Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

continued

Discourse 3

1 My people, your exactors glean you, and your extortioners rule over you. Having most transparently and very clearly explained beforehand that the land of the Jews will suffer the desolation of every good thing, and having declared what will happen to those who have acted insolently toward Christ, he again persuades them beforehand to abstain from their offenses, and with words of gentleness he, so to speak, usefully bewitches them, transferring them to what is better, and teaching them to reject those who have become the causes of all their evils. For I do not think one should be fond of submitting to those who have been appointed to lead, even if they do not attempt to teach any of those things which tend toward profit, nor indeed ... to deem worthy of slander what is believed to have been justly ranked in the portion of wickedness. For the virtue of a teacher is to be able to bring those being instructed to an accurate knowledge of what is beneficial, and to reject as spurious what is by nature harmful, and to command them to shun what is accustomed to do wrong. And those who are in the position of students would be worthy of all praise, if they looked not simply at the opinions of their teachers, but at the nature of the matters themselves, and admire the teachers, if they should be upright and knowledgeable, and proponents of the best things, but censure those whose purpose is not such.

2 For some pasture flocks of sheep in mountains and glens; but if a pit lies near the livestock, or they see a cliff, the sheep go around it, and do not cast themselves down to death; for they are instructed as if by an inborn law, that they ought to spare their own lives. Then how is it not absurd, if this is seen to prevail among the irrational animals, but among us, although we are rational beings, there is not the knowledge of what is useful and necessary for life. Therefore it is necessary, even if some of those appointed as teachers and leaders should choose to lead us to things to which they ought not, not to be fond of simply enduring it, nor indeed to follow unreflectively what seems good to them, but to test each of the things to be done. O... to proceed to that which is especially of those things accustomed to be beneficial. The leaders of the Jews, therefore, that is, the Scribes and the Pharisees, were clever at collecting revenues of money, and at gathering gifts from the people, first-fruits, tithes, and whatever the law gave as an inheritance to those appointed to serve as priests. And it was their aim, and set forth with all diligence, to persuade the people that it was necessary to keep the law especially in these things indeed; but of the other commandments, there was not much account at all among them. For this reason indeed the Savior Himself also said to them:

3 "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe dill and mint and cummin. And you have neglected the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith. They were, then, lovers of gain and money, and sometimes they brought bitter judgments upon offenders, so that by terrifying those accused of anything whatsoever, they might persuade them to bring to them even, at times, things beyond their means. For this reason indeed he says to those being wronged by them: "My people, your exactors glean you, and your extortioners rule over you. And by saying 'people,' he still gives Israel to understand, that if they should choose to turn to what seems good to him, they will obtain gentleness and loving-kindness, and they will not fall away completely from their relational intimacy with him. And by saying that the exactors 'glean,' he shows the magnitude of the insatiability and love of gain that is in them. For in the cornfields, some cut the stalk with iron, while others, gathering what falls from the hand of the reaper, leave nothing in the fields. And it is the custom also for those who harvest the vines to do this. "Therefore, he says, your exactors glean you. It is as if he were saying: They have harvested your possessions, and their insatiability does not stop at this. But now they even glean, that is, they lay hands, also upon those who are still left.

4 Very well indeed, and fittingly for them, he says they are not guides, not teachers, nor anything else of the sort, but he calls them exactors and collectors. He teaches that they lord it over them, not as teachers gently dealing with students, but as harsh and savage masters, compelling them to think what seems good to them, and leading them off to anything whatsoever, and sometimes to things against their will. But the aim of those in Christ was not such. For the divine Peter writes to those called to the episcopate, and who have been allotted to lead the rational flocks, not as domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. But the mystical word knows also other exactors, whom those who wish to live rightly must reject. For the evil and opposing powers all but demand from each one on earth diligence towards what is wicked, and they collect a kind of tax from us, the inclination of the mind toward the passions. And so the sacred word calls blessed those who have not heard the voice of a tax-collector; for those who rise up against the desires of the flesh, and with youthful spirit thrust aside the injuries from sin, and trample on principalities, and conquer the spirits of wickedness, have become stronger than the voice of the tax-collector. It is necessary, therefore, to reject such exactors, and neither to permit the fruit of sin to be harvested in us, nor indeed to be gleaned.

5 And we will do this, being strengthened through Christ, and sending out from our own mind evil thoughts, shameful desires, and every form of wickedness. My people, those who call you blessed lead you astray, and they confuse the path of your feet. He rouses them again to sobriety, and wants them to be testers of things, not simply to be puffed up toward indifference by fair speeches. For the Pharisees, going around the houses of the Jews, attempted to speak fine words, and they called them a blessed people and the inheritance of God. And perhaps they proclaimed to them what is said through the voice of Baruch: "We are blessed, O Israel, for the things that are pleasing to God are known to us. Therefore, in order to draw to themselves the gift-offerings appointed to them by the law, and indeed the tithes, that is, the first-fruits, they made a pretense of speaking fair words, and often wished to be approachable, and they affected a gentle appearance; but for the sake of gains and profits they even taught the people under them to break the law. For our Lord Jesus Christ accused them of invalidating the commandment of God for the sake of their own tradition. Therefore, he says, those who call you blessed lead you astray, and they confuse the path of your feet. For they do not allow you to walk uprightly. But leading you astray, as it were, from the straight path, they bring you down cliffs and into pits.

6 But the straight and smooth path is fellowship with Christ through faith. And since the guides of the Jews knew that, with the commandment through Moses being abolished, they would be excluded from gains and profits, they confused, as it were, the path of the people's feet, debasing the word of Christ, and commanding them to adhere to the shadows of the law. For those wretched men dared to say: "We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where he is from; and again: "If this man were from God, he would not break the Sabbath. And what is even more impious than these, for to those willing to listen to Christ and to adhere to his words, they unholily said: "He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him? But I think that the spiritual man and the worker of virtue must in another way also strongly reject the thoughts that call him blessed in his mind and heart. For Satan, being terrible at working evil, when he is not able to bring down the successful from their most beloved life and conduct to what seems good to him, he tries to paralyze them in another way. For he praises them as having succeeded, and accepts them as therefore as saints, and he blesses them also as having already become friends of God, and as having ascended to the summit of all virtue.

7 Then, having engendered in them the passion of arrogance, he prepares them to offend God, and then shakes them down like some plant from its root. For he has not been ignorant that the God of all gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud. We must therefore reject, as I said, the thoughts that bless us within our mind and heart. For indeed they do not permit us to traverse the straight path, by which one might go very easily to what is pleasing to God. But now the Lord will stand for judgment, and He will make His people stand for judgment. The Lord Himself will come to judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers. But why have you set my vineyard on fire? And is the plunder of the poor in your houses? Why do you wrong my people, and shame the faces of the poor? The prophet says that the multitude of the wronged will not be without help, nor indeed destitute of all care, but he strongly affirms that the God of all will rather contend for them. For He will judge on their behalf, he says, against those who glean them and bless them. And He will confound the path of their feet. And He will judge the elders of the people, and moreover the rulers, that is, the leaders. For He redeemed his people from the house of bondage, and delivered them from the wickedness of the rulers, having raised up all creation against them.

