Book 5
And the Lord said to me, Take for yourself again the equipment of a shepherd of an unskilled one, because behold, I am raising up a shepherd over the land; he will not look after the one that is perishing, nor seek the one that is scattered, nor heal the one that is broken, nor guide the one that is whole, but he will devour the flesh of the choice ones and tear off their hoofs. When the good shepherd, wise and knowledgeable, that is, Christ, cast off and scattered the two staffs in the lands of the Canaanites, in the ways already previously explained; some have known that it is the Word of the Lord. For they have believed, as I said, that although the Word who is from him and in him was ineffably begotten by God the Father, since he became as we are, and has been named chief shepherd of all, he set forth to them for initiation and for accurate knowledge of the mystery concerning himself, both the evangeli- cal instruction and illumination, and indeed also the legal one. For we said that these were the two rods, by which Christ shepherds us "in good pasture and in a rich place" as it is written. But the Jews, not understanding the mystery, and being ignorant of the good rod, that is, the evangelical proclamation, and in addition to these dishonoring the other rod, whose name is Cord, that is, the law through Moses, did not accept the faith, and are ignorant of the one foretold through the law and the prophets; and the Savior himself clearly said this to them: "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you have hoped. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" It is therefore in no way debatable that they have believed neither the writings of Moses, nor indeed the words of the Savior. But since they did not receive the knowledge of the truth, for this reason, as the most wise Paul says, "God will send them a strong delusion, so that they may believe the lie;" and he says that the antichrist is the working of error, to whom the Jews, having attached themselves, will be condemned. And the Savior will confirm it, saying to them who have chosen to disobey, "I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him." That the Jews, therefore, were going to readily receive the son of lawlessness who had appeared in due time, "who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God," him who does not know how to shepherd correctly and skillfully, God commands the Prophet to prefigure, saying thus: Take for yourself again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For the most gentle of shepherds, and those knowledgeable in the tasks at hand, have slender rods, so that if there should be an occasion for striking, the one being struck might not be shattered. But if someone should be one of those who does not know the business, and is situated as far as possible from the science of shepherding, he crushes them with the thickest clubs. And these, I think, are the pastoral implements of the foolish shepherd. But since in due time the son of lawlessness, clothed in royal honor, was destined to appear to be shown in the rank of a shepherd to those on earth; yet deeming the people under his hand, or even those outside his hand, worthy of no mercy, for this reason he says: Behold, I am raising up a shepherd on the earth, who will not visit the perishing. It is as if he were saying: The one who has slipped into little faith, he would not strengthen with initiations; the scattered he will not seek, that is, he says, the one that has wandered from the straight path, and is accustomed to leap away from the flock, he will not seek, that is, he would not convert it to what is better and right. The broken he will not heal. And one is broken, either being overcome by evil pleasure, and as it were not bearing the weight of the love of the flesh; or rather, having been carried away by the deceits of the unholy heretics, and not having a sound mind for the necessity of believing rightly. This again the good shepherd heals, but the foolish one no longer. He will not guide the sound one, but he will even devour the flesh of the chosen, and will dislocate their ankles. For the son of lawlessness will war against the saints, and unleashing his unrestrained anger upon them, he will all but cut up and devour their flesh like a wild beast. And he will dislocate their ankles, so that no one may be able to walk uprightly; for he will compel them to worship him, striking them with awe by his wonders. For he has "his coming in the activity of Satan," and in Beelzebul he will perform "wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect," and as the Savior says, "No flesh would have been saved," while his greed rages against all; "but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short." "For the Lord will slay him with the spirit, and will destroy him "with the manifestation of His coming." O you who shepherd vanities, and you who have abandoned the sheep, a sword upon his arm and upon his right eye; his arm shall be completely withered, and his right eye shall be completely blinded. The word having once been spoken concerning the worthless shepherd, he all but scowls, then, at the shepherds who are not good, and uses, in a way, a most general discourse, proclaiming in advance the things that will happen to those of such a mind. For observe how, as if they are already paying the penalties for their laziness, he perhaps even feels compassion because of his innate gentleness, and he accuses them, on the one hand, that they have become shepherds of vanities, that is, caretakers of temporary things, and so lazy as to rejoice over the sheep that have miserably perished. For those who sold them said "Blessed is the Lord, and we have become rich;" and they slaughtered them and felt nothing for them; for of the need to shepherd rightly there was no account at all among them. Such were the leaders of the Jews, shutting up the kingdom of heaven, as Christ says, and neither entering themselves, nor allowing others to enter; but traversing "the sea and the dry land, in order to "make one proselyte, and if he becomes one, making "him a son of Gehenna twofold more than yourselves." What then will happen to such evil shepherds? A sword, he says, upon his arm and upon his right eye. And the arm is taken to signify both power and a type of spiritual energy. And indeed, even of the animals being slaughtered in the holy tabernacle, the arm was a choice part for the divine altar and a sacred offering to God; the law, I think, indicating through a riddle that one must dedicate one's own strength, both physical and spiritual, to God. But that the arm signifies power, one of the saints will confirm, having addressed the God of all: "By the greatness "of your arm let them be turned to stone." And the eye is taken as a type of the mind. Therefore, he who does not shepherd rightly will suffer the maiming of both arm and eye, that is, he will be destitute of spiritual strength. For he will not be able to accomplish any of the good things if God does not strengthen him; and he will be darkened in mind, being and being considered devoid of the divine light. For he will not be able to say with boldness, "For you will light my lamp, O Lord; my God, you will enlighten "my darkness." And it is the right arm that is cut with the sword, and indeed the eye that is blinded. For there is nothing right among the peoples of the Jews, no good deed, no strength in these things, nothing from the divine light for the mind and heart. For as Paul says, "To this day, whenever "Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart." And David also somewhere sings concerning them, "Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see." Therefore, all things among them are left-handed, whether you speak of conduct, or thought, or anything else believed to be present. For the removal of the left-handed things would, I know, benefit those who endure it; for the rejection of left-handedness would release them from every cause and blame. But the putting away of right-handed