Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 1–19

continued

Discourse 19

1 Behold, the name of the Lord comes after a long time, burning is his wrath with glory; the word of his lips, a word full of wrath; and the wrath of his anger will devour like fire. And his spirit like rushing water in a ravine will come up to the neck, and it will be divided to trouble the nations with vain delusion, and vain delusion will pursue them, and it will seize them by their face. Having said very well that the light of the sun will be sevenfold for those who believe in Christ, at that time, when he will heal the affliction of his people, he usefully adds that the divine wrath will also be against Satan who afflicted them, and the demons with him. For their tyranny against us was not to come unceasingly, nor their strength unshaken, especially when Christ, the Savior of all, shone upon the human race. But the word of the prophecy has become not, as it were, naked and unclothed, but rather overshadowed and profound. For it is framed as concerning the Assyrians, who sacked Jerusalem, and took all of Judea, and holding beloved Israel captive, they returned to their own land, all but gloating over the divine glory, and thinking that they had conquered those who worship Him even against God’s will.

2 And so the Rabshakeh addressed those on the wall, saying, "Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, 'The God of Israel will deliver you from my hand.' [Did the gods of the nations, each delivering his own country, deliver it from my hand?]" Therefore, having boasted and babbled much against the ineffable glory, those of whom the discourse speaks would be caught. And when Israel had completed the seventieth year in captivity and in slavery among them, the God of all delivered and saved them again. For He brought them back to Judea, led at that time by Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, who was from the tribe of Judah, and indeed also by Jesus the high priest. Therefore, the power of the prophecy seems in a way to make mention of that which pertains to the manifest events that happened to the Chaldeans and to Babylon. But the true meanings of what was said have come to be about the spiritual Assyrian, that is, Satan, to whom it was said by God: As a garment stained with blood will not be clean, so you also will not be clean, because you have destroyed my land, and you have killed my people, you will not remain for eternal time, you evil seed.

3 Prepare your children to be slaughtered for the sins of your father, so that they may not rise up and inherit the land and fill the land with war, and I will rise up against them, says the Lord of Sabaoth, and I will destroy their name, and remnant, and seed. Therefore, after a long time the name of the Lord will come, he says. And if one should choose to understand it historically, after seventy years God had mercy on Israel. But if indeed one should travel the inner and hidden path of the meanings, he will receive in his mind that the inventor of sin has spent a very long time placing the yoke of his own wickedness on all those on the earth, so as to make them his own worshippers and to bind them in the snares of sin. But after a long time the only-begotten Word of God appeared to us, and has become the burning wrath with glory, and the oracle of his lips an oracle full of anger. For Cyrus, son of Cambyses, with God urging him on and rousing him to battle, marched against the land of the Chaldeans, and took by force the land of the Babylonians, and he became like anger and fire to them, for he, as it were, devoured all, and having an unbearable assault, he appeared to those there like water dragging through a ravine, and filled all the nations of the Chaldeans with tumult and confusion, justly condemned for vain deceit.

4 For they thought, as I said, that they had prevailed over Judea even with God unwilling. Therefore the vain deceit overtook them. For things from unmixed wrath were brought upon them from God, and they perished by their own impieties; one might see the primeval-evil dragon having suffered this very thing. For the oracle of the Lord became to him an oracle full of anger. For they were commanded to depart into the abyss, both he and the evil powers with him. And they have been consumed as if by fire, and as if dragged down by much water by the power of the spirit into the lowest recesses. For these also were thrown into confusion by vain deceit. For he said, "I will seize the whole inhabited earth in my hand as a nest, and as abandoned eggs I will take them up, and there is no one who will escape me or speak against me. And he thought that he was truly God, and having transferred to himself the glory fitting only for the Creator of all, he thought he could perpetually rule over those on the earth. Therefore they were confounded, condemned for vain deceit, and were overtaken by it. For judgment, and wrath, and punishment were brought upon them, and for this reason. Must you always rejoice and always enter my holy places as if celebrating a feast, and as if rejoicing enter with a flute to the mountain of the Lord, to the God of Israel?

5 I said that having conquered the land of the Jews, the Babylonians danced over the captives, and perhaps mocking the divine temple itself, they behaved most unholily. But they themselves were also captured; and in what manner, is not unclear. O Assyrians, therefore, he says, must you not rejoice at all times over my worshippers, and make it an occasion for a festival, with no one preventing you from entering my holy places, and with flute and lyre? And this, indeed, historically. But if it should be said with respect to Satan and those who think his thoughts, you will understand something of this sort: For long ages he rejoiced, exalting himself over the ineffable glory, and crushing saints, and savagely opposing the workers of righteousness, and attempting, as it were, to defile the holy things of God, making the matter both a feast and a delight, and gloating over those who were oppressed. But the wretch has fallen from such things, with Christ having pushed him down beyond expectation, and having driven away his tyranny over us. Therefore all his delight and gladness has ceased; he has stopped his dance against us, and the nature of things has changed to the complete opposite. For we on the one hand have made our delight and enjoyment the salvation through Christ, and the justification in faith, and the sanctification through the Spirit. But he who has failed to rule is in unceasing despair, and laments the overthrow of his own dominion.

6 For by the voice of the Lord the Assyrians will be defeated, by the blow with which he might strike them. And it will be for him round about from whence was their hope of help, on which he himself relied; they will fight him with flutes and lyres out of a reversal. The phrase, 'by the voice of the Lord,' he says, means 'at the Lord's command.' For indeed the Assyrians were defeated, and they came under the blow brought upon them, with Cyrus and the Persians and Medes ravaging, as I said, and having taken them by force and by the will of God. But before these things, they had in them * the hope of being able to succeed in easily overpowering whatever lands and peoples they might choose. Therefore, he says, those very ones, on whom the Babylonians had the hope of assistance, their affairs having undergone almost a change, and a reversal to the complete opposite, with lyre and flutes, that is, both rejoicing and celebrating they will war against him. This would be seen to have happened in the case of Satan and the herd of unclean spirits. For they had in this world countless, or rather even innumerable worshippers, but through the voice of the Lord, that is, through the preaching of Christ, they have come under a blow and have been defeated, and those whom they expected to have as helpers for themselves, these unexpectedly having undergone the change to the complete opposite.

7 For they have been called through faith and have made war on them. For temples have been torn down, hills have been shaken, and a multitude of unclean demons have been consumed by fire, and having condemned the one who formerly held power, they have acknowledged God who is by nature and truly King and Lord. And they have made it of great importance to practice the truly approved and excellent life through all virtue, casting living in wickedness as far away as possible. For will you not be required before many days? Has it been prepared for you also to reign? A deep ravine, wood lying ready, fire, and much wood. The wrath of the Lord, like a ravine burning with brimstone. Saying that the Assyrian will be warred against by those from whom it was likely to expect to be helped rather, and that he will suffer things beyond all evil, he necessarily adds these things as well. For since He is seen to have been forbearing with them for a long time, and with difficulty has inflicted the punishments on those who have committed unbearable sins, he makes a defense, in a way, and says: For will you not be required before many days? For the God of all is forbearing, and lavishes his goodness on those who sin, if perhaps somehow their minds might be changed toward better things, and having chosen to repent, they might escape the punishment owed to them.

8 But with none of these things having happened, finally He brings the things from wrath, not doing this before many days, but as finally at the right time and as it were when it has come to its measure, which is most fitting to the serenity and love for mankind of the God who rules all. Therefore, O Assyrian, he says, I have been good to you, and long-suffering. For will you not be required before many days? And it is clear that he means the punishments for which you have acted insolently against my people. Such is that which was said to the blessed Abraham: "For the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up until now. But also the blessed prophet Zechariah says that he saw women, winged like a hoopoe, carrying away the measure, and sin sitting in the middle as in the form of a woman. For the lawgiver measures out the punishments in proportion to the sins of each one. But you thought, O Assyrian, he says, that it was prepared for you also to reign perpetually, that is, to be able to rule and to have unshakeable dominion over all? But you were mistaken about the truth; for you will rather inherit a deep ravine, and wood lying ready, and fire. For thus will the wrath of the Lord be upon you and upon your people. And I would say, that these things would be most fittingly said also to Satan himself.

9 For he had taken advantage of the whole earth * Christ shone forth. But when God and Lord appeared to us, he was driven away like some very fierce beast from the flock of the faithful, and he departed also to Hades, there to inherit fire and flames. For the wrath of the Lord will be for him like a ravine burning with brimstone. Therefore he was not called to account before many days, but with the time finally calling him to this; for it was not prepared for him also to reign perpetually, just as indeed it was for the Savior of all, Christ; to whom indeed before you it would be fitting that what was said through the voice of David be said: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. Woe, to those who go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses, and chariots; for they are many and upon horses, a very great multitude. And they were not trusting in the Holy One of Israel, and they did not seek God. And He himself wisely brought evils upon them, and his word shall not be set at nought, and he will rise up against the houses of evil men, and against their vain hope. An Egyptian man and not God, flesh of horses, and there is no help.

10 The prophet, having learned what was going to happen to the Assyrians from time to time, and that when the Persians and Medes were ravaging their country they would be utterly destroyed, God obviously having raised up Cyrus against them, comes to the remembrance of the disobedience of those from Israel. For the Babylonian took Judea, and the holy city itself, I mean Jerusalem, and carried Israel away captive, and then God gave mercy to those who were left behind in Judea. But since they wished to migrate to the Egyptians, fearing lest perhaps war from the Assyrians might be brought upon them again, he who is able to save commanded, through the voice of Jeremiah, that they should not go down to Egypt. But since they were disobedient even after this, and thought that the help of men would rather save them, they have fallen in Egypt, and all have utterly perished. Therefore the prophet pronounces them wretched; For woe, he says, to those who go down to Egypt for help. For they did not rather trust in the all-powerful God, but in horses and chariots; for there were very many in Egypt. But the God of all, being wise, brought evils upon them, and his word shall not be set at nought. For he said through the voice of Jeremiah to them the things that are written below. Therefore they will rise up against the houses of evil men, obviously of those who have fled to Egypt, and against their vain hope.