8 And having worked changes of water into blood, striking with hail, with deep and three-day darkness, and with all the others. For it would be long to relate each one. Then having led them through the midst of the sea, He nourished them in the desert. He brought them into the land of promise, having cast out great and most warlike nations like thorns. And this the divine David made clear to us, saying to the savior and redeemer of all: "You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out nations, and planted it. You cleared the way before it; you stretched out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the rivers. For Israel, as the prophet Jeremiah says, became a fruitful vine, and its fruit abounded. But those who were appointed to lead were made into vinedressers; and they wronged the master's vineyard so much that it seemed now to have been entirely burned. For this reason, then, He Himself will bring this charge, saying: But why have you set my vineyard on fire? For those who were expected to render that spiritual and fruitful vine, that is, Israel, more productive, these have brought it to complete desolation, and rendered it dry and useless to the master. It was burned, therefore, by those from whom it was expected to be rich in clusters and heavy with fruit, and beyond all harm. In what way are they said to have burned the spiritual vineyard, how is it not worthwhile to see?

9 For it was necessary that those who had the teaching profession, and who knew the law that leads to everything whatsoever that is pleasing to God, should, above all others, both live most lawfully themselves, and be greatly adorned with boasts of righteousness, so that their own life might become a type, as it were, and an image of an excellent life for the people under their charge. Then, in addition to this, they were supposed to lead those under their yoke by the instructions of the law to everything whatsoever that is good, and to reprove sinners, and to correct the erring, and to show the way of piety, and to instruct them towards better things, and to persuade them to look to the end of the law, I mean, of course, Christ; "For Christ is the end of the law and the prophets. And Moses spoke about Him through shadow and types, proclaiming beforehand to those of old the solemn and great mystery. But having neglected all these things, they were themselves wicked in their ways, unbridled towards greed, unrestrained in love of gain, considering it of very little account at all to judge rightly; and being accustomed to boast in those very things for which it were better to blush.

10 The vineyard, therefore, is set on fire, being profited neither by the life of those allotted to lead, nor indeed being instructed by the legal teachings unto an upright and blameless life, that is, unto the knowledge of Christ, and this when he had already shone upon those on the earth, and saying clearly: "I am the light of the world, I am the way, and I am the truth. Let them hear therefore: But why have you set my vineyard on fire, and the plunder of the poor is in your houses? Why do you wrong my people, and shame the faces of the poor? For they would snatch the poor into a way of understanding according to what seemed good to them, and they prepared their faces to be shamed. For just as the guardians of righteousness stand, so to speak, with a bright face full of much boldness in the eyes of God, so we say that the lovers of wickedness have the face of their heart gloomy and unsmiling, full of shame and disgrace. But just as one who instructs unto understanding, and a proponent of the most excellent things, is a help, so, I think, any one of those appointed as teachers does wrong, if he does not make the one being taught a lover of better things. For he shames, as it were, his face, and being poor in understanding, he practically forces and snatches him away to baser things.

11 And the leaders of the Jews were also in other ways unjust and rapacious, and shaming the faces of the poor, but favoring the rich, although the law says: Judge a just judgment, and everywhere commanding, You shall not be partial in judgment. Thus says the Lord: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and have walked with outstretched neck, and with winks of their eyes, and in the walking of their feet, at once dragging their tunics, and at once playing with their feet, God will also humble the ruling daughters of Zion, and the Lord will uncover their form in that day. The discourse has previously shown us that for the leaders of the Jews it was a matter of utmost diligence to be rich, and to have a reputation that was conspicuous in this. And they were full of injustices and greed, so that they themselves made splendid processions in the city, and indeed also in the country, riding on horses, and being immoderately puffed up by the outward show of their accustomed bodyguards. For he accused them in the preceding parts, saying: And the land was filled with horses, and there was no number of their chariots; and the land was filled with silver and gold, and there was no number of their treasures. Then it came to pass that the women of the wealthy, living in luxury, sought to be wanton, and with adornments of gold and stones, and to be exceedingly brightened by variegated robes and expensive garments.

12 For somehow the female sex in excessive prosperity is both ambitious and ostentatious. And she is most pleased to be well-dressed, and indeed also adorned with gold, and raising her eyebrow high, she boasts in the beauty of her body. And for this very reason, the pride of those living with them is often inflated; and some make the extravagance of their wives their own glory. This is perhaps what the illustrious men of the Jews suffered, having neglected piety towards God. For in order that they might always have remaining for them the resources for being rich, with the people bringing what was according to the law, they did not accept the faith in Christ, nor indeed did they want others to believe, shutting the kingdom of God, as it is written, neither entering themselves, nor allowing those who wish to enter. For this reason they have been given over to the Roman armies for desolation, for plunder, and for destruction, together with their wives, and their dearest ones, their homes and wealth. For the things gathered with the greatest diligence have become the property of others; and they themselves are pitiable and wanderers, and are seen in the utmost misery. The discourse therefore runs down the women among them, that is, the daughters, as it were, especially of the rulers, and the more illustrious, who also belonged to the powerful, and says: "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and have walked with haughty neck, and with winks of the eyes," and so on.

13 But they were exalted not according to virtue, but as in a carnal and most earthly mindset. For it seemed to them, as I said, a great thing to be proud of wealth, and glory, and external adornments, which they collect from stones and gold, and varied apparel. The prophetic word describes for us in these things both the mindset and the appearance of a pleasure-loving and immodest woman, adorned with resplendent finery, as if showing from one, the arrogance of every woman among them. For they walked, he says, with haughty neck, and with winks of the eyes; and yet for the most well-behaved woman, who honors a life of modesty and decency, shame is most especially dear, and it would be fitting not even to be seen by the eyes of men; but they strayed into both corruption and shamelessness, so as to show off in their processions, and to raise their necks high, and to wink at those who see them, sometimes smiling, and all but promising an encounter to those who see them with their laughter. For the mind of a prostitute is always fickle, and is much loosened toward a readiness for pleasures, and he adds to their accusations of idleness, saying they have committed fornication, at the same time trailing their tunics, and mincing with their feet. And it was likely to suppose that this also contributed to their adornment; but the practice is whorish, and a proof of the utmost abomination.

