance and rest you shall be saved, and your strength shall be in hope." For if you sit, He says, in the place of Jerusalem, having repented and ceased from the rush towards Egypt, then you shall be saved, having become calm and at rest. And your strength shall be in hope; for having hoped in God, you shall be able to be saved. And the Lord is called in these things the Holy One of Israel, not only as being holiness Himself, but as the One who sanctifies Israel. For above, indeed, it was called a holy nation and a royal priesthood. But even those who have cast off this sanctification He will sanctify again, if they repent of the things in which they have sinned. ^B And not only is groaning sufficient for this, but also a turning of one's ways, whenever someone attains to self-awareness, where he comes to know the deception and the evils of the past. It is the kind of knowledge that reviews things in the stillness of the mind, and you yourself shall come to know it, having taken refuge from those who have no power to save themselves. But they trust in flight, and to those unwilling to listen He says: "You shall flee, indeed, but you shall not have the power to escape the hand of the Babylonians." To such an extent will you flee, until you are left as a mast upon a mountain, and as a flag upon a hill. Or, according to Symmachus, "as a mast upon a mountain, and as sails upon a hill." For just as when a ship has suffered shipwreck, a mast remains as a sign upon a mountain, as something useless, along with the sails; so He says that their destruction will be an obvious mark.

Some say that military signs are placed by commanders ^C on high ground, so that thereby it may be signaled to their own what must be done. Or, as others say, the punishment against you will be so conspicuous that it is impossible to escape notice, like a mast on a mountain and a sign on a hill. Nevertheless, He does not say that all will be utterly destroyed. For God will have mercy on some, having taken pity on them, by whom He is glorified in showing mercy. For as a just Judge, He punishes those who are worthy of it; but those who are able to obtain mercy, He pities. Hence He says: "Blessed is he who does not lose heart in the circumstances that overtake us." And some say these things were spoken for the sake of the remnant of Israel that will be saved. And some say that it signifies the return through Cyrus. Others say ^D that in the final judgment...

^A he threatens with fear, and soothes with consolation, so that the one might not fall into despair, nor the other into dissipation. He threatens, and while saving, comforts. This is done so that he might produce in the stubborn and resistant—and in the other, so that he might not produce an effusive and loose person.

371 VERS. 18-26. *And again let God wait, that He may have mercy upon you; and for this He shall be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you, because the Lord your God is judge; and where will you leave your glory? Blessed are they that wait for Him; because a holy people shall dwell in Sion, and Jerusalem wept with weeping*, etc. ^B Following this, he prophesies the return of the people after the evils that occurred in the time of Jeremiah, when the city was filled with inhabitants, and the country with farmers. Again the temple of God was rebuilt under Zerubbabel and Joshua, with Haggai and Zechariah prophesying. After them, Ezra and then Nehemiah collaborated toward the perfection of the city, in which state it remained impregnable for a very long time; which things the prophet signifying says, *And again God waits to have mercy upon us*. And because, being our judge, those worthy of captivity He handed over, but those whom it was just to show mercy He saved. Therefore it is blessed to remain in Him. Or, according to Symmachus, to wait for Him. For having had mercy on Jerusalem, He will rebuild it again. But the word *holy* in the phrase *a holy people* is not present in the Hebrews, nor in the editions of the others; and rightly so. For the people who inhabited the city after the return were not altogether holy. Furthermore, in the phrase *wept with weeping*, the Hebrew does not have *wept*. Therefore Symmachus says, *You shall not weep*, and Theodotion says, *It shall not be wept*. For it was a time of gladness, not of weeping, for those who had received back the city through the mercy of God. According to that: *But coming they shall come with gladness, carrying their sheaves* 13. And as to what is written, *When your voice of crying saw, He heard you*, Symmachus says thus: *At the voice of your cry, as it may be heard, He hears you*. Of which kind is that: *According to your faith let it be done to you* 16. For the present he says, *He will give you the bread of affliction*, speaking of the beginning of the return, when the surrounding peoples were afflicting them. ^C For after these things he promises them every abundance, and primarily security free from error, as they will once recognize themselves to be liberated with Him: however much there will not be lacking those who endeavor to turn them aside and lead them into any ways whatsoever. For he says, *You shall walk in a middle and royal way*, turning aside from things on either side, when you shall have defiled those cursed idols, as if considering them to be something utterly filthy. Then at last all things will result prosperously for you, even down to the brute animals, but especially those that serve for the cultivation of the fields. And having provided bodily promises up to this point, he brings forward those more divine to those worthy ^D of these things.

adding to their time by saying: "In that day when many shall be destroyed, and when towers shall fall." Or according to Symmachus, "In the day of much slaughter, when the mighty shall fall," by which we think he has signaled the time of judgment. For many shall surely be destroyed at that time, in which those things that have been promised shall be given to the worthy, which is water traveling over every high mountain and hill. But according to Symmachus, "and over every high hill, divisions of watercourses." Just as we have often said that Mount Zion is the heavenly mountain, so those many mansions ^A with the Father are certain heavenly mountains, assigned to each according to the measure of their merit, which the water flowing from the fountain—concerning which it says, "For with thee is the fountain of life"—traverses; from which the river of God pours forth, concerning which it is written: "The river of God was filled with water," and, "The streams of the river make glad the city of God," which is the only-begotten Word of God. Those who partake of Him shall possess immortality and life, which in substance is He himself. When, he says, creation itself, having been freed from the slavery of corruption, shall receive the rewards of its labors, just as the sun and moon ^B receive greater light and glory, inasmuch as they have labored, being well-subjected to the will of God.

And this shall be when the innocent are delivered over to slaughter, and those who are puffed up and arrogant in the present life shall fall, receiving the destruction of their height. Wherefore Aquila says: "In the day of much slaughter, when the puffed-up fall, and when the Lord shall heal the contrition of his people." And no mention of Israel or Jacob is added; for he demonstrates that the gifts of the promise are set before all the worthy. Moved by this, the divine Apostle said: "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation ^C of the sons of God, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." By the liberty of the children, he speaks of what the prophet called the healing of the people. For they had great contrition in the present life, as it is said: "A contrite and humbled heart God will not despise." And, "A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit." Whence Paul says: "For we who are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened." And they were burdened over those who sin, according to the text: "I will mourn for many of those who have sinned before and have not repented." But God shall heal their contritions.

CHAPTER XXXI

1-9. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses, and in chariots. For there are many, and in horses a very great multitude, and they have not heard, trusting in the holy one of Israel, and have not sought the Lord. And he himself is wise and brought ^D evil upon them...

^A evils, and His word shall not be frustrated, etc.

377. . . . freedom: which many have certainly done, who have departed from piety toward an idolatrous and Egyptian life. To these he joins the return from captivity. For as a lion, he says, stirred up for the sake of prey, leaps upon the flocks, regarding neither the cries of the shepherds nor the multitude of those pursuing; so does the Lord, standing over the enemies, deliver Israel. And having led them to Jerusalem, He will shield them in such a way, as a bird [shields] the nestlings in her nest. Whence Symmachus, instead of, "and he shall cry over it until the mountains are filled with his voice, and they were defeated," has thus given: "Of the fulfillment of the shepherds, by their voice he shall not be defeated, neither by their multitude shall he be subdued." But according to the edition of the Seventy, one must understand it thus: They say that the lion, by roaring, first terrifies the flocks and those standing guard, and thus makes his attack; so too does the Lord, by first terrifying with ^B threats, inflict punishment upon those who do not repent. As, therefore, He did also to the Assyrians who were boasting, shielding Israel, and [protecting him] from the surrounding peoples who attacked him after his return. For to each of the comparisons He applied the other. But the leonine one refers to those from Israel. Some have understood this as their not having even the fear of wild beasts toward God, their leader. Whence He says, He will treat you in the manner of lions. But if they repent, He will fight for them, just as a bird does for her nestlings. According to the first interpretation, such has been the Savior’s aid toward us. For the intelligible Assyrian had seized all mortals. But Christ, like a lion, ^C leaping upon him, brought him to naught, by the word of His mouth, having struggled on behalf of Sion, that is, the Church. For the former threatened, "I will seize the whole world with my hand as a nest." But the latter gathered those who believe in Him, in the way a bird gathers her chicks under her wings. Having promised these things concerning Jerusalem, He addresses those who have gone away to Egypt: "Turn back, you who take deep and wicked counsel," urging them to return again to Jerusalem, on account of what had been promised concerning its rebuilding. Which Symmachus rendered thus: "Repent, as you have deeply planned to transgress, O sons of Israel." He signifies, however, that they search out and meditate upon evil things to a deep degree, but upon the things of God, ^D only superficially.

But after the deliverance from the Assyrians, there shall be, He says, a deliverance for you from all idolatry. And history is in agreement. For having rebuilt the temple, they were free from all idolatry. Some say this came to pass at the time when He was shielding the...

Christ himself protected the Church of Jerusalem. ^A For then at last the word returned to it, when the cult of idols had been abolished, and Assur himself was apprehended in spirit, stricken not by the sword of man but by the divine word, and sent into the abyss together with his own powers—which he displayed through the strong young men, wrapped around the unshakable rock, which is Christ, as if by a rampart. Others say that since the Jews, fearing the Assyrian, fled to Egypt, the prophecy proclaims to them the destruction of that power, showing that idolatry has fallen through divine power, even if those who dedicate themselves to it brought down the empire of the Assyrians. Therefore, when prophesying about Babylon, he also said: "Behold, I raise up against you the Medes." And for the phrase, "They shall be wrapped around the rock like a rampart," Symmachus said: "His formidable rock shall pass away, and his princes shall be defeated, says the Lord," meaning the Assyrian—for by the name "rock," ^B he understood the strength of his rule. But in order to invite those who had fled to Egypt to return to Jerusalem, he says, "Blessed is he who has seed in Sion, and relatives in Jerusalem," because it was destined to recover its ancient glory, or rather, a greater one. Therefore he says in other places: "And the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former." But the word "blessed" is marked with an obelus, as not being in the original. As for the rest, Symmachus says: "He has a fire in Sion and an oven in Jerusalem." But Aquila and Theodotion say: "Light for him in Sion, and furnace for him in Jerusalem," speaking of God, who destroyed the Babylonian. By this fire, he burns those who have dared to despise his city, and especially the Church, concerning which we read: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God." ^C And: "The streams of the river make glad the city of God." For in her there is fire and an oven for the consuming of the wood, hay, and stubble of every soul. And according to Aquila, there is light there for those worthy of illumination, and fire for those in need of purification.

CAP. XXXII

1-8. For behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall rule with judgment; and the man shall be one hiding his words. And he shall be hidden as by running water. And he shall appear in Sion like a glorious river flowing in a thirsty land, etc.

The version of the Septuagint connects these words with those that go before. For having set down, "Blessed is he who has seed in Sion, and relatives in Jerusalem," it follows appropriately with, "For behold, a righteous king shall reign." Since these things are going to happen in Jerusalem, ^D it naturally calls blessed those who are going to enjoy these things in it. But others, with the current…

^A in a different beginning, have returned their rendering. Therefore Symmachus says: "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness," in agreement with the others. The children of the Hebrews will indeed think that the word refers to Zerubbabel, who, being descended from Judah and David, ruled after the return of the people. And they will say that the "princes" mentioned are those around Jesus the priest. But the following words do not agree with this: "He shall appear in Zion like a rushing river, glorious in a thirsty land." Since, therefore, the discourse has fulfilled the matters concerning the times of Jeremiah, it begins another discussion concerning the theophany of Christ. For indeed, the only king among mortals who has appeared ^B is righteous, and the apostles of the Church have ruled over it with judgment. And it was logical for the greatest blessings, which had come to those people through Christ, to be joined to the condition of the nation after its return, and to those things which would happen after a long time. He declares those blessed who have lived in the Church under Christ, to whom we read the Savior spoke in this way: "Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see, and did not see it. But blessed are your eyes because they see." These are they who, through the Spirit, were made intimate with Him and have borne fruit to Christ in the intelligible Zion.

We have had, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, household stewards, that is to say, blessed interpreters of hidden things. Indeed, Christ is righteous in both ways: both because He is justice itself, and because, being clothed in flesh, He was free from every fault and blame. "And he shall reign," he says, "in righteousness," referring to a new manner of reigning, which is not for the opinion or glory ^C of men, but for justice. In this way, His princes also act, not having received their authority as a dignity from men, but for judgment. This is what the others rendered: "And the princes shall rule in judgment." And concerning the passage: "And there shall be a man hiding his words," we read Symmachus thus: "And there shall be a man like a hiding-place from the spirit and the tempest," by which he signified that the king, however much He be God by nature, hides His own divinity, yet will be a man. And Aquila also says: "As one who hides the spirit, and a hiding-place from a shock." But as for the Septuagint, since He spoke everything in parables, as He Himself says in David: "I will open my mouth in parables," which, however, He did not wish to remain unknown to the disciples, explaining them in private, he said: "To you it is given to know." ^D "And he shall be hidden," he says, "as from flowing water." For the flowing and perishing water is the multitude of the Jewish people. And from these, he even called the temptations of those who had gathered against Him, when He had not yet determined to suffer, as bringing no profit. Therefore, when He was being pelted with stones, making nothing of that very thing, He would pass through the midst of them unharmed. Hence that saying of David: "The enemy shall not profit against him, and the son of iniquity shall not add to afflict him." Whence from the Jews

^A he concealed His words, while He was accustomed to reveal them to the disciples. This is signified by the saying, "And he shall appear in Sion, as a river flowing, glorious in a thirsty land." He called Sion, the Church from the nations, which was formerly a desert and a thirsty land, "thirsty"; and for it, He has become not just any river, but a glorious one. For there have been many rivers, according to Scripture, such as the saints who quench the thirst of those who are being instructed, about whom He says in the Psalms: "The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices." For the voices of the apostles were indeed audible; yet none was as glorious as the torrent of delights, from whom the others also derive their divine waters.

^B "And they shall no longer be trusting in men." In place of this, Symmachus says: "Their eyes shall not be darkened," signifying that those in the Church were sharp-sighted, properly discerning the river that had become manifest to them, of which He says: "The river of God is filled with water." And: "The streams of the river make glad the city of God." Finally: "Whoever shall drink of the water that I will give him," and what follows. But if you look to the Septuagint translators, you will find that both the nations and the Jews had formerly trusted in men: the former because they embraced the worship of gods and demons, and the latter because they followed mandments of men; since they thought that nothing pertaining to the Divine could escape those who professed to be wise. But leaving such things, they will direct their ears to listen to the words of the Savior. "And the heart that was previously weak, will be made understanding." For Symmachus interpreted: "And the heart of those who hear shall attend to hearing." ^C And in place of "speaking peace," he interprets it as "speaking clearly." He speaks of "stammering tongues" as those who, while they could neither think nor say anything about God, yet afterwards learned to speak peace—that is, Christ. "For He Himself is our peace," through whom both the nations themselves, from the time they attained the knowledge of God, and the Jews also, from the time they abandoned the shadow of the Law and superfluous commandments, speak clearly and plainly. "And they shall no longer say to the fool, that he is a prince," which they were previously accustomed to do when they entrusted themselves to foolish teachers, the wise ones of this world, whose wisdom God turned into foolishness. Such also were the teachers of the Jews, who, being ignorant of that which was adumbrated in the Law of Moses, even in the prophetic words brought forth their own foolishness. ^D Their servants were accustomed to suppress those who contradicted them, and if anything more exact was searched for concerning the truth, they were accustomed to drive them away, so that by such arts they might ensure that what they themselves had pronounced could be called into doubt by no one; not otherwise than the disciples of Pythagoras, who used to say, "He himself said it." And they did not allow those who were thirsting for the truth to learn. For if anyone was moderate and humble

^A regarding the truth, they took care that it should be impudently distorted and dissipated.

Perhaps, moreover, by the very name of "the humble," he may seem to have signified the blessed interpreters of arcane matters; whose discourses they attacked when they endeavored to dissipate [the sense of] their words in judgment—whom he calls pious, and adds that they took counsel wisely, and that their counsel, once that of the impious was dissipated, would endure. If, however, it pleases us to look to the mind of Symmachus, his narration concerning the foolish princes being finished, he gathers it thus: "But the prince will think those things which are of a prince, and the leader shall be raised up." For the just king has gifted us with the apostles as leaders, he who also speaks in the Psalms: "But you, O man, my equal in soul, my leader, and my acquaintance." 40 And in all these things, no mention of Israel, or of Jacob, or of Judah is found, because the discourse is instituted concerning Christ and the leaders of the Church, in which that old and flourishing seed of blessed men has brought forth such rich fruit, that it has filled the whole world with its blessing. And hence it is that he pronounced those blessed who had seed in Sion, the prophets indeed, who say: "Except the Lord ^B Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been made as Sodom, and we would have been likened to Gomorrah;" 41 who possessed as seed and domestics those from the followers of the Church. Some say, moreover, that he calls the city and its inhabitants blessed, toward whom the Lord, taking care, struck the Assyrian with an invisible plague; and that the king of the city is, according to history indeed, Hezekiah; but that, properly, the Savior is signified. For true blessedness is only of those who have been made citizens of the heavenly Sion, and who are inscribed with the title of Christ the King, to whom we refer that supreme justice, finding none among mortals who cannot slip; just as we designate some portion of vice to men, but assign the whole and supreme vice to the devil. ^C It follows: "And a man will be hiding his words," and the rest. For he who meditates on the words of God within himself in justice, is protected from the impending wrath. Hence that [saying] of David: "Your law [is] in the midst of my belly." 42 And another of the Savior: "Rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." 43 Then: "And they will no longer be trusting in men," he adds. For it is consistent that those who hoped in God, from the moment they perceived that the Egyptians were being attacked in war by the Assyrian, should despise their aid. For those who previously were unable to bring forth any discourse concerning the true worship, you might see the same ones now, with an eloquent tongue, professing Him to be the arbiter and moderator of peace, who would not have wanted the Egyptian (whom the prophet now calls foolish on account of his impiety) to rule over them: the confusion of ^D such leaders they could not bear.

^A

VERSION 9-20.

^B After having discoursed concerning the appearing of God and the calling of the nations and the apostles, he turns his address now to the circumcised people, exhorting them to mourn because they have fallen from grace due to their unbelief. And because of the softness of their soul, he calls them "women," meaning that by this term their synagogues are signified. Other translators, however, rendered "wealthy" as "women having well," for in olden times when they were well with God, they abounded in riches; and perhaps they also indulged in bodily pleasures. Some, indeed, say that it is customary for Scripture to call cities or villages "women," and when there is one metropolis, to designate the others by the name of "daughters." Thus the divine David says: "He heard," he says, "and Sion was glad, and the daughters of Judea rejoiced." ^C And now, assuming the person of the Savior, he says to the cities of Judea, "Hear my voice," calling them to the evangelical proclamation. And, as long as they are populous, he calls them wealthy, though they would become desolate if they did not obey him who speaks. The others say that "in hope" means "trusting." By "women" he refers to the assemblies of the Jews in ancient times, whom he exhorts to arise and hear; and by "daughters," the synagogues that were established after them, which he wishes them to listen to. He moves both to a diligent hearing of the words with bright hope. He exhorts them to remember the year in which the Savior performed his saving preaching among men, saying by the Prophet: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me." ^D And proceeding, he says, "to call the acceptable year of the Lord." He wishes them to remember this, and those who have been pierced with sorrow for what they have dared to do, to keep the hope promised to those who repent of what they have done. For when the house of Israel was the vineyard of the Lord, there was much vintage among them, with the whole nation bearing fruit to the temple of God. But now, he says, "It is consumed," not so as to be gathered again, as happened after the return from the Assyrians. For now he says it is not so any longer, but it has been cut off once and for all. And he shows, some say, that for the unbelieving Israel, the matter will not go unpunished. For he was about...

^A to have their cities surrendered into the hands of the Romans, and to have them become a haunt for the beasts of the wilderness. He desires, therefore, that they be stung by that sorrow according to God, and thus depart from their former unbelief. For "sorrow according to God produces repentance for salvation, which is without regret." The fruit of which is to strip off the garment of wealth and, having girded one’s loins in a manly fashion, to lament the desolation of their former vineyard. Furthermore, the Jews have fallen away from the intelligible abundance of the soul’s fruit; whereas they should have brought forth grapes, they brought forth thorns, according to the voice of the prophet. And another says, "They have sown wind, and their destruction shall await them. A sheaf that has no strength to make meal." Therefore, he says, you who formerly put your trust in God, but have changed your mind, lament; for he has abandoned his vineyard. He commanded the clouds not to rain upon it. And it has become the joy of wild asses ^B and the pasture of evil shepherds—that is, of unclean spirits. And David himself, as if speaking of the vine of Israel, says: "The boar out of the wood has ravaged it, and a solitary wild creature has grazed upon it." For just as the Lord despises an uncultivated field filled with thorns, so does God not deign to visit a barren soul with His providence. But in place of "upon the vineyard of the sprout," which we read here, Aquila has rendered it "upon the growing vineyard," and Symmachus "upon the fertile vineyard," to which He speaks elsewhere in these words: "I planted you a fruitful vine, all of it true; how have you turned into bitterness, O alien vine?" And for what we have here as "earth of my people," Symmachus renders it "into the earth of my people." These things are in harmony with what was said before, in which He said: "I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns." And interpreting these, he added: "I waited for it ^C to produce judgment, but it produced iniquity, and not justice, but a cry." Therefore, it has become a dwelling place for wild asses and pastures for shepherds, or for flocks, according to Aquila. This came to pass in deed, for it is certain that idolaters from various nations became its inhabitants. Therefore, He says, it is fitting for you to endure such mourning and sorrow only until the Spirit from on high—or according to Symmachus, the "cooling from on high"—comes upon you.

There is therefore a difference of spirits. But nothing, He says, can so recreate you and drive away your mourning as that which the Savior promised to send down to His disciples, and which He declares will not be lacking to you even now, if you repent and come to your senses. "For blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; and blessed are those who weep, for they shall laugh." Some say, however, that he indicates here the clear time of the desolation of the people who remained in unbelief, when those who have believed will obtain the divine Spirit, which, descending ^D from on high, was likened to tongues of fire divided among them. For then

^A it will be, he says, a desert, Chermel. For he had said before that Libanus would be transformed like the mountain of Chermel, and that Chermel would be reckoned as a forest. Now by Chermel, which is also called Carmel—a mountain in Samaria—he signified those from the circumcision, the interpretation being "recognition of circumcision." Libanus signifies the nations, which belonged to Phoenicia. For it was intended that, while those formerly were to be fruitless and merely fuel for fire, being mountain-dwellers and untilled in their soul (for such are forests), the nations, on the other hand—designated by the names of Libanus and the desert—would become, in place of the formerly pious people, the portion of the Lord and the cord of His inheritance, even though previously they were a forest and a desert; ^B yet, as one deemed worthy of great goods, the passage thereafter promises what follows, calling it Carmel, into which he had said Libanus would be transformed.

Some, however, understand by the name "Carmel" the Jewish people, and they inquire how it will be reckoned as a forest, in which righteousness will again dwell. They say that this happens because of the remnant designated to be saved and gathered together with the nations. Therefore, he says that righteousness will rest in the desert. For even above, immediately upon the transformation regarding Chermel and Libanus, signifying the calling of the nations, he said that the deaf would hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind would see; thus now also he says that there will be works of righteousness, the head of which is the peace of God which surpasses every mind, ^C who is our peace, justice, and judgment. For we have been justified in Him, with sin being condemned by a right and just judgment. Who also, according to Paul, preached peace to those who are far off and peace to those who are near, that is, to the Jew first and to the Greek. Wherefore, having destroyed the enmity toward God, we are cities of rest, possessing the ecclesiastical wealth of virtues for eternal enjoyment, concerning which the Apostle says: "I thank my God through Jesus Christ, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in every word and in all knowledge." And elsewhere the prophet himself says also: "Let the desert that is thirsty rejoice; let the desert exult and bloom as the lily," ^D calling the Church from the nations a "desert" because it was fruitless and stripped of every noble plant. But Christ having inhabited it, Isaiah says again: "And I will make water in the desert, and rivers in the waterless land; I will set in the waterless land the cedar, and the box tree, and the myrtle, and the cypress, and the poplar," indicating the various and lofty virtues of those who have believed. He says now how His people will dwell in a city of peace. For instead of that great and arrogant city, according to Symmachus, He has established a city...

namely, the Catholic Church, which would reach from the extremities to the extremities: and he said that the people would inhabit the new city indefinitely, without the name of Jacob or Israel added. Since then, above, He had said that the fury of the Lord would come upon the impious at the time of judgment, and with anger and wrath and a burning fire that devours, He would strike violently, and like water and hail pouring down with force; ^B fittingly now concerning those who are called blessed, He added: "And if the hail descends, it shall not come upon you." He predicts also that the souls that roamed unfruitfully in the forests will dwell in a cultivated region, having abandoned their harshness and wildness, and will break up the fallow ground, according to the word of the prophet. Some say that the hail is the divine wrath, through which they were captured by the Romans, while those who believed in Him were spared. Next, He calls those who were to cultivate this desert blessed, persisting in the metaphor of cultivation. He indicates the apostles who preached to the Jews and the Greeks. For the ox signifies Israel, because it is clean and is offered for sacrifice, but the ass signifies the Gentiles. For this reason, the law wills that the firstlings of the asses be exchanged for sheep. Thus, therefore, He calls both, on account of their fathers. He called the divine Scripture water, which is trodden by both Jews and Gentiles. "But," He says, "those whom I call blessed, those who persecute you will call miserable," even though you might argue that they suffer together so that they might also reign together. "But," He says, "in your place, they themselves, who are such, will enter. For it is not you that they reject, but Him by whom you were sent." And therefore they will be delivered to Him who is accustomed to take to Himself those rejected by God, and like a moth, to wear away and destroy a garment. Some say that the water signifies the living Word of God, likened to the most vital of elements. For He is the One who, having broken down the middle wall of the partition, and having created the two into one new man, makes peace. And indeed, concerning the passage "Woe to those who make you miserable," and what follows, Symmachus rendered it thus: "Woe to him who makes someone miserable, himself not having been made miserable; and he who rejects, himself not rejected. When you cease making someone miserable, you yourself will become miserable; and when you are weary of rejecting, they will reject you." By which He demonstrated with the added reason that it is the blessed who are in the order of those who suffer, and not of those who persecute. For these are wretched, and He brought forward the cause. ^C Others, however, explained the whole passage in this way. When He perceived that believing men were lacking, He turned His address now to the women, especially the wealthy who, occupied with the adornment of the body, as He said above, were allowing the soul to be in a state of squalor; whom, as if rousing them from sleep, He calls wealthy, not mocking their wealth (for it was given by the gift of God), but criticizing the manner of its use. ^D Lend your ears, therefore, for the sake of the hope that brings salvation, in the year...

and righteousness in Carmel, that is, in the land, clearly once the unjust inhabitants have fallen away, just as the foreigners did before because of their impiety. For all are his handiwork. He pursues those who commit offenses with justice, yet heals them out of goodness. Again, he says that those who repent will dwell in prosperity. And he will be bold, every one who boasts of righteousness, even if all things are in turmoil. And those in the forests will dwell as tolerably as those in the plain. Everywhere he mixes good hopes with his threats—using the latter to strike fear, and the former to comfort—thereby guarding against both despair and sloth. Then, for those looking toward the earth, he takes his parable from the earth. For he does not say, "You call those blessed who inhabit land that is irrigated, and [a land] workable for oxen and accessible for donkeys for travel." Rather, he says, "You falsely call them blessed." For although you inhabit such a land, you have not acquired the state of blessedness, having become ungrateful toward the Giver. For the Assyrian does not cause you as much misery as you inflict upon yourselves. For to those who are well-disposed to God, no evil would happen. For he would have been shaken off from you like a moth from a garment.

CHAPTER XXXIII

^A 1-12. Woe to those who make you miserable. And one makes no one miserable, etc.

Having blessed the apostles and having called "miserable" those who rejected them, he offers a prayer as if from the apostles, as if those who are persecuted and fighting against us are the ones who have perished, not we, the servants of the Savior. For having learned that no one could make them miserable, out of great joy they say, "Because of the voice of your fear, the peoples were astounded, and the nations were dispersed." According to Aquila and Theodotion, "from the voice of the throng," that is, the multitude, the people withdrew, which signifies the fall of the city by many enemies. Instead of "from your fear," Symmachus has translated it, "from the shaking of the earth." For he refers to the astonishment caused by fear. "And salvation for the saints comes in the time of tribulation, according to, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.'" And that, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness." And the Savior also says, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by camps..."

then you will say to the mountains, 'Cover us,' and to the hills, 'Fall on us.'" ^A Then, as if addressing those scattered among the nations, he says—having introduced the person of God, as some say—"Now your spoils shall be gathered," meaning, "You will not long be taken." And, revealing the vulnerability of the Jewish people, he says, as if joking, "They will take you like locusts," and thus their souls have become a plaything for Satan; upon which the righteous cry out again. That is to say, the prophet, passing over to the order of the Church, praises God for them, "who dwells on high," or in the heavens, or in those who have exalted their mind, who also are named Sion, being the Church of God. And it is clear, from its being called "full of judgment and justice," in agreement with what he said, "And judgment and justice shall rest in the wilderness." For what he called wilderness, he now names Sion. For it received Christ, the justice whom the earthly Jerusalem did not receive. And "judgment" signifies that nothing is left unjudged by the saints. Therefore he says, "They will be delivered in the law." For they were delivered to the new evangelical law, and their salvation is in the ^B treasures stored up in heaven. But instead of "they will be delivered in the law," Symmachus says, "The faith of your time is the wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is your treasure." The Seventy say, "Wisdom and knowledge and piety have come." These are brought up to God from men as a rational sacrifice, and they are truly called treasures of justice.

But regarding the words, "They will be delivered in the law," some say this: they marvel at those from Israel for having perished through the law, which they had received for salvation. For according to the divine Apostle, "Being ignorant of God's justice and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to the justice of God. For Christ is the end of the law for justice to everyone ^C who believes." For it was necessary for the shadow, which had run its course until the time of correction, to vanish when Christ, the Light, shone forth. Therefore, because they fought for the shadow of the law, they were delivered to their enemies. But to us, who are from the gentiles, the law given through Moses has been found to be a treasury of salvation. For in it are wisdom and knowledge and piety toward the Lord; for it contains the mystery of Christ as in a blueprint. "For he wrote about me," he says. Afterwards, he speaks to the apostles, saying that their fear will come upon the impious, and those who formerly terrified them will cry out, having been defeated. But instead of the words, "Behold, they themselves shall fear in your fear," Symmachus says, "Behold, I shall appear to them." They shouted intensely. Then, that it might not be ambiguous who was shouting, "The angels of peace wept bitterly," he adds. But ^D Aquila says, "Behold, I shall appear to them. I will shout intensely." And the rest similarly; but Theodotion, "Behold, [I shall appear to them]. I will shout intensely."

^A And the angels of peace shall weep bitterly. Therefore, all show that God will appear to those who have treasured up for themselves the treasures of justice and wisdom.

The disciples of the Savior were these, to whom "I appeared," while they, "cried out intensely," being "angels of peace." They also wept bitterly in their prayers over the destruction of the former people. And the Savior also wept for Jerusalem: "If you had known, even you, the things that make for peace." For this reason it says, "Their ways shall be deserted." As for the statement, "The fear of the nations has ceased," it is marked with an obelus as if it were an interpolation; it must be noted that it means that the ways of the people of the circumcision have ceased, and the covenant given through Moses has been taken away, and they are no longer to be counted among men.

Some interpret the words, "In your fear they themselves shall be afraid," as follows: He encourages the holy stewards of the mysteries, ^B anticipating by displaying the magnitude of the good things in store for them. For from the beginning, those of the circumcision harassed them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to speak in this name." The apostles, fearing them, even prayed, "And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with boldness." But now they themselves are afraid, being lovers of peace toward the faithful, and miserably bowing down before them. For they shall not prosper, having chosen to fight against God. And the fear of the Jewish nations has ceased, and the covenant with them having been taken away, they have become strangers to God and aliens from the promises. "For not all who are of Israel are Israel." Therefore, he says, you shall consider them worthy of nothing.

Then he adds, "The land has mourned," appropriately, on account of the aforementioned things concerning Judea, whose parts he names, and also mentions the places in between. By the name Lebanon, he signifies Jerusalem, because the sacrifice was performed in it, and incense (λιβανωτόν) was commanded by the law to be offered. He says that Lebanon is also confounded ^C as if he were speaking more clearly about the sacrifice, the worship under the law having been abolished. And it is also said in Zechariah, "Open, O Lebanon, your doors, and let fire devour your cedars." And Ezekiel says, "A great eagle, with great wings, that has the impulse to enter into Lebanon, and it plucked the tender parts of the cedar." Interpreting this, he says, "When Nebuchadnezzar shall come to Jerusalem."

But also the region called Saron, ^D he says, has become "marshy" (or "worthless"), "filled with thorns" of boldness. By this he signifies the most fertile regions of the Jewish people, that is, those that exist in their souls, shall be destroyed. So much for that.

^A which he hints will happen to them. Galiläa will be manifest, he says, because of what is said concerning it, according to: "Galilee of the nations, the people who walked in darkness and in the shadow of death, a great light has arisen for them." And Carmel also will be manifest, concerning which he said: "And the wilderness shall be as Carmel"; which denotes the denseness and elevation of the Church. For the mighty of God upon the earth were highly exalted. The benevolent God sent messengers of peace to the Israelites, urging them, while they were weeping, to accept the proclamation. But when they would not accept it, he says: "Now will I arise," and what follows. He promises his second, glorious coming, in which they will perceive his divinity when he shall be glorified and exalted. And they will recognize how vain was the strength of spirit they possessed, at the very time when the fire consumed them.

And concerning the fact that the nations would be burned, he adds—not the word "nations," but "peoples"—which all the others have used, so that they might appear to have indicated those who are the subject of the discourse: those, I say, who are to be as a thorn cast out in a field. Some ^B drag the statement "I will arise" to refer to the punishments by which, after the city had been taken and pillaged, he avenged the insult done to him; at which time it was evident that the glory of him whom they had affixed to the cross was far superior to that of any of the prophets. Therefore, as though the divine wrath were about to invade them, "Now will I arise," he says, who endured injuries with an even temper even unto the cross. He was therefore exalted, having taken punishment from them and called the nations to the faith. "Now you shall know," he says, "that I was more powerful than you."

And the fire itself will consume you, just as that which is cast out in a field, the thorn, is accustomed to be burned. For our God is a consuming fire. But some explain this whole passage in this way: When the people were persuaded neither by threats nor by promises, as if the only remaining remedy for their plagues were his pity, the prophet, moved by compassion, pours out prayers to the God of the universe, indicating that their iniquities are complete and they deserve punishment. But, he says, your mercy is needed by those who, though afflicted, have placed their hopes in you. Grant, therefore, salvation to those who have become numb from the fear of you. This is to be thought of as having been said, not as if he were teaching God as one ignorant of affairs, but that he might propose to the people an example of how to ask for things that pertain to salvation. For what it was fitting for them to say, the prophet shouts into their ears so that they might be stirred to imitation. For it is plain that those who were called by the Assyrian for aid will perish in silence, and the rest will turn to flight out of fear, while the spoils of the Israelites, saved by the help of God (whom they venerate in a holy and pious manner), remain; of which, however, they themselves will easily be deprived unless they repent, since the enemies are not wanting, ^C like locusts.

"Holy is God, who dwells in the heights." By this he indicates an elevation of mind and soul that is good. For this "holy" is not placed as referring to any sanctification of God, ^D but as referring to the one praying who is progressing and exalting God in the things in which he...

^A has apprehended the righteous judgment against those committing iniquity, both generally and against Jerusalem. For He did not chasten the city for its destruction, but for the conversion of those who dwell in it; at which time righteousness was able to flourish among them, and the law to bloom, and the people from this could draw forth as it were a good treasure. From which they also progressed unto wisdom and knowledge, which begets piety toward God and treasures of righteousness. And since things were thus disposed, it is not the fear of the enemies’ onslaught that will prevail, but the fear of you that they will have; and they will send embassies for peace, while I determine the desolation against them and cause the decree against you to cease.

For they did not come against you of their own accord, but because I, as it were, ordained a covenant for them. But having Me as an ally, you will despise them. Then He says, ^B "The earth mourned," taking the places instead of the inhabitants, and instead of rational beings having taken up insensate things to shame them, whom it behooved to mourn their own wound. And He brought forward the places as almost groaning together and travailing in pain, according to the apostolic word, in which the power of God will be manifest through the energy. For those who trusted in the Egyptians will be put to shame by the change, because they left behind God who so easily turns back the adversaries, and sent embassies to the Egyptians, while God had struck down 185,000, whose dead bodies were delivered to the fire. But these, being subdued as if by fire, will confess the folly of what they did. ^C

vv. 13-19. "They that are afar off shall hear what I have done, and they that draw near shall know my power. The sinners in Sion have departed. Trembling shall seize the ungodly. Who shall tell you that fire is kindled? Who shall tell you of the everlasting place?" etc.

Israel was indeed near to God, insofar as it required training by the law and signs. But the nations, who served the creature, were afar off. Yet both heard, for those did not endure. Nevertheless, He says, "They that draw near shall hear." For the whole of Israel has not perished. For from it came the first-fruits of the believers. Some, however, have interpreted the second part as referring to the nations. For how shall those who are afar off hear? ^D Evidently by becoming near. And learning His power, which He displayed by performing wonders for the sake of Israel, they will also know how those in Sion departed. According to the other interpretation, He divides those from Israel, of whom some heard, but others, the ungodly, rejected Him, upon whom trembling will also seize. For the experience of the evils brought upon them is sufficient for fear, and for knowing Him whom they were insulting. To whom He also says, "Who shall tell you that fire is kindled?" concerning which He was saying,

we heard above, shall consume you? Then he understands the eternal place, which is prepared for Satan and his angels. For if the words of the Savior are true: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." Concerning these, the prophet also says elsewhere: "Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished." Who then is it who knows and testifies to us beforehand of this eternal place, except Him whom he describes immediately, for the prophets have publicly taught concerning the judgment, so that we might henceforth beware of future punishments.

^B Such a one, being removed far from the fire, shall inhabit a high cave of solid rock. For which Symmachus says, "He himself shall rest in the heights." As if it were a surrounding of rocks, such is its height; by which he indicates the certainty and sublimity of the philosophical life, that is, one which dwells in contemplation; and he who follows this, spending the span of this life with bread and water joined with faith, shall at last obtain the end of such exercise, the vision of the King. Concerning whom the prophet began to speak in this manner: "Behold, a just king shall reign, and princes shall rule with judgment." It is indeed consistent, they say, that Christ is intended by these words; in whom, as in some cave or sheepfold, the Church herself is understood to be firm and stable, according to that: "And upon this rock I will build my Church." To whose inhabitants the bread of life, Christ from the Father, and ^C the faithful water of divine baptism, from which all security flows to those who receive it, are never denied. Then they shall behold the King, the Lord, those who, not yet having obtained the land of the meek, shall even now in this mortal life behold it from afar with the eyes of the mind, having revered God piously and holily. Some, however, have interpreted "from afar" as referring to the wicked, that they shall see the land of promise but shall not obtain it; inasmuch as they have been allotted burning fire, and they shall be tormented, being cast far from that land in fear of their own condemnation. Furthermore, he reproaches them for having believed evil teachers, saying: Where are those who knew only the letter of the law? Whom the Savior so berates: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees!" Where, he says, shall those appear on the day of judgment, who by flattering most evilly counseled their disciples? ^D Symmachus renders it thus: "Who counts the nourished ones, the impudent people. He shall not see a people heavy of lip, so that they do not hear the idiom of the language." Calling those impudent whom they have nourished with their doctrines, who shall not see the people heavy of lip, nay, will not even hear them, being ignorant of the idiom of that language, concerning which he said above: "And the stammering tongues shall quickly learn to speak peace." For if they had known the high-voiced one, they would not have heard the despised people.

^A Some say that "gathered together" refers to those who, at the direction of the teachers, gathered against Christ, crying out before Pilate and preferring Barabbas to Him, having heard no good counsel, nor having learned from them that He is the one of deep speech. For He spoke through parables, according to the saying: "I will open my mouth in parables." But being senseless, they did not discern the envy of the teachers; for they would not have listened if they had been slighted. Some explain the whole passage in this way: that not only their neighbors, but even those who are far away shall know of the coming plague of the Assyrians, and the impious in Jerusalem shall be ashamed. They say that the prophet, avoiding the task of recounting the evil deeds of the disobedient Jews—which were like fuel for fire—seeks another who lives righteously, so that he might say to them that they are storing up wrath for themselves. And the phrase "stopping up his ears, that he may not hear the judgment of blood" means that he does not cooperate in murder. For he who possesses what has been said, he says, will have a firm standing, enjoying divine goods. It was fitting that those who were illuminated by the Word should see the King of glory, having been set free from worldly distractions and gazing upon the goods that are hoped for. For this is what is indicated by "seeing the land from afar," by not approaching earthly things at all. ^B He also indicates by way of history Hezekiah, who later became ruler of Jerusalem, who, having dedicated himself to God, became glorious, in whose time miraculous signs occurred, the turning back of the sun and the addition to the day. "Having seen which, you shall fear God, having repented of what you were persuaded of by the scribes and ventriloquists (whom he calls 'deep-voiced,' as speaking indistinct things) who counseled you regarding the Egyptian aid." For all these people are a people of vanity, and are despised, leading the listener not toward the understanding of what is necessary.

"Behold Sion, the city, our salvation; your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich city, tabernacles that shall not be shaken, neither shall the pegs of its tabernacle be moved forever, nor shall its cords be broken, because the name of the Lord is great to you, a place shall be yours, rivers and broad and wide streams," etc. ^C Instead of "Behold Sion, the city," Aquila says: "Behold, seek, Sion, a city of festivals." But Symmachus and Theodotion say: "Behold Sion, the city of our saints." And again, following that: "Your eyes shall see Jerusalem," as if it were about to see our salvation, that is, Christ, and another city of festivals, the Church, which is very rich. The tabernacles of the old Jerusalem, therefore, have fallen, having been captured by various sieges. But the new city, standing as if upon a rock, even in the

^A times of persecutions, remains unshaken. “For the gates of hell,” He says, “shall not prevail against it,” nor has it fallen because of rains, rivers, or winds, for it is founded upon a rock. The reason is that the name of the Lord shall be a place for the new city, and it stands immovable in such a place. According to Symmachus: “There the mighty Lord is for us.” A place of rivers, broad canals, where the vessel of the oarsman shall not go, nor shall the mighty captain pass over it. And where it says “shall not go,” Aquila says: “A ship of rowing shall not go wherein, nor shall a great trireme pass through it.” By these things they indicate that the Lord of the city named shall be a place of rivers, so as to say: “The streams of the river make glad the city of God” (Ps. XLV, 5), and that: “The river of God is full of water” (Ps. LXIV, 10). The rivers, he says, are in such safety that they are inaccessible to enemies, encircling the city instead of a wall against small and large vessels that might approach it; since it has as its judge and leader the Savior and Lord, whose streams, as the first and perfect river, make glad the city of God; the many rivers being the angels who always look upon the face of the Father who is in heaven (Matt. XVIII, 10), and who guard the Church.

From this point, he then intimates the calamities of the old city. For this, like the mast of a ship in a storm, has fallen, the ropes by which it was held having been broken. Symmachus translates this as follows: “Thy ropes are broken, so that they do not hold. Thy mast is thus, so that it cannot spread the sail. Then he divided even to ^C many spoils.” In these words, he brings before the eyes a ship sunk as if in a naval battle and plundered by enemies. For the Lord delivered them up to plunder, even to the sacred furnishings, to impious men and those limping in soul, who, when the Lord delivered it, did not labor, and being free from sins, seized Jerusalem by divine judgment.

Others explained it in this way: Between the discourse from God concerning the foolish scribes, the person of the saints is again introduced, who manifest to one another the Church—whether that which is on earth or that which is in the heavens—into which it leads its inhabitants, which possesses the salvation on earth, that is, Christ. To these the prophetic prayer responds, saying: “Thy eyes shall see Jerusalem,” setting forth as from the likeness of the tabernacle which it used in the wilderness, the things that pertain to it. Indeed, for believers, the cause of security in the city is that He said, “The great name of the Lord is for you,” distinguishing them from those who did not believe in Christ. Furthermore, that it shall be a place for you, the city that always is, in which he calls the broad rivers and canals the evangelists and apostles, and those who govern the Churches in their own time, watering the flock of God with divine streams.

^A From one source, which he also calls by the mouth of the prophet: "Behold, I decline unto them as a river of peace, and as a torrent overflowing with the glory of the nations" (Isa. lxvi, 12). Continuing in the metaphor of the rivers, and as if speaking about a ship, he introduces the person of the faithful, who after the coming of Christ rises up against the devil, and forbids him from passing through them, as he was accustomed to do before. "For we are no longer passable to you. Nor will you be able, like some sailor, to drive a vessel through these rivers." And they state the reason: "For my God is great. And for this cause he shall not pass through me. For I have escaped his judgment and his yoke, having become under God." This is also expressed by the prophet elsewhere: "There shall be a path there, and it shall be called a holy way. And there shall not be there an unclean path. Neither shall there be a lion, nor shall any of the evil beasts go up there. But the redeemed shall walk in it by the Lord" (Isa. xxxv, 8-10). ^B Pursuing these things, he turns his discourse to the assembly of the Jews, remaining in the metaphor of the ship. For as when the wind assaults more violently, they are unable to take in the sails, and the mast, being inclined by them, causes a shipwreck; so, he says, you will suffer similar things. But the city, even if it is victorious, shall not lift up a sign of triumph; rather, it shall be delivered into plunder, not being able to withstand the assaults of Satan—whether as on the sea or as in war—even though it possesses the Law forcing it to walk uprightly. But the Gentiles, who formerly limped due to idolatry, shall make plunder, gaining the things of God; by which they overcome Satan, having put off the burden of old, and the toil from it, having obtained the remission of sins through the grace in faith, which Israel did not receive; who would also say rightly: "My iniquities have gone over my head; as a heavy burden they are become heavy upon me" (Ps. xxxvii, 5). To whom the Law also was most heavy. But the new people hear justly: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered" (Ps. xxxi, 1). ^C And so, again, others have explained it thus: the prophet points out Jerusalem, and calls to remembrance the covenants given in it by God. ^D For having given the Law and the temple and the Holy of Holies, like a tabernacle which he fixed, holding them together with the cords of his providential care, having supplied all things abundantly. And there was no such thing as being straitened, so far as it depended upon God, whose name flourished upon them, from which, as from certain rivers and canals you drew the abundance of good things. For God is so great, as to fill all things, so that you would not need for the finding of him any longer journey, nor much navigation. For he is everywhere present to one who lifts up holy hands, and there is no one passing by, so that anyone might be deprived of his—

[COLUMNS 2307–2308]

and raises it; nor does it show itself as if passing by, so that one might not easily recognize it. Then, being Judge, it inquires into the sins of all, wishing to lop them off, not to destroy us. For as a prince and a good king, it acts for the salvation of all things. Indeed, the discourse is also referred to Christ, who, having suffered himself to be perfectly comprehended by us, presented himself, not only when he was invisible, but also the Father himself, to be ^B beheld by us through him. "For all things," he says, "God gave to you because he cares for you," and if you had not, like some evil thing, stirred up your thoughts—laden as you were with the most ample gifts—they would certainly never have fallen, had it not happened that you, having cut the ropes of benevolence, corrupted your own minds. But not even so did God abandon you; he punishes only for the sake of healing, raising up and preventing you from falling. For through his indulgence, even those who lag behind have approached, so that strength does not fail even the lame man, who is wearied by no sense of labor, that there might be a purging of transgressions for you.

Chapter XXXIV

^A VERS. 1-7. Accedite, gentes, et audite, principes. Audiat terra et qui in ea sunt, orbis et populus qui est in eo: quia furor Domini super omnes gentes: et ira in omnem numerum eorum, ut perdat eos, et tradat eos in occisionem, etc.

And above, too, when he was prophesying the siege of Jerusalem, he added judgment, which is to befall ^C all nations; as he does in this place. For since he is the God of all, he strives to draw all away from error by threats, and the Israelites first of all, according to the saying: "In those who are near me, I will be sanctified." Some, however, think that after speaking of the shipwreck of the Jewish synagogue and the calling of the nations (for he said that many who were lame would seize spoil), it is necessary for those who formerly limped to be instructed—in the judgment of God upon all—and to call out for the nations, as being far removed from him because of idolatry, to draw near. There are not wanting those who think it refers to the Assyrians, who, thinking they had conquered Jerusalem by their own strength, with God not conceding it, did not understand that these things happened by the permission of God, and that from these matters the discourse is transferred to the universal judgment. Thus also, they say, the Savior himself in the Gospel, after he had warned of things that were to happen to Jerusalem, adds [concerning] the universal [judgment].....

CAP. XXXV

409-410 VERS. 1-11. Laetare, desertum sitiens. Exsultet solitudo, et floreat sicut lilium; et florebit, et exsultabunt deserta Jordanis. Gloria Libani data est ei, et honos Carmeli, et populus meus videbit gloriam Domini, et celsitudinem Dei, etc.

....for the devil, as a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour. But he does not devour those who walk the holy way. For neither do the ways upon the rock

to be found, as Solomon says. ^A But those are they whom, having gathered into his own flock, he has redeemed with his own blood. For it was not a prophet or a man that gathered them, but he who is the way for them, through which they shall arrive at the thrice-blessed end of the heavenly Sion, concerning which Paul says: “You have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” For it is not possible to call that Sion the one here, concerning which he said: “The year of the retribution of the judgment of Sion.” For of that one, pitch and fire are the portion; but of this one, joy, with which those victors shall be crowned who, having appeared in this great contest, according to the Apostle, are able to say: “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” Called, then, to a glorious hope, they become free from groaning and sorrow, possessing the crown of the joy of eternal life. ^B

CHAPTER XXXVI

412-413 VERS. 1-21. *And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against the fortified cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of the Assyrians sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah with a great army, etc.*

You may read this history here in the Fourth Book of Kings and the second of Chronicles; but at its end in this place, Isaiah adds a prophecy of no small weight and a wondrous event ^C that took place under Hezekiah. Further, what is asserted to have happened in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah should be considered to fall within the eighth year of the captivity of the ten tribes. Now, Hezekiah was of admirable piety toward God, even though born of an impious father, Ahaz, who, having defected from God, when Pekah, son of Remaliah, prince of Samaria, and Rezin, king of Syria, made an incursion against him, dared to summon Tiglath-Pileser the Assyrian to his aid with great gifts; who, having taken Damascus and Syria, forced them, and Ahaz himself, to pay him tribute. When his son Hezekiah subsequently refused to pay this, he was on that account attacked in war by ^D Sennacherib. And so, when Samaria had been plundered, and very many cities of Judah had been taken, and he had advanced as far as Lachish, he decided that the commander of his army, by name the Rabshakeh, should be sent to Jerusalem; whom we conclude to have been someone from the captive ten tribes because he used the Jewish dialect. Therefore, as the Assyrian approached, although Hezekiah placed all his hopes in God, yet he did not think that any of those things which pertained to military discipline should be neglected, and he brought it about with great care and diligence that, by stopping the springs which were outside the city, he deprived the enemy of an abundance of water, and again added battlements to the walls; and when all these things were completed, he showed himself to his subjects as a master of piety and true religion. For, he says, more are with us than with the enemies. For besides...

the other glorious deeds of Ezechias, God granted him a training ground of virtue and a proof of greater piety through the deployment against the enemy. Wherefore He also allowed the Assyrian to come near the city. Now, concerning Eliakim and Somna, who are named in the present passage, he had already made mention of them in the vision concerning the valley; and the things said here ^A regarding them are in agreement with what was said before. For the Hebrews say that Somna, being struck with fear along with others, extended his right hand to the Assyrian and defected to him; hence those things which were spoken of him previously were uttered.

But the voice of Rabshakeh, who was leading the hostile forces, proved to be very arrogant and insolent, and in the highest degree contrary to the prophetic [word]; for in place of "Thus saith the Lord," he used the [title] "the great king." And as if he did not know that Ezechias prevailed through prayers and words of piety, he speaks to him as if he were present: "Is it by counsel or words of the lips that [one] enters into battle?" He deigns to address him by a simple and bare name, whereas on the contrary he calls the Assyrian not only "king," but "great." Some say that, because the Jews seemed to themselves to be wiser than the rest [of mankind] on account of possessing the Law of Moses, and used to boast, saying, "Blessed are we, Israel, for that which is pleasing to the Lord is known to us," Rabshakeh, in his speech, aims to crush this, saying that in war it is useless. ^B He provokes him to a trial by arms—to whom Ezechias would have answered: "Some in chariots, and some in horses," and the rest that follows. He slanders him, as though he were putting his trust in Pharaoh, who, he says, is more bitter to those who trust in him than a foe, as he knows not how to keep treaties, in addition to being extremely weak. Perhaps, they say, because some of the kings before him had called for the Egyptian in aid, he also thinks that Ezechias is relying upon him. And he cast this [accusation] aside as something incidental.

Thenceforth he rages against the help of God, unaware that He is the God of all. Therefore he says: "On whom do you trust, that you have torn down the high places and the altars?" For he imagined that Ezechias had torn down the high places of God, not of idols. "If therefore you trust in this, mingle with my Lord," that is, stand for battle. He further assails him, [claiming] that they do not even have two thousand who have the strength for horsemanship, ^C being ignorant that the pious Ezechias was observing the law, which forbids a king to multiply horses for himself. "Being inexperienced in cavalry, how will you be able to withstand the face of our commanders?" For which Symmachus says: "And how will you withstand the face of one of the least of the servants of my lord?" "But if you trust in the Egyptians for this, they," he says, "are our own servants." Much more, therefore, do those who trust in them already serve us, as it were.

He falsely concludes that they did not attack the city without the divine will, saying: "If he is great and protects Judea, either we have attacked it against his will, in which case his power is nothing; or we have come with his consent, and we shall prevail over it just as we did over the others." ^A Thus, he says, "We have also taken captive Israel, your brothers; do not say that God delivered the others because they were not his people." But he was ignorant that Israel had already become alien to God on account of their idolatry. It is evident, they say, if these things were spoken by him with probability, that from the fact that he subdued Israel—a people who were supposedly God's—he drew these conclusions, or else he perceived that God was subjecting the Jews to him on account of their own transgressions. Then he exhorts the people to surrender the city, and he tramples upon the piety of Hezekiah, which was famous among them. He had even ^B mocked him earlier as having "removed the high places," which he knew the people of God had enjoyed during the reign of Ahaz, thinking that those places belonged to God. Then he reasons as follows: "If their gods did not save the others, neither will the Lord save the Jews," not thinking that the Lord surpasses the others in any way. To these things spoken, they remained silent, following the king’s command. For the pious man does not answer the blasphemer, lest he provoke him to greater things, according to the saying: "Do not kindle the coals of a sinner." Moreover, it is useless to dispute with words against those whose soul’s health is despaired of; it is better to restrain them with silence and to store the truth of the word within ourselves, waiting for the opportune time to be stirred against them by God. ^C For the war is no longer against us, but is being waged against God himself. This, especially in times of persecution, is what one must maintain, and amidst the blasphemous utterances of the impious, one must listen to David singing with these words: "I set a guard over my mouth; when the sinner stood against me, I was deaf and humbled, and I kept silent from good things."

CHAPTER XXXVII.

VERS. 1-7. *And it came to pass when king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his garments, and put on sackcloth, and went up into the house of the Lord, etc.*

It was the custom among the Hebrews, if they heard any blasphemies against God, to tear their garments. Therefore, when the Savior said, "Henceforth you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven," the high priest tore his garments, ^D saying, "He has blasphemed." And we read in one of the prophets: "Tear your hearts and not your garments." For they thought they were cleansing themselves of their own sins if, upon blasphemies against God, they tore their clothing. They did this also now, as if they had become participants in the impious words by hearing them, or because God was being blasphemed through them. For he was not allowed to advance up to the gates, so that even while someone was uttering such blasphemies...

^A and wondering whether they would suffer the same things as Samaria because of their own impiety. The king, wearing a sackcloth as a sign of mourning, walked through the middle of the marketplace into the temple, showing himself to be humble before God and afflicted, as one worthy of obtaining mercy. Likewise, he sent the priests, who were wearing their sacred vestments, to the prophet with orders to say: "Thus says Hezekiah," without adding the title "king." He calls the day one of reproof and anger, in which God, being angered, rebuked their sins. "We seem," he says, "like a woman about to give birth who is not strong enough to bear the pains, so that we cannot say: 'From Your fear, O Lord, we have conceived, and have been in pain, and have brought forth a spirit of salvation.'" Therefore, he says, we did not dare to call your God our own God. Do you, O prophet, attend to the words of Rabshakeh and speak your mind, whether he has come from the one who sent him, or whether he has been sent on an errand; for you, O prophet, know that our entire multitude has already fallen into the power of the enemy, so pray for us who remain. But the prophet forestalled them when they arrived, saying nothing yet, as if God had heard Hezekiah, according to the words: "While you are yet speaking, I will say: Lo, here I am," and had instructed the prophet regarding Rabshakeh, the king, and the things that were to be answered to Hezekiah. He also calmed human panic right from the beginning; by taking away fear, he foretold what would befall the Assyrian. For ^B when one hundred and eighty-five thousand men had perished, and he had fled back to his kingdom and was offering thanksgiving to his own gods for the salvation he had obtained, he was killed, having discovered the weakness of those at whose nod he had thought he had performed his previous deeds, without God allowing it; since the prophet thus warned him: "Shall a saw exalt itself if there is no one to draw it, or shall an axe be glorified if there is no one to hew?" "But I will put a spirit in him," says God, "by which he will be deceived and return." And here the first prophecy of this history appears.

VERS. 8-20. And Rabshakeh returned, and found the King of Assyria warring against Libnah; and the King of Assyria heard that Tirhakah, king of the Ethiopians, had gone out to besiege him; and hearing it, he turned back; and he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying: Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: Let not your God deceive you, etc.

The bold Rabshakeh departed suddenly without having accomplished his task, having been rendered ^C distraught in mind by God. But the king himself, after [taking] Lachish, while besieging Libnah, a city of Judah, hastened toward Ethiopia, as God had foretold, with nothing good reported to him, but full ^D of fear and every blasphemy, having sent a letter to Hezekiah, as if all things had been achieved by his own power.

Hezekiah, however, did not think so. And indeed, the threats of Sennacherim, which had been previously predicted, were now fulfilled on these points. But having fled again to the temple of God, he displayed the letter to Him, not as to one ignorant of it, but making Him a witness of such great blasphemy, and confessing His lordship over all things, and that those called gods of the nations were false. And on account of his surpassing reverence—which was his greatest virtue toward God—when he had put on sackcloth, he did not even dare to open his mouth in prayer, but used only the prophet as an envoy; through whom, having been granted an answer, he now takes courage to send up the prayer set before us. ^A

VERS. 21-38. *And Isaiah the son of Amoz was sent to Hezekiah, and said to him: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard what you prayed to me concerning Sennacherim, king of the Assyrians. This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him. The virgin daughter of Sion despised you and mocked you, etc.*

Those who heard the prophets did not recognize them as prophets because they foretold things that were to happen in the distant future (for they were ignorant of such things), but because they proved what they had foretold by events that occurred shortly thereafter; from which they also placed faith in the rest of their words. Hence Samuel prophesies about the asses; and another about the sick son of the king; and this one predicts the death of the king of Israel. God permitted this so that, out of a greed for knowing the future, they would not turn themselves toward idols, oracles, and the other complete frauds that rely on divination. Hence it is also why, when Hezekiah had ascended into the temple, the Lord answers him through the prophet concerning the future, and by issuing a second oracle, He demonstrates that his prayers were heard, and He addresses the Assyrian in these words: You behaved arrogantly against Me, and against the city consecrated to Me, which you hoped to terrify, being uncorrupted—and therefore compared to a virgin—the city of God, and the people inhabiting it (who are named the daughter of Sion and Jerusalem, and also a virgin, since they have no stain of idolatry). ^C Not unmeritedly, therefore, relying on her God, she received your threats with laughter. But in the passage, *she wagged her head at you*, we possess the version where Symmachus said that he himself did the same. For since, he says, He thought there was no need to answer the blasphemies, *he wagged his head at you as you returned*; and breaking His silence, He asked whom you had insulted and provoked? In place of which, *you have blasphemed*—the others have rendered this; not reckoning how ^D

the Most High is and is the God of Israel, thinking Him to be no different from the gods brought into existence by you, and that by cavalry strength you had ascended to the height of the mountains and cut down the cypresses at the farthest reaches of Lebanon, and the cedars, signifying the lifted-up kingdoms of the remaining nations. ^A Aquila rendered the cypresses as “firs,” and Symmachus as “junipers.” And instead of “into the height of the part of the forest,” he used “into the height of its summit into the forest,” designating the barren places of Carmel itself; and finally by “forest,” he meant the nations ignorant of God. He became even more arrogant, adding, “and I made a bridge, and I laid waste to the waters, and all the gathering of the waters.” According to Symmachus: “I dug and drank water, and I laid waste with the sole of my foot all flowing rivers,” the multitudes of the nations, and hinting at their discourses ^B about gods, and boasting not in any good thing, but in the devastation of the lands upon which he stepped. Some say that by the name of Lebanon, the land of the Jews is meant, and that in which the ten tribes dwelt; for they were high indeed, having God as their helper. And thick, having so many inhabitants, of which he captured the one completely, and the other except for a few; which you thought, he says, you had subdued by your own power and had taken possession of the kingdom of Israel, which he called the “height of the cedar,” and the part of the forest, the ^C ruined part of Judea. Next he speaks of the bridge and the rivers being made to disappear, such things as were performed by the kings of Asia, who boasted in the magnitude of their armies. For we read how they bridged some rivers; and Xerxes, the Hellespont. And rivers having been exhausted by the multitude of those drinking have been known to dry up. “But these are not yours,” He says. “For I set the limit for their labors and their suffering. But you do not see my judgment which has long been certain to Me, regarding the destruction of the impious nations.” ^D Regarding those who think it was said about Samaria and Judea: “It was fitting for you,” they say, “to unfold My prophets, and to know the things foretold concerning them, which now, having used you as an instrument, I have brought to pass in reality. For as with a hand, I held them fast in My forbearance; since they would not return to their own Savior, I handed them over to you, and only then did you become master of them. For being fruitless, they were likened to grass and the hay of the housetops, and no longer being sheltered, they withered away, which they would not have suffered had they chosen to be a vine or an olive tree. But you, not considering these things, became foolish and thought you would take possession of My city in the same way. For I am not ignorant of your thoughts, nor the entry and exit of your reasonings.” Some say that his death is signified by the “rest.” And “entry and exit,” the way by which one acts in everything.

