Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

continued

Discourse 16

1 Lord my God, I will glorify you, and I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, an ancient, true counsel; may it be so, O Lord. In the book that has been completed, the prophet's discourse was long, and proceeding through hidden meanings, concerning both the wickedness of the devil, and the punishment and justice that would come upon him, and moreover the overthrow of the evil and opposing powers. And he added to these things the proclamation of the kingdom of Christ. For he said that the Lord will reign in Zion, and in Jerusalem, and will be glorified before the elders. Therefore, on account of all these things, the prophet becomes full of joy, and honors the accomplisher of such wondrous things with praises. For this reason, he says: O Lord my God, I will glorify you, and I will praise your name, an ancient and true counsel, and you have done wonderful things.

2 But since he says 'You have done' concerning things that had not yet happened at that time, he indicates that although it has not yet happened, it will certainly and in every way come to pass, by adding, 'May it be so, O Lord.' For with the eyes of the mind they beheld the time of the visitation as present, and they by no means were ignorant that it was not yet present, but as an ancient counsel, and wonderful things, he calls the mystery of the incarnation of the Only-Begotten, and the things accomplished by it for those throughout all the earth "For we were saved in Christ, who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times of the age," as the most wise Paul says: "For the mystery of Christ is not new, or recently revealed, but was predestined before the foundation of the world, and has been revealed in its own proper times. For you have made cities a heap, strong cities, for their foundations to fall; and the city of the impious shall not be built for ever. This is also of the true counsel, and of the blameless deliberations of the all-powerful God, that strong cities should be shaken, and become a heap, and, as it were, be uprooted from their foundations, and become beyond hope, from which they will never be able to recover. For it shall not, he says, be built for ever.

3 But we say that the cities that have been shaken are not, of course, the physical ones, that is, men those in them; But we think rather that each of the evil and opposing powers, and above all others, Satan, has been named a city, and a strong one at that. For it is a custom for the divinely-inspired Scripture sometimes to compare the exceedingly strong to towers, and walls or even cities, just as, of course, we said before, that the blessed prophet Jeremiah was also set by God as a fortified city, and as a strong bronze wall. And when Emmanuel was revealed and shone upon the world, the unholy throng of the opposing powers was destroyed, and Satan was cast down from the very depths [alt. foundations], and he has fallen in such a way as to have fallen into a weakness without end, and at no time to expect to rise up and recover. Therefore the poor people shall bless you, and the cities of wronged men shall bless you. For you became a helper to every humble city, and a shelter to those who despaired through want; from evil men you shall deliver them; a shelter for the thirsty, and a spirit for men who are wronged. They shall bless you as faint-hearted men who are thirsty; in Zion, from the ungodly men to whom you delivered us. Israel was called to the knowledge of God through the instruction in the law, and was enriched with the things from God.

4 For he has been saved, and has inherited the land of promise. But the immeasurable multitude of the other nations, of those I say throughout the whole world under heaven, was entirely alien to spiritual things, and had been established from above without good things, untasting of the gifts from God, in a manner naked and unclothed, not having the divine shelter, not the covering from on high, not wealth in the mind from virtue, nor anything else of all that is full of praise, and is worthy of all wonder. But when Christ himself appeared, and delivering them from the greed of the devil, brought them to God the Father, and they were enriched with the light of truth, the participation in his glory, the greatness of the evangelical way of life, they send up songs of thanksgiving for these things to God the Father. Therefore, since, he says, O Lord, you have also made an ancient and true counsel, summing up all things in Christ, and enlightening those in darkness, and casting down the world-rulers of this age; though they were like some cities so strong, the poor people will bless you, and whole cities will glorify you. For you have become a helper to all, and a shelter for those who were unbearably grieved on account of their poverty of the ancestral goods; and you have delivered them from evil men. For there were also some in Zion who were faint-hearted in this way, just as, of course, men who were thirsty.

5 And perhaps through these things the prophet is showing us that. For there were, there were also in Israel those who thirsted for the coming of the Savior, and who desired to see the Savior and Redeemer of all; such a one was Simeon the just, when he took the newborn Jesus into his hands and said: "Now you are releasing your servant, O Lord, according to your word in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples. A light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. And indeed also the blessed Zacharias, the father of John, being filled with the Holy Spirit, glorified God, crying out: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy with our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant. The oath which he swore to Abraham our father: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. You see how the counsel of God the Father became ancient and true, and was promised to the holy fathers.

6 I mean that salvation was revealed to the world, the Emmanuel, who became the breath of wronged men. For they have breathed again [free] from enemies, and have been delivered from impious men, to whom they have also been delivered over. And if one should take such utterances as applying to the nations, we say that the unholy demons who formerly held power over those on the earth are called men, whose weakness is very well signified by their also being named men. It is likely, of course, that also the false teachers among them, and those called hierophants, or also poets and prose writers, and the inventors of eloquence honored among the Greeks, are called wicked men, since through their inherent eloquence they cast the deceived into the mire of destruction. But if these things were said concerning those of Israel, we say that the wicked men are those who were chosen to be leaders, I mean both Scribes and Pharisees; who, having the glory of the priesthood, and having girded themselves from this with both renown and power, took the key of knowledge. And they neither believed themselves, nor did they permit others to do this; but the people under their hand are delivered over to the teachers in the law, while the deceived are delivered over to the unclean demons, God permitting them to suffer this handing over, just as, indeed, some are also delivered to a debased mind, having shown themselves unworthy of His forbearance and help.

7 And the Lord Sabaoth will make for all the nations; on this mountain they will drink gladness, they will drink wine; they will anoint themselves with myrrh on this mountain. Deliver all these things to the nations. For this counsel is for all the nations. Having said before that the Lord will reign in Zion and in Jerusalem, He weaves a mystical thought as if from the likeness of things perceptible and visible; for Zion is high and a watch-tower, for Jerusalem is interpreted as a vision of peace. And both of these are in truth the Church of Christ; for it is high and conspicuous, and as if situated on a mountain. And in another way it is considered high by us, for nothing in it is lowly, and it is very much removed from earthly things. For it is written that "The mighty ones of God of the earth have been greatly exalted. Likewise, high also are the divine and true doctrines in it. For the discourse concerning God, that is, concerning the holy and consubstantial Trinity, is lean and polished and turned toward truth alone. Again, Christ who is peace is seen in it. Therefore, he says, the Lord Sabaoth will do this, and not at all only for those of Israel, as beloved on account of the fathers and chosen, but for all the nations, that is, for those under all of heaven. And what will he do? They will drink, he says, gladness, they will drink wine;

8 they will anoint themselves with myrrh on this mountain. And it seems through gladness to signify cheerfulness in hope, and it is clear that this is in Christ; for we reign with Him, and gaining things beyond mind and reason, we will be within all delight. And through the wine, to signify the mystical blessing, and the manner of the bloodless sacrifice, which we are accustomed to fulfill in the holy churches. And the myrrh would very well signify for us the anointing of the Holy Spirit. For the wise John writes: "And you have an anointing from the Holy One; and you have no need that anyone teach you, but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things. For we are anointed with myrrh especially at the time of holy baptism, making the anointing a symbol of partaking of the Holy Spirit. But all these things, he says, deliver to the nations; for this counsel is for all the nations. For the ancient law, and the worship according to it ministered by angels was not given simply to all the nations, but to one and only, to that of the blood of Israel, But the grace in Christ, and the calling through faith, and in addition to these the sanctification through the Spirit, and the mystery itself through the counsel of God the Father has come upon all the nations. For Christ is the expectation of the nations, according to the voice of the Holy One.

9 Death, having grown strong, swallowed up, and again God took away every a tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of the people from all the earth. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. Very timely and necessarily with the tradition of the mystery, the word concerning the resurrection of the dead has also been brought in. For this reason also at the time of holy baptism, making the confession of faith, we also expect the resurrection of the flesh to be, and so we believe. Therefore death indeed prevailed over our forefather Adam because of the transgression, and like some savage and cruel beast, it leaped upon and seized him. Henceforth, then, laments and wailings and tears and mourning for the dead have prevailed over those on the earth. But it has ceased in Christ. For on the third day he came back to life, having trampled on death, and having become a way for human nature to escape corruption. For he has become the firstborn from the dead, and the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. And what is after the firstfruits and the first will certainly follow, that is, we ourselves. Therefore the suffering was turned into joy, and the sackcloth was torn; and we have girded ourselves with God-given gladness, so that we say rejoicing: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O Hades, is your sting? And the sting of death is sin, it says. Therefore every tear has been taken away;

10 for believing that Christ will in every way and certainly raise the dead, we do not shed tears over them, nor do we descend into excessive sorrows, like the rest who have no hope. He seems to name death itself the reproach of the people, as having its origin in the transgression against us. Or perhaps sin, through which corruption entered and the power of death has held dominion over those on the earth. But since the mystery of the resurrection is not easily acceptable to the many, and it was likely to be disbelieved on account of the great work in it, the blessed prophet added, that the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Then who would dare to say that God will speak falsely, and will not in every way and certainly carry out in truth what was promised? "For heaven and earth, he says, will pass away, but my words will not pass away. And they will say on that day: Behold, our God, on whom we have hoped, and we have exulted, and he will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for him, and we shall exult; and we shall be glad in our salvation, because God will give rest upon this mountain. You will recognize, he says, the one who gives gladness to drink, and in addition to this also wine, and who anoints with myrrh those in the spiritual Zion;