14 For where the sound of feet echoes with rhythmic songs, there surely also resounds the clapping of hands, and every kind of shameful practice, and a provocation to impurity for those who see. At that very time, therefore, he says, God will humble the ruling daughters of Zion, and will uncover their form, that is, he will either strip away their adornment, or will make their shame manifest. And this will be, when desolate and stripped of all adornment and clothing, they are caught in the hands of the enemy, as slaves and captives, and full of all misery. And the Lord will take away the glory of their clothing, and of their adornment; and their fringes, and their braided hair, and the crescents, and the pendants, and the ornament of their face, and the composition of the glory of their adornment, and the necklaces, and the bracelets, and the hairnet, and the armlets, and the rings, and the earrings, and the garments bordered with purple, and the garments of purple ground, and the mantles, and those for after the house, and the transparent Laconian garments, and the fine linen, and the hyacinth-colored, and the scarlet, and the fine linen, woven together with gold and hyacinth, and the summer garments for reclining. Saying that on that day their form will be uncovered, he goes through precisely in what way their form will turn out.

15 For he further persuades that they will be in want and loss of all things that were extravagantly devised, and of that former prosperity and luxury, adding that they will be stripped of every adornment, having lost their fringes, and crescents, and pendants, and the things connected with them. Through which it is possible to see them insatiably disposed to adornments, and to a worldly mindset, or rather now a whorish one. For to women who are good in mind, and friends of modesty, such practices are altogether hateful, and those things by which they might be in an immodest state are to be fled from and hated; but they are rather disposed to be praised for good deeds. But for courtesans who are seen to love whoring and lusting, the mind has turned to the complete opposite, and their zealous pursuits are of a contrary nature. And with all diligence they adorn themselves, and from every quarter gather things useful for this. And it would be fitting for each of such women to hear: She is flighty and profligate. And Solomon also makes mention of such an immodest and haughty woman, saying: "The woman who is a snare and whose heart is a net, whose hands are bonds; he who is good before God shall be delivered from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her. And these things indeed For the present, we will speak about unseemly and wicked women.

16 But it must be known that through the voice of Ezekiel, God speaks to the Synagogue of the Jews, as to a single woman; whom He also says He adorned with varied ornament. For it is written thus about her: "And I spread my wings over you, and covered your nakedness, and swore to you. And I entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord Adonai, and you became mine, and I washed you with water, and washed the blood from you, and I anointed you with oil; and I clothed you with embroidered garments, and shod you with jacinth, and girded you with fine linen; and I covered you with silk; and I adorned you with ornaments, and put bracelets upon your hands, and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a crown of glory upon your head. And you were adorned with gold and silver; and your raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work. Therefore, God brightens the soul that is joined to Him with varied ornament, and crowns it in many ways with boasts of virtue. But for those who keep their way of life blameless, and continue in holiness, the things of intelligible seemliness will be in greater increase, and will remain unshaken.

17 But for those who readily fall into what is improper, and lightly turn aside to the works of wickedness, it will surely happen that they will be in loss of every good thing, and suffer the desolation of what was formerly given. For she will fall into the hands of wicked and unclean lovers, the rulers of this age, and the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness, who indeed especially hunt for virtuous souls. For it is a delicacy for them to destroy them. Just as, for instance, to bird-catchers, the more beautiful of sparrows seems to be a worthy prize. And it is written somewhere also concerning Satan, that his foods are choice. Therefore it is fitting for us to be vigilant and to be courageous with God, and to remember the blessed Paul saying: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And indeed, in addition to this, approaching God who is all-powerful, we must say in our prayers: "O Lord, in your will you have given strength to beauty. And instead of a sweet smell there will be dust; and instead of a girdle, you will be girded with a rope, and instead of the golden ornament of the head you will have baldness on account of your works; and instead of the purple-bordered tunic, you will gird yourself with sackcloth. And your most handsome son, whom you love, will fall by the sword.

18 And your mighty men will fall by the sword, and will be humbled, and the repositories of your ornament will mourn, and you will be left alone, and you will be razed to the ground. Not in vain in these things might one think our prophetic word speaks too plainly, but it accurately goes through each of the things that give pleasure to luxurious women, both the kinds of ornament, and their former luxuries themselves. Then, because it will happen in every way and altogether that they will suffer the loss of such very pleasant things, he wishes them to be disposed, as it were, wasting away in grief, and artfully brings them back to the memory of their prosperity as if they had already suffered it, so that by the expectation of what is to come, and by the fears from it, or rather by the unbearable calamities, having terrified them sharply, he may convert them to seemliness, and persuade them to turn back to what is pleasing to God. It will happen then, he says, that such luxurious women will not only be in deprivation of their ornament, but there will also be, instead of a sweet smell, dust; that is, instead of perfumed houses, long and dusty journeys, as they are carried off into captivity with still delicate feet.

19 And not only this, but they will also be in a state, and in a condition most dishonorable, so as to be bound with a rope only instead of a golden girdle, and in nakedness of head, that is, baldness, though formerly it was bound up with golden headbands. And he gives them a garment, which is fitting for captives, both coarse and cheap, which he also calls sackcloth, and this for them instead of the of a purple-bordered tunic and of delicate garments. And he adds to these things, that "And your most beautiful son, whom you love, will fall by the sword. For it is the custom of those who capture a city or a country to seize the females from it and, from the bosoms of mothers, to cruelly murder the small and nursing infants, so that their mothers might march on unburdened, and not weighed down by the care of their infants. Therefore, he says that their beloved son will fall by the sword either in this manner, or otherwise while fighting, and having died by the hand of the enemies. And indeed he said that the cases of their adornment would mourn, not as if the perceptible cases were able to mourn, but as one might say a house mourns when no one dwells in it. And he adds to these things, "And you will be left alone, and you will be leveled to the ground," that is, you will be pitiable and cast down, and as it were, lying on the ground.

20 For such, in a way, is the life of those in captivity and misery, and in harsh and unbearable slavery. Therefore, it is a truly terrible thing to offend God and to despise the beauty in souls. For God removes every adornment from those who have turned too much towards indifference, and it is clear that this is the intelligible adornment, and having shown them to be naked of all virtue, he hands them over to their enemies. Thus we say that some have been given over to a debased mind, and to dishonorable passions. For when the God over all holds us together in spiritual strength, we preserve in ourselves the brilliant beauty of our own nature. But when he withdraws his help, we will be completely naked of every good thing, and having cast off the comeliness of the boasts of virtue, we will be subject to the passions of dishonor, and we will serve our enemies. And seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let your name be called upon us, take away our reproach. Having brought the argument to a very good conclusion concerning the women of the Jews who will go from luxury and wealth into captivity, he tries to show that the cities of Judea will be left destitute of men, and there will be a great scarcity of those who were once most warlike. For he said that, "All your mighty men will fall by the sword.