11 For they chose as a helper, he says, an Egyptian man, and not God, the flesh of horses. But the prophet speaks most emphatically, convicting the ignorance of those from Israel. For what is a horse but only flesh? And what is the power of flesh, which is so weak and subject to corruption? The prophet Jeremiah says something like this: "Cursed is he who has his hope in man, and will make the flesh of his arm his strength, and his heart departs from the Lord. "For it is truly good to hope in the Lord, rather than to hope in man. And the Lord will bring his hand upon them; and the helpers will grow weary, and all will perish together. For since the Egyptians, raising their boastful and arrogant brow, received those from Israel, and thought that the power of their falsely-named gods was superior to the God of the Hebrews, they themselves also have been given over to the Babylonians; for they have taken possession of the country, and those from Israel who were caught there have perished together with its inhabitants. For this reason he says the Lord will bring his hand upon them, and that they will utterly and completely grow weary, that is, they will grow weak, those who promise them invincible help, and all will perish together. For thus the Lord said to me:

12 In the way that a lion roars, or a lion's cub over the prey which it has taken, and cries out over it, until the mountains are filled with its voice, and they were defeated, and the multitude was terrified by its wrath; so will the Lord come down to wage war upon Mount Zion, upon its mountains. As flying birds, so will the Lord defend Jerusalem, and he will deliver, and preserve, and save. The prophet has interjected the rebuke in between, the one, I say, against those who go down to Egypt, and indeed against those who chose to have an Egyptian man as a helper, and not God. And he said that they will perish together with those who promise to defend them. Then again he brings the discourse back to the beginning; for having said that the Assyrians will inherit a deep ravine, he clearly relates beforehand that God will also help those who worship him, and will contend for those throughout Judea, and he will thus leap upon those who wish to wrong her, just as a lion indeed over its prey, roaring something great and extraordinary at those who resist. For they say that this beast, when hunger rouses it to necessity, leaps upon either herds of cattle, or other livestock, terrifying them beforehand with a dreadful and most fearsome roar, and an unbearable to make the attack upon the shepherds. Thus, it says, the Lord will descend to make war against Mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem, against its mountains.

13 As birds flying, so will the Lord defend Jerusalem. For birds hatch their young in the mountains, and build nests in the thickets of plants. But if another bird or a serpent should wish to snatch away the young, their mother fights terribly for them, and makes clear the power of her innate affection, flying around and chirping and, so to speak, making the greatest possible overthrow of the one wishing to harm them. Thus, it says, the Lord of all will defend Jerusalem, and will deliver, and will preserve, and will save. These things happened when Babylon was sacked, and when Cyrus released Israel from captivity. For they returned, while Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, who was of the tribe of Judah, was administering the kingdom among them, and Jesus the son of Jozadak, the high priest, was serving as priest. And when they wished to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, some of their neighbors rose up, wanting to prevent them; but no one prevailed, as God strengthened Israel. Such also has been for us the power of the help of our Savior. For he who was considered to be the god of this age took all as captives; but Christ sprang upon him like a lion, or a lion's whelp, and destroyed him with the word of his power. He is the Lord of Sabaoth. And he campaigned against Mount Zion, that is, he championed the spiritual Zion, which is the Church of the living God, and has strongly saved it as his own nest.

14 For the father of sin said with exceeding great arrogance: I will seize the whole world in my hand as a nest; and I will take it as abandoned eggs, and there is no one who will escape me, or speak against me. But the Savior and Lord of all gathered those who believed in him, in the way a bird gathers its young under its wings, and has placed them beyond all plotting. For he delivered, and made the whole earth his own, and has saved the world under heaven. Return, you who devise a deep and lawless plan. As God says that he will campaign against Mount Zion, and will leap upon those who wrong Israel, that is, those who believe in him, in the manner of a most mighty lion, and adding that he will also defend, and will preserve, and will save; again the prophet cries out against those who do not endure to believe, that the right hand of God is all-powerful, and will easily save those whom he would choose from their enemies. Therefore, he says, O you who are sick with such a shameful and most abominable unbelief, who have abandoned the God of all, and unwisely collect help from men, and have honored, I know not how, the lawless and ridiculous thought concerning this, return to God, devise better things, and you too say: "Lord, the God of hosts, blessed is the man who hopes in you.

15 For in that day men will cast away their handmade silver and gold things, which their hands made, and Assyria will fall. Not the sword of a hero, nor the sword of a man shall devour him, and he will flee, but not from the face of the sword. And the young men will be for defeat, for they will be surrounded by a rock, as by a palisade, and will be defeated; and he who flees will be captured. And now the discourse returns to its proposed purpose. For, it says, the Lord will defend Jerusalem, that is, he will champion his own Church, which is his city. And he will deliver those who believe in him, and will make them his own, and will count them as his own inheritance, and in addition to this will also save them. In what way? For they will rid themselves of profane and abominable idolatry, and will no longer worship the works of their own hands, whether they be gold and silver, or have been sumptuously made in some other way. For before the [coming] of the Savior of a sojourn, the human race was terrified concerning these things, and some have worshipped creation, and to the elements of the world they have assigned the glory due to God, just as the prophet says: Their silver, and their gold they have made for themselves idols. But when Christ shone forth, the whole earth became free from such shameful and abominable crimes.

16 For sacred precincts, and altars, and things made by hand have been taken down, and the ancient error of Satan, which defiled the whole earth, has been put out of the way. Therefore, with the things made by hand having been destroyed, he says, the inventor of this error will also be destroyed along with it, that is, Satan, the spiritual Assur, or the Assyrian. For he shall fall, not struck by the sword of a man, and he shall be wretched, for he shall depart to Hades together with the other evil powers. For this he hints to us, saying: But the young men shall be for a defeat, that is, The strong and those who rule by greed over those on earth, shall be defeated and shall fall. How or in what way? For they shall be encompassed by a rock as by a rampart. By "rock" in these words he names for us the unbreakable and indestructible power of the Savior. Therefore, being taken by the divine power, as by some rock, and as by a rampart, or an entrenchment, and enclosure, they will yield the victory, and no one of them could escape. For he will be captured in every way and entirely, even if one should choose to do this. For this, I think, is what is signified by, He who flees will be captured.

17 Who then of them, therefore, will be saved, if they are to be encompassed by the rock as by a rampart, and absolutely no place for flight will be given to them? And the power of the Savior has accomplished these things, having overthrown Assur, that is, Satan, and having brought down with him the evil powers with him, and having encompassed them as with a rampart, and rendered them ineffective, and imprisoned them in the recesses of Hades to be punished. Thus says the Lord: Blessed is he who has seed in Zion, and kindred in Jerusalem. For behold, a righteous king shall reign, and rulers shall rule with judgment. And the man shall be hiding his words; and he shall be hidden as when water is borne along, and he shall appear in Zion, as a glorious river borne along, in a thirsty land. Openly in these words the blessed prophet proclaims the mystery of the economy of the Only-begotten in the flesh. For he says that those who at that time inhabited Zion will be blessed; it is clear, however, that he means the spiritual Zion, which is the Church of the living God. For they are truly blessed, and concerning this the Savior himself will assure us, saying to those who believed in him: "Amen, amen, I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

18 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. Therefore, those who have, he says, an intimacy through the spirit with our Lord Jesus Christ, and have borne fruit in the spiritual Zion, and have had kindred in Jerusalem—and this is no other than Zion—have become thrice-blessed and in every good thing. And we too have had kindred, that is, according to the spirit, the holy mystagogues. For behold, a righteous king shall reign, and rulers shall rule with judgment. For Christ has reigned over us, who is righteous and blameless, and the arbiter of all righteousness, and the introducer of things beyond the law. And rulers also ruled with judgment. But the phrase, with judgment, he says, means secretly. And yet the righteous king will be a man and a brother in all things to those on the earth; for he is truly God. For the Word became flesh, according to the Scriptures. And he shall be hiding his words. For our Lord Jesus Christ spoke very many things in parables, who also through the voice of David had cried out beforehand this very thing, saying: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation. And he says not only this, but also he will be hidden, as from rushing water. Again, it is the custom in the sacred Writings to compare the assault of temptations to rushing water, or to river streams pouring violently over the land.

19 Therefore, when temptations rise up against them, he says, and are like rushing water, he himself will be hidden, that is, he will be proof against the plots of those who tempt him. And David also said somewhere concerning him, that "An enemy shall not prevail against him, and a son of iniquity shall not continue to afflict him. For the Jewish people plotted many times, incited to this by those who were then their appointed leaders, I mean the Scribes and Pharisees. But it was not possible for Christ to suffer unwillingly any of the things that are accustomed to cause pain. For they were stoning him, but he, as the blessed evangelist says, passed through their midst, and so went away, that is, without being concerned. And he will be to those in Zion like a glorious rushing river in a thirsty land. For to those from the Gentiles who have been called to the knowledge of him, being thirsty, and not having the word that knows how to save, he has become like a river pouring forth with a rich stream, and in addition to this, glorious, that is, renowned. For many others have also been called rivers. And indeed the blessed David, comparing to rivers the holy mystagogues and those who from above, from heaven, give the word to drink to those who accept the faith, said: "The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices. For the voices of the holy apostles were heard afar.

