Book 4
Hear this now, you who crush the poor man in the morning and oppress the needy from the land, who say, When will the month be over, that we may sell, and the sabbaths, that we may open the treasuries to make the measure small, and to make the weights great, and to make the balance unjust, to buy the needy for silver, and the humble for a pair of sandals, and we will trade from every kind of produce? One of the Pharisees once asked our Lord Jesus Christ which he considered the first and great commandment in the law, and he heard in reply that the first commandment is, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength; and the second, which is near it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." And one might see the divine Paul himself having hung, so to speak, every kind of virtue from love, and having dared to say that it is greater than faith and hope, and having clearly confessed that he who does not have it is nothing, even if he should give his possessions to those in need, and even if he should deliver his own body to his persecutors to be burned. Therefore whatever is great and worthy of hearing in us will surely come from love for God and for our brothers. But if anyone at all is carried outside the laws of love, and is seen to be without a share of its blossoms, he himself will be completely useless, and would reasonably be thought to be held fast in every kind of wickedness, since wherever the good is unpracticed, there surely wrongdoing will flourish. See, therefore, the arrangement of the whole argument. For having first accused Ephraim, that is, Israel, of godlessness, and having declared him a worshiper of heifers, and not having love for the one and true God, because he loved to be attached to the works of his own hands, he also proves him truly unholy toward his own brothers, and having completely neglected love for his neighbor. And he makes the charge generally and very clearly, and though still in brief, yet he enumerates the accusations. For this reason he says, Hear this, you who crush the poor man in the morning and oppress the needy from the land. It is as if he were to say, The word is to you, for whom it is a matter of great diligence to, as it were, wipe the weak and poor from the earth and to oppress them in the morning. For the lovers of godliness according to God, as the day dawns for them, offer thanksgivings to God, they worship, they pray, and they turn their efforts toward everything that is praiseworthy; but those who look only to oppressing certain people, and who think that being on an equal footing is nothing compared to the need to be avaricious, make it their most diligent work to leap from bed as soon as dawn begins, and to proceed to their customary wickedness, and whom they might be able to defraud, almost even blaming the night for passing over them entirely and for delaying, because it does not grant a time sufficient for them for greed. These say, When will the month be over, that we may sell? This is the prayer of those who lend and of petty traders, of shameful and sordid men, who always thirst for the end of the month, so that by collecting little by little, they may make their own wares more substantial, and by impiously collecting interest upon interest they oppress the weaker, although the law clearly says, "If you lend money to your "neighbor, you shall not be an exactor to him, you shall not charge him "interest." But some say, When will the month be over, that we may trade? And others, held by the same or even worse sicknesses, and overcome by shameful gains, say again, When will the sabbaths be over, that we may open our treasures, to make the measure small and the shekel great, and to make the balance unjust? And what this is, or of what sabbaths they seek the passing, so that they may open their treasures and make the measure small and enlarge the weights, it is necessary to say. For it is written in Deuteronomy, "Every seven years "you shall make a release, and this is the command of the release: "you shall release every private debt which your neighbor owes you, and "you shall not demand it of your brother, because a release has been proclaimed "to the Lord your God. You may exact it of a foreigner as much as you may "have with him; but of your brother you shall make a release of "your debt." And after other things again, "If there is among "you a poor man from one of your brothers in one of your cities in "the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden "your heart or shut your hand "from your brother who is in need; you shall surely open "your hands to him, and shall surely lend him as much as he needs "and according to what he lacks." And he gives further instruction, saying, "Take "care lest there be a wicked, secret thought in your heart, "saying, 'The seventh year, the year of "release, is near,' and your eye be evil against your needy "brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry "to the Lord against you, and it be a great sin for you." Therefore, since the law has commanded the cancellation of debts, as it were, of sabbatical years; for it commanded it to be fulfilled in the seventh year; then, forewarning that one should not be wicked, but rather lend to those in need, even if the year of release does not seem far off, those who have many and abundant treasures, closing their hand, were eager to wait for the sabbaths of the years that were then at the gates, and then they would lend, so that the debt might not fall under the times of release. These say, When will the sabbaths be over? And it is clear that they mean those of the years; and we will open our treasures. And their impiety does not stop there, but uncharitably preying on the poverty of those who have fared wretchedly, they made their giving with small measures, but received in return with unequal weights, but with those even larger, and much heavier than the first, although God says through the all-wise Moses, "You shall not have in your bag "differing weights, a great and a small; you shall not have in your "house differing measures, a great and a small. A true "and just weight you shall have, and a true and just "measure you shall have; that you may live long in the land which "the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, because everyone "who does this, everyone who does unjustly, is an abomination "to the Lord your God." But for them there is no regard for justice; but looking only to avarice, they wore out the poor, almost acquiring the wretched, and treating them like footwear; "For the poor are the pasture of the rich," according to what is written. But the writer of Proverbs helps us not a little, saying, "Let the heart