30:8-9
(Verse 8, 9.) And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will break the yoke from your neck and I will tear apart your chains; and they (or the foreigners) shall no longer have dominion over them (or you), but they (or you) shall serve (or work for) the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. This is the David of whom even the Gospel speaks (Luke 1), who will give himself to us, so that, liberated from the hand of our enemies without fear, we may serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives. For just as the first Adam and the second Adam are written according to the truth of the body, so too is the Lord and Savior David: because, according to the flesh from David, Mary, who conferred everything holy upon Him, contained whatever was from the seed of David, and He had His origin and conception from the Holy Spirit. And what He says, 'I will break his yoke from your neck, and I will tear apart his chains,' undoubtedly should be understood as a type of the devil from Nebuchadnezzar.
30:10-11
(Verse 10, 11) Therefore do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, says the Lord; and do not be terrified, Israel. For behold, I will save you from a distant land, and your descendants from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return and be at rest, and shall enjoy abundant blessings, and there will be no one to fear: for I am with you, says the Lord, to save you. For I will make a complete destruction among all the nations where I have scattered you. But I will not make a complete end of you; I will discipline (or instruct) you in judgment, so that you may not appear innocent to yourself (or I will cleanse you and not leave you unpunished). This passage is not found in the Septuagint, and in many codices of the Vulgate edition it is added under asterisks from Theodotion. However, the divine word promises, and familiarly calls his servant Jacob, and Israel, just as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are called servants of God (Moses also, and other prophets, and the apostle Paul glories in this title at the beginning of his Epistles); so that the twelve tribes may know that they are to be saved from a distant land, and their captivity will be freed, and peace will be restored, and they will be filled with every abundance, according to what is said in the psalm: Let there be peace within your walls, and abundance within your towers (Psalm 122:7). But this will happen when they enjoy the presence of the Lord, when the opposing nations that had captured them will perish, and they will be freed from the nations. And they will be taught not for punishment, but for instruction, so that they may be judged as if they were their own and not be lost as if they were strangers. For whoever does not believe has already been judged (John 3:18), that is, prejudged for destruction. And what he said: 'So that you may not appear innocent to yourself', according to Symmachus, 'and I will not cleanse you who are already clean', or according to Aquila, 'when I have instructed you through judgment, I will not make you innocent in any way', means that the entire world, even if it is impure, is in need of God's mercy, and no one, however holy, can approach the judge with confidence. This goes against the new heresy from the old belief, which believes that in this age and in this mortal flesh, before it puts on this corruptible state of incorruptibility and this mortal state of immortality, there can be perfection in anyone, and that all together can fulfill the virtues of righteousness.
30:12-15
(Verse 12 onwards) For thus says the Lord, your fracture is incurable, your wound is grievous. There is no one to judge your judgment for binding, there is no usefulness in your healing. All your lovers have forgotten you, they will not seek you. For the enemy has struck you with a cruel (or strong) punishment because of the multitude of your iniquities, your sins have become severe (or multiplied). Why do you cry out about your contrition? Your pain is incurable, because of the multitude of your wickedness, and because of your stubborn sins I have done this to you. As if speaking to a beautiful woman, to whom he had said before: I will chastise you in judgment, so that you may not appear innocent to yourself, whether male or female; and by metaphor ((Alexander adds speaking)) to Jerusalem, which has been most grievously wounded by the judgment of God, and can be healed by no one else but the one who struck her. There is no one, says the Lord, who can judge your judgment: nor can the Highest heal the wound with the skin of a scar. Wherever you turn, there is no profit for you, because you have offended him who is true, and the only physician. All your lovers have forgotten you, be they priests, or rulers, or surely the protectors of the Angels, by whom you were fortified before you offended the Lord. They will not seek you, acting against the Apostle, who sought believers, and not those things which belonged to the believers (2 Corinthians 12). For the enemy strikes you with a cruel punishment. The friend strikes differently than the enemy: the father strikes differently than the enemy. The former strikes to correct, the latter strikes to kill (Psal. VI). Therefore, the Prophet mournfully says: Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor chastise me in your wrath (Psal. XXXVII, 1). And this has happened because due to the multitude of your wickedness, your sins have become hardened. And what follows: Why do you cry out over your contrition? Your pain is incurable because of the multitude of your iniquities, it is not found in the Septuagint; namely because it is said further on, because of the multitude of your iniquities, and your harsh sins; and those who were writing from the beginning, thought it necessary to add it. And the meaning is: So that I may strike you as an enemy, and beat you with cruel discipline, your multitude of iniquities and your harsh sins, which could not be healed, except by the most biting powder, and burning cauterization, and the sharpest iron, with which I may cut away the rotten flesh and the incurable parts. And yet, because of the multitude of your iniquities and your harsh sins, I have done these things to you, not by my will, but forced by the reasoning of medicine.