^A Since your bitterness has risen up to me, or according to Symmachus, “Your arrogance has ascended to my ears,” it signifies that he is now about to pay the penalty for these things. Then, as if speaking of a beast of burden, he says: “I will cast such a muzzle upon your mouth as to grip your very breath and suffocate it.” But Symmachus says, “I will put a ring in your nostrils and a bridle on your lips, so you may not go where you wish, but be drawn backward toward Babylon against your will,” or else he threatens in another way, as if by a bridle, that he will restrain his blasphemies with blows. These things, he says, are spoken to him, even though he is absent in body. But to you, O Hezekiah, my speech is now directed. If you have need of a sign for confidence regarding what has been said, know that in this present year you will live on things that grow of their own accord from the earth. For you are prevented from farming because of the enemies. Instead of “what you have sown,” all the others have rendered it as “things that grow of their own accord.” And with the remains of these, you will be fed for the second year. But instead of “the remnant,” Aquila and Theodotion have rendered it “self-grown,” while Symmachus rendered it “from the trees.” ^B Being constrained for these two years, because the land remains uncultivated, in the third year you will enjoy the produce of the earth, living in peace—those of you in Judea who, after the fall of Samaria, remained, having planted roots of piety in your soul—and you will yield fruit looking upward, the fruit of my husbandry, for which reason you are being saved. Some, however, say: “These two years you will be fed from the stored-up crops, as in a siege, which you happened to have sown.” For having remained two years at Samaria, in the third, the army having fallen by a divine blow, the fugitive withdrew. The certainty of tranquillity is shown by the root, as in trees; the long duration is shown by the fruit that is produced upward. The Lord says He will be zealous, at once as for His own city, and also because of the blasphemies against Himself. ^C “I will save you,” He says, “for what is fitting for me.” And if it is also necessary to honor a man, and out of concern for the city, to grant its salvation for the sake of David my servant—for so all the others have rendered “the progenitor and first king of the city”—so that all might know how much piety is able to accomplish, granting salvation even to those unworthy of it after a long time. Deeds followed the words. So many perished, yet their king did not perish with them, so that having seen what was done, he might muzzle his godless tongue, and be punished more severely than his subjects by the misfortune, just as Pharaoh was. And the suffering at the hands of his own children was a more bitter punishment. ^D You may elevate the word to contemplation. For heretics besiege the city of God, which is the Church, as if being set in order under the devil as their general. These...

to call. For heretics, obeying the devil himself as their commander, besiege and attack the City of God, that is, the Church; we must grow accustomed to conquering them with silence, however much they vomit forth blasphemies, and not to contend with words about vain things, against the counsel of Paul ^A; nay rather, to avoid a heretical man after a first and second admonition ^B. For in the diseases of those who are hardened and obstinate, medicine has no place; and it is written that one ought to speak only to those who have ears. Therefore, even if they proclaim a truce, as with Rapsaces, or even if they utter threats, we ought to approach God alone and await help from above. For the Lord will secretly repel them, liberating Zion from siege; neither shall the gates of hell prevail against the Church ^C.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

It came to pass at that time, that Hezekiah was sick unto death; and Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet came to him, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Set thy house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live, etc.

God, who said: I will kill, and I will make to live; I will strike, and I will heal ^D, where He struck the enemies with a plague by an angel, restored the pious king to his former health. For what the prophet said at that time, he added in order to demonstrate their destruction. But God foreshadows the end of life to the king so that He may invite him to petition for salvation: by which it is certainly demonstrated that our life is not closed by the necessity of fate, but is defined by God according to the reasons He alone knows, either by bringing us into the light, or by measuring our times, or finally by extending the end of our age according to His will; since He alone, having measured the times of our life, is able not only to rouse and refresh those already about to die, like Hezekiah, but also to bring back the dead to life, as is evident from the Scriptures. On all sides, therefore, the arguments of fate are overthrown and dissolved for us. Hezekiah, not being ignorant of this, while his health permitted, was not sluggish in hastening to the temple to implore help against the Assyrians; but now hindered by sickness, from his very bed, doubting not at all that God is present everywhere, he turns himself to prayer; in which, relying on the conscience of his life, he dares to touch only upon his own probity, not to ask for the prolongation of his life, since he does not doubt that God Himself is the inspector and arbiter of what we bear in our mind, and that of prayer... they were left, perhaps neither celebrating praises, nor advancing in virtues, nay, nor even sinning, but expecting the time of judgment. Some say that he does not take away the hope of the resurrection, but rather that he shows himself to have come to the hell of perdition, unless, after obtaining pardon for his sins, he be withdrawn by the hand of God. Therefore, freed from that perverse and slippery thought, I will hasten to marriage and the procreation of children, by which I may be able to show forth the heralds of Thy justice begotten by me. And I, in return for the consolation that has been delivered to us, which is subject to the senses, going to Thy house, to

in the house of your congregation, where we are gathered for your fear, I will proceed to render thanks to you. There are those, however, who interpret the phrase, "I will beget children who shall announce it," as referring to a choir of boys sweetly singing hymns in the temple, whom he promises he will establish. Yet through the same person by whom God revealed his end, through him also He brought the remedy for his disease, so that He might not seem to treat the prophet in an insulting way, by showing him to be a minister of evils only. For God, who works paradoxes, gave figs as a remedy—a thing which usually increases the pain of wounds—and when Ezechias was struck by this, he professed that this was the greatest sign, by which he was able to use his foot to ascend to the temple. In the fourth book of Kings, it is written that when he had heard long before from the prophet that the sun was about to make a swifter course forward and descend by ten steps; he himself—as a sign more appropriate to the turning back of his own life—requested the reversal of the sun, where the Scripture also says that a painful sore was the occasion of his illness.

Chapter XXXIX

1-8. At that time Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladon, king of Babylon, sent letters and legates and gifts to Ezechias. For he had heard that he had been sick to the point of death, and had recovered, etc.

The teacher of the Jews said that Ezechias had fallen ill because, after the slaughter of the Assyrians, he had not sung a song of thanksgiving, as Moses did after the Egyptians were destroyed; as Debbora did when Sisara was killed; as Anna did, finally, when she had brought forth Samuel—to celebrate the benefit of God. Moreover, when the king of the Babylonians heard that he had been ill, he did not send legates moved by a vain occasion, but because he had discovered that the day on which the sun had retrograded had turned out to be twice as long. Nor indeed could this escape the Chaldeans, who were well-versed in the discipline of the stars; nor could it be denied by the same men, who made the sun their god, that it was done by some more powerful virtue. Therefore, when they anxiously searched for the cause of the matter and recognized that it had been done by the God of the Hebrews on account of Ezechias, the king, moved by this, embraced their friendship and a treaty, because they had approached him as one commended by piety. You might even say that Merodach, the king of the Babylonians at that time, was the son not of Sennacherim but of Baladan, of another lineage, and that after he had learned that so many and such stupendous things had happened in one year—namely, that the Assyrian army was destroyed by an angel; that furthermore King Sennacherim had escaped in flight only to be butchered by the hands of his sons; and finally that his son Achordan, who had succeeded his father, had died a silent death—he had sought the friendship of the pious king, as if he judged that all these things had been done for his own benefit. Nor will you doubt that all these things happened in the span of this one year, if you learn that the expedition of the Assyrian occurred in the fourteenth year of the reign of Ezechias, when fifteen

years were added to him, and he died in the twenty-ninth year, so that his illness must have fallen in the fourteenth year. The rest of the events occurred before this at the same time, of all of which the Assyrian heard and made haste to send an embassy. But when they arrived to Ezechias, whose duty it was to recount the great deeds of God done in the past, as well as those recently occurring, that he might appear grateful and render them more pious, and through them move others to whom they would report those things—this he did not do. Carried away by vanity, he ^B revealed to them his treasures, and the house of Nechotha, which Aquila calls a storehouse of spices, and Symmachus, a treasury (a word signifying wealth among the Persians). This, however, brought not only a new kind of pride, but also excited the enemy to greed for what they saw. Whence the prophet came, as if of his own accord, and not as if God had sent him, and asked what it was they desired, using much subtlety, and showing that whereas they had come to learn the wonderful works of God, he, in contrast, had displayed himself for their wonder in place of God, without teaching them of the divine majesty, or that creation itself yields to His will. He, when asked what they said, answered nothing, fearing the rebuke. But to the question of whence they had come, he answered them arrogantly: "From a far-off land," as if boasting that the fame of his reputation had brought them from afar. When he heard this, God brought upon him the final decree, saying that all things would be taken by the Babylonians, and that those who were of his own line would become eunuchs for their king. This happened, as we know from the Books of Kings, in the days of Jechonias, when those around Daniel were in the king's palace, having become eunuchs, as some say. Upon hearing these things, Ezechias responded piously and devoutly, saying that every word of God is good, even if the hearing of these things might grieve men. He asked for his own time only to be spared, thanking God that he was not being punished by the experience of evils, but was being brought back to his senses by the mere report of future sorrows, knowing that those coming after him would not receive this experience unjustly, but would suffer for the sins they themselves would commit, while the righteous among his descendants would not be harmed by his own sin. The Hebrew says that God did not accept this disposition of Ezechias, since he cared only for himself, ^C and disregarded the people and the city. Therefore, He continued immediately: "Comfort, comfort my people, says God." For if he showed himself self-centered, yet you who have the power, comfort my people. For I care for my creation.

CHAPTER XL

VERSES 1-8. Comfort, comfort my people, says God. Priests, speak to my heart...

^A Jerusalem. Comfort her, because her humiliation is fulfilled, her sin is undone, for she has received from the hand of the Lord double her sins. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, etc.

Having concluded the history of the prophecy concerning Hezekiah, the discourse proceeds to a new beginning of the Gospel message, calling out to those who have received the Spirit of Christ, the Paraclete: "Comfort my people." For He commands the apostles to comfort everyone who is worthy to be called His people—a people chosen from all the nations. That they did this, Paul testifies, saying: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God," and what follows, in all of which he explained the rationale of comfort. Elsewhere, then, as if persuaded by the prophetic exhortation, he cries out: "We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." And again: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you." But the word "priests," ^B as not being found in other versions, has been marked with an obelus by the Septuagint translators.

Symmachus, then, says: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem." To this the others also agree. But what is the heart of Jerusalem, as if she were a living being? It would be permissible to reply that the city was named in place of its inhabitants, had He not also mentioned the people, saying, "my people." But who is the people? Who are the comforters? Clearly, those who have the Spirit the Comforter, as we were saying, to whom the Savior said: "And I will pray my Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth." And again: "But when the Comforter is come," the Holy and Divine Spirit; for He often calls Him the Spirit. Those, therefore, who have received the Comforter are commanded to comfort the people of God. But not Israel, nor Jacob, nor the Jews; but another people besides these, as Zechariah indicates, saying: "Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. ^D And many nations shall fly unto the Lord in that day, and shall be his people: and they shall dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord Almighty hath sent me unto thee." By which it is clearly foretold that many nations are to become the people of God. And these things says the Lord, who is sent by another Lord.

NOTES

For what reason, then, is this people of God also called the heart of Jerusalem—that is, the most excellent part of the people in the Church—in no other way than we attribute primacy to the heart in the body? By this mode of speaking, the order of those who are more obedient to reason and the Spirit is signified. And so, he commands that these should speak, and that others, as needing consolation, should be consoled. ^A You might also say that it signifies the more rational citizens of the subject Jerusalem, since the remaining crowd is mostly dull and prone to the body. He wishes, therefore, that words be spoken to these by those who have received the Spirit of consolation; and that, through the prophecy regarding the advent of Christ—when, with humility ceasing, sin will also be absolved—the remission of sins should be proclaimed.

Therefore, he says that double punishment had been brought upon the previously mentioned heart of Jerusalem, since ^B historically, those who were humbled by foreign nations suffered along with the crowd, and in their minds they punished themselves, mourning the rejection of the people. But also, the city was taken a second time, so that the temple within it was leveled to the ground. Therefore, he next introduced the consolation of the Savior’s epiphany, saying "a voice of one crying," and then adding further: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God," the evangelical preaching through which the Savior was known.

But the desert here is other than that through which Moses led the people. And whose voice is in it? "Of one crying," he answers, or as Aquila interprets it, "of one calling." It is also evident to whom he was speaking when he commanded them to prepare the way of the Lord. It was appropriate for the hearers of these things to seek all these things, and to pray to see the salvation of God as the prophecy progressed toward its fulfillment.

Since, therefore, those who were skilled in prophetic matters were expecting these things, to those who had been sent by the chief priests and teachers to John to hear whether he was the Christ, or Elias, or the prophet, he denies these things, but he professes to be the voice of one crying. For it was enough for those who knew the prophecy to have said this, and to point out the desert in which he was acting, and that the salvation of God, which was to be known by all flesh, was at the doors. For he was preaching in the desert of the Jordan, of which the prophecy speaks, and not in Jerusalem. ^C For in this desert the Savior Christ appeared, and His glory was made manifest to all, when the heavens were opened as He was being baptized, and the divine Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and the Father was heard declaring Him to be His beloved Son. For these are the signs of saving glory which it is agreed were given in the desert of the Jordan. And hence it is that He previously addressed it in this manner: "Rejoice, thirsty desert; let the solitude exult, and let it blossom as the lily. The deserts of the Jordan shall blossom and exult."

If, indeed, you look to history, you will find the matter to be as it was carried out. But if you recall it to a mystical interpretation, you may rightly understand it as concerning the Church, which was previously a desert to God, in which even until today the same [grace is...]

heard, and the salvation of God is announced to those who approach, preparing their ears for the reception of the Word of God. The Word calls John a "voice," distinguishing him from Himself.

Regarding the words, "Make straight his paths," Symmachus said, "Level a road in the trackless waste for our God," as if God were about to enter upon a path where neither He Himself, nor any prophet, nor any righteous man had trodden before—implying the Church of the Gentiles. By adding "our God," the prophet speaks as if addressing others. For there were myriads even from the ranks of foreign nations who had come for the baptism of John. And in the Church, these things are proclaimed with a loud voice to all nations. Next, he indicates that souls which have been humbled by the depth of wickedness shall be exalted, while those that have been lifted up against the knowledge of God shall be humbled. Moreover, a soul that was crooked and rough shall become level and straight, ^B so that it may become a fit recipient for the entry of God. "For the glory of the Lord shall be revealed," he says. And to whom? he adds: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God," meaning by "flesh" those who do not yet possess the Spirit of God, according to the passage: "My Spirit shall not remain in these men, because they are flesh," whom He signifies shall see the salvation of God. Nay, another prophet shows that these same people shall also see the Spirit of God, where he says: "I will pour out from my Spirit upon all flesh." For it was necessary that those who have known the salvation of God should also be partakers of the Spirit of God.

He brings forward such consolation for the people—I mean the new people. For knowing the unbelief of the old, he uses a second proclamation: "All flesh is grass." ^C For such is the nature of flesh, and of him who bears the image of the earthy. For those things upon the earth, blooming only for a short while, wither away. But the one who has received the salvation of God shall also possess the Holy Spirit, so that man shall not wither like grass, nor shall his flower fall, but he shall remain spiritual, being renewed unto the knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

But if you attend to the Hebrew, by the name "grass" he calls the people of the Jews. For Symmachus and Theodotion, by way of an addition, say: "Truly, the people is grass. The grass has withered. The flower has fallen." But Aquila: "Towards whom has the people withered? Towards whom has the flower flowed away?" Instead of, "But the word of our God shall stand forever," Symmachus says: "But the word of our God shall stand forever." The voice that was in the desert asserts that Christ is eternal, ^D and that those who have received His salvation, having transitioned from the earthy to the spiritual substance, remain with Him. But those who remained in the flesh from the circumcision [are] grass.

^A. And further, some, being at a loss as to how the prophet connected the coming of Christ with the words of Hezekiah, say that the enemies ravaged Jerusalem many times; but the one through Nebuchadnezzar was the final destruction before the coming of Christ. After which those who returned inhabited the land without division until the coming of Christ. Having recalled this destruction to Hezekiah, therefore, he makes mention of this consolation. For primarily to them the saving proclamation came to be, according to that word: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But some say that He deemed their absurd notions worthy of consolation. For Hezekiah was instructed concerning the absurd opinion by which he thought himself to be the one expected, so as to think that it was said also concerning him, "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand," seeing so many having fallen ^B. But this hope having failed on account of his illness, so that the psalm saying, "and the scourge shall not come nigh thy dwelling" no longer fit him (for it befitted Christ alone), the people thought the promises had ceased, and that all the things hoped for had vanished, and that no savior of the race would appear.

Thence it is that God of all, since they had abandoned hope, consoles them through the prophet and the priests, saying: Speak to the heart of Jerusalem; as if commanding them to soothe the listeners with joyful and easy consolation, which the law itself—being very burdensome and heavy, and wrapped in shadows and types, and teaching things not at all necessary—lacked ^C. For it brought only a light and external knowledge by means of the letter; whereas the saving proclamation leads the Spirit into the innermost recesses of the soul, opening up the depth of its divine Spirit. Thus too says David: "In my heart I hid thy sayings, that I might not sin against thee." Such also [is] that which is said by one of the prophets: "And this is the covenant which I will covenant with them in those days, says the Lord, giving my laws into their mind, and upon their hearts I will inscribe them." And Paul also says: "Ye are our epistle, known and read by all men, manifested that ye are the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, inscribed not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshy tables of the heart." Some understood the angels by the name of priests, to whom it befits also to be able to speak to hearts. But the consolation consists in the remission of the twofold punishment; whether we ourselves are subjected to the passions of the flesh (for this itself is a very great vengeance for those who are endowed with any sense) or are punished on account of them, that is, whether by God, who is truly the fountain of life, ^D

^A or to the demons themselves, those "broken cisterns" (to use the words of Jeremiah), which cannot hold water, let us pass on. Some persons say that, just as loving fathers, who are burning with great affection for their children, consider a small sin of theirs to be much more serious and grievous, so also God, because of His benevolence toward men, imposes upon a lesser fault a double penalty. For otherwise it would be unworthy of His goodness to exact a double punishment, He who has said: "The Lord will not take vengeance twice for the same thing in affliction. For the Lord is merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy, and true." And: "He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor has He recompensed us according to our sins." And there is a harmony with that which says, "Prepare the way of the Lord," and what Zacharias, the father of the Baptist, says in this manner: "And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways." Regarding him the Savior says: "He was the burning and shining lamp; but you were willing to rejoice for a time in his light." For Christ is the Sun of righteousness and the true light. And the difference between both is incomparable, even if human nature were to become entirely full of wisdom and light.

To those, however, who have lost hope, He provides a sign of consolation. For when you hear a voice speaking of repentance from the wilderness, then consider that He who was expected is present. As the discourse takes the metaphor from a public road, which having some parts steep and others hollow, is therefore difficult to pass—which signifies that it ^C might become smooth, by bringing down those who are exalted and filling up the hollows, just as the way of piety has become through Christ, which was previously impassable because it was beset by the world-rulers of darkness, who had bound us to earthly pleasures. He calls the Son the "glory of the Lord," as one who transcends all creation and is of the same divinity as the Father. This He clearly demonstrated, even after becoming man, by constantly performing miracles and transforming creation by His word, becoming salvation for all, which the sacrifices of the Law were unable to cleanse from the stain of sin. But now we are all honored in Christ with the spirit of adoption, insofar as we have come to the gift of grace, as God has extended it to all, even if some, blinded by the darkness of unbelief, have refused to approach it. And so that the prophet might not seem to be saying anything of his own or something fictitious, he called it "the word of God." He teaches in what manner it is possible to see the salvation of God, namely, by despising things that are visible, as being unstable and quickly withering away, and by taking into the mind the word of God alone, as ever-living and abiding, and as the cause of eternal life. You might also call the "word of the Lord" the commandment of the Savior Himself, who said: "Amen, I say to you, if anyone ^D my word..."

^A ...will not see death forever." Some, however, say that the prophet, being commanded to proclaim with a loud voice the grace that was to come upon all, was moved by compassion for his own nation. Foreseeing that since it would no longer possess any special status—as it had formerly been God's inheritance—it would be deprived of such honor, he was perplexed in his mind, and asked what he ought to cry out. To which God, since he could not grasp such great grace, said: "All flesh is grass." For even you, He says, you who are a minister of My words, because your mind is overshadowed by the flesh, will not be able to comprehend it. Nevertheless, He says, all human opinion will quickly cease, but My word concerning grace to all shall be confirmed. Paul, too, having understood this, said: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom!" Having thus resolved his doubt, the prophet is then commanded to proclaim from the height of his mind, with the highest contemplation.

443 VERS. 9-26. *Get you up into a high mountain, you that bring good tidings to Sion. Lift up your voice with strength, you that bring good tidings to Jerusalem. Lift it up, be not afraid. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God, behold the Lord. The Lord comes with strength, and the arm with rule. Behold his reward with him, etc.*

444 Proceeding now, after having discoursed concerning the voice crying in the wilderness, he passes on to the evangelists and the advent of Christ. ^B Aquila interprets this passage in this way: *Go up into a high mountain, you who preach Zion; and lift up your voice strongly, you who preach Jerusalem.* The others similarly direct their speech to Jerusalem and Zion as if they were living beings. To what mountain, then, does Zion ascend, when she herself is also called a mountain? For we read: "Mount Zion, wherein you have dwelt." And, "You have not come to Mount Zion." It seems, therefore, to signify the choir of the apostles, whom He earlier called the "heart of Jerusalem," as being some who were eminent from the people of the circumcision—because they had attained the salvation of God, and had become something lofty, having been fashioned to resemble the Only-Begotten, who is also called a mountain. They are commanded to ascend into this mountain, to proclaim Christ's advent, and in doing so, to fear nothing, however much some may rise up against them; that is, He commands them not to teach in secret, but to make the Gospel public, and to make it audible to all, according to the saying: "What you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the house-tops." This indeed they also did when they prayed, saying: "And now, Lord, behold their threats, and grant to your servants that with boldness they may speak your word." ^D And when He says "Behold," they say, He signifies that His advent is not far off, but shows it to be near. He commands them, therefore, to cry out to the cities of Juda—that is, to their synagogues—that it is He—that One long ago...

ago expected, proclaimed by the voices of the holy prophets. He indicated also His advent, saying that He would come with great power and sovereign authority, at which time He will render to each according to his works. As He used to say: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, and will render to every man according to his works" (Matt. XVI, 27). Some have applied these things even to His first advent, showing that He would not come as one of the prophets, who used to supplicate while performing miracles. But Christ, by His own authority, drove away maladies and demons. That He did not endure the cross in vain on our behalf, He shows by saying: "Behold, His reward is with Him." For He was saying: "Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself alone remaineth; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John XII, 24). And again: "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself" (John XII, 32). And Paul says: "He endured the cross, despising the shame. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above all names, that in His name," and so forth (Heb. XII, 2; Phil. II, 9, 10). And David also foretold: "All the nations Thou hast made shall come and shall adore before Thee" (Ps. LXXXV, 9). ^B

The statement, "As a shepherd He shall feed His flock," is acknowledged to be of the first advent. For as God He will judge, but as having taken the form of a servant He is said to feed the flock, He who says, "I am the good shepherd." By His "arm" they say is meant the Divinity, by which He shall gather the lambs, and it is said He shall comfort those that are with young. By "lambs" the Word points to those recently born in Christ. Wherefore Aquila uses the word "agnicles" (lambkins). It might also signify the new people. For He did not say rams, or goats, or adult sheep, concerning which another prophet teaches in this manner, saying: "Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, and between the rams and the he-goats" (Ezech. XXXIV, 17). And: "Is it not enough for you that you fed on good pasture; and the residue of your pastures you trampled with your feet? And you drank the settled water; and [the] remaining [water] you troubled ^C with your feet?" (ibid., 18). And again: "Behold, I judge between the strong cattle and the weak. You thrust with your sides and shoulders, and pushed with your horns, and oppressed the weak" (ibid., 20, 21). Therefore also their shepherds are accused by Him, the Lord saying: "O shepherds of Israel, do not the shepherds feed themselves? Do not the shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the milk, and you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you kill the fat; and you do not feed My sheep" (Ezech. XXXIV, 2–3). Since, therefore, the sheep were neglected, and the shepherds were destroying them, He threatens the shepherds with removal, saying: "And I will turn you away from feeding My sheep" (ibid. 10). And He adds: "Behold, I Myself will seek out My sheep." ^D

^A From great glory and in the power of might, nothing escapes You. For it is said elsewhere: "The drops of rain are numbered by Him."

VERS. 26-31. Let not Jacob say, nor you, Israel, speak: "My way is hidden from God, and my God has taken away my judgment, and has departed, and now you have not known? If you have not heard, the everlasting God, the God who fashioned the ends of the earth, will neither hunger, nor grow weary, nor is there any searching of His understanding," etc. ^B

Symmachus thus says: "Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel?" And the interpretation of the others agrees with this. But after the theology concerning God has been rendered, He rebukes those of the former people who did not think that God observed their deeds. Do you think, He says, that by hiding you escape being subject to the judgment of God, even though you just now heard it said to God, "In the power of might, nothing escapes You"? But even if you did not know ^C or hear of this before, learn it now; that is, if you say that you are ignorant unless you hear, I will speak, admitting even your pretense. Truly, you will answer that you are ignorant. But if you do not know, now hear that God is eternal, and that He holds together not only the heaven, but the whole earth as well. And how can you be hidden from Him? But where we read "He will not grow weary," others interpret it as "He is not dissipated" (or "languid"). Moreover, besides the fact that He never labors with any infirmity nor suffers anything human, He is endowed with a knowledge that cannot be grasped, through which His providence extends to individual things, sometimes rendering the poor prosperous, while punishing those overflowing with luxury and wealth with the sorrows and anxieties of this life. ^D He also sends weakness of strength through illnesses to those even in the flower of their youth; whereas those who, amidst raging adversaries, wait for God in martyrdoms and persecutions, however much they become weaker in this life, are soon blessed by such a change of affairs that they fly off as free beings into heaven. For the eagle is a high-flier and directs its gaze against the rays of the sun, and sheds the old age of its nature, according to that word: "Your youth shall be renewed as the eagle’s." "For patience works probation; and probation, hope; and hope does not confound." And so, having exchanged their strength, they will exchange this life for an immortal one, and move on into an angelic life. By the mention of eagles, He compares them to the heavenly powers, which He made similar to winged creatures. And hence it is, surely, that we consider those things which live in the waters to be clean, if they have fins. Thus, therefore, even in this life there is a partial judgment, as there will be a universal one in the future; even if you do not think so, O Israel; and hence I declare these things as fitting for you and the other nations.

CHAPTER XLI

VERS. 1-7. "Be renewed unto Me, O islands. For the princes shall change their power; let them draw near and speak together; then let them announce their judgment. Who raised up righteousness from the east, and called it to His feet, and..."

^A makes them follow Him, and He proceeds? He shall give [them] before the nations, and He shall strike down kings. And He shall deliver their swords to the earth, and their bows as stubble driven away, and He shall pursue them, etc.

"Renew yourselves unto me, O islands," for which Symmachus says, "Serve me, O islands," but Aquila and Theodotion translated, "Be silent unto me." For He commands them to be silent so that they may become listeners to the divine discourse and life-saving proclamation, calling the Churches from the nations "islands," in which the salt-sea bitterness of this life abounds, along with the waves of those who rise up against them. But they are safe, as they walk upon the rock, Christ. Therefore, they are not shaken. Having said above that those who wait for the Lord shall exchange their strength, here He says, "Princes," that is to say nations, "let them exchange strength," ^B according to Symmachus (as he addresses those islands and nations who wait for the Lord), so that they might change the strength they have from something worse to something better. Some, however, say that at times "islands" are called cities and villages that have wide, untilled, and desolate land around them—such as they say exist in the wilderness of the Idumeans and Moabites—which He addresses, taking them as a paradigm of the madness of other idolaters, thereby signifying the reception of the nations in part. He desires that they pass over to a newness of life, having left behind the error that had made them old, so that they may become a pure virgin, having no spot or wrinkle. By this, the princes exchange their strength, as they become superior to those under the law and altogether differ in spiritual power.

Others say that He advises souls, which have long exhausted themselves in pleasures, to recover their powers and wash away the saltiness of their passions—that is, to put off the old man and put on the new, according to what seems good to Paul. Then He adds, "Let them draw near and speak together," as God calls the nations to Himself, and instructs them to speak and think these things in the Church, and deliberately to proclaim the mystery of Christ. For while those from Jerusalem called the law "judgment," He, bringing forward the life-saving proclamation in its place, called [it] judgment. For it does not hold the mere shadow of righteousness, but the true righteous judgment of God, which the new princes, having learned from Christ, teach, it being the will of God and the Father. ^C Others say that He wishes the nations, having learned the word concerning judgment, to announce it to others also, so that they may recognize who it is that raised up righteousness from the east. For it is the work of righteousness that not only the Jews, but also the rest of the nations, should know the Lord. The divine Apostle also calls Christ Himself righteousness, saying, "Who was made for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." And in this way he also calls the word of the Gospel, saying, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, as I have called it the power of God." ^D

^A He adds: "For the righteousness of God is revealed in him." It is He who raised it up [to shine] from the east as a light for those who follow Him, granting it before the nations, so that those first kings who stirred up persecutions against those who possessed it were troubled, and were defeated by God fighting on its behalf. For He destroyed their hostile machinations like chaff, and leveled the path so that His feet might pass over in peace—He who called righteousness from the ancient generations, by which He saved us at the last from corruption and the greed of the devil, and justified us through faith, enlightening those in darkness, saying through the prophet: "And to you who fear my name, the Sun of righteousness shall arise." He himself, therefore, called it to appear to those on earth—that is, He provided for its coming, so that it might journey in the footsteps of the One who called it. For it walked in the footprints of God and the Father, fulfilling His works and demonstrating Him in His own nature. For He was equal to Him. Whence He says: "If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me," ^B and what follows. Following His will, or rather because He himself was the will of the Father, He addressed the Jews thus: "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me," which is to walk in the footsteps of the Father; whence He said, "I am in the Father, and the Father in me." And: "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Through all these things, He delivered from the tyranny of the lords of this darkness those who from the beginning had been enslaved by them—those whom you might call kings amazed at such a change in life, seeing their own downfall, and how they have become like chaff, and how every design of their wickedness grew weak when Christ plundered their vessels. "For the enemy shall not prevail against him," He says, "and the son of iniquity shall not add to harm him." ^C When the enemies were put to flight, the way of His feet became peace. For nothing could be an impediment to Him while He was orchestrating the things concerning us. Therefore He says: "I am He who at the final time demonstrated righteousness, and who called it from ancient generations." For He foreknew the mystery of Christ from the very foundation of the world, and how it was fitting for the restoration of Adam to come to pass. And it is no wonder, since He even foreknew the calling of those who were to be saved through faith. "For those whom He foreknew," He says, "He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, and these He also called." Much more, then, was He who was to be the Savior foreknown. Some, however, have said the following: It is He who also strengthened Cyrus against all nations—whom He here calls righteousness—who delivered Israel, but [being] from the [affliction] regarding him ^D the adversary in him, and the son of iniquity shall not add to harm him.

^A He has subjugated all the nations; whom he also here calls righteousness: partly because he asserted Israel into liberty; partly also because from the prediction published concerning Himself, he attained the virtue of God. Furthermore, also because he bound his own powers to the divine will against the nations, which he conquered like stubble, and compelled to seek peace. He is therefore called righteousness for these causes. Furthermore also, because he was justly incited against Babylon. Whatever, moreover, refers to that perfection of justice, which is not held in Cyrus, into Christ—the true righteousness—the discourse calls us; implying that the first author of evil, the demon (since supreme malice does not fall upon man), is signified through evil kings.

^B He speaks of the future as if they were past, when he says: "Who has worked and done these things?" showing that those things which God has once determined shall come to pass are just as certain as if they had already happened; for nothing of them shall pass by without being brought to effect. But in order to demonstrate that He is before all things and is without beginning and without end, He added: "I, God, [am] the first, and [things] following." For he is the same who was known to those beloved of God from the beginning, and who, after the former people were rejected, was entrusted to the Church of the nations. Whence he brought in: "The nations saw, and were afraid." Either because I have so disposed the Assyrian, by raising up Cyrus against him, that it became vain and useless for them to wish to aid him, and [the nations, having] cried out against the weakness of idols, admired the power of God: or because, having ceased from their former blindness, they knew Him who said: "I, God, [am] the first, and [as to] the things following." And having seen them, they were afraid, having entered into the beginning of wisdom. "For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." ^C And the proclamation and the fear of the knowledge of God proceeded even to the furthest limits of the earth, and even to the most barbarous nations, according to these words: "Let them approach, and let them speak together." But there, they were ordered to go to meet and to speak, that is, to praise God: here, however, each one judging that he has approached and has come at the same time to aid his neighbor, they are said [to be]. For the God-fearing strive to save with themselves also their neighbors; being provoked by the rule of love, they snatch the same from infidelity; mindful that they themselves also once existed as children of wrath ^D and had been addicted to idolatry, but now truly recognizing God and having attained salvation, they condemn the weakness of idols; which not only lack someone else to confirm them in the state which they do not have from themselves: but even when they have stood, they are not even able to be moved. Who, therefore, can these things still be gods? Atque hæc erant (And these were the things which He wished above, when He said: "Let them speak together after they have approached"; that is, after the distance of sin was taken away, they have entered into a spiritual familiarity among themselves). For immediately as they tasted it, they recognized Christ the Lord, and having contemplated the beauty of truth, they did not reserve it only for themselves, but [imparted it] to others.

^A Migne’s text, having spoken sufficiently concerning the calling of the Gentiles, passes over to the Israelites. For when they had stumbled against the stone of stumbling and had become far removed from salvation, after the shadow of the law, grace through faith was introduced. They murmured, saying: “My way is hidden from God,” that is, “He no longer attends to the worship according to the law.” “And He took away my judgment, and departed,” that is, “He brought the law to an end.” For David also sings: “Judgment and justice in Jacob You have performed,” ^B which is clearly the same as saying that you ordained the law through Moses. And Moses also says: “And He gave him the ordinances of the law.” ^C The aim of the shadows in which he was once enveloped was previously marked out by Christ, as He Himself says: “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me.” Moreover, the words of the prophets proclaimed in advance the future mystery of Christ, unto which the economy of the law of Moses was destined to arrive. But, as if you had not heard, I will say: “God shall not hunger.” For you did not offer me the worship according to the law as one who is in need, in accordance with: “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” For how could I be in need of these, being eternal and incorruptible, nor subject to human passion? But you reason with yourself, he says: “If the new things are better than the old, why was there any need at all for the former laws? Was it not better to be taught then what is being promulgated now?” But you are ignorant of the economy of divine wisdom, through the knowledge of which the Apostle affirmed that the law entered so that sin might abound; and then, that the Scripture concluded all under sin, so that He might have mercy on all.

The law therefore stands as a conviction of the infirmity of men, not justifying them, but condemning those whom Christ justified by grace. For He Himself is the one who, besides not hungering, also bestows spiritual strength upon those who hunger for righteousness; ^D and for those destitute of perception, by infusing sorrow, He causes them to feel the retribution of their sins. For sorrow that is according to God is accustomed to work repentance unto salvation that is not to be repented of; namely, by giving the sorrow that came from the conquest to those who said: “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” These same men, deprived of spiritual food, became weak, although they were formerly strong, when the Gentiles, because of infirmity, had fallen under the feet of the devil. And while they were being reared by the precepts of the law, once grace had arrived for the Gentiles, they themselves shifted into a famine—not a famine of bread, nor of

thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. For not being nourished by him any longer, they grew weak, as he says: “I am the bread which came down from heaven,” and the rest. For the Gentiles having eaten of this no longer hunger. For Solomon also says: “The Lord will not let a righteous soul starve to death, but he will overturn the life of the ungodly.” For they underwent a change, after the God of the world had changed their infirmity resulting from error into spiritual strength, and they became superior to carnal pleasures, with Christ prevailing, so that they will say, chanting: “The Lord is my strength and my song.” ^B

Vers. 8-20. *But you, Israel, my servant Jacob, and whom I chose, seed of Abraham, whom I loved, whom I took from the ends of the earth, and from its furthest watchtowers I called you, and said to you: You are my servant, etc.*

Previously, God found fault with Jacob and Israel, saying, “My way has been hidden from God.” But now he calls Israel and Jacob his servant in praise, calling him “chosen,” clearly showing that the discourse divides the people of the circumcision into two parts: one which has fallen away due to unbelief, and another which has been saved through the faith of the apostles and those deemed worthy of election along with them, according to the divine Apostle who says: “Even so, then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” And the Gospel also says: “These twelve Jesus chose.” But while there were many called, even from the former people, few were chosen. To these the discourse makes the aforementioned promises, after the calling of the Gentiles had been set forth in the passage: ^C “Who raised up righteousness from the east, and promised it to the nations?” And again: “The nations saw and feared, but the rest have given up; but you, Israel, my servant.” He first called him “servant,” then “chosen.” As one who had been trained at the start under the law through the fear of a servant, then chosen through progress by means of the calling. But there is another order among them, the so-called seed of Abraham, signifying the multitude of the Jews, to whom the Savior said: “I know that you are Abraham’s seed,” being different from the children of Abraham, of whom he said: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” Abraham, therefore, was loved by God. But he does not say that the seed is loved in the same way. Nevertheless, he called even these through the elect, having said: ^D “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And since they were scattered over the entire earth, he added: “Whom I took from the end of the earth, and from its watchtowers,” or “corners,” according to Symmachus, “I called you.” For he called them first, as Paul said to them: “To you it was necessary that the word should be spoken first. But since you turn away, we go to the nations.” He signifies, therefore, that those from among them who believed were the ones he took.

some form of the catechetical discourse; and he reminded them of the virtue of the fathers, from which they were dearly loved by God. Calling the fathers beloved and chosen, since they were of a noble root, he exhorts them to be zealous for the fathers and for their piety; saying that he took hold of Abraham, ^A calling him from the end of the earth, saying: “Go out from your land and from your kinship.” And he says “from the summits,” since the land of the Chaldeans is reported to be mountainous, by which means it was signified that Abraham was at the height of idolatry.

Then he speaks as if concerning all Israel, saying: “I said to you: you are my servant.” For he has been named firstborn, and God did not abandon him who had become chosen—the one from whom he was chosen. To whom he says, “Do not fear, nor go astray; for I am your God, who strengthened you.” Having taught him through the law that there is one God and one Lord, and that one must serve him alone, through the right hand of his Only-Begotten he made him heir of the defeated nations. ^B

But if you look to the first interpretation, having mentioned the seed of Abraham, he returns again to the election of the apostolic choir, saying “my servant,” or according to Symmachus’ interpretation, “my slave,” a name by which Paul also greatly glories, calling himself a slave as if it were a certain dignity. For the prophet also will say later: “It is a great thing for you to be called my servant.” And here again he placed servitude before election. Encouraging the chosen one to preach the Gospel to all the nations, he says: “Do not fear, for I am with you.” According to that word: “Behold, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age.”

“But do not go astray,” he says, thinking that you could suffice for such a great proclamation by your own power. For what would you have done ^C if I were not present, and if I did not provide you with strength against such great miseries? For I was guarding you, so that nothing would impede you while you were preaching. Therefore, of those who resist, pay no heed to any one of them. For they will be as nothing—those who until recently seemed to be something in their persecution, whose end is destruction. According to the text: “I saw the impious one highly exalted, and I passed by, and behold, he was not.” “For those who mind high things,” he says, “suffer a grievous and unexpected crushing.” And again: “He who makes his own house high seeks crushing.”

That phrase, “I helped you, do not fear, worm of Jacob,” is not present in the Septuagint. He called him “worm” having previously called him “chosen,” because like a worm ^D entering into the cities of the unbelievers, he wiped out the superstitious error from the very depths of men’s souls; and also because the preaching of the apostles is cheap and lowly. Thus, therefore, the Savior himself also says in the Psalm: “I

am a worm, and no man.” ^B And by “little ones” he calls Israel, looking to the small number of the disciples. For there were twelve, and after them seventy others. Symmachus translated it, “Number of Israel,” but Aquilas and Theodotian translated it, “Dead Israel,” which is in agreement with the apostolic words: “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,” and, “I die daily, by your rejoicing.” But, he says, even though you are a worm, and dead, and very few, do not fear, being emboldened by my aid, through which you will crush the impiety of the unbelieving nations; calling the opposing powers “mountains and hills,” as they are exalted against the knowledge of God, being the spirits of the deep which are called hills. When they have perished, you shall rejoice in the Lord. For he has given us ^C power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy.

You might say that the mountains and hills are also those who were raised up against the apostles with worldly magistracies. But even when these have been brought down, you will rejoice in the holy ones of Israel, experiencing great delight and pleasure when you see that many have become holy, and have been enrolled among the sons of Israel. “For they are not all Israel, who are of Israel.” Such is that saying of the Apostle, “My joy and crown.” Having said these things about the apostles, the prophetic word, taking up another beginning, speaks of the conversion of the nations: “The poor and needy shall be glad.” The word “shall be glad” is marked with an obelus; for in the others it is said: “The poor and needy shall seek water, and there shall be none.” But they suffered these things long ago. Now, however, “I will not forsake them, but I will open in the mountains rivers,” and the rest. For the souls that were formerly destitute of the knowledge of God, so that their tongue and the speech produced through it were dried up, lacking the drop of a drink that has life, these now drink beyond all expectation the saving waters through grace, according to that which was foretold: “And they shall drink water from the fountains of salvation.” And indeed, from the fountains of Israel, according to that in the Psalms: ^D “In the churches bless ye God the Lord from the fountains of Israel.” This is the Holy Spirit, who makes waters of life spring forth in the churches from the Scripture, both the Old and the New; where also the holy men, as rivers, inundate the formerly desert land, flowing from the great river, whose currents make glad the city of God, for which it has been said: “The river of God is filled with water.”

For it is possible to see the Church, which was formerly arid, a desert of God and of every good thing, now having souls flourishing because of such waters, and being lifted up high above the earth, just as plants are by the water...

^A of which he makes mention in this place. Concerning this, the Savior himself also spoke regarding the water: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him," and the rest. And again: "He who drinks of the water that I shall give him, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." This he said of the Spirit, which those who believed in him were about to receive, by the benefit of which those who believe are accustomed to flourish, to be lifted up high, to be incorruptible, and to emit at last the sweetness of fragrance. Therefore, the olive, the palm, and the vine signify in Scripture the fruits of the Church. But the trees mentioned here designate the fruitfulness, the height, the freshness, and the vigor of those who make progress in it; which, happening in a desert, seems marvelous. And thence it is that he subjoins that the hand of the Lord has effected these things: namely, that those who were rooted in the earth, that is, who were leading a frail and human life, might ascend to heavenly heights, raised up by the hope of the immortal kingdom. So marvelous was the conversion which the Lord wrought among the nations. ^B Then, by the name of water-conduits, he indicated the teachers of the Church, who, having drawn into their own minds the word of God from divinely inspired Scripture, transmit it to others, so that by their way of life they may have the quality of fragrance; by the flight from worldly pleasures, they may attain to incorruption; and finally, by having acquired a firm and stable habit in all things, they may be able to take root and endure the onslaughts of the winds. For the Lord confirms the righteous; and it is fitting to acknowledge the author and cause of these things, and not to think that they happen spontaneously and by chance.

^C There are, however, some who think that in this whole series of words God is recalling to the memory of Israel how, according to the progression, he has always held a relationship with them, whom he intended to shine forth like a lighted torch of divine knowledge to the whole universe. He then called Abraham from the ends of the earth; and finally rescued them from Egypt, the other extreme of the earth, and placed them in the stead of others. Take heart, therefore, he says, you who have experienced so many wonders; and do not err, however much very many nations may surround you. For after I have exacted punishment from your enemies, however much others may come forward, they shall yet be reckoned as nothing. But perhaps you fear for this reason, because you look upon the paucity of your own people, and against them, the ^D huge multitude of those who surround you. But look to my help, aided by which you shall destroy the enemies rising up against you, who are compared to the very mountains and hills. As was made manifest in the 185,000 of the Assyrians, who, without you even attacking them, fell by my hand alone. He further shows what losses the enemies themselves will suffer; for he added that they would indeed seek water, but would not find it. But that which he said concerning the rivers, they say that those histories bear witness that it happened so, which recount that waters flowed forth from rugged rocks, and that rivers failed when the Jordan lay open to the people as they crossed. And what the sea endured, pouring itself out again for the destruction of the Egyptians; who were also cast out, not to both parts of the sea, but where Israel was; so that seeing it, they might take heart.

and profess Him to be their God, to Whom they had previously denied their faith. ^A

462 VERS. 21-29. *Appropinquat judicium vestrum, dicit Dominus Deus. Appropinquarunt consilia vestra, dicit rex Jacob. Appropinquent, et annuntient vobis quae ventura sunt, aut priora quae erant, dicite, et mentem advertemus, et cognoscemus quae ultima, et quae ventura, etc.*

After finishing the discussion regarding the region which, though formerly desert, had since become better, he moves now to another order of those who, because of the error of idols, had not yet posited that these things were done by the hand of the Lord. There remains, therefore, for you alone a condemnation, for having stood astonished at such great grace. And hence it is that he adds ^B "your counsels have drawn near"; for which Symmachus translated, "Bring your strong things near"; Theodotion, "Your fortifications"; Aquila, "Your strengthenings"—as if bidding them bring their gods into the midst. Thus they interpreted. . . .

Chapter XLII.

463 VERS. 1-9. *Jacob puer meus, suscipiam eum; Israel electus meus, suscepit eum anima mea. Dedi spiritum meum super eum. Judicium gentibus educet. Non clamabit, neque dimittet, neque audietur foris vox ejus, etc.*

He previously foretold, saying, "I will give rule to Zion." ^C And what this might be, he clearly indicated. For it is said that dominion was given to the Church, in that He who became man obtained supreme power over all things. Hence He also calls Him Jacob, as one born according to the flesh from the blood of Israel. And he adds, "I will take hold of Him." For the Father was working together with Him, as if He were accomplishing great things by His own inherent power and strength. He is also "elect," as one who surpassed all mortals in beauty of form; and "accepted," as one beloved. For the Father was well-pleased in Him, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Being anointed, ^D according to His humanity, He is said to be a partaker of the Holy Spirit, although it is also said that He bestows the Spirit and sanctifies creation. For at His baptism, the Spirit, he says, descended upon Him. And He was anointed to "bring forth judgment to the nations," which is to say, a righteous judgment. For He justified them by condemning the covetous Satan, saying: "Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Then, because He lived that human life quietly and meekly, with great modesty, not even permitting those whom He healed to make Him known, he says: "He shall not cry, nor will He raise His voice, nor shall His voice be heard outside." For nowhere did He dwell outside of Judea and Galilee. He came...

^A only to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and of Caesarea Philippi. But He did not step into the cities of the aliens. Thus, he says, He will pass through without noise, so as not to grieve even the weakest, and for this reason He is compared to a reed, and that one a bruised one. "But He will not extinguish the smoking flax." For this is "that which is smoldering," which the others rendered as "dim." They say that the "flax" denotes him who is in vain puffed up by the mind of his flesh. For He did not grieve the humble, nor did He pursue the proud; being gentle to all, and humble in heart, ^B or harm the humble, or take vengeance upon the proud, who in...

465 There are not wanting those who, by the term "smoking flax," wish to signify the earthly man, who has still preserved for himself a small spark of virtue or piety. For He comforts him and does not allow him to cast away hope, He who commanded that one must forgive unto seventy times seven times for repentance; and who disputed with great freedom of speech concerning the judgment of God before all; nor did He cease until, like light, He shone forth through the resurrection from the dead, which, he says, He also hinted at: "He shall shine forth, and shall not be broken." For they tried to break and extinguish Him, they who prepared death for Him. For by death men ^C are broken. But Christ alone proved stronger than death. And having shone forth, Christ did not cease until He should put judgment upon the earth, that is, before He should arrange upon earth the administration and judgment regarding the Church, which He committed to His own disciples. For in these things it seems that by the name of "judgment" he signifies the Law, as it was said concerning Israel, that there He gave him statutes and judgment. And again: "Judgment and justice in Jacob, You have done." And some say that He will bring forth the Law, which was hidden in shadows and types, into the light through the evangelical decrees. Nor does the particle "until" indicate a pre-defined limit of time after which it is to be broken, but that He will effect so much that He will establish His judgment in the whole world. According to that: "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool of Your feet." And that: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the age." Thus, even now, it demonstrates the firm and immutable constancy of His decrees. For it is written: "Your justice is justice unto eternity, and Your law is truth." ^D

"But the nations shall hope in His name," after they learned that He is God, even if He appeared in the flesh. And according to David: "In His name they shall rejoice the whole day." For we are called Christians, and in Him we have placed all our hope. But in the place where we have "nations," the Hebrews themselves and the other translators, you might see, read "islands"; and where it says "name," they write "law." But we call the churches "islands," as if surrounded by the unbelievers like the sea. But the law of the One prophesied...

"I will make a new covenant with them, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers." Our prophet here also says: "For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

Since he immediately added to the preceding statement, saying, "Jacob my servant," without defining the person, he now introduces: "Thus saith the Lord God," showing that the things prophesied concerning Christ were spoken of by Him. Since the speaker is invisible, he demonstrates His essence and power from the magnitude of created things, according to the voice of Paul. He says the heaven was solidified—for it consisted of water, according to the writing of Moses, not of fire, as the worldly-wise think—and that the earth was established because, being in the middle, it remains immovable. Instead of "and those in it, and those walking upon it," Symmachus said: "And what are these?" he says, "he who gives breath to the people who are upon it?" For he breathed a living soul into all men through the protoplast, yet he did not grant a share of the Spirit to all, but only to those who walk upon the earth, being superior to earthly-mindedness. You might also say that every genus of living beings, both rational and irrational, is signified.

Because there were many false prophets in Israel, it came to pass, finally, that even the true prophets were not believed; just as even Christ himself was disbelieved, although He was working miracles. For they claimed He cast out demons by Beelzebul, and said: "If this man were from God, he would not break the Sabbath." Therefore the Savior said to them: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to slaughter, and to destroy. I came that they may have life." And again: "I have come in the name of my Father." ^C Whence the prophecy makes the Father testify to Him, that he came as one called, and not as a deserter, after the manner of those who speak from their own hearts, but in justice, having received the calling according to merit. And that He, being Lord of the powers, promises to cooperate, according to the measures of humanity, showing Him also to be God, and light from light, as a light of the Gentiles, given—as he says—as a sort of gift, unto the New Covenant, having divinely abolished the shadow of the former one. And, since He Himself was the Covenant, being the mediator of God and men, He did not issue either a writing or a book, as Moses did; but in Him, even the souls of those who were formerly blind have their eyes opened toward the knowledge of God, [turning] away from the ignorance concerning idols and demons, to whom divine worship was paid. The same [Lord] also preached to the spirits in Hades, which were shut up in the house of the prison, releasing all from the bonds of necessity. And at the same time, ^D our prophet again brings forward the testimony of the Father, and confirms that He does not approach of his own accord, like a deserter or any of those who speak merely from their own ingenuity, but that He approaches rightly called in justice, and, according to the reason of His humanity, works together with the Lord of Hosts, and that He is God, and light from light, and a light to the Gentiles, given as a kind of gift into the New Covenant, with the shadow of the old having been divinely dissipated. Since, then, He Himself was the testament (as one who became the mediator of God and man), He did not issue a scripture or a book, as Moses did; but in Him, the eyes of those who once labored under the blindness of their souls are opened to the knowledge of God, that is, they are recalled from the idols to which they were offering divine worship. But the same Lord also preached concerning Himself to those spirits which were held confined in the prison-house in the underworld,

^A and He deigned to grant to those aforementioned blind men, who were bound with the chains of their own sins and fettered in the darkness of iniquity, the forgiveness of sins through His grace, having liberated them from the dungeon of the devil, not the Jews specifically, not Israel, not Jacob, but the whole race of all mankind. For this reason He said, "of the nations." Then, having said that He is the Lord God, He added, "My glory I will not give to another." They say that He means "to another" in the sense of "to no one else," implying that the concession had been made to Him alone, concerning whom He said, "I have called you in righteousness," and the rest. But the glory was that of Him who says, "I am the Lord God." For by this name He is glorified. It is better to say that since the Lord God is the Trinity, and the Son is not different by nature from the Father, He proves that the Son, having displayed such great accomplishments, could not have been a partaker of the highest glory if He were a creature. For according to the divine Apostle, ^B "For even if there are many so-called gods and lords, in heaven and on earth; yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him." For there is no one else beside Him, even if He is distinguished by a specific hypostasis. And by saying, "Nor my virtues will I give to carved images," or "my hymn," according to Aquila, or "my praise," according to Symmachus, He instructs the nations not to consider any of their ancient objects of worship to be God, nor to offer impious praise. For He alone possesses the virtues of the Father, admittedly according to His divinity, and now also according to the dispensation. ^C For it pleased God that all the fullness of the divinity should dwell in Him bodily. To these things He adds: "The things from the beginning, behold, have come." Instead of "Before they were announced, it was made known to you," Symmachus said: "Before they are announced, I will make them heard to you." For just as the first things, He says, were fulfilled by deeds (for whatever I promised to Abraham concerning his seed, I have done; and what was foretold through Moses and the other prophets has also been fulfilled), so now I proclaim new things to all. And before they are announced and come to light, I have made them heard to you through the present prophecy, which things He sets forth next. Some say that He does not allow anyone to disbelieve the word concerning the Savior. But what, they say, are these "new things"? They are, of course, the things which our Lord Jesus Christ has announced to us, the life of the age to come, and whatever lies in store for the saints according to their ^D merit.

VERS. 10-25. "Sing to the Lord a new song," the beginning of it; "glorify His name from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, who sail it, and the islands, and those who inhabit them. Let the desert rejoice, and its villages, its courtyards, and those who inhabit Kedar," etc. By these things, He revealed what He had previously called "new" things.

^A He commands all mortals to sing a hymn, or, as others have translated it, a song; since His rule and universal authority have been glorified over the whole earth. For it has been filled with the people called Christians, from the name of Christ. Having sated his soul in the pure contemplation of future things, the prophet invites others also to the same feast, and exhorts them to celebrate the Author of these good things with him. For the prophets understood what was being said by them, and from this you may see them at one time praying, at another time requesting, and at last sometimes rejoicing in the response of God. This is what Isaiah is experiencing now, who, looking upon the advent of the common Savior of all, teaches simultaneously that when He appears, He will not then for the first time begin His rule, but that He, who possesses all things as God, will show Himself as such to those who dwell on earth, with the apostles—who were traversing the sea while living the life of fishermen—leading the way with the knowledge of Him. ^B A "new" song is appropriate for the newness of the events. "For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; and the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." For we have been redeemed from spiritual slavery, not carnal, according to Israel; and instead of the making of bricks, we have been freed from the pollutions of the flesh, having escaped not the taskmasters of Egypt, nor a human tyrant, but the demons that were driving us into sin, and the devil who was set over them; so as to traverse the turmoil of life as a sea, and to eat, instead of manna, the bread which is from heaven and provides life to the world; and those who found delight in the streams from the rock of Christ, having attained the divine baptism, we have crossed the Jordan, entering into the land promised to the saints, which the meek, who are called blessed, inherit. For this reason, the hymn to God had to be made from His beginning, as some say, by His subjects, not in Judea, but over the whole earth. ^C For the Lord is not known only in Judea as of old, nor is His name known in Israel alone. But now heaven and earth are full of His glory. And David says: "The whole earth shall be filled with His glory." And who are they that stand, singing the new song, and calling others to a spiritual choir? They are the apostles, who were traversing the sea by their craft. And because they were traversing the sea that is around us, at one time they were preaching in the islands, and at another time further beyond Italy and Spain. They also sailed the sea of life, teaching the churches of the nations—which were being tossed about by the assaults of life as if by waves and winds—that in these islands for which David says: "This sea, great and spacious," and the things that follow. Since the affairs of life are unstable and are moved up and down with great confusion, those alone disentangle themselves from them who, by not being baptized by it [the sea], but by rising above its waves, are ^D known as those who reach the shore.

^A You might also understand by "islands" those souls that, before the coming of Christ, were overwhelmed by bitter tribulations. To which he adds: "Rejoice, O desert, and its villages," or, according to others, "cities." For in the Church of God one can find many cities, according to the various modes of administration and government. Therefore, even in the vision of Egypt, he had predicted that there would be five cities in Egypt using the Canaanite language. There are some, however, who think that these are the cities of the desert, which he calls by their own names, Cedar and Petra: of these, the former is a city of the Saracens, situated at the extreme limit of the desert above Arabia, while the latter is a city of Palestine, most given over to impiety and superstition. ^B By mentioning these—as if they were familiar to the Jews—he signifies that the joy flowing from the Word will reach even the inhabitants of the furthest parts of the earth, who are laboring most under idolatry. For he demonstrates that the knowledge of God will reach all nations through certain individual examples, which were not in the least bit unknown to the hearers. Furthermore, no one fails to see that, just as was predicted, there are Churches of Christ even among those he mentions. You may say that those Churches which were formerly deprived of the knowledge of God are called "desert," and that their ignorance is indicated by "Cedar" (a word which signifies "darkness"): to these, because they are to be enlightened, he announces simultaneously, and teaches that it will come to pass that, when the Savior calls, those souls that had been previously conquered and defeated will, in turn, embrace and preach his worship. ^C For Cedar was the dwelling place of the descendants of Esau, who for a long time showed themselves as enemies against Jerusalem and the Law. But others, too, will rejoice, even those who inhabit Petra itself; by which name Christ is called. He signifies that all those previously mentioned, as if they were dwelling on the summits of the mountains of God—that is, those who attain the height of his oracles—will offer a hymn to God; according to that saying: "Get you up upon a high mountain, O thou that bringest good tidings to Sion." Moreover, he says that they will proclaim his virtues in the aforementioned islands; which is what the disciples used to do, now revealing his super-celestial divinity, now proclaiming the true laws of divine worship. ^D And since many were going to rise up against those who practiced this with great confidence and freedom—doing so either of their own accord or incited by the works of demons, as if the empire of those demons were being shaken and brought to ruin—he predicts that they will never be conquered, with God standing by and fighting for them. "For he will go forth," he says, "like a king who sets out for war." And "he will stir up zeal," either that zeal which is his own against enemies—such as that which is found in Zechariah: "I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Sion with a great jealousy"—or else those who are zealous for him, such as the Apostle was, who says: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" And again: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Zealots are also...

the blessed martyrs. ^A Furthermore, when "zeal" is attributed to God, it is not some passion, but an animadversion against those who sin that is demonstrated. Moreover, as if concerning a warlike clamour: "He shall cry out against his enemies," he added; such as is accustomed to be made in the conflict itself, or while the victors insult the vanquished. Then, revealing his great longsuffering toward the nations who worshipped idols, he added: "I have kept silence; shall I always be silent?" For he desired even of old to rescue them from Satan. But he awaited the proper time, until through Christ he campaigned against those who had been conquering us. ^B And this "I have kept silence" is also appropriate to the legion that wished to kill the man near the tombs; and to the universal judgment, when he renders to each according to their merits. But the sparing of God toward us is shown by his travailing on behalf of our salvation, assuming the character of those subject to him, as if he were bringing forth offspring, even while no one was doing anything righteous, according to David. Therefore, being longsuffering out of love, just as she who suffers in the hope of children, he commands the passions to be still, while drying up the pleasures that spring forth, bringing upon them such a withdrawal from absurdity through repentance. For how could anyone repent ^C without being convicted of himself and ceasing from his former ways, according to that: "When you return and groan, then you shall be saved." Christ, by coming to earth, brought this about for all, insofar as it depended on him—even if some blind men, though light was present, were eager to remain so, having chosen to be blind to the divine words, and remained with their idols, according to that: "Let those who make them become like them." ^D As for "I will make them stand out" (or "I will cast them out"), some say it means I will cast them out of the land they possess and from the authority restricted to them over all, according to the saying: "Now the prince of this world shall be cast out." Others say it refers to causing astonishment in those who behold the achievements. Concerning these things Habakkuk also, being struck with awe, said: "O Lord, I have heard your report and I feared. O Lord, I contemplated your works and was astonished." By "the dry land," he means he says: "I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the marshes," thus calling the wise men among the Greeks, and whatever they invented concerning the gods, by which they watered those who were persuaded with a muddy corruption, according to Scripture. These he also calls marshes, having what is flowery but destitute of fruit—these having been dried up, as it were, by Christ’s appearing, he showed to be fruitless, just as Paul also says: "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" Out of which also the islands, becoming renamed, have become Churches, receiving those who voyage in Christ, according to—

who, having avoided the storm and thereafter ascended the sea, are tossed here and there by the billows of life. But as for those of whom it was said that they have been dried up, they who were formerly blind have been saved, having been brought onto the evangelical paths, which they had not known before; whom even Paul is found to have addressed: "For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord." To whom, just as John who is surnamed the Baptist also said: "The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways into smooth paths." For it was prophesied: "That every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low." And elsewhere Isaiah says: "The way of the pious has become straight," denoting the evangelical way, which has become level to those treading upon it, in harmony with the saying: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." With the same ones He promises to abide perpetually. Whence that saying: "Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." ^B

Starting from the passage: "They are turned back," nearly all who interpret these things consider them to be spoken against the Jews, though there are not lacking those who think one should begin at the words: "The Lord God of hosts shall go forth." And they want these things—the desert, and the islands, and Cedar (which, according to the prophecy, were considered aliens to the name of the Jewish people)—to enable the prophet to denounce the rejection of Israel through the things which are added, while saying: "The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and shall crush the war." But according to Symmachus: "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty one, as a man of war." Then, as if he had business with the Hebrew enemies, he gives a signal of war, and by the name of zeal he understands that emulation by which the Lord affirmed through Moses that He would provoke them to jealousy with a non-people. "He shall stir up zeal," he says; but with the desert itself, and Cedar, and the islands reconciled to Himself, while the Jewish people is repudiated. Nor will He do this rashly; but He will provide the reason why He has acted thus, such as that which follows: "And He shall cry out over His enemies with strength." What then is the rationale of the defense? "I have been silent. Shall I also be silent for ever? For I have acted with patience, bearing the sinners more than enough. ^C And at the time of the passion, I was silent when calumniated, when, like a woman in labor, I acted patiently: but now is the time of requital. Therefore, I will stir up, and I will dry up at the same time." Then, according to the Hebrew truth and the other interpreters, he added: "I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and I will dry up all their hay"; where, under the name of mountains and hills, he understands the princes of the people, and as for the hay, their sins, with Paul supporting these words: "If any man build upon this foundation wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest." And above he also said: "All the people are as hay," and having called the legal teachings in use among them rivers, he says, "I will set them into an island." And the things of theirs ^D

^A that are stagnant, like marshy, rational waters, so as to be compared to swamps, these I will dry up.

Having threatened these things, he passes again to the grace that was given to the nations, saying, "I will lead the blind in a way." For he said also before concerning Christ: "I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind." ^B The word "way" is used in the singular by all; the Savior revealed what this was when He said: "I am the way," which we did not know before. And by "paths" he means the prophetic Scriptures, in which the way of the blessed life is revealed to us, and he promises that the ignorance of God will be turned into light for us, and that the things of God’s oracles that were of old crooked and obscure will become smooth. Upon which he adds, "These words I will do for them." And he spoke accurately; he did not say, "I will speak," but "I will do." For formerly it was spoken through the prophets; but now he promises to accomplish it by his deeds. From there he turns his speech toward those who remained near to God of old, but turned backward—the Jews, I mean. He shows to them, as it were, the conversion of the nations, and what a change they underwent in having passed from darkness into light, calling out reproachfully to the idol-worshippers, "Be ashamed with shame," and the rest. ^C Which Symmachus interpreted accurately, saying: "Those who trust in graven images shall be ashamed with shame." But Aquila says: "Let them be ashamed." And Theodotion: "Let them be put to shame." For indeed truly, as the nations who formerly worshipped idols had passed over to the fear of God, the nation of the Jews was ashamed; and having been ashamed now, they ceased, having seen those who were once blind being enlightened.