of a man devise just things, so that his steps may be directed by God. "For the ways of a man are before the "eyes of God, and He watches all his "paths." Therefore, as God watches over and minutely examines each of our affairs, we should make straight the a necessary course for those who are truly good and prudent, and to esteem nothing above the equilibrium between love for God and love for brothers. And love for God possesses genuineness in faith, and incorruptibility; while love for brothers has kindled the glories of righteousness. For it is true that "Love does no wrong to a neighbor." And I say that it is necessary for those who have chosen to be well-pleasing, and who live a most lawful life, to put on "bowels of mercies," to utterly disdain accursed avarice, and to set forth one's possessions as common for those in need. For by so keeping the law of love, he will be both glorious and enviable in the sight of both God and men. For it is written that "He has scattered, "he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures for "ever and ever." The Lord swears against the pride of Jacob, Surely I will not forget any of your works forever. And for these things shall not the earth be troubled, and shall not everyone who dwells in it mourn? And destruction will come up like a river, and will go down like the river of Egypt. God brings a charge of arrogance against those of Jacob, for disregarding divine laws and completely ignoring the Master's will, and for trampling on love for brothers itself. He swears, therefore, 'against the pride of Jacob.' And we are not saying that the God of all makes the arrogance of some the object of his oath; rather, He swears against it, that is, decreeing its deserved punishment. And why does He swear at all? That he will no longer overlook their crimes, nor tolerate them to the end. For this, I think, is the meaning of 'forever': that which runs to the very end and to a final completion. Then he says that since forgetfulness—I mean, concerning their unholy transgressions—is taken away, how would the earth not become full of tumult as enemies overrun it, and how would they not mourn, having to endure a terrible and inescapable calamity? And what calamity is this? For destruction, he says, will be brought up against them like the river of Egypt, covering everything, and with many and irresistible currents flooding the whole land of Samaria; and it will likewise go down, dragging away everything in its path and sparing absolutely nothing. For Sennacherib came up against them with armies of myriads, like some river flooding the land and subjugating everything to himself; and he departed again to his own land, dragging with him a very great and countless number of captives. Therefore, whenever we despise God, we will find the hostile powers turned against us, so that we are in tumult and grief, being plundered by them, as it were, and by necessity falling into servile bondage. For they will be against us like an irresistible flood, dragging us to ruin and sinking us into perdition. "But rivers will not enclose us," according to what is written, nor will "the deep swallow us, nor could a storm sink us" who wish to please God. For then, yes then, having manfully escaped the greedy desires of the demons and having cared very little for their malice, we will say with joy: "If it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say; if it had not been that the Lord was with us, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive;" and again, "Our soul passed through a torrent; then our soul passed through the irresistible water." For even if the water of diabolical insolence is irresistible and not to be withstood by our minds—that is, the flood which comes through the passions—yet in Christ we will have strength. For we shall pass through the assault of his perversity as through a kind of torrent. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord God, that the sun shall set at noon, and the light shall be darkened upon the earth in the daytime; and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring sackcloth upon every loin, and baldness upon every head; and I will make Jacob as a mourning for a beloved, and those with him as a day of pain. This passage brings forth a twofold meaning. For it is always the custom for the holy prophets at the very end of their own words to remember Christ, and to make the narrative of the mystery concerning him, still overshadowed by obscurities. Come then, looking at both, let us say what is fitting. We will first set forth what follows from what has been said, and then in this way we will adapt the meaning of what has been said to the explanation concerning Christ. On that very day, therefore, on which the consummation shall go over all the land of the Samaritans like a river of Egypt, a terrible and deep darkness will be scattered over all, so to speak, who dwell in it, the sun in a way setting, and this at midday. And we do not say, of course, that the light of the sun truly set, but the calamity from the war became like darkness to those dwelling in Samaria. For great and excessive grief, when it arises, troubles the mind, and things that happen contrary to hope and unexpectedly darken the heart, and the harshness of sorrows works a kind of mist and fog in the hearts of the sufferers. Therefore they will see darkness, he says, even if the sun happens to be at midday. And those who formerly celebrated splendidly, always using strings and lyres and the sweeter parts of songs, will abstain from such pursuits, but will rather wail, and will make their study the odes for lamentation, and will take on the appearance of mourners, I mean both sackcloth and baldness. For to shave the head completely is very dishonorable. And indeed the divine Job shaved his hair when his children had perished. And I will make Jacob, he says, as a mourning for a beloved, that is, those who see him will be so sad over him, as if a mother or father over one beloved child lying dead; and those with him into a day of pain, that is, the neighboring Judah and Benjamin, who together with Ephraim had served idols, and were with him in this very way, so that they will be found having a day of pain, and being as in birth pangs; and by birth pangs I mean those from terrors and grief and toils. For after devastating Samaria, Sennacherib captured all their cities. Then he sends Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, who threatened terrible things to those in the wall. And he so crushed those in Jerusalem into despondency, that they expected to perish immediately along with those in Samaria. Then indeed, being very downhearted, King Hezekiah also sends