Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

continued

Discourse 9

1 Having thoroughly finished the discourse concerning the Babylonians and the foreigners, he again shifts the prophecy to Moabitis; that is, against the metropolis of the Moabites, and all their country and their kingdom itself. They are also a barbarian nation, hateful to God, because they were wholly devoted to the worship of idols, and especially confident in the art of magic, and exalted themselves against the glory of God, and were among the most hostile to those of Israel. And indeed, when, freed from the oppression of the Egyptians, they were going to the land of promise, they almost all perished, as far as the attempt of Balak was concerned, who was then king of the Moabites. For it is written thus in Numbers: "And all the children of Israel encamped on the west of Moab, by the Jordan, opposite Jericho. And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorite; and Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were many. And Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. Then what was his evil deed? He hired Balaam from Mesopotamia; and this man was a false prophet and an augur; then he exhorts him, saying: Curse Israel for me. For I know, he says, that whom you bless is blessed, and whom you curse is cursed. And the methods of sorcery were practiced by him, with altars having been raised, and sacrifices having been offered.

2 But Balak was disappointed of his hope, and missed his mark, as the one who was hired to curse unexpectedly blessed Israel. But since his attempt turned out contrary to his expectations, he again pursues his malice against them in another way. For he ensnared those of Israel, who were captivated by the beauty of the women, to turn away from their love for God, and to choose to worship Baal-peor; and this was an idol of the Moabites. For it is written thus again in Numbers: "And Israel stayed in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and they called them to the sacrifices of their idols, and the people ate of their sacrifices, and bowed down to their idols; and Israel was initiated to Baal-phegor, and the Lord was angry in wrath with Israel. For since Israel was terrible and hard to meet when God was defending, for this reason indeed, very bitterly and maliciously, by turning His assistance away from him, they persuaded him to offend the God over all. And they have continued always holding such an opinion, and even if it happened that Israel, having offended God, shared in calamities, they would boast and mock, accusing God of being able to do nothing at all, He who promised to save those who worship Him. And a witness to this is the blessed Jeremiah, saying in his vision against them: “The horn of Moab is broken, and his arm is shattered.

3 Make him drunk because he has magnified himself against the Lord. And again: “For thus said the Lord, Arioth is taken; and the strongholds are captured. And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against the Lord. For at times the tyrant of the Assyrians and Babylonians came to ravage Judaea. He captured the cities of Samaria. But the Moabites, in turn, smiling at the lost, mocked immoderately, and continually reproached the glory of God. For this reason they too were given over to desolation, and were utterly destroyed together with their cities and people and every house, so as now to seem not even to have existed. Therefore, the present vision recounts what happened to them, clearly from the wrath from above, and says: By night the Moabite shall perish; for by night the wall of the Moabite land shall perish. Some of those who have studied these things have handed down that when the Babylonians were about to make war on them, an earthquake occurred and the metropolis of the Moabites was so shaken that its entire wall collapsed automatically in the night and darkness; and when this indeed happened, before the attack of the enemies, the hope of their salvation was all but lost. For this reason he says the Moabite land perishes by night. But be grieved, he says, for yourselves. It is as if he were to say, Many times raising a high brow you have reveled in the calamities of others;

4 but now the war runs against you yourselves, and the harms from it hang over your unholy heads. Be grieved, therefore, not for certain others, but for yourselves. For Lebedon shall perish, where your altar is. I said that the Moabites have become terrible and arrogant, and emboldened by the deceits of demons, and thinking through the art of a magus to prevail over the hand of all, and even of Israel itself though God should defend it; therefore in the place called Lebedon, they had an altar and a sanctuary that was not unimpressive, as far as its construction went. There they performed their divinations, and were high-minded, and they made the place especially revered above others. But it shall perish, he says, even the workshop of your divination. There you will go up to weep over Nebo of the Moabite land. This is a city of the strongest. Wail, he says; for on every head is baldness. That is, one dishonor will run upon all. For baldness is a symbol of dishonor. And all arms will be cut. From beating oneself and lamenting. Or because it is a custom for idolaters to inflict the so-called incisions on both their cheeks and their arms. In vain therefore will you do this, he says, for the matter is completely unprofitable.

5 Therefore in her streets gird yourselves with sackcloth, and beat yourselves upon her roofs, and in her squares, and in her alleys, all of you wail with weeping, because Heshbon has cried out, and has spoken until her voice was heard. The power of the prophecy describes for us the image of cities entangled in no moderate terrors. For with war surrounding, and the ultimate calamity inflicted on cities and houses, some run through the squares and narrow streets wailing. But whatever is weak and unable to fight, such as the female sex, and that of infants, has leaped up onto the roofs themselves, makes a lamentation and a wail, to the seeing the phalanxes of the enemy, and perceiving the slaughter that was just about to happen. Wail therefore; for Heshbon has cried out, and has spoken until her voice was heard. And he says these are the most warlike cities of Moab. But even if they were so, he says, they will make such a wailing, as not to weep secretly, nor in a corner, but rather for their voice to be heard, and to lament openly, those among them having neglected their customary courage, being so crushed as to be utterly bereft of strength and boldness, and of thoughts and attempts at valor. The loin of Moab cries out; her soul shall know it, and the heart of Moab cries out within her, unto Zoar; for she is a three-year-old heifer. And on the ascent toward you, they shall go up weeping on the way of Aroniim;

6 destruction and earthquake cries out. Sharp griefs of incurable calamities always assail, and very grievous despondencies, and an assault of terrors, not incapable of crushing even a very courageous heart. Hence, I think, for some, faces become sullen, and groans, as it were, spring up from the depths, interpreting the burning of the inner flame. Therefore, the loin of Moab cries out; that is, she is in birth pangs, and has hidden pains, clearly being terrified beforehand by the rumors, and considering the war not yet at hand. For her soul knew this. And for this reason, she laments and cries out within herself unto Zoar, that is, the entire land of Moab, even to its very borders. For they say Zoar is situated on the very borders of the Moabites. For what reason, then, will these things happen to her? She is a three-year-old heifer. The third year is sufficient for irrational animals to reach their prime, and for vigorous power to become active in them. Therefore, that is also the time for them to be tamed. As long, therefore, as the heifer is unyoked, vigorous and young, and bearing a newly grown horn, she often frisks about and dances around the courts and stalls; such has the land of Moab become, leaping upon her neighbors, and frisking about over the weaker. They say it is high, and a certain highway called Aroniim leads up to it those coming from other cities or countries. Upon this ascent of Aroniim, therefore, he says, they shall go up weeping.

7 And the voice for those weeping is destruction and shaking. For they have cried out beforehand the sufferings that will come from the war, as it were shaking all things, both cities and houses, and crushing those in them. The water of Nimrim will be desolate, and its grass will fail; for there will be no green grass, will she still be saved even so? They say Nimrim is a city situated in the extremities of the country, bordering on the Red Sea, so well-watered and with such good pasture, that those in it can possess many horses; for this reason they are also most warlike, and have cavalry experienced in war. Therefore, he says, from divine wrath, from the attack of the enemies, it will be desolate of both waters and green grass. When this has happened, the expertise of the tacticians will surely be weakened, their horses having been destroyed beforehand, and having perished from famine. But if this should happen, he says, will she not then think great things of herself even so? when this has happened, is she going to be saved, and to escape the hands of the enemies? For with their strength destroyed beforehand, what hope of salvation will remain? For I will bring Arabs upon the valley, and they will take it. The cry has joined the border of Moab of Agalleim, and her wailing unto the well of Elim. And the water of Remmon shall be filled with blood; for I will bring Arabs upon Remmon.

