(Vers. 10 seqq.) Who will teach knowledge, and who will make understanding? Weaned from milk, pulled from the breasts: command, re-command; command, re-command; wait, re-wait; wait, re-wait; a little here, a little there. For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, 'This is the rest, give rest to the weary,' and 'This is the refreshing,' but they would not hear. And the word of the Lord will be to them, command, re-command; command, re-command; wait, re-wait; wait, re-wait; a little here, a little there, that they may go and fall backward, and be broken, snared, and caught. LXX: To whom shall we announce evil, and to whom shall we announce good news? Those who have been weaned from milk, those who have been taken away from the breast. Expect tribulation upon tribulation; wait for hope upon hope; still little, still little: because of the mockery of lips, because of the other tongue with which they will speak to this people, saying to them: This is the rest for the hungry, and this is the crushing, and they did not want to hear. The word of the Lord will come upon them: Tribulation upon tribulation: wait, wait; hope upon hope: still little, still little; so that they may go and fall backward, and be crushed, and be endangered, and be captured. Who, he says, is worthy of the teaching of the Lord, to whom are the words of the Savior saying: 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear' (Matthew 12:15), so that what he has heard with his ears, he may understand with his heart? The following verse shows who they are: 'Weaned from milk, drawn from the breast, who are not nourished with milk in infancy, but are fed with solid food; who were drawn from the breast with Isaac: for the joy of this, Abraham made a great feast' (Genesis 22); they deserve to hear the mysteries of the Lord, and to understand what the priest and prophet do not know, intoxicated and absorbed by wine, who wandered and did not know the one who sees, because all their tables are filled with vomit and filth, who, when the prophets announce the future and threaten torments unless they did what was commanded, used to say scoffing: 'Command, re-command; command, re-command,' that is, 'order, order, command what we should do.' And when they abused the patience of God, who delays his anger in order to show mercy; who used to say even this in jest through the mouths of the prophets: Wait a little longer, wait a little while, the things that we have prophesied will come. But all of these things they spoke to the people, because they did not believe the words of God; and immediately the prophet brings this in: By no means will God speak to you with these words, in order to give you a commandment of what you should do, and to wait for the things that are to come, but he will speak to you in present fury, who had previously said to the people: This is my rest, revive the weary, I have labored for a long time, I have found no rest in anything. Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Matthew 8; Luke 9). And this is my refreshment, that I may find rest in you at times. Those who did not want to listen and despised my warnings; therefore, they say to the prophets what they used to say when they were playing: Command, re-command; command, re-command; wait, re-wait; wait, re-wait; a little here, a little there, and they mock my patience, thinking that I am threatening things that I will never do: let them experience the fulfillment of their desires, so that they may go to destruction and fall back incurably; and may they never make progress and be unable to say with the Apostle: Forgetting the past, we stretch out to what is ahead (Philippians 3:13); but may they be broken and ensnared, and captured by either the Babylonian or the Roman army. For that which we have said: Command, re-command; command, re-command; expect, re-expect; expect, re-expect; a little here, a little there, in Hebrew it is written thus: Sau Lasau, Sau Lasau; Cau Lacau, Cau Lacau: Zer Sam, Zer Sam; and with these words the most impure heresy is accustomed to deceive and terrify the simple ones, in order to make them fear the novelty of the words, so that whoever knows these words and remembers them during their intercourse, without any doubt, will pass on to the kingdom of heaven. We read in the Apostle: 'In other tongues and with other lips I will speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me,' says the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:21). This seems to me to be taken from the present chapter according to the Hebrew, and we observed this in the Old Testament (except for a few testimonies, which only Luke abuses by having more knowledge of the Greek language). Wherever something is said from the Old Testament, we do not follow the Septuagint, but the Hebrew, not following any interpretation, but translating the Hebrew sense into our own language. Symmachus, Theodotion, and the Septuagint had different opinions on this passage, and since it is long to speak about all of them, let us briefly pass over the Septuagint interpreters who are read in the Churches. I reject the Jewish people, the Priests and the Prophets, who have become drunk with wine, and have strayed and their plan, which they entered into because of greed, has been consumed by a curse. Will we announce future tribulations for the sake of Christ to them? To whom will evil be prepared as the crown of virtues? Surely it signifies the apostles, those who have been weaned from milk, those who have been torn away from the breast: Expect tribulation upon tribulation. But it speaks to the choir of the apostles and of all believers, that they should prepare themselves not for one, but for many tribulations, so that when they are troubled and oppressed, they may hope again, and have hope upon hope. And if the things that are promised are delayed a little, let them not be unbelieving: for indeed, it is a small and little delay, and the things that are promised will come. Indeed, tribulation works patience; patience, probation: probation, hope; and hope does not disappoint. (Rom. V, 3, 4, 5). And this same tribulation will be multiplied by the detraction of lips and the blasphemies of persecutors, with which they rage against the people of God with a rabid mouth. Moreover, the apostles and apostolic men will speak to the Jewish people, saying: This is the rest for the hungry for justice, and this is the contrition and anguish that leads to life. When these things were preached, the wicked refused to listen. Therefore, what was said to the people of God: Endure tribulation, endure tribulation; wait for hope, wait for hope: a little longer, a little longer, will be turned into punishment for those who refused to hear the word of the Lord, so that they may fall and go backwards, and fall into the danger of siege and death, and be captured without any end to their misery. But the Hebrew word Dea, which everyone translates as 'knowledge', was only interpreted poorly by the Seventy, a clear error. For the first letter is distinguished either as Daleth or Res with a small apex. Therefore, if it is read as Dea (), it means 'knowledge'; if Rea (), it means 'malice'; not from evil, which is contrary to good, but from constraint.
28:14-15
(Verse 14, 15). Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you mockers who rule over my people in Jerusalem. For you have said: We have made a covenant with death, and with the grave we have made a pact. When the overwhelming whip passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made falsehood our refuge, and we have hidden behind deceit. LXX: Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you men, and leaders of this people in Jerusalem, who are in distress: For you have said: We have made a pact with the grave, and with death we have made a covenant. If the storm passes through, it will not come to us, because we have made falsehood our refuge, and we will be protected by deceit. As we stated above, the leaders of the Jews are accustomed to mock the prophets by saying: Command, re-command; wait, re-wait, and other similar things, by which it is shown that they did not believe in the words of the prophets, but held their prophecies in contempt. The present chapter proves this, through which they are called mocking men. These are the scribes and Pharisees who rule over the people of God in Jerusalem, whom the Seventy call troubled men, and the leaders of the people of Jerusalem. For they said not in word, but in deed: We are like the other nations, we have a pact and covenant with hell and with death: once we have despaired of salvation. Certainly captivity will come after a long time, they will say to you: Yet a little while, yet a little while: wait and wait again. Therefore, when we are dead, we will not feel this scourge of captivity and this storm. For once we believed in falsehood, that is, we had hope in vain in God and in His Law. And so we were protected by a lie, because we avoided impending captivity. The Hebrew word Sot (), Aquila and Symmachus interpreted as a whip, the LXX as a storm; Chasab () also translated it as a lie, in which the Jews hoped, according to the Gospel of John, the father is the devil.
