Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 20–30

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 20–30

continued

Discourse 30

1 And injustice will no longer be heard in your land, nor destruction and misery in your borders, but your walls will be called salvation, and your gates a sculpture. And the saying is very likely. For if her rulers are in peace, and the overseers are pre-eminent in boasts of righteousness, surely the practice of living eagerly in all righteousness and piety according to Christ will prevail also among those under their yoke. "Not And there shall be, he says, no devastation within your borders. By devastation he means greed, especially against those in a subordinate and weak position. For such people are an easy path, and are set forth as a most ready prey for those who wish to plunder. And at times, the leaders of the Synagogue of the Jews have become unjust and greedy, and rising up against the divine laws, they made their judgments on every matter perverse. For Sacred Scripture in many places accuses them of having advanced to such a measure of unholiness that they were seen to be liable to intolerable charges: for at one time it says that her leaders judged for bribes, and her prophets divined for silver. And the divine one also sings, "Devastation and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes. And the God of all rebuked them even when they were fasting, saying thus:

2 "For in the days of your fasts you find your own wills, and you provoke all who are under your hand. You fast for judgments and quarrels, and you strike the lowly with your fists: and in addition to these things, through the voice of Isaiah: "And they coveted fields, and they plundered orphans, and they oppressed houses, and they plundered a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Since their ways have ceased, but the choir of the holy apostles has been raised up in their place, and those after them who still endeavor to follow in their footsteps rightly divide the word of truth, and have become the best teachers of those under their hand. For this reason, and very rightly, he says that injustice will no longer be heard in their land, nor devastation and misery: but her walls will rather be called salvation, and her gates a carving, and by walls, as I think, he means the holy teachers, securing the Church with dogmatic and ethical instructions, so that it is also impregnable to enemies, whether they be visible or invisible. And these same ones would also be gates, since indeed they use an introductory word, and bring in through faith to the knowledge of truth those who were until now outside of it. And a carving because their word was exceedingly beautiful, and as it were, turned on a lathe toward truth: for everything that is carved is comely:

3 and the Seventy have given this interpretation, but the other interpreters have put Jesus instead of carving. And this is also true. For he was and is called beautiful in his comeliness beyond the sons of men, and we have been enriched with him as walls and gates. For he secures us with unspeakable power, and with the aid of the holy angels: "For he shall give his angels charge over you," he says, "to keep you in all your ways: and "The angel of the Lord will encamp round about those that fear him, and will deliver them. But we come d through him to the knowledge of the Father, and for this he has become both a door, and a gate, and a way. For he said that " I am the door, and the way, and no one comes to the Father, except through me. And he is also an engraving, that is the form, and the appearance of the one who begot him, and the character of his substance, and an image, and the effulgence of his glory. And the sun will not be for you a light by day, nor will the rising of the moon give you light by night, but the Lord will be for you an everlasting light, and God your glory. For your sun will not set, and the moon will not fail. For the Lord will be for you an everlasting light. Some wish, through the meaning of the preceding words, to lead us to suppose something of this kind.

4 For in the last times of the age, when those who lie in the earth have been raised, and our Savior of all, Christ, has descended from heaven with the holy angels in the glory of the Father, the brightness of the elements will cease, but we expect new heavens, and a new earth, and his promises, according to what is written. And the Savior himself also said something of this sort, that " In those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. For the glory of the Savior himself will be sufficient for the enlightenment of the saints. But so that the preceding words might seem somehow to follow the meaning of what has gone before, having praised this interpretation, we also say that something else is signified through the preceding verses. For the light of the sun, and additionally that of the moon, is both useful and necessary for the eyes of the body. But at night the light of the sun is withdrawn, and in the day that of the moon. For they alternately yield to each other to shine. But the divine and intelligible light, which the Savior of all sends into the hearts of believers, he says, through the Holy Spirit, and through those who know well how to initiate into the mysteries, will be unquenchable, and unending, and ever-shining, so that the mind of each is in no need of sun or moon for illumination, or for sight:

5 for the mind is not illumined by perceptible light, but is rather satisfied by the illumination and brightness through the Holy Spirit to be able to see the glory of Christ, and whatever resemblance he might have to the one who begot him, in substance, of course, and indeed also to know unerringly the way of the best life. The Savior has therefore become for us an everlasting light, and this he makes clear to us, saying: " I am the light of the world," and again: " As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. " He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. And the days of your mourning will be fulfilled, and all your people will be righteous, and they will inherit the land forever, guarding the planting, the works of his hands for glory. The few will become a thousand, and the least a great nation. I the Lord in due time will gather them. Those who the Saying that the time of the consummation is being revealed through the fact that the light of the sun, or that of the moon, no longer shines, but is rather diminished, so that our Lord may become an eternal light, they say that for those who mourn now, whom the Savior says will indeed be comforted, there will be an end of mourning at about that time:

6 for they will cease from doing so any longer, and from being worn out, and they will obtain eternal rewards. For this, I think, is what it means to be comforted. But since again it is necessary to follow the lofty aspects of the contemplations, we say this, that for those who remain in transgressions dejection is fitting and most appropriate. For they expect not honors and crowns, not comfort from God, but rather punishment, and fire, and darkness: whereas those who are engaged in good works rejoice in hope, as the all-wise Paul says: for their goodness is succeeded by glory and delight for endless ages: except when he turns to the Lord, even he who is held fast by very many sins, then is justified through faith, and receives the remission of his offenses, and will expect to receive also the honors prepared for the saints. Then indeed the days of his mourning will cease, and toil and dejection will end, and what follows confirms this thought, as it were: "For it shall be," it says, "all your people will be righteous," that is, every people that follows you will be justified: and the word is as to the Church: for Christ justifies the impious by grace and loving-kindness, and He Himself releases from every charge those who have been caught. For who will be the provider of such things, He has revealed, by saying: Protecting the planting, the works of His hands for glory.

7 For we are a planting of the plants of our Savior of all, Christ, and His work: for being wild olives we were grafted into a good olive tree, with Christ, as it were, working on us Himself: for not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord Himself saved us. For He Himself said: "Behold, I who speak am here."-"And it shall be," it says, "that the few will become a thousand, and the least a great nation. For now, that is, in this age, the glory of the saints is hidden, and with respect to worldly arrogance they seem to be very few, not having manifest glory. But when Christ shines forth again from the heavens at that time, even he who was considered to be least and few will become a great nation. For he will lead peoples, and will rule over many, since indeed he has completed the approved course in this life: and this it is possible to see from what Christ said: for speaking to the apostles: "When the Son of man shall sit," He says, "on the throne of His glory, then you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. But indeed also in the distribution of the talents He is found saying, "You shall be over ten tribes: but to others He gives the lesser portion: "For you shall be," He says, "over five cities.

8 Of equal weight as though in every way extending to them a reward for their fairness, and weighing out the honor fitting for each. Therefore, rejoicing in this very thing, the saints say: "He has subjected peoples to us, and nations under our feet. Those indeed who were considered to be the least in life, then became thousands, and a great nation. "I, he says, the Lord of all, will gather them at the proper time," namely, those of the visitation from heaven. For then the saints will have the enjoyment of every good thing: who also will be caught up, as the all-wise Paul says, in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord, delighting in unending honors. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of recompense, to comfort all who mourn, that to those who mourn in Zion should be given glory instead of ashes, the oil of gladness to those who mourn, and a garment of glory instead of a spirit of dejection. He who said in the preceding words concerning those who would be called in faith:

9 "I the Lord will gather them at the proper times," as the time was already present, in which he promised to gather them, and as one who had already become man, and had undergone the likeness to us, and had lowered himself to emptiness, "The Spirit of the Lord," he says, "is upon me," although being by nature God the Only-begotten is the Holy of holies, and he himself sanctifies all creation, since indeed he is begotten of a holy Father, and pours forth the Spirit from himself, and sends it into the powers above as his own, and moreover to those who have recognized his epiphany. How then was he sanctified? For being at once God and the same one man, he gives the Spirit divinely to creation, but he receives it from God the Father according to his humanity. This we say is the use [or, anointing]. And he makes clear the cause of the incarnation. For having said that it was from the Father, he necessarily added, "Because of which he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to those in captivity, and to grant recovery of sight to the blind, and in addition to these to call also a day of recompense: many at the same time are the manifest achievements of the incarnation of the Only-begotten.

10 For in order that he might win the world under heaven, and bring those throughout the whole inhabited world to God the Father, having transformed all things to a better state, and as it were renewed the face of the earth, he took the form of a servant, although being Lord of all. He therefore preached good news to the poor; he says he was sent for this reason. And the poor would be, or rather, be understood as, those who had once suffered the lack of every good thing, having no hope, and without God in the world, according to what is written. written. These would be those from the nations, who being rich in faith toward him, have gained the divine and heavenly treasure, that is, the evangelic and saving proclamation, through which they have become partakers of the kingdom of the heavens, and co-sharers with the saints, heirs of things beyond mind and reason. "For eye has not seen," he says, "and ear has not heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him. Or perhaps the saying also means that to the poor in spirit has been granted in these things the abundant supply of the gifts through Christ. And he says "brokenhearted" for those who have a weak and easily corrupted mind, and are not able to stand against the assaults of the passions, but are so overcome by them as to seem to be captives.

11 To these he promises both healing and release, and to them, being blind, he gives recovery of sight. For those who worship creation, and say to the wood: "You are my father," and to the stone, "You begot me," and then did not know the God who is by nature and truly is, how would they not be blind, having their heart bare of the divine and intelligible light? to these the Father sends forth the light of the true knowledge of God. For they have been called through faith, and they have known him, or rather have been known by him, and being sons of night and of darkness, they have become children of light: for the day dawned upon them, and the Sun of righteousness arose, and the bright Morning Star shone forth. But it is no harm to apply all that has been said also to those of the blood of Israel. For they were poor, and brokenhearted, and as captives, and in darkness. "For there was none on earth doing good, there was not even one, but all turned aside, together they became worthless. And Christ has been sent, before others, preaching the good news to those from Israel of the achievements of his coming. And in addition to these things, so that he might also call a year of the Lord acceptable, and a day of recompense. And an acceptable year, indeed, is that in which Christ was crucified for us.