^D But he spoke very emphatically concerning them: "But they themselves were turned back, they who were instructed by the divine law and who had known the God of all; for they heard: 'The Lord thy God, the Lord is one.' And, 'There shall not be to thee gods besides me.'" Having said these things, as if crying out into the ears of the deaf, he shouts: "Ye deaf, hear." And that it might not be thought that the speech was spoken concerning the nations (for these things belonged to them of old), he distinguishes with the words, "And who is blind, but my children?" for which Symmachus says: "And who is blind, if not my servant? and deaf, as my messenger? who is blind, as the perfect one? and deaf, as my servant?" He calls the people from the circumcision my servant, and messenger, and perfect one, condemning them because they wished to be such. But that they blinded themselves and rendered themselves deaf, he indicates by saying: "Ye have seen many times and did not keep. The ears have been opened, and ye have not heard." He had also spoken that, "By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand," and the rest. Symmachus rendered the passage thus: "Thou hast seen many things, and thou wilt not keep. Thy ears have been opened, and thou wilt not hear. The Lord desired to justify him, to magnify the law and

^A to make it glorious; by which he clearly demonstrated that the discourse is concerning the Jews. "But they," he says, "keep the snare hidden within in their thoughts, which they concealed while plotting against Christ." Or rather, they did not consider how he had led them out of the house of bondage and had tutored them with the law; for otherwise they would have magnified [him] with praise, offering me thanksgiving. But now they have turned aside to idolatry and all injustice. Wherefore he said: "I waited for it to bring forth grapes, but it brought forth thorns." Hence he brings to their memory the things that happened to their fathers. "For I," he says, "beheld their impiety. But they have been plundered and have been carried off as spoil by their enemies. For the snare," he says, "is in their storehouses everywhere; and at the same time they have hidden them in their houses," clearly meaning their molten gods.

^B For those who presided over the people pretended openly to live according to the precepts of the law, but in their minds they concealed their impiety; and in the inner chambers of their houses they had idols to which they offered worship. Wherefore the Lord speaks thus to Ezekiel: "Son of man, dig." And I dug into the wall and saw. "And behold, every likeness of creeping things, and of beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel [were] portrayed upon it round about." And he said to me: "Hast thou seen, son of man, the things which each of them do in secret in their bedchamber?" Hence it is that he subjoins that he delivered them into captivity. When God has abandoned [them], who is there to protect [them], who is there to reclaim what has been plundered, since none of the gods whom they worship are able to perform this? But prudently and appropriately, when he rejects the Israelites after the calling of the nations, he identifies the cause which Moses himself also pointed out, where he says: "They provoked me to jealousy with that which is not God; and I will provoke them with a nation which is not a nation." And David also says: "They provoked him in their graven images," ^C and what follows. Therefore, the snares in the mind are to be carefully avoided, lest we, being captured by our own desires, be delivered to be devoured by demons, according to that word: "If the spirit of one having power rise up against thee, do not leave thy place." Then, as if he were speaking to the deaf and lacked listeners, he says to the listeners themselves: "Who is there among you that will hear these things?" For even if the outcome of these events has not yet occurred, yet certainly in future times these things shall be accomplished. Who, therefore, shall seek the cause of the plundering of the people, so as to say, "Who gave Jacob up for plunder?" Yet no one has done this except the One against whom they sinned, and in whose ways they were unwilling to walk. For, being called to the ^D evangelical ways, they did not obey; nor were they willing to hear the law of the New Testament. Wherefore war prevailed against them. For in the past, though they were vexed for a time by some war, they would recover themselves again, so that they even had the city and the temple restored; but now, from the time they were driven out, such an intense war of spirits has prevailed against them, that they do not even pay attention to the cause of these evils.

Some, however, have referred these things also to that conquest which they suffered at the hands of the Assyrians, and they believe that "to hear" is used simply for "to listen," whereas "to give ear" signifies to ponder prudently in the mind, as kind of hearers the ^A prophet now requires—those who, according to Paul, know that all these things happened to them as a type, and were written for our admonition, so that they might guard against being deceived by similar things. With emphasis, he says that he delivered Jacob, whom he had saved out of Egypt, and for whose sake he had wrought so many wonders against his enemies. Who, then, caused him who was accustomed to conquer to fall before his enemies, and for what cause? The question "who" contains a clear admission that it was God who performed this action, because they had abandoned him. Yet, although it behooved them not to sin, they were not corrected even when they suffered. Concerning them, Jeremiah says: "O Lord, thine eyes are upon faith. Thou hast scourged them, and they were not willing to receive correction." ^B Hence, when he said to those who remained after the conquest not to go down into Egypt, their wives, being senseless regarding the wrath of God, shouted out: "The Lord did not send you." They claimed that "since we stopped sacrificing to the queen of heaven, these evils have overtaken us." Such was their lack of perception, while war prevailed over them and those round about them were burning them. As our prophet indicates elsewhere: "Your cities are burnt with fire." These things he says they suffered at that time, not because God was powerless to save them, but he points to the wonders that had preceded. Yet they did not suffer because they were doing righteous deeds, but because they transgressed the law given to them. "Which things," he says, "not understanding, ye have remained involved in grievous miseries." ^C

CHAPTER XLIII

4I-I. And now thus saith the Lord God who made thee, O Jacob, and he who formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. And if thou passest through the water, I am with thee, and the rivers shall not overwhelm thee. And if thou passest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, and the flame shall not consume thee, etc.

These things are distinct from those which were just now said concerning the circumcised people, whom he called blind and deaf and spoiled. Therefore, the discourse is now about that superior company of those from the circumcision who have embraced the faith. For if those others, he says, because they were such, suffered such things, do you yourselves at least, who have recognized your Maker and ^D Former, listen—listen, I say, preserving the work and the creature that is in you without blemish, so that you may worthily be called by the names Jacob and Israel. For I am he who made thee, in soul indeed fashioned after my own image and likeness; but in body, created and taken from the earth. I, I say, who also, by shedding my own blood for your sake, redeemed you and willed that you should be my own possession. Therefore, having been counted worthy of these things, proceed along the path you have been commanded, preaching the gospel. And if some stand against you, be of good courage, fearing nothing. "For behold—"

I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." ^A Imitating me, therefore, who have made my own blood an exchange, even an exchange ^B for a race, and myself also for the most ungodly of those who are called through you, and for those who dwell to the ends of the earth. Of whom the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and those who dwell in Syene are an example. Some have rendered "Saba" instead of "Syene"; for thus you have been glorified through my love, so that all might be called through you. But Saba is a nation of Ethiopia, from which we read that the queen went to Solomon.

"I have taken all these, therefore, for your sake, or instead of you." But I will destroy those who fight against you because of the preaching, both peoples and rulers. Be of good courage, therefore. For your children, whom you have begotten according to God throughout the whole world, I shall gather into my heavenly city, taking them up elevated through the air, as if lifted by winds, on winged angelic powers, that is to say. For I define those who have been born through you as my own children, having attained the regeneration in the Church, who shall all be called by my name, being addressed as Christians. For it is Christ who has prophesied these things through the prophet. Instead of "in my glory I have hastened him," others have rendered, "I have created him for my glory," so that the people called through you might glorify me. For I have formed him, being unformed in his ways, and I have led him into the light, while he was previously blinded in the darkness of ignorance. Such were the nations themselves whom he says have come together into his own Church, from among whom even rulers have been established over the people of God.

Then the prophet, as if seized by wonder at the things which he has prophesied, says: "Who, then, shall there be who will ever see with his own eyes the outcomes of these things, and be a witness of the accomplishments?" "Let those who are to bear witness be justified," because I myself shall also be a witness for them, along with the Child whom I have chosen. Concerning whom he was saying: "Behold my servant whom I have chosen." And the Savior also says: "Whoever shall confess me before men, I also will confess him before my Father who is in the heavens." To them he said again: ^D "And you shall be my witnesses in Galilee, and in Judea, and in Jerusalem, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." These things, he says, I will do, and I will send my witnesses, and my Child whom I have chosen, to all men, that you may know, and believe, and understand that I am, and that I am without beginning, and the only God. For indeed Christ and the apostles proclaimed the knowledge of God, and faith, and the understanding concerning him. God is indeed one, the Father himself, nor does he who is the Son possess any other power as his own apart from him. Therefore, as the Father is a witness and God who saves, so also is the Child whom he chose.

^A And in other places our prophet says: “And the Lord will send to them a savior, who will save them; judging he shall save them.” But in place of “I reproached,” the others interpret it as “I caused to hear.” For I made these things heard, I who alone am God among you, and no stranger was present with me when I prophesied these things through my prophets, just as you yourselves have become witnesses. And I also am a witness, and my Child. For he was with me when I prophesied, having his existence before the flesh. But those things which I determined from the beginning, no one shall be able to disturb. These things are spoken in the person of Jacob and Israel, but they refer to the apostolic choir, and to all those from the Jews who have served the word by believing. Some say that God, being good, invites those whom he had cast away while disciplining them, for the sake of mercy, passing over in forgetfulness things past, and proposing the beginning of another time, according to that: ^B “Today if you will hear his voice,” and what follows. For as the “today” is there, so is the “now” here, containing the subject of amnesty, and the beginning of other things to come from God, not allowing us to be utterly disheartened, as we are to have a change of things present, with all men being redeemed through the blood of Christ. For God was pleased to sum up all things in him, according to the voice of Paul, having given us also the new name of Christ that has been invoked upon us. And what is the name? “You are mine.” For we are all called Christ’s, having come outside the former alienation which we had while sinning, even though we were by nature of God. But he reconciled us to himself again through the Spirit, making us invincible to every temptation. For rivers and water and flames signify the manifold onsets of temptations. For it is written: “All who desire to live piously in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted.” And Christ said to those who believed: “In the world you shall have affliction.” ^C And also in the parable of the house founded upon the rock: “And the rain descended,” he says, “and the rivers came, and the winds blew,” signifying temptations through these. And the phrase, “I have made Egypt an exchange for you,” signifies that in place of the one cast out, I have acquired for myself the nations, whose former impious behavior meant that only Israel remained the lot of God. But now the order of things has been changed, when the Jews killed the Redeemer. “But I will glorify you,” he says, honoring you after this. For he too shall be called, after the entry of the nations, when, acting on your behalf, I will give you many teachers and rulers who will speak for your head. But Christ is the head of the believers, which will be for you and for your benefit. And he promises to the Synagogue of the Jews that he will gather together its children. For the Son of Man came ^D to save the lost sheep of Israel. And the children of God scattered everywhere by the word of creation, that is, those from the nations, whom Satan, having deceived, led away from God and scattered. Therefore, when Caiaphas said, “It is expedient that one man should die for the people,” the evangelist says, as

^A he was high priest, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation. And not for the nation only, but that he might gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad. You might also say that the Gentiles are children of those from Israel, from whom they received the teachings of the faith, scattered everywhere throughout the regions of the world, and gathered together into one Catholic Church; when God restrained the opposition of the wild and evil spirits, which previously, by their tyranny, did not allow them to look up to God. By calling them sons and daughters, he indicates that adoption of the faithful which is through Christ, by whose name we are all called.

^B He says that he created this people, according to what is in the Psalms: “And a people that is created will praise the Lord.” That is to say, re-created, and having returned again to the image of God, having become new, and having put off the old man. For if anyone is a new creation in Christ, according to the word: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” This, he says, he has now accomplished by his own glory; and the Son is the glory of the Father, through whom and in whom he is glorified, saying: “I have glorified you upon the earth.” Through whom he led a blind people out into the light. For he was the Sun of justice, not permitting his own to be children ^C of night and darkness, but rather of day, according to the divine Apostle. But in saying “they were gathered,” because this had not yet occurred, he expressed it in the prophetic manner, so as to demonstrate that they would be gathered. For it is customary for Scripture to speak of things that are absolutely going to happen as if they had already occurred. Such as: “I gave my back to the scourges.” And that: “They divided my garments among themselves.” And he hints that there will be princes from the Church of the Gentiles over it. For according to David: “As its darkness, so also is its light.” For that which was black has been made white. And, “Where sin increased, grace superabounded.” These things, therefore, God said, as one who, knowing the future, has no doubt about their outcome; while the demons, being false gods, lead you into error in vain, ^D knowing nothing of the future themselves. For through these things he instructs the Gentiles, whom he has brought into the discourse, saying that he has his own prophets as witnesses of the foreknowledge of future events. But who would bear witness for the demons, that they had predicted anything of themselves concerning the advent of Christ and their own destruction? For they can cite no witness that they predicted true things, so that those who heard them might follow them; that is, that they might praise and embrace them as foreknowers of the future, and hold them justly in value and honor.

^A But those are theirs; but you, O prophets, be my witnesses. And I also, He says, shall be a witness with the Son to myself. For the Savior said: “If I bear witness of myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I come, and whither I go.” And again: “I bear witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me.” These things, He says, I have spoken to you, that you may know, and believe, and understand that I am. For through knowledge comes faith. And through faith, understanding. “For if you do not believe,” He says, “neither will you understand.” But I am eternal and the Savior. And I foretold that I save, and through Christ I brought it to the work. I reproached, He says, those of Israel, because being more lovers of pleasure than lovers of God, they transgressed my law. But I disciplined them through the incursion of enemies, when they sought salvation from me. Which I reproached them through the voice of Jeremiah, saying: “In the time of their evils they will say, Arise, and save us.” And, “Where are your gods, which you made for yourself? Shall they arise and save you in the time of your affliction?” I, therefore, save alone, so that none can snatch from my hands him whom I shall make to be saved, and who shall turn it back? For I myself gave the nations, and who shall change this so that it is not so? Therefore, the Savior said concerning his own sheep: “And I give to them eternal life, and they shall not perish forever. And no one shall snatch them out of my hand. The Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” For this voice harmonizes with that which is proposed to us by the prophet. ^B But some say that “I made Egypt your exchange” was said as a reminder of the liberation from Egypt. For, having punished whole nations, I gave them in exchange for you. Therefore, He adds: “Since you were precious in my sight, you were glorified.” For you did not conquer the nations by your own power, but by my strength and alliance, and by my always providing for your needs, so that the surrounding nations were amazed and struck with terror. And now I will do the like. For even if you are failing like the ten tribes, one must consider that if I become favorable to you, you are gathered from all sides, and nothing shall prevent the recall. For even from the beginning, I acquired you for the sake of my glory, and I deemed those who were blinded toward me worthy of freedom. For you did not become mine by being moved from yourself. Why then, after such experience, as if you have neither seen nor heard, are you blinded? ^C He reminds them also how all the nations, with the Assyrians, marched against Jerusalem, trusting in their own gods, from whom they had no help, nor did they foresee the ^D impending calamities for themselves. For eighty-five thousand of them have fallen.

^A Let someone then come forward who has heard these things from those gods—things which you have seen, and of which you were bound to be witnesses, with me also affirming it. But if, he says, you shrink from this, my only-begotten Son will be present to supply what you lack, He who also bore such a noble witness before Pontius Pilate. And yet, by bearing witness, you would be greatly benefited toward understanding things to come and toward the contemplation of my divinity, being enlightened—as I wish to save, and I foretell what I am about to do, a feat which none of the so-called gods can perform. Some say that "My witness shall be my Son, Christ," fulfilling in deed what I foretold concerning Israel and against the enemy. Let no one be lacking who refers that phrase, "my witness shall be my Son," to Christ; as if God indeed foretold that he would fulfill what was said against the enemies.

^B 43-48 Verses 14-28. *Thus says the Lord God, who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon, and I will rouse all the fugitives, and the Chaldeans will be bound in ships. I am the Lord God, your Holy One, who revealed Israel your king. Thus says the Lord, who gives a way in the sea and a path in the mighty water, etc.*

You, he says, when I had determined to correct you to your great advantage, I handed over to the Babylonians. But after I set you at liberty, I also took vengeance on those from whom you had suffered injury; the Chaldeans themselves, who dwell nearby, being partly put to flight, and partly bound and carried off into captivity in ships, since they could not withstand the assault of those who were stronger. Some say that Cyrus himself, who conquered Babylon, ordered the captives to be deported into exile by fleet; and that this was done by God’s authority so that He might demonstrate the power of his own kingdom to mortals. But where we have "who revealed Israel your king," Symmachus thus renders it: *I the Lord your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your king.* For it seems that he might be hinting that Christ has been established as King, whom Scripture knows to call Israel and Jacob, just as it does David, as one descended from their seed. For since he mentions a partial redemption that would come from Babylon when Cyrus took it—of which a certain prophet said, "As you have done, so shall your retribution be"—he directs the discourse to that most perfect redemption through Christ himself, which is not to be for one nation, as before, but a universal one to come for all. That God is powerful for both, he has shown by saying: "I am the Lord God." And beginning the whole discourse, he said: "Thus says the Lord God of Israel." For being God by nature, what would He not easily accomplish? These things, therefore, the Babylonians are to suffer by my authority, things which have not yet occurred, although it is not now for the first time...

^A I have shown my intention and what care I have for you. For of old I led you out of Egypt through the sea, into which I so submerged the army of Pharaoh that, buried in the deep, it did not rise again thereafter. Whence it came to pass that the flames were compared to extinguished flax, which, as it easily catches fire, is likewise extinguished with no effort, perhaps by a bare and solitary hand. But I led them out, he says, not only through the sea, but also by a path of water, that is, through the river Jordan; at which David, marveling, sang in this manner: “What is it to you, O sea, that you fled; and you, Jordan, that you turned back?” And again: “He who turns the sea into dry land, they shall pass through the river on foot.” But in what way did he lead out chariots and horses? Truly, it is certain that Pharaoh pursued Israel by his own will, since he himself had heard from God in this manner: “For this I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

So too does God wonderfully deliver those who flee the pursuit of earthly concerns, even when the devil himself is in pursuit, declaring the surge of the present life to be passable ^B for them, not allowing them to be overwhelmed by its distractions, as it were drying up the temptations that befall them, so that they might have strength, once they have come into the desert of a settled mind, to eat in quiet and purity the bread from heaven and to drink the water from the rock; that is to say, so that they may become partakers of Christ, and having crossed the Jordan, may gain the promised land.

But let us return to the history. These things, he says, were done by me of old. Truly, if those things which I performed in Egypt and Babylon are compared with what follows, the greatness of the latter will cast the memory of the former into oblivion. “Which gather here, consider,” said Symmachus. But what are those new things which you shall know at their proper time? “I will make a way in the desert.” For the Church of the nations, previously destitute of the knowledge of God and a desert (for its teachers, claiming to be wise, became foolish), had Christ himself, who testifies that he is the way, and the evangelical and saving preaching. David explained their preceding ^C solitude when he said: “There is none that does good, there is not even one.” And just as above he moved from a particular redemption to the universal, when he spoke of the manifestation of Christ the King, so also now, having mentioned the way that is in the water, he transferred his discourse to the mystery of Christ. And hence it is that, with the lesser hidden by the greater, he said that the former things were to be consigned to oblivion, such as is also that saying: “We know in part. But when the perfect comes, that which is in part shall be done away.”

Thereupon, he compares with the great deeds of old those that far surpass the average. For as I have made, he says, a way in the Red Sea, so will I make one in the desert, and rivers shall flow in it, not otherwise than in that former one, led by Moses, as you have heard. And what were there as rivers of waters, here shall be the doctrines ^D of the Holy Spirit. For there are those by whom

^A the evangelists and apostles, and all other interpreters of the mysteries in the Church, are called by the name of rivers, of whom David also asserts that their voice has gone out, where also he says that their sound has gone out into all the earth.

He further indicated certain sweet-voiced birds (he calls them Sirens), ^B those who are professors of external doctrine, endowed with eloquence and grace of speech, who were about to embrace God. By ostriches, or, as others prefer, ostriches [struthocamelos], he meant those who were to praise God in the deserts and solitudes; the cause of which thing would be that they had drunk the water given: whence, having laid aside the ferocity of the beasts of the field, they would pass into a more humane and more reasonable nature; and would learn to recount my virtues, or praises, as Symmachus interprets it, who would also be a chosen race, whom Peter addresses in this manner: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for acquisition, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his admirable light: who at one time were not a people, but now are a people in the Lord." ^C These things therefore being so admirably done, You, O Jacob, shall be unworthy of my calling; or according to Symmachus, "You have not invoked me, Jacob"; in which the other interpreters also agree. For when the wild beasts themselves, and the sirens, and even the ostriches were blessing me, you alone kept silent; and you deemed that I should not be invoked at all. But you have grown weary toward me, says Symmachus: or, as others, "you have labored in me," even though I imposed no task upon you. For I rejected whatever things seemed to cause you labor, I who said before: "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord? I am full," and what follows. Then in the New Testament, I asked nothing of that kind from you through the Son, whom I chose. Nay, you did not even offer them to me: but you were doing other things in place of them. "For in your sins you stood before me"; or, according to others, "In your sins you invoked me." Note also in the preceding parts, how he announces the hope of good things to the desert itself, and to the wild beasts that are in it; but he reproves the circumcised people for their impiety, whom he addressed only by the bare name of Jacob and Israel, not [calling them] servants, or elect, which he attributed to the order of the better ones. But he declares that he will forgive them their sins.

But some have explained that saying: "Not now have I called you, Jacob," in this way. After he mentions those who have attained salvation in Christ, and ^D the New Testament, whom he affirmed would bless him, when he called them beasts of the field (and the very proclamation of praise is a mode of spiritual sacrifice), now he persuades Israel that he has delivered them from Egyptian servitude, not so that they might offer to him [sacrifices] with blood and smoke (for these things are rejected, and have been taken as a type in place of a shadow). And thence it is that he said: "Not now, when you sacrifice, have I called you"; that is, I did not call you while you were offering sacrifices, lest you might seem to have had some compensation for the offering. Nevertheless, he exhorts to conversion those who

^A had thought they had attained redemption as a kind of reward for an offering. But since you were worshipping idols, it was by the benevolence of me alone that you obtained grace and salvation. But the things which you offered afterwards contribute nothing to me, who am delighted only by the rational sacrifices of virtues. Moreover, he speaks through Jeremias the prophet in this manner: "Add your holocausts to your victims, and eat the flesh; for I did not speak to your fathers concerning holocausts and sacrifices on the day that I led them out of the land of Egypt." And elsewhere: "To what purpose do you bring me incense from Saba, and cinnamon from a far country? Your holocausts are not acceptable, and your sacrifices have not pleased me." And he says through the Psalm also: "I will not take calves from thy house, nor he-goats from thy flocks," by which he draws them away from the types, forcing them toward the evangelical way of life. For God is Spirit, and those who adore him must adore in spirit and in truth. I, therefore, he says, as a good God, am readily disposed ^B to forgive you. But for you, to remember your sins is safe, so that you might not fall into them again, from which it happened that you were stirred up and justified—for a just man, he says, is his own accuser in the first instance. He further shows that the worship according to the law knows not how to cleanse, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Again, concerning those who believed from the circumcision, he says: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ; and we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we may be justified in him." Therefore, sacrifice does not cleanse you, but I alone am he who has remitted sins by grace and favor. "For we have been justified not by works of justice which we have done, but according to his great mercy." For this nature is weak toward obtaining salvation through works; for the mind of man is diligently ^C inclined toward evil from his youth, as David also signifies by saying: "If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For with you there is propitiation." I, therefore, indeed show mercy; but I demand that those toward whom I have been well-deserving remember it, and perpetually praise the Savior. And this is the very thing which the saints do not cease to perform, as the great David witnesses, where he says: "For I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is against me always"; "For I will declare my iniquity, and I will meditate for my sin," according to that: "Be not ashamed to confess your sins." The Pharisee, not having done this, was condemned; but the publican, having done so, went away justified. Having said that God requires this, he adds: "But know," he says, "that you were born a sinner from your fathers, and all those who have ruled you at various times have acted wickedly toward me." Instead of "rulers," Aquila and Symmachus ^D interpret it as "interpreters." He places three ranks: fathers, and interpreters, and rulers. The former were those who ruled, the others were the expositors of the Scriptures, and the others happened to be those advanced in time. Because of whom he says you have perished.

and Symmachus, where we have "princes," translated, and that there is here a triple order of rank: of fathers, of interpreters, and of princes; of whom some performed the office of commanding, others of interpreting the Scriptures; while others again merely preceded the rest in age; through whose wickedness, he says, Israel perished and fell into ^A opprobrium, or as others prefer, blasphemy. Further, you may take these three in the meaning that, if any were bound to instruct and educate their subjects, because they themselves transgressed, you might deem them unworthy of pardon.

^B But the statement, "They have acted iniquitously against me," contains the greatest emphasis; as if to signify that they did not sin against a man or any created nature. For he who worships idols, as far as in him lies, rejects the divine nature, depriving it of its proper sublimity and glory; on which account, while accusing Israel, he said: "The priests did not say, Where is the Lord? and those who adhered to the law did not know me, and the prophets acted impiously against me." And again: "Why do you speak to me? you all have acted iniquitously, and you all likewise have acted impiously against me, says the Lord Almighty." And hence it is that he adds here that they contaminated the holy things. For not only in Jerusalem, but also in the very august temple of God, they set up statues to demons. The Lord says, moreover, concerning the Synagogue of the Jews: "What has the beloved done in my house? A detestable thing." And every such thing was of this kind, whereby God is depicted. Holy things are also said to be contaminated in another way, when those things in which the honor of God is celebrated are performed indecently.

CHAPTER XLIV

VERS. 1-5. *Nunc autem audi, Jacob puer meus, et Israel, quem elegi. Sic dicit Dominus Deus, qui fecit te, et formavit te de ventre: Adhuc habebis auxilium. Noli metuere, puer meus Jacob, et dilecte Israel, quem elegi, etc.*

These terms, therefore, being usurped against Israel and ^C the rejected Jacob, he did not again call this one "elect" or "son," by which names he refers to those whom he introduces afterward—that is, the never-sufficiently-praised choir of the apostles—and names them. And hence it is that he says: "The Lord God who made thee." Then, in order to provoke them to confidence, he adds: "I will give water in thirst to those who walk in the waterless land." Afterwards he adds by what means he will do this, when he says: "I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessings upon thy children"; so that he might judge that water, which flows from the divine Spirit (the rational and fecund and vital water), through which he calls those who are regenerated the seed of the apostles and children, as Paul says where he writes: "For in Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you." And again: "My ^D children, of whom I travail in birth again." He calls "blessings," moreover, the manifold largess and grace of the Spirit: "For to one is given the word of wisdom," and what follows. And again: "Each one of you has his own gift from God." What sort of blessings, moreover, he intends, he shows when they shall spring up "as grass in the midst of water," and as the willow by the flowing water. Representing its vital nature, he said "willow," through

^A its youth and ever-blooming state, for it always grows by fountains and rivers.

There are some who say that these things too are spoken to the same people. For having stated the cause of their destruction, he again promises them that he will not remember their injuries. He defines another time in place of the former, mentioning "now," much as it is said: "Today if you will hear his voice." For he exhorts them to forget the things of old.

Now, as to why he is called his "child," we must observe, and how he is chosen out of all the nations, according to the passage: "When the Most High divided the nations," and what follows. But if it is understood concerning the nations, then, he says, the progress and success in piety of those who once inhabited the desert and waterless places will be so great that they will compete with one another, as though in a race, to snatch the grace of God, and one will say, "I am of God," and another will be inscribed with the name of Jacob, even though he is not from Jacob, but from that former desert.

Instead of "will cry out," Symmachus said, "will be called." This, they say, we saw in times of persecution, when many of the Gentiles snatched for themselves the names of holy men. For one would call himself Jacob, another Israel, and others Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel; with which names they willingly offered themselves for the testimonies (martyrdoms).

And as for the mention of the "hand," perhaps he added it because very many were accustomed to have the name of Christ, or the sign of the cross, branded upon their wrists or arms. Or, at any rate, he said it "by name" because for those who came from Jacob, the lot and inheritance of God was his name.

They say that he does not allow those who have behaved impiously to go so far into despair as to make it seem that Israel is utterly destroyed, God having completely turned away from them. Rather, he makes the way of salvation more accessible and easier for those who believe in him.

By calling himself Lord and God, maker and fashioner, he seems to indicate that Israel too had gone astray by bestowing the name of the Godhead upon others who are not gods; ^D and he reminds them of the creation of man from the beginning, accusing them of ingratitude, because while honoring the parents who ministered to their birth, they turned away from the Creator himself, which is also what he said through one of the prophets: "A son honors his father, and a servant his master." And: "If I am a Father, where is my glory?" And: "If I am Lord, where is my fear? says the Lord Almighty." For he is Lord as one holding all creation under his hand, and he is Father as Creator.

The fact that he said "will yet help" shows that he is gentle and mild toward one who has sinned so greatly. Furthermore, some have said regarding the whole statement, as one leading them to an indication of the...

^A greatness of his glory, that he is able to bring back the ten tribes if they should desire it, having reminded them of the miracles of old. But if you say: "Why must we remember these?" since those things are again disbelieved through the passage of time, "Let these be passed by," he says, "and consider the new things."

Having spoken of the matters concerning the New Testament, he says that he has not now begun his care for them for the first time, nor did he receive any reward from the beginning; but, on the contrary, he granted forgiveness of sins to them even while they were acting impiously, giving them time to perform righteousness. For the sea, and the pillar of fire, and the cloud, took the place of baptism for them. For the Apostle also says that they were baptized in the cloud and in the sea. "And I am the same now," he says, "to those who desire it, forgiving sins, if you are willing to be accusers of yourselves for remission, not for condemnation." If not, I myself shall call to your remembrance at the time of judgment that you have surpassed your fathers in their sins. ^B For they also acted impiously, but they did not introduce an idol into my temple, which you have dared to do.

Then, leading them to repentance, sharply rebuking them, he calls them Jacob and Israel by the name of their forefathers; and he shows himself to be the Creator and the one who sustains all things, and he mentions their formation in the womb. Then, having promised to give the Spirit as a reward for faith in the Only-Begotten, he signifies the blessing dispensed from him. For it is a common and characteristic thing for those who bless God that they themselves are also filled with blessing. For if he who blesses Abraham shall be an heir of blessing, how much more he who blesses God and Lord? Therefore, they shall abound in these good things, so that they may appear like ever-flourishing trees.

Vers. 6-23. Thus says God, the king of Israel, who delivered him, the God of hosts: I am the first, and I am after these. Besides me there is no God. Who is like me? Let him stand, and let him call, and let him announce, and let him prepare for me, from the time I made man for eternity, etc.

^C This is another beginning of the discourse to the Jews who embraced the worship of idols. But he does not allow them to be ignorant of whose king the king of Israel is, since he adds, "the God of hosts who delivered him." For he is the king of those who have been delivered, not of those who are accused of impiety. Those whom he likewise, though they have wandered, brings back to the one God, before whom and after whom it is impossible to find another. But if "who delivered him" is to be understood of the whole of Israel, he exhorts them to remember their freedom from Egypt, and so many miracles, showing that there is no other besides the God who is by nature without beginning and without end; but if you think there is another, let him say what work of his he can show in the universe. For the world being one, and uniform, and joined to itself, its creator might also be one. ^D

and recognized by the magnitude and beauty of his works. But if there were another God, another world would also be conceived; which is proven by many reasons to be absurd. But that he commands them to "stand," this implies that he must first demonstrate his own existence, and that he exists in a hypostasis of essence, and that he remains and stands in himself. Then, having uttered a rational voice becoming to God, let him announce the first and the last, from the time when I fashioned man until the present time, or even that which is to come, just as I have made known the first things through Moses, and those concerning the presence of Christ through him and the other prophets. For to God, who is by nature, all things are present in an indivisible knowledge, even those things which are separated by time.

^B "But see," he says, "that you do not conform yourselves, becoming hidden, as though you knew something but were unwilling to speak. For you have not heard," he says, "from the beginning, nor have you known anything of the sort, as I have demonstrated my foreknowledge and divine deeds, of which you are all witnesses, as many as have known the oracles of Moses and those after him, the miracles in Egypt, and those announced after this, and the creation itself as having been moved by me as Lord. For these he called his own virtues, and when I was working these, no one was with me; no, not even before the flood, when there were not even any makers of idols, just as you also know that at the beginning of mortal life none of these existed. But those who came after will cease from their error, being stripped of their hidden ways, but those who persist will perish at the time of vengeance.

^C "But as for you, why do you not meanwhile consider what the nature of these soulless statutes is? For if they had any power, they would have sufficed for the Egyptians and the Amorites for salvation, opposing themselves to my works. But now they have been captured along with their worshippers and have been handed over by you to the fire. How then have you, who are self-condemned, become their makers, and this after hearing Moses, that 'you shall worship the Lord alone, and you shall not make for yourself an idol'? Thus have you become vain, desiring things that do not exist?"

The phrase "they are dried up," if it be understood concerning the sculptured images, will stand for "they have perished." But if it be said of those who fashion them, it is spoken as of fruitless plants that are drying up, whose end is for the fire. And as for "deaf" among men, he signified the same thing as if he had said they are in no way to be numbered among men, and are destitute of sense; such as is that saying: ^D "May those who make them become like them." Then he says, "let all be gathered together," so that the worshippers of idols might be collectively put to shame, being unable to agree in their impiety. Furthermore, he mentions the instruments by which they fashioned the idols, so that he might demonstrate them as worshipping those things.

^A For if the wood itself were God, it would be God even without art. Consequently, they deified art, which is a thing of weak and corruptible man. For it would not need food and drink. For we must understand the words, "He shall not drink water," by way of a question. How then could the corruptible make incorruptible things, and the mortal make immortal ones? Some, however, applied the entire phrase to idols, to which they were offering sacrifices. "For," ^B says the prophet, "if you do not offer sacrifices, will God, who is self-subsistent, go hungry and weak?" Would he not also need to drink water if he were needy of such things? So that he might entirely refute those who offer to God material things, of which he is not by nature in need? For God by nature did not command that sacrifices be made to him primarily. The prophet has now lingered solicitously upon these arguments, so that they might come to their senses and be converted to the worship of God. By saying "in the form of a man," he signifies that they worship their own form, which is as far removed from the truth as a copy differs from its archetype. And they shame their own nature by preferring the likeness in stones and wood to the true form, and by offering glory to it. And the fact that he says he "sets it in a house," signifies a temple, into which he brought the material taken from the forest. Knowing this, no one could venture to defend himself with the nonsense of the pagans, who boasted of idols that fell from heaven. Their heart, therefore, is ashes, and no one could rescue the souls of those who have fallen into this, except for the one God who, if he so wills, transforms all things and enlightens those in darkness as he wills, by the reason of his own judgment.

Sequitur: "See," that is, consider. ^C "And you will not say that there is falsehood in my right hand." For by the name of "right hand" he is customarily designating the only-begotten Son, who, whether he be called God, or Lord, or light, or power, or king, or maker of the world, or life, is truly and properly signified by all these, which are falsely attributed to demons or idols. For he is God by nature, from God. And he has well provided the word "remember" for the forgetful Israel. For, having been formed into a son, he ought not to have embraced dumb idols, to the point of forgetting his dignity. "For he who knows the will of his Lord and does not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes 78." Consequently, I want you to remember what you have committed, ^D even if I grant you oblivion for these things. He is said to be "formed" into a son through the law. For just as Adam was from the earth, and every infant is subsequently formed in the womb; so also those who dwell in Christ are transformed, through the participation of the Holy Spirit, into the form that is according to him, in accordance with the saying: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ is formed in you 79." And again: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God 80." And again: "But we all, with unveiled face, behold the same image, being transformed"

^A into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." And so it is with us. But it is fitting that those who have received the spirit of bondage in the Law should be fashioned into a servant and a son. For the Law used to chastise transgressors as servants; but the formation in Christ makes us truly sons and conformed to Him. Therefore, He exhorts Israel, lest, having turned back to impiety, he should forget Him. Of which sort are those words addressed to him elsewhere: "But you who forsake me, and prepare a table for the demon, and fill the cup for Fortune."

Thus, to forget God signifies to depart from Him. But when He exhorts them to hasten toward repentance, He declares the forgiveness of sins to them, if they should repent, saying: "I have blotted out," instead of "I shall blot out," as if having dispersed ^B a cloud or some mist. For He presents the future time with "I will redeem you." For how could He who calls everyone to repentance have blotted out Israel as one turned away? For through Christ, the remission of all sins was about to be given, the Lamb having dwelt among us, who takes away the sin of the world. Seeing this beforehand, the prophet—and knowing that many of them would believe, persuaded by the prophetic word—calls out to the heavens to rejoice (meaning the heavenly powers), as though joy were about to happen in heaven over those who are about to repent. Whence, when Christ was born, they cried out: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace." He also wishes for them to sound the trumpet—or, if there be any divine powers supporting the earth itself, to shout aloud, according to others, ^C sending up a hymn to God. It is also fitting that "foundations" should signify all the God-loving prophets and righteous ones, according to the Apostle who says: "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets." For with a loud voice they called everyone to the calling of Christ, according to that: "Into all the earth their sound went out." For the foundation of all is Christ, holding up and keeping firm those who are supported. For upon Him we are all built as a spiritual house. For He dwells in our hearts through faith. But there are more immediate foundations, nearer than us, who were the eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. For they stand as ^D a foundation of faith for us through their traditions, according to that: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." For He indicated the unshakeable nature of his faith. David also says: "His foundations are in the holy mountains," speaking of the same ones. Now Moses was slow of speech; for the Law was audible only to those in Judea. But the heralds of Christ were trumpeters and loud-voiced preachers, that they might proclaim Him everywhere.

^A Furthermore, what He called the foundations of the earth, He also called mountains. For they were excellent in both deed and word, to whom He said: “Get thee up into the high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Zion.” Again, there is a very great difference between the law and grace. For the former, while threatening punishment to transgressors, sounded of nothing but extreme sorrow; but the heralds of the latter proclaimed joy to the world, crying aloud the remission of sins, justification by faith, participation in the Holy Spirit, the splendor of adoption, the kingdom of heaven, and a hope not shammed, of goods beyond the mind of man. You might also call them hills, as they are themselves lifted up from the earth, yet lower than the aforementioned mountains. And the trees in them and nourished by them are those who have believed through them, and as it were attained unto a perfect man, abounding in spiritual fruits, and who have themselves become teachers of the Church, and refresh those who approach them with intelligible fruits. ^B They rejoice, because besides the fact that Jacob has been redeemed, Israel itself has been glorified, having become the Son of God, and brother to Him who is by nature and truly the Son. He urges the world also, and its parts, to the proclamation of glory for this reason, that God has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified, or, as it pleases other interpreters, “in Israel He shall be glorified.” And this was finally accomplished when many from the former people, having experienced the utility of prophetic discourse, left behind their idols and turned to piety.

Some, moreover, explained the words: “And there were none fashioning a god and carving useless things,” not in the sense that those who made them did not exist, but that they were unable to offer any help to those by whom they were worshipped; as though they did not exist at the time when, having put their worshippers to flight, He bestowed the land upon Israel. Who, then, is not foolish, who, having experienced such great benefits, worshipped idols and made evil use of the freedom of his will? ^C “For if all things are lawful, yet not all things are expedient. And I will not be brought under the power of any,” he says. That is: having received the power to rule myself, if I should obey my own passions, I have lost the very faculty of ruling, having departed from freedom by the means through which I subjected myself to power. And if this same thing proceeds little by little, by the habit of pleasures it finally arrives at impiety. For it creates wicked thoughts about God, as if He either is ignorant of what is happening or does not care about them. Therefore, it is fitting to observe the parts of every sin, and the absurdity of its end ^D and, having attained to the knowledge of this, it is fitting that we should be affected with shame above all others. For anyone who revolves within himself the things that he considers agreeable to reason is not a little helped.

507 VERS. 24-28. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb: I am the Lord that perfecteth all things. I alone stretched out the heaven, and I established

^A the earth. Who else shall dissipate the signs of those who have familiar spirits, and the divinations from the heart? etc.

Having set forth a refutation of idolatry, and shown how those who have been profited by prophetic instruction shall cease from it, the Word now promises the departure from Babylon, into which they were led while practicing idolatry, and promises them freedom if they now cease from it. Since He was speaking of matters of the greatest importance, and it was to be expected that some would be incredulous, ^B He with good reason proclaimed His own power. For, since He is the Creator of all things and brings them from non-existence into being, how could He not easily do whatever He wills? And as if such things were to come to pass, He had already exhorted the creation to give glory to God, to which He consistently adds: *Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb.* This is what Jeremiah indicated when he said: *And the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee*; calling Him the Word of the Lord who is the Creator of those being carried in the womb. Then, since the subject of the discourse ^C is liberty, He rightly called Himself Redeemer; and having spoken of the bodily formation, as if addressing corporeal beings, He says: "I am He who formed thee from a small and subject beginning, and brought thee forth as if from some dark cave, while thy parents knew nothing of this, but I sustained that which was formed."

If this appears small to you in relation to divine power, consider whence the greatest things in the world derived their existence, as David also says: *Who stretcheth out the heaven as a curtain.* And again: *He established the earth upon its stability.* Instead of "who perfecteth," the others rendered it "who hath made." ^D *For all things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made.* For *He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.* And having shown how great He is, He brings in what He will do in due time, namely, that He will abolish the divinations and oracles everywhere through which, before the coming of Christ, demons deceived men, pretending to know the future and speaking things that came into their hearts; concerning whom Ezekiel said: *Woe to those who prophesy from their own heart, and see nothing at all!*

He dissipated these things both by causing them to cease and by doing what is unguessable and unpredictable to them. *And the prudent were turned back.* By "prudent" He means the wise among the Greeks, whose wisdom He made foolish because they missed the truth, showing the wisdom that was demonstrated to be in them as useless; for it was psychic, and earthly, and devilish, which Paul also says was made foolish—meaning the magi; for these also were called wise. "These things, therefore, I will dissipate. But the words and the counsel of my Son and Christ, concerning whom I have spoken many things, and of His angels, the apostles, I will confirm." By the words of Christ, the saving...

...I will confirm the words and the counsel. By "words," he understood the saving preaching of Christ; by the "counsel of his angels," [he understood] that very fact, that everyone has run to truth and virtue, having left behind wickedness and error. ^A I, however, says the Lord, who am about to do these things, already from this point announce and promise that I will restore Jerusalem, which was razed by the Babylonians, and the cities of Judea, whose desolate places will be set up again as they were from the beginning: indeed, I will desolate the multiplicity of vices, which is signified by the name "abyss," and I will utterly dry up Babylon, which is otherwise flowing with a multitude of citizens as with the waters of a river, imposing an end upon them.

Some, however, have thought that the "abyss" signifies the multitude of people that were contained within Babylonia, and that the "rivers" signify the nations flowing into it, which it had summoned from all sides for assistance; since it is the custom of Scripture to signify a multitude of peoples by the names of rivers, the sea, and waters. For David also says: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory hath thundered," ^B signifying that the saving preaching has gone forth through the nations, having thundered with a loud voice. Such is also that: "The floods have lifted up their voices." For the voices of the apostles, being great, have become known. It is said also concerning Babylon herself and Nineveh: "As a pool of water, are her waters." Some, however, have said that by the "abyss" the Red Sea is meant, which was made desolate when it parted as the people passed through it; and by the "rivers dried up," the Jordan, which turned back and suspended its course for their sake. By which he suggests one should understand that if we entrust ourselves to God, He will calm our swaying thoughts and dry up the waves of passions in which we are immersed. And these things belong to them.

"But all things regarding you and the Babylonians," he says, "I will perform, having made use of the ministry of a man whose name I also announce beforehand, calling him Cyrus; whom I will set as a minister of my counsels, having endowed him with pious wisdom, so that he may understand what things must be done against Babylon, which people must be liberated, and that finally the city of Jerusalem and the temple itself must be restored." Symmachus’s interpretation has it in this way: "Who says to Cyrus: My shepherd." And again: "But the temple shall be founded." For when Cyrus died, the progress of the work was interrupted and ceased for a time due to the envy of some, pursuant to the command of the king who succeeded him, although the foundations of the temple had been laid while Cyrus was still alive. ^C But it was afterwards finished and completed by the divine will. And these are the very things which Scripture itself and Josephus also signify, when the latter says in the eleventh book of the *Antiquities* that Cyrus, after he had read this prophecy of Isaiah demonstrated to him by the captives, recognized these things, and with great alacrity performed the things commanded, seeing that he had been called by his own name two hundred and ten years before.

CAP. XLV

VERS. 1-8. Thus saith the Lord God to my anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue before... ^D

^A his face the nations, and I will break the strength of kings. I will open before him doors, and cities shall not be closed, etc.

But that he calls him Christ, he refers to the custom of speaking among the Hebrews, who so designated those appointed by God to a kingdom. For by oil they were accustomed to be anointed when they were set over the government of the kingdom. The Scripture figuratively calls the saints so as well. Thus he called him Christ, as one called by God to rule. And as such an one, he says, "I promise to take hold of his right hand, so that he may not be turned aside, nor succumb to any more powerful opponent." For this is a sign of defense, as is judged by that which is read in the Psalms: "Thou hast held my right hand, and in thy counsel hast guided me" (Ps. LXXII, 24).

When I have subjected most to him, he adds, "I will break all the power of the remaining nations," leaving nothing impassable to him, wherever he may wish to advance. But if anything powerful should stand in the way, becoming or standing like a mountain, even if it be stronger than bronze or iron, I will nevertheless humble and dissolve all things, so that not even treasures invisible to former kings shall remain hidden from him. ^B Some think that by "treasures" those are denoted who, being very powerful, hid themselves in caves upon the arrival of Cyrus; in which they themselves, not having been able to remain hidden from the king, were sought out and found with lighted torches. "But learn," he says, "from these future things who I am, who called you by your name such a long time in advance. For I am the God of Israel, whom do not be ignorant of. For it is because of him that I have granted you such power. For he is, of all nations, chosen by me for the glory and commendation of his fathers. Hence I have taken you up, as if you were a familiar friend, although you were entirely ignorant of me and were a follower of ancestral idolatry, lest you should think that these things were repaid to you as if they were owed to your former piety. But even if you have not known beforehand that I alone am God, learn then from what I am about to perform, through which all shall know that I alone am God, and that I perform what I please even through foreigners and those alien to my worship; and through whom I have also, when there was need, handed over my own people, as if to wrath and darkness, because of the trouble of correction; but when it was fitting to save them because they had been corrected, I caused light and peace to rise for them ^C because of the joy of the release from their chains. For I am the producer of peace and light, and of darkness and of those painful things which it is customary for many to call "evils," of which I am the creator, providing them according to the merit of each, for the benefit of those who suffer such things.

Some, however, think that by the names of "light" and "darkness," day and night are signified, and that those harms which the Babylonians suffer are therefore inflicted, because they behaved too cruelly toward the Israelites who were in captivity, as God had said through Zechariah. ^D

^A: “I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy, and I am angry with great anger against the nations that conspired against them, for I was angry only a little. But they conspired toward evil.” And further to Babylon itself He says: “I delivered them into thy hands; but thou didst not grant them mercy.” Whence it is that He says through Jeremiah to Cyrus: “Go up against it, and against the inhabitants thereof. Avenge it with the sword and with destruction, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I command thee.” And again: “The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the vessels of his wrath; for the Lord hath a work in the land of the Chaldeans; for her times have come. Open her storehouses, search her out as a cave,” and the rest. And through this present prophet it is written ^B: “I will raise up the Medes against you,” and what follows these. After the discourse has foretold the future restoration, it again summons the heavenly powers to joy and gladness, as in the Gospels, and commands the clouds endowed with reason (which it had previously forbidden to rain upon the vineyard) to supply justice to those who dwell upon the earth. The earth, it says—that is, the inhabitants of the land that was formerly deserted—is to be renewed, bringing forth the fruits of piety, mercy, and justice. For these things will come to pass at the command of your Creator; for to the One who brought you out of nothing by a creative power, it is easy to renew that which He has made. Some say that Scripture is accustomed in its own way to transfer its discourse from individual things to universal things. For having spoken of the things concerning Cyrus, Babylon, and the return, it transfers the meaning of what has been said to Christ, who was sent by the Father to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to deliver those who are bound in the chains of sins from the tyranny of Satan, and to bring them back to Himself—He who raised up His own temple, that is, the Church, whom He willed to stand before Him as a chaste virgin, having no spot or wrinkle. Therefore, from those things which were accomplished by Cyrus, as if by some image, the gifts bestowed upon all are signified: in whose name even the heavenly spirits rejoice, who are written to rejoice over even one sinner who repents; and for this reason He calls them clouds, because through them the consolations of the Holy Spirit are sent down like rain into the souls of those who believe. ^C Or the clouds may also signify the sacred interpreters who are on earth, who, wandering over the earth, have scattered the holy word to everyone, watering the souls of those who thirst for spiritual abundance and stirring them up, with the devil's seeds removed—for whom previously there was no fruit, nor was there one who did what was good. But the fruits of the Spirit are mercy—that is, love, which is the fulfillment of the law—having the evangelical justice accompanying it. Unless one might say that the justice which has sprung up from the Lord, through whom we have been shown mercy and have been justified.

of whom also those words of David are: “He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth,” because He had flesh from the earth, not sent down from heaven.

VERS. 9-17. *I am God, who created thee, making thee better, I have prepared as the clay of the potter. Shall he that plougheth, plough the earth all the day? Shall the clay say to the potter, What doest thou, because thou art not working, nor hast hands? Woe to him that saith to his father, What wilt thou beget?* etc.

The discourse seems to rebuke those who, after so many promises ^B regarding their recall, do not hasten to God, who, as the God of all, when He has afflicted the people for a time, admits them again, and having prepared the temple and the city for the better, restores what had been broken, no differently than a potter, and makes the second things better than the first. God had taken the same image and added it to Jeremiah: “Cannot I do with you as this potter, O house of Israel?” And now he says through the present prophet that I have prepared for the better, now as the clay of a potter, the people who were formerly broken. But instead of “making better I have prepared,” Symmachus said: “Woe to him that contradicteth his maker.” And instead of: “Shall he that plougheth plough the land?” Theodotion [interpreted it as]: “he that plougheth [plougheth] those who plough the land.” For, He says, I who till those who inhabit the earth, have remolded the people. Therefore, do not be opposed to my dispensations, just as neither the clay to the potter. For we have the relationship of clay, being molded from the earth, as towards the potter, ^C the Creator of all. Now, everyone who opposes him is miserable, but especially he who has obtained God as a Father and who is the people consigned to Him. For “Woe to him that saith to his father, What wilt thou beget?” or, according to Symmachus, “What hast thou begotten?” For some do not cease to accuse God: “For what was the use of this life? What is this administration? And what is the need of those things?” Yet it was necessary that it should have come to pass in this way.

Then He says: *Ask me concerning my sons, and concerning the works of my hands.* By the sons, signifying the intellectual and rational substance. By the works, the parts of the world. For if thou hast anything, He says, to say for the correction of these, speak. But if anyone wishes to learn about them, let him ask me through my prophets, and he shall know in what manner I manage all things with care. For what blame does the creation of man have? Or what beauty or magnitude does the heaven not surpass in splendor and amplitude? And what is not made for usefulness in it? The earth indeed has yielded to men for a dwelling, and plants and animals for his use; but the stars of the heaven, now ^D indeed serving to guide him, and now again able in harmonious movement to produce signs and seasons. And besides other good things, I have raised up and for my own

^A population a king, implying Cyrus, whose ways, he says, are straight, or according to Symmachus: "And I will direct all his ways: and he himself shall build my city." For he indeed built it by his power, he who granted to those wishing to return, and to perform the same duty, [to do so] having accepted many gifts: or else [meaning] Zorobabel, descended from the lineage of David, who, having been the leader of those returning, also himself restored the temple. And so we read of him in this manner: "The hands of Zorobabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it."

But it may more fittingly be understood of Christ, who speaks thus of himself: "I have been established by him as king over Sion, his holy mountain"; whose ways are without controversy straight, and who himself built the true city, saying: "Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"; which, consisting of living stones, cannot be conquered: which he also, extending from the sunrise to the sunset, liberated from the servitude of demons for nothing, according to that word: "By grace you are saved." For those things which are said historically of Cyrus or Zorobabel are symbols of the true [realities]. For it is better that the saying, "Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus," be referred to Christ. For according to the literal word, Cyrus was neither the Lord's anointed, being a Persian, nor did he build the city, except for the beginning of the foundations. Thereafter it remained deserted until the reign of Darius. And the things which follow next shall fit Christ better than Zorobabel or Cyrus, in which he says that Egypt labored, showing thereby all those who, on account of the worship of idols, had come into the power of demons. ^B But "to you, O king," he adds (concerning whom this prophecy is held), "every barbarian nation shall pass over." For Saba is an Ethiopian nation, to whom the queen once traveled to Solomon. And finally he predicts for them the happy outcome of these things, namely, the adoration of Christ, who both was God and had God in Himself—which they who worshiped Him did not know at first. Indeed, He Himself was also the Savior of Israel. For the name Jesus signifies this.

Moreover, when these shall be worshiping, those who are opposed, from the number of the circumcised and the Gentiles, who have persecuted the Church, will see that it has not been diminished by them, but increased, and they shall be suffused with shame. But ^C Theodotion rendered it: "Truly in you is the strong one, and there is no one else besides him." And Aquila also used the word "strong." Then, for "what we knew not," Theodotion and Symmachus rendered it "hidden," but Aquila "concealed," manifesting the abstruse and recondite divinity of Christ. And rightly did he add to those things which he had foretold concerning Christ, a mention of His disciples. For they were the Israel who is saved, through whom he renewed the islands ^D of the Churches, to whom also applies the saying, "They shall not be ashamed."

^A Some have explained it from the beginning as follows: He provides the reason for which He became man, saying, "I am He who created you." By the words "I am," He signifies true existence and the life that is truly real. "I created you for incorruption," not having made death, nor did I show any living thing on earth similar to you; for I alone, as a potter, fashioned you with my own hands, honoring you with my image alongside the molding of the body. Concerning this, He also said to Job: "Or did You take and fashion a living creature, and place it endowed with speech upon the earth?" And David also says: "You have made him a little lower than the angels." Then He reproaches those from Israel who impugned Him for abandoning the legal types in favor of a transition to the truth. For they said: "If this man were from God, He would not break the Sabbath." For one plows, He says, not merely to plow, but in expectation of receiving fruits from the sown seeds. And so I, too, prepared you—like land luxuriating because of idolatry—by the law of Moses, making you ready for the sowing of the good seeds by my Son. What then do you cherish the law the plowman throughout, when it is the time of the reformation through water and the Spirit? For which you do not submit to me, ^B nor do you see the clay of the potter, as it is both molded and remolded by his nod, in nothing blaming the creative hand as though it lacked the knowledge of reformation; yet not even one who is about to be born questions his father as to whether he will indeed sire him. Why then do you not concede to the Creator of all things the knowledge of the manner of that reformation, regarding which Nicodemus said to Christ: "Can a man who is old enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

If, therefore, the clay were to be angry with the potter, and if a child not yet brought into the light were to question his father as to what he will beget: question, you also, who shall one day be my sons and daughters, as to by what manner this shall come to pass. "Command me concerning the works of my hands." That is to say, prescribe what must be done, as if I were ignorant. ^C We must then, in silence, say with Paul: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" and the rest that follows, since the Scripture elsewhere commands us to say: "You can do all things, and nothing is impossible for You." For He knows how to transform, as He says through Ezekiel: "I will take away their stony heart out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, that they may know me, that I am the Lord." Therefore, also demonstrating His own power, "I," He says, "made the earth, and man upon it." For He who created will also be able to recreate. And by "hand," He again means the Son, through whom He created all things. "For by the word of the Lord ^D and by His spirit all their power..."

and by His command to the stars, the sun was given power over the day, and the moon over the night. Hence the Psalm says: "The sun knew his going down." And again: "You established the sun and the moon." The meaning of what precedes is shown by what follows, by which Christ is proclaimed as King of justice, being justice Himself. For elsewhere He says: "Behold, a king shall reign in justice, and princes shall rule with judgment." For being naturally King with the Father, He subjected those who had fallen away after He was incarnate, having straight paths, ^B which are the precepts of the Gospels. For there is nothing crooked in them. And He avoided the harshness of the legal commandments. He has also founded the Church, being Himself the foundation, upon which we also are built as precious stones, into a holy temple, into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, who redeemed our captivity not with gifts. "For we were not redeemed," he says, "with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from our vain manner of life handed down from our fathers, but with the precious blood as of a lamb, blameless and spotless, of Christ." We are not, therefore, our own, but His who redeemed us.

When he had said before that Christ would convert His own people, he immediately added who those were who were to be called, taking an example from those most dedicated to idolatry, so that the virtue of the deliverer might shine forth more brightly. For He was indeed sent to the sheep that had perished from the house ^C of Israel; but when the beloved recalcitrated upon being slaughtered by them, he immediately shone upon the nations. By the merchandise of the Ethiopians, he understands the cities of the Thebans, to which are adjacent those who are called Sabaeans. He says they labored because they served most bitter tyrants, by whom their children were demanded for the sacrifice of idols: or, that he might indicate their superstition had been immense, which, being overcome, passed into piety. For all that which resisted this was removed. For: "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound": with churches constructed everywhere among them, and so many throngs of monks and virgins seen among them, laboring in the works of asceticism. He calls them "high," as being noble in impiety and superstition. ^D Then, by the name of "handcuffs," he understands the bonds of love, and the chains of the love of God, so as to speak: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ," in whom every prayer ends? For we ask for petitions from the Father in Christ, whom, since He has Him within Himself, He is also necessarily God, according to that word: "He who sees me, sees the Father." "I and the Father are one."

Then, that which he said, "In you is God, and there is no God except you," is equal to this: "And the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Moreover, they express the voice of the penitent, which [is contained] in these words: "And we knew not." Who also confess Him the Savior of the [world].

^A Israel, as having saved Israel of old; that is, we must now take Israel to be him who sees God. "For not all who are of Israel are Israel." But they who have resisted Him, not having done injury to His glory, shall be ashamed; for they shall be for a sight to all flesh. But from the Egyptians and their neighbors, He has transferred the discourse to the nations universally, calling the Churches from the nations "islands," [these being the Churches] of those who have been renewed into the newness of life, having put off the oldness, as Paul commands: "Put off the old man," and again, "Put on the new, who is renewed after the image of Him who created him." And again: "Be renewed in the renewal of your mind." The renewal, therefore, [is] that which concerns us, "if any man is a new creature in Christ." Some, however, from the words, "Does the plowman [plow]?" have explained it thus: He exhorts them parabolically to bring forth fruits of righteousness. For "Do you wish me," He says, "merely to plow your souls, while you provide no fruit?" Then He instructs them by the counsels of God concerning the nations, just as neither does clay resist the potter, nor does a son hinder a father or mother hastening towards the procreation of other children, nor does he bring reproach upon them for this. He who made the things that are coming to pass through foreknowledge, he says, is shaming them into an understanding of His own power. "For suppose," He says, "you have not attained to the knowledge of Him who made and fashioned you; will you disbelieve even Him who foretells what is to come?" For things happening occur in part, but the knowledge of them is all at once with Me. ^B Yet do not despair of salvation, as if you were able, by sinning, to avoid My notice. But having become better, commit your affairs to Me. For I do not need your reminder, as if [you were not] My works, and [I] had not deemed [you] worthy of providence, considering [you] as sons and daughters. For I did not create heaven and earth for Myself, but for your need. And when the stars were appearing, angels marveled. Since, then, all things are governed by Me, not even the things on earth escape My administration. Therefore, even Cyrus, moved by Me, although he himself is not pious, shall set your affairs aright. For previously, He says, I also freed you from Egypt, and it grew weary under My scourges. But you, sinning again, did not cease, and, laboring in vain, [persisted] in your own merchandises. But yet, having believed in Me, you shall have all the glorious [ones] as fellow-allies, and [they], filled with understanding ^C and bound by the bonds of love, shall arrive at Jerusalem, as if at a school of piety, and they shall call you blessed, as serving God alone, whom they themselves knew not. But you, neglecting to repent, My only-begotten Son shall be present, having become Jerusalem, and Judas, in whom they shall pray, whose seal and

^A wicked men and demons themselves shall be overthrown. Historically, these things may also be taken regarding Cyrus (whose adversaries shall all be confounded) and regarding Israel, who, having returned from the exile, is about to conquer all who oppose him. Furthermore, by saying "islands," he indicates Jerusalem also, hemmed in by the nations encircling it, and swamped by waves, while its inhabitants were always emulating the impiety of the surrounding peoples through their sins. Therefore, he exhorts it primarily to be renewed; but afterwards, he also calls those from the nations everywhere who have attained the knowledge of God. For if Israel, deemed worthy of such great things and named the son of God, has nevertheless experienced the benevolence of Him he deserted, how much more so should you, who have heard nothing of the divine laws? Again, each soul may also be called an island, previously flooded by the pleasures of this life and the bitterness of cares, which, once God is known and the habit of sinning is abandoned, is renewed with resumed strength, and being removed from all confusion, having laid aside the old leaven, is clothed in the form of Christ. ^B

Vers. 18-26. Thus says the Lord, who made the heavens. This is God, who manifested the earth, and made it, He Himself divided it. He did not make it in vain, but He fashioned it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, nor in a dark place of the earth, etc.

These things are brought in order after those for which He commanded the islands to be renewed unto Him, and those that followed immediately. For since He spoke regarding the Churches and the apostles, He will add, "I have not spoken in secret to you." As he presents the trustworthiness of God regarding such a great promise, he teaches how much the human race is honored by Him, such that it has even attained a saving call. And He does not call Himself "Lord" simply (for many are falsely named so in heaven and on earth), but He demonstrates through the things which He made what He Himself is: from the heavens, indeed, in which the angels dwell; but from the earth, in which men, who were able to live blessedly and happily and to recognize God, according to whose image they were created, could live; ^C and indeed inhabit the earth no differently than the powers capable of reason and intelligence inhabit heaven. For He testified that the earth itself was made and adorned for their sake, according to that saying: "Let the waters be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear." Therefore, He says, the Gospel preaching which is dear and precious to Me has been given, as I Myself bestow it upon all, as the common Creator, not to the Jews only. Hence, He adds that He is God, and that there is no other besides Him, nor has He spoken anything in the dark. For I have spread the divine Gospel to all. Wherefore, the voice of the aforementioned apostles has gone out into all the earth. For the words of Moses were spoken in secret, in the Hebrew tongue and in such characters, in an unapproachable wilderness and arid land. ^D

^A But the Gospel of Christ is spoken in every tongue and written in all scripts. As for "not in secret," the majority interpret this in such a way that no one might say: "God is indeed truly and alone God, but it is unclear whether he also permits others to be called gods." He says: "I did not speak the law regarding this matter in secret." For the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai in the form of fire, with the sounding of trumpets, with thunder and lightning, and the whole world was in suspense, when you were called and the rule of the Egyptians was submerged, not that you should serve vain things—for He has called the idol "vain"—but He proclaimed to you openly, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve, and you shall not make for yourself any idol." Often, the "I am" is spoken by way of exhortation, for the recognition of the one God and Him who performed the miracles of old.