21 What then is the proof of what I have said? It is very cleverly and gracefully contrived. For indeed, since the law through Moses says to the sons of Israel, "There shall not be among you a barren or sterile woman; it was considered among the Jews the utmost reproach for a woman not to bear a child, that is, for one of those reckoned among men to be childless. For the blemish of being childless and sterile was immediately rubbed in their faces. And the law was spiritual. For the God of all promised that the spiritual Israel, that is, the mind seeing God, will not be fruitless, nor sterile, but rather fruitful and like a land that is good and excellent. But the Jews understood it carnally, for they were soulish, not having the Spirit. Therefore, he says, there will be such a scarcity of males in the land, since the war consumed the race, that seven women, or many, will take hold of one man and say: "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let your name be called upon us, take away our reproach. Do you see how they fear the reproach of childlessness, and how they greatly shun the name of barren and sterile? For they do not approach seeking the usual things, and what it is customary for women to receive from those who live with them;

22 for they say they will be sufficient for themselves in this, but they ask only, as I said, for the removal of the reproach. Consider therefore the depth of the argument. For if the one being entreated were rich, the women would not have said: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel. But since they know that those who have been saved from the war and have barely escaped have fallen into extreme poverty, and have great misery, they seek nothing at all from them, but ask only to become mothers of children And the historical account is in these things. But some, I know not how, bring the present matter into a spiritual contemplation, not doing so very correctly; for either they would have been worthy of all praise. For they say that the seven women are the seven spirits; and that the one man is Christ. Then, having given little thought to what is fitting, they say the seven spirits speak thus: Take away our reproach, and we will eat our own bread, and we will wear our own apparel. And yet how is it not better to say, that the seven women are many souls, who also have taken hold of Christ through faith, seeking him as bread and as a garment of salvation, and seeking the fruit from him. For the blessed David said something of this sort concerning Christ, the Savior of all: "He makes the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.

23 And it is said that a barren woman bore seven, that is, many. For virtues are diverse, and not one rather, but many, of which the God-loving souls are mothers. And in that day God shall shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth, to exalt and to glorify the remnant of Israel. And the remnant in Zion, and the remnant in Jerusalem shall be; all who were called to life in Jerusalem shall be called holy. Since some were in doubt at what time the things concerning the women of the Jews, that is, of their whole country, foretold through the voice of the prophet, would be, whether before the coming of the Savior, or after it, the force of what is set forth has assured us unerringly, that the prophet indicates to us no other time, than that very one in which, on account of their impiety toward Christ. For the wretched ones have acted outrageously against him, and they have paid the penalty that was most fitting for them, when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies. At which time we say the mind of the Jews was brought to such a state of fear, as to say to the mountains: "Cover us, and to the hills: Fall on us. In that day, therefore, he says, that is, at that time in which the things foretold will come to pass, God will shine forth in counsel, with glory upon the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel.

24 For the Word from God the Father did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but he planned something deep and ineffable for us. For being in the form and equality of God and the Father, he became like us, and appeared to those on the earth; yet not without glory, even if he became flesh. For he worked things befitting God, and became a performer of signs, which indeed are worthy of all speech and wonder. For having shone forth, he had mercy on Israel, for it has not perished completely. But the remnant has been kept, and has been exalted and glorified, and has been written in the book of life, having shone in holiness. One might see the word of the prophecy as true, as in the first fruits of those saved by the holy apostles, who were also truly exalted, and being made splendid by divine gifts, they have become rich in manifest glory. For they received power over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out. For they healed many who were in sicknesses; but they were also written in the book of life. And so they rejoiced that the demons were subject to them, and Christ met them as they said this, and taught them to rejoice in yet greater things: "Do not rejoice," he says, "that the demons are subject to you; but rejoice rather that your names are written in the heavens. Therefore those from Israel were exalted, as in the portion of the remnant, having been saved;

25 for they were counted worthy of the honor and grace from Christ; they have been called sons of God; his brothers and friends; they have been made partakers of glory; and they have been deemed worthy of the registration from above and in the heavens, and they have been called citizens of the spiritual Jerusalem, the mother of the saints, of which the prophet Isaiah himself makes mention, saying: "Your eyes shall see Jerusalem: a rich city, tents that shall not be shaken. Because the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion; and shall purge the blood from their midst, with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. The word of the prophet becomes sober again, and at times reveals the coming superfluous cavils of some, and not permitting some to rise up in any way against the judgments of God, he usefully makes a defense beforehand; just as if someone were crying out that; The sons of Israel will be exalted again; and they will be glorified, and they will gain the heavenly registration, although they have acted impiously not moderately, they have killed the prophets, they have stoned those who were sent, and finally they added Christ himself, and their hands have become full of blood. What then does the prophet say? "The Lord," he says, "will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood from their midst, with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning.

26 For they have admittedly transgressed; but the grace that is through Christ justified all, and granted amnesty even to those who had murdered him. And indeed the divine Peter addressed the crowds of the Jews, saying, at one time, that "But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. And at another time again; "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. Repent therefore, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; for the promises are for you and for your children. Therefore, he says, the creator and Lord of all, who is great in mercy, who overcomes human faintheartedness with gentleness; who does not desire the death of the one who is dying, as much as that he should turn from his wicked way and live, will wash away the filth of those who have sinned, and will cleanse the blood from their midst with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. And we say the spirit of judgment is the verdict brought forth upon us from God with right judgment, that is, righteousness. For thus somewhere the Savior says; "Now is the judgment of this age. For he judged this age and Satan; and he cast out the one as having done wrong; but he has justified those in the world through faith as having been wronged.

27 And we say the spirit of burning is the grace in holy baptism, which does not come to be in us without the Spirit. For we have been baptized not in mere water, nor have we been sprinkled with the ashes of a heifer for the purity of the flesh alone, as the blessed Paul says, but in the Holy Spirit, and with the divine and intelligible fire, that consumes the filth of the wickedness in us, and melts away the pollution from sin. Another of the holy prophets also foretold to us such an advent of the Savior, saying; "For behold, he enters like a refiner's fire, and like the fuller's herb, and he will sit refining as silver and as gold. For concerning the Jews, who have remained liable to the charges of disobedience; "The bellows," he says, "have failed from the fire, the lead has failed, in vain the silversmith refines. Their wickednesses have not been melted down; call them rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them. But upon us who have believed, the silversmith has not labored in vain, nor indeed have the bellows failed from the fire or the lead, for we have been cleansed by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.