20 But none of them is so glorious as, of course, the torrent of delight, that is, Christ. For we say that from him has been given to all the others the aptitude to be able to initiate into the mysteries and to send the life-giving word of God into the souls of the believers. And they will no longer trust in men, but they will give their ears to hear; and the heart of the weak will pay attention to hear, and the stammering tongues will quickly learn to speak peace, and your servants will no longer say, Be silent. For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will understand vain things, to accomplish iniquities, and to speak error against the Lord, to corrupt hungry souls, and to make thirsty souls empty, For the counsel of the wicked will devise iniquities, and to destroy the humble with unjust words, and to scatter the words of the humble in judgment. But the pious have devised prudent things, and this counsel abides. The meaning of the preceding would fit very well both those called from the Gentiles through faith, and those from the blood of Israel. For the ones who had worshipped falsely named gods, having put their trust in men who had among them a reputation for seeming wisdom, and the assumption of the highest renown, were carried away into a strange and counterfeit mind. For they have been led astray and have said to the wood, 'You are my father,' and to the stone, 'You have begotten me';

21 and they inscribed as gods those who are not gods. The Jews, on the other hand, paying attention to their appointed leaders, did not accept the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. For those who were experts in the sacred Writings thought that what they themselves had planned was better, and they were not ignorant of what was pleasing to God and what was most beneficial to the people under their charge. Therefore, they will no longer, he says, be trusting in men, but they will offer their ears to the necessity of hearkening to the word of the Savior, and the heart of the weak, having at last been strengthened for understanding, will pay attention to hear, and the stammering tongues, that is, those that once did not know how to speak correctly; for stammering is, as it were, the inability to speak anything for the glory of God, but to spend words on the praise of the falsely named; they will learn, he says, to speak peace. To speak peace is nothing other than to have Christ and his things on the tongue; for he himself is our peace according to the Scriptures. And stammering for those of Israel is the not enduring to speak the mystery of Christ, but to always be speaking of the law, and the shadows in it, and * of teachers. But these too will cease, he says, and all their speech will be about Christ. That they will not endure the ancient teachers, he has indicated by saying:

22 And they will no longer say to the fool, "Rule. For admittedly, the wise among the Greeks are fools; for the wisdom of the world has been made foolish. Fools also are the guides and teachers of the Jews, not having recognized what was described through the shadow in the law, and not understanding the words of the holy prophets. Therefore they will no longer say to the fool, "Rule," nor indeed will the servants of the fools say to those taught by them, "Be silent. For the wise in the world have spoken by Beelzebul, and have become inventors of perverse, and cold, and in addition to this, also unholy doctrines. But if anyone should choose to oppose their nonsense, and, as having become absurd, to reject them as counterfeit, some of those accustomed to serve them jump up, and shout to be silent, wishing their voices to be uncontradicted. For they say that when the disciples of Pythagoras spoke things at times both cold and ridiculous, and which were disbelieved by many, it was their custom to say this: "He himself said it," that is, "Be silent, and give faith to the founder of the dogma even without examination. Therefore, your servants will no longer say, he says, "Be silent. For the fool will surely speak foolish things, and his heart will understand vain things, having one purpose, to accomplish lawless things, and to speak error against the Lord.

23 For it is error and nothing else, the myths among the Greeks composed against the glory of God, to corrupt hungry souls, and to make thirsty souls empty. For sometimes some become disciples, then approaching them without examination they profit absolutely nothing, but are shown rather, although having hungered and thirsted, that what is surely necessary for them to learn is useful for the salvation of the soul; but the counsel, he says, of the wicked will devise lawless things, and it looks to this, to destroy souls with unjust words, and to scatter the words of the humble in judgment. For the lovers of worldly wisdom, and the champions of perverted doctrines, campaign against the teaching of the holy mystagogues, whom he also names humble, and they make every effort to scatter their words, although they have come about in judgment, that is, not carelessly, but rather with discernment, and in wisdom from above, and from God. For this, I think, he teaches by adding, But the pious have devised wise things, and this counsel remains. For the elegant babbling of the wise in the world has ceased. For the counsel of the pious has prevailed, that is, the learning, or the preaching. And we say that the pious are those who minister the divine and evangelical word to those throughout all the earth. Rich women, arise, and hear my voice; daughters, in hope hear my words, Remember the days of a year in pain with hope.

24 It is the custom of the divine and God-inspired Scripture to apply the persona of women very often to either cities, or even to villages, and also, when one is a metropolis, to call the others her daughters, just as, indeed, the divine David says concerning both Zion, that is Jerusalem, and the surrounding regions: "Zion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judea rejoiced; for in some way the smaller cities under her are always about the mother who is leader of all. Therefore, in these things the person of the Savior Himself is brought before us, counseling the cities of Judea and saying: Rich women, arise, and hear my voice. Therefore, he exhorts them to choose to honor obedience, and to accept the words from him, that is, clearly, the saving and evangelical preaching; but he calls them rich now most usefully, since they were still populous, and had a countless multitude of inhabitants, except that they would not for long be desolate and most poor, as far as having none of the inhabitants, unless by his chose to submit the neck of their own mind to the divine decrees. O women, therefore, he says, O daughters, hear my words in hope, that is, not without reward rather, but in bright hope. What then is commanded? Remember, he says, the days of a year in which Christ appeared, and preached clearly in the cities and villages throughout all Judea. For He Himself said through the voice of Isaiah:

25 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Arise therefore, he says, that is, be watchful, and having taken up a good hope in your mind, remember the days of the year in which, as I said, the proclamation from the Savior of us all, Christ, was made. He commands them to do this not feebly nor yet carelessly, but as with haste and with care; for in this way good things are achieved. The vintage has perished, the seedtime has ceased, it shall no longer come. Be amazed, be grieved, you who are confident; strip yourselves, be naked, gird your loins, and beat upon your breasts. For the desirable field, and for the fruit of the vine, thorn and grass shall come up on the land of my people, and from every house gladness shall be taken away. A rich city, forsaken houses, they will abandon the wealth of the city and the desirable houses. And the villages shall be caves forever, a gladness for wild donkeys, and pastures for shepherds. He shows in these words that for those of Israel it would not be without penalty, but rather would be the cause of all torment and disaster, not to be willing to accept the word from Christ.

26 For the cities throughout all Judea were about to be devastated, as the Roman hand burned them all, so that they were seen empty of men, and the choicest of the fields were laid waste, and those who had barely been able to escape went into exile, and fell from home and wealth, and the once populous city or village became a haunt for wild beasts. But if anyone should wish also to accept a spiritual interpretation of the preceding, he will understand this: Vintage, as I think, and seedtime he calls the power of spiritual fruitfulness, by which we are well-pleasing to God, not producing the manifold sin as a thorn, but being honored by God as rich and fruitful earth. The wretched Jews, therefore, have fallen from spiritual fruitfulness; and the spiritual vineyard has become thorn-bearing earth. "For he waited, he says, for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns. And it was also said through the voice of the prophet concerning Israel, that they sowed what was wind-blasted, and their destruction will await it. "A stalk having no strength to make meal. The vintage, therefore, he says, has perished, that is, You will no longer be called a vineyard. For none of the ripe fruits is yours. The seedtime has ceased; you will not be a land bearing fair offspring nor a nurse of cultivated fruits. For this reason and very fittingly, be amazed, that is, be astonished and wonder. Be grieved, you who are confident.

27 For you who formerly were high-minded, he says, in God, when you see your heart destitute of all good, then indeed, then be grieved. Strip yourselves, be naked, gird your loins, and beat upon your breasts. For the desirable field and the fruit of the vine. The cause of the lamentation, he says, is the perishing and complete disappearance of a desirable field and a wondrous vineyard. And through this he signifies Israel. And he also makes it clear in another way, and says, that On the land of my people thorn and grass shall come up. For, as I said, Israel was laid waste. For He gave up his vineyard, and commanded the clouds not to rain upon it. And it has become a gladness for wild donkeys, and pastures for evil shepherds, that is, of unclean spirits. Thus also the blessed David, fashioning his words as about the vineyard of Israel to the Savior and God of all; "You brought a vine, he says, out of Egypt, you cast out the nations, and planted it. Then he adds, saying; Why have you broken down its hedge, and all who pass by the way pluck it? The boar from the wood has wasted it, and a solitary wild beast has devoured it. For just as owners neglect uncultivated lands, and they have no care, even if every kind of harm is brought upon them; so also our virtue-loving God abandons a soul, and shows it bare of all care, if it should become barren of fruits for good works.

28 Until a Spirit from on high comes upon you. And Chermel shall be a desert, and Chermel shall be reckoned as a forest. And judgment will rest in the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in Carmel. And the works of righteousness will be peace, and righteousness will hold fast rest, and they will be confident forever; and his people will dwell in a city of peace, and will live in confidence, and will rest with riches. He also makes clear the time, during which the disobedient race from Israel will be barren of spiritual fruitfulness. For he transfers the word to, I say, those who have honored our Lord Jesus Christ with obedience, and have been cleansed through faith in him, and have come to be in participation of the Holy Spirit. For, he says, the things foretold will come to pass, and Israel will be laid waste because of its unruliness, until a Spirit from on high comes upon you. For as we have read in the Acts of the holy apostles; "They were all gathered together in one place, around the days of holy Pentecost. And behold, suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were gathered; and there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and they sat upon each one of them, and they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

29 When, therefore, he says, the Spirit of God from above and from on high comes upon you who believe, then Chermel will be desolate. But Chermel, or Carmel, is a very large mountain in Judea, and covered with thick woods. He therefore compares both Jerusalem itself, and all the surrounding country to Chermel, as it has an innumerable multitude of inhabitants. But it will be, he says, desolate and will be reckoned as a forest. And by forest he means the wild wood, which is useful for burning. For the untamed trees are cut down, and they are food for the flame. When Chermel is cut down, and reckoned as wild wood, judgment will rest in the wilderness. And he enigmatically calls the land of the nations "wilderness," which the prophet Isaiah himself mentions elsewhere, saying; "Be glad, you thirsty wilderness. Let the wilderness rejoice, and blossom as the lily. But it is compared to a wilderness because of being fruitless and, as it were, stripped bare, and there being absolutely nothing standing in it. But this too has become rich. It has also appeared most fruitful with trees spiritually, because Christ dwelt in it. And so he spoke again through the voice of the prophet Isaiah; "And I will make water in the wilderness, I will put rivers, in the dry land, the cedar, and box-tree, and myrtle, and cypress, and white poplar.

