may we be counted worthy of that day of trembling, so that we may not rise to eternal shame, but to eternal life; which may we all be granted to attain, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is glory, together with the holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. B
COMMENTARY OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, ON THE TWELVE PROPHETS
PROŒMIUM
Perhaps some will think that we are doing something superfluous and unnecessary by venturing to interpret the prophets, seeing that certain others have already exhausted this labor. But those who value divine doctrine highly, and who have been perfectly and thoroughly instructed in the holy Scriptures, will not only not be angry with us, nor, like those querulous accusers, will they condemn our undertaking, but they will even applaud it, as is fitting, and even if they find nothing noble in our books, they will adorn them with praises. For a prompt and enthusiastic mind is quite enough among fair judges to garner praise. For thus our Saviour and Lord, in the holy Gospels, extolled that widow who gave two mites, bestowing praise by reason of the condition of her mind, C not by the quantity of the gift. And in the Law, when he had commanded the wealthy to bring gold and silver and precious stones for the construction of the tabernacle, he did not deprive the poor of this blessing, but ordered some to bring skins, others hair; and those who were unable to offer even these contributed their labor and their strength instead, spinning the hair and weaving it. Furthermore, we know that not only was the great Moses D
A a prophet, but also Joshua the son of Nun, and Samuel, and David, and Nathan, and Gad, and Ahijah, and Elijah, and Elisha, and ten thousand others besides these. And the preaching of the Gospel was not restricted merely to Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, and the whole chorus of the apostles, nor only to Paul and Barnabas, who were ordained after them and traveled throughout the world to all men, but also included Silas, and Titus, and Timothy, and Apollos, the disciples of those great men. Nor did the grace of teaching stop even with these, but it enlightened their successors as well, and those who came after them. And even until now, the fountain of the All-Holy Spirit gushes forth in the divine churches B and distributes to men the God-given gifts. It will not seem at all improper, therefore, in the judgment of those who use upright and just discernment, if we, like those spinning some hair, bring the fruits of our own mind as an offering for the construction of the new tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man. And if anyone should say that we are following in the footsteps of others, by this reasoning also he will find that we have contributed to our utmost to the common offering. For just like those women who—taking the hair brought by others—spun and wove it and constructed the curtains of the tabernacle, so too we, collecting fine sayings from here and there, and, God willing, weaving them into one single volume, will make the meaning of C the twelve prophets clear to those who read it. It is also likely that we, using the divine word as a sort of lamp, shall find an interpretation that adheres to the truth. For the grace of divine munificence has not been extinguished; rather, it flows like a perennial fountain and supplies the greatest gifts, not only to those who are worthy of them, but also to those who lack absolute perfection. We see that the sensible sun, too, sends forth its rays and illuminates the entire earth and sea, not only for the most ancient of men, but also for those who succeeded them, and even for us who were born later. Far more, then, does the Creator of the sun—who created it out of pure goodness—illuminate D the mind of those who choose to look towards Him in this way. Sustained by this hope, and ignoring any detractors, we shall embark upon the prophetic interpretation, calling upon your prayers—you who urged and incited me to this labor—to assist us. And having first spoken briefly about the times
Concerning the times in which each of the twelve prophets prophesied
in which each one prophesied, we shall then proceed to the interpretation of each in turn.The twelve prophets, not because they flourished together or lived at the same time, possess one book; for it was at different times that they made their prophecies of things to come...
A And Hosea prophesied in the reign of Uzziah, and Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who were kings of Judah; and Amos likewise in the days of Uzziah; and Joel was surely his contemporary and peer. Micah began his prophecy immediately after the death of Uzziah, in the days of Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah. And Jonah, too, belongs to this group; for even if his prophecy is silent as to the time, the book of Chronicles clearly teaches this. Nahum received the gift of prophecy after Jonah, and the subject matter of his prophecy clearly demonstrates this. For Jonah, when he had proclaimed the total destruction of the Ninevites, caused them to employ the remedies of repentance; which was the reason that they did not experience those harsh predictions in reality. But when they had relapsed into their former wickedness and perpetrated deeds worthy of the ultimate punishment, Nahum after these events predicts their destruction. B And Obadiah, by the painful things which he forewarned for Idumea, is shown to have begun his prophecy after them. Zephaniah clearly teaches that he received the divine revelation under King Josiah, at which same time the admirable Jeremiah also prophesied. Habakkuk was not much later than these. Haggai, and Zechariah, and Malachi existed many years later; for they prophesied not only after Josiah, and Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, but even after the Babylonian captivity, and after Cyrus, the first king of the Persians, who permitted the Israelite people to return, and after Cambyses his son, in the reign of Darius the son of Hystaspes, while Zerubbabel was already building the divine temple. C After them, no other prophet is found among the Jews. Therefore, they are not joined into one volume because they existed at one and the same time, but because they comprised their predictions in a few words, and because, on account of their brevity, each of them would not have sufficed for the composition of a single book. Rightly, therefore, did the ancients, who of old had care for divine things, gather the predictions of the twelve prophets and compile them into one book. It is time, then, for us to address the explanation part by part, having first set forth in summary the subject matter of Hosea's prophecy. D
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, COMMENTARY ON THE PROPHET HOSEA.
ARGUMENT
A When the division of the people occurred under Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, Jeroboam, son of Nebat, ruled over the ten tribes. Fearing that, during the festive days which called the people to the temple at Jerusalem, the ten tribes might return to the kingdom of David, he nefariously began an impiety against God, and fashioned two golden calves, building shrines for them, for one in Dan and for the other in Bethel. Hence, impiety having taken root, he taught them to serve the idols of the neighboring nations. Wherefore, having lapsed into extreme iniquity, they were despoiled of divine providence. B And first, Hazael, king of the Syrians, warred against them; then Phua, king of the Assyrians, exacted a very large tribute. After him, following the destruction of many cities, Tiglath-Pileser killed some of the inhabitants and led others into captivity. After him, Shalmaneser, succeeding to the kingdom, did the same again against the cities that were still intact and had not yet been ravaged, and having divided his army for a siege, he took Samaria C along with its inhabitants and led the remaining part of the ten tribes away into Assyria. Finally, the king of the Assyrians, Sennacherim, having waged war against Judea, took indeed some of the cities; but when he attempted to besiege Jerusalem, he lost his army through a plague divinely inflicted, while he himself escaped unhurt, in order that he might become a herald of the divine power. But when he returned home, he was killed by his own children, since he too, having been made by God, had raged against his own Maker. Accordingly, the blessed Hosea, D having been accepted into the prophetic office and seeing far with the eyes of his mind, is commanded to preach to the people, so that, being terrified by the fear of these predictions, they might flee from the punishments and escape the danger of evils.
A Call his name Jezreel." But I am greatly astonished at those who have dared to say that these are words devoid of substance, and that though the God of all commanded it, the prophet did not do it; that the words were spoken, but the deeds were not performed. Those who attempt to say such things ought to have observed that God often commanded many such things. For He commanded Isaiah to loose the sackcloth from his loins, and to run naked and barefoot, and thus to perform the prophecy; to Jeremiah, He once instructed him to place wooden yokes on his neck, and at another time iron ones; to Ezekiel, He commanded him to lie on his left side for one hundred and fifty days, and on his right for forty, and to eat bread baked in human dung, and to take the vessels of captivity, and to dig through the wall, and to draw a picture of the fugitives, and thus to predict the flight of Zedekiah. And we shall find ten thousand other such things in the divine Scripture, of which if one were to ignore the purpose, he might say they were unworthy of prophetic virtue: "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your elders shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And even upon my servants and upon my handmaids, in those days I will pour out of my Spirit." This promise received its fulfillment openly and plainly on the day of Pentecost, when the divine apostles spoke with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance; and after this, the grace was distributed through them to all who believe. Among these were also the prophets in Antioch, and Agabus who took Paul’s belt, and those in Corinth, to whom Paul writes: "If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninstructed person enters, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all, and thus falling on his face he will worship God, saying that God is truly among you." Also the four daughters of Philip received the gift of prophecy. For what need is there even to speak of the divine Paul, who at Miletus said to the elders of the Ephesians: "For I know that after my departure heavy wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and of your own selves men shall arise, speaking perverse things"? And writing to Timothy he cries out, "In the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be self-lovers, covetous," and the rest. And again: "But the Spirit expressly says, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits," and the rest. But it is superfluous for me to try to demonstrate the truth of prophecy. For this gift has been preserved even to our own times, and there are men among the saints who have a pure sharpness of mind, who both foresee and predict many of the things that are to come. Having thus spoken of the gifts bestowed by the divine Spirit after the first manifestation of our Savior, he predicts also the things that are to happen before the second manifestation.
VERS. 30, 31. "And I will show wonders in heaven and in the earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and illustrious day of the Lord comes." The Lord also predicted these things in the holy Gospels: "For there shall be," He says, "signs in heaven, and in the sun, and the moon, and the stars." He calls the second manifestation of our Savior the great and illustrious day. For since at the time of His prior advent He was born from a poor woman in a cave, and when born was placed in a manger, and until He began His miracles He was unknown to the many, but coming in...
A His state of abasement, He was made known, and by the wonder of what was seen, He drew those devoid of understanding to spiritual contemplation. For those seeing Isaiah running naked would surely have run to the contemplation of this strange thing, desiring to learn the reason for such a course. And those who saw Ezechiel doing all those things would, as is likely, have inquired into the cause of what was being done.
In this way, then, the Lord of all prepares the blessed Osee to take an unchaste wife, that by what was done he might both rebuke the impiety of the people and display His own incredible forbearance. If, however, the God of all endured the Synagogue, lost to lust and adulterous, and the fountain of holiness was not B defiled by that impure and execrable one, neither did the prophet receive any stain from that wife full of shame; for it was not from serving immoderate desire, but from obeying the commands of God, that he entered into association with her.
It must be known, moreover, that good and evil are judged by their purpose; for in this way marriage is distinguished from adultery. Although they do not differ at all in the act of coitus, the distinction is demonstrated by the purpose and the law, and by this mark the one is judged legitimate and the other illegitimate. One might find this same thing in the case of killing, if one only considers it. For the murderer kills, C and the D judge also kills; but the one does so lawfully, the other unlawfully, and...
while the act is the same, they differ in purpose and in scope. And that we may learn this more clearly from the holy Scripture, we must consider it as follows. Cain committed murder, but he did so while laboring under envy and using wicked guile. Phinehas committed murder, but he did so while inflamed with zeal, taking up the struggle for piety, and abhorring impiety; and so the act was the same, but the purpose and scope were diametrically opposite. In the same way, while theft is condemned by the law, yet Jacob stole the blessing from his father, and was not only not accused of theft, but is even celebrated throughout all generations. B Elijah the great fasted, and those who stoned Naboth also fasted; but the former was engaged in contemplation, while the latter were brewing calumny. Saul showed mercy to Agag and was stripped of his kingdom, for that mercy was unlawful; Samuel killed Agag and satisfied the divine law. C And it is easy to find ten thousand other such things, not only in the holy Scripture but also in those things that happen among us every day. And so, the wonderful Hosea, not serving his own lust but yielding to divine impulses, took the harlot, and this union was chaster and more praiseworthy than any marriage: not only because it happened according to the divine impulse, but because it exhibited the likeness of God, and how the Holy One, resting in the saints, became the spouse of the licentious multitude of the Israelites. Therefore, after she had borne a child, He commands him to call the one who was born Jezrael: "For yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezrael upon the house of Jehu, and I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease." (vs. 4-5) "And it shall be in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrael." The meaning of what He says is this: Jezrael is the place in which Naboth suffered that unjust slaughter; D and Jehu, who became the punisher of this man according to the divine counsel, and to whom God had promised, on account of what he had done against Jezebel, that his kingdom would last for four generations. Since, therefore, the descendants of this man took no thought of the divine benevolence, and began to emulate the impiety of those who had reigned before them, God threatens that He will also cause this kingdom to cease, and will break the bow of Israel, that is, He will dissolve their power in the valley of Jezrael. And He did not make mention of this place simply, but to recall the divine benevolence to the king then reigning, and to teach that, just as the Lord exacted penalties from those who had slaughtered Naboth through his ancestor Jehu, so He will also exact the penalty from them for their ingratitude toward Him. To these He adds that another child was born, and by the God of all...
A a name was given; for He commanded, He says, that she be called *Not-pitied*, teaching by this that He would no longer deem Israel worthy of pity.
VERS. 7. B "But I will have mercy on the children of Judah," He says, "and I will save them by the Lord their God, and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen." And by these things He clearly revealed what happened in the time of Sennacherib; for at that time the Assyrians were defeated, not by the formation of a battle line, but by angelic power, and one hundred and eighty-five thousand were destroyed. To these He adds that, when another child was born, God commanded that he be called *Not my people*; and He teaches the reason: "For you are not my people, and I am not yours." And lest anyone suppose that He casts them off as being easily counted and few, He has appropriately added:
VERS. 10. "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which shall not be measured nor numbered." But God does not rejoice in multitude; for where two or three are gathered into His name, there He is in the midst of them. Thus He preferred Noah to all mortals together, thus Abraham, thus Moses; but their descendants, though surpassing in number, He calls *Not my people* on account of their impiety. But, being merciful, He immediately recalled the sentence that had been issued:
"For it shall be in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they shall be called children of the living God. (VERS. 11.) And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together into one place, and they shall appoint for themselves one rule, and they shall go up from the land, for great is the day of Jezreel." By these words He foretold the recall from Babylon, and that after their return from there they would no longer have divided kings, but, being united and joined together, they would have one ruler. And this was fulfilled in the time of Zerubbabel. He called the day of Jezreel the calamity which the Assyrians brought upon Israel in the valley of Jezreel. For because, He says, I bring upon them a great punishment, I will also deem them worthy of great salvation, and having freed them from servitude, I will restore them to their ancestral homeland.
CHAPTER II.
D Then He exhorts them, as things have undergone a change, to change their names as well, and to call *Not my people*, *My people*, and *Not beloved*, *Beloved*. For you, He says, who have attained salvation and have returned from Babylon, be judges of your mother and of me—that is, of your ancestors, who sinned against me, because this...
is not my wife, and I am not her husband. A bill of divorce, he says, was issued because the cause originated from her. We find something similar also said in Isaiah: "And now, O house of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, judge between me and my vineyard, for I looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth thorns." And in this place He says: B
VER. 2. "Judge with your mother, judge, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband." And to show that this divorce was not brought about for her destruction, he adds: "And I will take away her fornication from before me, and her adulteries from the midst of her breasts." Something of this kind is that which was said by the blessed David: "It is good for me that You have humbled me, that I may learn Your statutes." In chastising her, He promises to free her from fornication and adultery, and not superficially, but by rooting it out from the midst of her breasts. He denotes the heart lying under the breasts, from which proceed evil thoughts, envies, murders, adulteries, fornications, and things like these. Therefore, the chastisement of God brings the greatest benefit, by which those who are instructed are freed from fornication. He also teaches the kinds of chastisement.
VER. 3. "So that I may strip her naked, and restore her as she was on the day of her birth." He calls her time in Egypt the day of her birth. I will make her, He says, desolate and destitute of my providence, and I will cause her to serve the Assyrians, just as she served the Egyptians. And I will make her like a dry and desert land; and I will destroy her with thirst. By thirst, He implies not only the lack of water, but also the deprivation of divine providence. C Nor will I spare her children, He says, because, born of impious parents, they have imitated the wickedness of their fathers. For here he calls the worship of idols fornication; and to point out her ingratitude more clearly, he introduces her as saying that it is fitting to follow her lovers—that is, the idols—from whom, she says, I receive an abundance of all things necessary. And because she did not know the Giver of good things, He fittingly adds:
VER. 6. "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build up her ways, and she shall not find her path." And this punishment itself is full of philanthropy; for it works toward a cessation of her impiety. For having learned by trial of evils the weakness of the idols (for she called upon them for an alliance at the time of the invasion, and did not obtain help from them—"For she will seek them," He says, "and will not find them"), she will remember divine providence, and will say, "I will go and revert to D
for it was better for me then than now." And who, beholding such divine love for mankind, would not justly be astonished—that He who is God, Creator, and Lord, calls Himself her husband, and not her master? Since the affection of a wife for her husband is greater and more vehement than that of servants for their master, wishing to instill this disposition in humanity, He styles Himself bridegroom and husband. Yet not even these things move ungrateful men of perverse mind toward a right and thankful disposition toward God. Whence it comes to pass that He also says of them:
A VERS. 8. "And she did not know that I gave her the grain, and the wine, and the oil; and I multiplied the silver and the gold to her: but she made them into silver and gold for Baal." The gifts she received from God, these she offered to those enemies of God. Wherefore, God, being offended, threatens to deprive them of grain and wine. And lest they should think the land is suffering from unfruitfulness, He aptly added, "In its time," that is, after it has fully ripened and become mature, in the time of harvest and vintage. He threatens also to strip her of clothing, so that she might even lack necessary garments. [10] Her lovers, He says, seeing these things, will be unable to bring her aid. [11] Furthermore, He threatened through the prophetic mouth to cause a cessation of festival days, to extinguish every occasion of joy and exultation, and to destroy the fig trees and the vines. [12] Since she said, He says, that she received these things from the idols, and ignored Me as the bestower of them. "And I will place them," He says, "as a testimony." For being destroyed and corrupted by wild beasts, birds, and serpents, they will convict their impiety and will B bear witness to the discipline and correction brought about by Me. [13] She will suffer these evils because she preferred the worship of Baal—that is, the idols—over Mine; and decked out in varied and manifold adornment, she celebrated their festivals. Wherefore He says,
VERS. 14. "Behold, I will seduce her, and will bring her into the desert." That is, I will cause her to wander and stray as a captive, and I will render her destitute of all these good things; yet nevertheless, I will comfort her in these evils.
VERS. 15. "For," He says, "I will speak to her heart, and I will give her her possessions from there, and the valley of Achor for opening her understanding." For "Achor," in the C Syriac I have found "Achar"; this is he who under Joshua the son of Nun committed theft and violated the established anathema, and who paid the penalty, for the whole people stoned him. But after
A his death, when they recognized what vast troubles the transgression of the divine law brings, they appeased God with weeping and lamentation. This, therefore, the prophet here indicates. For as they then learned from the punishment of Achar how great an evil the violation of the law is, so also from the captivity these will receive a perception of their own transgressions. And making this clearer, he adds:
VERS. 16, 17. "And she shall be humbled there according to the days of her infancy, and according to the days of her coming up from the land of Egypt. And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord, she shall call me, My husband, and shall no longer call me Baalim. And I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their names." In the same way, he says, as they served the Egyptians, so shall they serve the Assyrians; for he calls their time in Egypt her infancy. However, the servitude will be useful to them, and will plainly be a reconciler of piety; for in the captivity she will forget the worship of idols, and will call me husband and companion. And I, seeing the change that has taken place in her soul:
VERS. 18. "I will make a covenant for them in that day, with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground." And teaching that he does not speak of beasts and birds, but of brutish men, and of those flying about after the manner of birds, and of those resembling venomous serpents, he adds: "And I will break the bow and the sword, and the battle from the earth." Then he promises them eternal goods: B "And I will make them dwell in hope." Concerning this hope, the blessed Paul speaks: "For in hope," he says, "we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope for? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." And that it is of this hope he spoke, and not another, the things that follow bear witness.
VERS. 19. "And I will betroth thee unto me forever; and I will betroth thee in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassions." And that he did not betroth the Synagogue of the Jews unto himself forever, but the Church gathered from the Jews and from the Gentiles, the events themselves bear witness. For the former was cast off, C whereas this one, joined to the Bridegroom, awaits eternal goods. He betrothed her, not only in righteousness and judgment, but also in mercy and in compassions; for he used righteousness and judgment against the wicked tyrant, but displayed mercy and compassions toward those who were forced to serve that tyrant. And since it was necessary that those who had obtained mercy should themselves also render something back to their Savior, he reasonably added:
A Ver. 20. "And I will betroth you to myself in faith, and you shall know the Lord." For faith alone is immediately required of those who approach, as they are destitute and void of righteousness; but they receive this through the washing of regeneration from God the Savior. Whoever possesses faith comes into the knowledge of the Master. 21 After the prefiguration of eternal goods, he foretells to them also corporeal gifts. For since they were earthly and stuck to the dust, they devoted their attention more to these than to those. He promises, therefore, that he will supply rain from above, and will labor so that the earth may bring forth good things, as he says: "I will hear the heaven, and the heaven shall hear the earth. (Vers. 22.) And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and these shall hear Jezreel." Then again he intermingles the spiritual.
Ver. 23. "And I will sow her to myself upon the earth." This is: I will make her a field which I will cultivate, and I will sow the seeds of righteousness. "And I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say to Not-my-people: You are my people; and he shall say: You are my God." These things indeed happened figuratively under Zerubbabel; but in reality, after the incarnation of Christ the Lord, when he betrothed the Church to himself for eternity: for then those who believed in him were truly called faithful people, and he himself was called God specifically of those who believed in him from the heart.
CHAPTER III
B 1 After these promises of goods and betrothals, God again exhorts the prophet to love the adulterous woman who was living in wickedness, so that through the events he might again show an image and likeness of the supreme divine love toward the unworthy. "For just as," he says, "the Lord loves the children of Israel, and they look to other gods and love cakes with raisins." Men devoted to idols were accustomed to making such things. [2, 3] The prophet, however, immediately performed what was commanded, and explains what wages he promised to the woman, and what covenants he made with her. "For I said to her," he says, "to flee every other association and to keep herself entire for me alone." He then shows the archetype of the image.
Ver. 4. "For many days," he says, "the children of Israel shall sit without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without a priesthood, and C without manifestations." For just as, he says, she, renouncing her former lovers, chose the company of the prophet: so also you, having been led away captive into a foreign land, will enjoy neither royal nor priestly care: for since there is no altar, what kind of sacrifice will be made? But
neither will the things accustomed to be declared and presignified through the priests or prophets be preannounced to those who wish, in a foreign land, to learn what must be done; nor will I openly show them my care, even though I pursue them with ardent love because of their ancestors. For this reason the prophet indeed lived with a woman occupied in wicked deeds, as the Lord had commanded, yet he refrained from marital intercourse; for God, the Lord of all, neither entirely stripped the people of His own providence, nor did He make it plain and evident to them. He called the divine predictions A *manifestations*; for the high priest used to receive the manifestation and truth by the rational of judgment, and through certain signs occurring in that, he foretold things to come. For this reason, also, the great Moses, blessing the priestly tribe, says: "Give to Levi manifestations." Thus, having prophesied sad things, he mingles with them also those that are joyful.
5. "After these things," he says, "the children of Israel will return, and will seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they will be amazed at the Lord and at His good things in the last of the days." For whereas the ten tribes, having revolted from the kings sprung from David, had elected a king for themselves, after their return from Babylon, being united and joined together, they had one leader, Zerubbabel, sprung B from the Davidic tribe, under whom they also received the enjoyment of the God-given good things. All these things, clearly knowing them before they came to pass, he predicts with a prophetic voice. And "in the last of the days" means: after the end of the seventy years of the captivity.
CHAPTER IV
[1, 2] Having thus presignified the good things, he again institutes an accusation regarding the evils that were being committed. "For you are destitute," he says, "of truth and kindness, and deprived of divine knowledge; but among you, much falsehood prevails; murder is committed with impunity, and, coveting what belongs to others, you appropriate it, and you plot against one another's marriages, so that your whole land abounds with these pollutions." On account of which I shall bring upon you such a multitude C of enemies that they will be utterly consumed, not only those who abound in wealth and who, after the manner of wild beasts and reptiles, prey upon the poor and use their strength like certain wings, but also all the others, who, like certain fish, swim through the sea of life. For he figuratively called the powerful "wild beasts, and reptiles, and birds," but he named the poor "fish." But when this happens, he says, the land will be destitute of both those who judge and those who are judged. "And my people," he says, "as a priest who is contradicted: and he will be weakened by day, and the prophet also will be weakened with D
him, A you will become like a priest who has been shown to be unworthy and has fallen from his proper dignity, being stripped of my providence, and for many days you will be delivered over to this discipline along with the prophets who announce falsehoods to you. For he has now called the pseudoprophet a prophet, according to the custom that prevailed among them. "And in the night I have made your mother like." And showing whom he calls mother,
VERS. 6. "My people," he says, "is become as one without knowledge." For since they have delivered themselves over to the darkness of ignorance, and do not wish to receive even a small glimmer of the light that leads to the knowledge of God, they are rightly likened to the night, being held by such darkness; B by the mother he refers to the Synagogue, and by the people, those born from it. For this we also find in Isaiah: "What is this bill of the divorce of your mother?" Therefore, "Because you," he says, "have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, so that you shall not serve as a priest before me: and because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children." And showing more clearly both his own kindness and their ingratitude,
VERS. 7. "According to their multitude," he says, "so they have sinned against me," that is, I brought it about that they should be very numerous in count; but they, on the contrary, persisted in sinning against me. Wherefore
VERS. 8. "I will change their glory into dishonor. They shall eat the sins of my people, and C their souls shall receive their iniquities," that is, they shall reap what they have sown, and shall harvest the fruit of their own transgressions. But some say that the priests are also signified by these words: because they received a certain portion according to the law from the sacrifices offered for sins, and enjoying this benefit, while living wickedly, they were unwilling to rebuke those who lived in wickedness; for which cause the Lord, being offended, says: Since you take delight in the sacrifices offered for sins, and do not apply the proper cure to those who are slipping, you shall pay the penalty for these offenses, being delivered over to foreign nations for slaughter. And teaching this more clearly, he immediately adds:
VERS. 9. "And it shall be as with the people, so also with the priest." D That is, you shall likewise endure the punishment for your wickedness just as the people, because when you had received the duty of curing the people, you lived in total sloth and cast away all care for those who were disposed to sickness. Therefore he says: "And I will punish upon them their ways, and I will repay his designs to him." For not only for
wicked works, but also for perverse thoughts shall I exact punishment.
A Ver. 10. "And they shall eat, and shall not be satisfied." I shall bring upon them, he says, consecutive evils, just as more food is set before those who cannot be satiated with meals. He again recounts their iniquities, accusing them of drunkenness and the worship of idols; for this very thing he calls fornication. He adds also the ridiculous sorcery, teaching how they would consult those who professed to prophesy, and in what manner they would return answers to them. B Ver. 12. "For they asked in symbols, and their staves told them." For some, he says, sought to learn what was to be done through certain symbols; while others, using certain staves as aids to their fraud, declared what they wished. These things were dared by them because they had acquired an inclination to fornication; for he calls "the spirit of fornication" the great zeal for fornication. And teaching more clearly what he calls fornication, he added: "And they have gone a-whoring from their God." And indicating the manner:
Ver. 13. "They sacrificed on the tops of the mountains, and upon the hills they sacrificed under the oak, and the poplar, and the shady tree: because the shade was good." For delighting in shady trees, they did not worship the creator of these, but offered sacrifices to them in his place. Ver. 14. "Therefore," he says, "I will have no care for you, nor for your daughters, nor for your brides openly debauched by the enemies invading you." For what you dared to do in secret, I will allow to happen openly. C For he showed this when he said: "For they themselves were mixed with harlots, and they sacrificed with those who were initiated, and the people not understanding were joined to a harlot." Fornication, therefore, he sometimes calls incontinence, and sometimes impiety; and he calls those "initiated" who were imbued with and instructed in the rites of impiety. For just as we call those who have been deemed worthy of the divine mysteries "the faithful," so the pagan Greeks termed those "initiated" who were more accurately instructed in their own impiety. Having threatened them in this way, he again applies an exhortation.
Ver. 15. "But do thou, Israel, not be ignorant, and, Juda, do not go into Galgala, and go not up into the house of On, and do not swear by the living Lord." On is the name of the idol in Bethel; for it does not signify the eternal, as some have supposed, D that is, the existing one; but it is a Hebrew, not a Greek, name. This, the others who translated the Hebrew have clearly taught us.
For Aquila A and Theodotio have translated it as "useless house," while Symmachus rendered it as "house of iniquity"; and both terms are appropriate to the situation. For those who presided there did not merely gain no profit therefrom, but even suffered great loss, becoming unjust and ungrateful toward their own benefactor. Gilgal was a city itself dedicated to many idols; in this city, Joshua, the son of Nun, circumcised those of the people who were uncircumcised, using stone knives, and he also set down the twelve stones which the Lord had commanded to be taken from the midst of the Jordan, so that they might be a memorial of the benefit received, and that those who were to be in the future might learn that the people had made the crossing using the riverbed as dry land. It is, therefore, a sign of the greatest ingratitude that this city, in which they had received so many monuments of divine benevolence, became the metropolis of impiety.
Now, this, "Do not swear by the living Lord," is not forbidden without cause; rather, it is because those who had cleaved to Baal, and were making their oaths by him, were calling him the "living Lord." And this one may learn from elsewhere: "For if," he says, "you take away the Baalim from your mouth, and you swear, 'The Lord lives,' in truth." That is, if you exile the memory of the idols, and, giving your attention to my worship and calling me the living Lord, you swear, honoring the truth and loathing the lie. B
Vers. 16. "For as a heifer goad-stricken has the madness of Israel: now the Lord shall pasture them, as a lamb in a spacious place." Oestrus is a certain fly most troublesome to cows, which by its sting inflicts such a sense of pain that the cows, to which its stings have been applied, can neither be recalled by the voice of the cowherd, nor pasture with the rest of the cows, but run continuously, and sometimes are driven headlong over precipices. To these, he says, Ephraim is similar, having received the goad of the worship of idols (for by Ephraim, as we have said above, he designates the ten tribes). However, not even so will I leave them without pastoral care; but, having caused them to be lead away as prisoners of war, I will scatter them here and there, so that they differ in no way from a wandering lamb seeking its mother’s teat. These things he will suffer, C because having set before himself these heifers and other idols as certain stumbling blocks and snares, he has emulated the impiety of the Canaanites, and using pride against me, he has preferred the observance of idols to my worship and veneration. "For they loved ignominy from its snorting." But for this very reason:
Vers. 19. "The whirlwind of his spirit shall whistle in its wings." For just as, he says, D by the movement of the wings,
A he cleaves the air with a certain sound, so this one, as if winged, shall be carried away into a strange land, as if a whirlwind of my wrath were dragging it down and compelling it to dwell there; yet it shall endure these things, reaping those fruits from the altars of the idols.
CHAPTER V
B [1] You therefore, O priests, attend to these threats, and all the people, and all who live your lives in the royal cities, receive these words with attentive ears: "For the judgment pertains to you, because you have become a snare to the watch-tower, and as a net spread out over Itabyrium." [2] Those who capture the prey have fixed it. By this, he says, I shall bring you all to my judgment: for you have plotted innumerable evils against my prophets, and have spread your snares like nets against them; and just as those who, on the mountain of Itabyrium, which is full of various game, fix their hunting instruments, in like manner you construct the machinery of your deceits against the prophets sent by me for the sake of your own salvation. For he called the assembly of the prophets a "watch-tower," for he also said to Ezekiel: "I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel." For this reason he says to Ephraim and to Israel, that is, to all the people: "I will bring correction. For he has committed fornication and has been defiled, since he has fallen away from my worship."
[4] "And they did not set their thoughts on returning to their God, for the spirit of fornication is in them, and they have not known the Lord." For having used absurd lines of reasoning, they have fallen away from true knowledge of God, and have given themselves to the worship of idols. [5] Wherefore for this indignity they shall pay the penalty to God, clearly seeing what sort of thing is the fruit of impiety. For this he said: "In his face; and Israel and Ephraim shall become weak in their iniquities, and Judah also shall become weak with them." Since the ten tribes previously endured kidnapping and servitude, he deservedly remembered them first, calling them Israel and Ephraim; but he correctly placed Judah in the last place, since he endured captivity after them. [6] Afterward he teaches how, while at the same time obtaining calves and sheep, they shall perform sacrifices, seeking the Lord, but they shall not find him, for he has turned away from them. And showing the cause, he subjoined:
[7] "Because they have forsaken the Lord." And because they produced children from illegitimate union with foreign women whom they had joined to themselves in marriage; for he declared this, saying: "Because strange children
A now the mildew shall devour them, and their portions." He calls that blight which occurs to the fruits of the ground through the inclemency of the air "mildew," but he also calls the enemies "mildew" figuratively, as they destroy everything just like mildew does. And explaining this more clearly, he immediately adds:
VERS. 8, 9. "Clang the trumpet upon the hills, resound upon the heights, preach in the house of On: Benjamin was astonished. Ephraim became a desolation in the days of correction; in the tribes of Israel I have displayed faithfulness." For they did not believe all these things which I forewarned to them through the prophets, but they will believe after the experience of events; and by punishing their iniquities, I shall show the truth of the prophet's prediction. Yet, cleverly deriding the weakness of the idols, he says: "Preach in the house of On; B stir up," he says, "to your aid those whom you honor; let them cause the chastisements which I bring upon you to cease. Betake yourselves to the highest hills, on which you offered all manner of service to your idols; let them grant you their assistance in a timely hour." He appropriately makes mention of Benjamin as well, since he adds the mention of Judah alongside it.
VERS. 10. "For the princes of Judah," he says, "became like those removing boundaries; upon them I will pour out my impulse like water." For they transgress the boundaries set by me so impudently, just as those who attempt shamelessly to move and transfer the marker-stones that divide one field from another; C wherefore, like a torrent, I will heap punishments upon them. It is clear that when he mentions Benjamin, he includes the tribe of Judah, and again, when he accuses Judah, he similarly joins Benjamin; for they lived under one kingdom. In the same way, when he says "Ephraim," he names the ten tribes of Israel, and when he mentions "Israel," he means the same thing.
VERS. 11. "Ephraim oppressed his adversary, he trampled upon judgment, because he began to walk after vain things." The cause, he says, of his iniquity was the worship of idols; for if he had known me, he would have been instructed in what is right by my laws.
VERS. 12. "And I will be as a disturbance to Ephraim, and as a goad to the house of Judah." D That is, I will bring upon them the disturbance of enemies, and as if pricking them with a certain goad and sting, I will apply punishment to them through their enemies.
VERS. 13. "And Ephraim saw his infirmity, and Judah his pain." For by experience he learned the cause of his evils. "And Ephraim went to the Assyrians." For when he was warred upon by the Syrians,
he called A Phua, king of the Assyrians, to his aid. "And he sent messengers to King Jarib," and he was not able to deliver you, nor will pain cease from you. "Again, when the Assyrians come upon you," he says, "you will send embassies to the King of Egypt," seeking aid from there; but you will obtain no help from there either, but will be delivered up to successive pains. That he calls Jarib the King of Egypt is easy to learn from what follows: "For Ephraim became as a foolish dove, not having a heart; he called upon Egypt, and they went to the Assyrians." For having need to ask for my help, which was both powerful and very close to him, he kept wandering here and there, asking for weak aids; yet he will receive no profit from the help of those.
B Ver. 14. "For," he says, "I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Judah, and I will tear, and I will go, and I will take, and there shall be none to deliver." For who will be able to stand against what is done by me? And who will deliver those who are punished by me?
Ver. 15. "And I will go, and I will return to my place, until they vanish." He continues in the allegory. For since he said: "I will be to them as a panther, and as a lion," he fittingly added: "I will return to my place, until they vanish." For it is the custom of those wild beasts, when they have hunted something, to return to their accustomed places, and to rest from the pain incurred by the hunt. C I too, therefore, he says, in the manner of a panther and a lion, having come upon you through your enemies, will thereafter be by myself, deeming you worthy of no further concern.
CHAPTER VI
[1] When these things, he says, come to pass, they will seek my providence; and they will exhort one another to supplicate God, the author of their corrections, that he may apply a fitting medicine to their wounds. "For he," he says, "has smitten, and he will heal us; he will strike, and he will bind up our wounds." And demonstrating the speed of the healing:
Ver. 2. "He will heal us after two days, in the third day we shall rise again." For he does not require a long period of time for healing, but he will provide health suddenly. D Through these words, he also alludes to the resurrection of the Savior which took place after three days, which became the cause of the common resurrection and granted to us all the hope of immortality, which is generated through the knowledge of God. "For in the third day," he says, "we shall rise again, and live before him, and we shall know." For after the resurrection, he says,
Apostle, "I shall know, even as I have been known." A For after the resurrection, the Apostle says, "I shall know, even as I have been known. For now I know in part, but then I shall know, even as I have been known." Then, he says, we shall receive a more accurate knowledge of things. "Now let us pursue to know the Lord." Zealously, he says, and more eagerly let us seek Him. "For as the dawn, we shall find Him ready." Just as the dawn dissolves the darkness of the night, so He will rid us of the temptations looming over us, and will provide the ray of His providence. "And He shall come to us as the early and the latter rain upon the earth." For He will provide us with an abundance of all good things. After this conversion of theirs to the better, as a most loving father, He makes his address to them.
B Ver. 4. "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? Your mercy is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that passes away in the morning." I, He says, wish to treat you with all kindness; but your repentance is temporary, and does not last long, being like the slight dew, which is exhausted by the sun, and the cloud, which is seen in the morning and is scattered by the sun's rays; and mercy is measured out according to repentance. Nevertheless, even in this state, I persevered in pursuing you with every care, even to the point of becoming the cause of death for my own prophets; for by sending them to instruct you, I brought about their death at your hands. For these things are shown when He said:
Ver. 5. "Therefore I have cut down your prophets, I have killed them with the word of my mouth, and my judgment shall go forth as the light." For even if you kill all the prophets, C you will not be able to show the prophecy to be false; for as a kind of light, I shall show forth its truth.
Ver. 6, 7. "Because I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they are like a man transgressing the covenant; there they have despised me." I do not, He says, indeed need sacrifices, but I accept them, condescending to the weakness of your understanding. But I demand these two things: love towards me, and love towards one's neighbor. For I set these two as the first points when I was establishing the laws: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, D and with all your mind, and with all your strength; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." But I indeed decreed these things; they, however, are like a man who violates the covenants he has entered into with someone. For likewise, these men too, despising my forbearance, have trampled upon the laws imposed upon them.
A Vers. 8, 9. «Galgala has despised me, a city working in vain, stirring up water. And your strength is that of a pirate.» He also mentioned this city above, as being dedicated to idols and inciting many to impiety. He said that they «stir up water,» which means they were sullying the pure notion of God with filth. He compares their strength to that of a pirate, because by means of sorcerous incantations and certain contrived sophistries, they used to cause movements of the idols. For just as pirates attack those sailing by in secret, so the worshippers of idols, not being able to show the efficacy of these things openly, deceive the senseless with certain frauds contrived for them. But since it was necessary for the divine priests to rebuke the attempted impiety with boldness, they were silent, fearing the frenzy of the impious. Fittingly, therefore, and most justly, he accuses them, saying: «The priests have hidden the way of the Lord; they have murdered Sichem, for they have wrought iniquity. (Vv. 10, 11.) In the house of Israel I saw a horrible fornication there of Ephraim; Israel is defiled. And Judah has left his harvest.» What he says is of this sort: Levi, the forefather of the priests, using Simeon as an assistant, utterly destroyed the city of the Sichemites, exacting the punishment for the insult offered to their sister from those who had committed such a deed. He rebukes the priests, as if saying: Being their descendants, you have not set them as an example. For they indeed took vengeance for their sister who had been wronged, and they fought vehemently for their father's house; but you, enjoying every honor, did not even endure to rebuke the lawlessness happening against me. But seeing those horrible and fearful pollutions, not committed by one man, but by all of Ephraim and Judah, you continued in silence. But that which is most distressing of all is that at the time when Judah ought to have harvested the fruits of the divine promises, he then left the harvest unharvested. But having put aside this negligence and sloth, O Judah, D «Begin to gather for yourself when I turn back the captivity of my people, when I desire to heal Israel.» Since, he says, before the experience of evils you did not wish to gather the fruits of righteousness, now after the experience, and after the return from captivity, live according to the law, and gather the fruits springing from it. Fittingly he said, «Begin to gather for yourself;» for we do not offer anything to God when we live justly, but we procure for ourselves the goods which come from it.
CHAPTER VII
Vers. 1. «And the iniquity of Ephraim will be revealed and...the malice of Samaria, for they have loved A falsehood.» Their iniquity will be made manifest to all through the vengeance brought upon them. «And a thief will enter unto him, a robber stripping him upon his way.» Since, indeed, having neglected the true knowledge of God, they surrendered themselves to the error of idols, their enemies, coming upon them like robbers and thieves, will burn and ravage some things, plunder others, and deprive them of every good.
Vers. 2. «That they may sing as if chanting in their hearts.» But when these things happen, he says, they will continue to lament and wail, not daring to utter their laments aloud, but stifling silent groans within their minds. «For I have remembered all their malice; now their thoughts have surrounded them, they have come before my face.» For a very long time, he says, having been long-suffering, and as if not seeing the things being dared, now I clearly behold them, having decided to bring punishment upon them. On account of this, blessed David cries out: «Turn your face from my sins.» B Aquila and Symmachus translated «thoughts» as «pursuits,» which signifies almost the same thing. For the Seventy have put «thoughts» for the first impulse of the soul, while the others have used it for the pursuits and works born from these.
Vers. 3. «In their malice they rejoiced the kings, and in their lies the princes.» For having become prone to destruction on account of their own iniquity, they became causes of rejoicing to those who fought against them. C
Vers. 4. «And all adulterers were as an oven burning for baking.» All, he says, who are inflamed by an indulgent mind are like a heated oven, ready for the reception of leaven which is prepared for the making of bread. «He will consume them from the flame.» The fire of licentiousness will bring upon them the hostile flame. «From the kneading of the dough until it is all leavened, the days of your kings.» For just as leaven changes the mingled flour into its own nature, so the leaven of impiety, having been introduced by Jeroboam, the first who reigned over you, made both you and those who were your kings at different times all participants in its own stench. D From this point forward he accuses the princes as rejoicing in drunkenness, and on account of this being inflamed to anger, and serving by the corruption of bribes, and living together with perverse men and architects of evils. For he calls these «plagues,» as being authors of ruin and destruction. For just as if the contagion of a plague touches someone, it corrupts also those who approach more closely through him; so the wicked bring destruction to their associates. For «Evil company corrupts good morals.»
A And he teaches that even by night they continued to weave plots, and by day they destroyed like fire those who were being wronged by them. For the phrase, «In their plotting all the night,» all the interpreters have rendered as «to lie in wait.» But they shall pay the penalty for these things. «For fire has devoured their judges, all their kings have fallen.» And the cause of all these evils, «For there was none among them who called upon me.» He speaks of things to come as though they were past, showing that these things will certainly happen, and nothing will prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy. We find this idiomatic usage also among the other prophets. For Isaiah cries out, «As a sheep to the slaughter he was led.» And, «His judgment was taken away.» And, «We saw him, and he had no form or beauty,» instead of, «We shall see him, and he shall be taken up, and led away.» And again, «For a child was born to us, a son was given to us,» instead of, «He shall be born, and he shall be given.» From this he turns the discourse to a second accusation.
H. «Ephraim was intermingled among the peoples.» The transgression is manifest. The blessed David also accuses them of this, saying, «They were intermingled among the nations, and learned their works.» Ephraim became as a cake cooked on the embers that does not turn. He persisted, he says, in wickedness, and did not accept any change for the better, just as a cake B cooked on the embers, being in contact with the fire on one side, is burned.
Θ. «Strangers have devoured his strength, and he has not known it.» And though evils are pressing upon him, he says, he does not recognize him who chastens him. «And gray hairs have blossomed upon him, and he has not known it.» Not even with the passage of much time, he says, was he taught what was necessary.
I. «And the arrogance of Israel shall be humbled before his face.» He shall be convicted, he says, clearly, and shall learn what fruits wickedness brings forth. «And they have not returned to the Lord their God, and have not sought him in all these things.» (XI.) «And Ephraim was like a senseless dove, not having a heart; he called upon Egypt, and traveled to the Assyrians.» Receiving these chastisements from me, they in no way allowed me to stop the onrush of the evils brought upon them, but were running to the Assyrians while being warred upon by the Syrians, and to the Egyptians while being besieged by the Assyrians, showing in themselves the thoughtlessness of the dove. For just as that bird, when its own D young are being snatched away, does not fly away, but keeps running to the same places, so these people, often and continually, now by these, now by those, being despoiled C [alt-version omitted]
A by these, and now being slaughtered and enslaved by those, kept running to the Assyrians and the Egyptians, obtaining no help from them.
Ver. 12. "I will cast my net upon them, as the birds of the air I will bring them down, and I will discipline them in the report of their affliction." First, I will discipline them with the threat of severe things, then, like a net cast over them by the cloud of the enemy, I will hunt them all down like birds. And having said these things, He does not forget His own kindness, but offers them a sort of lamentation out of fatherly affection.
Ver. 13. "Woe to them, for they have started away from me: they are miserable, because they have acted impiously against me." And since He called them miserable, as having become ungrateful and impious towards Him, He necessarily reminds them also of the ineffable benefits bestowed upon them. "But I redeemed them." For I freed them from Egyptian slavery. "And they have spoken false words against me." The blessed David also accuses them of this same thing; for he introduces them saying: "Because he smote a rock, and waters flowed, and torrents were flooded: will he be able also to give bread, or prepare a table for his people?" B
Ver. 14. "And their hearts did not cry to me." He proclaims the same things through Isaiah, saying: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Then He rebukes what they were doing for the sake of idols. "But they were howling in their beds, they were being cut for the sake of wheat and wine." For having received the land promised to their fathers (for he called this a bed, as having given them rest after the labors they endured in the desert), they performed pagan rites, and luxuriating in my good things, they offered the so-called cuttings to their own bodies in the idol temples. For this reason, He says, they will be disciplined by me, since, having received power from me (for this He calls an arm), "they devised evil things against me."
Ver. 16. "They have turned to nothing, they have become like a bow not stretched." For having abandoned me, they reaped no benefit; but they are become like a slack and unstrung bow, which inflicts no harm on the enemy. Therefore, "and their princes shall fall by the sword because of the ineptitude of their tongue: such is their derision in the land of Egypt." C
CHAPTER VIII.
Ver. 1. "Into their throat as an inaccessible land, as a trumpet, as an eagle upon the house of the Lord." For just as their fathers were always rebellious and spurned my power, and to Moses and Aaron D
they openly resisted, to whom the cause of their liberty had been sent—so also they, having imitated the ignorance of those others, shall become as an impassable land and shall be delivered to utter desolation, while the war-trumpet sounds loudly and the king of the enemies flies down like an eagle, and comes upon the divine house with the greatest madness. That he has called the king of the enemies an eagle, the prophecy of Ezekiel also confirms: A "The great eagle," he says, "with great wings, great in its talons, which has the leadership, [intended] to enter into Lebanon," and so forth. And these things they shall suffer B "because they have abandoned my covenant, and have acted impiously against my law." For this reason he says:
Ver. 2. "They will cry out to me: O God, we have known you." For when they have come to experience of those evils, then they will seek for assistance. But why do they suffer these things?
Ver. 3. "For Israel has turned away from good." And showing what these things are, he added:
"They persecuted the enemy. (v. 4) They made kings for themselves, and not by me; they ruled, and they did not know me." For whenever, he says, they enjoyed my providence, they ruled over all their enemies; but nevertheless not even this persuaded them to hold fast to my providence, but they appointed a king for themselves, not having consulted me at all about this. And he makes this accusation against the ten tribes, who appointed Jeroboam for themselves as king, not having inquired of the God of all C if it were right to do this. But let no one who has encountered the Books of Kings consider this contrary to what is reported there; for he did not send Ahijah the Shilonite to the people, but to Jeroboam; for which reason they are worthy of no forgiveness, having entrusted the appointment of the king to themselves. Then, having scolded them because, having received silver and gold from the God of all, they spent it on the construction of idols, he offers them exhortation and counsel.
5. "Cast away your calf, O Samaria." And having placed in the middle, "My anger is kindled against them; until when will they not be able to be cleansed in Israel?" he added:
6. "And the workman himself made it, and it is not God; for your calf was wandering, O Samaria." Very fittingly D he mocked the weakness of the idols; for they stand in need of matter and of art for their existence. For taking the matter from the earth—for example wood, or stone, or gold, or silver, or tin—and acquiring the form from the art, they deify the hand-made images of beasts. And he persists in his rebukes. 7. "For they have sown to the wind," he says, "and their destruction shall overtake them; a sheaf having no strength to make meal; and if it should even make it, strangers shall devour it." For you reap, he says, no fruit from the worship of idols, but their sheaf is like wind-blasted ears, which show the husks full on the outside, but do not have the grain within. Such is also the nature of the idols; for the visible form—whether of man, or woman, or lion, or any other of the animals—it receives from the art; but it is deprived of all strength and activity. Wherefore also they themselves, he says, shall be destroyed along with their worshipers; for "their destruction," he says, "shall overtake them, and strangers shall devour them." 8, 9. "Israel has been swallowed up; now it has become among the nations as a useless vessel."
For they have gone up to the Assyrians; and because they sought their help, they shall be delivered into slavery, offering no sacrifice to God, nor celebrating feasts according to the law. "And he has flourished by himself,"—that is, having grown apart from me, and like a plant, he has separated himself from my care.
"Ephraim loved gifts." B (Vers. 10.) Therefore, they shall be delivered among the nations. He was not satisfied with good things, but always craved more; therefore, he shall be delivered into slavery. "Now I will receive them," that is, in the enemy's land. "And they shall rest C a little, from anointing a king and princes." And since they wished to be ruled by another rather than by me, they shall be under the power of the Assyrians, and from now on, they will not be able to appoint a king for themselves.
(Vers. 11.) "Because Ephraim has multiplied altars, altars have been made for him to sin." Justly, he says, his kingdom will cease, since for this reason the multitude of the altars was increased, he slid toward idols, and from there imbibed impiety, and with intense affection, he embraced the unlawful altars.
(Vers. 12.) "I shall write for him the multitude and his rightful observances." Of this multitude of altars, and of the laws invented for them, according to which they performed the idol sacrifices, D I will make a record in writing, for the reproof of their great impiety. "Altars were accounted among the strange things that were beloved." And of these, he says, they took much care of the unlawful altars; but the divine ones, which ought to have been deemed worthy of all care, and to be thought greatly to be desired, and very lovely, they abandoned as if they belonged to others, and gave them no care. But it is not because I am in need of their sacrifices that I have made this accusation.
13. "For if they sacrifice a sacrifice, and eat flesh, the Lord will not accept them." The phrase "eat flesh" is not added without cause; for they were accustomed, of the sacrifices that were not entirely consumed by fire, to offer the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver, and the fat upon them to the altar; and to assign the breast and the right arm to the priests; but the rest of the sacrifice they consumed themselves, as they wished. For this reason, he has placed…
A «If they offer a sacrifice, and eat flesh, the Lord will not accept them.» For God does not need these things, but requires the disposition of the soul: «Offer unto God the sacrifice of praise,» he says.
«Now he will remember their iniquities, and will avenge their sins.» To these things the words of the Apostle are similar: «Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds.»
«And they returned to Egypt.» For they sought aid from there, and fled there when calamities were overwhelming them. «And they shall eat unclean things among the Assyrians.» But they shall even be led against their will into the land of the Assyrians, and they shall lead a life contrary to the law.
14. «And Israel forgot his Maker, and built temples; and Judah multiplied fortified cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the foundations B of them.» And he shall learn, he says—Judah, by having his cities burned, not to trust in walls, but in me; and Israel, not to build temples for demons, but to fulfill the worship according to the law.
CAPUT IX.
1. «Rejoice not, O Israel, and be not glad, like the peoples, for thou hast committed fornication from thy Lord God.» It does not befit thee, he says, to rejoice in like manner to other nations. For they, indeed, received no teaching through prophets; but thou, continually feasting upon them, didst harvest no profit therefrom, but didst bring the firstfruits of the goods supplied to thee by me to demons. For he declared this, saying: «Thou hast loved gifts upon every grain threshing floor.»
C(Ver. 2.) «The threshing floor and the winepress did not know them, and the wine failed them.» For I shall deprive you of the goods that I was accustomed to supply to you.
3. «They did not dwell in the land of the Lord.» For they did not conduct their life as in a land dedicated to God, but lived unlawfully. «Ephraim dwelt in Egypt.» He emulated the Egyptian way of life. «And they shall eat unclean things among the Assyrians.» D
A Since they loved iniquity even in the land of promise, they shall live unlawfully in the land of the Assyrians.
VER. 4. «They shall not offer wine to the Lord, and it shall not be pleasant to Him.» They despised the worship of God, even while they bestowed great care on the idols. «Their sacrifices are as the bread of mourning to them; all that eat of them shall be defiled.» For just as bread offered to those in mourning both encourages the mourners themselves to grief and is not pleasing to those who dine with them, because of the communion in grief, and those who are compelled to partake consider that they contract a certain defilement from it: so their sacrifices are full of all abomination. «For their bread is for their souls, it shall not come into the house of the Lord.» For the just Judge does not accept what is not offered with sincere disposition, just as he did not accept the sacrifice of Cain, so that he cries out through Isaiah: «If you offer me fine flour, it is in vain; incense is an abomination to me.» And through Malachi the prophet: «I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands.» Then he recalls to them the evils that would befall them in captivity.
VER. 5. «What will you do in the day of the solemn assembly, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?» For compelled to serve and to live according to foreign laws, you will not be able to celebrate the Lord’s solemn assemblies according to the Mosaic legislation. B Then he teaches that they will flee into Egypt, and now they will move to this city, and now to that one, and will waste their silver in vain, offering gifts to the king of the Egyptians. «But thorns shall be found in their tabernacles.» That is to say, they shall reap no fruitful harvest. By these words, he indicated the loss resulting from the flight into Egypt. It is like that which is written: «I waited for it to make grapes, but it brought forth thorns;» that is, I did not receive any useful fruit from it, but on the contrary, only bad ones.
VER. 7. «The days of your retribution are come, C and Israel shall be afflicted, like the prophet who is mad, the man who is possessed by the spirit: because of the multitude of your iniquities, your madness is multiplied.» When the fruits of iniquity, which are not far off, overtake you, you shall be likened to a false prophet who is deranged by the spirit dwelling in him, and is tossed about hither and thither. Such an alienation of mind will seize you; and this madness was brought upon you by the multitude of your iniquities. D
VER. 8. «The watchman of Ephraim with God, the prophet; a gnarled snare upon all his ways.»
A We must remember what was said to Ezekiel. For to him also God said: «I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel» (Ezech. III, 17). And here, addressing all the people, He says: "Just as I appointed you a kind of watchman and prophet of God to the neighboring nations, so that through My providence over you and your manner of life according to the Law, they too might come to the knowledge of Me; you, however, have done exactly the opposite; for you became against them a twisted snare, having increased for them through your own impiety their devotion to idols. For you did not only build altars and sanctuaries for idols in other cities, but you even set up the images of idols in the temple dedicated to Me." For He says this: B «He has planted madness in the house of His God.» (VER. 9.) «They are corrupted according to the days of the hill.» From the time they became attached to the hills and loved the sacrifices performed there, they labored with the madness of their thoughts; but, He says, they shall most swiftly pay the penalties for these. Then He calls to mind the virtue of the fathers, stirring them to emulation.