30:16-17
(Verse 16, 17.) Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your enemies shall be carried into captivity; and those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all your plunderers I will give for prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: 'It is Zion, for whom no one cares.' And under Zerubbabel we know that these things happened, when the Babylonians and Chaldeans devastated the Assyrians, and then the Babylonians and Chaldeans, along with the Medes and Persians, captured Babylon and destroyed it. Then Zion began to have the Lord seeking, and the scar of its wounds was covered, and it was healed from its ailments, which is more fully and perfectly accomplished in Christ.
30:18-22
(Verse 18 and following) Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will turn the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on their dwellings (or captivity). And the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the temple shall be founded according to its order. And praise shall come forth from them, and the voice of those who play. And I will multiply them, and they shall not be few. (And what follows: And I will glorify them, and they shall not be made small, is not found in the Septuagint). And they shall be, says the Lord, His sons as from the beginning, and His congregation shall remain before me, and I will visit all those who trouble him. And his leader shall come forth from him, and the ruler shall be produced from among them. And I will bring him near, and he shall approach me. For who is this who has applied his heart to draw near to me, says the Lord? (And this also is not found in the Septuagint.) And you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Whose image prefigured this in Zerubabel and Ezra, when the people returned and the city began to be built in its exalted state, and the religion of the Temple was observed, and the other things contained in the book of Ezra himself. But it was more fully and completely fulfilled in the Lord Savior and the Apostles, when the city was built on its highest point, of which it is written: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14); and the Temple was established according to its order and ceremonies, so that whatever was done in the former people carnally, would be spiritually fulfilled in the Church. Then praise and thanksgiving came forth. For this means Thoda, as all the Apostles said: Grace to you and peace (1 Corinthians 1:3). And the voice of those who play, not in that game where the people ate and drank and rose up to play (Exodus 32:6), but in that game where David played before the Ark of the Lord (2 Samuel 6). And they were multiplied and not diminished, so that the whole world would believe in the Lord and Savior: and they were glorified, so that what is written would be fulfilled: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God (Psalm 87:3). And his sons were, that is, the Apostles, just as they were from the beginning, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, the leaders of the Israelite race. Then the Lord visited all those who troubled the people of God, namely, the opposing powers. And He was their leader from that time: without a doubt, the Lord and Savior according to the flesh came forth from the race of Israel, and the prince arose from their midst. The Father applied Him to Himself, and He approached Him, so that the Son might say: I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John XIV, 11): for no one can so apply his heart to God, nor be joined to the Father as the Son is. And what he says according to the Septuagint: 'And you shall be my people, and I will be your God', we see fulfilled in part in Israel, and entirely in the multitude of the nations.
30:23-24
(Verse 23, 24) Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord's fury going forth, and the rushing storm. It will rest upon the head of the wicked. The Lord will not turn away the anger of His indignation until He has performed and accomplished the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days, you will understand this. The whirlwind of the Lord's fury and the rushing storm and tempest will rest upon their heads, whether they be demons or those who have blasphemed the Son of God. And He will not turn away His anger until He has performed and accomplished the thoughts of His heart. And Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and utterly destroyed. However, just as an artisan cannot be understood unless their work is complete, and the industry of medicine cannot be understood unless health has been achieved, so when Jerusalem has been destroyed and the rejection of the former people has occurred, then believers will understand that the expulsion of the Jews is an opportunity for our salvation.
31:1
(Chapter 31, Verse 1) In that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel (or the people of Israel), and they will be my people. Unless the thought of the Lord is fulfilled and his fury rests upon the head of the wicked, the Lord cannot be the God of all the tribes of Israel. But he says this to the remnant who have been saved. Now if what has been said to us is opposed to us: I will be the God of the people of Israel, or all the tribes of Israel, let us consider the example: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of your father (John 8:39). And the Apostle writes: See Israel according to the flesh (I Cor. X, 8). From which he teaches that there is another Israel according to the spirit. Therefore, that Israel is the one who perceives God with the mind, or is the most righteous of the Lord, and such a people will be the people of God.
31:2
(Version 2.) Thus says the Lord: The people who remained with the sword found favor in the wilderness, let Israel go to their rest. LXX: Thus says the Lord: I have found warmth in the desert with those who have perished by the sword. Go, and do not kill Israel. The Latin texts in this place are laughed at for their ambiguity in the interpretation of the Greek word. Instead of warmth, they are interpreted as lupine: for the Greek word θερμὸν has both meanings, which is not found in Hebrew. For it is written that Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion translated χάριν as 'grace'. Only the Seventy translated it as 'heat', thinking that the last letter Mem was intended. For if we read Hen as Nun, it means 'grace'; if as Mem, it means 'heat'. But the sense according to the Hebrew is: The people of the Jews, who had remained under the Roman sword, or surely could have escaped the wrath of the Lord in fury, found grace in the desert of the Gentiles, so that they might be saved among the multitude of nations in the Church, to which they will both go and find their rest, Israel which they have always hoped for, as the prophecies of the prophets had promised them. Furthermore, according to the translation of the Septuagint, the understanding is this: the Lord found the chosen ones and living Apostles, and their companions in the desert of the gentiles, among those who had been killed by their own unfaithfulness, they did not possess the warmth of life. Therefore, it is commanded to the Angels and those who are in the service of God, not to kill all, lest Israel be completely destroyed, and it is said to them: Go, and do not kill Israel; otherwise there should be some who live, some who are warmed by the fervor of faith, some who escape the coldness of unfaithfulness and death, whom the Lord finds in the desert.