^B "Speaking righteousness and announcing truth." For the law indeed commanded what ought justly to be done, but it also hinted at the truth through shadows, prefiguring the things that were in Christ. For Moses spoke about Him. And these things, indeed, they [the Jews] say. But according to the first interpretation: "I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Seek me in vain." According to Symmachus and others: "Seek me to no purpose." In another reading: "Seek me emptily." For I proclaimed the Gospel to you first. And so that you might not seem to worship God in vain, I promised you eternal life as a reward, and what "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man," and the rest. But since I am God, "speaking righteousness and announcing truth," according to the word of righteousness, after the circumcision, I call all to myself, and I make an ^C announcement that is common to all. "Assemble yourselves and come, and take counsel together, you who are saved from the nations." But instead of "take counsel together," Symmachus says, "Approach me, you who have escaped from the nations." The "Assemble yourselves" is of one calling those whom Satan had dispersed. For when the Savior came, He endured death for our sake, in order that, according to the evangelist, He might gather together into one the children of God who were scattered, bound together by unity of mind and faith. And as for the "as if being far off," He says, "Come." For error separates one from God. Hence also Paul says, "You who once were far off have been made near." And again, "He preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near." ^D And the prophet also says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." But the command "take counsel together" exhorts them to approach with discernment. For it is necessary for those who have renounced all error to approach God in this way, having exchanged their former foolishness for a pious mind.

^A Returning to you, therefore, consider how thoroughly foolish are those who lift up the wood of their own carving, that is, those who exalt it so much that they bestow upon wood the glory that is owed to God alone. Indeed, how can those who are pleased to carry about things devoid of sense, which are not even capable of moving, ask for help from them while traveling by land or sea? But if they have anything to say in defense of these gods, let them approach. For when they have drawn near, they will recognize the true God. Is it not a great proof of divinity that these things were foretold by the prophets long before they came to pass—something which the demons, who arrogate to themselves the knowledge of future events, are unable to provide even by way of deception, nor were they able to foreknow the advent of Christ or their own destruction? "But I," He says, "have foretold them, because I am a Just One and a Savior." For by a just argument I call all nations to salvation. This is what is meant by "from the ends of the earth." He calls Himself "just" also for another reason, to make a distinction from the demons who treat our nature so cruelly that they do not even abstain from human sacrifices. And how is He who aids those so grievously wronged not just? He ^B who, in giving these general prophecies, keeps the outcome of what is foretold unerring. For having foretold to Abraham the servitude and liberation of his descendants, even when Abraham had no memory of it (for at that time, none of his descendants existed who could be commended in the name of justice), He brought the matter to its fulfillment. Again, He calls Himself "just" to strike fear into those who have sinned. For the punishment administered by the Just One is inexorable. He also calls Himself "Savior," so that after they perceive that He has done everything for the sake of their salvation, they may confess that, while repenting, they justly deserved the punishment for their sins, but that by obtaining benevolence, they have received the kindness of Him who pardons. "For the just man," as it is written, "is his own first accuser." He establishes ^C the justice of the nations not without an oath, so that "by two immutable things," as the divine Apostle says, "in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation." "And my words," He adds, "shall not be turned back." But what words? Those by which He said, "Turn to me, and you shall be saved, you who are from the ends of the earth." But as for the reasons why He added the oath, He indicates this by saying, "For to me every knee shall bow," not of the Jews only. For if Israel had need of grace after so many sins, then much more would that which is spoken, being the greatest of all things, struggle to find faith. Therefore, as if He were conversing with human beings, He added an oath to confirm that they would worship Him and make oath by Him, which has been fulfilled in part by the calling of the nations. But it will be fulfilled completely at the consummation of the age, when every human fantasy and falsehood shall be destroyed. “And every tongue shall confess that justice and glory shall come to Him.” Symmachus has rendered "glory" as "strength." For all those in heaven—

virtues will have him as their end. And all the power of those men who have contended for piety will come to him, as the one distributing the rewards of virtue and labor. But those who separate themselves will be put to shame. Hence it is said: "All those who worship graven images shall be put to shame." And it was said to the Jews: "Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins." But when will they be put to shame? When every knee shall bow. Afterwards it relates: "They shall be justified, and in God shall all the seed of the children of Israel be glorified." Now the seed of the children of Israel—for they are the children of Israel who were the first heralds of the Gospels—refers to those whose seed and succession he said would be justified and glorified, being deemed worthy of adoption, concerning whom it was said beforehand: "Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us a seed." That the disciples are the seed of the teachers is also shown by Paul, saying: ^B "For in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel, I have begotten you."

CHAPTER XLVI

Verses 1-5. Bel has fallen, Dagon is broken; their graven images have become beasts and cattle. You carry them bound, as a burden to one who is weary, and faint, and hungry. They are not able to be strong at the same time, nor will they be able to be saved from war; but they themselves have been led away as captives, etc.

Having spoken concerning the conversion of the nations and the election of the seed of the children of Israel, he turns back to the Jews and signifies the total eradication of idolatry. ^C Bel is also what the Greeks call Saturn, to whom very many offered their own children in sacrifice. Dagon, however, was an image of the foreign nations, worshipped in Ascalon and Gaza. The prophet moreover alludes to the history, as the ark, having been captured and brought in to the idol, caused it to fall and be broken immediately. Then, transitioning the discourse from a singular case to that which concerns the whole genus of idolatry, he says: "Their graven images have become beasts and cattle," such as the idols of the Egyptians themselves were. On this passage Symmachus says: "Their idols were given over to animals," meaning as things cast aside and greatly neglected. Some say that God reminds them ^D that the things which are His remain established forever, while the things of the idols are all false and vanish into nothingness. For God is the same perpetually, receiving no change in purpose or nature. And what He promised to Abraham, He fulfilled. And now he who spoke is true, saying: "To me every knee shall bow, and the gift shall be given to all in common." But the weakness of the idols is exposed; and when you have been delivered into captivity, carrying the burdens of elephants, and the loads of beasts of burden, these idols—which are yourselves carried—will become an equal burden. And men carrying them upon their shoulders will be weary. Who, while carrying a god, grows weary? Therefore, these are not gods. For how

^A could they be led away as captives by their enemies? And how could they overlook their own worshippers suffering such things? Others say that in the processions of the demons, the priests who carried the statues upon their shoulders walked through the plazas under a heavy load. Through these things He reminds the Israelites also of the enemies by whom they are to be led away on account of the worship of idols; and He leaves them to consider in their minds how grave and intolerable the burden of the demons is for those souls which, after they have enslaved themselves to impiety, are led away at the end of the war, bound in the chains of their sins, just like captives. Furthermore, He does not call them Jacob, but only the "house of Jacob," on account of their kinship with the flesh, and the "remnant of Israel," as if they were its dregs and excrement. Some think that since so many were led away into captivity, it is called a single house, as if it were the remnants of an immense ^B and barbaric cruelty: for He does not hide the fact that they themselves will suffer this if they do not repent. Others say that He is leading them to a realization of what has been spoken. For, boasting that they are of the race of Jacob, it is fitting that they act with zeal for his manner of life. For even if you are a remnant of Israel, the two tribes that were left behind (for the ten were carried off into captivity), I will not overlook those who repent. Furthermore, since they were practicing in vain, He upbraids them regarding the law in which they had been instructed from their tenderest nails. For having received circumcision on the eighth day, and being raised in the other precepts of the law, it is not without reason that it is said: "And the people have meditated on vain things." For having become idolaters, they had need of the prophetic word for their conviction. "You, therefore, are the same regarding your license for sinning; but I am the same in my philanthropy, always seeking your salvation, and having chastised you with captivity, I will again release you from your bonds." For, like a skilled physician, He tries to snatch them from the hands of the devil, partly with threats and partly with promises of good things. ^C

VERS. 5-11. *To whom have you likened me? See, consider, you who go astray, and you who contribute gold from the purse, and weigh silver in a scale; and having hired a goldsmith, they made hand-made things, and leaning over they worship them. They lift them upon the shoulder, and they walk, etc.*

Such, He says, have I shown myself to be toward you: but do you consider into what an absurdity of impiety you have fallen, who have subjected the bodiless One to the forms of mortals; who have contributed gold and silver, and thought that honor was being rendered to God by the form of matter that had been put upon it. With what artifice of defense will you cast off this crime? At last, therefore, come to your senses regarding the thought of my divinity, and acknowledge that I alone am the eternal God. And a proof of this is the foretelling of future things through my prophets by long

to be accomplished after a long time, of which some I have already done, and others I will also do, by calling, like birds, my servants the angels, and the ministering spirits who are sent forth for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. Others rendered it: *Calling from the east a bird, from a land far away a man of my counsel*. By this they certainly meant Christ himself, who, he says, is called from a far land, that is, from the very depths of Hades, and through whom he says he will fulfill his promises. Others said that by the bird the Babylonian is meant, of whom you may find Ezekiel speaking, where he says: *A great eagle, with great wings*, and the rest. Explaining which, he says: *Do you not know what these things are? Behold, the king of Babylon will come to Jerusalem, and will take its king and its princes*, and what follows. For he had previously called these, by the metaphor in the parable, the choice of the cedars; and he was pointing to Zedekiah the king, whom he took captive. Others, however, suppose Cyrus to be signified by the bird. And the fact that he adds that he has created them suggests that he has prepared them—evidently, the evils and calamities with which they will be afflicted. But if even then no one is found who does not turn away from the desires of my will, I will send my Son, who, having embraced the Father’s counsel, may fulfill his commands. ^B

CHAPTER XLVII.

^C VERS. 1-15. *Descend, sit upon the ground, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground. Enter into darkness, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no longer be called soft and tender. Take the mill, grind meal; reveal your covering, uncover the grey hairs, uncover the legs, etc.*

And these things are also addressed to the Israelites, to whom he said above: *To whom have you likened me?* There, he said they were wandering; here, however, that they had lost their heart. For which Symmachus rendered: *the hard-hearted ones*. And in either case, the insensibility of their mind is displayed. Therefore they turned to idolatry. But nevertheless, God, pitying them, calls back to understanding—by means of good promises—those who had wandered far from righteousness, that is, from God. For they had fainted in their souls, seeing the ten tribes washed away, and seeing the Assyrian pressing upon them, and they thought the promises of God to be vain. Therefore he announces to them the judgment against Babylon. For God punished those from Israel not for hate, ^D but as one desiring their salvation, just as among physicians those who cut and cauterize them; for even every punishment is inflicted for benefit. He here joins to the promise of partial salvation the revelation of that which is most universal. For the deliverance through Cyrus is partial, but that through Christ is for all men. And the expression, *I will not delay*, is like: *Yet a little while, he who is coming will come, and will not tarry*.

^A By the name of Sion, we understand the Church, in which we receive his salvation with glory, as many of us as constitute the intelligible Israel—that is, those who have become children of Abraham by promise—and who possess a mind that contemplates God. But Symmachus translates it thus: *I will give salvation in Sion, and glory to Israel.* For my benevolence towards them, he says, I will easily grant these things to Israel; but my justice I cannot help but show against those who have raged against you beyond what is right, having cast down the height of their kingdom. For they were boastful because they had held sway over the nations for many ages. Attributing a personality to the kingdom, He called it "daughter of Babylon" and "virgin," as one decking herself out in the prime of her strength, and He commanded her to descend from on high.

^B Some say that the daughters of the Babylonians, or even the women, are to be understood in this way, whose capture by the Medes He describes, and their removal into slavery. Their descent demonstrates a transformation from glory and luxury, freedom and wealth, into their opposites. Therefore, he called the darkness of the virgin an irreparable calamity. For grief and fear constantly darken the mind. He called her soft and tender because of her lifestyle and her excessive adornment, whether that of a kingdom or of women. For among those for whom it was customary for those dedicated to military service to be decked with gold and anointed with the sweetest of perfumes, what would one not expect the women to do? Then He portrays her as sitting, as if the speech were about a queen; but she, having abandoned everything, is to serve as a handmaid to the captives, like one forced to the mill. To these things, He commands her to cast off that covering with which she variously adorned her head. And what he said about an elder, he added, either as one about to indicate the longevity of the kingdom, or the cruelty of those who speak, who did not even spare an aged woman. ^C But where we have "Uncover the covering," Symmachus said, "Cover your ears." And where we have "I will take justice from you," he translated, "I will take vengeance for you, and man shall not resist me." And where we have "He who redeems you, the Lord of Hosts," Aquila says, "Our kinsman-redeemer, the Lord." These things against you, he says, our Lord—who redeems us—decreed, namely, that He would lead you to your enemies, where it is necessary for you to pass through rivers while being stripped, even while you are in the midst of them.

That she suffered this justly, another prophet also testifies, when he says: "As He has done, so will I do to her." And again: "As you have done, so shall your retribution be." And the Scripture says in general: "Woe to the wicked man! Evil things according to the works of his hands shall befall him." But the expression, *I will no longer hand thee over to men*, according to the Septuagint, signifies that she will no longer be handed over to such inhuman people. ^D

Perhaps he is addressing even those who had long ago conquered; but this has been inserted with reference to Israel. Then, again addressing Chaldea, he says: *Sit down, struck with compunction*, or, according to Symmachus, *being silent*. For you, who were so haughty and used the nations as slaves, should henceforth repent ^A of what you have done, being handed over to such darkness of discipline.

Where it says *strength of kingdom*, Symmachus rendered it *mistress of kingdoms*, and he adds the reason, teaching that one ought not to rise up against those who are being humbled by God, whom it is proper—once they have been disciplined—to pity. In harmony with these things, Zechariah also says: *I am jealous for Jerusalem with great jealousy, and with great anger do I feel anger against the nations that conspire against me; for whereas I was angry but a little, they added more to the evils.* ^B And you, he says, though you supposed that you would reign continuously, were being disciplined by your present prosperity so as not to trust in it, but to foresee the end and the changes that would come about later. These things were of the arrogance of those who reigned in her. And at the same time he threatens her with the loss of the man who was reigning when she was captured, and of the children who were reigned over by her, and of her inhabitants who were to fall in battle.

But these things will not come upon you only because of the aforementioned reasons; but also because you placed your hopes in incantations and sorceries. For because those who practiced these things foretold victory for you, you were lifted up in pride of mind, trusting also in your power, and, ^C not imagining that the Persian rule would show itself to be superior, you said: *I am, and there is no other*, trusting in the divinations from demons and those from the stars. And the hope that is in demons he calls fornication. For it is apostate from God. For to all men, affinity with God is natural, but that which is with demons is alien, bringing about their communion with men through sorcery. Hence Paul also joins idolatry with sorcery, saying: *Idolatry, sorcery*.

Therefore, idolatry is not excusable for the Chaldeans nor for others, but is deadly. *Your fornication, therefore*, he says, *will be unto shame*, when the hope that is in demons fails, whose power is weakness, being able neither to foretell as I do these things to you, nor to help. ^D Instead of *Know that the understanding of these will be, and your fornication will be to you a shame*, Symmachus says: *And this knowledge of yours has deceived you.* By understanding he refers to the wisdom of the diviners. Therefore he says, *And you shall not know from divination the coming destruction*, which he also calls a *pit*, indicating the inescapability of those who have fallen into it. Daniel shows how certain magi, and Gazareni, and sorcerers, and those wise in such things (for so they called them) were prominent among the Chaldeans, and were held in high esteem.

those who claim to be professors of the arts, whom they call wise, to have flourished and to have been so pleasing to the king that he believed the kingdom could not be administered successfully except under their auspices; the prophet warns that these, along with the city herself—which, with no one able to bring her aid, will happen to be consumed by fire—will suffer vengeance by fire. There are some, however, who think that the discourse is directed ironically to Chaldaea, since he said it has "coals of fire," signifying, of course, the burning and very fervent men of whom he understood, when he added, "If you sit upon them," that is, if you rest. "For they will be present to you for help." Or, certainly, by the name of coals, he signifies punishments that are corrective and profitable. For, he says, when you have repented, this will turn out to your advantage, with me assisting you, however much you have labored in vain before. But these things, he says, will also happen to individual men. For those who have erred by themselves will suffer much, which neither she who has not repented will be able to avoid. Indeed, "you have labored" signifies as if he had said "you have been weak." For you could be very easily conquered and captured, you who have exchanged the worship of God for demons. But where we read, "You have labored in your transition, and what follows," others interpret: "Your merchants from your youth, each one has erred in his own end, from whom no savior is found for you"—but Symmachus, "Therefore there is no one who saves you." Furthermore, some explain the saying, "A man has erred in himself, but for you there will be no salvation," as if it meant that while many men have erred in a human way, having turned away from God in moderation and having been subjected to the passions of the flesh, you, however, have advanced to such a point of impurity that no place for salvation is left for you any longer. ^B

CHAPTER XLVIII.

^C VERS. 1-11. Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord God of Israel, and make mention [of Him] not in truth, nor in righteousness, who lean upon the name of the holy city, and are supported by the God of Israel, etc.

Having spoken concerning the Babylonians, he proceeds to the reproof of the Jews; and he demonstrates that he is taking vengeance upon them because of his own justice, not because they are worthy of that aid. For he calls them the house of Jacob, as being unworthy of the name of their grandfather, and as participating only in the naked title of Israel, and in the physical seed of Judah. For this he signified by saying "from the waters." Then he ascribed Judah to the royal line. But just as those who were unworthy of these names were falsely called by them, so when they swore and made mention of the God of Israel, they honored him with their lips, while they were far removed from him in their hearts, and appeared in vain to be supported by the Lord, clinging to the city consecrated to him. For after the times of Hezekiah, they were raised in every kind of impiety and superstition by Manasseh, whom in the ^D

^A house of mine he made an abomination; ^B and through many prophecies he reproached them for their impiety. Wherefore he summons them to piety with many exhortations. And the Saviour himself also rebuked them for their physical kinship, saying: "If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham." And now he continuously calls them by recollection of their fathers, bringing their piety to memory, so that they might not become the cause of destruction for themselves and for the city. He shows that God foretells things concerning himself, not for the sake of ostentation, but for their benefit, ^C so that they might not ascribe these events to idols, and so that, knowing these things beforehand, they might repent; for he could have punished the Babylonians even while remaining silent. For even when warning Pharaoh, he added: "That he may know who brings these things." Know therefore, O unbelievers, he says, that as many things as I foretold through the former prophets, so that the words might come to many ears, they have come to pass in reality. For it belongs to God alone to foretell; and in vain does Manasseh strive to know the future through divination; but those things which I have foretold, he says, even if you did not expect them, have nevertheless come to pass suddenly.

There are some who say that this refers to the captivity, after which the terrible things that happened in Babylon took place. And he says that he foretold it to them as being unyielding and shameless, even though he knew that they would thus ascribe the cause of the things about to happen to the Babylonians to their idols. For, even when Jerusalem had been captured, the remaining women, when Jeremiah forbade them to go down into Egypt, retorted: "Since we stopped sacrificing to the queen of heaven, all these evils have come upon us." ^D Wherefore, also, Jeremiah, being vexed, says: "O Lord, your eyes are upon faith. You have scourged them, but they felt no pain. You have consumed them, but they refused to accept instruction." Behold, therefore, although you are such, I, being philanthropic, foretell the things that are about to happen to the Chaldeans who are going to war against you, so that you might then call upon the One who foretold them as your helper. Therefore, do not deceive yourself by saying that even before my prophecy, idols commanded these things to you—that is, threatened or foretold that they would harm you. For it is because you have departed from me and have been joined to them that you will suffer many evils. Furthermore, the foretelling will not benefit you at all. For you will not understand—that is, you will not become wise by changing for the better, not expecting the end of the things foretold to you. Therefore I have made new things audible to you. For things were new that were spoken of before they came to pass. Therefore, when you suffer, do not say, "Before I suffered I did not hear," or that "I foreknew them, but learned them from idols." For you did not know anything before I spoke them, for I have not done this for you to be known from another. Behold, I even call you lawless before you act disobediently. For it is for that very reason that it will happen to you.

^A For it is from philanthropy that the prediction of occurrences to you comes. For I handed you over, but even in handing you over, I did so for your benefit, not as some man looking to his own gain. For sometimes suffering trains one whom reason has not trained. Therefore, I also foretold the disasters from the enemies, turning you back from all sides—by threat, by fear, by the experience of suffering, and by the power of prophecy—in order that, through my philanthropy,Ⅰ might both free you again and avenge myself upon the enemies, because they blasphemed my divinity, attributing the victory over you to their own gods, granting the glory of Him who is to those who are not. He calls the place of servitude a "furnace of poverty," in which those who are led into it have a need even to beg. By the words he uses, he shows Israel that he sold himself, having offered up his own sins in place of silver. ^B For you are not crushed because of any weakness on my part, I who performed the deeds in Egypt for your freedom. But some ask how He says He did new things, when the Ecclesiastes teaches that there is nothing new under the sun? Therefore, He means the mystery of Christ, which is far greater than the visible creation, and which Paul also calls "hidden." Therefore He says, "Neither from the beginning did I open your ears." For Christ opened the ears of the apostles to understand the Scriptures. And ears are opened when the mind is too. For it does not hear in vain. "For I knew," He says, "that you would deal treacherously, and for this reason I hid it, and you shall be called a lawless one from the womb"—that is, by foreknowledge. Thus, sinners are alienated from the womb. You would have suffered utter destruction, moreover, for having attributed my glory to demons, had not my glory itself, which is to be revealed for the salvation of the world, liberated you.

VERS. 12-22. "Hear me, Jacob, and Israel, whom I call. I am the first, and I am forever. My hand also founded the earth, and my right hand established the heaven. I will call them, and they shall stand together, and they shall all be gathered, and they shall hear," etc.

^C Having employed the preceding words against the infamous Israelites, here He holds discourse with the upright and honest from among Israel. Hence, the addition "whom I call," for which Symmachus interprets "my calling," but Aquilas "my called." For there were very many "called" from among their number, but "chosen" were very few. Yet the discussion here is not of the chosen, but of the called. He invites them, in fact, to the contemplation of His own divinity. ^D For He calls Himself without beginning. For the first is pre-eminent.

^A and it follows that it is also endless. For that which has no beginning must necessarily also be devoid of an ending.

The others expressed this by giving out: "I am the first, and I am the last." It is stated somewhere concerning the Only-Begotten, that He is the same, the first and the last; which He clarified when He said, "I was living, and became dead." For He is the same, the beginning of life, and the last, since He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. At the same time, He brings them back to the remembrance of the honor and glory bestowed upon them. For He called them into a relationship with Himself out of all the nations, according to the text: "When the Most High divided the nations," and what follows. And again: "And the Lord chose you out of all the nations to be His own people." It was incumbent upon them, therefore, not to depart from God and be added to demons, and to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Yet even in this way, moved by compassion, He calls them to a state of well-being, crying out: "Hear me," and for once desiring now to be persuaded, and to obtain safely the gifts from Him. For according to Paul, though they ought to have been teachers by reason of the time, they again had need of one to teach them the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.

And that which is eternal, and truly existing, is manifested by the phrase, "I am," in agreement with the text: "I am who I am," showing that He is immutable as to both His nature and His character. For He who is, from His own goodness, possesses the mark—by which He also brought all things into being—distinguishing Himself from those who are not gods, concerning whom it is said: "Let the gods who did not create the heaven and the earth perish." ^B Since He adds, "My hand has founded the earth," some said that the person of the Father is indicated, whose hand is called the Only-Begotten in the Scriptures. For Moses says: "Thy right hand, O Lord, has been glorified in power," and the rest. And David says: "Let Thy hand be strengthened. Let Thy right hand be lifted up," being spoken of thus as the fulfiller of the Father's purposes, so that He is essentially the Wisdom of God, expressing the paternal thoughts in the works done by Him. That is why it is said in Proverbs: "God by wisdom founded the earth." The hand, therefore, is not as a part, but as a complete power derived from Him, by which He works, being very close to Him. "How then," He says, "do you worship the creature rather than the Creator?" For what has been made is immeasurably beneath the glory of the Maker, so that it is an act of impiety for one who offers worship to accord to it honor equal to the Maker. ^C "My right hand, therefore," He says, "has established the heaven, or the heavens, according to the other interpreters,"—that is, the heavenly powers, concerning which He adds: "I will call them, and they shall stand up together." For they obey as if to a Master, and they stand. ^D Non-manual, therefore, as a part, but as a complete energy derived from Him and most near to Him, is signified. What then, He says, is this, that you should prefer to serve the creature rather than the Creator? For that which has been brought into effect is surpassed by far in dignity and glory by the one from whom it was brought into effect; and whoever intends to worship, attributing the same honor to the creature and to the Creator, acts impiously. My right hand, therefore, He says, has established the heaven, or the heavens, as pleases other interpreters, that is, it has established the heavenly powers; of whom, continuing, He says: "I will call them, and they shall stand up together."

^A. They gather for the hearing of His words. This is consistent with what was said at the beginning: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken." If the higher powers are so obedient with reverence to the One who made them, how should you who are men not rather take up the divine fear?

Regarding the phrase, "Who has announced these things to them?" Symmachus said: "Who has announced these things to them? He whom the Lord loves will do His will." Aquila, however, says: "Who among men has made these things known? The Lord loved him." For, he says, because the powers of the heavens, being called to the hearing of His words, obey and stand present, [He says that] the Lord Himself has announced it, and because of His love for you, He has made it manifest to you. Or, according to Aquila and Symmachus, the "Beloved of the Father and Only-Begotten" Himself has announced it to men, He who will also perform the will of the Father, bringing about those things foretold against Babylon, when He will also restore the people, having been asserted into liberty, to their ancestral land.

Some think that the words, "I will call them, and they shall stand together," are said concerning those from Israel; as if He were demonstrating ^B how gladly He would hear them when gathered together. For I would have gladly asked them, when they were gathered: "What other god has foretold for you the calamity from the war, as I have made known individually through my prophets? Yet you, having despised my words, waited to experience the trial of evils. What benefit then is to you the prophecy of demons, which was able to foresee none of the things that afterwards occurred?"

Some say that He is exhorting those among the Gentiles who think themselves wise to be present and to take it to heart that no one foretold to them the things that were to happen after much time. God Himself, however, was the One both foretelling the difficult things and calling back those who were changing. Therefore He foretold them, turning them toward fear. Then He shows that He does not remember their sins but, loving them, He did the opposite of what they wanted. For the Chaldeans, who were pressing down upon them and attacking them, they wanted God to destroy; which He indeed did, not as if returning a favor to the righteous, but because of His goodness, bestowing a benefit upon those who were ungrateful and sinful; loving them even though they had sinned ^C. Therefore, even before you suffered, I foretold the incursion of those men, so that, having repented, you might make it of no effect. Since you were not persuaded, I gave them success against you, disciplining you who had sinned beyond repentance.

Others say that Cyrus was given success against the Chaldeans out of pity for the Hebrews, against whom they had displayed their cruelty. "These things, then, I will perform at the appropriate future time. But you, having learned these things—not spoken in secret, but with great boldness—come to me eagerly; for even when these things were decided, the Father was with us ^D. And now the Father Himself, and the Spirit of His holiness, has sent me for the accomplishment of those things determined by Him." But why did He not proclaim it in secret?

^A For there is scarcely anyone to be found who speaks so openly through the prophets: "Thus saith the Lord to my anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of," and what follows. Nor was it his own work that Babylon was taken, but it was by my help. Furthermore, they say that what follows is the voice of Cyrus: "The Lord has sent me, and His Spirit."

And then, what is also currently held: even if none of these things that occurred had been foretold by God, behold, even now Cyrus himself testifies that all things were accomplished by the help of the Almighty God. For when he learned that these things were applied to him by the captives and had read the prophecy, he used a royal decree, which is found in Ezra ^B and says: "Thus saith Cyrus the king of the Persians: The Lord of Israel, the Most High, has appointed me king of the world," and what follows. But some say that the words, "The Lord has sent me, and His Spirit," are spoken in the person of the prophet, meaning that he had not previously spoken to them in a corner, but that now he has come, sent by God for their own benefit, speaking often about these same things, with God sending him and the Holy Spirit prompting and supporting him. "Hear, therefore, O Israel, what the Lord who delivered you teaches you. Remember your God." For I repeat these things to you for the sake of finding the way of salvation, to which, had you yielded from the beginning, you would have been free from evils, and would have flourished in peace and righteousness, with the blessings flowing thereafter like rivers and one after another, like the waves of the sea—that is, you would have had an invincible force, just as rivers and seas are. ^C And your seed, he says, would have been innumerable, not depleted by the incursions of enemies. But for "dust of the earth," others translate it as "thousands of the earth"—doubtless employing corporal terms to deal with coarse men. Not unjustly, however, might the "seed of God" be understood as Israel, of whom it was said before: "Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us a seed, we should have become like Sodom," denoting those from among the Jews who believed. For they became the fathers of the others, having regenerated those who approached Him, "who were born, not of blood, but of God." It is reasonable, therefore, to speak allegorically. For corporally, it came to pass that the Jews, even if they did not obey the commandments, were propagated and multiplied; which, with the provided condition—if they had kept the commandments—they would have attained; for we see this same thing happen by nature in worms. ^D There are also some, however, who assert that these words, "I have taught you how to find the way," are those of the Israelites speaking in this manner: "We who lived under you, have we suffered such things, we who once escaped the hand of Pharaoh by your invincible aid?" "For I have shown you," he says, "the way of salvation, the law."

^A And if you had wished to live happily, you would have observed it. But because you transgressed it and turned to the worship of idols, you fell into the power of your enemies. Yet, for the sake of my benevolence toward you, I have not permitted you to be utterly rooted out and destroyed, since I have desired that the remnant of Israel be preserved everywhere. Therefore, I say to you even now: go forth from Babylon, not with fear and listlessly, but using great haste, and crying out a voice of rejoicing. For just as the departure from Egypt became manifest to all nations—with Pharaoh resisting and the Egyptians being struck, to whom [God] says, 'For this have I raised you up, that I might show my power in you'—so too it was fitting that the redemption from Babylon not be hidden, but that the glory of the Redeemer be made known and proclaimed from it. For it is written: 'A voice of exultation and salvation is in the tabernacles of the just.' ^B For it was fitting that these praises be sung in the manner of a narrative, as was done by David, where he says: 'You have been favorable, O Lord, to your land; you have turned back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquities of your people; you have covered all their sins.'

And to demonstrate that He is the same One who once led Israel through the desert, He promises that, if it is again necessary for the rock to be split for the provision of water, this too will not be wanting to those journeying into Judea. Because this did not happen in historical fact, some have referred it to allegory. The stream of rational water flowed from the rock of truth to those who were delivered from the intelligible captivity—those of whom Christ Himself spoke when He said that He was sent to preach the gospel to the poor and to proclaim release to the captives. ^C 'Now the rock was Christ,' according to the Apostle, who also says: 'Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly.' And he declared that those who are impious among them, so that they might not think that the promise of pardon and the joy derived from it had come about because of them or for their sake, would be excluded from them.

Some think that by the name of 'Babylonians,' the impious are signified, who, having been handed over to punishment, were unable to rejoice, while those who were redeemed were rejoicing. Others say that [He speaks of this] so that, seduced by the pleasure of what has been said, they might not behave carelessly and sluggishly, as if God had said that they would attain these things despite any impious living; He shows that fear, rather than security, hangs over them. For who can rejoice who has fallen away from Him by whom joy is supplied? ^D For the promises are certain and indubitable to those by whom they are observed; nor does the foreknowledge of God produce virtue in anyone by necessity. Behold, for He foreknew that Jacob would be good; and he became good by himself, not because he was foreknown. Therefore he is blessed. It is necessary, then, not to be sluggish when God predicts the future.

The command, 'Go forth from Babylon,' orders one to change both place and manner of life, bringing with them no Chaldean character, but being pure from augury, divination, and every deception of idols. And this would also apply to all the nations.

come to me, and hear these things,” they say that it is the person of Christ speaking, as if he were declaring to them the salvation that comes through Himself. And the words, “Have I not spoken from the beginning in secret? Did I not,” He says, “long ago predict these things through the prophets to come to pass at the [proper] time?” As for the phrase “I am there,” He is saying that before His visible presence came to pass, it had been determined by God according to the foreknowledge before the foundation of the world. “And now the Lord hath sent me, and his Spirit.” For that which is always with God, this *now* comes to pass visibly in the world. But the mission is according to the human [nature]. For God is always present to all. Yet He is also said to be sent by the Spirit, in that He is begotten of the Holy Spirit. Some, however, say that the following belongs to the same person: “My hand hath founded the earth, and my right hand hath established the heaven.” And the words, “Now the Lord hath sent me, and his Spirit,” which indicates that He who came upon the earth is an artificer. ^B

CHAPTER XLIX

13. “Hear me, O islands, and attend, O nations. After a long time it shall stand, saith the Lord. From my mother's womb he hath called my name, and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; and under the shadow of his hand he hath hid me. He hath made me like a chosen arrow, and in his quiver he hath hid me; and he said to me: Thou art my servant, O Israel, and in thee will I be glorified,” etc.

Having spoken of matters pertinent to the Jews, he moves again to the calling of the nations and the advent of the Savior. Therefore, he calls the Churches “islands,” as they are overwhelmed on all sides by the salty and bitter waves of this life and of temptations. But he does not allow us to be ignorant of which islands he means, since he commands the “nations” to attend, so that no one might suppose the discourse to be addressed to the Jews. And the great David also says: “The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice. Let many islands be glad.” But what is he saying to the nations? Not to expect the outcome of the events at the time of the prophecy, but after a very long time. “It shall stand,” he says—either the thing promised or the thing prophesied. And for the phrase “after a long time,” the others rendered it “from afar” [by referring] the word to the preceding [text]; but Symmachus interpreted it: “And attend, O nations, from afar.” Observe, however, how the Lord speaks as of present [matters]; and through what follows, he discusses another Lord, explaining his own birth and servitude and other things of this kind, when he says: “The Lord hath called me from the womb.” For the names [used] before the incarnation are appropriate to the divine nature, [signifying] God, and...

life, and light, and wisdom, and power, and such like. ^A But "Christ," and "Jesus," and "God with us," are appropriate after the economy. For Gabriel said to the Virgin: “And thou shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus;” and, declaring the meaning, he added: “For he shall save his people from their sins.” The [title] "God with us" was spoken of both the nature and the economy, as "Jesus" [is spoken] of the operation. For this reason, it was also said to the shepherds that: “Today is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.” But "Christ," as "anointed," did not [properly] fit before the economy. And he says: “He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword.” And elsewhere he says: “And with the spirit of [his] lips he shall slay the ungodly.” He calls it a sharp sword, therefore, as cutting and separating those who are worthy of God from those who are not. He says, indeed, in the Gospels: “Think not that I am come to send peace upon the earth. I am not come to send peace, but a sword,” and what follows. ^B And the evangelical proclamation itself became a sword against the tyranny of the devil. But he also gave us the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, by which we withstand the plotting demons. And elsewhere, too, you find in the prophet: “In that day God shall bring the holy, the great sword upon the dragon, the crooked serpent, and shall slay the dragon.” But the saying will also fit the saints. For by the word of his mouth Peter slew both Ananias and Sapphira. And the prayer of Hezekiah also routed the army of Rabshakeh. And Paul also, by a word, made Elymas blind. Concerning these he says: “Under the protection of his hand he hath hidden me,” alluding to the economy of the assumed flesh, which was unknown to many. He has also been set by the Father as a chosen arrow, that he may wound those who are worthy of his darts (according to the soul that says: ^C “I am wounded with love”), and this [arrow] itself lies hidden as in a quiver in the flesh which he assumed, visible only to those who are worthy. Some, however, said that [the words] “Under the protection of his hand he hath hidden me,” signify that the Son is inseparable from the Father, and that [even] having become man, he has a nature inapprehensible and unconquerable, which was preserved for him even according to the economy, as David says: “The enemy shall not prevail against him, and the son of iniquity shall not add to do him hurt,” and what follows. But although there have been very many arrows of God according to time, Christ himself is the one chosen and excellent arrow, hidden as in a quiver in the foreknowledge of the Father, having struck and vanished the evil powers upon the earth. “And he said unto me,” he adds, “Thou art my servant, Israel.” According to the body, [which is] from servants, [he is] a servant, and according to the lineage, [which is] from Israel, [he is] Israel.

^A But as the power of God, by which He works, he glorifies Him whose power he is, having come in the form of a servant, although existing by nature as the Son, to whom every knee of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Some, however, thinking that this is said to the people, Israel, say: He shows that only for the sake of goodness He deigned to be called Lord of Israel, and to be glorified in him, through the wonders in Egypt and those that happened subsequently. The same people also say that the phrase, “I have labored in vain,” is uttered from the person of the prophet, as one who suffered much in preaching, but did not benefit any of those who heard him. ^B But he says, "God renders to me a reward worthy of my labors." This is said, they say, also regarding every person who takes notice that they have spent their time in vain in the phantasms of this life. But it should more appropriately be taken regarding the Savior, who, having heard the aforementioned, replied, “And how, O Father, wilt Thou be glorified in me, who once labored much for the salvation of men, yet achieved nothing more, while many others, and those from the circumcision, have remained in unbelief?” Concerning whom He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” who, besides disbelieving, even crucified [me], as it is also said by the Psalmist, “What profit is there in my blood, in my descending into corruption?”

But these [are] for those. “My judgment is with the Lord.” For I, having performed the things from Myself before my God, have fulfilled the paternal will. For this reason, the judgment has been brought forth by Him. ^C For they were cast out from the relationship they had with Him. And the nations became the inheritance of God. This judgment, moreover, the Lord also showed through the parable, speaking concerning the farmers who killed the heir, whom He also destroyed and leased the vineyard to other farmers, who would render to Him the fruits in their seasons. These were the heralds of the Gospels, upon whom the clouds lowered their rains—they who were commanded not to rain upon the Jewish vineyard—upon whom Christ gathered not thorns, but grapes, as we say, that “The Lord shall give goodness, and our land shall give its fruits.”

And in another way, Paul also indicates His labor and judgment, saying, “Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, having become obedient to the Father, even to death, the death of the cross. ^D For which reason He also highly exalted Him, he says, giving Him the name that is above every name, that in His name every knee may bow.”

^A This, however, you must understand according to the flesh. For the Son is God by nature, neither toiling, nor demanding a reward for His toils by that name. Then, again, using a voice appropriate to man, He says that He was formed as a servant from the womb; not as the Son, since He is not formed, but as a servant, wearing the servile flesh. For how, if the Son were a servant by nature, could He be said to be formed for servitude? It is clear, therefore, that He exists as free by nature. This is also what He indicated in the payment of the didrachma when He taught Peter that the sons are free. Thus, by adding "from the womb," he indicated that both the time and the manner of the servitude were defined by the birth according to the flesh. ^B And defining the cause of this servile formation, he added that it was done for the gathering of Jacob; in whose name alone He underwent that formation, whereas in His divinity, which is in no way formed, He remained at rest. For Satan had separated them, along with others, from God, either because they worshipped idols or because they taught the commandments of men; but Christ reconciled those who had become enemies of God to the Father—a thing which not only Isaiah, crying out that peace must be made with Him, had long since exhorted them to do, but even the disciples themselves, acting as ambassadors for Christ, had warned them, as if God were calling through them, and not yet reconciling Himself to them through Christ. Let the names of Israel and Jacob be understood to mean not only those who are of the circumcision, to whom He also shows Himself to have been sent when He forbids them to walk in the way of the Gentiles, but also anyone who has attained salvation through faith. For "he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, but he who is one in secret." And so, the persona of those who are saved through faith is inserted into the discourse, declaring that "I shall be gathered unto Him," and the rest that follows. And they themselves are glorified, having received that shining boast of adoption, and they also possess strength from Him for the accomplishment of things that must be done.

^C There are some who think that the word "I shall be gathered" and what pertains to it should be said of Christ; but they have left out how this fits. Others have thought that it could also be referred to the prophet, signifying the recall of Israel and the gathering together of those who had been dispersed. But if you look to the anagoge, and to the Savior Himself, the fountain of justice, it can be referred no otherwise than how the account of evils is referred to their first author. Then the Father says to the Savior, "It is a great thing for you to be called my child, or, according to others, my servant." For it was truly a great work, when the Son, having been formed for servitude, assumed the form of a servant for the salvation of the ^D human nature which He had created. And hence it is that He is glorified, as one who did not count it robbery to be equal to God. And besides, it is a great thing in one way for man, but a small thing as refers to God: "to raise up," He says, "the tribes of Jacob." Therefore He also preached first to them, while they were captives, the remission of souls and recovery of sight to the blind. But since they rejected the grace...

He consequently added: "Behold, I have set Thee for a light to the Gentiles," as the rest also translate it. And from this He began the prophecy, saying, "Hearken to me, O islands, and attend, O nations." For it was necessary for the nations to hear, "Behold, I have set Thee for a light to the Gentiles." For it was not right that such an economy should fail, because Israel was disobedient and had loved the darkness. Although one of the prophets said to them: "Shine, shine, Jerusalem; for thy light is come," and what follows. ^A And another also: "To you who fear me, the Sun of righteousness shall arise." Next, calling out to the nations, He adds: "Thus saith the Lord." But since there were some who did not know who the Lord was, saying, "He who delivered Israel," He expressed it to remind them of how long ago they were delivered and saved from Egyptian servitude.

^B Others think that this is said to the Jews in this way: "I, as one who once delivered thee, command thee, that thou mayest not stumble against the stone of offense." "Sanctify Him who humbled His own soul." For by as much as He humbled Himself even unto death, and the death of the cross, by so much is it more equitable that you should honor and sanctify Him. But if the address is to the nations, He protests that they should not suffer the same thing as the Jews. And as for the term "sanctify," He meant clearly as if He were commanding them to venerate and consider Him holy. For while we were still sinners, He died for the ungodly, He who had said, "The good shepherd layeth down his life for his sheep." Therefore let Him be confessed as holy, which befits God alone. For that which happens to others from participation in Him is essential in Him; since, even being Light, He said, "You are the light of this world." And when we say, "Hallowed be Thy name," we do not ask that an addition of holiness should happen to Him, but that all would confess the truly holy One, that we might become partakers of His holiness. He added "the one who is held in abomination by the Gentiles," meaning the unbelievers. For they hold Him in abomination, and they disparage His death. And when He was delivered to Pilate, some of the soldiers held Him in abomination, spitting upon and striking Him, crying out in mockery, "Hail, King of the Jews." Whence it is that He added "under the servant-princes," ^C and perhaps He indicated the powers of the darkness of this world, whom they serve who hold Christ in abomination. Yet he says that He will shine forth, and even kings will worship Him, who will see Him, not altogether with bodily eyes, but with mind and heart.

They will all worship Him especially when He comes in the glory of His Father with His angels, and sits upon the throne of His glory, judging the living and the dead. And they will worship Him on account of His Father; for He is glorified as the Son of God, because faithful is the Holy One of Israel who chose Him, that is, He who is always and remains the same. For nothing among created things is found faithful or certain, because they are subject to change. But the Father chose those who through the Son...

^A were called: "For those whom he foreknew," he says, "he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son," who sanctified him who despised his soul, not stumbling at the measures of humanity. Instead of "I chose you," Symmachus rendered it "He who chose you." Now, some say that these things are properly referred to Christ, though they might also be understood of the prophet. For he humbled himself, lamenting the calamities of the people into which it had fallen on account of its sins. Then, having been commanded, he went about in sackcloth and naked, despised by those who saw him, and at once lowly in spirit, becoming for them an example of the afflictions that were to come. Yet even those who served the princes mocked him; he who commands him to be honored as a holy man. Among some, the passage is set forth ^B as being to an "abominable nation," and, they say, of Israel; therefore he also passed over to the nations. And again, the passage is to "the servant of those who hold power," and they say: "For he was subjected," and "I chose you," having, they say, the invisible supremacy according to nature from those that are visible. And he becomes elect from among men, because of the likeness he had toward us. Then the Father says to the Savior: "In an acceptable time I heard you." For while suffering he cried out: "Eli, Eli, lamma sabachthani." Then, as he saw the Father turning away, he added: "Father, if it is not possible that this pass, let your will be done." The Father, therefore, receiving this prayer after his death, and showing the time of the resurrection, says: "In an acceptable time I heard you." ^C But some, disapproving of this present explanation as implausible, preferred to say that the Son failing in his prayer was feigned for the sake of the economy, since even before offering it he knew that death would not be abolished otherwise than through the cross and death which he underwent. Therefore, the deprecation argues against the bloodthirstiness of the Jews, showing that the passion, because of its ignominy, was not something he desired. Although it does not cease to be voluntary for that reason, since he who declared that he had descended from heaven not to do his own will, but the will of him who sent him, and the rest that follows, proved by it that he had destroyed the power of death. Very fittingly, therefore, as was becoming, he used their savagery and cruelty for the salvation of the world; and by his own example he taught us that in temptations we should not lose heart, but fatigue God with prayers. ^D Therefore, connecting the passage to the preceding, they say that what follows, "In an acceptable time I heard you," is spoken to those who have been chosen. For the mystery of Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but it shone forth at the times when it pleased the Potentate. Therefore, he calls the time of the incarnation a day, just as the divine Apostle says: "Behold, now is an acceptable time; behold, now is a day of salvation." Concerning which David also says: "This is the day which the Lord has made." Upon these things he says: "And I gave you as a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, to inherit the inheritances."

^A Or, according to Symmachus: "To raise up the earth, and to distribute desolate inheritances." Such were the souls of the godless, desolate of God, and truly laid waste. They were also bound by the chains of sins. And once they were darkness, but now they are light in the Lord. He wished, therefore, for the earth to be such, which was previously agitated by evils—that is, he liberated all those dwelling on the earth from the impending storm, and made them his own possession, whereas formerly he had only Israel. To those, then, who were liberated from chains and darkness, he brings good tidings, saying: "They shall feed in all the ways." Now, the ways and paths which the holy men of old have traversed are the divine Scriptures—that is, the pursuit of virtues, which were once inaccessible to the Gentiles, in which all who feed enjoy rational sustenance, of which those who partake say, "The Lord shepherds me, and I shall lack nothing," and the things that follow these. How, then, do they not still endure hunger of soul, or thirst, which they formerly had when they were not being tutored by the Law or the prophets? But anyone who has been converted to Christ becomes nourished with intelligible food, as Isaiah says: ^B "He himself shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock. Bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure." But neither shall the scorching heat of life, which is called the heat and the sun, strike them. For Christ has become a protector to them, he who also once protected Israel with a cloud. Consonant with this is the saying of the Apostle: "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what you are able." And this is the consolation of him who has mercy on us.

"And by fountains of waters," he says, "he shall lead them." Now there are many fountains of Israel, and fountains of salvation: some of the Old Testament, others of the New. But nothing could present any difficulty to those walking the path of salvation. For the prophet had said even before: "And every valley shall be filled," and the things following that. And again: "The way of the impious became straight." ^C That is, he says, the crooked and uneven parts of their morals are being made smooth. Then he says that those who are called from everywhere will come, having mentioned the four quarters of the world. For "from afar" designates the southern region, which is incomprehensible to us, being in the south. The "sea" designates the west, being more to the west than Judea. Just as, therefore, the land of the Persians represents the east. Some say it also refers to the Magi who worshipped him. For this is what is signified by: "There shall be given to him of the gold of Arabia." For now, it is wished that the land of the Persians be signified by Arabia. Then he calls upon the creation to rejoice on account of those who are saved; through the heaven, indeed, the powers therein, who rejoice over one sinner who repents. ^D And through the earth, those who are therein and were waiting, and who have been deemed worthy of the theophany. Thus also Simeon, rejoicing, said: "Now..."

Master, You dismiss Your servant in peace," and what follows. But the prophet, they say, having tasted the pleasure of the future salvation of all before it happened, urges all things along with him, whether perceived by mind or sense, to rejoice. For if the creation is said to groan over our evils, it follows that it should rejoice over those being saved. Note also that he calls "mountains" the rational powers raised on high, or the heralds of the Gospels. For by announcing Christ, they were filling the earth with intelligible joy. Instead of "Let the mountains break forth into joy," Symmachus says: "The mountains shall be gladdened over all." Aquila says: "Sound forth, O mountains, with praise." You might also say that the mountains more appropriately signify souls still living on earth but strongly raised toward the heights through the accomplishment of virtues. By the "humble" who have received mercy, he means those previously indicated from the four corners of the world, whom Christ ^B rescued from the tyranny of the devil, causing them to partake of the Holy Spirit. "Humble," moreover, [can mean] either those who were previously humbled by sins and who bowed down to the earth in their frame of mind, or those who bowed their neck to Christ, while those who opposed Him were exalting their horn and speaking injustice against Him.

561 VERSES 14-26. "But Sion said: The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me. Will a woman forget her child, so as not to have pity on the offspring of her womb? But even if a woman were to forget these, yet I will not forget you, says the Lord. Behold, I have graven your walls upon my hands," etc.

562 It has already been said that it is fitting for us to understand Sion and Jerusalem in three ways: either as they are perceived by sense; or as they signify the pious way of life of those who are on earth; or as the angelic manner of living in the heavens, concerning which Paul says: "But the Jerusalem which is above is free." And: "For you have not approached Mount Sion," and what follows. Now, therefore, the discourse is about that pious polity which was formerly established among the Jews, but having been pulled down, has been transformed into the Church of the nations. For he had been speaking about the islands and the nations, to whom he consequently adds that, though that pious polity among the Jews has been pulled down, they should not say, "The Lord has abandoned me." And by the example of the mother, he showed the impossibility of forgetfulness. For as we are, so to speak, the offspring of God, if He were to cease His providence regarding us, we would also cease to exist. And he elaborates on the meaning, saying: "Behold, I have graven your walls upon my hands." And Symmachus says, "I have established you," instead of "I have graven"; but Aquila says, "Behold, I have accurately described you upon my palms"; and Theodotion says, "I have portrayed you." Truly, for by the name of the "hands of God," His powers are understood, by the work of which such a city has been built, and the form of which according to God is impressed and sculpted upon the souls of mortals. Which, indeed, ^D the builder of His own city Himself, the Word of God, taught, saying: "On the rock I will build my Church." And the rock...

^B was also He Himself, upon whom those first foundations were laid, concerning which it is said: "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone." That the energies of God are called "hands" in Scripture is made clear by the passage: "Thy hands have made me and fashioned me." And again: "For His is the sea, and His hands fashioned the dry land." And yet again: "And the works of His hands are the heavens." Some, however, say that this refers to the piercing of His hands upon the cross. For having suffered for our sake, how could He forget us? For He indicated the whole Passion through a part. You might also explain it in another way. They say that all who have believed are in the hands of the Father. For Christ said concerning His own sheep: "No one shall snatch them out of the hands of My Father," indicating the protection from that source. Dicas vero et aliter. Aiunt enim eos in unius quando de suis ovibus loquens Christus, nullum eas minime carere doceret, affirmavit.

^B The walls of the Church are the disciples and apostles of Christ, of whom He cannot be forgetful. For their names were written in heaven, being inscribed in the book of the living. Primarily, indeed, the wall of the Church is Christ, just as He is also the light; but those who have become His disciples are called by both these names through their participation in Him. Some, however, interpreting these things as sensible objects, say that He speaks of future things as if they were present. For all things are present to Him; and He prefigures the future rebuilding of the walls after the capture of Babylon, into which, He says, you were led away for instruction, having fallen away from My providence. Therefore, they who tore down shall rebuild, rising up from your lands; but if you also have faith, see even those who are to be gathered to you. For the hearing of the faithful is, so to speak, a vision, just as it is also that of the prophets. For Micah also says: "Behold, I see the people scattered upon the mountains, as sheep which have no shepherd." ^C He says, therefore, that you shall have inhabitants as a kind of bridal ornament. It is not, then, they say, to be disapproved that a bride should be adorned for the provocation of that love which preserves the unity of the marriage, which cannot exist without love.

But, leaving aside the history, let us return to the first explanation. For since the Church of the Gentiles was established in a short time, the pious ^D system of the Jews having fallen, He adds: "Thou shall be quickly built by those by whom thou wast destroyed." For just as the princes of the Jews were the causes of her destruction, saying: "We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know whence He is"; so, in turn, the apostles were from among them, being the workmen of the new building; they themselves having destroyed the Jewish will-worship, such as Paul, who said: "For if I build again those things which I destroyed," etc., established the new Zion according to the institution of the Gospel, David bearing witness.

^A that "You shall set them as princes over all the earth." Others, however, are indicated besides these in what follows, namely those who devastated Zion but did not build it up. Concerning whom it says, "And those who devastated you shall depart from you." ^B Historically, this was also fulfilled, for after the Church had been gathered from the nations, the Jewish nation was cast out of the sensible Jerusalem, and furthermore fell away from the godly polity.

After this, He puts on the persona of a bride who is flourishing with a multitude of children, to whom He says: "Lift up your eyes round about and see them all." And, "For you shall wrap yourself in them all, as in an ornament." He has already taught who these are and whence they come by saying beforehand, ^C "Behold, these shall come from far away from the four corners [of the earth]," referring to those whom He calls the ornament of the Bride of Christ. For she is glorified by the ornaments of souls, being clothed with their virtues and spiritual gifts as if with precious stones. Hence it is that the Scripture testifies she is adorned with gilded and variegated clothing, so that everyone from her who is giving thanks may easily use the words: ^D "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and with a tunic of gladness; as a bridegroom He has surrounded me with an ornament, and as a bride He has adorned me with a tiara." Some, however, have said that this passage refers to the salvation which awaits the Israelites at the end, when the fullness of the Gentiles shall have entered in.

Then He says, "And your desolate places shall be too narrow for you." For in place of those who were of the circumcision, a multitude of nations has been brought in. Because of whom He says, "Those who swallowed you up shall be sent far away"—namely, the false prophets and leaders of the people, of whom the Lord complained that "those who swallow up my people with a full mouth." Then He introduces the sons of the Church asking for a place on account of the larger multitude, who were previously in destruction. Whence He says, "Those whom you had lost," at whose multitude she marvels, and confesses the childlessness of the Jews, saying, "But I was childless and a widow." If it be understood of the nations, it indicates their former state before they were called. Consistent with "Make room for me," is the passage, "Enlarge the place of your tent, and fasten your curtains; do not spare, extend further to the right and to the left." This also indicates the lengths and widths of the Mosaic tabernacle.

As to her asking, "Who has begotten these for me?" it must be answered: Faith in Christ, and God Himself. Who also, in response to her inquiry, says, "Behold, I lift up my hand to the nations," and the rest; showing from where the multitude of her sons and daughters shall come, calling His own strength and power "a hand"—namely Christ, who through His miracles and through the resurrection has become exalted to the nations. By "islands" are meant the individual Churches, from which the one, catholic Church exists everywhere.

^A Signifying, moreover, the preaching concerning the cross and the resurrection. Instead of "in the bosom," the others have rendered it "in arms." And who are these that will fulfill this? Plainly, the apostles and the teachers of the Church, who lead the newcomers to the faith like small children, to whom Paul also said, "I fed you with milk." And again, "My little children, of whom I am in travail again." And again, "As a nurse cherishes her own children, so being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the Gospel of Christ, but also our own souls." At which time also the multitude of those coming in shouted, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob," and the rest. It signifies in the "bosoms" and "on the shoulders" that the process, which is without toil, is guided by God, according to the verse, "The path of the upright has been made straight." And as was said by the Baptist, "Prepare the way of the Lord," and what follows.

^B Furthermore, it shows the honor of the faithful to the highest degree by saying "kings" are foster-fathers and "queens" are nursing mothers, signifying the very highest authority and those of each nation. As if foster-parents serving those in need of the Church through the alms that are given. Otherwise, this great care brings glory to the foster-parents, who, bending the knee in the Church, press their forehead to the earth, desiring to lick the dust, so to speak, on account of their faith. These are the things which the forty-fourth Psalm speaks to the queen standing at the right hand of Christ, whom it also declares to be from among the Gentiles. Similar also are those things said concerning the King himself in the seventy-first. Therefore, the things said to Jerusalem are to be understood concerning the Church of Christ, which holds the same glory. ^C When these things come to pass, He says, you shall know that I am the Lord, and they that wait for Me shall not be confounded. For it is a virtue not to cast away hope before the outcome of deeds. Afterward, He teaches in what way the nations that were formerly under the devil's power were liberated through the power of the Savior. This Christ made clear through the parable, saying, "How can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man?" And now He says, "Is it possible for any chance person to take the spoils from the devil?"—whom He called a giant. "And if anyone attempts to do this, doing so justly, will he be blameless and escape danger without being overcome?" For instead of "unjustly," the Hebrew has "justly," because it is just to do this. For it is just to do this. But who is so powerful? Certainly, no man. But He suggests that what is impossible for men is possible for God. But if, according to the Septuagint, the text has "unjustly," He speaks about the devil, signifying that he unjustly laid his hands upon those who were injured. ^D

^A Likewise, he says elsewhere: "As a garment stained in blood shall not be clean, so neither shall you be clean. Because you have laid waste my land, and killed my people, you shall not remain for an eternal time." ^B By his house, brought in by this parable, he alluded to the world, and by his "household goods," the souls which he despoiled of him. Having accomplished this, he also passed on to us the power to conquer; which Paul, receiving, asserted: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me." Hence it is that we conquer both demons and the passions of the soul, armed as if with weapons by Christ’s benevolence, so that we despoil the strong man himself and rescue from destruction our own souls and those of our neighbors. For he says: "If anyone shall take captive a giant, he shall receive spoils. And he who receives them shall be saved from the strong one." For through Christ we despoil him and are saved, he who said: "Behold, I give you power to tread upon all serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy." For he himself is the Lord of all virtues. Nor did he keep silent about these things happening by himself thereafter, when he said: "I will judge my judgment; and I will rescue my children," showing that the matter could be accomplished by himself alone, and signifying by the name of "spoils" his children. But those who took them away, because they can no longer eat the flesh of others, will eat their own. And they who cannot drink the blood of human souls will drink their own blood unto drunkenness, ^C when all men who are in the flesh shall recognize that I am the Lord who rescued you, my city. Yet according to another sense, as if taking a principle from elsewhere, the discourse indicates regarding those who have harassed the Church that they will undergo extreme punishments, so that it may be made known to all that the protection of the Church existed not by any mortal virtue, but from the God of Jacob.

Opportune, however, is the name of Jacob, which refers the thought of the mind to him who appeared in the form of a man to the patriarch, namely the Son of God. Yet it can also signify anyone who has tripped up the devil and loosened the snares of sin. But what he said: "Behold, I lift up my hand against the nations," and what follows, some again perceived historically regarding those who were in captivity; as if He were showing that by His consent they would be gathered, safe and protected from every side by the retinue of enemies. ^D That this was delayed until the time of the promise was not because it was empty and false, but because they themselves, by the baseness of their deeds, did not permit a suitable time to be granted for the divine promises. Then, fighting against the wicked thoughts of their minds, he shows, regarding them, that they became captives because of their own private crimes, and not because of the weakness of their own strength.

to be captives, he demonstrates. For just as there is no one among those who are considered by us to be giants ^A who can be the prey of any weaker man, nor can they be unjustly taken captive, but he rather easily destroys the one who attempts it against him: so too you, had I not willed it, could never have been taken, unless you had yourselves provided the cause by your own sins. Yet I, nevertheless, having had mercy on you, determined to call you back, and to take vengeance on those who increased the severity of your punishments; and to bring it about that they, having been fed on their own flesh, might acknowledge their Maker, just as Nabuchodonosor, once forced by signs, confessed that the God of Daniel is great. Some explain what is said concerning the giant in this way: that it was not the strength of Jerusalem, nor the justice in which they abounded, that was overcome, but that it was through their sins that they were held captive. ^B

CAP. L.

Verses 1-11. *Thus saith the Lord: What is this book of the divorcement of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Behold you were sold for your sins, and for your iniquities I sent away your mother. Why, because I came, and there was no man? I called, and there was none to answer?* etc.

Having concluded the discourse concerning the proclamation of the Gospel, and the calling of the Gentiles wrought through it, and the institution of the godly polity, and the destruction of the aforementioned giant, he moves on again to those from the circumcision, as though defending himself as to why, after having visited the Gentiles, he made them[selves] outcasts. For, he says, you are the cause of this, not I. For I did not send away your mother, the Synagogue, or the earthly ^C Jerusalem (for the law delivered through Moses does not signify this), but the relationship that existed regarding you; which Moses himself, as if wishing to give it as a bride’s dowry, and bringing it to you, after he had perceived that the Synagogue had played the harlot through the making of the calf, since he found it unworthy of my gifts, he destroyed.

He compares himself, at one time, to a husband as toward a wife, and at another, to a master as toward servants. For I, he says, did not sell you as a master who is in debt. But you, from the beginning to the end, committing lawless acts, have been cast out, sold into the sins to which you were enslaved, ^D having become in my part sovereign and free. And in the end, I did not hesitate, being God, to come to you, humbling myself from my own dignity, and becoming man; and to him who calls to salvation, no one listened. And there was no man, he says, because the disobedient multitude does not even count as being. But those who obeyed are, toward the whole nation, few, so as not to be numbered in the account of the nation. Wherefore they also were taken out, as Lot was from Sodom. For it was not fitting that the Lord should provide the holy land to so many. Whence also the withered fig tree is a sign of its barrenness. And this is also signified through the Gospel parable of those who excused themselves from the supper, of those in

the roads who were invited in their stead, concerning whom the prophet says at the present time: "I was found by those who did not seek me. I became manifest to those who did not ask about me. I said, Behold I am here, to a nation which did not know me." And concerning the Jews he adds: "All the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying ^A people." Whom he also calling in the Gospels, said: "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you," and many such things. But, he says, is it because I was unable to save you ^B that you were led into captivity; and will you not be able to be delivered from his tyranny? This is directed toward those who blaspheme against God, who falsely judge that he could not save his people. Such as is that also [directed] against those who thought the Savior did not willingly undergo death, regarding his answer concerning the readiness of twelve legions [of angels]. Or certainly, because he said that no one was listening when he called; beyond the fact that they stopped their ears, he signifies that they allowed everything against themselves [to occur] contrary to divine law; which, nevertheless, he bore patiently, when he could have warded it off entirely; as was evident ^C previously, the Red Sea dried up for passage; and the Jordan river; and the three days' darkness which occurred in Egypt. For Symmachus gave: "Behold, at my rebuke I dried up the sea, I made the rivers a desert." And if one should take this as referring to the future, it is to be understood that God, if he wishes, can perform similar things. And that the darkness and those who worked these [things] will be dissipated in the very consummation of all things, at which time the account of life is to be rendered to each according to their merits. Moreover, it is known that upon his first advent the sea, rebuked by him, grew calm, and invisible powers yielded to his command, which, because they were displayed while the Jews were watching, since he would not have suffered had he not wished, and [since] he had the power, if he wished, even as man, to save this lower world, they should not have doubted. ^D And it behooved them, upon directing their attention not only to what is apparent to the eyes—that he [the Savior] responded to them when they were throwing stones at him, not because of his excellent deeds, but because of blasphemies, that he, being a man, makes himself God—but to learn that it is the same one, who being present formerly, also performed those miracles, concerning which we read thus in David: "What is it to you, O sea, that you fled? And you, O Jordan, that you turned back?" And again: "The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and were afraid." And again concerning the Jordan: "You dried up the rivers of Etham," that is, the southern ones. Unless perhaps someone would say that by the dried-up sea the multitude of wicked nations is adumbrated; and by the rivers made desert, those nations to which they were led to the worship of idols; and by the fish of these [rivers] perishing, the evil powers that creep in the souls of the godless, where also the dragon is said to dwell, according to that: "This is the sea, great and spacious," and what follows.