28:16-20
(Verse 16 and following). Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will send in the foundations of Zion a tested, corner, precious stone, founded on a foundation: he who believes shall not hurry. And I will put judgment in the balance, and justice in the measure: and hail will overthrow the hope of lies, and the covering waters will flood. And your covenant with death shall be abolished, and your pact with Hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge passes through, you shall be trampled. When it passes by, it will seize you; for it will pass through in the morning, in the day and at night, and its vexation will only give understanding to the ear: For the bed is too narrow for one to stretch out on, and the covering is too small to wrap oneself in. Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will lay in Zion a precious stone, a chosen, cornerstone, and whoever believes in it will not be put to shame. And I will set judgment as hope; but my mercy as a burden, and those who believe in vain falsehood, for the storm will not pass through us, and it will not take away from us the testament of death, and your hope will not remain in hell. If the coming storm passes, you will be trampled by it; when it passes, it will lift you up in the morning, it will pass in the morning; day and night there will be the worst of hope. Learn to listen, you who are in tribulation: we cannot fight, for we ourselves are weak to be gathered. I had said, he says, to you: Listen to the word of the Lord, men who mock, or troubled rulers of my people, and do not have a covenant with death, nor an agreement with the underworld, who, despising my commandments, have put your hope in lies, and boasting, or rather despairing, say: with lies we will be protected. Therefore, the merciful and compassionate Lord, patient and greatly merciful (Ps. 145), says that he will send an elected, tested, precious, and corner stone into the foundations of Zion for those who do not want it. About which the Apostle also speaks: Like a wise architect, I have laid the foundation (I Cor. III, 10); and again: For no one can lay any other foundation than the one that's been laid, which is Christ Jesus (Ibid., 11). This stone is truly and again called a stone, just as in Leviticus, a man is called man twice and a corner stone, because it has united the people of the Circumcision and the Gentiles, about which it is also said in the psalm: The stone which the builders rejected, has become the head of the corner (Ps. CXVII, 22). But these are the builders and masons, who are now called deceivers and leaders of the people who are in Jerusalem. Concerning this stone, we read in Daniel that it was cut from a mountain without hands, and it filled the whole earth (Dan. II): because the divine dispensation of the divine seed assumed a human body, and the fullness of Divinity dwelt in it bodily. Upon this stone, which is also called rock, Christ built the Church, and according to the Hebrew, he established the foundation on a firm rock, on which anyone who believes will not be put to shame, or, according to the Hebrew, will not hasten, lest the coming of Christ appear slow to him. For if it delays according to Habakkuk, let no one despair: for it will surely come, and it will fulfill its promises (Hab. II). And God also promises to put judgment in Him: For the Father does not judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son (John V, 22). And justice or mercy in measure, in order to render to each according to his works, and to temper justice and mercy with each other, according to what we also read in the Psalms: Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed (Ps. LXXXIV, 11). He also says that your hope and falsehood, that is, the devil, the father of all falsehood, will overthrow the hailstorm of my punishments. And the protection, under which you thought you would be safe, a powerful storm and a multitude of waters will destroy, so that the friendship and treaty that you had with death and with Hell, that is, with the devil, may perish eternally. And the whip or storm, of which you said: 'When the overwhelming whip passes, it will not come upon us' - it will come, and you will be trodden down by it, that is, you will suffer all the torments that you believed you would never endure in despair. For always the wrath of the Lord will fall upon you, and you will feel it both in times of prosperity and adversity, and cruel death will ravage you. What shall I say about punishments? Fear of punishments alone and the dread of torments will correct you for salvation, and will make you understand your evils. And when you have been tormented, then you will know that my Prophets have spoken the truth. And what follows: For the bed is made narrow, so that one falls out, and the short cloak cannot cover both, it has the sense which we read in the Apostle: You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons (2 Corinthians 10:20, 21); and elsewhere: What fellowship does righteousness have with iniquity? What communion does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? What part does a believer have with an unbeliever? What agreement does the temple of God have with idols (2 Corinthians 6:14, 15)? However, he speaks under the metaphor of a most chaste husband, who says to his adulterous wife: One bed cannot contain both me and an adulterer, and a short cloak cannot cover both a husband and an adulterer. Therefore, Jerusalem, to whom in Ezekiel under the guise of a wife speaking, her adulteries are spoken of (Ezek. XVI, 21), and whom in Hosea at the beginning is called a harlot and an adulteress (Hos. III), if you wish to be united with my embraces, cast away idols: if you serve idols, you cannot have me. According to the Hebrew. Furthermore, as for what is read in the LXX: Learn to hear, you who are troubled: we cannot fight, but we ourselves are weak so that we may gather together. I completely do not know the meaning of this, and how it is connected to the previous context. Unless perhaps the divine speech speaks to the leaders of the people and encourages them to have hope in God, and not in death and hell, and teaches them to listen to the prophecies of the prophets, and they respond that they cannot fight against opposing powers due to the weakness of their strength, nor gather among the people of God.