8 And I will take away the seed of Moab, and Ariel, and the remnant of Adama I will send forth like creeping things upon the earth. They say the southernmost parts of the Damascenes are inhabited by the innumerable tribes of those called Saracens, extending even to Per- of you. They armed themselves with the Babylonians, and were devastating the land of the Moabites; for they also followed, although perhaps they were of the same race, and neighbors to the land of the Moabites. For they also were called Arabs. Therefore he says that Nebreim will be taken; "For I will bring upon the ravine. "Arabs, and they will take it. He likely calls Nebreim a ravine, because of its being situated in a hollow place. Although the other cities were raised up high, and were in the mountains. But since it was not a part of the land of the Moabites that was crushed by the war, but the whole of it through and through was both shaken and tossed about like a drunkard; for this reason he says that the cry will join from one end to the other, of those wailing, that is, and of those accustomed to practice the dirge for those about to perish. For the cry, he says, has joined the border of the land of the Moabites, of Agalleim, and its wailing to the well of Eleim. He names the outer cities, and those situated at the very borders, I mean both Agalleim, and the well of Eleim.

9 Confirming that the dirge has been set throughout all their land, as I said, he then says, that "The water of Remmon will be filled with blood. For Remmon is said to be very watery. But it will be filled with blood, he says, saying this somewhere, that the blood of the fallen during the time of war will compete with the abundance of the waters; and the rivers will be seen reddened, and the water of the land will be poured out, no longer pure, nor indeed having the appearance of water, but of another color and like blood. He says that it too will be taken by the Arabs, so that all the seed of Moab, and Ariel, will be taken away, that is, to be destroyed and consumed. "But the remnant," he says, "I will send away like reptiles upon the earth. For being bitter they will always go into captivity, like some snakes charmed by certain incantations, and as if nodding off, to an unaccustomed tameness. For to say "I will send away" means to send forth. For it is the custom for those who have taken a country or a city, not always to destroy everyone completely, but when the most warlike multitude has been consumed, to place the survivors in the rank of captives.

10 But if one must also apply a necessary word to the histories, it must be known, that a soul fortified by the fear of God is both strong and hard to capture, and overcoming the hand of those who fight against it. For it conquers principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. But if it should turn aside to what is not fitting, and be carried outside the straight path, and running past what is pleasing to God, should be carried down to the passions in this world, and should shake off the yoke of obedience, He strips it of all assistance, and makes it as it were unwalled, and makes it unsafe for those who war against it, and He smooths the assaults of passions against it, so that it is in no way able to escape. Thus they are given over to a debased mind, and have become easy prey to monstrous desires, and nothing saves them, but they are under the feet of enemies, scattered in a cowardly way. For if the God of all, he says, shuts men up, who will open, and who will overcome the all-powerful right hand of Him who has delivered them up? Let us therefore remain in the fear of God. For thus we will gain the grace of favor from above;

11 and we will grow strong spiritually, and caring very little for sins, and passions, and the greed of the devil, we will arrive at the prize of the upward call, achieving a glorious and most approved life. Is mount Sion a desolate rock? For you shall be as a bird flying away, a fledgling taken away, O daughter of Moab. Shalmaneser the Assyrian campaigned against Samaria from time to time, and took the cities in it; and in addition he wronged many of those of Judea, and carried away a captive multitude to his own land. And for this reason, the nations of the Moabites mocked Sion, that is, Jerusalem, and called it a desolate rock, not perhaps mocking her, the wretches, but rather God who is over all; and indeed they were saying that the hand that saves them has grown weak, and for this reason they have come under the feet of their enemies. O therefore daughter of Moab, it says, and the word was in every way simple, is Mount Zion a desolate rock? Has Zion alone grown weary, it says? Has she alone fallen under the feet of her enemies? and suffered the desolation of her inhabitants? or have you fallen into things even worse than hers? For you will be taken by enemies, and like a chick taken from the nest, you will go to another land, and you will serve enemies, and you will be among them a pitiful captive, and cast down, and under the yoke of slavery.

12 Useful, therefore, and necessary is the command: "If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him, because the Lord will see, and it will not please him; and he will turn his anger away from him. For it is not fitting to rejoice over the misfortunes of others, nor to make what has happened to one's neighbor a pretext for gladness, even if he happens to be one of those accustomed to causing grief, but rather to be sad for him, and casting an eye on our own stumblings, to fear greatly, lest somehow the wrath of the one who strikes should also come upon us. Then, Arnon, take more counsel, and make a shelter of mourning for her always; in the midday darkness they flee, they were driven out. Let not the fugitives of Moab sojourn from the beginning; they shall be a shelter for you from the face of the pursuer, because your alliance is taken away, and the ruler who tramples upon the earth has perished. The meaning of the preceding is very difficult to interpret, because of the transitions from person to person, and the roughness of the composition, which is not stable for any mind. However, as I am able, I will try to explain. So then, when all of the land of the Moabites had been sacked, and cities were being demolished, and houses burned, and the Babylonians were raging savagely in every way, those who were able to escape migrated to Arnon.

13 This is one of the strongest cities, perhaps bordering on the land of the Moabites. The word, therefore, is to her. But you, it says, after this, O Arnon, take more counsel. Consider, it says, in what way you will be able to save those who have been left behind and were able to escape the savagery of the plunderers. And make a shelter of mourning for her always. Yes, it says, you have considered something philanthropic; become a shelter for those overcome by unbearable mourning. For they flee in midday darkness, that is, when it is day, and the sun is at its noon, they have darkness in their mind. For the fear of death is exceedingly able to trouble the soul, and to pour down a kind of night on the mind through the assault of extreme despair. For this reason, it says that And they were driven out. For they have almost become beside themselves, being terrified by the dreads of the war. But even if you should receive, it says, those from the land of the Moabites, yet know very clearly, that you have not saved all, but a small and easily-counted remnant of the lost. This, I think, it wishes to make clear, saying: 'Let not the fugitives of Moab sojourn from the beginning.' Was it not at the beginning of the war, it says, that you received the fugitives? Are not those who were able to escape very few in number and altogether small?

14 Therefore what was spoken by God against the Moabites has been brought to fulfillment. For it has perished, although a small remnant was saved with difficulty. But, O, it says, Arnon, you received those from the land of the Moabites, expecting perhaps that they themselves in time would be a shelter for you from the face of the pursuer. But this will not be. Why? For your alliance is taken away; and the ruler who tramples upon the earth has perished. For the one who always shielded you, it says, the leader of the Moabites, the terrible and arrogant one, who was accustomed to trample on his opponents as if they were dust, is gone and has perished. For he has been taken away, and is gone from the midst. And through these things it teaches that the hope of being able to prevail again has also been destroyed for the Moabites. For the impious, it says, will be utterly destroyed from the earth; and when divine wrath altogether leaps upon them, what will be a remnant of those who have suffered? Or who is able to raise up, when God is casting down? And a throne shall be set up with mercy, and one shall sit upon it with truth in the tent of David, judging and seeking judgment, and hastening righteousness. In these words he clearly promises that Israel will in due time be delivered from unbearable hardship and the evils of captivity.

15 For when Cyrus took Babylon, Israel was released, and was brought back by God's mercy to the holy city, under the leadership of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, who was from the tribe of Judah and David, and also of Joshua son of Jozadak the high priest. The throne, then, he says, that is, the kingdom among the Jews, will be set up with mercy, that is, it will return to its proper order, through God's mercy. And one will sit upon it again with truth in the tent of David, judging and seeking judgment. And "tent," it seems, he calls the royal palace, in which they passed their time and judged, lawfully administering the very thrones of the kingdom. And insofar as it was pleasing to God, they became overseers of righteousness, even if some have failed in virtue, turning aside to what is worse. But it should be known that after the return from Babylon, those of Israel no longer dwelt separately, such that the ten tribes and the half-tribe of Ephraim were in Samaria, with someone ruling over them, and in Jerusalem the tribe of Judah and the half-tribe of Manasseh, with another ruling specifically over them, but having been brought together into one mind, they dwelt together in Jerusalem, anointing one king from then on. And this, then, was what was said about them through the voice of the prophet: And they shall come up from the land, and they shall cease for a little while from anointing a king and a ruler.

