Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 20–30

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 20–30

continued

Discourse 26

1 But I am not disobedient, nor do I contradict. I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows, and I did not turn away my face from the shame of spitting, and the Lord became my helper. For this reason I was not confounded, but I set my face like a solid rock, and I knew that I would not be ashamed, because he who justifies me is near. Through the things already read before, or rather examined before, he has made a very great outcry against the disobedience of the Jews. For he said that I came and there was no man, I called, and there was no one who obeyed, but the person of those who accepted the faith having been inserted in the middle, and saying: The Lord gives me a tongue of instruction to know when it is necessary to speak a word, and the things added to these, and those raising up voices of thanksgiving. The person of Christ himself runs in again, zealous to contrast his own obedience with the follies of the Jews, in order that he might completely convict them of being hateful to God, raising a proud and harsh neck to him who calls them to salvation. For I have called, he says, and there was no one who obeyed.

2 They have become slow to obedience, tardy and completely without understanding in what is necessary to understand for their benefit, and the things through which it was likely to be able to run through, and very easily, both the tyranny of sin, and the plots of diabolical malice. But they disobeyed, but I do not disobey. For since God the Father willed to sum up all things in me, things in heaven and on earth, I submitted myself to emptying, and have descended into the measures of human poverty, having appeared as a man that I might become obedient, even unto death, and the death of the cross. Therefore I have given my back to the scourges, and my cheeks to blows. And my face I did not turn away from the shame of spitting. For these things happened for him to suffer, with the insolence of the Jews raging against him, and Pilate tearing him with scourges, and one of the unholy servants insulting him, and striking him, and others spitting upon him. But there was one purpose for the one suffering: to carry out to the end the good will of the Father. And so Christ said somewhere, that "I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, "that of all that he has given me, I should lose nothing from it, but should raise him up on the last day.

3 Therefore, for the sake of securing life for those who believe in him, he did not consider insults, or scourges, or the experience of being spat upon as something to be rejected, although he was God by nature, and true Lord. Then he says as a man, And the Lord became my helper, for this reason I was not confounded, but I set my face like a solid rock, and I knew that I would not be ashamed because he who justifies me is near. He speaks, therefore, in a human way, as I said, and in no way unfittingly to the measures of his emptying. Nevertheless, through these words he seems to allude to the judgment that befell the insolent, on account of their impiety toward him. For, he says, the Lord became my helper. It is as if he were to say, When I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows, and suffered also the passions on the cross, the Father became a helper. For he defended, and did not allow his own Son to be utterly confounded, nor indeed to be put to shame. For they have been punished, and those who dared to fight against God have paid the penalty for their offenses against me.

4 And by adding that He who justifies me is near, he again subtly indicated that the matter of justice for those who had acted insolently against him would not run to a distant time, nor to a postponement, but would, as it were, follow close at hand, and at the heels of their deeds. But we say that the Son was justified in some such way as this. For since they dared to kill him who was just, and in no way guilty of any faults, they have been punished, as I said, and the punishment of the sufferers has testified to the complete innocence of the one impiously insulted by them. God the Father said something like this: "And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death. And by rich and wicked, he names the leaders of the Jews. For suffering from extreme love of money, they were carried away by it into wickedness against him. For although they had recognized him, they said: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us have his inheritance for ourselves. Who is he who contends with me? let him stand against me at the same time. Who is he who contends with me? let him draw near to me. That he was righteous, and completely innocent—for he committed no sin—and endured the outrages from the Jews, the divine prophet himself will confirm, saying about him: "See how the righteous one has perished, and no one takes it to heart.

5 And again, as from the person of the Jews concerning him: "Let us bind the righteous one, because he is useless to us. And the matter itself would cry out. For how was it possible for the divine and pure nature of the Word to sin against what is fitting and proper to it, and to sustain the blemish of an offense? For it has been said concerning Christ, the Savior of us all, that "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth of him. Therefore, since he says that he, being innocent and just, endured the plots from the Synagogue of the Jews, he necessarily addresses those who did not know his complete sincerity, or perhaps, even thought that something wrong had been done by him, and that he suffered on the cross, and in justice, and says: Who is it that contends with me? let him stand against me at the same time. This resembles what was clearly said by Christ himself to the Scribes and Pharisees: "Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? For although the only-begotten Word of God was made like us, and took on a likeness in every respect whatsoever, yet in this one thing alone he is believed to have been beyond our nature. For since every man is subject to stumblings and sins, and no one at all has had a completely blameless life; he alone, even when he became man, kept for himself his God-befitting dignity.

6 For the nature of God would reasonably be understood to be beyond sinning. Therefore he also said, that "The ruler of this world is coming, and he will find nothing in me. For he who was made like us, that he might deliver us from the snares of sin, how could he himself be caught with us, or how could he come under blame and indictment, he who frees from indictment and blame all who have believed in him? "For it is God who justifies, who is he that condemns? Behold the Lord helps me; who will harm me? Behold all you shall grow old like a garment, and a moth shall consume you. He wishes to teach two useful and necessary things at the same time to those who have nursed an impious and unjust envy against him. First, that the plot against him, and the bloodthirsty enterprise, would in every way and entirely fail. Then, that bitter and unbearable punishments will be exacted from those who have sinned against him; for they thought they could subject to death the Lord who is the author of life. But as the Psalmist says, "They have devised a plan, which they shall not be able to establish. For it was impossible for him, being life, to be held by death.

7 Therefore, he was raised by the power of God the Father, as it is written, not having become weak himself, inasmuch as he is understood as Word and God, I mean in being able to drive away corruption from his own flesh, but because he became man, appearing to receive this also from the Father. For all things for man are God-given. For that God the Father through him abolished the power of death, through his resurrection from the dead, would be clear from his saying to the crowds of the Jews: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. But since it is his custom to attribute things beyond human hand and nature rather to the person of the Father, for this reason he also says here in a human way: Behold the Lord helps me, who will harm me? For with God the Father assisting, he says, and destroying all your insolence, and establishing my glory, who among you will be so great as to oppose the invincible counsel, and be able to harm him who is helped by him? Therefore, if the Scribes and Pharisees had any sense, they would have abstained from their plots and attempts against him, having known beforehand through the holy prophets, that they would not be able to wrong Christ, being God, and Lord, and true Son of the Father; but they rather draw upon themselves a terrible and most severe judgment. And this he teaches, adding:

8 Behold all you shall grow old like a garment, and a moth shall consume you, that is, you will go to oldness, and decay, and to destruction, wasting away in many and inescapable evils, while an incurable calamity consumes you like a moth. This again the prophet Isaiah also says somewhere else: "Why should you be struck any more, adding sins? Every head to pain, and every heart to grief; from the feet to the head, [there is no soundness in him,] neither wound, nor bruise, nor festering sore, it is not to apply a poultice, nor oil, nor bandages. Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire, strangers devour your country in your presence, and it is desolate, overthrown by strange peoples. This plain speaking, even of things so dreadful, is very sufficient to persuade the Jews to be quiet, and in no way to choose to offend God, if indeed, as I said, their plot was to be fruitless, and for their unaccomplished undertakings they themselves would pay the penalty, and fall into utter ruin and destruction. Who among you fears the Lord? Let him hear the voice of His Servant. Saying that those who might choose to labor in vain and to revel in insolence against him would grow old like a garment (for he said, Behold, all you shall grow old as a garment, and the moth shall devour you), he then offers kindness to the gentle, and shows them the path of salvation;