things would injure them not moderately; for it leads in every way to the most shameful and abominable things. But for the Jews, it would be fitting, and very likely, to be in a state of deprivation of right-handed things; but for us who are in Christ, to be in a state of rejection of left-handedness, and to take pride in right-handed things. An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel, says the Lord, who stretches out heaven, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Having made a very sufficient narrative concerning, I say, the good shepherd, that is Christ, and moreover concerning the worthless and most cruel shepherd who devours the sheep; and this we say is the antichrist; he usefully also mentions the persecutions that will be from time to time against Israel; and not of course, of the one according to the flesh, or rather of the spiritual; and of the truly holy Jerusalem, "which is the church of the living God." For just as we say there is a spiritual Jew, the one having a circumcision in the heart, which is by the Spirit, and not at all the one in the flesh by the letter; so also one might say that Israel is understood, not at all as the one from the blood of Israel, but rather that one who has a mind seeing God. Such rather are all those who through faith in Christ have been called to sanctification, having known through him and in him God the Father. For this is the one sure and excellent way of seeing God. Therefore, the word is taken for the Israel just mentioned by us. And that the Creator of all is all-powerful, who makes for us the prediction concerning these things, he reveals, saying: Stretching out heaven, and founding the earth, and forming the spirit of man within him. For, he says, God who is all-powerful receives the oracle of the word against Israel, "stretching out the heaven like a curtain," according to the voice of the psalmist, and having made the earth so very firm, so as to have it unshaken always and forever, although founded upon the seas; for thus the divinely inspired scripture said. he himself who forms the spirit of man within him. And how could the creator and craftsman of such great things not accomplish what seems good to him without toil and very easily? But the spirit of man is formed by God in him, not being called into the beginnings of existence, even though it came to be through him, but as if being transformed, from weakness to power, from cowardice to patience, and simply being changed spiritually from the more shameful things to the better. And the divine David also sings somewhere, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within my inward parts." And surely one would not say, if he had any sense, that he wishes to receive a heart or a spirit, as if not having one from the beginning; but he would rather suppose he is asking for a clean heart and a right spirit to be created in him. And this is the transformation. And it is a custom for the holy prophets, if they are about to make a prediction of no contemptible matters, to try to show beforehand the God of all as all-powerful and most mighty, so that their word might in every way have certainty for faith, even if they should say something beyond hope, and which, as far as our thoughts are concerned, is beyond reason and disbelieved. Behold, I make Jerusalem like a threshold being shaken for all the peoples round about, and in Judea there shall be a siege against Jerusalem. And it shall be in that day that I will make Jerusalem a stone trodden down by all the nations; every one who tramples it down will mockingly be mocked, and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered against it. In the things already announced, the war against Judea that was to be by the army of the Romans was clearly spoken of. And so he said, "A voice of wailing shepherds, because their greatness is laid waste;" and after other things again, "For this reason I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord; and behold, I am delivering the men, each into the hands of his neighbor and into the hands of his king. And they will cut down the land, and I will not deliver them out of their hand." But in the present matters, he clearly foretells the persecutions that have happened against the Church. For they have warred against those who have believed in Christ; for before all others, the leaders of the synagogue of the Jews, commanding the holy apostles not to speak in the name of Christ, flogging them also in the councils, arranging for them to be stoned, and what of the most unholy things were they not doing and saying? But since the word concerning Christ had also gone out into the countries of the nations, and those in them had become hearers of the evangelical preachings, other persecutions again have happened through those who held power at various times and in various places who, of the profane and abominable idolatry eager to transform themselves and having become ministers of diabolical impiety, have killed the saints, calling them to the contests for martyrdom. And somehow the Church seemed to suffer easily, with no one defending her, and to resemble shaken and falling gateways, or even a stone trodden underfoot. For although the Savior of all is powerful and could easily quell every war, or rather, even remove it entirely from those who worship him, and make them superior to every temptation and to the overpowering hand of their enemies, he allowed them providentially to be made glorious through sufferings, so that having become conformed to him, they might be glorified with him and reign with him. For if we suffer with him, "we shall also "reign with him," according to what is written, and if we are "partakers of the sufferings," so also shall we be of the glory. Behold, therefore, he says, I make Jerusalem like a shaken gateway. And if this should happen, and the encirclement, that is, the siege by all, were placed around her, and when she seemed to be like a stone trodden underfoot, then everyone who mocks is mocked. And this has been done, as I just said, in the persecutions from time to time. For they attacked the saints, tormenting them in many ways, and perhaps the wretches even smiled upon them as they were dying. For they did not know, as is likely, the glory that comes from suffering, and that the labor would certainly lead to their everlasting joy. See, then, how he says it is not the work of the strength of the nations that the Church will be trodden underfoot, but of his own will allowing it, as I said, for his own worshippers to be perfected through sufferings. For behold, he says, I make Jerusalem like a shaken gateway for all the peoples round about. Similar to this, I think, is that which was very clearly spoken by the voice of the Savior to Pilate: "You would have no "authority against me at all, unless it had been given to you "from above." And the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the Church, might reasonably say in turn to the persecuting world: You would have no authority against me at all, unless it had been given to you from above. On that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike every horse with bewilderment and its rider with madness; but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, and I will strike all the horses of the peoples with blindness. That he will quell every war, and render the attacks of the persecutors ineffective, he gives us to understand by saying he will strike both horse and rider with bewilderment and madness and indeed with blindness. And I think that to suffer bewilderment is the same as to endure madness. For to be out of one's mind would be understood as bewilderment, and very reasonably so. When this has happened and has befallen the murderers, it will certainly be left for the saints to say concerning those who fought against them: "Our "enemies are foolish," and indeed: "Some in chariots and "some in horses, but we will be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. "They were entangled and fell, "but