(VER. 10.) «As a grape in the desert I found Israel, and as a first-ripe fruit on a fig tree I saw their fathers. But they went in to Beelphegor, and were alienated unto shame, and the beloved ones became as the abominable ones.» C For just as if someone in a desert land, utterly bereft of plants, were to find a grape and a first-ripe fig on a fig tree, he would pluck it with great delight: so I, having seen the virtue of Abraham living among men who were long ago addicted to impiety, plucked him, and made a covenant with him; and in the same way also with his son, and his son's son. But those who were born from them in this way did not in the least emulate their virtue; for although they had as a fresh memory my benefits—liberty, the removal of slavery, the manifold scourges of the Egyptians, the strange passage across the sea, and the other things which they enjoyed—yet they preferred the worship of Beelphegor to My service, reaping from this nothing but shame; on account of which, those who were once beloved have become abominable. D (VER. 11.) «Ephraim has flown away like a bird.» So swiftly shall they be transplanted to a strange land; for they do not love the glory of virtue, but consider a large family their greatest glory. «For their glories,» He says, «are from births, and from pangs, and from conceptions.» (VER. 12.) «Because even if they rear their children, they shall be childless of men; for woe to them, because I have left them.» In vain, He says, do you boast of your multitude of children; for the enemy, rushing in, shall deprive you of your children, since you have become bereft of My providence. To this He adds: «My flesh from them,
A Ephraim. «Nevertheless, however, He says, «you shall not suffer total destruction, until I take upon Myself the flesh from you.» The divine Paul teaches us this more clearly, saying: «For He does not take hold of angels, but He takes hold of the seed of Abraham.» And again: «Promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say: And to seeds, as of many, but as of one: And to your seed, who is Christ.» And elsewhere: «From whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God.» One may find thousands of such things in the Holy Scripture. Since, therefore, He says, the flesh which I am to take up is from them, I will not utterly abandon them until I have taken it up, and have chosen those who are obedient to the calling. He also confirms this through the prophet Isaiah: «As if a grape-cluster should be found in the vine, and they shall say: Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing of the Lord in it; so will I do for the sake of him who serves Me. Therefore I will not destroy all, and I will bring forth the seed from Jacob, and from Judah, and they shall inherit My holy mountain.» And a little later: «But you who have forsaken the Lord, I will deliver to the sword.» Having thus predicted the slaughter of the children, He demonstrates the justice of the punishment; for He says: B
VERS. 13. «Ephraim has set out his children for the hunt, and has brought them forth for the slaughter.» He constantly offers them to the idols; for this reason, I will deliver those who have already been born to the slaughter; and I will cause resultless the men, and I will make the women barren. He made this plain, having said:
VERS. 14. «Give to them, O Lord; what will You give them? A womb that does not bear, and dry breasts.» For since they have used those things given to them badly, I will cause their iniquity to cease by infertility. C Then, mentioning Galgal again, and the impiety that was performed there, and the lawlessness of their princes, He adds:
VERS. 16, 17. «Ephraim is pained, his roots were dried up; he shall no longer bring forth fruit: because even if they beget, I will slay the treasures of their womb. God will cast them off, because they did not listen to Him, and they shall be wanderers in the nations.» He called the kingdom the root, which Shalmaneser rooted up altogether, having made Samaria desolate. After its siege, the ten tribes no longer had a king. But what He says: «They shall be wanderers in the nations,» clearly shows their dispersion. D
CHAPTER X
VERS. 1. «Israel is a flourishing vine, its fruit is abundant.» He received this appellation from many prophets. For Isaiah cries out: «The vineyard of the Lord...»
A of hosts is the house of Israel,» and David before him: «You brought a vine out of Egypt.» And God through Jeremiah: «Yet I planted you a fruitful vine, all true.» And the Lord in the Gospels: «A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad.» He calls it a vine flourishing here too, and in the house of Israel, and having fruit in abundance, not because of its piety or other virtues, but because of the multitude of its descendants. And he has made this clear, having said: «According to the multitude of his fruit he increased the altars.» As they increased, he says, and became numerous, they everywhere built altars to idols. «According to the good things of his land he built pillars.» By the good things, he says, they became overbold and set up statues to idols.
VERS. 2. «Their heart is divided.» For they did not indeed preserve that affection for Him, but now they worshipped this, now they worshipped that idol. But I will deliver them to slaughter and to bondage, and I will make these things of no effect. Then He teaches them with what kind of words it befits those who repent to use.
VERS. 3, 4. «Now they will say: There is no king for us, because we did not fear the Lord; but should the king do anything for us? » Speaking words as false excuses, he shall conclude a covenant. For no one, he says, has obtained help from the King; and whereas we ought to trust in God, who deems us worthy of providence in all things, we have basely trusted in men, speaking not the truth, but C making excuses, now to these, now to those, making covenants. But this lawlessness, he says, shall suffer judgment. «For my judgment shall go forth as the wild herb upon the field.» For just as a wild herb grows profusely in untilled ground, needing no matteok to disturb it, nor plow to cut it; so shall the punishment be easily inflicted by me upon you.
VERS. 5. «The inhabitants of Samaria shall sojourn near the calf of the house of On.» They shall pay court, he says, to the idol, seeking help from it. «Its people shall mourn over it, and as they provoked it, they shall exult over his glory, because it has been carried away from him.» For not only, he says, do they not obtain any help from thence, but they even mourn and lament it, and D see it covered with ignominy. Wherefore it
VERS. 6. «And they having bound have carried it as gifts to King Jareb.» For having seen his weakness, having melted it down, they offered gifts to the King of the Egyptians, beseeching him to become their helper; but not even from this will they enjoy any help. «For Ephraim, he says, shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.» For his counsels are full of folly; and while he ought to have approached God, he invokes the alliance of idols and of men. Then He teaches how the king of Samaria, like a twig carried away by a violent torrent, shall vanish; and how the altars of the idols, and those who promoted the impiety of Israel, shall be torn up from the foundations, so that the places of the altars shall become full of thorns. Afterwards, wishing to point out the magnitude of the calamities, he added: «And they shall say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.» For such, he says, shall be the tide of evils during the assault of the enemies, that each would choose to be swallowed up by the earth splitting open, or by the mountains falling down suddenly, rather than to await the evils which are happening at their hands.
9 But they suffer these things in order to pay the penalties for their insane idol worship. For at the time when they were eager to perform the service at their altars and on their hills, they did not cease from worshiping them; but they will no longer cling to them. B
Verse 10. For the war against the sons of iniquity has come, to chastise them according to my desire; and the peoples shall be gathered against them, when they have been trained in their two iniquities. He calls these their two iniquities: one, that they have forsaken God; the other, that they have preferred non-existent things to the Existing One. Jeremiah makes this same thing clear, saying: "For my people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged for themselves broken cisterns, which cannot hold water."
Verse 11. Ephraim is a heifer instructed, loving victory. C Like a heifer that refuses the yoke, and struggles against those driving it. But I will come upon the beauty of its neck. I will tame its stubborn neck. And I will mount, and will teach Judah to carry. And then, "I will be silent concerning Judah." For I will not surrender it to the Assyrians, but I will consume the power of Sennacherib, since Jacob is strengthening himself for it (for Judah is meanwhile displaying the virtue of Jacob). Therefore it also enjoys my providence. By these things he hints at the virtue of Hezekiah, through which the whole people enjoyed divine aid. From there he again turns the discourse to exhortation. For since, he says, Judah, by displaying ancestral virtue, prevails over its enemies, D verse 12. "Sow for yourselves unto righteousness, and reap the fruit of life." For it is for yourselves, and not for God, that the things being sown are sown, and the things being reaped come to be. "Light for yourselves the light of knowledge." For it behooves one first to take care of other virtue, and then thus to dare the knowledge of divine things. "While there is still time, seek the Lord, until the fruit of righteousness shall come for you." Such is that which was said by David: "Let us anticipate his presence with confession." In the time of his long-suffering let us show the change for the better, that we may harvest the fruits of righteousness.
B V. 13. "Why have you passed over impiety in silence, and harvested its fruit?" You who have acted impiously, he says, ought to have healed your wounds with the remedies of repentance, and not kept silent, but confessed the evils that you have committed. "You have eaten a lying fruit, because you hoped in your chariots, in the multitude of your power." He calls empty hope a lying food; for since you trusted in the multitude and in chariots, you received no benefit from them. For:
V. 14. "For destruction shall arise in your people, and all your fortified places shall be wiped out," with neither the multitude bringing you any help, nor the walls providing security. "As Salmanas was destroyed in C the house of Arbel, in the days of war they dashed the mother to pieces upon the children. (V. 15.) So will I do to you, house of Israel, because of your wickedness." Some say these things were spoken about a certain prince at that time who both did and suffered these things; but I believe these things were spoken about the prince of Midian, whom Gideon captured and killed; for the divine Scripture condemns his cruelty. The blessed David also makes mention of him, saying: "Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeb, and Zebee, and Salmanas." He says, therefore, that just as Salmanas suffered utter destruction when, in the days of war, he dashed the mother to pieces upon the children, so will I do to you, house of Israel, because of your wickedness.
CHAPTER XI
V. 1. "In the morning they were cast away." When they expected D the help of the Egyptians to appear like a dawn to them as they dwelled in darkness, at that very time they were led away as captives. "As the morning the king of Israel was cast away." He signified by these words the suddenness of the total destruction; for the dawn lasts for a short time, and then the rising sun brings the day. "Because Israel is a child." Because of foolishness, he says, and childish dis-
- A position, they endure this punishment. For I myself called them out of Egypt, and delivered them from that bitter slavery; but they, having become ungrateful toward me, chose the worship of idols—for he calls these Baalim. But me, who led them, and delivered them from an unordered course, and showed fatherly affection toward them, and applied every kind of healing to them, they were unwilling to acknowledge. And yet I often rescued them from all kinds of destruction at the hands of invading peoples, held as if by a bond of love for them; because of which I still care for them, and cherish them with these corrections, acting like one who might strike an erring child on the cheek. B It is enough for me to look upon him sharply, and to consume him in every way. For he signified this having said: "I will look upon him, and I will prevail over him." (Vers. 3.) "Ephraim dwelt in Egypt, and Assur himself is his king." For he shall not escape his dominion, even if he flees a thousand times into Egypt; but the cause of evils for him was "that he was not willing to turn back." Therefore, although he uses a multitude and every kind of armor, he will show forth nothing manly; but he will reap the fruits of evil counsels, and will be led far from his own land, since I will deliver all precious things to the adversaries, and will continuously humble those whom I have afflicted. Having thus cast these terrors, he again uses words of philanthropy, C devising benefit for them through the variety of his discourse. (Vers. 8.) "How shall I dispose of you, Ephraim?" How, he says, O Ephraim, shall I act toward you? "I will defend you, Israel; how shall I dispose of you?" For I indeed desire to defend you, but your impious wickedness does not allow me to do so. Therefore, "I will place you as Adama, and as Seboim," which were burned along with Sodom and Gomorrah. But having barely brought down the sentence against them, he revokes the decision, led by compassion. "My heart is turned within me: my repentance is moved together. (Vers. 9.) I will not act according to the wrath of my fury, I will not abandon Ephraim so that he may be blotted out." He imitates a father and a mother D who are disturbed by nature, and who are unable to turn away from their children for very long. But he says these things, not as though he now wills this, and now again changes his mind and wills otherwise; but he fashions his discourse toward wrath and kindness, toward punishment and mercy, so as to strike terror through the former, and to offer exhortation through the latter. This philanthropy of his the blessed David also celebrates: "As a father pities his sons, so has the Lord pitied those who fear Him." And through Isaiah, God himself says: "Can a woman forget her infant"
A so as not to pity the child of her womb? And if a woman should forget to do these things, yet I will not forget you, says the Holy One. Therefore, he says here too: "My heart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred together. I will not act according to the wrath of my anger, I will not allow Ephraim to be blotted out. For I am God, and not man; the Holy One in your midst, and I shall not enter into the city." For he says that I do not grow angry similarly to man, nor do I endure to hold a grudge for very long; for I am God, the Holy One, and I am manifest in matters concerning you, and I am superior to all earthly things, and I am not compelled to dwell as men are, but I am present everywhere and stand by all. Enjoying such philanthropy, therefore,
Ver. 10. "Follow," he says, "after the Lord," following him continually and observing all that is commanded. B "For he shall roar like a lion, and the children of the waters shall tremble." For just as the lion roaring terrifies the animals that are nearby and hear the roar; so, when the God of all wishes to defend you, fear will seize the opponents, just as fish, which do not endure to bear even the slightest sound, but hide themselves in the waters. For he called fish the "children of the waters," as finding the opportunities for life in the waters. Thus, with the enemies being dissipated by the divine will,
Ver. 11. "They shall come as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of the Assyrians; and I will restore them to their houses," says the Lord. For just as the other birds, and especially doves, using flight and flying about, easily return to their own nests; so too he will easily lead you back, some from here and others from there, and will cause them to recover their ancestral soil. By these things, he signifies the return that took place under Zerubbabel. C For when some had returned from Babylon and were rebuilding the city of Jerusalem according to the law of Cyrus the Persian, others also who were living in Egypt took courage and returned.
Ver. 12. "Ephraim has engaged me with falsehood, and the house of Israel and Judah with impiety." I, he says, deem them worthy of such great providence; but they repay me with the opposite, preferring false and impious worship to my service. "Now God has known them, and a holy people of God shall be called." But nevertheless, even though you are such, I will deem you worthy of care, and I will cause you to be called a people consecrated to the God of all. D
CHAPTER XII
Ver. 1. "But Ephraim is an evil spirit, he has pursued the heat all day long." And teaching, what
he calls [it] a scorching wind, adding: "Multiplied vanities and emptiness; and he made a covenant with the Assyrians, and carried oil into Egypt." A He calls a wicked spirit a wicked intention; and he calls the zeal concerning the scorching wind a labor that is not only fruitless, but also injurious. For, he says, when I was using such a disposition of mind toward them, they, living impiously, raised up hills and a multitude of idols. These he has called vanities and emptiness, which, like a scorching wind, will destroy all their fruits. In addition to these things, having removed themselves from my care, they now begged the Assyrian to govern them, and now sought the assistance of the Egyptians. For he calls this a trade in oil. He does not condemn trade, but signifies one of two things: either that they offered the oil as a kind of gift to the king of the Egyptians, or that, by offering gold, they implored the mercy/oil from him, requesting that he might be a helper to them.
B Vers. 2. "And there is a judgment to the Lord with Juda, to take vengeance on Jacob according to his ways, and according to his inventions he will render to him." But because these things are being done by them in this way, I will assemble a tribunal; and I will convict the transgression of Juda, and I will deliver a just judgment against him, because he did not emulate the virtue of his forefather, but dishonored his ancestor by [his] impiety. After this, he brings forward the deeds of Jacob, the patriarch, that by the comparison of the paternal virtue he might more clearly refute their transgression.
Vers. 3, 4. "In the womb he supplanted his brother, and in his labor he prevailed with God. And he was strengthened with an angel, and prevailed." C He, he says, coming forth into the light at the very time of his birth, grasping the heel of his brother, foreshadowed what kind of man he would be, and that he would receive the blessing of the firstborn through a clever deception. But as time progressed and he became a man, he so excelled in the practice of virtue that he drew to himself the providence of God: and having one time feared the arrival of his brother, and having entreated God, he did not obtain any ordinary help, but he seemed to himself to wrestle by night with Him who had appeared, and to carry off the victory, that he might cast out the fear from his soul, reasoning that he who had seemed to himself to overcome God would not be defeated by men. But he called the same one both God and angel, because the blessed Moses has set down both names. D For our Lord Jesus Christ is called by Isaiah both mighty God and Angel of great counsel. "They wept, and entreated me; in the house of On they found me, and there it was spoken to them." This the other interpreters, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, have placed as if spoken concerning Jacob: "He wept, and entreated him, and in Bethel he found him."
A For when Jacob was fleeing the treachery of his brother and escaping to his uncle Laban, when he reached Bethel he happened upon a divine revelation and received divine promises. "Do not fear," He says, "Jacob, because I am with you." And weeping, as was appropriate, he made those statements: "If the Lord gives me bread to eat and a garment to put on, and brings me back in peace, the Lord will be my God, and this stone which I have set up for a pillar will be to me the house of God; and of all that you give me, I will tithe them to you." And returning, when he reached that place, he sung the praises of his benefactor, saying: "With this staff of mine I crossed the Jordan, and now I have become two camps." This, therefore, those around Aquila and Symmachus, expounding it in their interpretation, made clear, teaching that in Bethel, which, he says, now has the idol On, [it was there that] He was seen by Jacob. But the Seventy, having changed the singular number to the plural, teach us to understand it such that: "Your progenitor was worthy of my care because he was such as he was toward me. But you have walked the opposite path, and wishing to show repentance, you have not come to the temple dedicated to me, but mourning beside the idol On, you sought my help." B Yet I, enduring such indignities, nevertheless showed myself to you, and in the places where you called upon me, I gave answers. And Amos the prophet clearly teaches this, having delivered his entire prophecy at Bethel, where the idol On was, to whom also Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said: "Go down to the land of Judah, and do not prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary." C
VERS. 5, 6. "But the Lord God Almighty will be his memorial. Keep mercy and judgment and draw near to your God always." Having such a Master, who has power over all things, keep the memory of Him unceasingly at all times, lay hold of justice, be humane toward your neighbor, and follow the divine commandments continually; for by thus approaching God, you will have Him as your willing defender.
VERS. 7, 8. "Canaan, in his hand is a balance of unrighteousness; he loved to oppress: and Ephraim said: Nevertheless I have become rich, I have found rest for myself." He refers to Ephraim as Canaan. D For thus the blessed Ezekiel was also commanded to address Jerusalem: "Your seed and your birth are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite." For they obtained the name from those whose impiety they imitated. You, therefore, O Ephraim, imitating the wickedness of Canaan,
D and disdaining the just balance, you desire an unjust power and are proud of your riches, and you arrogantly attribute their collection to yourself. Know, however, that the blessed David also makes mention of the unjust balance, saying: "The sons of men are liars in the balances, to act unjustly." And what follows is consistent with what was said by Ephraim: "Do not hope in injustice, and do not covet rapine; if riches abound, do not set your heart upon them." From one Spirit both these and those have flowed. The very last point, also, "That you will render to everyone according to their works," is consistent with what is added in this place: "All his labors will not be found for him on account of the iniquities in which he has sinned." For through the despoiling of the wealthy, he pays the just penalties for his lawlessness.
VERS. 9. "But I, the Lord your God, brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will make you dwell in tabernacles again, as in the days of the feast." Since he was liberated from Egyptian servitude, he forgot the benefit, and again became a sojourner in a foreign land. He will remind him of the tabernacles which he used to make when he celebrated with joy in the days of the feast. But "Scenopegia" signifies the solemnity.
VERS. 10. "And I have spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have been assimilated into the hands of the prophets." Rightly do they suffer this punishment, because they did not tremble at these things, nor did they accept the predictions of the prophet, nor were they willing to change their mind; and this, not only in words, but also in the things that were done through the prophecies. Such was indeed that which was done by the inspired Hosea: sometimes he was commanded to take a harlot as a wife, sometimes an adulteress, C as the symbol of the God of the universe, and reproving the iniquities of the people. Furthermore, he teaches that different uses were made of the revelations: "Not to show my nature," he says, "for this is invisible, but that I might produce the contemplation and use as the need requires." For He did not appear to all in the same way; for He appeared otherwise to Daniel, and otherwise to Ezekiel, and differently to Isaiah, and to Micah not in the same manner; and before this, differently to Moses and Abraham. D
VERS. 11. "If Gilead is not, then the princes in Galgal were false, offering sacrifices." You, however, though enjoying these things from me, in Gilead and Galgal, those cities full of idols, along with your princes, offer sacrifices to demons; and this, while you are reaping the benefits not from them, but from me. For if from Gilead, that is, from the idols, you were enjoying some good, then the deceit would have some place; but since, while flourishing in my gifts, you sacrifice to idols in Gilead and Galgal, you yourselves become the heralds of your own ingratitude. "And their altars are like tortoises in the field." The tortoise is an amphibious animal; but while living in the waters it often escapes the hands of those hunting it, yet when it walks on the land, it is ready and easily captured. In this way, he says, similar to this, the altars constructed by you to the demons will be easily captured, and they will be demolished by the enemies.
[Note: The remaining text of column 1620, starting from "πληγαῖς ἐλωβήθησαν" in the Greek and "ctatas esse" in the Latin, pertains to the commentary on the Prophet Joel, which follows immediately in the editorial structure.]
[49] For their repentance being accepted, the Lord promises that He will give them grain, wine, and oil, and will give them with as much munificence as possible. For He added: "And you will be filled from them." That is, you will enjoy them to satiety. "And I will not give you up anymore to reproach among the nations." The gift is appropriate to the request; for since they said in their pleas: "Do not deliver your inheritance to reproach, and let them not say among the nations: Where is their God?" He gave a response fitting to the prayers: I will not permit you to be a laughingstock and a pleasure to your neighbors, but I will honor you with my care, so that they also might know the power of your God through the benefits bestowed upon you. "And I will drive away from you the one from the North, and I will lead him out into a land that is without water, and I will destroy his first rank into the first sea, and his hindermost part into the last sea, and his rottenness will ascend, and his stench will ascend, because he has magnified his works." He calls the Assyrian the one from the North, whom he once expelled from Jerusalem, with most of them being struck down by an angel; after this, however, he reduced them to the power of the Babylonians, and the Babylonians he handed over again to the Persians. Therefore, he calls the armies "seas": the first, indeed, that of the Babylonians, by whom the kingdom that was at Nineveh was destroyed; the last, however, that of the Persians. For these, with Cyrus leading, both captured Babylon and killed most, and led others away as captives. And he called the foul odor after death "rottenness" and "stench"; for the bodies having been cast away unburied, as it is in war, these things also followed. Therefore, these things being done by me, he says,
VERS. 21. "Confide, O land, rejoice and be glad, because the Lord has magnified to act." And that I might not exceed the measure by recounting everything, He also commands the cattle to be confident, since it is certain that both rains are to come in their usual way, and herbs are to be produced, and fodder is to abound to satiety; furthermore, vines, and fig trees, and other trees are about to bring forth an abundance of all fruits. It is clear, however, that He is not speaking to the earth and the cattle as though reason were in them, but is trying to provide consolation from every side to those who are downcast and afflicted. Wherefore, having soon left the inanimate earth and the animals that are devoid of reason, He converts Himself to the nature endowed with reason. "And you, children of Sion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God." For He will supply to you the necessary needs, and will provide the rain at the proper time, both the early and the latter rain, just as you enjoyed before. Moreover, there will be such a redundancy of fruits that the threshing floors will be too narrow to receive the crops, and the vats will overflow with wine and oil.
A in Galaad and in Galgalis you offer sacrifices to idols, being ungrateful and making yourselves heralds of your own ingratitude. "And their altars are as tortoises upon the desert of the field." The tortoise is of the amphibious kind; but when it dwells in the waters it often escapes the hands of those who hunt it, yet when it comes upon the land, it is ready to hand and easily captured. In the same way, therefore, he says, the altars which you have constructed for demons will be easily captured and overthrown by the enemy. Then he again reminds them of the virtue of their forefather.
12, 13. "And Jacob departed into the plain of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept (his flock). And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved." For your ancestor, having received the counsel of his mother, did not refuse to leave his father's house, and he preferred the foreign land to his own home, and for the sake of a wife—in order not to take a Canaanite, but one from the kin of Shem—he preferred servitude to freedom, and kept the law concerning wives established by his fathers. B Therefore, even to his descendants, the divine providence was extended; for his race, having been forced to serve the Egyptians, God deemed worthy of freedom through the great prophet Moses; and indeed, while they were in the desert, he kept them unharmed, using the service of the same prophet.
14. "Ephraim has provoked me to anger and irritated me, and his blood shall be poured out upon him, and the Lord will return his reproach to him according to the word of Ephraim." And he, he says, tracing his race from that man, moves me to anger by living in every kind of lawlessness; but he will reap the sheaves of the things sown by him, paying the penalties proportionate to what he has done.
CHAPTER XIII
[1, 2] For having received from me justifications and laws according to which it was fitting for him to conduct his life, he embraced the lawlessnesses of the idols instead of them; C from which, in place of life, he reaped death. And they increase their impiety almost day by day, fashioning images of various animals out of gold and silver, and serving man-made idols. For they are possessed by such a frenzy regarding these things that, owing to the multitude of their sacrifices, the breed of victims falls short, and they dare to say, "Sacrifice men: for the calves have failed."
(3) "Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the morning dew that passes away, and as chaff blown off from the threshing floor, and as steam from locusts." On account of this, he says, impiety, D
A I will make them vanish by the incursion of their enemies. For just as the rising sun easily consumes and readily dissipates the morning dew and the cloud that appears at that time, and just as a violent wind easily clears away the chaff of the threshing floor and disperses the cloud of locusts that comes upon the air—so too will the cloud of the enemy consume you, and will make the land now inhabited by you a desert.
Ver. 4. "For I am the Lord thy God, who firmest the heaven, and createst the earth, whose hands fashioned all their host." That is: I am he who not only created the heaven and the earth, but also bestows upon them their continuance for a long time. I also brought forth all the host of heaven into being, whether visible or invisible, whether the powers above and the intellectual natures B or the multitude of stars, together with the sun and moon, the great luminaries.
"And I did not show them to thee so that thou mightest walk after them." (Ver. 5.) "And I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God beside me, and there is no savior except me." For when giving you laws after your liberty had taken place, and your deliverance from Egypt, I instructed you to acknowledge no other God beside me. "For thou shalt not make, I said, any likeness of all things that are in heaven above C and as many as are in the earth beneath, and as many as are in the waters under the earth." Not only, then, did I free you from the bitter slavery of the Egyptians, but also
"In the wilderness I fed thee, in a land not inhabited." (Ver. 6.) "According to their pastures." That is: I provided the things suitable for your needs—manna from heaven, quails from the sea, water from the rock. For they were not, as though living in a desert, in want of necessities, but D "They were filled to satiety, and their hearts were lifted up; on account of this they forgot me." Such things even the divine Moses said about them: "And Jacob ate, and was filled, and the beloved kicked, grew fat, and thick, and broad, and forsook the Lord who made him." "But I will not leave him," he says, "unpunished."
Ver. 7. "And I will be to him, he says, as a panther, and as a leopard in the way of the Assyrians." For I will raise up to him his beast-like enemies, who will be like a panther and a leopard to him. Since indeed He, being the one who governs all things, brings on the enemies, He says He likens Himself to a panther and a leopard. And He adds, that
Ver. 8. "I will meet them as a bear robbed of her whelps, and will tear asunder the closure of their heart." Just as a bear straitened and unable to escape, with much fury...
A attacks those who approach it, so the enemies will grant them no indulgence; but will show against them a cruel and savage intent. But these things I will perform against them, wishing to open their heart that is shut up and not willing to be opened, but remains hardened and unbending, and to prick it, and to lead them to the knowledge of what is proper. "And there the young of the forest shall devour them, and the beasts of the field shall tear them asunder." He has stated the same things in different ways, that by the multitude of fearful images he might strike with terror and frighten those who are suffering from insensibility. Then he laments to himself, and reproaches, and reminds them of their former foolishness.
B Ver. 9, 10. "In thy corruption, O Israel, who shall help thee? Where is this thy king? And let him save thee in all thy cities, and let him judge thee, whom thou didst say, Give me a king and a ruler." Who could mourn thy corruption, O Israel, as it deserves? For thou hast remained entirely destitute of help, and that too while ruled by a king, and living under him; for having dishonored my sovereignty, thou didst desire to have a man as king.
Ver. 11. "I gave thee a king in my anger, and I endured [him] again in my fury." For being angered by their unreasonable request, I gave thee Saul; but again practicing forbearance and long-suffering, I introduced David in his place. For this is what he says: "I endured in my fury," that is, I bore it most patiently.
C Ver. 12. "A gathering of iniquity is Ephraim, his sin is hidden." This is similar to what was said by Isaiah: "Woe to them that draw sins as with a long rope!" For he says here also that Ephraim gathers together iniquities, and increases them unceasingly, using evil counsel. For the phrase, "His sin is hidden," signifieth this, namely, that he has wickedness in the depth; but I will encompass him with such evils that he will be tormented like a woman in travail. Then as if by way of interrogation he says to Israel:
Ver. 13. "This is thy son, the wise one." Him, he says, thou hast preferred before Manasseh, and being young, thou hast placed him before the elder; but instead of that honor, he shall be clothed with dishonor. "For he shall not be able to stand in the breaking of his children." For he will not be able to succor those who are being besieged by the neighbors. Having thus declared the painful things, he again transfers his discourse to the promise D of good things.
Ver. 14. "I will deliver them from the hand of Hades, and from death I will redeem them." Then, as if singing a paean against
A death, it commands: "O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?" These things were fulfilled typically in the return of the Jews; for it calls the life spent in captivity Hades and death. But it received its perfect and true end after the resurrection of our Savior. For when our first-fruits rose, we all received the hope of the resurrection. This same thing may also be found in the prophecy of Ezekiel. For there too the resurrection of the bones signifies two things: both the return of Israel—which, having cut off all good hopes, said, "We have failed, our bones have become dry"—and the common resurrection of all men. For what happened to the Jews was a type of the providence of God over all for all B men. "Consolation is hidden from my eyes, for he will divide between brothers." And this, he says, is the consolation of a better hope, and the expectation of the resurrection, which seems to have been hidden for a time both from the captive Jews and from all men. For the Jews, being led away into captivity and separated from their kindred, and compelled to serve in division and dispersion, had no hope of recall. And all men, when they saw death destroying nature utterly, and now separating brother from brother, now depriving children of their fathers, were utterly despairing of the resurrection. Yet, he says, the things spoken are true, even if for the present they are unclear to many C.
Ver. 15. "For the Lord will bring a burning wind from the desert upon him, and will dry up his veins, and will desolate his fountains; he will dry up his land, and all his desirable vessels." By these things, he signifies Cyrus the Persian, who was to wage war, and to overthrow the empire of the Assyrians, or Babylonians, and to destroy the entire royal line, and to remove the causes of the tyranny. For he calls sources and veins these things by way of translation. By these things, he wished to teach how he will destroy him whom by translation he has called death and Hades. But these things shall come to pass hereafter. Now, however,
CHAPTER XIV
Ver. 1. "Samaria shall be destroyed." Having dared D to act contrary to the divine will, it shall become a waste of war; and its inhabitants shall see their suckling children dashed against the ground, and those that are with child ripped up with the infants. But that it may not receive the trial of these things,
Ver. 2. "Return, O Israel, unto the Lord thy God." For thou hast wasted a long time in thy transgressions. Then he also teaches them, by what manner of words it is fitting to use in supplicating God. For he says, "Say, 'Canst thou remove all iniquity?' for by offering this intercession to Him, ye shall not receive the wages of injustice, but shall come into the enjoyment of all kinds of good things."
Add to those words, entreating the Saviour and Benefactor, "We shall no longer put our confidence in any of men, neither in Assyrians, nor in Egyptians, nor in a multitude of horses; nor shall we consider man-made idols to be gods." For when these things are said by you, the Lord who is constantly with you B will have mercy on the orphan—that is, on you, who are like an orphan lacking care and protection; He will deem you worthy of every providence, and I will grant you healing, delivering you from the evils that beset you. I will reconcile myself to you in sincerity, and I will cause all the chastisement brought upon you to cease; moreover, I will supply My gifts to you like a dew, so that you may blossom like a lily; for He made this clear by saying:
VERS. 6. "I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily." C The divine Scripture makes mention of this flower in many places. Isaiah indeed cries out: "Let the desert rejoice and bloom as the lily." And in the Song of Songs, the Bridegroom says of the bride: "As a lily in the midst of thorns, so is my kinswoman among the daughters." And the Lord in the holy Gospels says: "Consider the lilies of the field. Amen I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these." From every side, therefore, we learn that besides its fragrance, the splendor of this flower is also admired. To this is compared the soul that has been freed from the filth of sin and clothed in the most radiant robe of baptism, of which Isaiah also speaks: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed me in a garment of salvation, and with a tunic of gladness." For like this lily, he says, Israel shall blossom, acknowledging the Lord. "He shall blossom," He says, "and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." By this He signifies the mountain crowned with cedars. Then, alluding to the future multitude, He says:
VERS. 7. "His branches shall go forth." He also foretells the fruit of piety: "And he shall be as a fruitful olive tree, and his fragrance shall be as that of Lebanon." Then He teaches the cause of these good things:
VERS. 8. "They shall return and dwell under his shadow"—that is, under the shadow of God. D "And they shall live, and shall be strengthened with corn; and their memorial shall blossom as the vine, as the wine of Lebanon." For by forsaking the error of idols and trusting in My providence, they shall abound in all kinds of good things.
B VERSE 9. "Ephraim, what hath he to do any more with idols?" Since therefore, Ephraim, you have perceived in your mind what the riches of piety are, flee from the error of idols; for it is for this reason that I humbled you to instruct you, and I will strengthen you, using mercy, and I will show myself to you like a dense juniper, and you shall receive fruits from Me. For the juniper is always evergreen, and is not of a rotting nature, and is covered with a prickly foliage. But these things have this meaning: providing for you with all care, I will keep you immune from all harm, and I will strike those who invade you with certain prickles as it were. And thus, completing the whole prophecy, He has placed a most wholesome end for all who read it.
VERSE 10. "Who is wise, and shall understand these things? or prudent, and shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall in them." To this end also David, after having related the divine benefits, added in the hundred and sixth Psalm: "Who is wise, and will observe these things, and will understand the mercies of the Lord?" C For there is need of wisdom and understanding indeed, both for the knowledge and comprehension of the divine oracles, and for their fulfillment and keeping; for it is possible neither for those who have not received the splendor of the divine Spirit to understand these things, nor for those who do not enjoy help from above to keep them. But those who manifest such and so great good will toward God, and obtain help from Him, pass through the straight paths and are called just; but those who live in impiety and travel the opposite road, reap the wages of impiety. May the God of all, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, grant that we may become participants not of the latter, but of the former lot, so that, living according to His divine laws, we may glorify Him, according to the holy Apostle, both in body and in spirit; because to Him is due all glory, honor, and adoration, with His only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET JOEL BY THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS
PREFACE
The divine prophet Joel has not clearly taught us the time in which he made his prophecies; by the prophecies themselves, however, he has indicated that they took place at the time that the marvelous Hosea received the foresight of future events. For he himself predicts the same things: the incursion of the Assyrians and Babylonians, and the enslavement and servitude of Israel, and the return from captivity. He also predicts the events that occurred after the return, the rush of Gog (this is a Scythian nation) in full force against Jerusalem, and the destruction brought upon them by God. He also added the gifts granted to men by the all-holy Spirit after the incarnation of our Savior. Therefore, we have known the time of the prophecy from the predictions against the Assyrians and Babylonians. This, then, is the subject in brief.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, COMMENTARY ON THE PROPHET JOEL
A ARGUMENT The divine prophet Joel, although he does not clearly indicate the time in which he delivered his prophecy, may be gathered from the prophecy itself to have foretold future events at the same time as the marvelous Hosea. For he himself predicts the same things: the incursion of the Assyrians and Babylonians, the captivity and servitude of Israel, and the return from captivity. He also foretells things which happened after the return: the inroad of Gog (for this is a Scythian tribe) against Jerusalem, made with a most well-equipped army, and the total destruction brought upon them by God. Furthermore, he added those gifts which the Holy Spirit granted to men after the incarnation B of our Savior. Therefore, from his predictions regarding the Assyrians and Babylonians, we have recognized the time of this prophecy. This, then, is the argument in summary; it remains for us, with God’s favor, to address the explanation part by part.
CHAPTER I VERS. 1. "The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Phatuel." Since many, as is likely, had the same name, he added the name of his father. He teaches, moreover, that the words he utters are not the offspring of human cogitations, but rather that, inspired by the Lord of all, he both foresees future events and proclaims them.
VERS. 2. "Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the earth: hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?" You, he says, who have lived for a long time, and, as is natural, have acquired greater experience of affairs, and who, hearing your fathers and grandfathers often recounting them, have been attentive to the words of this prophecy
A.
Exposition on Joel
Then he adds: "Since you have experienced these things, do not allow them to slip from your memory; but instruct your children who are ignorant of these matters, and command them to transmit these things, as it were, through their own hands to their children, and let the generation that succeeds them receive the account of these things from the generation before it." The blessed David says similar things: "That the next generation may know, the children who will be born, and they will arise and tell them to their own children." And revealing the reason, he says: "That they may place their hope in God." It is thus evident from what has been said that there is one grace of the divine Spirit that inspired the holy prophets. Having thus aroused both the elders and all the others to hear what is to be spoken, he proceeds to recount the entire series of calamities, and says that first of all the palmerworm will come; and that what has not been corrupted by this will be corrupted by the locust; and that whatever escapes this, the caterpillar will consume; and that finally the blight brought upon them will leave absolutely nothing intact B. Some, therefore, have interpreted these things tropologically regarding the Assyrians and Babylonians: calling the palmerworm Tiglath-Pileser, and the locust Shalmaneser; they named the caterpillar Sennacherib; and the blight Nebuchadnezzar, who was the last to wage war, and who utterly devastated the whole of Judea, and led away as captives those who had escaped death. But for my part, while I consider these things to be true, I also suppose that they happened in reality just as they were stated. For the blessed Amos mentions both the locust and the caterpillar, and burning, and blight, as well as fig trees, and olive trees, and vineyards destroyed by palmerworms, and in addition to these, drought and lack of rain. "For," he says, "one part will be watered, and the part upon which I do not rain will wither." The divine Jeremiah also clearly makes mention of this. C It is not, therefore, necessary to interpret the things said only figuratively, since all the holy prophets, without exception, have taught us that the things mentioned above happened just as they are narrated. For so that they might understand precisely that, while paying the penalty for their iniquity and impiety, they were delivered to the enemies rushing upon them, they were deservedly struck also by the corrections sent from heaven: being taught through these things that God, whom they themselves were disregarding, punishes them with both kinds of afflictions. Having, however, predicted sad and harsh things, he brings forward consolation and counsel. D Vers. 5. "Awake, you who are drunk from your wine, and weep; and wail, all you who drink wine to drunkenness." Change, he says, your intemperance and immoderate pleasure into lamentation; foryou will be entirely deprived of that which provided you with joy. A Afterwards he narrates the things relating to the locust, or the Assyrian; for he signifies both, and says, "A nation will ascend upon his land, too numerous to count, and adorned with strength and power." He calls the land of Israel "his land," since he also calls Israel His own people. "Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its molars are like those of a lion's whelp." He has said the same thing in different ways, wishing to strike terror with a multitude of names; for he calls the same thing both a lion and a whelp. If anyone wishes to understand them differently, it will not harm the sense; for the locust indeed has smaller ones as if they were whelps following, and enemies bring along with their warriors and champions also those who are less powerful. He also describes the things resulting from these, showing vines being destroyed, and their branches turning white, and fig trees stripped of their foliage, which is what usually happens when a locust descends. And that he does not speak of these things as having already occurred, but as things that will occur, the continuation bears witness.
[8] "For," he says, "lament to me for the bride girded in sackcloth for the husband of her youth." He did not say "lamented," but "will lament," teaching that after the experience they will continually wail, making a bitter grief, such as might happen with a bride in the prime of her youth, seeing her own bridegroom dead.
[9] "The sacrifice and libation are taken away from the house of the Lord." C It is a characteristic of divine Scripture to speak of things that will happen as if they had already happened. It uses this device not only because of the translation of words from one language to another, but also for the confirmation of what is said. For in this way, he says, these things will truly come to pass, so that we perceive them as if they had already occurred, and we speak of them as of things done. And so, concerning these things which he predicted would happen, he urges the priests to mourn again as if they were in the past, since both the sacrifices and libations have failed because of the lack of necessities, and likewise the land because of the barrenness of what comes from it. "In confusion," he says, "also are the farmers, D having labored much upon the land, yet having gathered no fruit." D We see this happening even now. For when the land is unproductive, farmers are accustomed to be suffused with shame, not providing the usual returns to the owners, and being forced to live on charity because of the scarcity of necessities. [11, 12] Describing the calamity more broadly, so that
A he might rouse to repentance those who are suffering from stupor, he orders the very possessions themselves to mourn, since both the barley and the wheat have failed, and the vine is parched; and, in a word, the olive trees, the fig trees, and the other fruit-bearing trees yield no fruit, because they have been deprived of all the moisture that was in them. It must be noted, however, that he is not exhorting the earth and the possessions to mourn as if they were endowed with reason, but rather he is attempting to rouse those who are endowed with reason by means of inanimate things. B He teaches this when he adds: "Because the children of men have brought shame upon joy." For, he says, the cause of this barrenness is the iniquity of men; for on account of it, the things of merriment have ceased, and the things of despondency have been introduced. Therefore, he says, "You too, O priests, take up the garb of mourning, and do not lament only by the altar, but even when you sleep, spread sackcloth beneath yourselves," because such a lack of necessities has occurred that not even the customary sacrifices can be performed.
VERS. 14. "Sanctify therefore a fast, preach a cure, gather the elders," or rather, not these alone, but also "all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God." And being gathered, cry out, saying: C
VERS. 15. "Woe is me, woe is me, for the day!" By the things said, we are clearly taught that fasting is a salutary medicine for a soul that is in a bad state, able to heal the passions of sin; for which reason he has joined the cure to the fast. "For sanctify," he says, "a fast, preach a cure." He has used "sanctify" for "set apart." For to this end, he says, set yourselves apart, and perform the fast in a holy and pure manner; and as you fast, cry out: "Woe is me, woe is me, for the day!"—that is, on account of the expected day of evils.
"Because the day of the Lord is near, and as misery from misery it will come." (VERS. 16.) "Because before your eyes food has perished, and from the house of our God, gladness and joy." You will see, he says, evils coming one after another, and upon these, others being added; D for this he has called "misery upon misery."
VERS. 17. "The heifers have leaped in their mangers; the granaries have contracted mold from their ointments." He said the heifers leap, not doing this out of satiety, but being oppressed by famine, and cast upon the ground, and striking their feet against the earth. But the granaries, he says, have contracted mold, for the reason that they had not received grain for a long time. But also the wine-presses, he says, have been dug out as if they were useless pits, and if there was anything else suitable for such uses, it has remained neglected, as being superfluous and useless, because there was nothing that could be cast into them. [18] "The herds of cattle have also bellowed," as [index: entries preserved]
A representing the voice of those who lament, because they do not enjoy their accustomed food: then the flocks of sheep did likewise, as the oxen did. But with matters standing thus, I, says the prophet,
VERS. 19. "To thee, O Lord, I will cry, for fire has consumed the beautiful things of the desert, and the flame has kindled all the trees of the field." For it is possible to obtain release from the evils that beset us from thee alone. And by fire it is also possible to understand the enemies, who, like fire, have ravaged all that land; and indeed also the locust, and the rust, and what is joined with them; for these are no less naturally accustomed to destroy the fruits from the earth. And he calls the "beautiful things of the desert" those which were formerly beautiful, but now have become desert because of the calamities that have occurred. For even a little later he says, "The things before it are as a paradise of delight, and the things behind it are as a field of destruction." B Since, he says, we are unworthy to obtain mercy from thee, let the cattle, bellowing and bleating, enjoy some pity, "For the channels of waters have dried up." But the phrase, "They have looked up to thee," he spoke not as of those using reason, but wishing to draw the Lord to mercy, he thus called the bellowing produced by need.
CHAP. II.
[1] After the prophet offered his prayer, again the Lord commands that the trumpets ordered by the Law be sounded in Sion, and that through heralds all be gathered together to the mountain consecrated to God: "For," he says, "the time of punishment approaches." C Which time if one should wish to call a day of gloom and darkness, of mist and whirlwind, he would not err: for such will be the evils in it, that no one will perceive a sense of light, but will presume they are living in darkness and gloom. Then he also describes the type of punishment. "Like the morning, a numerous and strong people shall be poured forth upon the mountains; the like of it has not been from eternity, and after it will not be added, even to the years of generations of generations." By these words he hints at both: both the locust and the cloud of enemies. For both the one and the others covered the plains and the peaks of the mountains D with their multitude. And so, that there had not been another such incursion as that one, he stated indefinitely; but that it would not follow thereafter, he set down with a certain definition: for he says, "It shall not be added even to the years." But he teaches that it will come like fire, and will destroy all things. And, he says, he will bring such a calamity upon the land, that those who look upon it would compare the places that have not yet suffered that destruction to the garden of delights: but the others, after the incursion, to a field ravaged and completely destroyed. For they will perish so thoroughly, that their salvation
A from them will not be possible. By these things, he indicated the incursion of an enemy.
Vers. 4, 5. « As the appearance of horses is their appearance, and as horsemen, so shall they pursue. As the voice of chariots on the tops of the mountains they shall leap: and as the voice of a flame of fire devouring the stubble: and as a people strong and numerous, prepared for battle. » If we understand these things concerning the Assyrians and Babylonians, then we should take that *as* (ὡς), not by way of comparison, but for the purpose of indicating intensity, just as in those words of David: « How good is God to Israel! » (Ps. LXXII, 1), that is, very good; and in other words of the same: « How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! » (Ps. LXXXIII, 2), that is, very amiable; and that saying: « How great art thou exceedingly! » (Ps. VIII, 4, 9), that is, very great. Thus, therefore, also in this place, interpreting what is said about the enemies, we shall understand that « the appearance of horses » means that they will use many horses and horsemen, and will come with many chariots, with the drivers using such skill that they direct their course even to the mountain peaks and move in the most difficult places just as they would on a plain. But if we wish these things to be said of the locust, we should likewise understand this same phrase, « As the appearance of horses is their appearance », by following experience as our teacher in this matter. For if someone should diligently consider the head of a locust, he will find it very similar to the head of a horse. And it is possible to see it when it flies as in no way yielding to the horse in point of speed, easily alighting on mountains and fields; and furthermore, attacking the crops like a flame devouring stubble. And in its assembled multitude B prepared for battle, it is alike, and when they fly and when they crawl (for joined together they do what they do), it is as if to show a certain shield-formation and military order. C
Vers. 6. « From his face, he says, peoples shall be crushed: and every face shall be as the burning of a pot. » For he will inflict such a calamity upon men that their faces will end up resembling a pot blackened by fire, with famine and destitution bringing upon them this ruin.
Vers. 7, 8. « As fighters they shall run, and as men of war they shall ascend upon the walls: each one shall walk in his own way, and they shall not turn aside from their paths. And each one shall not hold back from his brother. » These things, likewise as what was said above, let us understand as being set forth both concerning enemies and concerning locusts. For it is possible to see locusts, not otherwise than enemies, both scaling walls and walking in the roads: nor do they allow themselves to be pulled away or scattered by any force, but as though by a certain mutual conspiracy they make their attack. D
A “They shall go heavily armed, and shall fall upon their spears, and shall not be destroyed.” Now, the locusts have natural weapons—teeth, wings, and serrated limbs—while the enemies have those which art provides to nature. But he says that both these and those shall use their weapons continuously. For those who wage war, even in the most severe conflicts, are accustomed to take food and sleep while fully armed, fearing the onsets of the enemies pressing upon them. The expression, therefore, “They shall fall upon their spears,” refers to their resting together with their arms. And, “They shall not be destroyed,” means that they shall not be sated with enemies; for neither are locusts sated with food. [9] After these things he adds that the height of walls will not be enough to prevent the enemies from entering, but that they will readily cross over the walls and, like thieves, will enter houses through the windows. This is something we have often seen done not only by enemies but also by locusts; for they penetrate houses not only by flying, but also by climbing the walls and through the window-openings. B
VERS. 10, 11. “Before his face the earth shall be confounded, and the heaven shall be shaken: the sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall not give their light. And the Lord shall give his voice before the face of his power, for his camp is very great.” It is likely that these things also happen through the events themselves; for he calls the thunder a voice, and we have often seen the eclipses of the sun and moon occur, and the stars at times become very dim due to a certain drought; and the earth also, when it is shaken, reveals the anger of God. But it is also possible to understand these things in another way; for those who are in calamities, as if living in a certain darkness, are not aware of the state of the heavens, nor do they assume the earth to be immovable, nor do they perceive the day in light, nor the night in any moderate radiance, but they suppose that all things have been overturned from their foundations. C To these he adds: “For the works of his words are strong.” Which is to say, No word of God remains destitute of works; for whatever he speaks, this immediately proceeds into action. “For the day of the Lord is great, very great and manifest, and who shall be able to endure it?” Such are the evils, he says, that the God of all will bring upon you, so that these things may become manifest to the entire world. For he has called the day great and manifest because of the report of the evils about to be brought upon all men, which shall spread abroad. But to the evils which God inflicts, no human being shall be able to offer resistance. After these horrible threats, he turns the discourse to encouragement and counsel, saying: D
VERS. 12. “Turn,” he says, “with all your heart, not dividing it into pleasures and prayers, but applying yourselves to fasting and tears.”
A VERS. 13. “And rend your hearts, and not your garments.” That is to say: occupy your minds with thoughts of contrition; soften the stubbornness of your intellect; receive wholesome counsel; and, having abandoned the path of wickedness, set out with the greatest zeal upon the path that leads to God. For there are many fountains of pity and compassion with Him, and in His patience He is accustomed not to execute His threats in reality. He signified this by saying, “And He relents concerning evil”—which means: while terrifying [men] with the threats of punishments, He changes those threats into something pleasing when the deeds of men shift for the better. For the God of all does not will one thing now and another later, nor, like us, does He repent of what He does; rather, while threatening, He has within Himself the mercy which He bestows upon those who repent of the sins they have committed. And while promising good things, He knows who are good and who are unworthy of His gifts; to the former He offers these, while to the latter He gives things contrary to what He promises. For He is accustomed to use both promises and threats for the benefit B of men, so that, fearing the latter and desiring the former, they may embrace a life ordered according to law. The prophet then promises divine clemency with a certain hesitation, in this way also alarming the senseless.
VERS. 14. “Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a sacrifice and a libation to the Lord our God?” It is likely, he says, that once the threats are left unfulfilled, He will shower us with the customary abundance of good things, so that we may offer the customary worship to the altar. For by “blessing” he meant the provision of good things. With this hope, therefore, he says,
VERS. 15. “Blow the trumpet in Zion”—gathering the whole people in fasting and the worship of God, so that the entire Church may zealously apply itself to repentance. Let the elders lead the way, and let all ages be present, not even excepting the suckling infants. And those who have recently taken upon themselves the yoke of marriage, leaving behind their wedding feasts, should pour forth the tears of repentance together with the rest of the people. And let the college of priests, at the doors of the temple and before the altar which is in front of its doors, mourning and wailing, strive to appease the God of all with these words: D
VERS. 17. “Spare, O Lord, Thy people, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them, lest they say among the nations, Where is their God?” Here, therefore, he clearly shows that the supplications were to be instituted on account of Sennacherib, for whose sake King Hezekiah also entreated the great prophet Isaiah to perform the embassy to God on behalf of the people. And what follows teaches that the fruits of the earth also—when laid low by divinely-inflicted scourges—
A were harmed. For the Master, having accepted their repentance, promises that He will give them the grain, and the wine, and the oil, and that He will give them with the greatest generosity. For He added: "And you shall be filled with them." That is, you shall enjoy them to satiety. "And I will no longer give you over to reproach among the nations." The gift corresponds to the petition; for since they said in their supplication, "Do not give Your inheritance over to reproach, and do not let them say among the nations, 'Where is their God?'" He provided an answer appropriate to their prayers, saying that He would not allow them to become a laughingstock to their neighbors, but would bestow upon them His providence, so that they too might know, through the things done for you, the power of your God.
20. "And I will drive away from you the one from the north, and I will lead him forth into a waterless land, and I will destroy his face into the former sea, and his back into the last sea, and his rot shall rise, and his stench shall rise, because he magnified his works." He calls the Assyrian the one from the north, whom He formerly drove away from Jerusalem, after killing most of them through an angel, B but after this He made them a prey for the Babylonians, and indeed handed the Babylonians over to the Persians in turn. Therefore, He calls the armies "seas": first, that of the Babylonians, by whom the kingdom that was at Nineveh was destroyed; and the last, that of the Persians. For these, with Cyrus leading, both took Babylon, and slew the most part, and took the others captive. He called "rot" and "stench" the foul odor after death; for as happens in war, the bodies being left unburied, these things also followed. Therefore, with these things accomplished by Me, He says,
21. "Be confident, O land; rejoice and be glad, because the Lord has magnified what He will do." And so that I do not, by enumerating everything, extend my discourse beyond measure, He commands even the beasts to be confident, as the rains will be as usual, and the grass will appear, and pasture will follow in abundance, and C the vines, and the fig trees, and all the other fruit-bearing trees will be teeming with all kinds of fruits. It is clear, however, that He is not speaking to the land and the beasts as if they were rational, but is offering consolation to the despondent from every side. Wherefore, immediately leaving behind the inanimate land and the genera of irrational creatures, He turned to the rational nature.
23. "And you, children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God." For He will provide you with the necessary needs, and will provide the rain in due season, both the former and the latter, D just as you enjoyed before. And such will be the abundance of the produce that the threshing floors will be too narrow to receive the grain, and the wine presses will overflow with wine and oil.
A And teaching clearly that they had endured not only a hostile incursion, but had also been severely afflicted by the locust and other things, he immediately adds:
Vers. 25. "And I will repay you for the years in which the locust, and the bruchus, and the mildew, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you, have eaten." He called the caterpillar his great army, not because it possesses such great strength as He who "looks upon the earth and makes it tremble, who touches the mountains and they smoke," who "rebukes the sea and dries it up," and is able to do ten thousand things greater than these; but because the ruin brought upon them by it was greater, therefore he called it his great army.
Vers. 26. "And you shall eat, eating and be satisfied, and you shall praise the name of the Lord your God, who has done wonderful things with you." For this is the head of all good things, not to be filled to satiety with goods, but to praise the Giver of goods. To those, however, who are disposed with such gratitude and keep the memory of divine benefits, He promises the future, "that my people shall not be confounded forever." But if the Jews are now in confusion, it is not therefore because God, who cannot lie, has lied in His promises; but they themselves rendered themselves unworthy of the promises, having become ungrateful toward their Benefactor, who called the Master of the house Beelzebub, and killed the heir, and not only did not render the fruits in due time, but even attempted to seize the inheritance.
C Vers. 27. "And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no one else beside me." For by this very experience you shall learn how, caring for you, I do not disdain to dwell with you, I whose throne is heaven and whose footstool is the earth. You shall also know the weakness of your idols, and that I alone am God, who can both discipline those who sin and have mercy on those who repent. Staying in these thoughts, you shall live in all security, no longer suffering the reproaches of the nations. After having foretold in this way the return, and the casting off of slavery, and the divinely-given freedom, and the crop of the year, and the abundance of fruits, and the casting off of error, and having foretold the rays of the knowledge of God, He also indicates the manifold gifts of the divine Spirit, which, after the incarnation of the Only-Begotten, and the saving passion, and the resurrection, and the ascension into heaven, the God of all granted to the holy apostles, and through them to all throughout the world who have believed.
Vers. 28, 29. "And it shall be after these things," that is, after the return and the knowledge of the truth. "And I will pour..."
out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And even upon my servants and upon my handmaids in those days I will pour out of my Spirit." A This was openly and clearly brought to a conclusion on the day of Pentecost, when the divine apostles spoke in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance; and after this, the grace was distributed through them to all who believed—among whom were the prophets who were at Antioch, and Agabus, who took the girdle of Paul and bound him; and among the Corinthians, those to whom Paul writes: "But if all prophesy, and there comes in some unbeliever or unlearned person, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all, and thus falling on his face he will worship God, proclaiming that truly God is in you." Also, the four daughters of Philip received the gift of prophecy. For what need is there to speak of the divine Paul, who at Miletus spoke to the elders of the Ephesians thus: "For I know that after my departure grievous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things"? And writing to Timothy, he cries out: B "In the last days perilous times shall come: for men shall be lovers of self, covetous," and the rest. And again: "But the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits," and the rest. But it is superfluous for me to try to demonstrate the truth of prophecy. For this gift has remained even until our own times, and there are among the holy men who, having a pure vision of the mind, both foresee and predict many things of the future. Having explained in this manner the gifts which the divine Spirit bestowed after the first advent of our Savior, he also predicts the things which are to come before the second advent.