9 for very many of those from Israel have believed, as was also clearly related in the Acts of the Apostles. For the remnant has been saved, of which the divine disciples have become, as it were, the first fruits and the first offering. Therefore, to those more ready for faith he offers things of gentleness, saying: Who among you fears the Lord? Let him hear the voice of His Servant. And by calling himself the servant of God, he allows us to understand that even having become man, he is the true Son of God the Father. And to hear his voice was not a transgression of the law, but a confirmation of the law, which prefigured the truth through type and shadow, which is Christ and his ordinances. For this reason the all-wise Paul also writes, and says: “Do we then nullify the law through faith? By no means! Rather, we uphold the law. For it is written, ‘My righteous one shall live by faith.’” And the end of both the law and the prophets was the mystery of Christ, justifying the ungodly by faith, and freeing from accusations those ensnared by their own transgressions. Therefore, to hear his voice, that is, Christ's, which is to accept the evangelical and saving proclamation, was a confirmation of the law; and that it is pleasing to God the Father for those on earth to be instructed by the voice of the Son, the power of the evangelical Writings would show to the more discerning.

10 For Christ was transfigured on the mountain, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light; and Moses and Elijah appeared talking with one another; then there came a voice from God the Father, instructing the holy apostles and saying: “This is my beloved Son, hear him. If, therefore, there is anyone, he says, who has the fear of God in his mind, and has hidden it within himself as a kind of treasure, let him hear the voice of His Servant. It is, as I said, the evangelical and divine proclamation, calling to the redemption that is through faith in Christ, and to a holy way of life, and one far superior to that in the law. For the one, as I said, was in shadows, while the other has the truth bright and manifest. You who walk in darkness, and have no light, trust in the name of the Lord, and support yourselves on the Lord. The most skillful of physicians sometimes combine with harsh medicines also remedies from gentle things, as if charming away the harsh and more savage pain. We find that our Lord Jesus Christ has now done something of this kind.

11 For on the one hand he convicts them as walking in darkness, and as if held fast by a mist, and utterly deprived of light, that is, clearly, of the divine and intelligible light, and making their paths not upon any of the things that lead to salvation, that is, to their benefit, but rather upon those things which would easily push them down into the abyss of destruction. For it is not, it is not possible for those in darkness ever to walk uprightly; for they are brought down, if a pit should be found anywhere, or if stones are scattered about, they stumble unguardedly to them. Therefore, to you, he says, I offer admonitions, to those walking in darkness and who unwisely do not accept the light from me. You have trusted in the name of the Lord, and you have leaned upon God. "For since, out of excessive foolishness, the peoples of the Jews, seeing the only-begotten Word of God in our form, that is, having become man, did not understand the mystery concerning him, but being senseless they often grieved him with slanderous words, sometimes calling him a Samaritan and a drunkard, and sometimes, being sharpened for wrath by a misguided zeal (for they said:

12 "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.") Necessarily, as I said, having just become man, he makes clear to them his transcendent and most God-befitting glory and power, and he turns some away from wishing to think small things of him, saying: You have trusted in the name of the Lord, and you have leaned upon God; most clearly, therefore, he says that he himself is Lord and God, turning them away, as I said, from wishing to think and to say anything base and abject concerning him. And it is a boast for those who have received the faith, to trust in him, and to make him a rod and a support. For he sustains all things for well-being. And this, I think, the divine Psalmist teaches when he says to the Father and God of all: "Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me. For the human mind is prone to slip regarding the things in this world, and it has veered much toward improper pleasures and love of the flesh; and it always needs the one who saves, and who extends a saving hand, so that those who have partaken of the help say: "He set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps. That the mind of the Jews was cast into darkness and gloom, it is possible to see from the holy Scriptures.

13 For the all-wise Paul says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ might not shine. And the divine prophet Isaiah says something like this concerning those of the blood of Israel: "When they waited for light, darkness came to them; waiting for dawn, they walked in gloom. But Christ himself called them to the light, saying: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the dark[ness], but will have the light of life. It is fitting, therefore, and it is true, that for those not choosing to follow him, it will in every way and entirely follow that they walk as in night and darkness. Behold, all you kindle a fire, and strengthen a flame. Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame, which you have kindled. Because of me these things have happened to you; you will lie down in sorrow. And he shows them another thing, which was likely to be able to effortlessly move them to choose to think correctly. For the memories of punishments, with their beneficial terrors, somehow render even the disobedient and hardened mind receptive and docile. He says, therefore, that they kindle a fire against themselves, who strengthen a flame. For by stumbling through long disobedience, and by wishing to have a heart that is thus unadmonished, they raise up against themselves the unquenchable flame, that of punishment, clearly.

14 What has been clearly said by our Savior Christ himself has the same meaning as the preceding things: "He who believes in the Son is not judged. But he who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the Son of God. For what else is it to be judged, except to fall into flame, and into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels? And by adding, You strengthen a flame, he allows one to understand something both sharp and true. For those who place upon a fire wood that can be burned up, strengthen it. For the flame rages amidst much wood, but it somehow grows weak when not well-supplied with much. The Jews, therefore, kindled a fire against themselves, by killing the prophets, and having stoned those who were sent, and having strengthened their own flame adding to their former crimes their drunken outrages against Christ. For they have added the Son to the servants, and as far as it was in their power, they killed the author of life, even if He came back to life, being God and life. But since they did not accept the teaching through Christ, remaining in the shadows of the law; for this reason, and very rightly, as those thinking they had the light from the law, but not truly having it, he sends them away from fellowship with him, saying: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled.

15 For it was not a light for them, but the seeming to know the law, yet no longer wanting to accept the things through Christ, became for them a cause of fire and flame. For that they have paid the penalty for their drunken outrage against Christ along with having died strengthened in their sins, he makes clear by adding: Through me these things happened to you. In sorrow you shall lie down. What are these things? For their country has been ravaged, and the wicked have perished wickedly, and the holy city has been captured, and has fallen into the hands of enemies, and the temple itself was burned, and they have fallen asleep in sorrow. For those who die unpurified, and not being deemed worthy to receive the redemption through Christ, not in the hope of rewards and spiritual gladness, but in fear of punishments and in sorrow because of them will they lie down to sleep. Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, and seek the Lord. Look to the solid rock from which you were hewn, and to the pit of the cistern from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you, for he was one, and I called him, and blessed him, and loved him, and multiplied him.