30 For by these are signified the souls that are well-pleasing through faith in him, and are raised to the height that comes from various and manifold virtue. Judgment, therefore, he says, will rest in the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in Carmel, which is to say, good will be practiced in both the wilderness and in Carmel. But Chermel and Carmel are not one thing and another, but one mountain is signified by both. How then will it be desolate and be reckoned as a forest, and righteousness will dwell in it? We say that Israel has not completely fallen from its kinship with God, but the remnant has been saved, and those from them who have believed are gathered together with those from the nations. And Christ has dwelt in these and in those, who is righteousness and judgment. For we have been justified in him, with sin being abolished and Satan being destroyed by a just and right judgment. What then will Christ, who is righteousness, accomplish by dwelling in the desert? He makes it clear, saying: And the works of righteousness will be peace. "For our Lord Jesus Christ, having come," as Paul says, "preached peace to those who are far off, and peace to those who are near," that is, to both Greeks and Jews; and righteousness has established rest among us. For having made peace with God, and having destroyed the enmity, we are in cities of rest, and of delight for ages.

31 And we have become trusting in him forever, and we have dwelt in the city of peace, that is, the Church of the living God. For in it dwells Christ, who is peace, and we have rested with wealth. For those who were formerly in want of every good thing and of all virtue, who were without God in the world and had no hope, are now rich through Christ, and we shall be even more so, having received a most abundant increase of the gifts from above and from God. But if the hail comes down, it will not come upon you. And those who dwell in the thickets will be as confident as those in the plain. Since the Jews had acted impiously toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and had killed him with a power that reached unholy reasonings and undertakings, a most violent hail, that is, the things from divine wrath, was brought down upon the whole land. For it was given over to desolation, was captured, and was sacked, and they were scattered to every wind according to the voice of the prophet. When, therefore, the hail is brought down, he says, that is, the things from divine wrath, it will not come upon you who have believed and who dwell in the city of peace, nor will it destroy the fruits of our righteousness, nor will it ruin our good labors, but those who dwell in the thickets and those in the plain will be trusting in equal measure; and what is this?

32 For the land adorned with thick woods is somehow rough and not easy to plow. But the level and smooth land is suitable for those accustomed to farm, for the generation of edible seeds. Therefore, with God's assent, all things will be in fruitfulness, and the land that was formerly rough will be shown to be a nurse of cultivated seeds. For all things bear fruit through Christ, that is, intelligibly and spiritually. And no one sows on thorns. But having broken new ground according to the voice of the prophet, let us sow for righteousness, living no longer according to the flesh and love of pleasure, but rather conducting our lives according to the gospel. Blessed are those who sow beside all waters, where the ox and the donkey tread. The discourse having been diverted to the works of farming and the fruitfulness in the fields, he persists in the metaphor, and calls blessed those who sow beside water, where the ox and the donkey tread. For the divinely-inspired Scripture calls water the divine and heavenly word for us, and the mystagogue of the saints. For they too speak in the Spirit. And the Savior himself will confirm it, saying: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. For since the word of God is life-giving, for this reason it is also very fittingly compared to water. For water is life-giving, and the cause of all fruitfulness.

33 Having therefore the intelligible supply of such waters, we are accustomed to cultivate the things that lead to virtue. And we are eager to sweat at the labors of piety; in these waters the ox and donkey tread; that is, both the people from the Jews, and indeed also from the Gentiles. For God has justified the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. And as Paul says: "Having broken down the middle wall of the partition, and having abolished the law of commandments in ordinances, he created the two into one new man, making peace. And he reconciled them to God, having placed one yoke on both, and having joined them in one mind, through faith and love and sanctification. And he compares that from the Jews to an ox nation; for the ox is a clean animal according to the Law; and it was offered up as a fragrant aroma to God. But the donkey is unclean. And so, having commanded the firstborn of the beasts to be offered to God; "For you shall sanctify to me, he says, every firstborn that opens the womb... ...... "of a donkey you shall exchange for a sheep; nevertheless, even if the people from the nations were unclean, perhaps because they had gone astray, they were still sanctified through faith. For in Christ he has been justified, he has washed off the filth of ancient accusations through holy baptism, and mixed, as I said, with those from Israel, he has been brought under the yokes of our Savior.

34 Woe to those who afflict you; but no one makes you afflicted, and he who rejects you does not reject. Those who reject will be captured, and handed over, and as a moth on a garment, so they will be defeated. He calls blessed those who sow beside all waters, where the ox and the donkey tread. And we were saying that by these are signified both those from the Jews, and indeed those from the nations called through faith to the knowledge of Christ. But it was likely for some to reason, and indeed to say: Then how are such ones blessed, when those who mind the things of the world persecute them, and always surround them with unbearable circumstances, and often bring them even to death itself? Therefore the discourse sobers up for the exhortation of those who have believed and says: Woe to those who afflict you, but no one makes you afflicted. For to suffer for Christ's sake is glorious for the saints, but for those who inflict the persecutions, the matter is a cause of destruction. They therefore show themselves to be afflicted, and not rather those who have suffered, if indeed those who suffer with him will also reign with Christ. But even if someone should reject you, he says, this one also rejects himself. For those accustomed to doing this will be captured, that is, they will not escape the things from divine wrath;

35 and they will be, by the judgments brought upon them, as if for consumption, just as surely as a garment by a moth. Therefore, the labor for the saints, as I said, is a cause of eternal good things. But to choose to harm those who are dedicated to God is not without penalty for those who do this. Rather, it will be a pretext for the last judgment of all. Lord, have mercy on us, for in you we have trusted. The seed of the disobedient has come to destruction. But our salvation is in a time of affliction. When God has addressed the saints: Woe to those who afflict you; but no one makes you afflicted; they themselves, out of exceeding great joy, almost leaping, say: that every labor of those who choose to disobey will be useless, and that, suffering from great barrenness, they will proceed to destruction, but the manifestation of the salvation to be given to them will certainly be at the proper times. For all their power is in Christ. And even if they should seem to be weak at all at any time, I mean, in being persecuted by enemies, yet then indeed especially He who knows how to save shows the magnitude of His gentleness towards them, and of His help from above. Therefore, in a time of affliction is the salvation for the holy mystagogues especially. And the all-wise Paul will show this by writing: "For when I am weak, then I am strong.

36 And indeed, the Savior of all also [said] to him: "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Through the voice of your fear the peoples were driven out. From your fear and from your exaltation they were scattered among the nations; But now your spoils shall be gathered, of small and great. In the way that one gathers locusts, so shall they mock you. That for those from Israel who choose completely and in every way to disobey, and do not accept faith in Christ, it will come to pass that they suffer the most shameful things of all; and so on the one hand the Law through Moses cried out, but no less do the words through the holy prophets also make it plain. And indeed Christ himself also said: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will say to the mountains: Cover us, and to the hills: Fall on us. Through the voice, therefore, he says, of your fear, that is, the voice that terrifies into fear, peoples were astonished, and the phrase, they were astonished, is instead of, they were amazed, he says. And they have suffered amazement. In what way? From, I think, the greatness of the calamity. For the unbearable of evils puts one out of his mind, and renders the one who has suffered it, as it were, senseless.

37 But if someone should choose to understand the phrase, they were astonished, also in another way, the word would signify, instead of, they have gone outside of the land that bore them. And so they were scattered into all the nations. And up to this point is the voice of the holy prophets, but the person of God is introduced immediately saying to them, that is to those who are amazed and scattered, that Now your spoils shall be gathered, of the small and the great. For not for long, he says, will you be delivered to your enemies, nor will what is threatened be delayed. But rather you will be plundered at once, small and great. And those who ravage you will gather you, as if someone in the fields should gather a multitude of locusts, not accomplishing the task with labor, but rather without toil, and as if in sport. And one might say that Israel has suffered this very thing, being spiritually delivered to Satan, and to the unclean spirits, as to certain enemies for plunder, and to be mocked like locusts. Holy is God who dwells in the heights. Zion was filled with judgment and righteousness. In the law they will be delivered up, in treasures is our salvation, there is wisdom, and knowledge, and piety towards the Lord; these are the treasures of righteousness.

38 The saints cry out again, and with fitting doxologies they hasten to honor the Savior of all, God, who dwells in the heights, that is, either in the heavens, or also in rational creatures whose style it might be, as in an intelligible magnitude of manifold virtue. Therefore, they glorify God, amazed at Zion, that is, the Church of Christ, seeing it filled with judgment and righteousness. For the earthly Jerusalem is deprived of so glorious a renown. For it in no way accepted the righteousness from God the Father, that is, Christ. But the Church from the nations, the intelligible and truer Zion, has become full of judgment and righteousness; and judgment in these things denotes the righteous judgment upon each matter. For it is the custom for the saints to live rationally, and lawfully, and to be gladdened by the evangelical ordinances. Then they marvel at those from Israel, as having the law, although it was given by God for assistance, yet having perished through it. For as the blessed Paul writes, "Not knowing the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For the law was in shadows, established until the time of reformation.