12 For then we became acceptable to God the Father, and made fruitful through him, and he himself taught us this, saying, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone: but if it dies, it bears more fruit. And again, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself. And so, on the third day he came back to life, having trampled the power of death. Then he addressed the holy disciples, saying: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me: go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit. That year, therefore, is surely acceptable, in which we were received, having obtained intimacy with him, washing away sin through holy baptism, and becoming partakers of his divine nature through of his tyranny, "And having cast him down to hell with chains of darkness," according to what is written, "delivered them to be reserved for judgment to be punished on the great day" both him and the others, who became his fellow-apostates. For indeed the divine David also sings as from the person of the redeemed, and says: " I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in You.

13 I will sing to Your name, O Most High, for you have maintained my judgment and my cause. You have sat on the throne, judging righteousness: You have rebuked nations, and the wicked one has perished: You have blotted out his name for ever and for ever and ever: "Yes, and elsewhere again he says about him thus. "His sin shall be sought, and shall not be found. And the Savior Himself also said: "Now is the judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be cast out. It is a time therefore of recompense, and in this manner, in which Christ shone upon the world: and He says that He has come to comfort all who mourn in Zion, to give them glory instead of ashes, and the oil of gladness, and a garment of glory instead of a spirit of faintheartedness. For there have been at times among the Jews holy men, and learned in the law, and searchers of the prophetic proclamations, and men of knowledge. These, seeing those of the blood of Israel caring little for the commandment through Moses, but turning rather to what seemed good to them, and teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and living a most lawless and sin-loving life, felt over them a grief befitting the saints. And they were looking for the redemption through Christ. For being Spirit-bearers they were not ignorant of Him who justifies the ungodly by faith, and with a grace that forgets evils cleanses those who are defiled.

14 And so, the righteous Simeon, taking the infant Christ in his arms, prayed, saying: "Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. And we shall find also the divine Zacharias, the father of John, saying: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and has made redemption for his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us. And Philip also evangelized Nathanael, saying thus: "We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth. And somewhere the all-wise Paul also writes that "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."-"Therefore, comfort has been given to those who mourn in Zion," that which is through Christ, "and glory instead of ashes. For they ceased to mourn and weep for it, and they received the grace through Christ, evang- both hoping and proclaiming. " And an ointment of gladness was given to them instead of mourning, and a garment of glory, instead of a spirit of faint-heartedness.

15 But by ointment in these things he means cheerfulness, that is, hilarity, and gladness, instead of mourning and weeping, and a garment of glory, that is, a covering, or a robe, and a mantle instead of a spirit of faint-heartedness, that is, instead of their former smallness of soul. For those who formerly mourned her and were faint-hearted for her have been glorified. But how were they glorified? For they have been set up as her guides and teachers, and this was indeed what was said to her through the lyre of the Psalmist: " Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you. For being children of the Jewish Synagogue, the all-wise disciples have become fathers. Indeed the all-wise Paul writes to some, " For in Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you. Therefore, those who had become her sons were placed in the rank of fathers: But that the divine disciples have received the garment of glory from God would be clear from Christ saying to them, at one time, that " Heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead: and at another time again: " You are the light of the world. And they shall be called generations of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for glory. And they will build up the eternal desolate cities, they will raise up those formerly desolated, and they will renew the desolate cities that were desolated for generations.

16 For those in Christ are called "A chosen generation, a holy nation, a people for possession," on account of the beauty of the righteousness within them, and I do not mean that according to the law, but rather that which they have received through the ordinances of the Savior: for the one through Christ is incomparably better than the one in the law: and indeed He said to the holy apostles: " Amen I say to you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven."-"Therefore, he says, they will be called generations of righteousness, and moreover a planting of the Lord. For we are truly God's tillage, and concerning us the divine David says: "Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. And indeed the all-wise Paul calls those called through faith in Christ God's tillage. But he said again, that " I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. " For the Savior cultivates us through the holy mystagogues: for this reason they also very rightly say that they have become co-workers with God. And the all-wise David also sings in the Psalms: "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, he will be multiplied like the cedar in Lebanon. We are therefore indeed a planting of the Lord, and for His glory. "But they will build, he says, eternal desolate cities, and they will renew desolate cities.

17 He seems to wish to make clear through this, either the multitude of those who will be called, that it will be so great, as to seek out other cities besides the existing ones, and to renew them those once desolate: that is to say, perhaps this: For, being straitened, he says, by the multitude in the churches, although they were once bare and desolate, they will do something of the sort that those who wish to build up desolate cities are accustomed to do, and as those who are zealous to raise what is lying on the ground. It was said, then, to the Church: "Enlarge the place of your tent, and of your courts: fix them, do not spare: spread out still to the right and to the left. And the outcome of events itself would show, and very easily, that the prophecy concerning this is true. And foreigners shall come shepherding your sheep, and aliens as plowmen, and vinedressers: but you shall be called priests of the Lord, ministers of God. You shall consume the strength of nations, and in their wealth you shall be admired. [Instead of your double shame, and instead of dishonor their portion shall rejoice, and so] they shall inherit the land a second time. And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. Here he says clearly that there will be a change of the law and of the priesthood according to it.

18 For it is no longer fitting for those of the blood of Levi + to perform sacred rites, nor the name and reality of ministry, but they have been pushed out, and the glory in this has been given to those from the nations who have been called through faith. For they are crowned by the decree of God, and they themselves are appointed as ministers and priests: "For foreigners shall come," he says, "shepherding your sheep. But the saying is directed to the Church, whose sheep the holy multitude of those saved through faith would be understood to be: she is shepherded by foreigners. For the scribes and Pharisees of old, who obtained the lot of leading those of the blood of Israel, became indolent and supine, and most unskilled shepherds. Therefore the multitude placed under them was perishing, since their silver was counterfeit. And they taught as doctrines the commandments of men, and they carried away those subject to them from knowing Christ, at one time saying: "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from: and at another time: "He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him? Therefore, the God of all things testified through the voice of prophets, saying thus, that "The shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord. Therefore the whole pasture did not understand, and they were scattered: and indeed through the voice of Ezekiel: "O shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds feed themselves?

19 do not the shepherds feed the sheep? Behold, you consume the milk, and you do not feed my sheep: and in addition to these things: "You fed on the good pasture, and trampled the rest with your feet, and you drank the settled water, and disturbed the rest with your feet, and my sheep fed on the treadings of your feet, and drank the water disturbed by your feet. For settled water is the [teaching] through the law he calls it my teaching, and the best pasture: but those who were confusing all things, and muddying it by not teaching the people under their hand correctly, prepared, as it were, water to drink that was not pure, nor pasture to graze on that was not fresh. Therefore, and quite rightly, they were thrust out from still shepherding the people of the Lord. For gentiles have been called to this. For wise teachers of the Churches are ordained by Christ, and sagacious, and having a mind filled with doctrinal skill, men from the Greek flock, and not being of the blood of Israel, these have become both plowmen and vinedressers. For since those who have believed are called in many places of the divinely-inspired Scripture chosen earth, and a vineyard, and a garden: for this reason, the word says, that those who from time to time should become priests of the Lord and ministers of God will be plowmen and vinedressers, rightly dividing the word of truth, and ministering the Gospel of Christ, as it is written:

20 therefore they do not seize the honor for themselves, but rather are called by God, just as the all-wise Paul also says. And yet, though he was of the tribe of Benjamin, he calls himself everywhere a minister, and a called apostle of Jesus Christ. "You therefore, all who have received the dignity of the sacred ministry, shall eat the strength of the nations, and in their wealth you shall be admired. He says the strength of the nations, either the honors from the most powerful, who would be those called from the nations, or you will understand it in another way. "For none of you," he says, "will escape the mouth," that is, the word, for the sacred Scripture everywhere puts "mouth" for "word," as in, "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." -"Therefore you shall possess," he says, "the strength of the nations. And by the power of the nations, the word seems in these things to mean either those who are brilliant among them, that is, the most renowned, and those who have worldly wisdom. And we shall find that the word of the holy mystagogues prevailed, and being enriched by their calling, they were glorified. For the boast of teachers, and crown and glory, are those saved through their enlightenment. For this reason he says, "In their wealth you shall be admired.

21 That the divine proclamation will take hold of the regions, and of every nation, and that in due time the leaders of the holy Churches will be, so to speak, heirs of the world under heaven, ascribing glory to Christ, he implies, saying: "Thus they shall inherit the land a second time. For long ago Joshua the son of Nun allotted to those of Israel the lands of the nations: for they took the land of the Amorites, and the Idumaeans, and the Hivites, and those of the others. But Christ, shining upon the world, of whom the Joshua of old was a type, allotted to his own ministers, not just Judea, but indeed the whole earth. And a second allotment came after the first. For they divided the countries and cities by his decree, mystagogues and teachers, and they come hither rejoicing in Christ, and having an intelligible joy, as a certain crown upon their head. And the joy is eternal: for we do not expect the reward to be in temporary things, but in a long hope, and in a life without end, and in the good things that are beyond mind and reason. For I am the Lord who loves righteousness, and hates robberies from injustice: and I will give their labor to the just, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the nations. And their offspring in the midst of the peoples.