16 Having sufficiently reproached those who had hardened themselves to the truth, and having made clear the punishment that would befall them, if they did not choose to follow the evangelical decrees, they persisting, having raised the proud and harsh neck of their own mind, he transfers for a time the words of exhortation to those who believed from the blood of Israel. For the nation of the Jews has not utterly perished, but the remnant has been saved according to the voice of the prophet. And indeed, as it is written in the Acts of the holy apostles, very many received the word concerning Christ, they recognized the epiphany of his glory. To these, then, he speaks, and says: Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, and seek the Lord. And he says "the just" instead of righteousness, clearly that which is through Christ, that which is, I say, through faith in him, which justifies the ungodly, and frees the defiled from all stain, and sanctifies in the Spirit, and procures the glorious boast of adoption. And they pursue righteousness, not as driving it away, and having removed it from their own minds, but as running towards it, so that they might also grasp it. The divine David also said something like this: "Seek peace, and pursue it. Or you will understand it according to that which was said by one of the holy prophets: With what shall I apprehend the Lord, shall I take hold of my God most high?

17 They pursue righteousness, therefore, as I said, so that having found it they might seize it. These would be those who also seek the Lord himself, that is, Christ. For they find him through faith, God the Father calling them to this. And indeed Christ said somewhere to the people of the Jews: "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. But consider this: God speaks not to all simply, but rather to those who are pursuing righteousness, and seeking him, according to the ways just now mentioned by us. Therefore all who are called to the knowledge of truth through faith in Christ are taught by God. But what the power of these thoughts might wish to declare, we will say as we are able. For there was a very great multitude of the Jews, but entirely few were those from among them who believed. Except that they will advance at times he tries to assure the believers, who are a multitude greater than number, brought from the circumcision and the so-called uncircumcision, that is of the Gentiles, God gathering them, taking the divine Abraham, and with him Sarah, as an example of the matter, or rather for the confirmation of hope for this. For they became the root of the whole nation, although being of an old and advanced age, and no longer in hope of being able to bear children. For he was one hundred years old, and she was both barren and childless.

18 But since nothing is impossible for God, but all things are smooth and easy, they became the beginning and root of a multitude of people rivaling the stars. For it was said somewhere to the divine Abraham, to look up at the stars, and to believe that his seed would be equal in number to what was seen. And that Sarah did not bear a child according to the law of human nature, and that the divine Abraham became the father of a child, a man already over-aged and past his prime, he receives two examples: a solid rock being quarried, and a deep pit being dug. For just as it is among the most difficult things to be able to quarry stone from a solid and hard rock, and to dig a deep well; in the same way, I think, it would not be easy, but rather impossible for a child to be born from an old man and a barren woman. Nevertheless, this too was accomplished paradoxically, with God's assent. Therefore, when you who have believed consider yourselves to be few, since the divine and holy preaching is indeed in its beginnings, yet it is firmly established, he says, that your affairs will increase to a multitude greater than number .

19 For Abraham was one, and I called him, and I blessed him, and having blessed him I loved him, and having loved him I multiplied him, that is, I have made him father of the whole race of the Jews, or nation, and in addition to this, of those of the promise. For it was said to Abraham, that "I have made you a father of many nations. Therefore, the one who is called is blessed, and whoever is blessed will be loved in every way and altogether, and he who obtains this will be numerous, spiritually that is. For he will have various fruits from virtues and from evangelical boasts. Nevertheless, even according to the historical account, it is possible to see the promise as true through deeds. For what is under heaven worships Christ, the Savior of all, and all things have become full of him, and all the earth has been filled with his glory. And I will now comfort you, Sion, and I have comforted all her desolate places, and I will make her desolate places like the paradise of the Lord. They will find gladness and joy in her, they will give thanks [or: thanksgiving] and a voice of praise. The word of the holy prophets is always somehow shaped in relation to visible things, and to matters of sense perception. Yet it has a reference to things that are beyond sense and intelligible.

20 Therefore, even if it names Sion, do not think of the earthly one, but rather accept the intelligible one, which is the Church of the living God; since how could one see the prophet's words coming true? For God promised to comfort her; but we will find this has happened nowhere, but on the contrary it is possible to see her made desolate and ravaged. Therefore the word for the prophet now has been addressed to the multitude of those who have believed, which is the Church of the living God. And what, then, does he say? For just as, he says, I called Abraham, and being one I made him the father of many nations; so also I will comfort you, Sion. And the comfort in these things is a gladdening promise, and one that implants a firm hope in its hearers, that in every way and altogether, as God gathers those who will be called in faith, she will not be desolate and fallow, but like some paradise, flourishing and with the finest trees, adorned with beautiful and noble plants, and having intelligible fruitfulness, that is, gladness and joy, thanksgiving and a voice of praise. Understand from this that he promises to bear away from the legal worship those who will be in the rank of plants, and the intelligible filling a garden, which indeed he calls the paradise of God. For of old the law of Moses commanded to sacrifice oxen, and to slay sheep, and to offer turtledoves to God, and fine flour mixed with oil.

21 But the God of all is no longer approached through these things, but as Christ himself said: "God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. But worship in spirit and truth, and the power of spiritual service, has as its fragrance spiritual gladness, and exultation in the hope in Christ. For we are disposed that he will also transform the body of our lowliness to be conformed to the body of his glory; and we shall be with and reign with him, ranked among the sons of God, and having been enriched with his divine and life-giving Spirit. And we also offer to him a spiritual fruitfulness, both confession and songs of thanksgiving. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Listen to me, and you kings, give ear to me, for a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment for a light to the nations. Promising to show the multitude of those who believe in him to be very great and beyond number, thus he speaks to it, as if it were already gathered. He then initiates them as his own worshipers, so that what is written about them might also be seen to be true: "And they shall all be taught by God. For the divine David also sings, and speaks thus to Christ, the Savior of all: "Blessed is the man whom you instruct, O Lord, and teach him out of your law. And he also promised the honor in this to those who have recognized his epiphany.