11 and you will recognize that he is truly God, and from God by nature Son, and though he might appear in the form of a servant, for the salvation and life of all he has become man, and been made like in all things to those on the earth, apart from sin alone. For it is almost as if stretching out a hand, he says, they will say: Behold our God, in whom we have hoped and we have exulted in our salvation. But I think that this saying is most fittingly related to those of Israel, who, having been brought up on the Mosaic voices and not being ignorant of the predictions of the holy prophets, expected that in due time a Savior and Redeemer would come, our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, as I have already said before, Zacharias the father of John, prophesying in the Spirit, has spoken about Christ, that "A horn of salvation has been raised for the people. And Simeon likewise, taking the holy Infant into his hands: "My eyes, he says, have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples. Therefore, recognizing the one foretold long ago, the hope of all, the Savior and Redeemer, they will say, he says: Behold our God. And they will confess that God will give rest upon this mountain. And again, suppose the mountain is said to be the Church, for rest has been given in it. For we have heard Christ saying:

12 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For we have been unburdened through faith in him of faith the grievous and unbearable sin. And we have found rest in another way also, having been delivered from the terrors, I say, concerning the need to be punished, and to pay the penalties for transgressions. And the grace of our Savior of all, Christ, to us has not been limited to these things; but the good things in hope have also been added, and the possession of the kingdom of heaven, long and incorruptible life, and the removal of everything accustomed to cause grief. For it is written concerning the saints that "Everlasting joy shall be upon their head. And the Moabitess shall be trodden down, in the manner they tread a threshing floor with wagons, and in harvest. And he will stretch out his hands, in the way he himself humbled [them] to destroy. And he will humble the insolence, upon which he laid his hands. And he will humble the height of the refuge of your wall, and it will pass down to the ground. The word of the holy prophets is somehow always deep, and it travels the inward and hidden path. It is necessary then, therefore, not to think the outward appearance of the letter to be entirely and in every way true, but rather to investigate the meaning that is somehow, as it were, buried in the letter.

13 The Moabites, then, were neighbors to the Jews, but they were disposed most strangely toward deceit, and toward the necessity of adhering to the worship of idols. That therefore, when Christ had shone forth, and the nations had been called into his venerable and divine mystery, and had been sanctified through faith, the abominable and unclean idolatry would be entirely and in every way removed from the midst, Satan having been placed under the feet of the believers; for he has given us to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy; he teaches, saying, that the Moabitess will be trodden down, in the manner they tread a threshing floor with wagons. And we say that in these things he indicates, either the Moabite worship, that is, to take the entire example from one idolatrous country, with the word being extended, as I said, against all idolatry. Therefore, it will be trodden down, he says, just as something lying under the feet of threshers. And he will stretch out his hands, in the way he himself humbled [them] to destroy. Who will stretch out his hands? The inventor of idolatry, the one who maintains the deceit, and led man astray from God, that is, Satan. For he will stretch out his hands, that is, all his power and practical energy will be loosed; for hands are taken as a type of energy.

14 For just as he humbled those on the earth, so as to destroy them all, in this same manner Christ will humble his insolence, that is, the unbearable greed which he used against all, almost laying his hands on them, and through greed bringing under his own scepters those created by God for good works. Then the discourse for the prophet proceeds again. As to the Moabitess herself, that is, the profane idolatry, and he says: that the height of the refuge, the wall that is being humbled, we say is he who presides over idolatry and deceit, and as it were fortifies it, and holds it together so that it may stand. But it will fall, he says. For Christ will cast it down, and will bring it down to the ground, that is, completely, and we see through events what was foretold brought to fulfillment. For sacred precincts have fallen. and all things in the shrines have been removed. And no longer are there altars and sacrifices, and sorceries, and those practicing the mockeries of deceit. But all things have ceased because of Christ, and the light of truth has dawned upon those on the earth and the rising sun of righteousness, brightening the hearts of those who believe in him. In that day they will sing this song in the land of Judea, saying: Behold, a strong city, and he will set up our salvation as a wall and a rampart.

15 For when the Moabitess has been trodden down, that is, when the worship of idols has been completely abolished, according to the meaning already given, those freed from deceit, and having passed through to the light of truth, opening the eye of the mind, will recognize- they will sing, he says, to the creator of all things and Lord, Savior and Redeemer, the one through whom are all things, and in whom are all things, the one who for our sake has come down into our condition. And striking this very song and melody as if from a lyre, giving glory they will say: Behold, a strong city, and our salvation. For truly our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the hope in him, is like some city with the strongest towers and completely impregnable. For he receives those fleeing the greed of the devil, and taking them in, he saves them. For this reason indeed he also said that, "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Therefore, a strong city, and salvation, is the Savior of all, a city having a wall and a surrounding wall, that is, all security. For the cities which are very well fortified, and do not have a simple enclosure, but are strengthened in addition to the great wall by another outwork. And it is fitting again for those offering up the song to say concerning the Church of our Savior, this:

16 Behold, a strong city and our salvation. For the gates of Hades will not prevail against it, according to the voice of the Savior; for it is girded as with a kind of double wall by both the assistance from the holy angels, and indeed by that from above and from God who is a surrounding wall. For the strength of the holy spirits is also from him, since he himself and he alone is the Lord of all powers. But it must be known that in the holy Scriptures Judah is sometimes called Christ, as having been born from the tribe of Judah, at least according to the voice of Jacob saying: "Judah, your brothers will praise you. Therefore, on the land of Judah is that which is sung. For the Church is the city of Christ. Open the gates, let the people enter who keep righteousness, and who keep truth, taking hold of truth, and keeping peace; for in you we have hoped, O Lord, forever. Since those throughout the whole earth have already come to know our Lord Jesus Christ and have confessed that he will be a strong city and salvation, having a wall and a surrounding wall, then, necessarily, the Holy Spirit commands the holy mystagogues, I mean, both apostles and evangelists, saying through the voice of the prophet: Open the gates; that is, widen for those who are willing the entrance through faith, the path through the blameless initiation, and let the people enter who keep righteousness, and who keep truth.

17 For the divine and evangelical, and saving proclamation teaches the believers the righteousness that is beyond the law, and to be steadfast in the keeping of truth. For it no longer introduces worship in types and shadows, just as indeed the old law did, but that in spirit and in truth, and this is the truth. And it takes hold of truth. For it yearns, as I said, not for the things in shadows, but for the things through Christ who is the truth. And they also keep peace. How, or in what way? For having been received completely by Christ, and having abolished that ancient enmity; for wandering he was separated from him; he will be an unshaken worshiper. And to fulfill this the blessed Paul persuades us, writing: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For we were at war with God, worshiping creation and being held by the passions of the flesh. But we are called friends and peaceful to him alone, saying: Lord, besides you we know no other. We name your name, and in addition to this, having bound on like a crown the exceptional life and evangelical citizenship, the boasts concerning such things might reasonably be said through the voice of the saints to God, that in you we have hoped, O Lord, forever. For they will not cease from their hope in God, but rather will boast in him continually.

18 O great God, the eternal one, who, having humbled them, brought down those dwelling in high places; you will cast down strong cities, and you will bring them down to the ground. And the feet of the meek, and the steps of the humble will tread upon them. On matters exceedingly marveled at, it is the custom for the holy prophets to bring offerings of thanks to God who rules over all, and as it were to leap up from exceeding joy. This would be a clear demonstration of the highest genuineness for them. For they rejoice greatly seeing the glory of God widened, and those who envy it removed from the midst; I mean, of course, the unclean demons, and in addition to these, Satan; whom he also compares to strong cities, and affirmed that they dwell in high places. For there is in them always a somehow high and arrogant mindset, so that they rise up even against the hand of God, and think that having fiercely stumbled, they will be harmed in nothing, but will reign forever over those on the earth. But You, he says, are also the only God, the great, eternal one; and from the deeds themselves you have shown this; for having humbled them, you brought down those dwelling in high places. That is, you shook the strength of the proud, being high and arrogant you brought them down to the earth, and as they were strong cities, you demolished them from their foundations. For this is the meaning of "to the ground.

19 And you have given them to be trodden underfoot by the feet of the meek, and the humble. And who are these again, but the genuine guardians of the Savior’s ordinances? Those who are zealous to imitate their own Master who cries out and says: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. And we remember Him saying again: "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. For the apostate dragon has been trodden down; and we have stepped on the asp and the basilisk, we who wish to dwell in the help of the Most High, and have come under the protection of the God of heaven, that is, of Christ, for he is worshiped in heaven; "For when," it says, "He brings the firstborn into the world, he says: And let all the angels of God worship him. The way of the pious has become straight, and the way of the pious has been prepared. For the way of the Lord is judgment. We have hoped in your name, and in the remembrance which our soul desired. The blessed prophet Jeremiah, makes mention of the evangelical way of life, and of righteousness in Christ, saying to the lovers of truth:

20 "Stand by the roads, and ask for the eternal paths of the Lord, and see which is the good way, and walk in it, and you will find purification for your souls. For the paths and ways of the Lord are the words of the holy prophets, and of the commandment through Moses, the foretelling as in shadow and types of the mystery concerning Christ. Therefore, by searching these paths we learn the good way, that is, the way of life in Christ; having walked in it with our souls, we shall find true purification through the spirit. Therefore he says the way of the pious has become straight; for how is it not straight and smooth, and having nothing steep at all, when by speaking the word of faith we are justified, and we are enriched with the cleansing through holy baptism? And in another way the path of the pious is straight. For with the enemies destroyed, and the greed of the devil overthrown and all difficulty stripped away, what is there still to resist and be able to paralyze the lovers of piety? But see how, with the way of the pious having been smoothed, he says there will be in a way an overturning of the things in types and shadows. For he adds, not simply, "The way of the Lord is judgment"; that is, not offerings of calves, not slaughters of sheep, not cakes and incense; but rather judgment, that is, righteousness.

