Book 3
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, the word came of the Lord to Zechariah, on the fourth of the ninth month, which is Chisleu; and the king sent to Bethel Sarasar and Arbeser and his men to propitiate the Lord, saying to the priests who were in the house of the Lord Almighty and to the prophets, saying, "Has the sanctification entered here in the fifth month, just as they have done now for a sufficient number of years?" After the display of visions, other words came from God, with a short time having passed in between. For before the visions it is written that, "On the twenty-fourth day in the eleventh month; this is the month of Sabat; in the second year of Darius the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Barachias, the son of Addo the Prophet, saying:" but in the contemplations before us, another time after that is specified: For in the fourth year on the fourth day of the ninth month which is Chisleu; according to the Hebrew tongue, that is; the manner of the divine vision for the Prophet has changed. But what is the occasion, the narrative of the history will make very clear. For some would not understand the meaning of what is set forth otherwise than in this way. For who at all are Sarasar and Arbeser the king and the men with him, how is it not necessary to learn this before all else? And what is the sanctification in the fifth month; and indeed the very manner of the question, to what it looks, and what might be the purpose of those asking. Now when Hoshea the son of Elah was king of the ten tribes in Samaria, and had greatly inclined to apostasy; for he had served idols; God was provoked against Israel. Then Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians campaigned against the country, and he took Samaria, and he deported Israel, and he prepared certain people from the country of the Chaldeans to inhabit the land, so that it might become Persian, as having its inhabitants from there thenceforth. You have the history in the fourth book of Kingdoms. For it is written thus: "In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel for nine years, and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, yet not as the kings "Israel who were before him; against him came up Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians, and Hoshea became his "servant." And after other things again, "And Israel was carried away "from their land to the Assyrians unto this day. "And the king of the Assyrians brought from Babylon "men from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and they were settled in the cities of Samaria instead "of the sons of Israel, and they inherited Samaria and "dwelt in its cities." These, then, who had taken the lot of the Samaritans, having inhabited the land and perhaps become fathers of children, also inclined to the customs of the Jews, having dreaded the attacks of the lions; from them came Sarasár and Arbeser, who was also named king, because he was then the leader of those who had been resettled in Samaria from Persia. And this about the men; but concerning the sanctification, come let us speak again what is fitting. Therefore, before Judaea was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, the blessed prophet Joel had proclaimed what was going to happen, and indeed he commanded the priests to mourn, and also the people under their charge, as Jerusalem was soon to be under the feet of enemies, and the divine temple itself was about to be burned down. And he spoke thus: "Gird yourselves and lament, "O priests; wail, you who minister at the altar; enter, "pass the night in sackcloth, you who minister to God, for "the sacrifice and the drink offering are withheld from the house of our God. "Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders, "all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of our God, and "cry earnestly to the Lord, 'Alas, alas for the day!'" And this from the prophet; but in what manner the things foretold came to pass, I will clarify again, citing the sacred scripture itself. For it is written thus in the fourth book of Kings: "And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the "nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, "Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the "king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and he burned the "house of the Lord and the king's house and all the "houses of Jerusalem, and every great house the captain of the guard "burned." Then he appointed Gedaliah over the people of Israel who were left, whom, in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came upon and overpowered and killed; for it is written thus. Therefore, since it happened that in the fifth month and on the seventh day Jerusalem was captured, and the temple was burned down, and Gedaliah also died in addition in the seventh month, perhaps the remnant of the Jews, moved by the memory of the prophet's voice, established a custom for everyone from all the surrounding region in the fifth month and on the seventh day of the month to go up to Jerusalem, and to sanctify a fast, and to make lamentation as for a dead person and to wail for the temple lying in a certain manner, and for the burned city to pour a tear of afterthought. And they thought that this way of worship pleasing to God had been most wisely devised by them. But this was done while Israel was still under the yoke of captivity, and when no care had been taken of the divine temple. But when they returned, having left the land of the Persians and Medes, and dwelt in the holy city, and then rebuilt the divine temple, the custom seemed to them to be no longer practiced at the right time and in order. For it was necessary rather, after what had happened, to turn to gladness, and to celebrate feasts, and to send up songs of thanksgiving to the one who had called them to freedom. Therefore, being in doubt, those of whom the account speaks, Sarasár and Arbeser, send some men to ask both the priests and the prophets if the sanctification has come here in the fifth month, as they have done now for many years, that is, if those accustomed to mourn have assembled in Jerusalem, and if they themselves should accept the custom, as in a manner of the sanctification that had taken place, although the divine temple had also been raised and the ruin of the captivity. For they sanctified, as I said, a fast which they had done for many years. For while Israel was in captivity, they themselves also continued observing the time of mourning, and sanctifying the fast as I already said before. Therefore the question is from those who are in doubt, whether it is still necessary to fulfill the sanctification and the mourning, even after the raising of the temple; that is, to abstain henceforth, since the cause of the mourning has gone away. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying: When you fasted or mourned in the fifth and in the seventh months, and behold for seventy years, did you fast a fast to me? And when you ate or drank, was it not you who were eating and you who were drinking? Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, and her cities round about her, and the hill country and the plain were inhabited? Some were asking, as I already said before, both the priests and the prophets about the so-called sanctification; then God answers, the priests and prophets having, as was likely, presented the supplications, and having earnestly sought to answer wisely those who chose to inquire about such things. Then what is the word from God? Both short and not long and having nothing convoluted; but, so to speak, bare and straightforward in the knowledge of what is beneficial. For what is the point, he says, if you have perchance fasted in the fifth and in the seventh months? Or what achievement of virtue is it at all, to wail ignorantly over stones and wood that have been burned? And in what way would God be pleased with the things done by you, when, having done none of the necessary things for benefit, you think among yourselves that you are achieving the best things of all? For if I have need of such a fast, and a womanly lamentation is worthy of praise, for what reason have you continued this for seventy years, he says, without having fasted? For while they were still living among the Babylonians, they did not perform a public fast, nor would they be found to have been zealous to carry out any