22 And indeed he also says through one of the holy prophets concerning his own presence, which came to be in this world in the flesh, that "In that time, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts. And having rightly understood this, the all-wise Paul writes, and says to those who have obtained this: "You are our letter, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Therefore, "Listen to me," he says, that is, receive my words, and do not become unbridled like Israel, clinging to the oldness of the legal letter, and seeing nothing beyond the types. Until the time of reformation the commandment through Moses was established, he says. But since the time of the incarnation is no longer expected, but is already present, let the shadow give way to the truth. Therefore, listen to me, my people. And saying, "my people," he holds forth the spiritual kinship granted to them in due time, entreating, as I think, also through this, and making them more eager for what is necessary, I say, to receive the word from him. And he calls not only those who are among the peoples, but with them also kings, so that you may understand the rulers, that is, the leaders of the peoples. For from the multitude of believers many were brought to this, of whom the divine disciples became the firstfruits; then after them, following in their footsteps, those after them were invested with the name of kingdom;

23 since indeed they were enriched with the name of kingdom, and also appointed to lead peoples. And so, as from exceedingly great joy, they raise up songs of thanksgiving to God, saying: "He has subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. And about them sings also the divine Psalmist: "The rulers of the peoples were gathered together with the God of Abraham. O then, peoples and kings, he says, listen to me, and give ear, and what is promised for the future. A law shall go forth from me, and my judgment for a light to the nations. In these words, "law," he names the divine and evangelical proclamation. For the new and saving ordinance is, as it were, of a different kind; and, as it were, a change of the ancient law for the better, and a transition of types that have passed away to the truth. For Christ said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For I say to you, that not one jot or one tittle shall pass away from the law, until all things be accomplished. But the law in letters was given through Moses; but the saving proclamation, that is, the Gospel, came forth through Christ. For it was fitting that Moses be a minister of the shadow and type, as it were, and Christ the enlightener of knowledge and of true worship in spirit. For He is the true light.

24 And he adds to these things, that "My judgment is for a light to the nations. By "judgment" here he means either his holy and man-loving decree, which brought forth his grace as a light to the nations, that is, judgment, meaning uprightness and just judgment, or righteousness, that is, of the Gospel. For thus the divine David recalls the sacred proclamations, saying: "You have prepared uprightness, judgment and righteousness in Jacob you have wrought. But if he says that the divine and saving proclamation has been made in Jacob in these things, and not rather also among the other nations, one must remember God saying clearly: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And indeed also through the voice of the divine David himself: "But I was established as king by him (it is clear that this is God the Father) upon Sion his holy mountain, declaring the decree of the Lord. For from Israel were the fathers and the promise, the lawgiving and the covenant. But since they became unruly apostates, and murderers of the Lord, for this reason grace has therefore departed, and has become a light to all the nations. My righteousness draws near swiftly, and my salvation will go forth, and in my arm shall the nations hope. The islands will wait for me, and in my arm they will hope.

25 He does not allow the zeal of those who have been called to be withered by iniquities, nor indeed does he say that the recall of hope will be for long ages, but he reveals the promise as running, as it were, at the heels of his words. Such is that which was said through the voice of Habakkuk, or rather to him by God: "Yet a little while, a very little while, he who is coming will come, and will not delay. For the hopes of good things, being thirsted for by those who expect them, are consumed by delay. For this reason he says his righteousness draws near. And if we wished to apply these words to the person of God the Father, we say that he calls his Son his righteousness. For we have been justified in him, and not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his great mercy. For he came into this world, not to judge it, but rather that it might be saved through him. And it was saved in no other way than through much gentleness. For he said, "I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember them. And again: "And you, Israel, do not forget me. For behold, I have blotted out your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a thick mist. And David also sings, and indeed says to him:

26 "You have been gracious, Lord, to your land, you have turned back the captivity of Jacob, you have forgiven the iniquities of your people, you have covered all their sins. Therefore, in the righteousness of God the Father, that is, in Christ, we have been saved and have been sanctified, having washed away the filth of wickedness. But if it were Christ himself who says, "My righteousness draws near swiftly," you will understand righteousness in these things no less as the justifying grace from him, that is, the evangelical and heavenly proclamation, through which we have known the way of righteousness pleasing to him, and we have been guided to every one of the best virtuous deeds, according to what is said in the Psalms: "Your law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. And he names righteousness also salvation, and very fittingly. For it draws us out of every evil, and freeing us from the bonds of death, it leads us up to unending life. And he promises something else as well. For "nations will hope," he says, "in my arm. And indeed he also affirms that islands will wait for him. For of old the nations the multitude, entangled in unbreakable bonds, of sin, I say, and subjected to the greed of the all-wicked and primevally-evil dragon, was captive, and in extreme miseries, being completely without help. For there was no one able to deliver from so bitter and inescapable a calamity;

27 there was no one to shatter the yoke of greed, but they were, as I said, in the lot of captives, stripped of all hope that leads to life, and destitute of every good thing. For those who had not known the Lord who is by nature and truly, certainly continued in the world without God and having no hope, according to the voice of the blessed Paul. But those who were formerly weak, he says, and as it were cast down to the ground, taking my arm will gain an unexpected hope for salvation. And everywhere the sacred Scripture calls the Son the arm of the Father. For he is his power. But if anyone should wish to understand also the arm of the Son himself, on whom will be the hope of the nations called to salvation, you will understand his God-befitting and extraordinary power, by which he will crush Satan and the world-rulers of this world, and has saved those from the nations. For he himself said: "Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house? And David also said: "You have humbled the proud one as one who is slain, and with the strength of your arm you have scattered your enemies. Christ, therefore, is the hope and way of salvation not only for those of Israel, but indeed also for all the nations; for whom the islands will also wait.

28 And by islands, as I think, he means the churches of the nations, which, lying as it were in the midst of the sea, being beaten by the assaults of affairs as by waves, carry off the crown of good repute through endurance. For endurance produces proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not put to shame. Therefore, to wait for God could not be understood as anything else, except that through perseverance and endurance one is to be well-pleasing to him, and on this account to be deemed worthy of his mercy and oversight. For it is written that, "Waiting, I waited for the Lord, and he attended to me. Lift up your eyes to heaven, and look upon the earth beneath, for the heaven was established like smoke, and the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell on the earth will die in like manner. But my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not fail. Saying that he himself will be a hope for the nations, he weaves for them a necessary initiation. For it was not otherwise possible for those who did not know him to cleave to God in spiritual intimacy, except by being delivered from the ancient error, and getting outside the snares and perversity of the devil, and becoming rich in the true and blameless knowledge of God. For it is like an entry into intimacy with God to both know clearly and to confess, that there is no other God besides him.

29 Therefore, since they thought heaven to be God, and were persuaded to worship the more prominent of the stars, and they venerated the very earth lying under everyone's feet, having completely departed from the doctrines of piety, and who is by nature the God of all things, and brought into being things that once were not; for this reason he says, showing that creation is of a different nature in relation to himself; and demonstrating very well the incomparable difference between creator and creation, he commands them to lift their eyes to heaven, that is, to consider the firmament itself and the things in it, and again to bring the mind down to the earth, that is, to the contemplation of the things in it, both animals, I say, and simply all the things in it, and even if they should choose to marvel at it, not to stop their mind there, but from the greatness of the works to measure the power of the one who crafted them, and the supreme and ineffable glory of the creator of all. And somehow we are accustomed to the [doctrine] concerning God to gather knowledge from the divinely-inspired Scripture, and from the magnificence and order of created things. So Paul laughs at the wise men among the Greeks, because although they fashion for themselves a pretense of wisdom, they have a heart full of all foolishness. "For they revered, he says, and served the creature rather than the Creator.