28:21-22
(Verse 21, 22.) For just as the Lord will stand on the mountain of divisions, and will be angry in the valley of Gibeon, to do his work, his strange work, to carry out his task, his alien task. And now do not mock: lest perhaps your chains be tightened. For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a conclusion and an abbreviation over all the earth. LXX: As the mountain of the wicked rises, the Lord will arise, and it will be in the valley of Gibeon, when he does his work with fury, the work of bitterness and his fury he will use as if it were alien: and his bitterness as if it were foreign. And do not rejoice, neither let your bonds be strengthened, for I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts that the things which he will do upon the whole earth are consummated and abbreviated. The Lord has promised to place a precious stone in the foundations of Zion, in order to overturn falsehood and the hope of the wicked; and to abolish the covenant with death and the agreement with hell by a powerful storm. Because the princes did not want to accept Him, just as in the past against the Allophyli, when David reigned on the mountain of divisions, which in Hebrew is called Pharasim, the Lord brought down his adversaries, from where the place also received its name. And as in the valley of Gibeon, under the leadership of Joshua, when the confidence of the inhabitants in themselves spoke to God: Sun, stand still in Gibeon, and moon, in the valley of Aijalon ((or Elon)) (Joshua 10:12); and the sun stood still for the space of a whole day; and many of the foreign invaders perished: so the Lord will be angry with the wicked and the mockers, in order to accomplish His work. For it is not the work of the Lord to destroy those whom He has created; but to perform a work that belongs more to cruelty than to clemency. And again the same thing is repeated in other words, so that it may accomplish its work. It is not his task to punish sinners, but the stranger, and alien from him, that he may punish who is the Savior. Therefore, since the Lord is about to rise again from his patience, and will not spare: just as he did not spare on Mount Pharasim, and in the valley of Gibeon: I warn you, O mocking men, that you should not at all laugh at my prophets, and that you should not think that the things they proclaim are not going to happen, lest if you persist in mocking, the bonds of your sins may be tightened (For by the cords of his own sins each one is bound (Prov. V, 22), or lest the time of captivity may come upon you. Indeed, what the Lord delayed in time, the bonds, captivity, and punishments, or the final day of judgment, He is now about to fulfill, accomplish, and shorten. Therefore, as a prophet, I announce to you the things that I have known from the Lord God Almighty that will happen over the whole earth, so that you may prevent the impending wrath with repentance. According to the Septuagint, the Lord Himself is said to rise like a mountain of the wicked and to be present in the valley of Gibeon, in order to perform His works, which are all one work of bitterness: which should by no means be seen as blasphemous. For the Lord does not say that the mountain of the wicked will come, but that it is like a mountain, which appears to be very heavy to the wicked and those who endure them. Just as if one careless son and another sick son, the father and the doctor could be cruel if they restore them to health with beatings and cauterization. For the Lord will rise and will be in the valley of Gibeon, on account of those who, because of their sins, remain in a humble place, and because of the swelling of their souls, are raised up in pride. For Gabaon, the hill interprets: that it may do its works, which are works of bitterness; when forced to change mercy, it becomes bitter instead of sweet. Therefore, you who are about to suffer these things, do not now rejoice in that joy in which he rejoiced and was richly clothed in purple at the feast, while neglecting Lazarus the poor (Luke 16): lest your chains become stronger. For what the Lord is going to do and how he will fulfill his judgement, these things I have both heard and announced to you. And what it means: According to history, understand it as referring to the borders of Judea extending over all the land; according to allegory, understand it as referring to the entire world.
28:23-29
(Vers. 23 seqq.) Pay attention and listen to my voice: listen and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow, break up the soil, and harrow it? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow dill, scatter cumin, plant wheat in rows, barley, millet, and rye in their proper place? For his God instructs him and teaches him the right way. For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin; but dill is beaten out with a stick and cumin with a rod, and the wheat for bread is crushed. But he will not crush him forever, nor will the wheel of his cart bruise him, nor will he grind him with his hoofs. This also comes forth from the LORD of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my words. Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning the soil and breaking the clods? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow the black cumin and scatter the cumin seed? He plants wheat in rows, barley in its designated place, and spelt along its borders, for he instructs him with judgment, and teaches him knowledge. For it is not when gith is cleansed by hardness, nor when the wheel of a cart goes over the cumin; but the gith is shaken off, and the cumin is eaten with bread. For I will not be angry with you forever, nor will the voice of my bitterness trample you, and these wonders have come from the Lord. Come, consult, exalt empty consolation. Now he even speaks to the same ones to whom he said before: Hear the word of God, you scoffers, who rule over my people who are in Jerusalem: and he commands them to hear his voice, and to carefully attend to his discourse. He says, 'Does the farmer always plow so that he may scatter the seed? Will he not first break up the soil and turn over the furrows with a plow, and break up the clods with a rake and a hoe, so that when he has leveled the surface of the earth and softened the previously hard fields, then he may spread spelt or cumin and sow wheat, barley, millet, and spelt in his fields, according to the variation of the soil and the seasons; for not all things are sown at the same time.' Some understand by farre what the Greeks call ζέαν. And God, by His natural judgment, teaches the farmer, that is, the sower, and instructs him to know what cultivation he should apply to each seed. Finally, when the time for harvesting comes, barley and cumin, which are weaker seeds, are not crushed by the wheels of carts, which are turned and pulled like sawmills over the harvested crops; but they are beaten out with a stick and a staff, which are commonly called flails. But bread, that is, wheat from which bread is made, is ground with iron wheels, and all its chaff is crushed into straw. However, it is not always ground and crushed by the nails of the wheels; for this reason, it is said in Hebrew with their horses: so that because he had mentioned the nails of the wheels, he would maintain the metaphor in the rest. Some want it to be shown from the fact that he mentioned nails and horses, the herds of mares, which are usually sent into the threshing floors for grinding wheat: but the Scripture could not say that the province of Judea did not have them. However, this, that is, that the branches of gith and cumin are shaken off with a stick: the grain of barley and far, perhaps also millet, is crushed with iron wheels, is not a perpetual judgment of God, who in all things shows his wonderful counsel, and shows the greatness of his justice in all things. We have said these things paraphrastically, so that we may more easily understand the meaning for which these things are said. God dispenses the human race in various ways, now punishing, now having mercy: now rebuking, now defending; that is, now he plows, now he sows, now he harvests the ripe fruits, and threshes them in the barns, and governs his own world as he pleases. He who knew the will of his Lord, and did not do it, will be beaten with many stripes (Luke 12:47); and in another place it is written: The mighty shall suffer mighty tortures (Wisdom 6:7). But they will not be tormented forever. For it is one thing to be impious, another thing to be a sinner. What we have interpreted concerning the nations and the Jews, others explain as referring to the people and the priests, so that the ignorant multitude will be chastised like a reed and cumin with a rod; but the priests who have the key of knowledge will be tormented with great punishments. And may this be done by the judgment of the Lord, who reveals his wonderful counsel and the truth of justice in all things, so that those who have received more will be required to give more. As for what we have translated: 'On a rod the gith will be shaken, and cumin on a staff.' I do not know why the LXX translators chose to translate it this way, but cumin is actually eaten with bread. And indeed, even the ancient Greek translators, discussing the Hebrew text, remained silent about this passage, perhaps because they did not know what to say. But what we have placed according to the Hebrew is: 'He will not continually thresh him, nor will a wagon wheel drive over him, nor will his hooves crush him.' The LXX translators interpreted it not according to the exact words, but according to the meaning: 'For I will not be angry with you forever, nor will the voice of my bitterness trample you.' They were showing future blessings to sinners after torment, and that these things were like wonders and miracles that have come from the Lord. Where it is commanded to sinners who are about to be punished, that they should seek counsel and raise up their consolation, not in any way vain, as it is added by the Seventy, but absolutely consolation. For God would never command them to raise up their vain consolation, which would not be profitable for them.