28 But if one should wish to say that the cleansing by a spirit of burning has happened to the peoples of the Jews, through the calamity of the war and what they have endured (for punishments do cleanse, and to suffer justice from the judge of all at times frees from many transgressions); the saying will in this way also bear the truth. And he will come, and it shall be, every place of Mount Zion, and all that is round about her, a cloud will overshadow by day, and as of smoke, and as of the light of a burning fire by night, with all the glory will be covered. And it will be for a shade from the heat, and for a cover and for a hiding place from hardship and rain. Concerning what, then, does he say, He will come? Whether of the time in which these things will be, or concerning the one who brought himself to emptiness, and came down from heaven to save the human race? It will be fitting therefore the word, even if someone should say that these things were said about the time of his sojourn; or even if one wished it to be about Christ himself. For upon arriving, crowning the sons of the spiritual Zion and of the free Jerusalem with the grace from himself, he declared them blessed, and he became like a protector to them, all but raising up that ancient cloud that long ago overshadowed Israel in the wilderness; for this reason, he says:

29 And he will come, and every place of mount Zion will be, and everything round about it a cloud will overshadow by day. For in order that those who inhabit the spiritual Zion, that is, the Church, might escape the scorching heat of the present life, and the trials or fiery tests from temp- tations, Christ, he says, will be a protector like a cloud almost hanging over them; and he himself again drives away the darkness from ignorance and diabolical wickedness, shining into the mind, as a light in darkness, and as the brightness of a fire. And it is written about the sons of Israel, that He led them by a cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire. But those things were types, and images of spiritual things; but the truth is the things through Christ. For he himself is the truth. Having been deemed worthy of his help, they will be in every way and altogether, he says, as in a shadow from the heat, and in a shelter and in a secret place from hardship and rain. And to hard- ship and rains he again compares the brilliance and most vigorous assault of temp- tations. For thus somewhere Christ says: "Everyone therefore who hears these words and does them, will be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain came down, and the rivers came, and the winds blew; and they fell upon that house, and it did not fall;

30 for it was founded upon a rock. And adding that he will be cov- ered with all glory, he gives us to understand that the grace from Christ to those who have believed in him will not be partial, but will be with complete readiness of forbearance towards them. And they will be in the covering and tent of him who is able to save, and who puts away all evil. I will sing now to my beloved a song of the beloved for my vineyard. The first verse of the proposed text would be like a definition and an inscription of what is about to be said. For what the prophet wishes to do, he indicates, saying: I will sing now to my beloved; that is, to Christ. For so God the Father also named him to us, say- ing: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Shall we then, O prophet, listen to your voice? And do the words gush forth as from your thoughts alone? but tell us where the pur- pose of the song looks. Therefore, though it is through me, he says, yet the word is not mine, but is of the beloved; and it is made for my beloved vineyard; or, as the other interpreters say, for his vineyard. But if indeed he should say for my vineyard, he says such things not as if the vine- yard were perhaps his own, but as being one of those who belong to the vineyard.

31 For we shall find the prophets at times using such expressions about the people of God. For instance, the pro- phet Jeremiah: "Who will give me in the wilderness a final lodging-place, that I may leave my people, and go away from them? For as being one of the people, he calls those related by blood and race his own people. Therefore the prophet sings to the be- loved, and his song is spoken for the beloved vineyard, that is, of Israel. For it is writ- ten, that "The vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth is the man of Judah, a beloved new plant. A vineyard came to be for the beloved, on a horn, in a fertile place. And I put a hedge around it, and I trenched it, and I planted a Sorek vine, and I built a tower in its midst, and I dug a winepress in it, and I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns. Having likened Israel to a vineyard, he persists throughout with the metaphor of the word; "Therefore a vineyard came to be," he says, "for the beloved, on a horn, in a fertile place. They say that the other interpreters were con- tent to say in a fertile place, as if the horn signifies nothing other to us than this very thing. But to some it seems that "as in a horn" is to be understood as "in the power of God.

32 For Israel inherited the land of the promise, having conquered through God those who formerly dwelt in it. Therefore, he says to him, in the forty-third psalm: "In thee we will push down our enemies, and in thy name we will bring to nought them that rise up against us. But the horn is taken in the divine Scripture for strength and for power, and for royal glory. For it is possible to hear the blessed David at one time saying, as from the person of every righteous man: "My horn shall be exalted like the horn of a unicorn; and at another time again concerning Christ: "His horn shall be exalted in glory. For the kingdom of Christ is most glorious. That the land of the promise is fertile, the holy Scripture has testified. For everywhere it calls it a land flowing with milk and honey. And the divine Psalmist also confirms the word, singing and saying about Israel: "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Do you see "in a horn" signifying "as in the power of God" in these things? For it was planted after the nations were cast out. But to others it seems that "in a horn" is said, as in a high and elevated place; for such is Sion, situated on a mountain. Having planted the vineyard, therefore, he says, I both put a hedge around it, and dug a trench, and planted a Sorek vine.

33 And Israel was bound around as with a hedge, both by angelic powers and by helps from above. And besides this, it was staked. And what is this? Those skilled in the cultivation of vineyards, artfully fixing a stake by each, both raise them up high and tie them up from the ground. For thus the fruit from them will be sound and unharmed. Such a thing God of all has also done, having staked, as it were, the spiritual vineyard with the law through Moses, so that, not being cast upon the ground and minding only the things of the flesh, it might not be corrupted in many ways, but might also be able to mind the things above. For the law of God carries away from earthly things, as if holding up high the mind of those being instructed. And that the vineyard is also noble, he makes clear by saying, not simply that any chance vine was planted in the fertile place, but a Sorek, that is, a choice one. But to the Hebrews it seems that both a species of vine, or rather the name of a beautiful and most fruitful one, is signified by Sorek. "And I built, he says, a tower in the midst of it, and dug a winepress in it. For that famous temple was raised in Jerusalem, like a tower and dwelling-place of God, and indeed a winepress was also dug.

34 And an altar was placed in it, and the Corban, which is the treasury, in which every offering of those who came was collected. But since, he says, I had made the vineyard well-appointed in all respects, I expected it to produce grapes. For I thought, I thought, it would produce nothing else than the noble fruit of the vine; but it produced thorns. Therefore he missed the hope, and was deceived, and Israel brought forth thorns instead of grapes. For he was not a keeper of the law, nor was he adorned with the fruits of gentleness, but he went astray in a foreign manner, and produced thorns, that is, works of fire, or rather, such things as strike those who touch and approach them. And whatever sin may come from us grieves God, and what the thorn is to us, this is a form of wickedness to him. But as the blessed Paul writes: "For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. And now, O man of Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, judge between me and my vineyard. What shall I do to my vineyard, that I have not done to it? Because I waited for it to produce grapes, and it produced thorns. He attempts to show the...