39 But when the new preaching shone forth, and the truth was brought in, it was necessary, surely, for the types to cease, and for the shadow to become ineffective, but contentious Israel, although wishing to agree with the law, and insisting on the commandments of Moses, and thinking to be pious through this, has been delivered to its enemies. For it was not right to dishonor the truth with such long-standing disobediences. Therefore, in the law they will be delivered up. But for us who from the nations have believed, even the law spoken long ago through angels with Moses as mediator was found a treasure of salvation. For there, that is, in it is both wisdom and knowledge, and piety towards the Lord. For the law of Moses has proclaimed the mystery of Christ, and we will find the power of the evangelical way of life as in shadows, directing our slender understanding to what has been written. And indeed the Savior said to the people of the Jews, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. Therefore the law is a treasure of righteousness for those who do not pay attention to the shadow, but rather look through it, and are eager to investigate the beauty of the truth. Behold, in your fear they themselves will be afraid; those whom you feared will be afraid of you; angels will be sent asking for peace, bitterly weeping, begging for peace.

40 For their ways will be made desolate, the fear of the nations has ceased, and the covenant with them is taken away, and you will not reckon them as men. Again in these things, the Lord of hosts is seen encouraging the holy mystagogues; and freeing them from all fear, and revealing beforehand the breadth of the good things that will be theirs. For the wretched Jews were persecuting the holy apostles; on the one hand summoning them to the council, and on the other beating them with rods, and counting as a written and powerful indictment against them their piety toward Christ, and their zeal and eagerness for the divine proclamation. For they were saying, "We strictly charged you not to speak to anyone in this name. And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And we will find the holy apostles themselves fearing the assault of the Jews, but falling down before the all-holy God, and saying: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness. Behold therefore, he says, they will rather fear you, and not you them; those whom you feared will be afraid of you. And in due time they will send angels asking for peace, and weeping bitterly. For their ways will be made desolate, that is, they will not prosper, having chosen to fight against God, and resisting the Lord's commands. For long ago Israel, I mean at the beginnings of the divine proclamation, was unbearable to the holy mystagogues.

41 But when the multitude of the believers became beyond number, in every city and country their folly was then conquered, and they are under the feet of the believers, defeated and weeping, and considering it sufficient for their contentment to be thought worthy of at least peace with them. This, I think, is the meaning of the prophecy. For, he says, the fear of the nations, that is, of the Jews, has ceased, and the covenant with them is taken away. For they have become strangers to intimacy with God, and aliens to the promises; because "Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor are they all children because they are Abraham's seed; but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as seed," that is, those of the faith in Christ. For the forefather Abraham was justified through faith. The covenant with them having been taken away, therefore, he says, you will not reckon them as men, that is, you will consider them worthy of no account. The land mourned, Lebanon was ashamed, Sharon became a marsh. Galilee and Carmel will be manifest. Lebanon is a mountain in Phoenicia, among the most conspicuous, very well covered with cedars and other kinds of trees. It is the custom in the divinely-inspired Scripture to compare the synagogue of the Jews to this mountain, since it has a multitude of inhabitants beyond number, just as indeed it says to it through the voice of another prophet. Open, O Lebanon, your gates.

42 Therefore the land mourned, and not simply all of it, but only the land of the Jews, which suffered devastation by the Romans. Perhaps also being forsaken by God, and banished from his good pleasure. And Lebanon was ashamed, that is, Jerusalem. For she who was once illustrious and renowned, and fortified by favors from above, and having an invincible strength against all, has fallen under the feet of enemies, has been burned, and laid waste, and has been deprived of the mercy from God, Sharon has become a marsh. There is a place in Judea, whose name is Saronas, having indeed well-plowed fields, and being exceedingly suitable for the need of farming. But the land, he says, so fruitful and most fertile has become a marsh, that is, overgrown with a great abundance of thorns having sprung up in it. And again, from the likeness of the more manifest things, it admits a spiritual contemplation. For Israel was laid waste, as it were; and she who was once the nurse of cultivated fruits, and like a good and rich land, that is, that of the The synagogue of the Jews has become thorn-bearing. "For I waited, he says, to make grapes, but it made thorns. But these things will happen to the Jews, for they have acted impiously toward Christ. But Galilee, and Carmel will be manifest, that is, apparent, and conspicuous to all everywhere. And by Galilee he means the land of the nations, that is, the nations.

43 And perhaps the Church from the nations, which he also deems worthy to compare to Carmel. For Carmel is a mountain both thick with woods and high. And such in a way is the Church of Christ. For very many who have been nourished in her have a God-loving mind, and full of every good, raised on high, and removed from earthly affairs. For it is written that the mighty ones of the earth of God were greatly exalted. And it is a custom for the divinely-inspired Scripture to compare the Church to mountains. Now I will arise, says the Lord, now I will be glorified, now I will be exalted. Now you will see, now you will perceive; the strength of your spirit will be in vain, fire will consume you; and the nations will be burned, as a thorn in a field thrown down, and burned. The only-begotten Word of God, existing in the form and equality of God the Father, as from Him by nature, and ineffably begotten, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and having been made in the likeness of men, humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

44 But since, after enduring the cross for the life of all, He came to life again as God, then indeed He inflicted the fitting penalty on those who had driven to this point of impiety, so as not only to disobey Him, though He was calling them to life, but also to dare to surround Him with insults and torments, and even with death itself. For they also perished badly there, with their cities being burned. And when the land was completely ravaged, then indeed they learned the glory of the one who had suffered, and having slipped into such terrible and inescapable misfortunes, they barely knew that their impious acts were not unholily committed against one of the prophets, but against the Savior and Redeemer of all. Since the divine wrath was about to fall upon them very soon: Now I will arise, he says, says the Lord. For having borne evils as God before the precious cross, having already suffered the things upon it, He all but rises up against His enemies. And He was glorified and exalted, having delivered to destruction those who had fought against Him to the end, and having called the nations through faith, and having illumined with intellectual and divine light those formerly in darkness; and having the mist from ignorance in their mind, and heart. Now therefore I will be glorified, now you will see, now you will perceive, for the strength of your spirit will be in vain, that is, it will come to nothing.

45 For I will overcome you, even against your will, and you will be food for fire, just as a thorn in a field burned, and thrown down. For they were consumed, as I said, having fallen into the movements of divine wrath, all but an all-consuming flame. For as the blessed Moses says: "Our God is a consuming fire. Those who are far off will hear what I have done, those who are near will know my strength. The lawless in Zion have departed, for trembling will seize the impious. Our Lord Jesus Christ was sent from God the Father to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. For theirs were the promises, the lawgiving, and the covenant, and the fathers, and He continued making Himself manifest to those throughout all Judaea; both by using teachings that were beyond the law, and by astounding them with signs from God that were beyond reason. But the matter became completely unprofitable for the Jews on account of the great awkwardness of their mind. For the Lord was teaching; but the Scribes and Pharisees, rebuking those who were listening, would say: "He has a demon, and is mad; why do you listen to him? He rebuked wicked and unclean spirits, and this with authority, as God; but they, truly slandering such a supernatural and ineffable power, dared to say: This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons. Therefore they have been rejected, and very rightly so, having no share in the hope in him.

46 But the nations have been initiated, and they have received the saving and evangelical proclamation. This, I think, he teaches by saying: Those from afar shall hear what I have done. For insofar as it pertains to being instructed in the law, Israel was near; but the nations had stood aloof from intimacy with God, clearly a spiritual intimacy, having worshipped creation rather than the Creator; But these, he says, shall hear what I have done, since Israel was unwilling to hear. Those who are near shall know my strength. For Israel has not utterly perished; indeed, very many of them have believed, being, as it were, near to God. Because they had already received instruction in the law, they have come to know the strength of Christ. For they have believed that he has worked wonders as God. But these, he says, shall know. But the lawless in Zion have apostatized and have become entirely outside the hope of the saints. Trembling will also seize them, although they are exceedingly impious. For the experience of the calamities brought upon them will be sufficient for them to be afraid, and to dread hereafter the insolence from them. Who will tell you that a fire is burning? Who will tell you of the eternal place? In these things, he shows that those who are impious toward Christ will fall into a harsh and inescapable punishment, becoming food for fire at the time of judgment. For he himself also said somewhere:

47 "Truly, I say to you, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Therefore, he says, to those who are hard-hearted and have chosen to disobey, he will announce the eternal place, and that a fire has been prepared and is kindled, and this continuously. For as the prophet himself says again somewhere concerning those who have died in their own trespasses: "Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a sight for all flesh. Walking in righteousness, speaking the straight way, hating lawlessness and injustice, and shaking his hands from bribes, making his ears heavy so that he does not hear a judgment of blood, shutting his eyes so that he does not see injustice; he will dwell in a high cave of a strong rock; bread will be given to him, and his water will be sure. You will see a king with glory, and your eyes will see a land far off, your soul will meditate on fear. That some, therefore, fortified by their impieties against Christ, will go down to Hades to be punished and will fall into the unquenchable flame, he has very well declared. And he usefully adds, by which he makes it clear, who would be the ones who ought to partake of eternal life, and who will delight in due season in the gifts from him, which are clearly divine and spiritual.

48 For the one, he says, who walks in righteousness, that is, the one who has honored the works of righteousness and has practiced an excellent life, and the one who speaks the straight way, that is, the one who has on his tongue everything that leads to what is straight, and the one who hates injustice, and anyone who is above the love of money and an enemy of bribery, and who turns his hearing away from a judgment of blood, and turns away his eyes so that he might not see any unjust things, he will dwell in a high cave of a strong rock. For he will be in safety, he says, and as if having an unshakeable dwelling in a rock, he will find permanence in all desirable things. And it is likely, indeed, that through these things the Lord our Jesus Christ has been named a rock for us, in whom the Church is understood as a kind of cave or sheepfold, having a safe and unshakable permanence in well-being; "For you are Peter," says the Savior, "and on this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. To the one, therefore, he says, who dwells in such a rock, bread will be given, and sure water will be supplied.