22 Everyone that sees them shall know them, that these are a seed blessed by God, they shall rejoice with joy in the Lord. Having said, that "Strangers shall come feeding your sheep, and foreigners shall be plowmen and vinedressers," as the first were evidently cast out, and driven from leading the peoples, he shows the causes for which they have suffered this, by the holy decree of him who judges righteously. For since I love, he says, righteousness, but hate robberies from injustice, and the leaders of the synagogue of the Jews have become such, I have passed over, he says, and cast them out. For the labor of those who seize plunder from injustice I give to others. For those who become rich unjustly, and, as the prophet says, treasure up for themselves impiety and misery, pass these things on to others. For Solomon said, that "Wealth unjustly gathered shall be vomited up, an angel shall drag him out of his house. And again: "He that gathers his wealth with interest and increase, shall leave it to him that has mercy on the poor, and certainly not at all to good and compassionate men, but rather to the profligate. For he euphemistically said that such men have mercy on the poor. For to those who live in profligacy very many attach themselves, and spend with them the things unjustly accumulated by the sweat of many. And the divine David also sings about such men, and says: "Surely he is disquieted in vain:

23 he treasures up, and knows not for whom he shall gather them: And in another way the labor, that is the care, of the Scribes and Pharisees was given to others, it is clear that "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Therefore they were cast out, he says, but with us who are called from the nations to the priesthood I will make an everlasting covenant, which signifies the evangelical preaching, that is, the hope without end. "And among the nations shall be known," he says, "their seed, and their offspring, everyone that sees them shall know them, that these are a seed blessed by God. For the sons in discipleship of the holy mystagogues from much exceeding good work, and from the pious life, are most well-known to all, that they have also become the offspring of saints according to j, which we have done upon the earth. Therefore, the saints must be compared to a bridegroom and a bride, on account of their strength, and in addition to this, their fruitfulness: but consider this, for everywhere in them is that which excels in beauty. This is preserved in them, both in bearing the exceptional fruits of mighty deeds, and in acting manfully against the passions. But that righteousness and exultation shone upon the nations when Christ appeared, like some flourishing grass crowning the earth under heaven, he has shown by saying:

24 “ As the earth bringing forth her flower, and as a garden its seeds, so the Lord will cause righteousness and exultation to spring up before all the nations. And through these things, it seems that what springs up, that is, what rises up, the seed and flower before the nations, he names our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For He said in the Song of Songs: “ I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys: that is, the evangelical and saving proclamation, and His justification being superior to that according to the law, which is entirely and in every way followed by rejoicing, which is exultation. For to those who have completely achieved it, to be in long-lasting gladness will be allotted by God. For they will hear our Savior of all, Christ, saying: “Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord: And exultation, the saving proclamation, might also be understood in another way. For the law was a chastiser, and had much that was dejecting: for anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses, but the evangelical oracle brings to us life and a promise of rewards, and a true hope of goods beyond understanding.

25 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until my righteousness goes forth as light, and my salvation as a burning torch, and the nations shall see your righteousness, and kings your glory, and he shall call you by your new name, which the Lord will name, and you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. In these things he calls Zion the Church, of which the divine disciples became the first-born children from the beginning, and those called through them to the knowledge of Christ, and before all others, those of the blood of Israel. For the remnant has been saved, and very many of them have believed. Therefore, I will not rest, he says, that is, I would not cease from needing to carry out to the end what has been promised to Zion. And God the Father promised salvation through Christ to both Jews and Greeks, if indeed “God is one. as the all-wise Paul says, “who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. For He is not the God of the Jews only, but of the nations also. Therefore, I will not rest, he says, until my righteousness goes forth as light. And the salvation of me will be kindled as a lamp.

26 Both righteousness and salvation Christ appeared and became to those upon the earth, for he justifies, and saves, being himself the true light, and as a lamp in darkness. For he himself said, that " When I am in the world, I am the light of the world. For all things had been seized by gloom and darkness, the devil blackening the hearts of all, and there was no one who did good, and knew righteousness, that is, the path that leads away [alt. leads to] to be saved. But neither was there one who had the divine light in his mind, and was able with the eyes of the intellect to perceive, who is God by nature and in truth, and the creator of all things, and Lord: but when he arose as a light, and the Savior shone as a lamp, then the world under heaven was enlightened, and we have seen the path of salvation through him. Then he says to the Church, from the flock of the Jews, and when the multitude of the Gentiles had not yet been gathered in the net, that " Nations will see your righteousness, and kings your glory. And again in these things, righteousness, and indeed also glory, he says is nothing other than our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have been justified in him, and we have been enriched with the glory from him. For we have become his, and we are called his inheritance.

27 And we have been placed under yokes and scepters, having washed away the greed of the one who tyrannized over us: and that having departed from the worship according to the law, and having, as it were, changed towards the newness of evangelical life, it will also cast off its former calling, and will then be renamed with a new name, according to what seems good to the God over all, he shows by saying: "He will call your new name, which the Lord will name it: for it is no longer called a synagogue, but the Church of the living God, and his city and house. For the divine David also remembers it, saying thus: "Glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God. And that it will be exceedingly beautiful, and crowned with incomparable beauty, he teaches, saying: "You will be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. For each holy soul, and the Church as a whole, that is, the communities of the saints, must be compared to a crown composed of many flowers, or to a royal diadem, shining with Indian stones, and having manifold excellence: for the heroic deeds of the saints are very many, and the manner of their boasts is not one, but many and various.

28 And indeed the divine David introduces the Church of Christ clothed in gold-fringed garments, variegated, but the phrase " In the hand of the Lord," he says, that is, under the shadow of my hand I will cover you: and Christ himself somewhere concerning his own flock, that is, of the flock of those who have believed in him, says, that "No one will snatch them out of my Father's hand. And no longer c You will be called forsaken, and your land will not be called desolate: for you will be called my delight, and your land, inhabited. He teaches again, that He will at last cease from the former turning away, which He has often made towards the Synagogue of the Jews, and will have stopped from His anger, and will make her desirable, and in addition to this also fruitful, and will show her to be crowned with the multitude of those who have believed. For Zion, having rejected our Lord Jesus Christ, has been given over to desolation, and the multitude of those who disbelieved has perished. But since the remnant accepted the faith, then the multitude of the Gentiles has been called to it, and the two were founded into one people, and one Church has consequently been named from both, God grants to her that in no way is she to be caught in the former evils, nor indeed to be called [al.

29 ai] forsaken, or desolate, but that rather she will become desirable to him, and no longer desolate, but rather will be called inhabited. And we see this having come to fulfillment through the things themselves. For in fair weather and calm we see the Churches situated everywhere, and the believers always extending into a multitude beyond measure, and God taking pleasure in them. For persecutions have been stirred up from time to time, but not for a long time, but constrained, and training the saints rather than harming them: for they have become approved through endurance and patience, having taken up the crown of genuineness toward Christ, and having become rich in the glory of martyrdom. And as a young man cohabits with a virgin, so will your sons dwell with you, and it will be that in the way a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over you. Then he makes his words to the Church as one constituted, at least, from the Jewish ranks in the beginning. Of this one the divine disciples were sons according to the flesh, but they were in her, pre-eminent over the others, and leading, as being in apostolic dignity, yet preserving for her the utmost love and affection, so that the tender love that came to be for her seemed to be such as would befit a young man living with a virgin, that is, to her who was joined to him from virginity:

30 and they say that it drives to the limit of all tender love those who are all but bound tight in such a bond. And indeed the all-wise Paul says: "Sorrow I have," "and unceasing anguish in my heart for my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites. And he even prayed to be accursed for their sake, except that a great newness of things is signified through the prophecy set before us, and the change is worthy of admiration: for the old Synagogue, and in a way grown grey [al. grown old] because of time, is compared to a young woman: "For they will dwell as with a virgin," he says, "your sons: And this, I think, is what is in the Psa hymned by us: "Your youth will be renewed like an eagle's," indeed they have dwelt in her, leading her by the hand as a nurse, exhorting her as a mother, carrying her away from the shadows and types, and wisely leading her up to the point of choosing the truth over the unprofitable shadow: the divine David also said something like this to her: "Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you. For those who were her sons according to the flesh have become her fathers, being the beginning of her new children, namely, those called through faith to the knowledge of Christ our Savior of all: and since this is so, he says: "So the Lord will rejoice over you, just as a bridegroom over a bride.

31 For the only-begotten Word of God came down from heaven, that He might make the Church fruitful, whom He presented to Himself as a pure virgin, having no spot or wrinkle, but rather holy and blameless. Having therefore received from Him the seeds of the evangelical way of life, she has both conceived and given birth, no longer to the worship through blood and smoke, but rather to that in which the beauty of truth is most especially engraved. For this very reason He rejoices quite fittingly, seeing the types of the law transferred into evangelical truth, and with spiritual sacrifices, and with truly holy achievements the bride shining forth. And on your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen all the day, and all the night, who shall never be silent, remembering the Lord. For there is none like you. He speaks as to a splendid and well-inhabited city: and always somehow the most prominent of the cities very many and sober watchmen surround, lest any of the enemies should invade unexpectedly: so also the Savior and Lord of all, having fortified the Church with ineffable power and with the help of angels, has appointed for her wise and watchful guardians, who have a sleepless care for her, namely, the holy mystagogues, who in no way cease from remembering His glory, and His wonders, as it is written.

32 For we are accustomed in the churches to always proclaim to the people under our care the mighty works of the Savior, and the demonstration of His divinely-fitting excellence, so that from this they may have a sure and unshakable faith concerning Him. Or perhaps he says that the watchmen will remember the Lord by exclaiming and saying, that "there is none like you. For He is not like us, but by as much as He surpasses human things in the excellence of His renown and in the glory of His divinity, by so much does He excel also in being good and loving-kind. For as the Psalmist says: "He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor rewarded us according to our sins. For He saved us while we were sinners, and lovingly brought to Himself those who were not worthy of being saved. He said something similar also through another prophet: "What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? I will set you as Admah, and as Zeboim my heart is turned within me, I will not act according to the anger of my wrath: I will not abandon Ephraim to be blotted out, because I am God, and not man, the Holy One in you. For since I am not a man, he says, but rather God, the Holy One in you, for this reason I will not abandon Ephraim to be blotted out.

33 If you are corrected, and I make you, Jerusalem, an exultation upon the earth, the Lord swore by his glory, and by the strength of his arm, If I will yet give your grain, and your food to your enemies, and if strangers will yet drink your wine, for which you have labored, but those who gather it will eat it, and they will praise the Lord, and those who gather it will drink it in my holy courts. As from a similarity of things, that is, of misfortunes very often inflicted upon those of Israel, he weaves a narration of most profitable contemplations for us. For they sinned in many ways, having abandoned the God who is by nature and in truth, and being devoted to the worship of idols: for they worshipped the works of their own hands, and having kicked away, as it were, even the life according to the law, they were carried off toward what seemed good to them. For this reason they were smitten by God, sometimes with barrenness, with bodily plagues, with incursions of wars, which, ravaging their whole country, plundered even the things in the fields. For it has been said to them: "You shall sow, and not reap; you shall press olives, and not anoint yourself with oil; and wine you shall not drink.