35 of the Jews to be completely without excuse. indolent and in addition to this, shamelessness towards the law. For when it was possible for them very easily to go the glorious and reputable path of life in the law, that is, of the commonwealth in Christ, they themselves have honored the crooked one. And indeed, abandoning the ability to bear fruit as something stale, they have become like a certain land, not a nurse of cultivated fruits, but rather wild and thorn-bearing and overgrown with wood. Let the wise among you come, therefore, he says, let them judge between me, the master of the vineyard, and the vines themselves. What good thing, then, was lacking to them that they have become useless? For if any of the necessary things for their benefit was perhaps overlooked by me who planted them, let someone refute me and I will cease. I will withdraw my accusations, and I will not ask for judgment. For what shall I do, he says, that I have not done for it? But since I made it full of useful things and lacking in nothing, it then became thorn-bearing, although I expected to see it flourishing with beautiful fruits. What then will be the verdict from the one who judges? Will he call the vinedresser careless and indolent, or will he rather blame those who, having partaken of my care, have so neglected their own fruitfulness as to bring forth useless wood and a mass of thorns instead of clusters of grapes?

36 But that his discourse is not about the perceptible thorn, nor indeed of clusters or of the grape, is clear to everyone. For if the vineyard is intelligible, such surely are also the fruits. But now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for plundering; and I will break down its wall, and it shall be for trampling. And I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned, nor shall it be dug; and thorns shall come up into it, as into a wasteland. And I will command the clouds, that they rain no rain upon it. Not unwonderful, as it seems to me, is the form of the discourse. For almost even while those called to judge are silent, he then decrees for them the judgment between himself and the vineyard, and clearly foretells in what things it will consist. For when nothing useful for its well-being was lacking at all, it was laid waste by its own will. It was necessary, therefore, that those who had descended to this point of worthlessness should then be outside the hand and care, and indeed also the help of the Master. Therefore I will take away, he says, its hedge, and it shall be for plundering, and I will break down its wall, and it shall be for trampling.

37 And a vineyard bare of hedge and wall will certainly be set before those who wish to plunder as a most ready feast and a path for passers-by, with no one to keep them out. For when God hedges us about, and almost builds a wall around us with certain ineffable aids, we shall not be accessible and in the order of a path to the unclean spirits; nor indeed ready for plundering by the beasts of the field, and a delight for foxes. Concerning which it is written also in the Song of Songs: "Catch for us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards. And some are said to have become portions for foxes. And when God gives way to those who wish to do wrong, and divests us of the care from above, we shall come to the trial of every evil; and anyone whatsoever will revel in what is ours, even if it be some intelligible robber, or if it be the law that rages in the members of the flesh; and every movement of our mind will bear fruit for Satan. Therefore a vineyard without a hedge, and indeed unwalled, will be given up to those who wish for plundering. And it shall not be pruned, nor shall it be dug, that is, it will receive no care capable of correcting and restoring it to the better, and of delivering it from so terrible a wasteland.

38 For I will also command the intelligible clouds, that is, the holy prophets, or the angelic powers, that they rain no rain upon it; it is clear that this is the intelligible rain, which is wrought as an exhortation to the mind and heart, and by the divine word. However, from this it is especially possible to see that the prophetic word says to us that such things would not happen to the sons of Israel before the times of the visitation, but when they have behaved outrageously towards Christ. For it is not, it is not possible to say, that is, to point out a time, in which Israel was without holy prophets. For they became captives at times, and departed to the land of the Persians and Medes together with their wives and dearest ones. But they did not descend into Egypt without holy prophets, when at times the Babylonians had captured the renowned Jerusalem, but the prophet Jeremiah was with them, ministering the words from above and from God. But since they have behaved outrageously towards Christ, they have remained destitute of a fence, and all their security has fallen. For this, I think, is what is meant by saying that his wall is pulled down. And every word of the holy prophets to them has ceased, and has been held back, as it were, like rain; and the voices of the saints have died away; and this, I think, is what was said to them by God through one of them:

39 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will bring a famine upon the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water; but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. And they will run about from the East even to the West seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it. And these things, as I said, have happened to those of Israel, and very rightly so. For they themselves rejected the Lord of hosts, who waters souls and hearts spiritually, and makes them fat with spiritual dews; of which the blessed David also made mention, saying: "Like the dew of Hermon that descends upon the mountains of Sion. But a new vineyard has been raised up instead of that one, that of those called through faith to sanctification. And concerning them the Bridegroom from heaven, that is, Christ, says: The vines are in blossom, they have given forth their fragrance. And he himself is the first and all-holy and true vine. And we are attached to him like branches, being filled with the life-giving richness from him. And so he said clearly: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. But since we have been joined to him through intimacy, clearly spiritual, we have been made fruitful; and to this he strengthens us, saying:

40 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Therefore I say that it is necessary to be firmly attached through faith and love and obedience in all things to the true vine, that is, to Christ. For he will make us fruitful, he will place a fence around, and raise up the wall, and will turn away those who pass through. And somewhere a sacred oracle says to him: "And your eternal ruins will be rebuilt, and a memorial for generations of generations, and you will be called the builder of fences, and you will restore the paths between. For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah, a beloved new plant. I waited for it to produce justice, but it produced iniquity; and not righteousness, but a cry. He has shown clearly in these things that his discourse was not about a perceptible vineyard, but about an intelligible one. For the divinely-inspired Scripture always somehow takes the visible things of its examples as an indication of more hidden and intelligible matters. For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth, he says, and the beloved new plant, is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah.

41 But although deemed worthy of my forbearance and love, and having enjoyed every care, it did not become rich in clusters, not a noble vine, it did not honor the law, nor did it live a gentle and holy life; but it belied, as it were, the hope of the husbandman. For I expected justice. that is, the right and blameless choice, or judgment, from a sincere mind in all practical matters. But he, it says, has produced lawlessness. And yet how could a vine bear thorns? Therefore he lied, just as I said a moment ago. For from where it was fitting for the fruits of righteousness to grow, from there an unexpected life has come forth, which is both outside the sacred laws and holds the divine commandment in contempt. Therefore it produced lawlessness, and not righteousness, but a cry. And he says "a cry," I think, showing that their life has become agitated into rages and full of tumult. Wherefore also the divine Paul commands the sanctified, saying: "Let all clamor, and wrath, and anger, and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice. For it would be fitting, not for those who have a stable mind, to use disorderly cries, but rather for those whose life is not secure; or rather, for those easily turned to any evil whatsoever, and governed by anger rather than by understanding. And it seems also to allude to the very harsh cry of the Jews, which they made against Christ himself.