29:1-8
(Chapter 19, verse 1, and following) Woe to Ariel, Ariel the city that David besieged. Year after year is added, the appointed feasts have come to an end. I will besiege Ariel, and she will be sad and mournful; she will be like an Ariel to me. I will encircle you like a sphere, and I will throw up a mound against you, and I will set up siege works against you. You will be brought low, and your speech will come from the ground, and your voice will be like that of a python from the earth, and your speech will mumble from the dust. And it will be like the fine dust of those who blow against you, and like the passing smoke of those who have prevailed against you. And suddenly, immediately, it will be visited by the Lord of hosts, with thunder and earthquake, and with a great voice of whirlwind and tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire. And it will be like the dream of a night vision, the multitude of all the nations that have fought against Ariel, and all who have warred against her and besieged her and prevailed against her. As a hungry person dreams and eats, and when he has awakened, his soul is empty; and as a thirsty person dreams and drinks, and when he has awakened, he is still thirsty, and his soul is empty: so will be the multitude of all the nations that have fought against Mount Zion. Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city that David besieged! Gather together year after year, eat, for you will eat with Moab; for I will oppress Ariel, and her strength and wealth will be mine, and I will encamp around you like David, and I will send a rampart around you, and set up towers all around you, and your words will be humbled on the ground, and your words will be brought down to the ground. And your voice will be like that of those who speak from the earth, and your voice will weaken to the ground. And the wealth of the wicked will be like dust from a wheel, and like ashes that are carried away, the multitude of those who oppressed you; it will be sudden from the Lord of hosts. For there will be a visitation with thunder, and a great shaking, a powerful storm, and a devouring flame of fire. And they will be like a dreamer at night, the wealth of all the nations that have fought against Ariel, and all who have fought against Jerusalem and gathered against it, and afflicted it. And they shall be like those who hunger and eat in dreams: when they wake up, their dream is in vain, and like one who thirsts and drinks in a dream, when he wakes up, he will still be thirsty, and his soul will have hoped in vain. So shall be the riches of all the nations that have fought against Mount Zion. Because we have interpreted, Woe, in Hebrew it is written Oi (), which is sometimes used in the vocative case, so that Ariel may not mourn, but call out; although in the current context it should be understood as mourning. Ariel is also interpreted as the lion of God; and for the city which Aquila interpreted, πολίχνην, that is, a small town or village, is read in Hebrew as Cariath, which properly means a village, and in Syriac it is called Cartha, hence it is also called a village of forests Cariath Jarim. Finally, in the earlier passage (Isaiah 1:21) where we read: How has the faithful city Zion become a prostitute? for city, Cariath is written, that is, a village: which we can express as a translation of Aquila literally, as a little city. Therefore, Ariel, which means the lion of God, was once called the strongest Jerusalem: or, as others believe, the temple and altar of God that was in Jerusalem. And what follows: Which David conquered, as Symmachus interpreted it, the stronghold of David, and Theodotion, the encampment of David, is read in Hebrew as Hana, which the most learned Hebrews wanted to signify as dwelling place. So if we read: which David conquered, let us refer to that time when David captured the fortress of Zion, while the blind and lame resisted, and Joab, the first, ascended the heights. But according to Symmachus and Theodotion, it should be understood that David restored and fortified it, and a year was added to the year, or subtracted, as Aquila interpreted; and the festivals have passed. For when the temple was destroyed and the Jewish religion abolished, all their festivities perished. And the Lord says that He will encamp around Ariel with the army of Babylon, and it will be sad and mournful when it is destroyed by them. And again under Jesus, the son of Josedech, the high priest, and Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, were Ezra and Nehemiah, when Haggai and Zechariah prophesied that it would be like Ariel, having the appearance of the ancient temple, but without its magnificence and adornment. Moreover, the Lord threatens that He will surround Ariel with a sphere, and cast a rampart against it, and set up fortifications for its siege, and fulfill what He Himself laments concerning Jerusalem in the Gospel: 'If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground' (Luke 19:42-44). And Jerusalem will be trampled by the nations until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. In other words, the same prophet now says that she who was humiliated will speak from the earth, and her voice will be heard from the dust. Her voice will be like that of a python from the earth, and it will murmur like sparrows, so that through these words he may signify the necromancy of the magi, by which they are said to summon souls and hear the voices of thin shades, or rather, of demons. Finally, regarding the python, Aquila interpreted the great one, which is called in Hebrew Cheb (), which the 70 interpreters translated as speaking of the earth. With these words, it is indicated that the ruin of the temple will last until the end of the world, collapsed into ashes and never to be raised again. And so, O Ariel, the army of Roman power will surround you, and they will be compared to an innumerable dust that flies through the air. Therefore, it is not the weakness of their opponents that the dust and ashes are compared to, but the multitude that is equal to countless grains of sand. And this will happen suddenly and quickly, so that in the midst of peace, wars will rise up under Nero, and the Lord of hosts will visit Jerusalem with thunder and earthquake, and whirlwind and devouring fire, which signifies the burning of the temple. But the Romans, after the Jews were defeated and Jerusalem was destroyed under Titus and Vespasian, offered the plundered vessels of God to the Capitol; and they thought that their own power and the favor of the gods, rather than the anger of God, was the reason for what they had done, as if in a dream and in a nightly vision, they will possess all riches. And just as someone who is hungry thinks in their dreams that they are eating, and someone who is thirsty drinks from dry throats, and when they wake up their thirst becomes even stronger, deceived by the empty drink: so the multitude of all nations, who fought against the power of Rome and subjugated to it, will have wealth like a shadow, and a cloud, and a dream of the night, which they will leave behind with their untimely destruction. In the place where we have been placed, all who have waged war and besieged and prevailed against it have been translated to seventy, and all who have fought against Jerusalem, which is not found in Hebrew. In this beginning of the chapter, where we said, 'A year is added to a year, or subtracted,' they are interpreted as 'gather the fruits or produce, year upon year;' 'eat, for you will eat with Moab.' And the meaning is, before the acceptable year of the Lord's preaching comes, indeed two years, of which we read in the Song of Habakkuk according to the Hebrew: 'In the midst of two times you will be known' (Habakkuk 3), 'sow for yourselves in tears so that you may reap in joy' (Psalm 126). It is written in the Gospel according to John that the Lord came to Jerusalem three times during the Passover, which makes two years (John 2:13). However, what follows, 'For you shall eat with Moab,' is not found in Hebrew. We can say that unless the fruits of repentance are gathered for themselves, they will begin to eat with those who do not enter the Church of the Lord forever. The other things in which they seem to disagree are obvious, and from what we have explained, their interpretation is easy. I know that I have read Ariel's interpretation, my light is God's, which is far different. Here the first syllable is written with Aleph and Res: lux autem quae Hebraice dicitur Or, inter Aleph et Res mediam habet litteram Vau, quae in praesenti nomine non habetur. And everything that is now said against Ariel refers to heretics, who consider their doctrine to be the light of God, and they must be fought by the true David: all their solemnities must be taken away, and present joy must be turned into future sorrow: to whom God commands to repent, lest they begin to eat with the Moabites, and be similar to the Gentiles. For he will attack Ariel himself, and he will surround all their power and wealth with his army. And with the towers, that is, the leaders of the Church, he will humble their words on the earth, so that they may not raise their mouth to heaven, but be written on the earth, speak of the earth, and be like dust scattered by the wind. And all the wealth of the wicked will appear in an instant, when he visits them in his majesty, descending in a whirlwind, storm, and fire of punishment; and they will understand that all their wealth, the pomp of their words, and the arguments of their verses, are compared in vain to a dream of someone eating and drinking: those who fight against Jerusalem, the vision of peace; or against Ariel, the strongest lion, and ultimately against Mount Zion, where the city of the Church cannot be hidden.