other of the customary and routine things, that is, according to the law of Moses. Then how did I have mercy, he says, and deliver them from the hand of their rulers? Therefore I have no need of such a fast, just as surely, if you should choose, he says, to eat and drink, you are not gratifying me but rather yourselves in the matter. Therefore, for one who fasts in vain and for no useful purpose, the tear is also useless and the sweat is without reward. Are not these the words of the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, abounding in good things, and still boasting in her own unharmed cities, both those in the hill country and in the plain. For the prophet Joel said that it is fitting for both priests and peoples to mourn, and in addition to these things also to sanctify a fast. And the purpose of the exhortation was calling to repentance. For he did not want to wait for the experience of what had happened, so that you would mourn the temple after it was burned, but so that before the experience, as I said, by propitiating God with wailings and lamentations, you might escape the evils. Therefore are not these the words of the former prophets, which you, being ignorant of, lament in vain, and shed the tear of ignorance over fallen stones, although it is necessary to correct the way of your own lives, and to walk the glorious and blameless path, having determined to perform well that which seems good to the law. And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Judge a just judgment, and show mercy and compassion each to his brother, and do not oppress the widow and the orphan and the sojourner and the poor, and let none of you remember the evil of his brother in your hearts. Having shown the mourning to be counterfeit, as useless and unprofitable, and having mocked their vain sweat, he henceforth directs them to that which is most conducive to benefit, and having made the path of the way of life that pleases him clear and plain, he makes white, as it were, the meaning of the law itself and of the prophetic proclamations. For the lawgiver delights in a right and blameless judgment; and he has honored, and very earnestly, both mercy and love for one another, and he deems worthy of praise love for orphans, and compassion for women burdened by widowhood; but he shakes off greed as profane, and any crushing that might happen against the weaker, and he wishes those who have chosen to think his thoughts to be kind and not bearing grudges. And Christ himself also said somewhere, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven;" and indeed he also taught those praying to say, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." For the merciful God forgives the offenses of those who forgive others, "but the ways of the resentful lead to death," according to what is written in the book of Proverbs. And that love is the fulfillment of all law, how could anyone doubt, when the divine Paul has written thus? And the aforementioned are the fruits of love, and the doer of these things is a precise keeper of the law. And they refused to pay attention, and they turned a stubborn back, and they made their ears heavy so as not to hear, and their heart they made disobedient so as not to hear my law and the words which the Lord Almighty sent by his Spirit through the former prophets; and there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty. And it shall be, just as he spoke and they did not listen to him, so they will cry out and I will not listen to them, says the Lord Almighty, and I will cast them out among all the nations that they did not know, and the land will be made desolate behind them, with no one passing through or returning; and they made the choice land a desolation. And through these things he has fully shown that they have not ceased to provoke the Judge of all against themselves. For though it was possible for them to obey the words of the holy prophets and, casting as far away as possible their noble opposition to the will of the lawgiver, to choose a glorious and most lawful life and to walk the blameless path, they became hard and held the teacher in no esteem, and they have had an unbending and unyielding heart. For they in no way ceased outrageously insulting the divine words, and terribly and unholily rebuking their messengers, who administered the office of prophecy, even though they spoke in the Holy Spirit; and they had already slipped to such a point of savagery and unadmonishable nonsense as not to choose to repent until the things foretold came to pass for them, and they have fallen under the things brought upon them by divine wrath. But if God says in this that "I will cast them out among all the nations, and the land will be made desolate with no one passing through or returning," let us understand that such things were said again as in a prophetic foretelling; for they had been cast out among the Persians and Medes, and had already experienced captivity, and the land was deserted, and the best country of all was appointed, as the word says, for desolation, having no one passing through, that is, returning. For some were consumed by war; and others, burdened by the yoke of slavery, have run into captivity. Therefore, let us understand that these things too were said together with the others as in a foretelling. And that disobeying the divine words is harmful, or rather even a cause of destruction, one might see even from the things that happened to the ancients; and one would not need long arguments for proof, but the matter is clear to anyone, at least to one who once knows the good things that come from obedience. And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy, and with a great wrath I am jealous for her. Having sufficiently maligned the disobedience and stubbornness of the ancients from the very things that happened to them, and that he would be of all having shown them the cause of their evils, he transfers the discourse to the good things that come from gentleness, and from then on attempts to promise them seasons of prosperity, and to enrich them abundantly with wished-for goods, as having already paid the penalty for the things in which they unholily transgressed, and having been cleansed, as it were, of the accusations of their former wickedness by being punished by their enemies and enduring the yoke of slavery. And he cries out, as it were, against the cruelty of the Babylonians, who, going beyond all audacity, have done things to them that not even the divine wrath itself perhaps willed; for he said clearly, "I was a little angry, but they helped "forward the affliction." Therefore I am jealous for Jerusalem, that is, I have taken up zeal on its behalf, and with great jealousy I was jealous for her. It is as if he were to say, It will happen to the Babylonians to suffer in return things more harsh than what they have done, and upon those who have thus destroyed, I will bring the effects of wrath. Christ has fulfilled this. For, being grieved for us who had wretchedly perished, and, as it were, being jealous for the Church, which was indeed foreknown by him, but not yet revealed in the world, he crushed the hordes of demons, and cast out the master of their folly from its tyranny over us and subjected him to the movements of wrath, and henceforth declared the assembly of those who worship him free from that one's wickedness. Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty holy. God indeed fills all things, and all things are full of his ineffable nature. Yet he is sometimes said to depart from those who have sinned, not being divided by spatial separations—for it is utterly foolish to think this way—but by no longer wishing to be near and to deem them worthy of forbearance and love. And we say that the very manner of his wrath is of this kind. Therefore Israel turned to false worship, and Jerusalem has played the harlot. And the God of all departed, as it were, and subjected them to the evils that come from turning away. But since he now takes pity, he says, "I will return," that is, I will cease from wrath, I will declare it worthy of my visitation, and I will make it my house again. And just as, when he turned away, the holy mountain, that is, the temple in Jerusalem, no longer seemed revered by those who saw it burned; so indeed again, with God choosing to dwell in it, and it having been raised up, the reverence for it will rise again and be renewed, and Jerusalem will be true again, no longer as before offering its worship to gods not made by hands and to falsely named images, but serving the one God who is by nature and in truth with gentleness, by choosing henceforth to live according to the law, and with obedience in everything whatsoever. You might reasonably apply such words to the Word who for our sake became as we are, who, being in the form of the one who begot him and in equality in every way, "emptied himself, "taking the form of a slave,"" and became man, and "became "poor for our sake, so that we through his poverty might become rich." Therefore he who long ago justly turned away because of the transgression in Adam, and because "the "thought of man is set on evil "from his youth"" returned to us, as from his innate gentleness henceforth, and has dwelt in the Church, and has made the sanctified ones a city and a holy habitation. For he said somewhere concerning her—clearly meaning the Church—"Here I will dwell, because I have chosen her." And the blessed David also sings, "Glorious things have been spoken of "you, O city of God." The prophet Isaiah also revealed this to us, saying, "For in the last days "the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, and the house of God "on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the "hills, and all nations shall come to it." For the Church of Christ is conspicuous, and like one set on a mountain, it is known to all everywhere. And it is also called true, least of all in types and shadows worshipping; but having rather received the truth, who is Christ, and fulfilling the worship in spirit and in truth. Thus says the Lord Almighty: Old men and old women shall yet sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each having his staff in his hand from abundance of days; and the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets. The war having consumed the nation of the Jews, it necessarily happened that their cities became empty of their inhabitants, and one saw houses cast down and the beauty of the structures in them. But behold, he promises to grant them a much-desired and long peace, which, and very rightly, the sons of the Hellenes call nurse of youths. For it brings those who are born to maturity, and for those who are already young men it in a way smoothes the path to old age, with no one ravaging, no war crushing, no consuming battle. One must suppose therefore, and very rightly, that in peacetime cities, even if they are wide and long, are rendered narrow and are overcome by the multitude of their inhabitants. The passage before us again travails with some such meaning for us. For it said that old men and old women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, with a staff barely mitigating the feebleness of old age, and having a staff to guide their old age; and this is a praise of warless times and of deep peace, which brings, as I said, infants to maturity, and sends to old age those who are already counted among men, who run the whole course of their life without a fight. And if indeed young men were to dance in the city, and young girls to form choruses in the middle of the streets, this too would be clear proof that no bitter care hangs over them. For they would not have tolerated anyone playing, if it were a time of dejection. And Christ has become peace for us, who, having crushed every war, has rendered the Church full of the saints. And there are in it those gray-haired in mind, countless and excellent, to whom also the wise John writes, saying, “I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning;” and like beardless boys and little girls is the more childlike multitude of those who have just believed, who with what are virtually spiritual leaps truly adorn the holy city, that is, the Church; to whom it would also be fitting to say, “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us shout for joy to God our Savior.” And if the elders should be said to lean on a staff, you will understand that Christ supports both small and great, the rod from Jesse, and the one named of power, which God the Father has sent to us from the Zion above, so that rejoicing in this we say, “Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me.” Thus says the Lord Almighty: If it will be impossible in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be impossible in my sight? says the Lord Almighty. Great and extraordinary matters somehow tend to invite disbelief, and their course to completion is not without wonder. And so Sarah indeed laughs out of disbelief at the promise concerning Isaac, looking to her old age and contrasting the impossibility with the laws of humanity. Nevertheless she gave birth against hope, since God made the matter possible for her. It was therefore very likely that those redeemed from captivity would be shaken with doubts and not be very confident that matters would advance for them to such prosperity, that Jerusalem would become full of the aged, and that choirs of boys and dances of girls would be seen in it, and that the good things of deep peace would come to be. For they were looking at walls thrown down, houses burned, and all the surrounding cities as habitats for wild beasts, on account of their being completely emptied of their inhabitants; and the fields, once all-bearing and flourishing full of thorns, having none of the ripe fruits, and the race of the rustics being utterly ruined. It was therefore, as I said, from this likely to disbelieve that the things promised would come to pass for them. For this very reason God does not allow them to be of two minds; but commands them to be of good courage and confirms it, saying, "If it shall be impossible in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible in my sight? says the Lord Almighty." For what is impossible among us, is quite easily achieved by the all-powerful God. For He is the Lord of hosts, fulfilling by His will even the most extraordinary things, and bringing to pass without delay what seems good to Him. And somewhere God the Father said to the Jews, proclaiming beforehand the accomplishments from the coming of our Savior, "Behold, you despisers, and look, and perish; "for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not "believe, if one declares it to you." For as far as human reasoning is concerned, beyond wonder and reason is the very mystery of the Incarnation; and no less so are the accomplishments that have resulted for us from it. For how is it not close to disbelief that the Word, born of God, was united to flesh, and came to be in the form of a servant, and endured the cross, and suffered insults and injuries, and the harms of the foolishness of the Jews? Or how would one not be utterly astonished at the outcome of the economy, where sin has been destroyed, death has been abolished and corruption driven away, and man, formerly a runaway, is now seen adorned with the grace of adoption? Therefore let Christ say concerning these very things, "If it shall be impossible in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible in my sight?" For all things are smooth and passable for Him, and when He wishes to accomplish any of the necessary things, there would be, I think, nothing to oppose Him. Thus says the Lord Almighty: "Behold, I am saving my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west, and I will bring them in and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." God did indeed save of old those of the blood of Israel who were scattered by the war, gathering them to Jerusalem, and dwelling among them, by means of raising the divine temple, and allowing them again to be reconciled through the sacrifices according to the law, and to complete their vows and fulfill their feasts. However, the saying that He saves His own people from east and west, would fittingly apply to Emmanuel, who called all under heaven, catching in His net through faith those from the ends of the earth, and having gathered every flock of nations into the truly holy and renowned city "which is the church of the living God," and the heavenly Jerusalem. And that He dwelt in the midst of her, how is it not true to say? For He became like us, and "dwelt among men" in the flesh. And this God proclaimed beforehand to us through another prophet, saying, "Be of good courage, Zion, let not "your hands be slack. The Lord your God is in you, "a mighty one will save