49 For to those who dwell in the Church, the bread of life is given, Christ, from God the Father, and indeed also faithful water, that of holy baptism, clearly making faithful and steadfast those who are deemed worthy of it. For the grace of holy baptism is given to those who have been cleansed through holy baptism. But you who have received a king with glory, you will see, he says, that is, Christ. And you will see a land from afar, for you have not yet seen the land about which the Savior says: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. With the eyes of the mind we behold it as if still from afar. For this reason indeed we are accustomed to meditate on the fear of God, so that we may be in it and together with the other saints, being filled with the gifts through Christ, we glorify him. Where are the scholars? Where are the counselors? where is he who counts the people assembling, small and great? Whom they did not counsel, nor did he know a deep-voiced one, so that a despised people might not hear; and there is no understanding for the one who hears. Having set forth clearly the rewards of those who have chosen to be pious, he turns again to the need to grieve, rightly reproaching the teachers of the Jews as having sinned out of folly, when they could have prospered through grace from above, and had a God-loving zeal for virtue by accepting the faith;

50 but the wretched ones did not do this, but rather slipping, they were caught in more shameful things in many ways. And yet, though they were accustomed to speak the law, and to busy themselves with the voices of the holy prophets, thus, to know the God-Logos who had appeared to them in human form, and had shone upon those on earth, they were ignorant of him, or perhaps, having understood the mystery, they became bitter. For when they recognized the Son sent from God the Father after the servants, they said: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us have his inheritance for ourselves. And indeed they did kill him, as far as their undertakings had power, even if he was not held by the gates of Hades. Inciting against him the people under their hand, who cried out to Pilate himself, saying: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him! And for this reason, being guilty of the highest impieties, and weighed down by the charge of deicide, they became strangers to the hope in Christ, and lost their intimacy with God and slipped into incurable calamities. Therefore he says to them: Where are the scholars? instead of, In what evils have they ended up? And by scholars he means the scribes. Where are the counselors? And who might these be? Again, those appointed for sacred ministry about whom the law of Moses says, that "The lips of a priest shall keep judgment, and they shall seek the law from his mouth.

51 For by the admonitions of the priests, the people under their hand are instructed. Where then are the counselors? Where is he who counts the people assembling, small and great? Here, consider it signified to me again scribes and priests, or rather Pharisees, who heaped up against Christ the people under their hand, and made a conspiracy of peoples small and great; who also, surrounding Pilate's praetorium, demanded, he says, that the murderer Barabbas be released to them, but that the one condemned for no wrongdoing at all be crucified, I mean, Christ. For he committed no sin. Matthew and Mark, the blessed evangelists, remember this. For when Pilate said that they should rather release to them at the feast Jesus, who had committed no offense, Matthew says that the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, but to destroy Jesus. And Mark himself, as I said, says this very clearly. Where then is he who counts the people assembling, small and great, whom they did not counsel, nor did he know a deep-voiced one, so that a despised people might not hear, and there is no understanding for the one who hears. And the arrangement of the words is indeed very difficult, and the meaning in them is difficult to behold. But I will speak as is possible. For where, he says, is he who numbers the gathered people, small and great, which people they did not advise?

52 For the great populace, it seems, was ignorant that the one cried against was Christ, the Son of God, and they did this because those who knew, that is, the leaders, did not rather advise it to embrace faith in him. For the people, he says, did not know the deep-voiced one, that is, Christ. And he calls him deep-voiced, because his words were hidden, and as in riddles and parables. And so he is introduced through the lyre of the psalmist, saying thus: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. And he also spoke to the Jews in parables. Therefore they did not advise the people, he says, nor did they know the deep-voiced one. But they did not advise, so that a depraved people would not listen. For if they had advised, a depraved people would not have listened. But rather, blessed are those who have recognized the Redeemer. But there was not, he says, understanding in the one who heard. For the Jews, being without understanding, did not test the voices of their leaders, nor did they discern whether they were ever advising good things, or doing the opposite. Behold Zion the city, our Salvation, your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich city, tents which shall not be shaken, the stakes of its tent for all time, nor shall its ropes be broken, for the name of the Lord is great for you. A place shall be yours, rivers and canals broad, and spacious.

53 Between the words of God which he has made against the foolish Jewish scribes and those giving unholy counsel, the persona of the lovers of truth is again introduced, who have recognized the appearance of Christ and are saying: Either the Church on earth, or that is, the beautiful city above in the heavens, the nurse of the saints. So whether one should name the Church on earth, or should receive that other one into the mind, the thing signified by both will be one. For those who have been in the one below will, in due time, also be in that one above and in the heavens. Therefore, since out of great joy they, so to speak, leap for joy, having recognized Zion, in which is our salvation, that is, Christ, and point it out to one another, immediately the divine word takes up their voices, and says: Your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich city; and it speaks as from the likeness of the ancient tent in the wilderness. And it calls Zion rich, and that the tent will be unshakable. For it affirms this, having unbreakable ropes, and stakes fixed forever. For the Church is founded, and has an unshakable permanence for well-being; "For the gates of Hades," he says, "will not prevail against it. And it gives the reason why it will be such, and says to those who have believed in Christ, that the name of the Lord is great for you.

54 For to those who have not embraced the faith, the name of Christ is not great and glorified. But among us who have believed, it is great and exalted. For we worship him as God, as truly the Son of the Father, as the Word become man for the salvation of all things. This ever-abiding tent, therefore, he says, shall be a place for you. For we have made the Church of Christ a city, as it were, a type of the one above. And in it there will be rivers and canals broad and spacious. And by these he signifies the holy evangelists, the apostles, those who from time to time are leaders of the Churches, who, like a river's stream, water the minds of the faithful, overflowing them with the words from God, and sending upon them abundant consolation, that is, clearly, the consolation through the Holy Spirit. But all these rivers and canals receive the one from on high, that is, clearly, Christ, concerning whom it is written: "The streams of the river make glad the city of God. And somewhere he also says He Himself through the voice of a prophet concerning His own worshippers: "Behold, I will turn toward them like a river of peace, and like a torrent overflowing with the glory of the nations. You shall not go this way, nor shall a galley with oars pass by. For my God is great. The Lord will not pass me by. The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler;

55 He will save us. The discourse has again shifted to the person of the believers. For since he made mention of rivers and canals, for this reason, and very appropriately, he speaks as if about a ship. And what then this means, I will try to make clear. For before the coming of our Savior, Satan plundered the inhabited world, with no one rebuking him. But since we have been redeemed through Christ, and dwelling in the holy tabernacle, I mean the Church, we luxuriate in the evangelical and apostolic words, we have grown bold against him who was formerly strong in oppressing, and that Christ will keep our hearts, not allowing the inventor of lawlessness to trample upon them; wherefore we who have believed say to him: You shall not go this way, nor shall a galley with oars pass by, that is, we shall no longer be accessible to your oppressions; nor will you be found in these rivers, like some galley with oars. But perhaps someone might say: From where have you taken courage to say this? Yes, he says, we have courage. For my God is great, and He will not pass me by; that is, he will not pass through me, as Satan formerly did. I will not be subject to his feet; For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king, the Lord Himself will save us. For of old, he himself was that most perverse and cruel ruler of ours.

56 But since we have submitted to the evangelical and saving yoke, we have had as judge, ruler, king, and Lord, the Son, and He will save us. But the prophet Isaiah himself teaches this in another way, speaking both about the Church of God, and about those who have been justified in the faith that is in Christ: There will be a clean way, and it will be called a holy way, and there will be no unclean way there, nor will there be a lion there, nor any of the evil beasts, nor shall any go up there. But the redeemed by the Lord will walk in it. Your ropes were broken, because he did not prevail. Your mast has leaned over, it will not slacken the sails, it will not raise a sign, until it be given up for plunder. Having mentioned a ship, and having named a tabernacle, he again takes up the divine digression; and he says, as if to the Synagogue of the Jews, that is, the tabernacle, that Your ropes were broken, because he did not prevail. For of Zion, the rich city, he says the ropes will not be broken for all time. For our Lord Jesus Christ has founded, as I said, His own Church upon a rock; but the ropes of the Jewish tabernacle were broken, as it were, for they did not prevail.

57 And just as when a violent wind pours down, the sails of a ship are stretched tight, and are by no means slackened because the wind does not permit it, but it suffers shipwreck; so, he says, your mast has also leaned over, and will not slacken the sails. Therefore he makes the declaration of what has happened to the Synagogue of the Jews from the image of those who are sailing. But neither will it raise a sign, he says. But it will remain thus until it be given up for plunder. Behold, he uses this example also, signifying to us in many ways the things that have happened to them. For it is the custom for those who have been victorious in war to raise a sign, that is, to set up a trophy. But those who are defeated do not raise a sign. Therefore, he says, it will not raise a sign, that is, it will not overcome its enemies, but will rather be weak, until it be given up for plunder. And through all these things he signifies that it will both lie under the feet of Satan, and will suffer shipwreck, and will never overcome his perversity, unlike those who inhabit the unshakable tabernacle; but it will rather be for plunder for him. Therefore many who are lame will take spoil, and he will not say: I am weary, the people who dwell in them; for their sin has been forgiven them.