we have risen and stand upright." And in another way he who impiously attacks the forbearance of the saints might go mad, and he will endure an unexpected bewilderment, or rather, amazement, having seen that they conquer in adversities, and are crowned when they fall, and even if they seem to be defeated, then indeed they prevail all the more; if indeed it is true, that in their very suffering they are seen as glorious, and with the greatness of their labors they have the accompanying grace from above. Then how would the blessed martyrs not astonish those who fought them, conquering even Satan himself, and rebuking wicked and unclean spirits; instilling great wonder at their inherent glory, sometimes even in those who had killed them? Therefore, he promises to strike both rider and horse together, so that we may understand the phalanxes of the enemies, arrayed against the gentleness of the saints. But upon the house of Judah, he said he would open his eyes. and Judah in these things, the one from the root of Jesse and He names Christ as the one who appeared from the tribe of Judah; and his house, the Church, that is, the holy multitude of those justified in faith. But the opening of the eyes I think means this, that He will look very abundantly and as it were with a whole gaze; and this would be a clear sign of His benevolence towards them and indeed of His mercy and love. For it is written, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous." And upon whomsoever He might look, these He declares thrice-blessed in every way, if it is possible to say without falsehood, that He punishes the insolent and the sinner with turnings away, but He gladdens the pious and virtue-loving with His visitations. And so the divine David, making clear both the loss from the turning away and the gain from the visitation, at one time said, "Turn not thy face away from me, and do not "turn away in anger from thy servant;" and at another time again, "Look upon me and have mercy on me." For wrath and the things that result from it will certainly follow the turnings away; but in His looking upon is the necessity of receiving mercy. And all the chiliarchs of Judah shall say in their hearts, We shall find for ourselves those dwelling in Jerusalem in the Lord almighty, their God. We say that the chiliarchs of Judah are named the holy apostles, those who have been ordained as it were in the rank of generals by Christ, and have been appointed to lead Judah, that is, those called to confession and praise. For Judah is interpreted as praise. And these would be all those from the nations, to whom the divine psalmist also commands that they must glorify Emmanuel, saying in spirit, "Bless "our God, O nations, and make the voice of his praise to be heard." Judah, therefore, in these matters, are those called through faith to praise and confession; and the chiliarchs are those set over them, the commanders and leaders, the divine disciples. So it is possible to see them, as to certain soldiers, crying out to the worshipers of the Savior and saying, "Stand therefore, having girded your loins "with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, "and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel "of peace, in all things taking up the shield of faith, "with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts "of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." And that we must be seen as glorious and accomplishing a reputable life, the divine Paul also said, "Through the "weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left," and in addition to these things, he pointed out as it were the phalanxes of the adversaries, saying, "For the rest, be strong in "Christ and in the power of His might. For "our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the "principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of "this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the "heavenly places." The chiliarchs, therefore, and very fittingly, are the divine disciples, who, he says, will also say in their hearts, We shall find for ourselves those dwelling in Jerusalem in the Lord almighty, their God. For the divine disciples desired to see the truly holy Jerusalem, that is, the Church, filled with worshipers, and like some illustrious and famous city to be greatly dignified by a populous multitude of inhabitants. And so they proclaimed the faith, they evangelized Jesus, sealing their words with signs and wonders. Yet they did not persuade Israel; for it remained hard and unbending and like a horse that has thrown its rider. For this reason, then, they sought for themselves those who inhabit the holy city in the Lord almighty, their God, that is, in Christ, and indeed they turned to the nations, exclaiming to the peoples of the Jews, "It was necessary "that the word of God should be spoken first to you; but since you thrust "it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal "life, behold, we turn to the nations, for thus "God has commanded" us. From there they sought the citizens of the Church, of which the divine David also makes mention, saying, "Glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God." And having sought, they have become rich, and they have gathered a multitude beyond number, and indeed they say to the holy city, "Enlarge the place of your tent and of your curtains, fix them, do not spare, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes, spread out still to the right and to the left." And she rejoices in the multitude of those who dwell in her, and all but marveling at the assembly of her own children, she says, "But I was childless and a widow, who has borne me these? and where were these for me?" In that day I will make the captains of Judah like a firebrand among wood and like a torch of fire in stubble, and they will devour all the peoples round about, on the right and on the left. By "captains of Judah," as I have already said before, he calls the holy apostles, or even simply all the leaders of the holy churches; and he said that the word from them, that is, the mystagogy, would so overpower the heart of the nations, that it would seem like a firebrand had fallen upon wood, and a torch into easily flammable stubble. For "they will devour," he says, "all the peoples on the right and on the left round about," that is, wherever they might wish to go, in every way and by all means they will prevail there, calling them to understanding and, as with a divine and spiritual fire, warming those who have grown cold. The God of all said something like this also to the blessed prophet Jeremiah: "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth as fire, and this people as wood, and it will devour them," instead of "He will call to understanding those who have grown cold in sin, and will make them fervent again in spirit." For the heart of those who are astray has grown cold, and their mind is dead, worshiping "the creation rather than the creator" God, and offering veneration to wood and stones. But when they receive the divine word, they are made, as I said, fervent in spirit, ardent for righteousness; for we have been baptized, as the divine John says, "with the Holy Spirit and with fire," the spiritual fire, which is accustomed to consume, like some rubbish, the sin that dwells in our souls and to melt away the filth of the love of the flesh. Indeed, it was said to someone through the voice of Isaiah, "Because you have coals of fire, sit upon them, these will be a help to you;" and indeed he himself also says concerning himself, "And one of the Seraphim was sent to me, and in his hand he had a coal of fire, which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips, and will take away your iniquities, and will cleanse your sins.'" saying that the coal is, in all likelihood, the divine and most holy Christ who melts away sin. Therefore the divine disciples have become like a firebrand among wood and like torches of fire in stubble, and have devoured the nations round about; yet not consuming them to