29:9-12
(Verse 9 and following) Be astonished and amazed: fluctuate and waver, become drunk, not with wine, be moved, not with intoxication. For the Lord has mixed into you the spirit of deep sleep: he will close your eyes, your prophets and leaders who see visions he will cover. And the vision of all will be like the words of a sealed book, which when they give to one who knows letters, they will say: read this, and he will answer, I cannot, for it is sealed. And a book will be given to one who knows not letters, and it shall be said to him, read; and he shall answer, I know not letters. For the spirit of sleep, LXX, is interpreted as compunction: Theodotius, the passing away of the mind: Aquila, καταφορὰν, that is, a heavy sleep; which in Hebrew is called Thardema (), which Scripture commemorates as sent by God to Adam (Gen. II), when woman was made from the rib of his side. And Jonah snored in the same sleep on the ship (Jon. I). But all prophecy after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, that is, Ariel, is against the scribes and Pharisees, who, possessing the key of knowledge, do not enter themselves, nor do they allow others to enter. And it is commanded to them, that they should be amazed and astonished, rather according to the septuagint dissolution of the whole body and the excess of the mind, and that they should be moved and fluctuate: staggering not from wine or from strong drink, but from the spirit of sleep or of the Lord's compunction, so that understanding their evil, they may at some point repent, and say with the prophet: I am troubled in my weakness, while the thorn is being fastened to me (Ps. XXXI, 4). Therefore, know this, O scribes and Pharisees, who are the leaders of the Jews, that the Lord will render to you your recompense. For you, who have heard the Lord Savior, did not want to understand, and you closed your eyes so that you would not see him, and you weighed down your ears so that you would not hear. Therefore, he will also close your eyes, you who are the prophets through whom you saw the knowledge of God. Or he will close the eyes of your prophets, who are your leaders. For as the Law and the Prophets testified until John, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind, as it is written: They will hear the words of the book, even the deaf will hear, and the blind will see and rejoice. For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind, that is to say, the people of the nations who were blind, may see and contemplate the Lord. Therefore, it is significant that he did not say that the vision of all the prophets is sealed to all readers, but to you he says, it will be sealed to those to whom I am now speaking, to whom I am foretelling these things that are to come: or He will forever shut the eyes of your leaders, who boasted of being able to see the hidden and secret things according to the Septuagint. And he said to them, 'All the holy Scripture will be closed and sealed to you, so that you, who consider yourselves knowledgeable in the letters of the Law and the prophecies of the prophets, and who constantly meditate on the volumes of Scripture day and night with tireless mouths, may not understand what you read, as it is written in the Book of Revelation of John: 'Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?' (Rev. 5:2) And when no one was found worthy to open the seals, he says that he wept; and that he deserved to hear the word of God: 'Do not weep; behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he may open the book and break its seals.' But the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is he who unseals the seals of the book, not properly of one, as many suppose, of the Psalms of David, but of all the Scriptures, which are one Scripture of the Holy Spirit; and for that reason they are called one book. Concerning which Ezekiel testifies in mystical discourse (Ezek. II), that it was written within and without; in meaning and in letter. Concerning which also the Savior speaks in the Psalms: In the chapter of the book it is written of me (Ps. XXXIX, 9); not of Jeremiah, not of Isaiah, but in all the holy Scripture, which is called one book. Therefore, the Jewish leaders, up to the present day, being unable to read and open the seals, and to reveal the mysteries of the Scriptures, if you were to give them a book to the unlearned people who are devoured by their own teachers, they would admit to not knowing letters and therefore being unable to read. And out of the two evils, it is much lighter to confess ignorance of the law than to boast of prudence and not be able to understand what is said.