Vers. 30, 31. “And I will show wonders in the heaven and upon the earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the day of the Lord, the great and manifest.” C This also the Lord predicted in the holy Gospels: "For there shall be, he says, signs in the heaven, and in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars." And he calls the second advent of our Savior the great and manifest day. For because at his first advent he was born of a poor woman in a cave, and after being born was laid in a manger, and until he began to perform his miracles was unknown to many, D while coming in the
A clouds shall he be seen, with ten thousand myriads leading the way, and a thousand thousands praising him, and to him every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth [u]; and thus, with good reason does he call that day great and illustrious.
VERS. 32. « And it shall be, that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. » It is opportune here for us to append that apostolic saying: « How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher [v]? » For which reason he fittingly added: « For in mount Sion and in Jerusalem there shall be one who is saved, as the Lord hath said, and they that preach the gospel, whom the Lord hath called. » For clearly he has here manifested to us the holy apostles, who were ordered to preach the gospel and to say: « The kingdom of heaven is at hand [x]. » And by saying that he who is saved shall be in mount Sion and in Jerusalem, he signifies that everyone who believes in Him who was crucified there and who accepted sufferings on our behalf, shall obtain salvation.
After the prediction of spiritual gifts, he transferred the prophecy to another subject, prophesying about Gog and Magog, concerning whom the divine Ezekiel also prophesied [y], and he foretells how, having used a vast army after the return, they shall B make war against Jerusalem, with the neighboring nations likely encouraging them to this. For since they had become very famous and conspicuous after the return, because Cyrus (the first king of the Persians) who was then ruling the world, had sent them away with gifts and all honor, and had ordered the divine temple to be built, those who were burning with envy against them gathered together ten thousand crowds from everywhere, hoping to capture the city with its inhabitants. But their hope deceived them: for they perished utterly at that very city, with the Lord fighting on their behalf and causing them to slaughter one another. These things the Lord, predicting through the divine Joel, says:
CHAPTER III
VERS. 1. « For behold, I, in those days and in that time. » Then indicating in what time, he added: « When I shall turn/restore the captivity of Juda and Jerusalem. » For not in the time of spiritual graces, but immediately after the return from Babylon.
VERS. 2. « I will gather, he says, all the nations. » This is, I will permit them to be gathered, and I will not hinder their first counsel and attack; for this is what he says by « I will gather »: for He did not lead them against their will, but he did not prohibit those who were willing to come [z]. « And I will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat, and
A I will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, who have been scattered among the nations, and have divided my land. (Ver. 3.) And they cast lots upon my people; and they have given the boys to harlots, and sold the girls for wine, that they might drink. » From this it is clear that other neighboring peoples followed those who led the way. For during the time of the captivity, they divided the land as if there were no longer any master or tiller, and they cast lots, making divisions (of the fields); and those who had escaped the slaughter they sold, converting the money that had been paid as the price into wantonness and luxuries. The phrase, « I will plead for my people, » He placed there to teach that He will demand from them the penalties for the crimes committed against His people. B [4] Then He accuses Tyre and the Galilee of the foreigners (for this is a region of Tyre), because it too was among the number of those who were doing these things, harboring wrath in their hearts against the people. And attributing to Himself the things that had been committed against the people, He says: « Do you render a recompense to me, or do you harbor wrath against me? » For just as when Saul was persecuting the apostles, He said from above: « Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? »—calling the things attempted against them His own sufferings—so here, speaking to Tyre, He has taken on the person of the people and referred to Himself the things that were being done against them. He threatens them that He will very soon compensate the iniquity admitted by them against the people with a just retribution. Afterward, He also explains the types of iniquities. [5-8] « For having taken, » He says, « my silver and my gold, and the other things dedicated to me, you have transferred them into the temples of your idols; and the Jews, who had escaped the onslaught of the Babylonians, you have sold to the sons of the Greeks, C looking to this one thing, that you might remove them far from the land that was given to them by me. But I, gathering them from every side, will cause them to recover their own strength, so that they may justly avenge themselves upon you, and bring down your pride, and take you captive, and compel you to serve in the uttermost ends of the earth. [9] From Tyre, He again turns the prophecy to the Scythian nations, and commands them to proclaim to the nations that they should rouse the warriors and set them apart for war: for this is what He called "sanctify." For because the holy man separates himself from impure things, everything that is destined for a certain thing he calls "sanctified." Thus also above, "Sanctify," He said, "a fast," that is, "appoint it." And Isaiah, speaking of the Babylonians: « They are sanctified, and I lead them » (Isa. xiii, 5): D that is, they are set apart for this. [10, 11] He then commands that agricultural implements be transferred to military use, and that the weak person, just
A as he becomes ready for battle, should have him who lived in gentleness changed and eagerly prove himself a man of valor; and that all should be gathered into the valley of Josaphat.
Vers. 12. «For there, he says, I will sit to judge all the nations round about.» This means those living around Jerusalem: the Idumeans, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Amalekites, the Philistines, the Tyrians, the Sidonians; for these gathered even Scythian nations against Jerusalem. [15] Then, mockingly characterizing their destruction, he calls the slaughter the vintage; the spears and swords by which they were killed, he calls the sickles; and the valley itself, filled with their blood, he calls the winepress and the vat. And the cause of the retribution: «For their evils have multiplied,» he says. Then he depicts the tumult associated with the slaughter.
Vers. 14. «Sounds have been heard in the valley of judgment: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of judgment.» He called the valley of Josaphat the valley of judgment, as it is the place that received the tribunal and the verdict against them. B He says further that the sun, and the moon, and the remaining stars shall be deprived of light. And it is likely that in truth these things will happen, when the God of all moves the entire creation against them. It is possible, however, to understand it in another way as well. For to those who are dead and have been surrendered to death, neither sun nor moon nor any of the stars sends down the beam of light. And, indeed, oppressed by unexpected evils, they lived in darkness, regarding the day as night. C
Vers. 16. «But the Lord shall cry from Sion, and from Jerusalem shall give his voice; and the heaven and the earth shall be shaken; but the Lord will spare his people.» By these words he demonstrates that those things also actually came to pass; for he calls thunder a voice; for so we find it named in the books of Kings: «The Lord made, he says, voices and rain.» He teaches, therefore, that with his thunders he will strike them and with earthquakes he will shake them, and with divinely-sent plagues he will utterly destroy them. The Lord of all will do these things, using mercy toward his own people, so that, enjoying this providence, it may know, he says, D
Vers. 17. «That I am the Lord thy God, who dwell in my holy mountain.» When these things have come to pass, Jerusalem will be conspicuous, as having enjoyed my care; and fear shall take hold of all the foreigners, so that not even a traveler from among them would dare to pass through it, trembling at what has been done against them. For this is what he makes clear when he says: «And a foreigner shall pass through it no more.» But their wicked deeds do not allow the divine prophecies to attain their end by them. For the God of all, as he gives laws and promises good things, makes his words with a condition: «If thou wilt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and if thou walk in his ways, and if thou wilt, and hearken unto me, thou shalt eat the good things of the land; but if ye will not, and will not hearken unto me, the sword shall devour you.» Thus, even if we do not find such things everywhere, let us understand in this way the things that are spoken indefinitely.
18. «And it shall be in that day, the mountains shall drop sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk.» By these he signifies the fruits of the land, and the health of the cattle; for the milk of the flocks is also a fruit.
«And all the streams of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth from the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of the snares.» B By streams of waters he designates fountains, and by a fountain going forth from the house of the Lord, the grace of the Holy Spirit, of which he also prophesied above, which has watered not only the Jews, but all the nations. For he calls the nations the torrent of the snares, which formerly indeed dragged their neighbors along with them in the error of superstition; but after they believed in the Lord, they received the clear waters of the divine fountain, and were freed from the snares of sin, of which Isaiah cries out: «Woe to them that draw their sins as with a long rope!» C When these things have been accomplished, 19. «Egypt shall be in desolation.» That is, the mad devotion to idols shall be extinguished. For Egypt was the leader of impiety and a prince. «And Idumea,» he says, «[shall be] a field of desolation.» Earthly pride, he says, shall be destroyed; for Edom is interpreted as red and earthly. Although it is allowed to understand these things in the historical sense as well—that Egypt would be in destruction through the deprivation of its kingdom, because Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, overthrew it, and Idumea also underwent desolation, as the things themselves bear witness. These things, he says, they shall suffer, paying the penalties for the things which they did unjustly against Judah. For he called the blood "innocent," as if to say that they had perpetrated their slaughters against them without any reasonable cause. 20, 21. «But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem into generations of generations. And I will seek out their blood, and I will not leave it unpunished, and the Lord shall dwell in Sion.» For being just, he says, I will not endure to leave those who have been wronged neglected, but I will punish those who have committed the injuries; but those [the righteous] I will deem worthy of my providence, showing my own appearance in Sion. D As for the saying, «Judah shall be inhabited for ever,» let us understand it according to the sense we have mentioned above. For it is not just for God, being just and abhorring iniquity, to grant good promises to the unworthy. The Jews, therefore, have become the authors of their own dispersion into the nations, having raged against their benefactor; with a condition he makes these statements: «If you keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and if you walk in his ways, and if you are willing and listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the land; but if you are not willing and do not listen to me, the sword shall devour you.» So that even if we do not find such things everywhere, let us understand in this way also those things that are spoken indefinitely.
the authors of the dispersion, having raged against their benefactor. But we, who in their stead have been called to the place of the bride, let us continue to love fervently the bridegroom who has loved us and counted us worthy of the greatest gifts, lest we fall away from the eternal promises, which would that we might all obtain by the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ: with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, COMMENTARY UPON THE PROPHET AMOS. — ARGUMENT.
B He who fashioned our hearts individually, and understands all our works, as the divine Scripture says, having a clear view of the hard and rebellious heart of Israel, does not dispute with it through one prophet only; but, employing many and excellent men as ministers, He both offers admonitions and predicts the future, showing by the agreement of many predictions the truthfulness of the pronouncements. One of these is the inspired Amos; for he lived at the same time as those wonderful men, Hosea and Joel, and he predicted the same things regarding the Assyrians and the Babylonians, and the return from them, and the things that would come to pass after the return. Having first predicted a few things against the surrounding nations, he thus began the prophecy concerning Israel. He brought very great benefit to the Jews through this proclamation also; for he taught them that the Lord of all is able to show mercy not only to them, and to discipline them, but also to all the nations, inasmuch as He is the Creator and Maker of all. Moreover, he has shown C what great care He takes of them, by punishing those who attempt to harm them. This, then, is the subject of the prophecy in hand; but from the explanation of the individual parts, we shall learn the meaning of the divine oracles more accurately.
[alt-version omitted]
CAPUT I
A VERS. 1. « The words of Amos, which were in Cariathiarim, of Thecua, which he saw concerning Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. » The prophet has made it clear to us that he who originated from Thecua received the divine revelation in Cariathiarim, and that he was commanded to speak words concerning Jerusalem. He also teaches the time of the prophecy; for this reason he has made mention of the kings, Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel. It is clear that he is making predictions not only concerning Jerusalem, but also concerning the ten tribes; for this reason he also mentioned Jeroboam, who was king of those tribes at that time.
Since both of them reigned for a long time (for Uzziah held the helm of state for fifty-two years, and Jeroboam for forty-one), he rightly points out the time of the earthquake, and says that it occurred two years after the prophecy, in order to show clearly at what times he delivered the divine words to the people. But some, not having attended to the chronology with sufficient care, supposed that this earthquake happened when the great Isaiah, after the death of Uzziah, saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, when the lintels were shaken by the voice of the Seraphim. I, however, upon examining the times, have found this to be false. For if the earthquake happened after the death of Uzziah, and the blessed Amos began his prophecy two years before, the fiftieth year of Uzziah's reign would have been passing; for he reigned for fifty-two years. But Jeroboam was not alive at this time; for Uzziah accepted the helm of his kingdom in the twenty-seventh year of his [Jeroboam's] reign. It is clear, therefore, from the chronology, that the predictions of the divine Amos were made at the beginning of the reign of Uzziah, since he says that he received the gift of prophecy while Jeroboam was still alive and reigning. Having thus indicated the time of the prophecy, he also teaches what preambles he used.
D VERS. 2. « And he said: The Lord has spoken from Zion, and from Jerusalem has given forth his voice, and the pastures of the shepherds have mourned, and the top of Carmel has withered. » For since he is about to prophesy sorrowful things to the neighboring nations, he necessarily teaches from where the decrees against them are issued; for from Jerusalem, he says, and from Mount Zion, God the Lord of all having spoken, and having pronounced the sentences of punishment, the shepherds will mourn, as they indeed find no food for the flocks pastured by them; and the whole of Mount
A Carmel, even to its very summit, shall be deprived of the abundance of its fruits. These things, as described, did in fact occur through the failure of rain, and by the locust, and the caterpillar, and the other scourges which the just Judge visited upon them. But through these things He signifies other matters too; He calls Israel the summit of Carmel, for it was a portion of the promised land. "For I brought you," He says, "into Carmel, to eat its fruits and its good things." He calls the kings of the neighboring nations shepherds, and their subjects pastures, not only because they brought them tribute and tax as a kind of forage, but because they themselves continued to be fed by them. He says, therefore, that the God of the universe, from Mount Sion and the city of Jerusalem, will cast the other neighboring nations into infinite calamities according to His divine decree. Then, part by part, He explains the offenses of the nations and teaches the punishments brought upon them.
B VERSE 3. "And the Lord said: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn them away; for they sawed with iron saws the pregnant women of the Galaadites." When God turns away, He does not seem to see the offenses of men, for which reason the blessed David also prays, saying: "Turn Your face away from my sins." But when He punishes, the Lord Himself says: "And I will fix My face upon you, and I will look upon your iniquities." Therefore, "I will not turn away" is equivalent to "I will no longer exercise patience, nor will I turn My face away from your sins; but I will look upon that which, through patience, I did not seem to see before." The expression "for three, and for four" signifies a multitude. He says, therefore, that since Damascus has sinned many times and I have endured it for the longest time, now I will no longer be patient, nor will I turn away, so as not to see their unspeakable lawlessness; and especially that which they have dared against the Galaadites, using against them such cruelty and savagery, as even to saw asunder the pregnant women. Symmachus explained this more clearly, saying: "For that they threshed Galaad with iron wheels." Aquila and Theodotion also translated it with the same meaning. We learn, therefore, that casting the aforementioned women into a threshing floor, they cruelly threshed them with saw-like wheels just as one does with ears of corn. Galaad, moreover, was a city of Israel, against which the inhabitants of Damascus dared to commit these deeds. Having thus revealed the lawlessness, He brings on the C punishment.
VERSE 4. "And I will send fire into the house of Azael." This man had been a king of Damascus. "And it shall devour the foundations of the son of Ader." Some supposed this Ader to be the father of Azael, dividing the name in two, and understanding the son separately and Ader separately.
But it is one name: for Baradad has been called that in the Hebrew and Syrian language, and he is not the father, but the son of Azael, as the fourth book of Kingdoms teaches. Under him, Damascus also underwent destruction; wherefore the prophecy says: "And it will devour the foundations of the son of Ader," that is, I shall pluck up his kingdom by the roots.
B Ver. 5. "And I will shatter the bars of Damascus." I will destroy its former security. "And I will destroy those who dwell in the plain of On, and I will cut down the tribe from the men of Charran. And the people of Syria will be led away as captives, says the Lord." Not only the metropolis, but all its neighbors, and those who migrated from Charran and dwell there, and those who dwell near the idol On, I will cause to be taken as prisoners, and I will utterly destroy what was once the famous kingdom of Syria. For he called "famous" that which was noteworthy.
And regarding Gaza he also says that, having been patient three and four times, I will no longer endure them for the longest time as they commit lawless acts. Moreover, what they dared to do against my people compels me to be more severe against them. "For," he says, "because they led away the captivity of Solomon, to enclose it in Idumea." Some have understood this as follows: that since Solomon once took Idumean captives and confined them in Judea, and these, while warring against the Jews, deemed them worthy of freedom and restored the Idumeans. But this seems to me to be far from the truth: for ten kings existed from Solomon until the present prophecy, and a very long time has passed between. But I believe the passage before us has this meaning: The foreigners bordering on the tribe of Judea, and frequently waging war against them, would not sell those whom they took captive to any others, but to the Idumeans, who were their bitterest enemies and most hostile. Therefore, he called the captivity of the Jews taken C prisoner the "captivity of Solomon," demonstrating the splendor and prominence of the people from that illustrious and renowned king. Because of this cruelty, therefore, God, being angry, threatens to deliver Gaza to fire, and with it the other cities of the foreigners. He makes the same accusation against Tyre, and, increasing the crime, added: "And they did not remember the covenant of the brothers." For since Solomon and Chiram the king of Tyre demonstrated a brotherly disposition toward one another, and the one supplied cedar wood for the building of the divine temple, while the other in turn provided wheat; but the Tyrians had come to a forgetfulness of this friendship, and committed the same sins against Israel as the Gazaeans, he justly pronounced the same sentence against them as well. And because he had spoken concerning the Idumeans, "Three and four times," and having used patience toward them more often, I will no longer tolerate them, considering especially his fury against his brother (for it is not the same thing to consider the nature...)
nor that they dwelt in one and the same womb, but he continued to manifest a murderous intent against him); he threatens to deliver them also to fire, as he did the Syrians, and the foreigners, and the Tyrians. By fire, he means the army of the Assyrians, which consumes everything like fire. And since it is likely that they made use of fire, they were burning villages, setting cities ablaze, and utterly destroying everything. And the phrase, "He violated the womb," A indicates the madness against nature, that being a brother and a womb-fellow, and having dwelt in the same womb (for he was a twin), he continues to rage against him, bringing ruin as it were upon the very womb which both inhabited. And the phrase, "He snatched up fury as a testimony to himself," is instead of saying, "He has dared to act in a manner full of fury, leaving behind such a testimony against himself." Having said these things also regarding the Ammonites, that after B having used much patience over the many sins they have committed often, he will now inflict punishment, he makes mention of the iniquity which they committed against Israel: "For this reason," he says, "they ripped open the pregnant women of the Gileadites, so that they might widen their borders." For indeed these people, being neighbors to the Gileadites, exercising cruelty and inhumanity against them, not only slew the men, but also destroyed those not yet born, not fearing to slaughter the women carrying a womb, so that, with the number of the Israelites diminished, they themselves might harvest the land worked by them. For this reason,
VERS. 14, 15. "I will kindle a fire upon the walls of Rabaath, and it shall devour its foundations with a shout in the day of battle, and it shall be shaken in the day of its consummation. And Melchom shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes C together, says the Lord." Here he clearly taught what kind of fire he alluded to in the other cases. For he added, "in the day of battle." He threatens, moreover, that the idol which he worshipped would be led off captive along with him. For Melchom was the false god of the Ammonites, who was able to help neither his priests and princes, nor even himself, when he was being taken prisoner. He calls Rabaath the metropolis of the Ammonites, which is now in Arabia, and is called Philadelphia in the Greek tongue, but Amman in the language of the Syrians.
CHAP. II.
[1-3] He threatens also to Moab that same martial fire, and says that he will deliver both the princes and the people to destruction, because, in addition to the many other examples of their impiety, they showed great bestiality against the king of the Edomites. D For him, who had once come to the aid of the king of the Israelites, they later ambushed, and having taken him captive, they sacrificed him to their own idols, and for so long
A a pyre they ignited, until all the bones were completely consumed by the fire. And thus, having concluded the predictions concerning the foreigners, he transfers the prophetic discourse against the people; and, first of all, he brings the iniquity of the tribe of Judah into the middle.
Vers. 4, 5. «Thus says the Lord: For three impieties of the sons of Judah, and for four, I will not turn back from them, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and His precepts which they have not kept; and led astray were they by their vanities which they made, which their fathers followed after them. And I will send fire upon Judah, and it will devour the foundations of Jerusalem.» By the fire of war, he says, I will deliver even Judah and Jerusalem, because they utterly despised My laws, and, following the perverse mind of their fathers, persisted in serving idols made by hand (for these he calls vanities). This recklessness I have endured for a very long time, but I shall no longer use my customary forbearance. B Then, turning from these to the ten tribes, he declares that he will no longer be patient with them either.
«For the reason that they sold the just for silver, and the needy for the sake of sandals, (v. 7) who trample upon the dust of the earth; and they buffeted at the heads of the poor, and turned aside the way of the humble.» These also, he says, looking toward gain, used to sell the just; and, serving sordid greed, they would not refuse to profit even by sandals, which provide the lowest use to men. Leaving those who were wronged, they mistreated the poorer ones, and did not admit the just causes of the lowly. In addition to these things, being given over to incontinence, they would mingle with one another's wives after the manner of beasts, so that C neither did a son refrain from the concubine of his father, nor did a father keep the bed of his son undefiled; so that from this the rights of nature were confounded, and the names of kinship were no longer discernible. And these things, he says, they did, «so that they might profane the name of their God.» For the neighboring foreigners, hearing these things, moved their tongues against the God of all, either as if He commanded such things, or as if He tolerated a people committing such things. In addition to these things, he adds:
Vers. 8. «And their garments tying with ropes, they made hanging covers near the altar; and wine from oppressions they drank in the house of their God.» For they did not render the due reverence to the divine temple, but even within it, making tents out of garments, they drank wine obtained from injustice; and they did not wish to bring to mind that D which
Vers. 9. «I destroyed the Amorite from their face, whose height was as the height of the cedar,
and he was as strong as an oak, and I removed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.» A This He spoke figuratively, teaching the greatness of the men who were there then, and their strength. And the spies sent by the great Moses said that Anak was there, and the descendants of the giants, and men very tall, and we were before them as locusts. God, the Lord of all, says that, «You did not gain the victory over such tall and strong men by your own strength. For how would you have conquered, when you were terrified even by the report of them, and tried to return to Egypt? But I myself tore that one up from the roots.» He calls the fathers the roots, and the children the fruit. B Indeed, He says, it is necessary to remind you also of the benefits conferred upon you before. For I delivered you from the Egyptian servitude, and for forty years nourished you in the desert, and bestowed upon some of you the prophetic grace, and made others priests.
VERS. 11. «For I took, He says, from your sons for prophets, and from your young men for sanctification.» C Then by interrogation, as things said that are certain and indubitable: «Is it not so, O children of Israel? says the Lord.» Convict, He says, if you find any falsehood in the things said — but this is impossible. For you yourselves also know that the catalog of benefits is true, against which you have consistently acted. For not only did you audaciously violate My laws, but you also gave wine to those consecrated to Me (He calls the Nazarites this), teaching that their observance toward Me was useless; and you prevented the prophets sent by Me from foretelling what I had commanded, as it seems, finding My voice grave and troublesome.
VERS. 13-14. «Therefore, behold, I roll under you, as a cart full of stubble rolls, and flight will perish from the runner.» D For I will load you with such a burden of punishment, He says, that you will lament and groan, just as a cart loaded and weighed down creaks while it is being dragged. When these evils are brought upon you, neither will the swiftest gain salvation by flight, nor will the noble have a manly spirit, nor will the archer be confident in his art, nor will the horseman obtain salvation by the help of his swift horse. «But only the bare will escape in that day, says the Lord.» For teaching you, I bring this destruction upon you; those who excel in the excellence of their nature, or trust in their art, I will deliver to the slaughter, but I will cause those who are stripped of all these things, and have neither wealth, nor art, nor strength, but are naked of all, to escape safe and sound.
ON AMOS CHAP. III.
A VERS. 1, 2. "Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O house of Israel, and against every tribe which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying: You only have I known out of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." It is fitting, he says, for you to hear briefly what is said, calling to mind that benefit, that I, who am the Creator of all and Lord, have pursued you with a certain singular providence; whence also I delivered you from the servitude of the Egyptians. This, however, "against every tribe which I brought up out of the land of Egypt," does not designate others, but since he mentioned Israel, and after the division, ten tribes were named Israel, he invites both Judah and Benjamin to hear what is said. B Afterward, showing that by his permission the enemy's army arrives, he gives credence to his word by certain comparisons:
VERS. 6-8. "Shall two walk together, unless they have agreed? Will a lion roar from his thicket when he has no prey? Will a young lion give his voice from his den, if he has taken nothing? Will a bird fall upon the earth without a fowler? Shall a snare be taken up from the earth before it has taken anything? Shall the trumpet sound in a city, and the people not fear? Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord has not done?" Just as, he says, it is impossible that two should walk the same way together without communicating with one another as to where and why they are setting out, nor that a lion should roar when there is no prey, or a bird should fall without a hunter, or all the other things mentioned should take place, so it is impossible for any vengeance to be inflicted unless God wills it. For he called vengeance "evil," using common parlance. C For we are accustomed to call diseases, and chastisements, and untimely death, and plagues, and wars, and such like, "evils"—not because these things are evil by nature, but because they afflict men with evils, and bring sorrow and mourning. The prophet Jonah teaches us this more clearly: "And God repented," he says, "of the evil that he had spoken," that is, of the threatened evils: for he called the threats of punishment "evil" there. But that these things are so, he says, and that it is impossible for punishment to be inflicted upon anyone against the will of God, learn from the things themselves. For through the prophets he foretells what evils he is about to bring upon sinners.
VERS. 7, 8. "For the Lord God does nothing, unless he reveals his instruction to his servants the prophets. The lion will roar, and who will not fear?" Therefore, knowing this clearly, as if accepting them as true D
we offer these to you; for if a roaring lion strikes fear into all who hear, much more do we prophesy with fear, at God’s command. For he revealed this: "The Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophecy?" (Vers. 9.) "Proclaim to the regions in Assyria, and to the regions in the land of Egypt, and say: Gather yourselves upon the mountain of Samaria." Since you do not believe the prophetic words, I shall openly point out the lawless deeds committed against the Assyrians and Egyptians within the borders of Samaria. For the clause, "And see many wonders in her midst," he has spoken out of irony; therefore, making the matter clearer, he added:
B "Oppression is in her. (Vers. 10.) And she did not know what things shall be against her, says the Lord: who treasure up iniquity and misery in their regions." For since they dared to commit the greatest injustice and enslaved the poorer, they did not wish to discern what fruits that lawlessness sprouts, but they treasured up iniquity, reaping from this misery and captivity. He very aptly used the word "treasured up," teaching that nothing of what is done by you is given over to oblivion, but, as in some treasury, both what is done well and what is done correctly C and the reverse are preserved in the memory of God.
(Vers. 11.) "Therefore thus says the Lord God: Tyre and your land round about shall be desolate, and he shall take from you your strength, and your regions shall be plundered." From what happens to your neighbors, learn what shall happen to you; for not only Tyre, but also the nations round about you shall be given over to desolation together with you.
(Vers. 12.) "Thus says the Lord: As when a shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the sons of Israel be snatched, they who dwell in Samaria D opposite a tribe, and in Damascus he shall lie." For just as, he says, a lion having snatched a sheep and eaten the whole thing, goes away leaving behind only the parts useless for food, which the shepherd is forced to take and show to the owners of the sheep, that it has been taken by a wild beast; so the ten tribes shall be given over to the Assyrians. But those only shall escape the enslavement who, on account of their extreme worthlessness or weakness, shall be overlooked by them. These things, he says, shall happen also to Damascus; for it too shall suffer this destruction. And the phrase "opposite a tribe" being in the midst, indicates that the tribe of Judah shall remain for the time being untouched by these evils. For Sennacherib, having come upon Jerusalem, returned with shame after losing his army. Having heard these things, then, he says, O priest, "Bear witness to the house of Israel, says the Lord God Almighty. (14, 15.) Because in the day when I avenge the impieties of Israel upon him, I will also take vengeance upon the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be broken, and shall fall to the ground.
And I will crush and strike the winged house upon the winter house, and the ivory houses shall perish, and many other houses shall be destroyed, saith the Lord. A For He says: I will destroy not only the splendid houses, but also the humble ones, and I will deliver them to the fire; and together with those prepared for winter, I will burn those that are open and made for summer. Now, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion have translated "winged" as "winter [house]." For such houses provide warmth to their inhabitants, just as if with wings, by the walls that surround them on every side. And I will demolish, He says, the altars of Bethel, the incentives to impiety; and because not only men, but women also were practicing the greatest impiety, He rightly accuses them as well, and threatens them with destruction.
CHAPTER IV
B 1. "Hear this word, ye heifers of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, ye who oppress the poor and tread upon the needy, who say to your lords: 'Give us that we may drink.'" C He calls them the heifers of Bashan, as being soft-living and wallowing in every kind of luxury; for such were the heifers of Bashan, leaping about because of the abundance of pasture. Because of this, they would seize the goods of those who were inferior, and they were not ashamed to command their husbands, to whom they had been subjected by divine law, and they ordered them to be in the position of servants. Such was Jezebel, who treated her husband as a slave. Because of this iniquity of yours:
2. "The Lord swears by His holy ones, that behold, days are coming upon you, and they shall take you with weapons, and those who are with you shall be cast into burning, fiery cauldrons." D And interpreting what was said, He added:
3. "And ye shall be brought forth naked, woman and man, over against one another, and ye shall be cast into the mountain of Harmana, saith the Lord." D I will bring upon you, He says, the punishment becoming the time, and I will deliver you to your enemies, so that your men—for these are the ones He means by "those who are with you"—may be like cauldrons under which fire is set, being jealous and watching the shamelessness brought upon you. For, as if blazing with a certain flame, with fury...
A against your men and with lust toward you, they will drive off men and women alike, stripped of all their clothing, and lead them away to the mountain of Harmana. Symmachus, however, translated "Harmana" as "Armenia," while Theodotion translated it as "a high mountain." As for the phrase, "The Lord hath sworn by His saints," Symmachus rendered it as "by His holiness." He placed the oath before what had been said to confirm that the prophecy is true. "You will endure these things," He says, "just as you have practiced impiety in Bethel and in Gilgal, and have dared to celebrate three-day festivals in honor of idols, and have brought the tithes which I ordained to be offered to My priests unto the ministers of impiety, and have made certain covenants and agreements with the idols so as to follow their laws." For He has indicated this by saying:
VERS. 5. "They have read the law outside, and have called upon a confession." B He does not call the divine law [the law here cited], but the one imposed by those who serve idols. Then He instructs the prophet to say: "Announce that the children of Israel have loved these things, saith the Lord God." For they did not commit such impiety in passing, but were carried away into it with fervent zeal and affection.
VERS. 6. "And I also will give you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, and you have not returned to Me, saith the Lord." Symmachus and Theodotion C interpreted "cleanness of teeth" as meaning a cleansing; but it signifies famine. For those who eat nothing have not even a remnant of food sticking to their teeth. Therefore, when famine and poverty seize you—because, due to the abundance of good things, you leapt against the Dispenser of gifts—your teeth will also suffer a "cleanness," no longer being able to consume food, but having become like those whom a sour grape or some other, more astringent thing has struck, and [who] are unable to chew their food. (7, 8.) And yet, even with this correction applied to you, you persist in your former evils. Nevertheless, not even thus will I cease to treat you; D for I will bring upon you another correction, and by withholding the late rain (for this is what it signifies when He says, "three months before the harvest"), I will render the land barren. Then, showing mercy and demonstrating that these things do not happen by chance, but by My command, I will grant rain to this city, but to that one I will not grant a similar irrigation, so that one land may wither completely and the other may be moistened by a private rain. And such will be the scarcity of water, that two or three cities will run together to the city that has water, seeking drink, and not even in this way will their thirst be satisfied to the full. And yet, even so, you will continue to labor under an incurable disease,
A and having already fallen into other evils; for I, as a physician of souls, have applied yet another cauterization, bringing upon you various diseases—now inflammations, now jaundice—but you have not forgotten your impiety. And after this correction, you received the blight, and everything pleasant in your vineyards, or olive groves, or gardens has perished. And not even this has persuaded you to acknowledge Him who inflicts these corrections. To these He adds that even those fleeing the Assyrian and hastening to reach Egypt, I have delivered to the sword of the Assyrian, having used My wrath as a sort of fire; and not even from this were they willing to perceive what was necessary. Therefore He says:
11. “I have overthrown you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” B He is not pointing to another who did those things, but speaking as if of Himself. “And you became,” He says, “as a brand plucked from the fire, and not even so did you return to Me, says the Lord.” For just as a brand that has become half-burnt reveals the power of the fire but is useless for anything else, and is useful only for the fire, so you, with most having been slain, and being led away into captivity, will be stripped of all power and will appear fit only for slavery.
12. “Therefore so will I do to you, O Israel; yet thus I will do to you.” But nevertheless, though you labor under incurable diseases, I shall bring upon you the healing that is appropriate for you. C
“Prepare to call upon your God, O Israel. (13.) For behold, forming thunder, and creating wind, and announcing to men His Christ; making morning and darkness, and treading upon the high places of the earth, the Lord God, the Almighty is His name.” Therefore, being delivered from this insensibility, O Israel, seek the God who is called yours, who changes the thin and yielding air into the dreadful sound of thunder, setting it in motion and whirling it through the winds created by Him. He also reveals to you the king chosen to liberate you; and He means Cyrus. It is easy for Him both to bring forth the dawn after deep night, and in the daytime to shroud the light with mist. Just as, therefore, when you were established in broad daylight (for to this peace is likened), He brought upon you the mist of captivity; so, bringing the night of slavery to an end, He commands the sweetest dawn of liberty to rise. D “For He treads upon the high places of the earth;” that is, He is the highest of all, and He fills the whole inhabited world, as He is Lord and God, holding dominion over all things. Thus, having revealed prosperous and favorable things, He turns the discourse to the contrary, terrifying with the former, but comforting with the latter, and causing them to apply themselves eagerly to repentance.
CHAPTER V.
VERS. 1, 2. "Hear this word of the Lord, the lamentation which I take up concerning you: The house of Israel has fallen, it shall no more rise. But the virgin of Israel has been cast down upon her land; there is none to raise her up." A Being merciful, the Master does not refuse to weave a lament for those who are in a bad state and yet are unwilling to repent. The phrase, "It shall no more rise," is not contrary to the good news of liberty. It signifies that they shall no longer govern themselves, nor shall they have a king of their own. If one were to pay close attention, he would discover the fulfillment of these things after the madness they exercised against our Saviour; for it was then that they fell, and in that state they have remained even until this day. He calls her a virgin on account of her former piety, but cast down and corrupted on account of the worship which she later offered to idols. Furthermore, "There is none to raise her up" shows that she would not be assisted by any human aid; for since the God of all was opposed to them, neither the king of the Egyptians nor anyone else was able to assist them. He also foretells their future paucity.
VERS. 3. "For the city," He says, "from which a thousand went forth, shall have a hundred left, and from which a hundred went forth, ten shall be left." B [4, 5] "But at long last, leave Bethel and Galgala, and the worship of idols near the well of the oath, and seek My providence; for from thence you shall obtain life. But Bethel and Galgala, together with their idols, shall be delivered to the enemies." It was a manifest madness not only to fail to take any memory of the piety of Abraham from that well, but even to dare to commit impiety beside it.
VERS. 6. "Seek the Lord, and you shall live, lest the house of Joseph shine forth like fire, and devour it, and there be none to quench it for the house of Israel." From these things we learn clearly that sin kindles the flame of evils for us, but love and affection for God procure life for us.
VERS. 7. "The Lord who makes judgment on high, and has placed justice upon the earth." He decrees, He says, what He wills, being just, and His judgments are accomplished on the earth.
VERS. 8. "Who makes all things, and transforms, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and darkens the day as night; who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out upon the face of the earth; the Lord God Almighty is His name." C Take courage, He says, in the power of God, and hold fast to this hope. For He both makes and transforms easily what He wills, and it is easy for Him to transfer even the greatest dangers into joy. For He called great dangers "the shadow of death." And He can also easily bring miseries upon those who are in prosperity. Moreover, lifting up the water of the sea by His nod into the air, D
He waters the earth through the clouds; for He is God, and the Lord of all things.
A
VERS. 9. "Who divides destruction upon strength, and brings misery upon a fortification." With great ease, He brings back those who have become weak to their former strength, and delivers the strong over to misery.
VERS. 10. "They hated the one who reproves in the gates, and they abhorred the holy word." It was the custom among the ancients, as some say, to hold assemblies and councils by the gates. Where, therefore, they gathered, there the prophets also brought their reproofs. But those who were living unjustly and impiously neither gave heed to the reproofs of truth, nor accepted the word of the just. [11, 12] Since, therefore, you have done these things, and have furthermore treated the poor with insult both by hand and tongue, and, rejoicing in the corruption of gifts, have been eager to increase your wealth wickedly, know that you will not dwell in the houses which you have built and adorned beautifully and well, nor will you harvest the vineyards which you have planted with great care: for the immensity of your impiety and iniquity will deprive you of the enjoyment of these things. For you have trampled upon justice, taking gifts from the more powerful, and condemning the poor in your judgments.
VERS. 13. "Therefore, the one who understands will be silent in that time, for it is an evil time." For every man of prudence, and he who is able to perceive what is needful, seeing the cloud of evils B brought upon you, frightened and marveling at the truthfulness of the prophecy, will be able to say nothing out of despondency.
VERS. 14, 15. "Seek therefore the good, and not the evil, that you may live, and so the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you said: We have hated the evil, and we have loved the good; and restore judgment in the gates, that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnants of Joseph." Let deeds, he says, follow words; and you who profess to love what is good and to abhor wickedness, show the truth of your words by your deeds. For by doing this, you will obtain life from the God of all. But if this is not done by you, lamentations and wailings will take hold of the squares and the streets, so that even the farmers, having abandoned the cultivation of the fields, will be occupied with mourning. C These things, moreover, will come to pass with Me present and inflicting the punishments.
VERS. 18. "Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord! And why is this day of the Lord for you? And it is darkness, and not light." For since there were some brought up in audacity and stubbornness, who were contradicting the prophetic oracles, raging D against them, and calling the divine prophecies false, and...
demanding the fulfillment of the predictions, the Master declares them worthy of lamentation, as those who desire to see darkness instead of light. A They differ in nothing, he says, they who desire to see the end of the prophecy, from a man who, having fled from a lion coming toward him, has stumbled upon a bear, and then, having reached his house full of fear, and having thoughtlessly, due to the agitation holding his soul, pressed his hand against the wall, is bitten by a most bitter serpent. For just as that man sees gloom, and not the brightness of light, on that day: so these shall be delivered into deep darkness on the day of punishment.
Vers. 21-23. "I have hated, I have rejected your feasts, and I will not smell in your assemblies. For if you offer me your burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will not accept them, and I will not look upon the salvation of your presence. Remove from me the sound of your songs, and I will not hear the psalm of your instruments." B Such things also the Master God has said to them through Isaiah: "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord. I am full of burnt offerings of rams; and the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats I do not want." 1 And next he enumerates everything that was offered to Him according to the law, saying that He likewise abominates it all. Thus also in this place He said that He hates their feast days, and that He will not accept the sacrifices offered at public festivals; for He has set "I will not smell" in place of "I will not accept." C So also regarding Noah, blessed Moses says: "The Lord God smelled an odor of sweetness," 2 which means, He approved the intention of those who brought the offerings. For God does not need these; nor indeed, He says, will I grant My own presence to those offering victims for the sake of their own salvation. Cease, therefore, to sing and to use musical instruments; for I take no pleasure in these, even if from the beginning I commanded these things to be done, so that I might lead you through pleasant things to serious matters.
Vers. 24. "Judgment shall roll like water, and righteousness like an impassable torrent." The just sentence pronounced against you, he says, like a torrent and violent water, shall bring punishment upon you, and you shall not be able to find a way out. [25, 26] Remember, however, you, who during forty years were wandering in the desert, that you did not worship me with sacrifices, D but even there you displayed the same impiety, having fashioned all kinds of images of idols, and rendering all manner of worship to these, and indeed even to certain stars.
Ioch and Rephan are the names of idols; as for Moloch, he had already made mention of him in the introduction to his prophecy. On account of these, then,—
Ver. 27. “I will transport you beyond Damascus, saith the Lord God, the Almighty is his name.” Since they were grieving heavily even at the servitude of their neighbors, the Syrians, he wishes to terrify them with his prediction, and therefore predicts one further away. He means the Assyrian. And the blessed Stephen, explaining this in the Acts, says: “I will transport you beyond Babylon.”
CHAPTER VI
A Ver. 1. “Woe to those who set at naught Sion, and trust in the mount of Samaria! They have reaped the first-fruits of the nations, and have entered in for themselves.” Miserable, he says, and thrice miserable are they who despise Sion, but trust in Samaria, and do not consider that the God who is worshipped in Sion brought them into the land of promise, having utterly destroyed those who formerly inhabited it, and having granted them a very wide dwelling place. But if you assume that these things are not so,—
Ver. 2. “Pass over to Chalane, and go from thence to Emath the great, and descend into Geth, the best of the strangers’ cities, from all these kingdoms, whether their boundaries are greater than your boundaries.” Go therefore to the aforementioned cities, which are the greatest, and the most notable of the kingdoms previously mentioned, and having gone, observe exactly that the land cultivated by you is not less than that which is held by them.
Ver. 3. “You who come to the evil day;” as having made yourselves worthy of punishment. For he calls the day of punishment, an evil day. “You who draw near and take hold of false sabbaths.” You who pretend to honor the sabbaths, but perform ten thousand lawless acts during them. B Furthermore, he reproaches them for their luxury, saying that they lie on ivory couches, and that all manner of delicate living is set before them: kids from the flocks, and calves from the herds being brought; and instruments that produce melody; and the clapping of hands occurring in time to the melody; and wine that is sweet-smelling, and this being served as choice wine; and fragrant myrrh fulfilling their debauchery.
Thus, he says, being pampered and having embraced a life of ease, and having judged these things to be permanent and lasting, they did not reason about the fleeting nature of them. For he indicated this, having said: “They reckoned them as stable, and not as fleeting.” They suffered nothing at the breaking of Joseph, but carried on insensibly, daring to commit such great lawlessness. For Joseph, he...
tentes. Joseph enim cos appellavit, quoniam Josephi filius fuit Ephraim, Ephraim autem appellat decem tribus. A Ephraim, however, he calls the ten tribes. For Ephraim was the son of Joseph.
VERS. 7, 8. "Therefore now they shall be captives from the rank of the mighty, and the neighing of horses shall be taken away from Ephraim. Because the Lord has sworn by himself, saying, The Lord God of hosts: Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, and I hate his regions, and I will take away the city with its inhabitants." He says that princes, excelling in strength, will carry them away as captives, and at length the power of Ephraim shall be captured. For truth-telling and mighty is He who has brought this sentence against him. He has judged against him, detesting his arrogance and impiety. B
VERS. 9-11. "And it shall be, if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die, and the survivors shall remain. And their domestics shall take them, and shall compel them to carry their bones out of the house; and he shall say to those who are in charge of the house: Is there still any with you? And he shall say: No more; and he shall say: Be silent, lest you name the name of the Lord." So great, he says, will be the slaughter of the city's inhabitants that some houses will have all their residents dead, and neighbors or kinsmen by birth, coming from other houses, will take care to bury the corpses of the dead, then investigate and ask one another if there is any other unburied. And when those who are inside answer that there is nothing, he says that, struck with terror, they will go out in silence, urging one another to do this, as the God of all has brought forth this sentence.
VERS. 12. "Therefore behold the Lord commands, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the small house with fissures." For He will destroy the powerful just as He does those in poverty.
VERS. 13, 14. "Shall horses run upon the rocks? Shall they be silent at females? Because you have turned judgment into fury, and the fruit of justice into bitterness. You who rejoice in no good word, saying: Have we not had horns by our own strength?" Horses, he says, cannot run on rocks, but the enemies will march against you, having despised your former loftiness on account of the shameful deeds committed by you. And just as horses neigh when they have caught sight of females, so the enemies will attack you with a ready mind, because you have stirred up the Judge's wrath against you, and have compelled Him to bring forth a sentence both bitter and just. For you do not rejoice in honest things, but, ferocing in arrogance and pride, you attribute your former power to your own strength. [15] Therefore I, the Lord of all armies and power, will deliver you to a mighty nation. "That you might not enter into Emath, and unto the torrent of the West"; that is, out of all the land which
was previously cultivated by you. For Jeroboam, in whose time this prophecy was made, re-established, he says, the border of Israel from Emath unto the western sea, as the history of the Kingdoms teaches. He says, therefore, that "I will deliver all your borders to the enemies."
CHAPTER VII.
A Verses 1-3. "Thus He showed me, and behold a formation of locusts coming in the morning, and behold one bruchus [caterpillar], Gog the king. And it shall be if he shall finish eating the grass of the earth. And I said: Lord, be propitious; who shall raise up Jacob, for he is small? Repent, O Lord, for this. And this shall not be, saith the Lord." B Having seen, he says, that fearful sight, I besought God to be merciful and to cause the destruction to cease; but He did not assent, as is to be expected, because of the excess of iniquity. By a formation of locusts he called the Assyrian; by the bruchus, the Babylonian; and by "one Gog the king," he indicates the magnitude of the army. For just as, he says, Gog, the king of the Scythian nations, will gather a very great multitude against Jerusalem, so the Assyrians and the Babylonians will arrive with a great army. And He delivered their crops to the locust and the bruchus, and likewise to the palmerworm; for he predicted this above.
Verses 4. "Thus He showed me, and behold the Lord God called judgment, and it devoured the deep and the great, and devoured the portion." C He calls judgment the just sentence of God; by fire, he means the enemies; by the great deep, the myriad nations reduced to servitude by them; and by the portion, he calls Israel. For thus also the blessed Moses said: "And the portion of the Lord became His people, Jacob." But even so, he says, having seen this, I offered the same supplication to the Master, but I did not persuade Him.
Verses 7, 8. "Thus He showed me, and behold a man standing upon an adamant wall, and in his hand an adamant. And the Lord said to me: What do you see, Amos? And I said: An adamant. And the Lord said to me: Behold, I place an adamant in the midst of my people Israel." D I will bring upon them, he says, a strong and very firm blow, and one resembling an adamant, which is more solid and stronger than all materials. For I will no longer endure to overlook the impiety dared by them, but along with them I will also cause the altars of the idols to vanish, and I will put an end to their feasts, and in a word, I will utterly dissolve their kingdom; for he called the house of Jeroboam "the kingdom." For not only to this one, but also after him, and six other kings, the prophecy reached its end.
A [10] When these things were being said by the prophet, and Amasias, the priest of Bethel, fearing that the people, terrified by the divine threats, would repent and turn from idolatrous worship, and that he himself would lose the occasions for profit, denounced the prophet to the king, mixing lies with true words.
VERS. 11. "For he says," says Amos, "Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and the people shall be led captive from their land." Now what he reported concerning the people and the kingdom was true; but what he said concerning the king was an obvious falsehood. But this, however, did not in the least stir up Jeroboam to mistreat the prophet, nor did it persuade Amasias to keep his peace. [12, 13] But he ordered the prophet to depart and live in Judea, and there to prophesy B of future events, because Bethel had been assigned and dedicated to the kingdom of Israel. But Amos openly declares his mission and reveals the grace given to him from God.
VERS. 14. "For I was not a prophet," he says, "nor a prophet's son, but I was a goat-herd, nipping sycamores." As for his saying "nipping sycamores," Aquila interpreted it as "scrutinizing sycamores," Theodotio as "piercing sycamores," and Symmachus as "possessing sycamores." The sycamore is a species of tree in Palestine; the blessed Luke the evangelist makes mention of it, saying that blessed Zacchaeus climbed into a sycamore tree. Moreover, I have heard from someone, when he was discussing this matter, that the fruit of these trees does not ripen unless it has first received a short incision. It is likely, therefore, that the Seventy understood this, and used "nipping" [vellicans] instead of "piercing" [fossa muniens], or "collecting." C [15, 16] "Being engaged, therefore," he says, "in agriculture and the tending of sheep, the Lord took me from the flocks and commanded me to prophesy. Receive, therefore, Amasias, this prediction against yourself, since you forbid me to prophesy to the people of Israel, so that I might not hinder your wicked profits. [17] Know therefore that you shall see the wife whom you now have publicly and openly violated by the enemies, because you too incited the people to the madness of idolatry. You shall see all those born of you killed; you, however, shall pass from life in a foreign land, and the whole people shall suffer these same punishments that you will; and when you have thus been afflicted, the land will be handed over and divided among others."
CHAPTER VIII
VERS. 1, 2. "So the Lord showed me, and behold, a hunter's basket. And He said to me: What do you see, Amos? And I said: A hunter's basket." This vision designates the swift hunting of Israel. For just as birds
are easily caught by birdlime, so the A people will be taken by the Assyrians. "For the Lord said to me: The end has come upon my people Israel; I will no longer pass them by." (v. 3) "And the laquearia (ceilings/panels) of the temple shall ululate. On that day, says the Lord, many shall fall, in every place I will cast silence." I will no longer be patient, but will bring the end upon my predictions. The fire of the enemy will even invade my temple. He called the clamor of those being slaughtered within and the crackling of burning wood the "ululation of the laquearia of the temple." But concerning the phrase, "Many shall fall, in every place I will cast silence," he indicates a great multitude of the slain, so that deep silence will occupy the cities, and the ways, and the villages, from the B scarcity of inhabitants. "Pay heed, therefore, to these things, you who oppress those afflicted by want and poverty, who observe the Kalends and the Sabbaths, and make unjust gains, using unjust weights and measures, and in many ways reducing those who are weaker into servitude, and making money from every kind of trade."
(v. 7, 8) "The Lord swears against the pride of Jacob. (I will not live) if all your works shall be forgotten forever. And shall not the earth be shaken at these things, and shall not every one who dwells in it mourn, and shall not it rise up like the river of Egypt?" By "pride," he means the injustice joined with arrogance which they practiced against the poor. He said the Lord "swears" to show the truth of his words. I will no longer, he says, allow your impious deeds to pass into oblivion, but I will stir up almost the whole earth against you and cover you with a multitude of enemies, just as the C river of Egypt covers the land. For they will take you and lead you away, leaving your land desolate; for he hinted at this by saying, "It shall descend like the river of Egypt." (v. 9, 10) Then also the sun, at midday, will seem to be turned into darkness to those who are pressed by calamities: "And I will turn your feast days into mourning, and your songs into lamentation; and all shall put on a mourning habit, shorn of their fair hair and clothed in sackcloth, as if they were mourning the loss of an only-begotten child." (v. 11, 12) "Furthermore, I will bring on a famine and a scarcity, not of fruit or of water, but of prophecy and divine doctrine. And like water, they will wander here and there, roaming about, seeking the word of God, but they will be frustrated in their desire." (v. 13) "But also the elegant virgins and the youths nourished with them, consumed by thirst, shall be delivered to death."
(v. 14) "Those who swear by the propitiation of Samaria." And teaching what this is, he immediately added, "As the Lord lives..." D
A
CHAPTER IX.
(1, 2) After this, he said he saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He commanded him to strike the propitiatory, so that the vestibules might be shaken by the blow. By these things, He indicates that it is by His command, and not by his own power, that the Babylonian will conquer these. "And cut," he says, "into the heads of all." This is what the blessed Ezekiel also saw, for there too, invisible powers were commanded to run around the entire city, using axes, and to cut down everyone who did not have the mark. He ordered the same here: "Cut into the heads of all." And having thus shown their sudden death, He added: "And I will kill the rest of them with the sword; not one of them who flees shall escape, and not one of them who is saved shall deliver himself." For if they go down into Hades, says He, I will drag them out with My hand; if they go up to heaven, which is one of the impossible things, I will bring them down thence and deliver them to their enemies. And if they flee B to Carmel, I will easily take them even from there; or if they attempt to hide in the depths of the sea, I will command the monsters there to devour them. And if they attempt to flee to the enemies, not even so shall they enjoy their mercy. "For I will fix My eyes upon them for evil, and not for good." I, the God and Master of all, who makes the earth to shake with his touch alone, and for this reason causes its inhabitants to mourn.
Ver. 6. "He who builds his ascension unto heaven, and establishes his promise upon the earth." Similar to this is what the blessed David says, "He who dwells in the heights and looks upon the lowly." — "He who calls the water of the sea and pours it upon the face of the earth, the Lord God Almighty is His name." He shows acts of power, so that by these He might confirm the threats. C
Ver. 7. "Are you not as sons of the Ethiopians to me, O sons of Israel? says the Lord." Having, He says, the same nature that the Ethiopians and other men have, you have been deemed worthy of greater providence than all. And showing this, He added: "Did I not lead Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the foreigners from Cappadocia, and the Syrians from the pit?" For others also, he says, have migrated, and leaving their former fatherland have arrived at another; just as both the Syrians and the foreigners—but not in the same way as you. For no one brought them out from their... D
A migration, while all men speak of yours. And they, having moved, dwell together with others, living according to the laws of those others. But you, having become superior to the inhabitants and having utterly destroyed them all, became masters of the land held by them, since you relied upon my help.
Ver. 8. “For behold,” he says, “the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will take it away from the face of the earth; yet not into destruction will I destroy the house of Jacob, says the Lord.” B (9, 10.) For although they are covered with countless iniquities, I will not utterly destroy them; but now, indeed, I will disperse them into captivity, and like a husbandman I will separate the grain from the chaff, and I will preserve those worthy of salvation, but the rest I will deliver to the slaughter, who were unwilling to believe my words, but hoped to be able to escape my threats.
Ver. 11, 12. “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that has collapsed, and I will build up the things of it that have fallen, and the C things that have been dug up I will restore, and I will build it up as in the days of old. So that the rest of men may seek me, and all the nations upon whom my name has been called,” says the Lord who does all these things.
Some have understood these things as referring to Zerubbabel, thinking they fit him, as he traced his lineage from David. But they were unwilling to perceive that Zerubbabel, after ruling for a short time, succumbed to the limit of death; whereas the prophecy contains a promise of eternal goods, and that all nations D will know God—none of which we find to be happening in the events of Zerubbabel’s time. But our Lord Jesus Christ, tracing his lineage from David according to the flesh, fulfilled the promise made to David. “For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” having taken up the tabernacle from David. Fittingly, therefore, the prophetic word says that the tabernacle of David will be rebuilt, not for a short time, but for all the days of the age. For such were the promises made also to the blessed David by the God of all: “And I will place his seed unto the age of the age, and his throne as the days of heaven.” And again: “Unto the age I will prepare thy seed, and I will build thy throne unto generation and generation.” This promise the Lord of all also renews through the blessed Amos, and he also promises to the nations the gift of the knowledge of God. For with the Davidic tabernacle, he says, being rebuilt, the rest of men will seek me, and all the nations upon whom my name has been called. For those whom he foreknew,
A he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” And demonstrating the truth of what was said, he subjoined: “Says the Lord, who does all these things:” for indeed, he who accomplishes the realities foretold the words. Since, however, not everyone was able to attend to the spiritual promises, he also promises the granting of bodily goods; and he predicts such an abundance of these will exist that the harvest will be overtaken by the vintage, on account of the multitude of fruits—as is natural—the farmers not being able to reap and thresh the sheaves. Moreover, he says that even when the seeds have not yet been fully produced, they will pluck the now-ripened grape cluster, and the mountains will give forth fruits of every kind, and no hill will be left bare of plants. (14) And the B people, delivered from captivity, will rebuild the devastated cities, and dwelling in them, will securely cultivate the land, planting and sowing, and reaping the fruits of their labors; and they will inhabit the fatherland given to them for a very long time. For this is what he meant by saying this.