34 " If therefore you are corrected, he says, O Jerusalem," that is, if you should change to spiritual worship, if you should flee from the types, and recognize that Moses wrote concerning me, if you should receive the grace through faith, "and you make for yourself an exultation upon the earth," that is, a glorious boast, namely that which is in Christ, "the Lord swore by his glory," for he has no one greater by whom to swear, "and by his arm," that of the things formerly inflicted on you because of great disobedience, nothing will happen any more. For you will not have the sweat of your husbandry unrewarded: but you will understand this spiritually: but as the divine David says: "You shall eat the fruits of your labors. And as Paul says, that " Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap, and he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life: that therefore one will abundantly heap up for oneself the things from spiritual fruitfulness, he indicates through the preceding words: "But those who have obtained these things will give glory, he says, to the Lord, and those who gather them will drink them in the holy courts. For those who have gathered the boasts of the excellent life and who collect the fruits of right and blameless faith will delight in the mansions above.

35 Go forth through my gates, and prepare a way for the people it must be, he said, that is, that the word of faith which we preach should be lifted up and become most known, or perhaps also the symbol of the saving passion. And this too is a confession of faith. For one must say that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised him from the dead. And this saves both from death and from sin. Therefore not only of the Jews, but also of the gentiles. For the sign is raised not only for those who have believed from the blood of Israel, but also for those everywhere on earth: for the whole world under heaven has been gathered in through the evangelical preachings. Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your Savior has come to you, having his own reward, and his work before his face: and he will call them a holy people, redeemed by the Lord: and you shall be called a city sought after, and not forsaken. And he foretells the arrival of the Savior, and what things we have gained through it, and the wealth that will be given to those who believe in him. Indeed, he names Zion a daughter. And if someone should wish, let him understand the ancient one as having now been shown mercy, and justified in faith. But if indeed the new one, that is the Church, she too might not unreasonably be said to be the daughter of Zion.

36 For first those from the blood of Israel have believed, and as a kind of daughter of the Church constituted from them in the beginning, the one from the gentiles is named. And to whom does he command to preach the good news to Zion? Or surely to the holy mystagogues who have been appointed to lead the Churches, whom he also strongly exhorted to open the gates and to cast the stones out of the midst? And what then is being preached? " Behold, your Savior has come to you, having his own reward, and his work before his face. He puts two things together, both befitting God and excellent, through which the glory of the Savior might become manifest. For the divine prophets called it to a good life, and to a life lawful and decent. Then they made mention of the rewards, which they will receive from God in due season, for whom it should be to be well-pleasing in word, but they themselves were not givers of the spiritual gifts. But they proclaimed, as I said, the promises of God. But the Savior of all, since he is indeed God, has the power to give rewards, and in addition to this, to oversee the way of each one, that is, his work: for this too is befitting of God.

37 For it is written, that " The ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he looks upon all his paths." -" He will come therefore," he says, "having his own reward," that is, he himself giving the prizes to whom it may be fitting to receive them. And indeed, to the divine Peter who confessed the faith correctly, "I will give you," he says, "the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in the heavens. And he also bestowed upon all the holy apostles collectively over unclean spirits authority, and to be able to heal every disease, and every infirmity among the people. Indeed, he declared that the faith of the thief crucified with him was not without reward, saying: " Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Having arrived, then, he says, those who believe in him "he will call a holy people, and redeemed by the Lord. For not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord himself saved us, as it is written: "But you, Zion," that is, the Church, "will be called a city sought after, and not forsaken: And "sought after," he says, means "deemed worthy of remembrance. For what is sought is remembered: and not forsaken, as was the first, that is, the multitude of those who disbelieved.

38 For it was said by Christ through the voice of Jeremiah, "I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance," and through [the voice] of our Savior of all, Christ himself: "Behold, your house is left to you. Who is this that comes from Edom? with the redness of his garments from Bosor? This one, beautiful in his robe, crying out with strength: I speak righteousness, and a judgment of salvation. Why are your garments red, and your clothing as from a full, trodden winepress? And of the nations there is no man with me. And I trod them down in my anger, and I crushed them as earth. And I brought down their blood to the earth, and I stained all my garments. For a day of retribution has come upon them, and a year of redemption is at hand. And I looked, and there was no helper. And I considered, and no one took hold, and my arm delivered them, and my anger was present. And I trod them down in my wrath, and I made them drunk with my anger, and I brought down their blood to the earth. Wisely and artfully the word of the prophecy all but paints the ascension into heaven of our Savior of all, Christ: for to bring to completion the power of the economy in the flesh, he ascended to the Father and God in the heavens.

39 Moreover, he was seen by the powers above not only in our form, that is, as a man, but also showing the signs of the passion: and we are not saying that after the resurrection from the dead the piercings of the nails, and the other marks were still in the holy flesh, but rather this: for just as he showed the prints of the nails and his side to the disbelieving Thomas, when the holy apostles said that they had seen the Lord raised from the dead, so we understand that in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places through the Church, which he accomplished in Christ, ascending with the signs of the passion, he made a strange and completely unaccustomed spectacle for the powers above. At any rate, they were astonished seeing him ascending, and indeed they said: "Who is this that comes from Edom? is interpreted In Greek, Edom means "fiery," or "earthly: and Bosor, either "of flesh," or "fleshly. "Who then," he says, "is this from the earth," that is, earthly, "with redness of garments from Bosor," that is, with his clothing crimsoned as if from flesh, or rather, from blood? "This one is beautiful in his robe. For the mighty and wise powers, and those full of God-befitting glory, were contemplating Christ, even though He was in the flesh, yes, and indeed full of invincible strength, for this, I think, signified the divine.

40 Therefore, when the angels asked, or perhaps when they were saying to one another, "Who is this? he answers and says: "I speak righteousness, and a judgment of salvation: and he says righteousness is either the evangelical and divine proclamation, or that every word of God is just: and perhaps he calls a judgment of salvation the judgment upon us, for He has vindicated the world under heaven and Satan who wronged it, and has saved those who were oppressed by unbearable greed: and He has cast out the apostate and alien from his rule over them: for he said just now that "Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out, and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. When Christ had said these things, they ask again, and say: "Why are your garments red, and your clothing like that from a trodden winepress, full and trampled? Here, recall for me the patriarch Jacob saying: "He will wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in the blood of a grape. For his garments appeared reddened with blood, and as if stained from wine to a crimson color. Then immediately again the Savior: "And of the nations there is no man with me: he holds to the statement, and connects these things after it: "For I," he said, "speak righteousness, and a judgment of salvation, and of the nations there is no man with me.

41 "For no one stood by me when I was suffering," he says, "from any nation was there one who grieved with me," and as far as men were concerned, he was completely unaided, when both the cohort of soldiers and the ferocity of the officers attacked him, "who also led him away to Caiaphas, as the evangelist says, at that time all the disciples deserted him and fled," but Christ also foretold this: for He said: "Behold, the hour is coming, and has come, that you may be scattered, each to his own, and you may leave me alone, and I am not alone, because the Father is with me. And he said also through the lyre of the Psalmist: "My soul expected reproach and misery, and I waited for one to grieve with me, and there was none, and for one to comfort me and I found none, and they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Therefore, "There was no one with me," he says, "from all the nations. So then, since you were alone, and bereft of fellow-combatants, were you overcome by the hand of your enemies? Have they prevailed, and of your strength who, having grown great, then rejoice as if they have conquered? By no means, he says. And yet, though I had no one to stand by me, I trod them down in my fury, and I crushed them like earth, I brought down their blood to the earth:

42 for after Christ's ascent into the heavens, every kind of unbearable calamity from divine wrath was brought upon the people of the Jews. " For a day of recompense," he says, "has come upon them. For those who had the opportunity to seize the faith, and through it to be enriched with grace, then having become indifferent, or rather arrogant, and insolent, and fighters against God to the very end, how have they not very reasonably come into every evil? However, the time of His recompense was one of redemption for those who had acknowledged His manifestation. For in this, the unruly was punished, but the obedient and submissive was redeemed by Christ. " For I looked," he says, "and there was no helper; I took thought, and there was no one to help: and my arm rescued them, and my fury came upon them. "And I trod them down in my wrath. It seems in these things to make an outcry against the indifference of the Scribes and Pharisees, who were appointed to lead the people, and to guide them to righteousness, and to instruct them very well towards what is pleasing to God. But they were so indifferent and supine as to help none of those under their yoke, and to correct them with admonitions, but on the contrary to lead them away into unbelief. For they have dared to say concerning Christ the Savior of us all:

43 " We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. And again: "He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him? Therefore, since there was no one, he says, helping or assisting, my arm, that is, my power, saved them, for very many, as I said, from among the Jews have believed. But upon those who were unwilling to help, my fury came; they became a thing to be trodden down by wrath. For the evil have perished evilly, and have paid penalties equal to their charges. I remembered the mercy of the Lord, the virtues of the Lord in all things, which the Lord repays to us. The Lord is a good judge to the house of Israel, he brings upon us both according to his mercy, and according to the multitude of his righteousness. God saying that fury came upon the disobedient, and wrath trod them down, and that their blood was brought down to the earth, the prophet has intervened, and does not permit despair for those against whom the words are, but he pursues the matter, and very skillfully. For I remembered, he says, to myself, that the judge of all is not harsh. For I know his mercy and his virtues, that is, his mighty acts in all things, with which he repays us.