30 So he also rebukes others, as turning back again to the weak and poor elements of the world, and wanting to serve them beyond what is reasonable. For that the beauty of creation would not provide an occasion for going astray to the more intelligent, but rather starting points for true knowledge about God, he clarified, saying: "For His invisible attributes from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, both His eternal power and Godhead. Therefore when you marvel, he says, at the heaven made firm, and seen as in the form of smoke, yet know, he says, that things brought into being will be dissolved again. For things that have beginnings of existence will end again in not being. The earth therefore will grow old, he says, that is, it will vanish, and those who dwell on it will die, just like these things. But he aptly calls the death of the elements the change for the better. For as Paul says, that "The creation itself also will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. But in what way will it be set free? Christ's disciple will clarify, saying: "For the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements, being burned, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works that are in it will all be burned up;

31 but we look for new heavens and a new earth according to His promises. Therefore he says the renewal of creation will be like a resurrection from the dead, just as with human bodies. But while the elements are being dissolved, my salvation will be forever, he says, and my righteousness will not fail. Now, salvation and righteousness, as we have often said, he calls the Son; and calling Him His own, he shows the property which He has toward him, the Son being by nature from Him and in Him. However, He will be forever, he says, and will not fail. And how great is the difference between Creator and creation, Maker and what is made, he makes clear through these things: For creation will grow old, and as it was brought from non-being into being, it will not be without corruption. But the Creator and Artificer of all, God the Word, through whom are all things and in whom are all things, will be forever, and will not fail. This the divine Psalmist also teaches, saying, "In the beginning You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain; and they all will grow old like a garment, and like a cloak you will roll them up, and they will be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not fail. Listen to me, you who know judgment, my people, in whose heart is my law;

32 you will not fear the reproach of men, nor be defeated by their scorn. For like a garment they will be worn out by time, and like wool they will be eaten by the moth; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to generations of generations. Having initiated those from the gentiles, and having woven for them a simpler discourse suited to their minds (for milk is more fitting for those still of an infant disposition) he speaks again to those who are already manly, and have a stronger heart, and a well-established mind .............. if ......... to endure suffering ... and considers piety nothing ...... But who these might be, he states clearly: Those who know judgment, that is, those who like approved money-changers test each of the things to be done, and discern accurately, holding fast to what is good, and abstaining from every evil thing. And these are they who have the law of God in mind and heart, and who have practiced receiving it as a certain tutor and wise guide. For David sings and says concerning every righteous and wise man, that "The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be tripped up. A salutary thing, therefore, is to make the divine law, as it were, a deposit in our mind and heart.

33 For just as a vessel made from bronze material, or some other such thing, and then having fire heaped in it remains hot, so also the soul of a man, having the divine law in its mind, is certainly fervent in spirit. But one of the holy disciples says, because lawlessness will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. Listen then, he says, you who know judgment, and you who bear my law in your heart. Do not fear the reproach of men, and do not be overcome by their contempt. For all who desire to live godly in Christ will be persecuted; and suffering for piety, they endure the mockeries from those who do not know it. But one must consider such things as nothing, but rather understand that the Savior and Lord of all himself endured the cross, despising the shame. And for this reason he said: "A disciple is not above his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household; and in addition to these: "Blessed are you when they persecute you, and reproach you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

34 You must therefore have an unbreakable mind concerning these things, and spit out as stale the laughter of your persecutors, and despise all reviling, but rather consider being persecuted for piety and being reviled for Christ an occasion for all good repute. For what harm will insolence do, and a word boiled up from a foolish heart, to one who is approved through endurance? For that the good repute of the sufferers will shine forth in due time, and those who reviled and reproached them will come to nothing, he has fully assured by saying that Like a garment they will be made old by time, and like wool they will be eaten by the moth. and are most ready to suffer aging and decay, both wool and garment. But my righteousness, that is, the justification from me, and the salvation to be given will be long and endless, and will run to many generations, that is, it will stand perpetually. Therefore, having suffered little for piety, we will find a more abundant reward. And the all-wise Paul will testify, saying that "The momentary lightness of our affliction, produces for us a weight of glory , while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Awake, awake, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of your arm. Awake as in the beginning of a day, as a generation of an age.

35 It seems in these things that mention is made of the calling and conversion of Israel. For he himself also will be called to the knowledge of the glory of the Savior of us all, Jesus Christ, after the ingathering of the Gentiles. For it is written in the prophets: "Because for many days the children of Israel shall sit, without a king, and without a ruler, and without a priesthood, and without oracles; and after these things the children of Israel will return, and will seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they will be amazed at the Lord, and at his good things in the last days. For that in these things the prophet names as David Christ who is from the seed of David according to the flesh, I think no one at all will doubt. For when the divine David was already dead, many years later the words of the prophecy were made. And the all-wise Paul also knew that the calling through faith of those of the blood of Israel would happen in due time. For he himself once said that "When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved; and at another time he also converses with those from the Gentiles who have believed, and says, as about a plant and an olive tree: "But if some of the branches were broken off, that you might be grafted in, do not boast against the branches.

36 For you do not support the root, but the root supports you. For just as you were cut from the wild olive tree which is yours by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, so also these who are by nature will be grafted into their own olive tree. O Jerusalem, therefore, he says, arise. This, I think, is clearly what the most holy Paul wrote to some: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be watchful, therefore, that is, rise as from the dead, he says; put on the strength of your arm, and not a perceptible arm, but rather an intelligible one, that of the soul, by which one is clearly directed to the accomplishment of virtue. For admittedly Israel grew weak by insulting Christ, but having turned back and become sober again, it will put on the power from Christ. And this, then, was what was said to him through one of the holy prophets, Turn back, Israel, to the Lord your God, because you have grown weak in your iniquities. And it was also said concerning them through the voice of Jeremiah by Christ, the Savior of us all: "Behold, I am bringing weakness upon this people, and fathers will grow weak in it, and sons together, neighbor and his kinsman will perish.

37 For Israel has fallen away completely, because of its impiety toward Christ, from being able to fulfill at all any of the things that are accustomed to make for an excellent life. But arise, he says, as in the beginning of a day, as in the generation of an age, so that you may run to this, and return again to what you were and in the beginnings, when human nature, that is, the first man, was brought forth into existence, before he was caught in the snares of diabolical wickedness, and treated the given commandment as nothing. For Christ reforms us into that one, and repaints the ancient beauty of nature in us, impressing His own characteristics; for we have become according to his image and likeness. At any rate, the most excellent Paul writes to those who after the faith were carried away out of ignorance into the shadow of the law: "My little children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you. Are you not the one who dries up the sea, the water of the great deep? The one who made the depths of the sea a way of passage for the delivered and the redeemed? He brings Israel to the remembrance of the mighty works in Egypt. For he freed them from a harsh and inescapable slavery, and delivered them from the hand that oppressed them unbearably, and he led them through the midst of the sea.