destruction, but rather burning up the foul and profane dogmas of the falsely-named knowledge within them, and melting away the filth of the ancient deceit, and not allowing the mind of those who have once believed to grow cold any longer toward unprofitable and vain counsels, so that they leap up within themselves, saying to Christ the Savior of all, "Your word is exceedingly refined, and your servant has loved it." For that the word of God is fervent and very sharp would be clear from his saying to Jeremiah, "Are not my words like a burning fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock?" For the all-powerful Word of God possesses, and very aptly, the ability to rekindle a mind grown cold in sin, and to easily unfold one that has, as it were, hardened and become compressed; for it is "living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of of soul and spirit, of joints "and of marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions "of the heart;" and it has been said somewhere also through the voice of prophets to the harsh and unyielding Jew, "Be circumcised to our God, "and take away the hardness of your hearts, O men "of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem." "Rend "your hearts and not your garments." And Jerusalem shall yet dwell by itself, and the Lord will save the tents of Judah as from the beginning, so that the boast of the house of David and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be magnified against Judah. He says that the Church will not always be in turmoil, nor indeed endure endless persecutions; but will be at rest at times, and will dwell by itself, that is, alone, with no one disturbing it, no one bringing affliction, no one inflicting terror, no one heaping up the despondencies from temptations; for the Lord will save the tents of Judah as from the beginning. For the Lord of all, clearly Christ, will thus defend His own churches, that is His own tents, as to bestow on them a care equal to that formerly granted to those of Israel who were redeemed from Egypt. For the God of all brought Israel out of the house of bondage, and "from the iron "furnace," as it is written, and from unbearable greed, "with a mighty hand and with an outstretched "arm," when He also "drowned the pursuers in the Red "Sea; the deep covered them, and they sank like lead "in the mighty water;" and the redeemed were brought across. A pillar of fire led them by night, showing the way, and a cloud also hung over them by day. Then they ate bread from heaven, escaped the bites of serpents in the wilderness, were stronger than their enemies, were brought across the Jordan, were circumcised with stone knives, and entered the land of promise. These things Christ will grant to those who seek His tents, that is, the Church; thus He will also save them, having freed them from the bondage under the devil, I mean, and having delivered them from demonic greed, having brought them as if through a sea of the distractions and vain turmoil in this world, having set Himself up for them as a brilliant pillar and foundation, illuminating those in darkness, and like a cloud watering with intelligible dews; and having become for them also the bread of life, having rendered the bites of the intelligible serpents ineffective and inert, and having brought them across the Jordan, and showing them to be clean through circumcision by the Spirit, and bringing them also into the kingdom of heaven. These things He will grant to His own worshippers, and He will save them in certain ways such as these, so that the boast of the house of David, that is, the leaders of the Jews, may not be magnified; nor indeed may there be pride, that is, occasions for pride, for the inhabitants of the perceptible and earthly Jerusalem against Judah. For they were haughty and looked down excessively on those who had believed in Christ, and against Immanuel Himself, putting forward high and low the things granted through Moses to the ancients, and alleging the mercy bestowed upon their fathers. And so at one time they were saying, "What sign then do you "perform, that we may see and believe you? What do "you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, "as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven "to eat;" and at another time again, "We know that "God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where "he is from." Therefore, the God of all will work wonders for us too, even if not visibly, just as He certainly did then, but at least intelligibly, and thus He will save us who are in His own tents, so that the Jews, that is, their leaders, may not be haughty against us. For I think this is what the boast of the house of David signifies. And it shall be in that day that the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the one who is weak among them in that day shall be as the house of David, and the house of David shall be as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them. "With the shield of good will for us" God and Father has crowned us. For He has given us His own Son as a defender and champion, through whom we have also been saved, easily escaping every temptation; and being accustomed to triumph over the war from enemies and the brutishness of persecutors. But in the present matters something of this sort is indeed indicated, though one might perceive the meaning to be overshadowed by much obscurity. For the God of all said that He would defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and not rather those who sojourn in it. And admittedly, Jerusalem in these passages is understood to be the Church of Christ. He sojourns in it who is not very secure, but is, as it were, shaken and easily carried away to what is not right, or is otherwise lazy in the love of learning; but he, on the other hand, dwells in it who is firm and established in the love that is for Christ, and always devoted to the benefits from the divine teachings, so as to be able to say in the words of David, "How sweet are your words to my throat, more than "honey and the honeycomb to my mouth." He will defend, therefore, he says, the inhabitants, and the one who is weak among them in that day will be as the house of David. And we say that by the house of David in these passages is meant the most honored among the Jews. For from the tribe of Judah, from which came Jesse and David, they ruled from time to time in Jerusalem. But by the weak one from among the inhabitants of the holy city, the spiritual Jerusalem, which is the Church, he perhaps means the one who is still a catechumen, who has not yet been baptized, but is still sick, as it were, weighed down by the burden of sin, and has not been delivered from his old infirmities, that is, passions. But even being in this state, because he has only believed, and has departed from the shadow of the law, and has fully inclined to choose to fulfill the life in the spirit and the glories of the life in Christ, he will be, he says, as the house of David, that is, in no way inferior in understanding to the wise and most honored among the Jews. The most wise Paul also alludes to something of this sort, when speaking to the Jewish people. For he spoke thus: "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what "the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law, "they who show the work of the law written on their "hearts." And again: "For circumcision indeed is of value, "if you practice the law; but if you are a transgressor of the law, your "circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised "keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision "be counted as circumcision? Then he who is physically "uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and "circumcision but are a transgressor of the law. For no one is a Jew "who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical, "but a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by "the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man "but from God." Therefore, the one who has