Ver. 15. “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be uprooted from their land which I have given them, says the Lord God almighty.” C It is necessary to know that the Lord of all often promises good things, but those who receive the promises, rejoicing in iniquities, do not allow the predictions to reach their fulfillment. For he also sometimes threatens harsh things; but those who change through the fear of the threats—those to whom these things were directed on account of their own crimes—do not experience the calamities in reality. Thus, the Jews, having raged against the Lord when he came into this world, deprived themselves of the promised goods. May we, however, relying on the prayers of the holy prophets and apostles, guide our own life according to the divine laws, D and cast out the filth of sins through repentance, so that we may experience no evils, but may attain the promised good things, by the grace of the Savior Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, COMMENTARY ON THE PROPHET OBADIAH
ARGUMENT
A The Idumeans, having as their progenitor Esau, from whom they derived their name (for he was called Edom, because he had bartered his birthright for a pottage of lentils), became heirs not only of his name but also of his malevolence. And just as he exerted the utmost wrath against Jacob, so that he plainly said, “Let the days of my father approach, that I may kill my brother,” so they, continually envying the descendants of Jacob, laid countless snares against them. And when they had been liberated from the Egyptian servitude, with Moses as their great leader and protector, and were journeying toward the promised land, they not only did not receive them kindly, but did not even allow them to pass through their territory—this although the great Moses entreated this of them through ambassadors, and pledged that they would turn aside neither to the right nor to the left, but would walk by the king’s highway, and would even purchase the water they needed. B And afterwards they frequently displayed their inherent hostility, at times attempting to make war upon them alone, at times willingly joining forces with those who were making war upon them. And when the Assyrians and Babylonians launched their attacks against them, they did them countless evils, not only by aiding the enemies, but also by laying ambushes, and by hunting down those who were attempting to flee, and partly killing them, and partly handing them over to their bitterest foes. For this reason the just Judge, filling the admirable Obadiah with the prophetic gift, predicts the evils that were to overtake the Idumeans. Having thus briefly explained the argument, let us, with God’s help, make the meaning of his words plain.
CHAPTER ONE
A VERSE 1. "The vision of Obadiah." That is to say, this is the revelation made by God to Obadiah. "Thus saith the Lord God to Idumea." He says: I do not speak these words using human reasoning, but the God of the universe uses my tongue as a kind of instrument, and announces to Idumea what is to come. And teaching what sort of things these are, he adds: "I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent a message to the nations." Symmachus translates "message" as "embassy." By these things, he shows that the Lord himself is gathering the enemies against Idumea. For he adds: "Arise, and let us rise up against it for war." For like some general of war, he gathers the expedition against them, teaching that it is He himself who permits them to suffer these things. B
VERSE 2. "Behold, I have made thee little among the nations; thou art greatly despised." And indicating the cause why this comes to pass:
VERSE 3. "The pride of thy heart," he says, "has lifted thee up." Afterwards he teaches the causes of the pride: "Thou who dwellest in the clefts of the rocks." Then he also makes plain his thoughts: "Who exaltest thy habitation, saying in thy heart: Who shall bring me down to the ground?" Idumea was fenced in on every side by the highest mountain peaks; climbing these, when they were attacked by enemies, they often escaped many ambushes in this way. C Since, therefore, he says, you are arrogant and high-minded, trusting in these things, as if you were impregnable, I shall make you conquerable and easy for your enemies to capture, and you will not escape the hands of your enemies: not even if you were lifted up on high after the manner of an eagle, and were to fly above the very clouds, and have your dwelling beside the stars themselves. And showing that it will perish utterly, he added:
VERSES 5, 6. "If thieves had come to thee, or robbers by night, where wouldst thou have been cast away? Would they not have stolen what was sufficient for them? And if grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a grape-cluster? How has Esau been searched out, and his hidden things been discovered?" Thieves, indeed, having seized what is lying ready to hand, depart, not daring to search the whole house; and those who D harvest the vineyards neglect to examine everything with too much curiosity; wherefore it happens that, once the larger clusters are gathered, they leave small bunches on many branches. But you, the enemies will so search out that not even the things you have hidden in secret places will escape their hands.
VERSE 7. "They have sent thee out to the borders, all the men of thy covenant have withstood thee: thy men of peace have prevailed against thee: they who eat with thee have laid snares under thee." Those, he says, who were recently joined to you and were your confederates and allies in benevolence will be joined to your enemies. This
they will do, and they will drive you not only from your cities but even from the borders of your land, whether they seek to do so by open warfare or by employing ambushes: the cause of these evils for you is your own lack of understanding. For He revealed this when He said: A
"There is no understanding in him." (Vers. 8, 9.) "In that day, says the Lord, I will destroy the wise men out of Idumea, and understanding from the mount of Esau. And your warriors from Teman will be terrified, that man may be cut off from the mount of Esau." All of them together, both those who boast of their strength, and those who grow insolent over their wisdom, and those who are subject to them, I will hand over to total destruction. And, revealing the justice of the sentence: B
Vers. 10. "Because of the slaughter, he says, and the impiety against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever." He also enumerates the types of injuries inflicted upon his brother.
Vers. 11. "From the day thou stoodest against him, in the day when strangers carried away his forces, and aliens entered his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, and thou wast as one of them." For, although it is a terrible thing for strangers to invade, make war, and enslave, it is a lesser evil. But for you, who are of the same blood and trace your lineage from Abraham, to have dared to do these things to your own kin, no excuse for pardon remains. For you trampled upon the laws of kinship, C helping the aliens while making war against your own people. "And thou, he says, wast as one of them." These things he does not foretell as having already happened, but as things to come, in the peculiar manner of the prophets; and what follows makes this clear.
Vers. 12. "Do not look upon the day of thy brother in the day of strangers." He calls the time of punishment a "day." And "Do not look upon" he has taken from common usage; for it is the custom of some to say, "I looked upon such a one," that is, "I rejoiced as I saw him struggling with evils." This is also explained by what follows. "And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their affliction." Seeing their misfortunes, do not exalt thyself that thou hast remained free from these calamities. D
Vers. 13. "Neither enter thou into the gates of the peoples in the day of their labors." Do not enter with the enemies who are ravaging the city of your kin. "And do not look, even thou, upon their gathering in the day of their destruction." Do not, he says, rejoice like the outsiders while they are suffering punishment. "Neither lay hands on their forces in the day of their ruin." Neither increase their punishments with your own incursions.
A Do not lie in wait for them on the roads, so that they may not be able to obtain safety even by flight, but may fall into your snares and be handed over to the hands of their enemies. Who could worthily praise, in accordance with its worth, the incredible goodness of the just Judge, who, although he knew perfectly well that they would not believe the prophetic words, applied the proposed threats so that, part by part through fear and part by part through allurement, he might soften those who were savage? For he adds:
VERS. 15. "Because the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations." For I am exacting punishments from all the nations that live impiously; I will inflict the same upon you, since you are unwilling to obey. "Just as you have done, so shall it be done to you; your retribution shall return upon your own head." You will suffer just things, being sentenced to punishment; for you will reap the fruits of those things which you have sown. Therefore,
VERS. 16. "As you have drunk upon my holy mountain, all the nations shall drink the wine," the mystical one: "they shall drink and shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they did not exist." B For just as I will exact from you the penalties for those things which you have dared to do rashly in the places dedicated to me, so also the nations which have been partakers with you in this iniquity shall be punished with just vengeance. For he calls punishment the drinking of wine; and blessed Jeremiah clearly teaches us this, having been commanded to take the cup and to give all the nations to drink. And it is easy to understand this from many other places as well. But you, O Idumeans, shall pay the penalties for the things you have committed against your brothers.
VERS. 17. "But on Mount Sion there shall be salvation, and it shall be holy." For I will bring them back from captivity, and I will rebuild the holy temple. Yet at the same time he foretells the salvation granted to all people in Sion, and the sanctification poured out from there into the whole world through the saving cross. "And the house of Jacob shall inherit those who possessed them." To them indeed, after they have returned, I will supply so much strength and power, and I will increase them into such a multitude, that they will subject to themselves both your land and that of the other neighboring nations.
VERS. 18. "And the house of Jacob shall be fire, D and the house of Joseph a flame, but the house of Esau straw; and they shall be kindled in them and shall consume them." You will be cast into such great weakness that you will be consumed by them like fire. He called them Jacob and Joseph, since he also often named the ten tribes Ephraim (and he was the son of Joseph). "And there shall be no fire-bearer for the house of Esau, because the Lord..."
A Symmachus has translated "the fire-bearer" as "the preserved" [keeper/survivor], but Aquila and Theodotion as "the left behind." By these words, he is indicating their total destruction. The Seventy, however, have not used the term "fire-bearer" without reason; but since all together have said that Jacob is a fire and Joseph a flame (and these names indicate strength and power), they wished to suggest that no power would be left to the Idumaeans.
B Ver. 19. "And they shall possess those in Nageb, the mount of Esau." And this term, the three interpreters have unanimously rendered as "the south"; for the south is so called in the Hebrew language. He says, therefore, that those who dwell to the south of Jerusalem, that is, those bordering on the Idumaeans, shall possess as a kind of inheritance and portion the land of the Idumaeans; and they who are in the Shephelah (for these are neighbors to the Philistines) will make for themselves the region which the Philistines now possess. C And all those delivered from captivity together, in common, shall possess the mount of Ephraim, and the fields adjacent to the mountain, and the inheritance of Benjamin, and the whole of Gilead; and they shall have as boundaries those that the Canaanites formerly held, so that Sarepta is the limit of the land which Israel will possess. And Jerusalem shall hold the city of Ephrata, and those still further south than this; for he indicated this by saying: "They shall inherit the cities of Nageb." Nor will they be satisfied with these alone, but they will also make the mount of Esau their own, being soldiers under God as King, and dedicating themselves to Him. D It should be noted that the end of this prophecy and the end of the prophecy of the blessed Ezekiel harmonize. For there also he previously describes the division of the land, and predicts the return of the people, and the strength and power given to them by God after the return. Would that we, too, might obtain this from the most bountiful God! We shall obtain it, if only we do not imitate Esau and his descendants, but learn, according to the apostolic ordinance, to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep, and desire to be of the same mind one toward another. For by observing the Lord of all with such a way of life, we shall enjoy His gifts, by the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is the glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
COMMENTARY BY THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, ON THE PROPHET JONAH.
A ARGUMENT. The God of all, who created all men, continues to provide for all equally; even if He previously seemed to care more for the Israelites, He did this for the common benefit of all mankind. For just as He, while showing appropriate care for the Israelites, did not speak to each one individually to show what must be done, but rather chose one person from among them who was best—at one time the great Moses, at another Joshua the son of Nun, at other times Samuel, and at another season Elijah—and by each of these, either by giving laws, or by performing wonders, or by offering admonitions, guided them toward salvation; so too, having singled out the Israelite nation from other peoples, God, by the care shown to them, and by His frequent appearances and inexplicable miracles, indicated to these other nations as well the way to the knowledge of God. For He taught us this also through the divinely-inspired Hosea, who says, "Ephraim is a projector," or, as others render it, "Ephraim is with God, a prophet." B By this, he meant that He set forth the people as a kind of lookout and prophet for the benefit and salvation of the other nations. Likewise, Egypt also learned through these people the ineffable power of the God of all; and the report of their destruction, spreading throughout all nations, caused everyone to marvel at the justice of God’s providence. Hence it is that Raab the harlot, having received the light of the knowledge of God, said to the spies, "For the fear of you and the dread of you has fallen upon us; for we have heard how the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before your arrival, and brought you across, because your Lord God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." And many years later, when the Allophyli [Philistines] beheld the ark, C
A they shouted out in fear and horror: "This is the God who struck Egypt." And when he had again struck down those many thousands of Assyrians before the walls of Jerusalem, and forced Sennacherib to flee with only a few, he made his power clear to all men. And in Babylon, having preserved Daniel unharmed when he was delivered to the lions, and having turned that most fierce flame of the furnace into dew, so that those blessed youths could dance in the midst of it and weave a hymn, he terrified the arrogant king and through him taught his subjects that the God of the Israelites is the only God. B And again, when he granted to the people that much-celebrated return under Cyrus the Persian, and out of all those who had been taken captive granted to them alone relief from slavery, and built his own temple, and brought Jerusalem back to its former prosperity, he again signaled, not just to those who were near, but also to those dwelling far away, that he alone is capable of providing for and governing whom he wills. And among the Macedonians, too, he often manifested his own power, and indeed, by working miracles through the prophets and foretelling future events, he led many of the nations to the truth. Thus the Syrian nation feared the great Elisha, once having been enveloped by him in a mist of invisibility, and at another time having witnessed the healing of Naaman. For they held such respect for this prophet C that, when the king was ill, he sent Hazael to him to inquire if he would recover. Furthermore, this same prophet himself anointed this Hazael as king over the Syrians. And the king of the Babylonians showed the divine Jeremiah such honor that he gave him the choice of where to dwell; and while he led all the others, both kings and princes, away as captives, to him alone he gave the authority to live wherever he wished. Thus also the God of all appointed the blessed Jonah as a prophet to the Ninevites. Now this was a city of old, very great, and it had received the royal residence of the king of the Assyrians. For because the only-begotten Word of God was about to appear to men through human nature, and to illuminate all the nations with the light of the knowledge of God, he manifests his own divine D providence to the nations even before his distinct incarnation: so that he might confirm future events by what has preceded them, and teach all that he is the God not only of the Jews, but also of the nations, and show the kinship of the Old and New Testaments. For if he had taken no care of the nations before his incarnation, the Jews would have supposed him to be a different God, as if he were acting in opposition to the one who had given the law; for the one cared only for the Jews, while this one cared for all men. This is the very malady from which the execrable Marcion suffered, who said that this God was different from that one, even though in the Old Testament as well one could observe that God cares for all mortals.
But that we may not lengthen this beyond measure, let us come to the explanation of the prophet. A
Chapter I
The blessed Jonas also uttered other prophecies, which are not contained in this book; but we have learned of them from the fourth book of Kings. For concerning Jeroboam, who, born third from Jehu, reigned over the ten tribes, the Scripture teaches the following: "He restored the border of Israel from the entering of Emath unto the sea that looks to the west, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonas the son of Amathi B the prophet, who was of Gethophra." This prophecy also bears the same name of the father. The God of all commanded him to go to the city of Nineveh, and to announce to them the utter destruction that would come upon them because of their grave iniquity. "For the cry of their wickedness," He says, "has ascended unto me." This means: they have slipped into such great wickedness that they have transgressed the boundaries of My patience. But when the prophet heard these words, he preferred flight to obedience, and ventured to flee to Tharsis. Now, some have opined that Tharsis is Tarsus, by reason of the affinity of the names; others have supposed that India was so called, not noticing C that the kingdom of the Assyrians is adjacent to the kingdom of the Indians, and that it is the custom of those who flee from the east to head toward the west, and for those who decline from the south to withdraw to the north; especially since he went down to Joppa, a maritime city of Palestine, to board ship from there. Now, that city is washed by the western sea. But it is impossible for anyone to sail directly from that sea to India, since between our sea and the Indian sea lies a vast continent, in part habitable and in part entirely a desert; then, too, there are very many and very large mountains interspersed, beyond which is the gulf of the Red Sea, with which the Indian sea is joined. And so that no one may D suppose that we are distorting the truth with our own reasonings, I will offer the divine Scripture as a witness, that Tharsis is Carthage, the primary city of Africa. For in the prophet Isaiah, where the Septuagint have said: "Howl, ye ships of Carthage, for your stronghold has perished," Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion have put "Tharsis" instead of "Carthage." For the books of the Hebrews also possess this name. Thus also,
A when the divine Ezekiel made mention of the Carthaginians, we found "Tharsis" both in the Hebrew and in the Syriac. Instructed by these things, we say that Jonah fled not to India, but to Carthage. He did this, indeed, while clearly knowing, in his capacity as a prophet, that the Lord of all is present everywhere, and that no place is destitute of His providence; nevertheless, he supposed that He manifested Himself only in Jerusalem. Nor did sloth or fear become the cause of his flight; but, knowing the fountains of mercy, through the use of which He who ordered him to preach manages all things, and knowing that if the Ninevites repented, they would certainly obtain divine mercy, he deemed it unbecoming that his prediction should be shown to be false, and that he himself should be called a lying prophet. B Indeed, the very proclamation of the threatened punishment suggested that suspicion to him. For he considered that He would not have foretold it if He had wished to punish; but that the threat of punishment is, in truth, an invitation to repentance. In addition to this, he also thought that the obedience of the Ninevites would be a reproach to the Jews: for they, who were foreigners and of a different nation, had believed a man, whereas the Jews were continually disobeying many prophets of their own tribe, who prophesied to them with miracles, and were receiving no benefit from them. For these reasons, he did not immediately do what was commanded; but he even made his flight by sea, thinking that he would quickly be rid of such a ministry. He even paid the fare for the voyage, though no loss incurred thereby could deter him. But the Maker of earth, and sea, and heavens stirs up a tempest against the ship, and binds it with the chains of the waves, and while all other ships held their course with a favorable wind, the sea's tempest raged against this one ship alone, and the force of the waves surged. And this, the lot of the sailors clearly teaches us; C for they would not have set out to discover the cause of the tempest by lot if the tempest had been common; but since they saw others cutting through the backs of the sea without danger, while their own boat was being struck by the great waves, they first turned to prayers, invoking whichever god each supposed to be God; and then, finding no way of salvation from that, they awakened Jonah, who was bound by sleep. For, pierced by the stings of conscience, and cast down by despondency, and unable to bear the barbs of his own thoughts, he had devised relief through sleep. And though there was so much tumult occurring against the ship, with the waves crashing from without, and the sailors being disturbed from within, he himself was not simply or moderately asleep, but was held by a deep sleep and was actually snoring, as he himself taught by his own writings. D But when the captain awakened him, he first compelled him to offer prayers to his own God, not knowing that this flight had destroyed his confidence in Him. [7] And when, even then, the dangers did not cease, they finally sought to learn the cause of the tempest by lot.
knowing—as was natural, for they possessed a native understanding—that a punishment awaits those who sin, and that we pay the penalties appropriate to our transgressions. Since the lot had become the accuser and witness against the prophet, he is brought to trial, and the sailors perform the part of judges, demanding that Jonah give an account of his past life.
VERS. 8. «Annuntia enim nobis, inquiunt, quid est opus tuum, et unde venis, et quo vadis, et ex qua regione, et ex quo populo tu es?» B They inquired in this manner with all accuracy, desiring to learn from every side the cause of the storm. For this reason, they ordered him to tell not only whence he had departed and whither he was going, but also from what nation he drew his lineage, so that from the common customs of his people they might learn the man’s way of life. To these things, then, the blessed Jonah answered:
VERS. 9. «Servus Domini ego sum, et Dominum Deum cœli ego colo, qui fecit mare et aridum.» C Truly the prophet is worthy of admiration and deserving of all praise. For even while awaiting the sentence of death, he becomes a herald of the power of the God of all, calling Him Creator and Lord of all things. Since the majority of mortals at that time were serving idols and were ignorant of the Maker of all things, the blessed prophet rightly reveals Him to those who were ignorant of Him. He also confesses the reason for his flight: because I knew Him to be not only the Creator and Lord of the earth and the sea, but also of the heavens, I was gripped by madness and thought I could escape Him.
VERS. 10. «Et dixerunt ad eum, Cur hoc fecisti?» D These things, they say, while you were not ignorant, and to you the duty of teaching others had been entrusted, how could you attempt to flee from God, who is present everywhere? So great a sense of shame does it bring not to obey God, that the prophet, who was a teacher for others, received a mark of reproach from those who were ignorant. Nevertheless, having heard his words, and having rebuked and censured him, they did not dare to pass the sentence of death upon him, but waited for him, as a prophet, to explain what must be done.
VERS. 11. «Et dixerunt ad eum, Quid tibi faciemus, et quiescet mare a nobis?» For the storm became even more violent after the lot had been cast. Then at last the blessed prophet, having perceived the divine wrath, condemns himself to death.
VERS. 12. «Et dixit Jonas ad eos, Tollite me, et demittite me in mare, et quiescet mare a vobis: ego enim novi, quod propter me fluctus iste magnus super vos venerit.» But not even when they had heard these words did the sailors immediately do what was commanded; rather, they held back, expecting some cessation of the evils, and rowing the ship, they sought to reach the land.
But since the violence of the sea prevented this also, they first propitiated God with prayer and thus gave Jonah over to the sea.
14. “For they say, *‘O Lord, let us not perish for the sake of this man’s life, and do not lay upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Lord, as thou didst will, thou hast done.’*” Even though they had clearly learned from God that the sentence against him had been issued, they plead that they might not pay the penalty while complying with the sentence. “For do not lay upon us innocent blood,” they say; that is, “May we not pay, O Master, the penalty for innocent blood.” B And when the prophet had thus been committed to the sea, the storm of the waves indeed quieted, but a greater fear took hold of the souls of those who witnessed this, such that, after their return, they offered sacrifices to God and believed that He alone is the Master of all things.
CAPUT II.
[1] When Jonah, by divine command (for this is what it says, “The Lord commanded”), a great sea-monster received him, C injuring him in no part by its teeth. And the belly of the sea-monster became a dwelling for the prophet for three days and as many nights, and the digestive power of the stomach was hindered from acting. [2] In such spaciousness did the prophet abide that he was even able to offer prayer to God.
3. *“For I cried,” he says, “in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell came my cry.”* For I, he says, who long thought that He appeared to the prophets only in Jerusalem, found Him present even in the belly of the sea-monster, and having offered supplication, I enjoyed His philanthropy. He called the belly of the sea-monster the “belly of hell,” because the beast was death-dealing, and by nature, D among those things that were born it was dead, living only by grace. Moreover, as a type of the Master Christ, who spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, he reasonably says that he had come to be in the belly of hell. And most paradoxical of all, the One who truly tasted death said that He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights; but the one under the shadow of death calls the belly of the sea-monster the belly of hell. For to Jonah, life was not in his power; but to the Master Christ, death was voluntary and the resurrection willing. For this reason, where there is hell and death, it is called the heart of the earth; but here, hell is named the belly of the sea-monster. “Thou heardest,” he says, “my voice”; for I would not have continued living until the present.
4. *“Thou didst cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, and the rivers encompassed me.”* Again, the memory of the “heart” demonstrates the shadow resembling the truth; by “rivers” he denotes the onslaught of the waves. A
“All your breakers and your waves have passed over me.” (Vers. 5.) “I said: I have been cast out from your eyes.” Constrained by the insolence of evils, I who but a little while before was borne aloft on the waves, now, as if in a prison house, enclosed within the belly of the sea-monster, I came to know that I had been stripped of your providence, and for this reason I endure each of these things.
“Shall I again look upon your holy temple?” (Vers. 6.) “Water has encompassed me even to my soul: the deepest abyss has surrounded me.” Surrounded by the abyss and placed in the midst of such great waters, I waver, and I fear lest I be altogether deprived of the sight of your temple, which is so desirable to me. B
Vers. 7. “My head has entered into the clefts of the mountains, I went down to the earth, whose bars are everlasting.” For I see myself surrounded by certain great mountains, and hemmed in on all sides by most firm barriers. By these things, however, he designates not only the size of the sea-monster, but also that there was no escape from the evils by which he was held. It is also probable that he speaks of certain mountains which were covered by the marine waters, against which ships are sometimes dashed and broken; of which, in fact, sailors—knowing them well—are eager to avoid the rocks lurking beneath the sea.
“And may my life ascend from corruption to you, O Lord my God.” (Vers. 8.) “When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the Lord, and let my prayer come to you into your holy temple.” Since, he says, when I was at the very gates of death, I did not suffer forgetfulness of you to arise within me, then, O Master, having freed me from this corruption, restore me to life, so that I may again offer you the customary prayers in the temple consecrated to you. C
Vers. 9. “Those who guard vain and lying things have abandoned their mercy.” Those who have been taught false and vain things, obeying the lot, have cruelly cast me into the sea.
Vers. 10. “But I, with a voice of praise and thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you; whatever I have vowed, I will repay to you for my salvation, O Lord.” For, having been delivered from the dangers by which I am held, I will offer to you saving sacrifices, recounting both the greatness of your benefit and the harm of my flight. The blessed Jonah promised these things, and he fulfilled his promises, and delivered everything in writing, so that not only the men who were then present, but also those born later might learn the things concerning him. And just as the blessed David left his own transgression written down, preaching the mercy of God and showing to those who sin the remedy of repentance, so the wondrous Jonah [described] both his flight and his punishments. D
and the salvation granted to him. The man-loving Master, having received his prayer, brought the prophet out from the belly of the sea monster as if from some prison.
CAP. III.
B But again, straightway He commanded him to perform those things which he had heard before, and to reach that great city, and to present the proclamation of the fearful threat. But having learned by experience the harm which results from resisting God, he makes the journey as he was commanded, and reaches Nineveh. Let no foolish person show idle curiosity C as to how the sea monster vomited him out—for all things are possible when God wills it—nor on what shore he cast him out; for this too is among the things that are altogether superfluous. Let every pious person be content with the teaching of the Spirit.
3’. “And Nineveh,” he says, “was a city great before God, about three days' journey.” For much, he says, did God concern Himself with the salvation of this city, since He had fashioned many human beings within it. And the phrase, “About a three days’ journey,” some have understood concerning D the territory belonging to the city, as having a journey of three days in both length and breadth; but others, that it was the [time] for the one preaching to be able to go around the entire city in three days. Whether one accepts this or that, it does no harm to the truth; but nevertheless, the second seems to me to be more true; and what follows compels me to prefer it.
4’. “For Jonah began,” he says, “to enter the city about a journey of one day.” Not traveling straight through the city, but going around the markets, and streets, and lanes, and preaching that “Yet three days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” But these [words] Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion said were “forty,” and the Syrian and the Hebrew agree with these; and this number also has plausibility. For in three days, sometimes Jonah traveled through the whole city, and sometimes the Ninevites, by offering that laborious repentance to God, enjoyed salvation from Him; and sometimes, sitting before the gates, he waited for the end of the prophecy. Wherefore, it seems to me that the number of forty days is more true. And it is likely that the Seventy also had set down the number in agreement with the others, but that those who first transcribed it erred regarding this, and then this edition spread into all the copies. But the Ninevites, seeing an unknown man and a foreigner performing an unpleasant proclamation, not only did not take it ill, nor did they stone him, but rather, believing the prophecy, they put on sackcloth and offered their supplications to God, both those who were—
A—abounding in wealth and those living in poverty; for it said: "From the least of them even unto the greatest of them." When the king himself heard these words, he left his throne, adorned with gold and set with stones, and put off his purple robe as useless, and in its place he clothed himself in sackcloth. He ordered not only all men and women to observe a fast, but even commanded the flocks and herds to abstain from all food, that they, being pressed by hunger, and some lowing, others bleating, and each uttering its own natural cry, might move the men to shed warmer tears, and might open the fountains of God's mercy. And not only by using sackcloth and fasting did they offer supplications to God, but also, B "each one returned from his evil way and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying: (Ver. 9) Who knows if God will turn, and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, and we shall not perish?" This is indeed the true goal of repentance: "For turn away," he says, "from evil, and do good." And again: "Cease from your evil deeds; learn to do good." Thus, therefore, the Ninevites, having ceased from their former sin and having adopted a better change of character, enjoyed the divine favor.
Ver. 10. "For God saw," he says, "their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God repented of the evil which he had said that he would do to them; and he did it not." God did not look to the fasting, but to the withdrawing from evil; wherefore He grants repentance for repentance, not repenting in the same manner as we do (for God does not wish this at one time and that at another), but he called the change of the threats "repentance." For this reason also He threatened; for if He had wished to punish, He would not have offered a threat, but would have brought the punishment itself. But because He rejoices only in salvation, He threatens grievous things, so that He may not bring about grievous things. He called the threats "evil," not that they are evil by nature—for how could that be evil which brings a stop to wickedness and introduces the possession of virtue and good order? But the divine Scripture, using names customary among us, called the threat of punishment "evil," as it possesses the power to cause trouble and pain. C Witnessing this love of mankind in God, the prophet is dejected and grieved, as if his prophecy were being refuted and appearing false. Afterwards, praying to God and explaining the causes of his flight, D [he says]:
Ver. 2. "Are not these my words," he says, "when I was still in my own country? Therefore I anticipated in fleeing to Tharsis." Knowing these things (for I saw your great long-suffering even towards Israel…
I anticipated the event, for you are merciful and compassionate, long-suffering and rich in mercy, and relenting over evils, I took that flight, then being delivered to the storm and the sea-monster, I prayed to return again to life: now I ask the opposite.
γ'. "Master, take my soul from me," for it is better for me to die than to live. I prefer death to living with shame; A for I am ashamed and cover myself, being called a liar by so many. But the good Master answers the prophet:
δ'. "Are you very grieved?" Symmachus interpreted this more clearly: "Are you justly grieved?" for the rest have said: "If you have grieved rightly"; that is, "Consider within yourself if you have just grounds for grief." And here He commands him to find a consolation for his grief by reasoning; at the end of the prophecy, He also rebukes him for his empty grief, and shows the reasonableness of His own judgment.
ε'. "Jonas went out of the city and sat opposite it, and made himself a booth, and was sitting under it, until he should see what would happen to the city." The prophet placed this first, but narrated it last. For having narrated the repentance of the Ninevites, he wished to join to this the divine loving-kindness, and the grief B that befell him in consequence of this. He says that the events between these times—that having proclaimed the departure from the city and having fixed his booth, he was waiting for the end of the prediction—this is clear, as it happened before the grief: for after the end of the appointed days, seeing that nothing was befalling the city, he offered to God with pain the prayer. But yet, even in this, he contrives for himself a consolation, and at the command of God, a gourd, which he himself desired, instantly budding and long-leafed, creating shade, offers comfort.
τὸ δὲ,
ς'. "And the Lord God commanded a gourd," He has set, not expressing a divine voice here, but teaching that as soon as God willed, the plant began to be. So also above He said: "And God mandated to the sea-monster," this did not happen by a divine voice saying so, but by a C command—for his will is a decree. Thus the blessed Jonas accepted joyful relief instead of grief. But again, God destroyed the root of the gourd with a certain worm, and withered the plant, having turned away from it the influx of the sun, as was the custom, striking against his head.
ζ'. "And God commanded a burning wind, and the sun struck upon the head of Jonas,"
and he fainted, and desired his soul to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live." A Again the prophet returned to a greater pusillanimity and grief, and was brought to the point of preferring death to life. [9] But the healer of sinners and protector of the just asked the prophet: "Art thou very sorry for the gourd?" [10, 11] And when the prophet had confessed this, in such a way that for its sake he preferred death to life, God said: "I will use thee as a judge. Consider therefore if it is just that thou shouldst grieve for the gourd, of which thou wert not the cultivator (for thou didst not plant it, nor didst thou irrigate it; but having been born at dawn, it became the consumption of a worm and the sun on the following day), and yet that I should not spare so great a city, which was founded by Me, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of human beings, who know not their right hand or their left, and many cattle." B Considering this, therefore, admire the mercy, as it possesses a reasonable ground. The phrase, "who know not their right hand or their left," some have understood as referring to simplicity; but to me it seems to hint at the multitude of young people inhabiting it: and the scope of the words guides us to this understanding. For if, he says, it was not fitting to accept the repentance of the sinners, it was at least fitting to take pity on so many myriads who, by reason of their immaturity, have not been instructed in the knowledge of the right hand and the left. In addition to these, the city has cattle exceeding that number, which themselves owe no penalty for sins. As therefore he added the cattle for this reason, so also he added the immature age, so that neither these nor those could justly be made to pay the penalty for sins. This, then, is the end of the prophecy. We, however, should laud our good Master, who, not wishing the death of the sinner, but that he should return and live, sometimes allows His holy men to be grieved, and bestows mercy even when they are unwilling. Thus, when the great Elias had checked the rain, C He Himself, as if a kind of ambassador, comes to the servant, saying, "Go, and show thyself to Achab, and I will give rain upon the face of the earth." D Enjoying such gentleness of God, let us foster a disposition appropriate to His benefits, and let us fashion our lives according to His divine laws, so that we may reap the good and desirable fruits of these, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is the glory, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Commentary on the Prophet Michaeas. Preface.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET MICAH
A [1477 ARGUMENTUM.] Approaching the prophecy of the divine Micah, I have called to mind the Lord’s voice, which He uttered in the holy Gospels to exaggerate the wickedness and ungrateful mind of the Jews: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" For, adorning with the gift of prophecy so many and such great men, He appointed physicians to heal the grievous wounds of Israel. One of these was the blessed Micah, who predicted the same things as those admirable men, Hosea, Joel, and Amos, and was almost their contemporary, even if they were slightly earlier, having begun their prophecy during the reign of Uzziah. For he too, in the days of Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, saw what he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. In their times, the blessed Hosea also prophesied. B Through many prophets, God predicts the same things, so that those who suffered from stupidity, being shamed by the multitude of the prophets, might at length turn away from impiety and malice. Thus, the divine Micah has begun his prophecy.
CHAPTER ONE
Ver. 2. "Hear, all ye people, hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; and the Lord God shall be for a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple."
A Since he spoke concerning Samaria and Jerusalem, that the words had come to him from the God of all, he rightly assembles not a "people," but "peoples" to hear. And those tribes divided into two kingdoms he names not a people, but peoples, and urges all who inhabit that land to pay attention, as the Lord God is bearing witness, and is uttering His words from His holy temple.
Vers. 3, 4. "For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place." That the God of all is not in a place (for He is incorporeal and uncircumscribed, and bears all things by the word of His power), we learn from the divine Scripture. But because He manifested Himself in Jerusalem, His place is rightly called the temple. For B so too through the great Moses He ordains: "Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover in any of thy cities, but in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose." From this place the prophet says He comes forth, and treads upon the high places, and shakes the mountains with His presence, and melts the valleys like wax when fire approaches. These things happen both literally, when God wills it, and also when understood tropically, they possess truth. For he calls those who are proud in their power and fall into calamities "mountains" being shaken, and he calls the multitude of the subjects "valleys" which, like valleys subject to mountains, live under the power C of those who are in authority. Similarly, also, like water which is carried with force down steep places, He inflicts punishments upon those worthy of them. And assigning the cause,
Vers. 5. "For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel." Then, demonstrating the manner of the impiety and sin, he institutes an accusation by question and answer: "What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the sins of the house of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?" For these had filled Samaria with idols, and those inhabiting Jerusalem, though instructed in the divine law in the temple, were engaged in constant iniquities. It must be noted, however, that the house which he had D called the house of Israel above, he later calls the house of Judah. And he called the ten tribes the house of Jacob, using the natural name; but the spiritual name, which is Israel's, he applied to Judah, because, possessing the divine temple, they had many pious ones.
Vers. 6. "And I will make Samaria as an heap of the field."
A And into a plantation of a vineyard; and I will drag down her stones into the chasm, and her foundations I will reveal." For so great a desolation shall be delivered, that her stones shall become completely vanished, and in place of markets and streets, and houses, the successions of vines shall enter, so that some will bind the keepers of said vines in her tents. Moreover, even the fanes of the idols shall be uprooted from their foundations.
7. "And all her hire will be burned with fire, and all her idols I will place into destruction: because she gathered them from the hires of a harlot, and from the hires of fornication she returned them." B Since, having abandoned the worship of idols, she chose to offer up, as a kind of pay to the idols, and built altars and shrines, and offered up a multitude of votive offerings, and thus I shall deliver these to the enemies. Ezechiel also rebukes her for this through the prophet, saying: "For it came to pass, he says, against all your women, that she did like you, because every harlot wife takes pay, but you gave pay to your lovers." C It is likely that he is also hinting at women given over to fornication, who, being full of debauchery, would thereafter offer the first-fruits to the wanton demon. For indeed, even up to the present, some dare to do this.
8. "For this reason, he says, she will wail and mourn; she will go barefoot and naked: she will make a lamentation as of dragons, and mourning as of the daughters of Sirens." D She will make an excess of mourning or an excess of pain.
9. "Because her wound is become strong; for it has come even unto Judah, and has touched even unto the gate of my people, even unto Jerusalem." By these things he signifies the incursion of the Assyrians, Theglathphalasar, Salmanasar, Sennacherim. For since they subjected the ten tribes, they carried them away as captives; but Sennacherim besieged Lachis and the other cities of Judea, as far as the gates of Jerusalem, having sent Rapsaces with no small part of the army, by experience learning that he was not desired by God. And what he says, "It will make a lamentation as of dragons, and mourning as of the daughters of Sirens," he has spoken from those myths which circulate among the fables, wishing to show the magnitude of the grief. For since those who are accustomed to mourn even with some melody are accustomed to lament, and like dragons to send forth breath from a scorched heart, and with a certain violence to bring and cast this forth, he has borrowed those aforementioned figures. Since, however, he foretold the pain to all the tribes of Israel,
and foresaw that the foreigners would rejoice in their misfortunes, he turns his speech toward them and says:
A VERS. 10. « Tell it not in Gath, weep not; in the house of Aphrah, roll yourselves in the dust. » Be not puffed up over another’s calamity, as though you yourselves remained untouched; but instead of the mockery you have used against the Israelites, roll yourselves in the dust and lament your own misfortunes. And the Enacim are not, as some have supposed, a city other than Gath; rather, he calls the inhabitants of Gath Enacim, as being descendants of Enac the giant. And this can be learned from many places in divine Scripture.
VERS. 11. « She that dwells in Zaanan came not forth; the mourning of Beth-ezel shall take from you its standing. » For nothing will avail you, neither the beauty of the buildings nor the defense of the places; but your cities shall be overturned from their foundations. « She that dwells in Zaanan came not forth; » lament the house adjacent to it; it shall receive from you the plague of sorrow. Since it would not sympathize with you, nor be chastened by your punishments, it is reluctantly made a participant in your evils. Zaanan, however, was one of the neighboring cities.
VERS. 12. « Who began to bring sorrows to her that dwells in good? » From here he transfers his discourse to Jerusalem. The construction of the words is involved and very obscure. Therefore, we must investigate the meaning by arranging it thus: « Who began to bring sorrows to her that dwells in good? » Who, he says, when she was abounding in things and enjoying peace and much prosperity, became the author of the miseries? He wishes to show, however, not that a human was the cause, but God himself, the Lord of all, brought the punishments, exacting a penalty for those things in which she had acted impiously. Wherefore he adds: « For evils have come down from the Lord unto the gates of Jerusalem. » And showing what these are, he added:
VERS. 13. « The sound of chariots and horsemen. » This he also taught us clearly through the prophet Isaiah: C « Woe to the Assyrians! The rod of my anger is in their hands; I will send my wrath upon an unrighteous nation, and I will command my people to make spoil and plunder. » So also here: « Who began to bring sorrows to her that dwells in good? For the sound of chariots and horsemen has come down from the Lord unto the gates of Jerusalem. » For I, he says, brought sorrows to her that was enjoying all good things, by setting against them a multitude of enemies. And since Lachis was destroyed before Jerusalem (for Nebuchadnezzar desolated Jerusalem, but Sennacherim desolated Lachis), he turns his discourse toward it: « O inhabitant of Lachis, the leader of sin is she »
A to the daughter of Sion, that in you the iniquities of Israel were found. But you, O Lachis, shall be the first to receive punishment, having emulated the impiety of the ten tribes and having dragged Jerusalem into transgression.
Verses 14, 15. « Therefore you shall send forth emissaries unto the inheritance of Geth; the houses of vanity were in vain for the kings of Israel. Until I bring your heirs. » B On this account, the enemies shall take also from you a multitude of captives—for these he called "emissaries"—and your land shall be laid waste as far as Geth, because you have followed the impiety of the foolish kings of Israel. In this solitude you shall remain, « until I bring your heirs »; that is, until I liberate those who were led into captivity, and have led them back again, and restore to them their ancestral inheritance. Some interpret "heirs" as the enemies, understanding the passage thus: « It dwelt in vain houses, which were in vain for the kings of Israel, until I bring the heirs, » that is, the enemies, « to you. » But according to Aquila, who placed "heir" in the singular number, we find a deeper meaning. In solitude, he says, you shall be, inhabiting vain houses, until I bring the heir to you, whom the evil husbandmen, when they saw him from afar, according to the Lord’s parable, said: « This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. » C This one, by his advent, delivered not only Lachis, but the whole world from the slavery of vain idols. To these he adds: « The inhabitant of Lachis shall come to the inheritance as far as Odollam. » This desolation, he says, shall not only seize you, but shall extend even to Odollam, and shall lay hold of the glorious Jerusalem. For he called her the daughter of Sion, toward whom he turns his discourse and says: « O hair of the daughter of Sion, (Verse 16) shave yourself, and cut off your delicate children, enlarge your baldness as an eagle, because they have been led captive from you. » D Assume a garment of mourning, and take away the adornment from your hair, imitating the eagle, which at a certain time according to the law of nature is stripped of all its feathers, at which time it can neither hunt nor strike terror into those before whom it was formerly fearsome. Similar to this, you also, stripped of my providence, shall be easy for the enemies to capture, being made empty of all your inhabitants.
CHAPTER II.
Verses 1, 2. « For they were planning labors, and working evil in their beds, and with the day they accomplished them, and they coveted fields, and seized orphans, and oppressed houses, and plundered a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. » And having reviewed their transgressions, he foretells the punishment. 3. « Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am planning evils against this tribe, from which you shall not pull out your necks, and you shall not walk upright suddenly, because it is an evil time. » For those of you who are bold and arrogant I shall cause to bow their necks, and by the greatness of the chastisement I shall force them to bend to the ground; for, similarly to the other tribes, I shall deliver also this tribe into slavery on account of the aforementioned transgressions. 4. « In that day a parable shall be taken up against you, and a lamentation shall be lamented in a song, saying: We have been miserably wretched. » From here one might more easily understand what was said before; for what he called "the mourning of Sirens" above, he calls here a "lamentation in a song." It is therefore clear that he also called the modulated lamentation "the mourning of Sirens" there, according to the myth current among the Greeks.
B Being brought upon that people by these evils, they will not only lament you, those who hear of your calamities, but they will also employ a kind of parable, telling your affairs as stories to others. And you yourselves will say to one another:
"The portion of my people has been measured off with a measuring line, and there was no one to prevent it so as to turn it back; our fields have been divided." (Ver. 5) "Therefore, there will be no one for you to cast a measuring line in the inheritance." For since, when these were led away into captivity, their neighbors divided among themselves the land cultivated by them, this, he says, when you hear it, you will say full of lamentations and tears to one another, that "The portion divinely allotted to Israel has been measured and divided by the most hostile foreigners, with no one hindering it or putting a stop to the greed; I myself have been cast out from there, and I do not have the inheritance given to me; but others are dividing the fields that belong to me." Having thus announced the sorrowful things, he brings in an admonition full of utility.
"In the assembly of the Lord," (Ver. 6, 7) "do not weep with tears, nor let your eyes weep over these things; for he who says, 'The house of Jacob has provoked the Spirit of the Lord,' will not put away insults. If these are his ways, are his words not good with him, and have they not walked upright?" C He says that you ought not to lament, nor confess the iniquity with word, but show the change of things by deed; for God praises words that are adorned by deeds. D
A
VERS. 8. "And formerly my people stood in enmity against his peace." For by acting contrary to my laws, he deprived himself of peace. "They have flayed his skin, so as to take away hope, the contrition of war." For on account of this wickedness, he was in a sense stripped of his own skin, since he became destitute of my providence, and having lost the good hope, was surrendered to the crushing blow of war.
VERS. 9. "And the leaders of my people shall be cast out from the houses of their delights, because of their evil practices they have been thrust out." For together with the others, both the kings and the priests, being deprived of their former delights, were forced to dwell in a foreign land in the manner of slaves, paying the penalty for the things in which they had offended.
"Approach the eternal mountains." (VERS. 10, 11.) "Arise and go, for this is not your rest: because of uncleanness you have been destroyed with destruction. You have fled, with no one pursuing." For having surrendered yourselves to iniquity, you voluntarily chose wickedness, and became easily captured by the enemies. Go therefore to those mountains which God from the beginning created and planted there; for here you have been deprived of the means of living because of sin. "For a spirit has established falsehood, it has distilled for you as wine and drunkenness." For the spirit of delusion, speaking through the B false prophets, instilled into you deceitful predictions, and thereby produced a flowing drunkenness.
"And it shall be, from the drop of this people." (VERS. 12.) "Jacob shall be gathered, being gathered: accepting with all, I will accept the remnant of Israel; I will place his turning together." This deception, he says, which the demons have stirred up among you through the false prophets, will cause you also to reach the ten tribes in captivity. For I will lead everyone away, exacting you all to suffer common punishments; when these have overtaken you: "As sheep in tribulation, as flocks in the midst of their fold, they shall leap from men." For just as sheep sitting quietly, if they see a wolf suddenly coming upon them, rise up with great fear; so you, having seen the enemies coming, will be filled C with tumult and fear. Afterward, he predicts what was done under Zedekiah, which the blessed prophet Ezechiel also foretold, when he was commanded by God to take the vessels of captivity, and to announce that king's flight through the events themselves.
VERS. 13. "Ascend through the breach before their face: they breached, and passed through the gate, and went out through it, and their king went out before their face." For having perceived the Chaldeans leaping upon them, having breached the wall of the city, he fled with a few: having been D caught
he first saw the slaughter of his children; then, being deprived of his eyes, he was led away in chains. "And the Lord will be their leader," A clearly not to bring them aid, but to destroy them.
CAP. III.
VERS. 1-4. "And he shall say: Hear this, O ye princes of Jacob, and ye who are left of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know judgment? You who hate good and seek evil: who pull their skins from off them, and their flesh from their bones. As they have devoured the flesh of my people, and have flayed their skins from off them, and have broken their bones, and have cut them in pieces as meat for the cauldron, and as flesh in the pot: so shall they cry to the Lord, and he will not hear them, and he will turn his face away from them at that time, because they have behaved wickedly in their pursuits." He directs his words to the princes, to whom, though the power of judging had been granted, they trampled upon justice. Wherefore, he addresses them by way of inquiry: "Did you not obtain the authority to judge, so as to punish the offenders, but to let the innocent go without harm? How then, you who had been allotted the governance of the laws, did you turn away from the practice of good works, and apply yourselves most fiercely to the most wicked deeds? Furthermore, you exercised such tyranny against the poor that you deprived them of all their possessions." For he made this plain when he said: "Pulling their skins from off them, and their flesh from their bones." Since, therefore, you have committed such crimes, even if you beg for B aid from me a thousand times, you will obtain no help. Having uttered these threats against the princes, he transfers the discourse to the prophets.
VERS. 5. "Thus saith the Lord upon the prophets who seduce my people, who bite with their teeth, and preach peace over them, and if one puts nothing into their mouth, they sanctify war against him." With lies, he says, the false prophets, prophesying, injured the people with the flattery of their words, as if with certain bites, speaking things contrary to my prophets, but promising peace to them. But while their words indeed hold peace, the facts show otherwise: they show war. Now, those who preached peace and stood in the way of the people’s repentance were the cause of the evils that arose from the war. And as to the words, "And they sanctified against him war," he has used "sanctified" instead of "proclaimed," that is, they provoked it.
VERS. 6, 7. "Therefore night shall be to you for a vision, and darkness shall be to you from divination, and the sun shall set upon the prophets, and the day shall grow dark over them. And they who see dreams shall be confounded, and the soothsayers shall be ridiculed, and all of them shall speak against them, because there is no one who hears them." For affairs
A appear to be in contradiction to their expectations, and instead of the peace which they were noising abroad, a conflict is seen; therefore, they who prophesied falsehoods shall incur ridicule, and they who exhorted them to trust in dreams shall walk in confusion, and will spend their lives in darkness at noonday, and will consider the day to be night, being struck by the fear of what they see; and those who were led astray by their divinations will shower them with many reproaches.
VERS. 8. "Yet I," says the prophet, "am filled with strength by the Spirit of the Lord, and with judgment and power, to announce to Jacob his impiety, and to the house of Israel his sins." For I shall not dare to act in a manner similar to those transgressors; but B led by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and fortified by such power, I shall freely rebuke the impiety of the people. Having thus promised that he would openly rebuke the lawlessness they dared to commit, he exclaims plainly:
VERS. 9, 10. "Hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel, you who abhor judgment and pervert everything that is straight. You who build Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquities." C You were entrusted with judging, he says, but you were unwilling to hold the scales of justice upright and unbent towards either side; rather, having no regard for what is equitable and just, you strove to make injustice seem like law. By adopting this intent, you filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; for the rulers were corrupted by bribes, and the priests gave responses regarding lawful matters not without payment, and refused to perform the divine ministry for free. Furthermore, the prophets, stirred by opposing spirits, offered false divination for a fee, and presented deceit for the sake of gifts. While doing this, they imagined they had divine assistance, saying, "Is not the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon you." D Since, therefore, you live in total lawlessness while vainly leaning upon the divine name, know that:
VERS. 12. "Therefore, because of you, Sion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and the mountain of the house shall be as a grove of the forest." Such a desolation, he says, shall seize this much-talked-of city, that the divine house shall be filled with plants and become like a forest; and the areas within the walls, which were once crowded by their inhabitants, will be plowed as if they were fields outside the enclosures, and sown, so that Jerusalem will differ in no way from a garden lodge, which remains desolate after the gathering of the fruits, when the one who was guarding it returns home. These things indeed received their fulfillment under Nebuchadnezzar, when, the city having been captured, the inhabitants were led away captives along with the king;
A but it is more accurate to discern the end of the prophecy after the madness and fury which the Jews turned against our Savior. For up to this very day that widely-renowned temple has been razed to its foundations and reduced to such a desolation that those who see it are ignorant of what was once the place of the saints. Thus, therefore, divine grace, prophesying through the prophetic tongue concerning that temple, foreshadows the splendor and the celebrity of the Church which has believed in our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks in this manner:
CAP. IV.
B VERS. 1-3. « And it shall be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, prepared on the summit of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall hasten to it. And many nations shall go, and shall say: Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and they shall show us his way, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many peoples, and shall rebuke strong nations even to a far distance. » For the evangelical and divine preaching has run through to the uttermost parts of the earth, according to the prediction of the Lord which is contained in the holy Gospels: « This Gospel shall be preached, » he said, « to all nations for a testimony to them. » C Then he also commanded the holy apostles, saying: « Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. » This evangelical law and apostolic word, having begun from Jerusalem as if from some fountain, has pervaded the entire world, bringing irrigation to those who approach with faith. It is also possible to see divine houses built in the midst of cities, and villages, and fields, and in the most remote places, excelling in magnitude and beauty, so that they are more illustrious and more conspicuous than even the most lofty mountains themselves. But if anyone should wish to understand the hills and mountains as the temples of the most baleful demons, D which were once built in these places, in this way also he will find the prophetic word adorned with truth; for those have been rooted out and utterly destroyed, but the temples of God emulate the stars of heaven in both their multitude and their beauty. But the Jews do not wish to understand these things in this way, but say that this is a prediction of the return from Babylon. And indeed it is nothing to be wondered at that they, stupid as they are, should understand it in this way; for this hallucination concerning this prophecy is in keeping with their other follies. But that certain teachers of piety also have—
A inserted the same interpretation into their own writings—this, indeed, seems to me intolerable and undeserving of pardon. For what nations, whether neighboring or situated far away, ran together to the Jewish temple after the return, to receive their laws and to embrace the word going forth from there? And among what nations or very many peoples did this word judge, convicting them of the things done wrongly by them? Moreover, what follows openly refutes the falsehood of that interpretation; for after the return from Babylon, as even those who have interpreted it in this way believe, both Gog and Magog with very many nations invaded the Jews; and all their neighbors continually waged war against them—[the] Idumeans, Ammonites, and Moabites on one side, and the foreigners and Samaritans on the other. And after a short time had passed, the Macedonian disasters befell them, which the history of the Maccabees contains. But in this passage B the prophetic word promises profound peace.
«For they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles, and nation shall no longer lift up sword against nation, and they shall no longer learn to wage war. (v. 4) And each shall rest under his vine and each under his fig tree, and there shall be no one to frighten them.» And showing the truthfulness of these things, he makes the authority of the speaker clear to the hearers: «For the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these things.» Then indeed, then:
v. 5. «All peoples will walk, each in his own way; but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and beyond.» That nothing of this sort applies to the Jews, the facts themselves bear witness; C for having been cast out of Jerusalem, they became inhabitants of the whole world, dispersed and wandering, and unable to perform the ministry in accordance with the law. But the prophetic word promises that those who have believed in the name of the Lord will walk forever and beyond. That it signifies the time following the coming of the Lord, the facts themselves, as if speaking with a voice, provide testimony. For before the establishment of the Roman empire, frequent uprisings of nations against one another took place, since kingdoms were divided according to each nation. But with all authority having been transferred to the Romans, and the kingdom of each nation having been abolished at the time of the coming of our Savior, a profound peace possessed the world, so that nation no longer takes up arms against nation; D but on account of the peace provided from God, they convert instruments of war into agricultural tools and, applying themselves to farming, they safely enjoy the good things derived from it. They also perform all other duties which are accustomed to be carried out in peace; and some take up various trades, others pursue trade and navigation, while others, desiring perfection, prefer the divine way and the worship of the Master to fleeting gains, and from this attain eternal life. To these he adds:
A VERS. 6, 7. "In those days, and in that time, I will gather her that is crushed, and I will receive her that is cast out, and those whom I had cast away. And I will make her that is crushed to be a remnant, and her that is cast out to be a strong nation." Clearly teaching that he is not saying these things about the Jews, he added: "And the Lord will reign over them in Mount Sion from now and forever." Now if the kingdom of the Jews had remained in Sion, and they continued to enjoy the eternal and unending providence of God for the things of the universe, the Jews would rightly claim this prophecy for themselves, and those who interpret these things as they do would agree with them. But if the kingdom of the Jews perished long ago, and they live in servitude while dwelling far from Jerusalem, and have been clearly stripped of God’s providence, let not the Jews rave, but let the teachers of the Church bear witness to the truth. For by "crushed" and "cast out," he designates the souls that serve piety, for whose sake the only-begotten Word of God became man, appeared on earth, and conversed with men. And the Lord himself is witness of this, saying to the Jews: "They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill. I came not to call the just, but sinners to repentance." Therefore, gathering the publican, and the harlot, and the thief, and those like them, and changing their ways for the better, he declared them to be a holy Church, reigning over them from now and forever. Having thus foretold the things concerning the Church from the Gentiles, the prophet returns to his discourse against Jerusalem.