21 For it is the custom in the divinely-inspired Scripture to signify righteousness by the name of judgment. Just as, of course, the blessed David: "The honor," he says, "of the king loves judgment," that is, righteousness; for in honor from God and to men every kingdom loves righteousness. Therefore, the way of the Lord is judgment. And again he brings in, rejoicing greatly, those who will walk this straight way; for they say that, We have hoped in your name, and in the remembrance which our soul desired. For all our hope is in Christ, whom we also always remember, having this desire, that through it we have been saved. From the night my spirit rises early to you, O God, because your commandments are a light upon the earth. He calls "night" the time before the incarnation of the Lord; and "dawn" the prophetic foreknowledge; and "true light" the Gospel of the sun of righteousness, Christ, which also is commanded to be learned by all the earth. For he says that learning comes not from nature, like seeing or walking, but from diligence and care. But he who has not learned will be taken from the living, and he will not see the glory of Christ. Those who say, We have hoped in your name, and in the remembrance which our soul desired, necessarily add this also.

22 For having taken the divine illumination into their minds, and having sent away the darkness of the ancient deceit, and seeing the mist of sin vanished, they offer up hymns of thanksgiving, as if from night, and saying they rise early from darkness, as the spiritual day dawns in them, and the morning star at last rises in their hearts, as it is written. To such people the divine Paul also writes, and says, "You who were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. And indeed elsewhere also: "For we are not of the night, nor of darkness, but sons of light, and sons of day. For the mind of believers is illumined by the evangelical decrees. For this reason also the divine David says, as to our Lord Jesus Christ, "Your law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. For indeed, with a kind of mist, I say, and with shadows from the letter, the law given through the all-wise Moses was made obscure. But in the evangelical proclamations, the beauty of the truth appears naked and transparent, and it brightens the mind, pouring like light into the thoughts of the devout. Learn righteousness, you who dwell on the earth. For the impious man has ceased. Whoever does not learn righteousness on the earth will not practice truth. Let the impious man be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord. Somewhere God said through the voice of a prophet: "And all shall be taught by God.

23 See, then, how in these things the discourse introduces Christ himself to us as a kind of mystagogue for those from the nations who have believed. For it was necessary, it was necessary for those who had once recognized that his commandments are a light upon the earth, to receive from him the knowledge of what is profitable. "Therefore, he says, you who dwell upon the earth, learn righteousness. And this is like that which was said through the voice of David: "Hear these things, all you nations; give ear, all you who inhabit the world. For the law in letters has instructed only Israel according to the flesh, but our Lord Jesus Christ, having spread the net of gentleness, has caught the whole world under heaven. Rightly, therefore, he also counsels those throughout the whole earth, saying that they must learn the righteousness spoken through him, that is, the evangelical righteousness. But that disobeying the words from him is not without penalty, he adds and says: For the impious man has ceased. Whoever does not learn righteousness on the earth will not practice truth, for he will depart, he says, into ruin and perdition, and will be, as it were, extinguished. For I think this is what "He has ceased" signifies. Anyone who does not accept the knowledge of evangelical righteousness, and whoever does not do the truth. And again in these things he calls "truth" the power of the life in Christ, and the worship and service in spirit and in truth.

24 For since the law has a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, it was not truth. But Christ and his decrees would rightly be understood as righteousness and truth. I think it is necessary to say this also: Christ has become for us righteousness from the Father, and besides this, He is also truth. Learn, therefore, righteousness, he says, and truth; that is, know the true Son and the creator and Lord of all. For every impious man will be taken away and removed from the midst, that he may not see the glory of the Lord. Such is what was proclaimed by Christ himself to the peoples of the Jews: "Amen, amen I say to you, that if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. And again: "He who believes in the Son is not judged, but he who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God; But he who has once been condemned, and has died in his own sins, how could he see the glory of the Lord? For he will not be with Christ, and having in no way shared in the glory from him, he will not see the inheritance of the saints. Lord, your arm is high, and they did not know it; but when they know, they will be ashamed. Jealousy will seize an uninstructed people, and now fire will devour the adversaries.

25 While God threatens those who do not learn righteousness, and those who do not do the truth, according to the words just now rendered by us, the prophet comes to a recollection of Israel’s ignorance and disobedience. For the creator of all, God the Word, the all-powerful arm of the Father, through whom all things were brought into being, existing in the form and equality of the Father, submitted himself to a voluntary emptying, and humbled himself, as it is written, becoming man, that he might justify those on the earth, clearly through faith in himself; and he worked things beyond reason, and through the magnificence of the things done, he deemed it worthy to be known that he is both God and from God by nature, saying: "If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works. But although they became beholders of such wonders, and hearers of his words, they remained hard and unadmonished, and rather had an unbridled mouth. For they have dared to impiously call him a Samaritan, and a drunkard and a carpenter's son, and things even more odious than these. Therefore, having foreknown these things through the torch-bearing of the Spirit, the prophet makes his address to the Father and God in heaven, and says, Lord, your arm is high, and they did not know it. For by the worth of his own pre-eminence, and as in glory befitting God, he is great and high;

26 and indeed the arm of the Father is also all-powerful, that is, God the Word through whom all things were made. But since he appeared in the flesh, they have been ignorant of his glory. Nevertheless, they will be ashamed, he says, if they should learn that he is clearly the life-giving Word of God. But in what way did they learn? For they killed the author of salvation, and they denied the Holy One of Israel, just as the divine Peter says. But since Christ, having broken the bonds of death, rose again on the third day, and the leaders of the Jews especially knew this, then indeed, then they were also ashamed, and fearing lest the mystery of the resurrection should somehow be proclaimed to all, they gave sufficient silver to the soldiers, as it is written, so that they might say that "His disciples came by night and stole him. But they will be ashamed in another way also. For when they see him at the end of the age coming in the glory of the Father with the angels, then they will also have unutterable shame, being sons of the bride-chamber on account of the fathers, for theirs are the promises, and the lawgiving, and the covenant, but being sent into the outer darkness. He rightly, therefore, calls them an uninstructed people, and says that jealousy will seize them, and that fire will devour the adversaries.

27 For since they have been sent away, and have been cast out from the hope in Christ, and have been shown to be strangers to the promises, while the Gentiles have been accepted, for this reason they are consumed with jealousy, and as if by fire being consumed, the wretched ones, that is, continue to be so by envy. Something of this sort is also written in the songs concerning those of the blood of Israel, that "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a nation; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. Lord our God, give us peace, for you have rendered all things to us; Lord our God, possess us. Lord, besides you we know no other; we name your name. It is the custom of the holy prophets to make supplications on behalf of Israel, for they were lovers of God, and very well adorned with boasts of piety. But since they have sprung from the root of Abraham and from the blood of the holy fathers, they are necessarily sad for those of the same race from Israel, seeing them perish because of their impiety toward Christ. For this reason, then, the blessed prophet Isaiah now comes forward, saying: "Lord our God, give us peace; for you have rendered all things to us.

28 For if you would grant us peace, he says, we shall be full of every good thing, and we have had the most perfect participation in the gifts from you. And it is necessary to see what peace they ask for; for either they ask for Christ Himself; for He is our peace, according to the Scriptures, and through Him we have been joined to the Father, through kinship, that is, the spiritual one. Or at least they say that. For those who have not yet believed, and have the indelible stain of sin, are separated from God, and are rightly considered in the rank of enemies, and they have a proud neck, and fight against the laws of the Master. But those who are obedient and well-reined, and ready for whatever pleases them, are most beloved and have peace with him. But this thing is truly God-given, and comes through generosity from above. Grant us therefore, O Master, to be at peace with you, and, with profane and abominable sin removed from our midst, to be united with you spiritually through Christ the mediator. Such is what is rightly said through the voice of Paul: "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," when this has happened, we shall be a possession and an inheritance of God. For this reason it is wisely added, "Lord, possess us; besides you we know no other, we name your name.

29 For those who are at peace with him must be single-minded, and yoked to God alone, so as to know him alone, and not even to bear on the tongue the name of another completely falsely named God. For one must name him alone, because he alone is over us God by nature and in truth. Such a thing the law of the all-wise Moses also proclaimed to us, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve, and in his name. Amen. But the dead shall not see life, nor shall physicians raise them up. For this reason you have brought on, and destroyed, and taken away every male of theirs. Add evils to them, Lord, add evils to all the glorious ones of the earth. Those who only know the God who is by nature and in truth, and who name his name, and who count absolutely no one with him, and who for this reason say, "Lord, besides you we know no other," necessarily connect this with "The dead shall not see life," that is, again, "apart from you. For the creator and Lord of all, being life by nature, gives life to all things, and in him we move and have our being. But neither shall physicians, he says, raise them up; "apart from you" obviously following this as well. For all things are from God for us, and he himself has made medicines from the earth, according to what is written.