someone to the prophet Isaiah, saying, "This day is a day of affliction and reproach and rebuke and "wrath, because the birth pang has come to the one giving birth, "but she has no strength to bear." Therefore, by a day of pain he means the toils and downheartedness as from a birth pang. Therefore, those in Jerusalem were in a day of pain, expecting to perish, those who were with Ephraim, I mean, in the manner of idolatry. And these things I have said as being likely and fitting for those who at that time were provoking the Master of all against themselves. And one might apply them no less also to those who acted impiously against Emmanuel himself, at the time of the incarnation. For they are "those who crush the poor in the "morning," that is, those who eagerly reject choosing to live lawfully, but proceed for no other reason, perhaps, than to destroy justice, and dare to hold as nothing what has been very well defined by the divine commandments, and to immoderately take advantage of whomever they might choose of the weaker. And they would be those "who say, When will the month be over, that "we may sell; and the sabbaths, that we may open the treasures "to make the measure small and to make the weight great "and to make the balance unjust." For that the scribes and the Pharisees were very fond of money and greedy for dishonest gain, we might know in many ways, by applying our mind to the evangelical writings. For to be seen as superior to shameful gains, and to love to be free from all greed for gain that is according to God Christ advised the lovers of moderation, and urged them to go even further, and to assist those in need and to distribute their possessions. But what does the Evangelist say? "But the scribes and the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard these things, and they scoffed at Him." Therefore it might also be said of them, "The Lord swears by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget your works." For it is truly arrogance for them to disregard even the divine laws, and what is still more burdensome than this, to even insult Christ Himself. Therefore, their transgressions will not depart into oblivion; but a consummation, as it were, has come upon them, and the war of the Romans like a flooding river. Since they delivered the Lord of all to the cross, the sun set upon them, and the light was also darkened. For "there was darkness from the sixth hour until the ninth hour." And this was a clear sign to the Jews that the souls of those who crucified Him were spiritually darkened. "For a partial hardening has come upon Israel;" and as the divine Paul writes, "To this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts." And the blessed David also cursed them out of love for God, saying thus, "Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever." That they have also mourned, transforming as it were their feasts into dejection, would be clear from Christ Himself saying to the women weeping for Him as He was being led away to the cross, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." For they have mourned for the city and for the divine temple being destroyed along with it, and for the Romans burning everything. Therefore, he says, I will make him; and it is clear that he means Emmanuel; as mourning for a beloved one and those with him as a day of grief. For those who believed mourned for the crucified Jesus, and women wailing stood at a distance, both Mary Magdalene and again Mary the mother of James and certain other women with them; and creation itself mourned its own Master. For the sun was darkened, and the rocks were split, and the temple itself took on the appearance of mourners, with the curtain being torn "from top to bottom." And God signified something like this to us through the voice of Isaiah, saying, "And I will clothe the heaven with darkness, and make sackcloth its covering." Therefore the mourning for him was as for a beloved one. And those with him, that is, the disciples, were set for a day of grief. For that they also mourned, how can one doubt? For the women announced the resurrection of Christ to them while they were in grief; then indeed, then, having barely recovered, they ran to the tomb. And perhaps somewhere to these women who were proclaiming the good news of the resurrection the prophet Isaiah says in spirit, "Women coming from a spectacle, come here; for it is not a people with understanding;" that is, of the Jews; "therefore he who made them will not have pity on them, and he who formed them will not have mercy," he says. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will send a famine on the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. And waters shall be shaken even to the sea, and from the north to the east they shall run about seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it. It is written, "Lord, in affliction we remembered you, in slight affliction was your discipline to us." And knowing that affliction is an excellent thing and truly beneficial, the divine David sometimes said, "In affliction I called upon the Lord," and at other times, "It is good for me that you have humbled me, that I might learn your statutes." For afflictions make us more sober, and draw us out of the snares of indolence, persuading us to love the ways of moderation, and the harsh and intractable as if by necessity and fear to the ways of holiness and obedience enduring yokes. So when Samaria has been ravaged, he says, and the Babylonian is burning the cities, even if some should choose then to learn what the will of God is, and what they must do or say to obtain mercy from him, so that they might be carried out of wrath, there will be no one, he says, to teach them. For I will bring a famine of the words from God upon them, so that absolutely no prophet will be found, even if they should run from west to east, even if from south to north. Similar to this is what was said by God to the blessed Ezekiel, "And I will bind your tongue and you will be "made mute, and you will not be a man who reproves them, for it is a "rebellious house." For those who have once spurned the word from God, even if they still wanted to, could not reasonably receive it. And by "agitated waters" he means the immeasurable multitude of the Jews, as being in turmoil, and henceforth resembling the waves in the sea, which are scattered everywhere by the blasts of the winds. And in another way. When Christ was crucified, the wretched Jews have had a famine of the words from God. For there is no longer among them a prophet, nor an accurate teacher of the Mosaic history who knows how to refine its density and to clarify the mysteries concealed in the letters. For they