44 For even if He has turned away, he says, from an Israel that has acted insolently and has been chosen to disobey, and as he repays us with things from wrath, not unrestrained but rather held back by gentleness, nevertheless I know well his virtues, that is, the mighty works that happened at various times for the redemption of Israel. "Therefore," he says, "the Lord will be a good judge to the house of Israel," not rather strict, but kind, that is, good. For it would be the work of a strict judge to demand from those who have sinned penalties corresponding to their offenses; but of a good one, to have mercy as on those who have become weak. Therefore, since he is a good judge, he brings upon us according to his mercy, that is, he will measure what comes from wrath, and mixing it with mercy he will create the indignation. For a multitude of righteousness is in him, that is, he has passed through to the end of all righteousness. For this reason, and very reasonably, he will not let Israel go completely unpunished, but rather with gentleness, as I said, he will mix what comes from wrath. For the remnant has been saved. And the Lord said, Surely they are my people, children that will not deal falsely. And he became to them salvation out of all their affliction: not an ambassador, nor an angel, but the Lord himself saved them, because he loved them, and spared them:

45 he himself redeemed them, and took them up, and exalted them all the days of eternity. But they disobeyed, and provoked his Holy Spirit: and he turned to be an enemy to them, the Lord himself warred against them. Consider now for me again the person of God introduced immediately, all but crying out against the disobedience of Israel. For the Lord said, he says, that is, the God of all himself: Did I not reckon the people in the rank of children? Since this is true (for he said that "Israel is my firstborn son"), one would not doubt that he would not be hard and disobedient. But he will rather receive the Son who was sent. But this did not come to pass, and the one who knows all things was not mistaken in his hope; for he knew what was to come. For nothing at all escapes him. But the form of the speech has been fashioned in a human way. The prophet, taking up these things that God says, indicts Israel for both insensibility and ingratitude, and shows that they have completely forgotten the good things that came to them. "For he became to them," he says, "salvation out of all their affliction: and no one else besides him saved them, not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord himself through himself. For he worked wonders in Egypt, with Moses acting as mediator, yet he himself was performing the marvels.

46 And so when Israel made the calf, then God was grieved at this, and promised to send an angel with them, Moses was displeased, saying: "If you yourself do not go with me, do not lead me up from here. He himself therefore through himself saved them, having received absolutely nothing from them, but only because he loved them and cared for them. And this is a clear demonstration of his incomparable love for mankind, and of his divine serenity: he therefore redeemed them from the house of is it? That is, they forgot, and they did not seek him, that is, by remembering and loving him. Where is he who brought up Moses with his right hand? Great was Moses, both renowned and exalted in glory: this is what "who brought up" hints at, as the right hand of God was working through him. " The arm of glory prevailed," or it struggled and conquered the nature of the waters, making them firm. For it brings up the waters as a wall, it says, that is, it prevailed over the waters, so that they endured solidification, even though they have a liquid nature. And he fulfilled this also, it says, that he might make for himself an everlasting name: for if anything happened, that is, was also worked through the all-wise Moses, this was done for the glory of God. Having solidified the waters, it says, as a horse, or as a beast, he led them through the sea, as through a plain. This the Psalmist also teaches, saying:

47 "And he brought up his people as sheep, and he led them as a flock in the desert. And he led them, as I said, by the Spirit of the Lord. Thus you led your people, to make for yourself a name of glory. For two things were done at the same time. For not only was Israel saved and delivered from the hand of the oppressors, but also the conclusion of the wondrously accomplished things procured for the God who rules over all the glory fitting for him. Look from heaven, and see from your holy house, and your glory. Where is your zeal, and your strength? Where is the multitude of your mercy, and of your compassions, that you have restrained from us? For you are our Father, because Abraham did not know us, and Israel did not acknowledge us. From the beginning your name is upon us. Why have you caused us to wander, O Lord, from your way, have you hardened our hearts from fearing you? Here, then, the prophet makes prayers on behalf of the whole nation, and from the person of those of Israel he raises up the supplication: for he calls on him to cease from his anger against them, and to end his turning away, and as it were to return to them, he who had departed from them, since he is not some one [among those] on earth, but rather the true God, and has heaven as a house of glory.

48 But if it should be said somewhere that God dwells in heaven, let nothing bodily be thought of him. For we do not say that the Divine is in a place and circumscribed, because it is also simple and incorporeal, and fills all things. But since he rests upon the spirits above, as upon holy ones, for this reason we say that heaven is his throne and his house. Return then, they say: "For where is your zeal, and your strength? And surely no one would say, I think, that the God of all was in lack of such things, but they say such things as no longer partaking of them. For by always using zeal and strength befitting God, he saved Israel. What I mean is, they had been enslaved to the Egyptians who were also distressing their life [alt. distressed their life] with clay, and brick-making, and with the of the people of your inheritance, that we might inherit some small part of your holy mountain. We have become as from the beginning, when you did not rule us, nor was your name called upon us. They ask again for his return to them, I mean through gentleness and loving-kindness. They say they are slaves and an inheritance: not as having done anything befitting a slave, that is, having submitted their neck to his yokes, nor as being counted in the inheritance allotted to him, having practiced obedience.

49 But since they were once called his, and were rich in their intimacy with him in the beginning, for this reason alone they ask to be saved: " For 'Return," it says, "that we might inherit some small part of the holy mountain. The holy Scripture, therefore, very often calls the Church a holy mountain, of which those from Israel have become a small part: for if they had accepted the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the system of the Church would have been gathered from them into a very large part, with the multitude of the Gentiles also being brought to them. But since through much disobedience they have fallen behind the Gentiles, and the multitude of the latter is greater in number, while they themselves are indeed very few: for the remnant has been saved: for this reason they have inherited a small part in the holy mountain, that is, in the Church. But if anyone should say that the city above, the Church in the heavens, the mother and nurse of the saints, is called by them a holy mountain, and that in it they wish to receive a share of the inheritance, you will understand correctly, also in this way: and it says to become as from the beginning, when he did not rule them, nor was his name called upon them: and the saying is very plausible: for having once fallen from his mercy and protection, they returned to their state in the beginning. And what is this?

50 They were enslaved to the Egyptians with clay and brickmaking, and they were continually abused by the labors for this purpose: and now they have fallen under diabolical feet, and are defiled by the passions of the flesh and worldly desires: for this might reasonably be understood as the hidden brickmaking. In Egypt they served wicked spirits, and now the unclean spirit is in them. And the Savior himself taught us this, saying concerning them, " But when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finds none. Then it says: I will return to my house from which I came out. And when it comes, it finds it empty, and swept: then it takes, it says, seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be," he says, "to this wicked generation. If you open the heaven, trembling will seize the mountains from you, and they will melt, as wax melts from the face of fire: and fire will burn up the adversaries, and it will be manifest t the name of the Lord among the adversaries. From your face the nations will be troubled, when you do glorious things. Trembling from you will seize the mountains.

51 It is a custom for the holy prophets to make supplications on behalf of Israel, when at times it was sinning, and about to pay the penalties for its accusations, and as if putting aside the effects of wrath, they would beseech that it be sent upon others, and be turned upon the heads of foreigners. And so the divine Psalmist, in the seventy-eighth psalm, was lamenting the ravaged Jerusalem, and indeed he was saying: "O God, nations have entered into your inheritance, they have defiled your holy temple. And bringing in other things in addition to these, in the middle he says: "Pour out your wrath upon the nations that do not know you, and upon kingdoms, that have not called upon your name. Something like this the prophet now also says: "For if you open the heaven," that is, by the descent of wrath, just as indeed also at the time of the flood: for the floodgates of heaven were opened: then trembling from you will seize the mountains, and they will melt, "as wax melts from the face of fire. And by mountains in these words he means, not at all, of course, the perceptible ones, but rather the evil powers, which on account of their very great arrogance, are very well compared to the highest mountains. Trembling therefore will seize these powers that are companions of arrogance. "For they will be melted down as by fire. Being adversaries to your ordinances, obviously, wrath falling upon them like fire would burn them up.

52 "And the name of the Lord will be manifest among the adversaries. And what is this? For the God of all often works wonders, making manifest the greatness of His inherent power and excellence. Through this He punished sinners at times, and through the wrath upon them He made Himself manifest: something like what happened when He sent fire upon the Sodomites, or when He subjected the stupefied Pharaoh to many and unbearable plagues. Therefore, O Master, they say, do not make manifest your glory or name, through wrath against us: but rather bring it upon the evil powers, that is, upon those who openly fight against your glory, and have been carried to this point out of very great arrogance. For you will be manifest even in this way. For when you do glorious things, trembling from you will seize the mountains: and again he means those mountains, which we just now mentioned. From of old we have not heard, nor have our eyes seen a God besides you, and your works, which you will do for those who wait for mercy: for he will meet those who do righteousness, and they will remember your ways. The Divine is indeed invisible by nature: "For no one has ever seen God," according to what is written: yet it is seen with the eyes of the mind, from what He may work wondrously, and beyond reason.

53 "For the invisible things of him," he says, "from the creation of the world being understood by the things that are made are clearly seen men, and we have all become as unclean ones, and all our righteousness as the rag of a menstruating woman: and we have fallen away like leaves because of our iniquities: so the wind will carry us away as dust, and there is no one who calls upon your name, and one who remembers to take hold of you, because you have turned your face away from us, and you have delivered us over because of our sins. It seemed to some of the commentators, according to another meaning to the preceding Therefore, be not exceedingly angry with us. They are not ignorant that they have stumbled, but rather they confess that they have shown themselves worthy of punishment, having savagely denied the Son: for this reason they, as it were, check their prayer, and do not make their approach completely free: having somewhat restrained their boldness, they do not pitifully ask God not to be angry with them at all, but rather that his wrath be mingled with calmness. For "we are confessedly worthy of wrath," he says, "we who are held fast in such terrible evils, but it would be worthy of your gentleness to shorten for us the things that come from just wrath.

54 " In the time," therefore, "of affliction," he says, "remember not our sins, considering that we are all your people, and the city of your Holy One," that is, in which is your sanctuary. And by these things they mean the temple. Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem has become as a desert, our holy house has become a curse, the glory which our fathers blessed, has been burned with fire, and all our glorious things have fallen. And at all these things you held back, Lord, and you were silent, and you humbled us exceedingly. Having announced beforehand the losses in the soul, and having foretold that they have become easily captured by sins, and carried astray, and like leaves tossed hither and thither by every wind, they finally also call to mind the external calamities brought upon them: and they seem to be lamenting the sack of Jerusalem, and the burning of the temple: for after the cross of the Savior, all these things were indeed accomplished: "Therefore Zion has become a desert," he says, she who was so distinguished, and renowned, and once populous. "And our holy thing has become a curse: and "a curse," they say, instead of, for denunciation and reproach to those who do not know God: for the worshipers of demons, when holy things suffer—that is, things in any way dedicated to God—laugh loudly and exult, and they mock the glory of the one who saves them.