rejected circumcision in the flesh as obsolete, but has rather loved that which is in the spirit, and who bears about the inward Jew, "whose praise is not "from men, but from God," how is he not better and in no way inferior to the experts in the law and the most honored among the Jews, even if he happens to have a remnant of weakness, as not yet having been baptized? For by the sound part of his own heart, that is, by faith, he will in every way differ from the one who does not accept the faith. But if one of those from the house of David, that is, of the illustrious and most honored among them, should accept the faith and, understanding very well the mystery of Christ, become His worshipper, this man will be both as the house of God and as an angel of the Lord before them. The Savior Himself is also found saying something of this sort; for He said that "Therefore every scribe who "has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master "of a house, who brings out of his treasure "new things and old." For the one who already has treasured up within himself the knowledge of the law, if he should also receive the knowledge of the gospel, will be rich in understanding, contemplating new things and old, just as from storehouses, setting before those who love learning; what sort of man the divine Paul was, at one time attempting to establish the word concerning Christ with legal proofs; at another, also with initiations beyond the law, in a way compelling his hearers to choose to be glorified in faith in him. For at one time he would say "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But he who was of the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise; which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to slavery, which is Hagar; for Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother;" and at another time, concerning the Son, "Who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high." Do you understand, then, how with old and new teachings at the same time he benefits the souls of those being initiated? Therefore, he says, the house of David shall be as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication: and they shall look upon me. My purpose, he says, will be to destroy all the nations that have fought against the holy city, that is, the Church; but to surround with grace and compassion the house of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, the citizens of the Church, and those numbered among those who ought to give praise; and these would again be those who worship Christ, and who have chosen to follow the evangelical decrees, achieving a glorious and blameless life. For that the enemies of the truth were destined to fail in their cowardice in every way, the Savior himself will make clear, saying: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." And by gates of Hades, he says, he means those who wish to persecute it, being like destructive and ruinous forces, and accustomed to bring down to the pit of Hades those attached to them. Therefore they will indeed grow weak, or rather they will even be destroyed, who have warred against her, and they will go to destruction. "For many indeed are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord will deliver them out of them all." and it is true that "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted." But Christ renders the plots of those who conspire against them useless and ineffective, and even their attempts, who has given "us authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy," and encourages us, saying, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Therefore, those who from time to time rise up against the Church are removed, but upon those in it, that is, those who have believed, is poured out abundantly a spirit of grace and compassion. For God the Father crowns us with good things from above, and fills us with spiritual gifts, so that raising the eye of our mind to him, we might have all our hope in him. For this, I think, is the meaning of "they shall look upon me." And being so disposed, we rejoice in ourselves, and then we say, glorifying God: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from corruption, who crowns you with mercy and compassion, who satisfies your desire with good things." Because of those whom they have mocked, they shall make a lamentation for them, as for a beloved one, and they shall be in sorrow, as for a firstborn. The Hebrew version begins of the preceding chapter, the phrase "And they shall look upon me"; but it does not agree with the tradition and interpretation of the Seventy. For the Hebrews say, "They shall see," instead of "They shall look upon," and instead of "They have insulted," "Him whom they pierced." However, we do not say that either the Hebrews' or the Seventy's version misses the mark; for the Jews insulted Christ, and in addition to this, they also "pierced" him. For Pilate's soldiers pierced his side, as it is written. Therefore, we rightly apply this saying to the person of Christ. But we say that this is what it means to declare, "They shall look on him whom they pierced," that is, whom they insulted, "and they shall mourn for him as for a beloved one, and they shall grieve with a grief as for a firstborn." For having nailed the divine temple to the wood, the crucifiers stood around, impiously mocking. For some were saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself." and others again, "He saved others; he cannot save himself." But when he had laid down his own life for us, and had preached to the spirits in Hades, and had come back to life, an earthquake having occurred, those who were watching by the monument were astonished, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God." And there was great repentance among many. But when the war of the Romans also fell upon them, their country being laid waste, and cities burned, and houses deserted, and Jerusalem itself being already besieged, and famine wasting them from within, some were with difficulty called to an awareness of their audacities against Christ, and they knew at last the causes of their suffering, and that their impieties against him had become the pretext for their suffering. Therefore, since they insulted him, "they shall mourn for him as for a beloved one, and they shall grieve with a grief as for a firstborn." For indeed an unbearable tear is always shed by parents for a firstborn and beloved son lying dead, and beatings and lamentations that do not cease completely, but surely a long and, as it were, continuous grief, wasting the soul with certain sharp and unbearable assaults. And that the Jews were about to come to the experience of such evils, Christ foretold, rebuking the women weeping for him and saying, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." In that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning for a pomegranate grove being cut down in a plain, and the land will mourn, tribe by tribe; a tribe by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of David by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of Nathan by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of Levi by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of Simeon by itself, and their women by themselves. All the tribes that are left, a tribe by itself, and their women by themselves. When all of Judea was being laid waste at times by the Roman army, and Jerusalem itself was being besieged, he says that the mourning among those in it will be such as a farmer would make for a pomegranate grove being cut down. For the plant is beautiful, and sends up many straight and very tall branches from the root. And if indeed it is also adorned with its fruits, then especially it is held in great admiration. For the pomegranate is a lovely thing, excelling in natural beauty and hanging from the shoots, and having the appearance of its rind reddened by the seeds within. But it is a terrible and grievous thing, as I said, for the plant to be cut down together with