58 Jews indeed for, although they had obtained the ability to walk upright from the tutelage in the law, they have been given as spoil to Satan. But those from the gentiles, although having a lame mind, for they had been led astray and did not know how to go on straight paths, will make spoil. For they will gain the things from God, conquering Satan. And that also having sent away the grievous burden of sin, they will have spiritual rest, he makes clear, saying: The people dwelling in them shall not say, I am weary; for their sin has been forgiven them. For those of the blood of Israel, since their sin was indeed laid upon them; for they in no way accepted the justifying grace, are reasonably given as spoil, and as it were captives to the inventor of sin. But those who have become better than to be accused on account of sin, for it has been taken away by Christ who cleanses, will be within all gladness, and they will be freed from all toil, having sent away what causes grief. The blessed David also mentions these things, saying: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Although the one accustomed to sin says that, "My iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. And it was unbearable and lawless [ρυμφρ. λεγιτ ὁ νόμος] . And so Christ said:

59 "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Draw near, nations, and listen, rulers. Let the earth hear, and those in it; the inhabited world, and the people in it. Because the wrath of the Lord is upon all the nations, and his anger upon their number, to destroy them, and to deliver them to the slaughter. And their wounded will be cast out? and the dead, and their stench will ascend, and the mountains will be soaked with their blood. And the heaven will be rolled up like a scroll, and all the stars will fall like leaves from a vine, and as figs fall from a fig tree. My sword has been made drunk in heaven. Having spoken very well of the Synagogue of the Jews falling into shipwreck, and that it will be delivered to those who ravage it for spoil and capture; and having added to these the calling of the gentiles; For many lame, he says, will make spoil; he makes the instruction necessary for those who once had a lame mind, but have learned to walk upright through faith in Christ. He therefore calls to mind the coming judgment upon all, both small and great. For this reason he says to the nations as though they were still standing far off: Draw near, nations, and listen, rulers. And he has put "draw near" instead of "approach".

60 For as long as they are perchance in error, and worship creation rather than the creator, they stand somewhere far from God. But when the cause is removed, on account of which they are said to be far off, they are brought near to God, and are considered to be near, having become partakers of him, through the partaking of the Holy Spirit. Approach, therefore, he says, both nations and rulers. And let the earth also hear, and those in it, the inhabited world, and the people in it. And what is it that is being indicated? For wrath, he says, is hanging over all those in it, and not simply or indiscriminately; but it will come rather upon those, who have had their sin unforgiven, and the filth from sin ingrained in their own souls. And that they will perish, and will be delivered, as it were, to destruction and slaughter, and will defile the whole place, as in the case of destroyed bodies, he forms the figure of speech. For the mountains, he says, will be soaked with their blood. Then, making the time of this clear, he brings the consummation of the world into the midst, and says, The heaven will be rolled up like a scroll, and the stars will fall like leaves. For as the Savior's disciple said concerning the last day: "Because in it the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements, being scorched, will be dissolved, the earth and the works in it will all be burned up.

61 And new heavens, and a new earth according to the promises we await Him. Therefore, that the heaven will be rolled up, and that the stars will fall, would signify the renewal of this universe. That creation will be set free, the divine Paul also said, from the slavery of corruption, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Adding that, "My sword has been made drunk in heaven," he gives us to understand that the assault of divine wrath will not come only against those on earth, but will indeed run against the unclean spirits themselves, whom it is the custom of the Holy Writings to name "world-rulers of darkness," and "spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. For they will be punished and, as it were, they will satisfy with the justice they undergo, the sword of God, having tyrannized for long ages, and having destroyed, as far as was in their power, the whole world under heaven; and paying the penalties for such terrible impieties. Behold, it will come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of destruction with judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made thick with the fat of lambs, and with the fat of bulls, and of rams. From the universal judgment he brings the discourse down to the punishment brought upon the Idumeans, on account of their impiety toward Christ. Yet he calls Judea "Idumea"; having altered it slightly, so that he might seem also to be mocking it.

62 For Esau, who was born of Isaac, having sold his birthright for a single meal, is rightly called Edom, that is, earthly; for such was the mindset in him. From him, then, those from him are called, that is, Idumeans. For they too are earthly, they might be thought to have an earthy mindset, as I say from the interpretation of the name. Therefore he calls Judea Idumea, as not knowing how to mind the things above, but rather having settled in earthly matters, and having a carnal mindset. Behold, therefore, the sword made drunk in heaven, he says, will now come down upon Judea, or Idumea, and upon the people of destruction, yet with judgment. What other people of destruction could there be but Israel? For it was unwilling to honor the Redeemer by faith. Yet the sword is with judgment, that is, with righteous judgment; for not simply, or indiscriminately, and as it were utterly, has Israel perished, but the remnant has been saved through faith, that is, faith in Christ. For not a few from Judea have also been called, and have believed in Christ. But upon those who have disobeyed the sword of the Lord was filled with blood, that is, the wrath, all but slaughtering, and striking down, as it were, certain rams, and stout and fat bulls, to whom it might fittingly be said by us: "Come now, you rich, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming upon you. And we will add to these words this:

63 "You have lived in luxury and self-indulgence on the earth; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. For such have the leaders of the Jews become, grazing, as it were, in a fat and spacious place on the fruit-offerings from the people; and being fattened, as it were, by the honors from all. But like rams and bulls they have fallen, the wretches, having fallen upon the sword of the Lord. For there is a sacrifice for the Lord in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in Idumea; and the stout ones will fall with them, and the rams, and the bulls, and the earth will be made drunk with blood, and will be filled with their fat. Bozrah is interpreted as distress, and fortification, and good news, and indeed also flesh. Therefore he names Idumea also Bozrah, so that you may understand it as fleshly, or as distressed, that is, besieged; or good news, for Christ preached the good news in it. And I would add, that it is also a fortification; for the Lord was round about it, and round about his people, as it is written. But in this, he says, is a sacrifice to the Lord. For they have been sacrificed by the swords of the besiegers, and not ascending to God as a fragrant aroma, but to the satisfaction of the sword that strikes them.

64 That not only in Idumea will be spent multitude, but indeed also of the notables among them, a very great and pitiful fall will occur, he hints enigmatically, saying, that the stout ones, and the rams, and the bulls will fall with them, and that the earth will be drunk with their blood, and will be filled with their fat. For as in the case of bulls and rams thrown to the ground, and sending forth a great pouring of blood from being consumed, and all but watering it, he says such things. For it is the day of the Lord's judgment, and the year of the retribution of the judgment of Zion. And its ravines shall be turned into pitch, and its land into brimstone; and its land shall be burning, like pitch, night and day, and it shall not be quenched for eternal time, and its smoke shall go up. It shall be desolate for generations, and birds and hedgehogs, and ibises, and ravens shall dwell in it. And a measuring line of a desolate geometry shall be cast over it, and onocentaurs shall dwell in it. More clearly in these things he allows to be understood what he said through riddles. For he names Zion, for which he says a day of judgment and a year of retribution have come, during which, their whole land having been, so to speak, sprinkled with pitch and brimstone, they will be consumed by a savage fire, and will have unquenchable flames;

65 and by the rising smoke, perhaps, it is consistent to understand the report, as it were, of the suffering, signifying even to those far off the magnitude of the disaster brought upon them. He says it will be desolate for generations, and he speaks of the things that happen to desolate cities. For he says that birds, and hedgehogs, and ibises and ravens will make their lairs in it, and indeed that it will be measured out as a desert, with onocentaurs dwelling in it. By onocentaurs he means the wild asses, for whom it is a favorite pastime to make their dwelling in completely desolate places. And by hedgehogs he means those of the mice that are clothed in spines. But if someone should choose to receive also the innermost interpretation of these things, we say that desolate and, as it were, isolated minds of men, because the God of all does not dwell in them through the Spirit, will be apportioned to the evil beasts, and the unclean spirits will lodge in them, in the form, I say, of the named hedgehogs and ravens and wild asses. Her princes shall be no more, for her kings, and her rulers, and her great ones, shall be for destruction. By saying "stout ones" and "rams" and "bulls" in the preceding, [he means] the leaders of the Jews, that is, those who had obtained conspicuous glory, either in the manner of the priesthood, or by being in great wealth and distinction;

66 he names them "rulers" in these verses, making the declaration concerning them clearer. Those, therefore, who once were their kings, he says, and the rulers and the great ones shall be no more. For they will no longer revel in powers over all, nor indeed will they raise a haughty brow, indulging in such exalted honors; but they will be thrust from the thrones of authority; and having slipped from royalty, as it were, and been cast out from ruling, they will go away to destruction, together with the others destroyed by them. For they became an occasion for destruction for those under their hand. And the God of all will teach this, saying: "Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have polluted my portion. They have made my desirable portion a trackless wilderness. It has become a ruin of destruction. And thorny plants shall spring up in their cities, and in its strongholds; and it shall be a habitation of sirens, and a court for ostriches. And demons shall meet with onocentaurs, and they shall cry one to another; there onocentaurs will rest. For they have found rest for themselves; there the hedgehog has made its nest. Again in another way he attempts to make clear for us the things that happen in deserts. For as long as the cities are populous, none of the wild plants grows in them; and the... that rejoice in deserts also depart of wild beasts.

67 But when they become depopulated and deprived of their inhabitants, then the land will be found like some wasteland, full of thorns, a dwelling place for sparrows, especially for sirens. By sirens he means those winged creatures that send forth a mournful voice at night, and all but wail aloud, which are quiet during the day, and dwell in the desolate places of the lands; but they make their flights mostly in darkness, like the owl, and similar creatures. And by demons and onocentaurs meeting one another, and indeed crying out, one to another, he hints at the, as it were, unmitigated desolation of the cities. For evil spirits are said to inhabit quiet places. And those wild beasts that make much of being away from humans, and are trained to wildness by natural laws, also take up their lodging there most gladly. And the earth saved her children with safety; there hinds met, and saw one another's faces. They passed by in number, and not one of them perished; another did not seek her companion, because the Lord commanded them, and his spirit gathered them. And he will cast lots for them, and his hand has divided it for them to pasture; you shall inherit it for eternal time, for generations of generations they will rest upon it. Saying that the land of the Jews would be given over to utter desolation, and be completely deprived of the mercy from above and from God; and of love, he again remembers those who were saved in it.