^A The discourse threatens that these fish and serpents of the sea will clothe the heaven not with light, but with darkness. You may understand by the name of the sea, the vast multitude of the Jews; by rivers, those who previously provided them with reasoning; and by fish, those who learned the traditions of the Jews while others taught them; of all of whom he foretells destruction, and that darkness will spread over all, not by the heaven being darkened, but by it spreading over them, just like a dark covering. Hence he said he would not "make," but "clothe"—presumably the darkness having slipped down over those unworthy of the light. Now the sackcloth is a symbol of mourning, so that it may be signified that even the heavenly powers mourn their destruction. Therefore, he says, when I could have avoided suffering, I delivered my body to suffering. For this seemed good to my Father. On this account, even when I was accused, I remained silent, becoming obedient to him ^B even unto death, knowing that there would some day be for me a time when I would no longer be silent, having received from the Father a tongue that knows the season for speaking; when, with my Church established everywhere, I will cry out through my disciples to all nations, making known my own Father, while he grants to me also ears that are capable of hearing, understanding the mind of my teaching, according to that: "And they shall all be taught of God," which, by attending in the morning hours, they will receive of my instruction. But Symmachus says: "He has placed in me the morning." And Aquila: "In the morning he will awaken my ear to hear." For these shall come into my place instead of you, who did not listen to me, but always clung to the shadows of the law. But they will accept the figures into the truth of spiritual contemplation, while you turn away, you who would not listen to me when I challenged you: "Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me, ^C and you will not come to me, that you might have life." And the blessed Apostle also writes: "That when Moses is read, a veil is laid upon their heart."

There are some, moreover, who say that this was spoken as from the person of the disciples, speaking to each what is fitting and appropriate, and they say that it relates to themselves: "and in the morning," that is, into the mind and heart, a dawning of the day and the illumination of the intelligible light. For Paul also gives thanks to God, saying that "He has rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love," in the light. ^D Some have also said it is possible that this passage was spoken as from the prophet. For while he was announcing their salvation and that of the nations, and the arrival of the Savior, and the consummation of the world, they were wondering among themselves whence he could say these things. But he says: "The word is not mine, but that of Christ who supplies it, who grants to his own both the time to speak and the understanding to perceive."

^A Therefore, serving his grace in his preaching, I am ready to suffer all things for his sake. Even if you strike me, he says, even if you spit upon me, having hoped for the help from him, which once having found, and expecting to obtain justice, I shall stand against you, you not being able to gainsay me.

But let us return to Christ, who says to the Jews: as you, being called, disobeyed, I do not disobey the Father who willed to sum up all things in me. Having emptied myself, I have suffered the most disgraceful of all things, knowing that obedience to the Father brought me no shame. When Pilate scourged me, and one of the servants struck me with the palm of his hand, and others spat upon me, I set my face as a hard rock. ^B For the matter was of power, through which I endured: because I have descended from heaven, not that I might do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. For he also helped my human measures. He also signifies how he defended him, inflicting punishment on those who insulted him, which he says is near because of its speed, the Father having justified him. For being just, and having given no handles against himself, they dared to kill him. Instead of which, having punished them, he testified that I am exempt from blame. Therefore the Father says: "And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death." For the leaders of the Jews, inflamed by the desire for riches, turned their malice against him. For seeing him, they said: ^C "This is the heir; come, let us kill him."

If there is anyone who thinks I have suffered justly, let him come forward for proof. But he will not be able. For elsewhere the prophet says: "See how the righteous has perished, and no one treasures it in his heart." Among whom you may find the Jews thus speaking: "Let us bind the righteous, because he is unprofitable to us." And not undeservedly did he call him righteous, "For he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth." And the "Who is he that contends with me?" is like "Who will convict me of sin?" for in all things, save sin, he has been made like us. Wherefore he was saying: "The prince of this world comes, and in me he will find nothing." ^D The character of the perfect man is this "Who is he that contends with me?", for whom the judgment among men is as nothing, so as to be silent while condemned by them, but to call his adversaries to the judgment which is held before God. And the "Who will harm me?" indicates the author of life. Therefore their plot is in vain, according to that in the Psalms: "They took counsel, which they shall not be able to establish." For how, being life, was he held by death? But as he has become man, he seems to receive this from the Father. For as God, he was raising himself, saying: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Regarding which he says to them: "Behold, all you...

shall wear out like a garment, and the moth shall eat you up"; or rust, as Symmachus interprets, or worm, as Aquilas. By these words, he demonstrated that the obsolescence of his bodily worship was at hand; for whatever suffers from decrepitude and old age is near to destruction. Moreover, by the name of the consuming moth, he understands their conscience regarding the things they committed, when they see themselves rejected and the nations converted to God. And hence it is that it is written at the end of the prophet's book: "Their worm shall not die, and the fire shall not be extinguished, and they shall be an object of shame to all the earth."

One could perhaps also say that the moth signifies their sins, for since they have their being from them, they work harm against those from whom they arose; just as we see that the garment itself feeds the very worm that produced it. This line of reasoning is also for the sake of not fearing things from men who are perishing, and it is a demonstration of the incorruptibility of the One who speaks. He also signifies the punishment against them, and the fact that they are consumed by evils as if by moths. For elsewhere, too, the prophet says: "Why should you be struck again, adding sins? Every head is for pain," and what follows. By these, he signifies their destruction, the alienation of their land, and the burning of their city. Then he says: "Who among you is it that fears the Lord?"—revealing the scarcity and rarity of these men. ^B Being one who does not desire the death of the sinner, he seeks [this, or something like this] rather than his repentance. Therefore he says: "Even now I call you back, while you are in the darkness of ignorance." And toward those who are gentle, he offers philanthropy. For a remnant was saved, the first fruits of which were the disciples of the Savior. And being made man, he is said to be the child of God. And the command to listen to his voice was not a transgression of the Law, but rather a confirmation, since it [the Law] sketched out the truth, according to the Apostle who says: "Do we therefore make void the law through faith? God forbid. But we establish the law." For it is written: "My just one shall live by faith." For Christ is the final end of the Law and the prophets, justifying the ungodly through faith. To those who are now called, you may find that the Father addressed them thus: "This is my beloved Son; hear him." Some say, however, more correctly, that he is calling to repentance the one who is considered pious among the Jews, and as no one is persuaded, he says they exist in darkness and are deprived of light. This, however, was not appropriate for the apostles, nor was the gathering of fire against themselves, or the stoking of the flame. But he says that if you persist in unbelief, the fire of eternal punishment awaits you; regarding which he advises to rely first on the Lord, saying that he is God, and humble...

as he admonished them to trust in the Lord, while declaring himself to be God, and—since he bore human flesh—calling himself away from humble thoughts of himself, he asserted that he had become a rod and a support ^A.

For they could not believe, seeking glory from one another and not the glory that is from God, who is called the rod. He indeed sustains all things so that they may be well, according to the text: "Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me." For nature is inconstant and slippery, and needs some stronger power to hold it; having attained this, the righteous man affirms that his feet have been set upon a rock. Moreover, Paul himself shows that the Jews walk in darkness, when he says that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. And Isaiah says: "To those who awaited light, there came darkness." Hence also that saying of Christ: "I am the light of the world," and what follows. And turning them away from the fire of judgment, he said: "He who believes in the Son is not judged." By "you have fanned the flame," he represents the intensity of the judgment. For when much material is brought to fire, it increases; but with little, it grows weak; and when it is consumed, it is extinguished. Therefore, the Jews, having killed the prophets who were sent to them, partly with the sword and partly with stones, kindled a fire against themselves, and fanned the flame; for they would not accept the instruction of Christ, the heir having been removed, but remained addicted to the shadows of the law. Therefore, as those who thought they had the light of the law, yet did not truly have it, he banishes them from his own intimacy and fellowship, and commands them to walk in the light of their own fire and in the flame they have kindled. Nor does he allow it to be ignored that they paid the penalties for the injuries inflicted upon Christ; since he states that these things happened to them on his account, and that they would sleep in sorrow: by which he indicates the devastation of their lands, the plundering of the city, and finally the burning of the temple. Moreover, they slept even in sorrow; or, as Symmachus says, in pain; or, as Aquilas, in exhaustion. For those who are unworthy of the redemption wrought through Christ will not enjoy the hope of rewards itself, nor the delight of the Spirit; but they will be tormented, sleeping in the fear of punishments and pain.

CAP. LI.

VERS. 1-3. "Hearken to me, you that follow after what is just, and you that seek the Lord. Look unto the solid rock, which you have hewn, and to the pit of the cistern, which you have dug. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you, etc."

But that these things may not happen to you, I do not cease, even now, to exhort you and to call you to repentance, you who, while pretending to worship God, do things contrary to his will, and because you persecute the righteous, you think the truth is an enemy to you. It pleases some, however, to say that he is addressing those who seek faith, Christ, and righteousness, and that he calls *these* people, rather than the Jews, [his true kin]. All ^D

^A that he said before about kindling a fire, in which those who persecute justice were themselves consumed—not that they drove it away, but that they hastened toward it in order to grasp it—is like the [scriptural] saying: "Seek peace and pursue it." These were indeed few, but they will grow into an infinite multitude as the nations are joined to those of the circumcision. And he sets before them the example of Abraham and Sarah. Others, as we have said, maintain that the discourse is directed against unbelievers, explaining that where we have "into the pit," Symmachus translated it as "into the hole," and Aquila as "into the cutting," hinting at the rock that received the body of the Lord, which Joseph hewed out. Then he moves to the example of Abraham and Sarah, who, like a rock, having been fruitless and barren, became parents of many nations through faith, as Paul says, "He considered his own body as already dead," and so on. Therefore, from one, that is, from Abraham and Sarah (for both were one, according to the text, "The two shall be one flesh"), they came to be as the stars of the heaven in number. Therefore he says, "He was one, and I called him." Just as, then, I have acted in the case of Abraham, so do not despair, for even from this rock, which you hewed out, there shall be some hope of salvation for all mankind. But Christ himself, according to Paul, was the rock ^B which they hewed out in his passion, according to the text, "They dug my hands and my feet." By the "pit," he hints at the wounded side. For through these things salvation and the fullness of the Church were established, just as an infinite multitude was established from Abraham and Sarah. For this reason he consoles Zion, the godly polity, which for your sake became a desert. Nevertheless, I will take up its desolation, calling the hope concerning these things a consolation. He calls it "deserted" in relation to the one who formerly possessed a husband—the Church of the nations—to whom the prophet was saying, "Rejoice, O barren one who did not bear," and the rest. And who is the one who has a husband, if not the one who wrote the bill of divorce? But he says that in the desert there will be a paradise, according to the one in the beginning from the Lord... ^C

VERS. 4-16. Hear me, hear me, my people, and you kings, hearken to me; for a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment for a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near quickly, and my salvation shall go forth as light, and in my arm the nations shall hope. The islands will wait for me, and in my arm they shall hope, etc.

...fearing men, lest those who say, "He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him?" exclude you from the synagogue. To whom Christ replied, "Woe to you also, lawyers, for you have taken away the key ^D

key of knowledge: but you yourselves enter not in, and them that are entering in you hinder;” ^A whom he now signifies will perish when the city is conquered. There follows afterwards a discussion concerning the temptations of those who choose to live piously and their relief from them, according to that in the Psalms: “He commanded the storm, and it stood in a breeze, and its waves were silent.” For I am able to perform these things, I, who am the Lord of virtues, and who will put my words into your mouth. For I will say to the sinner: “Why do you declare my righteous decrees? For praise is not fair in the mouth of a sinner.” For “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” But concerning the righteous man it is used: “The law of God is in his heart,” who also, having become Zion and embraced faith in Christ, shall say to the Lord, “You are my God,” and from whom he shall hear in turn, “You are my people,” he himself shall hear.

VERS. 17-23. Excitare, excitare, exsurge, Jerusalem, quæ ebibisti de ^B manu Domini calicem iræ ejus; usque ad fundum calicis soporis bibisti, et evacuasti, et non erat qui consolaretur te ex omnibus filiis tuis, quos peperisti, etc.

CAP. LII

VERS. 1-6. Excitare, excitare, Sion. Induere fortitudine tua, Sion, et induere gloria tua, Jerusalem civitas sancta. Non amplius perget transire per te incircumcisus, et immundus, etc.

Having finished the discussion concerning the calling of the Gentiles (whom he called his own people, to which he also said that the Law would go forth from him, and his judgment for a light to the nations), he now directs his speech towards Jerusalem, which had fallen, ^C and he demands that she be roused from that fall/cup—which she suffered last, after the insult offered to Christ. So truly does God, out of his goodness and clemency, who desires the sinner to repent and not perish, invite them to repentance by the proposed utility; and because he demands that she be roused, he demonstrates that the fall had been spontaneous. For if she were being hindered by another, he would direct his speech for rising to that one, not to her. For who, having fallen, even if he should break a limb, does not strive to rouse himself with all his might? And you, therefore, as if having put on strength like a garment, rouse yourself in spirit. For he will say later: “Put on your strength, ^D O Sion.” Whence it appears that in this place, not the heavenly Jerusalem, nor that pious way of life, is signified, but the sensible city subject to the Romans. Which is therefore also said to have drunk the cup of his fury, since neither the heavenly one, in which God is said to reign, nor that pious way of life on earth, can fury and wrath reach. But the interpretation of Symmachus is of this nature: “The cup of his wrath, the vessel of ulceration, she has drained, and there is no one to comfort her.”

^A This would be spoken of one who has paid every penalty for the purgation of sins, just as we see in the case of bitter antidotes that are administered for the evacuation of the body. For the Lord brings pain, like a physician, not of his own will, but because the situation forces it; concerning which it has been said: “A cup is in the hand of the Lord, full of unmixed wine, compounded. And he poured from this into that; nevertheless, its dregs were not emptied out. All the sinners of the earth shall drink.” ^B And this, he says, you suffered while there was no one among your children to comfort you. For when they were carried off to the Assyrians, they still had righteous men and prophets to encourage them; but after the death that was dared against Christ, no friend of God is found among them. For they had already driven away the Savior’s disciples, having tormented some with scourges, and having even killed others. And these two things, he says, are opposed to you and are warring against you, concisely declaring the disasters resulting from the war. And instead of two, four are presented. But the prophetic word joins in these events those things that follow the first two. For crushing follows falling; and to famine, the sword—that is, death. Therefore, the two initial ones, falling and famine, upon which the discourse turns: “Who,” he says, “is the one who will stop them, or who will even merely comfort you? Perhaps the scribes and Pharisees among you? Or others, perhaps, who possess power?” But behold, they are even in danger themselves! For they lie asleep at the head of every street. For when the war rushed in, they forgot the ends of the land, so that they might be ready for flight, not wakeful to ward off evils, but cast down by fear, as if from drunkenness, like a half-cooked beet. ^C But according to Symmachus: “Your sons walked, being led at the beginning of all nets, like an oryx in a net.” And according to others, instead of “like a half-cooked beet,” it is said “like an oryx caught” or “entangled.” Now the oryx is a bird to which he compares the sons of Jerusalem, who had been ensnared by the nets of the devil. Therefore, they were delivered to his wrath. ^D And instead of “He who judges his people,” Symmachus says, “He will fight for his people.” And “I have taken”—this means “I will take.” For he promises to release his wrath if one does the things commanded, which were, “Awaken, awaken.” For by persisting in the fall, it will be the cause of the delay of the things promised. Such is also the passage: “Shall he that falls not rise again? Or he that turns away not return? Why do you turn away with a shameless turning? saith the Lord.” Do not drink anymore, he says, because of the final return. For he said, “They shall forget their former affliction,” and what follows. It is the custom of divine Scripture to call that which is repaid for good or evil a “cup,” as with David: “Fire, and brimstone, and the blast of a tempest, shall be the portion of their cup.”

^A Justly, then, do the words follow: “I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.” He says, therefore, that the cup shall be given to her enemies and to those who had wronged her; wherefore it is said according to Symmachus: “And I will put it into the hands of those who cast you out.” It is likely that these things are also said concerning the opposing powers, to which the soul, having departed from God, subjects itself, and, setting its mind on earthly things, bows down to the earth, and finally, being stretched out upon the ground, is trampled by the feet of those who have taken it captive. But the soul that draws near to God stands upright, looking upward, and is lifted up toward Him. Some maintain that those who have wronged it are the teachers who would not allow it to walk with a straight foot. For by as much as they abounded in luxury and glory, by so much did they suffer more bitter punishment, being deprived of what they once possessed.

Concerning those who have wronged it in an intelligible manner, Paul also says: “But if our Gospel be also hid, it is hid to those that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ should not shine.” ^B Such a thing is also indicated by the unclean spirit which, with seven others more wicked, returned to the place from whence it had departed. For He adds: “So shall it be to this wicked generation.” For while they were in Egypt, having acted impiously, they cherished an indwelling wicked spirit, from which they were freed when they heard: “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Then, because they did not receive Christ as an indwelling guest through faith, the unclean spirit, finding the place vacant which it formerly occupied, leaped into it again; which also entered into the betrayer after the morsel.

The Savior, therefore, delivered these wicked powers into the depths of hell, because they had caused souls to be bowed down and cast upon the earth, such as was she in the Gospel who could not at all lift up her eyes, whom the Savior affirmed that Satan had held in bonds for eighteen years, though she was a daughter of Abraham. ^C And the whole Synagogue of the Jews was of such a kind; wherefore He exhorts it again to arise, according to that: “Arise, you that sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you.” And according to that: “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths with your feet.”

“Put on thy strength,” He says, because the rational soul possesses a certain supreme power. First, the rising from the fall is often spoken of. For where there is the bitterness of punishment, there also is frequent consolation. Then, the duty of taking up one’s own strength. It possesses also a very great glory, having been made according to the image of the Creator, and possessing that glory itself, which it wishes to recover, having become a holy city, so that no stranger or idolater may pass through it any more. ^D That the Lord of glory, who is Christ, is Glory, David also indicates, saying: “Arise, O my glory.” And concerning...

^A those who believe, that you are the boast of their power.

How we are to put on strength and glory, the wise Paul has shown, saying: “Put on our Lord Jesus Christ.” And again: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Isaiah introduces the person of the Church, saying: “Let my soul rejoice in the Lord. For he has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and a tunic of gladness.” This he now calls holy, as conformed to Christ and partaking of the Holy Spirit, in whom we have been sealed unto the day of redemption, having washed away all filth, which also repels every diabolical incursion against us, saying: “There shall no longer pass through you the uncircumcised and the unclean.” Historically, the neighboring nations, making continual incursions, passed through it as if it were lying on the ground. But he exhorts it to rise up from the earth and to shake off the dust, being full of earthly things—meaning, clearly, the carnal mind, which we must lay aside before approaching Christ, as Paul says: “Put off the old man,” and so on.

Having done this, we rise with an upright and steady mind, just as a certain prophet commands: “Set yourself up, O Sion.” And David also says: “He set my feet upon a rock.” To this follows also: “Loose the bonds from your neck.” For each one is bound by the chains of his own sins. And having been subjected to the yokes of sin, let us “break their bands asunder, and cast away their yoke from us,” by accomplishing what is good with a free mind, as it has been said to us by one of the prophets: “And you shall go forth, and leap as calves released from their bonds.” For he calls Sion a prisoner of sin and the devil, and a captive slave, pitying her for the bitterness of her capture. By calling her a daughter, he shows how she was captured: not by any weakness of the Savior, but because she herself, by her own fault, threw off the bridle of paternal benevolence. ^B Whence he says she was sold for nothing. For he also said above: “Behold, you were sold for your sins, making no exchange for your own destruction.” For we were led away, so to speak, against our will. Therefore, Christ is also said to have spoiled the strong man against his will. What he has done, he adds, redeeming without silver those who had fallen not into bodily captivity, but into spiritual, and who were in need of the precious blood.

Then he shows himself to have been always the Savior and redeemer of Israel. ^{C D}

^A And when he descended willingly into Egypt, for [the sake of] the house of Jacob dwelling there because of the famine; and when it was taken by force by the Assyrians because of [their] sins, [he is] indicating, by way of the sensible redemption, that which was done by the grace of his presence in another sense. Wherefore he adds: *And now what shall be here?*—or according to the others—*And now what is it to me here?* For he says, "I find nothing here among them," according to what was said: *For I came, and there was no man. I called, and there was no one to listen.* But if he signifies the captivity under the Romans, "here" might be said [to be] in the regions of the nations, into which they were scattered—that is to say, in such a state of affairs, they are suffering these things, having crucified their own ^B redeemer. Then, when the teachers among the Jews were wondering how the [people] called the portion of God and the holy Israel had fared so miserably, and, as though with every hope for them destroyed, were wailing, he blames them [themselves] for the ruin of their subjects. For they did not allow them to believe in the Savior who had come to them. But the foreigners, not knowing the cause of the ruin, blamed the God of these [people] for weakness, as though he were not strong enough to save them, according to the words of Rabshakeh. For he too came against you, not because of my weakness. Therefore, his power has fallen, but because you have sinned. That he speaks these things to the rulers, the version of the others has shown. For Symmachus says, "His possessors wail." And Aquila [says], "Possessors." But Theodotion [says], "Rulers." Wherefore also above it said, ^C *The Lord himself shall come into judgment with the elders of the people, and with the rulers thereof.* For they stirred up the multitudes to use those cries against the Savior. Therefore, according to the others, it is added to, *My name is blasphemed, the one among the nations.* Therefore Symmachus says: "Because of you, all the day my name is blasphemed." For always the rulers blasphemed the Lord, and incited the others. But you, [he says], are such. But the people from the nations, instead of you, shall glorify me, having known the power of my name, which not knowing you blaspheme it. And these things shall be on that day, on which I, who speak these things through the prophets, shall dwell among men. This also Paul says: *God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.* ^D

VERS. 6-15. *How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring good tidings of peace, that publish good tidings: for he will make thy salvation to be heard, saying: Sion, thy God shall reign: for the voice of those that watch thee is exalted, and with the voice together they shall rejoice: for eyes*

^A shall see, when the Lord shall have mercy on Sion, etc.

Having spoken of the coming of the Word of God to men, he consistently appends what concerns the preaching of the Gospel. Symmachus translated it thus: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who evangelizes, making the hearing of peace, evangelizing good things, making the hearing of salvation," which Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, interprets by saying: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!" Now instead of "salvation," the Hebrew text contains "Jesus." And if they had not interpreted the word, nothing would have prevented them from saying "making the hearing of Jesus." Instead of which, Aquila and Theodotion said "making the hearing of salvation." As for the phrase "as the hour," one said, "how have they become beautiful?" and Theodotion, "how beautiful." The discourse admires the running of the heralds of the Gospel everywhere on earth, whose feet are beautiful because of their purity, as if the Savior had washed them. ^B By "upon the mountains" he denotes the loftiness of their preaching. Peace they evangelized to those far off and to those near, declaring Christ who made both one, and destroyed the middle wall of the partition, the enmity in his flesh. Wherefore, writing to the Churches, Paul writes: "Grace to you, and peace." They also evangelized truly good things, announcing the beatitudes. The preaching said to Sion—that is, to the God-fearing community and to the choir of the apostles—"Thy God shall reign." Wherefore they announced the kingdom of heaven to all men.

But according to the translation of the Seventy, the words "as the hour upon the mountains" must be referred to those who came before Him: so that it may be, "I myself who speak, am present as the hour upon the mountains." By "hour," he means the spring, in which there are new flowers and the birth of fruits. Wherefore the Bridegroom also says to the Bride: ^C "Arise, make haste, my near one, my beautiful dove; for lo, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone; the flowers have appeared in the earth, the time of pruning has come." For the dragon, having made us wintered, rendered us fruitless, so that there was no one doing goodness. But we have blossomed again in Christ, becoming full of spiritual fruitfulness, so that we are also able to say: "Let my brother come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees." It has also become "as the feet of him that evangelizeth the hearing of peace," according to the explanation previously given. There are some, moreover, who interpreted the present text thus: saying that it denotes the visitation of the people which happened in the events that followed, which also ^D might justly be called an arrival; not that His essence moves from place to place.

but that His powers are clearly demonstrated, which is what they wish to signify: and so He is ^A present to those who are cleansed, but absent to those who are defiled by wickedness and vice. He says, therefore, that this defense will be so manifest that even you yourselves will confess that it is the same One who now foretells future things and later fulfills them. For just as it is impossible for the hour of the coming day to remain hidden when the very mountains are illuminated by the rays of the sun, so will My inclination toward you be conspicuous to all; nor shall you be filled with less joy and exultation than those to whom it falls to hear some sweet messenger of peace. Furthermore, when it happens that you are set aright, I will not disdain to be called your King. For Sion will be thriving to such a degree that you will see all those things fulfilled that are in illustrious and peaceful cities; while the guards themselves will keep the city with a voice, and then greet one another with joy, so as to awaken in themselves joy at their meetings, and to proclaim the mercy that is upon them, so that by this communion of lot they might excite themselves to gladness.

That the solitudes of Jerusalem are justly called partakers of this joy is significant. For just as when He said, "The ways of Sion mourn," ^B He signified the solitude of the inhabitants and those passing through, so also now, when He says that the desert will keep the feast, He demonstrates the joy by which they are affected; attributing the cause of these things to divine kindness and mercy, through which the same One delivered Jerusalem by His arm—that is, by the power of His strength—since the nations themselves did not doubt that the city was defended by God. And these things, indeed, are theirs.

^C But where we have the passage, "The voice of those who keep you is exalted," Symmachus interprets it as, "The voice of your watchmen has raised [itself]," adding, "they shall praise with one accord." For they shall see eye to eye when the Lord returns Sion; in which is again hinted at the pious manner of life. But for what he called "eye to eye" (oculate), the others translated that they would see "eye in eye." He calls the disciples of the Saviour "watchmen" (speculatores) now. For in ancient times they were so called, and now the apostles have become the watchmen and guards of the new people, guarding the sheep from the wolves for the chief Shepherd through fitting teaching. Furthermore, because these same men saw the Saviour with their own eyes and heard Him with their own ears, they exalted their voice so far that it was heard by all nations, and the two peoples were joined into one, according to that saying: "Rejoice, O nations, with His people." ^D Hence also that saying of David: "Hear these things, all nations." And just as that multitude of demons perished not without a sound, so that no one might be ignorant of it, so also it was fitting that the proclamation of salvation be heard by all who have received the Lord as King in place of the ancient tyrant. This has indeed produced for us an argument for festivity and joy, according to that word: "The Lord has reigned, let the earth exult." By what manner He reigns, He indicates not obscurely when He subjoins that the voice of those who keep you is exalted: to whom Isaiah was speaking.

^A And they too were filled with gladness, seeing the new Sion receiving mercy, both at the preaching and in the work, and the faith of those hearing. Moreover, Paul also writes to those who had believed through him: "My joy and crown." That they were at once teaching and possessing those who obeyed, is evident from what he says in the Acts, that three thousand men were added in one day. And the jailer, having heard Paul, saying, "Do yourself no harm: for we are all here," marveling, was baptized with all his house. His eyes even saw eye to eye, according to the passage, "God shall come manifestly." That is, those who were rejoicing not with their bodily eyes, but along with your voice, those who heard. Instead of, "let the desert places of Jerusalem break forth into joy," Symmachus says: "Be cheered and exult together, you desert places of Jerusalem." But to "break forth into voice" signifies to use the strength of the voice in sending up songs of thanksgiving, ^B through which God might be gladdened, according to the passage, "And my tongue shall meditate on your righteousness, all the day on your praise." He says "desert places" historically, because, of the multitude who were consumed after the daring crime against Christ, a desolation occupied the greater part of the city. But toward the sense, it means that the Church, being small in number at the beginning, later grew into an infinite multitude; to whom it was said, "Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered." Such also is the passage: "For the children of the desolate one are many more than of her who has the husband." But how this might come to pass, he signifies by saying that "the Lord will reveal His arm," declaring the manifestation of the Only-begotten to shine forth to all the nations. ^C Therefore, since He calls out to Sion and Jerusalem, the things spoken are referred to the calling of the nations. For the god-fearing polity was at one time among them, and at another time among the nations, which are indeed named Sion and Jerusalem. And for this reason, such a city of God always exists among men. To call it Jerusalem, therefore, or Sion, makes no difference as to that chosen body. The prophetic Spirit henceforth calls upon the apostles to depart from the unbelieving and impure people. He calls the vessels of the Lord their holy bodies chosen by the Lord, or the Gospels themselves of the New Testament, which he bids them, carrying them away, to depart from the unbelief of the Jewish people, and to abstain from fellowship with them. For there is no fellowship ^D of light with darkness. Nor is there a portion for the believer with the unbeliever. To the Galatians, therefore, who had returned to legal worship, Paul complains, and at the end says: "Are you so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?" For those continued to be circumcised who

^A had already believed. They possess "vessels" in another way, those who, having become partakers of his divine nature, carry the gifts of the Holy Spirit for Christ, obeying Paul who says: "Put on the whole armor of God." This is the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, by which they protect both themselves and the peoples under their charge. Furthermore, "You shall not go out with tumult," he says. For they did not go forth into the path of the nations as if forced to flee (though they did suffer this too), but rather willingly and eagerly, since they were commanded to disciple all nations in his name. They made their journey in peace, having as their companion him who had promised to be with them always, even unto the end of the age; a truth indicated here by the words, "The Lord will go before you." Some say that this commands everyone to care for their own soul and to depart from the customs of the Chaldeans before leaving the places, which is also enjoined upon the Levites, who are entrusted with carrying the holy things. It is customary for Scripture to speak of future events as if they had already occurred; just as David himself, before the city and temple were taken, sang: "O God, the nations have come into your inheritance," and the rest. He indicates that their return would be with peace, after which they were finally settled in leisure and tranquility, with security provided by Cyrus, and with God himself assisting them and leading them back into their own city.

^B VERSE 13-15. Behold, my servant shall understand, and he shall be exalted, and glorified exceedingly. As many shall be astonished at you, so shall your appearance be inglorious from among men, and your glory from the sons of men, etc.

Regarding what is written here, "My servant shall understand," Aquila and Symmachus interpreted it as "My servant shall be instructed." Concerning this "child" or "servant," he had spoken previously: "Behold my child, I will take hold of him." And a little later: "And in his name shall the nations trust." And again: "And I gave you as a covenant to a race, for a light to the nations." And afterward: "Be you my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord God, and the child whom I have chosen." The present words are consistent with what he said shortly before: "For I myself who speak am present," and the following. In those passages, he reasoned about his coming and the eyewitness account of the evangelists; now, by saying, "I myself who speak am present," he shows how he will appear among mortals. He is called a servant according to his humanity, though he is by nature the Son; he is glorified through the resurrection, and exalted through the ascension. For having previously spoken of the more glorious things, he now adds those things regarding his passion that must be endured. Moreover, the word "shall understand," or "shall be instructed," for those who are [human...]

in accordance with the scale of humanity. For when he had assumed the form of a slave—whence he is also called a slave—he filled it with all wisdom. For how could he, who is Wisdom itself and the Word, and who, by reason of the supreme unity, is inseparable from the flesh which he has assumed, not do this? Nothing, therefore, in the things which have happened for our sake is lacking in understanding. For according to David, ^A "In wisdom you have made all things." Therefore, some say, he is exalted by us as God, and is glorified. For we who believe in him call him Saviour and Redeemer, God and Lord. To which he adds: "In the same way, many shall be astonished at you," or, as Theodotion interprets, "As they have marvelled." For even until these times, those who are far from the faith are astonished at the humble approach of this one to mankind, being struck with wonder in the thought of their minds, that he who had become man, gentle and abject—for they were calling him a Samaritan, a glutton, and a drunkard, one born of fornication, and a sinner—has emerged superior to those very people by whom he was ^B being attacked.

But the faithful, and the nations, marvel as they worship his divinity, being struck with awe at the dispensation. Such was Habakkuk, whose words are: "Lord, I have heard your report and I was afraid. I considered your works and was astonished." Moreover, kings, after the blasphemies uttered against him, and after having persecuted his Church, when they profited nothing, held their peace, being overcome by his teaching; since some were divinely afflicted with certain scourges for the sake of these men, and on that account kept silent. Others indeed, by decrees, commanded the churches to be raised up, and the customary services to be performed in them. Distinguishing these faithful ^C and unbelievers from one another, he adds: "To whom it was not reported concerning him, they shall see," distinguishing the Gentiles from those of the circumcision. For the latter had the law and the prophets, and he, when he had come, first preached to the lost sheep of Israel. But the others had been disobedient to these. And yet they have seen the salvation from him, having beheld him with the eyes of the soul, and having understood his teaching, so that the prophecy is rightly applied to those others: "By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand." And: "Seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive." To these, however, the Saviour’s word applies, saying: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed," concerning whom the prophet says regarding this "understanding." For faith is the root of understanding; for "unless you believe," he says, "you shall not understand." This indeed also gave the prophets cause for admiration.

CAP. LIII

Vers. 1-12. Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? We have announced him as a child in his sight, as a root in a thirsty land; there is no form for him, nor glory. And we saw him, and he had no form, nor beauty. But his form was dishonored, and failing beyond all the sons of men, etc.

^A Therefore he adds: "Lord, who has believed our report?" For he was marveling at both things: the unbelief of the Jews, and the conversion of the nations. "And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" To whom, through the things that preceded, he indicated, saying: "And the Lord God will reveal his holy arm before all the nations," namely, the Only-begotten.

For those people, just as they opposed Christ, so too did they previously oppose the prophets who proclaimed him, saying: "But speak to us and announce to us another error." Just as Jeremiah also says: "Neither did I profit, nor did anyone profit me." And the prophetic choir, saying: "We healed Babylon, and she was not healed; let us leave her." By the name of Babylon, the city of Jerusalem is indicated, which differs not at all from the customs of the nations, nor does it have any care for the law. Therefore, having marveled at these things, the prophet henceforth, in the manner of a narrative, displays the coming of the aforementioned child to men, saying: "We announced him as a child before him, as a root in a thirsty land."

According to Aquila: "And he shall ascend as one being nursed before him, and as a root from an inaccessible land." For "before his face" (I mean of the aforementioned arm) he shall ascend as one being nursed, which was the one born of the Virgin, of whom he said: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in the womb," whom he also called inaccessible land, because she is a virgin. He says it is that root of which he said: "A rod shall go forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend from the root." There too, the "shall ascend" is used, but from the root, as here, from the inaccessible land.

Symmachus: "He ascended as a branch before him, and as a root from a thirsty land," he says, calling the inaccessible land "thirsty." But Theodotion issued: "He shall ascend as one suckling." For this was who was also spoken of before in this manner: "Before the child knows good or evil, he will not obey iniquity." And again: "Before the child knows good or evil, he will take the power of Damascus." And again: "For a child has been born to us and given to us." Having spoken of the birth of the Savior, he explains his manner of life upon earth. For there was not, he says, a glorious appearance to him. ^B

Therefore Symmachus says in this manner: "He has no form, nor dignity, that we might see him, nor a sight that we might desire him. He is abject, and the least of men. A man laborious, and known by disease, and knowing how to bear infirmity, not however himself infirm." These things, however, he endured, having hidden the face of his divinity. For this is what he signifies by saying that his face was turned away. For even Aquila interprets it as "hidden face." But Theodotion, "he was not reckoned." "We did not reckon him." According to the others, "abject." Therefore "we did not reckon him." And he intermixes, moved by love for mankind, even ^{C D}

^A the prophet introduced the person of those who had rejected Christ. But we ought to consider, he says, that this was indeed the Savior of our souls, bearing our sins and suffering for us. Symmachus says: "He truly took upon himself our sins, and endured our pains." And we thought him to be in a state of affliction, struck by God, and humiliated. The rest have given this in agreement. We, therefore, as children, have held such notions concerning him. Yet he suffered for our sake, delivering humanity from the punishment owed for its sins. But Aquila says: "He, he says, was profaned by our transgressions." For he was truly profaned, because he became a curse for us, according to the Apostle, because it is written: "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." ^B Therefore he did not possess beauty that is God-befitting, but [was] disesteemed. For compared to the divine splendor, everything human is disesteemed. It has been said, then: "Fairer in beauty than the children of men." And in another way, having been born of a poor mother, he walked through all paths of humility, that he might exalt that which is humble; and being Lord and King of all, what need would he have of the splendor that is among men? Perhaps they have seen the Savior's face downcast and troubled before the cross, as he says: "Now is my soul troubled, and [my] soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death." ^C For being impassible as God, he yielded to the nature that is like ours, so as not to be insensitive when temptation pressed upon it, removing the suspicion of being a phantom.

"His face was turned away," they say, which means "he was put to shame." And "he was dishonored, and not reckoned": when Pilate sent him to Herod, and he sent him back as one to be despised. Again, when he suffered the most insulting things in judgment; and even at the cross itself. Wherefore he also said in the previously mentioned [texts]: "I have given my back to the scourges," and what follows. He suffered, therefore, not for his own debt (for he committed no sin), but for ours, he who is of all the most worthy of exchange, Paul saying: "One died for all, that they who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again." ^D It should be noted that some read "campo" [field] instead of "parvulum" [child] in the text, "We have announced [him] as a child." For it is consistent for a certain person to meet the prophet and say: Since you have learned of his coming through the Holy Spirit, it was fitting for you also to teach others; but [for the prophet] to respond that all the prophets, like a field—that is, a flowering and fruit-bearing meadow—never ceased announcing [him] to you, or even as a root in a thirsty land, with the Only-Begotten watering us, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," though we were previously, with other men, a dry and unfruitful land. But we have held back through

the abundance of the Spirit as a root, that is, as a fair and flourishing herb; to whom it was said by one of the prophets: "And all nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be a desirable land, says the Lord," so that we might no longer produce thorns. It was previously foretold: "As instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the ^A brier shall come up the myrtle." And again: "I will turn the desert into pools," and what follows. We foretold, therefore, he says, that if we believe in him, we shall be in his sight—that is, enjoying his gaze—like an herb on land that was once thirsty.

What then, they say, is this which we have announced concerning his coming? Was it not that if he had appeared in a way consistent with God, he would have been inaccessible? As perhaps formerly at Sinai, when they begged Moses ^B to speak with them, and not God, lest they should die? To them he answers that he shall be seen as one having an uncomely appearance. And these things they explained in this way. But to the things foretold, he adds: "The discipline of our peace was upon him." For the things which it was fitting for us, when chastised, to suffer, these came upon him for the sake of peace made with God, as Paul witnesses, ^C when he asserts that he made peace 97 through the blood of his cross with those things that are in heaven and on earth. And elsewhere, when he affirms 98 that he is our peace, who has made both one. For the suffering itself was endured by him for us, he indeed undergoing the injuries in reality, but we, through faith, appropriating the sufferings, and suffering with him and dying with him, but saved through grace. For he paid the scourges owed to us, from which he had the stripes by which we ourselves are healed, ^D who once "were going astray like sheep," others embracing one kind of sin, and others another kind, and possessing diverse opinions concerning him. But the Father himself delivered him up as one devoted for our soul. For thus also was that Lamb of God who "takes away the sins of the world" 99. And therefore Symmachus says: "The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon him." And knowing this, Christ himself said: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" 1. But when you hear that he was "delivered up," do not suspect that he was compelled by necessity; but consider that he did it willingly and freely. For even Paul himself used the same expression to signify the Father’s authority and counsel. Then, because he willingly underwent death, he silently indicated that he was setting a law of patience for us; he who fulfilled the Father’s command not with an unwilling, but with a ready mind.

In another way also, "He did not open his mouth," when he was in affliction; according to that saying: "The prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time" 1. And: "Oppre-

Opprobrium to the foolish you have given me." ^A *I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth.* A true passion, then, existed in Christ according to the human nature. But at the place where we read, "And he himself, because he was afflicted, does not open his mouth," Symmachus says: "He was brought, and he himself obeyed." But to whom was he brought, if not to Pilate? He was silent then, when false testimonies were brought against him. For he knew that, when he was being tried before enemies, no defense would be of any avail, but would rather incite their fierce minds to greater anger, when he declared himself to be the Son of God, and the Savior and Redeemer of all. Nevertheless, he did not treat their sin as being without excuse, when, upon Caiaphas adjuring him, he said: "From henceforth you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power"; and when to Pilate, who asked if he were the King of Israel, he said: "You say it." Wherefore, [Pilate], maddened along with them, delivered him to be scourged. Hence he subjoined: "As a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb." ^B For he was silent, even though, as is natural, the sword might have grazed his skin. So also Christ, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but delivered himself to him who judges justly. It is true, therefore, that: "In his humiliation his judgment was taken away." For they passed sentence upon him as lightly as if he were someone of base condition. Thus it signifies the lawless and unjust judgment that was carried out upon him. But if, he says, he was judged humbly, he was nonetheless God by nature. Whence he adds: "Who shall declare his generation?" ^C The difficulty applies equally to both generations. How God [is born], and how a Virgin gives birth. So much have we known only. On the one hand, that God is from God, Light from Light; on the other, that "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you." In either case, the birth is ineffable, because "his life is taken from the earth." This means that his conduct and his life in the flesh were higher than those of the things upon the earth. For he alone did not commit sin. And in another way, the existence of the Only-Begotten is above every created thing. But Symmachus rendered it: "For he was cut off from the land of the living, and for the iniquity of my people the plague [came] to them." And Theodotio: "Because he was cut off from the land of the living, for the wickedness of my people he reached them." For he reached them most, and his death became the greatest plague to them. ^D But some say that the words "taken from the earth" signify the glory that was to be after his resurrection; for the experience of what was accomplished showed his divine worth, as he himself submitted to death, but all were made alive by his grace unto incorruption, and redeemed by faith. But how did he who knew no sin come under a death sentence? The Father says: "From the iniquities of my people he was led to death," or "because of their iniquities," or because through those transgressions of the people he was killed.

But where we have "I will give the wicked," Symmachus has interpreted it as "He shall give the impious." Who, furthermore, is to give, if not the Judge of all? He refers here to those who committed the aforementioned acts, for they were delivered up to the Romans. And he further declares that he will deliver up the wealthy of old—those who were superior to others in their illicit gains—in place of his death. ^A By these names, he understands those who were distinguished by legal, priestly, and even royal dignity. For these people, beyond the murder they had committed, did not spare their money in an attempt to conceal his resurrection, whence he called them "wealthy"—or perhaps to show that they were greedy for money. For they killed Jesus, so that they might get rich by not judging uprightly. The prophet spoke of them: "Companions of thieves, loving gifts, pursuing rewards." They also considered that if the worship according to the Law ceased, they would be deprived of the first-fruits offered to them, which resulted in Christ upbraiding them, saying that they tithed mint, dill, and cumin, but neglected the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith. ^B By adding that "he committed no iniquity," he indicates the justice of their condemnation. For they are justly condemned who dared to kill the just one unjustly. The Father himself, who asserted that the Son is without sin, is a trustworthy witness. It appears, therefore, that those were impiously lying who said that he "stirs up the people and forbids paying taxes to Caesar," or, on other occasions, "If this man were not a wrongdoer, we would not have delivered him up to you." For the Father, in both deed and word, has testified that he was free from blame. This, however, is to be understood in terms of his humanity, since the divine nature suffers no change, nor is any person without spot, that one alone excepted. Therefore, he himself died for all, that he might remove the sin of the world. ^C For this reason, the Father purposed to cleanse him from the blow, that is, from the suffering inflicted upon him. For he rose again, having trampled down death. Some say that by the fact that the Father exacted penalties on his behalf, he showed that he did not suffer unjustly, and he has rendered him clear of the suspicion that he was under a just condemnation. Others have said it thus: just as he took upon himself and made his own the sufferings that were owed to us, so they say that he accepted the cleansing that has come to us through faith. ^D "If you give for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed." The sense here is: however much you have committed such things, if anyone wishes to offer a sacrifice for his own sin—that is, to repent of the things in which he has transgressed—he shall escape what I have threatened, namely, "I shall give the wicked in place of his burial and the wealthy in place of his death." And he shall see that long-lived seed of which the word speaks in the parables, when it says: "A sower went out to sow." And again: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man sowing good seed in his own field." He spoke thus to signify eternal life.

^A Some say that these things are also directed at the Gentiles, in the sense that those for whose sake He suffered so much, if they believe and confess their sins, will be made participants in eternal goods. Everyone gives "for sin" who does what He says: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Such was he who declared that he was crucified with Christ, and he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him. But one who loved father or mother more than Him was far different from this; him He therefore declared unworthy of Himself. To love Christ with all one’s heart and soul, therefore, is to give for sin. Some interpret the passage thus: If he offers for a transgression, his soul will see a seed that prolongs days; they have added that the day which followed the passion is the spiritual procreation of children of a perpetual ^B and ineffable generation according to the promise made to Abraham, which is fulfilled by divine power after the remission of the destructive sin and the resurrection of the Redeemer. Instead of "And the Lord wills to take away from the labor of his soul," Symmachus says: "And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand," which applies only to the Savior. For the will of the Father always prospered in His hand. He also gave Him light in order to illuminate those who are justified through Him, and understanding. For the spirit of wisdom and understanding rested upon Him, so as to make those who are worthy of being justified wise and just. Others say that the Lord means to transform the sorrow upon the cross into joy, by showing Him those who were once darkness and had wandered, but have been changed into light—concerning whom Paul says: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord"—and were fashioned by ^C understanding; that is, transformed from glory to glory. To him who is not such, Jeremiah says: "Behold, thine eyes are not, nor is thy heart good." But he who believes in Christ is transformed into His divine beauty, such as is the saying: "My little children, for whom I am again in labor, until Christ is formed in you." For "those whom He knew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, and these He also called." God is also said to create both peoples into one new man, that is, to have transformed them. For since the Only-Begotten considers our salvation as His own gain, having taken a body [in place of those] for whom He suffered, the Father necessarily calls our healing the removal of Christ's labor, and His light our illumination, as we pass into something better and are transformed ^D by the knowledge of God. To these He adds: "To justify a righteous one well serving many." For Christ did not come to be served, as He Himself says, but rather to serve the economy of the incarnation. Everything that He does...

to serve the economy of the incarnation. Since He did all things according to the Father's command, it was fitting that He too, girded with a linen cloth, should pour water into the basin and declare Himself the servant of all. Hence, Paul also calls the economy a "ministry," saying: "For if the ministry of condemnation is glory, much rather does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory" (2 Cor. III, 9). He is justified again, ^A whether because we are made righteous, or because those who killed Him are enslaved as a demonstration of the unjust condemnation against Him. And who are those justified through Him? He extols them, saying: "And He himself shall bear their sins," or according to the interpretation of Symmachus, "And He himself shall suffer their impieties." For having taken them upon Himself, He stripped us of the tunic of sin. Whence it is said that He served "many," that is, the nations themselves. For there was only one race, namely the Israelitic; but the rest were many and infinite, which He obtained for His own inheritance, saying: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession" (Ps. II, 7, 8). ^B

It is said, indeed, that He divided the "spoils of the strong," that is, what He snatched from the opposing powers and claimed as His own those who had been usurped by them as slaves; these spoils He divided among His own disciples, when He established various Churches out of them. Hence that which was said above: "He shall exult in your sight, as they that exult in the harvest, and as they that divide the spoils" (Isa. IX, 3). He is able to perform these things because He was delivered unto death, since He received this as a reward from the Father: to save those who had perished and to make them heirs. For by the very fact that He suffered, He raised up His own with Himself and afflicted aliens: ^C while He raised those who suffered with Him, He humbled those who rose up against Him. Neither are there wanting those who wish the "strong" to be understood as the apostles, and in a word, all who have any power in Christ, to whom He now distributes spoils—that is, the gifts of spiritual graces—as if they had conquered Satan. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another of knowledge, and other things similar to these (1 Cor. XII, 8). But who was it that was "recounted with the lawless," if not He who, as a companion of the cross, even had thieves, as Mark indicated (Mark xv, 27)? ^D

CAP. LIV

609-610 VER. 1-17. Rejoice, O barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry out, you who do not travail, because there are more children of the desolate than of her who has a husband. For the Lord said: Dilate the place of your tabernacle, and fix the skins of your courtyards, do not spare: stretch out your ropes, and make your nails firm even to the right

and to the left, and your seed shall inherit the nations, and you shall inhabit the desolate cities, etc.

Chapter LIV

Having spoken of the Savior's birth, His life, and the cause of His death, and that He would possess many, he turned his speech forthwith to these same people, and to the Church fashioned from them, which was once barren and desolate, such as the souls of the Gentiles were. For they had no one among them accounted among the children of God through virtue and piety. For they were "without God, and without hope," according to the word of Paul. But now, as one who has received seed and is about to give birth, He commands her to cry out, as midwives do to those in labor so that the birth itself may break forth more easily by the widening of the passages. But in place of "Break forth and cry out," Symmachus has "Resound with praise." Aquila says, "Be cheerful in exultation and neigh." And Theodotion, "Break forth into joy and delight." And for "desolate," Symmachus used "destroyed." For she was destroyed and desolate, having not yet possessed the heavenly Bridegroom.

He then places the cause of this joy in the future fecundity, by which she was to surpass the Synagogue of the Jews: since the former is gathered from all nations, while the latter originated from but one nation, which the Lord had brought into a spiritual kinship through Moses, and had made her a mother of many children. But she became childless through Christ, although, according to Jeremiah, she was abundant in children. And she even gave a bill of divorce to God, who marvels at this with these words: "How has the faithful city Zion become an adulteress?" For He is not to be thought to have given it Himself, He who says: "What is this bill of divorce of your mother? Did I dismiss her?" Rather, it was she herself, He says, who was the cause: "For I came, and there was no one: I called, and there was no one to hear." And elsewhere He says: "Did you not call me as one closer to you, or as a father and the guide of your virginity?" And again: "You are the daughter of your mother, who has deserted her husband." ^A And Scripture calls the widow "desolate" by custom. For she did not possess the Word, the sower of good things. But the one who received the Bridegroom surpassed the other in childbearing, such that she stands in need of the utmost spaciousness for the reception of her children, taking as an image of this the tabernacle from Moses. For He used the same words, at once declaring the unshakeable nature of the Church by means of the nails. For that one depicted a type of this, even if by much lesser measurements. Therefore it also had, towards every side, long and wide courtyards. ^B But what are these, and the measurements of the temple, compared to the multitudes and the magnitudes and the beauties of the churches established everywhere, which form one single Catholic Church from all of them? Towards which he adds: "And your seed shall inherit the nations." This denotes the evangelical word, concerning which He says: "The sower went out to sow." And did you not sow the good seed in your field, from which she became the mother of most holy people? From whom

it happened that the very rulers of the nations were instructed ^A so that they might imbue the approaching people with sacred rites; whom Christ indicated 34 were to preside over them even in the future age, assigning to some five cities, to others ten, according to the distribution of the talents. And who, finally, being filled with joy, confessed that the peoples and the nations were subject to their feet, and that they were chosen as His inheritance.

For the lot of Christ is the prerogative of one ^B to preside over and govern the peoples: hence He forbade anyone to be called Rabbi, asserting that He alone is the teacher of the Jews, who nevertheless made His disciples partakers of His own dignity 35. For although He is the true light 36, and the Son of God by nature, He nevertheless called His disciples by the name of light, and gave them the power to be called sons of God 37, who, believing in the Father, might glory in that dignity 38, and who might cause even the deserted, or, as Symmachus prefers, the destroyed cities to be inhabited. By this name He understood the churches themselves, which had formerly been empty of God; or at least He indicated that the seed of the Church would be so great that it could not be contained by populous cities alone, but would be able to fill even the deserted and empty ones. Whence He commands her to despise her old shame arising from the fact that she was barren and a widow, affirming that He Himself is the Lord of virtues, who made her. For it was not established by men, nor through man 39, but by the Lord Himself, who said that He would build His Church upon the rock 40. This, therefore, is the word of God, who forgives the ^C shameful error of the multiplicity of gods that we formerly worshipped. "For as a father has compassion on his children, so has the Lord had compassion on those who fear Him 41. And as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us." He therefore removes the fear that exists in sins, He who came not to judge, but to save 42. "For God did not send His Son into the world, that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." Therefore, that grace which justifies the ungodly prevails. "For it is God," says Paul, "who justifies; who is it that condemns 43?" But how does He perform this, except by creating it into the likeness of His form through the Spirit? For He says in Ezekiel: "I will take away their stony heart from their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, that they may know Me, because I am the Lord 44." Christ therefore fashioned the two peoples into one new man, renovated according to the image of Him who created him.

And that He might give assurance of this fact for the event that followed, He affirmed that He is the Lord of virtues. Nor did He keep silent about the time of this restoration, when He added: "He who delivered you, the God of Israel, shall be called over all the earth"; ^D that is, when Christ reigned over

^A all the nations, according to that word: "And the Lord shall be one, and His name shall be one, encompassing the whole earth." For formerly God was known only in Judaea; but now every knee bows to Him, and every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. Wherefore David also said: "All ye nations, clap your hands," and the rest, and again: "The Lord has reigned, let the earth exult."

The discourse, persisting in the promises made to the desolate one, says: "The Lord did not call you as a woman who has been abandoned and faint-hearted." The Scripture calls a woman "abandoned" who, for certain causes, has received a bill of divorce according to the prescription of the law; but it calls one "odious" who has been defamed for lasciviousness, which would better fit the cause of faint-heartedness, as one unable to endure and bear the marriage yoke; such as the Synagogue of the Jews became towards God after the law, through which she had been joined to God, when she turned back to the things of Egypt. Wherefore, having cast her off, He said through one of the prophets: "Plead with your mother, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband." And henceforth He discusses the manner of her whulings. What the manner of her whoredoms is, is narrated in Ezekiel, where he takes two women, whom he calls Oholah and Oholibah, ^B signifying Jerusalem and Samaria, and recounting their impieties, how they sacrificed their children to idols, and led them through fire, and called these things adultery. Whence He also says to her through Jeremiah: "You had the look of a harlot; you were not ashamed before all." But you, He says, who are from the gentiles, were not called after their manner. For to them it happened in part formerly, as it seems to Paul. "And their eyes were darkened so that they might not see." And their backs were bent, being always gaping toward earthly things. But the illumination happened to the gentiles. And all, yet not a remnant, shall be saved. "But for a short time," He says, "I forsook you." "For in the past generations," as Peter says, "God allowed the nations to walk in their own ways."

The time for judgment is short compared to the mercy that runs on into infinite ages. But great is the mercy which, through Christ, frees us from all filth and retribution, and provides the dignity of adoption, and makes us heirs of the kingdom of heaven. He says then: ^C And as in the water that was under Noah, this is to me, for which Symmachus rendered the whole thing thus: "As the days of Noah, this is for me. As I swore not to bring the water of Noah any more upon the land, so have I sworn not to be angry with you, nor to rebuke you. For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall be shaken, but my mercy shall not depart from you, and the covenant of my peace shall not be shaken, says the Lord who has mercy on you." For He says that the nations shall be moved from their own places, and the mountains ^D and hills shall be shaken, but my mercy shall not depart from you.

^A If you look to the Septuagint interpreters, you will find they do not mean it as an example, but rather show that from the time of the flood, God has decided not to contend any longer with the sins of men, and instead decreed one single way for all; at the time when Christ dwelt among men, all were equally liable by God's just judgment to suffer that ancient penalty, but He changes His wrath into mercy, while keeping and observing the decrees He established. And truly the covenant of peace is through Christ. For He Himself is our peace, which Isaiah, requesting, spoke of in these words: "O Lord our God, give us peace; for You have rendered all things to us." For through Christ we are joined to God the Father. These are the things God promises to the pious polity, which passed over to the nations, as it was neglected by the Jews. ^B He shows what the divine worship was among the Jews, calling it humble and unstable, as if it consisted in bodily circumcision and sacrifices. And the nations themselves were humble, for they stood exposed to the incursions of demons with no one to defend them. And the heart of those who wander is unstable, like that of the drunken, shaken by passions and wavering. For they are driven about by any spirit, and, as in the Proverb, they are carried away by the whirlwind of their desires: things which the Lord signified that Jerusalem suffered not without blame, when He complained that she was driven like the wind by the desires of her own soul. And a soul that allows itself to be carried by the spirit is indeed completely unstable. But why does He add that He is merciful? First, because He is merciful Himself. Second, because it lacked consolation. Then also, because (if the discourse be about the pious way of life among the Jews) there is no prophet or pious person great enough to be able to recall and restore it. Finally, because (if we speak of the nations) they themselves did not embrace the law or the prophets, who invited them to spiritual strength, as the Israelites did: which is indicated by those who were hired for wages last in the parable, when they answered him who asked why they stood idle all day, that no one hired them. For the Lord of the vineyard finally called even them from the ends of the earth. Then He says: "Behold, I will prepare for you a carbuncle, your stones"; for which Symmachus [said]: "Behold, I am setting your stones with stibium"; Aquilas, however: "Behold, I incline your stones in stibium"; and Theodotion: "I will place in stibium," they said. ^C For as a woman who adorns herself uses stibium to enhance her appearance, so I will elegantly arrange the stones of your building. Perhaps the carbuncle, mentioned by the Seventy interpreters, signifies the purging and purification of the soul. For even the lips of Isaiah were cleansed with a coal. ^D He shows, therefore, that no stone of the building shall be unclean, according to the verse: "Holy stones are rolled upon the earth," said of the saints, from whom the city of God is constituted.

^B There are not lacking, however, those who think that Jesus is signified by the name of the carbuncle, whom He said was placed in the foundations of Zion; in whom, if any man believes, he shall not be confounded. And Amos calls Him an adamant in these words: «I will set an adamant in the midst of my people Israel.» The words of Zechariah are also of this sort: «Behold, I am bringing forth my servant the Orient. For behold the stone that I have laid before the face of Jesus, upon one stone there are seven eyes.» For Christ is the inspector and arbiter of all things. This carbuncle, they say, is therefore the base and foundation of the city; and near to this are the apostles, the other foundations signified by the name of sapphires, with the seventeenth psalm itself also supporting this in these words: «The fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were revealed, at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the spirit of thy wrath.» For to the Jews, rebuked because of the things they dared against Christ, there appeared indeed that cleansing which is through water, and the disciples of the Saviour were also revealed. And the prophets are also called a foundation, according to the testimony of Paul, who writes that the Ephesians were built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And the sapphire has a heavenly color. And the citizenship of these men, according to the Apostle, exists in the heavens. And according to Ezekiel, the place that is beneath the throne of God is also like a sapphire. Thus, therefore, it is so called because it bears the image of the heavenly. By another interpretation, the carbuncles are said to be the stones that adorn—as if with stibium—the eyes of the Bride of Christ, namely, the holy martyrs themselves, who have been proven by fire.

^C Furthermore, the battlements of the new Jerusalem are jasper, or an excellent and transparent carchedonius, as Symmachus interprets: by which are signified those who have defended the faith in the Church with a preparation of speech, being as it were battlements, and able to cast down every height that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And that He adds crystals for the stones of the gates indicates the light and purity of the right faith, thus signifying the first discipline of those who have believed, and the first access of instruction. But Symmachus calls the gates «stones of sculpture,» and Aquilas, «of boring,» that the variety of elementary doctrine might thus be in a certain way adumbrated. But the wall, he says, is the elect stones; these, to be sure, are they who with prayers protect the great and glorious buildings of the city, that is, the multitude of the remaining citizens: all which things one may understand by the teaching of the Apostle, when he says: «You are God's building. As a wise architect have I laid the foundation.» And again: «For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble,

^A And again: "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." And again: "In whom all you are built up as living stones." The prophet signifies that all these, in this place, shall be taught of God, who said: "Be not called masters upon the earth. For one is your master who is in heaven." From Whom the disciples also, having received [instruction], have become masters of the nations; who have also been called holy stones rolling upon the earth, and carrying the proclamation everywhere. Concerning whom God says in Isaiah, having previously spoken: "I will destroy the insolence of the wicked, and I will humble the pride of the haughty. And those who are left shall be more precious than pure gold, and a man more precious than the stone which is from Ophir." All sons of the city, therefore, are taught of God, and Paul is a witness, saying: "At sundry times and in divers manners God spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." For no one mediated for us, as [He did] for the ancients. But the Word Himself, having become flesh, spoke. And He promises peace also to them, He who said: "My peace I give unto you." ^B To which he adds: "And in righteousness shalt thou be built." For according to the most just [principle], the Builder of all things Himself, the Wisdom of God, attaching living and well-compacted stones to His building, placed some for bulwarks, others indeed for foundations, and others finally he set in the walls. Again, some he assigned to the temple of the city, and others to the inner sanctums of the temple. But with the others he adorned the rest of the city, making no distinction after the manner of men according to the dignity of individuals, nor having regard for anyone's person; but receiving all on equal terms, free and bond, poor and rich, and those who had been obscure and those known for their manner of life. And having promised these things to the Church, he next warns her of whom she must beware; while he commands her to depart from the unjust, that trembling may not approach her. For he initiates them into the mysteries, showing by the deed that which he said: "They shall be taught of God." ^C Concerning which the Bride also says: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." For of old He had greeted her through the prophets, calling her to the embrace of His own [holiness] through sanctification and righteousness. But since He appeared in the flesh, having met with us mouth to mouth, He Himself has kissed us with the kisses of His mouth. He says, therefore, that no enemy will remain for you if you cultivate justice. It follows then: "And behold, proselytes shall approach to thee through me"; that he may indicate those who, at each respective time, from the number of the nations or even from the Jews, have approached them. For the nations themselves follow behind, however much they previously went first: and already they become proselytes to the nations, who were once receiving these as proselytes. ^D But even this, he says, is through Me. For through Christ is the return of all, and the way to the Father and God. "For no one comes," he says,

to the Father, except through Me. And again, ^A "I am the way." And, "I am the door."

Some have said that by the name of proselytes are signified those who approach not genuinely nor purely, but for the sake of protection or some benefit. These, he says, will be as sojourners, but not inhabitants. For such as these enter as if in passing, as though taking refuge in it. Concerning them he says: "Behold, I create you," not as a coppersmith blowing coals. I tell you that I am doing these things for you, since I am also your Creator. For Moses, and Solomon, and Zerubbabel, made things corporeal and short-lived; the former a tabernacle, the latter ^B a temple. But now I Myself, the Lord of all, through Myself have created you; having built My Church upon the rock. But I created you not by any human art, but by divine and ineffable grace. For I did not use tools and fire, as a coppersmith and other mortal craftsmen, whose works are quickly corrupted, while Mine never perish. There are some, however, who think "I created" is put for "I recreated," and that thus the renewal through the Holy Spirit is demonstrated; not otherwise than how it is said that He created both peoples into one new man, according to, "But be transformed by the renewal of your mind." And he shows that fortitude and spiritual wisdom accompany such persons, saying: "Every corruptible vessel against you shall not prosper, and every voice," and the rest; ^C calling those who are ministers of the devil’s perversity "corruptible vessels," who are children of corruption and destruction, and who sometimes bring persecutions and afflictions upon the saints. But they shall not obtain their quarry; and every tongue that fights against God, he says, shall be defeated by you. For according to David: "In God we shall make strength, and He Himself shall reduce to nothing those who afflict us."