its fruits. But one could see something like this happening to the Jews. For as far as the honors from the law were concerned, the prominent among them could rightly be compared to fruitful pomegranate trees; for those from the tribe of Judah, administering the thrones of the kingdom, were held among them as an inheritance of renown, and those from the tribe of Levi, very well crowned with the glories of the priesthood, were both splendid and famous; but what could I say judges and lawyers and those resplendent with other honors? But since they have behaved insolently toward Christ, they have been given to their enemies, with Vespasian and Titus ravaging their country, and Jerusalem being besieged, and everyone in it perishing from famine, everything was filled with lamentation and wailing. Josephus will also bear witness, for in composing the books of the *Jewish War*, he said somewhere concerning Jerusalem in these very words: "Wailings were everywhere throughout the "city, and piercing shrieks, and commanded "lamentation." And just as he called it Lebanon and a forest, saying, "Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire "devour your cedars. Let the pine howl, because the cedar "has fallen, because the mighty are mightily distressed; howl, "you oaks of Bashan, because the dense "forest has been cut down;" so also he calls it a pomegranate grove being cut down. And the divine John will also confirm the account, having addressed the people of the Jews: "And now also the axe "is laid to the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not "produce good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire," "and is burned." Therefore, he says, the wailing in it will be so great, such as would be the wailing for a pomegranate grove, its fruit clearly having blossomed and being cut down unexpectedly. And the land shall mourn, tribe by tribe, and their women by themselves. And we do not say that the blessed Prophet means to indicate that the male part in each tribe stood separately, and the female part in turn separately, and they will make their wailing; for, as it seems, the matter is superfluous and ill-advised; but rather he teaches that each tribe with its women will have its own particular cause for lamentation. For this reason he says that the tribe of the house of David by itself and their women by themselves. And now let us speak, as we can, of the sorrow of each. For those from the tribe of David, that is, of Judah, falling from the kingdom, will lament uncontrollably, as being deprived of such conspicuous glory; while those of Levi, being cast out from the honors of the priesthood, will make their wailing together with their wives. And those from the tribe of Nathan; now this was a prophet, and not entirely true; they will mourn again. For it was no longer possible for them to prophesy unjust things and to speak from their own heart, and to sell their own words to the foolish as if from God, and to collect shameful gains from it. And tradition has it, that the Jews received the judges appointed from time to time from the tribe of Simeon, as it had the most intelligent and law-learned men, and far superior to the others in choosing to live lawfully. For this reason he says that the tribe of Simeon will mourn by itself. And their lamentation is also a particular one. For they did not judge rightly, nor indeed, yielding to the divine laws, did they strive to accomplish what was pleasing to God, but were rather avaricious and most corruptible, and as the prophet says, "Her "judges are like wolves of Arabia." And it was somehow necessary for the other tribes to mourn with them, since they were being cast out from their most pleasant customs and places, and rather, with death itself hanging over their heads, as the sword of the enemy and famine itself arrived. In that day every place shall be opened in the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem both for removal and for sprinkling. He runs over in his account the things that will happen again after this "to those "who have loved the appearance" of Christ. For those who have become insolent through disobedience, he says, will be in sieges, and will lament over their own evils. But in the spiritual and holy Jerusalem in truth, and in the house of David, that is, the Church of Christ who appeared from the seed of David according to the flesh, every place will be opened, that is, a certain great spaciousness and as it were a relaxed way of life, most desired and most effortless. It must be known that the Hebrews again have rendered the saying differently. For instead of *Every place shall be opened*, that there will be a spring they themselves said was gushing forth. And it is very likely, and that the purpose of the interpretation of the Seventy tends toward this very thing, even if the manner of the pronunciation of the words were otherwise, so that the meaning might be something of this sort. For the disobedient and stubborn Jerusalem, the wicked and apostate one, "who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her," will pay penalties corresponding to her own audacious deeds; for she will be cut down like a pomegranate tree. But for those who dwell in the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the house of Judah, which is Christ's, every place will be opened, that is, in every place a fountain gushing forth the water of purification, clearly that of holy baptism, so that it is useful for believers both for removal and for sprinkling. And what is the removal? For the Jews, from the legal discipline to the life in Christ, from shadow to truth, from type and letter to spiritual worship; and for the Greeks there is a removal for those coming from unbelief to believing in Christ, from their former ignorance to a pure knowledge of the truly existing God, from darkness to illumination; and a common removal, fitting henceforth for everyone called through faith, both Jew and Greek; from minding the things of the flesh to choosing to live holily and purely, and to walk in the Spirit, according to the voice of the blessed Paul; from honoring the things in the world to loving the things beyond the world. And that by receiving the divine and holy baptism we are sprinkled with the blood of Christ for the cleansing of sin, how could anyone doubt? Therefore, the way for removal and for sprinkling for those in the house of Judah is the saving baptism, that is, every place being opened, or every fountain being widened and gushing forth the water of purification. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, and there shall be no more remembrance of them; and I will remove the false prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. All things have changed for the better in Christ, and the things in him are a new creation, having cast off the blemish of the ancient decay. And one might see that the word on this matter is accurate, if one wished, even from the facts themselves. For before the times of the visitation, when the Only-begotten had not yet become as we are, nor yet was illuminating all things with the divine light, there was still mist and darkness in the hearts of the nations. For they served idols, and had sunk into such ill counsel as to offer reverence to wood and stones, and to attach to unclean demons the honors due to God. And these were the crimes of the folly of those who were led astray, but among Israel, who was both chosen and "the Lord's portion," according to what is written, and the "line of his inheritance," there was such a corruption of character and ways, that the Law was deemed of little account, though it had been given to them for assistance and was not incapable of instructing them on the necessity of living rightly, but they rather inclined to the necessity of foolishly being carried away with the errors of the nations and slipping into the superstitions of their neighbors. For they were attached, and very excessively, to the divinations of the false prophets. For the worshipers of idols, having