you; he will bring joy upon you and will renew "you in his love." But He is also with us now; for He has not left us orphans, but has sent to us the Paraclete in His place, and through Him is with those who love Him; and will fully assure us, saying, "Behold, I am with you all "the days, until the end of the age." We have therefore become His people, we who were once not a people, and we who were worshippers of stones; abhorring the ancient and profane error; we have acknowledged Him as God, and this in truth and in righteousness. For not like the friends of the letter are we attached to types and shadows, but rather having received into our mind and heart the brightness of the evangelical proclamations, we fulfill the true worship, and holding fast to the righteousness that pleases Him, we fulfill the worship in spirit. "For God is Spirit," as the Son Himself says, "and those who worship Him must worship in "spirit and truth. Thus says the Lord Almighty: "Let your hands be strong, you who of those hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets, from the day the house of the Lord Almighty was founded, and the temple from which it has been built. The God of all things often promises to those who love him things beyond hope, but he never speaks falsely, but by his own power and by certain ineffable operations he accomplishes in due season whatever he may wish, and very effortlessly. It would be fitting for us, not being weak in faith, in every way and altogether to bear witness to him that he is able to accomplish all things easily; and to be courageous for works through which we shall be illustrious, and we shall gain the glorious crown of goodness; and to be persuaded by the words from him, and to be eager to make as guides those who may be at times for us the most unerring transmitters of the divine oracles. And our Lord Jesus Christ also promised through the holy prophets the good things from the incarnation, and insofar as it pertained to human thoughts, he did not place the account far from unbelief, as I said, narrating the greatness of the gifts. But in faith we have made acceptable the things beyond nature; and turning our mind to supernatural works, we have given the neck of our mind, in a way easy to handle and obedient, to the instructors of piety. And the fitting time for the provisions of good things and for the subjection from us ourselves is the manifestation of the Church. For see how the God of all things commanded even us to be strong and to fulfill works, and to be persuaded by the words of the prophets, from the day the house of the Lord Almighty was founded and the temple from which it has been built. For before those days the wage of men shall not be for a benefit, and the wage of beasts does not exist, and to the one going out and to the one coming in there shall be no peace from the affliction; and I will send forth all men, each against his neighbor. The edition of the Hebrews does not render the words as if for a future time, but posits the time that has passed. For it says "before those days the wage of men was not for a benefit and the wage of beasts did not exist"; and again "To the one going out and to the one coming in there was no peace," and instead of saying "And I will send forth all men," they have put "I have sent forth all men." And the account is also very plausible, but the truth in these things the power of the narratives will establish. For it wishes to signify something like this. For those from Israel had come from Babylon to the holy city. But there was no place of sanctification for them, since the former temple was demolished; there was no sacrifice and libation, since the altar was not standing. Then the God of all things urged them to make the most pressing care of these things so necessary for them, and to rebuild the temple, and to erect the divine altar in it, so that they might be able to perform very well the customary rites, and to appease the God of all things. But they delayed in various ways, at one time feigning a lack of money, at another making excuses of the malevolence of those hindering the building. Then, offending God because of this, they were struck with frequent and successive plagues, I mean indeed by lack of fruit and by blight and by the attacks and raids of the neighboring nations. And the God of all things made their sloth an accusation against them, speaking thus through the voice of Haggai the prophet, "This people say, 'The time has not come to build the house of the Lord.' Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while the house of the Lord has not been built?" But since they had relapsed, as I said, out of sloth, they were frequently struck with shortages of necessities, and with wars with their neighbors. But when they had raised the temple, the things from wrath ceased, and all things were sufficient for them, and a great breadth of prosperity was at hand. For this reason it says, "That before those days," that is, before the temple was raised, "the wage of men was not for benefit and the wage of the beasts did not exist. For the farmers were without wages, and having gathered absolutely nothing, they departed from the fields along with the exhausted oxen. But there was no peace for those going out, or for those coming in. And by those coming in and going out he sometimes means those going from city to city, or having a commercial trade, that is, also for the sake of other business. There was no peace for them either, since the neighboring nations, as I said, had raged against Israel, and each one looked upon the one near by blood, or a brother, or a neighbor as one of his greatest enemies. It should be known that before the Only-Begotten became man, and the Church was revealed, there was no wage for man, nor indeed for beasts. For the more rational in this life and those having a reputation for understanding, who indeed might be considered men, had an unprofitable and useless zeal in words, neither writing anything necessary, nor indeed being able to understand or speak to others. Likewise also those who led a herd-like and bestial life remained without wages. For it was not possible to work anything praised by God. But there was no peace at all on earth, as the herd of demons was confounding all things, and rendering the earth full of turmoil, so that the affairs of all and indeed their minds were as in a shaking and a swell, and had no firmness. And now not according to the former days will I deal with the remnant of this people, says the Lord Almighty; but I will show peace; the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heaven shall give its dew, and I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of my people. He transfers along with his wrath the things that result from it, and says that the punishments will flee away along with the times of transgressions. For with sin having ceased, or rather with Israel having already paid the penalties for it, he said that the misfortunes would cease, quite reasonably, and the assault of grievous things would be ineffective. For he has planned for them things not akin to the first, but whatever looks towards gentleness. This was an increase of peace, and an abundant supply of the most pleasant things for them, so that the vine was seen full of clusters, and the arable land, growing deep with crops, would repay the sweat of the farmers, with heaven obviously, as it were, running along with them, and fattening the fields, clearly, and the things in them with dews. For heaven and earth, and creation simply, will surely follow the nods of the Master. And these things are an inheritance for Israel, with God broadening their prosperity and delivering them from everything that is wont to cause grief. This saying would be fitting for the Savior of us all, Christ. For before the times of his coming we each walked according to what seemed good to him, living a bestial and most irrational life, and yoked to the deceptions of demons. But when the Father had mercy on us who were all but sold, and cast down to the earth, and under the feet of enemies, he no longer dealt with us according to the former days. For he did not overlook us any longer being taken advantage of, and acting under a cruel tyrant who was carrying us off to every one of the most shameful things; but rather he has given us the peace from heaven, that is Christ, who has also bestowed on us the supply of all