42 For when Pilate reproached them, asking if they indeed wished to crucify their own king, they, having spared neither decorum nor love of God, cried out: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him! We have no king but Caesar. An evil cry, therefore, is the fruit of the synagogue of the Jews, on account of which it has been deprived of its fence, and wall, and the watering from the holy clouds. And they have been deprived of all care. For he said, that I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned, nor shall it be dug. And it became entirely desolate, having brought forth thorns, which are fuel for the flame. Woe to those who join house to house, and bring field near to field, that they might take something from their neighbor. Will you dwell alone upon the earth? For these things have been heard in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. So that no one might think he has spoken against Israel in vain and rashly slandered the vine, as having produced not grapes at all, but rather thorns, that is, instead of judgment, or rather just judgments, lawlessness, and instead of righteousness, a cry; he usefully enumerates the things for which it was fitting to see it condemned, not moderately, and not for ordinary things simply, but for the most exceedingly lawless things, and those that are especially hated by the virtue-loving God. For this reason he says:

43 "Woe to those who join house to house, and bring field near to field, that they might take something from their neighbor. For it is generally characteristic of those who wish to be rich, and indeed have also obtained the power for this, to always want to add still more to what has already been acquired, and to make their substance appear in unceasing accumulations. And so they continually encroach upon their borderers and neighbors; and striving to make their houses in the cities more spacious, they overpower the owners of the bordering lands, and join them to their own. For a rich man is an insatiable thing, if the power to easily achieve whatever he wishes should somehow be his. For he in no way ceases from encroaching on his neighbor's property; and he always thirsts for what is not yet present, and covets what has not yet been acquired. Woe, therefore, he says, to those who wish to join their own houses to others', and fields to fields, that they might take something from their neighbor. For they are somehow always eager to make a pretext for the need to be greedy, that others ought not to be their neighbors; then they overpower the weaker, and unrighteously take advantage of them as they sometimes lament and cry out against the coarseness that is in them. What then does the prophetic word say to them? Will you dwell alone upon the earth?

44 For do you think, he says, that you alone exist upon the earth, with God not watching over and observing what is done? And yet the Master of all is very near; the things from you have been heard. And in what way? perhaps you will say. Clearly, from the crying out of the wronged. Something of this kind the Savior's disciple has also written to us: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. And in addition to this he says: "Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields. Which you kept back by fraud, will cry out, and the cries of the harvesters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth have entered. For the all-holy and evil-hating nature receives very readily the cries of those who are taken advantage of. That he is not far from those on the earth, he himself will confirm by saying: "I am a God who draws near, says the Lord, and not a God from afar. Let them hear, therefore, who wish to be greedy, and to do violence, and to plunder their brothers: Will you dwell alone upon the earth? For the God of all is present. But it must be known that, although likely in a very witty manner, the prophet hints to us in these things: For, O rich men, he says, why do you seize the things of your neighbor, and hate him who is near?

45 It will certainly happen that you will indeed dwell in the land alone, with all others being driven out. Therefore you will render the land desolate of its inhabitants. It is best and wise, therefore, to be content only with what is measured for self-sufficiency. For a small portion with the fear of the Lord is better than great revenues with injustice. And if indeed we must say something taken from the sacred writings, a certain king of Israel in Samaria at one time, who indeed also built a most costly house for himself, falls from it and is immediately destroyed. But God, rebuking him as one who had acted in vain, says: You have built for yourself a well-proportioned house, airy upper rooms, spaced with windows, paneled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shall you reign, because you are incensed against your father Ahaz? It was better for you to practice judgment and good righteousness. "For treasures will not profit the lawless," as it is written: "but righteousness delivers from death. For if many houses are built, the great and beautiful ones will be for desolation; and there will be no one dwelling in them. For where ten yoke of oxen work, it will produce one jar; and he who sows six artabas will produce three measures. For it was admittedly heard, he says, in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, the charges of the more powerful concerning greed against others.

46 Why then has he been silent, has he let it pass in quiet, and put a bridle on his wrath? Not at all, he says. And a clear proof of this is that he renders futile the effort of those who covet others' things. For what is the benefit of joining house to house, and of building hearths splendidly and lavishly, if there will be no one, he says, to dwell in them, as the war has consumed small and great? And what is the use of the broadest fields to them, when God does not allow them to be fruitful, because of the greed of those who acquired, or rather seized, them? For there will be, there will be such a barrenness in the fields, that twenty calves, or ten yoke toiling in the vineyards, will with difficulty produce one jar; and when six measures have been sown, to see a yield of fruits at half the sowing of the seeds. But, I think, for the labor of ten yoke of oxen, a great deal of vineyard land and likewise very many arable lots would suffice. Therefore the possession is useless, and the labor of being greedy is in vain, if no one will inhabit the houses in the cities. Nor indeed will the things in the fields be fruitful, as God destroys them, and reproves the injustice of the insatiable. But since each of us also has in his own soul an intellectual field, and works the seed of righteousness, let us be careful not to offend God.

47 For then, then, like a safe and well-founded house, we shall inhabit manifold and various virtue, and we shall abound with grain like the valleys; and the God of all will bless our seed, and will increase the fruits of our righteousness, as the divine Paul says. Woe to those who rise early in the morning, and pursue strong drink, who stay late; for the wine will consume them. For with lyre and psaltery and drums, they drink wine, and flutes, but they do not look upon the works of the Lord, and do not consider the works of his hands. He connects to the first things other very grievous accusations against the rich. For it will be their lot, in addition to wishing to be greedy and insatiably doing violence to the weaker, also to be given to drinking to love, and to rejoice in luxury, and in unceasing revelries and drunkenness, and to be defiled by the evils that come from the love of the flesh; and to think that they must do this continuously at every opportunity. For wealth is sufficient to sharpen one for luxury, and to destroy the satiety from it. But "he who sows to the flesh," as Paul says, "will from the flesh reap corruption. For the end of temporary luxury will be long and perpetual weeping, and of carnal pleasure, destruction is the fruit. Therefore the prophet writes to us of the arrogance of the Jews, and their fading into luxury, and their dissipation into debauchery.

48 For, he says, allotting all their time to gluttony, in the morning they seek strong drink, and they extend their drinking bouts with the course of the sun, and continue until the evening itself. For wine will burn them. For admittedly, wine, when drunk to excess, causes a certain burning in the bowels. But it will burn the lovers of drunkenness in another way too, for it will be for them an occasion for Him who punishes. And they will be utterly and completely burned, being sent into the eternal flames, which have been prepared for the devil and his angels. For this reason also the drunkard, along with the other profane ones, will be disinherited by God, and will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. For see how great the fading of the Jews has been at times toward the need for luxury. For where there is the sound of the lyre, and the sound of drums, and the concord of flutes, with good rhythm and applause, there certainly is also every kind of impurity, and the things done in secret by them, which it is shameful even to speak of. But this harms them: that they cannot behold the glory of God, nor gaze upon His works. For just as the eye of the body, whether from dust getting into it, or discharge being poured in, or a wound bothering it, cannot see clearly;

49 so also the human mind, if it should be fattened by the luxuries of the flesh, cannot look up to God, nor indeed fix its sight accurately on the things done by Him; through which it is possible, and very clearly, to be able to understand who and how great the Creator is. For He is known from the beauty of created things; and one who gives his wonder to the things made by Him would marvel at Him very richly. For as the blessed Paul writes: "For his invisible attributes, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, both His eternal power and divinity. It is likely indeed that the prophet accuses the Jews as loving drinking bouts, and gathering very eagerly for luxuries; but not yet also having in mind, that is, to look at the future, that is, the things that will happen to them as from divine wrath, which he also calls the works of the hands of God. For He makes peace for those who love Him, and creates evils for those who provoke Him. For if they saw the works of the Lord that were to be against them, they would not have endured drink, but tears would have been their concern, and lamentation a friend, and toils and prayers, and the works of repentance, more pleasant than the evils of debauchery. Therefore my people became captive, because they did not know the Lord. And a multitude became dead, through famine and thirst for water.