did not accept Christ saying, "I am the bread of "life, who came down from heaven and gives life to the "world." And for this very reason they also heard him saying long ago through the voice of Isaiah, "Behold, my servants will eat, "but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you "will be thirsty." And indeed it is true that "The Lord will never "let a righteous soul starve, but he will overthrow the life of the wicked," not sending down to them the divine word that turns the mind to the pursuit of virtue. For as the Savior himself has said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint from thirst, those who swear by the propitiation of Samaria and those who say, As your god lives, O Dan, and as your god lives, O Beersheba, and they will fall and will never rise again. The word indeed has the sense that their sons and daughters will be carried off by enemies; for this is what the virgins and the young men signify, for we will find that those accustomed to carrying people into captivity especially took those of such an age. But the word seems to indicate to us something else of the hidden meanings. There were certain virgins who dwelt in the precincts of the idols, and with them youths or prepubescent boys, through whom those more curious about sorcery thought to be taught things from the demons; for, as if invoking them upon undefiled bodies, they prepared them to give oracles with secret whisperings. And they say that even to this day some who wish to perform unholy rites prophesy in a manner similar to them. That therefore Israel will lack not only the word from God through holy prophets, which is useful and necessary for correction, but also the very word from the false prophets or demons, which they produced for some through virgins and boys, he implies by saying, In that day the beautiful virgins will faint. For it is as if he says, Your beautiful virgins will perish along with the others. And the word also mocks, along with the girls, the little boys who swear by the propitiation of Samaria. For it was perhaps a custom for them to love to make oaths by the gods in Samaria, that is, the heifers, and perhaps broadly mocking God, they ascribed his attributes to the carved images, saying, As your god lives, O Dan, and as your god lives, O Beersheba. These are cities of Judea, lying at the very extremities of the country, and as it were defining the measure of the land from south to the sea. It is therefore as if those swearing were perchance saying, As the god of the land of the Jews lives, that is, the calf; for by the extremities the middle parts are included, and the designation of the whole is woven together. But he says that the virgins and the young men, no longer supplying the false words of demons, because they themselves also became the work of the hand of foreigners, either having fallen by the sword, or having endured the inglorious and unbearable captivity. But when Christ was crucified, and had set for the Jews, along with the sun in the cosmos and the perceptible light, and the intelligible radiance and illumination through the Spirit; for they are deprived of the divine word, and of the comfort from above; the virgins among them have failed, along with the young men, that is, the beautiful and well-reputed souls, of which the undefiled part is signified by the virgin, while the strong and most valiant part is signified by the young man. For who is holy among them, since the law has power to perfect nothing, nor is it sufficient for them for righteousness? And with whom among them could spiritual robustness and a strong mind be found, when they have not known the splendid achievements of the evangelical way of life? For are not all of them sluggish and in sins and weakened in mind? Then how is this doubtful? Therefore, they have fainted in thirst, but it was not said to them, "Draw water with joy from the springs of salvation." But indeed also "he commanded the clouds not to rain rain upon them," because they have not been obedient to Christ himself who cried out and said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." But having forsaken him, although he is "a fountain of life, they have dug broken cisterns which will not be able to hold water." for they have given heed to teachings, the commandments of men, which know not how to give drink unto life, nor indeed to hold together for salvation those who use them. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar and he said, Strike the altar and the gateways will be shaken, and cut into the heads of all; and their remnant I will kill with the sword. The blessed prophets, by the torch-bearing of the Spirit brightening the eye of the mind, receive not only the knowledge of things to come, but indeed at times also the sight of the events themselves, seeing them as if painted on a tablet, are both themselves amazed, and persuade their listeners to be affected along with them, earnestly striving to make clear the powers of the visions. Therefore the blessed Amos said, "And the Lord said to me, The end has come upon my people Israel; I will no longer pass by them again. And the panels of the temple will wail in that day, says the Lord; many are the fallen in every place; I will cast down silence." But behold, he has seen what was foretold being enacted in the events themselves, just as the prophecy holds. for he said he had seen the Lord himself standing by the altar, and as it were beginning the destruction, and commanding this very thing to happen. But God stands by the altar, not bestowing honor; for it is foolish to think this; since it is among the most absurd things to suppose and to say, that God bestows reverence and honor on the altars of idols; how then would he have honored the altar of the calves? But rather he stood by as one about to pull down and bring to the ground. For this very reason he has all but commanded the Prophet to begin the destruction, saying, Strike the altar, and let the gateways be shaken, he says, and let the temple henceforth be reeling, as being about to fall very soon indeed. And cut into the heads of all, that is, begin with the most prominent among them, and strike the leaders, who are also placed in the rank of a head to the others; and the remnant will perish mixed with them, and will follow the calamities of their leaders, they themselves also becoming the work of the sword. And similar to this is that also through the voice of Ezekiel to the six men, who were coming from the gate that looks toward the north, and carrying their axes they followed the man girded with the long robe, to whom it was said by God, "Go into the city after him, and cut down and do not spare and do not have