30 As far, therefore, as it pertains to the letter, I say, and to the readily available and obvious meaning, the rendering of the thoughts would rightly be thus, and not otherwise. But since it is necessary to go according to the sense of the saying, and to lay bare the aim of the prophetic precision, we necessarily say this: there are some who are dead, not at all in the flesh, but rather deadened by worldly love of pleasure, and not having the holy life which is in Christ and angelic. But outside of you, he says, such men would not partake of life, that is, of the life-giving grace. And again, outside of you, those who are able to free those caught in spiritual sicknesses, who would rightly be considered spiritual physicians, could not raise any of the sick. And we say that the spiritual physicians are the holy prophets, apostles, and evangelists; who through grace from above, and the supply of the Spirit, being rich in the word that is able to heal, they treat those wounded by both sin and the wickedness of the devil. And it is likely that the prophetic word hints at something else for us; for our Lord Jesus Christ, showing himself to be of equal power and equal glory with the one who begot him, raised the dead from their tombs, and healed those in the final stages of diseases. But although he was the doer of such wondrous deeds, he was not honored by those who had seen them;

31 and the leaders and teachers of the Jews especially persecuted him in this way. Since, therefore, he says, outside of you the dead would not see life, for you are the only one who is able to give life, nor could a physician raise from the tombs those whom you yourself raised; and yet even after this they disbelieved, and have raged uncontrollably, they whom it was fitting, even before others, to be believers; for this reason you brought upon them, and destroyed, and took away every male of theirs. For you brought your wrath upon them, which necessarily cut down not all of Israel root and branch; for the remnant was saved; but every male of theirs, that is, the ruling order. For the male is most dominant compared to the female. And perhaps he calls males those who were, as it were, the more vigorous of the Jews, not in terms of bodily strength, but rather in knowledge of the legal commandments, such is what was said by God to one of the prophets: "I will go to the great ones, and I will speak to them. And behold, with one accord they broke the yoke, they tore apart the bonds, that the prominent and more sacred element among the Jews is rightly declared wretched, and has drawn down upon itself a more violent wrath, Christ himself will make clear, saying: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

32 For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. And again: "And woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering. Therefore, the male is rightly punished, that is, that which is in pre-eminence and honor. And as those in spiritual manliness then came to the knowledge according to the law, to whom he wishes evils to be added. For not only have they fallen away from intimacy with God by having insulted Christ, but they have also been consumed by famine, and have fallen into the calamities resulting from it, their land having been ravaged and completely overthrown. And those whom he called males, he also calls glorious, as being clearly distinguished and set above the others, on account of being crowned with the boasts of the priesthood. All their male, God-given and allied, but by evils he means the things that cause evil, that is, the wraths sent by God, famines, plagues, wars, and things like these. And by glorious, those conspicuous in evils, and renowned in powers. Lord, in tribulation we remembered you, in a small tribulation was your discipline for us. And as a woman in labor draws near to giving birth, and in her pain she cried out, so have we become for your beloved.

33 Moved by a very great love for God against the audacious acts of the Jews, the blessed prophet, having said, "Add evils to all the glorious ones of the earth," lest anyone be thought harsh and severe for not rather exhorting to pity the sinners, but for them to be in tribulation and evils, he necessarily added what naturally happens to all, I mean, the habit of remembering the all-powerful God in tribulation and necessities. For the breadth of cheerfulness sometimes relaxes them towards contempt, and, so to speak, they do not even perceive their sins, having slipped into this state of mind from too much indolence. But affliction, as it were, drives them to God, and brings them to an awareness of their transgressions. Therefore, for this reason, he says, I said, Add evils to the glorious ones of the earth, since it is common for all to remember you then especially, and to consider your things, and to be mindful, when they share in misfortunes. For we are disciplined in a little affliction, God not inflicting an unmixed or completely harsh punishment, but rather blending His anger with gentleness. Therefore, it was not of one hating sinners to ask for affliction to be brought upon them, but rather of one loving them and asking for them to be disciplined; so that since from their own choice they have not had piety as a fruit, they might at least be turned to it as if by necessity, being called to awareness by the divine wrath.

34 Such, I think, is that which was rightly spoken through the voice of David: "With bit and bridle you must curb their jaws, of those who do not draw near to you. But they, having sinned unbearably, and having treated Christ with drunken violence, will fall into affliction. But we, who are yours and are mindful of your things and speak them, have been disposed no differently toward your beloved, that is, the Son; just as, for sure, and like a woman in labor, having cried out, as it were, against those dishonoring them, and being greatly pained because of this, and making a great accusation against those who disobey him. And what they say is true. and indeed, the blessed Isaiah himself, rebuking the foul-mouthed speech of the Jews, which they made against Christ, says: "But you," "come here, you lawless sons; seed of adulterers and a prostitute, in what have you reveled, and against whom have you opened your mouth, and against whom have you let loose your tongue? Are you not children of destruction, a lawless seed? And indeed, the blessed David says somewhere concerning them: "Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bend their back forever. And very many such words have been spoken by the holy prophets against the synagogue of the Jews, because of their impiety toward Christ.

35 Because of your fear, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb, and have been in travail, and have brought forth a spirit of salvation, which we have brought to birth upon the earth. Those who say, out of love for God, that they have become like a woman in labor for the beloved of the Father, that is, clearly, the Son, adhering intelligently to the figure of speech, say that they have both been in labor and indeed have conceived in the womb, and have brought forth the spirit of salvation upon the earth. Such a saying would be fitting, as I said, for prophets and holy apostles and evangelists who, being enriched with the supply of the mystagogy from above and receiving, as it were, certain intelligible seeds, have brought forth for those on the earth a spirit of salvation, that is, the teaching in the spirit, which is also the cause of life for the ages. For it is the custom of divine Scripture to often call the writings of certain people "spirit. "And indeed, test," it says, "the spirits to see if they are from God. For the saving proclamation is always spoken in the Holy Spirit, or else, in a worldly spirit, whatever things fight against the truth. For indeed the divine Paul writes concerning himself and the other saints: "But we have not received the spirit of this world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

36 Therefore, they call the evangelical proclamation a spirit of salvation. For it leads to unending life and to a long-lasting existence. We shall not fall, but they who dwell upon the earth shall fall. The dead shall arise, and those in the tombs shall be raised, and those in the earth shall rejoice. For the dew that is from you is a healing for them. But the land of the impious shall fall. Truly admirable is the vigilance of the saints. For they always somehow consider what seems to be opposed, in the words they might use to us. Therefore, since they said they had brought forth a spirit of salvation for those on the earth, but they see death still prevailing even after this over those on earth, as if someone were saying: What is the benefit to us of the divine proclamations? And where is the spirit of salvation? For those on earth are falling; they necessarily bring forward the defense, and indeed they say, The dead will rise, by the grace of God, as the blessed Paul says; Our Lord Jesus Christ tasted death for everyone, but He rose on the third day, and became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, and the root of those who through Him are refashioned unto life, and, as it were, the beginning of human nature putting off corruption; and we have been enriched in unshakeable hopes with life eternal.

37 It is established that in every way and altogether the dead will rise again, and the power of death will be completely abolished; but the time is not yet present in which the resurrection is; for the time being human nature is subject to the necessity of dying. And for the time being it endures the death that has been weakened in Christ, and which at times will be weak even in us ourselves. Will that, he says, be set against our words, that is, our saving proclamations, the fact that those on earth still fall? And what is this? Absolutely nothing. For the dead will rise again, and the bodies in the earth and tombs will return to life. And what, again, might be the manner of this? The dew from you is a healing for them. And in these things they have come to call 'dew' the life-giving energy and power of the spirit, through which the blessed David said the dead would be raised. For he somewhere sings to God, and says: "For when you turn your face away, they will be troubled, and will return to their dust. You will send forth Your Spirit, and they will be created, and You will renew the face of the earth. Therefore, the life-giving dew is the Spirit from the Father through the Son, instilling incorruptibility even in the bodies from the earth.

38 But while those who have fallen in the earth will rise again, the land of the impious will fall, and this happened to the land of the Jews; for they have acted insolently towards Christ, and towards the holy mystagogues, although they brought forth the spirit of salvation for those on the earth. Go, my people, enter into your chambers, shut your door, hide yourself for a very little while, until the wrath of the Lord has passed by. For behold, the Lord from His holy place brings His wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth. And the earth will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain. The person of God is introduced to us in these words, anointing the mind of the saints for patient suffering. For since they were about, while producing the spirit of salvation both for those of the blood of Israel and for those throughout the whole world under heaven, that is, while ministering the evangelical proclamation, to fall into terrible and unbearable trials, and to endure danger itself to soul and blood; for this very reason and quite fittingly He persuades them to love to be bold against such things, saying: Go, my people, enter into your chambers. And most cleverly and very reverently He perhaps calls the chambers the tombs in the earth; and indeed He shuts the doors for them as for those who are truly hidden, and bids them endure in secret for a short while, until the wrath of the Lord has passed by.