50 And Hades enlarged its soul, and opened its mouth, so as not to cease. And there shall go down the glorious, and the great, and the rich, and her pestilent ones. And a person shall be humbled, and a man shall be dishonored. And the lofty eyes shall be humbled, and the Lord Sabaoth shall be exalted, and God the holy one shall be glorified in justice. That for those who wish to live in luxury the matter ends in destruction and arrives at the very last of evils, the divine word teaches us in these things. For since those of the land of the Jews, more distinguished than the others, having abandoned as unprofitable the need to scrutinize the works of God, and to look upon the works of His hands, having practiced considering it as nothing, they occupied themselves with perpetual revelries, and wished to get drunk most dissolutely, being accompanied by flutes, and doing this all day long; they will be gone some will be captives and will serve their enemies, and there will be such a multitude of dead throughout the whole land, having perished by famine and thirst, that Hades, as it were, indulges himself with a wide and insatiable mouth, greedily gulping down those who descend, and shutting them up in his own treasuries. For when you hear of the soul of Hades being enlarged, you must think that he wishes to indicate nothing other than what I just said.

51 For the divinely-inspired Scripture sometimes uses names tropically, and as if by metaphor, even for those things that do not have a soul, nor are numbered among the living, or are not even these in truth. For what soul does Hades have? But Hades is rather a place, and a grim prison of miserable souls. Therefore the souls of those who live luxuriously in this life will depart to Hades, and will fill up his soul, as it were. And the divine psalmist hints at something like this to us, speaking, I think, about every soul that loves pleasure and loves sin: He shall go to the generation of his fathers; he shall never see light. For just as holy Scripture says that the saints, when they depart from our affairs, are gathered to their fathers; for it is said somewhere to the blessed Abraham: "And you shall be gathered to your fathers, having been cherished in a good old age; so also we say that those who die in their sins will run away to the generation of their fathers, saying that their fathers are those who live a life of the same kind and in all respects equal and similar. And if it be said that there is a multitude of dead, because of famine and thirst for water, we say that which Josephus wrote, who recounted in tragic detail in his work the magnitude of the calamity of the Jews;

52 that when Jerusalem was besieged, women ate the infants they had borne, and were overcome by famine and the necessity for anything that would yield to the teeth. And that this happened not only in Jerusalem, but also in the other cities of Judea, how or from where could anyone doubt? Therefore very many were consumed by the war, and fell by swords; but of those who thus perished, the savagery of famine destroyed more. And if one should say that there was also a scarcity of spiritual waters, and of divine food for the impious Jews; and that they perished in this way, and as it were reached Hades, because they were not made alive through Christ, in the likeness of those who believed in him; he would not be wrong. For it happened that they suffered this also. But who might be thought to be the ones descending, for whom Hades himself widens his own soul, and will open his insatiable mouth, he adds, saying: The glorious and the great, and the rich, and her pests. For since they were the leaders throughout the whole land and the more distinguished, it was fitting that the subject people be well instructed through them; but they did not do this. But they became like types and a pattern for the others of the accursed life, and a holy oracle says somewhere to them: "For you have become a snare on the watchtower, and like a net spread upon Itabyrion, which those who hunt the prey have fixed.

53 You see how they have become a snare and a trap for the rest, because the subject people are always wont to follow both the clemency and certainly the negligence of their leaders. Therefore, as being the cause, for themselves and for all the others, of the necessity of their perishing, they will be the first to descend and will advance into Hades, the divine wrath in a way leaping upon them even before the others. But they will be punished not because they became rich and glorious, but because they were pests, that is, corruptors and destroyers, both of themselves, as I said, and of the common multitude. But those who are puffed up with pride, he says, will be humbled and dishonored. For whom does the terror of death not humble? Or what eye that is lifted up and looks upward does a terrible and unbearable calamity not put to sleep? And when all these things have happened, he says, the Lord of Sabaoth will be exalted, in that day, that is, at that time, when the things foretold concerning them will come to an end. But the Lord of Sabaoth alone is exalted in judgment, and in righteousness, having punished with a right and holy vote the boastful people, the disobedient and pleasure-loving. Therefore we must avoid luxuries, and let us hasten to put as far away as possible the unprofitable loves of the flesh, or rather, the most abominable, so that insatiable Hades may not revel over us too. For we remember the Savior saying:

54 "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. And again, that "Blessed are you who mourn now, for you will laugh; for the labor will end in refreshment, and the end of good toils will be for us a cause of eternal luxury. "For he who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption," as it is written; "but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And the plundered will graze like bulls, and lambs will eat the desolate places of the captive. When the land of the Jews was still established and at the height of its prosperity, the neighboring nations fought against those of the blood of Israel. But since the God of all was the one shielding Israel, he so prevailed over those who opposed them as to conquer without a fight, and to terrify all, and to plunder their lands, and to ravage their cities, and to take and carry off the possessions of others with authority. But since they have acted impiously against Christ, and have been given over to the Roman armies for destruction and plunder, their cities were burned, and all their possessions were plundered by the conquerors. Then, when the Roman army yielded a little, those who were formerly plundered overran them, searching cities and houses, and they gathered the rest, and carried it off to their own lands. And the God of all indicates something of this sort to us, saying through the voice of a prophet:

55 "Glean, glean like a vine the remnant of Israel; return like the grape-gatherer to his basket. That it will not be enough, therefore, for them to suffer only the things from the Roman army, but that the things from the cruelty of neighboring enemies will be added, he foretells, saying: "And the plundered will graze like bulls. For those who were formerly, he says, readily plundered by them, because God defended them, will graze upon their land like bulls, that is, terrible and arrogant, and having an invincible resistance. And lambs will eat the desolate places of the captive. By 'captive,' he means 'the besieged.' Therefore, he says, the desolate cities of the besieged will be grazed by lambs, that is, again, those from the nations. Since again he has made the argument to us as about bulls, he has remained with the figure, and has added lambs, so that we may understand the very strong as calves. But those who are not so, but are inferior in lesser strength, we call lambs. So indeed also the wicked and unclean powers will graze upon the heart of each of the indolent, like calves and lambs. And their food is the love of pleasure, and the inclination of a mind looking toward sin.