pity; slay elder and young man and infants and women to a wiping out, but upon all on whom "is the sign, do not approach, and from my holy ones "begin." Do you see how He made the leading men the first-fruits of His wrath, that is, those who seemed to be venerable and holy, perhaps because they were also kindled with the glory of the sacred ministry, or in other words, were distinguished by certain other honors? For such men are, as it were, the heads of the others. But this has also happened to those who have acted insolently toward our Lord Jesus Christ. For since the wretched men, having cared little for the law and the prophets, did not receive Christ, who is the end of the law and the prophets, but, although knowing clearly that he is the heir, they cast him out of the vineyard, and finally crucified him, they have been given over to desolation to the Roman generals, and that famous temple has been burned, and the altar in it has been torn down, and the gates have been shaken down, and the leading men have perished along with the common people; for the war spared none of those among them. And each of the faithful, whether he be a temple of God, as having Him as an inhabitant, or whether he be considered an altar, as offering his own life as a sacred rite to God, if then he looks to indolence and provokes God, he will come to nothing, and will suffer a most terrible destruction. For the Lord is no respecter of persons, and "The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver "him in the day that he goes astray," according to what is written. He that flees of them shall not escape, nor he that is being saved of them be delivered. Though they dig down to Hades, thence my hand shall drag them up; and though they ascend to heaven, thence will I bring them down. Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, thence I will search out and take them; and though they sink from my eyes into the depths of the sea, there I will command the dragon, and it shall bite them; and though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. In due time, perhaps, then, will be said to those who hear these things what is sung to God through the voice of the blessed David: "Where shall I go from your Spirit? and "from your presence where shall I flee? If I ascend into "heaven, you are there; if I descend into Hades, you are present; if "I take up my wings at dawn and dwell "in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand "shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me." For the divine is all-seeing, and in addition to this, also all-powerful, and no one could escape the unsleeping eye. For He said, "I am a God at hand, and not a God afar off. Shall "anything be hidden from me?" But one could never go outside the calamity imposed on him as by divine commands, "For who shall turn back the high hand?" according to what is written. For what device will help us? Or what manner of help at all is there for us, when God decrees that we must suffer? That counsel and thought and every kind of device, therefore, are completely useless to those who have fallen under divine wrath, He makes clear by saying that one could not escape, even if he were hidden in Hades itself. And the saying is hyperbolic: even if he should fly up to heaven, and pass through to the peak of Carmel, yet wherever he might go, he will be caught. And if he should be in the sea, he will fall in with the dragon, that is, according to the Hebrew version, he will be given to the sea monster. And if he should be among enemies, and at last a captive, and wretchedly held in the yokes of slavery, even this, He says, will be a small thing, and not sufficient for his punishment. For the terror of the sword shall also be raised against him. And He will not cease, He says, the God of all, fixing His eye upon them. a sign of anger and threat. For at times we ourselves also fix our eyes on those who grieve us, looking at them with something fierce and unsmiling. But since God watches over both the good and the just, He clarifies the difference in His oversight, saying for evils and not for good. For he will look upon them, he says, not to bestow any good things, but so that they might have unshakable and, as it were, fixed the penalty and judgment determined for him. The wretched multitude of the Jews has also endured this, having inscribed the righteous blood upon their own head; for they said to Pilate, persuading him to crucify Christ, "His blood be on us and on our children." Therefore they perished with their entire households, and their cities were seized along with the men, so that perhaps no one was strong enough to escape. For what and how many things they have suffered, the lengthy writings of those who have composed such things sing. And the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, who touches the earth and makes it shake; and all who dwell in it shall mourn, and its end shall rise up like a river, and shall go down like the river of Egypt. Out of love, the Prophet does not allow his hearers to disbelieve what is said, as if it would not happen. This was to persuade them to choose to learn better things, and to hold what is useful in reverence, so that God might cease from His anger and draw back the calamity, and might receive them when they repented. For He always pities those willing to turn back. He teaches, therefore, that God is all-powerful, and not unable to bring to fulfillment what He has said. For he says, "The Lord, the Lord God Almighty, who touches the earth and makes it shake." It is as if he were to say, "Do not think that the one who has been grieved is like you." For the Master is not as a man, but is Himself the Lord of hosts, who lays his own hand upon the earth—that of the Samaritans, clearly—and makes it shake; and not at all preparing it to endure the usual tremor, but shaking it all with war and incurable calamities and causing it to be convulsed. For this reason he says, "Every one who dwells in it will mourn, and the end will rise up like the river of Egypt, covering and submerging everything; and so it will recede again, in the same way drawing everything down and carrying it away." And we said that he likens Sennacherib and the multitude of the Assyrians and the war raised by them against Samaria to the streams of rivers. Therefore, for those who offend and grieve God, escape will be impossible, and the smiting hand all-powerful and hard to escape, and for those once caught there would be no help or comfort; "For if He shuts a man in, who can open?" as it is written. But it is surely far better to put away anger by returning to what seems good and pleasing to Him. This would happen, and very