29:13-14
(Verse 13, 14) And the Lord said: Because this people draw near with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far from me, and they fear me by the commandment of men, and teach me the precepts and doctrines of men. Therefore, behold, I will add to do wonders and great marvels among this people: for wisdom shall perish from their wise men, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden. LXX: And the Lord said: This people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips honor me; but their heart is far from me: in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men. Therefore, behold, I will add to transfer this people: for I will transfer them and destroy the wisdom of the wise, and hide the understanding of the prudent. This testimony was used by the Lord against the Pharisees in the Gospel of Matthew, saying: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition (Matt. 15:3)? And again: Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men (Matthew, 15:9). In this we must note what we have often mentioned before, that the Evangelists and Apostles did not translate word for word; nor did they follow the authority of the Seventy Interpreters, whose edition was read at that time; but they used their own words, as if they were Hebrew and instructed in the Law, without compromising the meaning. However, the people of the Jews draw near to God with their mouth and with their lips, because they boast of having the worship of one God and rejecting idols; but their heart is far from Him, because they do not receive the Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever does not receive the Son, does not receive the Father. And let us learn together how someone approaches God, or how they become distant from Him. For it is written through Jeremiah: 'I am a close God, and not far away,' says the Lord (Jer. XXIII, 23, according to the Septuagint). But we approach God in mind, not in body; just as we read about Moses: 'Moses alone approached God, but the others did not approach' (Exod. XXIV, 2). For he was praying to God in spirit and truth, and he approached him with his mind and spirit. But those about whom it is written that they are taken from the womb and educated from infancy to old age; and in the Law of God they meditate day and night, they do not come near to God, because they accept the traditions of the Pharisees and Scribes, which keep them far from God, and they are whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead bones: those who chose Barabbas and rejected the Lord (Matthew 23:27): Therefore, he threatens to add to it, according to the Septuagint, that he will not transfer them to the Assyrians and Babylonians, but disperse them throughout the whole world. According to the Hebrew, he says that he will perform a great astonishment and a marvelous miracle to the Jewish people; so that he may destroy the wisdom of those who do not receive the power of God and the wisdom of God, and may hide and conceal the understanding of the wise, so that they may not find him who is contained in the scripture. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, gave testimony of this: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will reject' (1 Cor. 1:19); in other words, he explained the same meaning: not that God, whose father is he, the enemy of wisdom, and through whom all wisdom is in mankind; but with an addition, as it is in Hebrew, he mentioned the wisdom of the people and the wise of that people, that is, the Jewish people. And truly God performed a great miracle in the people after the coming of the Lord Savior, so that at the same time Jerusalem burned, the temple collapsed, and all the knowledge of the teachers was taken away; this being fulfilled what was said above: (Chapter 3, 1 seqq.): Behold, the Lord God of hosts will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the strong and the strong: all the strength of bread, and all the power of water; the giant and the warrior, and the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder, and the fifty-year-old, and the admirable counselor, and the wise architect, and the prudent hearer, and the rest, which the prophetic speech has woven.
29:15-16
(Vers. 15, 16.) Woe to those who are deep in heart, who hide their counsel from the Lord. Their works are in darkness, and they say: Who sees us, and who knows us? Your thoughts are perverse, as if clay should think against the potter, and the work should say to its maker: You did not make me; and the thing formed should say to its former: You do not understand. LXX: Woe to those who make deep counsel, and their works are in darkness, and they say: Who sees us? Who will know us and what we do? Will we not be regarded as clay in the potter's hands? Will the work say to the one who made it, 'You did not make me wisely,' or the creation to its creator, 'You did not make me?' Against those of whom he spoke before, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and reject the intelligence of the intelligent. As the prophet writes, I will hide it away. Now even the word of God is directed towards those who are wise in themselves and prudent in his sight. From these things it can be very well understood: 'They have failed examining with examination' (Psalm 63); since it is written about the wisdom of God: 'For if someone is perfect in the sons of men without your wisdom, he will be considered as nothing' (Wisdom 3). Those who believe that God is unaware of their plans because their works are in darkness, say: 'Who sees us? And who knows us?' But this is also said by the wise of this world, and by the masters of heretics, and by the Pharisees of the Jews, because no one understands them; not remembering what is said to God: 'Darkness will not obscure you, and the night will be illuminated like day' (Psalm 138, 12). And as his darkness, so also his light (Genesis 3). Deceived by this error, Adam and Eve, upon hearing the sound of footsteps walking in the paradise of God, hid themselves under the tree in which was the knowledge of good and evil; and Cain also, saying: If you cast me out today from your presence, I will hide (Genesis 4, 14), thought foolishly that God was ignorant. And through Amos, it is said of the wicked and sinners: If they hide themselves from my eyes in the depths of the sea: there I will command the serpent and it will bite them (Amos 9, 3). Even if someone is wise and of fervent genius, if they do not have God's wisdom and teaching, let us say of them: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the one who guards it stays awake in vain (Psalm 127:1-2). Let us make ourselves similar: Unless the Lord assists knowledge, the one who thinks themselves wise labors in vain. Unless the Lord keeps our hearts in every watch, the one who thinks it can be kept by their diligence stays awake in vain. He says, 'Your thinking is perverse, to think that the Creator does not know what He has made, and that the Creator is ignorant of His creation, as if clay were to say to the potter and to its maker, 'You did not make me,' or 'You did not make me well,' and you do not understand your own creation.' The Apostle also uses this testimony in other words to refute the slander of humans and to discuss the deep knowledge of God with the Romans: 'O man, who are you to answer back to God?' Does the thing formed say to its creator, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does not the potter have power over the clay, to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:20-21). In all these things, the following rule is always to be observed: that the Evangelists and Apostles may without harm to the sense be translated into Greek from Hebrew, as it seems best to them.
29:17-21