38 For the waters were congealed as a wall, and the surge was passable for the redeemed; for they ran as on dry land. And these were not their own works, but rather a display of the miraculous power of the most mighty right hand. For it was God, as I said, who made the water passable for them. However, he speaks of the things that happened for her sake as the works of Jerusalem herself, at the same time persuading them to be confident, that by believing in Christ they will overcome every temptation, and will prevail over all the strength of the enemy. For He who long ago led them through the midst of the sea, and declared it a way of passage for the delivered and the redeemed, will again mightily drive away, and sometimes pursue the things that will come from certain people. For it is written, that "All who desire to live godly in Christ will be persecuted. Therefore, it is God who says to Jerusalem: "Are you not the one who dries up the sea? and what follows. That is, you will also understand the power of the preceding things in another way. For since she is called to the knowledge of Christ, by God the Father saying: "Arise, Jerusalem, and put on the strength of your arm; having been watchful in a certain way, and brought to the remembrance of her strength, she converses and says to her: Are you not the one who dries up the sea, and the great deep?

39 The one who made the depths of the sea a way of passage for us who are delivered and redeemed, declaring a way through the waves? And it is likely, indeed, that the experience of what has already happened has been received by them as an unshakable faith in the things that will follow. For he who through the midst of the sea having led them through, He will certainly abolish also the surge of the present life, and He will show the vain and unmixed turmoil of the affairs in the world to be stale, so that in no way may the souls of those who have been called be choked by worldly cares; but He will drive them beyond every temptation, and having been saved and redeemed, to glorify Him, saying: "Sing to the Lord a new song, for the Lord has done wonderful things. His right hand has saved him, and his holy arm. Now the right hand and arm of God the Father could be none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. For they shall be turned back by the Lord, and shall come to Zion with joy and everlasting exultation. For on their head is exultation and praise, and joy shall overtake them; pain, sorrow, and groaning have fled away. Again he forms the figure of the speech according to the power of the things that have already happened to them.

40 For having stumbled against God in many ways, and having slipped into the worship of idols as into some pits, they were defiled in no small measure; and having rejected the commandment of the all-wise Moses, they turned to the teaching and commandments of men. For all these reasons, they were given over at times to the Babylonians, and were captives inhabiting the land of the Persians and Medes. But they were shown mercy again. For when Cyrus released them according to the will of God, and allowed them to depart, they were brought back to Judea rejoicing and shouting, and having hymns to God like a crown upon their head. Therefore, as from the things that have historically happened, he also very well portrays the gladness at the final callings. For they will be turned back by the Lord, he says, and they will come to Zion, the spiritual one, that is, the Church, being glad and rejoicing. For upon their head there will be praise and gladness, and exultation will overtake them. For the Savior of all crowns, as it were, the souls of believers, and fills them with all joy, exultation, and gladness, being glorified by them, and having become a string and lyre for them.

41 But wherever there is a call inviting to repentance and conversion, and to the washing away of sin, that is, through faith in Christ, where there is the supply and grace of the Holy Spirit, and the honor of adoption, and the enjoyment of unending good things, and the hope of the kingdom of heaven, there certainly must also be rejoicing, and pain, sorrow, and groaning have fled away. For what place will pain have, and over what things could there be groaning, where there is no pretext at all for groaning and being in pain, but rather hope prevails, of exultation and gladness, of inalienable delight and joy? I am, I am he who comforts you. Know who you are, that you were afraid of a mortal man, and of the son of man, who have withered like grass. And you have forgotten God who made you, who made the heaven and founded the earth. And you were afraid continually all the days at the face of him who afflicted you. For in the way that he planned to take you away, even now where is the fury of him who afflicts you, For in your being saved he will not stand, nor will he delay. The phrase, I am, he says in these words, is instead of, I live and I exist; for He is the one Who Is. And this is a fitting and extraordinary dignity for God;

42 for to be and to live belongs only to the nature that is beyond all, not having received these things by participation from another, nor indeed having the thing as a gift, but rather being life itself. Therefore, I am, he says, the one who comforts you, that is, the one who bestows all spiritual comfort, and who sustains with assistance so that one may be well established, in order to proceed with boldness straight to every virtue. Or perhaps you will understand comfort in these words in another way as well. For through the evangelical proclamations the Savior was calling to the washing away of sin, that is, I say, through faith in Him, to the participation of the Holy Spirit, and the boast and glory of adoption. But you, he says, O Israel, You were not afraid to despise me, who am, and having scorned the one calling you to life, you were afraid of a mortal man, and of a son of man, who like grass have withered. Then you forgot God who made you, who framed the heaven, and founded the earth, but you feared the face of the one afflicting you. And in these things God accuses the leaders of the Jews, who continually opposed the glory of the Savior, and as far as it was in their power, they declared it to be absolutely nothing. He performed miracles in many ways; but they poured out bitter words beyond wonder against the divine signs;

43 for they said that he cast out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons. With his teachings that are above the law, he often charmed his hearers; but they slipped into such impiety as to rebuke those who praised him, and to say: He has a demon, and is mad; why do you listen to him? Therefore, they feared the plots of the Pharisees; and the blessed evangelist will testify, saying: "Therefore the rulers knew that he was the Christ, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. And the Savior himself rebukes the teachers of the law, saying: "And woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves do not enter, and you hinder those who are entering. Therefore, he accuses the people of the Jews, as having from exceedingly great folly despised the true and living God, who by his word raised up the heaven, and founded the earth, but preferred rather respect for men, and received the voice of mortal men, who are dried up like grass. For that they were about to endure the final punishment of all, who imposed upon them this strange dogma [ηυμφρ. λεγισσε ῃιδετυρ δεῖμα], and for this reason led them away from the need to honor the one who calls to salvation, he has fully informed them, adding:

44 For in what way they planned to take you away, and now where is the wrath of the one afflicting you? For in your salvation it will not stand, nor will it delay. For the wrath of the Scribes and Pharisees against the people under their hand was temporary; but they have gone to destruction, and are given over to slaugh- ter. And those who believed in Christ rejoiced, having been saved, and having escaped the divine wrath. But the others did not delay, that is, they perished not long after, when all Judea was ravaged, and the temple was burned, and Jerusalem was destroyed, together with those who inhabited it. For I am your God, who stirs up the sea, and makes its waves roar. The Lord of hosts is my name. I will put my words into your mouth, and under the shadow of my hand I will cover you, by which I established the heaven, and founded the earth; and he will say to Zion, You are my God. Having accused those of Israel, as fearing men, that is, those who were chosen to preside over the synagogue, and out of respect for them having unwisely stepped into the mire of disobedience, and having utterly disregarded love for him, he shows in these things, that also circumstances and persecutions, whatever may happen to those who have chosen to be pious, he settles without toil;

45 and he renders the malevolence of those who threaten them ineffective and inactive, changing painful things to what is easier, and diverting the assault of grievous things to cheerfulness. And he takes for an example this visible, broad sea. For I am, he says, the one who stirs up the sea, and makes its waves roar. The Lord of hosts is my name. Therefore, just as the wave is sometimes arched, and violently dashes against the shore, driven by the force of the winds, but changes back again to calm and stillness as soon as God wills; in this very same way, he says, the terrible and unbearable things, and all that leads to the utmost evil, I change, as if by merely nodding towards calm; for having calmed every disturbance, I release into the breadth of cheerfulness those of the choosing to contend for piety. And this, I think, is what is enigmatically sung through the Psalmist's lyre: "He commanded the storm, and it became a breeze, and its waves were stilled. So that they might accept courage without any hesitation, that in every way and entirely the things that were promised will run to their conclusion, and the promise of the help given by Him would never prove false; he says necessarily, that the Lord of Sabaoth is my name. For if He is the Lord of hosts, how will he be weak in saving some, or what difficulty, or steepness of affairs, or impossibility is there for the right hand that is mighty in all things?