spiritual fruitfulness. For we have been filled with grain and wine, and the true vine, that is Christ, has given us its fruit, which makes glad the heart of man, according to what is written. And he, being both the grain of wheat and the sacred sheaf, was revealed to us as the bread of life; and he made us most flourishing, fattening us with dews from heaven, clearly the spiritual ones and through the Spirit, of which the divine David also makes mention, saying, “As the dew of Hermon that comes down on the mountains of Zion.” And these things are to us in the lot of an inheritance from God and a good portion, since indeed we have become Israel, that is, a mind seeing God, for we have seen the Father in the Son. and it shall be that as you were a curse among the to the nations the house of Judah and the house of Israel, so I will save you and you shall be a blessing; be of good courage and let your hands be strong. The people of Israel, having become captives and entangled in the greed of their captors, have also been called accursed, with some saying, as is likely, "May I not become like Israel." But since the merciful God has saved them, and they are in their former good state, they have cast off along with their misfortunes also the appearance of being cursed. For they have been blessed, and have become no less enviable than they were of old, with God gladdening them with good things from above, and extending to them a share of all cheerfulness. And this very thing may be seen again to be true in our own case. For we were accursed, yoked to the herds of demons, and brought down to every form of wickedness through their perversity. But since we have known God, the creator of all, and have been known by Christ, then indeed we have been taught to sing over ourselves, "Blessed are we by the Lord, who made heaven and "earth." Since, therefore, we have been called to this honor and glory, it is necessary to be diligent and to be manful against the passions, to make sin hateful, and to be seemly in the evangelical laws, so as to hasten to accomplish what is pleasing to Christ. For we have heard him crying out to us, Be of good courage and let your hands be strong, and we have received from Christ the need to be of good courage; for he has conquered the world for us, and has trodden on enemies, and showed his own temple to be stronger than death, and has stopped the mouth of lawlessness, so that we too through him in these things. For he conquered, as I said, not so much for himself, but for us who were weak, accomplishing the good things that come from victory. For thus says the Lord Almighty: As I thought to do you harm when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says the Lord Almighty, and I did not relent, so I have arrayed myself and have thought in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah; be of good courage. That nothing withstands the divine thoughts, or rather counsels, he allows us to understand again from these things. For whatever God should resolve and choose to fulfill, this will certainly come to pass and will proceed to the end that seems good to him. Thus somewhere he also says through the voice of Isaiah, revealing the all-powerful nature of his own being: "And I said, All my counsel shall stand, and all that I have planned, I will do." Therefore, from what they happened to suffer when the divine wrath was brought upon them, from these very things it is possible to understand, and very clearly, that for them the path of cheerfulness is also widened, since he is willing and permits them to prosper, or rather, extending out of loving-kindness the need for them to be in every good thing. For just as, he says, nothing restrained him when he wished to harm you on account of your great sin, so also when he plans good things and wishes to pity those who have toiled sufficiently, there will be nothing to stand in the way. For I have set myself in array to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. The word is very emphatic. For he did not say only that "I have planned" and "I have thought," perhaps, but "I have come to this point of judgment and of gentleness toward you, that I have even set myself in array." And this is a clear indication of intense deliberation. And he seals the promise as true by adding, "Be of good courage." So also does Christ make us secure, us who have been called through faith to the knowledge of the truth. For just as before the call, when we had slipped into every kind of wickedness, he gave us over to a debased mind, and afflicted us on account of uncleanness; so also in these days he has both planned and set himself in array, as he himself says, to do good to the Church and the house of Judah, that is, us who confess him, and who honor him with praises as Master, as savior and redeemer; for Judah is interpreted as 'praise'. And the house of Judah may also be understood in another way as the Church. for it has been named the house of Christ, who "has sprung out of Judah," and so he is called also in the divinely inspired Scripture. And indeed the patriarch Jacob thus mentions him, saying, "Judah, let your brothers praise you," and again, "From a shoot you went up, my son Judah." For Christ sprang up from the root of Jesse, and as if from a shoot of the holy virgin, "A glorious rod and a staff of magnifi-"cence," according to the prophet's voice. To us, therefore, will be said, "Take courage," and very rightly so. For the Father has crowned us with the weapon of goodwill through the salvation and grace which is through Christ. These are the words which you shall do: speak truth each to his neighbor, and judge a peaceful judgment in your gates, and let each one not devise the wickedness of his neighbor in your hearts, and do not love a false oath; because all these things I have hated, says the Lord Almighty. God does not promise to bestow good things from His own gentleness on those who choose to disobey and are accustomed to turn away to a worthless manner of life, and certainly not to be disposed to do them good from then on; but rather to those who have loved to walk the path pleasing to Him and have chosen to live piously. For He has commanded that they should by no means be seen as speakers of falsehood, but rather that they should speak their words with accuracy, and to love uprightness in judgments, and to bring forth a verdict on each matter that is straight and irreproachable in every way and entirely, not being overcome by shameful bribes, not looking to sordid gains, and for the sake of money misrepresenting the grace of the just man; but looking only to what is pleasing to God; and also forgiving brothers, if they should stumble at all either in doing or in speaking, and in addition to these things, strongly rejecting perjury. For He declares that He has hated such evils. But observe how He commands to do nothing of the things in shadows or types. For indeed He does not command that one must sacrifice oxen nor yet honor with incense, but He wills that one practice a life that is, as it were, lean and well-wrought, and all but evangelical. For since no small discourse has been made by us in these matters concerning the advent of our Savior, for this reason a commandment is also necessarily introduced which speaks the ordinances through Him. For if indeed it is fitting for us, following the divine words, to speak the truth, we shall certainly speak of the things of Christ; for Christ is the truth. For this reason also the most wise Peter commanded us to be most ready "for a defense to everyone "who asks us a reason concerning the hope that is in us." And indeed those who are accustomed to speak the things of Christ, and have Him always on their tongue, and have made Him the meditation of their mind and heart, would surely be righteous in every way, and distinguished in uprightness in all things whatsoever, peaceful and gentle and, in addition to this, forbearing, and not knowing how to swear falsely, but rather not even swearing at all. For they remember Him saying, "But let "your word be 'Yes, yes,' and 'No, no'; for what is more than "these is from the evil one." And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be for the house of Judah for joy and for gladness and for good feasts, and you shall rejoice, and you shall love the truth and peace. I think it necessary for the studious to narrate again beforehand the causes of the fasts spoken