B
VERS. 8
. "And thou, O squalid tower of the flock, O daughter of Sion, unto thee shall come and shall enter the principality, the first kingdom of Babylon." Thus also blessed Isaiah, or rather God of the universe through his mouth, names it figuratively. For when he had said, "I planted a vineyard of Sorech, and I dug a winepress in it," he added, "And I built a tower in the midst of it," calling the temple thus, through which he seemed to guard the vineyard. This tower the blessed Micah calls "squalid" because of the impiety of the inhabitants. For by defiling the brilliance of a life lived according to the law, they introduced their own iniquity like some kind of filth. To them he threatens the army of the Babylonians; for as soon as Nabuchodonosor took the reins of their power, he waged war in the third year of the reign of Joacim. Wherefore he called that kingdom the "first principality," because as soon as he became king, Nabuchodonosor waged war. D Then he asks with irony:VERS. 9. "And now why hast thou known evils? Was there no king in thee, or did thy counsel perish, because D
A pains as of a woman in labor have taken hold of thee?" Whence, he says, did you learn the experience of evils? And yet you had counselors who were able to find what was needful, and for this very cause you asked for a king, so that he might face the dangers of war on your behalf—and you obtained him immediately, for I gave you what you requested. Learn, therefore, that neither your counselors, nor the wisdom of your counselors, nor the protection of the king will be of any benefit to you.
VERS. 10. "And travail and be strong, and draw near, O daughter of Sion, as she who brings forth." B Similarly, he says, take on the pains like a woman near childbirth, and likewise, beholding the evils coming upon you, strike with the goads of your sorrows. "For now thou shalt go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even to Babylon; there shall he deliver thee, and there the Lord thy God shall redeem thee from the hand of thy enemies." Do not hope, he says, for release now from the evils hanging over you; for it is necessary for you to be driven out from this city, and when led away, to lodge on the roads as it happens, and to dwell for a long time in Babylon, and after a period to obtain freedom, and to return to your homeland. Having thus prophesied to them the captivity and the return, he makes the prediction concerning the Scythian nations which warred against them after their return.
VERS. 11, 12. "And now many nations are gathered together against thee, and peoples saying: Let us rejoice, and let our eyes look upon Sion. But they knew not the thought of the Lord, and understood not his counsel: for he has gathered them as sheaves of the floor." C God gathers them, not by compelling and forcing them, but by permitting their impulses and yielding to their free will. These things we have also explained when interpreting the other prophets.
VERS. 13. "Arise and thresh them, O daughter of Sion; for I will make thy horns iron, and thy hoofs I will make brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples, and thou shalt consecrate to the Lord their multitude, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth." For enjoying my providence, using as it were iron horns and brazen hoofs, with the strength supplied to you by me, you shall utterly destroy them all and deliver them to total ruin, attributing the victory over them to me, and openly acknowledging that it was I who gave it to you.
CHAP. V.
VERS. 1. "Now shall thy daughter be walled about with a wall: he hath laid siege against us: with a rod shall they strike upon the cheek the tribes of Israel." They, he says, D not foreseeing the end, as if with some wall...
will surround the city, hoping to capture it with all its inhabitants, and expecting to use every kind of wanton violence against those dwelling therein. For this is what he said, "With a rod they shall strike upon the cheek," since such a blow brings with it greater ignominy. But do not be afraid; for you shall obtain protection, not because of your own righteousness, but because of the King who is to be born of you according to the flesh. And clearly teaching this, he added:
Vers. 2. "And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratah, art thou the least to be in the thousands of Judah? Out of thee shall he come forth unto me, to be the ruler in Israel; and his goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Do not look, he says, O Bethlehem, at the small number of your inhabitants; for you have a cause for renown such as no city of the whole world possesses: for in you shall be born according to the flesh He who was begotten of the Father before the ages, "whose goings forth are from the beginning." This B is indeed similar to the prologue of the Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: the same was in the beginning with God." It is also similar to those things said by God through the blessed David: "From the womb before the day-star have I begotten thee." He therefore, who is before the ages, who was in the beginning with God, God the Word, and has his goings forth from the beginning, shall, he says, receive in you his birth according to the flesh, making you splendid and illustrious, you who are small among the thousands of Judah. And this, indeed, the Jews of our time have dared to accommodate to Zerubbabel, openly opposing the truth. Nor do they blush when they hear that His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity; for Zerubbabel was born after the captivity in Babylon, and took his name from the place. But the ancient Jews did not understand this prophecy similarly to them; for many years after Zerubbabel, C when they were asked by Herod where Christ was to be born, they brought him this testimony. Hence, therefore, it is manifest that the Jews of our age are perverse in the interpretation of this prophecy. But leaving their insanity, let us proceed to explain the things that follow.
Vers. 5. "Therefore will he give them up until the time of her that travaileth; she shall bring forth, and the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel." Until that time, he says, you shall be patient, and you shall bestow your care upon the Jews, until she who brings forth, shall give birth. By this he designates the Church, of whom also Isaiah cries out: D "Rejoice, O barren, that dost not bear; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband." And those who are born of her, he says, shall be joined with those from Israel who believe. For out of Israel the divine chorus of the apostles came forth,
and the seventy disciples chosen by the Lord after them, and those who were found together after the resurrection, numbering one hundred and twenty, and the five hundred to whom the Lord appeared when they were gathered together, and the three thousand, and the five thousand whom the fisherman Peter drew in his net, and the many myriads A regarding whom the inspired James said to the most divine Paul: "You see, brother, how many myriads there are of the Jews who have believed." Therefore, he says, from here and from there one Church shall be formed, and in these the Lord who was born in Bethlehem shall stand.
Ver. 4. "And he shall see, and shall feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, and they shall exist in the glory of the name of the Lord their God: because now he shall be magnified even to the ends of the earth." One may see the most holy Church of God glorying in the name of the Lord, and the divine name being praised and celebrated everywhere by land and sea. But before the Lord’s appearing, and the saving passion, and the calling of the nations, the Jews will show nothing of this to have taken place. But since these things were to happen after a long time, he confirms the prediction by things which were about to come to pass at that time. For in order that you may know, he says, how true my prophecies are, take the present events as a pledge of those future ones. For I will destroy the Assyrian who brings war upon you, and I will grant you profound peace. B
Ver. 5. "And this shall be peace, when the Assyrian shall come into your land, and when he shall tread upon your territory." For I will give you peace, when he has come, beyond all human hope.
"And there shall arise against him seven shepherds, and eight bites of men." (Ver. 6.) "And they shall feed the Assyrian with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in its ditch: and he shall deliver you from the Assyrian, when he comes into your land, and when he treads upon your borders." From this we are clearly taught that the Assyrian reigned also over Babylon. For Nimrod, as the blessed Moses taught, having used tyranny, first subjected Babylon to himself. "For the beginning," he says, "of his kingdom was Babylon, and Orech, and Chalane." C But seven kings, he says, I will raise up against him (for he calls kings "shepherds"), and I will entangle him with eight human plagues. And he speaks of the warlike assaults made against him; for he calls these "bites of men." And he signifies, at the same time, the capture of Babylon also. For now, he says, I will cast him into such evils; but after a little while, I will utterly destroy him who shall succeed him and who shall have established Babylon as a royal city; and the strongest walls shall not avail him, nor the fortifications built outside around the walls
But you shall be delivered from them, not only at that time, when I shall stir up other enemies against them, but also now, while they are attacking your city with many troops; for even now, through angelic ministry, I shall bring upon them invisible destruction. A Having thus given the events of that time as pledges of what was to happen later, he turns his discourse back again, and teaches how the holy apostles, and the ministers designated along with them for divine preaching, who have believed in the Lord born in Bethlehem, shall bring the evangelical doctrine to the foreign nations. He speaks as follows:
Vers. 7. « And the remnant of Jacob in the nations, in the midst of many peoples, shall be as dew from the Lord falling, and as lambs upon the grass, that no one may gather, nor withstand among the sons of men. » He calls those who have been saved the remnant, everywhere. So also elsewhere: « If the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved. » B Therefore, he says, just as dew fallen from heaven, those who have believed and brought the evangelical preaching to the nations shall irrigate the whole world; and just as hungry lambs graze upon the grass, so these shall easily destroy the impiety inborn in uncultivated minds, like grass, so that such congregations of men are no longer found. But since the demons remained incurably sick, the Holy Spirit rightly made the prediction with an exception: « That no one may gather, nor withstand among the sons of men. » So that, he says, no congregation composed of impious men may be found henceforth. And because he compared them to dew and lambs, and did not sufficiently express through these the power given to them by God, he adds another similitude to those mentioned.
VERS. 8. « And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts C of the forest, and as a lion's whelp among the flocks of sheep, as if he should pass through, and dividing, should seize, and there be none to deliver. » For the beginnings of the holy apostles were like dripping dew, and as lambs they consumed the grass of impiety with teaching and miracles, living as lambs in the midst of wolves, according to the prediction of the Master: « For behold, » he says, « I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. » But after this, when the world had received the preaching, and generals and kings had been added to the register of the Church, fear invaded the enemies of the truth. And these, having become like beasts of burden, are filled with fear and horror, having no helper from any quarter. D
Evangelical teachers of doctrine, bearing lion-like spirits, with the utmost liberty of speech do they assail with the word the defenders of falsehood. Then, he says:
A Vers. 9. "Your hand shall be lifted up above them that afflict you, and all your enemies shall be destroyed." For no longer shall you be expelled by them, but you shall demolish their temples. Those, therefore, of Israel who have believed shall attain this strength of spirit. Those, however, who persist in unbelief shall be deprived of their kingdom, and shall have neither infantry nor cavalry, nor cities fortified with walls. But even these things, he says, will be for your good. "For I will take away," he says, "your sorceries from your hands; and there shall be no more speakers in you." By *speakers* he calls the diviners.
B Vers. 15-18. "And I will scatter your sculptured images and your statues from the midst of you, and you shall no longer worship the works of your hands. And I will cut down your groves from the midst of you, and I will destroy your cities. And I will execute vengeance in wrath and in fury upon the nations, for they did not hearken." These things, however, can be easily understood from the very events. For after the incarnation of our God and Savior, as the Jews saw the piety of the nations and their deliverance from error, they themselves, even against their will, withdrew from the worship of idols. For they are ashamed to practice impiety openly, when they see those who are outside the Law behaving wisely. He predicts, therefore, to them that they shall be expelled from their own cities, and, scattered among the nations, shall be delivered from the error concerning idols. Having passed this judgment upon them, he calls them again to a tribunal, and entrusts the judgment to the inanimate mountains; not as if calling upon animate beings, nor as if he were addressing his words to those endowed with reason; but because the mountains, and the ravines and gorges between them, at one time received the corpses of the Assyrians—slaughtered by angelic agency—and at another time the countless slaughters of the Scythian nations; therefore, through the mountains, and the hills, and the valleys, he reminds them of the things that took place in these.
CHAPTER VI.
D Vers. 1. "Hear now what the Lord has said: Arise, and contend before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice." Cast your eyes upon the mountains, which, by my aid, received the corpses of your enemies: and speak freely, if indeed you are able, nor let the magnitude of the benefit block your mouth. But since you cannot perform this, I will take up the discourse.
Vers. 2. "Hear, O hills, the judgment of the Lord, and you, ye valleys, the foundations of the earth: for there is a judgment to the Lord against his people, and with Israel he will contend." —
A Since they are rational but suffer from the disease of irrationality, I shall employ inanimate objects as judges against the rational ones.
Ver. 3. "My people, what have I done to thee? Or wherein have I grieved thee? Or wherein have I wearied thee? Answer me." State the cause of your enmity; convict me, if you have experienced anything grievous from me. And since it was necessary for him to be silent, having nothing to say, he fittingly added: "Answer me"; if you have anything to say, speak plainly and openly.
Ver. 4. "For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee from the house of bondage; and I sent before thy face Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam." Do you bring this forward as an injury, that I delivered you from the bitter servitude of the Egyptians, and bestowed upon you B perfect freedom, using as ministers wonderful and illustrious men, Moses and Aaron; and that I did not deprive the women of the care they required, but set Miriam over them, and filled her with the prophetic gift? But if you wish to be unmindful of these things, recall to mind the matters concerning Balaam, and consider why Balaam was sent for, and how he, acting under the influence of my power, brought upon you not a curse, but a blessing. And when I did each of these things, I was not offering you a reward for your righteousness, but was making my own righteousness clear; for having made a promise to your forefather, I was fulfilling the covenants made with him. C Having spoken these words as if from the person of God, the prophet, seeing the stupidity of the people, himself in place of the people stirs up thoughts of piety, and says:
Ver. 6. "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? shall I lay hold of my high God?" How shall I repay him who provides me with so many and such great good things? What recompenses shall I employ? "Shall I lay hold of him with whole burnt offerings, with calves of a D year old? (Ver. 7.) Will the Lord accept thousands of rams, or ten thousands of fat goats? Shall I give my firstborn for my impiety, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Nothing, he says, of human things—not the multitude of calves, not whole flocks, not ten thousands of kids (for he calls yearling kids 'goats'), not the firstborn infants offered as a sacrifice to God—can absolve the multitude of sins. But if all these things are not sufficient for the remission of sins, with what shall I repay the divine benefits? Having thus proposed human thoughts, he again introduces God responding.
Ver. 8. "It has been told thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee, but to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk after the Lord thy God?" This
same thing the God of the universe hath said, through the mouth of the blessed David. For having rejected the whole list of sacrifices, and having said: "I will not take from thy house bullocks, nor from thy flocks he-goats; for all the beasts of the forest are mine," A he added: "Offer unto God a sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows unto the Most High. And call upon me in the day of thy tribulation, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." And again: "For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would have given it; in burnt offerings thou wilt not delight. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise." One might find these same things also among all the prophets. He says, therefore, here too, that the things legislated for thee by me are manifest. For He wishes thee to be careful about justice, and to be humane towards thy neighbor, and in all things to obey God the Creator. B These things He also legislated through Moses: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Now when these things are done by thee,
Verse 9. "The voice of the Lord shall call unto the city, and shall save them that fear His name." For having been refreshed by the very realities of His providence, you shall seem to hear the voice of the Lord Himself, which provides salvation unto you.
"Hear, O tribe, and who shall adorn the city? (Verse 10.) Is it fire, and the house of the lawless man storing up lawless treasures, and that with the insolence of wickedness?" C For just as fire is not an ornament to a city, but brings upon it conflagration and destruction; so also a propensity toward injustice, arriving with audacity and insolence, harms those who use it.
Verses 11, 12. "Shall the unjust one be justified in the balance, and he in whose pouch are deceitful weights? With which they have filled their riches of wickedness; and they that dwell in it have spoken lies, and their tongue was exalted in their mouth." For besides impiety and lawlessness, they dared to do the things which He lately condemned: possessing unjust weights and scales, and gathering D wealth through greed, and defiling their tongue with lying words. Therefore, He says, I shall make a beginning of the punishment against thee, and I will exact penalties for thy lawlessness, and I will bring upon thee frequent and successive evils. For this is what He said:
Verse 14. "Thou shalt eat, and shalt not be satisfied." But I will wrap thee in the gloom of calamities, and though thou hast recourse to flight, thou shalt not escape those who are warring against thee. "For thou shalt turn aside," He says, "and shalt not be saved, and whosoever shall be saved, shall be delivered to the sword." [15] Even if
A you toil much in the land, you shall by no means enjoy its fruits. "And the statutes of my people shall be scattered." And teaching that he speaks here not of the divine law but of the lawless way of life, he added: "And all the works of the house of Ahab." For having emulated that impiety, you shall be delivered up to these evils, so that those who see the calamities befalling you may signify their magnitude by a hiss. Having said all this, the prophet laments, as one who has used many words but labored in vain.
CHAPTER VII
VERS. 1. "Woe is me! for I have become as one that gathereth stubble in the harvest, and as a grape-gleaning in the vintage, whereas there is no cluster: my soul desired to eat the first-fruits." I am become, he says, like those who gather the falling ears of corn, or who search for the grape-gleanings passed over by the vintagers; for neither did I find a cluster of obedience, though I greatly desired to find something desirable and worthy of the first-fruits. For this is what he said: "My soul desired to eat the first-fruits." Since the first-fruits were offered to God, he reasonably called the desirable thing "first-fruit." And wishing to clarify these things said figuratively, he added: B "Woe is me, soul! (v. 2) for the godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none that does right among men." Then he makes a list of their sins. For those who judge, he says, bring an unrighteous sentence against the innocent, and dare to perpetrate lawless murders; and of the rest, each one, desiring more, seizes his neighbor's property. But he who is entrusted with judging according to the laws does not even wait for those who bring gifts, but he himself asks for them, following a mind given over to the corruption of bribes. "For the prince," he says, "asks and the judge has spoken peaceful words—it is the desire of his soul." For having received bribes from those who do injustice, he promises them the desired victory. For this reason, he says:
VERS. 4. "I will take away their goods as a moth eating, and walking upon the rule, in the day of thy visitation." For just like a moth walking inside wood and destroying everything with its teeth, so the sentence pronounced against you shall consume you in the day of vengeance. For he called this a "visitation," that is, the coming of God on that day. Then, lamenting as a merciful father, C like one who is chastising, he says: "Woe, woe, thy vengeances are come! now shall their wailing be." And when these things happen, he says, neither will a friend stand by a friend, nor will a king care for his subjects, nor will a spouse feel concern for her husband; but each one will take care of his own safety, watching for an escape from the evils, so that neither does a son render the due honor to his father, nor a daughter to her mother, nor a bride to her mother-in-law: but
they A shall all be in a kind of discord, one despising another, and barely providing for their own safety. And they indeed shall be in these straits; but I, says the prophet,
Vers. 7. “In the Lord will I look, I will wait for God my Savior.” And showing what the fruit of such waiting is, “My God,” he says, “will hearken unto me.” Having thus clearly taught the profit of hope placed in God, he assumes the person of Jerusalem and directs his words to Idumea, which was always B inimical and hostile.
Vers. 8. “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy, because I have fallen.” For I shall rise again, being lifted up by divine care; for He himself will provide his light even to me who dwell in darkness. But for now I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; for I know the justice of the punishment, looking upon the magnitude of the sin. Yet I nevertheless await the just judgment against those who brought war upon me. For even if I paid the penalty for the things in which I transgressed, yet they used an unjust intention against me. The following passage has this same meaning: “Until he shall justify my cause, and execute my judgment, and bring me forth into the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.” For on his part I have been justly condemned; but against those others I have very many claims, and for this reason I shall await the divine verdict; and when I see it pronounced, and am delivered from their servitude,
C Vers. 10. “My enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which saith unto me: Where is thy God?” And not only shall she herself see my prosperity and the power of my God, against whom she stretched out her tongue, but I also shall behold her misfortune. “For mine eyes shall behold her; now shall she be for a trampling, as the mud in the ways.” (Vers. 11.) “The day of the smearing of the brick, that day shall be thy blotting out; and thy statutes shall be driven away.” “In that day also thy cities shall come unto a shutting up, and into a division of the Assyrians.” For just as the mud prepared for the smearing and coating of bricks, when thrown outside, is trampled by all who pass by, so that the clods may be D dissolved as is needed; so shalt thou be exposed to all and easily captured, destroyed and trampled by all thy neighbors. [12] Then thy lawless laws shall receive an end, and cities shall endure a siege; for this is what he called a “shutting up,” and the multitude of inhabitants, being scattered by the enemies, shall be compelled to serve. Since, however, other neighboring cities also rejoiced over the calamities of the Jews, he fittingly remembers Tyre, and Syria, and other cities,
explaining them by describing them according to their borders. "For from sea," he says, "to sea, and from mountain to mountain." A That is, from the Red Sea, which is situated to the East, unto the sea that inclines to the West; and from the mountain of the Idumeans unto Mount Lebanon, all those dwelling between them shall be delivered to the enemies. For this is what he added after saying: "A day of water and tumult." For like water carried along with a rushing sound, the multitude of that army shall make its assault, and it shall overwhelm the land with desolation, and shall deliver the inhabitants to slaughter and servitude. And revealing the cause, he says: "From the fruits of their pursuits." Having thus prophesied what was to happen to the neighboring nations, he foretells the peace that would come to the people after their return.
Ver. 14. "Shepherd thy people with thy rod, the tribe of thine inheritance, the sheep of thy heritage." And because he called men sheep metaphorically, he persisted in the metaphor. "Dwellers in a thicket apart." B Those separated, he says, from all nations, and having their own pasture. Now, what he said, "with the rod of thy tribe," signifies the tribe of Judah. For that tribe led the others after the return, since the division of the tribes no longer existed. Then, teaching that they would possess all the land which they had held before the captivity after their return, he added: "They shall graze in the thicket in the midst of Carmel, in Bashan and Gilead, according to the days of old." (Ver. 15.) "And according to the days of thy departure from the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things." For how much land I gave you when you went out of Egypt, he says, so much will I grant you upon your return from Babylon, terrifying with miracles those who would try to make war against you. For the nations, seeing these things, shall be filled with shame, and seeing the weakness of their own strength: C "They shall lay their hands upon their mouth, and their ears shall be deaf." (Ver. 17.) "They shall lick the dust like serpents that crawl upon the earth; they shall be disturbed in their enclosure at the Lord our God; they shall fear and be terrified of thee." For seeing your sudden prosperity, and the help afforded by me, they shall not dare to utter absurd words against thee; but like serpents creeping upon the earth they shall fall down, daring neither to do nor to say anything. Having finished these words, the prophet, struck with wonder at the divine kindness toward men, cried out:
Ver. 18. "Who is a God like unto thee, taking away iniquities, and passing over injustices to the remnant of his inheritance?" D Employing, he says, an unspeakable goodness, O Master, one that surpasses all discourse, thou dost not demand from men retribution for their sins.
A But when, having applied discipline, thou seest a slight change of mind, thou disregardest the errors, thou overleapest the transgressions; which is exactly what thou hast done even now for thy people. "He did not hold back his anger for a testimony," for he is a lover of mercy. This is similar to what was said by the blessed David: "He will not be angry forever, nor will he rage for all time; he has not done to us according to our sins, nor did he requite us according to our iniquities." The inspired Micah, therefore, also cries out that he did not keep his anger for long as a reproof and testimony of the people's transgression, but, using mercy, he will return.
19. "He will return and have mercy on us; he will sink our sins, and all our sins will be cast into the depths of the sea." B Things similar to these are also cried out by God, the Lord of all, through the prophet Isaiah: "I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember your transgressions." For this is the paradox, that he does not only forgive, but also banishes them from memory, and commits them, as it were, to an abyss of forgetfulness. The blessed Micah, making this clear, also said: "He will sink our sins, and all our sins will be cast into the depths of the sea." For just as that which is cast into the depth of the sea is completely invisible, so, he says, will he consign our sins to complete oblivion, because of the covenants made with our ancestors. And making this clear, he added:
20. "You will grant truth to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as you swore to our fathers in the days of old." C Thus also the blessed David says: "He remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, which he established with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac; and he set it to Jacob as a decree, and to Israel as an everlasting covenant." D The Master, then, cast the sins of those [people of old] into the depth of the sea, but ours he blots out in the holy and divine laver, of which the Red Sea, according to the divine Apostle, became a type; crossing which, the people were delivered from the slavery of Egypt. Following that type, let us also, through the holy laver being liberated from the tyranny of the devil, take heed of our own salvation, continuously singing praises to our benefactor, and following his laws, and treading the path beaten by the saints, so that we may reach the good end of the road together with them, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS: ENARRATION UPON NAHUM
BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS: INTERPRETATION OF NAHUM THE PROPHET.
AARGUMENT. When the threats of God, which the prophet Jonah had proclaimed to them, had cast fear upon the Ninevites, they performed acts of earnest repentance and found salvation; for in place of the utter destruction with which they were threatened, they obtained divine mercy. But a short time later, having forgotten this ineffable grace of God and having returned to their former wickedness, they committed countless other lawless acts, and dared to launch campaigns against the Israelite people. They led away the ten tribes into captivity, having enslaved them by the hand of Tiglath-Pileser and Shalmaneser. Sennacherib, moreover, attacked Judea in war and captured other cities by siege, and having sent an army against Jerusalem, moved his tongue against the God of all things himself. B But suddenly, by an invisible power through one angel, many tens of thousands of them were delivered to death; and their own king, having escaped this plague and become a herald of the divinely-sent vengeance (for God permitted him to escape, so that he might act as such), received the blow in his own palace at the hands of his own sons. And not long afterward, the kingdom having been transferred to Babylon, the entire race of those kings was destroyed, while the city was overthrown and reduced to a wasteland. The blessed prophet Nahum, inspired by the divine Spirit, foretells this destruction of the Ninevites, and teaches through the themes of his prophecy that nothing is neglected or unprovided for by the Lord God; rather, exercising a just judgment, he demands from each person an account of their life. For this reason, he says, he delivered Israel to the Assyrians because it acted impiously; but he again exacted many penalties from the Assyrians through others, because they had invaded these people most savagely and used cruelty against them. For they did not wage war against Israel to serve the will of God, but to obey their own audacity and lust, and to extend their empire as widely as possible against all. Nor, indeed, did their [attempts...] C
God, the Lord of all, allow them to carry out their undertaking A without measure, as He was exacting punishment from Israel through them. Yet, lest they imagine that they had accomplished this by their own power, having overcome all other cities, He struck down many myriads of them at the very walls of Jerusalem. B Such are the predictions contained in the prophecy of the blessed Nahum; it remains for us to proceed to the explanation of the words.
CHAPTER ONE
B VERSE 1. "The burden of Nineveh: the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite." The grace of the All-Holy Spirit, working in diverse ways through the wondrous prophets, suggested certain visions to some, such as the inspired Isaiah, and Micah, and Daniel, and Ezekiel, and Zechariah; to others, it infused what it wished by means of sound, so that they seemed to hear someone speaking; while to others it breathed the prophecy, and through their tongue spoke what it willed. For the prophetic grace, suddenly seizing their mind and separating them from all human things, prepared them to serve and minister to the prophetic words. C This, then, the prophet called a "burden," as it were a taking hold of the mind and a departure from human things. For my mind, he says, having been taken by the divine Spirit, foresaw the things that were to befall Nineveh.
VERSE 2. "God is jealous, and the Lord is an avenger in His wrath, and the Lord takes away His enemies." Since, in their fury against Jerusalem, they had used blasphemous language against the God of all, He rightly calls them adversaries and enemies, and threatens them with destruction. He calls "jealousy" that rightful wrath. For thus says the Lawgiver: "You shall not make for yourself the likeness of anything, D whatever is in heaven above, and whatever is on the earth below, and whatever is in the waters under the earth; because I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, a consuming fire." So too the great Elijah says: "I have been very jealous for the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel," that is, I am wrathful against those who act impiously toward God.
VERSE 3. "The Lord is long-suffering, and His power is great, and He will by no means clear the guilty." He does not, he says, bring punishments straightway and immediately, but uses the greatest long-suffering. Of this you Ninevites are witnesses, who acted with repentance and found salvation, and having again acted with the greatest wickedness, did not immediately pay the penalty for it; but for a long time...
A bears the iniquities of men, and knows how to inflict punishment upon those who do not repent. For this is what he says: "Clearing, He will not make innocent"—that is, the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who has committed deeds worthy of punishment. "The Lord, in the consummation and in the commotion is His way." No longer, he says, will the God of the universe bestow mercy upon you, but He will bring destruction. Similar to this are the words of the Psalm: "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth." For "truth" has not only mercy, but also just punishment. Therefore, by "way," the action is to be understood both here and there. "And clouds are the dust of His feet." Most appropriately did he add the mention of dust. He wishes to mean that He will no longer use long-suffering, but will bring destruction upon you, summoning a cloud of evils upon you from every side. And teaching that He easily accomplishes whatever He desires, he subjoins:
VER. 4. "Rebuking the sea and drying it up, and making all the rivers a desert." For if He should decide B that all the water of the sea and of the rivers ought to be dried up from the foundations, He would be able to do it in a moment of time: which, indeed, He demonstrated from things that have already come to pass. "Bashan is made weak, and Carmel, and all that were flourishing in Lebanon have failed." For when I had decided to exact penalties from those who dwell in Bashan, and Carmel, and Lebanon, I delivered them to you. But you, devastating their fields, and storming their cities, and leading their citizens into captivity, have reduced them to supreme desolation.
VER. 5. "The mountains were moved by Him, and the hills were shaken; and the whole earth was stirred up from His face, and all that dwell in it." For because some thought that He was the God of the Jews only, not without reason does the prophet teach that He shakes the mountains, the hills, and the whole earth with its inhabitants by His mere nod. Regarding what he says, "and the earth was contracted," Aquila said "trembled," while Symmachus said "it was stirred up."
VER. 6. "Who shall sustain the aspect of His wrath? And who will resist in the wrath of His indignation? His wrath consumes principalities, and rocks are broken by Him." C For if He most easily breaks and destroys those who exalt themselves because of their principalities and who imagine themselves to have the strength of rocks, who will be able to resist His correction? But as He destroys the proud without effort, so the Lord is good toward those who wait for Him in the day of tribulation, and knows those who fear Him. Showing, moreover, how God is disposed toward those who sustain inflicted corrections and speak nothing absurd against God, he again sets forth the punishments established against the impious.
A Ver. 8. "And with an overflowing flood he will make an end, and darkness shall pursue his enemies." For he shall deliver those who grow bold against Him to utter destruction and everlasting darkness; he called an overflowing flood and an end, the supreme destruction. Then by way of questioning:
Ver. 9. "What do you imagine against the Lord?" What kind of power, he says, do you suppose Him to possess? "He will make an end, and He will not take vengeance twice in the same thing in affliction." A cumulative punishment, he says, He will inflict upon you, so that there will be no need to add a second blow.
B Ver. 10. "For they shall be laid waste even to their foundation, and shall be eaten like a folded vine, and like stubble full of dryness." For just as fire easily consumes dry stubble, and the plant growing by the fences, and especially that which is entangled with the Christ-thorn, does not allow them to bloom, and itself is destroyed in time; so you, having destroyed the kingdoms of others, shall be stripped of your own kingdom, and shall be delivered to destruction. And showing the justice of the punishment, he subjoined:
C Ver. 11. "Out of thee shall come forth a device against the Lord, imagining evil things to the contrary." But you shall suffer these things because of the insane ravings of your mind. The history of the fourth book of Kings, as well as the divine Isaiah, teaches us these things. For in those books Sennacherib is described pouring forth that rabid blasphemy against the God of all: "Say to Hezekiah: Thus saith the great king, the king of the Assyrians: Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying that He will deliver Jerusalem out of my hand." And other things similar to these. Designating this arrogance of his, God said through the prophet: "I will visit upon the great mind, the king of the Assyrians"; thus He exposes the arrogance of his thoughts.
Ver. 12. "Thus saith the Lord, ruling over many waters, and so they shall be divided." He calls the multitude of the Babylonians the multitude of waters, which waged war against the Ninevites, and which, divided into cohorts like water, proceeded to the siege of the city. Having done this, he says, "Thy fame shall be heard no more," for you shall be delivered to total oblivion.
Ver. 13. "And now I will break his rod from off thee, and will break thy bonds asunder." For I will take from you the authority which I once gave you; and I will destroy your dominion, having broken its bonds. For he calls authority a "rod"; and he teaches us this clearly through the prophet Isaiah: D
A "Woe to the Assyrians! The rod of my fury and my anger is in their hands."
VERS. 14. "And the Lord shall give orders concerning you." For, he says, it is by my command that you will endure these things. "Your name shall no longer be sown." For your title shall no longer be imposed upon those subject to you; for it is the custom for the ruled to be named after their kings—thus, from Babylon, the Babylonians; and from Cyrus the Persian, the Persians; and later the Macedonians from Macedon; and now, from Rome, the Romans. "I will destroy the carved images from the house of your God, and I will place your sepulcher as a molten work, because you have been dishonored." Moreover, together with you, your man-made gods shall also perish utterly, whom you shall hide within the earth and bury as in some tombs, so that they themselves may not become booty for the enemies.
VERS. 15. "For behold, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and publisheth peace, are swift upon the mountains." When these things happen against you, many shall run to those who inhabit Judea, bringing pleasant tidings of peace. "Celebrate, Judah, your feasts: pay your vows to God: for they shall no more pass into antiquity: he is consumed, he is taken away." You, he says, having heard of the destruction of your enemies, perform the customary festivals to God and offer the usual sacrifices; for he who launched many campaigns against you has perished utterly, and they will no longer attempt to consume and destroy you. C
CAPUT II.
VERS. 1. "He who breathes has ascended into your presence, delivering you from affliction." The author of these things for you is God, who by His own nod, like a certain breath, destroyed those others and liberated you from their dominion. For just as when He breathed the breath of life into Adam, He made him a living soul, so to you, by the inspiration of life, He provides salvation. The Lord Christ gave this also to the holy apostles after the resurrection. For because Adam lost the image which he had received through the divine inspiration, the Lord Christ, D rightfully renewing it, restored it to the holy apostles, and through them to all who believe. For He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Since, however, the old things are a type of the new, let us understand the kingdom of the Assyrians being destroyed as the tyranny of the devil being extinguished through the Lord Christ; and let us interpret Judah, insulting him and keeping feast days, as the whole world rejoicing for its salvation, as [those] who...
have received spiritual grace through the Lord’s insufflation, and have been delivered from the bitter tyranny of the demons. But let us return to the history. A “Contemplate the road, take hold of your loins, be strong in power mightily. (v. 2) For the Lord has averted the contumely of Jacob, as the contumely of Israel.” This, he does not say to the Assyrian, as some have supposed, but he is still conversing with Judah and exhorting him to watch the roads and await the messengers, and to receive the good news brought by them, and in place of the former cowardice to recover strength. For this is what he said, “Take hold of your loins,” that is, “Cast off your former cowardice.” Thus the blessed B Elijah bound his loins and ran before the chariot of Ahab. Thus God says to Job: “Gird up your loins like a man.” And the divine Paul exhorts us to gird our loins with truth. Here, therefore, it is that he bids Judah to take heart, “because the Lord has averted the contumely of Jacob, as the contumely of Israel.” It should be known that the name Jacob was given to the descendants of Jacob by his parents, but Israel by God. The people born of Jacob partook of both names. He says, therefore, that “I have exacted from them the penalties for the terrible things done against you, O Jacob, by the Assyrians, because of the virtue of your progenitor, for whose sake I also imposed upon you the name of Israel.”
“For those shaking them have shaken them, and have destroyed their branches. (v. 3) The weapons of his power are from among men.” Just as those who shake the branches of the vine, he says, destroy all the fruit, so the enemies who invaded these people both dissolved their power, and took away their panoplies, and forced those who had escaped death to serve. And showing that they will not suffer these things because of weakness, C but because of the sentence issued by Him against them, he added: “Strong men sporting in the fire.” For they used such boldness as to dare to approach the fire itself. “The reins of their chariots [are] in the day of their preparation, and the horsemen shall be troubled. (v. 4) In the roads the chariots shall be confounded, and shall be entangled in the streets.” For nothing, he says, will profit you, neither the multitude of the prepared chariots, nor the cavalry force; for because of the tumult of the encroaching enemies, everything will become useless, entangling itself in the roads and being trampled by one another. “Their appearance is as lamps of fire, and as lightnings they run to and fro.” And indeed, he says, you once had a noble spirit, and you showed your spirited nature through your eyes, and, as with certain lamps and lightnings, you inspired terror in your subjects.
but in the assault of the enemy, cowardice instead of courage will take hold of you. This is what he has revealed through the words that follow.
A Ver. 5. "For their nobles will be remembered," he says, "and they will flee by day, and they will be weakened on their journey; they will hasten to the walls, and they will prepare their bulwarks." For those who long ago were lifted up by their power will endeavor with all zeal to escape; and when they cannot achieve this, they will again ascend the walls and apply themselves to defending the city; yet none the less the gates will be opened, and the palace will fall into the power of the enemy, and the treasures within the palace will be plundered. He indicated this by saying: "The substance has been revealed." That is, what had once been hidden and secured by many bolts has become clear to all. "And she was ascending." He understands Nineveh; for it is of her that he is prophesying.
B Ver. 7. "And her handmaids were led, and like doves cooing in their hearts." Together with her, the subject cities and villages will also undergo captivity, groaning in their minds and imitating the sound of doves.
Ver. 8. "And Nineveh is as a pool of waters, her waters; and they themselves fleeing have not stood, and there was no one to look back." For so great was the number of those dwelling in that city, that it might be compared to a pool filled with waters and overflowing with the surplus; yet all looked to nothing but flight, and dared not so much as turn their eyes behind them. Then he explains their former iniquity.
Ver. 9. "They were plundering the silver, they were plundering the gold, and there was no end to her ornaments." But what she gathered unjustly will be handed over to others. "For they are weighed down above all her desirable vessels." Against these treasures, he says, the multitude of the enemy will advance. He speaks of future things as if they were past, according to the proper idiom of Scripture.
C Ver. 10. "An ejection, and a re-ejection, and a boiling, and a breaking of heart, and a loosening of knees, and pains upon every loin, and the faces of all like the charring of a pot." Things that are accustomed to happen in earthquakes, when the earth is convulsed and shaken, these same things he has set forth regarding the assault of the enemy—that because their hearts are struck with fear, the joints of their knees will be loosened, and they will suffer pains similar to those of women in labor, and their faces, because the blood has congealed, will turn black, so as to resemble that part of a pot which is accustomed to be exposed to the fire.
Ver. 11. "Where is the habitation of the lions, and the pasture that was for the lion's cubs?" He calls the habitation...
A of the lions Nineveh; the lions, the kings; the cubs, their sons; the pasture, their subject cities. You, who of old, he says, lived in Nineveh like lions, and attacked all without fear, and provided food for your cubs, why do you now do nothing of the sort, when enemies have come upon you? And persisting in the metaphor, "Where is the lion gone," he says, "to enter in?" Or, he says, did you happen to be absent on some expedition against someone when the troop of the enemy attacked? But it is not so. "For there," he says, "were the lion's cubs, and there was none to terrify them." For you were not the only one dwelling there at that time, but all your commanders, who of old feared no one, but were destroying other kingdoms and gathering tribute from them there, and providing food for their descendants. This he indicated by what he added:
Ver. 12. "A lion tore enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his den with prey, and his habitation with plunder." For beasts are accustomed to strangle the animals they hunt, and thus offer them as food for those from them. So also the Assyrians, while destroying the kingdoms of the nations, enjoyed the tribute from them. But for this iniquity I will exact punishment from thee.
Ver. 13. "Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will burn thy multitude in smoke, and the sword shall devour thy lions, and I will destroy thy prey from the earth, and thy works shall no more be heard." Since B he earlier mentioned metaphorically lions, and cubs, and prey, and pasture, he rightly also predicts their destruction metaphorically. And since animals hidden in certain dens, and refusing to come out, are compelled to come out by hunters who apply smoke to the entrances, and upon coming out are met with spears, he rightly said that he would deliver the multitude to smoke, and the lions to the sword. He signifies by this C the burning of the city and the slaughter of the kings, the news of which…
CHAPTER III.
[1-3]. Then D he deplores the entire city and its malice, calling it mendacious and iniquitous, and narrates the looming evils: saying that the clatter of chariots, the neighing of horses, and the cry of horsemen were like an earthquake. He also strikes terror with the narration of arms, saying that arms and swords flash. Moreover, he predicts the multitude of the fallen and the slaughter of the nations which had come to bring help; and he says that few were saved from this war. For this is what he says:
A *“They shall be weakened among their nations”* (v. 4). *“Because of the multitude of whoredom.”* For he says that their multitude shall be reduced to a few, both because of their error concerning idols and because of their manifold wantonness; for he calls both of these things whoredom in this passage. And what follows teaches this more clearly: *“A fair and graceful harlot, mistress of sorceries.”* For while you were living in impiety and lawlessness, you seemed splendid and illustrious to those who did not know how to judge the nature of things rightly. And having abandoned the Creator and Savior, who counted you worthy of great mercy when you repented, you surrendered yourself to sorcery, and through it you continued to do all things. *“Which sells nations through her whoredom, and tribes through her sorceries.”* And not content with your own impiety, you also forced your subjects to think the same things as you. For this reason, he says, B (v. 5, 6) *“I, the Lord of all, will uncover your posterior parts before your face, and I will show the nations your shame, and the kingdoms your disgrace. And I will cast upon you an abomination according to your uncleannesses.”* The expression, *“I will uncover your posterior parts before your face,”* is said using a metaphor taken from servants who are stripped and scourged for greater ignominy. He says, therefore, that I will make your iniquity known to all through punishment, both to kings and to nations, so that you may become a useful example of this to others. For he added this: *“And I will make you an example.”* (v. 7) *“And it shall be that everyone who sees you shall descend from you and shall say, ‘Wretched Nineveh, who shall groan over her? Whence shall I seek comfort for her?’”* For I will deliver you to such great desolation that those who were formerly indignant because of your power will be moved to pity. For this is what he said: *“He shall descend from you,”* and he shall seek a manner of mourning worthy of such great devastation.
(v. 8) *“Fit the string, prepare yourself, part of Ammon, that dwells in the rivers: water is round about her, whose beginning is the sea, and water is her walls.”* He gives these commands to Egypt, which had suffered bitter and grievous things from the Assyrians. And we have learned this from the other prophets, who foretold to the Israelites that even if they fled into Egypt they would not find safety, but would be caught there by the enemy and delivered to death. Just as, therefore, in what was said previously, Judah is commanded to keep festival now that the kingdom of the Ninevites has been destroyed, so here too he commands Egypt to dance. But he calls it the *“part of Ammon,”* as I believe, because it was dedicated to the demon Ammon. D For he was famous in ancient times, so that many from Greece would set sail there for the sake of oracles. And those who have written down his affairs say that even Alexander, who was the first to rule the Macedonians, journeyed to that place and received responses from there. Since, therefore, as this imposture grew stronger, and the people depended especially upon this demon,
Egypt, he calls it the part of Ammon and encourages it to indulge in dancing because Nineveh has perished. He calls the rivers around it trenches. 9 Then he enumerates the auxiliaries: the Ethiopians, the Libyans, and the western Libyans, who are now called Africans; for he called them Phud. 10 But even though it has so many allies and is itself surrounded by the sea and rivers, it will not, he says, remain free from evils, but will be led away into captivity and will overturn the soil. And her little ones they shall dash against the ground at the beginning of her streets, and upon all her glorious things they shall cast lots, and all her nobles shall be bound in fetters. B Nabuchodonosor did these things to it, and later Cambyses, son of Cyrus, having overthrown its kingdom, compelled it to remain under his own dominion; and Alexander, after many generations, subjected it to the Macedonian empire. Having prophesied these things concerning Egypt, he again turns his discourse to Nineveh.
VERS. 11. « And you shall be drunk, and you shall be despised, and you shall seek for yourself a station from your enemies. » Just as if you were handed over to some drunkenness by calamity, running here and there, you will seek some deliverance from the evils that possess you, and you will not find it. And in like manner, your fortified cities will also be handed over to your enemies. For he explained this through the similitude.
VERS. 12. « All your fortifications are like fig trees that have early figs; if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater. » Like figs, he says, that are shaken by the wind and easily cast off their early fruit, so will you be stripped of your inhabitants; and your brave soldiers will differ nothing from women, being gripped by fear. And your gates will be opened easily, the fire having consumed the bars, and the adversaries will burst through them like a torrent.
VERS. 14. « For you shall draw for yourself the water of the siege. » And then, by irony: « And obtain your fortifications. » Use, he says, your strength, since you have walls and ditches outside the walls.
« Enter into the mud, and trample in the straw; obtain over the brick. » [15, 16.] There the fire shall consume you, the sword shall destroy you, and it shall consume you like a locust, and you shall be weighed down like a caterpillar. You have multiplied your trade more than the stars of heaven. D Do not, he says, trust in your fortifications; for they will be of no help to you. But just as mud, which is trampled with straw for the making of bricks, will be trampled by the hostiles rushing upon you; and they will indeed burn the city, but you, the inhabitants, they will slaughter with all sorts of weapons, and like the locust and the caterpillar, they will utterly destroy you; and like the stars of the heaven
A which can neither be easily numbered, the enemies will take them.
• The caterpillar has rushed and flown away. (Ver. 17.) Your mixture has leapt out like a locust, as a locust that climbs on a hedge on a day of frost. The sun has risen, and it has leapt away, and the place of it is not known. For, he says, just as a locust and a caterpillar, and those things similar to them, when there is dew, they settle on the bushes, unable to fly away; but when the solar ray strikes them, they rise up, and spread their wings, and move to another place: so those who came to your aid, when they see the assault of the enemies, will take thought for their own safety, and giving themselves to flight, they will leave you alone. Then with a compassionate feeling he says:
• Woe to them! (Ver. 18.) Your shepherds have slumbered, the king of Assyria has lulled your mighty ones to sleep; your people have gone off to the mountains, and there was no one to bring them back. From these things it is also plain that holy Scripture calls the Babylonian the Assyrian. And so too do outside writers name him. For he said that the kings of Nineveh slumbered; and he calls death sleep. For so also says the blessed David: “At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, they have slumbered who mounted horses.” And he has said that these kings were lulled to sleep by the Assyrian king: “The king of Assyria has lulled your mighty ones to sleep.” And when these were removed from the midst, taking to flight, your people went off to the mountains, and there was no one to receive them, nor one able to make a stand. Then, indicating the incurable nature of the evils:
Ver. 19. “There is no healing for your breakage.” Since he has used breakage and healing metaphorically, likewise he has added: “Your wound has festered.” They have been delivered, he says, to incurable evils. “All who have heard the report of you will clap their hands over you, for upon whom has your malice not passed always?” Remembering, he says, the evils that were done to them by you, they will rejoice that you are suffering these things, and they will clap their hands. Since, therefore, we perceive the equity of the Judge, let us fear the judgment, so that we may escape the sentence going forth from it against those who act unrighteously, and may enjoy the eternal goods, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is the glory, together with the holy Spirit, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET HABAKKUK. ARGUMENT.
A There are some who are greatly disturbed when they behold the unjust prospering; and there are those who doubt whether God, the Lord of all, provides for human affairs. Others, indeed, believe the teachings about providence but are at a loss as to why things are governed in this manner. The blessed prophet Habakkuk, taking on the role of these latter, as if he himself desired to learn the reason for what occurs, brings forward the question and appends the solution which the grace of the Spirit has provided. For he himself did not suffer from this malaise, as some have supposed; rather, he introduces the questionings of others and offers the doctrine concerning the matters in dispute. B The divine David did the selfsame thing; for he introduces the person of a man who takes it ill that the wicked should prosper, and says: "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped, my steps had near been spilled, because I envied the wicked when I saw the peace of sinners." And after adding many such things, he indicated the solution to the questions raised. "For this," he says, "is a labor before me, until I enter the sanctuary of God and understand their end." Instructed by the grace of the Spirit, he added: "Surely for their craftiness thou hast set evils for them; thou didst cast them down when they were lifted up. How are they become a desolation? They are suddenly failed; they perished because of their iniquity, as the dream of them that awake." And a little later, teaching that one should not curiously inquire into the divine dispensations, but accept the divine words with simplicity, C he says: "I was as a beast before thee, and I am continually with thee." It behooves me, he says, just as a beast of burden follows the one who leads and drives it, not troubling itself as to where it is walking, so to believe thy words—
not, however, as if he himself were doubting A, but because he is outlining the thoughts of men, as the very introduction of the Psalm makes clear: "For how good," he says, "is God to Israel, to those who are upright in heart!" And he who has confessed that God is good, clearly also confesses him to be the dispenser of good things. We find many such things in other Psalms and in the other prophets. The prophecy of divine Habakkuk is also similar to these. For he seems to doubt why the wicked fare better than the just, and why punishment does not immediately follow the transgressors. That he has not set forth his own thoughts to us, but is preparing a remedy for those who suffer from this ailment, forming his prophecy into a question and its solution—the very title itself testifies to this.
CHAPTER ONE
.VERS. 1. For when he had said: "The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw," he immediately added:
VERS. 2, 3. "How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I shall cry out to thee having suffered violence, and thou wilt not save? Why hast thou shown me troubles and sorrows; to look upon misery and impiety?" He calls the "burden" the reception of the mind, and the transition from human affairs to divine revelation. If, therefore, he spoke the aforementioned things by the inspiration of the Spirit, it is evident that he did not suffer from this ailment himself, but uncovers the wound of those who were thus affected, and applies a remedy. Wherefore, he adds to what has been said, and says: "Against me judgment has been made, and the judge receives." For by money, he says, the judges sell justice, and they have no care for the keeping of the laws. For he explained this by what he added:
VERS. 4. "Therefore the law is broken, and judgment is not brought to an end: because the wicked prevails against the just, therefore judgment shall go forth perverted." He explained these things regarding those who were living incorrectly in Jerusalem: for Israel, having already been taken captive by the Assyrians, was dwelling in a foreign land. Having, therefore, set forth the words of one who is indignant in this manner, he provides healing through the divine response.
VERS. 5. "Behold, O you despisers, and look, and wonder, and see wonders, and perish; for I work a work in your days, which you will not believe, if any one tells it." He calls those who are audacious in sinning D and who suffer from a lack of feeling, despisers. These he commands to attend to the prophecy...
to be struck with fear, and [to fear] the threat. A Yet he knows well, as one who clearly understands all things before they come to pass, that they will not believe what is told, and before experiencing the reality of events, they will think the words spoken about them are false. But since he is good and just, he does not wish to judge based solely on foreknowledge; rather, he offers the prophecies even to those who do not believe, and brings punishment upon those who do not accept the remedy.
6. "Therefore, behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which marches upon the breadths of the earth, to possess tabernacles not its own." For you who live in injustice and transgression, because of whom those who ignore the laws of Providence are vexed, I shall bring upon you the most ferocious and swift Chaldeans, who, coveting the possessions of others, make war against all nations.
7. B "It is fearful and illustrious; its judgment shall come from itself, and its decree shall proceed from itself." It is distinguished and capable of causing terror by its reputation alone. It judges not by following foreign laws, but makes its own will its law. Symmachus has put this more clearly: "It shall judge for itself, and its own decree shall proceed forth."
8. "And its horses shall leap more than leopards, and [they shall be] sharper than the wolves of Arabia; and its horsemen shall scatter, and they shall rush from afar, and they shall fly like an eagle eager to eat." By all these things he indicates their strength, courage, and speed. C For such as the eagle is among winged creatures, to which he likened the horsemen; and such as the leopards are among beasts, and the wolves of Arabia, to which he compared the speed of the horses.
9. "Completion shall come upon the ungodly, [who are] set in opposition, facing them." These shall bring complete destruction upon the impious, even to those who attempt to war against them and to draw up in battle array. Symmachus has also set this forth more clearly: "Everything shall come to greed, the sight of their face is a scorching wind." Just as he showed the speed of the horses and horsemen allegorically, so too he likened the ferocity of their countenances to a scorching wind. D For just as that [wind] burns bare bodies, so the sight of the Chaldeans is sufficient to wither the bloom of those who look upon them.
"And he shall gather captivity like sand. (v. 10) And he himself shall revel in kings, and princes shall be his playthings; and he shall mock at every stronghold, and he shall cast up a mound, and shall take it." For, playing rather than exerting himself, he shall dissolve both lawful kingdoms and lawless tyrannies, and, using mounds and siege engines, he shall [overturn] everything...
A demolish even that which is fortified from its very foundations. But the good Lord, seeing this madness of his, will have mercy on those who have fallen into these calamities.
Vers. 11. "For then, he says, he shall change his spirit, and he shall pass over, and be appeased." For having turned his anger into mercy, he will be gracious and dispel the sorrows. Wherefore the prophet, being utterly amazed at the divine philanthropy, cried out: "This is strength to my God." For to you alone, O Lord, belongs the power both to punish as you will and to change vengeance into mercy.
Vers. 12. "Are you not from the beginning, O Lord, my God, my Holy One, and we shall not die?" For having known you from above as Lord and God, and as superior to all things that exist, we obtain salvation from you. "O Lord, you have set him for judgment, and you formed me to demonstrate his discipline." To this end, he says, you created me from of old, that I might reprove those who sin and foretell the approaching chastisements.
Vers. 13, 14. "Your eye is pure, not to see evils, and you cannot look upon hardships; why do you look upon the despisers and keep silent when the impious man swallows up the one who is more righteous than him? And will you make men as the fishes of the sea, and as reptiles having no leader?" B In the beginning, he set forth the question at hand because of those living lawlessly in the city of Jerusalem, having foretold the punishment to be brought upon them by the Chaldeans; and knowing that this would raise a question for many—why he handed over to the most wicked those who had sinned more severely—he added what has just been said. He does this not as one who is himself curiously inquiring into divine providence—for how could he, who said he was fashioned for the reproof of others, do so?—but as one who is outlining the thoughts of those who seek such things. And he says: "I know that you abhor all wickedness, for you are the fountain of justice; but I desire to learn why you permit the arrogant and those sick with stupidity to prosper, and why you disregard those who are not like them, but are being wronged by the impious." In this place, he has not called "the righteous" the one who is righteous in all respects, but, by comparison, the one who is more righteous than the one committing the wrong. C For thus also Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion have interpreted: "You keep silent when the impious man swallows up one more righteous than himself." And if these things happen in this way, the nature of men will differ in no way from the irrational creatures that live in the waters, which have neither lawgivers nor judges, but in which the weaker are held out as prey to the more powerful. For this man also, in a similar way, is using his power wickedly. And he designates the Babylonian.
Vers. 15, 16. "He has lifted him up with a hook in his snare, and he has dragged him in his D net, and he has…
he has gathered him in his sweep-nets. Therefore he will rejoice and be glad in his heart. Therefore he will sacrifice to his net, and will burn incense to his drag-net, because in them he has made his portion full, and his food choice." For he is surrounded by such power that he hunts whole nations as if with a net and a hook, and revels in his prey. Falling from thence into the passion of arrogance, he thinks his own power to be the sole cause of the things that happen, and for this reason he urges that divine honors be offered to it. The divine Daniel taught us this more clearly, saying that he made a golden image of himself, and forced the multitude of his subjects, both those ruled over and the rulers, to worship it. And the divine Isaiah, also, wailing over his arrogance and his honor as if at the same time, and making his thoughts manifest, says: "I will ascend above the clouds; I will place my throne above the stars of heaven; I will capture the inhabited world like a nest, and I will take it up like eggs that have been left." To which he immediately adds: "Beneath you they will strew decay, and your covering will be a worm." B And the blessed prophet Habacuc says:
"He will sacrifice to his net, and will burn incense to his drag-net, because in them he has made his portion full and his food choice." (Vers. 17.) For this reason he will cast his drag-net, and he will continually kill nations, and will not spare. For being carried along by pride, and easily netting whom he wishes, and having as yet received no experience of any evil, he will also attempt it against other nations, and will not cease, having used his power as if it were a net.
CHAPTER II.
1. "I will stand upon my watch, and will ascend upon the rock, and will keep watch to see what he will say in me, and what I shall answer concerning my reproof." This is similar to the things said by the blessed David: "This is labor before me, until I enter into the sanctuary of God, and understand their last ends." And here, too, the prophet says: I will remain in the order in which I was stationed; I will not abandon my steadfastness; but standing upon such a rock, upon which God also stood the great Moses, I will behold with prophetic eyes the solution of the things sought. And from this we have clearly learned that such propositions are not of the divine prophet, but of others. For he said: "I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say in me, and what I shall answer concerning my reproof." C For it is fitting for me to learn what kind of answer I ought to offer to those who wish to learn such things from me.
2, 3. "And the Lord answered me, and said: Write the vision clearly upon a tablet, so that he who reads it may run."
For the vision is yet for a long time, and it shall reach an end, and not in vain." He says: do not address your words only to those who now doubt these things, but transmit the memory of these matters in writing also to those who shall be hereafter; for what is to be spoken is more appropriate for them than for these men, as the prophecy will reach its end after a long time. Then he exhorts one to await the end, and not to call the matter into doubt on account of the time that has elapsed in the interval. "If it should delay, wait for it, because coming it will come, and will not tarry." A The word of the prediction, he says, is true; do not therefore doubt, even if, much time having passed, you do not see the end; for it will certainly be brought to pass, and will not remain unfulfilled.