39 For it was said to the beginning of our race, that is, to Adam: "You are earth, and to earth you shall return; and human nature was accursed because of the transgression; for this very reason it has been subjected to corruption. But the things brought on by divine wrath will be loosed, and this completely at the time of the consummation, when death is abolished, the tyranny of the devil destroyed, and sin cast into the pit. Therefore, hide yourself, He says, O my people, and endure for a short and very little while, until death, which is from the Lord's wrath, passes by, and the time of the resurrection of all is revealed. For even if you should happen to suffer death, He says, with the wickedness of those who hate inflicting this also upon the holy mystagogues, yet the Master of all will bring punishment upon those to those who have killed the saints. For the Lord brings wrath from the Holy One upon those who dwell upon the earth. This is similar to that: "For the Lord rained from the Lord upon Sodom fire and brimstone. Therefore the Son from the Holy [ηυμφρεδ. of the Father] Spirit will bring wrath upon those who dwell upon the earth. For as he himself somewhere says: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.

40 But when the time comes, in which wrath will be brought upon those who have committed unholy acts against the sanctified ones, the earth will reveal her blood, and will not hide the slain, that is, all blood that has fallen to earth, this will be made manifest, no one will be hidden, that is, he of the wronged will have truly passed away. For the Creator will remember all, and there will be absolutely no one of those unjustly slain who will not be known, and in the memory of God. In that day God will bring the holy, and the great, and the strong sword, upon the dragon, the fleeing serpent, upon the dragon, the crooked serpent, and will slay the dragon. Having stated very well that wrath would be brought upon the impious, and upon those who killed them, he said that Satan himself would also be destroyed along with his own children; yielding to whose stratagems, those who opposed the preachings from them made war on the saints. For at that time, he says, in which the earth will reveal her blood, the Father will bring the holy and sharpest and great sword, the all-powerful and invincible one, that is, the only-begotten Word, upon the dragon, the fleeing serpent; upon the dragon, the crooked serpent, and will slay the dragon. He names Satan both dragon and serpent. For he is bitter and venomous, and in addition to this, cowardly. For it is his custom always to flee. But he is terrible and a lover of evil-doing.

41 For he runs a crooked course like the beast, but he will be destroyed; for indeed he will henceforth be inactive, or rather he will pay the price for his unholiness, enduring the ultimate penalty, and being held in the gates of Hades, and enduring as a work of the eternal flame a long and unending punishment. In that day a beautiful vineyard, a desire to sing about it. I am a strong city, a besieged city; in vain I will water it. For it will be captured by night, and by day the wall will fall. Having very well completed the discourse concerning those ensnared through faith, and having stated most clearly that they will be anointed with myrrh, and will drink wine on the holy mountain of our Savior of all, Christ; and we say the mountain is the Church; and having added that there will also be vengeance for those slain on account of piety, and indeed that by the holy, and great sword the apostate dragon will be utterly and entirely destroyed, he brings the discourse back to the things that happened out of ignorance to those of the blood of Israel. For at that time, he says, in which they will make faith in Christ unacceptable; I am the beautiful vineyard, of which one might say the desire is to sing; I am the strong city; for the discourse is thus composed as if from Jerusalem; I will be a besieged city.

42 Then the prophet introduces to us the person of God, saying, that In vain I will water it. For if Israel became, he says, a fruitful vine, according to the voice of Jeremiah, yet it produced thorns, and made the exhortation through the law useless for itself. In vain therefore has he both watered it through the old law, and even if he should still water it through the evangelical preaching, it will remain thus unprofitable. What then happened to it from this? It will be captured by night, and by day the wall will fall. For since he named it a strong city, and yet a besieged one, in accordance with the sequence of thoughts he says that it is captured, and indeed he insisted that the wall will also fall. But to be captured by night and for the wall to fall by day, seems to indicate something of this sort. For it has been taken, that is, it has been sacked, as if having come to be in mist and darkness for not enduring Christ saying, "While you have the light, walk in the light, so that the darkness does not overtake you. But since they have continued to care little for the words from him, the wretched ones were overtaken as in darkness. For sin overpowered them. And this was then what was said to them by the voice of Christ: "Amen I say to you, if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.

43 Therefore it was captured, and has remained in sins; and a wall has fallen as in the day, that is, clearly and manifestly, it has been deprived of the protection from God. The blessed prophet Isaiah says something like this also at the beginning: "For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth is the man of Judah, a beloved new plant. I waited for it to make grapes, but it made thorns. Then he adds: "And 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 on it as on barren land, and I will command the clouds not to rain rain upon it. Do you see how true is what I said, that is, I will water her in vain. For he has no longer given the spiritual rain to those of Israel; and he broke down its hedge, and in addition to this, the wall. And by hedge, perhaps, he calls the assistance from the angels; but by wall, indeed, impregnable and firm, the protection of his own power. For mountains, it says, are round about it, and the Lord is round about his people.

44 And if it says, "has fallen," it does not in any way indicate that it was also carried away, but rather that it has been taken away. For Israel has remained without help, and completely without a share of the mercy and love from above. There is not one that has not laid hold of her. Who will set me to guard stubble in a field? Because of this enemy I have rejected her. The land of the Jews has indeed been besieged after the cross of the Savior. And those gathered from every nation, that is, the all-powerful army of the Romans, rose up manfully against the nation of the Jews. And it has been sacked in another way, spiritually, that is, and hiddenly; for it has been given for trampling to the unclean spirits. For if it has been deprived of the hedge, and the wall that saved it has been taken away, how could anyone doubt that it has become pasture for the spiritual beasts? And this was then what was said about it by the voice of David to Christ the Savior of all: "Why have you broken down its hedge, and all who pass by the way pluck it? A boar from the wood has ravaged it; and a wild ass has fed on it. For indeed through these it signifies the manifold passions by which the mind of the Jews is held captive; the ass signifying utmost irrationality; and pleasure, indeed, the boar.

45 That it has therefore become easily captured by everyone wishing to ravage it, this he teaches, saying: There is not one that has not laid hold of her, for there is no hand, that is, power, either of men or of wicked spirits, which has not laid hold of her. But, O Master, someone might perhaps say; for were you not saving as your own people, were you not guarding it, and were you not the all-powerful wall. Yes, he says, I have both guarded and protected with my own grace and strength; but it was necessary to be guarded then, when it had fruit from the law. But since henceforth it was brought down to this, he says, of wretchedness and of spiritual indolence, so as to have no fruit from virtue; and it resembles bare and fruitless stubble; who will set me to guard it? For what is the benefit from security, if it has become desolate of good fruits? Who then will persuade me? For this the "will set" indicates: to guard stubble in a field. But how it has come to this misery he explains, saying: Because of this enemy I have rejected her. In these things he points out Jerusalem, almost with a finger. And since, he says, it has become most hostile to me, for this very reason and very rightly I have rejected her.

46 Not another, then, to become an enemy to himself, he says, and to reject again another, but rather Jerusalem herself he shows as an enemy, and says she is rejected, having been cast out, clearly, from her spiritual intimacy with him. For he said to her: "How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. Therefore, for this reason the Lord God has done all that he commanded. I am burned, all who dwell in her will cry out. For since she has become an enemy, he says, and has stood against the one who saves, and has warred as against an enemy with the one who calls to life, for this reason all that he commanded, that is, what he determined and willed to be, he has brought to completion. And what are these things? To be rejected, certainly, to no longer have the spiritual rain. To endure the siege, to be in want of benevolence and protection from above. For she has been burned and brought to complete uselessness. And I am burned, all who dwell in her, he says, will cry out. And if anyone should wish to approach the matter more historically, he will find Jerusalem to have been burned down. But if in another way, the burning in these things signifies utter uselessness.

47 And the destruction completely cast upon the Jews, with the divine wrath all but consuming them, and showing them to be as dust and ashes. The divine prophet Jeremiah also says something like this concerning Jerusalem: "The Lord called your name a beautiful olive tree, shady in appearance; at the sound of its pruning a fire was kindled upon it, great is the tribulation upon it. Its branches have become useless. For to depart from God and to be utterly bereft of his grace and help makes the soul of man completely useless. "For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," and as Moses says, "Our God is a consuming fire. Let us make peace with him, let us who are coming make peace, children of Jacob. Israel will bud and blossom, and the world will be filled with its fruit. Since the Jews had renounced love and faith in Christ the Savior of all, as the beloved one had spurned them, and had transferred the call to the Gentiles, and Christ was drawing in those from the ends of the earth through the holy apostles, the blessed prophet appears as a wise counselor to the peoples from everywhere, and says to them: Israel has departed, the firstborn has kicked back, he denies the faith, he has acted impiously toward the redeemer; but we who are coming, that is, we who are about to come in due time;

48 and we will certainly come as from darkness to light, from Hellenic ignorance to the knowledge of the one who is truly God, from sins to justification; let us make peace with him, that is, having destroyed the ancient enmity, let us be at peace with God. For with sin having been destroyed and Satan rendered powerless, and with nothing any longer hindering, that separates and divides us from Christ, let us consent to his decrees; let us follow what he may both wish and say, let us submit our neck to the Evangelical proclamations; for thus we will make peace with him. The all-wise Paul also says something of this sort to those called from the Gentiles: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Having exhorted, then, those who are coming, concerning whom the blessed David also said: "The coming generation will be told of the Lord," he transfers his discourse to the holy apostles themselves that they will win for God the world under heaven, having understood, or rather learned through the Holy Spirit, he leaps up in a way, and says from exceedingly great joy: The children of Jacob will bud, and Israel will blossom, and will be filled the the world of his fruit. For the divine disciples were born from the blood of Jacob, who was also renamed Israel.