16 Nevertheless, God promises the restoration of the throne among the Jews, all but reproaching Moab. She has babbled, indeed, saying that Mount Zion is a desolate rock. But to you, he says, this and that will happen, as you laugh scornfully at those of Israel. But God will have mercy on them in every way and altogether, and will release them from what has happened; and he will restore their kingdom to its original state, setting it right. We have heard of the insolence of Moab, he is exceedingly insolent. Having proclaimed very well the return of those of Israel from captivity, and that there will be a return to the former state of their rule, that is, their kingdom, he returns again to Moab, and directs his word to them. And the words, "We have heard the insolence of Moab, he is exceedingly insolent," are spoken as if from the person of the holy prophets. For through these words they consent to God as punishing in justice, having brought upon them the punishment that was due and fitting for them. And they say they have heard the insolence of Moab, first of all not being ignorant of that most ancient history which the divine Moses relates. For as we said before, Balak hired Balaam, saying, "Come, curse Israel for me. And very many things have been done for this purpose at various times by the arrogance of the Moabites, fighting against the glory of God. I have removed the pride.

17 Since the holy prophets have most clearly acknowledged that they have heard the insolence of Moab, and know that he is exceedingly insolent, God answers and says: "I have removed the pride"; that is, I have caused Moab, not as being simply arrogant, but as having become arrogance itself, to be removed from the midst. For I war against the proud, and I fight against those who have chosen not to think soberly, but rather are puffed up for no reason, and raise their brow high, and are ignorant of the weakness of their own nature. For it is written that "The Lord opposes the proud. And teaching that he punishes justly, and does not simply bring on penalties in vain, he accuses Moab of being unbearably sick with arrogance. Not so is your divination, not so. It was not I who removed your pride, he says—that is, I cut off Moab—but your sins* did not foretell these things to you. For the soothsayers, speaking falsely, promised that you would be stronger than the attack of war, and that you would easily conquer your opponents, and that you would be indestructible to your enemies, and that you would mock the vanquished. But it is not so, far from it. For rather the outcome of events turned out to the contrary, and not according to your hope. Therefore it is truly very difficult and harmful to heed the words of those who mock, and to be carried away by the voices of sorcerers into hopes that will not come to pass.

18 Moab shall wail. For in the land of Moab all shall wail; for the inhabitants of Deseth you will practice mourning. That the divination did not turn out as they expected, but in a different way, and to the complete contrary, he shows clearly, saying: Moab will wail, although the divination, that is, of those who had practiced using the art of the Magi, had foretold not that she would wail, but that she would shout in triumph over her ruined enemies and dance over the fallen. Therefore all, he says, who are in the land of Moab will wail aloud; and there will be a practice of mourning for the inhabitants of Deseth. And this is also a city of Moab, whose inhabitants are perhaps indicated by this, having practiced a rhythmic and melodious beating of the breast and lament against themselves. And they will not have respect for the fields of Heshbon; the vine of Sibmah will mourn. Devouring the nations, trample her vines as far as Jazer. The word is perhaps addressed to those who had captured Moab, I mean both the Assyrians and the Babylonians, whom he commands no longer to spare the fields of Heshbon and to burn Heshbon itself; and to treat Sibmah in such a way that even the vines in it would mourn. And indeed he says to them: Devouring the nations. For I command you, he says, O destroyers of nations, and my innumerable and most savage beasts, devouring nations, trample her vines as far as Jazer.

19 And this too is a city of the Moabites. And again in these words, by vines he names the inhabitants of the Moabites. For it is the custom of the divinely-inspired Scripture to compare the people in each city and country to forests and trees and indeed also to vines. And so concerning Israel he says: For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth is the man of Judah, a beloved new plant. And in saying, Trample her vines, he shows again that it was not the work of the hand of the Assyrians to conquer Moab, but it was the all-powerful God subjecting his opponents under his feet, and granting to their hand the ability to prevail. You shall not join, wander the desert, O you who were sent; they were abandoned, they crossed the desert. They say that when the Assyrians had invaded, most of the Moabites, fleeing to the bordering and neighboring desert, were eager to escape notice, and they were eager with difficulty, being very few in number. And it was perhaps not difficult for the Babylonians to find them too, with God letting loose and extending his wrath even to them. But since, being benevolent, he punishes with measure, he all but commands those who have sacked Moab not to join the fugitives to the lost, but to allow them to wander, as it were, in the desert, that is, to consign to oblivion and to dismiss the search for those who have run together in it.

20 For this reason, he says, and to wander the desert. You who were sent, he says, who were sent by my wrath to take Moab by force, wander through the desert, give it to oblivion, and pass by the desert, for they have crossed it. Then the phrase, They were abandoned, is thrown in between, teaching this again, that the Moabites would not have come into this state, if they had not offended in no small measure the all-powerful God. Therefore I will weep as with the weeping of Jazer, O vine of Sibmah. Your trees Heshbon has cast down, and it spoke, upon your harvest and upon your vintage I will trample, and all things will fall, and gladness and exultation will be taken away from your vineyards; and in your vineyards they will not rejoice; and they will not tread wine into the wine-presses, for it has ceased. The prophetic word creates for us a persona, weeping over the misfortunes of the Moabites, and perhaps with Jazer having been plundered more than the others; thus it says that the others are to be lamented, just as it would be fitting for Jazer too. And it names the inhabitants of the cities "vines" and "trees". And it also enumerates the plundered cities of Sibmah and Heshbon. But the host of the enemies spoke. Upon your harvest and upon your vintage, it says; but what did it speak? "I will tread down," clearly, and all things will fall. And in addition to this, further:

21 Gladness and joy will be taken away from your vineyards; for the festival-loving Moabite, who dedicates very many rites to demons, who spends the night at altars, and always has sacrificing as a pretext for gladness. He will wail and weep, and will be far from all cheer. For they will certainly not be glad; nor will they tread wine into the wine-presses, for it has ceased. There will be, it says, no fruit in the vineyards; for that which is born from them will perish with them. And regarding the vines, if they were cut down completely, this word is true. But if it should be taken by us, as the word again teaches concerning human affairs in the power of examples, that together with the parents their offspring will perish, so that not even to the pregnant women themselves is any mercy given by the enemies. And we say that Jerusalem suffered this in the war against the Romans. And indeed the Savior said, announcing beforehand the things that would happen to her, that she would be surrounded by armies; and that woe would come especially to those giving birth and those with child in the womb in those days. Therefore my belly will sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts like a wall that you renewed.

22 Joy and gladness having been taken away, it says, from your vineyards, and with no one in them being gladdened, and with this and that having happened, my inward parts will become a harp and a song and a melody for you. For I proclaim your sufferings, and I make known the misfortune brought upon you. And like some melodious lyre I will cry out, and I will make such a sound, and I will make the song heard aloud, like the wall that you renewed. For at the beginning of the vision the blessed prophet said: At night Moab will perish; for at night the wall of Moab will perish. And we, interpreting the meaning of what was said, say that when an earthquake occurred, the wall of Moab was broken down, and before the attack of the enemies, as if uprooted from its very foundations, it crashed down upon the Moabites, the very one they had renewed, having spent the labor on it completely in vain. For both the Assyrians and the Babylonians captured the entire land without a struggle. Therefore my inward parts will sound, it says, like a harp over your misfortunes, and thus I will make your suffering renowned; just as indeed your wall was brought down, which you renewed, but for no useful purpose. For with the wall having fallen of itself, what had happened escaped the notice of none of those throughout all Moab, that is, those who were in other cities and lands.