VERS. 4. "If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him; but my just man shall live by faith." For he who uses an uncertain mind regarding the predictions made by me is unworthy of my care; but he who trusts in the things said by me, and leads a life consistent with that faith, shall reap the fruit of life. Knowing these things, therefore, faithfully accept what is foretold to you concerning the Babylonian. Afterward, he describes his pride and his insatiable greed.
VERS. 5. "But the arrogant one and the scorner, a proud man, shall bring nothing to an end." B Know, therefore, that he who swells with pride and is of haughty spirit, and who scorns my patience, shall not use this power over others for a very long time. "Who has widened his soul like hell, and he is like death, and is not satisfied; and he shall gather unto him all nations, and shall receive unto himself all the peoples." For, similar to hell and death, he does not wish to take his fill, and though he subjects all mortals under his yoke, he does not sate his desire for power.
VERS. 6. "Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a riddle for a narrative of him? And they shall say: Woe to him who multiplies to himself what is not his! How long also does he weigh down his own yoke heavily?" For every man of right understanding will compare his insatiable greed C to hell and death, and will lament him who increases his wealth at the expense of others' misfortunes, and who, unable to be sated, burdens those under his rule with tolls and taxes; and he shall say, "Until when do you not sate your insatiable desire?" Yet, though unwilling, he shall make an end of his injustice.
VERS. 7, 8. "Because suddenly there shall arise those who bite him, and your insidiators shall awaken, and you shall be for a plunder to them. Because you have plundered many nations, D
all the remainder of the peoples shall plunder you." For having conquered the many, you shall be destroyed by a few, and as if awakened from slumber, those who have long endured your tyranny shall devise your ruin; and you shall pay the penalty for the myriads of slaughters, and for the great impiety, and for the lawless acts against cities which you have made void of inhabitants.
Verse 9. "O you who heap up evil covetousness for your house, to set your nest on high, that you may be delivered from the hand of evils." Infinitely wretched and thrice-unhappy is he who, desiring more, seeks to increase his domestic estate from such revenues, and struggles to become superior to all men; for such a man shall undergo a heavier fall, inasmuch as he is being borne from a greater height into the depths. B
Verse 10. "You have devised confusion for your house, you have consumed many peoples, and your soul has sinned." For when you have vexed many nations with countless evils, you have indeed pierced your own soul with sins, but you have overwhelmed your whole house with confusion.
Verse 11. "Therefore the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beetle shall speak of these things from the wood." For not only those who have part in reason, but perhaps even these inanimate and irrational things shall cry out concerning your folly and madness. It is clear, however, that the reference to the stone and the beetle is made hyperbolically. For the Lord also said to the Jews concerning the children: "Amen I say to you, if these should keep silence, the stones will cry out." C But instead of "beetle," Symmachus has put "wooden joint."
Verses 12-14. "Woe to him who builds a city in blood, and prepares a city in iniquities! Are not these things from the Lord Almighty? And many peoples have failed in the fire, and many nations have fainted. Because the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as much water to cover the seas." You are truly worthy of laments and wailings, having increased your own kingdom from unjust slaughters, and not understanding that the God of the universe exacts payment from those who transgress; for if you had received this knowledge, you would not have used power like a certain fire against many nations, bringing upon them incurable punishments. D And do not think that the acquisition of divine knowledge is among the difficult things; for know well that every race of men shall receive this ray as quickly as possible, and shall be illuminated by the splendor of the knowledge of God, so that the bitter sea of infidelity shall be covered by the sweet waters of knowledge.
Verses 15, 16. "Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink to his ruin..."
and makes him drunk, that he may look on their A caves. And fullness of dishonor instead of glory." Drink thou also, and be troubled, and shaken. For since thou didst bring to others a kind of murky drink of punishment, seeking out buried treasures, receive thou also the drink which thou didst mix; and having drunk, put away thy former glory, and, covered with dishonor, bewail the sudden change. "The cup of the Lord’s right hand has gone around to thee, and dishonor has been gathered over thy glory." Just punishment from God has overtaken thee. For He calls punishment a cup and wine, as we have often said.
Vers. 17. "Because the impiety of Libanus shall cover thee, and the misery of the beasts shall terrify thee, because of the blood of men, and the impieties of the land, and of the city, and of all them that dwell in it." For those things, he says, which thou hast dared to perpetrate against Jerusalem, thou shalt pay the penalty—for he called this Libanus—and thou shalt B be delivered to the enemies as to certain wild beasts, making satisfaction for all thy multifarious wickednesses.
Vers. 18. "What does the graven image profit, that they have graven it? They have fashioned it a molten image, a false imagination, because the maker trusts in his own creation, to make dumb idols." What can be more senseless than those who worship man-made idols? Who, though they see the material and the workmanship with their eyes, yet stupidly offer divine worship to them as if they were gods.
Vers. 19. "Woe to him that says to the wood: Awake, and arise; and to the stone: Be thou exalted. And it itself is an image, and it is a production of gold and silver, and there is no spirit at all in them." Who would not justly lament those who do not hesitate to offer prayers C to gods made of gold and silver? For they are not even ashamed to rouse them as if they were asleep, although they are not ignorant that they are utterly inanimate, and unable to act through the senses with which they appear to be commonly endowed.
Vers. 20. "But the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth revere before His face." For while the idols are indeed dumb and deaf and destitute of all power, our Master has heaven as a kind of temple, and He has also on earth the place consecrated to Him in Jerusalem; and for all reasons it is equal and just that He should be religiously observed by all creatures. And it is clear that these things were said to the Babylonian, D who had despised the true God, and had delivered His divine temple to the fire, and had bestowed all worship upon idols made by human hands. Having in this manner fashioned the character of the discourse, and having shaped it into interrogation and answer, into the proposal of doubts and the solution of the matters sought, and having shown the justice of God, and how He [punishes] the Jews through the Babylonians,
and the Babylonians through others, he turns the discourse into a canticle and prayer, again under the guise of prayer prophesying things to come.
CHAPTER III
A Ver. 2. "O Lord, I have heard Thy hearing, and I was afraid: O Lord, I have considered Thy works, and was astonished." I was filled with fear, O Master, when I heard Thy words; but when I considered the equity of Thy judgment, and that each of the things that come to pass is administered in justice, I continue to be filled with great and lasting admiration. "In the midst of two animals Thou shalt be known." This has been understood in various ways by some. Some have understood by "two animals" angels and men; others, those of the incorporeal powers that approach the divine glory, the Cherubim and Seraphim; others, the Jews and the Babylonians. But it appears to me that the prophet did not say "animals" (ζῶα), but "lives" (ζωὰς), the present and the future, in the midst of which the just Judge appears. "When the years approach, Thou shalt be known; when the time is present, Thou shalt be displayed." For as time progresses, and events become manifest, the truth of Thy predictions is shown. "When my soul was troubled, in wrath Thou shalt remember mercy." And as Thou perturbest the souls of men with corrections, again using mercy, Thou changest their calamitous state.
B Ver. 3. "God shall come from Thæman, and the Holy One from the overshadowed mountain." Some have interpreted Thæman as Africus, others as the South. The prophet foretells and predicts the incarnation of our God and Savior, which took place in Bethlehem, which is situated to the South and Africus of Jerusalem. By the "overshadowed mountain," he calls Jerusalem itself, which formerly flourished with every kind of grace, was overshadowed by the cloud, and dwelt under the protection of the God of heaven. "His virtue covered the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise." This is also what the blessed David said: "O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth! For Thy magnificence is exalted above the heavens." C For the only-begotten Word of God, having taken on human flesh, dispelled the darkness of ignorance, and illuminated men with the rays of the knowledge of God, and taught everyone that He is the Maker of heaven and earth and of all things.
Ver. 4. "And His splendor shall be as light." For He sent forth a most clear ray, by which He illuminated the inhabited world. "Horns are in His hands, and He placed the strong love of His power." And not only by the light of teaching did He make the truth of His divinity manifest, but also by the power of miracles [He brought every tongue to the knowledge of God].
And He did both, because He loved human nature exceedingly; which the Lord Himself declared in the holy Gospels: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep." And: "Greater love than this no man can show, than that one should lay down his life for his friends." B He called power "horns," since these are the weapons of the animals that possess them. Of this kind is what the blessed David said: "With thee we shall push down our enemies with a horn."
VERS. 5. "Before his face shall go the word, and it shall go forth into instruction after his feet." For the word anticipates the works, and by foretelling things to come, it thus brings about events that are very much in harmony with [His] words. But as for the phrase "into instruction," some copies have it with the *nu*, and it signifies that the God of the universe uses both words and works for the instruction and teaching of men. B Others have it without the *nu*, and it signifies that with great ease, as on a level plain fit for inciting horses, events run alongside the prophecies.
VERS. 6. "He stood, and the earth was shaken; he looked, and the nations wasted away: the mountains were crushed by force, the everlasting hills melted at his everlasting ways." By all these things He has taught us of the inexplicable power of God. For the work follows immediately upon His will, and if He only wills (for this is what it means to say: "He stood and looked"), He shakes the earth, C dissolves the nature of men, breaks the mountains, and melts the hills like wax. For these and such like things He ceased not to do for the benefit of men. For He calls "works" [His] "ways." By the things spoken, He signifies the cross, salutary to all men, upon which Christ the Lord stood, and shook the earth, and by shaking the mountains, He rent them; and He struck terror into the race of demons, and destroyed the temples situated on mountains and hills. He who had decreed these things from the beginning, and before the foundation of the world, fulfilled them at the end of the days.
VERS. 7. "But for the labors which I saw, the tabernacles of the Ethiopians shall be afraid, and the tabernacles of the land of Midian." D For indeed, after the salutary passion, I saw the race of demons prostrate, who, by reflecting the natural color of the Ethiopians in their own will, deceive the souls of men. But if anyone wishes to understand these things as pertaining to men as well, he will not deviate from the purpose of divine Scripture; for after the salutary cross, and the passion, and the resurrection of the Lord, filled with spiritual grace, the divine apo-
apostles spread abroad the waters of his divine teaching unto all nations. B "The abyss gave its voice; the height of its imagination was lifted up. (11) The sun and the moon stood in its order." It remained in its turn, and kept the sequence of its concepts. For having called the holy apostles rivers, he names the nations the sea, held fast by the bitterness of impiety. But just as when rivers pour into the deep a great sound and noise is made, because the waves of the sea resist and hold back the incursion; so too, when the divine apostles went around to the nations and carried across the saving proclamation, tumults were stirred up against them, and factions of the unbelievers opposing them and attempting to quench the flame of the teaching. And the history of the Acts clearly teaches us this. For in Ephesus, Demetrius the silversmith stirred up the disturbance against the apostles; and in Corinth others shouted:
"in horsemen, and in many ships, and it shall enter into the land in the floods, and shall crush." We have often said that the ten horns of the fourth beast which appeared in his time designate ten kings who would reign at the same time at the end of the Roman empire. From these, therefore, the king of the South will again war against this one, who is called the king of the North. "For from the north," he says, "evils will be kindled upon all who inhabit the earth." And Antiochus also, who was a type of him, was named king of the North. When, therefore, the king of the South has clashed with him, with a multitude and with fortifications, both earthly and maritime, he will also wage war against him, and will achieve the victory. And the Lord predicted these enemies also in the holy Gospels: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in different places; but these things are all the beginning of sorrows." Having, therefore, the Lord’s prediction in agreement with this prophecy, we shall understand what is set before us. "And he shall pass through," he says. (Verse 41) "And he shall enter into the land of Sabir." Again, through Sabir he has indicated Jerusalem. "And many shall be infirm." C Clearly those who are deceived, or softened by the magnitude of the punishments. "And these shall be saved from his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the beginning of the children of Ammon." Neither do these things suit Antiochus; for when he had subdued them, he set leaders over them, one of whom was Timothy, the leader of the Ammanites. Under this impious leader it is likely that these have escaped, inasmuch as they were not even earnestly religious; for the impious person surely wars against the earnest. But if indeed these names must be understood figuratively, Edom is interpreted as "the red one"; for this reason Esau also was called Edom, as one who had desired the red lentil stew, and blood also has a red appearance. Those, therefore, who are deemed worthy of the Lord’s blood, and who live lives worthy of this gift, have the grace of the Lord’s blood flourishing upon them; and Moab is also addressed as "born of a father." For thus the elder daughter of Lot, having conceived from her father, then bringing forth, named the one born. Those, therefore, who are called sons of God, "who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," are deservedly named Moab. And Ammon also signifies "son of the race"; for the divine Scripture teaches this. For the blessed Paul says, preaching among the Athenians: "Being therefore the race of God, we ought not to think, that [the Godhead] is like to gold, or silver, or stone, of the art of sculpture, and the thought..."
A ...of marine waves obstructing and preventing the influx: so when the apostles traversed the nations and carried forth the saving proclamation, tumults were stirred up against them, and seditions of contradicting infidels, attempting to extinguish the flame of doctrine. This, the history of the Acts openly teaches us. For at Ephesus, Demetrius the silversmith stirred up mobs against the apostles. In Corinth, others exclaimed, "These who have turned the world upside down are come hither also." In Jerusalem, too, the Jews, having stirred up the whole city against the divine Paul, at the last delivered him to the Romans: and it is possible to find infinite examples of this kind.
"Into light your arrows shall go, into the splendor of the coruscation of your armor." (Ver. 12) "In threats you shall trample the earth, and in fury strike the nations." And while these things are happening to the heralds sent by you to the nations, you endure them with patience, he says, though you are possessed of inexplicable power, and abound in armor of all kinds for punishment, and could destroy the whole earth together with its inhabitants by the mere expression of threats. Yet you have made use of this divine patience, since...
Ver. 13. "You have gone forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed." These things also are similar to those which are said by our Savior in the holy Gospels: "The Son of man came into the world, not to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved." But he calls "anointed" those who have been deemed worthy of the calling, and have faithfully received the proclamation, and have enjoyed the grace of the divine Spirit. "You have sent death into the heads of the wicked, you have raised the bonds even to the neck, to the end." To those, therefore, who have believed, you have brought salvation: but those who remained wholly incredulous, you have delivered to death, and bound them in the chains thereof.
Ver. 14. "You have divided in astonishment the heads of the mighty, they shall be shaken in it: they shall open their bridles, as a poor man eating in secret." Now your power having become manifest to all men, even those who were endowed with great powers will be in such fear, so as not to speak their opposing words with boldness, but in secret and hiddenly; whom one may fitly compare to a certain beggar who does not dare to take food openly, but with his mouth closed, consumes it within.
Ver. 15. "And you have caused your horses to ascend into the sea, troubling many waters." Above, indeed, he said that the conflict of the rivers flowing into the sea was about to happen: but in this place, those which he called rivers, he again denominates horses; and as the nations were perishing by these, the billows were forming, and a deep calm followed them. B This the Lord also said in the holy Gospels: there is a great noise and din made in the sea, the sea-waves hindering and obstructing the influx; so [it was] with the nations when the divine apostles were traversing them, and ferrying across the salutary proclamation; commotions were stirred up against them, and factions of the unbelievers contradicting, and attempting to extinguish the flame of the teaching. And this the history of the Acts clearly teaches us. For in Ephesus, Demetrius the silversmith stirred up the disturbance against the apostles; and in Corinth others were shouting, "Those who have turned the world upside down, these also are present here." And in Jerusalem, the Jews, having stirred up the whole city against the inspired Paul, at the end delivered him to the Romans. And it is possible to find ten thousand other such things. C
"Into light your arrows shall go, into the splendor of the coruscation of your armor. (Ver. 12) In threatening you shall trample the earth, and in fury strike the nations." And while these things are happening to those heralds sent by you to the nations, you are long-suffering, he says, possessing power that is ineffable, and having at your disposal all kinds of punitive weapons, and being able by a mere threat to destroy the whole earth with its inhabitants. You have used this long-suffering, since...
"You have gone forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed." And these things are like those said by our Savior in the holy Gospels: "The Son of man came into the world, not that he should judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him." But he calls "anointed" those who have been deemed worthy of the calling, and have faithfully received the proclamation, and have enjoyed the grace of the divine Spirit. "You have cast death into the heads of the lawless, you have raised the bonds even to the neck, to the end." To those therefore who have believed you have offered salvation; but those who have been disbelieving to the end you have delivered to death, having bound them with its chains.
Ver. 14. "You have divided in astonishment the heads of the mighty, they shall be shaken in it; they shall open their bridles, as a poor man eating in secret." For your power having become manifest to all men, even those who are clothed with great powers will be in such fear, as not to utter their opposing words with boldness, but in secret D and stealthily, whom one might fittingly compare to a beggar who does not dare to take food openly, but with his mouth closed, grinds it up within.
Ver. 15. "And you have caused your horses to ascend into the sea, troubling many waters." Above, indeed, he said that there would be a turbulence of the rivers flowing into the sea; but here, those whom he had called rivers, he has again named horses, by which the nations...
A having gone round—a turbulence was formed, but a deep calm followed these. This also the Lord said in the holy Gospels: "I did not come to bring peace upon the world, but a sword, to divide a man from his neighbor, a son from his father, a daughter from her mother, and a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law." For because they had concordantly embraced impiety, with a good division He dissolves the evil agreement, and after a praiseworthy disagreement, creates a concord of piety.
Ver. 16. "I kept watch, and my belly was terrified at the voice of the prayer of my lips; and trembling entered into my bones, and my constitution was shaken beneath me." The Prophet, considering from the things spoken what evils would befall the Jews who were disbelieving, while the nations believed, and using sympathy for his kinsmen, said that he shuddered and feared on account of the predictions made through the prayer. But nevertheless, he says, I have this consolation, that I will not be a spectator of their calamity. "For I shall rest B in the day of my tribulation, that I may ascend to the people of my pilgrimage." For before the outcome of the predictions, I shall receive the end of life, and I shall be delivered from the pilgrimage of the present life.
Ver. 17. "Because the fig tree shall not bear fruit, and there shall be no produce in the vines; the work of the olive shall be false, and the fields shall not provide food; the sheep have failed from the food, and there shall be no oxen at the mangers." I shall not see, he says, either the unfruitfulness of the fig tree, or the barrenness of the olive, or the vine deprived of its clusters, nor fields bare of ears of corn, nor cattle perishing by famine. And each of these is spoken figuratively. For C he called Jerusalem a fig tree; for thus the Lord taught us to understand through the parable, pointing out a barren fig tree which the planter wished to cut down because of its barrenness; but the gardener begged that a little time be given, so that, being deemed worthy of care, it might either yield fruit or be rooted up. And the Holy Scripture has often named the people a vine; and that I may omit other testimonies, through Isaiah God says: "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the house of Judah is a favorite new-planting. I waited for it to produce judgment, but it produced iniquity, and not justice, but a cry." One would not err in calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a barren olive tree, who, vaunting themselves D on the name of justice, were bereft of its fruits. That this is taken as an image of the righteous, the great David is witness, crying out: "But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God; I have hoped in the mercy of God forever." He calls the unfruitful the fields subject to their dominion...
to whom Jeremiah also cries out: "Break up new ground for yourselves, and do not sow among thorns." And he calls the subjects sheep, A to whom he threatens famine: "For behold, he says, I will send a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord." He calls the priests oxen not present at the mangers, whose altars, once most celebrated, have remained deserted. For just as oxen plow the earth, so the priests cultivated the souls of the people, receiving from Him a kind of pasture—that is, the things offered to the divine altars as if to mangers. Concerning these, the blessed Paul also said: "You shall not muzzle an ox that is treading out the grain." And again: "Those who serve at the altar share in the altar." But these, indeed, will fall into such calamities.
Verses 18, 19. "But I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in God my Savior. The Lord God is my strength, and he will place my feet like a deer's; B he will set me upon high places, that I may be victorious in his song." For although I was filled with sadness and fear on account of those others, yet because of the glory of my God, which will become manifest to all men, I exult and rejoice. For he will strengthen the weakness of my nature and, like a deer, he will prepare me to tread upon serpents and scorpions and to suppress the wickedness in spiritual things, until, arriving at the summit of virtue, I shall sing the hymn of victory to the Savior and Creator. C I know, certainly, that some, having understood the whole prayer of Habakkuk historically, have said that the prophet predicted these things concerning the return from Babylon. But I, if anyone should wish to say that these things were predicted of them also typically, will not disagree: for that understanding also accords with the things interpreted by us, since the old things are a manifest type of the new. But I have thought it absurd, where the truth prevails and the shadow is eclipsed by the body, to refer the prophecy to other things that have nothing at all in common with them. D If anyone wishes to learn accurately, let him search the prophecy, and he will see most of it in no way corresponding to those types. But about these things, let each judge as he wishes. I, however, advise the readers to derive benefit from the interpretations and, relying on the help of divine power, to finish the course and yearn for the victorious crowns, of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the granter, to whom belongs all glory forever and ever. Amen.
THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET SOPHONIAS
A ARGUMENT After the pious and God-loving King Hezekiah, his son Manasseh, having obtained the kingdom, fell into extreme impiety, and drove the people into the violation of the law and the worship of idols. His son Amon, indeed, reigning for a short time, followed the impiety of his father, but did not emulate his repentance; rather, he, too, trained the people in every kind of wickedness. From him was born the most blessed Josiah, who entered upon a path diametrically opposed to these men, and spent his life in all piety and virtue toward God, preferring the worship and observance of God above all things. It was under him that the divine Sophonias delivered this prophecy. Moreover, the most divine Jeremiah began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of his reign. B This admirable prophet predicts what things were to befall the city of Jerusalem and the tribe of Judah; he also foretells fatal things for the neighboring Philistines, and predicts utter destruction for the Assyrians. Then he announces the recall of the people, and signifies beforehand the salvation that would come to all nations after the incarnation of the Lord. This, in summary, is the argument of the prophecy. He begins his prediction thus:
CHAPTER I
VERS. 1-3. "The word of the Lord which came to Sophonias, the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amarias, the son of Ezechias, in the days of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah. By a failure let all things fail from the C face of the earth, saith the Lord. Let man fail and cattle: per-
- A ish the birds of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea. And showing the justice of the prophecy, he adds: « And the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off the lawless from the face of the earth, saith the Lord. » For because of the impiety and lawlessness of men, I will also destroy the races of brute beasts which were created for their sake and for their use. For just as I made the winged, and the swimming, and the cattle for their service, so I will destroy these along with them. For the use of these is superfluous, when those who enjoyed them no longer exist. And teaching against whom he is inflamed, and against whom he is angry, he adds:
Vers. 4, 5. « And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all who dwell in Jerusalem: and I will take away from this place the names of the Baalim, and the names of the priests with their sacred things. And those who worship upon the housetops the host of heaven. » The list of sins B has declared the justice of the punishments. For this punishment is also full of humanity; for it promises the removal of the error, and oblivion not only of the worship of idols, but even of their very names. He called the order of the luminaries in heaven the host of heaven; for they used to offer sacrifices to these upon the housetops, desiring to observe them more closely. « And those who swear by the Lord, and those who swear by Melchom. (Vers. 6.) And those who turn away from the Lord, and who do not seek the Lord, and who do not cleave to the Lord. » Someone might perhaps ask why he commands through another prophet C to remove the Baalim from the mouth, and to swear with truth, "The Lord liveth," but here threatens punishment to those who swear by the Lord. But the solution is readily found. « For those who swear, » he says, « by the Lord, and those who swear by Melchom. » Now this was an idol of the Ammonites, as we find also among the other prophets, and in the third book of Kingdoms: « For Solomon, » he says, « worshipped Astarte, the queen of the Sidonians, and Melchom, the idol of the sons of Ammon. » Therefore he threatens punishment to those who at the same time swore by the true God and Lord and by idols. Therefore the prophecies agree with one another. For in that one he says: « If thou shalt take away the Baalim from thy mouth, and shalt swear, The Lord liveth D with truth; » but here, however, he reproves those who pretend to serve God, but prefer the worship of idols. Thus, having threatened dire things, he tempers his threats with exhortation, so that they might not, by despairing of salvation, fall into more bitter wickedness.
A Ver. 7. "Fear before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord has prepared His sacrifice, He has sanctified His called ones." The prophetic word often calls even the slaughter of the lawless a sacrifice; and this can be found in other prophets, and also in the divine Ezekiel. He calls the enemies "called ones," and he has set "sanctified" in place of "separated." Thus also he says through Isaiah: "They are sanctified, and I lead them,"* instead of "set apart for this." For since that which is truly holy is separated and removed from profane things, he calls those who are set apart for punishment "sanctified," as being set apart by the God of all Himself. Thus also he has misused the name "sacrifice." Thus also "anathema" has a double sense; for he has called not only that which is dedicated to God "anathema," but also that which is alienated.
B Ver. 8, 9. "And it shall be in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, and I will take vengeance upon the princes, and upon the king's house, and upon all those who are clothed in foreign garments. And I will take vengeance upon all manifestly, upon the porches in that day, who fill the house of their God with impiety and deceit." Since in the days of Josiah the pious king the sentence of punishment was brought forth, and the king himself was not guilty of these things—but his sons and descendants, who lived in lawlessness, paid the penalty for what they had dared—he with good reason did not say, "I will take vengeance upon the king," but "upon the house of the king, and upon the princes." Now, some have said that "foreign garments" are those procured from robbery and greed; some, those made for the sake of extreme licentiousness. For men who live in lawlessness wrap themselves in the garments of women, and women who are likewise reared in lust put on the garments of men. To me, however, it seems that the word hints at something else as well. For the law forbids garments interwoven with linen and wool; C and it is likely that those who boasted in wealth and were consumed in luxury had imitated the dress of the neighboring nations, and upon tunics made of linen had woven a certain varied and superfluous ornamentation of purple wool, which was directly contrary to the divine legislation. He therefore threatens these, and also those who enter the divine temple with impiety and deceit. By "deceit," however, he implies that they had a feigned pretense of piety, but secretly embraced the worship of idols. Because of these your iniquities, he says,
Ver. 10. "And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, a voice of a cry of them piercing from the gate, and a wailing from the second, and a great destruction from the hills." For when the enemies have broken through D the wall and opened the gates, with a shout and with clamor
* Isa. XIII, 3. ▼ Deut. XXII, 11. [alt-version omitted]
A you shall be struck down; and even if some of you seize the mountain tops or ascend the high houses, they shall undergo the same destruction.
VERS. 11. "Wail, you who inhabit the broken [city], for the whole people of Canaan has been likened [to you], all those who were lifted up by silver have perished." He called Jerusalem "broken" because of the disaster that had befallen it, and he exhorts them to wail for it, as it has been made desolate of inhabitants. For because they imitated the impiety of the Canaanites, they suffered the total destruction of the Canaanites, and their wealth did not help them at all.
VERS. 12. "And it shall be in that day, I will search Jerusalem with a lamp." No one, he says, of those who are guilty of wrongdoing will escape punishment, but I will deliver them all to the slaughter. He has placed this figuratively, using a metaphor taken from those who use a lamp to look for lost things, and who do not give up B before they find them. "And I will take vengeance on the men who despise their own observances." By "observances" he means the lawful things which the Law commanded to be guarded. "Those who say in their hearts: The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil." Here he accuses those who reject Divine Providence and who dare to say that things happen as they may; and that the God of all neither does good nor punishes—to whom He threatens plunder, and the destruction of houses, and the fruitlessness of their labors. "For they shall build houses," he says, "and shall not dwell in them; and they shall plant C vineyards, and shall not drink their wine." And so that they might not think that the punishment is delayed, he added:
VERS. 14. "For the day of the Lord is near, great and near and very swift." He called it "great," not as one bringing partial discipline, but total punishment; then, to strike even sharper fear into the hearers, he discourses about that very day.
VERS. 15, 16. "The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter and hard, the powerful [day] is appointed; that day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and necessity, a day of misery and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and mist. A day of trumpet and D cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corners." By "high corners" he means the towers, and by "trumpet and cry" the approach of the enemies; and by "darkness and gloom, and cloud and mist," he called the onslaught of evils: when these have arrived, neither is the sun bright to those who see, nor is the day clear, but everything seems full of darkness. And teaching this, the Prophet added:
VERS. 17. "And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk—"
their silver, and their gold, shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath: for the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, because He shall make a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." He says that riches will be useless even to the wealthy; for they shall not obtain deliverance from evils by means of their money, but they shall be consumed by the divine wrath as if by some fire, which will bring sudden destruction upon those dwelling in this land. Where He has thus threatened harsh things, He offers them an exhortation to repentance. B
CAPUT II
VERS. 1, 2. "Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired. Before you become as the passing flower, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you." C Some, not understanding the passage, have substituted "pray" for "gather together"; but most copies have "gather together" (compuncti/bound together). The word figuratively indicates a healing that is understood through medicines and bindings. For we find this also in the divine Isaiah; for, showing that the wounds of the Jews could not be healed, he cries: "There is no plaster to apply, nor oil, nor bandages." "Gather yourselves together therefore," he says, "with the medicines and bandages of repentance, O you who are ignorant and unlearned in good things, and go before His face in confession, lest you fall away like spring flowers, when the divine wrath comes upon you." D
VERS. 3. "Seek the Lord, all the meek of the earth." "Look," he says, "to the vileness of your nature, and to the clay which is your forefather, and seek the Creator who has made you abound with so many and such great blessings." Afterward, he also explains the method of seeking God. "Work judgment, and seek justice: seek meekness, and answer them." "Follow," he says, "right judgments and justice, and embrace a meek and moderate life; and establish yourselves to pursue these to the end." For this is what "and answer them" signifies. Then he shows the fruit of these things: "That you may be hidden in the day of the Lord's wrath." (VERS. 4.) "For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ascalon a desolation; and Azotus shall be driven out at noonday, and Accaron shall be rooted up." For if you use the aforementioned repentance, you shall obtain salvation, while the cities of the aliens shall undergo the predicted evils.
A Verses 5, 6. "Woe to you who inhabit the sea coast, O sojourners of the Cretans! The word of the Lord is upon you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of your habitation. And Crete shall be a pasture for flocks, and a fold for sheep." He calls the maritime region the "sea coast" (the "funiculus" or measuring line of the sea); for holy Scripture calls a portion a "line" because the land was described by a line, and to each was allotted the portion befitting him. Since, therefore, God had left the Philistines, who derived their lineage from Chanaan, in the maritime region, having assigned this land to them as a kind of lot, He called them the "sea coast." And by "sojourners of the Cretans" he signifies colonists; for it is likely that some from Crete arrived and settled in the maritime cities. Therefore, by Chanaan, and the sea coast, and Crete, and the sojourners of the Cretans, he named the maritime regions of Palestine, upon which he threatened desolation.
Verse 7. "And the sea coast shall belong to the remnants of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them; in the houses of Ascalon shall they lie down in the evening, from the face of the sons of Juda; for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity." These things found their end after the return (from Babylon). For we find in the books of the Maccabees that Jonathan and Simon captured Gaza, Ascalon, and Ptolemais, and brought them under their own rule. B But the precise and indisputable end of the prophecy is to be seen after the ascension of our Savior and the preaching of the holy apostles. For these, stemming from the Jews, "lay down in the evening" in these cities; that is, before the evening of the consummation, when the God of all visited the nations and liberated them from bitter servitude and captivity. Hence he passes sentence against the Moabites and Ammonites; for these, being related to Israel and deriving their lineage from Lot, rejoiced at the calamities (of the Jews) and used blasphemies against the God of all, as though He had provided no help to the Jews. Therefore God says:
Verses 8-10. "I have heard the insults of Moab, and the reproach of the sons of Ammon, with which they reproached my people, and magnified themselves over my borders. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, that Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, and Damascus [is] winnowed away, as a heap of the threshing-floor, and destroyed forever; and the remnants of my people shall plunder them, and the remnants of my nation shall possess them. This shall be to them for their insult, because they reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord Almighty." D The Moabites and Ammonites had their own kings, and Damascus was queen of all
A Syria, but the Babylonians destroyed all these things. To the Jews alone, however, the God of all granted the return through Cyrus the Persian. They flourished B once again, recovered their former dominion, and struck fear into all these nations; they held possession of what belonged to the others, and those others could not withstand them. For which reason the divine word predicts C that the Moabites and Ammonites would be delivered to utter devastation, and that Damascus would be compared to a heap of chaff winnowed from a threshing floor. These things they endured in the incursion of the Chaldeans. He says that Damascus would be destroyed for all time, because from that time and in the time that followed, it lost the dominion of its kingdom and no longer ruled over the subject nations, but became tributary to those who reigned: the Babylonians, the Persians, the Macedonians, and in the present time, the Romans. But yet, even here the prophecy attained its exact end through the holy apostles and the saints who succeeded the apostles; for the divine Apostle also called these a "remnant." Having set forth the prophecy which cries out explicitly, "If the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved," D he interprets it, saying, "Even so then at the present time also, a remnant according to the election of grace has come to be." This also is what the Master says through the blessed Sophonias: "And the remnant of my people shall possess them." Afterwards he interprets it more clearly:
11. "The Lord shall appear unto them, and shall destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall worship him, every one from his place, all the islands of the nations." These things do not admit even the shameless contradiction of the Jews. For if they should say that after the return from Babylon many of the nations who had believed in the God of all offered the legal worship in the temple at Jerusalem, they will be clearly convicted of lying. For the prophetic word says that "they shall worship him, every one from his place." This, however, has come to pass not according to the law, but according to the evangelical teaching; for the law brought all together into that one temple. But the Lord says in the Gospels to the Samaritan woman: "Amen, amen I say to thee, woman, that the hour is coming, when neither in Jerusalem, nor in this place, but in every place they shall worship the Father." This also the inspired Sophonias proclaims: "The Lord shall appear unto them;" that is, he shall appear to all those aforementioned: the Philistines, the Palestinians, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Damascenes, and all the other nations. "And he shall destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and they shall worship him every one from his place, all the islands of the nations."
A And to this he adds:
VERS. 12. "And you, O Ethiopians, are the wounded of my sword." This statement declares that the ranks of the demons were also dispersed by the virtue of the saving cross, and that those who bore a black soul and were hostile to God were smitten by the divine blow. Having thus prophesied concerning the salvation of the nations, he transfers the discourse to the sequence of the history, and threatens destruction to the Assyrians; for Nineveh had not yet paid the penalty.
VERS. 13, 14. "And he will stretch out his hand over the north, and destroy the Assyrian, and will make Nineveh a desolate place, without water, as a desert. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of it, and all the beasts of the earth; and chameleons and hedgehogs shall lodge in its stalls, and a beast shall cry in its pits, and ravens in its portals, because the cedar is its height." All the things previously mentioned are signs of desolation: the grazing of flocks, the dwellings of diverse animals, and the nests of ravens. But all these things, he says, it will suffer because of the pride of its soul; for the height of its elated mind was like a cedar. Then, explaining this more clearly, the prophet B adds:
VERS. 15. "This is the contemptuous city." This means: the city that considered every other city and kingdom to be paltry and small. "Which dwelt in hope," that is, which thought it would never endure anything sad or bitter. "Which said in its heart: I am, and there is none after me." Afterwards, deriding it by irony, he says: "How has it been reduced to a solitude, a pasture for beasts!" Then he adds the things that are accustomed to occur: "Everyone that passes by it shall hiss, and move his hands." For most men are accustomed, in calamities that happen beyond hope, both to hiss and to wave their hands. After having thus foretold concerning Nineveh, he turns his prayer towards Jerusalem.
CAPUT III. C
VERS. 1. "O illustrious and redeemed city, the dove!" A city truly worthy of lamentations and tears, which, while it delighted in a happy state, was preeminent and very famous, and had often obtained salvation from the God of the universe and possessed spiritual gifts. For I suspect that the prophet signifies this by the "dove," or else the adornment and beauty of the city; for this animal is also beautiful. And it is likely that this also is indicated by it: just as the dove willingly dwells in separate houses, so when you used to worship with piety, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the temple D
A dedicated to me, you were constant. Afterwards he explains the transgressions, and first indeed the disobedience.
Ver. 2. "It did not hear the voice." Then the rudeness and ignorance, "Neither did it receive discipline." In addition to these, the unbelief: "It has not trusted in the Lord, and has not drawn near to its God." Then the ferocity and injustice of the rulers:
Ver. 3. "Its rulers in it are as roaring lions." And the lawlessness and violence of the judges: "Its judges, like the wolves of Arabia, did not leave [anything] for the morning." And the lying and godless character of the diviners:
Ver. 4. "Its prophets are spirit-bearers, men of contempt." For he calls the false prophets prophets. Then also the impiety and unholiness of the priests: "Its priests pollute the holy things, and act impiously against the law." B But, he says, when all these things are dared in it,
Ver. 5. "The Lord is just in its midst, and will not do injustice: morning by morning he gives his judgment into the light, and it is not hidden; and he has not known injustice in exaction, nor injustice in eternity." He will bring punishment, he says, very quickly upon those who have dared such great evils; for by the word "morning, morning," he has signified speed; and the phrase "into the light" means openly, and not in secret. He will do these things, he says, destroying the audacity of injustice, and not allowing it to prevail until the end.
Ver. 6. "In corruption I have pulled down the proud; their corners have perished; I will make their ways desolate so that no one passes through; their cities have failed because there is no one who survives, nor anyone dwelling." C Just as corners bind [together] the structures of buildings, so successes support the powers [of governments]. Therefore, delivering those who live in pride to corruption, I will pull down their height to the ground, so that not even their memory is transmitted to those who follow, and I will deliver their cities to complete desolation. Thus the lover of mankind, having made threats, again exhorts and suggests that they fear the things that have been spoken, and accept the appropriate instruction; to flee the destruction of the threatened evils, which lawlessness has brought forth; not to procrastinate, nor to delay, but quickly to offer repentance. "For 'prepare yourself,' he says, 'rise at dawn.'" That is, "Show quickly the things of repentance." "All their vintage has perished." Do not fear, he says, the Assyrians, whose D multitude I destroyed before your gates; for their vintage, and those who escaped that punishment, I will deliver to the Babylonians.
Ver. 8. "Therefore wait for me, says the Lord, in the day of my resurrection for a testimony, because my judgment is for the congregations of nations, to welcome kings, to pour out upon them all the anger of my fury, because in the fire of my zeal all the earth shall be consumed." Do not think, he says, that I am neglectful of human affairs, but wait, and you shall see me rising up, and judging justly, and destroying unjust kingdoms, and as with a certain fire, cleansing the whole world with my zeal. And explaining this more clearly, he added:
Ver. 9. "For then I will turn to the peoples a tongue for their generations, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke." Aquila, and Theodotion, and Symmachus have interpreted this more clearly. For Aquila and Theodotion say: "Then I will turn to all the peoples a chosen lip;" but Symmachus: "Then I will turn among the peoples a pure lip;" and a pure lip is that which does not name gods, but [one] God. Such things also God has said through Isaiah: "The stammering tongues shall learn to speak peace." And again:
"The tongue of the stammerers shall be clear." He will therefore convert those tongues, which had been educated in the worship of many gods, and will make them chosen and pure, so that "all may call upon the name of the Lord, and all the nations may serve Him under one yoke." And indeed also A those who
VERS. 10. "From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia I shall accept [those] supplicating me; the sons of my dispersed ones shall bring sacrifices to me." For those who inhabit the furthest parts of the earth, having received the discipline of the preachers dispersed by me, will offer to me the sacrifice of praise. For so also Symmachus interpreted it: "From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia, those supplicating me, the sons of those dispersed by me, shall bring a gift to me." The sons born to the heralds of piety, whom I dispersed into all the nations, will offer spiritual gifts to me. B
VERS. 11. "In that day you shall not be ashamed because of all your endeavors, by which you have acted impiously against me, because then I will take away from you the insults of your arrogance, and you will no longer boast upon my holy mountain." When these things happen and the nations enjoy salvation, you also, who inhabit Jerusalem, receiving the salvation which is through faith, will depart from your former impiety, and you will no longer despise my commandments, nor will you boast because of the old temple. And because not all were about to receive the evangelical C teaching, he predicts this also in explicit words:
VERS. 12, 13. "And I will leave in you a people meek and humble, and the remnant of Israel will reverence the name of the Lord; and they shall not do iniquity, and they shall not speak vain things, and there shall not be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue; because they themselves shall graze, and shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid." D
A These words also clearly point out to us the apostolic choir, which the Lord, pronouncing blessed, said: « Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. » And again: « Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. » The blessed Sophonias calls this people meek and lowly; for the Israelite people was not of this kind, but a foolish and unwise people. And according to another prophet: « His neck is an iron sinew, and his forehead is brass. » He calls these free from iniquity, having a tongue delivered from deceit. Having therefore received such a people, instead of the wicked, and the bold, and the impious,
14. Rejoice, daughter of Sion; proclaim, daughter of Jerusalem; be glad and take delight with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.
For God has shown thee to be pure from idols, and has delivered thee from the slavery of the baleful demons.16-18. « In that time the Lord will say to Jerusalem: Be of good courage, Sion; let not thy hands be relaxed; the Lord thy God is in thee, the Mighty One will save thee; he will bring joy upon thee, and will renew thee in his love, and will rejoice over thee with gladness as in a day of festival, and I will gather thy broken ones. » I know indeed that some have interpreted these things of the return from Babylon, and the renewal of Jerusalem, and I do not gainsay what has been said; for the prophecy applies also to the things which happened then. But a more accurate outcome can be found after the incarnation of our Saviour; for then he healed those who were broken in heart through the laver of regeneration; then he renewed the nature of men, having loved us so much as even to give his soul for us. « For greater love, » he says, « can no man show than this, that a man should lay down his soul for his friends. » And again: « So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. » Thereafter he threatens both those who then heaped reproaches upon Jerusalem, and those who dared to do the very same thing afterwards against the heralds of the truth; for the prophecy is twofold. D « Woe! who has received reproach over her? » (verses 19, 20). « Behold, I do in thee for my own sake, » says the Lord, « in that time, and I will save her that is crushed, and will gather her that was cast out, and I will make them a boasting, and renowned in all the earth; and they shall not be put to shame. In that time, when I shall have done well to you, and
well to you, and in the time when I shall receive you; for I will make you renowned and a boast among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn your captivity before you, says the Lord. A For the salvation of men depends solely on the divine philanthropy; for we do not reap this as a reward of righteousness, but it is a gift of divine goodness. Wherefore the Lord says: “On my own account I will both save and receive, and I will claim as my own her who has become a stranger, and I will make her conspicuous, and I will make her famous among all, and I will deliver her from her former shame, and instead of captives and slaves, I will show them to be free and my own household.” B These things, as I said, He granted then both to those who returned from Babylon, and thereafter He has granted them to all men; for we who once served the devil, having been liberated from that bitter captivity and having forgotten the error of polytheism, have been reconciled to God, having become renowned, according to the prophecy, among Greeks and barbarians; and we who were once far off have become near, according to the divine Apostle. It behoves us, therefore, to be persuaded by the apostolic admonition, which cries out explicitly: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” For thus shall we be delivered from the bitter tyranny of the tyrant, and having served our Master, we shall attain the kingdom of heaven, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be the glory, together with the holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
THE COMMENTARY OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, UPON THE PROPHET AGGAEUS
ARGUMENT
Cyrus, who was the first to rule as king of the Persians, immediately upon assuming the kingdom publicly C
A proclaimed to the captives of the Jews, and granted permission to those who wished to return to their fatherland and rebuild the divine temple. Those, therefore, who had been nourished by the prophetic oracles and were aware of the predicted recall, returned with alacrity and, having settled in Jerusalem, attempted to build the divine temple. But they were hindered both by the neighboring alien nations and by Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, who, seduced by their words, commanded things contrary to his father and compelled them to cease from the work. A long time having passed, Darius, son of Hystaspes, attained the kingdom; he commanded the divine temple to be built, just as Cyrus had. They began the construction in the second year of his reign, but in the sixth year of it they completed it. For this reason also the Pharisees said to the Lord: "In forty and six years was this temple built, and wilt thou raise it up in three days?" For having begun to build under Cyrus, they were hindered; then, with Cyrus and Cambyses and the Magi who reigned after them having died, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the construction received its due end. At this time the divine Aggaeus was accounted worthy of the prophetic grace; and God, the God of all, using his tongue, accuses B the Jews for being sluggish regarding the building, but exhorts Zorobabel, who was acting as leader at that time, and Jesus the high priest, to set about the building immediately; and he promises that he will gather a multitude of very many nations with an abundance of wealth, and that he will deliver all of them to death there, and provide their riches for the expenses of that very construction. This, then, is the subject of this prophecy; but we shall understand its meaning more accurately from the detailed interpretation.
CHAPTER ONE
1. "In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the hand of Aggaeus the prophet, saying." Before the captivity, the prophets used to date the times by the kings of Judah and Israel; but after the return, since the Jews C remained without kings, the blessed Aggaeus puts forward the time of the king of the Persians. He mentions not only the year, but also the month and the day, wishing to demonstrate not only the celerity of the construction but also the abundant liberality of the blessing granted by the God of all to those who are building. For shortly after he commands them to institute a comparison between D
A the period before the building and the period after these things, and to learn by experience in how great a lack of necessary things they were suffering while putting off the care of the temple, and what great blessings they enjoyed once they had undertaken this zeal. And the phrase, "By the hand of the prophet," we should understand as "by Haggai."
"Speak to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, from the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying (v. 2-4): Thus says the Lord Almighty: This people says: The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying: Is it time for you to live in your own houses, which are ceiled, while this house lies desolate?" It is the custom of divine Scripture to call the high priest the "great priest." Since Joshua is therefore high priest, and Zerubbabel acts as leader, God uses them as it were like judges, and through the prophet He makes His accusation against the people. For "See," He says, "with how much and what kind of care they deem their own houses worthy; for not only do they build them, but they also adorn them. But the divine house, through which all enjoy common salvation, they do not wish to build, declaring the time unsuitable for building."
(v. 5) "And now thus says the Lord Almighty: Direct your hearts to your ways." Employ correct judgment, and become just judges of your own pursuits, and learn how great is the difference between zeal for divine things and sloth. Then He says that although they cast much seed, they brought home very little fruit, so that they were always hungry and thirsty, and never enjoyed satiety, but lived in poverty and misery, so as to lack even the necessity of outer garments. "For you have clothed yourselves," He says, "and were not warmed by them; and he who gathers wages has gathered them into a bag with holes." For in addition to those possessing things, even those who were day laborers, accustomed to working for hire and gathering their wages, derived no benefit from their many labors, as what was being gathered was scattered. Then again He exhorts them to employ a sober judgment, and to prefer above all things the care of the divine temple, and to take to the wide-reaching mountain tops, and to cut wood suitable for building; promising that He will cooperate, and will make them much admired. And He reminds them of their previous want, so that they may learn what the fruits of sloth are.
(v. 9) "For you looked for much, and it became little; and it was brought into the house, and I blew it away." Having expected that they would reap many fruits of
hope, you were deceived, and having gathered a little, you did not even enjoy this; for I scattered them from the very vessels themselves.
A "Therefore, says the Lord Almighty, because my house is desolate, but you hasten each to his own house." (vv. 10, 11) "Therefore the heaven shall withhold from the dew, and the earth shall withhold its fruits from you. And I will bring a sword upon the earth, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon all things which the earth brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labors of their hands." For just as you neglect the care of my house, but take great care of your own houses; so I too will restrain the travails of the clouds, and I will command the earth to become barren; and the punishing power, like a sword, I will bring not only against the fruits of the B earth, but also against the men who work it; and the cattle which were created for their service shall also share in the punishment with them. The God of the universe threatens to do these things because of their neglect regarding the divine house, not because He has need of it; for the Creator of all things has no need even of heaven, and He made all things out of pure philanthropy alone; but rather, caring for them, and providing for their salvation, He commands the temple to be built, so that, by keeping the law therein, they might reap the benefit flowing from it, and wishing the legal worship to be observed, according to the divine Apostle, until the coming of the heir. For after the incarnation C of our Savior, and the manifestation of the New Testament, the Old [Testament] reached its end, and the law, being a pedagogue, withdrew once it had pointed out the most wise Teacher to us, since those who were instructed by it no longer had need of its elementary introduction. But let us return to the sequence of this prophecy. Having heard this threat, Zerubbabel, and Joshua the high priest, and the people governed by them, were filled with fear, and immediately yielded to what had been decreed by the prophet; but the philanthropic Master, having beheld their obedience, calls out through the prophet: "I am with you, says the Lord." "Take courage," He says, "as you have me as a co-worker and helper."
D (v. 14) "And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the rest of all the people, and they entered and did the work in the house of the Lord Almighty their God."
CHAPTER II
(v. 1) "In the four and twentieth [day] of the sixth month." From this we learn clearly that, as soon as we choose good things,
A we attain the help of the divine, for these men too, having inclined toward the better, enjoyed divine concord, and divine grace made them more eager; so that they began the construction on the twenty-fourth day of the month, having received the prophecy on the first day of the month. [2-4] Then again, in the seventh month, the Master commands the prophet to carry these words to them: "Who among you is there who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now, as if it were nothing before you?" How do you endure, remembering its former manifestation and splendor, to look upon it occupied by such desolation? if indeed there be any among you surviving from that time to this day.
VER. 5, 6. "And now be strong, O Zorobabel, says the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedec, the high priest, and let all the people of the land be strong, says the Lord, and work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty. And my word, which I pledged to you when you were coming out of the land of Egypt, and my Spirit stands in the midst of you." Having shaken off all sloth and fear, receive the strength which I provide for you; and believe that I am present with you through the sanction of the Law, and that the grace of the all-holy Spirit watches over you. And since there were many obstacles—poverty, the scarcity of necessities, and the incursions of the surrounding peoples—he rightly adds:
"Be confident, (Vers. 7, 8.) because thus says the Lord Almighty: Yet once I will shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all the nations, and the elect of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty." He foretells this regarding Gog and Magog, whom he permitted C when they had decided to wage war against Jerusalem with many nations, and having armed them against one another, he brought it about that they were destroyed by one another, and he bestowed their wealth upon those who were building. And having regard for the ears of the hearers,
VER. 9. "Mine, he says, is the silver, and mine is the gold, says the Lord Almighty." I do not usurp what belongs to another, but I take back what is my own; I gave them wealth, using my own generosity, and because they did not recognize the Giver, they were justly stripped of the gifts.
VER. 10. "And the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord Almighty." He does not say that the house will be more glorious in the size and beauty of its construction, but by the manner in which the nations were destroyed; for as the report traveled everywhere, the power of the God of all was revealed. He calls the event a shaking of heaven, of earth, and of sea, as all were struck with amazement, and by the D
A miracle were awakened to praise God, not only those who dwell on the continent, but also those who have chosen to live on the islands; and in addition to these, even the invisible powers who move in the air and in the very heaven itself. «And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord Almighty; and peace of soul for an acquisition to everyone building, to raise up this temple.» For I will not only cause human wars to cease, but I will also grant them the divine peace which procures salvation for souls; and these things shall be a reward to those who are building.
Again, in the ninth month, God of all commands the prophet to ask the priests whether a garment sanctified by a holy sacrifice is sufficient to sanctify things that come near it, such as bread, or wine, or oil, or anything else of that kind. Then, when the priests answered in the negative, he is commanded to ask again, whether the garment is defiled if it comes in contact with anything unclean. When the priests assented to this, the prophet is commanded to say these things: «So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so are all the works of their hands, and whoever draws near shall be defiled there.» Just as, he says, a sanctified garment cannot sanctify another of the things that draw near to it, but is itself defiled by the contact of those things which are unclean according to the law, so this people reaps no benefit from the holy things because of their poor state, but insults them by wickedly trying to draw near.
Then he also teaches the causes of these things. «Because of their morning gifts they shall groan before the face of their wickedness; and you hated those who reprove in the gates.» At dawn, he says, when it was growing light, you took no thought for any good thing, but were intent on base gains; and you were hostile toward those who reprove your wickedness, who would sit at the gates and offer divine words to those entering and leaving. C Now, therefore, consider with all accuracy who you were when you were neglecting the building, and with what shortage of necessities you were constrained. For you would set aside twenty measures of barley and find scarcely half, and you would expect to draw fifty measures of wine from the wine-presses, and find only twenty. Though I was bringing upon you various chastisements—barrenness, and blight, and hail—yet because of your great insensibility you did not even perceive the chastisement. Remembering those things, therefore, mark how much abundance of all prosperity you shall enjoy after the beginning of the building; for I will grant you such an abundance of the necessities that you will henceforth even be ignorant of the measures of the threshing floor; and I will grant you the moist fruits with a blessing, and I will furnish an increase of the orchard fruits. And in addition to these things, O Zorobabel, I will confirm D those words which I predicted concerning Gog and Magog.
A
VERS. 25. "And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will shatter the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall descend, everyone by the sword against his brother." He says, "I will grant you victory without trouble." For having struck them with madness and derangement, I will arm them against one another, so that all may be utterly destroyed together with their horses. But as to what he says, "Yet once more I shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land," he did not say this without cause, but he is renewing the memory of the favor conferred in the time of Sennacherib. For when he had brought sudden destruction upon them, he filled the whole earth and sea with the account of that terrible event. B
VERS. 24. "In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will take you, O Zorobabel, son of Salathiel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will set you as a seal; for I have chosen you, says the Lord Almighty." In this place he did not make mention of Joshua, but of Zorobabel alone, because the discourse was about wars and their administration, whereas this man alone took thought for the military strategy. He says, therefore, that in that day, when those nations have been slain, I will make you, Zorobabel, whom I chose for my service and ministry, illustrious and conspicuous, and through you I will provide all safety for the people, using you as a sort of seal; for a seal, when placed upon doors and chests, provides complete safety to the things stored within. C
And the interpretation of the prophecy has now reached its end. But I marvel at the madness of Apollinaris, who attempted to bring a contrary meaning to such plainly prophesied events, saying that the expedition of Gog and Magog had not yet occurred, but would take place at the consummation of this age. And this "most wise" man did not pay heed to the sequence of the prophecy; for after the prediction of their slaughter, the prophet immediately added: "In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will take you, O Zorobabel, my servant, says the Lord," and what follows. If, then, he fabricates in his own legendary myths some other Zorobabel who will exist at that time, he will provide us with a perfect fable. But if this is the only Zorobabel, who presided over the people after the return, it was under him that the armies of those nations were routed, and after their slaughter, Zorobabel became marvelous and conspicuous. D
But he ought also to have considered this: that because they were contemplating a postponement of the building due to poverty, the Lord of all promised that He would gather these nations and supply their wealth for the expenses of the building; whence He also added: "Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold, and the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former." But to refute this delirious man...
let us hold fast to the truth, and let us beseech our philanthropic Master to grant us peace, and peace of soul; that, serving Him in all things and enjoying His support, we may escape the snares of invisible enemies; and having lived according to His divine laws, we may attain the promised good things, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is the glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH
BARGUMENT
Since God, the God of all, exercised singular care for the Jews of old, He did not appoint over them one prophet, but two, or three, and often even more, to teach them both what was necessary and to foretell what was to come. Thus, when the divine Isaiah was prophesying, those admirable men, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Micah, simultaneously predicted future events. It is not difficult for those who desire it to learn the times from the prophecies themselves. Similarly, after the return from Babylon, the Master instructed them in what was needful through the most divine Haggai; and through the blessed Zechariah, He taught them what must be done, and foretold the events that were to come—sad things for those who resist the commands, and joyful things for those who obey them. C He also showed him images and symbols of certain things, in order to make his words more credible through contemplation. Furthermore, through him He foretells the coming of our Savior Christ, His kingdom full of gentleness, the madness of the Jews, His saving passion, that most present remedy for our sins, and the events that befell the Jews because of their madness...