55 For perhaps they think his hand has suffered from not being able to save them, and they do not understand that they have fallen under judgment, having done some of the things that displease him. "Therefore our holy house is a curse. For the temple was holy among them, and it has also been burned with fire, he says, the one proclaimed beforehand by the voice of the holy fathers, so as to be famous and renowned: and they say that all the glorious things have fallen together: for there was no reverence at all for the holy vessels lying in the divine temple from those who were plundering and burning them: "But you held back," he says, "at all these things, and you fell silent, and you brought us down to the ground. For since, though he was able to ward off the attack of the enemies, he permitted them to prevail, and to overrun even the temple itself, they thence infer that they have been neglected on account of wrath, and as the wages of sins, they have had silence over these very things.

56 For though it was possible to easily put a stop to the insolence, then letting this go, and allowing the terrible things to proceed to their end, he would surely be manifest as having brought a harsh wrath upon them, so as to disregard even his own glory, and to endure the laughter of enemies, when it turns out well that punishment is exacted from those who ought to be chastised for their great sin. I was made manifest to those who did not seek me; I was found by those who did not ask for me. I said: Behold, I am, to a nation that did not call upon my name. I stretched out my hands all the day to a disobedient and contradicting people, who did not walk in a true way, but after their own sins. These things are necessarily added to what has already been said. For since they were saying: "Why have you made us wander, Lord, from your way? You have hardened our hearts so as not to fear you: and they added that "Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem has become a desert, our holy house a curse. therefore, the person of Christ himself necessarily enters, as if announcing the reasons for which they have justly suffered these things; instead of attributing the reasons to themselves, they complain, as it were, against the one bringing just punishment upon them. "For I was made manifest," he says, "even to those who did not seek me;

57 I was found by those who did not ask for me: for the Savior of his own accord, running into the synagogues, taught them, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people, as it is written. For what was not done by him that is beyond both word and wonder? Lepers were cleansed, both by the touch of his hand and by his divine command; the dead were raised from tombs, the blind received the much-desired light, the lame leaped like a deer. And indeed, to those who had seen these things, Christ said: "If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe my works."-"I said" therefore, he says, "I am to the nation that did not call my name: for he is found at one time saying, "I am the light of the world," and at another time again, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water': but they were not willing to call upon his name, although he said "I am" explicitly on many occasions. And that they have become unadmonished and perhaps on a par with those who have no ears, hard and disobedient, he shows by saying that "I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contradicting people:

58 for we are always somehow accustomed when conversing with the disobedient to spread our hands with a shout, and to make the strongest possible rebuke against them: "but they did not walk," he says, "in a true way. For they in no way accepted the saving proclamation, "but rather followed their own sins," that is, they were swept away with an irresistible impulse toward a careless and a most lawless life, a cause of both judgment and destruction for them. This again the Savior is found saying to them: " Truly I say to you, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. For they acted contrary when admonished, and they ordered those under their authority saying: "He has a demon, and is mad, why do you listen to him? Yes, and in addition to this they shouted that: "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God. This is the people that provokes me, they are before me continually. They sacrifice in the gardens, and burn incense on the bricks to the demons, which do not exist. And in the tombs, and in the caves they sleep for the sake of dreams, who eat swine's flesh, and the broth of sacrifices, all their vessels are defiled: who say, Keep away from me, for I am pure, do not come near me. This is the smoke of my wrath, a fire burns in it all the days.

59 He convicts those of Israel of being unholy, and not only at the time of His advent, but from the beginning, and as it were from the root, and from their fathers who rejected His divine law, and all but bade farewell to the commandments through Moses, have worshipped idols, and have sacrificed to falsely-named gods, and have become servants of unclean spirits. "This people has always been," he says, "provoking me. For they have sacrificed unceasingly," that is, for long periods of time, "before me. Then how was it possible for them to escape notice, when God oversees all things? For He said somewhere, also through one of the holy prophets: "I am a God who draws near, says the Lord, and not a God afar off, shall anything be hidden from me? Therefore if nothing is hidden from him, how could some who were burning incense in gardens, that is, in thickets, and mountains and glens, have escaped notice? What then does "before me" mean, instead of, even in the very temple dedicated to me. For He said something like this also through the voice of Jeremiah concerning Jerusalem: "What has the beloved done in my house, an abomination? And it is the custom in the Holy Scriptures to call the idol an abomination. Therefore, before my eyes "they burn incense," he says, "both in the gardens," that is, in the mountains, as I said, "underneath an oak, and a poplar, and a shadowing tree," according to what is written.

60 And they sacrificed, as is likely, having followed the passions of the Greeks, to certain demons, which they call nymphs, hamadryads and oreads: but they are not, he says, not because the wicked demons do not exist, but because they are rather not gods, according to the suppositions of those who sacrifice to them. And they sacrificed both in tombs, and in caves, practicing what are called necromancies, as is likely. And they slept in tombs, being deceived by certain dream-sendings and phantoms, and meddling with the knowledge of future events. For such are somehow the inventions of the unholiness of the Greeks. That also the p of the law a blessing is in it: thus will I do for the sake of him who serves me. For this reason I will not destroy them all. And I will bring forth the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah, and it shall inherit my holy mountain, and my elect and my servants shall inherit it, and they shall dwell there. Indeed, the things from divine wrath were brought upon the Jews, and they have paid penalties equal to their own transgressions, yet not all have been utterly and indiscriminately destroyed. For the judge is just, and would not destroy the good with the wicked: but he makes as it were a bright image, and receives as an example a cluster of grapes in which one berry is saved, although the others have been spoiled:

61 then he brings in the husbandman, that is, the master of the field, saying to someone: "Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it: thus will I do," he says, "for the sake of him who serves me," that is, I will use such precision, that even if in one city all the others have turned to destruction, and one and only one is found faithful and obedient, this one will receive mercy, and would not share the danger with the others against whom the judgment justly goes. "For I will not destroy all," he says. For the Lord's wrath leaped down, as it were, upon the arrogance of the Jews, all but consuming the disobedient and intractable: but by the providence of God was saved whoever among them was worthy of salvation through Christ: and indeed the divine Paul says that a remnant chosen by grace has come into being, and as it were, a selection from the whole land of the Jews, the remnant of Israel, was caught by the net for the faith. "Therefore I will not destroy them all," he says, "but I will bring forth the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah. But as for "I will bring forth," you will understand here, not so much "I will destroy," but "I will show to be high and conspicuous: for sometimes "to bring forth" is "to exalt.

62 And such, I say in my opinion, have the divine disciples become, high and conspicuous to all everywhere, and like a city set on a hill, and a lamp set on a lampstand, and shining to all who are in the house, according to the voice of the Savior himself. This, then, is the seed from Jacob and from Judah: "It shall inherit," he says, "my holy mountain: and it is clear that this means the Church. For thus also somewhere else the all-wise Isaiah signifies it, speaking about those who through faith in Christ have been called to participation, that is, and communion of his divine nature: "For they shall drink gladness, and they shall drink wine, they shall anoint themselves with myrrh on this mountain. Deliver all these things to the nations. For this is the counsel upon all the nations. On this mountain, therefore," he says, "there will be an inheritance for my elect, and on it all shall dwell, as many as run under the yoke of my kingdom: and it is not at all unlikely to say that the city above, the heavenly Jerusalem, is called a mountain, in which is the inheritance of the saints, as God distributes to them goods beyond mind and reas aqa/. "For eye," he says, "has not seen, and ear has not heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him.

63 And there will be in the forest folds for flocks, and the valley of Achor for a resting place for herds for my people, who have sought me. It is the custom for the divinely-inspired Scripture to compare with very leafy forests, and with thick flowers the populous cities, or countries at times, and so indeed one of the holy prophets said, as to the mother of the Jews, I mean, Jerusalem: "Open, O Lebanon, your doors, and let fire devour your cedars: howl, oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down. And surely one would not say that he commands pines and indeed oaks to howl: for the thing is utterly simple-minded: but with trees, as I said, he sees fit to compare the multitude beyond number of those in the cities and countries. But the Jews howled, falling under the swords of the enemies on account of their impiety toward Christ. And somewhere the divine David also sings in a psalm, since Christ was about to appear to the world: "Then all the trees of the forest will rejoice before the face of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. Therefore, " In the forest," he says, that is, in the multitude of the nations, or in their cities and countries, "there will be folds for flocks," that is, the Churches of Christ. "and the valley of Achor for a resting place for herds for my people, who have sought me. This Achor was one of the blood of Israel:

64 and when Jericho had been sacked, then God having commanded to put under a ban all things in it, he stole from the accursed thing. And when he was exposed by God, a bitter penalty was exacted: for he perished with his whole household, Joshua the son of Nun having determined the penalty for him. Therefore, then, the valley of Achor was for a curse. And such in a way were also the lands of the nations: for they were accursed, and hated by God, as there was no one in them who knew the God by nature: but the accursed land, he says, according to the ancients will be for a resting place for herds, that is, folds of spiritual sheep, under the hand of Christ the chief shepherd of all, who has spoken to the people of the Jews, saying concerning the nations, "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will become one flock, one shepherd. For those who were once wandering sought him through faith, and indeed having found him, they have become his own, and fellow citizens of the saints, and fellow heirs of the good things promised to them. But you, who have forsaken me, and have forgotten my holy mountain, and who prepare a table for the demon, and who fill a drink offering for Fortune: I will deliver you to the sword, and you will all fall in slaughter, because I called you, and you did not listen;

65 I spoke, and you did not hear, and you did evil before me, and you chose the things I did not want. Just as g it has not been without penalty for those of the blood of Israel to disobey Christ, for they are given over to slaughter, the remnant having been saved by the mercy and loving-kindness of God, so also you will understand regarding the calling of the nations. For those who have seized the salvation through Christ, have been outside of both fire, and judgment, and the things from divine wrath: but those who have remained in their own ignorance, and have kept the stain of their old accusations unwashed, through wishing to be attached to the worship of idols, will be given over to slaughter. For they will dwell in Hades, and they will have unending punishment through sleepless fire. You therefore, he says, who have forsaken me, that is, the apostates to the end, and those who have been brought down, as it were, into complete forgetfulness of my holy mountain. For some of the deceived do not endure, and of those who have worshiped creation, to know, so to speak, the name of the Church: "those who prepare tables for the demons, and fill mixed drinks for Fortune. And those who have their heart filled with diabolical darkness did something like this. You will be handed over to slaughter, and if anyone dares to say for what reason, I will say to him:

66 I called and you did not listen, but you have a persistent and unremovable wickedness, doing only those things that are discordant with my laws, and debasing every way of doing good, but being eager to do rejected things, through which one might become full of every filth. Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty. Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame. Behold, my servants shall exult in gladness, but you shall cry out for the pain of your heart, and you shall howl from a broken spirit. For you left your name for a reproach to my chosen ones: but the Lord shall slay you. He always necessarily sets alongside the crowns the evil things, by both leading to the necessity of choosing the things that please him, both to think and to do: for just as rewards entice towards the pursuit of virtue, so the bitterness of judgment sometimes removes one from the ways of wickedness, and drives one towards better things. Most skillfully, therefore, he runs under the minds of those who are called, both promising them rewards, and threatening punishments. "For my servants shall eat," he says, "but you shall be hungry, and they shall drink, but you shall be thirsty. And while they are rejoicing, you will be put to shame:

67 for those who have known God who is by nature and in truth, and have leaped away from those falsely named, and have marveled at the beauty of true worship, will truly luxuriate in the blessings from above, being fattened in their hearts, and approaching the life-giving table of our Savior of all, Christ, and eating the bread of life, and the divine drink, through which they might be of the gladness from above partakers: for He cleanses from sins, and puts away what causes grief, and does not allow the fear of punishment to prevail over our thoughts. For we rejoice rather in the hope of good things, which the holy Scripture says have been prepared for those who love God, " But you," it says, who have remained in error, "will cry out because of the pain of your heart, and from a broken spirit you will wail. For when our Savior of all, Christ, has descended from heaven, and then gives to each according to his works, all will mourn, and those who have not known God will lament. the true one, but rather having died in their own sins. For you have left, it says, your name for a surfeit to my elect, the Lord will destroy you. Observe for me again the depth of the thought. It is a custom of the divinely inspired Scripture to sometimes say "for a surfeit," instead of "for satiety," and "hatred. For God said somewhere to those of the blood of Israel: "I will no longer bear your sins:

68 you have become a surfeit to me. You, therefore, it says, who have neither departed from the falsely named gods, but are dead in your own sins, have left your name for a surfeit, that is for hatred, to my elect: for to those once chosen, no one considers the name of the superstitious acceptable. And everyone flees from being called God-hated, and an unholy and profane idolater: but rather desires to be called a holy people, a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, according to the voice of the divine Peter. But if someone should wish to apply what was said to those of the blood of Israel, so that to them would be said, "You have left your name for a surfeit to my elect: we say that Israel was indeed called children of God, and His people, and His inheritance: but since they slid uncontrollably into willfulness, they have fallen from such glory, while those called from the nations have inherited it, as it were: and this, I think, is what God said through the voice of Hosea: "I will call what was not my people, my people, and I will say to what was not my people: You are my people. But to those who serve him, a new name will be called, which will be blessed upon the earth: for they will bless the true God. And those who swear upon the earth, will swear by the true God: for they will forget their first affliction, and it will not come upon their heart.

69 For the heaven will be new, and the earth new, and they shall not remember the former things, nor shall it come upon their heart, but they will find gladness and rejoicing in it. All things have become new in Christ, both worship, and life, and legislation: for we are no longer attached to shadows and useless types: but we rather perform for the God over all the worship and service in spirit and in truth. But we are not named according to those of the blood of Israel, as from the patriarchs, or fathers, Ephraim, or Manasseh, or as from they struck the heads of the poor with their fists, and they turned aside the way of the humble. I will rejoice, therefore, he says, over my people, seeing them to be workers of true righteousness. For no one among them will weep, clearly because he is being defrauded; and again, no one will cry out as one who has been wronged. "And there shall not be there, he says, an untimely-born or an old man who shall not fulfill his time. For the youth shall be one hundred years old, and the sinner who dies at one hundred years old shall also be accursed. But I think the mind of the prophecy wishes to signify something like this. For it seems to consider as untimely-born the people from the gentiles, who are still young, concerning whom David says: "The people that shall be created will praise the Lord: and to these also the disciple of Christ writes, saying:

70 "Like newborn babes, long for the spiritual and pure milk. Therefore, the young one is untimely-born, but the old man is he of the circumcision, that is, Israel by blood, since he was called beforehand and, in the spiritual Church, had precedence: But in the calling, he says, that is through Christ, and in the times of his coming, neither the untimely-born nor the old man will have a distinction between them in this very respect: for all will be perfect, and all will fulfill their time, that is, they will ascend to a perfect man, and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. For the young one, that is, the people from the gentiles, will be one hundred years old, meaning, perfect, and mature in mind, and having reached the end of spiritual age: for the number one hundred years is a sign, or a symbol, of perfection. Then he says, that "the sinner who dies at one hundred years old shall also be accursed. In these words he shows that even the perfection according to the law is useless to those who have it, if they have not accepted the faith that is through Christ, and the redemption through holy baptism, through which alone we cast off the thoughts that come from sin. Therefore, even if someone is one hundred years old, he says, that is, he should have the perfection according to the law;

71 then he should die a sinner, that is, not having received the righteousness that is in faith, he will also be accursed, meaning, he will also be found guilty of transgressions of the law. For no one among the Jews has become so great as to fall away in no way: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace. And that this zeal is useless even to those perfected according to the law, if the grace through Christ has not been received, the all-wise Paul shows very well by having written to some, that he considered all things in the law to be rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him not having my own righteousness, that is, that which is in the law, but that which is through faith in Jesus Christ. And he writes as if to the Jews for their foolishness, saying thus: "For being ignorant of 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. And he said again: "We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the Gentiles: but knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Christ.

72 For this reason Christ was called a curse, so that he might redeem from the curse of the law those who had come to be under it: for it is written, that "Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all the things that are written in the book of this law, to do them. And they will build houses, and they themselves will inhabit them: and they will plant vineyards, and they themselves will eat their fruit. And they shall not build, and others inhabit: and they shall not plant, and others eat. For as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people: the works of their labors will grow old. But my chosen ones shall not labor in vain, nor will they beget children for a curse: because they are a seed blessed by God. And it will be before they cry out, I will hear them. While they are still speaking, I will say: What is it? He promises to them unshakable peace, forbearance and goodwill, kindness and philanthropy. For of old those of the blood of Israel, through too much folly, and manifold wickedness, and of not enduring to live rightly, they continually provoked God who rules over all: for this reason they were tormented in many ways: for sometimes the things in the fields were destroyed, and enduring the sweats of agriculture in vain, they were worn out by famine: for it is written, that "And he gave their fruits to the blight, and their labors to the locust.

73 And it has been said somewhere to them also through one of the holy prophets: "You shall sow, and you shall not reap: you shall press the olive, and you shall not anoint yourself with oil, and you shall not drink wine. And again: "You shall build polished houses, and you shall not dwell in them: you shall plant desirable vineyards, and you shall not drink their wine. For at times attacks of wars were also brought upon them, so that some were consumed by their own swords, and others, fearing to suffer this, fled from their own homes and from the land that bore them, and migrated to other regions: but the ancients suffered these things, and not once, on account of great sin: but those who in Christ have seized the grace that is through faith, and have washed away the defilements of sin through holy baptism, will not fall into their evils, nor will they suffer an unapproved loss of the things they have spiritually labored for: but rather they will delight in their own right actions, according to that which is sung in the Psalms: "You shall eat the fruit of your labors: the wrists being called the flesh beneath the palm. For no one casts them out: nor will anyone ever drive them away from the dwelling that will be given to them by God. For there are many dwellings with the Father: but not even if they they shall be of the lot to be given and fitting for their spiritual fruitfulness:

74 for, he says, their life will be according to the days of the tree of life, that is, holy. For such it was before the transgression in the first-formed humans, when it was also possible for them to partake of the tree of life, when the most abominable and God-hated sin had not yet found a place in them. The word of the prophecy adds something else of this sort: "For the works, he says, of their hands will grow old," that is, they will have an unchangeable way of things to be done. What do I mean? For the law was given to those of Israel through Moses: but in it was shadow and type, having the form of the truth, but not yet the truth itself. But when Christ shone forth, the types changed to truth, and as it were the shadows have passed away and grown old, that is, the power of the way of life in the law has not prevailed forever. Therefore, those of the blood of Israel did not make their works old—for the legal worship was unprofitable, at least as far as types are concerned—but those in Christ will make them old. For another law will not be given to them, so as to transfer the power of the evangelical ordinances to something better. For it has been said somewhere to the Savior of all, Christ, through the voice of the Psalmist:

75 "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is truth. -But my elect, he says, will not labor in vain, nor will they beget children for a curse. He teaches again as if by comparison, that is, by contrast with what formerly happened to the Jewish teachers: and these are Scribes and Pharisees, who, having abandoned the law and teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, became fathers of children, that is, in respect to learning, but in vain and for a curse: the Savior taught us this also, rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees: for he said that "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves. Therefore they begot children for a curse and in vain; but my elect, he says, that is, the divine disciples, or in short, the ministers of my ordinances, will not beget children for a curse, nor indeed in vain, like them: for their seed will be a blessed seed, and blessed by God. And that he will be very attentive to them, giving gifts out of gentleness and love for mankind, and holding his ear most ready for their supplications, he shows by saying that "Before they call, I will hear them. While they are still speaking, I will say: What is it? Then wolves and lambs will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox, and the serpent, earth like bread.

76 They will not do wrong, nor will they do any harm on my holy mountain, says the Lord.It was understood in two ways of life: that therefore He rather lays claim to worship in spirit, and He deems that which is in shadows and types as completely worthy of no account, He teaches clearly: but besides this He also wants them to know something else, how they raise their eyebrow, and have grown proud over none of the necessary things, having raised the temple in Jerusalem: For they thought that the Divine is also contained by a place, and dwells in handmade temples comprehensively, just as the falsely named gods of the nations, being nothing at all, except that they are wood and stones: and for this reason He says: "O you who do not know the excellence of the divine glory, O you who do not understand the greatness of the dignities that belong to me," "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? Or what is the place of my rest? For the Divine fills all things: and with it, earth and heaven? Let it be said then in a human way, that having heaven as a throne, He makes the earth as a footstool. What space then will receive Him? Or what house will suffice to contain Him? "For all these things, He says, my hand has made: and all these things are mine. But what are these things?