(Verse 17 and following) Will not Lebanon soon become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest? On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The meek will obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the neediest people will exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall cease to be; all those alert to do evil shall be cut off. Why do people sin in words and overthrow the one who argues at the gate? And they turned away in vain from the just. Let the Jews and friends of simple history answer, those who seek fruit not on the tree, but only leaves and the shadow of words, which quickly wither and perish. How is it that in the coming of the Lord Savior (because from the time of Isaiah until the incarnation of the flesh, for the comparison of eternity, it is a short and small span of time) the mountain of Lebanon turned towards Phoenicia and moved to Mount Carmel? It is called in Hebrew Chermel, and it is near the border of Palestine and Phoenicia, overlooking Ptolemais: although another mountain in the holy scriptures is called Mount Carmel, where there was Nabal the Carmelite (1 Samuel 25), a foolish and wicked man, who had a wife named Abigail, who married David after her husband died; while her husband was alive, she could not marry David, so as not to be called an adulteress if she were associated with another man; and how is Carmel considered a desirable place and unfruitful trees? But since they are unable to express it, let them listen to Libanus, which means "whiteness", referring to the people of the Gentiles who, having been washed in the Lord and cleansed of their former filth, ascend as a whole world. They rely on the person of the Church as the bride of the Savior, and it is said about them in the Song of Songs: Who is this who comes up, shining white, leaning on her beloved? (Cant. VIII. 5) And let this people be transferred to Carmel, which means the knowledge of circumcision, so that they may recognize the mysteries of spiritual and true circumcision, and be in the place of the former people of the Jews. As for those who refuse to accept Christ, let them be considered as thorns and barren trees, which cannot praise the Lord with fruitful trees. But when Lebanon is changed into Carmel, and Carmel into a forest, then those who were deaf and could not hear the words of the prophetic book (of which we have spoken before, that all Holy Scripture is called one book, as Ecclesiastes says: 'The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails fixed deep in, given by one Shepherd') will hear and speak, to whom the Savior will say: Ephphatha (which means, 'Be opened') (Mark 7). And that which we translate, the eyes of the blind shall see darkness and mist, the interpretation of which is easy; Aquila and Theodotion and Symmachus translated: The eyes of the blind shall see darkness and mist: to show the sacraments of Christ to the people of the nations, who were previously blind, according to what is said: Dark water in the clouds of the sky (Ps. 17, 12). And in the same psalm it is written about God: He set darkness as his hiding place (Ibid. 12). And in Proverbs we read: This wise person will be wiser by hearing these things and will have possession of prudent governance and will understand parables and dark sayings spoken by the wise and enigmas (Prov. I, 5, 6). Moreover, Moses, in order to understand and see God (Exod. XX), entered into a cloud and darkness, of which it is said in the Psalm: Darkness is under his feet (Ps. XVII, 10). But when the blind or those who are initiated into mystical matters have first beheld these things or have lifted up their eyes from blindness and darkness to see, so that true light may arise for those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, then the meek, of whom it is written: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matt. V, 4), whether they be the poor, of whom the leader says in the Psalms: This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him (Ps. XXXIII, 7); and he who judges the poor people and will save the children of the poor (Ps. XIII, 9), of whom it is said to the Jews: You have despised the counsel of the poor, they shall add joy in the Lord, so that he who glories, may glory in the Lord (II Cor. X); and poor men or those in despair and contempt by men, who did not have knowledge of the law before, will exult in the Holy One of Israel, who says: Be holy, for I am holy (Lev. XI, 44). And there is rejoicing for every downfall: for he who prevailed has fallen. The deceiver, or the arrogant and proud one, is brought to an end, who said: With my strength I will do it, and with my wisdom I will remove the boundaries of nations and destroy their strength; who deceived everyone to such an extent that even the holy one said: My loins are filled with deceits (Psalm 38:8). And all those who kept watch over wickedness have been cut off or destroyed, for their wicked vigilance does not cease: they caused the whole human race to sin by blaspheming the Word of God and placing their mouths in heaven. But the demons, themselves wicked, made all men sin in speech, blaspheming with various teachings, and they would overthrow the one reproaching in the gate and in judgment as much as they could, and they made him turn away from righteousness, who was in the gates of the daughter of Zion, exalted from the gates of death; and he rebuked those who hated him in the gates. These things we understand concerning the devil and his angels, the Nazarenes consider them to be spoken against the scribes and Pharisees, because they failed in their second attempt, who before mocked the people with their wicked traditions; and they watched day and night to deceive the simple, who made men sin against the Word of God, to deny Christ the Son of God.
29:22-24
(Verses 22 onwards) Therefore, the Lord says to the house of Jacob, who redeemed Abraham: Jacob will not only be ashamed, but his face will also turn red. But when he sees his children, the works of my hands, in their midst sanctifying my name, they will sanctify the Holy Jacob, and they will proclaim the God of Israel. And those who wander in spirit will gain understanding, and murmurers will learn the Law. (LXX: Therefore, the Lord says about the house of Jacob, whom he overcame from Abraham: Jacob will not only be ashamed, but his face will not change now; but when he sees his children, my works, they will sanctify my name because of me, and they will sanctify the Holy Jacob, and they will fear the God of Israel, and those who wander in spirit will gain understanding, and murmurers will learn obedience, and what follows ÷ and those with stammering tongues will learn to speak peace. ** Note: marked with an obelus.) When the deaf hear, says he, the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind see: the Lebanus has been turned into Charmel, and Charmel is regarded as a forest, so that the meek and the poor rejoice in the Lord, and the proud and the scoffers are overcome: then Jacob, who now is not yet ashamed, will be put to shame. But this refers to the times of Isaiah. And his face will blush, so that blushing and confusion may be the occasion of salvation, especially when he sees his sons, that is, the Apostles and apostolic men, who were from the race of the Jews, performing miracles in the midst of the nations of the Lord, and preaching the name of Christ to the Gentiles, and saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name (Matt. 6:9). For they shall sanctify the Holy One who was born of Jacob, and they shall teach the God of Israel among the nations, so that, the idols being abandoned, they may say: how false were the idols that our fathers possessed, and there is no power in them; and then those who now wander in spirit will understand the knowledge of God, and those who once murmured against the Lord in the wilderness will learn the Law, of which they previously had no knowledge. For if they had received Moses, they would have also received the Lord Jesus Christ, because Moses spoke of him. What we have translated in the beginning of the chapter according to the Hebrew: This is what the Lord says to the house of Jacob, who once redeemed Abraham, and brought him out from the Chaldeans, and led him into the promised land (Gen. XI), is clearly evident. However, what the Seventy translated: This is what the Lord says about the house of Jacob, which he separated from Abraham, can be understood as meaning that he has separated the Scribes and Pharisees, who blasphemed the Lord, from Abraham, who saw the day of the Lord and rejoiced (John VIII). For if they were the children of Abraham, they would do the works of Abraham. And the Apostle argues that those who have the likeness of the faith of Abraham, that is, the people of the Gentiles, who are called children of Abraham not by works but by faith (Hebrews XI).