A And that I may not excessively lengthen the subject and weary some of those who will read these commentaries, I shall henceforth proceed to the clarification of the words themselves.
CHAPTER ONE
VERS. 1. *In the eighth month of the second year, under Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying.*
In one and the same year, both the most divine Haggai and the marvelous Zechariah began their prophecy; but the former in the sixth month, B and the latter in the eighth, so that it is manifest that the former preceded this one in prophecy by two months. They make mention of the times that they might also declare the season of the return, and clearly teach us that at that time the Hebrew king did not reign. Moreover, they also point out the truth of the prophets who had prophesied before the captivity; for those men had predicted not only the siege of Jerusalem, and its conquest, and servitude, but also the time of the captivity, and the return from Babylon. Since, therefore, all things had reached C their end, and the time appointed for them had passed away, and according to the predictions they had enjoyed liberty, rightly did the blessed Haggai and Zechariah record the second year of the reign of Darius the Persian. For in this year, the seventieth year of the city’s desolation was completed; and this is possible to learn from the prophecy itself. He teaches also from what father he was born, and who was his father; because many false prophets at that time were prophesying lies, and it was happening, as is likely, that some were even of the same name as the prophets. That, therefore, the commonality of names might not harm the truth—by false pronouncements being presented to all indiscriminately as if they were truly foretold—the prophet has made himself known D from his lineage. Then he narrates what he was commanded to say.
VERS. 2. *The Lord was angry with your fathers with a great anger.*
The prologue of the prophecy is full of wisdom, and appropriate for those who were being instructed in divine things at that time; for having a fresh memory of the things that had happened to their fathers, and learning that the cause of those unspeakable calamities was the just movement of God, they were eager, as is likely, both to say and to do those things which would render the merciful Master propitious, and would procure for them an abundance of good things. And that this is the scope of what has been said, the following words bear witness. For he says:
VERS. 3, 4. *And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord...*
Almighty: Turn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the Lord of hosts. And do not be as your fathers, whom the prophets who were before them denounced, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn from your evil ways, and from your evil pursuits; and they did not listen, and they did not pay attention to me, says the Lord Almighty.* A Knowing, he says, how great were the things I enjoined upon your fathers through the prophets, and how, because they spoke against me, I delivered them over to utter destruction, flee from the imitation of them, and pay attention to the things spoken by me, that you may enjoy my providence. For the passage, "Turn to me, and I will turn to you," signifies this. Similar to this is what was said elsewhere: "They turned their backs upon me, and not their faces." For he who does not deign to listen earnestly to the divine oracles bears a close resemblance to one who turns away and gives his back. He says, therefore, that if you should be willing to pay attention to my laws, you shall obtain my providence. And teaching that it is effortless for Him to grant them the full abundance of all good things, He frequently called Himself "the Lord Almighty" and "the Lord of hosts," so that they might learn that He who rules and is king over all, inasmuch as He is Maker and Creator, and being Lord of the very hosts, both easily changes the natures of things, translates from prosperity to adversity, and restores to prosperity those held fast by misfortune.
VERS. 5, 6. *Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets? shall they live forever? But receive my words and my statutes, which I command in my spirit to my servants the prophets, which overtook your fathers.* B Observe, he says, the truth of my words, in that even though the prophets have departed from life, and your fathers have been delivered over to punishment, these [original-script column: see facsimile] remain, proclaiming the truth through the actual events, even while they have no prophets who wrote them to act as their advocates; for those men received the doom of death. They cry out and testify that nothing false was spoken by them. Receive, therefore, with readiness the things offered to you by the all-holy Spirit through the prophets. *And they answered, and said: As the Lord Almighty has determined to do to us according to our ways, and according to our pursuits, so he has done to us.* They assented to what was said, and acknowledged the truth, and received a perception of their offenses, and declared the prediction to be true, the indignation just, and the chastisement to be congruent with the sin.
7. *On the four and twentieth (day) of the eleventh month,* C
A this is the month Sabat, in the second year under Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Barachiah, son of Addon, the prophet. Being a Hebrew prophet, he used the Hebrew method of counting. The Hebrews acknowledge the month Xanthicus as the first; for so the great Moses legislated for them, exclaiming clearly: "This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first for you among the months of the year." Counting from that point, then, for those who begin to reckon, the eleventh month will be found to be Sabat, which is called Peritius by the Macedonians. The prophet therefore says that in this month, the second year not yet being completed, he received again the power of divine grace; for whether he says "word," or "speech," or "inspiration," or "hand," he signifies the operation of divine grace. Having been enlightened by this, and having seen a certain vision, he left it written for us, and says:
VERS. 8-11. "I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood between the shady mountains, and behind him were horses red, and spotted, and varied, and white. And I said: What are these, Lord? And the angel who spoke in me said to me: I will show you what these are. And the man who stood between B the mountains answered and said to me: These are they whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord who stood between the mountains, and said: We have walked to and fro through the whole earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited and is at rest." It is plain that those whom he saw are the invisible Powers, sent into ministry, according to the divine Apostle, for the sake of those who shall inherit salvation. Their natures, however, are not what are seen—for these are incorporeal—but the Lord of them and of all things conforms their appearance according to the need in each case. And the divine Scripture teaches us this openly, showing their diverse forms. For Daniel saw them in one way, and Ezekiel in another, and Isaiah and Micah with other figures. They are not, however, of many forms, but are incorporeal spiritual natures, and the Lord fashions their visions as is necessary. This He also did in the case of the divine Zechariah. For He shows him the angel who presided over the people—and this was holy Michael, as the angel who conferred with Daniel said. For he says D as follows: "There is no one who assists me among all these except Michael your prince." Him he sees riding upon a horse because of the speed of his actions. But the horse, red in color, shows indignation against the hostile nations; for irascibility brings to mind blood and redness. The mountains declare not only stability, but also the loftiness of those angels destined for our succor. The woody and shady mountains, indeed, designate the divine providence, which the blessed C
David promises to those who have hoped in God: "For he who dwells," he says, "in the aid of the Most High, shall abide in the protection of the God of heaven." And again, "He shall overshadow thee with his shoulders." And elsewhere, "In the shelter of thy wings thou shalt protect me." And the pillar of cloud covered the people of Israel in the desert. B For this reason, here too, the angel presiding over the people was seen standing in the midst of the shady mountains, indicating the divine succor through them. But those around Aquila and Symmachus have translated "mountains" as "myrtle trees"; it is a fragrant plant, and has the power to cool the heat of illnesses. And so this also signifies the future consolation of the Jews from the God of all. As he saw behind him also red, dappled, various, and white horses, he asks, desiring to learn, what is the cause of the things being shown. He is taught by the first angel seen, who stood between the shady mountains, that they were sent to inspect the whole earth; and in confirmation of the things spoken, those seated on those horses of all kinds said to the angel standing over those mountains, that they had traversed the whole inhabited earth, and found it enjoying peace and calm. C But hearing this, the angel who was entrusted with the protection of the people, and being very indignant that while all were enjoying peace, the people placed under him were still struggling with myriad calamities, offers a prayer to the Lord: "O Lord Almighty, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, which you have disregarded? This is the seventieth year." It should be known that the time of the former captivity was completed in the first year of Cyrus, king of the Persians, the good and benevolent Lord, who, by the experience of evils, also counted the time of the prediction; and we have demonstrated this more accurately in our commentary on Ezekiel. But the seventy-year period of the desolation of Jerusalem was completed in the second year of the reign of Darius. D This number must be started from the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, under whom the city was captured. For if anyone begins searching from then, he will find this time to be completed in the second year of the reign of Darius the son of Hystaspes. This, therefore, the angel who cares for the people entreats of the God of all, that He might look upon both the prophecy and the time completed, and that He might not overlook for too long the city consecrated to Him and surrendered to total desolation. [13] Receiving this prayer, the Lord, the prophet says, "answered the angel who was speaking in me with good words and consolatory speeches." And he does not speak of another angel here than the one who stood between the mountains: but the very same one who was both speaking to him and supplicating for the people. Moreover, he says that he spoke within him, because he did not use words, and [did not use] the voice of the movement of the tongue and the percussion of the air.
A Confiding, therefore, in the kindness of God, the holy angel commands the prophet to cry out and say:
15. Thus saith the Lord Almighty: I have been jealous for Zion and for Jerusalem with great jealousy. And I am very angry with the nations that take counsel together; for I was indeed a little angry, but they conspired for evil.
He says that he will no longer endure to overlook the things being dared against Jerusalem, but will exact penalties from those who have exceeded the measure of the punishment decreed against it, and have dared to bring upon it evils greater than those condemned. For as for me, in exacting punishment from it, because it had transgressed my laws, I stripped it of my providence; but they, having received confidence from this, did not want to find any satiety in the evils against it. Wherefore, using a just zeal, I will spare it, while from them I shall exact justice for their undertaken audacity. B [16, 17] Then he also sets forth the measure of mercy, and promises the completion of the building of the divine house, and the renewal of the city, and the restoration of the walls. For this is what he declares: "The measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem." But again the holy angel commanded him to cry out, and he said: "Thus saith the Lord Almighty: Cities shall yet be spread abroad with good things, and the Lord shall yet have mercy on Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem." He will indeed grant an abundance of good things to many cities of Judea—for this is what he indicated by saying: "Cities shall yet be spread abroad with good things"—but nevertheless, he will still prefer Jerusalem to the others and will provide [it with] its ancient privileges. It is necessary to note, however, that he did not promise them happiness for eternity, but indicated a certain time by saying "yet," showing beforehand that when the heir arrives, the law, which acts in the capacity of a steward and guardian, will prove unnecessary, and along with it the place which had received the worship according to it.
[18, 19] Then he turns the discourse to the narration of another vision, and says that he saw four horns, and learned by interrogation from the angel that these are the ones which had scattered Judah and Israel. [20, 21] Then he says again that the same number of workmen were shown to him by the God of all, that he again inquired, and heard that: «These are the horns which scattered Judah and Israel: and these are gone out to sharpen them with their hands. The four horns are the nations that lifted up a horn against the land of the Lord, to scatter it.» D He says, therefore, that the invisible powers were commanded by the God of all to incite and to sharpen these nations against one another,
A so that by means of one another they might pay the penalties for the wrongs they committed against Israel. For this is what he signaled: «To sharpen them against their hands.» He says "four," not indicating the number of certain nations, but because the sections of the world are four: the east, the west, the south, and the north. They came upon them sometimes from one place, sometimes from another: at one time the Assyrians and Babylonians; at another time the foreigners, the Egyptians; at other times the Idumeans, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. He called "four horns" those who had come upon them from the four sections. Over these he set an equal number of invisible powers, inciting them against one another so that, by one another, they might be made to pay the penalties for the things they dared to do.
CHAPTER II
B [1, 2] Then he transfers the narrative to another vision, and says that he saw a man carrying a surveying line, and then he asked him where he was going; and that he said he was going to measure Jerusalem, so as to learn what its length and breadth were. He also adds this to the narrative, that the angel who was echoing these words to him stood there, and another angel who arrived to him exhorted him to run to that young man who was carrying the measure, and to say:
«Fruitful shall Jerusalem be inhabited, from the multitude of men and cattle in her midst. And I will be to her, says the Lord, a wall of fire all around, and I will be the glory in her midst.» C See now, he says, do not make the measures of the city small, but, learning from me—the Lord of both you and this city—how great a multitude of men and four-footed animals will dwell in it, trace out the size corresponding to the multitude of the inhabitants. For in addition to these, I myself, by my grace, shall be a wall to her, unconquerable and impassable. For he called this a "wall of fire." For just as it is impossible to cross a great pyre, so it is impossible to be overcome for one who is guarded by the grace of God. Not only will I provide all security for her, but I will also make her illustrious, so that her glory may travel everywhere. D The prophet saw all these things: the care of the presiding angel, the path of the other angels, and the dimensions of the city, so that he himself might firmly receive the good promises concerning Jerusalem, and the people might believe the things said with precision, seeing not only words presented, but deeds prefigured. Immediately, therefore, after showing these things to the prophet, he commands him to cry out:
6, 7. «O, O, flee from the land of the north, says the Lord; because I will gather you from the four winds of the heaven, says the Lord. Be saved in Zion, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon.» Having these promises, do not only take heart, you who have already returned, but also you who still dwell in Babylon according to your own resolve (for having been permitted to return, you delayed): hasten to come to your own fatherland, which I will not be long in bringing back to its former prosperity. 8, 9. «For thus says the Lord Almighty: After glory he has sent me to the nations that have spoiled you;
for he who touches you, touches as it were the pupil of his eye. For behold, I will bring my hand upon them, and they shall be spoils for those who served them, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.» For he will procure your affairs with such great diligence, says he, that he will consider anyone who approaches to harm you to be touching the pupil of his eye: not that God, who is the God of all, has a body and is divided into members (for He is bodiless and uncircumscribed), but because He manifests by human methods the affection He possesses. B The blessed David also asks this care of Him, saying: «Keep me, O Lord, as the pupil of the eye.» Therefore, he says, I will bring all those who have plundered and spoiled you into the power of their own servants, and they shall suffer from them those things which they inflicted upon you; and by these very things you shall discern the truth of the divine oracles. Now these things happened to them typically; but the truth of the prophecy had a clearer fulfillment in us. For the Lord Christ, having routed the demons who were despoiling us, and claiming our mind for themselves, and reducing all the members of our body into their own servitude, has placed them under the yoke of His holy servants. C This he has declared more clearly through the divine Isaiah, crying out: «Those whom you feared shall fear you; ambassadors shall be sent seeking peace, weeping bitterly; for the ways of these shall be destroyed.» Thus the demons cried out: «Leave us alone, what have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?» And again: «I adjure you, do not torment me.» Thus the girl having a spirit of divination at Philippi called out: «These men are servants of the most high God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.» Thus also, before the victorious martyrs and even to this day, they cry out, and against their will they proclaim their victory and declare their own D infirmity. Therefore, He who was sent after glory has given these who once plundered us as spoils to those who were despoiled, so that our nature might recover the ancient glory which the progenitor of the race, Adam, lost when he was deceived, and so that we might recognize the Benefactor, and the Savior of our souls, and the Father who sent Him out of His own goodness. He was sent, however, not as God, but as man.
for as God, He is equal in honor to Him who begat Him. "For I," He says, "am in the Father, and the Father in Me." And: "The Father who abides in Me, He does the works." And: "I and the Father are one." And: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." But He is sent as man, fulfilling the economy for our sake, not diminishing the divine nature. "For existing in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant." A The Prophet therefore indicated to us not only the duality of persons, but also the equality of the persons. "For thus," he says, "says the Lord Almighty: After glory He has sent Me." And showing who it is that sent, he adds: "And you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent Me." Therefore, both the Sender is the Lord Almighty, and the Sent is the Lord Almighty, and there is no difference in dignities. He was sent, however, as I said, humanly, not divinely, fulfilling the economy for our sake; and when sent, He had within Himself the Father who sent Him: "The Father, who abides in Me, He does the works." Consequent to these things, the prophet adds:
B 10, 11. "Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Sion, for behold I am coming, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall flee for refuge to the Lord in that day, and they shall be to Him as a people, and they shall dwell in the midst of you; and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent Me to you." Straightforwardly, these things also are suitable for us who have been called from the Gentiles, and have obtained salvation, who are also exhorted to rejoice and be glad, as having the Lord of all as our dweller. It is possible, however, to see also the sensible Jerusalem itself, [being] inhabited by the nations who have believed in the Lord. And here likewise, we are taught both the duality of persons and the equality of the persons.
"For behold I am coming, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord; and you shall know that C the Lord Almighty has sent Me to you. (12.) And the Lord shall inherit Judah, His portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem." For from Judah the Master took up the form of a servant, and made that [tribe] His portion and home; and the divine Paul is a witness, crying out: "It is evident that the Lord has arisen from Judah." And showing that He calls not only Jerusalem, but the entire human race to salvation, he adds: D
A Ver. 15. "Let all flesh be awed before the face of the Lord, for He has arisen from His holy clouds." Thus also David says: "To you shall all flesh come;" thus also Isaiah: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of our God." He rightly calls the holy prophets "clouds," as they utter nothing of their own, but, as if from some sea, draw the prophetic rain from the grace of the Spirit. He says that He arose and appeared from these, because, when He had foretold His advent through them and had brought to an end the things He had previously signified, He demonstrated by their truth that the prophecy was divine. If these things are applied by some to the Jews at the time of the return, I do not strongly object. But that the prediction attained a true and certain outcome after the incarnation of our Savior, one can learn from the fact that from that time on, countless thousands of nations, having abandoned their former error, took refuge in the God of all, and a divine people was formed. From that time on, the pious assembly gathered from the nations inhabited Jerusalem. From that time on, all flesh acknowledged the Savior's first coming and trembles at the second appearance. But it is time to return to the explanation.
CAPUT III
B Ver. 1, 2. "And the Lord showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the face of the angel of the Lord, and the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to the devil: The Lord rebuke you, O devil, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you." These things also are a type of our own affairs. For just as that most malignant and wicked devil vehemently opposed Joshua who was high priest and who was offering petitions to God on behalf of the people, so again, the very same enemy struggled against Jesus, the great High Priest C according to the order of Melchizedek, He who takes away the sin of the world, wishing to trip Him up. But the Joshua who was the son of Josedec did not rebuke him, but the Lord of Joshua did. Yet when he approached Jesus the Savior of the world, he was rebuked by Him, as by God and Lord, and heard: "Get behind me, Satan." Thus, therefore, having freed Joshua the son of Josedec from the devil, the Lord, as God indeed, added: "Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" For because they had recently returned from captivity and were bearing the signs of captivity—poverty and complete desolation—He deservedly calls them a "brand." D A brand, moreover, is a piece of wood half-burnt, snatched from the fire. Then the prophet narrates again that the high priest was clothed in squalid and filthy garments; but the angel who guards the people, together with the other angels present,
A commanded them to strip him of that clothing. And teaching that something else is signified through the garments, he added: "And he said to him: Behold, I have taken away from you your iniquities." It was indeed likely that he, as a human being, had also committed some failings. But I think that, as a great high priest, he attributed to himself the iniquity of the people, and as if he had sinned along with them, he offered prayers; and for this reason, he received the forgiveness of the people's iniquity as if it were his own forgiveness. But, he says, having thus been relieved of the mourning apparel, and having received words full of joy, he receives also the robe of priesthood. For he who had said and done those things commanded those standing by to clothe him in the full-length tunic, and to place the miter and the headband upon his head. And B when these things had been done, the holy angel testifies to him, and says:
"Thus says the Lord Almighty: If you walk in my ways, and if you keep my mandates, and you will judge my house, and if you keep my court, I will give you [some] who walk about in the midst of those who stand here." C Having received the priestly rank, live according to the laws of the priesthood, keeping all the things I have prescribed. For by doing these things, you will live in this honor, and you will transmit the dignity to your descendants, to those from you who will govern this people. For this is what he meant when he said: "I will give you [some] who walk about in the midst of those who stand here."
"Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your neighbors who are sitting before your face, for they are men who are spectators of wonders." He says "spectators of wonders" not, as some have presumed, observers of omens and those who practice divination; for he would not have used such words to men of that sort, nor would Joshua himself, being pious, have given his name to a company of that kind; rather, he bears witness to them of knowledge and zeal for divine things. For, being pious, they were constantly observing the wonders and signs given by the prophets, and awaiting the end of them. To these, therefore, and to Joshua, he says what follows: D "For behold, I am bringing my servant, 'Orient' is his name. For the stone which I have set before the face of Joshua, upon the one stone are seven eyes." Having adorned the priest, and having removed the mourning attire, and having clothed him in the priestly robe, and having shown him what must be done, and having promised a most lasting succession to his descendants if they should keep the divine laws, he moves to the royal lineage, and promises that he will make Zerubbabel, who is a descendant of Jeconiah and traces his lineage from David, so illustrious and remarkable that he is compared to the most brilliant light of the east. He says that he has set this stone before [the face of the priest with seven eyes.]
A Neither, however, must we understand these eyes as eyes, nor should the number seven be taken as a specific quantity. For he has called the operation of divine grace "eyes," and he named them "seven" to signify its abundance and greatness. Thus also Anna says: "The barren hath borne seven," not meaning a definite number but denoting a multitude. And blessed David says: "Render to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom," that is to say, let them pay back manifold for the evils by which they have harmed us. Now, moreover, he calls him a stone because of his firmness and impregnable strength, especially since he is a type of Christ the Lord, who in many places of holy Scripture is called a stone. For the divine David said: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner." B And through the mouth of the divine Isaiah, the God of all says: "Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious, in the foundations thereof, and he that believeth in him shall not be confounded." C So likewise blessed Daniel saw a stone cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the statue and ground its materials to pieces, and it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Instructed in these things, blessed Paul cries out: "And they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ." And again: "For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus." Bearing this stone within himself, Zorobabel (for from him the Savior of the world proceeded according to the flesh) is himself rightly called a stone, shining with all kinds of gifts. But as he thus revealed the grace divinely given to Zorobabel, he also predicts the trophies of his brilliant military leadership: "Behold I will dig a pit, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will search out all the iniquity of that land in one day." He predicted these things concerning Gog and Magog, upon whom he brought destruction in one day, and led all together to slaughter, which he figuratively called a pit. D When this had come to pass, he says, all those campaigning under Zorobabel, having in fact become victors, will henceforth live securely under their vines and fig trees, inviting one another to feasts, and they will hold banquets, fearing nothing of the hostility of enemies. Having heard these things, the prophet, placed in the vision of so many and such great revelations, stood outside human affairs, and fixing his mind on those things, he seemed to be like one deeply stupified and constrained by sleep; for which reason the holy angel, the one set over the people, who had guided him through all the visions,
A awoke him, as a man is wont to be awakened from sleep. And he asked him, "What do you see?" and he replied, "I have seen, and behold a lampstand all of gold, and its lamp upon it, and seven lamps upon it, and seven pouring-spouts for the lamps which were upon it. and two olive trees upon it, one on the right of its lamp, and one on the left." And all these things are enigmas of other matters. For here he showed the golden lampstand as a type of Divine Providence, which administers both heavenly and earthly things. And the seven lamps, equal in number to the seven days of the week, demonstrate the perpetual and continuous nature of Divine care; while the pouring-spouts, which pour out the oil, signify the immense liberality of God's kindness. Thus, by the lamp B he hinted at the grace which illuminates all things. He called the two olive trees growing on either side the kingdom and the priesthood, adorned by divine grace; and the two branches, which stretched to the lamps, Joshua and Zerubbabel, the one born of the priestly, the other of the royal tribe. For since it seemed incredible and highly improbable to those who used human reasoning that a few, poor men, who had barely and with difficulty escaped that long captivity, could have accomplished such great and illustrious deeds, God confirmed the promise through the things which were shown, teaching that their accomplishment was not by their own power, but by His grace. And we have learned this interpretation from the Lord Himself, who showed that vision; for when the prophet inquired C what the enigmas of the things shown were, the divine angel said, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: Not by great power, nor by strength, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." Neither, O Zerubbabel, looking to your present insignificance, should you despair of the outcome of what has been foretold, nor again, when you have accomplished something glorious, should you ascribe the victory to yourself. For aided by My kindness, you will raise that trophy over those nations. Then he turns his speech toward them. D
CHAPTER IV. (Continued)
7. "Who are you, O great mountain, before the face of Zerubbabel, that you should set things right?" For since He called Zerubbabel himself a stone, He rightly calls those countless nations a mountain, which had attempted to hinder the building of the divine temple and to destroy the remnants of the people. But you will be able to accomplish nothing by planning these things. "For I will bring forth the stone of inheritance, the equality of grace [for] its grace." And what He says is of this sort: Even if you should rage a thousand times, attempting to stand in the way of Zerubbabel, I will show your hopes to be vain; for filling him with every grace, and adorning him with perfect grace, and making him firm as a stone, I will [render] all of you...[[3-9]] sufficient in human strength, and equalize [everything] with grace from above. Know, therefore, that the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall complete it, and by these things you shall learn that, serving the divine words, I have transmitted this prophecy to you.
Vers. 10. “For who has despised the day of small things?” This is similar to the words of God, which are found in Deuteronomy: “I will kill, and I will make to live; I will strike, and I will heal.” For this also implies here that, just as I despised Jerusalem for long days, and condemned her to seventy years of desolation, so it is easy for me to bring her back to her former prosperity. And those who see these things, “shall rejoice, and shall see the tin stone in the hand of Zerubbabel.” They shall know, he says, through experience, that the God who is now despised by them, He himself through Zerubbabel will achieve victory. For he put "tin" in this place because of its worthlessness. For since the divine temple had been burned, and the people had been led into slavery, and the city had been destroyed, and everyone suspected that these things had happened not because of the iniquity of the people, but because of the weakness of the God worshiped by them; he called the divine help a "tin stone" according to their opinion, teaching that this [aid], which is considered worthless and weak by the unfaithful, will manifest its own power through one man, Zerubbabel.
Wherefore, he immediately added: “These are the seven eyes of the Lord, which look upon all the earth.” For the Inspector and Administrator of all things, who sees all things and hears all, He himself will protect Zerubbabel. [11-14] Having said these things, the prophet asks the angel about the olive trees flourishing on either side of the lampstand; he asks about the two branches reaching as far as the lamps themselves, and he learns that these are the two sons of fatness, who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. He designates Joshua the high priest, and Zerubbabel the leader, the one springing from the royal [race], the other from the priestly [line].
CHAPTER V
[1-2] After he had confirmed by these varied visions the discourses concerning the kingdom and the priesthood, and had predicted the completion of the edifice of the divine temple, he terrifies his hearers with the threat of punishment, calling them back from vices, and inciting them to virtue: and he shows the prophet a very great sickle D suspended and flying through the air, ten cubits wide, and twenty long. [3] And we are taught that this is the curse that goes forth over the face of all the earth. “For every thief, from this time even unto death, shall be punished.”
He calls the punishment a curse—one that spreads over the entire world and is brought upon the workers of iniquity. By these things, both the prophet and the people were taught that the God of all is the judge of all men, and will exact proportionate penalties from all, bringing destruction not only upon those who are impious toward Him, but also upon those who do injury to their neighbor. For let no one think that these threats were uttered only against thieves and perjurers; for He has pronounced the verdict against every sort of lawlessness. For since the whole law and the prophets depend upon these words, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” He has gathered every kind of sin under the categories of theft and perjury. For the violation of an oath is the chief point of impiety, and one who is such is devoid of divine love; while theft reveals injustice toward one’s neighbor, for no one who loves his neighbor will endure to do him wrong. These heads, therefore, B encompass other laws, and deservedly He has threatened that punishment to their transgressors.
Verses 5, 6. “And the angel who spoke in me went forth and said to me, ‘Lift up your eyes and see what this is that goeth forth.’ And I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘This is the measure that goeth forth.’ And he said, ‘This is their iniquity in all the earth.’”
From this we also understand that the Lord of all things manages all things by measure and weight. Thus, when He foretold to Abraham that his seed would be sojourners, He also taught the cause: “For not yet,” He says, “are the iniquities of the Amorites fulfilled until now.” Not yet, He says, have they sinned to a degree worthy of total destruction; therefore, I will not yet suffer them to be delivered to slaughter, but I will await the measure of their iniquity. Thus, having limited the life of the men who were in the time of Noah to one hundred and twenty years, when He saw their sin growing and flooding, He did not await the appointed day, but cut short the determined time, and in the hundredth year brought the deluge of waters upon them all. C
Verses 7, 8. “And behold, a talent of lead lifted up, and behold, one woman sat in the midst of the measure. And he said, ‘This is iniquity.’ And he cast her into the midst of the measure, and he cast the talent of lead into her mouth.”
The divine word compares virtue to pearls: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man seeking for fine pearls.” But the debt of sin...
A is called lead by the Holy Scripture, because this is heavy by nature, and very heavy too is the burden of sin. The divine David teaches us this, saying: “My iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they have become heavy upon me.” Therefore, the inspired Zechariah also sees sin, appearing in the guise of a woman; for most evils are born of self-indulgence. He sees the punishment, like some lead of very great weight, lying upon the mouth of iniquity, according to the psalmody which says: “All iniquity shall stop its mouth.” And the fruit of sin is shame. So also the blessed Paul says: “Having been freed from sin, you have been made slaves to righteousness. What fruit, therefore, did you have then in those things of which you are now ashamed?” The prophet, therefore, was taught that God had loosened the sin of the people and brought the punishment to an end. B Indeed, he sees two women with wings, being carried with a certain sound; and he says that their wings resembled those of a hoopoe—a bird that is very swift, having little flesh, but wings larger than its body. These, he says, having taken that measure, were carried through the midst of the air. I inquired of the divine angel where they were carrying the measure, and I was taught that they were setting off for Babylon, so as not only to place it in the city, but also to build a house for it, and to set it there for its own needs. For, he says, just as I defined a fixed time for the desolation of Jerusalem, and then again deemed it worthy of pity and forgiveness, I shall not thus show mercy to Babylon, but it shall receive C perpetual punishment for its many acts of impiety.
Chapter VI
Having thus completed this vision, he introduces the narrative of another vision, and says that he saw four chariots, four in number, coming out from between two mountains of bronze; and that for the first chariot the horses were reddish, for the second black, for the third white, and for the fourth dappled and skewbald. Then he says he inquired, and learned from the angel, that these are the four winds of heaven, which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth. By “four winds” he calls the four parts of the D inhabited world, for most people also suppose the winds to be equal in number to these. The prophet is taught, therefore, that God, the Lord of all, using invisible powers as ministers, both bestows good things and brings painful things upon men. Thus, also, the blessed David says: “The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them.” And concerning vengeance, he says in another psalm: “He sent forth upon them the wrath of his indignation: indignation, and wrath, and tribulation, a sending in by evil angels.” Thus, also, the divine Zechariah sees the black horses toward the north.distress, the mission of evil angels. A Thus also the inspired Zechariah sees the black horses having driven toward the northern parts of the world, and by this he signifies the destruction of Babylon. "And the white ones were going out behind them," not that they might grant the good things to them, but that, once those had been punished, they might lead the remaining captive Hebrews back to Judea. "And the red ones were going out toward the land of the south," threatening evils to the nations rising up against Jerusalem; for by the red color the discourse signifies indignation.
B 7. "And the various and the grizzly ones were going out, and they were seeking, and as they were looking to go round the earth; and he said, Go, go round the earth. And they went round the earth." He calls "earth" here, not the land of Israel, but the whole world. He calls them various and grizzly, as managing all things and punishing where it is necessary, and conferring benefits where it is proper.
8. "And he cried, and called me, and spoke to me, saying, Behold, those going out to the land of the north have made my spirit rest in the land of the north." For, he says, I brought a just punishment upon the Babylonians, which they had owed for a long time, but for the sake of my long-suffering they had not yet paid. After these visions, the prophet is ordered to take the gifts brought by the captives, but not indiscriminately from all, but from the princes, and from those useful to it, and from those who have acknowledged it. For those who, he says, have received a sense of the evils, and have known the cause of the captivity, and have learned its usefulness, let them bring the gifts. C Then he makes mention of the names Eldai, and Tobiah, and Idei. He is also ordered to enter "into the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah," now coming from Babylon, and to take silver and gold, and from these to fashion a crown, and to encircle the head of the high priest Joshua, and to convey the divine words to him, and to say:
12, 13. "Thus says the Lord Almighty: Behold a man, Orient is his name, and he shall rise up from beneath him, and he shall build the house of the Lord. And he shall receive virtue, and shall sit, and shall rule upon his throne; and the priest shall be at his right hand, and peaceful counsel shall be between them both." He predicts all these things D as concerning Zerubbabel, not as if he were not yet born, but as though he had not yet received the hegemony. He calls him Orient, since he rose like light for those at that time inhabiting Jerusalem, who were being afflicted by bitter evils and were spending their time in a dark night. This man, he says, will also finish the divine house, and will be seated upon the royal thrones, and will count the high priest worthy of all honor, and will have such concord with him
A so that he does nothing without his counsel. Nor did He promise these things to them alone, but also to those who await the unfading crown, whom He calls useful and who have recognized it. Furthermore, the one who provided the substance for the crown, Josiah son of Zephaniah, will be deemed worthy of the glory resulting therefrom; for this is what he said: "And for the grace of the son of Zephaniah." Then he also speaks concerning the divine places:
"And for a psalm in the house of the Lord. (Ver. 15.) And those who are far off from them shall come, and shall build in the house of the Lord; and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you." For not only shall you who are present do these things, but those also who dwell far from you shall run together from every side and shall share with you in these beautiful labors. B "And it shall be, if you will obediently hear the voice of the Lord your God." These things, he says, shall come to pass, and shall receive their proper end, if you obey the divine words.
CHAPTER VII
Verses 1-3. "And it came to pass in the fourth year under Darius the king, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chasleu (which we call Apellaeon); and the king sent to Bethel, Sarasar and Arbeseer, and the men who were with him, to entreat the Lord, saying to the priests in the house of the Lord Almighty, and to the prophets: C 'Has the sanctification entered here in the fifth month, or shall I fast as I have done for many years?'" Some have stated that these were leaders of the Cuthaeans and other nations, whom Shalmaneser transported into Samaria and whom later generations have called Samaritans. But whether they were of these or of other nations (for the divine Scripture has not clearly taught us), it is manifest that they were foreigners who governed foreigners; yet, as neighboring sojourners, they received great benefit from the prophets and other pious men. Hence it came about that they sent sacrifices to God, and desired to learn from the priests and from the prophets whether the divine house had been decorated in a fitting manner, or whether it was necessary, he says, to appease God again through fasting, which we have persisted in doing for a very long time. [4] While they were inquiring about these things, the God of all directed His speech to the people, and at the same time taught them what must be done, saying:Verses 5, 6. "Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: If you fast or lament in the fifth and in the seventh (month), and behold for seventy years, have you fasted to Me? And if you eat or drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?" Do not think, D He says, that I derive any profit from your fasting; for even if you should ten thousand times
afflict yourselves with mournings and lamentations, and perform the fast in the fifth and seventh months, I shall derive no benefit from it. And that this is so, the time of the captivity is witness; for during seventy years you offered me no service of fasting. Just as, therefore, you enjoy the pleasure that flows from eating and drinking, so too you should reap the benefit that flows from fasting. But do not think that this teaching is new; for long ago and long since I have ceased not to say these things through the prophets to your forefathers and fathers.
B V. 7. "Nunquid enim, is not this," he says, "the word which the Lord spoke by the hand of the prophets who were before? When Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, and her cities round about, and the mountain and the plain were inhabited?" Having thus shown the antiquity of the proclamation, he teaches in detail what those things are that serve him: "Judge just judgment, and let each one perform mercy and compassion towards his brother. (V. 10) And do not oppress the widow, and the orphan, and the sojourner, and the poor; and let not each of you remember the malice of his brother in your hearts." I said, he says, to your fathers, that they should judge and bring forth a fair and just sentence, and to use mercy towards neighbors; not to oppress with power those who were drawing the heavy yoke of widowhood, and those who were lamenting their orphanhood, nor to take the weakness of the poor as a pretext for greed; and in addition to these, to loathe resentment, and not to avenge themselves on those who began the injustice. These things, indeed, I said, but they did not wish to obey. "But they gave," he says, "a rebellious back." And as they received scourges, they fell ill with insensibility. For he called the rebellious back "stolid," by a metaphor taken from whipped servants who derive no profit from it.
C "And they hardened their ears so as not to hear. (V. 12) And they set their heart to be disobedient, so as not to hear My law and the words which the Lord Almighty sent by His Spirit, by the hand of the prophets who were before." But they reaped the fruit of disobedience. "For there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty." (V. 13) "And it shall be," he says, "just as I said, and they did not hear Him, so they shall cry, and I will not hear," says the Lord Almighty. He changes the form of the tense; for he speaks of those things that have already happened as if they were future: for "they shall cry," instead of "they cried," and "I will not hear," instead of "I did not hear," he has set down.
[index: entries preserved]
VERS. 14. "And I will cast them out into all nations, which they did not know," that is, I have cast them out. "And the land shall be desolate after them, from one passing through, and from one returning," that is, it is desolate, as what follows shows. For he changed the figure and says: "And they have set the chosen land into desolation." He has discoursed concerning the disobedience of their A fathers and the punishment of them. For it would not have been fitting to threaten such harsh things again to those who had undergone bitter slavery, and had recently been delivered from it, and had not yet rebuilt the city.
CHAPTER VIII
VERS. 1, 2. "And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying: Thus saith the Lord Almighty: I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Sion with great jealousy, and with great fury have I been jealous for her." This, he says, is the punishment I brought upon her, exacting the B penalty for the impiety committed against me. He calls just anger "jealousy." For since he was spoken of as her husband, and called her his wife, he has appropriately inserted the name of jealousy into his words. For thus he called himself, when he was ruling them, saying: "I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, a consuming fire." And after he has thus exposed the causes of his anger, henceforth he promises good things. VERS. 3. "Thus saith the Lord: I will return unto Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the truthful city, and the mount of the Lord Almighty, the holy mount." These things happened typically after the building of Zorobabel; but after the incarnation of our Savior, all beheld the truth of the prophecy. In addition to these things, he promises that he will provide a multitude of inhabitants to C the city, and will lead them to advanced old age, so that they might walk through the marketplace leaning on staffs, and sit in the customary gatherings, and the streets be filled with boys and girls playing, which is accustomed to happen in very populous cities. For he declared these things, having said: VERS. 4, 5. "There shall yet sit old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem, every man holding his staff in his hand because of D the multitude of days. And the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets thereof." Then he confirms his words, interposing his own power. VERS. 6. "Thus saith the Lord Almighty: If it shall be impossible before the rest of this people in those days, shall it be also impossible before me? saith the Lord Almighty." For you, he says, looking to your own fewness and poverty, of these...goods you do not accept the hope. A Yet it behooves you, knowing the power of the One who promises, to accept what is said without doubt, and to believe that I shall deem my people worthy of all salvation, and having gathered them from every side, I shall bring them back to their ancestral land; and I, as is my wont, shall make my manifestation in Jerusalem. For this is what he says: "I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem." And he indeed shall be called my people; but I shall be named his God, not as formerly falsely, but in truth and in righteousness.
9. "Thus saith the Lord Almighty: Let your hands be strengthened, you who hear in these days these words out of the mouth of the prophets, since the day that the house of the Lord Almighty was founded, and the temple, since it is being built." B Having, he says, the consolation from my promise, build the divine house with great confidence, so that you may perform the legal services therein, and receive the divine graces through it.
10. "For before those days, the wages of men were not for profit, and the wages of cattle did not exist, and for him who went out and for him who came in there was no peace from the tribulation." For when you were neglecting the building, he says, the labor of men wasfruitless, and the wages of cattle were useless; but all were established in continuous fear, both those dwelling abroad and those dwelling at home. "And I will send forth all men, each to his neighbor." For I, on account of the negligence regarding divine things, stirred up constant troubles among you. C But now, seeing your zeal for the building, I shall give you before all other things the gift of peace; and you shall enjoy the fruits of the land, with rains abundantly provided from above.
13. "And it shall be, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be in a blessing." For men are accustomed, even when invoking curses, to bring forward those who have fallen into calamities, and to say: "May you suffer such things as so-and-so has suffered," and when praying well, they are accustomed to offer the mention of those to whom divine blessing has fallen. D "Take courage, and be strengthened in your hands." (vv. 14, 15) "For thus saith the Lord Almighty: As I thought to do evil to you when your fathers provoked me, saith the Lord Almighty, and I did not repent—so have I determined and devised in these days to do well to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah." Just as, he says, I showed the threats of punishment to be true, so also to the good dispensations I will put a finish.
A And so, having emboldened them, he again urges them toward virtue and explains what things must be done.
"Take courage" (Vers. 16). "These are the words which you shall perform." Before all things, he commands them to cherish the truth. "For you shall speak," he says, "the truth each man to his neighbor." Then, he also commands those who are quarreling over any matters to pursue peace. "For you shall judge a peaceful judgment in your gates." And that they should cast out from their souls the remembrance of injuries:
Vers. 17. "And let no one of you think evil of his neighbor in your hearts." And that those who swear should make their oaths valid, and should loathe falsehood. "For do not," he says, "love a false oath; for I hated all these things, says the Lord Almighty."
Then, since he had said above that he receives no utility from fasting (and he said this on account of those who thought that God was worshiped and served by this alone), after having taught all the forms of virtue, he legislates the fast B along with these.
Vers. 19. "Thus says the Lord Almighty: The fourth fast, and the fifth fast, and the seventh fast, and the tenth fast shall be to the house of Judah for joy and gladness, and for good feasts; and you shall be glad, and love truth and peace." It is not obscure that he names the fourth, and the fifth, and the seventh, not of the week, but of the month, because he also added the tenth. Fasting, he says, do not be grieved on account of the abstinence from food, but rejoice on account of the utility which springs from the hardship; and both with the fast and without it, have the disposition concerning truth and peace. It must be noted, however, that the other interpreters, specifically Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus, did not say to fast the fourth, and the fifth, and the seventh, and the tenth, but the three C spoke in the same way of the fast of the fourth, and of the fifth, and of the seventh, and of the tenth; so that it is evident that he commanded a fast in the fourth, and in the fifth, and in the seventh, and in the tenth month.
Vers. 20-22. "Thus says the Lord Almighty: Many peoples shall still come, and inhabitants of many cities. And the inhabitants of five cities shall assemble together into one city, saying, 'Let us go to pray before the face of the Lord Almighty.' And many peoples and many nations shall come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, and to propitiate the face of the Lord." So noble and renowned will Jerusalem be, D that it will urge those living in other cities to visit one another, and to stir one another up to piety, so that having left what is possessed in
A their hands, they may come together to this city and seek the favor of God. And [each one] says, "I also will go, and I will depart with you." And they will do this, not only those whose lineage is from Jerusalem, but also foreign nations longing to partake of the divine assistance. These things indeed happened in a shadowy way after the construction that took place under Zerubbabel; but after the appearance of our God and Savior in the flesh, it is possible to see every land and sea running together to that city, and longing to see the places of the saving passions. The things that follow also correspond to these.
B Ver. 23. "Thus says the Lord Almighty: In those days ten men from all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the hem of a Jewish man, saying, 'We will go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" Thus, those from the nations who were deemed worthy of the calling longed for the holy apostles, who traced their lineage from the Jews, believing that through them they would partake of salvation. So the Philippians longed for the divine Paul; so the Thessalonians, so the Corinthians, so all the nations; thus blessed Onesiphorus ran into the city so that he might offer to him the debt of service; thus blessed Titus, thus Trophimus, having followed him even unto extreme dangers. But if, when the Jews returned from Babylon, some of the nations marveled at the extraordinary manner of their liberation, and believed their God to be the true God, and, having followed some of the Jews, longed to learn the truth from them, this does not harm the things said by us, but rather it bears witness to the truth. For the things of old were a type of our things. It is fitting for the image to have a resemblance to the archetype. C So if this account is true according to the Jews, it is also true according to us, for those things are a shadow of these. But let us return to the sequence of the interpretation.
CHAPTER IX
Vers. 1, 2. "Assumption of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is his sacrifice (but those around Aquila interpreted: And in Damascus is his rest): because the Lord looks upon men."
Vers. 3. "And all the tribes of Israel, and Emath in its borders." D Or, according to the other interpreters: "And in Emath which borders on it." He predicts, therefore, that these cities also, which once lived impiously—Hadrach, and Damascus, and Emath—having been delivered from their former error, will offer sacrifices to God. For He who looks upon all men, and not only the tribes of Israel, will also take care of these. Now Hadrach is a city of Arabia; and Emath is what is now called Epiphania; and holy Scripture calls the great Emath Emisa. These, therefore,
A being illuminated by the light of the knowledge of God, will do what is fitting.
"And Tyrus, in that they were very wise" (vv. 3-5). *And Tyrus built herself a fortification, and heaped up silver as the dust, and gold as the mire of the streets. Therefore, the Lord will possess them, and will strike her power into the sea, and she shall be consumed by fire. Ascalon shall see, and Gaza shall fear, and shall be in great pain, and Accaron, because she is ashamed of her transgression; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited.*
Tyrus, he says, and Sidon, priding themselves on their wealth and trusting in their fortified walls, shall be delivered to every kind of calamity. For some of their possessions, the sea having overflowed, shall show to be submerged; others shall be consumed by fire, the God of the universe delivering this judgment against them. But as for what he says, "The Lord will possess them," this is how it is to be explained: Since they withdrew themselves from divine providence, they shall experience the power of His strength. Ascalon and Gaza, seeing this, shall be in great fear, and will continue to mourn along with Accaron; for she is ashamed—that is, Tyrus—over her transgression. "But moreover, I will cause the kingdom of Gaza to cease, and I will show Ascalon naked of its inhabitants, and I will cause aliens to inhabit both it and Azotus." For what he says, "Ascalon shall not be inhabited," refers to the men of that time whom He delivered to slaughter and servitude; wherefore He added:
(VV. 6, 7). *And aliens shall dwell in Azotus, and I will destroy the pride of the foreigners, and I will remove their blood from out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth.* A mother of benefit, therefore, is the correction applied by God. For on account of this, He says that the foreigners also have ceased from their former lawlessness and impiety, and have received the knowledge of God. For this He made clear by immediately adding: *And these also shall be left for our God, and they shall be as captains in Juda, and Accaron as the Jebusite.* For, having loathed the sacrifices of the idols with which they were previously filled, they will place themselves under the providence of God and, being enrolled along with the people of Juda, they will shine like certain captains D and will be worthy of equal honor with those who dwell in Jerusalem. These He called Jebusites; for this place was formerly called Jebus.
(V. 8). *And I will set up for my house a rampart, so that none may pass through, nor return, and no oppressor shall come upon you any more, for now I have seen with my eyes.* I will make my house conspicuous, and I will fill my people with power, so that those who attempt to attack them D
A should not return, nor reach their own homes, but there receive their punishment. And as for the others who see their sufferings, they shall remain at home, restrained by fear, and shall not dare to undertake a war against the people; for this is the protection I have determined to provide them for the present. These things, however, received their fulfillment under the Maccabees, while Judas, Jonathan, and Simon were conducting the war; for after the victory, they enslaved the cities of the foreigners, and in their place settled Jews, and moreover, they ensured that many of those same people were taught the true religion.
But the exact fulfillment of the prophecy was seen after the appearance of our Savior; for now, having renounced the error of idols, B both the Ascalonites and the Accaronites and the other foreigners have received the light of the knowledge of God; and those who have been appointed from among them to shepherd them shine forth like certain tribunes and generals. For which reason, the all-holy Spirit, in prophesying those things, also points out the cause of these good things and cries out through the prophet:
Ver. 9. "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, proclaim, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your King comes to you, righteous and saving; he is humble, and mounted upon a beast of burden, and a young foal."
These things have their clear interpretation through the events themselves; for the King who was prophesied came, and by his own righteousness put an end to sin, and by his humility destroyed the pride of the devil, C and by using the foal of an ass, he has as worshippers kings who are carried in chariots adorned with gold and precious stones. Of this foal, the blessed Jacob also prophesied, saying: "Binding his foal to the vine, the foal of his ass."
Ver. 10. "And he shall destroy the chariots from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the war-bow shall be destroyed, and there shall be a multitude and peace from the nations."
By using this moderation, he says, the greatest King of all destroyed the chariots from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, having overthrown their boldness and their frantic kingdom; he destroyed also D the war-bow, and granted peace to the nations through the Roman peace, and bestowed facility upon the heralds of the truth. For when the empire became one, the uprisings of the nations against one another ceased, and peace was established throughout the whole world, and the apostles who were entrusted with the proclamation of piety traveled without fear, and wandering through the inhabited world, they hunted men for life. And the most paradoxical thing of all is that he who had nowhere to lay his head, he who used the foal, desired and took hold of every land and sea. This
moreover, the prophetic word foretold: A “And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth.” I marvel at the stupefaction of the Jews, who most impudently attempt to interpret this prophecy concerning Zerubbabel. For that Zerubbabel did not hold the whole of Palestine, but only Judea, the Jews themselves would concede; but the prophet predicted that he who sat upon the foal would rule over the entire inhabited world. Furthermore, we know that Christ used a foal, but that Zerubbabel did this, no one among those who have written of divine things has said even to this day. If therefore the Lord Christ used the foal according to the prophecy, and held the inhabited world, and is believed and preached to be the true God, and brought to an end the kingdom of Ephraim and Israel, the prophet foretold these things about him, and the prophecy has clearly attained its end. What follows also accords with these things.
11. “And you, by the blood of your testament, have sent forth your prisoners from the pit that has no water.” B For those, he says, whom you have purchased and delivered with your precious blood, these you have sent forth with the salutary tablets of your Testament, so that they might preach liberty to all, having freed them from the pit that has no water. And if anyone wishes to understand this pit as either eternal death or the error of idols, he will not stray from the truth. For thus says the God of all through Jeremiah: “My people have done two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and they have hewn for themselves broken cisterns, which cannot contain water.” C In this way he characterized the laborious and useless worship of idols. For those laboring miserably in the worship of idols reaped no fruit from these things, and moreover suffered the loss of true life. When men were bound in this pit, the Lord Christ, unbinding and drawing them out, and gifting them with liberty through his precious blood, sent them forth unto the way of life, having given them the New Testament. To these he says again:
12. “You shall sit in the stronghold as prisoners of the congregation, and for one day of your sojourning I will render double to you.” D For instead of those bitter bonds, I have bound you about with other, most sweet bonds of my love, exhorting you to sit beside me, and to be instructed in my laws, and to be guarded by a strong protection, and instead of your former captivity, to enjoy at once liberty and life. For concerning these things, he says, I will render double to you.
13. “Because I have bent you, Judah, for myself as a bow,
I have filled Ephraim, and I will raise up your children, O Zion, against the children of the Greeks, and I will handle you as the sword of a warrior.” He calls Judah and Ephraim those who derive their lineage from these, whom he prepared for war against the children of the Greeks, having given them weapons not carnal, but mighty to God for the destruction of strongholds, so that they might cast down human reasonings and every height lifting itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ. These, he said, he had bent as a bow and handled as the sword of a warrior. Through these he dissolved the empty arts of the philosophers; through these he taught the world piety. Concerning these, the prophetic word says thus: “Your arrows are sharp, O Mighty One, in the heart of the enemies of the king.” B But indeed, for the Macedonians also, the prophecy had its fulfillment in a type. For when the children of Zion had brought war upon the Greeks, they put the many thousands of the Macedonians to flight, and having erected a trophy, they returned victorious, and they raised up the altar that had been destroyed. These things they performed, with the God of all fighting for them, and providing invincible assistance. For this is what the prophet also says.
14. “And the Lord shall appear over them,” and his arrow shall go forth as lightning, and the Lord God Almighty shall sound with the trumpet, and shall go in the tumult of his threatening. Wishing to defend them, he shall strike them with thunders, and shall strike them with terror by lightnings, and using the clouds as if they were slings, he shall cast at them heavy hailstones, and with these he shall confound them. “And they shall drink,” he says, “their blood as water.” C This is to say, they shall reap as much pleasure as possible from the victory. For he does not speak of the drinking of human blood; for how could he, who forbids the eating of the blood of beasts even to those who were before the law, and to those under the law? “And they shall fill the altar as vials,” that is to say, with the sacrifices taken from the spoil.
16. “And the Lord their God shall save them in that day, as sheep his people; for holy stones are rolled upon his land.” For on account of the saints, God shall save the others also, and as sheep proper to those who are coming, he will deliver them from the wild beasts.
17. “For if anything is good of his, and if anything is beautiful from him, grain for the young men, and wine giving a sweet odor to the virgins.”
CHAPTER X
1. “Ask of the Lord rain at the proper time, early and late: the Lord has made appearances, and he shall give them winter rain, to each herb in the field.”
A He says: He himself provides both grain and wine, so that the young men may be strengthened by the grain, and the virgins may enjoy the joy that comes from the wine. For in this place, too, he has put wine for joy. Knowing these things, therefore, ask for the early and late rain at the proper time from Him who is able to give it. For He is himself the provider of rain and the creator of those other things which are accustomed to occur for the terror of men, for He has made lightnings into rain. He called such things "appearances" as being things that terrify men; yet through these, fruits are also born from the earth. The true God, then, both performs and bestows such things.
VERS. 2. “But those who spoke uttered labors, and the diviners spoke false visions and false dreams; they consoled in vain; therefore they were dried up like sheep, and were afflicted, because there was no healing.” Having brought the entire flock of the devil into the midst—the diviners, the astrologers, the interpreters of dreams—he refuted their falsehood and demonstrated their punishment.
VERS. 3. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit my lambs.” For those who ruled badly I delivered into captivity, but the subjects I brought back from there, and deemed them worthy of my care. “And the Lord God Almighty shall visit his flock, the house of Judah; and he shall set them as his own handsome horse in battle.” I will show them, he says, in the time of war, like a horse exulting in beauty and strength, B and charging fearlessly against their faces, and it shall not require other aid.
VERS. 4, 5. “For from him, he says, he looked, and from him he set, and from him his bow in the spirit of anger; from him shall come forth every one who drives into the same. And they shall be as warriors treading the mud of the streets in battle, and they shall stand in the battle line, because the Lord is with them, and the riders of horses shall be confounded.” They will not use foreign arms, he says, nor will they hire foreign soldiers; but from among themselves shall be the commander, from among themselves all the prefects of the ranks; they themselves will achieve victory by performing deeds with distinction, and like mud they will trample the phalanx of the enemies. For just as mud yields to the feet of those walking over it, so those others also will be put to flight, and in fleeing they will be pierced through, C because the Lord of all is in charge of this strategy.
VERS. 6. “And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will cause them to dwell.” When, he says, I have thus slaughtered all their enemies, I will ensure that they dwell in peace in their ancestral land. And indicating the reason, he added: “Because I loved them...” D
and they shall be as though I had not cast them off.” A For I will, he says, so cause them to flourish that they will not even have the sensation of the captivity that occurred, seeing their former prosperity. “For I am the Lord their God, and I will hearken unto them. (7.) And they shall be as though they were the warriors of Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as with wine, and their children shall see and be glad, and their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.” For, he says, being their Lord and God, I will receive their petitions, and I will render them victorious, and I will ensure that they spend their time in all gladness. And their children, in like manner to them, will spend their time in all pleasure, priding themselves in me and exulting in my power. 8. “I will signify to them [the signal], and I will receive them, and I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied as they were many.” And they shall, he says, be increased in a multitude, having received the blessing of prolificacy, so that, not being satisfied with their own cities, they shall be transplanted into other cities, and also become a cause of salvation to others through them. For this is what he signified by having said: 9. “And I will sow them among the peoples, and those far off shall remember me, and they shall rear their children.” For, he says, seeing their earnest piety, they will take all manner of care of them. 10. “And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and from the Assyrians I will receive them, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, and there shall not be left any of them.” And I will, he says, bring them back also from Egypt and from Assyria, and I will ensure that they dwell in their ancestral land, and I will fill the land of Gilead with them, and I will grant them an abode as far as Lebanon itself, and nothing will be an obstacle to them, since I will deliver to destruction all who attempt to make war against them. For this is what is indicated by: 11. “They shall pass through a narrow sea, and they shall strike the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the rivers shall be dried up.” D For when they are caught in the greatest dangers, and were nearly despairing of salvation (for he called their difficult situation a narrow sea), they struck the waves of their enemies and rendered them, as it were, deep rivers—dried up—having consumed their hosts there. “And all the pride of the Assyrians shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall be taken away. (12.) And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and they shall boast in his name, says the Lord.”