49 But since from east to west, and to all the earth their sound went out, and to the ends of the world their words, the multitude of the nations has been called to knowledge, and as the word of the prophecy says, the world was filled with his fruit. And of whom, then? Or clearly of Israel, that is, of those from the blood of Israel. For those who believed are the fruits of apostolic labors; and the divine Paul called them joy and a crown; for truly a boast and glory of the holy mystagogues are those saved through them. Shall he be smitten as he himself smote, or shall he be slain as he himself slew? Fighting and rebuking he shall send them away. The meaning of the proposed texts follows very closely what has been said; and in what manner, we will say as best we can. For we said that the children of Jacob will sprout and blossom, and the world will be filled with his fruit. But as if someone were rising up and saying: And yet Israel has acted impiously in no small measure; for he has become hard and intractable, and has killed saints, and attacked every righteous man and prophet, and has his hand filled with blood; then how will he blossom again, and, as if nothing amiss had happened, the world be filled with his fruit? To such things, then, the prophet says: Shall he be smitten as he himself smote? Or shall he be slain as he himself slew?

50 For, he says, he used unbridled wrath against the saints, and with unbridled impulses he slew them, as one who knew not how to pity in any way. Will therefore the fount of gentleness use against them angers of equal weight and justice of equal measure, and thus slay them as they themselves have slain the saints? Or will he rather conquer as God, and not utterly cut off the one beloved and formerly chosen for the fathers' sake? Something of this sort is what was said by God through one of the holy prophets: "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? I will make them as Admah and as Zeboim, my heart is turned within me. My repentance is stirred up. I will not act according to the anger of my wrath. I will not abandon Ephraim to be wiped out, because I am God, and not man; the Holy One in your midst. For it was necessary, it was necessary for one who is God, and not a man like us, both to excel in gentleness, and just as he is by nature beyond every created thing, so to be above and to surpass what is on earth, I mean, in regard to philanthropy. Therefore Israel shall blossom, and the world will be filled with his fruit, according to the argument already previously given.

51 For he will not be slain, he says, as he himself slew, nor indeed will he be smitten in an equal manner, even if he himself, sharpened by savage wrath, smote the saints. What then is the measure of the movement against them? Fighting, he says, and rebuking he shall send them away; understanding "He shall send them away" instead of, He will send them away from intimacy with himself. This the Savior has done; for he has made Israel an outcast. Both fighting and rebuking, and we should take "Fighting" as "reprimanding. For reprimanding the Jews, and indeed rebuking them, the Savior said: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her; how often I wanted to gather your children together, in the way a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For this was nothing other than his insisting that his departure from them would not be long in coming. When this happened, Israel perished, although the remnant was saved, just as Isaiah himself says: "And if the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved. Were you not he who with a harsh spirit meditated to slay them with a spirit of wrath? See the prophet in these things, in a manner befitting a saint speaking with boldness, and convicting Israel that it had warred against holy ones;

52 and it made it a practice, that is, using a spirit that was, as it were, harsh and savage to slay them, and to unleash an untamable mindset upon them. If, therefore, he says, I were to say that he himself slew, and he himself struck, from where would the matter be a falsehood? Rather, what has been said will be revealed as true. For were you not, O Israel, the one practicing, that is, accustomed to be called, as I said, harsh in spirit, and to attack like a beast those sent from God? And if you should deny it, he says, I will bring forward as a witness the judge of all things. For Christ said somewhere to them: "Which of the prophets did your fathers not kill? For it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. Therefore the iniquity of Jacob shall be taken away, and this is his blessing, when I take away his sin, when they make all the stones of the altars broken in pieces like fine dust, and their trees shall not remain, and their idols are cut down like a distant forest. The blessed prophet, having rubbed in the midst of it the refutation against those who acted impiously toward the holy prophets, again takes up the sequence of thoughts, and says as from the person of God: Therefore the iniquity of Jacob will be removed. Therefore. What?

53 For since he will not be slain as he himself slew, nor yet will he be struck as he himself struck, since the tranquility inherent in God always conquers human pettiness, and since He does not in every way and altogether bring judgments equal to the transgressions on earth, but rather tempers His anger with gentleness. For this reason he says: The iniquity of Jacob will be removed, that is, he will obtain loving-kindness, and at the proper times He will forgive him his accusations, and will deliver him even from the charges themselves; and this is his blessing. For He promised to Abraham, saying: "Indeed I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply your seed. But the divine Abraham would not in truth have been blessed, nor would his seed have been multiplied, if those of his blood had demanded judgments analogous to their sins. But since, although they had done nothing good, but rather had descended to the uttermost impiety, they too have been enriched with forgiveness, the substance of the blessing has been kept and has passed on to them. When therefore, he says, I take away his sin, this will be the manner of the blessing for him. And he makes clear the time when he himself will also be free from his transgressions.

54 For when, he says, those called through faith to the knowledge of the truly existing God campaign against the ancient error, when altars, and sacred precincts, and the swarm of idols are removed from the midst, when they consume with fire the temples crafted for lifeless idols; when they cut down their trees, and in addition to these the handmade things, just like a forest; then indeed, then God will forgive even those of Israel their transgressions. And this, I think, is what the divine Paul said clearly: "But when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved. For to completely burn down temples, and to cut down the groves planted beside them, and to add also the destruction of the statues themselves, would signify nothing other than this in every way, that for those who formerly wandered, and who worshipped the works of their own hands, there will be a change to the knowledge of truth, so that they come to such a love for God, as to even lay hands on what was formerly worshipped by them, and to cut down the gods of wood just like a forest. The inhabited flock shall be let loose, as a flock that is left behind, and for a long time it shall be for pasture, and there they shall rest, and after a time there shall not be in it anything green, because it has withered.

55 He names Israel the inhabited flock because it had very many and good shepherds, and almost, and to have as cohabitants those who know how to direct them to everything that is praiseworthy. Therefore he was not in need of good shepherds, but it will be, he says, left to itself; and what "left to itself" is, he himself immediately clarified, saying: As a flock left behind, that is, bereft of every overseer and guardian. When this has happened, it will be laid out for long periods of time for pasture. For they will be pastured on by intelligible and most mighty beasts, that is, Satan and the evil powers with him and under him. For with no one scaring away from the human heart the attacks of evil demons, it will be easily captured, and will carelessly depart to whatever seems good to them. But if one must say something consistent with historical events, they have become pasture after the cross of the Savior, and of the Roman army. For it lodged and rested among them like a strong calf; but after a short time has passed, he says, there will not be anything green in it because it has dried up, that is, they will so devour the land that it will be revealed to be dry and no longer having pasture.

56 And this is a clear proof that those who ravage it will not depart from their land before they have, so to speak, eaten everything useful in it, even down to the most exceedingly worthless things, and made it their own possession. The same argument would apply, even if someone chose to say that the unclean demons have pastured on the hearts of the Jews like calves; for they devoured them to such an extent that they were perhaps even at a loss for more pasture, because nothing good was left in them any longer, which is naturally consumed by them. Women coming from a sight, come hither. For it is not a people that has understanding. Therefore he who made them will not pity them, nor will he who formed them have mercy on them. Having said that the inhabited flock will be left to itself, and that it will become pasture, and will be set out for grazing, according to the arguments already given, since Israel was already outside the intimacy with God because of their impiety toward Christ and of the first covenant, and the customs according to the law had ceased, he commanded the holy women to announce the resurrection of our Savior, whom Matthew also mentions, saying thus: "Now late on the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake. And when they were very afraid, the blessed angel said to them:

57 Do not be afraid. For I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified; he is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. And after the angel's words, behold, Jesus met them, saying: Greetings. And they came and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus says to them: Do not be afraid, go tell my disciples to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. Therefore, with Israel being cast off, you wise women, he says, come, and very swiftly announce the resurrection of him who killed death, and abolished corruption, and justifies sinners by faith, and frees from defilements those caught in them, of him who reshapes into newness of life those who approach him, of him who showed the new life to those on earth, that is, the evangelical life, and stopped the inactivity of the worship in the law, but illumined the truth, and made the way of worship in spirit and in truth clear to those who revere him. Come, therefore. For Israel has fallen from hope. For it is not a people that has understanding. For its heart has been hardened, and it has remained in darkness, and has been held by the mist of sin. For it was not willing to pay attention to Christ saying:

58 "While you have the light, walk in the light, lest darkness overtake you. But I say it is necessary to marvel at the economy of the Savior, even in the case of these all-wise women. For someone might say, I think: Were there not holy disciples, for whom it was perhaps even better, since they were ministers of the divine doctrines, and before all others, to proclaim the resurrection? For why did not they rather first see Jesus paralyzing the power of death, but he appeared to women, and bestowing upon them the dignity of apostleship, commands them to go, and to tell the disciples that Christ was raised from the dead, and they were the first to see his glory? To such things we say that the only-begotten Word of God became man, in order to heal that which was sick, and to release man from the ancient accusations. It was necessary, therefore, it was necessary to grant to women to be the first to announce the good news of the resurrection. For since the first and more ancient woman led Adam astray into transgression, ministering to the voices of the serpent, and she became the agent of death, how was it not necessary to drive away the accusations of such terrible crimes through the apostleship? "For where sin increased," he says, "grace abounded all the more. The Gospel of salvation has been given to the woman who ministered death. For "Rejoice" was necessarily said to them by the one who imposed the curse in the beginning;

59 for he said to her: "In pain you shall bring forth children. Therefore, the first things have been undone by the second, and that which was sick has been healed. Therefore, he commands them that they must preach the good news, since Christ has departed from his love for the Jews. For since they have remained senseless and ignorant, he says, he who made them would not have mercy on them, nor would they be worthy to be pitied. And it shall be in that day, the Lord will blockade from the channel of the river to Rhinokoroura. But you shall gather the sons of Israel one by one. When Christ had been raised, and had commanded the holy apostles: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit; and indeed, when he had ascended into the heavens themselves, the things of wrath were brought upon those who had acted impiously against him, that is, wrath from above. For they were consumed by both iron and fire, when the hand of the Romans stirred up war against them, burning all their cities, and Jerusalem itself, and tearing down that famous temple. Therefore, the country of the Jews is bounded by the streams of the Euphrates as by east and south, and by what is called Rhinokoroura. And this is a city that borders both the land of the Egyptians and indeed that of the Palestinians.