of here, and which is the fourth, and which the fifth, and those after them, the seventh and the tenth. For thus we shall opportunely bring to bear, and in order hereafter, the force of the things commanded. Therefore, after the holy city was captured, and the temple was burned down, and Israel was carried away captive along with the holy vessels, those who were saved and left behind in Judea considered the days on which such things happened to be ill-omened and hateful, and indeed running together in a crowd, they made a lamentation and a dirge, abstaining from food as in fasts. But what were the things that happened, and as in each of the of the days just now named by us, come, let us speak from the holy scriptures. So then the blessed Jeremiah said, "And it came to pass in the "ninth year of his reign; it is clear, of Zedekiah; "in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebu- "chadnezzar king of Babylon came, and all his host "against Jerusalem, and they surrounded it with a palisade and "built a wall of four-foot stones around it, and "the city came into distress until the eleventh year of king "Zedekiah, in the fourth month on the ninth day of the month, "and the famine was severe in the city, and there was no bread "for the people of the land, and the city was broken up, and all the "men of war went out by night by the way of the "gate between the wall and the outwork, which "was by the king's garden." Then inserting in the middle the slaughter of Zedekiah's sons, and his own blinding, he said again, "In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the "month, Nebuzaradan the chief cook, who stood before "the face of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and "burned the house of the Lord and the king's house, "and all the houses of the city and every great "house he burned with fire, and every wall of Jerusalem "round about the host of the Chaldeans that was with the "chief cook cast down." You hear how in the tenth year Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, then in the fourth month of the eleventh year he says the city was broken up, and indeed in the fifth month he insists that the temple itself and the whole city was burned down by the chief cook. Therefore they made the fourth and the fifth and the tenth day unlucky days, transferring the months into days. But what of the seventh, it is necessary to speak of it again. For when the chief cook had taken Jerusalem, he appointed Gedaliah as governor for the remnant of the Jews in Jerusalem. Then having done this, he departed for Babylon. But when the survivors from the Jews learned that this had been so done, they ran together in Jerusalem, and were in hopes of still inhabiting the land. But in the seventh month, as it is written, Ishmael killed Gedaliah; and all the people were scattered then, and fled to the land of the Egyptians, and perished there. Therefore they made the seventh day hateful, and the month itself for this reason. This then is the reason for the fasts. But since it was fitting, when the things from wrath had ceased and Israel had been brought back to Jerusalem and the sad things had passed, not to fast any longer and lament, he commands that mourning be transformed into gladness, and to rejoice rather in what they have, having received it from God, that is, to hold in memory the things for which they were punished from time to time, for having sinned unguardedly and shamelessly slipped into every kind of transgression. And Christ has done this for us also. "For he has turned our mourning into joy, he has torn off the sackcloth and "girded us with gladness," according to the voice of the psalmist. And we do not complain at all that, once not knowing God, and worshipping the creation rather than the creator, we have fallen under the feet of enemies and into a reprobate mind; but we rather give thanks for the things for which we have received mercy and been saved, and have been delivered from the hand of enemies, and inhabit the holy city, that is, the Church, and are deemed worthy henceforth to honor him with prayers and spiritual sacrifices, and we also love peace and truth, and we have been taught by the divinely-inspired scripture to count the matter a cause of the highest gladness. "For he himself is our peace;" he himself, as I said, is the truth; and through him we are in good hopes, and we ought to rejoice, all dejection being taken away. Thus says the Lord Almighty, There shall yet come many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities, and the inhabitants of five cities shall come together into one city, saying, Let us go to entreat the face of the Lord and to seek the face of the Lord of the Almighty, I will go also; and many peoples and many nations shall come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem and to propitiate the face of the Lord. As Christ transforms our mourning into joy and into a feast and into good gladness, and changes our lamentations into cheerfulness, no longer, he says, will the approach in faith and the intimacy with God through sanctification be for those called to salvation one by one; but the cities will then exhort one another to this, and all the nations will come in multitudes, with those who come second always crying out to those who have arrived first for this, 'I will go also.' For it is written that "Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the face of another." For the zeal of some is always found to be a provocation to others to fulfill what is good. What then is the purpose for the cities or for the nations? To propitiate and to seek out the face of the Lord, that is, Christ, who is the exact image of God the Father, and "the character of His substance," as it is written, and "the radiance of His glory," concerning whom the divine David also says, "Make your face to shine upon your servant." For the image and the face, as I said, of God the Father has shone upon us; having Him benevolent and propitious, we shall also escape the harms from sin, being justified through faith, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His great mercy;" for He is compassionate and good and forgives the offenses of those who approach Him; seeking Him with a love of learning and by the need to fulfill the established customs, we shall by all means and in every way find Him, and through Him we are joined to God the Father, for He is our peace, according to the scriptures. Thus says the Lord Almighty: In those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will take hold, they will take hold of the hem of a Jewish man, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' In what way the approach of those seeking the face of the Lord will happen city by city and nation by nation, he makes clear again. For this will be, he says, in those days, that is, at that time, in which ten men would take hold of one Jew, saying, 'We will go with you.' Through the ten, therefore, you will understand the perfect number of those who approach; for the number ten is somehow a symbol of perfection. That those from the nations, clinging to the holy apostles, attempted to walk the same path as they did, being justified through faith in Christ, he makes clear, saying also the figure, as if finely fashioned from an image of our own experience. For if small children should ever choose to follow their own fathers, taking hold of the hem and, as it were, being helped by their touch and hanging from their garments, they make their walk unerring and safe; in the same way, I think, also those who have served creation rather than the Creator of all things, acknowledging as their genuine fathers the teachers of the evangelical doctrines, and being united through harmony of soul, they follow them, being still infants in their understanding, and they go on the same path, being revealed certainly as emulators of their way of life, and with constant progress toward the better, "ascending to a perfect man and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." And for what reason do they follow? For they have been fully convinced that God is with them, that is, Emmanuel; for it is interpreted, 'God with us.' But that the call at that time will not be of those from the blood of Israel alone, but rather of all the nations throughout the whole world, he has indicated by saying that those who take hold of the hem will be from all the languages. But when were the