23 And it shall be that you will be put to shame, because Moab has wearied himself at the altars, and he will enter into his man-made temples to pray, and will not be able to deliver him. And what, it says, will happen again in addition to this, which will bring you shame and disgrace; for you will endure vain labors, filling your altars with blood, and making unceasing sacrifices, and offering prayers to man-made things. And you will obtain none of those things for benefit and salvation. For they will not be able to deliver you from the impending evils. For what strength is in lifeless idols, which are also inventions of human art, and have as their creators those who worship them? Therefore, as the blessed David says: May those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them. But it must be known that the Moabites have become exceedingly superstitious, both observers of omens and false prophets, and wonder-mongers, and those who have grown far too bold in the evils of sorcery. For they perhaps thought they could get the better of the enemy's hand, not so much, as I think at least, by their experience in tactics, as by the aid of the gods among them. But they have missed their hope, calling upon lifeless matter for aid through both sacrifices and prayer. This is the word that the Lord spoke against Moab when He spoke. This, he says, is the vision spoken by God against the Moabites;

24 when He also spoke, that is, even before the words came to be through me, He had spoken very many things concerning it, and accused it of countless evils. For as I have already said, the divine Moses also makes mention of the nation's perversity, and commanded that it be considered among the most hated. For he said: An Ammonite and a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation. It once carried Israel also away from the love for God, and persuaded them to worship Baal-peor, sharpened for shameful pleasures, and ensnared by the beauty of women unto destruction. Therefore, indeed, the God of all has spoken concerning it. And now also through me this word has come to be against it, he says. And now I say, in three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be dishonored, with all its great wealth, and what is left will be few in number and not honored. The prophetic word now brings us to the remembrance of a history. For having departed from Jerusalem, ten tribes of Israel, and the half-tribe of Ephraim, have settled in Samaria; and they have worshipped the golden ones; with Jeroboam the son of Nabat leading them to this, and impiously thrusting them down. Then they also devised other false worships there, each one setting up what seemed good to them as God.

25 Therefore, being indignant at these things, the Lord of all, since His glory was indeed insulted and the ancestral laws were trampled upon, as it were, hired the Assyrian Shalmaneser and sent him against them, who also subjugated all the land of the Samaritans, having besieged it for three whole years; at this same time the land of the Moabites was captured by force. Therefore, even if God has spoken long ago, he says, yet now I also say, that in the three years of the years of the hireling, that is, of the king of the Assyrians, the glory of Moab will be dishonored. And by these things, he means either the kingdom among them, or also according to the sizes of the cities, and the multitude of the inhabitants, or perhaps, the age experienced in war. And it will be left, he says, few in number and not honored, that is, everything that is honored among them will be consumed by the war; but those who are left behind will be very few indeed, and most dishonored and unmanly, and worthy of no account. A fearful thing it is, then, to fall into the hands of the living God; and to dare to offend the one who is all-powerful, how will it not be the cause of every disaster? But it is salutary also to love to be subject to Him, and to know Him alone, and to depart from the snares of error, and to say to Him with a good disposition:

26 Lord, besides you we know no other, we name your name.

Discourse 10

1 The city of the Damascenes has become a most mighty and most notable city; but impious and fighting against God, and among those most hated by the all-holy God at least; and it was idolatrous, and in both the abominations and arrogances of the Assyrians it yielded in no way. And it has also offended the all-powerful God in another way. For those of the blood of Israel, that is, the ten tribes, and the half-tribe of Ephraim, having departed from Jerusalem and having settled in Samaria, have indeed worshipped the golden calves, with Jeroboam the son of Nabat having brought them down to this, and having unholily thrust them down; but having completely leaped away, and having wholly leaped away from the love for God; and having been brought to a forgetting of the law given to them through the all-wise Moses. Sometimes, when the occasion called, and war was about to come upon them, they did not rather place their hope in the saving God, but rather called upon those who at the time were kings of Damascus and of all the land of the Syrians to come to their aid and deliver them from the hand of their enemies. Therefore, and especially for this reason, the God of all was indignant and grew bitter against them.

2 For, having completely forgotten that they were redeemed from Egypt and had shaken off the unbearable yoke of slavery, and were brought through the midst of the sea, then having eaten the manna, and been given water from the rock to drink, and having prevailed over every enemy, they became heirs of the good things promised to their fathers, the wretched ones called for help from men, all but condemning God as being unable to save them. For this reason, indeed, they were delivered over to the king of the Assyrians, who, having taken all Samaria, also sacked Damascus itself, and laid waste the entire land of the Syrians. That our words concerning these things are true, the prophet Isaiah himself will confirm, saying: And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not besiege it. And it was told to the house of David, saying: Aram has conspired with Ephraim, that is, the Syrian with those in Samaria. For Aram is interpreted as Syrian; and Ephraim, as from the tribe of Ephraim, signifies all of Israel dwelling in Samaria. For since Jeroboam, their first king, was from the tribe of Ephraim, and after him those who followed in succession, as from the ruling tribe, I mean that of Ephraim, the whole of Israel in Samaria is signified.

3 And we shall find in the fourth book of Kings that when Pekah was reigning in Samaria, the Syrians and Rezin, who was king of Damascus, rose up against those of Israel. Then Ahaz persuades the tyrant of the Assyrians with money, and called on him to come quickly and to aid him, but to lay waste Damascus; which indeed came to pass. In what manner, then, the most warlike and all-powerful and insolent city perished, the prophet proclaims again to us in these words, and says: Behold, Damascus shall be taken away from among the cities, and it shall be a ruin, left for ever, for a bed of flocks and a resting-place, and there shall be none to chase them away. He does not say that it will simply come to an experience of wars and the evils from them; but rather to be taken away, that is, to be utterly destroyed, and to fall completely from being a city. For it shall be, he says, left as a ruin forever; but left by whom, if not entirely by those who inhabit it, not as having been relocated, but as having been destroyed by the swords of the enemy. And by saying that it will be a bed for flocks, he shows its complete desolation; for shepherds would not have rested, and flocks of cattle would not have lodged in it, if there were any people in its houses. To this, and very fittingly, he adds, saying: And there will be none to chase them away.

4 For no one will rebuke the shepherds, he says, for having made a lodging of so brilliant and famous a city. And Ephraim shall cease to be a fortress of refuge, and there shall no longer be a kingdom in Damascus and the remnant of the Syrians. For you are no better than the sons of Israel and their glory. For the precise clarity of the foregoing, I think it necessary to recall again a history found in the books of Kings. For when Ahaz was reigning over Judah in Jerusalem, Pekah son of Remaliah, reigning in Samaria over the ten tribes, marched against Jerusalem. But since he feared lest he might somehow grow weak to capture it, he made an ally of Rezin the king of the Syrians and of Damascus. For thus said the blessed pro-phet Isaiah himself: And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Aram went up, (which is interpreted as of the Sy-rians, or of Syria; and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel against Jerusalem to war against it. And it was reported to the house of David, saying: Aram has conspired with Ephraim, that is, the Syrian with the one from the tribe of Ephraim who rules those in Sama- ria. And his soul, and the soul of his people, was moved, as when a tree in a wood is shaken by the wind.