rightly, if, forgetting what is behind and rejecting what is base, we were to make ourselves resplendent with progress in virtue. For then we shall swim through the things that come from wrath, and we shall easily change the Creator, who is good by nature, I say, to the point of deeming us worthy of a kind and most gentle oversight. Who builds his ascent into heaven, and establishes his decree upon the earth; who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth; the Lord God Almighty is his name. And with yet more words he terrifies those who depart from God, and drives them toward what is better, skillfully explaining the preeminence and omnipotence of the divine nature, and he tries to convince them that He will in every way and in all circumstances bring His words to pass, with nothing standing in the way. "For the one who touches the earth," he says, "and makes it shake," in the ways just now rendered by us; this is the very one "who builds His ascent into heaven;" he almost says, "The one who has all authority, so as to walk upon the heavens themselves and to possess dominion over all, so as to have the creation above and in the heavens laid under Him, that is, the blessed multitude of the holy angels." And we say the "heavens" are the angels who dwell in heaven. But it should be known that the divine Jacob also enigmatically the matter he has seen. For there was a ladder extending from earth up to heaven, and "The Lord," he says, "was set up on it," while he saw the angels ascend- ing and descending by it he saw the an- gels. This, I think, is "He who builds His ascent in heaven." But also whatever He may promise to those on the earth, he says, this is altogether unshaken and firm and as if founded. For in no way will the Lord of hosts grow weak, nor will a word from him fall through. And the Savior confirms us in this, saying, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." This is He who draws up the water of the sea by ineffable powers, and rains it upon the earth, that is again, He who orders human affairs, and is so powerful as to easily transform the natures of created things to whatever He may choose, and His name is the Lord God, and in addition to this, the Almighty. And this is not to be thought of as a mere name, as it might be in the case of a man, but as one rightly found from truth itself. For from His ruling essentially, and holding power over all things, He has been so named by us and by the holy angels. The purpose, therefore, of the Prophet is through as many means as possible, and in whatever way he could, to strike terror into the deceived, and to persuade them well to go back quickly, as it were, to consider righteousness a splendid thing, and to make piety towards God desirable again, powerfully checking the inclination towards what is more shameful by the terrors of the things to come. And this, I think, is what was rightly said through the voice of David to the Lord of all: "With bit and bridle curb the jaws of those who do not come near you." But "He who builds His ascent in heaven" might also be said of Christ, and very fittingly. For He is from above and from heaven, because He was begotten God from God according to nature; therefore He also said, "I am from above." And the wise John has also testified concerning Him, saying, "He who comes from above is above all;" but having essentially the ascent to the heavens—for it belonged to Him, as I said, as God—He has shown it to be accessible to those on the earth. For as "a forerunner on our behalf" He ascended to the Father, and as the divine Paul writes, "He consecrated for us a new and living way;" He appeared as a man "for us in the presence of God" the Father, who also "raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places." For since Christ ascended, He has built His own ascent for us also, if indeed the blessed Paul is truthful in saying, "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and re- maining until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." He ascended, therefore, as a man, so that the ascent which belongs to Him and Him alone—because He is God and from God—He might also show to be accessible for us who have be- lieved. He also establishes His own promise on the earth. For He has in no way been proven false, but rather will bring to accomplishment whatever He has promised to achieve for us. For He said, "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but when I depart, I will send Him to you." Therefore He also commanded the holy apostles "not to de- "part from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father which" they had heard from Him. But He poured out the grace richly upon them. Therefore they also became "witnesses of his glory both in Jerusalem and in Judea," and in all the earth. And in another way we will find His promise established; for we have believed that He will also raise us from the dead, and will make us superior to corruption, and "He will transform the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory," and he will receive them as participants in his own kingdom. He it is who calls the water of the sea and pours it out on the face of the earth, that is, the one who transforms the bitter and unacceptable and things unfit for use into something beneficial. "For the letter," the legal one, "kills," as the most wise Paul says, and the shadow is in itself unprofitable, but it has become most useful to us who understand, for the comprehension that is in Christ, and it has been shown to be like a spiritual rain, watering in a way the earth under heaven; if indeed it is true that the law, once bitter and unbearable to the ancients, has become for us a tutor unto the mystery of Christ, so that we can also bear fruit in him, refining the thickness of the shadow into truth. Therefore we shall take what has been said as an example, bringing forth as proof also the water of Marah, that although it was bitter, it was sweetened, God having shown a piece of wood to the blessed Moses, and having commanded him to cast it into the waters. But the wood was an image and type of the precious cross, through which the law became sweet, and as it were, most drinkable, although the history holds bitterness; "For, as I said, 'the letter kills,'" or rather as the wise Paul has written to us. Are you not as sons of Ethiopians to me, O sons of Israel? says the Lord; Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Cappadocia, and the Syrians from a pit? behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Those of Israel, always raising a high brow, continually recounting up and down the nobility of their fathers, and greatly stretching out their tongue, would say, "We have