60 Therefore, having named for us the borders of Judea, he affirms that the Lord will blockade all things contained within, that is, all Judea. And he has put "will blockade" instead of "will besiege," and "will afflict," and "will bring into extreme distress. For the blockading, or the shutting up, would signify an inescapable ill-treatment or calamity. And you will understand "will blockade" in another way. For the mind of the Jews is as if shut up, so that they are in no way able to receive the light of the true vision of God, nor indeed to understand the mystery of Christ, just as the blessed Paul writes: "A hardening has come upon part of Israel, and to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. And this, I think, is the blockading. And that this did not happen throughout the whole world under heaven, that is, to all the nations, but only to Judea and those in it, he showed clearly; not simply saying that the blockading happened, but "from the channel of the river to Rhinokoroura. And he says that these things will happen to the peoples of the Jews who have killed the prophets, and stoned those sent from God, and in addition have killed the Son himself. Then he changes the subject in the person of our Savior of all, Christ, who is discoursing and speaking to the holy apostles, that is, to all those who from time to time minister His Gospel, and are accustomed to initiate;

61 You gather the sons of Israel one by one. That is, let not the word be much to those entrusted with teaching, even if Israel is not seen entering in multitude; but if anyone among them be wise, let him be called through faith, and let him come one by one, and as one chosen. For the remnant of Israel has been saved. And so the divine disciples have very often addressed them, just as, for instance, the divine Peter: "And now, brothers," he says, "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 our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promises are to you, and to your children. And indeed a not insignificant multitude has been gathered in the net; however, those who came from the whole nation of the Jews were very few, and those who were saved were received as it were one by one, clearly through faith in Christ. And it shall be, in that day they will blow the great trumpet, and those who were perishing in the land of the Assyrians, and those who were perishing in Egypt will come, and they will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

62 It is a custom for the holy prophets to hide their word in some obscurity, and since those of Israel have become unbridled towards anger, to follow a middle path of thoughts, so that what is signified is often unclear. It says to sound the trumpet at that time, not others, as I think again, but the holy mystagogues, and to sound the trumpet not simply, but with the great trumpet, that is, using the evangelical proclamations to all but catechize and cry out something great and extraordinary to those on the earth. "For truly their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. For the great Moses also used a trumpet at times, but not the great one; for he was weak of voice and slow of speech, and the power of the legal proclamations was confined to the land of the Jews alone. But the divine and saving proclamation goes through every city and country, and as it were has thundered over the whole world under heaven. And something of this sort is also written in the books of Moses; "For the God of all descended in the form of fire upon Mount Sinai. And there were smoke and hailstones, and the ethereal body was blackened with a deep darkness; but also the voice, it says, of the trumpet sounded loudly. Then he adds to these, saying: And the sounds of the trumpet grew stronger and stronger.

63 For in the beginning the law of the weak voice was proclaimed, but as time went on, the sounds of the trumpet became exceedingly strong. At that time, he says, therefore with the great trumpet, that is, they will proclaim the evangelical message, gathering those who have gone astray and those who have been ranked among the captives, and pulling those caught in the snares of idolatry out of the ancient deceit. For they will come, he says, those who were perishing in the land of the Assyrians, and those who were perishing in Egypt, and they will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. He has mentioned two lands as being more superstitious than the others, that of the Assyrians, I say, and that of the Egyptians. But those who were perishing in them, he says, will come, having been called through faith to the knowledge of the Lord who truly is, and God, and they will worship him, no longer in the polluted sanctuaries, but on the holy mountain, that is, the Church, which he also names Jerusalem; a mountain, because there is nothing at all low or cast to the ground in the Churches, but it is distinguished by high and lofty doctrines. And Jerusalem because it is truly a vision of peace. Woe to the crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, the flower that has fallen from the of glory on the top of the fat mountain, those who are drunk without wine.

64 Having first declared that they will be called through faith to a knowledge of the truth, and that all who had perished, ensnared in the traps of idolatry, will worship the Lord, he transfers the discourse to the leaders of the Jews, who became the beginning and pretext of impiety against Christ for the peoples under their hand. For they did not bring them to a knowledge of the things long ago announced through both the law and the prophets, but rather, casting them into the pits of destruction, they excommunicated those who confessed that he is the Christ. For so says the divine John somewhere. Shaking, as it were, faith in him, and leading the mind of the common people away from the straight path, they called Jesus a Samaritan and a drunkard, and one born of fornication. And what is yet more impious than these things. They brought him to Pilate, and indeed they begged for him to be crucified, and they killed the author of life, as far as it was in their power, but he rose again, trampling down death; for he was life by nature as God, even though he was in the flesh. Woe therefore, he says, to the crown of pride. He calls them a crown. For they themselves were a crown, as it were, and glory of all Israel, being distinguished by the boasts of the priesthood, and having obtained the dignity of leadership.

65 But they have not remained in the glories and pre-eminences assigned to them, but rather have fallen away, having become a crown of pride. For they are clothed with dishonor and blame, and having become liable to charges of impiety, they have withered like a flower. For they themselves have also become hired men of Ephraim. And by Ephraim he means Judas, because he was from the tribe of Ephraim. Therefore, the leaders of the synagogue of the Jews hired him to serve their own bloody deeds and to hand over the Teacher. Which indeed was done. Woe therefore to the crown of pride, he says, that is, to the leaders, who also hired Ephraim, that is, the one from the tribe of Ephraim. And for this reason they have become as a flower fallen from glory. For just as it is glory for flowers to be seen free from withering and in the beauty of their own nature, in this same way, I think, it might be understood also in our own case. For as long as we are in those things in which it is fitting for us to be, we guard very well the unharmed beauty of our own soul; but when our mind has been turned aside to what is not fitting, we shall be a flower fallen from its proper glory. This indeed is what the Scribes and Pharisees suffered, sharpening their judgment, and words, and undertakings, and everything outrageous against Christ.

66 But where was the flower that fell from glory, and in what manner was it allotted? On the top of the fat mountain. And he calls Israel a fat mountain; fat, because it was fattened with good cheer; and a mountain, because it was set on high by God, in a glorious sense, I mean. For he himself says somewhere concerning those of Israel: "I have begotten and exalted a son. And it is a custom in the divine Scripture to sometimes compare the mother of the Jews, I mean Jerusalem, to a mountain. Therefore, they lay as a flower on the top of the mountain, that is, above all, and over all as leaders, having obtained rule over the others by the decrees of the law. And these were the ones who were drunk without wine. For their vine was of the vine of Sodom, and their shoot from Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, a cluster of bitterness for them, and the incurable wrath of dragons. For they were made drunk, not by drinking this perceptible wine, but the drunkenness from unmixed wrath and madness, and introducing the darkness of diabolical perversity into their own minds. Behold, the wrath of the Lord is strong and harsh, like hail coming down, having no shelter, coming down with force, like a great flood of water dragging a country to the ground, he will make a resting place with his hands and feet, and the crown of pride, the hired men of Ephraim.

67 In what way the terrible things will happen to them, and that they will pay the penalty for their impiety towards Christ, having fallen into the harsh and savage wrath of the one who judges justly, the prophetic word intimates to us through these things. For it will come, it will come, he says, the harsh and irresistible wrath of the Lord against you, and it will come in such a way as if hail were coming down upon those having no shelter, coming down with violence, that is, unbearably, but rather intensely and as if someone were slinging it down, and bringing it fiercely upon them. So it will come like hail, he says, or also like a great multitude of water dragging a country. And this too is irresistible. For of a river, let us say, or a torrent rushing down most violently, what will there be to stand against it, and to be able to hold out, and not to give way to the rush of the waters? So it will come then as water flooding the whole land, and it is clear that it means the land of the Jews. And the onslaught will be so harsh as to make a rest for the land. But what kind of rest, then, and what sort? For the hands and for the feet. And such will be the meaning of what has been said.