46 He adds something else sufficient for help, and at the same time showing that the wrath against them is loosed, the harm of His turning away has ceased, and for the rest they are in account with Him, and have been deemed worthy of His forbearance and love, such as would befit those who have recognized His epiphany. "For I will put, he says, my words into your mouth. And what is this, the divine David said somewhere while singing psalms: "But to the sinner God said: Why do you declare my statutes, and take up my covenant in your mouth?" -"For praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner," as it is written. Therefore the wrath [alt. law] of God scares away the profane and the sinful from even remembering his words at all. For it is said: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. How is it not clear to all, that those who have an evil heart would not utter good words? It is therefore most fitting for the saints to both have the law of God in their mind, and to utter it forth, as it were through tongue and word. Therefore the God of all promises as to those already righteous, and sanctified in faith, and who have received the boast of genuineness, to put His own words in their mouths, so that by frequently remembering the divine law, they might know the useful path to their salvation.

47 For it is written concerning every righteous person, that "The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be tripped. And again: "In my heart I have hidden your words, that I might not sin against you. For the law of God holds us up to be well established, and to have a mind well-founded in every one of the best pursuits; and it does not allow us to fall toward worse things, and it vigorously turns us away from what is by nature unjust. But since, as I said, He is conversing with them as already genuine, He promises something else beforehand. For I will cover you, he says, under the shelter of my own hand. This is also worth acquiring, and an exceptional good, and sufficient for salvation for those deemed worthy to choose it once. For we understand the hand of God the Father to be none other than the Son who appeared from Him, our Lord Jesus Christ. And nothing of all that is by nature able to do harm would harm those who are under Him. For they will be strong and most courageous, superior to all disturbance and temptations, and unconquerable by Satan, and beyond all carnal abomination, and past the passions of both soul and body. That the right hand of the Father is all-powerful, he prepares by adding: By which I established the heaven, and founded the earth.

48 For if by the word of the Lord the heavens were made firm, as it is written, and the earth has been established to be unshakable; how would it not be sufficient to save some, those whoever would choose to make much of the shelter under Him? Then indeed, then, he says, Zion will say: You are my God. Here observe for me clearly and plainly the confession of faith in Christ being introduced. For of old, although Christ worked miracles in many ways, and had glory by the brilliance of the divine sign, which was beyond word and wonder, they claimed out of very great impiety to be ignorant of him, not being truly ignorant, but insolent. For they have dared to say out of very great madness, that is, folly, and a godless way of thinking: "We know that God has spoken to Moses God, but this man we do not know where he is from. But those of old, he says, who denied and slipped into this impiety, taking my words on their tongue, and coming under the shelter of my right hand, will recognize the Redeemer, they will confess, saying to him: You are my God. Therefore faith is a saving thing, and a path leading to unending life, the power of the confession of Christ. Awake, awake, arise, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath.

49 For the cup of stumbling, the bowl of wrath you have drunk, and you have drained it, and there was no one to comfort you among all the children you have borne; and there was no one to take you by the hand, not even from all the sons you have raised. He speaks to the Synagogue of the Jews as to one who has fallen and still lies low, and commands her to rise, all but giving a hand, and pitying her as God. And we certainly do not say that the rising is physical, because it is not fitting for the fall to be understood in such a way, but rather as spiritual, as having been accomplished in unbelief. Therefore, in faith is the good of the resurrection in these things. For they have admittedly fallen into ruin, not accepting the evangelical and saving proclamation, but rather adhering to the teachings and commandments of men, although God says clearly through the voice of Isaiah: "My people, those who call you blessed are misleading you, and they confuse the path of your feet. For those chosen to lead them, always praising among them the law of Moses, and often crying out:

50 We are blessed, O Israel, for the things that are pleasing to the Lord are known to us, they turned the minds of those under their hand from the love of Christ, and persuading them to disregard his grace, they have led them astray, and confused the path of their feet, not allowing them to walk uprightly, that is, to come by a straight path to justification by faith, although the law makes nothing perfect. Therefore, Awake, he says; this is clearly what is said through the voice of Paul, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. And indeed this too in addition: Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet. And that they paid a fitting and equal penalty for their impieties, having treated Christ with drunken violence, and having dared, as far as it was in their power, to inflict death on the author of life, he shows, saying: She who drank the cup of wrath from the hand of the Lord. For the cup of stumbling, the bowl of wrath you have poured out, and you have drained. And by "bowl" he means judgment; but the phrase, "You have drained," in this context does not mean "You have poured out," but rather, "You have drunk it all," that is, you have received the full wrath from the Lord, and have endured anger equal to your transgressions.

51 For the wicked have perished wickedly, their whole country having been plundered, and together with Jerusalem the famous temple itself being burned down, and moreover they have lost their hope in God, and have been cast out from the flock of the saints. And when all these things had happened to you, he says, and you were as if drunk with the fullest wrath, none of your children stood by; there was no one to take you by the hand, there was no one to comfort you. For there were very many among them Levites and priests, Scribes and Pharisees, revelling in the honors from all, and exalted for being prominent and presiding over the others; but not one of them all averted from Judaea the disaster brought upon her by divine wrath. There was no one so great who was able to offer even a moderate consolation to her when she was entangled in unbearable evils. Therefore they did wrong by leading them away from the love of God, and persuading them to make faith in him unacceptable; but they helped not at all, having themselves slipped into the pits of destruction. These two things things are against you, and who will grieve with you? A fall and a crushing, famine and a sword; who will comfort you? Your sons, who are in distress, who are sleeping at the edge of every exit, like half-boiled beet, who are full of the wrath of the Lord, undone by the Lord God.

52 One could enumerate very many evils that befell the Jews at the time of the capture, I mean, that under Vespasian and Titus, when the whole land of the Jews was set on fire, and no kind of disaster was lacking for them, but they had passed to the extremity of every evil, with Christ, the Savior of all, having also foretold this to them. For He was being led away by the soldiers of Pilate to the place of the cross. And since weeping women followed him, turning to them He said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. And again: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us. And through very many holy prophets the weight of the incurable disaster was foretold. And now the power of the verses before us travails with these things. For, O wretched Jerusalem, it says, these two things are set against you, it says, that is, fight and make war. And what are these things? A fall and a crushing, famine and a sword. In these things, as if briefly and concisely, the disaster of the war is signified. However, that must be observed not in passing. For having enumerated four, it says they are two. For it said, a fall and a crushing, and famine, and a sword. And what then do we say? Or how could the named things be two?