30:1-5
(Chapter 30, Verse 1 and following) Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who make plans that are not from me, who weave a web without my Spirit, adding sin upon sin. You who walk to go down to Egypt, without consulting me, hoping for help from Pharaoh's strength and relying on the protection of Egypt's shadow. But Pharaoh's strength will be your shame, and the trust in Egypt's shadow will bring you disgrace. For there will be princes in Tanis, and your messengers have reached Hanes. All are confounded over a people that cannot profit them: they were not a help, but for confusion and for a reproach. Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, who have taken counsel, and not of me; and have made a league, but not by my spirit, that they might add sin to sin: Who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. There will be protection from Pharaoh for you, but it will lead to confusion; and those who trust in Egypt will be put to shame. For there are princes in Zoan, and their messengers are evil. They will labor in vain to help the people, for it will not benefit them. Instead, it will bring confusion and shame. After the prophecy against Ariel and everything that has been discussed up to this point, now begins another prophecy, which is proven to have been fulfilled after one hundred and fifty years between Isaiah and Jeremiah. For he predicts that story which we read in the volume of Jeremiah (Jer. XLI), when Jerusalem was overthrown and all its wealth and princes were transferred to Babylon, a leader of royal descent was appointed over those who remained in Judah, Godolias son of Ahicam. But after he was killed by trickery with the help of the Chaldean allies, all the leaders of the warriors, and Johanan son of Carai, and Jechoniah son of Hosea, and the rest of the people from small to great, approached the Prophet Jeremiah and said to him: Let our plea fall before you, and pray to the Lord your God for all these remaining ones. Because we are few out of many, as your eyes look upon us; and let the Lord your God announce to us the way by which we must go, and the word that we must do (Jeremiah 42:2, 3). And after ten days Jeremiah responded to the word of the Lord, saying: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: If you remain quiet in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down, I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am appeased by the evil that I have done to you. Do not be afraid of the face of the king of Babylon, whom you fear in your cowardice (Ibid., X, 11). And after a little while: But if you say, 'We will not dwell in this land,' and you set your face to go to Egypt and go to live there, the sword that you fear will overtake you there, and the famine about which you are anxious will cling to you in Egypt, and there you shall die (Ibid., XLII, 13, 15, 16). The proud men answered, saying to Jeremiah: You speak lies: the Lord our God did not send you, saying: Do not go to Egypt, to live there; but Baruch the son of Neriah incites you against us, to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us and make us be carried away to Babylon (Jeremiah 43:2, 3). In the end, all the leaders of the people, gathering together with the women and the little ones and the daughters of the king, not heeding the voice of the Lord, entered Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them, and they came to Tahpanhes, so that Jeremiah prophesied as a sign of the future captivity against the disobedient people, the things contained in his book. Therefore, what was going to happen afterwards, many years before, was predicted, and they are called deserters and betrayers, the sons who, abandoning God's counsel that they had received through Jeremiah, followed their own will, and they wove a web, not by the spirit of God, which resounded through Jeremiah's mouth. But he metaphorically placed the woven web, in order to demonstrate the wicked counsel, and they did this in order to increase their past sins with the sin of contention and pride. He said, 'You who go down to Egypt, and have not asked my advice. Not that they have not asked, but that they have not wanted to listen to the counsel of the Prophet, hoping for assistance in the strength of Pharaoh, and having confidence in the protection, or shadow, of Egypt. Regarding the strength of Pharaoh, which is mentioned twice in this passage, it is written as 'Maoz' in Hebrew. We make this note so that when we read in the book of Daniel (Dan. II) about the vision of God as 'Maozim', we understand it to mean not as Porphyry imagines, the God of the village of Modim, but rather a mighty and powerful God. But Pharaoh among the Egyptians is the name of royal power; and each one is called by a special name, like Pharaoh Nechao, and Pharaoh Vafres (or Vafre): just as we use the proper names of kings for Caesar and Augustus. And it shall be, he says, that the strength of Pharaoh will be to you for confusion, and the confidence in the shadow of Egypt for shame. The same Jeremiah writes that in the city of Taphnis in Egypt he buried stones in the gateway of Pharaoh's house, and said to the men of Judah: Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne upon these stones which I have hidden, and he shall set his throne upon them. And it shall happen, as he strikes the land of Egypt, those destined for death, to death; those destined for captivity, to captivity; and those destined for the sword, to the sword. And he shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and he shall lead captives away. And the land of Egypt shall be made desolate, as a shepherd wraps himself in his cloak and departs from there in peace. And what follows: Your princes will be in Tanis, and your messengers have reached Hanes, to be read with mockery and emphasis, because they have rejected God's counsel and sent their princes to the city of Tanis in Egypt, where the royal house of Pharaoh was, and under Moses many signs and wonders were performed, as the Psalmist says: He did miracles in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis (Ps. LXXVII, 43). And the same Isaiah speaks against Egypt: Where are your wise men now? They will announce to you and say what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. The princes of Tanis have failed, as Isaiah mentions that they failed at that time when the Lord entered Egypt on a light cloud. However, we do not read about the city of Hanes in any other place in Egypt, but from what is said: Your messengers have reached Hanes, we understand that it is the farthest city in Egypt near the Ethiopians and Blemmyas (also known as Blembas), for which the Septuagint translates as: The worst messengers will labor in vain, those who trusted in the Egyptian people, who could not help them, and became an eternal disgrace. Some people think that this place, contrary to the ten tribes in Samaria, was written because when they asked for help from the Egyptians, they were captured by the Assyrians. According to tropology: All those who, despising the religion of God, return to their own vomit, and with the name of children lost, are called shameless dogs, they make a plan, not through the Lord, and they make a pact, not through the spirit of the Lord, and they add sins to sins: so that, being overcome by enticing vices, they also receive the corruption of dogmas, and they descend into the darkness of Egypt, seeking help from Pharaoh, who reigns in Egypt, whose protection leads to everlasting disgrace and reproach. For indeed there are in Tanis, to be sure in a humble and dejected command, its worst messengers, who labor in vain over a people who cannot benefit them. For just as the salvation of the disciples helps the holy teachers, so the perdition of the seduced ones destroys their patriarchs who have turned to the aid of Egypt.
The burden of the beasts of the south. In Hebrew it is called Massa Beemoth (Al. Behemoth) of the Negeb, which the Septuagint translated as 'The Vision of the Quadrupeds in the Desert'. The superior explanation, which we have extensively explained through the replication of the historical text, is the interpretation of this place, according to the prophetic custom, that the burden, that is, the weight and burden of torment and punishment, not only came upon Babylon and the Philistines, and Moab, and Damascus, and Egypt, and the desert sea, but also upon Edom and Arabia, and the valley of Zion, and finally Tyre; but it also came upon the beasts of the south, which the Septuagint translated as quadrupeds in the desert. But the tribe of Judah, which is situated in the southern part, is bordering the wilderness; and those who rejected Jeremiah's prophecy, upon the capture of Jerusalem, refused to dwell in Judah; but they fled to the Egyptians through the desert. And rightly are they called the beasts of the South, or the quadrupeds in the wilderness, because they rejected the knowledge of God, and despising His command, fled to the idols of Egypt, having hope in Pharaoh, to whom whoever leans on, is like one leaning on a reed, which, if broken, will wound the hand of the one leaning on it. Concerning these kinds of animals, the sons of Korah spoke in the psalm: When a man is in honor, he does not understand; he is compared to the foolish animals and becomes like them (Ps. 49:13). And what follows: This is their way; their folly leads them astray, which can rightly be understood in relation to the present chapter, that their way through the desert led to their ruin. I have read, I know, that the animals of the south and the quadrupeds in the desert, who left the borders of Judah and fled into the darkness of Egypt, are referring to the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places; and the rulers of these darknesses, who lost all the wealth and former riches of Egypt in their desire. He said this. We say, according to tropology, that all those who, having abandoned the Creator, have given themselves to the errors of the world, are like quadrupeds in the desert of this age, from which they hope in vain for help, since they have abandoned the true help of God.
30:6-7