68 And these would be the remnant, that is, those through faith. And concerning them he says here, that "The earth has saved her children with safety. For the believers from Israel have become sons of the land of the Jews, having found safety and, as it were, an unshakable tower for help in our Lord Jesus Christ. And from the children who have been saved, the divine disciples have become in a way hinds. And they are compared to hinds very fittingly. For this animal is a snake-killer, and is accustomed to frequent springs of water. And such are all who are raised to the lot of piety towards God, being well-suited for the destruction of the spiritual dragon, by overthrowing his glory and rendering the son of his inherent wickedness inert and ineffective. But they also indulge in the spiritual springs of waters, that is, in the provisions of spiritual goods, which all but water the mind, rendering it fruitful for God. There therefore, he says, that is, among those who were saved, hinds met one another. They marveled at one another. For this, I think, is what "They saw one another's faces" means. And not one of them was in danger, for this again is what "They passed by in number, and not one of them perished, one did not seek the other" means. Who then is the one who saved them? "The Lord commanded them, and his spirit gathered them," and he commanded to make disciples of all nations;

69 and to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. "And he will cast lots for them, and his hand has divided for them to pasture for eternal time. For lots, as it were, have been assigned to the holy apostles, among whom each was to preach. And so the divine Peter was appointed to the circumcision. And the Spirit declared, saying: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them; and they became apostles of the Gentiles. Therefore his hand divided lots for them, so that they might pasture for eternal time. For since he made mention of hinds, he necessarily added "to pasture"; for they all but fed upon the lands, delighting in those called through faith to the knowledge of truth, and this is their lot. And so the divine Paul addressed those saved through him, saying: "My joy and crown. And that their boast in these things will be kept for them unendingly by God, he makes clear by saying, "They will rest upon it. Upon what? Clearly, upon the inheritance assigned to them by God. But to commemorate one must also [hear] the blessed David singing about them, that "The voice of the Lord strengthens the hinds, and will lay bare the thickets. For the multitude of the nations, greater than number, were shown by God as thickets, as it were, for spiritual hinds, which they browsed spiritually, luxuriating in the gentleness of the believers. Be glad, O thirsty desert;

70 let the desert rejoice, and blossom as a lily. The deserts of the Jordan shall blossom and be glad; and the glory of Lebanon is given to it, and the honor of Carmel, and my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of our God. It is the custom of the divinely-inspired Scripture to call the Church of the gentiles desert and barren, which once was in this state, having neither the spiritual bridegroom from heaven, I mean Christ, but also being in want of every good thing, and being as it were a nurse of thorns, both thirsty and waterless. But since Christ has been in her; (for He was received through faith and she has been enriched with the divine stream from Him; for He is a fountain of life, and a torrent of delight; and He it was who said through one of the holy prophets: "Behold, I am turning upon them like a river of peace, and like a torrent flooding the glory of the gentiles;") she is no longer barren and desolate; but rather she has many children and is under a bridegroom, and spiritually flourishing. Let the one who was formerly thirsty, then, rejoice, he says; and let her blossom like a lily, having at once both a flourishing and a fragrant quality. For she has become the fragrance of Christ, and Paul will confirm it, writing that "We are the sweet aroma of Christ to God. But 'the deserts of the Jordan,' he says, means the desert around it.

71 For not to the disobedient of Israel, but to us from the gentiles, or also to those of them who have believed, has the stream of the Jordan been given, and it is with us; for we are baptized in it, and, as I said, the holy spring has become ours. To this desert, therefore, he says, which was once thirsty, but has now obtained the renowned Jordan, has been given the glory of Lebanon, and the honor of Carmel. But Lebanon and Carmel are very often said to be Jerusalem, and the divine temple itself. But the glory formerly befitting the holy city and the divine temple has been given to the Church of the gentiles, and in her we have beheld the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of God. The Jews for their part approached the Lord as a mere man, and as one having no advantage over others; but we have beheld the height of his glory. For we know Him to be God, who for our sake became man according to the economy, and thus is God. Be strong, you weak hands and feeble knees. Comfort those of faint heart; be strong, do not be afraid. Behold, our God renders judgment and will repay. He himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be clear.

72 A fitting mystagogy, and a spiritual exhortation for those of the gentiles called to the knowledge of Christ, is the saying, Be strong, you weak hands and feeble knees. For to those still wandering, the hands are idle, and the knees are feeble. And he does not say such things entirely about the parts of the body, but we shall find those in deceit and error to be spiritually sick. For neither is a work of piety to be found among them, nor strength of knees, that is, of mind, for those traveling the pure way of righteousness. But be strong, he says, so that they might also be able to run to God. But you, as ones appointed to the sacred ministry of the divine preaching, comfort the weak, say clearly to the faint-hearted: Be strong, do not be afraid. For the mind is not strong in those who do not know God; for they fear, as it were, the assaults of the passions, and Satan who long tyrannized over them, and in addition to this, death. But behold, he says, God, that is, the Savior is not far off, who will repay with judgment. For he will condemn the ruler of this age, and will deliver the oppressed from slavery under him. For he will come, he will come and save us. What then? He will come then to those upon the earth, the eyes of the blind will be opened.

73 For those who once worshipped the creation rather than the Creator, will make that very creation, which once led them astray, a certain guide, as it were, leading them well to the knowledge of the Maker. For from the beauty of created things, their author is contemplated by analogy; and as Paul says, "For his invisible attributes, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, both his eternal power and divinity. Therefore the eyes of those who were once blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will hear. For those who once shook off the words about God, and strove to make the sacred instruction of the saints unacceptable, will gladly receive it. And the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the stammerers will be clear. For those of old, he says, not knowing how to walk straight, but having their minds, as it were, paralyzed, will leap up like deer, that is, they will be swift of foot and of good repute; spiritually, that is, and in addition to this, also serpent-slayers, and knowing how to speak well. For they will speak the things of God rather, no longer saying to the wood: "You are my father; and to the stone: You gave me birth. But it should be known that Christ also fulfilled these things physically, astounding Judea with his ineffable divine signs. Because water has broken out in the desert, and a ravine in the thirsty land.

74 And the waterless land will become marshes, and in the thirsty land, a spring of water; there will be the joy of birds, a haunt of reeds, and marshes. He has commanded the thirsty desert to rejoice; then he immediately adds the cause of the joy. For water has broken out in it, he says. And the word, has broken out, is well-used, so that the abundance of the supply might be signified by it. And he says ravine, instead of river; and when this has happened, what was once waterless will then be turned into marshes. And it will have a spring of water, either the holy Jordan, or rather Christ himself, the Savior of all; for he is a spring of life, and a well of living water. Upon them has come the gathering and joy of birds. And by birds in these things he means those who have flown up from earthly affairs, and who have become lofty through virtue, choosing to think on things above; these rejoice in Christ as in a spring, who made the desert a haunt of reeds, and marshes. For the well-wooded places are always wont to be crowned with marshes. But the Church from the nations, having been enriched by the stream from heaven, and watered by the divine gifts, and having reveled in the teachings of the saints, is a nurse of marshes, and of reeds, that is, of those who have flourished in Christ unto a blameless life through sanctification.

75 There shall be a clean way, and it shall be called a holy way, and no unclean person shall pass over it, nor shall there be an unclean way there; but the dispersed shall walk on it, and they shall not go astray. And there shall be no lion there, nor shall any of the evil beasts go up on it, nor shall it be found there, but the redeemed through the Lord shall walk on it, and the gathered shall return, and they shall come from Zion with joy, and everlasting joy shall be over their head. For on their head shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall overtake them, pain and groaning and grief have fled away. He calls the power of the evangelical way of life a clean way, or in other words, the purification through the Spirit. For it wipes away the stain ingrained in the souls of men, and frees them from transgressions, and shows them to be superior to all filth. Therefore it has rightly been called a holy and clean way, but inaccessible to those not yet purified. For no one lives according to the Gospel without first having been enriched with the purification through holy baptism; therefore, none of the unbelievers. For these unclean ones will walk, he says, on it. But rather the dispersed will walk, that is, those whom Satan scattered, and it refers to the nations, and they will not go astray.

76 For long ago they were led astray, having worshipped wood and stones, and going on crooked paths. But now they will learn the straight and pure path that leads to a holy life. And that, having become free from the rapacity of the devil, they will live such a glorious life, he clarifies, saying that ‘Neither lion, nor indeed any other of the evil beasts will be there,’ that is, on the pure way. For of old, like some savage beast, the inventor of sin, along with the unholy spirits, leaped upon those on earth; but he was weakened in Christ, and has been driven away from the flock of believers, and by Christ was scared away from his rapacity against them. Therefore, on this pure way, those redeemed through Christ, and gathered together through faith into one accord, will walk, and leaving the old path, they will turn away and come to Zion, that is, the Church, having unutterable gladness on earth and in heaven. For they will glorify the God who saved them. Exultation and gladness, and every form of delight in Christ, will overtake them, and they will be completely without taste of sorrow and groaning. For those who are called with such glorious hopes, who will be heirs of eternal life, and who are about to be enriched with the boasts of glory from above, and who expect to reign with Christ himself, what sorrow will they share? or what groan will they admit? the God of all;

77 the evil beasts will be consumed and will perish. For they will rejoice rather, as being in every way and entirely in all that is good.