It was necessary after all things to admonish also of the inheritance stored up in the world to come, which is: "Things which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and have not ascended into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for those who love Him." Therefore he says: "This is the inheritance for those who serve the Lord." ^D Those who serve Him love Him, by serving Him with all reverence. "To the lawless, however, it is set," but in the Septuagint, "your culprits shall be in it." He shows that after the renewal through the Spirit, whoever might be found guilty of sins shall be in it, that is, in corruption; therefore he added immediately, "This is the inheritance for those who serve the Lord." Some have said that the whole passage can also be understood of the sensible Jerusalem, saying that there is joy when there is a sudden conversion for the better.

To which Jerusalem it invites [her] to rejoice, having broken the bonds of sin ^A with which she had bound herself, having become sterile of good things and having departed from God. For thus, He says, you will have more inhabitants, having obtained me as a protector in the manner of a husband taking care, and I will make you greater after the captivity. Your seed will inherit the nations that came together to prevent her resettlement. So they were defeated that even their weapons sufficed for fuel for seven years. And He says that the cities which had been deserted will be inhabited by Israel. Do not then think, He says, that you will not be restored to your ancient glory. For the ancient reproach will be turned away. Job used such words: "Even if I wash myself with snow, and be cleansed with pure hands, you have thoroughly dipped me in filth, and my garment has abhorred me." But in order to bring faith in the promise, He adds, "The Lord who makes you, who also created you from nothing into existence." I will not be God of you alone, but also of all nations. For I will not remember your injury, nor will I reproach you, which is what men do who cast off their sinning wives for a little while. Even if they are reconciled, they are accustomed to reproach them for past things. ^B I, on the contrary, delight in the forgetting of injury: and I put you away from me for a short time for the sake of healing, so that when you had repented, I might fill you with mercy. He also demands to be known from the goodness of former times. For before you existed, He says, I had mercy on you with Noah, and I saved you through foreknowledge; for I saw that you were to be born from him who was saved. And out of my goodness, I promised that I would no longer bring a flood upon men who were wicked and flagitious from their youth, nor that I would move the mountains and hills. Therefore, I did not lie then, nor [will I lie] about the promise now to show mercy to you, and that you will enjoy every peace. He says these things, not as having a necessity to perform what He foretells. For these things He leaves to the will and choice of the hearers. For even in Sodom one city was saved, when the Lord, easily inclined to mercy, took an opportunity from Lot to remove it from His wrath. And to Abraham He promised the propagation of his race, and the passing of blessings upon them, clearly as if those from him might keep the paternal commandments, as He Himself also says: "For I have known that Abraham will instruct his sons to fear God." Then He accuses ^C the cruelty of the Chaldeans, saying: "You were not comforted. For they weighed down the yoke of the elder, and did not have mercy on the children. For I was angry a little, but they added to the evils." But I will comfort you, bestowing upon you a better resettlement. For if one only wills it, all precious matter is present, provided only that those who repent become worthy. But if this does not happen, the things of the promise also are idle. For the promises are for those who live according to the law, whom He calls taught of God. ^D

^A He teaches that the city is to be preserved not merely by walls and those who seem to guard it, but by justice. For it is implied in the phrase, "In justice shall you be built up." For those who practiced this justice threw down the high walls of Jericho without a struggle. While you practice this, therefore, you shall not fear; rather, you shall be unconquerable, so that even the nations warring against you on every side will dwell as neighbors to you, and be helped by you, when my favor is present within you. ^B By the words "I will build," he signifies the tireless power of his own nature and authority—that he can accomplish whatever he wills without effort, contrary to the custom of craftsmen who toil. He adds, moreover, that he does not create with the intention of destroying what he has produced. For he did not create men so that he might have those upon whom to take vengeance, but rather that he who created them out of goodness might also govern them with the same. Furthermore, he says that as enemies approach, every hostile vessel will cease; for just as the Jews hated every righteous man, calling him useless, so also the nations surrounding Judea turned away from the godly people, being vexed because they saw that God’s favor was present with them. ^C The prophet next shows that he serves God not as some inanimate vessel, but as one who has knowledge of what is done: either by being angry at sinners—as when he imprecates against a sinful nation—or by rousing the slothful and negligent; as in this place, when he asserts that if one believes in God, it will not be useless to him, but he will have the hope of attaining the divine inheritance; when, finally, he affirms that the righteous will be his, demonstrating that virtue is a matter of free will.

CHAPTER LV

1-13. "You who are thirsty, go to the water, and you who have no money, go, buy, and drink wine and fat without money or price. Why do you spend your money not for bread, and your labor not for satisfaction? Listen to me, and you shall eat good things, and your soul shall delight in these good things, etc."

Christ invited all when he said: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me," (John VII, 38) saying that rivers would flow from his belly; by which words he signified the Holy Spirit. And he also spoke to the Samaritan woman: ^D "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, rivers of living water will flow from his belly." (John IV, 13, 14) David spoke of Christ himself in these words: "And you will give them to drink from the torrent of your delights, for with you is the fountain of life." (Ps. XXXV, 9, 10) And again: "The currents of the river gladden the city of God." (Ps. XLV, 5) And Christ himself said in the prophets: "Behold, I incline toward them as a river of peace." (Isa. LXVI, 12) And Joel also says (Joel III, 18) that "A fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of reeds." To these, therefore, and to this passage—

^A the prophet exhorts, declaring that the gift is set before all freely. But Aquilas and Symmachus say, "Without exchange, wine and milk," as if these correspond to the water. For instead of fat, they say milk. Water signifies the evangelical proclamation. Wine and milk signify the mystical symbols of regeneration. For those who are regenerated by water and the Spirit are nourished with rational milk like newborn infants, and drink that wine of which He says, "This is my blood, which is poured out for you." And formerly, milk was offered to those being baptized, together with the body and blood; a custom which is said to be still observed in some churches. Moses also hinted at this, saying, "His eyes are gladdening from wine, and his teeth whiter than milk." By "fat" is meant that rich and nourishing faculty of food in Christ—that is, the body of Christ, which in the Gospels is called flesh, but here is called fat; just as there it is blood, but here it is wine. For the fat and the flesh signify the economy of the incarnation, while the wine and the ^B blood signify the mystery of the passion, which He promises to give freely to those who thirst for salvation, just as He commanded the disciples, saying, "Freely you have received, freely give."

But why, when He had ordered them to buy, does He immediately add, "without price"? Because it is sold by faith, not by silver; and therefore He asked why they would buy with money. Why, then, He says, do you spend your time on those studies which have no power to nourish, but labor in vain on external disciplines, buying for yourselves with silver those things which, beneath the beauty of the expression, contain nothing that is true or that nourishes the mind? Hence, therefore, follows that interpretation of Symmachus: "You spend your silver, not for bread; and your labors, not for satiety." It will also apply to those who bought the traditions of the Jewish schools; for they learned only bare words. Among the teachers of external wisdom, falsehood itself is hidden like mud in a golden vessel, whereas we possess the treasure of ^C Christ in earthen vessels. Therefore, Paul also says, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the inquisitor of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" And again, "For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe"; where, under the name of foolishness, he signified the humility of the expression in the Holy Scripture. Leaving these things aside, therefore, eat the goods of the evangelical proclamation, and you shall delight yourselves, he says, nourished by the truth, and knowing God, and living according to virtue, having received these things as a reward for obedience and sensible listening. Whence the others gave it out: "Hear, you who hear." And lest we should think these to be bodily goods, He has fittingly added, "your soul." ^D

^A It means, "And follow my ways." According to that: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." By "soul" he denotes the life stored up for the saints, "which the eye has not seen," and the things following upon that. Having thus stirred them to intense listening, he begins his instruction, saying: "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David." For the old covenant, having been given for a time, passed away; but that which I made with David, promising that I would manifest Christ from him, I shall fulfill by bringing it to pass in deed. As for "the sure [mercies]," Symmachus says "mercies," concerning which it was said: "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever." And a little later: "Once have I sworn by my holy one, if I will lie to David, his seed shall endure for ever. And his throne as the sun before me." These gifts, therefore, I shall bestow upon you who heed my words. For these were the goods of the soul and the delight which he now calls eternal. For the law, according to the Apostle, was laid down "until the time of reformation." Wherefore he says in the prophets: "I will make a new covenant, not according to the covenant that I made with your fathers," and the things that follow. For the one was shadowy; the other is true. Wherefore also John says: "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." You could also call the holy decrees of Christ "sure," as making men holy, just as David calls the "fear of the Lord" pure, that is to say, making one pure. ^B And the Savior Himself said: "The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and life," that is to say, spiritual and life-giving; and "sure" again, in the sense of making one sure. For this is the power of the oracles which are issued through Christ. Having called him the one from the seed of David, David then adds concerning him: "Behold, I have given him for a witness to the nations." And therefore he also preached the Gospel to the barren one beforehand. And otherwise, foreseeing that the Jews would have these sayings, but would receive no benefit from them, he shifts the discourse to the nations, saying things consistent with what was said before: that they to whom it was not told concerning him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand. He calls it a "witness" as testifying to the truth, and as being heard by the nations while Israel disobeyed. He also testified to the nations that they are henceforth acceptable to God, and that there is no one who can exclude them from the knowledge of God. They say, therefore, that by the name of witness is meant the proclamation made concerning Him, as He Himself taught, saying: "This Gospel must be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations." ^C And when He called out among David all the nations, he said: "My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart understanding." For there was need of wisdom, ^D and for the meditation of the heart to be the understanding which would speak.

^A For wisdom was necessary for those who, on account of their madness, served idols and the creature rather than their Creator. Now, if the text had only mentioned “a witness,” one might think it was pointing to one of the prophets. But as it is, he has displayed his divine power, adding “prince and commander,” according to the passage, “And the rising one shall rule over the nations.” For Moses and the prophets were reckoned among the servants, saying, “Thus saith the Lord.” But Christ, as a lawgiver, issues a counter-decree to Moses, saying, “But I say unto you,” transferring the letter to truth. Hence the Jews marveled that he taught them as one having authority, and not as their own scribes. The Father, moreover, glorifies him. For he who glorifies the Father, glorifies the Son also; as, indeed, the reverse is true. And he is glorified according to the flesh, as having taken the form of a servant. Whence it is written: ^B “And God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name,” and what follows. The word “glorified” has a reference to the passage: “We saw him, and he had no form nor comeliness,” and the part about his suffering for us, and the part: “As a sheep he was led to the slaughter.” For this reason he also says: “Father, glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

And since it befell him to suffer these things on account of the sins of my people, he rightly signified that he had been given as a witness, not to the Jews, but to all the nations, having foreseen that the latter would willingly embrace the faith, while the former would reject it. ^C But as for the phrase “he has glorified thee,” we have: “Since he has made thee a ground for boasting,” as Symmachus translates it; so that the Apostles might say, “But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He then exhorts us to seek the Lord; for as he himself said to the Jews: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” And the Father himself also says: “Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” For the Father subjected those who were enemies—that is, those who were wandering in error—to the Son, not as if he were laboring under a weakness of power, but for the sake of the dispensation. Therefore, the Father says to the nations, to whom he has given the Son as a witness: Seek the God—the theologian calls the Son the given witness. ^D Yet this seeking is not of a localized nature (for the divine essence is incorporeal, and fills all things), but is a seeking in the intimacy of the soul; and he exhorts us that upon finding him, we should invoke him—that is, as Symmachus says, that he should be praised and called upon. According to that saying: “I will call upon the Lord with praises, and I shall be saved from mine enemies.” This shall come to pass then at last, when you have found him to be near to you, and not far away. For God is a God who draws near. Standing, therefore, before him, put away your ancient error. For until the sun, there is darkness. And until the coming of Christ, there is impiety. For he does not desire the

death of the sinner, but his repentance. For he will forgive our sins ^A to a great extent, that is, completely and entirely. "For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." For it is written concerning Christ: "For behold, he enters as the fire of a smelter, and as the herb of fullers," and so forth. For he baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

By the term "fire," the cleansing power of the Spirit is meant, which burns away all filth. For if you deem your own cases ^B incurable, as if they were desperate among men, they are not so before me. Great is the difference between God and men. Since then I am a God long-suffering, I call you to repentance, promising salvation, if you will receive the Savior sent by me. For I do not harbor anger after the manner of men, nor do I repent of what I have once promised. Therefore, one must not, when God calls, hold back from repentance on account of the multitude of sins, as the Jews have suffered, saying: "Our errors and our iniquities are upon us, and we pine away in them, and how shall we live?" To whom God says: "Turn ye, turn from your way, O house of Israel, and they shall not be unto you for an account of injustice."

To confirm the promise which he has made to the ungodly one from among the nations who is turning back, he makes use of the parable of the rain and the snow, showing the Word of God, who is in the beginning, descending from above from the Father like rain and snow, so as to irrigate their souls and make them fruitful, and not to return to the Father before he has accomplished these things. But one must understand the mouth and the Word of the Father in a manner worthy of God. For neither is the former corporal, nor is the latter lacking in substance. For how, having accomplished his work, would the Word return to the Father without being dispersed, as is the case [with the words] of men, if he were merely a significant expression? Some have said that the rain signifies the distribution of the evangelical proclamations, through which the whole world has become fruitful, as David sings: "Thou hast visited the earth, and hast watered it; thou hast greatly enriched it. Water its furrows. Multiply its fruits. In its drops it shall rejoice while springing forth." And through Moses he says: "My speech shall descend as the rain." And Paul also says: "And God of peace shall increase your seed and multiply the fruits of your righteousness." And how indeed will the divine Oracles not accomplish these things? For according to the present prophet: "What God the Holy One has purposed, who shall scatter? And his high hand, who shall turn away?" From which we have had spiritual fruitfulness ^D.

^A and it is granted not only to gather the holy nourishment and to have the life-giving bread, but also to possess seed for the one who sows. For those who instruct the people in the mysteries, in sowing within their hearts what they have stored up for themselves, are themselves sowing. For we are, according to the Apostle, God's tillage, and God's co-workers; and He, speaking of Himself, declares that "the sower went forth to sow his seed."

He adds, moreover, that those—those from the nations who approach the saving Word—will go forth in joy, that is, they will abandon their ancestral error, just as we read that Abraham went forth from his father's land at the command of God. He adds, furthermore, that they will be taught in joy, which is to be understood as referring to the Gospel of salvation; and he looked toward this when he affirmed earlier that he would prosper His ways and His commandments. For it is very difficult to withdraw from bodily pleasures and from the error that one has followed for a long time. Therefore, there is the greatest need for God, who makes the path to celestial things secure ^B and renders us eager and unencumbered. For "the high mountains," he says, "are for the harts." And elsewhere he says: "The path of the righteous has become straight, and the way of the righteous is prepared." And another prophet says in this manner: "The ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous shall walk in them," which belongs to the saints; concerning the Synagogue of the Jews, however, he speaks the opposite: "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her ways, and she shall not find them."

There follows, indeed, joy for those who have had a prosperous journey in virtues and in the knowledge of God. "For how sweet," he says, "are thy utterances to my palate! Above honey and honeycomb to my mouth!" On which account the divine powers themselves, which are judged by the names of mountains and hills, rejoice. For the Savior Himself testifies that there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. For they are ministering spirits sent forth for the service of salvation, but their difference is to be sought according to the proportion of their loftiness and humility.

^C Trees of the field giving praise with their branches could be the fruit-laden souls that delight in the repentance of the wicked. There are also those who think that by the names of mountains the teachers of the Church, having nothing earthly, are to be understood, and by hills, others who follow them closely. For the joy of these is the salvation of those who approach, if we believe Paul, who calls such ones his joy and crown. Then they say that by the trees of the field the peoples who are subject are signified. For the garden of the Savior abounds with flowers, and hence are those words of the Bride, in which she requests her beloved to descend into his garden and to eat the fruit of his pomes. They also rejoice ^D seeing such a change in themselves. For formerly they had nothing fertile or nourishing; but as if in a desert and untilled land, they produced useless brush and the most foul-smelling fleabane. Now, however, when they have become partakers of divine grace, they have brought forth a most fragrant myrtle and the loftiest and, in turn, a sweet-smelling cypress.

Symmachus says: "Instead of brush shall come up a fir tree; and instead of the nettle shall come up a myrtle," as if to say...

instead of malice, justice; instead of lasciviousness, temperance; instead of audacity, fortitude; instead of folly, prudence. You may find this also in those who are of the seed of Israel. For Matthew, who was once a publican, and Paul, who was once a persecutor, being as it were brush and fleabane, cause Christ to smell sweet in every place, both among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. And he promises another marvelous thing to the nations that have turned to the Lord. For he says, "The Lord will be to them for a name and for an everlasting sign." For it is possible everywhere to see those called Christians from Christ. And they inscribe upon themselves the name—the sign of salvation—which shall never fail. For the gifts of God are without repentance. Some, however, have said that the sign is the Cross through which we have been saved. Others have interpreted the whole passage as follows: when God promised to save those who repent and to subject their enemies to them, and when the prophet stirred them up to faith (for he said they would inherit salvation), the hearers were moved toward desire and declared that they wished to be saved; the prophet, therefore, exhorts them as those who are thirsting ^B toward their thoughts.

Some, they say, were brought into a lack of good things so that, out of desire, they might one day hasten toward them. As, therefore, those who thirst approach the fountains, so you too must hasten to God, having taken, in place of all silver, a consciousness of the things you have sinned. For the things from God are not for sale, nor is there need for an offering of wine, or for a sacrifice of fat—things from which, when you buy them, you carry away no more benefit than labor and toil, since these are not sufficient as entreaties. For these are useless for the washing away of sins, which repentance and faith in God effect. But for the free gift of good things, he seeks a hearer who is not only well-disposed, but also understanding, and one who runs to Him who calls. "Attend," he says, "with your ears"; and if this is taken corporally, it is inappropriate. For "attending" belongs to the eyes. But if it is taken according to the soul, it is consistent. For since the soul is simple and uniform, it has acquired the inner senses in a single power. Therefore, he who reads writes hears with his eyes, and he who writes to them speaks with his fingers. Then he makes mention of David and the relationship toward him, because of which He provided him with every aid, of which he says these too shall partake if they are willing to listen. For thus they shall live, not only the present life, but also the one that remains ^C; not only you, should you emulate his manner and his repentance, will obtain the same things, but in every nation he who lives like him is acceptable. For he makes his own not a race, but a heart and a life. ^D He says that whoever emulates his manner and his repentance is dear and acceptable to Me, and whoever will imitate his life. For not race itself, but the soul and life, establish friendship.

Thus, therefore, will you too be glorified everywhere, so that all from every quarter, being illuminated by your example, may flock to you with a desire to know God and may seek my familiarity and friendship, just as happened in the case of the Queen of Sheba and the Ethiopian eunuch ^A, when the piety of your nation had reached them even by report. These things, indeed, God promised them; but since they attended to them rather sluggishly, the Only-Begotten, coming to men, brought about the calling of all nations.

It is not possible, he says, for anyone to attain what has been foretold without God. Therefore, without regard for the multitude of sins, that God is to be sought and invoked, who abounds in mercy to such a degree that he is never overcome by the immensity of their sins. Indeed, when he repels, he does so only for a good end; and what was clearly despaired of, he immediately restores. Therefore, he who is rich in compassion cannot be sparing in forgiving you, since he is in no way subject to human emotional disturbances. For as for men, no matter how much they may strive to forgive an injury, they are sometimes hindered by anger, as often as the memory of the pain arises. Nay, if they even determine to grant something to their children, the deprivation of the thing that was to be given often holds them back and restrains them from giving. But as for me, who have decreed to remit and forgive, no memory of past sins and no deprivation can cause an impediment.

You, furthermore, if you have formed some plan, change it later; but I never repent of my own. For I differ from you by immense reasons and intervals. The rain itself, which I bestowed once upon the earth for the abundance of fruits, and never withdrew, shall be the proof for you of this matter; from which it is sufficiently apparent that no word uttered by me shall be vain, ^B and that you, if you turn and ask for the forgiveness of your sins, shall obtain it. Turning then to the precepts of the Law, he says: I will make the pardon easy for you, by adding, of course, the strength for their observance, and I will make your return from captivity glorious, with Cyrus himself and your enemies given over for your protection. ^C For as the sea yielded to those leaving Egypt, and as the Jordan was later crossed by the same people, so too do histories relate that the Tigris was crossed on foot by them after the captivity; and that for this reason, the mountains in their joy experienced such a change from the devastation previously inflicted by the enemies that, beyond the accustomed trees, they even brought forth a new crop—God thus testifying to his benevolence. From what has been said, learn that God’s counsel is immovable and perpetual, ^D even if it is not fulfilled in one or several centuries.

CAPUT LVI

635-636 VERS. 1-11. Thus saith the Lord: Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my justice to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doth this, and the son of man that shall hold fast to this: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hands from doing any evil, etc.

After the prophecy concerning the nations has been explained,

the discourse now turns to the order of the Jews who lived in the time of the prophet, who took pride in the nobility of their birth and thought that the fecundity of their lineage was a reward for their piety; ^A whence it came about that proselytes and eunuchs were despondent: the former because they were considered ignoble, the latter because they were barren and childless. Therefore, God shows that true blessedness consists in habits and virtues. For he who is deprived of justice and judgment, even if he possesses any of the things mentioned, is utterly useless. Hence He says: "Cease from every rash opinion, pursuing justice with a discerning mind"; that is, keep right judgments, or divine judgments—namely, the commandments. But one must keep them with the mind and perform them in deed. Therefore He says: "And do works of justice," promising salvation and mercy—or, according to others, justice—as a reward. Some, so that it may not seem that he is exhorting them to the observance of the Law in its shadows and types, say that "salvation and mercy," or in other words Christ, is signified to be near, by whose compassion we have been saved through the remission of sins. ^B This is also confirmed by Habakkuk with these words: "Yet a little while, and he that comes will come, and will not tarry." And he says that it is "revealed," because even though the prophets foretold it, it was manifested in its own times. David also said this: "The Lord hath made known his salvation in the sight of the nations; he hath revealed his righteousness." Therefore, on account of such hopes, he concludes: "Blessed is the man who does these things"—referring to judgment and justice, not the man who boasts in the prerogatives of the body, namely, nobility and many children. In harmony with these things are what we read spoken by John the Baptist: "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and think not to say, We have Abraham to our father." Likewise also the Savior: "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham."

It is necessary, in addition to keeping the [Sabbaths], to lay hold of justice and judgment, and not to approach them negligently. For with these, the observance of the Sabbath is commendable: which is not simply idleness, but the keeping of one’s hands—that is, one’s actions—pure from improper deeds. ^C For thus it is that those who keep the Sabbath must offer spiritual sacrifices. Then He comforts the proselytes and the eunuchs, saying that they are deprived of none of the great things by lack of physical nobility and the procreation of children. For these things will not prevent them from attaining divine goods if they live piously, keeping the Sabbath as they ought by acting justly. For He does not want the Sabbaths to be empty, He who at the beginning of the book said: "Your new moons, and your sabbaths, and the great day, I cannot away with." But even if it was necessary at that time to keep the Sabbath corporally on account of the commandment of the Law, it was still to be kept with judgment and justice. Therefore, the diversity of birth will not harm the foreigner. For he who is pleasing to the Lord will also take his place among the holy nation and among the children of

^B Abraham. For "not all who are from Israel are themselves Israel," as Paul says. Nor, if you are the seed of Abraham, are you therefore children. But the children of the promise are considered the seed, and the promise made to Abraham is not given only to those who come from him, but also to all who are through faith. For thus was Abraham justified. But neither will sterility harm the God-fearing eunuch, even if multiplicity of children was given in the order of blessing when the times demanded it. Instead, therefore, of a multitude of children, He promises to give them a celebrated place in His house and within His walls; or, according to other interpreters, a hand and a name better than sons and daughters. "And I will give them," He says, "an everlasting name that will not be cut off," such as that which was bestowed upon Jacob and made him an Israel, which means a man who contemplates God. It is this that the name signifies, and this is what it has become in deed.

If, moreover, according to the word of the Savior, some have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, because there are many dwellings with the Father, and there is a city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, it is appropriate that a place be granted to them there within the walls of this city, or even in the Church which is on earth, in which those men are preeminent in purity and integrity, who judge that glory in the Lord to be better than a numerous progeny; and who observe the true, and not the shadowy, Sabbaths of His, that is, of Christ. And He declares that He will bring those who do these things, even if they are foreigners, into His holy mountain. And He will accept ^C sacrifices from them, that is to say, those of prayers and praise, or even corporeal ones, if the discourse concerns those that were offered before the advent. For He wishes His house to be opened to all nations, so as to repress the arrogance of the Israelites, who, insulting the nations, were not afraid to call themselves the portion and lot of God, and a holy people; and even to declare themselves blessed because the things which are pleasing to God were known to them. But see now how the recent things have surpassed the former and ancient ones. For the law warns that an Ammonite and a Moabite may not enter the Church of the Lord; while Christ promises that He will bring all into the holy Church, which is signified by the name of the holy mountain. Into which, once they have entered, they will rejoice in the gifts of the same. Then, as if having made a demonstration from the observance of the law, He says that their sacrifices will be accepted. For it is very fitting that those who have consecrated themselves entirely to God are, as it were, certain whole burnt offerings; while the others are certain other sacrifices, which are only partially consumed; such as those who, having embraced matrimony, divide their life between God ^D and the world.

But the Savior will be gentle not only towards the nations. For He will gather, He says, those also who are scattered from Israel.

^A For they departed further from the polity according to the Law than they were physically outside of Judea, worshipping idols and teaching the doctrines and commandments of men. From among these is the Israel gathered from the dispersion, both those who were formerly pious and the disciples of the Savior.

The "beasts of the forest" that are gathered with Israel signify the nations. For he habitually calls the multitude of foreign nations a "forest," which are summoned to a spiritual feast. Therefore, according to Aquila, instead of "all the beasts," it is written "every animal of His." And again, "all the animals of His." Of whose, but God’s? He does not call them beasts simply, but "His." For they had been brutalized by having been reared under the tyrant, the devil, and living not like human beings. But now He calls them to the intelligible table, to eat the bread of life, so that they might rejoice and say: "You have prepared a table before me." And through another prophet He says: "Eat and drink and be drunken, O neighbors." For though they were far from God, through faith they have drawn near and partake of the bread which strengthens the heart of man.

According to the historical sense, you may understand it in two ways. ^B For either, referring to the return of the people from Babylon which occurred under Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, He says that He will gather Israel and will gather the beasts with them. For at that time it was likely that a multitude of foreign nations would also proselytize to them, whom He calls "beasts" on account of their alien and wild nature. Or, He calls them beasts in the customary sense, meaning those who ravaged Israel and devoured it with their whole mouth on account of their impiety toward Christ. Therefore, He calls them beasts even for the sake of the consumption of the nation, and He demonstrates the reasonableness of the punishment, saying: "See that all have been blinded."

Some say that since He foresaw that the beasts would obey the proclamation, while the multitude of the Jews would remain in unbelief, He fittingly called them blind, since they had not even become equal to the beasts. Instead of "See that they have been blinded," Symmachus and Theodotion say "His watchmen are blind," and Aquila says "scouts." ^C Instead of "mute," Symmachus says "speechless," and Aquila says "stammering." You will understand the "watchmen" here to be blind compared to other visionary watchmen, regarding whom it was said: "The voice of those watching you was lifted up." Instead of which the others say: "The voice of your watchmen has lifted up its voice." The discourse was concerning the Apostles, the visionary watchmen of the Church. And he says to Ezekiel: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel." Here, however, the leaders of the Jewish nation are called blind watchmen and "mute dogs" not able to bark, nor to drive the wolves away from the flock of God. ^D And how, having blinded themselves first, and the light—

to ward off wolves from the flock. But those who first blinded themselves and did not admit the true light, even though they heard the One who openly proclaimed, "I am the light of the world," 61 how could they hear? And again: "He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." 62 It is of these, indeed, that you can find what is said by the prophet: "When they expected light, darkness came upon them; when they expected brightness, they walked in gloom." 63 And those words of the Savior also apply: "They are blind leaders of the blind," 64 which is to be referred to the mind. And hence it is that the prophet added here that they did not know how to understand. For this reason David also admonished them: "Lay hold of instruction, lest the Lord be angry, and you perish from the righteous way." 65 As it happened to the unbelievers, who, wandering from the evangelical way, perished along with the flock, for not only did they not guard it as dogs, but they raged against it in the manner of wolves; 66 such as we read concerning them in this way: "Thy priests have not said, Where is the Lord? And they that hold the law knew me not." 67 And the shepherds have acted impiously against me. They did not even progress to the point of barking, but, differing in nothing at all from those who are asleep, they paid attention only to fantasies, even as those who dream. Therefore Symmachus says: ^B "visionaries sleeping, loving to slumber." And Aquila: "fantasizing while sleeping, loving to slumber." ^C Such, then, were they toward strangers, against whom they ought to have been wakeful and sober; but toward their own household they were shameless, devouring the sheep committed to them with great and insatiable greed. For they overturned the laws, being corrupted by gifts, just as it was previously reproached by the prophet, where he complained that they were partners of thieves and lovers of bribes. Nay, even Habakkuk, expostulating with God in these words, also breaks forth: "Judgment is set against me, and the judge receives; therefore the law is dissipated, and judgment is not brought to completion, because the impious prevails against the just." 68 And for the very reason that they ought only to have been taking tithes of the fruits, they were tithing dill, and mint, and even the cumin itself, yet neglecting justice, mercy, and faith, as the Savior testifies. 69 For this reason, he says, they all followed their own ways, not those of God. And not only were they such individually, but they also entered into evil councils, following a single set of opinions: of which kind were those which they held against Christ and the apostles. For since they followed their own ways, they showed themselves more lovers of their own pleasures than lovers of God.

Chapter LVII

VERS. 1-14. "See how the righteous has perished, and no man lays it to heart. And righteous men are taken away, and no one considers. For from the face of iniquity has the righteous been taken. His burial shall be in peace, he is taken away from the midst. But draw near hither, ye lawless sons, seed of adulterers and of a harlot," etc.

And therefore their wicked deeds against Christ and the just ^D

^A in saying: "Behold how the just man is taken away, and no one receives it in his heart." For how could the blind have seen? For they would have seen him, having perceived the dispensation concerning them, and they would not have said from the opposite position: "Let us bind the just man, for he is unprofitable to us." He was, however, just, as one who knew not sin; whose disciples, who also became participants, are likewise called just; whom these men, when they promulgated the evangelical word to them, killed. They killed, therefore, James, the brother of the Lord, and Stephen, not perceiving the magnitude of the impiety—which is what is meant by not receiving it in the heart. ^B "And the just man is taken away from the face of iniquity," which is to say the same as if he said that the just had been overcome by the unjust. At the same time, he has indicated both the death and the resurrection of the Lord. By the burial, indeed, the death itself; but by the fact that he was taken from the midst, the resurrection. For he became invisible, the buried one not remaining in it, as the angel also says: "Come, see the place where he lay." And how did his burial happen in peace, ^C if it is not that, being silent and answering nothing, he was put to death? Or that the prince of this world did not lay claim to him, finding nothing in him? Or as they say, because all the leaders of the Jews, with the subjects, killed him having used consensus, with no one contradicting. And with much godliness the prophet subsequently attacks them, for whom the blood of the prophets did not suffice, but had run up to the head of murder against him. For it is terrible indeed that they also slandered the prophets of old. But yet they were human beings carrying about a natural order. But what, he says, would you say, because they sharpened their tongues against the Lord of all himself? For they called him a Samaritan, and a wine-bibber, and born of fornication, and demonized. And finally, leading him to Pilate, they said: "This man stirs up the crowds, and forbids giving tribute to Caesar." Therefore, through Isaiah, the Savior says: "Woe to them, because they have departed from me. They are miserable because they have acted impiously against me. I, however, redeemed them. But they spoke false things against me." ^D And although they knew that he himself is the heir, they said: "Come, let us kill him." And also through the Psalm he says: "Instead of loving me, they slandered me." He calls them children of perdition, as those who did not receive the Savior; and an iniquitous seed, "for about me," he says, "did Moses write," so that they also transgressed the law. He says they are also the seed of adulterers and of a harlot—adulterers, he says, by these calling the leaders of the Jews. For as if they were committing adultery with the Synagogue,

^A which received seeds [of falsehood] and not those from the Law, the Synagogue was rightly named a harlot. Having declared them Christ-killers, he shows that their hatred of God was a disease from of old. For you, he says, even of old were inviting others to idols, and that though the Law taught: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." And it did not suffice for them to be impious alone, but they were teaching others as well. You shall be then a portion for foxes, that is, for the demons whom you served, for whom the outer darkness is prepared; he means that the slaughter of children will reach them, when enemies impose it upon them.

He says also: "And behind the door-posts of your door you have set up your memorials," meaning by the idols in place of phylacteries, which were memorials of idolatry, so that you might remember those things that were constantly before your eyes or engraved upon the doors. For you thought these things were more useful to you than I. For how could that which is evil be called so, unless it appeared, at least under a color, like a species of good? ^B Furthermore, that "upon a high mountain there was your bed," signifies that you slept there near the idols for the sake of dreams. These things, then, are said with regard to the aforementioned blind watchmen and mute dogs. The things which follow, however, are spoken as if to Jerusalem herself and the Synagogue of the Jews: "You have loved," he says, "those sleeping with you." But according to others, "You have loved their bed," of the aforementioned watchmen, surely, with whom you filled your way with every [form of] prostitution—idolatry, necromancy, auguries, and all such things—the consequence of which was that you drove many away from you; for the prophets and the God-fearing, fleeing from Jerusalem, used to say: "We treated Babylon, and she was not healed. Let us leave her, and let each go to his own land," thus calling Jerusalem by the name of Babylon. Or certainly, by a curious emulation of a neighbor’s worship, he implies that she embraced a multitude of gods from far away, by the very fact that she sent envoys beyond her borders. ^C The interpretation of Symmachus has it this way: "You have multiplied your pigments. You have sent your couriers to a distance."

The discourse is, as it were, addressed to a harlot who adorns herself for the pleasure of those who approach her, whence he says she was humbled even to Hades. "You have labored," he says, "in your many ways." For having not remained on high with God, she was humbled. Therefore he said: "I brought up sons and exalted them, but they set me at naught." But what is the manner of this humility? The variety of ways. For you did not follow the one royal road, but many and straying ones, always moving from other gods to still other gods. ^D This is also known to follow in the case of inordinate pleasures, when riches, petulance, and vain glory disturb. Hence Jeremiah says: "By the desire of his soul he was carried away by the spirit." A soul that has suffered this is hard to recall.

Therefore he also asked, who would turn her back? And indeed, Jerusalem, ^A he says, did not cease to press firmly into evils. It is to her he says: "You have not petitioned me." Or, according to Aquila: "You have not entreated, so as to obtain relief." For from the beginning, not to suffer is the character of one who is temperate; but to persist in it is the mark of one who is desperate. To this it has been said: "Does one who falls not arise? Or one who turns away, does he not turn back?" For he is ready to receive those who repent, having said through one of the prophets: "Turn back, backsliding children, and I will heal your contri^Ations." But they, as if God were unable to save, when the Babylonians were expected, intensified their idolatry.

^B Therefore he says: "Whom did you fear, and you lied to me?" For what power does a mortal man have, the Babylonian, if he is compared to divine power? For it is written concerning God: "He who holds the circle of the earth, and those dwelling in it, as locusts." And Isaiah also says: "Do not all the nations count as a drop from a bucket, and as spittle, and as the turning of a balance? To whom have you likened the Lord?" And Aquila, instead of "Whom did you fear, and you lied to me," says: "You have remained from of old fearless and without any grasp," showing that even if you once seemed to promise to be godly, even then you lied regarding that promise. For neither before this did you have respect for my memory, and even now you have remained such. Therefore I will leave you desolate, and henceforth my vengeful wrath shall overtake you, exposing your evils. And who then of your gods will rescue you? And elsewhere he says: "And in the time of evils they will say, Rise, save us." But instead of "Let them rescue you in your affliction," Symmachus says: "Let your synagogues rescue you," clearly teaching that their synagogues are useless; unless indeed he called the multitude of idols gathered for them by that name. But these, he says, the wind will take, referring to either the gods or those who have been accused. For through Ezekiel he says to this synagogue of theirs: "As you have done, so it shall be to you." And Isaiah also says: "Woe to the lawless one; according to the works of his hands it shall happen to him." And now he says that because you have despised me, you shall be despised, having suffered justly for your evils. And so much for these things.

^C But those who have chosen for themselves the good portion, God, shall have the reward that is fitting. For they shall possess the land promised to the meek, and the holy mountain, the heavenly city; and they themselves shall appear as teachers of others, exhorting them to make straight the ways of the people, making them pure, or rather, making the teachings smooth and having nothing crooked. For he who has succeeded before God does not care for his own salvation alone, but also commands that the path of godliness be made smooth, and that the perceived stum^Dbling blocks of the divine word [be removed]…

by a clearer interpretation of them.

It would be appropriate to think that these things are said concerning the choir of the apostles, who inherited the holy mountain. Concerning which David also says: “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord?” and what follows. They, truly, burning with the most vehement love for God, kept asking, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” to whom it shall be said, he says, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” How, then, does he command stumbling blocks to be removed? By a way made ready through faith, and with the commandments of the law—which could scarcely be fulfilled—being swept away and cast aside. Of this kind also is that which says: “Walk through my gates, and cast the stones out of the way.” This is the same as if he commanded the road to be cleared of trouble.

Others, however, explain this whole series of the discourse in this way: after the promise of the things mentioned above, he demonstrates by what manner of life they will acquire them; he then consoles the proselytes, and next the eunuchs, who considered being deprived of seed in the blessed lineage to be a matter of cursing, and thought that for this reason they could not obtain the promised inheritance in the land. He necessarily ^B counsels these things to those who were to be subject to that decree which was delivered to Hezekiah, hearing that there would be eunuchs made from his own lineage. When Daniel and the three boys reached arrive at this, they drew consolation from these words, as those who had not in vain obeyed the commandments of God. Therefore, he signifies that he will gather such people together with the God-fearing foreigners. But to the others who are disobedient, he predicts the things that will befall them by the Chaldeans, who will pounce upon them like wild beasts. And the cause is that they purposely became foolish, imitating mad dogs, which recognize neither their masters, nor those who feed them, nor have they the power to bark; which is what they have suffered.

For hearing, as if in sleep and in their beds, the things said by the demons, they feigned drowsiness, rejecting the things foretold to them by God with proof from clear facts (such as the story of the sun moving backwards, and of the hundred and eighty-five thousand slain). To these things, although they were blind ^D and could not see, they were never satisfied with the evils they suffered. Indeed, when they looked upon the calamities that befall the upright and the just, and saw them being dragged by force even to death, they even disparaged virtue itself, as if it had no utility. And for this reason, when he had spoken before of those who said that the righteous man had perished, he added his rebuke; for they see, indeed, their bodily destruction, but they are unwilling to consider that the shortening of the time is useful for them, and that they are released from labors ^C in the hope of good things; and thus, they simply trample upon the life of the righteous. Then he refutes them.

^A demonstrating that because they have set up altars for themselves in the mountains and in their own homes, and have hung up symbols of divination and augury, they themselves are for this very reason clearly to be delivered into captivity. For, he says, when the necessity of affairs pressed upon you, you fled to anyone else rather than to me, and you sent legates to Egypt and to the most distant nations for help; and when you met with a refusal from them, you hastened to others in turn, and no labor of travel or magnitude of misery delayed you. Next, after he has threatened calamities, he promises that those who adhere to God will obtain forgiveness. Finally, he says, when they have attained my holy mountain, they will take thought and care that every idol be utterly removed, and that the vessel of the Lord be purged of every stumbling-block, so that the way may be made easy for them.

VERSES 15-21. Thus says the Lord Most High, who dwells in the heights for eternity, the Holy One in the holy places, whose name is the Lord Most High, who rests in the holy places, and gives patience to the faint-hearted, and gives life to those who are contrite in heart, etc.

^B After he addressed the princes of the Jewish nation (whom he called dumb dogs, blind, and other things of that sort) and the people subject to them, he now turns his speech to those among them who are devout, and who repent of the sins they have committed, whom he also calls "contrite in heart." For even among them there were some—although few—prophets and disciples of the prophets who were devoted to God, lamenting their own calamity and that of the people, destitute, afflicted, and so forth. For God, however much He is above all, does not look down upon the humble; rather, He grants them grace, raising them to a height, and ^C He resists the proud, according to the saying: "He who humbles himself shall be exalted," and he who is exalted receives God as an inhabitant within him. For this reason He now speaks with them, so that He may exalt them and rest in them, for they have become holy. Therefore, this height in God is not to be understood as being in a location, but as a state, through which He is accustomed to be present to those who are worthy; which is the same as the state of those who feel humbly about themselves regarding the things in which they have sinned.

If, however, as human beings they are afflicted for the sake of piety, He makes them firm and enduring (for being Himself long-suffering, He makes them long-suffering); but also, being the source of life, He bestows eternal life, ^D since He does not despise a contrite and humbled heart. He says to them, therefore, as it were: "I will not exact vengeance for all the sins you have committed as men; but having chastised you lightly, while ignoring the sins of the people—who, as truly impious, will not have repented, and whom I will deliver to eternal punishment—as for you, I will remit my wrath." For it is a concern to Me, as Creator, for the [soul] that has been given [life].

^A And it is concerning this that it is said: "Let every breath praise the Lord" (Ps. CL, 6). And Job says: "The Spirit of God that is remaining in my nostrils, and the breath of the Almighty that teaches me" (Job XXVII, 3). Does it not follow, therefore, that when I chastise you, I do so as a Father? "For whom the Lord loves, He chastens" (Heb. XII, 6). When you have suffered this, you displayed a very sensitive godly sorrow for the sins you committed. And having seen the life of repentance, rightly did I heal you, truly comforting you; for the words from Me are true, and in giving peace, I did not give it merely, but in such a way that both those who are near and those who are very far off possess it. And this is the end for those who are profited by My chastisement. But those who are not such will be tossed by waves. For how is it in their nature to rest and rejoice, having become alienated from God? According to Symmachus: "But the ungodly shall be as the sea casting itself up; for they shall not be able to rest, and its waters shall cast up mire and dirt." And Aquila: "And its waters shall cast up mire and dirt." So that if it ever says so, whether concerning the sea of Egypt or concerning some waters, we will understand it as [representing] the multitude of the ungodly.

^C Some, however, say that the passage before us is spoken concerning all Israel, of which He promises to save a remnant through faith in Christ (Rom. XI, 5). And the phrase "He who dwells on high" demonstrates the perfection of His natural superiority—for the divine nature is above all things—which remains as it is, even if Israel humbled it by comparing it to idols. Just as, therefore, they defiled with impure thoughts Him who is holy and who rests in those purified through faith, so if He sees them faint-hearted, He says: "Be of good courage, and let your heart be strengthened" (Ps. XXX, 25), and He gives true life to the poor in spirit and to those who are obedient to the Word. For the remaining Israel was indeed raised up against Christ. Nevertheless, even of this remnant, He makes them full of hope through that remnant and the salvation they are finally to receive at the end. "For I will not be angry to the end" (Ps. CII, 9), He says, because of the things I promised to your fathers, and because you are all My creatures. For the "going forth of the spirit" does not refer to the All-Holy One. For how could "creation" be applied to Him? Rather, by a catachretic term, it hints at what has been created in us. Some, instead of "it shall go forth," citing the reading "it shall be wrapped," say that this signifies the breath that is intertwined with the body, although it is not of the same substance as it, but is sent down from above, as Moses says. He then calls the punishment—to which He refers as light in contrast to their sins, and the outrageous acts they committed against Christ, for which He turned away from them, having foretold: "When you stretch forth your hands to me, I will turn my face from you"—a small one.

^A Yet I will cease my aversion when one, having repented, walks in sorrow. You shall obtain true consolation, which justifies through the grace of Christ in faith and fills with sanctification. For He imparts both adoption as sons and [a share in] the blessings to come, and peace upon peace. This is what He will give. They were indeed aware... near is Israel. . . . and the song to the prophets. . . . and to the gentiles who are far off, because they were deprived of these things. For it is to these that Paul says: "But now, you who were once far off, have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For Christ made both one, creating the two peoples into one new man, and breaking down the middle wall of the partition, He made peace with the Father," to whom He also said: "I will that, even as I and You are one, so also they may be one in us." And the prophet added the conclusion, saying: "I will heal them." But those of them who are disobedient shall be tossed by waves; for even at the time of the calling, some of them ^B will be disobedient, concerning whom Paul says: "Because they did not receive the love of the truth, therefore God will send them a strong delusion." And the Savior also says: "I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive"—that is, the son of lawlessness; these men endure a mental tempest like the sea, tormenting themselves, which indeed raises up constant waves and sends them to the shores, but then receives their reflection back into itself. Just so, these men, churning with thoughts from the heart, will never be able to find rest. Wherefore they cannot even rejoice, being deprived of the joy that is truly Christ. For even if they rejoice in fleshly, ^C impious pleasures, they result in destruction. For the only joy is that which procures eternal life through tribulations. It should be known, however, that some have interpreted the aforementioned healing, peace, and cessation of wrath as referring to the recall from the Assyrians, who also understood the phrase "to those far off and to those near" in this way: that God, being good, gives relief not only to those who repent, but for their sake also to those who happen to be in captivity, gathering all into one covenant, even if the former approach through repentance, while the latter, persisting in evils, remain far from God, for whom the conscience, perpetually troubled, is sufficient for punishment. ^D

συχὴ μου εἰς χόλπον μου, ἐπιστράφησεται. • Καὶ ἀμφὶ πλαῖν· « Τὰ γάνατα μου ἡσυχί…

CHAPTER LVIII

^A Ver. 1. Cry aloud, spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities. They seek me from day to day, and desire to know my ways, as a nation that has done justice, and has not forsaken the judgment of their God, etc.

Having healed those among the multitude of the people who were struggling with humility and contrition of heart, the Word turns henceforth to the order of the wicked among them, concerning whom He was saying, "There is no joy for the wicked," demonstrating who these are, and for what reason He pronounced these things against them. He admonishes the prophet, therefore, to proclaim these things fearlessly and with boldness. For this is what it means to "lift up the voice," as though with a sounding trumpet, when He demands that their wickedness be openly reproved: and therefore He uses the name of the trumpet, as it is a matter concerning the enemies of God. Those who were previously spoken of as evangelists were addressed thus: "Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion," and what follows. But here the ^B prophet is not commanded to ascend a mountain (for He was not about to speak to those who were on high), but rather to cry out vehemently, as if to the ears of the deaf—those whom, He says, "my people," I had claimed for myself, but they have fled away. For your sins, He says, separate between me and you, and you have been tempted all the more by your sins; and this is the proof, that they seem to seek me day by day, coming together into their Synagogues. And they make a pretense of searching the Scriptures, attempting to learn my ways, as if they had indeed accomplished the rest of their duties. And they did these things, it would seem, because, due to the impending war, they wished to know the instructions to be followed in each matter, and what the end of the war would be. For this is how one must understand "the ways"—as those belonging to men who were living according to the Law. For no one shall know the ways of God unless he be righteous.

^C By their own deeds, they are convicted of having neglected the judgment of God through impiety and offenses, and yet, bereft of all sense, they do not hesitate to contend for my good things, and even accuse me of injustice, as if I had rejected them while they were living piously. "We have fasted," they say, "and thou hast not seen." For when the enemy was pressing upon them, they thought they could appease God by a bodily fast, abstaining from food, but not from the wickedness of the soul; and they called such a fast the humiliation of the soul. Therefore, O prophet, He says, respond with this reproof [to that] which they also put forward, thereby demonstrating from this one act the remainder of their way of life. But the phrase "thou hast not seen" implies not the ignorance of God, but the unhappy outcome of those things which they have chosen of their own accord. Yet, they would have been doing no small thing, if they had truly followed these practices. For even in David it is written: "I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall return into my own bosom."

^A And again: "My knees were weakened by fasting." And God says: "Turn to me with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation," which is to say, in abstinence and repentance for sins. Those who did not practice these, but only abstained from foods, thought they were doing a favor to God, if they did not worry about anything else. For not only did they not abstain from evils while fasting, but they even committed the greatest ones at that time, beating those under their control, not with their hands, but with insults and acts of greed, and contending with one another, so as to utter voices of lamentation and improper cries against those being beaten by them. Therefore, he said of old: "I hate your fasting and idleness and your new moons, says my soul." And now he says: "I did not choose this fasting, nor such a day of humiliation." And him who walks in gloom in his ways, and has the contrition of the Spirit in his life and deeds—him he said to heal; but he does not accept the one who poses as being in the humiliation of fasting for a day.

Some say that as they did their own wills ^B and afflicted those under them with trials and quarrels, they ought to have brought about peace. But regarding the expression, "so that thy voice should be heard on high," as if true fasting has a voice before God—for the things done by us are said to have a certain voice to God, according to the saying: "The voice of thy brother's blood cries to me"—unless perhaps he calls the prayer that comes with useless fasting a "cry." And even if one endures every bodily labor without a change of mind, thou wilt not be able to call this an acceptable fast. For the true fast performs bodily labor in secret, but in public, it makes the face cheerful and anoints the head, according to the voice of the Savior. ^C It provides the fruits of piety to those nearby, by loosening every bond of wickedness. For it is as if those who are ignorant of the manner of true fasting are taught by him. According to the saying: "Guide me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth." The loosening of the bond of wickedness is a release from greed, and from not binding those who are weaker with the snares of accusations. And one should dissolve the contracts established from injustice ^D that were made with a perverse mind, giving remission to those crushed by these or by the bond of wickedness, whom he also calls "broken." And tear up the bonds that were not justly made. But it is necessary first to abstain from evils, and then to pass on to virtue. Having thus said the first, he adds the second, saying, "Break thy bread," and what follows, signifying that the one who

has not fasted ^A should distribute the bread that we eat. For it is not proper to make fasting a pretext for sordid gain. Moreover, we shall nourish the soul in another way if we refresh the hungry with food. It is also fitting not to invite the rich to your house—who will repay you in kind—but rather men who do not even have a roof for shelter. And you must not pass by the naked. For the God of all made some needy and some rich, for the probation of each: so that the latter might have fruit by providing, and the former, poverty as an exercise.

^B By "those of thy seed," he signifies according to the Jewish interpretation the Israelites, but in a Christian sense those of the household of faith. Paul himself also exhorts to this. One who has performed these things (especially in the time of fasting) should then draw near and beseech God, in harmony with the saying: "If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee," and what follows. If you observe these things, as if from night, sudden light will shine upon you, bringing heavenly good things; and as it is the light of knowledge, it will descend upon you like a lightning bolt with intensity and speed, by which the eagerness of the Giver is shown. And therefore he called it "the morning light," as if God, out of His benevolence, is anticipating the time, and once your soul is freed from its diseases, better things will arise. This is also evident in that he adds that "your righteousness shall go before Him": in the same sense as if he were saying that from the moment you partake of the light of God, you will become a light to others. For your virtue will appear shining to others through your works, according to the saying: "Let your light shine before men," and what follows. And you shall be crowned with the glory of God in His sight and that of men, having received this over and above the fruits of your works. You will also have, in addition to this, the divine ear ready and attentive. For while you are still speaking, He will say, "Behold, I am here." ^C And whereas He said the cry of the unjust and unmerciful in fasting is vain, He said that the voice of the righteous will be heard, demonstrating the length and abundance of the discourse, according to the text: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayer," of which cry fasting is an effectual component. For the saints used to pray with fasting. Thus Daniel, thus the apostles. And the phrase, "Behold, I am here," was also made known to Daniel after the three weeks, for him who learned through fasting ^D that his words were heard from the beginning. And these things, he says, will not be lacking to you, if you cast away the bond of sins like a chain. For according to the Apostle, who said that to say the same things to me is not irksome, but for you it is safe, the prophet also repeats himself.

^A “Take away,” he says, “the unjust extensions and reachings forth of the hands”; that is, the stretching out of the hand toward unjust gains, or the rendering of evil for evil. According to that which is in the Psalms: “He stretched forth his hand in the repaying; which is alien to meekness.” But others interpret it in this way: let him who wishes to undertake a good fast be just; and just as if performing some ordination or good ministry, let him carry it out without murmuring, so as not to be lacking in necessities when he provides to his neighbor. That is to say, let him not, through the desire for pleasures, complain against the laborious way of life according to God, just as Israel murmured in the desert against God, and paid the penalty by being destroyed by serpents. Wherefore the Apostle also says: “Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the serpents.” And he likens the exceeding light—manifesting the one who flees these things and does the opposite—to the noonday. And that which is the greatest thing, and the giver of all good, is for God to be with him always.

^B Some interpret that passage about the stretching forth of the hands in this way: “If thou take away from thee the bond that extendeth the finger, and speaketh that which is unprofitable,” they add that the end of wicked men is salutary for the people, for they hinder the happiness of the commonwealth as if with a bond. Next, he promises sustenance for the soul, even up to the fattening of its bones—by which name its virtues are signified, for they are fattened by spiritual gifts. “For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” of which the manna was a type. For how could it be understood as the bread of angels, or even the bread of heaven, in itself? And since Israel fell from this food, the nations have partaken of it through faith. Therefore He says: “They that serve me shall eat, but you shall hunger. Behold, they that serve me shall drink, but you shall thirst.” The discourse concerning bones is fashioned from those who are accustomed to luxury in a bodily sense.

^D “And there shall be for thee,” he says, “also a fountain of living water, and a garden ever-flourishing with the plantings of the Holy Spirit, bearing fruit.” And the Church herself has become the garden of Christ, saying: “Let my kinsman descend into his garden, and let him eat the fruit of his apple trees.” And there was also a fountain, whose water did not fail. For just as if from an everlasting fountain, the divine instructors of mysteries bring forth teachings. “For out of the belly of him that believeth,” he says, “shall flow rivers of living water.” And the same things were said to the Samaritan woman. “And thy bones,” he says, “shall spring up like an herb, and shall be fattened, and shall inherit generations of generations.” By these he seems to signify the resurrection of the bodies, which rise up like some grass, dead indeed in winter, but sprouting again in spring. How then does it arise? By the life-giving [Spirit], plainly.

^A They are fatted by grace. For as David says: "You will send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth;" that is to say, of those who are on the earth, when we inherit for generations of generations in that endless life, with death and corruption entirely removed. ^B "Bones" are also said to be the powers of the soul, as in: "God has scattered the bones of those who please men." For He does not shatter the bones of the body, but the powers of the soul, so that they might accomplish nothing toward virtue. "For no one is crowned, unless he competes lawfully." But these men gape only at the praises of men, with no concern for the glory of God. Such also is that: "For I was silent, my bones grew old from my crying out all the day." For when I was silent from promoting His glory and pouring out prayers, and had fallen into human faint-heartedness, my bones grew old. That is to say, the powers of the soul were rotted.

These, therefore, though they may lie fractured and debilitated for a short time due to sloth, yet again, like grass, they rise up and are restored by spiritual consolation, and we shall become heirs of eternal goods. And what was formerly desolate in your soul shall be built up in you, being replenished by divine instruction and words. For you will build yourself up with godly teachings, always composing and applying your thoughts to what is fitting. And you will fence in your soul as well, being protected by Christ like a wall against external molestations. For the discourse concerns a city that is as if desolate and without walls. ^C It is appropriate also for every soul, and for the people, if you understand by "bones" those who are more powerful in it and who sustain the whole body, in which you may call "perpetual deserts" those things which, for a long time now, have become desolate and solitary through sin. Furthermore, you may understand "foundations" according to the mind of Paul, where he writes of being "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets." You shall also be called a "builder of enclosures." According to Symmachus, you shall be called "one walling up a breach." And these things the divine Paul makes clear, saying: "As a wise architect I have laid the foundation." He builds enclosures who fences in the ecclesiastical dogmas with dialectical demonstrations, so that they may not be overrun by anyone who wishes, like a desolate garden. For this is what a soul that is perpetually slothful suffers, being passable to every opposing thought and demon that passes through it, until it fences itself in with the fear of God. And he who removes the apparent stumbling blocks from the sacred readings by clarifying and explaining them, he is the one who removes the stones from the paths.

^D He desires also, along with what has been said, that the Sabbaths be observed: not so that indulgence might be given to drunkenness and gluttony;

^A but with sanctification and purity, and that through these the day might be hallowed by a rest according to God, being kept delicately and without sorrow. It is also necessary, for those who apply themselves to the holy Scripture, not to be occupied in other matters, even to the extent of moving a foot or defiling the lips. ^B The divine Apostle, casting aside the shadow of the Law, proposes spiritual circumcision and Sabbatism, saying: "But circumcision of the heart, not in the letter but in the spirit." And again: "There remaineth therefore a sabbatismus to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His." A Sabbatism according to God is, therefore, to cease from one's own works and desires. This is what the present prophecy also says.

Paul also says: "But I see another law warring against the law of my mind." Consequently, according to this, it is these desires—to which we are prone—that we ought to cut off. For thus shall we fulfill delicate Sabbaths, having nothing of that which proceeds from a stubborn mind that opposes God, according to that which is written: "And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened." Thus God spoke to Israel: "I know that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow is brass." ^C He wills, however, that now we should overcome tongue and anger: "For if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body." And again: "A man full of words shall not be established." And: "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." He desires those who observe the Sabbath, and those who call the fast acceptable, to be such as these.

For thus, he says, you will be confident, not in some frail and momentary thing, but in the God of all, trusting for the remainder of your life, as one possessing His truthful promises, among which is also this: that you are to be raised from your sojourn here to a certain land, there to enjoy those things "which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man," and to enjoy the spiritual food promised to the fathers, laid up in the city that is above, concerning which Paul says: "For they that say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country." And if they had been mindful of that from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better, that is, an heavenly. That these things will certainly come to pass, God, he says, is He who has spoken. But how, as if they had not yet attained the land of promise into which Joshua the son of Nun led them, does He now offer a promise to lead them in? It is clear, then, that he is speaking concerning the lot of the meek. ^D Some, however, say that the return from the captivity is being promised to them. These are they who also interpreted the preceding things corporally: concerning the bones becoming fat, and being cast into a well-watered garden, and a spring that fails not of water. And that the desert places of the city shall be built up, and that for a long time these...

will stand. And it shall remain impregnable, no longer to be entered by the foreigners. For it shall be guarded by God, provided you turn yourselves toward virtue. For the guard of every man is to be typified by God, and to keep the observances and the Sabbaths, which those who do not keep them break. For these, on going out of the city, as if obtaining license to sin, transgress; whereas those who keep the Sabbath ought to do this everywhere, and the things that follow.

CAP. LIX

^B VERS. 1-18. Is then the hand of the Lord not able to save? Or has His ear been weighed down so that it cannot hear? But your sins set a division between you and God, and because of your iniquities He has turned His face from you, so that He might not have mercy. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins, etc.

Having concluded the discussion about the performance of deeds, and about the rewards and punishments of those who act or do not act: now, as if dealing with the contumacious and the fallen, and therefore the wicked, he convicts and reproves them. Then, because they said that while war was pressing upon them they had fasted, but God had not noticed it, the prophet, compelled by a vehement love for God, reproves them; and he demonstrates that they could indeed have been saved by Him, but were prevented from receiving His aid by their own sins. ^C For God is never burdened by any weakness of power or difficulty of hearing, as old men are, nor is it just to save the wicked, nor beneficial to those who are saved. But because he spoke of sins as building a wall, he signifies that the Savior, through the remission of these sins, intends to dissolve and tear down the wall of the partition. Then He turns His face away from their sins, as if He cannot endure their ugliness and stench; whence it is evident that the "ear" which hears the just, but by no means the unjust, signifies the justice of God, not a bodily ear. And where he accused their sins in a general way, he subsequently recounts them one by one; he mentions homicides and slanders by name, no longer attacking the worship of idols. For they killed the prophets and slandered the righteous. Jeremiah therefore says in this manner: "My strength has failed me, from those who were cursing me." And our prophet here also said: "See how the righteous man is taken away," and what follows. ^D From which, as from small beginnings of wickedness, they progressed to the slaughter of Christ the Savior, which it is most fitting to suggest to us in this place. For even if their hands are not stained with the blood of the Savior, yet they are not free from guilt; they who demanded that the vengeance of His blood be extended upon themselves and their own children: who, even while saying wicked things, did not cease to stir up the crowds, and to be possessed, and to call Him a Samaritan because of [the question of] His birth.

who, finally, never ceased to accuse Him of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebub. ^A

Ideoque neminem loqui quæ justa sunt; neque justum esse judicium adjecit: ut eos alia etiam ratione, tanquam falsos et iniquos judices incusaret. Therefore he says: "None speak what is just, neither is there true judgment," and he otherwise accuses them as false and unjust judges. Then, because they deceive themselves and expect another Christ, inventing certain human fables about Him, he adds: "They trust in vain things, and speak vanities." Hence Paul cautions not to attend to Jewish fables and the commandments of men who turn away from the truth. They were also vain in another way, and spoke vanities to one another: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance." Those who, from their own devices, weave blasphemous words against Him, "conceive labor and bring forth iniquity," not knowing how to say: "For fear of Thee, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb, and have been in pain, and have brought forth the Spirit of salvation." But they conceive such things as have been mentioned through another: "Behold, he hath been in labor with injustice; he hath conceived labor and brought forth iniquity," and the rest which follows. It is the custom of Scripture to call envy "labor," for it is labor to those who are sick with it, consuming them. They were in labor, therefore, with the envy against Christ, and they brought forth the murder against Him; since in their councils they even said: "What do we, for this man doeth many signs?" And Caiaphas said: "It is expedient for you that one man should die, and that the whole nation perish not." Such things could also be the evil dogmas which anyone brings forth from his own heart. ^B And such people broke the eggs of asps, having conceived within themselves the seeds of the opposing powers. Hence, to those offspring of their wickedness, it was said: "Ye serpents, generation of vipers." Analogously to the divine seed, he called the seed of the opposing powers "eggs," using the reptilian kind as an example. For asps and serpents and such are creatures that lay eggs. And since, after such great wickedness, while professing the study and teaching of the divine Scriptures, they fall away to ^C fables of old wives and the commandments of men, he compares their weak and dishonorable interpretation and tradition to a spider's web. Or perhaps he calls the slanders against Christ by this name? For, weaving snares against Him, they thought they had become abundantly protected by the aid of their own undertakings and had trapped something advantageous. But they profited nothing, becoming stripped of the protection from above.

"And he who would eat of their eggs," he says, "finding what is rotten, breaketh it." He says "of their [eggs]," concerning which he previously said: "They broke the eggs of asps." They, therefore, who have attained unto perfect wickedness, having broken ^D what was brought to fulfillment...

^A receive them. But those who are less mature perish, having eaten of these before they have reached maturity and completeness. Therefore, the others have set forth: "He who eats of their eggs shall die." But the prudent man, who is capable of overturning and refuting these things, will discover what is wind-borne, and airy, and foul-smelling within them, and the basilisk—that is, the king—lurking within them, which kills by mere sight. If you seek the interpretations of others, you will find that Aquila said: "And that which was hatched broke out into a viper"; but Symmachus: "That which was coiled, when it was broken, shall be an asp"; and finally Theodotion: "That which was hatched broke out into an asp." Thus, to the Jews, that which was meditated against Christ became useless, as if they were breaking such eggs—or rather, a cause of total destruction. Some say that to eat of the eggs of sinners is the same as to place faith in their words, as Abel once did when he believed Cain, whence he procured death for himself. For the discourse of these men aims at this work, so that it is signified by the words: "And that which was hatched is divided into a viper."