5 Therefore Ephraim, having forsaken the God and Savior of all, and deeming his hand and assistance of little account, made the ruler of Damascus and of the Syrians his protector. And for this reason he very justly offended God. Damascus, therefore, he says, being ravaged and laid desolate, and having endured the calam- ities of war, will no longer be a stronghold for Ephraim to flee to. Nor will there be a kingdom in it; and yet one might say, And after the destruction were found some ruling Damascus. For Paul also mentions it, saying, that "In Damascus the ethnarch of Aretas the king sought to arrest him. Therefore, the prophetic word has much emphasis. For he says that there will no longer be a strong and notable kingdom in Damascus, even if after this there came to be certain toparchs and phylarchs rather, and not those clothed with the splendor of true kingship. There will not, therefore, be a kingdom in Damascus, he says; and with it the remnant of the Sy- rians will be weakened, that is, the entire nation under it. For Damascus is the metro- polis of Syria. Then he says to her: For you are not better than the sons of Israel, and their glory. For if I did not spare my allotted portion, he says, that is, those of Israel who sinned against me, how will you not in every way and altogether endure the damages of war, being in no way better than Israel? Thus says the Lord of Sabaoth:

6 In that day there will be an eclipse of the glory of Jacob, and the fat parts of his glory will be shaken. By Jacob in these words he names those who came from Jacob, that is, the ten tribes in Samaria, and the half-tribe of Ephraim, who so leaped away from the love of God, and from placing their hope of being saved rather in him, that they trusted in themselves, and raised a high brow on account of their multitude and glory alone. This was their way. And a prophet again says this most clearly to us. For he said concerning them: Their glories are from births and pangs and conceptions. Then he adds to these things: Give them, O Lord. What will you give them? Give them a childless womb, and dry breasts. There will be, therefore, he says, at that time, an eclipse of the glory of Jacob, that is, the great and innumerable multitude of the sons of Jacob, in which he was glorified and attempted to think great things, will be consumed by the swords of the enemy. But also the fat parts of his glory will be shaken; that is, the kingdom among them will also be brought down. For it is written in the fourth book of Kings, that when Hoshea the son of Elah was reigning in Samaria, Shalmaneser came and besieged Samaria for three whole years, and he captured it and carried Hoshea away to Baby- lon.

7 Therefore, the fat parts of the glory of Jacob might be understood as the one who reigned in Samaria at that time, or perhaps the illustrious and more notable men throughout the whole country, exceeding the measure of others in wealth and power, and indulging in luxuries and in honors from all. And it shall be as when one gathers the standing harvest, and reaps the seed of the ears of corn; and it shall be as when one gathers an ear of corn in a strong valley. And there shall be left in it stub- ble, or as two or three berries of an olive tree, on the highest bough, or four or five, left on its branches. That they will easily and without sweat overcome those in Samaria the Assyrians making war, and in addition to this again, that it will not utterly and completely go to destruction, but that there will be a small remnant, the prophetic word has clearly revealed to us in these things. For those who have experience in harvesting the ears of corn, skillfully shearing them, gather the grain; but always leaving the stalk behind as useless they run over the whole breadth of the cornfields. But those accustomed to gathering the fruit of the olive trees, on the one hand strike them with a rod, and on the other, touching with their hands and snatching the young shoots, they gather them;

8 but it is likely that three or four, or perhaps five, remain on them at the very tip of the branches, and escape the eyes of the gatherers. He says that such a thing will happen to those in Samaria; for he insists that they will suffer just as the ear of corn when it falls into the hands of the reapers; but there will be left, as it were, a stalk on it, that is, a few of the more insignificant, or even like two or three olive berries that have escaped the eye of the gatherers, because they are hidden in the topmost branches. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: In that day a man will trust in him who made him, and his eyes will look upon the Holy One of Israel; and they will not trust in the altars, nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers have made, but they will trust in the Holy One of Israel. And they will not see their groves, nor their abominations. The most wise Paul, knowing that the matter of being disciplined among those called by him to the knowledge of the truth is not unprofitable, nor in vain, writes and says: "If you endure discipline, God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? And he also quotes from the divinely inspired Scripture; for he adds immediately:

9 "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens every son he accepts. For since the creator of all is good, "he desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth. For this reason he has very often admonished through the holy prophets those of the blood of Israel, and especially those who had migrated from Jerusalem to Samaria. But they were unrestrainedly inclined to what seemed good to them, and having abandoned the God who is by nature and in truth, they became worshippers of demons, and offered their services to lifeless idols. And since they were very ignorant, they did not even consider that it was proper for them to repent, so God punished them. For those whom reason does not profit, pain changes, turning them as if by necessity and force to what is pleasing to God. The blessed David is found saying something of this kind: "With bit and bridle you must curb their jaws, of those who will not come near to you. For in the same way that those who are accustomed to breaking colts, and these being wise, turn the wilder horses with bridles to a skilled course; so also the God of all, by the necessities arising from pain, often brings the disobedient and unruly to choose to live rightly.

10 Having suffered such a thing, the inhabitants of Samaria, after suffering the calamities of war, barely recognized the one who was punishing and was grieved; and they cast off the worship of idols, and turned the eye of their mind to the Holy One of Israel, clearly expecting from him help and deliverance from the evils that had been brought upon them. For they shall not trust, he says, in the altars, nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers have made; and they will not look upon their groves, nor their abominations. For it was their custom to occupy the tops of the mountains, and under oak and poplar, as it is written, to worship the works of their own hands. But they will no longer look upon these things, he says, having learned by experience that the matter is vain and completely unprofitable to them, but rather the cause of every disaster. For of this on account of the cause, and they have perished, and have been given to their enemies. It is best, therefore, to be on guard and with all one's strength to avoid the divine wrath, and not wait to learn evils by experience. But rather, one should very swiftly strip off the causes at which God might be angered, and before the blow and the scourge to make amends to the one who has been grieved, by avoiding the more shameful things, honoring the most excellent, and in every way practicing virtue.

11 In that day your cities will be forsaken, in the way the Amorites and the Hivites forsook them from before the sons of Israel; and they shall be desolate, because you forsook God your Savior, and you were not mindful of the Lord your helper. From these very events he persuades them to understand that their affairs have been reversed. For formerly they were victorious with God as their ally, and they were fearsome to the cities and lands of the nations. For they took them without a sweat, with God making easy for them all that was steep and difficult to achieve. But since they became imitators of their unholiness, they have become cowardly and easily captured like them. For their cities have been desolated, and have been abandoned by those dwelling in them, in the same way that the Hivites and Amorites once fell, consumed by their swords; and he immediately makes clear the cause of their having slipped into this weakness, and of their enduring so harsh and unbearable a calamity: For you forsook God your Savior, he says, and you were not mindful of the Lord your God. For it was necessary to give thanks for the good things they had received, on the one hand being delivered from the slavery in Egypt, and on the other hand overpowering enemies, and plundering the cities of those who resisted, and also that they were brought into the very land of promise;

12 they brought wicked returns to the Master, offending him without fear, and grieving him not in one way, but having taken very little thought for the law appointed through the all-wise Moses, and completely spurning piety towards God, and attributing reverence to lifeless matter, and saying to the golden calves: "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. When, therefore, we are with God, being eager to think his thoughts, that is, and having chosen to achieve what is pleasing to him; then indeed we shall by all means be stronger than our enemies, and we will tread upon principalities, and powers, and the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness, then we shall overcome, and very swiftly, monstrous pleasures and the movements of the flesh; then we shall conquer wicked thoughts, and the spirits of the ruler will find no place in us. But having neglected to cleave to God, we shall be weak and unmanly, and under the feet of our enemies, and no means will check Satan as he takes advantage. Therefore you shall plant a faithless plant, and a faithless seed. And on the day that you plant, you will be led astray. And in the morning if you sow, it will blossom for harvest, on whatever day you might receive your lot, and as a father of a man you might give a lot to your sons.