68 For those who have practiced swimming, if perhaps the condition of the waters should be calm and, as it were, gentle, by drawing in and stretching out their feet and hands, and by laboring moderately, escape the danger of drowning. But when the rush of the waters has an altogether unapproachable assault, the one caught in it ceases from swimming altogether and completely, and seems to be released from labor, but is finally drowned, as by necessity and force, having become completely submerged. Therefore, the word in a way laughs and speaks ironically, saying that the water makes a rest for the land, and a rest for the hands and for the feet. For it is as if it might say, Let no one labor in vain to resist the calamity that is about to come against all. For it will come so violently, that the matter will be altogether unassailable and completely useless for those wishing to labor. For no one will swim through, but he will be carried down, even unwillingly, wherever the dragging water might carry him, that is, the most violent and unbreakable hand of the Roman army. Then indeed, then will be trampled, that is, the crown of insolence of those who have spoken will lie underfoot, the hirelings of Ephraim. And the flower that has fallen from the hope of glory shall be, on the top of the high mountain as the first-ripe fig, which he who sees it, before he takes it into his hand, will want to swallow it down.

69 What the flower that has fallen from the hope of glory is, and what indeed this might signify, its lying and being seen on the top of the high mountain, has become known through what was said just now. For the flower, conspicuous as if on a mountain, you will very well understand to be either Israel, or rather those who were chosen to lead. But it will be, he says, as a first-ripe fig. For when the fruits on a fig tree are about to ripen, if one happens to ripen before the others, and becomes thus edible, the one who has seen it eagerly jumps at it, and is eager to swallow it down, and perhaps in his fiery impulses for this he even blames his hand for delaying to stretch out for the object of his appetite, and widening his mouth, he leaps at the branches. Thus, he says, will Israel be to those who seize him. For he has been swallowed, as I said, by the Romans, and has become sweet food for those who captured him. In that day the Lord of Sabaoth will be the crown of hope, the woven crown of glory for the remnant of my people. They will be left in a spirit of judgment for judgment, and strength hindering [a hindrance] to destroy. What and how it will happen to the Lord-slayers, the word has clarified for us in these things; and it now adds the explanation concerning those who have believed; for Israel has not been completely destroyed.

70 But the remnant has been saved, according to the prophet's voice. For no small number has believed in Christ, of which the choir of the holy apostles has become a kind of beginning and first fruit. At that very time, therefore, he says, the Lord of Sabaoth will be the crown of hope, the woven crown of glory to my people who have been left. For the Lord of hosts himself will crown those who have believed with hope and glory, and with hope, clearly, of the good things to come, and with glory, because they will reign with him, and having come into possession of the highest rewards, they will be both objects of envy and gazed upon. For what will be equal in renown to those who hope to receive the crown of the kingdom in Christ? To these the prophet Isaiah himself says elsewhere: And you will be a crown of beauty, and a diadem of royalty in the hand of your God. For with unending glory Christ will crown those who believe in him, and he enriches them also with the richest hope. And my people who have been left, he says, will be partakers of such things, that is, the remnant from the Jews; the other people clearly being admitted along with them, that is, the gentiles who, having great thoughts on Christ, pray and have cried out to the Father and God in heaven: Lord, you have crowned us as with a shield of good will.

71 For when God the Father was well-pleased, Christ was shown to be and became for us an unbreakable shield, setting himself forth against the darts of the evil one on our behalf, and he has kept his own people unwounded and unconquered by his depravities. Something of this sort, as I suppose, he indicates when speaking about the people who have been left, that is, those justified in faith: They will be left in a spirit of judgment for judgment, and preventing strength from being taken away. For of old, once and for all, so to speak, Satan destroyed the race on earth, having cast them into the pits of sin. "For there was none who did good, not even one, but all turned aside together, they became worthless," according to the voice of the Psalmist. But when the only-begotten Word of God became man, he judged our judgment, he has judged, as it were, between us and Satan who had taken advantage, and he has condemned him to destruction, and has removed him from those on earth as a destroyer and a manslayer, and thus has saved the lost, that is, us. Teaching this he says, Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. And yet he says clearly, "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

72 How then does he say that it is the judgment of this world? For we are those who long ago cried out through the voice of the prophets: "Arise, Lord, and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, for my cause. Because a just judgment has been made for us, we say in thanksgiving, "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds, I will sing praise to your name, Most High. And for what reason? Because you have executed my judgment and my cause. You sat on the throne, judging with righteousness, you rebuked nations, and the ungodly perished; for the hosts of demons were rebuked, and with them the ungodly one perished, that is, Satan. They will be left, therefore, that is, they will be saved by a spirit of judgment; for he has judged and justified, as I said, for judgment and strength, that is, by right judgment and power, clearly that which is befitting of God, preventing those who believe in him from being destroyed. For these are led astray by wine; they went astray because of strong drink, priest and prophet are out of their minds because of wine; they have been shaken from the drunkenness of strong drink; they went astray. This is a vision. He points out in a certain way those who have slipped, and through such long disobedience have offended God.

73 For such people, he says, have gone astray, having drunk wine and strong drink, not perceptible or bodily, but rather having chosen darkness in their mind, which the all-terrible dragon instills in those accustomed to be negligent. For the divine Paul writes that the god of this age has blinded the minds of the faithful, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of God might not shine. Therefore, he quite rightly calls wine and strong drink the darkness instilled in the souls of men by the depravity of the devil. And And he is astonished, as it were, not because the most ignorant multitude of the common herd alone appears to have suffered this, but because, in addition to them, priest and prophet were driven out of their minds by wine. And again by "wine" he means the intoxicating drink from ignorance. And it is amazing that one might see a priest and a prophet having suffered this along with the others. For those whom it was fitting to be able to guide all the others toward the pursuit of what is advantageous and to show the path of salvation, these, perhaps even before the others, received the darkness, so as to be shaken, and to be carried about by every wind, and this from intelligible drunkenness. And one might say the matter has become like some vision, that is, amazement or astonishment.

74 And by "prophet" in these matters he means not entirely the true one from God, but rather him who, as it were, fabricates for himself the prophetic reputation; concerning whom he says through the voice of Ezekiel: Woe, those who prophesy from their own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord. And they are slandered also through the voice of Isaiah; for he says somewhere concerning Jerusalem, Her rulers judged for gifts, her prophets divined for silver. A curse will devour this counsel; for this counsel is for the sake of greed. Saying that priest and prophet alike have gone astray, and indeed have been driven from a sound mind by the wine from the vine of Sodom, and the intelligible intoxicating drink, and adding that this is a vision, that is, an astonishment, and a kind of amazement, he immediately shows both the cause of being astonished, and the accusations for the priests' ecstasy and drunkenness. For this reason, then, he says, A curse will devour this counsel. For the plot of the Jews has truly become accursed, I mean that against our Savior of all, Jesus Christ. For God the Father first sent the holy prophets, and they killed them. Then after them He sent the beloved to receive the fruits of His vineyard, according to the parable in the Gospels. But those in charge of the vineyard, the most ungrateful farmers, although understanding that he is the son and the master of the place, said, it says, among themselves: This is the heir;

75 come, let us kill him, and let us have his inheritance for ourselves. Accursed, therefore, it says, is such a counsel. And the blessed David mentions this, saying at one time, that "Why did the nations rage, and the peoples meditate empty things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord, and against his Christ. And at another time again, concerning those who have committed such transgressions: You will cast them down, and you will not build them up, because they have turned evils against you, they devised a counsel, which they shall not be able to establish. For as far as the power of their attempts went, they killed the son, thinking that they themselves would possess the master's inheritance; but he came to life again as God, and he destroyed the evil men evilly, the wicked and ungrateful farmers, and he has given the place to others, clearly to the holy apostles and evangelists, and to the teachers of the holy Churches. Accursed, therefore, is the counsel of the Jews, for it has come about for the sake of greed. For it is truly greed for the servants to want to rise up against the master, and to have made their own inheritance that of which they had been appointed farmers, although having sufficient wages, the privileges of the priesthood, and the honors from being set over the others. To whom have we announced evils? and to whom have we announced a message?

76 It is the custom for the holy prophets, and for all the God-inspired Scripture, through two things to press and impel man to choose to live rightly. For either with the terrors of punishment, as if shattering the hardened mind, they drive it toward what is better, or with the promises of rewards they make them bolder concerning the need to suffer patiently for the valiant deeds of piety; such as that through the voice of Isaiah to the Jews, "And if you are willing and you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the earth; but if you are not willing, and do not listen to me, a sword will devour you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. Therefore, it virtually points out that unruly Israel dishonored the words of the holy prophets, saying: To whom have we announced a message? for behold, behold to whom? it says, instead of, we have ministered to a hard and disobedient and foolish people, and having conveyed the words from above from God, we announced to it evils, that is, the punishments, the threats, which will by all means and in every way be brought down upon the head of those accustomed to disobey. We announced a message, that is, we preached the good things prepared by God for those accustomed to do good. But stubborn Israel has benefited not at all, being fixed in transgression, and greatly afflicted with deafness. Therefore, when it says, "to whom?

77 it indicates one who is in no way worthy; for indeed, after such a clear prediction of the holy prophets, they were no less relentless and wicked, and having their heart full of all perversity. And they have become swift ministers of diabolical bitterness; for they handed over to the cross the Savior and Redeemer of all, I mean Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.