Furthermore, because he said that they "weave the webs of spiders," he explained this discourse more fully when he added that their web would not be for a garment. For, having despised the Law, they had constructed doctrines and commandments of men for themselves. Therefore, when he said that it would not be for a garment, he signified nothing else, as it pleases some, than that it would bring no adornment to those who wear it, just as that which was done without God brought no adornment to the body of Adam, which he had worn against God's command. ^B

Then he explains what that web is, when he adds that their works are works of iniquity, because some, truly, through the aid of divine Scripture, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, weave a divine tunic; but others, uselessly occupied in Jewish fables, compose a web like a spider’s for the catching and hunting of the more simple-minded. He enumerates one by one the things they committed, so as to demonstrate that they were not rejected unjustly. It follows: "And their feet run to evil," since the limbs of the body themselves take on an aptitude for motion according to that to which they have been accustomed; and therefore they became swift to shed innocent blood—for so the others have rendered it. From there, therefore, they proceeded to the blood of Him who had truly been innocent. Just as Judas converted from base gain to the worst and most foul avarice of mind. "And the way of peace they have not known." Hence, also, the Savior wept over Jerusalem, saying: "If you had known, even you, the things that make for peace; for the days shall come upon you, and your enemies will cast a rampart about you, and will encompass you, and will dash your children to the ground." ^C But there is no judgment in their ways, but rather all iniquity and wickedness. Thus also David himself called those precepts which were given through Moses, "judgment and justice," when he said: "Judgment and justice in Jacob You have performed." But even their paths are distorted. For evil is a distortion of the straight; and they do not know peace. For they did not receive the Prince of peace, concerning whom ^D

who is written to be our peace, and who said He would give His own peace to the apostles. Because of all these things, it says, judgment has departed from him, concerning whom it was surely said: "Behold My servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased, He will set judgment for the nations" ^A.

Since, therefore, the judgment given to the nations has departed from them, so too has the righteousness that had been granted to them through saving grace. And injustice also had its place against them, in that they were judged by the impious—by the Assyrians, naturally. When they were expecting light, darkness came to be for them. For because they were occupied only with the verbal expression of Scripture, they were like blind men groping along a wall. Hence it shall be said: "They shall grope like the blind for a wall." And again: "They shall fall in the noonday, as in the middle of the night, and as those who are dying." For at the time of the noonday light of the nations, when the Church of God was being illuminated by the evangelical rays, they alone fell, as if they had committed sins worthy of death, and they live as if in the middle of the night. ^B Such are the fruits they have reaped from the aforementioned deeds. For they were expecting the illumination from Christ, with the prophets crying out: "Shine, shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." But they did not receive the true light; instead, they voluntarily became blind and leaders of the blind, as the Savior says. For they did not listen to Him saying: "While you have the light, walk in the light, so that darkness may not overtake you."

And what follows, "They shall walk like a bear and a dove together"—this does not mean some walk like the one and others like the other, but that the same people act after the manner of both. ^C For their groaning is not on account of repentance for the blood they have shed, but they are mourning only for the tangible Jerusalem. They were justly compared to a wild beast. And as it is said again elsewhere, they have become like a bear robbed of her cubs. For they say that bears bear the loss of their cubs grievously and, with howling, wander about in a frenzy, leaping upon whoever they encounter. They were called "bear," therefore, because they also devoured men, murdering the prophets.

And ^D "the bereaved" [is said] because of their wildness and the loss of their own children. But doves emit a mournful voice most frequently, just as these people became, mourning for their own city. For it has been said that they shall be on the mountains like mourning doves. It should also be understood this way: "They shall walk in the wildness of a mind coupled with ignorance." For a certain prophet says: "And Ephraim was like a senseless dove, having no heart." For the discernment and gentleness from Christ are not in them. Concerning whom Jeremiah says: "Every man has become foolish through knowledge."

And again: "What wisdom is in them, since they have rejected the word of the Lord?" ^A And again: "What wisdom is in them, since they have rejected the word of the Lord?" or "as a bear and a dove"; that is to say, bold against the weak, and cowardly toward the strong. Symmachus and Theodotion rendered it: "We will meditate a meditation as a dove." But Aquila: "We shall utter a voice as doves." For they try even now to meditate on the Scriptures and commit them to memory, chanting them with a thin voice, so that they differ in no way from a senseless dove, which habitually utters an inarticulate sound. And the other translators rendered this passage, and what follows, as if in the person of the accused people. Symmachus, therefore, brings it in this way: "For this reason, justice has become far from us, and righteousness shall not overtake us; we waited for light, and behold darkness," and the rest. The Septuagint translators also assigned the things which follow to the person of the people, as though the prophet were teaching them to confess their own sins to God and to accuse themselves in repentance. Yet some say that when the prophets mention the rejection of the people, which happened after the insult offered to Christ, they also helpfully make mention of the other calling, which is to come in the last times through faith in Christ; ^B and therefore they now introduce the person of the penitents, who say that they have waited for the judgment, and that there is no judgment; naming as "judgment" that very thing which was brought to the nations through faith, which, though they waited for it, they did not obtain. Nor do they wish to keep silent about the cause, since they have added that their iniquity is great; for they did not admit Him who, through faith, would blot out sins, who warned them with these words: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Then, not keeping silent about the things they dared against Christ, they add that they acted impiously and lied. At which point Symmachus says: "We acknowledge," he says, "that we acted unjustly and lied against the Lord." But Aquila, where he said "denied the Lord," in order to demonstrate their repudiation, adds: "But also we departed from behind our God, we spoke slander." You see how their idolatry is in no way accused, but slanders, and false statements, and things of that sort. For formerly, indeed, slandering the signs of God, they said, "By Beelzebub, ^D prince of the demons, He casts out demons." And bringing forth false and unjust things from their heart, they called Him a Samaritan and a demoniac, a glutton and a wine-bibber, and said that He was inciting and stirring up the crowds. Therefore they say: "We have departed behind the judgment." For He says that judgment did not abandon us, but we abandoned it, as if turning our backs to it. And these cries are those of people seeking to be pitied by Christ, and continually confessing the denial of the truth and their own false assertions.

^A Taking up the argument again, the prophet accuses them, saying that truth has been spent and has completely failed in their ways. But walking in falsehood (which is the same as saying, in darkness), how could they have had straight paths, having turned away from Christ, the light and the truth? And the Lord saw, and it did not please Him, because there was no judgment—that is, righteous judgment. And He saw, and there was no man; for He had already said: "I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was none to answer." For being a lover of mankind, He releases the charges against an entire city for the sake of one single person. For through Jeremiah He says: "Run about in the ways of Jerusalem, and seek in her squares, and see if you find a man, if there is one doing faithfulness and loving mercy, and I will be merciful to her, says the Lord." And He had promised the Sodomites that He would spare them if they had five righteous men. For as it was a pentapolis, He was looking for one in each. Therefore, He who is able to save others through the performance of righteousness has also now called for one who intercedes. But finding none, He says that He defended Himself against them with His power. This is what is meant by "arm." And He supported Himself by His mercy, or, according to others, He strengthened Himself. For He did not destroy everyone. For He preserved the remnant for their fathers, keeping the promise truthful. In these things, signifying their final capture, He depicts God arming Himself against them, to whom it has been said: "Thou art terrible, and who shall resist thee from thy wrath?" ^B But when they had suffered such things, he says, the rest of the world will fear the violent wrath against those who disobeyed. Instead of "And He defended Himself with His arm," some, having read "And His arm saved for Him," infer that since they had no strength against their enemies on account of their sins, victory and salvation would be present in the power of God through Christ. And again, instead of "And in His mercy He supported Himself, and in His righteousness He strengthened Himself," stating the text, they added: "For righteousness in the Lord becomes a support for the righteous judgment against the ungodly." And they referred to the martial preparation of God, just as the Apostle exhorts us to put on this armor. Therefore, in the Lord is the truth of righteousness, which is the breastplate of hope; or it is the helmet, and in us is the imitation. ^C But they say that there also follows the weapon, as it were, of judgment against those who afflict Christ, both in the attack against Him and in the uprising against the saints. These things are signified in the second Psalm. Some, however, explained the whole passage from the beginning thus: God having often promised to help the people, and yet having delivered them into captivity, they cried out against God, ^D as if He were weak.

^B Therefore, in rebuking them, He declares that their own sins were the cause, on account of which He was thought to be unheeding and weak. For having slaughtered their children, they consulted their entrails, so that their hands were defiled with blood, and they sinned with their lips, from which they begot for themselves, as from seeds, labors, working in vain upon them. For the desires which they gathered, like the spawn of asps, were incapable of being brought to completion; and like a spider’s web, they are more capable of harming than of helping. And even if they were advanced to the point of action, they would differ in nothing from the basilisk, through which, by way of anagogical interpretation, we understand the devil, the author of evils. And from all these evils, they wove a garment; after the common death, it will by no means cover their evils, which shall have strength even unto the burial, as Job bears witness ⁸³, who writes that he watched even unto the tomb. Truly, they are, by reason of their evil thoughts, wretched and miserable, having no peace. For as if they had lost the faculty of judgment, wandering from the royal way, they stray up and down; for they followed wickedness as if it were to bring light to them, whereas it begets darkness; namely, the punishment which is to seize them in the present and in the future age. So that the day which had shone upon them most brightly ^C is turned into darkness; and they groan bitterly after the manner of a bear for its cubs, and frequently like doves. He then says: *We have waited for judgment, and there is none*; showing that those who have persisted in their sins have missed divine help. By judgment, however, he means that by which all men choose for themselves the better things, or, abandon them and perish, when enemies rise up against them and God does not help. He teaches them what things are to follow, and in what way they must repent if they wish to obtain remission: just as David himself, before the temple was built, foretold not only its destruction but also its restoration. For God is ignorant of nothing of those things which follow one after another. Afterwards, accusing their own vices, whether they reside in deeds or in words, they say: *We have departed from judgment*: such as that which is in David, in the forty-ninth psalm: *But you have hated instruction, and have cast my words behind you* ⁸⁴. But some think that the expression *We have conceived, and have meditated from the heart* is used of the false prophets; and that on this account God, being indignant, brought upon them a wrath tempered with mercy. For no correction from God is lacking in utility. He next indicates that God reconciles to those whom He punishes the salvation which is prepared by repentance, when He puts on their justice and right deeds as a breastplate ^D, thus comforting us as if we could become God's own garment, He bearing arms for our sake, in order to lift up our timidity, for which cause also armed angels appeared to Giezi, when their nature did not admit of it ⁸⁵.

⁸⁵.

Verses 19–21. And they shall fear from the west the name of the Lord, and those from the rising of the sun, the glorious name. For the wrath from the Lord shall come as a violent river; it shall come with fury: and he that delivers shall come for the sake of Zion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob, etc.

Having stated that God is hostile to those from Israel because of their many impieties, he turns the discourse to the calling of the nations and the advent of Christ. By the name of the east and of the west, he signified the entire human race, whom the fear of the Lord would encompass. For the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; of which Israel would not partake, but those whom he spoke of saying, "Behold, these shall come from far," and the following; by which he indicated the four corners of the world. Scripture has already made clear how great are the things which the fear of the Lord procures for us, where it says: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord." And this: "There is no lack for those who fear Him." And this also: "The fear of the Lord is discipline and wisdom." And this: "The fear of the Lord adds days." Which He promises to give not to the Jews, but to the nations. ^B For in another prophet He says to the former: "I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept sacrifices from your hands." But concerning the nations He says: "For from the rising of the sun even to the setting, My name has been glorified among the nations." But the cause of their salvation is that which says: "For He shall come as a violent river, and the wrath from the Lord; He shall come with fury." But neither the Hebrew nor other interpreters mention wrath and fury here; nor is it reasonable in the promise of good things. For Aquila says: "That the Spirit of the Lord shall come as a river, a sign unto Him." But Symmachus: "He shall come as a river wearing away the Spirit of the Lord. He urges and shall come." And Theodotion: "For He shall come as a river besieging. The Spirit of the Lord was marked in Him." How the Spirit of the Lord shall come as a violent river, he made clear in the Acts, when "there occurred suddenly from heaven a sound, as of a violent breath rushing," and the things that follow. The end of which is, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit."

But he also says, "a sign unto Himself." For this he set as a sign of His own ascension, saying: "If I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come." And again: "When I go away, I will send to you the Spirit of truth." ^C But instead of, "He shall come for the sake of Zion, he that delivers," Aquila says, "And He shall come to Zion as a kinsman." And Symmachus: "And He shall come to Zion as a kinsman." For the Savior said: "I am not sent except unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." And Paul also says: "For I say that Christ Jesus became a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers, but the nations for ^D

the mission of the fathers; but that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” Some say, however, that just as he mentioned God’s wrath against the Jews earlier, and then subsequently made mention of mercy, saying, “And for the mercy with which he has established them,” so now too, having mentioned fury and wrath, he has introduced salvation through Christ, saying, “And the Deliverer shall come for the sake of Zion,” clearly from sins, and death, and corruption, and the cruelty of demons. Zion, again, is the pious polity of the Church. But instead of “and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” Symmachus has: “And to those who have turned away from ungodliness in Jacob.” And Aquilas: “And to those who have turned away from impiety in Jacob.” For to them shall he come, and them he shall deliver. But those who do not turn themselves shall blame themselves. “And this,” he says, “is my covenant for them.” But what covenant? “My Spirit, which is in thee.” Which, when he was bestowing it upon the apostles, he said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven him.” This, therefore, is the New Testament, and the sum of that mystery which is in thee, the Kinsman and Deliverer, whom he said to be of the root of Jesse, affirming that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him; of which he also made his disciples partakers, so that they too might in turn confer the same upon the worthy and deserving. The words, moreover, which Christ has spoken, are my covenant, he says, which shall endure for ever. For the Savior spoke in this manner: “Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.” It is therefore a most evident proof of redemption to be made a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and to receive the word of truth in one’s tongue, as it is in Paul with these words: “The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart.” For we have received the word of faith, which procures the saving confession of righteousness. For thus does Christ justify the ungodly, he who formerly cried out: “I have blotted out your iniquities like a cloud.” Which, since it is perpetually established in us, the same is to be transmitted also to our descendants, whom he always protects as believers. But there are some who explain the whole thus: that God, just as he once made a covenant with Abraham when he offered sacrifices for the sake of the promises, and just as he subsequently delivered the law through Moses in a similar manner, so too now he signifies that he is making a covenant with the people through the prophet by these words, which shall have their power and their strength not only in the present time, but also in the coming age, if they are willing to blot out their sins through repentance. For thus God fulfills what he has promised, bestowing it, of course, upon those who repent and are worthy.

Chapter LX

679-680 Vers. 1-22. “Arise, shine, Jerusalem; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness over …”

the nations. But upon you the Lord shall appear, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And kings shall walk in your light, and nations in your brightness. Lift up your eyes round about, and see all your children gathered. Behold, all your sons have come from far, and your daughters shall be brought upon their shoulders. Then you shall see, and you shall fear, and you shall be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea, and of the nations, and of the peoples, shall be transferred to you, etc.

Having announced the coming of Christ, he ^A desires that the Israelites should be the first to share in it, according to the saying: “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This is what He also signified to the apostles, when He commanded them not to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor into the cities of the Samaritans. And they themselves also taught that it was necessary for the word to be preached first to the Jews. Christ, however, was the light, and the truth, and the life, and the light that “lightens every man who comes into the world”; by whom he urges Jerusalem, that is, its inhabitants, to be enlightened, saying that He is pre-eminently its light, both in regard to the promise of the fathers and because the things concerning Christ had been proclaimed to it by the prophets. For this reason he did not say simply "a light," but "the light" relatively, for if it had partaken of this, it would have remained in peace forever, according to the saying: “If you had known, even you, the things that make for peace.” But because it did not admit Him, He added: “For now the days will come upon you,” and the following. It fell short of all the promises now mentioned, which perhaps would have come to it even in a bodily sense. For it is deprived of the light and of these things as well. Nor indeed is ^B Jerusalem found among them, since Aquila and Symmachus, and the Hebrew text itself, have “Arise, be enlightened, for your light has come,” so that the discourse is addressed to those who have received the mentioned Redeemer or kinsman-redeemer, of whom he said above that they would fear the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun and from the west.

This holy and pious institution of life is therefore called the city of God and Jerusalem. For in it first began to be formed a choir of prophets and pious men; who, always expecting the coming of Christ, retained that constancy of faith even in dying, so that they did not doubt that He would suffer death for the sake of asserting their liberty. Hence it is that to them, as those sitting in darkness, He announces the coming of the light of Christ; so that the discourse may befit not only the first coming, but the second one also, ^C concerning which are these words of the Savior: “And they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven,” and the rest; in which He says that the angels will gather the elect from all sides. And again: “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory.” Then he speaks concerning the distinction between the pious and the impious, as of sheep and goats, with the former being delivered to the fire, ^D

^A while for those being recalled into the new age, he signifies that there will be no corporeal luminaries, since Christ Himself, who is the Sun of Justice, will abundantly provide and suggest the light. At that time, according to the most holy Paul’s sentiment: “The dead who are in Christ shall rise first: then we who are left shall be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ [1 Thessalonians 4:15, 16 ].” It is to such persons, therefore, that this exhortation will then proclaim: “Be enlightened, O Jerusalem,” or as others prefer: “Arise, be enlightened.” And see if he does not clearly indicate, by the very word “arise,” the resurrection of the dead, which the Light itself, recreating the dead with its own rays, will provide; for after they have been awakened, they shall gaze upon His glory. Wherefore he adds immediately: “And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you,” meaning the new city of God, which Christ alone illuminates. For to the impious, darkness is laid up, and in declaring this, he says: “Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the nations.” But upon you the Lord shall arise, according to the others. For it is necessary that there be first a rising of the light for those who are to be the future beholders of the glory of the Only-Begotten of God, who is called the glory of the Father. For in Him, and through Him, and with Him, He is glorified. For when we see the Son, we behold the majesty and glory of the Father, who says: “Father, glorify Your Son, that Your Son may also glorify Thee [John 17:1].”

^B But concerning what Isaiah holds: “Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist over the nations, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon you,” some, referring this to the first advent, think it is not said that darkness would cover the nations—since it is established that they have been enlightened—as though Christ were shining on the earth; but that what is said here to be about to happen is signified as already happening; that is, to cover. For at the time when Christ first shone for the Israelites, the nations were still being shrouded in darkness, since grace had not yet reached them, but He was demonstrating His own glory to the Jews by performing miracles. There are, moreover, some who refer what Isaiah said, “And a mist over the nations,” to the times when it happened that the enemies suffered just things. “And the nations shall walk in your light,” it states, “and kings in your brightness,” showing the calling of the nations to have originated from the incredulity and pertinacity of the Jews. Yet we must understand that there are two categories of those who are saved. The one is that of the pious among the Jews and the lovers of God; who, perfected by faith, obtained not the promises, since God provided something better for us, so that they might not be perfected without us [Hebrews 11:40]. These are they who, dwelling in the regions of death, awaited the advent of Christ. Therefore, when John had sent to Him, he asked whether He were the one who was coming, or if they ought to await another [Matthew 11:3]. Announcing the advent of Christ to them as good news, Scripture says: “Arise, be enlightened. For your light has come,” that is, the one you awaited. This, then, is the first rank. The second is that of the Church from the nations, which Paul joined to the first, saying: “Are you, then, no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens [Ephesians 2:19]?”

^A of the saints,” and what follows, collecting that in these it is also signified that the nations are co-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ.

Not undeservedly, therefore, after he has addressed the former, he now adds that the nations will walk in His light, so that he may demonstrate that it is a common light for both before the advent, and subsequently, a common splendor which the wiping away of all filth brings about. For the kings of the nations themselves also use this, since it has happened that they are illuminated by the power of divine mysteries, which has in our own time actually come to pass. Since, furthermore, he makes mention of the nations and their kings, he teaches that all those from the nations who choose the holy and pious manner of life are considered children of the former City of God; and when he commands that her gathered children be seen, he adds that they will be carried upon the shoulders: whence all who believed from the number of the nations have received ^B the promise that they will have rest in the bosom of Abraham. You may often find that the daughter of Jerusalem and Zion itself is designated as the Church of the nations, as in this place: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord: and many nations shall be joined to the Lord.” But in saying that they come from afar, he signifies that we were once far from the kingdom of Israel, and were strangers from the promise of the covenants. “But you,” he says, “who were sometimes far off, are made near.” For the Apostle says, “Not all who are of Israel are Israel: but those who are the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” There are also some things addressed to Abraham, by which the Lord willed that he should become the father of the nations: looking toward which, a certain prophet commanded those ^C who were far away to remember the Lord and to bring Jerusalem into their hearts. Because they obeyed these things, they now employ the words of Isaiah: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will show us His way, and we will walk in His paths.” “Behold,” He says, “they have come,” as if to signify that their vocation was not far off. For they will follow, as if in the footsteps of the evangelical preaching, with no toil and no labor: because they will be carried on shoulders, as if certain infants led by the hand by their instructors into the inner sanctuaries of the sacred mysteries. For they first drink milk, and shortly after, as many as have attained the regeneration of the Spirit ascend to the measure of perfect age. Whence it has come to pass that the Apostle spoke as a nursing mother ^D who cherishes her own children.

It follows then: “Then you shall see, and you shall rejoice.” For to whom would it not happen that a mother should rejoice, if she sees her own children saved? But it should not be ignored that in some [versions] the word "you shall fear" is not found; and that it signifies the same as "you shall be amazed and you shall wonder."

^A What, however, is the occasion for wondering? "Because," he adds, "the wealth of the sea will be transferred to you." Or, as it pleases Symmachus: "When the multitude of the sea and the power of the nations shall have been turned to you." By this, the Word compares the great multitude of those who are to be saved to the wealth and the multitude of the sea. By the power of the nations, one may understand either those among the nations who have some authority, or even those who, by their manner of life and probity, firmly adhering to God, are able to affirm that they can do all things in Christ, who provides them strength. Furthermore, it says, you shall rejoice even over the more imperfect ones, and those who are less obedient to reason—that is, the herds of camels—who shall bring gold and frankincense to you; by which reason he has signified the rich and opulent in the Church. For the Savior himself compared the rich man to a camel, when he said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven: but yet, what ^B seems impossible for men is very easy for God. By which words it came to pass that Jerusalem itself was moved, when it saw that eternal life is approached by a narrow and compressed way, as if through the eye of a needle, and that gifts for the redemption of the soul are offered to God. For that which the soul pays for the redemption of its own captivity must be reckoned in the name of its own riches. And furthermore, Saba is an Ethiopian nation; but Gepha and Madiam are regions also barbarian, commended for the fecundity of camels; whence it happened that the prophet used their image. ^C Although, however, it is plain that these camels were endowed with reason. For he says: "And the camels of Madiam and Gepha shall cover you. All from Subba shall come, bringing gold, and they shall bring frankincense, and they shall announce the salvation of the Lord." For who are the camels that are to announce the salvation of the Lord? They must be those men who are to bring frankincense indeed, that is, the spiritual fragrance of divinity; but gold, that is, the corporeal abundance and store of things. Therefore, what was admirable and beyond expectation—that souls of the rich, which reflect the nature of beasts, having been compared to the camels themselves on account of their constant habit of carrying burdens, on account of their fecundity, and even on account of the perversity of the animal, were to be transformed: that, again, on account of their excellent utility, they might proclaim the salvation of the Lord: that finally, the sheep of Cedar, that is, more moderate and simpler minds, not in the least devoid of the use of reason, might be gathered together—he affirms that this very thing has now been accomplished. Such also is that saying: "Go to the sheep ^D that have perished of the house of Israel." And that saying also: "My sheep hear my voice." And in Ezekiel, when he had said, "Behold, I will seek out my sheep," and the things that follow, he adds: "And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord. And you are my sheep, and you are the sheep of my flock, of men, and I am the Lord your God." Therefore, these things [refer] to Israel, but he now says that the foreign sheep, those of Cedar, and the rams of Nabeoth, shall be gathered together. And Cedar is translated as darkness.

^A It is said to be about the desert of the Saracens, and Nabeoth is another region alien to Israel. By the rams, those most princely among the nations turning [to God] are signified, who even now offer gifts, dedicating themselves to God, and attending to the liturgy of the altar, through whom the Church of God is glorified.

Some say that "camels upon camels" shall come, either bringing what they possess and honoring God by their own hand; or that they will not come one by one, but in herds, bearing fruit for the glory of God, that is, the fragrance of good works and spiritual wealth. Among whom some, having attained an evangelical state, stood at the head of the peoples, evangelizing the salvation of the Lord. ^B "There shall come," he says, "also the sheep of Cedar, and the rams of Nabeoth." That is, the sacrifices of these also shall be acceptable, as they approach through faith. You could say, he says, that the sheep and rams [signify] men abounding in good things and embracing mildness, through whom the house of God is glorified—not through smoke and blood, as the old temple, but through spiritual worship.

Mindful of this utterance, the Savior also said: "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers." When, therefore, the house became a house of prayer, then it was glorified. Deliberately, the Scripture, as if speaking to infants, to those from Israel, provides the promises from things familiar to them, with [something] bodily clearly pointing to something intelligible. ^C For it was of great concern to them to see foreign nations bringing gifts. He therefore charms them by lisping things that are dear to them. For He promises what is familiar, as indeed to children, through which He urges them forward to piety, as we are accustomed to do for the instruction of children. Perhaps it might have happened to them also bodily, if they had received Christ.

Therefore, some have also explained it thus: Resume your former light, Jerusalem, which you quenched through sloth, and by which you were honored above others who are darkened, so that you might be an example of piety to nations and kings; but since you are not willing, the light of Christ shall pass over to the nations. Your vision, therefore, he says, lift up toward God, and you shall see those gathered in the diaspora [the dispersion] being escorted by those who hold/possess them. ^D He also promises gold and the things from the nations to those who are excited by such things, if they should wish to be pious. And these things, indeed, [refer] to those. But having addressed the old Jerusalem, that pious polity, the mother of the new and according-to-Christ polity, on her behalf He now brings forward the things said after this.

^A "Who are these? As clouds they fly." Paul makes the meaning clear by saying, "We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord," being joined, that is, to the choir of those who have attained perfection in the former people, and who, beholding the flight toward them, marvel at the multitude of the nations being saved. Some say that the person of the Church is introduced, marveling at the great confluence of believers from every region, hastening toward her with rapid course and, as it were, flying, because, having abandoned earthly and lowly-mindedness, they have become elevated like clouds from the sea, far from the tumult of the world. He mentions "doves with their young" because the net of divine preaching has gathered not only the old but also the young, and daughters with their mothers, into the faith. ^B And while the Church marvels, He who cast the net reveals the cause of the matter, saying, "The islands waited"—meaning the islanders—"and the ships of Tarshish." Scripture calls the Indian regions Tarshish; others, however, say that Tarshish is a city of Cyprus. By "waited" is meant, "they accepted My yoke," by which He signifies the concurrence of the nations, who offer those things most precious to them and are called Christians, since the name of the Lord has been sanctified among them, and the Holy One of Israel has been glorified. For it is one and the same who is Lord, and holy, and glorified. To Him, therefore, not to idols as of old, they offer not at all material things—that is, gold and silver—but faith and the splendor of every virtue. It is written also in the Psalms concerning Christ: "The kings of Tarshish and the islands shall bring ^C presents; the kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts, and all the kings of the earth shall worship Him." These words, then, fit well if one understands "Who are these? As clouds they fly" to be spoken by the Church.

But if one acknowledges these to be the words of those who once followed the pious way of life, and adds that here, too, are those whom it said it had "waited for"—meaning the Church, which, reading the promises made in the prophets to the Fathers, expected them—then it follows that it has "waited for them," and, having expected them, one might say that the hope of attaining those promises never perished. Now, the "ships of Tarshish" signify the bodies themselves, in which souls have swum across the sea of this mortal life. ^D Moreover, Tarshish is a region of aliens; and this is why we read elsewhere that God will crush the ships of Tarshish, as those possessing aliens. But while those were indeed crushed, here it is said that the children of the old Jerusalem—those from among the nations who have joined themselves to her—will come to her by ships; that is, by their very bodies, which have been changed for the better. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." They will come, therefore, in their very bodies, bringing the works of virtue, which are called gold and silver. For this is what Paul means when he says: "If anyone builds..."

^A upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones." But there are some who suggest that, as if he were a prophet beholding future events, he was asking who these people were; and others who believe that he is marvelling at the great number of those who are being brought back to Jerusalem. For he compares the multitude of these to thick and dense clouds, and to doves with their fledglings. This is not unlike what I have already mentioned, when he asked, "Where were these?" What the prophet saw, therefore, he proclaimed. And Micah himself, being unable to speak anything to satisfy Ahab’s desires, said he would do exactly this, in these words: "I saw the people upon the mountains, as sheep which have no shepherd." Thus, in this passage too, he signifies that all will come under protection, and will be carried as if on shoulders into the city of Jerusalem, as being a city consecrated to God.

He calls the ships of Tarshish those who have come from Tarshish in India, of which Jonah also makes mention. These things will happen for Jerusalem not for its own sake, but for the sake of God, who resolved, for the sake of his own majesty and magnificence, to fulfill the promises made to the fathers. ^B It follows then: "And foreigners shall build up your walls," which you may see has indeed come to pass. For Gentiles preside over the Churches, and protect them with their own teaching and precepts, so that no place is given to alien and contradictory words for treachery. He also adds: "And their kings shall stand by you." For even today, the leaders of the Roman forces, and the fear of kings, ward off those who plot against the Churches; or, at any rate, by using the term "stand by," he signifies that they will be obedient. For they obey the holy oracles; and they venerate and observe in every way what the Church preaches. ^C You may find, too, that these things happened according to history at the time when Jerusalem was rebuilt by the command of Cyrus and, after him, Darius. And Alexander, too, when he first beheld the sacred vestments, immediately changed the anger with which he had been inflamed into adoration. For, "Because of my anger I struck you, and because of my mercy I have loved you." For I struck you—you who had promised to worship God—by handing you over to the enemy, due to the multitude of those who acted impiously within you, so that even prophets and God-fearing men might suffer from the wickedness of the rest. ^D And now, because of those who act rightly within you, I have loved you; for the anger is thus attributed not to the fury of the Lord, but to their sins. For God brings about punishment, moved by his own goodness, so that from the nature of the punishments by which he avenges those who sin, it may be understood how great things those who do right will receive. For if the One who is without anger descends to punishment for our benefit, for which reason he is even said to be "angry," how much more will the same One, who is the fountain of goodness, have mercy on us when we act justly? He proceeds, further, showing that the fruit of this love is immense security and peace, by which his gates will never be closed.

^A According to the history, therefore, it signifies that there is no enemy to be feared. But if you look to the inner meaning, it shows that the gates of the City of God—that is, the introductory and elementary doctrines—will always be set before those who approach piety. For this reason he said that he would bring to you the power of the nations, those who are able to say: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me." ^B Among these are the distinguished kings, those worthy of the heavenly kingdom. Through God, all have access to the knowledge of the Son. "For no one," he says, "can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." And so far as history is concerned, the rulers and emperors of the Romans make their entry into the Church. "Those," he says, "who will not serve you"—that is, the City of God, a most beautiful and saving service—"shall perish." For whom faith does not save, unbelief destroys.

"To you," he continues, "shall be brought the most beautiful and lofty trees that are in Lebanon," which is a mountain abounding in timber of foreigners, suitable for the construction of houses. By these trees he understands those who, from among the Gentiles, have been instructed in secular learning and adorn the Church with the diligence of prayer, and glorify the holy place of God and the place of his feet—that is, the Church itself, which contains and nourishes the countlessly many heads of virtues, lofty in greatness and exhaling the fragrance of Christ, which are also far removed from the corruption of worldly-mindedness; a quality which is naturally attributed to the pine and the cedar.

^C For it is customary for Scripture to compare the multitude of saints to such trees as these. For David also says: "And bread strengthens the heart of man. The trees of the field shall be satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon which you have planted." And Paul also says: "We are God's husbandry." Some, however, say that by Lebanon the Scripture signifies the nations, just as it signifies Jerusalem by Carmel. For the latter is the mountain of Samaria, while the former is one of the foreigners. He indicates, therefore, according to history, the wood provided for the restoration; but according to the inner meaning, the opinions of the just. ^D He further signifies that those who formerly humiliated the Church through persecutions, having changed their minds, would worship God within it; a thing which it is certain has happened to many. Others, however, believe that Jerusalem was humiliated because it acted insolently toward Christ; but because a remnant was saved, it became a mother to the nations. For the Romans who humiliated it ran to their faith. And then, he says, "You shall be called the City of the Lord, Zion." For the Church is the City of God, of which David says we read: "Glorious things are spoken of you, O City of God." Some say, "Then," meaning when the fullness of the nations has entered in, and all Israel shall be saved. For then one body of peoples shall be made out of two. For while the people from the nations had not yet been joined to the former Israel, it was not possible for those alone to be called all Israel, being destitute of the second rank of the new Israel. But both then shall be of one...

salvation to be obtained from God. ^A Some, however, have referred this to history, as if it signified that the city, being in such a state, those who sinned against it would be put to shame when they reflected on what they had done. For they had indeed burdened the yoke of the elders, and had not pitied the infant, so that the city of the Lord might henceforth be called Jerusalem. For just as it was deserted because of impiety, so, having returned to itself, it will be an ornament not only to that generation but also to those that follow. That is to say (since when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it), when the branches of the cultivated olive tree that had transgressed were cut off, those who were then pious are said to have been abandoned and hated, when there was no one to help them.

But because those from the wild olive tree replaced their place, ^B and both peoples were joined together, the fullness of those being saved was established by the power of the Savior, and one city was made out of both, which is called Zion, to which, once perfected, the following things are promised. Some say that she was humbled indeed because of the act of daring against Christ, but that she will be saved if she acknowledges Him again. But the things that follow—"I will make thee an eternal rejoicing, a joy unto generations of generations"—where indeed there is the hope of immortality in the Church of God, and of life without end, and of glory, and of the kingdom of the heavens, what place could there be for sadness? And "Thou shalt suck," he says, "the milk of the Gentiles." He speaks of the common mystery and the elementary instruction of those reborn in Christ through faith. ^C Some say that this and the subsequent things denote the fruits from the Gentiles, and the votive offerings and royal provisions given by those in power even to this day. Others say that "kings" denotes those worthy of the beatitudes, to whom the Savior promises the kingdom of heaven. Others again, according to history, say that the wealth is signified which kings and princes brought to it, to God, who delivered it from the enemies and restored it to rule again. "For I am the Lord," he says, "who saves thee." For by grace and philanthropy the remnant of Israel has been saved, so that the nation from the holy fathers might not entirely perish. "Know thou," he says, "in addition to what has been said, that there shall no longer be need of useless wood" (for these are fuel for fire), ^D "nor of stones," that is, of dull souls. But you shall have things more precious than these. For those who were of old like bronze and counterfeit men, and harder in their ways than any iron, having been transformed into gold and silver, will fit themselves to your edifice, which is of God; and those more senseless than wood, instead of bronze and iron, will for you be brought together for the building.

^A Some say that this means that all things will be changed for the better, with the instruction in the Law making way for that which is through Christ, which is as much better as gold is than bronze. For bronze has the appearance of gold, yet is not gold. And iron has the appearance of silver, on account of its brightness, yet is not silver. Accordingly, Paul calls the knowledge in the Law, when compared with that which is through Christ, "rubbish," and the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, being mythical, might be compared to wood and stones, whereas that which is in Christ is as much better as bronze is than wood, and iron than stone. For the former are easily broken, but the latter, in addition to being bright and precious, are unbreakable. For a life that is upright is wont to pass over to others along with true doctrines. Hence it came about that Paul called the capacity for certain mystical doctrines "wood, hay, and stones." ^B There are some, however, who have interpreted it literally, as if, for a city practicing piety, any material whatsoever, whether precious or abject, should be given. For they say that God himself can bring this about. But when these things have come to pass, your princes shall live in peace, he adds; whom, on account of their foreknowledge, he calls bishops. And the statement, "They shall live in peace and righteousness," was fulfilled in part, according to the passage, "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part," referring, of course, to the present life. "But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall pass away."

^C And this will be the end of the kingdom of Christ, when all iniquity has been done away, and every crushing and misery. For no enemy will be left any longer, nor any memory of evil, according to the passage, "Pain, and sorrow, and sighing have fled away." But as if having cast out the former, he raises up other bishops and princes, who cultivate peace with God and venerate righteousness, of the kind which perhaps that was, which he has already utilized in these words: "And I will bring my hand upon you, and I will smelt you to pureness. But those who have not believed I will destroy; and I will take away every iniquitous person from you, and I will humble all the proud, and I will set up your judges as at the first," and the rest that follows. And the Savior also says to the Jewish leaders: ^D "The kingdom shall be taken away from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it." There are some, however, who explain it literally, saying that the princes will cultivate righteousness with their subjects, and will obtain peace from wars, such that one who fears enemies or wild beasts may take refuge with them. "And your walls," he adds, "shall be called salvation"; where, for "salvation," the Hebrew reading has "Jesus." For he is the same one who walls about the Church. It follows then: "And your gates sculptured," at which place Symmachus and Aquila have interpreted it as "praises," using different words, though not differing in reality. For by these is the entry of the pious polity, of those who are coming and being taught to praise God. Some say that the walls and gates are the teachers, walling in

^A the Church with their life and doctrine, and introducing those who come. And it is called a "sculpture" because their discourse is exceedingly beautiful and chiseled toward truth. It could also be understood as Christ. For the entry to the Father is through Him, who is also the "sculpture," as it were the form and character of the substance of the Father, and the radiance of His glory. "But the sun shall no longer provide its light for thee, nor shall the moon enlighten thee by night." For those of the new age will not be in night, nor will they be in sensory light. For the Savior says: "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." For their light and glory is God; becoming as a sun to the more perfect, and as a moon to those of lower standing, He bestows His rays in proportion ^B to their capacity, fulfilling in deed the beatitudes, through which He said: "They that mourn shall be comforted, and those that weep shall laugh."

Whence He adds: "And the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled, all iniquity being removed." Therefore, as one elect, he shall inherit the land promised to him, that which was promised to the meek, in which the heavenly city is also placed. "And such is my people, a shoot of my planting. For every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted out." Being the work of His hands, he shall inherit the earth, when even he who is few in the present life shall go forth into thousands, according to that word: "Have thou authority over five or ten cities." They shall therefore be as it were the ^C leaders of thousands of the saved. And he who is now the least, shall become a great nation. Such was Paul saying: "To me, the least of all the saints, was this grace given," who shall rule over a nation very great before God. He says, moreover, that the time appointed for these things shall come, when these will take place through my gathered assembly, when He shall send the angels and shall gather the saints from the ends of the heavens, and shall construct one city out of the two peoples, such as that which is written: "That there may be one flock and one shepherd."

Some, however, interpreted the things concerning the sun and moon toward the present age. For even if the sun wanes ^D by night and the moon by day, yet the divine and intelligible light which the Savior imparts to the faithful through the Holy Spirit shall be inextinguishable, and needing no sensory light for the illumination of the mind toward the knowledge of God and the practice of virtues. Therefore He says: "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And as for: "And the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled," since darkness is characteristic of sinners, as they await fire

said that it would have the light of life. He added that the days of his mourning would be completed; he used this for the reason that he might signify that the downcast countenance and sadness belong properly to sinners, who expect nothing other than darkness and fire; whereas the righteous, delivered by hope from the mourning of their sins, exult with joy.

Sequitur itaque: Et erit populus tuus justus omnis [It follows, therefore: And your population shall be entirely righteous]. For Christ himself justifies the people of the Church through grace, for we are the planting of his hands, whom he has grafted into the fruitful olive tree. Now, therefore, in this century, the glory of the saints lies hidden, but in that future one, he who is least will be appointed over many; ^A rejoicing in which, the saints say: "He has subjected peoples under us, and nations under our feet." This will come to pass when, as he says, I shall gather them, having descended from heaven, and they shall be caught up in the clouds to meet me. Some have interpreted it thus: that as one ceasing from impiety, you shall no longer reckon the light primarily to the sun and moon, but to the Creator of these, having his truth shining upon you. "And the mourning of your captivity shall cease," when you receive back your land. And it is fitting for them, as they are compared to plants, to yield the fruits that are due. For it is God who planted and who takes care, and who provides those things which conduce to his own glory: he who finally predicts their progress into a multitude, while he himself gathers them together, and makes those who are few into a great nation.

Cap. LXI

Vers. 1-10. Spiritus Domini super me, cujus gratia unxit me Dominus; ut evangelizarem pauperibus misit me; ut sanarem contritos corde; ut annuntiarem captivis remissionem, et cæcis visum instaurationem; ut proclamarem annum Domino acceptabilem, et diem retributionis Deo nostro; ut consolarer omnes lugentes; ut detur lugentibus ^B Sion gloria pro cinere; unctio lætitiæ lugentibus, amictus gloriæ pro spiritu mæroris, etc.

He who, in the evangelical promises, had added that he himself was the Lord, and that he would gather them in time; now, for the sake of this thing, he signifies that he has been anointed by the Lord, namely, to gather them. And see the Lord being anointed by the Lord with the Holy Spirit, so that the Godhead may be understood in the Trinity. For although he is Lord and God by nature, according to his humanity he is anointed by the Father with the Spirit. He is not, therefore, merely man, if he is Lord; nor destitute of flesh, if he is anointed; but he is the same God and man, though not in the same respect. Whence it comes about that, as he is from David, he is said to be anointed. For he had already said before that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him who had come forth from the root of Jesse, ^C that is, upon Christ. For it is not said that he was anointed with chrism in the same manner as the ancients. Otherwise, he would have nothing exceptional beyond the others; whom, nevertheless, by the testimony of David: "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your fellows." Then, as if he were already man, he says: "For this reason he has anointed me." And he has added the cause. And he has predicted, saying: "At the proper time I will gather them." ^D

^A Since God provides the Spirit to the creature, but man receives it. Therefore, according to Luke, when he happened to be in Nazareth and entered the synagogue, and opened Isaiah and found this passage, he folded it and said: "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled." For it happened that at that very time he was also baptized, and the Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove; after which, having been tempted, he came to Nazareth and declared that the Scripture was fulfilled.

Some, however, as has been said, say that the phrase "he has anointed me" refers to the time of his birth. Yet it is manifest that after baptism he is seen preaching the kingdom of heaven (which was evangelizing the poor) and setting forth the beatitudes. He also healed those brokenhearted, tending them with promises, and saying: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." And "Blessed are those who weep, for they shall laugh." ^B And to those held captive by demons he proclaimed release, when he said to his disciples: "Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them," clearly for the remission of grievances; for they were also suffering from blindness, serving the manifold error. Wherefore the Father said in the preceding words: "Behold, I have set you as a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to lead those in bonds out of chains." And they were poor, as having suffered the lack of every good, having no hope, and being atheists in the world. Unless, perhaps, he says that the abundant supply of the gifts through him was given to the poor in spirit. But he describes the brokenhearted otherwise: those who are weak in heart and have a disposition so fragile that they cannot withstand the assaults of the passions, but serve and obey them like captives. Moreover, what is said also applies to those from Israel. For there was not on earth one doing good, there was not, not even one. ^C Therefore, though all were children of night and darkness, they have become children of light. For the day dawned for them, and the sun of righteousness arose, and the morning star shone brightly.

He also says that he was anointed to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, thus indicating the time of the incarnation, in which, while he lived on earth, he provided the light of day to those coming to him. For such a year is due and fitting to him, as the Sun of righteousness. Or is he, perhaps, to be thought to have indicated the future age, to which he referred the things pertaining to his teaching, at which time, he says, "there shall not be a sun or moon for you, but the Lord is a light eternal"? ^D Hence it is called the year of the Lord, as being illuminated by him, and acceptable, or according to others, of his pleasure. For that is the one pleasing to God, and he himself is the day of retribution, when those who have toiled through the present life receive their rewards. Some, however, take "acceptable" as...

as the year in which it befell Christ to suffer the cross; for then we were rendered acceptable to God and Father, being brought forth as fruit through him. Hence also it is that he spoke of the grain of wheat, that once it had died it would produce much fruit. And again, when he was exalted from the earth, he would draw all things to himself. Therefore, even when he had been raised from the dead, he said that all authority had been given to him in heaven and on earth, sending the disciples to the nations with baptism, by the benefit of which we receive remission and become partakers of his own divine nature. For those who were accepted obtained that acceptable year of which the Apostle speaks when he says that now the acceptable time ^B is at hand, now the day of salvation; by which words he designated the time of the incarnation, in which he displayed to those who believed the promises which they held by faith. This certainly the law handed down through Moses did not have, which confined the rewards to the present life, specifically signifying length of days, the goods of the earth, and peace. Thus also Zechariah says: "Jerusalem will be inhabited in the abundance of its fruits by a multitude of men and beasts that are in it." And again: "Still there will sit elders in the streets of Jerusalem, each one having his staff in his hand for the multitude of days; and the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing." But the Savior reserves as rewards for each what he has merited ^C for the age to come.

One might also say that retribution is to be understood as having taken place in the time of the incarnation; for then the strength of the devil, who had trampled us down, was cast down. Thus, according to David, he introduces the person of those who have been redeemed speaking in this manner: "For you have executed my judgment and my cause; you sat on the throne, you who judge righteousness. You have rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man has perished." Concerning whom he says again: "His sin will be sought, and it shall not be found." And the Savior also says: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out." He says also that he was anointed to comfort ^D all who mourn: "For blessed," he says, "are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." But he will also give glory to those in Zion who mourn. For the saints among the Jews mourned for the downfall of the people. Such was Paul, who says that he has great sorrow and ceaseless pain in his heart for the sake of his brothers and kinsmen according to the flesh, for whom he prayed to become an anathema. Therefore he will give glory to these also, and in place of the ashes which they cast upon themselves while praying to God for them, he will give them the oil of gladness and a glorious garment, in return for the despondency they felt on their account.

Some, however, say that those who mourned before the coming...

being holy themselves and knowing the prophecies. Simeon, at any rate, having taken the infant Christ in his arms, confessed that he saw: ^A "A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." And Zacharias, the father of John, [confessed] that He had visited and wrought redemption for His people. And Nathanael says: "We have found Jesus, of whom Moses and the prophets wrote." Therefore, to them as they mourn, the consolation through Christ is given. And the anointing signifies an ^B appearance of gladness. And glory was also given to them—Christ Himself—or, as some say, because they have been appointed as leaders and teachers of it, and, being children of the Jewish Synagogue, they became fathers. Regarding this, David says: "Instead of thy fathers, thy sons were born." And indeed Paul wrote to the disciples: "For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel." And in another way they received glory, sometimes by hearing: "Heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead," and other times, "You are the light of the world." Then he says: "And they shall be called generations of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for glory," clearly those who are accounted worthy of the acceptable year. Symmachus, instead of "generations," says "mighty ones." For those from the nations come to be a "chosen race, a holy nation, a people for [His] possession."

^C The generations of righteousness are those in Christ, which also surpasses that in the Law. "For unless," He says, "your righteousness abounds more than the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven," which they attained, having become "mighty ones," as Symmachus rendered it. And "a planting of the Lord," as God’s husbandry, regarding which David sang: "They that are planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God, shall flourish." And Paul also says: "I planted you, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." To this also corresponds: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree." "And they shall build the desert places of old," by which he understands the souls of the nations that were desert before. Or rather, some say, it reveals the multitude of those called through faith, who are such that they require other cities to be built in ^D deserts; or it refers to the churches that were previously desert of godliness. "And strangers shall come, pasturing your sheep." For the former having been cast out (to whom a certain prophet says: "O shepherds of Israel, do not the shepherds pasture themselves? Do not the shepherds pasture the sheep?" to whom the Savior was speaking: "The kingdom of God will be taken from you, and will be given to a nation bearing the fruits of it"), instead of them, foreign shepherds were established. Here he clearly signifies the change of the Law and of the priesthood according to it, no longer those from Levi

for whom silver had become unacceptable and removed from use. Thus it happened that plowmen and vine-dressers from among the number of the Gentiles took their place. For since they who believe are very often called vines and gardens in Scripture, he appropriately calls the ministers plowmen and vine-dressers. They do not, therefore, snatch this honor for themselves, but rather come to it called by God. Furthermore, there were shepherds in the Law signified by the name of vine-dressers; looking to whom, the Savior Himself asks what the Lord of the vineyard will do to the wicked husbandmen. ^A To those, therefore, He adds that the prophet says: "But you shall be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God." For to them the silver was unacceptable.

Who then are these, if not the vine-dressers of the Church, who shall eat up the strength—or, according to Aquila, the abundance—of the Gentiles? For no food is as fitting for the shepherds of the Church as the strength of the Gentiles who have attained salvation through them. These would be they who demonstrated their strength through endurance and suffering in their testimony for the truth. "But," he says, "you shall also be admired for their wealth." By this wealth of the Gentiles, we shall understand that of which the Apostle writes to the Corinthians: "I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in every word and in every knowledge, as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any grace." Some, however, say that the strength of the Gentiles refers to the honors conferred by the most powerful among them, ^B who would be those called from the Gentiles, or that the word of power from the Gentiles will prevail among you, or that those who are illustrious among them, or those who have practiced worldly wisdom, will prevail. For having overcome these, they were glorified. For the boast of teachers is those saved through their mystical instruction; and such shall inherit the earth, having prevailed over all, ^C but not merely Judea, according to those of old who were allotted land by Joshua, who was a type of the true Jesus, by whom that other and superior partition of the inheritance was made, concerning which it is read in the Psalms: "Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession," which He distributed to His own disciples, sending some here and others there, joyful in Him, and wearing gladness as a kind of crown, having their reward not in passing and momentary things, but in goods that abide forever, having a perpetual and eternal recompense. For these things will come to pass, he says, because "I love justice, and I hate the rapine from the iniquity of evil demons," who formerly used to plunder human souls. ^D Whence it came to pass that I have poured out my grace not upon the Jews only, but upon all mortals. But it is to be noted that in the place where we have "to the just," all the others have translated it "in truth": so that their labor shall not be falsified, but in truth shall be kept and reserved for them.

^A Some, however, say that the cause was that he drove away those pastors previously, as they were given to avarice; because, by unjust enrichment, as it is in the prophet, "storing up for themselves impiety and misery, they transmit them to others." Solomon, therefore, was correct when he pronounced that wealth unjustly amassed would be vomited forth. Of such a system David also says, "Yet in vain is he disquieted. He stores up, and knows not for whom he shall gather them." And in another way, the labor of the Jewish teachers has passed even to those who are of the Gentiles, according to the saying: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation that shall yield the fruits thereof." He adds, moreover, that he will make an everlasting covenant with them; not meaning the precepts of Moses, but the mysteries of the new testament, or faith everlasting and immortal.

Then he adds: "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles;" not that corporeal seed in which the Jews glory, but that which relates to the Church; which is known to all, as it has its reason for increase from God. For by the term "seed," it is fitting to understand either doctrine or disciples, who, by the excellence of their works, are known even to the eyes of all as the disciples of holy men, being a seed blessed by God. Of this kind are the holy companies of monks, of whom we read in Paul in these words: "But they that are Christ's, have crucified their flesh, with the affections and lusts." ^B They, too, shall exult in the Lord, inasmuch as they have become such a seed, of which he understood when he signified that everlasting joy would be upon their head.

There are some, however, who think the whole series of words should be understood as if from the person of the prophet. For since he spoke of the exceeding great benevolence of the Lord, who turns all things for the better, he says that the speech is no longer his own, but of the Spirit of God resounding in him, who designated himself for the proclamation of future good things to those whom poverty was about to invade: so that, having experienced the remedy of the soul, they might free themselves from that captivity which is truly and properly so called. For although bodily, Daniel and the three children underwent captivity, yet in spirit they did not perceive it. Nay, neither did the fire nor the wild beasts touch their bodies. And the acceptable year of the Lord will be that in which the soul, transformed for the better, shall provide fruitfulness to the cultivator of souls, ^C just as we see seeds themselves sprouting annually in winter, but in spring growing and increasing, and in summer finally reaching perfection.

For such persons, therefore, he announces joy instead of mourning, however much both kinds of captivity may occupy them. For they themselves shall rouse up many souls that lay prostrate, and they shall have aliens in the place of servants, who, for the sake of the piety of the Israelites performing sacred rites, shall desire to serve them. For he shows that every man can be a priest of God, and those things which ^D through...

^A each are offered to God as prayers. Those, therefore, who apply themselves to piety, having become rich through the offerings of the nations, will also be admirable, possessing another land and not the old one, not being the same as they were before, but others, and judged as friends. For I, He adds, am the Lord of justice, who hate not every kind of plunder, but that which is from iniquity. For I love even those who take the kingdom of heaven by force. But those who unjustly plunder shall depart bare of the things they have seized, and shall pay the penalty for them. But the just, because they have shown themselves to be good stewards of the things they received, shall enjoy both present and eternal goods when, as heirs of blessing, they shall be acknowledged; just as also the wicked, being punished, shall be heirs of theirs, while those [the righteous] possess eternal joy. ^B

VERS. 10, 11. Let my soul exult in the Lord. For He has clothed me in the garment of salvation, and the tunic of joy. As a bridegroom He has placed a miter upon me, and as a bride He has adorned me with ornaments, etc.

After those promises which Christ, when He appeared on earth, fulfilled (among which was also that, "They shall rejoice in the Lord"), the discourse introduces the Church as the person, confessing with joy and gladness that which she has obtained. For having gathered, as it were, her own members—that is, the fullness of those who are saved—like a bride endowed with a beautiful and elegant body, and with the addition also of the bridegroom’s adornment, not without reason does she desire her soul to exult in the Lord. For she is one of those by whom she is filled, on account of their mutual harmony, a soul, according to that: "The heart and soul of all the believers were one." ^C Which will happen much more in the new age, in which she will utilize the words brought forward above. Moreover, it is the very cause of salvation that she added that she had been clothed by the Lord with the garment of salvation. For the body itself will be filled with the light of the resurrection; it will no longer be called [the body] of death, according to that: "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" The garment of salvation will be put upon the soul, and the tunic of joy. For each one shall be clothed with his own valiant deeds, rejoicing in them. Or rather, he calls Christ the tunic, according to what was said to the Apostle: "Put on our Lord Jesus Christ." ^D He who receives Him, in addition to salvation, also gains being in joy. Which is of the kind: "I came that they might have life, and might have it more abundantly." By the name of abundance, he understood that life which has the conjunction of joy: which if anyone obtains, he shall be crowned with every intelligible ornament. But if he has attained to the perfect man, he shall be crowned as a bridegroom. Descending in measures, he is adorned as a bride, being able, having reached the measure of stature, to say: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness."

^A Or, indeed, by the "bridegroom" he signifies those who are strong, just as by the "bride" he signifies those who possess a fertility combined with a beauty of various virtues. For it is written: "Because of thy fear, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb," and what follows. It should be noted, however, that Aquila translated it as "a bridegroom performing the office of a priest, and as a bride adorned with her vessels," whereas Symmachus rendered it as "like a bridegroom adorned with a crown, and as a bride wrapped in her finery." That which is in this way the bride of the Bridegroom-Word (because she has received seeds from Him and renders back ripe and blooming fruits) says that she has become like the earth, which brings forth its flower. And lest the Jews might snatch these things and take them to themselves, He makes a distinction, saying: "And exultation before all the gentiles." By the "flower," furthermore, he understands either Christ, who in the Canticles calls Himself ^B the "flower of the field" and the "lily of the valleys," or else the proclamation of the Gospel itself, whose righteousness he who performs will exult when he hears: "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many; enter into the joy of thy Lord."

Chapter LXII

Verses 1-12. "For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until my righteousness go forth as light, and my salvation be kindled as a lamp. And the gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the Lord shall name. And thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God, etc." ^C

Prepared by the things that have been said, and as it were excited by the pleasure of a divine inspiration, the prophet says: "For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace." He affirms that he will cry out constantly and will demand with prayers to see the outcome of the things that have been said, which will happen only then when it shall come to pass that the righteousness and salvation of Jerusalem shine upon all mortals. For then her light will pass on, after her, to the gentiles. This was fulfilled by the doctrine of the apostles, which was spread into all kingdoms; it was that old Jerusalem which followed the pious and holy practice of the city among the Jews. There are some, however, who have referred it to the new ^D [Jerusalem]. For the apostles were the first-fruits of the Church. I will not rest, therefore, he says, until the Lord fulfills the things which He promised her: that is, until He has provided salvation for the whole earth through Christ. For God is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the gentiles. Some, indeed, because the text has "my righteousness and my salvation," have referred it to God, who promises that He will perform these things. But it is Christ who is righteousness and salvation, as a kind of...

^A Christ himself who is the lamp in the world; for as long as he was conversant in the world, he said that he was the light of the world, for those who had been previously darkened by impiety and transgressions. By justice and glory, again, he calls Christ. For we have been justified in him, and we have become rich in the glory from him.

Moreover, having turned toward a newness of life, she had also a new name: no longer was she called Synagogue, as before, but Church, and house, and city of God, of which it is spoken in David, at the place where he addresses her and affirms that glorious things have been spoken of the city of God. But in order to teach that she would be elegant and adorned with incomparable beauty, he added: «You shall be a crown of beauty.» For every holy soul, and the whole Church, is to be likened to a crown, which is composed of many flowers, and to a royal diadem. For David says that the Church is clothed in a golden-woven garment, and variegated, saying the same thing plainly as is laid before us here. The phrase, «in the hand of the Lord,» signifies his protection and defense; for he affirms that he will protect her by the protection of his hand. Indeed, Christ himself also asserts that no one shall snatch his own sheep from the hand of the Father. Furthermore, there are not wanting those who understand by the name of crown, those very persons who have lived with virtue and praise in Christ; and by his royal diadem, those also who have testified for him with their own blood; whom the Father, choosing with his own hand, joins to the Son, placing them as it were a crown; and honoring him with a royal diadem—that is, with the multitude of those who have attained salvation through him and by him. From whom she who has received the new name shall no longer be called «forsaken and desolate,» but «my will,» that is, according to my will; by which he signifies that she will also be desirable, though she was once desolate, for the things in which she had rebelled against Christ. But the remnant having been saved, and the nations having been joined to him, it grew into an infinite multitude, with God approving and embracing her, however much, for the sake of discipline, he may often seem to disregard her when afflicted. ^B Some, however, have referred the saying, «and your land is inhabited,» to the new age of the kingdom of Christ, at which time it will have inhabitants not at all unworthy of the promises, who will enjoy a life so delightful and tranquil that it appears as a youth dwelling with a virgin.

^C Some say that the Church was constituted at first from the Jews, among whom the apostles, being more excellent than the others, burned with such love for her, that Paul desired to be anathema for them. But a vast renewal of things has been brought about. For the ancient Synagogue, having become old by a certain age, is likened to a young girl. Then her own sons, namely the Apostles, dwelt with her, while they governed her with their hand as a nurse; while they consoled her as a mother; while, finally, they taught her to avoid the shadows of the law: whence we read in David that those sons were born to you in place of your fathers. For while being sons, they became fathers. Since these things are so, he says, so will the Lord rejoice over

you, just as indeed a bridegroom rejoices over a bride. For the only-begotten Word descended from heaven to make the Church fruitful; whom He Himself took to Himself as a chaste virgin, having no spot or wrinkle. Having received from Him the seeds of the evangelical way of life, she has given birth, no longer to the worship of blood and smoke, but to that in which the beauty of truth is wrought, ^A in which she reasonably rejoices, seeing the types changed into truth. And beholding the bride consisting of perfect members, both of the former and the new people, He will rejoice as a bridegroom over a bride, and He will appoint watchers—namely divine angels and holy powers—to guard the walls of the new Jerusalem, so that, reigning in peace, He Himself might lead the age. Or perhaps by "watchers" he means the holy teachers of the mysteries, who at all times hymn His glory, mindful of His wonders, as it is written: "Concerning whom they shall say, for there is none like unto you." For as He differs in nature, so much does He differ in goodness. For as it has been said in the Psalms: "He has not dealt with us according to our lawlessness, nor has He repaid us according to our sins." ^B

But instead of the phrase, "For there is none like unto you," if one corrects it, and makes Jerusalem a "boasting" on the earth, Symmachus says, "Do not be silent, nor let the stone be silent, until He prepares, and until He sets Jerusalem as praise on the earth." These are clearly answers to those who had said above: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as light." For the Holy Spirit encourages the prophetic chorus that has said these things to persist in prayers on their behalf, and not to allow God, who promised these things, to rest until He sets Jerusalem as praise on the earth. To these who are crying out, He who said, "While you are yet speaking I will say, Behold, I am here," ^C answers that the Lord has sworn. But if one refers it to the interpreters of the Seventy, then that which says, "If He corrects," and what follows, must be taken from another beginning. What, then, does He swear? That they shall no longer suffer what they formerly endured while acting impiously, when their land was being ravaged by enemies. But not simply so; rather, if they are corrected, ceasing from the legal types, and having received the grace through faith, and boasting in Christ. For this is what it means to make a "boasting." For then, according to what was mystically said by David: "You shall eat the fruits of your labors." And according to Paul: "For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." And: "He who sows to the Spirit, will from the Spirit reap eternal life." But of old they used to provide their own fruit as food for the enemies of God, ^D making their own deeds the food of demons. This shall not happen to those deemed worthy of the new age, but having achieved virtue, they shall enjoy their own fruits.