settled in profane precincts, were both oracle-mongers and speakers of falsehoods; while others, having "The Lord lives" on their tongue, and pretending to be pious, and as it were concealing the wolf with a sheep's skin, these wretched ones put upon themselves the name of prophecy, and unholily seizing the glory for this, they would blurt out whatever they pleased, and said that the thoughts of their own heart were the divine will. Concerning those accustomed to dare such things, the prophet Jeremiah also said to the God who holds power over all things, "O Sovereign Lord, behold their prophets prophesy and say, 'You will not see a sword, and famine will not be among us, for I will give truth and peace upon the land and in the in this place." And to these things God "The prophets, He says, prophesy lies in my "name. I did not send them, nor did I command them, nor "did I speak to them, because they prophesy to you false visions "and divinations and omens and the preferences of their own heart, they "prophesy to you" and again "I did not send the "prophets, and they ran; nor did I speak to them, "and they prophesied." For they were liars, as I said, and, overcome by shameful gains, they spoke to their hearers things "from their own heart, as it is written, and not "from the mouth of the Lord." Then, although the Jews ought to have been indignant at these things, they did the opposite, making them venerable and striving to crown them with the highest honors. But when at last the Only-begotten Word of God appeared to us, the frigid and childish toys of idolatry were entirely gone and utterly destroyed, and along with it was taken away the outlandish and impious practice of the false prophets, who were filled with an evil and unclean spirit, and would be detected, and quite rightly, as suffering from a delusion that was sister and neighbor to that of the idol-worshippers. For the overseer of the impiety of both is one, that is, Satan. Therefore, He says, I will remove from the earth the names of the idols and there will be no remembrance of them in that day, that is, at that time when the divine and heavenly light shall shine, and the spiritual morning star shall rise in the hearts of those who were deceived, according to what is written, and the day shall dawn, the old night and the things done in it having been driven away; so that, with the ancient impurity removed, the true and holy worshippers might at last appear, having taken up the boasts of a holy way of life and honoring the life in Christ. And it shall be, if a man prophesies any more, that his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, 'You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord.' And his father and his mother who bore him shall bind him when he prophesies. So great, he says, will be the reverence for the divine among the people of that time, and they will so care for the utmost decency and an admirable life, that even parents themselves will be sharpened against their own children, if they should choose to emulate the liars, pretending to prophesy, and should utter something from their own hearts as if God had spoken. For 'they will bind him,' he says, that is, they will tie him up as one out of his mind and mad, and without any delay, they will even sentence him to death, if he should make his disease on this point persistent and shameless. For it is enough for them for the necessity of determining the child's entire punishment that he has spoken lies in the name of the Lord. But consider how true the saying is, and what certainty for belief the prophecy holds. For who among us in the present time would tolerate someone prophesying? Or how would one not immediately consider such a person to be out of his mind, and how would one not make him hateful for being of such an opinion? And what father would leave a child unrebuked, if he were caught in such terrible offenses? This, I think, would be a proof, and a very clear one, that we must firmly believe that the nature of our affairs has changed much for the better, with God refashioning it to what seems good to Him and to what is well, than before. And indeed, the things formerly honored and admirable to many are now hateful and accursed and not tolerable to the decent, and not lacking the need to be punished. And it shall be in that day that the prophets will be put to shame, each one from his vision when he prophesies, and they will put on a hairy cloak because of the lies they told. And he will say, 'I am not a prophet, because a man begot me from my youth.' And I will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your hands?' And he will say, 'Those with which I was struck in the house of my beloved.' That the things once marveled at are considered by us worthy of penalty and justice, and from the meaning of the things set forth, it is easy to see. For, as I said, the false-speaking and deceiving ones prophesied in Israel, and were accustomed to lead astray "for a handful of barley and a piece of bread" according to what is written. Then when they dared such things, no one rebuked them, nor wished to restrain them as those who had chosen to be impious, but rather the wretched ones deemed it right to crown them with praises and the highest honors. For this reason they also went to the worse, as the disease was nourished in them, as it were, through the frivolity of those who admired them. But in the present time he says they will be put to shame, clearly because their false prophecy is not accepted, but rather is rebuked, and from those who are accustomed to dare such things, penalties are exacted for their folly, so that having been convicted they might immediately abstain from evil, and put on a garment of hair for the lies they told, that is, to mourn for the evil and to lament over their transgression, repenting, because they had slipped into such ignorance of reasoning as to speak falsely against God, but blushing not at all to confess their sin and ask for forgiveness, saying clearly I am not a prophet, for a man begot me from my youth, that is, I have become the child of a man. But nature is very weak and quite easily led astray to what is not right, and somehow more ready for sins. Such would be the voices of those repenting. But if I should wish to ask him, he says, What is this matter of the wounds or stripes seen in your hands? he will answer again that I was struck with them in the house of my beloved, clearly his father and mother having bound his feet and exacted penalties for his rashness. For the beloved house for each of us is that of our parents. See, therefore, how great a difference there is between the affairs of old and of now. For the false prophets among them were admired, and were held in glory and good esteem, and doing these things they did not even repent; but in the present time, if some should ever choose to follow their madnesses, they are rebuked, they are put to shame, they are punished by the judgments of their parents, they repent as having sinned and they mourn and weep, they ask forgiveness, confessing the weakness of human nature and its proneness to slip into sin. For "the unclean spirit" has been "taken away from the earth," by the power and authority of our Savior Jesus Christ. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is his fellow, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will bring my hand upon the shepherds. God the Father has given his own Son for us, allowing him by his economy, although he was God and ineffably begotten from him according to nature, both to come in the form of a servant, and to become a man like us, and to endure a cross, that he might save the world and remove Satan from his ascendancy over all, and destroy profane idolatry, and abolish divinations, false prophecies and deceptions from the heart, and take away "the unclean spirit from the earth," and in addition to these things, that he might conquer the world under heaven, transferring the deluded to the knowledge of God, persuading them to choose a pious and seemly way of life, and to be seen honoring every form of virtue. Therefore for this cause he willingly endured death on the cross, although it was exceedingly ignominious, "despising the shame," as it also seemed good to God the Father. And the Son himself reveals something of this sort to us, saying, "Because I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I should lose nothing from it, but should raise it up on the last day." For as the divine Paul writes, "For this reason Christ died and lived, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living." He therefore willingly laid down for our soul, and all but delivering Him up as a man by the proper will of God the Father, and, as it were, permitting, as I said, that with precious blood He purchase the life of all. And so the Savior replied to Pilate, who thought he had authority over Him, saying, "You would have no authority over Me at all, unless it had been given you from above." Having then foretold through the voice of the Prophet that there would be a very great change of human affairs for the better when He suffered death in the flesh, He all but hastens the manifestation of the time when these things would be, and has commanded the mystery of the passion to be enacted, enjoining and saying to the sword itself, "Awake against my shepherd and against the man who is his fellow," says the Lord Almighty. And we say that 'sword' in these words signifies the temptation, as a type of a knife, or even the suffering itself brought upon Emmanuel by the madness of the Jews. For the righteous Simeon seems to have understood and even spoken thus, when the holy virgin brought Jesus at eight days old, "And a sword will pierce through your own soul also." For she was all but slain by a sword, seeing the one born of her, I mean according to the flesh, being crucified. O sword, then, 'awake,' he says, 'against my shepherd,' that is, let the saving passion now be enacted, and let the time for the manifestation of good things come. For Christ has been set over us as chief shepherd, and under Him are all of us who have believed, yet not outside the hand of God the Father. For He rules over us in the Son, and through Him and in Him we have been saved and have received access. And so the Savior said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." The Son, therefore, is the proper shepherd of God the Father, not pasturing another's flock, but rather His own and the Father's, not understood as one of the hireling shepherds, who used to slaughter the sheep, all mercy being removed, 'and selling them they said, "Blessed be the Lord, for we have become rich."' Moreover, the citizens, that is, the household and acquaintances of the good shepherd, are those appointed under him, and before all others the divine disciples, who, when the shepherd was struck, were scattered and fled. For when the officers of the Jews arrived, and with them the traitor along with the cohort to seize Jesus, 'they all left him and fled.' For thus the evangelical text says. And that God the Father, by giving His own Son to death for us, is said to have struck Him in a way, by permitting Him to suffer at all, the Son Himself will confirm, speaking through the voice of the psalmist concerning those who committed impious acts against Him, clearly the Jews, "For they persecuted him whom you had struck, and they added to the pain of my wounds. Add iniquity to their iniquity." He made His suffering voluntary, then, as I said, so that the achievements resulting from His suffering might be revealed. But that this matter would be a cause of destruction for those who crucified Him, and that the leaders of such a plan and of these undertakings would be subjected to evils from divine wrath—and these were the leaders of the peoples—He makes clear by saying, 'And I will bring my hand against the shepherds.' For "they have destroyed His vineyard," according to the voice of the prophet, "they have made His desirable portion into an impassable wilderness, it has become a desolation of destruction." Moreover, God brings His hand upon the shepherds, as if striking with the sword, and demanding penalties for their impiety, not only because they themselves behaved outrageously toward Christ, but because in addition to this they also became the beginning for others and a path of unrestrained madness. For as the blessed evangelist Matthew says, when Pilate had set before the Jews both Christ and Barabbas, and had addressed them with, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you," "the chief priests and the elders persuaded the "crowds that they should ask for Barabbas, but that they should destroy "Jesus;" and they further persuaded them to shout, "Crucify, "crucify him." Therefore, what was said through the voice of the prophet is true: "For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the "Lord; therefore all their flock did not understand, and they were scattered." For just as the vigilance of good shepherds benefits the flock, so negligence corrupts it, and what is under their hand completely follows in the footsteps of the shepherds. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that two parts shall be utterly destroyed and shall fail, but the third shall be left in it; and I will bring the third part through fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested; he will call on my name, and I will listen to him, and I will say, This is my people, and he will say, The Lord is my God. When the divine hand has been brought upon the unholy false shepherds, who have corrupted the Lord's vineyard, he says that not even those who most unwisely collaborated in their unholy schemes will be outside of punishment and judgment, that is, clearly, the peoples of the Jews and the common multitude under their hand. For they have been consumed by war, and the cities have been utterly destroyed along with their inhabitants, and the villages with their men, being burned in utter destruction, and the remnant has barely been saved, understood as a third part of the whole multitude, for Israel has not been completely destroyed, since God has had mercy on account of the fathers. The blessed Isaiah himself also says this: "And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not "left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made "like Gomorrah." However, the third part, that is, the remnant, namely those who have believed from the blood of Israel, he says he will bring through fire, and refine them like silver and gold. For the life of the saints is not without hardship; and it is true that "All who desire to live godly in Christ "will be persecuted." And the divine disciples have appeared most tested, and all who became their co-workers at that time, and labored with them as they ministered the gospel of Christ to the nations. For they were called to the trial of many afflictions and persecutions, and were, so to speak, refined, being tested through trials, so as to be able to say with confidence, "For you have tested us, O God; you have refined us as silver is refined." What then is the benefit from this? Or what will be the reward for those who have so labored and been tested? They have become members of the household of God, known and beloved. For they were reckoned as "a holy nation, a royal priesthood, "and a people for his own possession, that they might proclaim the excellencies "of him who called them out of darkness into his marvelous "light," who once were not a people, but have become a people. And once they used to hear, "When you stretch out your hands to me, "I will turn my eyes away from you; and if you multiply "your prayer, I will not listen to you;" but now he says that he will call on my name and I will listen to him and I will say, This is my people. Therefore they have become the own inheritance of God the Father, and have been given to the Son; for he rules over all things together with the one who begot him; and they have the Creator and Master of all things as benevolent and gracious.