nations called to the knowledge of truth, and when did they wish to seek the face of the Lord, and to propitiate it, and for the need to walk the same path as the holy apostles, unless when the Only-begotten came among us? who is the expectation of the nations; to whom also the divine David sings, "All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord;" for through him the multitude of the nations has also been saved. The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and its resting place is Damascus; because the Lord watches over men and all the tribes of Israel; and Hamath in its borders. The subject before us is not harsh, but the very composition of the words is quite difficult to grasp; nevertheless, it will be spoken by us as is possible. Indeed, it is necessary to fittingly declare in advance the things about which we believe these words were spoken, for only in this way can the meaning of the prophecy be understood, and with difficulty. Therefore, when Israel was at times released and freed from the bonds of captivity, and they finally came into Judea, and attempted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, then indeed the neighboring nations, both those inhabiting Samaria and those occupying the cities of Palestine and also of Phoenicia, were consumed with envy, and at the same time they were afraid, lest their affairs should return to their original state, and the race expand to an innumerable multitude, and then, having such an impregnable and well-towered city, they might campaign against them again and, as before, raise an invincible hand against them, for this reason they wanted to hinder those wishing to build the wall, devising bitter deceits, and indeed also setting up raids against them. They came to such a point of malice and envy, that they also wrote to the one then reigning over the Persians the things contained in Ezra. And it reads thus: "To King Artaxerxes, lord, your servants Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their council and the judges who are in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia. And now let it be known to the lord king that the Jews who have come up from you to us have come to Jerusalem, the rebellious and wicked city, they are building, and they are repairing its marketplaces and its walls and laying the foundations of a temple. If, therefore, this city is built and its walls are finished, they will not endure to pay tribute, but will even stand against kings, and since the work on the temple is proceeding, we think it well not to overlook such a thing." Therefore, since they immoderately mocked Israel when it had been captured and had suffered captivity, and when it had with difficulty been saved and released from its bonds they attacked it again no less, inflicting countless troubles upon it, plotting in many ways, and allowing them neither to raise the divine temple, nor indeed to wall the holy city, God was necessarily provoked against them, and he delivered them into the hands of Israel. For when the works were finished and the temple raised, having ravaged all their cities, they took under their hand those in them, and became masters of innumerable riches. The burden, therefore, of the word of the Lord, it says, in the land of Hadrach and Damascus, that is, the word from God that is in our hands, will be against both the land of Hadrach and of Damascus, and indeed also of Hamath, which is in its borders, clearly of Damascus. The land of Hadrach is surely a country lying toward the east, whose neighbors are Hamath, which is now Epiphania, a little beyond Antioch, and Damascus, which is the metropolis of the Phoenicians and Palestinians; and the cities under them will clearly be subject to the metropolises. Why then is the burden against them? Because in them has occurred his rest, that is, of the God who rules all things. And he has rested because he has seen them punished. For he who watches over all things would not have been silent, deeming the chosen race worthy of forbearance and visitation, that is, Israel. For the God of all watches over men, and observes the path of each, and upon those who do wrong he brings the things of wrath, but he rescues the wronged. And it is necessary to remember that also in the preceding sections, having introduced the account concerning the four chariots and the forms of the horses, he added again "Behold, those who go forth to the land of the north have quieted my spirit in the land of the north." And the Master's wrath, which hates evil, is quieted, as it were, when those who have offended him have paid the penalty for their very great and unbridled sin. Tyre and Sidon, because they were very proud, and Tyre built strongholds for herself, and she treasured up silver like dust, and gathered gold like the mud of the streets. For this reason the Lord will inherit her, and will cast her power into the sea, and she will be consumed by fire. The account runs through the events that happened to the cities, against which he asserted "the burden of the Lord" had come. He begins with Tyre and Sidon, which were indeed especially honored above the others, excelling in strength and wealth, and in the manliness of their inhabitants, and having the others, as it were, under their hand, and set before their neighbors. Therefore, since, he says, Sidon and Tyre raise a high brow, and think themselves to be formidable and unbreakable, and have trusted in strongholds, that is, in surrounding walls, or in other things by which a city might be well off and be saved, and have been greatly proud of their wealth, for this very reason they will learn by experience itself that the Lord will inherit her. For when those from Israel had sacked her, that is, perhaps, Vespasian and Titus, he says that she will be inherited from God. For it was he himself who delivered her and placed her under the hand of those who had taken her. For the Romans, subjecting the whole earth to their own scepters, were gentle and mild to those who yielded without a fight; but to those who wished to resist, they themselves were harsh and warlike. Therefore, he says that she will be burned down, her strongholds having been cast into the sea, and her wealth plundered, even if her gold was like dust and her silver like the mud of the streets. For the inhabitants of Tyre have become formidable and exceedingly avaricious merchants, and concerning this a broad and long account has been made in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel. Therefore, nothing will ever benefit those who offend God, those who mock the saints, if indeed anything should happen to them, and who laugh broadly if God should test the faith of his own. For every stronghold of theirs will fail, that is, every enclosure and every means of safety; and wealth will be of no use at all, but will be sustenance for war and an even greater attraction for those accustomed to plunder. And one might see even now the children of the Hellenes being very proud of their worldly wisdom, and as it were on strongholds, on the deceptions from intricate syllogisms, and all but walling in their own error with the power of eloquence, and being exceedingly enriched with what is brilliant in speech [as silver], and what is precious in thought in the order of gold. Yet even so, Christ has inherited them, for he has thrown down the strongholds, that is, the discoveries from deceit have fallen, and the gold and silver have been plundered. For indeed, those who from time to time have presided over the churches, eloquent and wise men, seizing for themselves the power of their eloquence, have made a sacred offering to God, contending with arguments for the faith, and making a very great and true denunciation of their deceit. Those from Israel have done something like this. For having borrowed from the Egyptians vessels of gold and silver and having despoiled those who had taken advantage of them, they brought these things in the desert to the all-holy God, when the holy tabernacle and the sacred vessels in it were being constructed. Therefore, those who administer the Church through worldly wisdom and through brightness of speech, both plunder the children of the Hellenes, and as it were, having become rich with their gold and silver out of very great gentleness, they make it an inheritance of God, speaking to others for his glory, and destroying their strongholds, but building up spiritually