Abraham as our father." But they heard Christ saying to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham." "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children." But the likeness of works and the ability to boast splendidly in the glories of the fathers justly bestows this. And they were arrogant towards all other nations, saying this also, that God made them chosen out of all the nations, and delivered them from the land of the Egyptians, and transferred them to the land of promise. And the statement is indeed true. But they who especially ought to have pleased the one who honored them with fitting returns, being outrageously insolent with complete apostasies and deviations into wickedness, were found to be so in many ways. And so the wretches have now come to this point of madness, as to think that for their well-being and for glory it would suffice them to be from the root of Abraham, and that they were transferred from the land of the Egyptians into the land of promise. Therefore, so that they might know that such boasts as these would be of no benefit to them, who have fallen into indolence and do not wish to be pious, he necessarily says, I will not consider you thus, even if you should happen to have nobility from your fathers, just as, of course, the sons of the Ethiopians, who do not have Abraham as their root? For the divine is impartial and completely without respect of persons, and it knows no carnal nobility devoid of good deeds; indeed it deems spiritual nobility worthy of all reverence, which would be attended by the love of being resplendent through brilliant achievements. But that also seems to you to be something great and exceptional, to have moved from Egypt to another land. Then what of this? he says, or what benefit will it bring you? Others also have this, having received it from me. For I transferred the Philistines, that is, the Palestinians; for so the Hebrews have interpreted; from Cappadocia; and the Syrians, that is, all those under the kingdom of Damascus at that time, I led from a pit. But it must be known that instead of 'from a pit' the Hebrews have published, 'of Cyrene.' Therefore the Palestinians have become colonists of the Cappadocians, and the Syrians of the Cyrenaeans. But he called it a pit Cyrene, although very elevated and situated on high, because it lies as if in a deep bay. For all the land of the Libyans, so to speak, has maritime bays, jutting out. Therefore, for me, he says, who looks upon all equally, the purpose is to cut off every kingdom of sinners from the earth. Therefore, fleshly splendor would not profit those who possess it. For nobility before God is judged to be a good character, one that has striven much for the pursuit of virtue, and has practiced contending with the pieties of one's ancestors. But I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the Lord. For behold, I give the command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, and not a pebble shall fall to the ground; all the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, those who say, ‘The evils shall not draw near or come upon us.’ The remnant has again been preserved for Israel "for the sake of the fathers." For they will not endure complete destruction, he says, nor indeed will the race of Jacob be utterly wiped out. But as if scattered by a sieve, he says, they will be scattered among all the nations. but not a pebble shall fall to the ground, that is, the race of Jacob will not fall in such a way as to arrive at complete ruin, but will be saved in the part that has received mercy; for some were then brought back from captivity; and it has also been saved through Christ; for not a few in number from the Jews have believed; and the remnant will also be saved in the last times, after the flock of the nations has been called in first. Then, as if someone were saying, If Jacob is saved again, against whom are the threats? he usefully answers, and says, that the wrath will not be indiscriminate against all without distinction, nor will the effects of anger be indifferent, but will rather fall upon those who have sinned unbearably. This is the meaning of, By the sword shall all the sinners of my people die, who say, ‘The evils shall not draw near or come upon us.’ For some came to such a point of madness as to think that the holy prophets were speaking falsely, and indeed they were saying that none of the things foretold would happen. And the wise Jeremiah will also testify to this, saying to God, "Behold, these say to me, 'Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come.'" Therefore, the sin of those so disposed was twofold: for they provoked in many ways, and they also thought that the truth was speaking falsely. And we shall find that at the time of the visitation the teachers of the Jews did not heed the words of our Savior. Therefore they also heard, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves do not enter, and you do not allow those who are entering to go in;" and again, "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 hell as yourselves." Therefore, they were justly not counted as children, and having slipped from the nobility of their fathers, they were enrolled as if among the sons of the Ethiopians; and they have also been consumed by the sword, and for their own ill counsel they have paid penalties equal to the judgment. In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen and rebuild its ruins, and its demolished parts I will raise up and I will rebuild it as in the days of old; that the remnant of men may seek out [the Lord], and all the nations upon whom my name has been called, says the Lord who does these things. He promised, saying that he would not utterly destroy the race of Jacob, but even if they were scattered in a way by a sieve; for they will become both strangers and sojourners, driven from their fatherland and homes, inhabiting a barbarian and foreign land; but they would not be completely crushed, nor indeed will they go away to complete destruction. For this reason he says that he will also raise up the tabernacle of David, although it has fallen, and he will raise up its ruins, as in the days of old, that is, for many days. He says that this will be a sign and an assurance to the other nations, both those near and those far away, that it is necessary henceforth to turn to God and choose to seek him, having marveled in some way at the greatness of both the gentleness of God and his strength. Therefore, if he should say the tabernacle of David, he signifies the race of the Jews, that is, the house of Jacob. But it must be known that when Cyrus released them from captivity, they then returned to Judea, and