13 I will try as best I can to make clear the meaning of the present text, which is veiled in much obscurity. What he says, then, is something like this: I have already said that those of Israel (that is, Ephraim, so that you may understand the ten tribes resettled in Samaria), deceiving and being deceived, and thinking what is not lawful, had a high brow, and thought that absolutely none of their enemies could overwhelm their hand, on account of their being innumerable and very many. But they were cheated of their hope. For they have fallen, and some have been consumed by war, while others are carried off to the lands of the victors, as captives and terrified and having been in every evil. But when, after a time had elapsed, they were brought back from the land of the Persians to the holy city, then they ceased having kings in succession, and they all inhabited Jerusalem, and honored the law of God; then also their children were in safety, and into The successions have run on as children of children. The word now teaches something of this kind, giving a riddle about grain and ears of corn. For since, it says, you did not remember the Lord your God, for this reason whatever plant you plant will be unfaithful, and not secure for preservation, that is, the seed and race from among you. And when you plant, and see it become great, then you will be deceived.

14 For you will think, it says, taking courage in the multitude, but you will not reason truly. For they will fall like ears of corn, and you will find the hope in these things completely useless. But if you sow in the morning, that is, having come to be in the light, and finally having recognized the Master who is by nature and truly, who saves easily and has the strength to help; then what has been planted, or sown, will blossom for harvest, that is, it will be brought to fruition; for the ear of corn being consumed prematurely causes loss of both labors and hope for those accustomed to farm; but to come to harvest gives the fullest hope for good things. Therefore, your plant will blossom for harvest, that is, it will be brought to fruition, when it becomes morning for you, that is, when you are found to be in light and day and in the knowledge of God. Then you will also assign to your sons as a father of a man. For you will send on to your sons, as a kind of inheritance, cheerfulness and the participation in help from above. Woe to the multitude of many nations! As a surging sea, so you will be troubled; and the back of many nations will roar like water; like much water many nations, as much water carried down by force.

15 And he will cast him away with scorn, and will pursue him far away, as the dust of chaff winnowed before the wind, and as the dust of a wheel that a storm carries. The God of all, being benevolent, does not leave those of Israel unconsoled, but very often brings in hope for good things along with fear, and this providentially, so that through both he may benefit the hearers. Therefore, that their cities will be laid waste has been said clearly; and what the cause of their suffering was, he taught, saying, that You abandoned the Lord your God, and you did not remember the Lord your helper. But he who struck immediately promises also to apply a dressing. And he explains something that happened, which it is necessary to relate as possible in words for the need at hand. When Hezekiah was at that time administering the thrones of the kingdom in Jerusalem, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against the fortified cities of Judea, and took them. For it is written thus: Then he sends Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to besiege it, who, having arrived, indeed spouted nonsense against the glory of the God and Savior of us all; for the madman insisted that he was not able to save them, even if he wished to do this. But using a barbarian tongue and mind, he came to know by learning from experience that it is a hard thing for any man to rise up against the highest glory.

16 For an angel of the Lord went out, and in one night killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand from the camp of the foreigners; and rising in the morning, they found all the bodies dead. And since he who had sent them was thwarted in his expectations, I mean Sennacherib, he returned as a fugitive, and barely saved himself by reaching his home, although he also perished not long after at the hands of his own children. For it happened, it says, while he was worshiping in his house Asarach his patriarch, Adrammelech and Sarasas, his sons, struck him with swords. The prophetic word here reminds us of this history, and it narrates beforehand the attack of the Assyrians, and says: Woe to the multitude of nations! and what follows this. For he pronounces them wretched, as those who are about to die in Jerusalem, with an angel destroying them. And that it was not one nation, but rather many, he shows clearly, calling them a multitude of nations. And they were attacking the lands, or the cities of Judea, like much water and as if carried down by force, and causing disturbances, and all but surging like a sea over those who resisted. And the back of many nations among them he calls them this, on account of many nations being pursued by them. And the pursuers run at the back of those fleeing in every way and by all means. Then what after this?

17 He will scorn him, he says, that is, he will send him back, and will pursue him far away, like the chaff of winnowers before the wind, and like the dust of a wheel a storm carries. For what is so easily scattered as dust from a wheel and a threshing floor, when a fierce wind blows it down? That Sennacherib went away as a fugitive, the God of all will confirm, saying to him through the voice of Isaiah: "And I will put a muzzle in your nose, and a bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way in which you came. Toward evening there will be sorrow before morning, and it will not be. This is the portion of those who plundered you, and the inheritance of those who inherited you. I have already said that the Rabshakeh, having surrounded Jerusalem with his army, and threatening to take it before long, perished with his whole army before dawn and day. There will be sorrow, therefore, he says, toward evening, when those in Jerusalem fully expected the attack of the war to be in the morning, but it ceased before dawn. For this reason he says: There will be sorrow toward evening; but it will not be before morning, that is, the tear will cease and end; and together with the fears from suffering it will be gone, as God helps, and has wondrously destroyed the phalanxes of the enemies, and moreover has driven the leader from the land of the Jews.

18 This the blessed David also explains, saying: "At evening weeping will lodge, and at morning, rejoicing. But this, he says, is the lot; and this is the portion of those who plundered you and seized you as their own inheritance. Through these things he reproaches those of Israel, because they themselves have done things by which it was likely the nation would be utterly destroyed, but He Himself has pity again, and punishes with death those who plunder the people assigned to Him. "For when, he says, the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and Jacob His people became the Lord's portion, Israel the line of His inheritance. But besides these things, consider that also carefully for me, and how from the things that happened historically you may come to the innermost thoughts. When the wicked and opposing powers, pouring down like violent water on the soul, or casting us into external temptations, that is, the innate movements of the flesh, hasten to besiege the pious mind; let no one who knows how to fight excellently with God fall into inactive cowardice, but rather, placing his hope in Him, let him be superior to all fear. For that he will obtain help from Him, how is it possible to doubt? For the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and the blessed Paul also writes:

19 "God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. And as the Psalmist says: "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. And when heretics who are knowledgeable in the sacred dogmas, using their own perversities, rise up against the worshippers of the truth, and come on terrible and bold, either raising up wars and persecutions, or heaping up afflictions for them, and the fear of death; these too will be no less weak; for with a hidden hand the Lord wars against Amalek from generation to generation, as it is written. Woe to the land of the wings of ships, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia! who sends hostages by sea, and papyrus letters upon the water. For swift messengers shall go to a nation on high, and to a strange and harsh people. Who is beyond it? A nation without hope and trodden down. One might wonder, and indeed perhaps reason that out for himself, and say: For what reason has the prophetic word to us in these things been against Damascus, but it also brings in a mention of the land that is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia? We say then that At times the people of Israel, having heedlessly practiced abandoning God the savior of all, fell into polytheistic error;

20 and having utterly neglected the commandment through Moses, they were disciplined by God, who raised up wars against them from time to time, and wasted them with the resulting calamities. But they, although it was necessary to heal the one who was grieved by repentance, and to depart from their own wickedness, and to return to what seemed good to the lawgiver, and to thirst for his aid, hired the conspiracies of the neighboring nations; and sometimes they approached the kings of Damascus, and sometimes those of the Egyptians; and not only that, but indeed also learning the worships of the nations who aided them, they hastened to imitate them. And so Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, when he was in Damascus, then having seen there an altar dedicated to an idol, fashionably worked, constructed a similar one, and dedicated it in the house of God. Therefore the vision came against Damascus. For behold, he says, Damascus shall be taken away from being a city, and it will no longer be a stronghold for Ephraim to flee to. Do you see the cause immediately brought forward, for saying that Damascus will be taken away from being a city? For it will no longer, he says, be so strong, that Ephraim, who reigned in Samaria, would even flee to it. He transfers, therefore, the word to the land of the Egyptians. For the people of Israel also approached them, especially those dwelling in Jerusalem, and they eagerly sought their support and aid, especially when the Babylonians were attacking.