the holy the city, that is, the Church. Ashkelon shall see and shall be afraid, and Gaza and shall be in great pain, and Ekron, because she was shamed of her hope; and a king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And foreigners shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines. When the assault of war and battle overruns a country, the cities within it are somehow more courageous and at times have good hopes; for they think that they will overcome their enemies either by the multitude of their inhabitants, or by the strength of their walls and their knowledge of tactics; but if it should happen that one among them is captured, which might be called the strongest, then indeed then all cower in fear, and cast off their hope, I mean the hope of being able to escape, and mourn as if fallen. So then, when Tyre is captured, which is so distinguished and most mighty and boasts in its wealth, Ashkelon, he says, will be afraid, and Gaza will be in pain, and indeed Ekron too. These are cities of the Palestinians. And she will be in pain, because she was shamed of her hope. For they thought that the strength of the Tyrians would suffice to aid them. But since they have seen her laid low, for this reason they have finally lost their hope. And the leader of Gaza, he says, will be gone, having perished, clearly, and foreigners shall dwell in Ashdod, the natives having likely been consumed by the war. And he adds to this, that I will destroy the pride of the Philistines. And he usually calls the Philistines, that is the Palestinians, "allophuloi" (foreigners). But the statement might also apply, if one thinks so, to other nations that have wronged Israel, who were also neighbors and adjacent to the Jews. But these things will be said by us again, with respect to the literal meaning. But it is necessary to know that when the Church, as I said, is at times persecuted by enemies, the enemies spring up terribly and grin, perhaps saying, "Aha, aha," as it is written. Nevertheless Christ defends her, and will shatter all their power, raising up His own temple, and bringing upon those who plot against her the things of unmixed wrath, and shaking the synagogues of the heresies like certain cities, and in addition to these, the unholy hordes of the idolaters. And I will take away their blood out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth: and they also shall be left for our God, and they shall be as a chiliarch in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. For these also devoured Israel, and like some wild beasts, had their mouths, so to speak, stained with blood. And since they were idolaters, and devoted to the worship of vain things, they always somehow had on their tongues, or rather between their teeth, the names of their own abominations, calling handmade things gods up and down, and saying to lifeless stones, according to the prophet, "You are my God," and "You begot me." But they have paid the fitting and sufficient penalty, having savagely transgressed against Israel. Nevertheless, they have not utterly perished, God having foretold their future conversion in Christ in due time. Therefore, he says, I will take away their blood out of their mouth, that is, even if like some wild beasts they as it were gulped down Israel, yet a time will come when they will be clean and freed from the charge for these things; for they too will be justified by faith, and will wash away the defilement from their ancient depravity. And I will also take away the names of their abominations from between their teeth. For they will no longer remember the falsely named gods, nor will they name them, and they themselves will be left for our God, just as Israel itself was; for its remnant has also been saved, although it had acted impiously against Emmanuel himself. And since the called multitude of the nations was spiritually joined to those who believed from the blood of Israel, Christ binding them into unity; "For He is "our peace, who made both one, and the middle "wall of the having broken down the barrier, and creating the two peoples into "one new man, making peace, and reconciling "both in one Spirit to the Father;" for this reason he says that they will be as a chiliarch in Judah, that is, they will advance to this point of genuineness, in faith and gentleness, I say, so that even from them leaders of Judah will arise. And Ekron, that is, the foreigner, from the land of the Philistines, will be as the Jebusite, that is, again, as the very people inhabiting Jerusalem. For Jerusalem was called Jebus in the beginning; therefore, the Jebusite is here understood as the Jerusalemite. And many chiliarchs, that is, leaders and rulers of peoples, have come from the gentiles, and now exist throughout the whole world. But you will understand "in Judah" to refer to those who are accustomed to praise, that is, us who have been called in faith, who are accustomed to crown Christ who has called us with unceasing doxologies. And I will encamp in my house as a garrison, so that none may pass through or return, and no more shall an oppressor come upon them, because now I have seen with my eyes. Behold, he clearly names Christ a garrison and a wall, through whom and in whom we have been fortified, clearly according to the good pleasure and will of God the Father. For the spiritual house and building of God, according to the voice of Paul, we are surely those who have believed, if it is true that he dwells in our hearts through the Spirit and lodges with those who love him. For he himself said through the voice of a prophet, "For I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Christ is therefore the garrison raised up for the Church by the counsel of the Father, so that no longer, as of old, certain ones may pass through and return among us, causing confusion and trampling a way as if laid waste, and filling our hearts with all harm. For he said somewhere concerning those of Israel, who was the ancient vineyard of the beloved, that "I will take away its hedge and it shall be for plunder, and I will break down its wall and it shall be for trampling." But for us who have known his epiphany, Emmanuel himself has been raised as a wall and a hedge, surrounding with ineffable power and scaring away from our minds the unclean demons, and not allowing us to be subjected to their feet. Therefore the prophet also says to him, "And you shall be called," he says, "the builder of hedges, and you will put an end to the paths between." For just as those who are accustomed to fence in vineyards that have been laid waste put an end to the paths through the middle, no longer allowing them to be trodden by the feet of those who cause confusion; so also our Lord Jesus Christ, having placed himself around us as an unbreakable wall and fencing us in with angelic powers, has prepared us to be beyond being trampled. And he added to this, that no more shall an oppressor come upon them. For formerly we were easily captured and quite easily carried away, and went readily to anything whatsoever that was amiss, as Satan led and carried us, and drove us, so to speak, from these things to those. But Christ put a stop to this also. For the plunderer will not come against us; he will not cast us out as before, to do his will. For we have been fixed in Christ, and have our heart secure and established, no longer shaken toward what is not fitting; not departing into polytheism; not being driven out into error, but as it were having embarked on faith and love for God, so that rejoicing in this we say "And he set my feet upon a rock." And by saying, Because now I have seen with my eyes, he clearly showed that the time of the Savior's advent is a time of visitation. "For the dayspring from on high has visited us," and as David says, "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the earth," although formerly, on account of the sin in us, he did not deem us worthy of oversight, nor of mercy or love, nor of anything else of the sort at all, but was as it were turned away; for this reason we were also troubled. and the blessed David will testify, saying, "When you turn away your face, they will be troubled, and to their dust they will return." But since now, that is, at the time of his sojourn, he has seen with his own eyes, we have been saved and have received mercy, and what indeed of things beyond words and truly worthy of admiration have we not gained?