rebuilt the temple, and having fortified the deserted cities and repaired the houses in them, they have dwelt securely, although having endured wars from certain ones, such as Antiochus, I say, and Hadrian, they have not become captives again, nor indeed have they been laid waste, as they were by the Babylonians. So then, the historical account is in these things; but the inner and truer one would be in Christ. For when he rose from the dead, God the Father having raised his tabernacle that had fallen into death, that is, his flesh from the earth, then indeed then all human things were restored to their ancient form, and all our ruined things have been brought to a new appearance. "For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," according to the scriptures; for we have been raised with him. And death indeed tore down the tabernacles of all, but God the Father rebuilt them in Christ; and this will not be for us for a measured time, but for the days of eternity; for the good of incorruptibility in us is imperishable, and death will no longer have dominion over those saved in Christ. Then indeed then the remnant of men after those who believed from Israel have known the God who is by nature and in truth, having departed from that ancient and profane error. For it was not possible to prove Christ false when he said "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." And again, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." On that very day, therefore, on which I will raise up the torn down and fallen tabernacle of David, all the nations will be called, and my name will be upon them. And that the things foretold will in every way and entirely come to pass, he has fully assured by adding, Says the Lord God who does these things. For if he is truly the Lord God, he will in every way and entirely do these things also, being weak in nothing. For he does "Great and unsearchable things, glorious and wonderful, of which there is no number." Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and the plowing will overtake the vintage, and the grape will ripen with the seed, and the mountains will drip sweetness, and all the hills will be planted; and I will restore the captivity of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and dwell in them, and they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they will plant gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up from their land which I have given them, says the Lord God Almighty. He has clearly interpreted the very thing I was saying. And if someone should choose to make the narrative coarse and historical, he will say that again, that the return is clearly promised to those who have endured the captivity, and that they will possess their own land, having rebuilt cities and houses, and, being henceforth in a good state of prosperity, they will gather the good things from the fields, and will apply themselves to farming with gladness and joy, so that their labor in the harvests of the sweetest things becomes continuous, with the goods from the threshing floor coinciding with their vintage, and the vintage, in turn, extending again to the time of sowing, so that the farmer passes from the winepress and sickle and grape clusters to the plowlands of the plains, and having washed off the dust of the threshing floor, to take up the cares of the winepresses. But if we should wish to approach the contemplation of the things set before us in a more subtle and spiritual way, it would be fitting to reasonably think that. For since, as I said, Christ came back to life; for the Father raised the tent of David, and rebuilt its ruins, a great and abundant participation in spiritual goods has come upon all people, both Greeks and Jews; "For God is one, who has justified the circumcision by "faith, and the uncircumcision through faith." Therefore, a very great supply of spiritual fruits is given to those who have believed, which is very well signified through earthly fruits. For there will be, it says, an abundance of grain and wine. But we will now accept the grain for strength, clearly spiritual strength; for it is written that "And bread strengthens a man's heart," but in some way entirely spiritual and divine and from above; and the wine for gladness; for again it said, "And wine gladdens "a man's heart;" and we "rejoice in hope," according to the voice of the blessed Paul. And the mountains drip sweetness. Therefore, the mountains, as it seems, here he calls the churches of Christ, on account of the loftiness of the doctrines in them, and the excellence of their piety towards God, and because the mountains appear to be covered with various plants, while the churches of Christ have countless heads of saints, like cedars and the tallest trees, which are established by the outlets of spiritual waters. But just as in the most wooded of mountains, swarms of bees flying about produce the sweet and precious honey; so again also in the churches, those who are more distinguished than others and more mature in virtue and understanding, collecting the sweet honey of the teaching about Christ, practically make it drip even into the hearts of others. Therefore, the mountains will drip sweetness in this way, I think. And he said the hills will be planted together. But hills are like those who are second and have less in virtue than those who are exceedingly distinguished in it. For there are measures of holiness and righteousness in the churches, and as Paul says, "According to the grace given to each" by God who distributes such things. Therefore, these also will be planted together, he says, that is, flourishing and fruitful, and bearing a mind richly covered with the orthodoxy of divine doctrines. And that the God of all has restored our captivity, no one would doubt. For Christ proclaimed "release to the captives," and He rescued from the greed of the devil the whole world under heaven. Then indeed, then, like farmers, we became caretakers of all the spiritual fruitfulness, we planted gardens and vineyards, and we shall eat their fruit. For we shall receive the rewards for our labors, and we shall also gather the fruits of equity. And that we shall have an unshakable dwelling with God, and that no one could cast out those who are in the lots once given by him, he will make clear by saying, "I will plant them upon their land which I have given them, says the Lord God." "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable," and we will be established in every good thing, having Christ himself as our leader and festival-president; through whom and with whom to God the Father be the glory and the power with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.