21 And so through the voice of a prophet he says: "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses and chariots! And something of this sort happened. For Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against the land of the Jews from time to time. And in passing by, he plundered, so to speak, all the cities of the east. And when he wished to capture the city of the Tyrians, which was an island at that time, and then was at a loss for ships to transport them, using a Persian mindset, and taking courage in the multitude of his army, he ordered the sea to be made passable, by a mound being raised, and making it a broad highway from the mainland all the way to Tyre itself. Therefore the Tyrians themselves, fearing lest the city might somehow be captured, as the undertakings of the Babylonians were being brought to a conclusion, having gathered ships from everywhere, were transported from the island, leaving the city deserted for him. And when Nebuchadnezzar learned this, he moved his army to the task of taking the land of the Egyptians, and he took it without a struggle, God setting him up against the Egyptians; because they also, always raising a great brow, boasted against the people of Israel, as if they had no God powerful enough to save them. For when called for aid, and to defend them, they claimed that their own gods were mightier than the God of Judaea.

22 And that the Babylonian took the land of the Egyptians after the toil at Tyre, would be clear from God saying to the prophet Ezekiel: "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet he had no wages, nor his army, for the hard service that they had served against Tyre. In return for this I have given him the land of Egypt. The prophet therefore adds the Woe to it as well, and says: Woe to the land of the wings of ships, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia! He calls, therefore, the seven mouths, through which the wide and great river of Egypt mixes with the sea, the rivers of Ethiopia. And he names the land beyond the rivers what is now Alexandria, but was called at that time On. It was indeed very populous, and had very mighty inhabitants, and it was a short distance from the rivers of Egypt. For from the last mouth (and its name is the Herakleion), is distant to the west by about eighty stades in number. Since it was the custom for those who inhabit the aforementioned city to sail up and down the river, which was always navigable, to carry and bring their own goods to others, and from others to themselves, and to delight in the gains from commerce;

23 for this reason the prophetic word in these passages declares the ships wretched, and does not bring the "Woe" against the ships, but rather against those who were always using them, rejoicing and delighting, as I said, in the gains that came from them. For when the entire land was seized by Nebuchadnezzar, all commerce ceased, and the breadth of freedom for this was cut off, with those who owned them having likely perished as well. Woe therefore, it says, to the wings of the ships of that land which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia! And he calls the sails the wings of ships, on which the striking blasts of the winds, like a bird, carry them through the midst of the waves. He who sends hostages by sea, and papyrus letters upon the water. The meaning of what has been said is entirely hard to grasp; it travails, however, with the narrative of a Greek story, which we will necessarily recount, not going outside of what is probable, that is, what is fitting for Christian discourses, but for the sake of making the rendering of the concepts clear to the listeners. The account of the story is as follows: Some of the Greek poets tell the myth that Myrrha was the daughter of a certain Cinyras, who, being overcome by unbridled impulses toward pleasure, had licentious intercourse with his own daughter, and made her the mother of a child, whom he named Adonis.

24 Blushing at what had happened and being convicted by the laws of nature that he had acted impiously, he exposed the child, as they say, on a mountain. Some of the nymphs there, whom they also call Oreads, daemons, took him and both nourished and saved him; and he, having reached puberty and being now among the youths, appeared to have a most comely beauty. He took up hunting, and made his pursuits in this matter of great importance throughout the woods. Then, it says, their Aphrodite (and this was a courtesan woman), seeing him, fell in love with him and had relations with him, and continued to attend to him. And at this, Ares, being grieved, being a rival lover of Aphrodite, is likened to a boar, and he leaps upon him while he is hunting , and destroys him instantly; and the event became an occasion for lamentation for Aphrodite, it says. And she came to such despondency and grief that she even went down to Hades itself, wishing to bring back her lover. But since Pluto's wife laid strong claim to the young man, and would not let him go, having a beauty worthy of admiration, they made an agreement with each other to divide the cycle of the year, and for each to have him for half of it. And when Aphrodite ascended and announced this to her own people, that is, her friends or worshippers, the event became a festival and a public celebration. Therefore the Greeks devised such a festival for this.

25 For they pretended to lament and mourn with the grieving Aphrodite because Adonis had died; but when she had ascended from Hades, and indeed said that the one she sought had been found, they would rejoice together and leap for joy; and until our own times this game was performed in the temples in Alexandria. Those of the blood of Israel also learned this, and indeed they performed it, having forsaken the God who is by nature and truly so, and having turned aside to what is not lawful, and having been senselessly snatched away into ruin and destruction by the deceits of demons. The blessed prophet Ezekiel also makes mention of this. For he spoke thus: "And I saw, and behold, there were women sitting, mourning for Tammuz. And Tammuz is interpreted as Adonis. And something of this sort was practiced by those who were in the land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, about which we have spoken briefly and clearly in the preceding. Taking a piece of pottery, then writing a letter to the women in Byblos, that Adonis had been found, and having placed it in the earthenware vessel, and having sealed it, they would lower it into the sea, having performed certain rites over it; and as they said, it was carried automatically to Byblos on certain days of the year. And when certain women, friends of Aphrodite, received it, then taking the letter they would cease their lamentation, as though Adonis had been found by Aphrodite.

26 Therefore, the prophetic word mocks us, considering the inhabitants of the land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia as once idolaters and unholy, and deceivers, and God-hated, and says: He who sends hostages by sea, and papyrus letters upon the water. And to this also certainly follows the "Woe," just as it does to the wings of the ships. For "Woe to the land of the winged ships," it says! Therefore the "Woe" is commonly applied to him who sends hostages by sea; that is, pledges of unanimity. For as if performing a mystery of Aphrodite for those who worship her in Byblos, and suffering the same madness as them, they would send out the letters, not by placing the messengers in ships, but as it were upon the water, because, as I said, they were placed in an earthenware vessel. We have been compelled to make mention of foul-smelling and ancient myths, and of Hellenic abomination, only for the sake of clarifying the meaning of the preceding text. For swift messengers will go to a lofty nation, and to a strange and harsh people. What is beyond it? A nation without hope and trampled down. I said before that the inhabitants of the land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia had offended the kings of the Assyrians; since they not only promised aid to those of Israel who asked for it, but indeed they also sent it, even if it benefited them not at all.

27 But they, being grieved at this, after having ravaged, so to speak, all of Judaea, have marched against the Egyptians, and have taken all of it without toil, God giving them the power to overcome the hand of those who resisted, because of their being grieved against the Egyptians. Therefore, when the Babylonian was about to campaign against their country, some runners went from Judaea, announcing to them the invasion that would not be long in coming. And concerning them the prophet says that, "Swift messengers will go," that is, fast, and as it were winged and light, reporting the disaster from the war as neighboring and already at the gates. And he names the Egyptians a lofty nation, and a strange and harsh people; "lofty" instead of "arrogant," or else "fickle and light," and unstable; and "strange and harsh," as being strange in its harshness, and having no one beyond it in this respect. For "Who is beyond it? he says, instead of, "Who is so fickle, and ignorant and witless, and practicing wickedness unusual to others, as the people in Egypt? For they were extreme idolaters. Therefore he also names them a nation without hope and trampled down. Without hope, because of their not knowing the God who exists by nature and truly; and trampled down, because having subjected their minds far too much to the deceits of demons, they were all but laid under their feet; or else you may understand what is said in another way.