53 Even if they might seem to be more, the prophetic word in these things connects what follows to the first things. As I say: crushing certainly follows falling, and the sword follows famine, that is, death. Therefore, the first two are a fall and a famine; and following these, a crushing and a sword. Therefore, it says, when these things have happened, who is able to defend and ward off the assault of the disaster? for this is what comfort means here. For, it says, will your sons be sufficient for this? and yet it is possible to see them in distress, that is, having nothing, which they might plan and do for their own consolation, for the benefit of their own souls. For they are sleeping at the edge of every exit. For when the war broke out, the powerful ran out of the land of the Jews, and seized the extremities of the land, so that they might be ready for flight. For some hastened to occupy the neighboring lands of the Egyptians, others the neighbor of the Moabites, or the other lands of the adjacent nations. And they were at the edge of every exit, that is, in the extremities of the land, as I said; not watchful, that is, able to do anything of what is not unhelpful for the benefit of those suffering, but as if intoxicated, and heavy-headed, and lying down, thus weakened in their minds, and undone in their intellect, like a half-boiled beet. And what is the reason for these things?

54 For they are filled with the wrath of the Lord, and this has become the cause of their undoing. For we are always somehow disposed, when we are struck by unending and inconsolable disasters, to have an almost ecstatic mind within ourselves, and to find no way that is able to save us, especially when the evil against us is sent by God. Therefore hear, you who are humbled and drunk, but not with wine. Thus says the Lord God who judges his people: Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of falling, the goblet of wrath, and you shall no longer drink it again, and I will give, and I will cast it into the hands of those who wronged you and of those who humbled you, who said to your soul: Bow down that we may pass over, and you made your back like the ground, outside for those passing by. The words are of one pitying, and restraining his wrath, but rather releasing them to cheerfulness. For he calls her humbled and drunken. For sufficient, as I said, are those beyond measure calamities, and bringing those who are captured to the utmost evil, and making drunk those who have suffered, but not from wine, as he says. For the Lord's cup is in no way understood as perceptible, nor is the mixture in it such as to be thought common.

55 But it is rather the custom of the divinely inspired Scripture to call "cup" the portion allotted to each, whether perhaps to the unjust, or also to the good. For example. The divine David sings, and says concerning the wicked: "Fire, and brimstone, and a scorching wind, is the portion of their cup. This lot has been prepared by God for those who do not know him, and a most grievous sentence will overtake them. For drinking, as it were, fire and brimstone, they endure a continuous and unbearable punishment. But it would be fitting for every just person to say: "I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. For to know and to call upon the Lord of all would be for those accustomed to do this a saving mixture. Therefore God, who judges righteously, says that Jerusalem has been made drunk not from wine, but from incurable calamity, and unbearable misfortune. And he judges righteously, having allotted to the good their fitting lot, but rebuking those who are not such, so that, having been shown to be better than themselves, they might depart from their wicked ways, and might change their mindset towards willing to think and to do the things that seem good to his divine laws. But behold, he says, I have taken the cup of falling as from your hand, and you shall no longer drink of it.

56 For she will be called, as I said, to the knowledge of Christ, and will delight with us in the good things from above. And she too will be a partaker of sacred gifts, and will possess spiritual wealth. And the prophet is a witness of this, saying: "Because for many days the children of Israel shall sit without a king, and without a ruler, without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without a priesthood, or manifestations; and after these things the children of Israel shall return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall be amazed at the Lord and at his good things, in the last days. For in these words, the prophetic word names as "David" Christ from the seed of David according to the flesh. And a clear proof of this is that the prophecy came to be very many generations after the divine David was already dead. Therefore, so long as she has not yet been called to the grace that is through faith, she has not yet put aside the cup of wrath. But when she honors Christ by faith, then indeed the cup will certainly be taken from her, and she too will delight in the other good things, concerning which it is written, that They will forget their former affliction, and it shall not come into their heart; but rather there will be everlasting joy and gladness upon their head. For sorrow, grief, and sighing have fled away.

57 But when the cup is taken from her, it will be given to the swarm of those who wronged her. And in what way did they wrong her? By not allowing them to walk uprightly, nor indeed to tread a blameless path, through which, while achieving a life pleasing to God, and being clothed in the splendor of the evangelical life, they might be able, together with those who have believed in Christ, to arrive at the city above. Who then could be understood as those who wronged her? For as far as saying what is ready to hand and apparent, first, those appointed to lead the Synagogue, who indeed most of all have drunk the cup of wrath. For by how much more distinguished a good standing they had than others, by so much more burdensome an assault of the war they have had, being thrust out of honor and glory, wealth and luxury, and even life itself. But if it is necessary to say something of the hidden things too (and I think this is necessary), we say that the Synagogue of the Jews has been wronged, not only by those appointed to lead, but also by diabolical perversity, which did not allow them to receive the divine light into their mind, so that they might understand him who calls to salvation, him who justifies the ungodly, and delivering from judgment, and dragging out from the bonds of death, I mean Christ. And of this Paul is a witness, having written thus:

58 "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. Yea, and the Son Himself said that something of this sort happened to the herds of the Jews, and He clearly convicted them, how from an unclean spirit they became hard and disobedient, and were carried off to every sort of evil. For He said, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and when he findeth none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. Then he taketh seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. For they served the gods there in Egypt, and the unclean spirit was in them. But when they were redeemed through Moses, and received the law as the determiner of what must be done (they heard it saying clearly: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve"), the unclean spirit was also driven from their hearts. But since they did not have the fear of God in themselves, nor did they receive Jesus as an indweller through faith ("For he dwells in our hearts by faith," as it is written);

59 that ancient and unclean spirit, seeing the place empty, has rushed in again, and has dwelt in them, and their last state has become worse than the first. That the inventor of impiety also prepared the traitor among the disciples to become such a one, is not unclear. For it is written, that after the morsel Satan entered into him. Therefore the Synagogue of the Jews has been punished, with Satan darkening it, and not allowing it to see with the eyes of the mind the light of the world, that is, Christ. But since they have been called to conversion, the cup of wrath and the chalice of stumbling has been given into the hands of those who wronged her; the wicked and opposing powers have been punished, with Christ the Savior of all casting them down to Hades, and having cast them into Tartarus with chains of darkness, delivered them to be kept for judgment on the great day to be punished. For these were the ones saying: Jerusalem, bow down that we may pass over, And she laid her back to the ground for those passing over her, that is, she laid herself down and submitted to those wishing to trample on her. The wicked powers do this, when they see a soul that is weakened, and casting aside its own mind, so as to be willing to submit easily to their own unholy and God-hated counsels.