77 It is clear that it is both the things seen, and what is beyond the things seen: for all creation is His, and by His nods things that once were not were brought into being. What then shall we offer to Him as if it were not His? He says something like this also through the voice of the Psalmist: "If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for all the beasts of the field are mine, cattle on the mountains and oxen. I have known all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and the beauty of the field is with me. "On whom then shall I look," He says? "Or in any case upon the humble and the quiet, that is, the yielding and meek, and the genuine minister of my will, so as even to tremble at the words that might come from me? And through these things He signifies the evangelic and saving proclamation: He deems these worthy to watch over, and to visit as humble. For he is bold and boastful who rises up against His divine laws, and through much disobedience, he stretches out to Him, as it were, a proud and hard neck of his own mind: that He makes the worship through the law unacceptable, and holds it in hatred, He will make clear by saying: "He who sacrifices a calf to me is as one who kills a dog: and he who offers fine flour, is as one who offers swine's blood:

78 and he who gives frankincense for a memorial, as one who is blasphemous. See then how the things that are as in shadows and types, He not only makes rejected, but has indeed also hated, as I said: for He considers the slaughter of a calf as the death of a dog, and the fine flour mixed with oil as unclean. For He means, I think, this by comparing it to swine's blood: and the swine is unclean according to the law: and the smoke from frankincense He puts on a par with a blasphemous voice. He therefore through these things moves them toward the will to live evangelically, and thus [these] somewhere rather according to the existing of the Songs, that "Your breasts are better than wine. But first of all to those accepting the faith in our God Jesus Christ food suitable for infants is offered, that is, the tender and simple word of catechesis: for thus Paul also somewhere addressed some, saying: "I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it, nor are you able now. But that it is not fitting to always be and be seen as infants, those who drink up the word of catechesis, but that they should rather advance, both to a perfect man, and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that they might then be able to understand the precise and examined word about him, he taught by adding:

79 "That having been weaned you may delight yourselves, from the entrance of her glory. And when he says, "having been weaned," it is instead of, "having gone beyond breasts and the nipple," that is, having been weaned from milk, that is, no longer remaining infants, but being, as it were, already among youths and men, and desiring solid food, you shall delight from the entrance of her glory: and he calls Christ "glory" for thus somewhere the Psalmist also says concerning him, "That glory may dwell in our land": and "entrance," the mystery of the economy with the flesh: being God by nature, he became man, and, as it were, entered into this world through the incarnation. Therefore they delight who know [or, give] the precise account of the faith concerning him, and who learn in what manner glory, that is, Christ, has entered into the inhabited world: for this reason the divine prophet immediately, and in connection, makes his appearance with the flesh clear: for he presents his person speaking, that "Behold, I am turning upon them, like a river of peace, and like a torrent flooding the glory of the nations. Christ, then, is a river of peace, and a torrent of delight for thus the divine David also names him, saying: "How you have multiplied your mercy, O God; and the sons of men will hope in the shelter of your wings: they will be drunk from the fatness of your house, and you will give them to drink of the torrent of your delight. And again:

80 "The rushings of the river make glad the city of God.": And he has turned, and as it were with most abundant streams has flooded the glory of the nations, that is, the honored part of the nations, or, all that has been glorified. For not all have believed, nor indeed have been glorified, but as Paul says concerning God the Father, "Those whom he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, these he also called; and those whom he called, these he also glorified. Indeed, in saying, "turning," he gives such a thing to be understood: For his way and his course, according to the purpose and good pleasure of the Father, was toward those of the blood of Israel: for he said that "I was not sent, except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But since they rejected the faith, he turned away from them as it is written, and to those of the nations n flocks he bestowed the comfort from the sacred streams, that is, the evangelical and saving proclamation, through which they have gained peace with him, and through him have been joined in spiritual kinship to God the Father. Their children will be carried on their shoulders, and they will be comforted on their knees. As a mother might comfort someone, so I will comfort you. And in Jerusalem you will be comforted, and you will see, and your heart will rejoice, and your bones will flourish like grass.

81 And the land of the Lord will be known to those who revere him. He promises to us the most abundant comfort, and a giving of all gentleness, so as to be able to accomplish what is pleasing to him even without any labor. For those among them who are still infants, he says, and not yet perfected in their minds, will be carried on their shoulders like small infants, and will be comforted on their knees: for it is the custom of mothers to care for infants in this way. Therefore, I will concede little to a mother, he says, but I will so comfort those who for now have a weak mind, that they will lack nothing of those things that contribute to their rest: and being so nursed, he says, and going through all gentleness and love, in due time you will see both the city above, the heavenly Jerusalem: you will be filled with gladness, and all your bones will flourish like grass. For the dead will be raised, and those in the tombs will rise up, having become rich with the dew from Christ, that is, the life-giving spirit: for so says the Psalmist somewhere to God concerning those who lie in the earth: "You will send forth your spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. As, therefore, the things that have flowered in the fields after a short while fall and wither, but when the spring season has arrived, they rise up again and appear:

82 so the remains of the dead in the earth, at the time of regeneration, by the ineffable power of God will rise again. For they will be raised, as I said. "Then indeed, then the hand of the Lord will be known to those who revere him. By hand, in these things, he means either his power, or our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and in whom are all things. For through him again is also the revival of the dead. For it would be a result of his power, both to have the strength to bring into existence things that never were, and having suffered corruption, to renew them again to their original state. And he will threaten the disobedient: For behold, the Lord will come as fire, and his chariots as a tempest, to render vengeance in wrath, and rebuke in a flame of fire. For in the fire of the Lord all the earth will be judged, and by his sword all flesh: many will be the wounded of the Lord, those who sanctify and purify themselves for the gardens, and in the porches eat swine's flesh and the abominations and the mouse, they will be consumed together, said the Lord. And I their works and their reasoning I know their.

83 Having sufficiently exhorted those in the new Zion, that is, in the Church, and having promised them the most lasting consolation, and a supply of spiritual goods, and in addition to these the revival from the dead, and the mansions above, and the glory there, he says that the attempt in these matters will not be without penalty for those who choose to disobey him. For he shall come as a fire, he says: for he shall descend from heaven, in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. For this is his chariot, according to what is sung in the Psalms, "The chariot of God is ten thousandfold, thousands of the prosperous. And he will come to render vengeance in wrath, and a casting away in a flame of fire. The casting away signifies the rejection: for he will say to those who have died in sins: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for thus, he says, the whole earth will be judged, and as if struck by the sword of divine wrath many will be wounded. These would be those who receive the inescapable penalty, and run into the unquenchable flame, and are bound by the chains of their own transgressions:

84 but especially of all, he says, will be subjected to the penalty those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves for the gardens, that is, those who have rejected the redemption through Christ, and have dishonored the grace through holy baptism, which justifies the ungodly, and frees from every charge those who have been defiled by sins: but rather loved to walk in error and ignorance, and to worship gods that are not, who also use unclean and filthy instruments of sprinkling. For they purify themselves, as indeed they suppose, deceiving themselves and being deceived. For either they were sprinkled with waters, or, carrying firebrands around in a circle, they thought to cleanse their own souls from evil thoughts [or defilements]. And that there is absolutely no account of decency and fairness among such people, nor even a mind befitting a human, but they were rather compared to senseless beasts, he shows by saying, that they sanctify themselves in gardens, that is, in the groves, or thickets, under the oak and the poplar, and the shading tree. For there by them are built altars and precincts to the demons, and in the entrances of the precincts they ate swine's flesh. And this too is proof of luxury. And they worshipped the abominations and the mouse. For perhaps some of the superstitious descended to such a madness as to even have establishments and images of mice in shrines. But all these, he says, will be consumed together, that is, along with those who were disobedient from Israel:

85 " For I knew their works and their thought. And by thought he means their reasonings, by following which they became inventors of shameful enterprises, on account of which to them also the of the abom of things has been made, although it is necessary to worship the one God by nature and in truth. I am coming to gather all the nations, and the tongues. And they shall come, and shall see my glory, and I will leave signs upon them, and I will send forth from them those who have been saved to the nations, and to Tarshish, and Phud, and Lud, and Mosoch, and Thobel, and to Greece, and to the islands far away, who have not heard my name, nor have seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations. Christ makes, as it were, a certain recapitulation of the whole discourse, and of all prophecy through these things, and as in brief and concise terms he announces the things from the beginning to the end, and the power of the economy in the flesh. For he also remembers the calling of the nations, and the appointment of the holy apostles, and that he will be worshipped by all under heaven. For the old law gathered one and only one nation, that is, clearly, the one from Israel, and it called one tongue.

86 But our Lord Jesus Christ did not bestow the power of the economy in the flesh on those of the blood of Israel alone, but indeed on every nation and all tongues. For He said through the lyre of the Psalmist: " Hear these things, all nations: give ear, all you who inhabit the world: therefore I will gather all, he says: " They shall come, and shall see my glory. For they have been called through faith, and those who were once far off have become near, and they have seen his glory: how, or in what way? For they have heard through the evangelical proclamations that he is both equal in work and equal in strength to God the Father, and he has become the accomplisher of things beyond reason, so as to raise the dead from their tombs, and to give light to the blind, and in addition to these things to have done other things worthy of all account and wonder. Or in another way: they have seen his glory, having been initiated that the Word was God, and became man: for the Gentiles have not said, as the Jews did: "Why do you, being a man, make yourself God? But rather, having recognized the mystery concerning him, they cry out those sacred words: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," and indeed also that which was said by the holy apostles, "Truly you are the Son of God. And a sign has also been set upon them:

87 for as Paul says, " We were sealed with the Spirit of redemption, and Christ was formed in all our hearts through participation in the Holy Spirit. And from those who have been saved, he says, I will send them to the nations, to these and those. And these nations are some towards the west, some towards the east, and some in the more northerly regions, that is, according to the land of the Greeks, and to the islands beyond. " There, he says, they will declare my glory. For the disciples have not been silent, but have proclaimed everywhere the Gospel of the kingdom, and of the sacred proclamations