28 For having fallen into the hands of the Assyrians, they have cast away all hope of good cheer, and have been so trampled down as to be unable, so to speak, ever to recover, having fallen under and been laid beneath the feet of their conquerors. Now all the rivers of the land, as an inhabited country, their country will be inhabited. He also usefully foretells the manner of the capture. For those who held the land of the Egyptians thought that they had become impregnable to the Babylonians, because their whole country was girded by very many and indeed great rivers, and had wide and long lakes. For such countries are somehow difficult to enter, and not at all easy to invade for those who wish to ravage them. But since God was wroth with them, He made this too easy for the Babylonians. For all having dried up the collection of waters, He showed the wet ground to be traversable by horse for them. This, I think, is what the prophet means in saying these things: Now all the rivers of the earth, as an inhabited land, their country will be inhabited. For the navigable, he says, and always somewhat wet parts of the regions will be such, at the time of war, as to seem already in some way to be an inhabited land always, and simply dry land devoid of waters. For what could the divine and all-powerful and supreme nature not accomplish?

29 As if a sign were raised from a mountain, as the sound of a trumpet, it will be heard. The leaders of the tactical units, at the time of war, stationing some men on hills, very often have a sign raised; and this becomes a clear signal of the matter to the army. And he uses the sounds of trumpets, either rousing them to fight in a customary rhythm, or even recalling them from war as seems good to them. Therefore, the sign raised on high is also most conspicuous. For those accustomed to doing this stand on a mountain, and indeed the sound of the trumpets is audible and clear to all in the battle. Therefore, he says, the suffering of the Egyptians will be so very well-known to everyone everywhere, that it will be compared to a sign raised upon one of the mountains; and thus renowned, just as, of course, the sound through the trumpets. From such things, indeed, we shall know this, and it will be of much benefit to us, that we should in no way provoke to anger the undefiled nature; or, by doing in every way and altogether what is not right, and refusing the worship under Him, that is, running with apostates, and conforming their own ways to those under divine wrath, to share with them in the disaster, and to receive the same justice from God. One might see that the inhabitants of Egypt have suffered this.

30 For since those of Israel had offended, and then they promised to save them, even if God did not wish it, they are given to their enemies for ruin and destruction. For thus said the Lord to me: There will be security in my city, as the light of noonday heat, and as a cloud of dew on the day of harvest it will be before the reaping. The account of the history is clear; nevertheless we will speak cursorily. For God saved Jerusalem when Rabshakeh was besieging it, and had surrounded it with the innumerable multitude of the Assyrians; how did he save it? "For an angel of the Lord went out," he says, "and killed from the camp of the Assyrians in one night one hundred eighty-five thousand. Therefore, he says, there will be security in my city. And that I have become a helper to those in danger will become so manifest to all everywhere, as the light at noonday is bright and most intense. For when the sun is at midday, and sends its most intense ray from above upon those on the earth, all things are illuminated with the richest light. Therefore, he says, the grace and security to be given by me at that time to those in danger will be as if a cloud of dew in the days of harvest before the reaping. And what he means to signify, I will say again:

31 It is a custom for reapers not to apply the iron to the ears of grain before, unless perhaps dew has first fallen, to make the stalk easier for them to handle. Therefore, the matter is a prayer for them, I mean the sending down of dew from God. Therefore, the security from God has become thrice-desired by those in Jerusalem, just as, of course, the dew falling in the days of harvest before the reaping. When the ear of grain is perfected, and the unripe grape blossoms with a souring flower. And he will take away the small clusters with sickles, and will take away the vine-shoots, and will cut them down and leave them together for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth. And the birds of the sky will be gathered upon them, and all the beasts of the earth will come upon it. The meaning of the preceding is very difficult and not moderately hard to see. And the very construction of the language contributes to this. Nevertheless I will try to explain as is possible. He therefore makes his argument as from the knowledge of farmers. Custom For when they see the clusters blossoming forth from the vine, and already having the appearance of unripe grapes, they shear away the superfluous tendrils, and cut off with pruning hooks the small bunches that are superfluously attached to the larger ones, so that the larger clusters, receiving the most nourishing sap, might be able to come to fruition.

32 The God of all says that He has done something of this sort, either concerning the Assyrians, or even concerning the Egyptians; for the saying is not very clear, against whom it would more appropriately go and be directed. We say, then, that if someone should choose to understand the multitude of the Assyrians, who besieged the holy city, as one vine, we will find that the great cluster understood in it, that is, the one resplendent on the thrones of the kingdom, did not perish along with the others, but he himself was saved, while the other multitude was consumed in the manner of small clusters, and like superfluous branches, the sharpest sword of the Lord pruned them as with a kind of sickle. For they fell, as I said, consumed by the hand of an angel, and their corpses became a feast for the beasts of the field and for the birds of the sky. But if someone should wish to say that these things were said also concerning the Egyptians, you will understand that the Assyrians, in ravaging it, did not destroy it completely, nor did they utterly annihilate it. but by letting loose the sword, as it were, upon the small clusters of local settlements or villages, they measured out the wrath of the compassionate God, who disciplines those who offend, but very often shortens the punishments, and does not allow those being disciplined to be utterly destroyed.

33 In that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Sabaoth from a people plundered and afflicted, and from a great people from now and for eternal time. A nation hoping and trampled down, which is in a part of the river of its land, to the place where the name of the Lord Sabaoth was called upon, Mount Zion. Having very well described what would happen in the war from time to time to the peoples of the Egyptians, he also mentions their subsequent turning to God, and that having dismissed the ancient mist of deceit from the eyes of their mind, and having bid farewell to the worship of idols, they will proceed to better things; and they will recognize the God who is by nature and truly is, and the Creator and Lord of all, and being transformed as it were to a new and select life, they bear fruit for God in those things for which they would be well-pleasing and full of all praise, and as gifts they will bring what is a fragrant aroma to God: faith, hope, love. He calls them an afflicted people, because they endured very great hardship, having suffered the things from the divine wrath. And in addition to this, also plundered; perhaps by this he is indicating their change to better things. For a plant is transplanted, and being pulled up from the pit in which it was, it moves to another; and this is the method of the best husbandry for those accustomed to farm.

34 Thus also the mind of those in error is, in a way, re-pitted, being as it were pulled up from its former deceit, and planted in other concepts, and in addition to this, in pursuits and knowledge that is pre-eminent, or rather, incomparably better than the former. And that they will bear fruit for eternal time, that is, continuously, with no interruption occurring in between, but rather always and forever. Therefore he also calls them a great people; either signifying by this their great numbers, or because they have become well-pleasing, having been called through faith in Christ. For those who once surpassed all others in the crimes of idolatry are now better and wiser than many, having a most vigorous love for Christ, and boldness for every good thing whatsoever. For where sin abounded, he says, grace superabounded. Where, then, will they bear fruit? To the place, he says, where the name of the Lord Sabaoth was called upon, Mount Zion, that is, to Mount Zion, where the name of the Lord Sabaoth should be invoked. And by this he signifies the Church, the great and spiritual mountain; for there is nothing lowly in it, nor any of the trodden-down doctrines, but whatever is great and lofty, namely, the knowledge of God who is according to truth, and the very clear declaration of the mysteries of our Savior. And the God-inspired Scripture most often names the Church of Christ Mount Zion, naming the truer Zion spiritually from the first one, which is lofty and a watchtower.

35 And it has been thrown in between: The nation hoping and trodden down, which is in a part of the river of its country. For the conversion of the Egyptians to God began from a certain part of the country lying beyond the river; so that you may understand one of the cities of the Rhinocolurites, that is, of the cities there. For he says in the following, in the vision of Egypt: In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, and a pillar at its border to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign to the Lord; and forever in the land of Egypt. And trodden down as crushed by the calamities of war; but hoping, because it too has henceforth placed its hope in Christ, and has brought its neck under His yokes, and has served Him, and has borne the fruit of the ways of piety.