A Egypt, he says, shall be destroyed from its foundations, and the pride of the Assyrians shall be broken; and indeed these [people], who formerly served them, shall by my help become distinguished and celebrated among all.
CHAPTER XI
VERSES 1, 2. “Open, O Lebanon, thy doors, and let fire devour thy cedars. Let the pine howl, because the cedar is fallen.” Therefore, all you who derive excessive spirit from power, and who imitate the height of Lebanon through the phantasy of arrogance, prepare yourselves to endure the impending punishments. But you who are inferior to them (for these he calls the pine), seeing the destruction brought upon the more powerful, lament your own calamities. “For the pine,” he says, “howls, because the cedar is fallen.” And explaining what he said through metaphor, he added: “For the optimates have become very miserable, howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the planted forest has been cut down.” (VERSE 3.) “A voice of shepherds lamenting, because their magnificence is made miserable: a voice of roaring lions, because the roaring B of the Jordan is afflicted.” Tropically, according to his customary manner, he has expressed everything. For by lions and shepherds he designates kings and princes; by the planted forest, an unfruitful principality. He said that all these, who had indeed taken up great spirit against the Jordan but were cast down in their hope, would mourn and lament. By the Jordan, he signified the land of the Jews: for the river flows through it. These things, then, did the divine Zechariah predict concerning the future prosperity of the Jews after their return. Next, however, he prophesies the calamities by which they were to be afflicted on account of their iniquities.
VERSE 4. “Thus saith the Lord Almighty: Feed the sheep of the slaughter.” But who fed these, if not the Lord Christ, who cries out in the holy Gospels: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep?” C But let no one dare to belittle him because he is called a shepherd. For he, for the sake of our salvation, was named not only a shepherd, but also a lamb and a sheep. And what do I say, a sheep and a lamb? For he was even called a curse and sin, that he might expiate both the sin and the curse of men. To him, therefore, the Father says: “Feed the sheep of the slaughter,” because he chose to take the form of a servant, that he might liberate the nature of men from slavery. As a man, therefore, not as God, he receives these commands: for as God, he exists equal to the Father; but as a man, he cries out: “I do not speak from myself. I have received a commandment as to what I should say and what I should speak.” Thus, even in this… D
A place, he is commanded: “Feed the sheep of slaughter.” And instructing for what reason he so addresses them, he adds:
5. “Those who possessed them were slaying them, and did not repent, and those who sold them said, ‘Blessed is the Lord, and we have become rich,’ and their shepherds took no pity on them.” For, being led by impious kings and lawless priests, they suffered ten thousand different evils at their hands. The history of the Maccabees and the volumes of Josephus are full of these accounts. For, having received the disease of ambition and love of money, they made the priesthoods venal, and bought the dignity which in no way belonged to them. Hence, ten thousand evils befell the Jews. For this reason, he threatens the shepherds with punishment, while he takes all possible care of the sheep. But concerning the impious, he says:
6. “Therefore, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. And behold, I deliver the men, each into the hands of his neighbor, and they shall cut up the land, and I shall not deliver them from their hand.” B But those others, he says, because of their own lawlessness, I leave neglected, while I shall take every care of the more gentle. For this is what he made clear by what he subsequently added.
7. “And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan.” Some have thought that this signifies Palestine; but to me it seems to signify the land of foreigners, for through “Canaan” he intimates the foreigners. He says, therefore: “I will take under my care those who from wherever among the nations determine to believe in me. And I will take to myself two rods: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Binding; and I will feed the sheep.” He calls the nations and the Jews two rods. For there were two general doctrines of old: one teaching piety, which prevailed among the Jews; the other professing the error of idols, by which, in various ways, all the C nations of old were held. From these, therefore, and from those, he says, I will gather the sheep, and from both I shall form one fold. This is also what he said in the holy Gospels: “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” For he mingled those who believed from the nations with those who believed from the Jews and fashioned one fold.
8. “And I will remove three shepherds in one month.” He refers to the kings of the Jews, and the prophets, and the priests D
for by these three orders they were shepherded. And to show the cause, he adds: A “And my soul shall be weighed down against them; for their souls were enraged against me.” This the Master himself teaches more clearly through the prophet Jeremiah, saying: “I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my heritage; I have given my beloved soul into the hands of her enemies; my heritage has become to me as a lion in the forest; it has uttered its voice against me, therefore I have hated it.” And indeed he also cries out through Isaiah: “I waited for it to do judgment, but it did iniquity, and not righteousness, but a cry.” Since, therefore, they approached me in a beast-like manner, as if roaring, and thirsting for my slaughter, [he says to the shepherd:] “Let that which is dying die, and that which is failing fail, and let the rest devour each one the flesh of his neighbor.” B And all these things must necessarily happen to those stripped of the divine providence.
10. “And I will take my staff, the beautiful one, and cast it away in order to break my covenant, which I disposed for all the peoples of the earth.” For since those who accepted the proclamation of the knowledge of God have been separated by the divine winnowing-fan, and, like grain of a sort, have been separated from the chaff, it is absolutely necessary for the chaff to be consumed by unquenchable fire, according to the voice of the great John.
11. “And it shall be broken on that day.” And that he is not saying these things about all those from the nations, but only about the unbelievers, what follows bears witness: C “And the Canaanites shall know that the sheep are kept for me, for it is the word of the Lord.” He calls the Canaanites those who have believed from the nations, inasmuch as they are foreigners; but he calls them sheep worthy of protection, because of the faith they have acquired. These, he says, having beheld the destruction of the unbelievers, will learn through experience that the prophetic word is a divine word. Having said these things about those from the nations who had not believed and who had believed, he shifts the discourse to the Jews, and says:
12, 13. “And I will say to them: If it is good in your sight, give my wages, or refuse.” “And they weighed my wages—thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Cast them into the smelting furnace, and consider if it is genuine, in the manner in which I was tried for their sake. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them D into the house of the Lord, into the smelting furnace.” These things, as I think, stand in need of no interpretation, as the history of the holy Gospels contains the
for interpretation. For there, too, Judas sold the Lord for a similar number of staters, and having been struck by repentance, he returned them to those who had given them; but when they did not wish to receive them, he cast them away and departed, having received the just reward for his iniquity—I mean the A noose—from the judge of iniquity, the devil. Thus also here, the Lord asks of them faith as a reward for His beneficence, but they gave the thirty pieces of silver in its place; and He Himself orders the prophet to test, as if in a fire, whether this is a worthy reward for the benefit. He, however, said that he had cast them into the house of the Lord, which he rightly named a "smelting furnace." For in it, those who approach through repentance are renewed as if in a smelting furnace, casting off the rust of sin and obtaining divine B loving-kindness. Therefore He says:
14. "And I cast away the second rod, 'The Cord,' to break the covenant between Judah and Israel." For by these words He separated the believers from the unbelievers, and deprived the rest of His own providence. And the things we see now confirm the prophecy. For the Jews have been stripped of prophets, and priests, and kings, and temple, and ark, and altar, and propitiatory, and candlestick, and table, and the other things through which the worship according to the Law was carried out, and they have also been deprived of C care from above; and having become scattered, and strangers, and exiles, driven from their fatherland, they serve those who preach Christ against their own will. They renounce His sovereignty, yet they perform the service of servants to His servants. They suffer from such great insensibility and apathy. Now, the Prophet, after having foretold these things concerning our God and Savior Christ, and having rebuked the hardness of heart of the Jews, rightly transfers the prophecy straightway to the anti-Christian enemy of God, whom the Jews expect, as they themselves say. The Lord also spoke D of this to them in the Holy Gospels: "I have come in the name of my Father, and you did not receive me; another comes in his own name, and you will believe him." The blessed Paul also said this same thing concerning them: "Because they did not welcome the love of the truth so that they might be saved, God will send them a working of error so that they might believe the lie, that all might be judged who have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in iniquity." Such things too does the divine Zechariah, having received the energy of the divine Spirit, foretell.
15, 16. "And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself still the pastoral implements of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I am raising up a foolish shepherd over the earth: he will not visit that which is failing, and he will not seek that which is scattered, and he will not heal that which is broken, and that which is whole he will not
A direct, and he will devour the flesh of the elect, and he will twist their ankles. These bitter and grievous narratives the Lord also predicts in the holy Gospels: “There will be,” He says, “a great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world, nor shall be; and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of my elect those days will be shortened.” The Prophet says the same things, namely, that “He will devour the flesh of the elect, and will twist their ankles,” signifying by these things the magnitude of the evils. He calls their shepherd unskilled, or, according to other interpreters, foolish, namely one whom the artifice of the devil has deceived, and who is ignorant of their certain destruction. Moreover, Divine Scripture is accustomed to name the fool also the impious. “For the fool,” it says, “has said in his heart: There is no God.” When the Prophet has thus indicated his beastly mind, he also signifies his future destruction.
Verse 17. O you who pasture vain things, and you who have abandoned the sheep!
Having said these things to those who obey him, and having lamented them because they have abandoned the communion of the sheep and have preferred the vain and ruinous honor given by him, he tells these things about him: “A sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye.” For this man leads those who obey him to eternal destruction, but the other he delivers to the slaughter C if they contradict him. For he has placed the arm to signify slaughter, but the eye for deception. But yet, “his arm shall be dried up with dryness, and his right eye shall be blinded with blindness.” For a heaven-sent plague shall seize him. Thus also the Apostle says: “Whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth, and will destroy by the manifestation of His coming: whose coming is according to the operation of Satan, in all signs and lying wonders.” Some of those who have interpreted this prophet have applied these things to Antiochus Epiphanes, asserting that it was he who was named the unskilled shepherd. Much more, therefore, do they fit this man, since that one was a type of this one. For just as that one waged war against God, raising an altar to demons in the temple, and compelling those consecrated to God to sacrifice to demons: so also will this man command the worshipers of piety to deny Christ the Lord; and those who do not obey him he will afflict with every kind of torment. D If, therefore, the prophecy fits Antiochus, it will fit this man absolutely; for this man will attempt greater things than that one, inasmuch as he will undertake war against stronger ones. Since, therefore, the Jews believe in this one, and have denied the Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit through the prophetA clearly foretells the calamitous things that will befall them on account of their unbelief.
Chapter XII
B 4 Vers. 1. « The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel: Thus saith the Lord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in him. » It is not I, says the Prophet, who am recounting these things to you, but the Maker and Fashioner of this whole universe; He who even now fashions bodies in the womb, and commands souls to be created together with them—He it is who speaks through me.
Vers. 2. « And behold, I will make Jerusalem as a threshold which is moved for all the peoples in the circuit, and in Judea: and there shall be a siege against Jerusalem. » I will cause, he says, this city to be easily vulnerable and easily conquered by all the nations; I will show it to be like a threshold that is shaken and about to fall, so that the enemies, seeing it stripped of My providence, may attack and besiege it, and inflict upon them the evils that arise therefrom.
Vers. 3. « And it shall be in that day, I will make Jerusalem a stone that is trodden upon by all the nations: every one that treadeth upon it, mocking shall mock: and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it. » For because they rejected that precious, chosen, and honorable stone, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, C which became the head of the corner, treating it like a reprobate stone, I will cause it to be trampled by all those who riot and gather together for the sake of insult. Indeed, the events themselves bear witness to this prophecy; for it is possible to see the place, once holy and august, now being trampled upon. But these things happened to them after the cross and that madness; before this crime, however, they unceasingly enjoyed divine protection. For this is what the prophetic discourse teaches, with the God of all promising that he would strip the Macedonian nations—when they descended upon them—of the natural boldness of their horses, and would involve them, along with their riders, in madness and cowardice, while deeming the house of Judah worthy of His providence. For this is what He indicated when He said:
Vers. 4, 5. « In that day, saith the Lord almighty, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, and all the horses of the peoples I will strike with blindness. And the commanders of Judah shall say all in their hearts: D We shall find for ourselves those who inhabit Jerusalem, in the Lord almighty their God. » Nothing, he says, shall the horses of these men differ from those who are blinded;
they shall wander hither and thither, so that the leaders of the Jews, having taken confidence, shall say to one another, «Jerusalem shall be filled with inhabitants by the inclination of God.»
A VERS. 6. «In that day I will make the chieftains of Judah as a firebrand among wood, and as a torch of fire in stubble; and they shall devour on the right hand and on the left all peoples round about.» For even as, he says, a firebrand ignites woods, and a flame consumes stubble, so shall these destroy the enemies attacking them from every side. «And Jerusalem shall dwell yet in herself,» that is, she shall live separately from the nations according to the law. This gift, however, she possessed until she raged against the Savior.
VERS. 7. «And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Judah as at the beginning, that the glory of the house of David be not magnified, and the elation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem over Judah.» For they shall know by experience that, without the divine inclination, they have been able to achieve nothing of note. And having learned this, they shall neither pride themselves upon royal power nor trust in the magnitude of the walls.
VERS. 8. «And it shall be in that day, the Lord shall protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is infirm among them in that day shall be as the house of David; and the house of David as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them.» Their hope also shall depend upon divine providence. Therefore the Lord shall protect them with every kind of B aid, and shall fill them with such strength that the very weakest of them shall be compared to the royal house (for this is what he called the house of David); and the royal house shall imitate the inviolable sanctity of the house of God, so that all may flee to it as to a divine temple, or become more confident as though to an angel sent for their salvation. For so much glory did Judas and Jonathan gather from their victory that neighbors, neighboring regions, and those nearby snatched at their alliance most greedily; and not only the nearby, but even those who lived many days' journey away, both the Romans dwelling in the western coasts and the Spartans, embraced their C alliance with the greatest eagerness.
VERS. 9, 10. «And it shall be in that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a Spirit of grace and mercy.» But I, indeed, overwhelmed them with so many and such great benefits, handing over the enemies that were waging war against them to various types of death, and opening up for them the fountains of mercy, and filling them with all grace; yet they, when I came to them, repaid me with contrary deeds, and, having nailed me to the cross and fastened me with nails, they pierced my side D with a soldier's lance, and did not cease their mockery.
A Yet, in a little while, they shall see me appearing with divine majesty, and they shall lament their own madness, and they shall imitate the mourning of a first-born youth, no differently than those who weep for him while beating their breasts.
“For they shall look,” he says, “to me, whom they have pierced, and they shall lament for him with a lamentation as for a beloved, and they shall grieve over themselves with sorrow as for a first-born.” (v. 11) “In that day the lamentation of Jerusalem shall be great, like the lamentation of a pomegranate orchard cut down in a field.” For just as woodcutters, cutting down a great number of pomegranate trees, produce a loud noise, so the mourning of these people shall ring in the ears of all mortals. And it is not without reason that, leaving aside other trees, he has chosen the image of the pomegranate; B but because he compared their grief to the mourning for a beloved and a first-born—and the pomegranate is a type of charity, having its seeds very closely connected and united—he rightly declared their lamentation to be similar to the felling of these trees.
v. 12-14. “And the land shall mourn by families: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves. The family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Simeon by itself, and their wives by themselves. All the remaining families, each family by itself, and their wives by themselves.” By this he says that, having been divided by families, both husbands apart and wives apart shall do this. C And he mentions not only the tribes, but also the clans, both that of David, which received the promises concerning the Lord Christ, and that of Nathan, who, prophesying at that time, had heard the prophecies of David, and he himself brought his own oracles to him. And after having mentioned the tribe of Levi and that of Simeon, he added later, “All the remaining families, each family by itself, shall mourn, and their wives by themselves.” And the Lord also predicted this in the holy Gospels: “Then shall they see the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.” D It is clear that all those who did not accept the divine preaching will mourn, awaiting their own destruction. But these things will be at the time of the consummation. In the meantime, however, he says, I shall protect them, although I am not unaware that it will come to pass that, when I come to heap benefits upon them, they will drag me to the cross. Even so:
CHAPTER XIII
v. 1. “Every open place shall be for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for a transformation and for an aspersion.” But Symmachus
A says: “There shall be, he says, an open fountain for the house of David.” And who this fountain is, the Lord Himself teaches through Jeremiah: “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water.” And in the holy Gospels He says: “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.” And: “The water that I shall give him shall be a fountain of water springing up into life eternal.” This was opened to the house of David, because from that lineage He took (and assumed) human nature. It was opened also to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for the transition made from the Old Testament to the New, and for the aspersion of holy baptism, through which we have received the remission of sins. At that time, says the Lord of hosts:
VERS. 2-4. “I will destroy the names of the idols from the earth, and there shall be no more remembrance of them; and I will take away the B false prophets and the unclean spirit from the earth. And it shall be, if a man shall prophesy any more, his father and his mother that brought him forth shall say to him: Thou shalt not live; for thou hast spoken lies in the name of the Lord. And his father and his mother that brought him forth shall bind him, when he prophesieth. And it shall be in that day, the prophets shall be confounded, every one from his vision, when they shall prophesy, and they shall be covered with a garment of hair, because they have lied.” It is clear that this also came to pass through those who believed in Christ. For He says, I will not only extinguish the falsehood of the idols, but I will also deliver those given to divinations and possessed by the evil spirit from this error. For such piety shall occupy the inhabited world C that neither father nor mother shall spare a son attempting to divine, but rather will bind him with chains, and inflict stripes upon him, and threaten him with death. And all those who choose to foretell false things, seeing the power of piety, shall wrap themselves in a mournful garment. For what He says, “They shall be covered with a garment of hair,” this is what it signifies. And they shall be seized by such great fear that they shall renounce it, and say to all: From the moment I was born, I was taught this art by my parents, to embrace the cultivation of the land instead of that error.
VERS. 5, 6. “For he shall say, he says, I am no prophet; for I am a man tilling the D earth, and a man has begotten me from my youth. And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of thy shoulders? And he shall say: I was wounded in the house of my beloved.” For he shall receive such wounds from his parents that for a long time he will bear their clear marks; and being asked by those who see them from where he received these injuries, he will say plainly that his parents, as ones who loved him, inflicted these wounds upon him.
with their swords; they shall kill their sons and daughters, and shall burn their houses with fire. Then he shows the benefit that will arise from this.
Vers. 48. *And I will take away impiety from the land, and all women shall be instructed, and shall not do according to their impieties.* For when these have endured such things, he says, and have been delivered to stones and swords and fire, every city will reap an advantage, learning what are the rewards of impiety. And here again he called cities "women."
Vers. 49. *And your impiety shall be given upon you, and you shall receive all the sins of your desires, and you shall know that I am the Lord.* You shall bear the fruits of your impiety, he says; for you did not receive it by necessity, but by will and desire. But from the very punishment you will gather the greatest benefit, by which you shall recognize me as Lord. May we obtain such recognition, not taught by the experience of evils, but by perceiving divine benefits, and abominating our ungrateful disposition, and being renewed day by day by divine memory, and inflamed with the love of God by the operation of the most Holy Spirit, and awaiting the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
VOLUME X. CHAPTER XXIV
Vers. 1, 2. *And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying: Son of man, write for yourself the name of this day, from which the king of Babylon has set his face against Jerusalem, from this day.* He taught us the time when the Babylonian marched against Jerusalem. While he was besieging the city, the prophet signifies beforehand to those who had already been taken captive the evils that were to overtake them. Wherefore, also, the Lord, showing forth the truth of the prophecy, commands him to note the day on which the enemy began to attack the city, so that both from the time and from the outcome of events, both those who had already been reduced to slavery and those who were being besieged might learn that God had predicted these things concerning them from the beginning: and not because of the enemy's...
strength, but because of their own unbelief, they were delivered up to ruin. "You see, brother," he says, "how many tens of thousands there are of the believing Jews." These things God pronounced through the divine Zechariah: that two parts would be utterly destroyed because of their unbelief, but the third, having been refined in the trials and proved genuine, would be called His people, naming Him Lord and God. And this, God says through another prophet: "If the number of the children of Israel were as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved." This, too, the blessed Zechariah said through the words that follow.
CHAPTER XIV
VER. 1. "Behold, a day of the Lord is coming, and your spoils shall be divided in you." A Clearly, it is the enemies who are dividing these.
VER. 2. "And I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be captured, and the houses shall be plundered, and the women shall be defiled; and half of the city shall go out into captivity; but the rest of my people shall not be cut off from the city." B For it is said that when Vespasian and Titus were preparing to make war, the faithful of that time left the city by revelation. And this too the Lord Christ commanded through the divine Gospels: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its end is near; then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let not him who is on the housetop go down to retrieve anything from his house." Concerning these, he also predicted through the blessed Zechariah that, C "The remnant shall not be cut off." (VER. 3.) "And the Lord shall go forth in battle against those nations, as on the day of his engagement in the day of war." He sets the battle in array, however, not fighting for the Jews, but leading the forces against them. "And the Lord my God shall come, and all his holy ones with him." He means the orders of the angels.
VER. 4. "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east." For from where He was taken up into heaven, thence He gives victory to those campaigning against the Jews. Then He says that the mountain will be divided into four parts, so D that one part will tend toward the east, another toward the west, the third toward the north, and the fourth toward the south. "For it shall be split, he says, the mount of Olives, half of it toward the east, and half of it toward the west [and] sea, a very great chasm; and the half of the mountain shall incline toward the north, and half of it toward the south, a great valley. (VER. 5.) And the valley of the mountains shall be filled as far as Jassa, and it shall be blocked up, as it was blocked up from the face of the earth
A during the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Now, by "mountain," I think he refers to the phalanx of the enemy, which was divided for the siege of Jerusalem; some occupied its eastern side, some its western, while others kept watch over the north, and others the south. It was likely that the mountain itself should endure this division, as God was showing His anger against them. For indeed, when they nailed the Lord to the cross, darkness was poured out over the whole world, and the earth, being shaken, hastened to become a ready-made tomb for them, and the mountains let loose their wings against them. He says, therefore, that these mountains having been rent, the passes of the valleys will be blocked up, just as happened at the time of the great earthquake under Uzziah. For if, on account of that king, who had sinned less and had unlawfully dared to usurp the priesthood, the Lord of all shook the earth so greatly, it is just that these men should suffer greater calamities, having dared even greater impieties. B For they did not, even when they saw the creation stirred to its depths at the daring deed of the cross, accept the remedies of repentance. Wherefore the Prophet, leaving behind those things that came to pass at the time of the punishment, transfers his word to the events of the day of iniquity.
(VER. 6.) "For in that day," he says, in which the Savior of the world shall be crucified, "there shall be no light." And history (the Gospel) has taught this: "For from the sixth hour until the ninth, there was darkness over the whole world," so that all men might be witnesses to the truth of the prophecy. "But it shall be cold and frost for one day." And of this, the evangelists are witnesses, as well as the leader of the apostles, warming himself at the fire in the courtyard.
(VER. 7.) "And that day shall be known to the Lord." For God knew all things from the beginning. "And it shall not be day, nor night." For if I wish to call that day a day, the darkness C of midday prevents me; and if I wish to name it night on account of the darkness, the light that appeared until the sixth hour and after the ninth forbids me. This is also what the Prophet foretells: "And at evening there shall be light." Then follow the good things born from this.
(VER. 8.) "In that day, living water shall go out from Jerusalem, and half of it to the former sea, and half of it to the last sea." By this, he signifies the saving preaching, which ran throughout the whole world and filled both the East and the West with divine doctrine. And according to historical events, one may see the truth of the prophecy. For on that day, from the holy side, the fountain of salvation was opened, from which D
we received the double libations of the mysteries—the water, I say, and the blood, which he who saw has testified to. The one cleanses us and frees us from sins; the other nourishes, and waters, and causes things to flourish. He also explains the season in which these things came to pass. A “In summer and in spring it shall be so.” For because some divide the year into two parts, into winter and summer, while others divide it into four parts, into spring, summer, autumn, and winter, he has set down both because of the impudence of the Jews, so that he might show the truth according to both their ways of thinking and that of the others. For whether you divide the year into summer and winter, the beginning will be of summer, when these things shall come to pass; or if you say there are four seasons, know that the time for this is spring. Then he whom you nailed to the cross shall openly reign over the world, and error regarding the multitude of gods shall utterly perish.
VERS. 9. “And the Lord shall be one, and his name one, circling all the earth and the desert.” For not only the Jews shall understand these things, but also the nations, both those that dwell to the south and those that dwell to the north of Jerusalem, who formerly lacked the knowledge of God. For the prophet said this.
VERS. 10. “From Gabaa even to Remmon B toward the south of Jerusalem: but Rama shall remain in its place, from the gate of Benjamin even to the first gate.” By these things he designates Bethlehem. For the blessed Matthew, when he was narrating the slaughter of the children, brought forward the prophetic testimony, crying out: “A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children.” He says, moreover, that when those ungodly ones were removed, the faithful shall inhabit even the land pertaining to Benjamin.
VERS. 11. “And there shall be no more anathema, and Jerusalem shall dwell confidently.” By anathema, he signified alienation from God. C For those who have believed in Christ will no longer be devoted to idols, but will inhabit Jerusalem with piety. Having predicted these things, he turns his speech to Gog and Magog, and to those who with them waged war against the city of Jerusalem. For he says:
VERS. 12. “And this shall be the ruin, whereby the Lord shall smite all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall flow out from their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” D He teaches what kind of divinely-inflicted punishments they shall be given over to; for it will be that their bodies shall consume, and
B their eyes shall be plucked out, and their tongues shall utterly decay. And the Lord of all, having deprived them of the use of their own minds, shall cause them to rush against one another, so that they may be sent to their deaths by each other's own hands. But the Jews, campaigning under the leadership of God and becoming mere spectators of the slaughter, shall plunder their wealth, carrying off a very great amount of gold, and silver, and costly clothing. For the horses, along with the donkeys, and mules, and camels, shall be given over to destruction along with the men.
B 16. “And it shall be, that everyone who is left from all the nations that came against Jerusalem, shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles.” Once this victory has been achieved, he says, such fear shall fall upon the rest of the foreign nations that they shall run yearly to Jerusalem, and offer reverence to the Lord of all, and celebrate the feast of Tabernacles together with the people; for the season of this feast is suitable for journeys, being a summer time.
17-19. “And it shall be, whoever of all the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, even these shall be added to them, and there shall be no rain upon them. But if the tribe of Egypt does not go up and come there, then upon them shall be the plague with which the Lord shall strike all the nations, as many as might not go up to keep the feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all nations, as many as might not go up to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles.” As many, he says, of the nations as have chosen to be pious, and then have neglected those things which they had well and nobly set out to do, and do not arrive according to custom at the aforementioned festival, these shall suffer the same things as those who made war and received their C punishment. For these too, he says, “shall be added to them, and there shall be no rain upon them,” meaning that they shall enjoy no benevolence. Whether they be Egyptians, or some others who have marveled at the power of God, if they neglect this feast and do not offer to God the reverence due at it, upon them also, he says, shall be the ruin, because they sin grievously who, having learned the weakness of their own idols, and having clearly seen the strength of God, nonetheless remain in their former sloth.
20, 21. “On that day, that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord Almighty, and the pots in the house of the Lord shall be D as bowls before the face of the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem
a pot in Jerusalem and in Judah [shall be] holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who offer sacrifice shall come, and shall take of them, and shall cook in them. A For those countless nations having been slain, they offered to God the greatest part of the spoils as a kind of tithe. For they dedicated bridles, giving thanks for the slaughter of the horses; and they placed very many cauldrons, like vessels, before the altar for the needs of those who arrived from everywhere and were offering victims. For everyone who was in need took one of these, to cook the meat of the victims. With divine benevolence shining at that time, B "There shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty." That is to say, one who shares the views of the Canaanites, lives in impiety, and occupies himself in iniquity. May the Lord of all grant that this statement be verified even now, and that no Canaanite be seen among us, but that all might live according to the evangelical laws, and await the blessed hope and the appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET MALACHI.
ARGUMENT.
Moses, the great lawgiver, first among us left behind the recorded divine utterances; but the divine Malachi, after all who had written prophecy, handed down the divine oracles in writing. He did not, however, specify the time in the same way as the other prophets; yet from the things he foretold, he made it clear that he was graced with this favor after the building of the divine temple and the peace of the people. C For he does not accuse them of negligence regarding the building of the temple, as the blessed Haggai and Zechariah did, but reminds them of the divine benefits; he reproaches
them separately, the priests, and separately the others, bringing into the light the lawless deeds dared by them. He also proclaims in advance the advent of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, and the salvation which the human race has obtained through it. Furthermore, he predicts the calling of the nations, and the unbelief of the Jews, and in addition to these, the second coming of our God and Savior. A In the Greek language he is called an angel, but in the Hebrew, Malachi. He begins the prophecy thus:
CAPUT PRIMUM. CHAPTER ONE
B VERSE 1. «The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel, by the hand of his angel.» My mind, he says, having been taken up by divine grace, and having become removed from all things human, received the prediction concerning Israel: not that I alone might have this knowledge, but that I might also announce to them what was signified. For this reason he called himself an angel, because he was a minister of the divine words. Having thus shown that the Lord was speaking through his mouth, he exhorts the people to attend to what is being said: «Lay it to heart.» That is, attend diligently to the divine oracles.
VERSE 2. «I have loved you, says the Lord, and you say: In what have you loved us?» He has not set this down as though such a question were actually made by the people; but he reproaches the thanklessness of their minds, C because, having enjoyed such great love from the God of all, they not only became thankless toward their benefactor, but they were even ignorant of this very thing, that they had been loved. Wherefore he reproaches their ungrateful inclination, showing from of old, from the time of their ancestors, the magnitude of his love.
«Was not Esau Jacob’s brother, says the Lord; and I have loved Jacob, (v. 3), but Esau I have hated?» You know clearly, he says, even you who are constantly involved in the Mosaic histories, that Esau and your forefather Jacob had the same father, and brought forth from the same womb, and dwelt in the same belly D at the same time; yet neither the communion of nature, nor the fact that the time of birth was one for both, caused me to have the same disposition toward them; but although the father was following the laws of nature and was striving to give the birthright to Esau, I ordained that Jacob, instead of him, should receive the prerogatives. «For him indeed I hated,» on account of the wickedness of his manner of life, «but Jacob I loved,» because he was a student of virtue.
A And, indeed, the race of Esau, because it emulated the manner of life of its progenitor, remained estranged from my care. For this reason, it also endured this desolation; for he made this clear through the things brought upon them.
«And I have set his borders for desolation, and his inheritance for the dwellings of the desert.» (Vers. 4.) For if Edom should say, «Idumea has been destroyed, and we shall return, and we shall rebuild its desolate places;» thus says the Lord Almighty: «They shall build, and I shall tear down, and they shall be called the borders of iniquity, and a people against whom the Lord has been set for eternity.» For even if they should attempt to rebuild their own cities, I shall show their hopes to be false, and they shall receive the desolation as the fruit of their iniquity. For this is what he says: «And they shall be called the borders of iniquity.» And they shall possess this curse from me until the end.
Vers. 5. «And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord has been magnified over the borders of Israel.» B Seeing this, you shall recognize how great is the providence you enjoy from me. Having thus revealed the love he had for them, he rebukes their great ingratitude.
Vers. 6. «A son honors his father, and a servant shall fear his lord; and if I am a father, where is my glory? And if I am a Lord, where is my fear? says the Lord Almighty.» Two dispositions, he says, prevail among all subordinates: love and fear; but the former is fitting for sons, the latter for servants. I, however, have bestowed upon you both names; for I have named you not only servants, but also sons: «For I have said: You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.» And: «I have begotten and exalted sons.» And: «Israel is my firstborn son.» If, therefore, you cherish the title of sons, offer the honor which you ought to offer to a father. But if you consider yourselves to be servants, why do you not have the fear which it is fitting for servants to have? Especially since you have such a Lord, who holds the empire of all things, visible and invisible alike? C Up to this point, therefore, he has reproved them all in common; but from here he initiates the accusation separately, and first he refutes the transgressions of the priests, because they were worthy of greater accusations, not only sinning themselves but also becoming an archetype of transgression for others.
«You, O priests, who despise my name, and you have said: In what have we despised thy name?» The contempt regarding your priestly ministry designates/shows me to be vile and of no account to the many; but you do not even perceive this, nor do you know... D
yet you do not even gain an understanding of this, nor are you willing to recognize the offense being committed. For the statement: «You have said: In what have we despised your name?» signifies this: not that they had used such expressions, but that they had harbored such thoughts. Then he also describes the causes of the contempt.
7. «Offering upon my altar polluted breads, and you said: In what have we polluted them? In your saying: The table of the Lord is despised; and you have despised the things that are laid upon it.» Those around Aquila and Symmachus have interpreted «polluted» B as defiled, that is, not prepared according to the law, but produced unlawfully. And these things you dared to do, not believing the table consecrated to me to be holy. For if you had afforded it the honor that was proper, you would have taken pains with every care concerning the things being offered to me upon it. 8. Then, not as a master but as a father, he reproves them because they were offering blind and lame victims, whereas the law clearly orders that unblemished ones be sacrificed. And showing the magnitude of the impiety: «Offer it, he says, to your ruler, if he will be pleased with you; if he will accept your person, says the Lord Almighty.» For if someone who is endowed with the same nature as you considers such an honor an insult C and an outrage, and does not even respect you when you are present, but rejects the gift offered in such a poor way, consider how great an impiety it is to offer such things to the Creator of all. Then he advises them to use repentance, and he promises his own benevolence.
9. «And now, appease the face of your God, and supplicate him, that he may have mercy on you.» And instilling in them a greater awareness of the daring act, he makes the rebuke clearer: «In your hands these things have come to pass; I do not accuse you of ancestral lawlessness, but of that which is even now being dared by you. Shall I accept persons from you? says D the Lord Almighty.» This must be read as a question: For shall I be merciful to you without repentance?
10. «Because even in you the doors shall be shut, and you shall not kindle my altar for nothing.» Since you are suffering from the ultimate lack of feeling, I know that I shall send you away from my court, and shall lock, as it were, certain doors, bringing to an end the worship according to the law. For I will not endure that sacrifices be made in vain, since no one receives benefit from them. Thus, having foretold to the Jews the cessation of the legal priestly service, he proclaims the pure and bloodless sacrifice of the nations. And first, indeed, he speaks to the Jews themselves: «I have no will in you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands.» Then he reveals in advance the piety of the nations.
A For those who inhabit the whole earth, which the sun in its rising and setting illuminates, shall offer incense to me everywhere, and shall sacrifice the gift that is pure and pleasing to me. For they shall know my name and my will, and shall offer the appropriate worship. Thus also the Lord said to the Samaritan woman: «Woman, believe me, for the hour is coming, and now is, when you shall worship the Father neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem.» «For God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.» B Taught by these things, the blessed Paul commands us to pray in every place, «lifting up pure hands, without wrath and disputing.» The divine Malachi also clearly taught us through these words the piety which is now practiced; for the worship of the priests, which was confined to one place, has ceased, and every place has been declared suitable for the service of God; and the slaughter of irrational victims has come to an end, and only the immaculate Lamb is sacrificed, who takes away the sin of the world, and there is offered, as a kind of symbol of virtue, the sweet-smelling incense. But the Jews, according to the divine prediction, were rejected; wherefore he says to them: C «For my name is great among the nations. (Ver. 12.) But you profane it, in that you say: The table of the Lord is polluted, and that which is laid upon it is despised food.» For you have fallen into such impiety that you not only offer counter to the custom of the law, but also call the table consecrated to me common; and when you are accused as to why you offer such gifts, you dare to say: For we collect these things by much sweat and labor. Therefore I will strip you of this very abundance. For he indicates this through what follows: D (Ver. 13.) «And you said: These are from affliction. And I blew them away, says the Lord Almighty.» Then he curses those who have abundance of male cattle, and promise to offer these for sacrifice: but they leave those behind, and offer others that are maimed in their stead. For by these things, he says, you ought to understand how great is the magnitude of my kingdom and power, which I shall make known to all nations.
A
CHAPTER II
Vers. 1. “And now this commandment is for you, O priests.” [2.] But if you are not willing to pay earnest heed to the things said by me, and to prefer my worship to all things together, “I will send upon you the curse, and I will curse your blessing, and I will curse it, and I will scatter your blessing, and it shall not be among you, because you do not lay it to your heart.” He calls the priesthood itself a blessing, which they received by divine grace; this he threatens to dissolve and scatter because of the absurdity which has come to pass concerning it.
Vers. 3. “Behold, I separate for you the shoulder, and I will scatter the maw upon your faces, the maw of your feasts, and I will take you to the same place.” This Aquila interpreted thus: “Behold, I will reprove you with the arm, and I will winnow dung upon your faces, the dung of your feasts.” For since by the law the breast and the right arm were separated for the priests, he threatens that he will cast them away, B and the arm that was separated for them; but in place of the breast he has put the maw, the receptacle of dung. For in times past, when they were pious, God assigned to them the right arm as a symbol of practical virtue; the breast, meanwhile, which like a coat of mail is placed before the heart, guarding and covering it, is a symbol of the doctrines of piety. But since they have willingly departed from piety and stripped themselves of virtue, he says he will scatter the maw—the receptacle of dung—upon their faces, signifying by these things their shame and ignominy. And when this happens, he says, you shall know that I gave to your ancestors C the commandment concerning the sacrifices. Then he makes mention through Levi of Aaron the first priest. For he spoke thus:
Vers. 4. “And you shall know that I the Lord have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with the Levites, saith the Lord Almighty.” Then to these he added:
Vers. 5. “My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave to him fear, that he should fear me, and should be alarmed before the face of my name.” For to him who does these things, he says, I promised life and peace as a reward; and for this cause he called it a covenant of life and peace, because it indeed procures life and peace to those who obey.
Vers. 6. “The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found in his lips; D in peace he walked with me, and turned many away from injustice.” For sin produces enmity toward God, but justice brings about peace. He says, therefore, that walking in the straight path and cultivating truth, and abstaining from injustice…
he held him propitious and enjoyed peace, having become for many who were wandering a guide to the truth. A For it is especially fitting for a priest to be a guardian of the divine laws, and for him to be constituted as one who is set over others, and to whom the business of bearing the divine oracles has been committed; for he is the messenger of the Almighty Lord, announcing to others the will of God.
VERS. 8. « But you have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to stumble at the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord Almighty. » That he said, *you have caused many to stumble*, Aquila and Symmachus translated, *you have given a scandal*. B This very point, however, means: since you have embraced iniquity, you have become a cause of downfall to others too. Afterward he predicts the evils which at this time are overtaking them.
VERS. 9. « And I have made you contemptible and abject before all nations, forasmuch as you have not kept my ways, but have accepted persons in the law. » Symmachus translated, *you have respected faces in the law*. He accuses them as being transgressors of the law, and that they judged unjustly for the sake of certain people, and that they received money from those who offered victims, and received them from them, which was to be upon their limbs.
VERS. 10. « Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? why then have you forsaken every one his brother, to violate the covenant of your fathers? » Does he not say, C produced by God, who in the manner of a father showed his own love toward all of you, did you despise them who were of the same nature? And have you respected neither nature, nor the communion of grace, but having neglected your brothers have abandoned them; and when you had the same ones as teachers of my laws, you despised them; and why did you have Judah and Jerusalem as an example of utility?
VERS. 11. « Judah has been forsaken, and there has been an abomination in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has defiled the holiness of the Lord, which he loved. » But he points out clearly what he loved, and adds: « And has devoted himself to strange gods. » For, he says, Judah, and in Israel, and in Jerusalem, is held in abomination, because he has openly transgressed, and trampled underfoot the divine laws, and worshiped gods that do not exist instead of the One who exists. D Afterward he brings forth the threat against all such common practices.
VERS. 12. « The Lord will destroy the man who does this, until he is humbled from the tabernacles of Jacob, and from them that offer sacrifice to the Lord Almighty. » For he who lives impiously is a stranger to the assembly of the good. From there he turns the discourse to another accusation. For he accuses them, because their wives…
had been abandoned, and they were illicitly mingling with other women.
A Ver. 13. « And these things which I hated, you did. » But the man is wretched who loves what God hates. He teaches what these things are: « You covered the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with groaning because of your labors. » For the women, having received injury from their own husbands and being destitute of helpers, used to lament and weep and implore the just Judge: and they were compelled to do this by the anguish that held them. For this is what he said, « because of your labors. » Since, therefore, these things are happening, B « is it still worthy to look upon your sacrifice? » (Ver. 14.) « And you said, Wherefore? » For since iniquity makes your offerings abominable, you still remain insensible, and you pretend to be ignorant of the cause of this. Wherefore, using my customary patience, I teach this to you.
« For the Lord testified between you and the wife of your youth, whom you did abandon; and she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant. » (Ver. 15.) « And did not another do it, and the residue of your spirit? » For call to mind the first law given to Adam and to Eve. For immediately upon creating the woman, C and becoming, as it were, the one who leads the bride, He brings her to the man; and He gives the laws of marriage, saying: « For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and they shall be two into one flesh. » Since, therefore, the same God of all, who both created both and joined them together, also established this law, how do you dare so openly to violate the things determined from the beginning? Nor do you remember the divine blessing promised to your fathers: « Increase and multiply, and fill the earth? » For this is what He says here also: « And the residue of your spirit. » For since you have a mortal nature, through those who are born you preserve your memory for the longest possible time; D but although God has legislated these things, you contradict Him, saying that God cares not for the chastity of marriages, but for a multitude of children. « For you said, What else does God seek but seed? » But I exhort you, having desisted from these words, to keep the divine laws, and not to separate from the yoke the wife who was joined to you from the beginning. Then He reminds them of the concession that was made in the Law.
Ver. 16. « But if you should hate, send her away, says the Lord of Israel. » For in the Law, indeed, he commands that he who is not well-disposed toward his wife should give her a bill of divorcement. Explaining this law to the Pharisees, the Lord says: « Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, wrote this commandment for you; but from the beginning it was not so; for He who made them, male and female He created them »
that is to say, one man and one woman, not one man and two women, so that by hating the one he might be joined to the other. Therefore, the very creation was a law of chastity. A Since, however, the God of all knew the madness of the Jews, that wishing to get rid of a wife they hated, yet being unable to do so because of the Law, they would even venture to murder her, He permits the lesser evil to prevent the greater; and He says: "If you hate her, send her away." For she will be joined to another, and she will not live in pain. In the holy Gospels, teaching virtue, He cries out plainly: « Everyone who puts away his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery. » And here, too, He hints at this same thing B. "Your hidden thoughts will be revealed," He says, "says the Lord Almighty." Unless you dissolve the marriage for some just and reasonable cause, the Lord of all shall be your judge. Therefore, « Guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not abandon the covenant. » Restrain, He says, your evil impulses, and do not tear apart the marriage agreements that have been made. Having thus reproached this lawlessness, and having applied the appropriate remedy to the disease, He makes an indictment of a certain blasphemy committed by them, saying: C
VERS. 17. « You who provoke the Lord with your words, and have said: In what have we provoked Him? In that you say: Everyone who does evil, it is good in the sight of the Lord, and He was pleased with them; and where is the God of justice? » For certain men, laboring under extreme folly, when they saw some people living wickedly and yet enjoying prosperity, dared to say that God seems to rejoice in the wicked; for otherwise He would not have bestowed such good fortune upon them. This very blasphemy greatly incited Him to inflict punishment upon you. But you do not even consider this greatest impiety to be a small transgression. D Reproving this insensibility of theirs, He said: « And you have said: In what have we provoked Him? » But you ought to have known that the God of all is the source of justice, and therefore loathes those who embrace vice. But the plan of the economy is ineffable. Nevertheless, I instruct you that the time of just retribution will come. Wishing to make this clear, He first foretells the prior coming of the Lord Christ, and shows the great John the Baptist as the forerunner of that advent.
CAPUT III
VERS. 1. « Behold, I, » He says, « will send my messenger, and he will look at the way before my face, and suddenly the Lord will come to his temple, and
A you seek. » We find that this testimony of the Prophet is also contained in the holy Gospels. And the blessed Zacharias, the father of the most divine John, when he had taken him into his arms, said to him: « And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways » (Luc. I, 76). And here God said through Malachi: « Behold I will send my messenger, and he will look at the way before my face, and suddenly the Lord will come to his temple, whom you seek. » For while all were ignorant of him, the saving birth took place. He called the human nature, which God the Word assumed, a temple. For so also the Lord Christ himself said to the Jews: « Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up » (Joan. II, 19). And the Evangelist, explaining this, added: « But he spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that Jesus had said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said to them » (Ibid. 21, 22). B Beside his first advent, he also predicts his second manifestation: « Behold he comes, says the Lord Almighty. (Ver. 2.) And who shall endure the day of his coming, or who shall stand in his vision? » So also Zacharias said concerning the second manifestation: « They shall look on him whom they pierced, and the earth shall mourn tribe by tribe » (Zach. XII, 10-12). Then he teaches his deeds: « Because he enters as the fire of a refiner, and as the herb of the washers. (Ver. 3.) And he shall sit refining and purifying, as silver and gold. » So also the blessed Paul says: « Because it is revealed in fire, and the fire shall try the work of every man, of what sort it is: if any man's work abide, which he has built thereupon, C he shall receive a reward: if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss » (I Cor. III, 15). I think, however, that by the things said, the Prophet signifies not only that, but also the purification of the holy Spirit; for thus he mystically refines those who approach, and transforms them, using the fire of the Spirit. For so also the great John says: « He shall baptize you with the holy Spirit and with fire » (Matth. III, 11). And indeed, using divine grace as a certain herb, he washes away the filth of sins. And to Jerusalem indeed the blessed Jeremias says: « If thou shalt wash thee with nitre, and multiply to thyself the herb, thou art stained in thine iniquities, says the Lord » (Jerem. II, 22). For that one had the legal herb, not that of grace. But here the prophetic word shows us the Lord as a certain craftsman, cleansing the filth of sins as though with a certain herb, and
as though with a certain fire freeing our souls from the venom thereof. This He will do also for the Levites who have believed in Him. From these, as the history of the Acts teaches, was the blessed Barnabas, and many others who believed with him and partook of the same salvation. For He shall cleanse, he says, the sons of Levi, and will pour them out like gold and like silver; and they, he says, shall be offering to the Lord an offering in righteousness. A Not that legal one, concerning which He said, "I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands: but the rational and bloodless one." Wherefore He added:
VER. 4. "And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years." For this is not temporary, but eternal. From this point, He again threatens punishment to those who live in impiety.
VER. 5. "And I will come near to you in judgment: and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers." I will bring, he says, swift punishment upon the evils which I saw; for I do not need other witnesses, but I am an observer of the wickedness. B "And against the adulterers, and against those who swear by my name in falsehood, and those who defraud the hireling of his wages, and oppress the widow, and strike the orphan, and turn aside the judgment of the stranger, and do not fear me, saith the Lord Almighty." Just as with the sorceresses, he says, and the adulteresses, and those who dare to swear falsely, and those who wish to enjoy the labor of the hired, but are unwilling to provide the wages, and, in a word, all who use power against those mourning their orphanage and widowhood, and choose to judge wrongly against sojourners and proselytes, and do not dread the judgment to come, I will exact a penalty, and I will not endure to overlook those who are wronged.
VER. 6. "Because I am the Lord your God, and I do not change." For I have a nature that does not admit of change; you know how I delivered those before you both to slaughter, and sent them away as captives of the spear. C "And you, O sons of Jacob, have not refrained (VER. 7.) from the sins of your fathers: you have declined from my laws, and have not kept them." Therefore, committing the same things as your fathers, you will suffer the same things as they. And he adds an accusation of another lawlessness.
"Turn to me, and I will turn to you, saith the Lord Almighty. (VER. 8.) And you said: Wherein shall we turn? Will a man supplant God, because you supplant me? And you said: Wherein have we supplanted thee?" Those around Aquila and Symmachus interpreted the phrase, "have we supplanted thee," thus: D as if with some herb separating the filth of sins, and as it were with some fire freeing our souls from the poison of it. This He will do also to the Levites who have believed in Him. From these was also the blessed Barnabas, as the history of the Acts teaches, and many others who, having believed with him, partook of the same salvation. For He shall cleanse, he says, the sons of Levi, and will pour them out, like gold, and like silver; and they, he says, shall be to the Lord offering a sacrifice in righteousness. Not that legal one,
A but one that is worthy of God, through faith and piety.
Will a man rob God? For you are robbing me. And you said: In what have we robbed you? B Or that the tithes and the first-fruits are with you. (Vers. 9, 10) And you, looking, you look upon them, and you supplant me; the year is completed, and you have brought all the produce into your storehouses, and the plunder of the poor is in your houses. For since the law commands the first-fruits and the tithes to be offered first to God, and then for one to take what remains, you have brought everything after it into your own vessels, not considering that the deprivation of the first-fruits and the tithes is the plunder of the poor. For on this account I did not give the priests a portion of land, so that, attending to divine ministry and offering sacrifices for you, they might be nourished from the first-fruits and tithes offered to me, and might share these with the poor who attend the divine temple. C Therefore, having ceased from this greed, render what is customary to the priests, and test whether a portion of greater goods will not be yours. For that which says, "Return in this," those around Aquila have interpreted as "Make trial in this." For I will give you an abundance of rain, and fruitfulness of the land, and the prosperity that follows from it, so that your neighbors will call you blessed and happy, as those enjoying such great providence from me. And again he heals another malady that was afflicting them. D
Vers. 13-15. "You have weighed heavily upon me with your words," says the Lord Almighty; you said: "In what have we spoken against you?" And you said: "Vain is he who serves God, and what is the advantage that we have kept his charges, and that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty? And now we call strangers blessed, and all who do iniquities are built up; they have withstood God and have been saved." Having a wicked mind, he says, you have named my lordship useless and fruitless, and you say that those who live in iniquity live in prosperity and cheerfulness; but you, who live under my guardianship, have remained destitute of every success, and bless the prosperity of others.
Vers. 16. "These things those who fear the Lord spoke, each to his neighbor; and the Lord gave heed and heard, and wrote a book of remembrance before him for those who fear the Lord and who reverence his name." Hearing these things, he says, from those who were talking among themselves, those who were dedicated to me, I give a written promise of good things to those who fear me. For this is what he says: "And he wrote a book of remembrance before him for those who fear the Lord and reverence his name."
A These, therefore, he says, who hold my service in great esteem and fear to do anything that is displeasing to me, "shall be mine in the day that I make, as a possession." I will treat them as my own, he says, in the day of judgment. "And I will choose them, as a man chooses his son who serves him." For in the manner of a father disposed toward a son of good understanding and preferring him, I shall prefer these to those who are mindless and devise the contrary. But "I will choose" is interpreted by Aquila as "I will spare," as a man spares his own son.
VERS. 18. "And you shall return, and shall see the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous, and between him who serves God, and him who does not serve him."
CHAPTER IV.
VERS. 1. "For behold, the day comes burning like an oven, and it shall burn them." Then, he says, you shall know how great is the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous, and how much he who serves God differs from him who does not serve him. For do not imagine that the present life will last for all time; for this shall be dissolved. "And a day shall come burning like an oven, and it shall burn them. And all the aliens, and all who do iniquity, shall be stubble; and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, says the Lord Almighty, and there shall be left of them neither root nor branch." Aquila translates "aliens" as "the proud." So also the divine Apostle says: "If anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, the work of each one shall become manifest; for the day will disclose it, because it is revealed in fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, what sort it is. If the work of anyone survives which he has built upon it, he shall receive a reward; if the work of anyone is burned up, he shall suffer loss." C Having thus foretold destruction to those who live in impiety, he shows what rewards belong to the pious.
VERS. 2. "And to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness rise, and healing in his wings." These things both apply to the first coming of our Savior, and to the second. For in the first, he rose for us as a kind of sun, while we were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death; and having freed us from sin, he imparted righteousness, and covering us with spiritual gifts as if with certain wings, he provided healing for our souls. And also in the second coming, he will appear to those now afflicted in this life, whether according to their will or beyond their will, and as a just judge he will judge justly, and the promised D
A good things he will bestow. And just as the physical sun, when it rises, rouses those oppressed by sleep to labor, so He, arriving, rouses those bound by long sleep, that is, death. Then, he says, then "You shall go forth, and you shall leap as calves released from their bonds." For you have been set free from the bonds of sins.
Vers. 3. "And you shall trample the wicked, and they shall be ashes under your feet, in the day that I do, says the Lord Almighty." Thus was the rich man in relation to Lazarus; thus shall it be for those who have been treated unjustly in relation to those who do the injustice; thus for the holy martyrs in relation to their tyrants and persecutors. Afterwards he renews the memory of those things which Moses predicted concerning Christ the Lord; and he commands them to read the law with intent study, and to obey it, and in no way to contradict it.
Vers. 4. "Remember the law of Moses my servant, as I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the commandments and the judgments." Since he clearly knew that they would neither obey the law, nor receive him when he arrived, but would deliver him to the cross, using ineffable philanthropy, he promises them that he will again send Elijah as a herald of salvation, and he says:
Vers. 5. "Behold, I send to you Elijah the Thesbite." And indicating the time, he added: "Before the great and manifest day of the Lord comes." He named the second coming; and he teaches what the great Elijah will do when he arrives.
Vers. 6. "Who shall turn the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a man to his neighbor." And showing the purpose for which Elijah comes beforehand, he added: "Lest I come and strike the earth utterly." For, lest I find you all in unbelief and consign you all to B everlasting punishment, Elijah shall come first, and he will teach you of my coming, and he will persuade you, O Jews, to be united without wavering with those from the Gentiles who have believed in me, and to declare my Church to be one. He calls the Jews fathers, because they were called first; but the Gentiles sons, because they were saved after them. Since, therefore, we at this time exhort the Jews to piety, but they continue never to obey our warnings, envying our salvation, deservedly did he say that Elijah would turn the heart of the father to the son. For he will bring them so that they might embrace our communion. But these things are able not only to strike fear into the Jews, but also to terrify us. For by how much greater are the good things we have obtained, by so much greater will be the penalties the judge will exact from us. Wherefore we must give effort, so that we may be well prepared for that day, so that standing with confidence before the most dreadful tribunal, we may obtain the promised good things. I, however, would wish the readers to be warned C
of our labors, I ask that, for those things which have been well and correctly said, they praise the uncreated Trinity; for knowledge is its gift. Thus also the blessed David says: “He who teaches man knowledge.” But if anything of the prophetic oracles has escaped our comprehension, let them forgive the infirmity of nature, and supply what is lacking, and praise the intention, and repay our labors with prayers. May the Giver of all good things, the fountain of wisdom, grant both to the writer and to those who shall read a right understanding in all things, so that, serving Him without distraction, we may glorify Him in our body and in our spirit, for to Him belongs glory for ever and ever. Amen.
ORDER OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME
THEODORETUS, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS. Preface 9 Testimonies concerning Theodoret’s commentaries on the Old Testament 15 Order of the Sirmondian and new editions 19 Explanation of the Song of Songs 27 Eclogarian Interpretation of the Prophet Isaiah 215 Interpretation of the Prophecy of Jeremiah 495 Interpretation of the Prophecy of Ezekiel 807 Commentary on the visions of the Prophet Daniel 1255 Commentary on the twelve prophets 1546 Proem 1546 Enarratio in the Prophet Hosea 1551 Enarratio in Joel 1634 — in Amos 1665 — in Obadiah 1710 — in Jonah 1719 — in Micah 1742 — in Nahum 1787 — in Habakkuk 1810 — in Zephaniah 1858 — in Haggai 1859 — in Zechariah 1874 — in Malachi 1959
END OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST VOLUME.
Paris. — From the Presses of J.-P. MIGNE.