This is the very thing the Lord swore by His own glory, since He had no one greater by whom to swear. ^A

On the eating and drinking in the holy courts

What He says regarding "eating and drinking in His holy courts" can be understood as referring to those many mansions which are with the Father. Having then made mention of the courts, or areas, as others prefer, He does not seem to forget the structure of the temple as well, since He commands them to walk through His gates, thereby indicating the heavenly city, whose areas and gates are understood to be those same ones which are later opened to the worthy, to which, when they are called, that nothing may delay those entering—neither envy, nor excuse, nor a demon (things which usually avert one from the kingdom)—He commands the angelic powers to make a way for His people. ^B There are, however, some who think these things should also be referred to the Church which is on earth, and that by the name of "stones" are meant "scandals," and that the guardians and teachers of the Church are commanded to give to those who enter a path that is smooth and unobstructed. For the one who comes from the Jews is stuck in legal figures, while the one who comes from the Greeks stumbles at the novelty of the doctrine. He calls to mind the writings which are held in high esteem among them. On the other hand, those who initiate into these sacred mysteries cut away the occasions for stumbling blocks, casting down arguments and every high thing raised against the knowledge of God. ^C Whence the Apostle says to those from the circumcision: "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." And again: "If you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." And to those from the Greeks he says: "You observe days, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest perhaps I have labored in vain among you." And the guardians also cut away the scandals from the heretics. You might also call the walls of the Church the constancy and firmness of the dogmas of truth, against which not even the gates of hell shall prevail. He adds next: "Lift up a sign to the nations. For the Lord has made it heard to the end of the earth." For let no one think, He says, that these things were spoken concerning the people of the Jews. For the sign shall be lifted up even to the ends of the earth. ^D And what is this "heard sign" which He bids to be lifted up? It is the requirement to make known the word of faith which we preach, or perhaps He refers to the symbol of the saving passion. Yet even this is contained in the confession of faith; for it is fitting that the Lord Jesus be professed with the mouth, and believed that God raised Him from the dead. Next, He teaches the daughter of Sion—by which the Church is manifestly signified—to await its own Savior. For it is the daughter of that old regime which retained piety and true worship among the Jews. He speaks now, therefore, concerning the second coming, bringing to remembrance what He performed, even as he suffered. Wherefore He is called Jesus, according to the word of Gabriel: "For He shall save His people." He shall come again, as the judge of me and m

the dispenser of my reward. And above he said: "Say to the cities of Judah, Behold His reward is with Him," and what follows. But instead of "and He shall call him," the others gave the reading "them," meaning those who are to be saved. The earthly Jerusalem is therefore said to be abandoned, but this one is sought after. For He who came to seek and to save that which was lost, being the One who found and saved it, will not allow it to be lost again. Some, however, understood the word concerning the first coming. He commands Sion to bring good tidings to those to whom He also commanded that the gates be opened. It is possible here to learn how great the difference is ^B between the Savior and the disciples. For they, while inviting men to a good life, proclaimed the rewards that were from God, but they themselves were not the givers of spiritual gifts; but the Savior, as God, distributes rewards. Consequently, He also sees the character of each one. And this too is of God alone. For it is written that the ways of man are before the eyes of God, and He watches all his paths. Therefore, He rightly gave the keys of heaven to Peter, who had confessed the faith, and the power to bind and to loose. He granted also to all the disciples the power to heal every disease and every infirmity by His word. He also bestows a reward for confession upon the thief, saying: "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise." "He shall call them," he says, "a people redeemed by the Lord." For not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord Himself saved us. And he says it is to be called "sought after," that is to say, deemed worthy of remembrance. ^C For such is the thing that is sought. But the first one had become abandoned. For through Jeremiah He says: "I have forsaken My house, I have left My inheritance." And the Savior also says: "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

Some have explained the whole matter from the beginning in this way. It is the custom of the prophets to mourn for those grievous things they foresee, but to rejoice greatly over good things; which the prophet also does now. For having brought good tidings of the Savior's coming, and the salvation of all, and having put on Christ Himself (with whom he is adorned and clothed), he rejoices in the spirit, having the disposition that a young man would have toward a maiden, being himself ^D joined with Christ. And the phrase, "as the earth bringing forth its flower," signifies those seminal reasons stored away in the souls, which prepare the way for Christ. For as eyes, having a kinship with the light, see when it is present, so when Christ has arisen, we shine insofar as there is aptitude in us, at once putting away darkness. And he says that joy is to be manifest to the nations as if from the root of Israel. Then, lest he seem to have abandoned Jerusalem, "I will not," he says, "forsake the relationship from above, and the venerable things of it."

^A

He sends the disciples. And he endured for a time toward the Syrophoenician woman to call those who were to be ranked later among the children "dogs." For his purpose was that these also should be enlightened, and that those should not fail. But it was necessary that preference should be given to those to whom, according to Paul, the lawgiving and the worship were given, and whose the fathers were, and from whom Christ according to the flesh [was born]; for the grace was sufficient for the salvation of both these and those. Wherefore, he sends the disciples first to the lost sheep of Israel.

^B He calls the name of Christians and of the faithful a "new" name. If the Jew who contradicts this objects, let him show that a new name has been made for himself. By "will," he signifies nothing other than those who do his will; whom he also says he loves, in the way a young man dwells with a virgin—which signifies not defilement, but a blooming relationship. For he keeps her a virgin, according to that mystery of Paul, which he speaks concerning Christ and the Church.

Next, he shows the present state of the Churches, provided by the guidance of the priests night and day; while the people are ignorant of God, in return for which he becomes their impregnable wall, warding off the incursions of the demon. He promises, according to the letter, also a secure habitation for the cities, that those who have progressed may seek the spiritual [habitation]. As therefore Abraham, having received the promise of the land, was not occupied with it, nor did he ask for it, but longed for the one to come. ^C And to those who are so disposed, and especially to those who are of the race of Abraham according to the flesh, he says that there is no comparison with the nations, but that they are far superior in so far as honor is concerned. For indeed they had holy fathers, and the Law, and they saw the miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness, solely if they would effect an amendment of their manners and trust in God. For this is the cause of joy.

Speaking to souls that doubt concerning the promises, he uses an oath—not for his own sake (for he is the Truth), but to make them believe. Furthermore, he promises the fruits of the land, teaching that he is the supplier of these, and that they turn to idols in vain; therefore, those people perished even during the harvest, [to show] that he is also able to bring them to maturity and willing to provide, if they had shown themselves worthy.

^D Now, however, if they are corrected, he says he will also prevent the incursions of the enemies. By the term "gates," he signified the introductory discourse and Christ himself, who is also called the door, through whom we have access to the Father. Regarding whom it is written: "This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter into it." He then commands the priests to make the manners of those under them level, so that they may not stumble because of wicked thoughts. And it might be said...

[not] implying some other advent, but His own summoning to endurance. For they could not have endured it, had they not possessed strength from above. Knowing the hidden things, He draws near to each according to their merit, bestowing the fitting reward. ^A Thus also through Ezekiel, when they were saying: "Our strength has perished, our bones have withered," by way of encouragement He says that as I am able to dry up moist things, so too the reverse. Which He also did in the case of the rod of Aaron. And so He says that now He will be present, if they become worthy. For it was precisely for this purpose that I gave you a multitude of commandments, not so that by transgressing many, you might be condemned for many things; but so that if you should transgress the great ones, the observance of the lesser ones might provide you with a pretext for salvation. For He is a lover of mankind, not condemning from those things in which you transgress, but saving from the few things in which you succeed. For He desires the life of the sinner rather than his death. Then, He says, I will seek you out, calling you holy. These things should also be taken into the soul of each one, not as though one were reading empty histories. For to each one who succeeds, He will be present, pardoning the things that have been sinned. ^B

CHAPTER LXIII

1. Who is this who comes from Edom? The red of his garments from Bosor, so beautiful in his robe, force with strength. ^C ...[not] implying some other advent, but His own summoning to endurance. For they could not have endured it, had they not possessed strength from above. Knowing the hidden things, He draws near to each according to their merit, bestowing the fitting reward. Thus also through Ezekiel, when they were saying: "Our strength has perished, our bones have withered," by way of encouragement He says that as I am able to dry up moist things, so too the reverse. Which He also did in the case of the rod of Aaron. And so He says that now He will be present, if they become worthy. For it was precisely for this purpose that I gave you a multitude of commandments, not so that by transgressing many, you might be condemned for many things; but so that if you should transgress the great ones, the observance of the lesser ones might provide you with a pretext for salvation. For He is a lover of mankind, not condemning from those things in which you transgress, but saving from the few things in which you succeed. For He desires the life of the sinner rather than his death. Then, He says, I will seek you out, calling you holy. ^D These things should also be taken into the soul of each one, not as though one were reading empty histories. For to each one who succeeds, He will be present, pardoning the things that have been sinned.

CHAPTER LXIII

1. Who is this who comes from Edom? The red of his garments from Bosor, so beautiful in his robe, force with strength.

^A for he acts as champion to save. For while championing those unjustly trampled beneath the opposing powers, he pursues some and sets others free. Then a second question: “Why are your garments red?” To which he responds again: In place of “and of the nations,” Symmachus says, “and from the peoples he delivered,” and in place of “I brought down their blood to the earth,” he says, “and their victory was sprinkled upon my garments.” ^B As he alone received judgment from the Father, he says he alone has trodden the winepress, and thus he names the working out of sins. Jeremiah also says in Lamentations: The Lord has trodden the winepress for the virgin daughter of Judah. I weep over these things. Just as the winepress is the retribution for sins in the same place, so too are the fruits harvested from the good vine that become acceptable to God, for which hymns called *epolēnia* (vintage songs) are chanted in the Psalms. Having abolished all malice, and the very demons who gave birth to it, he will lead those who shall reign under him in the new age to the Father, when he shall also deliver the kingdom to God and the Father, according to the Apostle. Remaining with the metaphor of blood, he is said to have stained his garments. For what reason is there for blood upon incorporeal powers? ^C Then he again mentions the day of retribution and the year of redemption, as was said regarding more favorable things: “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of retribution.” Therefore, he has now added “the year of redemption,” for at once he will save some, and to others he will render retribution, just as Moses says: “And he will render justice to his enemies, and to those who hate him he will render.”

Then he says: “I looked, and there was no one helping; I considered, and there was no one to assist. And my arm rescued them.” For he alone emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Furthermore, he endured death on the cross for the sake of our salvation, which no angel, or power, or human had undergone; for which reason the Father granted to him alone the name that is above every name, and entrusted to him judgment over all. ^D In place of “And I brought down their blood to the earth,” the others set forth the victory: for those who seemed invincible have been conquered by me, he says. Others, accepting the saying regarding the ascension of the Savior, say that having fulfilled the dispensation in the flesh, and having ascended to the Father, he appeared to the powers above, bearing the symbols of the passion—not that he rose with these, but in the way he showed them to the doubting Thomas. Thus (so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, through the Church), he ascended with the signs of the passion. They marvel therefore

^A Let them inquire of him as he returns, struck with wonder. Now *Edom*, if you translate it, clearly signifies the same as "ruddy" or "earthly." *Bosor*, moreover, you might call "flesh" or "fleshy." He therefore indicates that he is bloodied, as if from flesh and blood. And as though they recognized him as God, even if he were wearing flesh, they bear witness that he is "comely in his apparel," and "mighty" for his own side—for this is what the violence indicates. This present passage is like that in the twenty-third [twenty-fourth] Psalm: "Who is this King of glory?" He answers that "I speak righteousness," or the evangelical proclamation, or that every word of God is just. By "judgment of salvation," he names the decree that concerns us, for he has judged on behalf of humanity and against Satan, who deceived it. For he said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out." Again, a second question follows, in which I would have you recall the patriarch Jacob saying, "He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape."

Then he says: "And of the nations there is no man with me." This is to be joined to, "I speak righteousness and the judgment of salvation." For no one, he says, stood by me or sympathized with me as I suffered. For as the Evangelist says, "Then all the disciples, having left him, fled." This also Christ had foretold: "The hour is coming, and has arrived, that you shall be scattered, each to his own, and leave me alone." And in the Psalms it is also said: "My soul awaited reproach and misery; I expected one to sympathize, and there was none; and one to console, and I found none." ^B Yet, though I was alone, I trampled them in my wrath. For after the ascension of the Lord, every kind of calamity befell the Jews. But the time of their retribution was the same as that of their redemption, had they known the time of his visitation. Although, he says, no one was there to assist or support (which the Scribes and Pharisees ought to have done, though it was established that they turned the people to the contrary), yet my power saved them. For very many of the Jews believed. But to those who disobeyed, the things of wrath fell justly.

Some, indeed, say in agreement that having become the fulfiller of his ancestral commandments, and having gone toward the death on our behalf, and having trampled it down as if in a winepress, and having become defiled ^C as if by the fruit trodden for them, he offered himself to the Father on our behalf as a propitiation and a ransom, granting an ascent into the heavens to those who were obliged by the sentence to remain below, and uniting the things below with those on high. And if you hear of the angels being in doubt, do not attribute ignorance to them—for they knew the things being dispensed by the Savior, since the time he was incarnate—but consider the matter a lesson, that angels rejoice also at the salvation of men, and hymn him, wondering how he accepted the death that was owed to us. For you could not say that the angels were ignorant, ^D as if they had also to bear arms, even if they appeared to Gezie in that way, correcting his cowardice...

^A Having said these things, they also interpreted them historically, saying that in the foretellings of God to them regarding the defense against the conspiracy of those coming upon them, when they were in doubt as to who would be the deliverer, He says: "He who destroys those from Edom who have attacked you along with your enemies, and who—having blocked the exits of your flight—appears as if stained by their blood." By Edom, he means the descendants of Esau; and by Bosor, Bosra. Therefore, He proceeds against them with a just verdict. For God calls men to judgment, manifesting the justice of the punishment, and showing how they endure it on account of themselves. For He, in bringing down punishment, does so for the sake of salvation, either so that we might be saved by repenting, or so that we might fall into the lighter judgment of the future. But in punishing those from Edom, He was sufficient for Himself, needing no one to fight alongside Him. For He destroys by His word alone, and His will alone is sufficient for all things; and when God willed to destroy them, there was nothing to help them. For there was no just man among them capable of appeasing God. ^B 724-725 Vers. 7-9. *I have remembered the mercies of the Lord; I will remember the virtues of the Lord in all that the Lord has returned to us.* The Lord is a good judge for the house of Israel, bringing upon us things according to His mercy and according to the multitude of His justice. *And He said: Are they not my people, sons? They shall by no means be rejected.* And He became for them a salvation from all their tribulation. *Not an ambassador, nor an angel, but He Himself saved them,* etc. ^C 726 The dispute concerning the second coming of Christ having been concluded, he crosses over to another argument, in which the people accuse themselves, as they have been rejected by God—who had always merited well of them—because of their crimes. Others, however, think that, where God spoke of His wrath against non-believers, the prophet is recalling them from despair, by teaching that God is merciful and humane. Others say that he is recounting the perpetual mercy of God, where he had already demonstrated the multitude of His benefits (among which had even been His wrath against foreigners who had shown no sign of gratitude towards God). "For I shall not forget," he says, "however troublesome and hard it may happen for us to suffer and be rejected unto the end." But it is to be noted that, where we have *In all that He has returned to us*, Symmachus has said *Concerning all things in which He has benefited us*, and where he returns to *Good judge*, he interprets this also as coming from the fullness of goodness. But He does not measure His wrath against us for our sins like a severe judge, but tempers it with clemency. For He does not allow the guilty to be abandoned. ^D

^A It is a supreme proof of His goodness that He deems it worthy to call the people children, if they would not spurn His grace. Therefore, it is said in accordance with Symmachus: "Nevertheless, my people are sons who do not break their covenant." These are the ones whom He rebuked at the beginning, saying: "I have begotten and exalted sons, but they have rejected Me." For they should have obeyed the Father as children, and should have received the Son, who was present for their own salvation without deploying any other minister; for the envoy (the prophet says) was not a messenger, nor an angel. ^B In Egypt, furthermore, they say that although Moses was the intermediary, He Himself performed the greatest works through him. Moreover, when they had made the calf, He threatened to send an angel who would lead them. But when He saw that Moses was distressed, He promised that He Himself would lead them. And He brought about this actual presence of His, not for the purpose of judging—although He is indeed Judge—but so that by confessing their sins they might receive forgiveness through faith. For He wishes us to be authors of good things for ourselves, and not of the contrary. Therefore, He attributed the faith of the woman with the issue of blood as the cause of her healing. For as far as it depended upon Him, He was disposed toward the granting of good things like a father toward his children, extending His mercy continuously, unless someone should render it void by their sins. Such, then, are the signs of His philanthropy and gentleness. But since they did not provide a pretext for their own salvation, they dragged Him into war. As David also says: "How oft did they provoke Him in the desert, and stir Him to anger in a land without water?" They also provoked the Spirit of Christ, having fallen ill with disbelief. For this reason, He became an adversary. ^C For in order that they might not attribute the punishment brought upon them to demons, it is said that He Himself waged war against them. And indeed Job, even though he knew that his tribulations came from the devil, made no mention of him, but attributed them to God, who allowed them to happen. He waged war against the people while having their previous actions in mind, as he remembered that they had not begun to be such people for the first time at that moment. For immediately, after having experienced such great favors through the miracles of Moses, they turned away from their Benefactor and made a calf, not reflecting on how He divided the Red Sea and led them through it as a horse, having set over them Moses, as a shepherd over sheep, and having exalted him by means of signs. For this is "the bringing up," namely, making manifest the One who was hidden and concealed, whom He also showed to be a prophet by filling him with His own Spirit. ^D Some, however, said that the shepherd was Joseph, whose bones He brought up, and led them out with those who had previously been captives, showing that He does not forget even the holy ones who have died, choosing to give them life. Others...

refer this to Christ being led out of the earth, whether they considered his resurrection or his birth from the earth. Furthermore, by mentioning eternal days, he perhaps understood the ancient ones, or those whose memory ought to be everlasting. Moreover, in asking "where is He," he accuses them of forgetfulness. Of this kind is the saying: "For the Holy Spirit came down from the Lord, and was their guide." And David says: "He sent His spirit, and healed them." But God is Himself the Spirit. ^A Regarding the phrase, "Water prevailed from His presence," you will find that Symmachus translated it as, "He who broke the waters before them." And by "prevailed," you should understand that He overcame their nature by solidifying them. For he says the waters, which are fluid by nature, stood firm like a wall; that is, He gave them the strength to be solidified. And by what follows, they say, "He led them through, as a horse in the plain," with all ease, it is equivalent to what is in the Psalms: "He led out His people like sheep, and guided them as a flock in the wilderness." At the same time He both saved the people and Himself was glorified, making a name for Himself. But Symmachus said "their" [name]; that is, He was glorifying His own people. Having found them, therefore, to be senseless, He became hostile. Yet one must not despair; rather, let me and all those who are held by the love of God continue with prayers to Him, that He may turn from heaven, if we become upright and worthy to provoke Him to look down upon us, so that we may be heard.

There are some who think that the prayers refer to the whole nation, while others refer them only to the prophet. He proposes that God is to be recognized from heaven, not as if He is enclosed in a place, but as ^C resting in the worthy celestial powers. Therefore, by "house" and "throne," He signified heaven itself, so that He might raise up the minds of the hearers, which had fallen toward the earth, so that they might think nothing lowly about God. For He who contains and governs all things would rightly be recognized from heaven. They remind God how, often, not for their own sake but for the sake of His own zeal, He became merciful to them despite their being unworthy, such that He even deigned to call them "My people" and "children"—as if they were no longer sharing in His zeal and His strength, they say these things, not as if He had failed them. For zealously, when they were long ago ^D oppressed by service to the Egyptians and had become captives, He said: "I have been very zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion." Then, having said that He was angry with those who took them captive, He adds: "Because I was a little angry, but they conspired for evil."

There are some who think that by the name of "zeal," the providence which He manifested toward them is understood. Therefore, being angry at the people, He says: "I will take away My zeal from you," which is to say, His care and solicitude. For Abraham was not our father, even if he served in the generation. But you, having brought us forth from nothing, and...

^A a minister, our father were, but you, who produce from nothing, are not only the Father of all spirits, but also of souls which have been created according to your image. For although he received the promise, he did not see us. Therefore, I beseech you, have mercy on us, whom your name adorns. For we are called your inheritance. Grant this, therefore, to your name, that it may not be blasphemed among the nations. Having spoken these things in his own person and in that of the more pious, the prophet introduces those among the people who are prone to complaint, not hesitating to find fault with God often, saying: "Why, O Lord, have you caused us to wander from your way?" as though they were accusing Him of the fall which they suffered on account of Christ, according to those who say that the statement was made by all the people; that is to say, from the prophet, who, they say, refers everything to God, not as the author of sin, but as one who permits it; through which actions He does not immediately exact punishment. ^B Thus, when we sin, we are said to be sold by Him, as if we were delivered up to our own sins. Hence, it is also said that the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, because, being long-suffering, He did not destroy him from the first plague, so that, since he was struck often and did not repent, He might be shown blameless in inflicting the final plague. "Return, therefore, O God, for the sake of your servants"—for it is likely that there are some such people in the multitude—that is, for the sake of those who have pleased you from generation to generation; or because we have once attained to be called your inheritance, even if we do not serve you with obedience. And further, for the sake of the tribes of your inheritance, which tends to the same thing. That is to say, convert us who are pleasing to you in form, so that even we, by reason of those who are worthy, might be able to obtain a small portion in the mountain promised by you, which is holy. It is customary for Scripture to call the Church the holy mountain, ^C of which those from Israel have become a small part, by reason of the remnant, because of the infinite multitude of Gentiles who have believed. It is likely that they also ask to possess a small part in the city above. ^D Some also say that when the Assyrians had taken their land and had settled the Chuthaeans in their place—who have also been nicknamed Samaritans from the place—only two and a half tribes were left, which occupied a small part of it. The prophet asks that what they seem to possess be kept for them, in remembrance of the benevolence shown to their race from the beginning, which if it were taken away, we would be as if we were not the people of God, nor His part; or at any rate, as we were from the beginning, when we were living in Egypt, having no prophets, no priests, no kings: indeed, not even any of your gifts and favors, before you sent Moses to us. For then we were not called yours. And now we have finally come to the same end, having fallen under diabolical feet and having been given over to worldly desires. For these things...

as if we were occupied in the molding of bricks, meant we were serving evil spirits: which also happens in this time. This was indeed signified by the Savior, where he recounts that the spirit which had gone out returned with seven other spirits more wicked than the first, and that the last state was worse than the first; and that this would happen to that generation. What is therefore said prophetically in this passage refers to the times which followed the incarnation, when because of the things they committed against Christ, they were neglected, as if God were not among them.

Symmachus interprets these very words in their entirety as follows: ^B "We have become as from the beginning, over whom you did not rule. Nor was your name called upon them, nor did you break the heavens and descend from your presence. The mountains flowed down like the burning of fire. The sea melted. The waters were terrified." For he says: We have become such that it is as if we had never experienced the miracles which you performed for us through Moses. But among the Seventy translators you may find it thus: "We have become as from the beginning." Yet we know that if you resolve to open the heaven, as God, tremors will seize the mountains from you; that is, the opposing powers which lift themselves up against the knowledge of you. And you will confuse the nations which do not know you. It is indeed the custom of the prophets to request that the wrath which is owed for the sins of the Israelites be sent instead upon the foreigners. For we read in the Psalms: "Pour out your wrath upon the nations that do not know you, and upon the kingdoms which have not called upon your name."

CAP. LXIV

Verses 1-12. "If you open the heaven, tremor will seize the mountains from you, and they will melt, just as wax melts from fire. And fire will burn the adversaries: and the name of the Lord will be manifest among the adversaries, etc."

And now also he says: If you open the heaven for the descent of your wrath, as in the time of the flood (for the windows of heaven were opened), then your name will be manifest among the adversaries, not otherwise than when fire was sent down from heaven upon the Sodomites; and when, with many plagues having been received, Pharaoh was humbled. Therefore, he says, show your glory by means of the wrath against them, not by means of the wrath against us. Nor do the things said in this place signify that the people suffer such things because of the weakness of God; but that they are abandoned only because of their iniquities. For so great is the power of God that it encompasses and rules the heaven and the things that are under it. Hence it is that from the age we have neither heard that there is such another God, nor have we seen the doer of such works. For it is certain that no one has ever seen God; nor will anyone see his face and live, but he is known from the things which he works and does. "For his invisible things," writes the Apostle, "from the foundation of the world are understood and seen by his works." And perhaps he also alludes to Christ himself, who was seen even on Sinai through the glory appearing to all. For he says, "As all the people saw the

the glory of the Lord appeared to all, ^A hinting obscurely that we have learned that all the people have perceived the glory of the Lord. And by adding "to those who wait for you," it refers to those who hope in God, to whom he is accustomed to abundantly bestow his mercy. For it will undoubtedly follow those who practice righteousness. For by the "ways of the Lord" he implies nothing other than his commandments: as is the case in David, where he says he will walk in his way; and likewise, that he ran in the way of his commandments when his heart had been dilated by Him. It must be understood, moreover, that when he adds that he has neither heard nor seen with his eyes, he says this to the end that he might demonstrate that the powers of God can be compared to nothing. Paul, however, without doing any violence to the passage, referred this to the blessings promised to those who love God, which neither eye has seen nor ear heard; since he noticed that nothing of that sort falls into the senses of the eyes or ears. And indeed, when he was snatched up to the third heaven, he asserts that he heard secret words which it is not permitted for a man to utter; not because there was a command to keep silent, but because he could not express them according to their dignity. ^B

"Behold, you were angry, and we sinned": as if he were saying more clearly, "Since we have sinned, you were angry." And in another way: when God turns away from us because of iniquity, a greater evil is born in us, since he is like some tutor who often threatens, and strikes, but finally disregards one who sins continuously and anew. For such a person will have greater license for evils. For if we are good while God is working with us, it is clear that we are much worse when He has turned away. For God is the Lord of the powers. For Christ also said: "Without me you can do nothing." And David says concerning the holy ones: "For you are the boasting of their powers." And elsewhere he says: "I will not hope in my bow, and my sword will not save me. For you have saved us from those who afflict us." For the power of salvation is not so much in us as it is in God. "But we have also wandered," he says, "and we have become as unclean." And if any righteous act seems to be found in us, this also is convicted of being soiled and worthless. For how could there be righteousness among those who have acted impiously against Christ, who is the true righteousness? They are therefore unclean, even if some among them might seem to be gentle. For even if they observe the commandments, they do not have a disposition toward God in their intent and will. And this has produced a falling away for us, like leaves from a tree when they fall from their root. And the Apostle, while accusing the nation, says it has been broken off like a branch from a tree. But this prophet, ^D magnifying the accusation, compared them to leaves that are snatched away by a gust of wind. For they have a light and unstable heart, and are like those who are turned about by every wind. For how, he says, could we act rightly, we who suffer an aversion from you? For there has not been found among us anyone who could sway you with prayers and righteousness.

Yet, ^A even so, we acknowledge Thee as Father and Maker, however much we are broken and crushed, like earthen vessels. Hence it is that we beseech Thee to grant pardon to such frailty. For those whom they cannot appease by their works, they strive to soften as their Creator, asking to be saved by Him from whom they received in the first place this very existence which they possess. Since, however, they have not committed acts worthy of such confidence, they deem it a desirable thing that this wrath should not be stirred up. For it is known that Thy wrath brings no small benefit, yet we cannot endure the severity of it due to the weakness of our powers. And so David himself asks to be rebuked, but not in fury, and to be chastised, but not in wrath. He says, "Remember not the sins of our youth." The prophet says this, knowing they remained in the wickedness of character for which the judgments and the preceding things were gathered. And if they also became heirs of ancestral iniquity, they are bound to draw upon themselves the punishments due to them as well. Thus, in the one hundred and eighth Psalm, speaking concerning Judas, he desired that the sin of his mother be brought to remembrance. Nor should you wonder if you find that not all things which were spoken by Him in the form of a curse came to pass. For God foretells, wishing to strike fear, not desiring to inflict punishment. At other times, He recounts those things which are the penalties due to iniquity, and when He refrains from any of these, it is to be attributed to His clemency and kindness. ^C Then, drawing God toward mercy, the prophet recalls the signs of the covenant which the people had from the beginning, asking Him to look upon His people and His city; in which are the holy things, the tabernacle, the ark, and the temple also constructed for God; things which were conspicuous and commended among all. Since the fathers had predicted that the temple should be consumed by fire, and therefore it was used as a form of curse, as when someone says, "May I suffer or be ruined like Jerusalem and its temple." These things happened, not because of Thy weakness, but because of our own, who practiced impiety toward Christ. There are those, however, who understand condemnation by the name of curse. For those who had stormed Jerusalem glorified their own gods, but accused its God of impotence and weakness.

CAPUT LXV

^D VERSES 1-12. "I became manifest to them that sought me not; I was found of them that asked not for me. I said to the nation, which had not called upon my name. I spread out my hands all the day unto a disobedient and gainsaying people, which walked not in the way that is true, but after their own sins. This people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face, they sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense upon bricks to devils, which are not," etc.

Since some were confessing through prayer, while others were reproaching God as the author of their error, He answers in this sense: "How could I have overlooked those who were praying, I who did not…

^A take pleasure in the death of the sinner, but in his repentance? How could I have led them into error, I who exhorted all to return and those who had fallen to rise up? How could I have hardened you, I who, through my love for mankind, ran of my own accord even to those who were standing far from me, so that even foreigners, having labored nothing for this, might come to know me, while I revealed myself to them? If I was such toward strangers, how could I be harsh toward you?" Nay, I even initiated the grace among you, calling you kindly and, as if with outstretched hands, hastening to embrace you as my own true children, loving you even though you hated me.

Some, however, say that He means they did not inquire of Him. For He ran to the synagogues of His own accord for the sake of preaching and healing, and said to them: "I am the light of the world," ^B and "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me." But they followed their own sins, even though I had proclaimed: "Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins." There are others who refer this to the Egyptian servitude and the grievances they endured at certain times, because they felt the help of Him whom they had not in the least invoked. For He says, "I am He who stretched out my hands in Moses; that by the victory I might reconcile you to myself and destroy the Amalekites," even though you were gaping after idols and following your own desires; and this is not the first time. For you are they who have provoked me from every age, sacrificing before me, the God who sees all things, and who said, "Shall anything be hidden from me ^C" — that is, in the temple consecrated to me? For He even said through Jeremiah: "What is my beloved doing in my house, having committed abomination?"—the Scripture thus calling the idol by that name. And as for the words "and they are not," He speaks of the demons, asserting that they are not gods to whom they sacrificed upon altars constructed of bricks. Or, because when they prayed to the demons, they would mark out places resembling bricks upon which they would stand. He mentions tombs on account of necromancy; and caves, where they stood statues upon mountains, or performed certain rites, offering sacrifices under great trees. "And," He says, "becoming like the nations, you filled yourselves with swine's flesh, and from the sacrifices you offered to demons, boiling the ^D remains, you defiled every vessel." And performing such things, while purifying yourselves with fire and water, you called yourselves pure. "All these things are the smoke of my fury." For before His coming, it was in a way the beginning of divine wrath; but they kindled the fury by the crimes they dared against the Savior; and the smoke was changed into fire. Since, however, we see that men use writings as an aid to memory, He demonstrates figuratively from these that God is not subject to forgetfulness; such as that which is with Daniel, "The books were opened," signifying that God's knowledge encompasses all things. "And upon the hills they reproached me," He says.

because they would not have sacrificed to others had they not despised Me as if I were not God. ^A And the phrase, "I will not be silent," refers to those who persist [in their ways], clearly. Therefore, if anyone should be found in the multitude having hope of salvation, he will be outside of this count. For even if the Lord’s vineyard produces thorns instead of grapes, it shall be uprooted; but if any rare grape is found preserved in dryness, as one participating in a blessing, it shall be saved; just as if the master of a field were to forbid the cutting of a cluster that has one remaining grape, saying that it bears a blessing. Thus also the Lord promised that He would save Sodom if it had possessed even five righteous men. Here, however, by an extension of goodness, He signifies that for the sake of one [grape], He will save the whole cluster—that is, the city or village. For He also granted the opportunity of a return through Zorobabel, Jesus, and Ezra, and anyone of such a kind. ^B And now He says He will bring forth—that is, He will show to be exalted—the seed of Judah and Jacob. And "seed" signifies that which is able to contribute to the fruit-bearing of others, such as that: "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed," which signifies the apostolic choir, for while the others were perishing, it inherited the holy mountain; they say, "We have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem," that is, the Church, according to that: "They shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine, they shall be anointed with myrrh on this mountain," through which was fulfilled also that: "There shall be sheepfolds in the forest."

By "forest," he refers customarily to the multitude of the Gentiles, among whom Churches were established, which are called sheepfolds, and the valley of Achor. ^C This means, just as that [valley] happened to be accursed entirely, because Achor was cast into it for having stolen things consecrated to God, such was also the region of the impious and godless nations, which is to be for a rest for flocks for the people who sought Me—who are the grape and the seed mentioned, the elect and the servants. For these shall gather together herds and flocks, not in Israel, but in the aforementioned forest and the valley of Achor, which is interpreted, they say, as "spaciousness." These things, then, are for them. But upon those who abandoned the holy mountain and joined themselves to the Gentiles, so as to soon prepare a table for the idol of fortune and soon a potion for the demon, ^D the sword also shall be brought in. And if you ask, "Why have You passed over the rest?" I will reply that I called you through Myself, but you did not listen. Just as He declared previously: "I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was no one listening." But some say these last things were spoken against those from the Gentiles who disobeyed. For just as it did not pass without penalty for those from Israel to disobey Christ (for they were given over to slaughter, the remnant having been saved by the mercy of God), so also in the calling of the Gentiles, those who have not obeyed shall be surrendered to slaughter.

^A And those, too, who he says honor fortune, and the demon, shall be sent down to Hades and undergo the punishment through fire.

^B 740-741 VERS. 13-15. *Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall hunger. Behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall thirst. Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame. Behold, my servants shall exult in gladness*, etc.

Having spoken of the chosen seed of Israel and the Churches established through them, and having announced the appropriate punishments for those who are perishing—whether they be Israelites or Gentiles, as some prefer to think—he now applies the present words to them as well. He teaches that God, being just, will not embrace all Israelites alike as His servants, but will bestow as food upon those who have served Him from everywhere (and not just those born of Israel who have accepted Him) the One who said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," of which those who are not servants shall be deprived. They shall drink the mystical wine, or rather the water, concerning which He says: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him," and so on, whereas those others shall thirst for this. And similarly, these shall be glad. ^C For the mysteries take away sins and cast out the fear that is felt over transgressions, and bestow good things to hope for in the future. The others, however, shall be put to shame. While the former shall exult for having attained these things, the latter, seeing them, shall suffer, not in body (for this is a small thing), but they shall suffer pain in their heart, when the Judge recompenses them according to their merits.

Some say that He is condescending to the Jews, by whose lights they determined blessedness, and He defines justice accordingly. For they placed their whole enjoyment in the belly. Therefore, wishing to turn them away, He praises the deprivation of these things, and that not even their name should be borne, as the righteous are substituted into their inheritance—they for whom the inheritance and the name of the fathers shall remain. "Unto satisfaction" signifies "unto loathing," according to the custom of Scripture, as in the passage, "You have become to me for satisfaction." For satiety produces aversion. "You shall be an abomination," He says, "even if you are called children," but the righteous shall be "a holy nation, an elect race, a royal priesthood," according to the voice of Peter. And this is so if the discourse is directed to the Gentiles and idolaters; but if it is directed to those from Israel who have disobeyed, it means that those things which they themselves once were—when they were called children and people and the inheritance of God—this the Gentiles who have believed shall become. And this is meant by the voice of Hosea: "And I will call my people, not my people." ^D

^A It is to be noted in what place we have "for satiety," the others have translated "into an oath"; as if we were accustomed to pray with an oath, that we might not suffer those things which we see others suffering inhumanly, from the very name of which anyone shrinks. But the Lord adds that He will slay them; which indeed is the last of all evils, signifying not so much the separation of the soul from the body, as the deprivation of God and of immortal life. These things, then, are for you; but for those who serve me, of whatever nation they may be, the things promised are for them. But if you also wish to know who these may be, the name itself is not what you should expect to be announced to you yet: but it will be enough to know that there will be a new name, never before given to anyone, by which, when it is increased and multiplied, there will be a blessing above any bodily blessing. And they themselves will in turn bless the God who has blessed them, in whom all things have become new—worship, life, and naming. For we perform to Him the worship in spirit and truth, we serve Him, and we approach Christ in the renewal of evangelical life; and from our calling by Him, as if crowning ourselves with a garland, we are named Christians. In return for which, we render to Him the fruit of our lips and our tongue in doxologies; and if there should ^B be any necessity, we set Him forth by the faith of our vows, according to that which commands us to worship the Lord our God, and to serve Him only, and to swear by His name. Some think that this is what is meant in this place, as having been promised to the patriarchs themselves: but because they did not believe, the new name of Christians was given to the Gentiles. It is also to be noted ^C that from this place up to "even to the true God," Aquila translates as follows: *And He shall call His servants by another name, by which he who is blessed in the earth shall be blessed in truth.* But Symmachus thus: *And He shall call His servants by another name, in whom he who is blessed upon the earth shall be blessed in God. Amen.* When, therefore, those who are falsely called gods have been cast aside, they will recognize through the works of their Savior the true God, and Him whom He sent, the Lord Jesus Christ. When this happens, they will forget the tribulation which they suffered when they were worshipping evil demons; to whom, besides other sacrifices, they were commanded to slaughter even their own children. ^D Furthermore, there was also this, that in order to avoid the snares of those who were neglected, which they exercised against those who were destitute of God's help, they sacrificed in countless numbers. There are not wanting, however, those who think that it is signified that the Israelites will no longer suffer those things which they underwent when they worshipped impiety: but that the conversion to the better will be so great that the very elements will seem to be changed. For to those who rejoice, all things appear more beautiful and clear, while others are blinded even in the midday light of heaven. Or He says this for the reason that, whereas formerly, when they looked upon heaven itself and the earth, they worshipped the creature rather than the Creator: now they shall look upon these as new, when they recognize them as the creations of God. Wherefore He says

they shall no longer remember former things, casting away the opinions they once held, as if they were gods. But, He says, they shall find exultation ^A in her—namely, in the new Jerusalem, [which is] the Church, concerning which He adds: for she herself—that is, the pure religion—shall be the exultation of Jerusalem for them. Or perhaps: "I will make Jerusalem my own joy," rejoicing in the people to whom the new name has been proclaimed by Me.

For the manner of life of these people will be so effective that no longer will any actions of weeping and crying be heard among them. He adapts his speech as if to accuse the Jerusalem subject to the senses, in which those who were appointed to judge were corrupted by bribes and condemned the innocent, forcing them to cry out in mourning, of whom Jeremiah says: "O city of lies, all is oppression within her," and the rest that follows. And another prophet says: "They struck the heads of the poor and turned aside the way of the humble." But the Church of Christ is freed from these things, in which He says there shall be no infant, nor old ^B man who does not complete his time. By "infant," he means the people from the Gentiles, of whom David also says: "The people who are being created shall praise the Lord." To whom Paul also says: "As newborn infants, desire the rational and guileless milk." And by "old man," [he refers to] him of the circumcision, as being older in time with respect to the Church, in which he says there shall be no difference between the one and the other. For all shall be perfect, rising to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This is what the number one hundred signifies, when even the perfection according to the Law shall be useless to those who have it, unless they approach Christ through faith, in which, being baptized, we wash away the stains with which we are defiled by sin.

If, therefore, anyone, even if he were a hundred years old, having received perfection in the Law, should die a sinner, not having accepted the faith ^C in Christ, he shall be accursed, being held guilty by the transgressions of the Law, in which no one has succeeded so much as not to fall into transgression. "For all," he says, "have sinned and lack the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace." Therefore, Paul, having been perfected in the Law, considered the things in the Law to be rubbish, that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having his own righteousness—that is, the one in the Law—but that which is through faith in Jesus Christ. And rebuking the Jews, he says: "For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes." And again: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Christ." Wherefore Christ was called a curse, delivering us ^D from the curse of the Law, in which is contained the [statement] that [the one who does not abide in all things written in the book of the Law is] accursed; [and the one who is not yet]

^A mature or old [there], have interpreted it thus: For all who attain to my resurrection shall be perfect and vigorous in their souls, so that there shall be nothing incomplete or childish, nor yet aged, but all shall be of equal age, as if attaining to the resurrection at one time and participating in one regeneration. Therefore, he who is saved shall be perfect as a young man, and he shall have the same age as he who perishes. For as soon as all are raised, they shall be separated by salvation and punishment, those who are perfect in wickedness being accursed, and dying in their own sin. At which time all shall also possess the dwellings which each has prepared for himself through his works, and shall enjoy their own labors, nourished by their own fruits, no longer fearing lest others should snatch their labors away from them. ^B For they shall pass their time in perpetual bliss of life, according to the days of the tree of life; by which words he signifies that the promises made in paradise are to be fulfilled, and that he who has part in them shall become immortal and not failing with old age: nor by another migration again shall they leave their own labors for others. There are some, however, who have referred these things to the times of the first coming, when it fell to the lot of all those who are in Christ through faith to enjoy peace and kindness, being no longer delivered, like those of old, to wars and calamities on account of impiety, nor suffering any loss of their labors, but spiritually indulging in the delights of their own good works. These, having a holy life such as it was before Adam’s transgression, no one ^C shall drive away from the mansion given by the Father.

Then it follows: *The works of their labors shall not grow old*; by which words he signifies that they shall have an immutable way of life. For the way of the Law, being shadowy, received a change from types to truth. But the way according to Christ, because it is true, feels no change: that which does not grow old—signifying in this place perpetuity—which those [of the Law] did not have at all. For these things are [directed] toward Christ: *Thy righteousness is righteousness forever, and thy law is truth*. Furthermore, God does not promise these things to any random people, nor even to the called; for many are called, but few are chosen. Whence it comes about that he adds that his chosen ones shall not labor in vain. For those who formerly ruled over the Jews, since they taught ^D the commandments of men, were indeed fathers according to teaching, but for naught and unto a curse. By which reasons it came about that the Savior affirmed them to be miserable, who did not hesitate to compass sea and land to make one proselyte. And if it happens, you make him a son of hell. Not so [are] those of

Christ. For their seed shall be a blessed seed. ^A Some have accepted this also in relation to the regeneration. For if there are to be some labors ^B at that time, they are saving and very sweet, such as the angels endure. But a reward is stored up for them. Neither are their offspring, that is, their thoughts, for a curse; and if we understand this of the Apostles, whose fruit is the Church of the whole world, and whose children, brought forth through the regeneration of the laver, have a comparison with those born of Adam, to whose wife it was said, "In sorrow you shall bring forth children," for they were bringing forth according to the flesh; but the seed of the Apostles is blessed, which they sowed in all the Churches, to whom it has rightly been said: Before they cry, I will hear them. Which came to pass when they ^B performed miracles in the Acts for the conversion of those called to the faith, when all those who were previously rapacious and beast-like had the same food in the Church as the tame, feeding upon the divine Scripture. And if anyone had a viperous nature, having ceased from this, he was nourished with rational food, instead of earth. Being made such, how could they still cause harm? Through these things, the coming together of the two peoples into one is also intended. For by the sacred animals, and those suitable for sacrifices according to the law, He signified Israel; but by the profane and the beasts, the Gentiles, who are nourished together on the divine teachings and the heavenly bread. Observe, however, how it is not said that the tame would share the food of the beasts, ^C but the contrary. For it was fitting that the worse should follow the better, as the Gentiles followed the Apostles. But to those of the number of the Jews who think that these things happened to the Gentiles in the old Jerusalem, we shall say that there is nowhere any mention of them here in the category of good things, but rather reproaches for their impieties. For what is the necessity for beasts to be on the holy mountain? Or how would this be worthy of a divine promise? Having mentioned the holy mountain, He says: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. By these [words] He clearly rejects the Jerusalem that is on the earth, ^D as it is consequent to imagine it as such. For He also spoke of a new people, and a new name. Moreover, He also said that they shall not remember the former things any more. Through what follows, He also turns away from their sacrifices, through which they thought they were being pious, accepting only the humble and the quiet. But regarding the present passage, some have said that when He had sufficiently initiated the Gentiles into the mysteries, He thereafter moved on to Israel himself, to deliver him from the shadow.

CHAPTER LXVI

^A 1-4. Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. What is this

house which you will build for me? And what is the place of my rest? etc.

He speaks in a human manner when he uses the names of a seat and a footstool. Concerning the beasts, David sings in harmony: "If I am hungry, will I not tell you? For all the beasts of the field are mine," and what follows. But the prophet, having cast aside and repudiated the sacrifices, introduces the evangelical way of life, preferring what is humble, gentle, and pious. It does not stand as it does with others, "the lawless one," but rather "he who slaughters an ox."

^B He then adds the reason for the rejection of Israel, however much he was the first-born; since he says that they chose their own ways, proving themselves to be unjust judges in necessary matters, when they ought to have obeyed Christ, who was guiding them. Then, returning also to their ancient impiety and abominations, he says: "Therefore I also will choose their mockeries," that is, those who mock them and treat them with insolence, namely, the Romans. The cause is that I called them, and they did not listen to me, which was also stated before these things. The calling is: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Some think that the things said about the years are referred simply to times of long life, if it should happen that they observe his laws. For in this way they would have the region as impregnable, and fruits, as in gardens, flourishing forever: these things, which had been foretold, did not happen on account of their incredulity, because they were promised to those who repent. For it is written, he says, that the seed of those who have believed will be blessed. And the beasts themselves will be at peace with you, and with themselves.

^C Furthermore, in that he said heaven is his throne, he demonstrated that he rests in the holy ones. And in that the earth is a footstool for his feet, he signified that he has things that are not holy under his power. Since the two and a half tribes were thinking that they would escape the conquest because of the temple of God, and not because of the excellence of their ways and their piety, he demonstrates that these things are not useful for them, but for those who, by clinging to the legal requirements, prove themselves not unworthy for him to dwell among them. He signifies, moreover, that he turns away from sacrifices which do not proceed from an uprightness of mind. For those who follow their own wills and prostrate themselves before idols are accustomed to approach him along with these things, etc.

Verses 5–14. Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word. Say to your brothers, who hate you and treat you with abomination, that the name of the Lord may be glorified, and may appear in their joy, and they shall be put to shame. A voice of a cry from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord who renders retribution to his adversaries, etc.

After having promised that all things would be new at the time of

^A Zion’s birth, namely that those who are still alive might not inappropriately be commanded to hear those who tremble at his word—of whom he had previously understood, having asked, "Upon whom shall I look, but upon the humble and quiet man, and him who trembles at my words?"—he proposes to them an evangelical precept that in no way differs from this: "Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." For to tremble at the words of God ^B is not sufficient in itself for perfection; rather, the highest attainment of virtue requires a heart full of love toward those who afflict us, so that the name of the Lord may be glorified and may rise up in their joy. For since you rejoice over them in place of harboring hatred, God is glorified, according to the passage: "That they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." And perhaps they too, having attained your God, will glorify his name, seeing you so disposed toward them and rejoicing in the kindness shown them. Symmachus, however, translated as "And we shall see in your joy," as if to signify that at the end of the retribution, those people would be joyful, while the others would be openly confounded by what they see. For the time of retribution will be recognized as never before, when the voices of those being punished will be heard, with the inhabitants crying out from the city and the ministers from the temple. The ^C Lord will also cry out through the very events themselves, that these calamities are brought about by his own judgment. It is necessary to know that by evangelically commanding them to consider the Gentiles as brothers, he has dissolved a legal ordinance. For the law says, "You shall not speak peaceably to them," and it forbade every intermarriage with them, lest by being persuaded by them, they might fall into idolatry. But in Christ both have become one, and the middle wall of the partition has been broken down, and the law of commandments has been abolished in ordinances. For he himself is our peace. ^D Some say that this is spoken to the apostles, as they were about to be mistreated by the Jews, and especially by those in Jerusalem, whose leaders lashed the apostles, threatening them with death if they should preach the word of salvation. And what need is there to say that the promise of joy was made to the disciples of Christ, through whom churches were established everywhere, while the wrath of God overtook those who had harmed them, as they were surrounded by enemies? So much for them. But the pious manner of life, and the new Zion, the Church established through you, will bring forth such a sudden multitude of peoples that the hearer will be amazed. For just as a woman who is suddenly with child will bring forth, before any labor pains have preceded her, and that which is born is a male—so too, the whole and entire new

^A Sion is to bring forth suddenly; a thing which, in the case of others, does not happen. For every nation, and specifically that of the Jews, having taken small and gradual increments, grew into a people: as from Jacob came the twelve patriarchs, then children, then grandchildren, then even great-grandchildren; to whom, by gradual addition, they went forth into a great and populous nation. But the people of God filled very many parts of the earth at one and the same time. There are those, however, who interpret it this way, wishing to signify that, since He predicted the storming of the city of Jerusalem, the remnant would be saved. For immediately as Christ had returned to heaven, the disciples called even those by whom He had been slaughtered to repentance; when Peter said that he did not doubt they had done it in ignorance; and when he subsequently exhorted them to repentance, on that day about three thousand souls were added. ^B Afterward, when they taught such things, as time progressed, the very storming of the city occurred, while those who were more gentle had already run to the faith. And this is exactly what He understood, when before the labors were imminent for the city, He signified that she would bring forth a male. For the people of Christ are not effeminated by softness. But as for what He said, "in one day," He referred to the three thousand souls. And as to what He added subsequently, that He is the one who did it, and who gave such an expectation, He said that because it is established that God worked it through the apostles. For the multitude of children is promised to her by God through the prophets, for the sake of her salvation.

"But you have not remembered Me," He says, "nor have you believed, even though your own eyes have beheld Me." Yet I have made the barren to bring forth. Therefore, she would not have been without children (since I am able to make her fruitful), if she had wished to believe. Therefore it came to pass that she who was ^C barren, because she believed, has many children: which is to be understood of the Church of the nations. As for that which is held, "You have not remembered Me," says the Lord, you will not find it among the other interpreters. But according to Symmachus, it is said in this manner: "Shall I, who cause to sit for the bringing forth, not bring forth Myself?" says the Lord. "Or shall I, who promote the fetus, also compress it?" says your God. For since He is the author of corporeal birth, how shall He not bring forth that which is about to produce an entire nation at once, so that that which is divinely generated may come forth unharmed? Or how shall I compress the fetus, so that that which is brought forth may perish? But it remains, He says, that the new Sion, and those who are in her, and those who love her, should rejoice together; by which words He understands those whose doctrine is confirmed by abundance; and those who mourn in her. ^D According to that saying: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Now by the name of mourning are signified those things which are not accomplished well and excellently except with sweat, so that the fruits of divine gifts may be perceived. Whence it comes to pass that, "that you may suck, and be filled from the breast of her consolation," He adds. He dwells, moreover, on that very manner of speaking which He took from the woman, and compares the spiritual consolation which is in her to breasts and milk. For it is read in the Canticle, "Your breasts are better than wine."

^A Some, however, have referred this to the two Testaments, thinking it consistent that she who had brought forth the masculine people for God should also be filled with milk for the nourishment of her infants; a kind of rational milk which it was evident would flow from both Testaments. For they are her own two breasts, which are better than wine. He speaks of "consolation," furthermore, because the words of consolation are rightly called milk for the more imperfect souls, whereas solid food is understood as the realm of mystical dogmas, which is fitting for those who have advanced to the perfect man and who do not remain infants. Hence He added: "that you may suck and be delighted from the entrance of her glory"—that is to say, having been outside the nipple and weaned. He names Christ as her glory, just as David did when he sang: "That glory may dwell in our land." By "entrance," he refers to the mystery of the Economy in the flesh. For it is as if He entered into this world through the flesh. They are therefore delighted who have learned the discourse concerning this very matter.

Hence it is that the prophet immediately made His manifestation in the flesh clear, as if He Himself were speaking in this manner: "Behold, I decline toward them like a river of peace, and like a torrent overflowing the glory of the nations"; in which he joins the glory of the nations with that Sion which was mentioned just before, and likens the peace given to them to a river. And elsewhere he says: "The river of God is filled with water." And: "The impetuous streams of the river make glad the city of God." And again: "And you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." He calls those from among the ^B nations who have believed the "glory of the nations," according to the verse: "Whom He called, these He also glorified."

^C He inclined toward the nations since He was not received by those from Israel for whose sake He primarily came. Deepest peace then inundated the Church with a vast stream, watering its sons with spiritual waters. For through the saving proclamation they have gained the peace that is with the Father through Him, when certain nurses bear up her infants—certain teachers of the Church, or angels, according to the verse: "Do not despise one of these little ones. For their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." Those who are perfect, therefore, sustain those who are being initiated on their shoulders and knees, nurturing them like mothers. ^D "I, however," He says, "like the Father of all, will myself console those who console the weaker and more needy ones." For this reason the Apostle writes: "Blessed be the God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to console those who are in any tribulation, through the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God." If these things come about in this way, you shall see, He says, the heavenly Jerusalem, or

even God Himself, who is the end of what is desired and is full of joy. Indeed, the Savior Himself for this reason declares blessed those who are pure in heart, because they shall see God. He continues: *And your bones shall flourish like the grass.* For the dead shall rise, and those in the monuments shall be awakened, ^A having been enriched by that dew which flows from Christ, namely the life-giving Spirit, of whom we read in the Psalmist: *Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth;* just as we see those things that have blossomed in the fields die, yet in the spring truly rise again. In this way, it shall be known to all that not human power has done these things, but the hand of God, that is, the Only-Begotten, through whom even the resurrection of the dead exists. ^B And it shall be known to those who fear Him. For having taken up the fear of God which comes from wisdom—*for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom*—they will understand that it is not without the hand of God that such grace has operated among mortals. But to those who are not such, He will threaten the things that are to be brought upon them.

Some, however, interpret the words, *the voice of the Lord*, in this way: for everything from every side cries out the just judgment of God, with enemies indeed subjugated and defeated, and Hezekiah returning from the temple and proclaiming the majesty of God, and those who opposed God finally handed over to punishment. Yet they are to avoid penalties if they happen to repent, not otherwise than a woman who has brought forth a male child. For she forgets her sorrows, by the very fact that she has brought forth, having obtained consolation; such as that which says that when a woman has brought forth, she rejoices with joy, ^C because a human being has been born into the world. You must, therefore, He says, anticipate the time of birth-pains with repentance, and as a child, bring forth your own salvation. ^D They say that these things happened to Jerusalem in a short time, the whole nation even taking back its own inhabitants. For it is God who bestows barrenness and fruitfulness. Having previously refreshed the soul with future good things, He commands Jerusalem to rejoice, not to mourn her destruction, but to consider the glory that will follow after these things, and to feed her children as if from the breasts: because the Lord is about to send them peace, and to give much peace, with all things flowing into her like rivers. For He shall bestow upon them the glory of the nations, so that they carry her sons and daughters on their shoulders into Jerusalem, with God Himself, like a mother, providing His own help and care, consoling them over the past calamity, and in a new way, as it were, making them live again, like the bones which are in Ezekiel. Further, understand the "burdens" or "loads" of them to be the honor which they have produced for themselves from the nations, at the time when, according to the preordination of the Lord, with the protection of Darius, they were sent on their way with banquets and in peace, their holy vessels having been returned, and the city having been rebuilt along with the temple. Which also appears after the presence of the Savior.

For we all pursue the true Jerusalem, ^A carrying the true Jews upon our shoulders and knees, because we hold in our hands the blessed prophets, placing our hopes in the God of Abraham. Furthermore, we carry about in our hands the books of the apostles and of the Savior. And the discourse concerning the Jerusalem here is not at all false, toward which it is certain that kings themselves and nations also hasten on account of the Savior.

Vers. 15–24. *For behold, the Lord shall come as fire, and his chariots as a tempest, to render vengeance in wrath, and his rebuke in a flame of fire. For by the fire of the Lord shall all the earth be judged, and by his sword all flesh. Many shall be wounded by the Lord. They who sanctify and purify themselves in the gardens, and at the lintels, eating swine's flesh, and abominations, and the mouse, shall be consumed, saith the Lord. And I know their works and their ^B thoughts, etc.*

Having spoken of the promises to those who were to believe, and having set forth the threat regarding what He would threaten to the disobedient, He now sets forth His glorious presence, indicating when He shall come with the glory of the Father and His angels, to judge the living and the dead. The phrase "as fire" is interpreted by others as "in fire." By the name of chariots, He signifies the angels and the powers that surround Him, such as that which we read in the Psalmist in these words: "The chariot of God is ten thousand-fold, thousands of those who abound." Furthermore, He adds that He shall come as a tempest, so that He may take vengeance upon those who are worthy. Again, by using the word "rebuke," He signified the rejection of those from Himself, ^C whom He had commanded to depart from Him, such as those devoted to the eternal fire. Furthermore, the sword signifies vengeance, which is a common and familiar image that strikes fear into those who hear it, such as that saying of the Apostle: "But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up for thyself wrath," and what follows. He adds, moreover, for whom this fire is especially prepared. If you refer this to the times that preceded the coming [of Christ], you may understand it of those who were in no way purified according to the Law with the ashes of the heifer and with sacrifices. But if you look to those things that followed the same [coming], He implies those who, instead of the divine baptism, ^D were purified with mere garden water, or even by magic, in the groves and where they performed their sacred rites. For they used to purify themselves with fire and water, thinking that by these means they could wash away the stains of the soul, which they had contracted through lechery and murders.

Instead of "And eating swine's flesh at the lintels," Symmachus says: "Behind one another in the midst, eating swine's flesh," not meaning that they ate these things, but that they lived among the Gentiles, and therefore were to perish with them; since God [would judge] not only their deeds.

^A but also their thoughts. "What is the meaning of, 'My imperfect [work] did thine eyes behold'?" Some, however, have understood the "abominations" not as foods, but as idols, saying that they perhaps even kept a mouse in their sanctuaries to worship. Yet there are some who even now eat field mice. And where He said that He would gather all tongues, He says, "They shall see My glory, and I will leave a sign upon them, and I will send forth those from them that are saved." Which He states more clearly in the Gospels, saying: "When the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit upon the throne of His majesty; and all the nations shall be gathered before Him," and what follows thereafter. But to show which of the Gentiles were to be saved by merit, He returned to the first advent; to which some, referring those [nations] whose tongues He said He would gather, believe it to be a recapitulation of the entire prophecy; as they say that what follows ^B expresses in summary, from beginning to end, the power of the dispensation in the flesh, signifying the calling of the Gentiles; and that as Christ having designated the apostles, He shall be worshipped by every nation.

For the old law gathered one nation and one language, but Christ [gathered] all the nations, and those who were saved from Israel, when He commands all these nations to hear: to whom it also befell to see His glory, when, through the divine proclamation of the Gospel, they had learned that He is equal to the Father, and works miracles even to the resurrection of the dead, and not, after the manner of the Jews, asking, "Why, being a man, do you make yourself God?" but with one consensus asserting that He is the Son of the living God. Upon whom also the sign of the venerable cross has been placed: or, as Paul says, "We were sealed with the Spirit of redemption." And from them, He says, I will send forth to the nations—that is to say, from the perishing, concerning whom it was said: "They shall be consumed together." From these, a remnant having been preserved will be sent forth for the calling of these and those nations, "and they shall see My glory," according to that which was said before: "They to whom it was not told concerning Him shall see, and again: "I became manifest to them that sought Me not." These, having gone forth with My sign, shall make brothers of those who are from the Gentiles, and shall bring an offering to the Lord. Whence it comes to pass that, exulting, they name them their joy and crown. ^D As to how He indicated that the Gentiles would be converted without labor, He demonstrated this by adopting the metaphor of those who are carried in vehicles, as if God deems them worthy of every ease. They shall be acceptable to God, as a sacrifice lawfully offered with song and the proclamation of praises. And from them, He says, I will take priests and Levites, and that which is from the apostles, and that which is more truly from the Gentiles. Finally, in a way of example, He shows the unshakable nature of the hope of those who have been called.

For, He says, the renewal of heaven and earth shall have no end. Thus shall it be with our affairs. For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. ^A And he demonstrates the continuity of pious worship through those typical things which are in the Law.

Some, however, interpret the phrase "they shall bring your brothers" as referring to the time of the consummation at the heavenly Jerusalem, when they shall be taken up in an angelic chariot, as was Elias, shining with divine light. And this is manifest from the prophecy of Zacharias. For when he describes horses and chariots, he is hinting at certain angelic powers. Furthermore, the litters for the mules signify the bodies that have attained the resurrection, because of the glory that shines forth in them. But for "litters of mules with canopies," Symmachus translated: "on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and in carrucs, and in sedan chairs," by which, since they were spoken of corporally for the sake of the hearers, the sublime journey through the air to the heavens is signified, according to the words, "We shall be caught up in the clouds," making clear the vehicles mentioned here. And they are brought into the holy city, of which He says: "But the Jerusalem which is above is free." And: "You have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." ^B Here, where we have "with psalms," you will find that Symmachus interpreted it as "in a clean vessel." For as the ancients, he says, offered the legal sacrifices according to the law in the earthly Jerusalem, so shall these come, bringing gifts with their own fruits, which each person has prepared in his soul as in a vessel.

Then He says: "And I will take from them" (from whom, if not from the nations just enumerated?) "priests and Levites." For if there is to be a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem, it follows that they must also have new ministers. Hence it is that He signaled that they would not remember the former things, and that they would not come up into their heart. ^C For it is implausible to say that they are taken from the Jews, since these already existed among them. And how could He have taken priests from priests, and Levites from Levites, when the entire Levitical tribe had been divided into these, whom He likens to the new heaven and the new earth? For it was said of the first: "Heaven and earth shall pass away." And again: "The heaven shall be rolled up like a scroll, and the earth shall be corrupted with corruption." The first-fruits of the world to come is Christ; then, those who are Christ’s; then, the new heaven and the new earth. He hinted that the kingdom of heaven belongs to some of those who are called blessed, and the inheritance of the earth, in another way, to others. For since of the mansions that are with the Father, some are of a lesser, and others of a more excellent nature, according to their mutual relationship, those beneath them ^D

will appear to be heavens, while the others, if compared with those that are higher, will appear as earth. ^A Yet these are all continuous and perpetual. For those things which fall under the gaze of the eyes are temporary, but those which cannot be perceived are perpetual. But if the things contained by the Law are signs and images, according to that which the Apostle said, “For the Law having a shadow of good things to come” (Heb. X, 1), it is consistent that by the name of heavenly things we should understand the feasts themselves, and the months, and the Sabbaths, about which it is not the time now to dispute exactly. But just as the Jews, while inhabiting many other cities, dwelt in one Jerusalem that was preeminent in the holiness of its worship, into which at stated times those who inhabited the others would gather for the sake of the sacred rites, so it must be understood that there is in the heavens a sanctuary that is preeminent and inaccessible to the rest, ^B save to the Son of God the high priest, to whom alone it is lawful to approach the divinity and bosom of the Father: when others at stated times (which times indeed are understood to be these, and the years there, to which a certain prophet looking back said, “And I remembered the eternal years, and I meditated” [Ps. LXXVI, 6]) pass over to the preeminent city of the heavens, a mansion inscribed to the kingdom of God and to those who have arrived at the summit of beatitude; of which, however, those who have been lower will not be deprived, but at certain periods they shall arrive at the heavenly solemnities and become participants of a certain divine and immortal joy and of ineffable goods: when they have been sated with these, they will return to their own mansions, where there is the true Sabbatism and the very rest of souls.

^C But by the appellation of flesh, the nations themselves are signified. Such is that: “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Isa. XL, 5; Luke III, 6). And the other: “I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and they shall prophesy” (Joel II, 28). But he speaks thus, so that the Jews might not think that these things are said about them; wherefore he indicates every race of mortals, whom he signifies are to come. For the citizens of that Jerusalem are many thousands (the Apostle says [Heb. XII, 22]), of angels, the Church of the firstborn. There shall be forever those who, ministering to God, shall dwell under the high priest. Furthermore, all shall see the destruction of the impious, considering of what good things they have been deprived. ^D But in the place where he said limbs, Symmachus interpreted it as the extremities. But whose limbs, if not those of whom he wrote at the beginning, affirming that he had begotten and exalted sons, by whom it came to pass that he himself was despised? Those who go forth from Jerusalem shall see them far removed from themselves, and they will return, each to his own mansion. Furthermore, by the appellation of worms, he signifies the assiduous conscience of those things which we have individually sinned in repenting; which, by the deprivation of such great goods, gnaws at the soul and accuses it by the recollection of all its crimes. Then, the fire itself shall be unquenchable, which is termed eternal by the Savior, [(see facsimile)] prepared for the devil; but it shall be for the vision of the flesh that is not being punished, concerning which he said: “All flesh shall come to worship before me.” Either that of the