31:3-6
(Versed 3 and following) Far off the Lord appeared to me (or to him): and in everlasting love I loved you: therefore I have drawn you with mercy. And again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel: you shall again be adorned (or crowned) with your timbrels, and you shall go forth in the dance of them that make merry. You shall again plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria: plant, and you shall enjoy the fruits thereof: for there shall be a day, that the watchmen on mount Ephraim shall call to the shepherds: Arise, and let us go up to Sion to our Lord God. Because Israel had offended the Lord, and had said: We have no king but Caesar (John 19:15). And: Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours (Mark 12:7); and had strayed far from God: therefore the Lord appeared to him after a long time, not in the time of Zerubbabel and Ezra, after they had been taken captive again, but in everlasting love He loved him, which will never be destroyed. And He drew him with His mercy. For he was saved not by merit, but by mercy. And he says again: I will build you up, and you will be built up, O virgin Israel. Let us understand this specifically in the Church. For those who long for golden and jeweled Jerusalem are mad, consecrating their greed for the mystery of the city of the Lord. You will still be adorned with your tambourines, to sing to the Lord in the Churches, with all the flesh of evil works consumed in you. And you will go out in the chorus of those who play, with the crowds of nations, you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. Not in valleys and low places, but in the mountains of Samaria, which were possessed by foreigners after the captivity of the people of Israel, to whom it is said: Plant vineyards and harvest. Then it was the day of the Lord, on which the custodians of the Apostolic faith, and apostolic men on the mountain of Samaria, and on the mountain of Ephraim, of which one signifies guardianship, the other abundance. But what do the custodians of Samaria say, or rather, what do they cry out on the mountain of Ephraim? Arise, you who lie low, abandon lowly things, despise the victims of sacrifice. Let the broken spirit be a sacrifice to the Lord (Psalm 50). Let us ascend to Zion, that is, to the Church, where there is the vision and sight of God. And when we are in Zion, or rather when we ascend to it, let us together ascend to our Lord God.
31:7
(Verse 7.) For thus says the Lord: Rejoice with joy, O Jacob, and shout for joy at the head of the nations; proclaim, sing, and say: Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel. It is significant that not all of Israel is saved, but the remnant of Israel, as the Lord commands and says: Rejoice with joy, you who are of Jacob, and shout for joy, bringing all things back to the head of the nations, because once the tail was turned into the head. Perform, sing, and say. What is it that they are commanded to say? Save, O Lord, your people. Which people? Certainly the remnant of Israel, who have been saved according to election. Concerning whom Paul, taking up the testimony of Isaiah, speaks: Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and made like Gomorrah (Isa. 1:9; Rom. 9:29).
31:8
(Verse 8) Behold, I will bring them from the land of the North, and gather them from the ends of the earth. What follows: In the solemnity of the Passover, he shall beget many sons, which is not found in Hebrew, but is only read in the Septuagint, for which it is written among the Hebrews:
Among them will be the blind, and the lame, and the pregnant, and those giving birth together: the great Church of those returning here. The remaining people of Israel will be gathered by the Apostles and the apostolic men, of whom we read above: The custodians on the mountain will cry out, and to whom it is commanded: Resound, sing, and say, so that the remaining people of Israel may be saved. The Lord himself also promises to bring them back from the land of the North, which is a very harsh wind, but by the name of dexterous is called, from unbelief, from the coldness of the Lord's love; and to gather them from the ends of the earth, not at any other time, but on the solemnity of the Passover, that is, on the feast days of the Lord's passion: when the Lord was crucified, and that which he himself promised in the Gospel was fulfilled. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself (John 12:23). Then he generated a great multitude, so that the prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled: For a nation has been born once (Isaiah 66:8). For on one day, three thousand believed, and on another day, five thousand men (Acts 2 and 4). And what is written in Hebrew: Among them will be the blind and the lame, and the pregnant and those giving birth together, a great church of those returning here; although it is also fulfilled according to the letter, that the blind will see, and the lame will walk: nevertheless, it can be better understood according to allegory, that those who were previously blind in faith, afterwards believed in the Savior; and those who were lame, to whom Elijah once spoke: How long will you limp on both feet (1 Kings 18:21)? Afterwards, they may have walked (Al. seen). And: The people who sat in darkness and the shadow of death have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:2); the lame may have run, and the pregnant woman may have given birth to sons, the great Church of those who return to faith. The Jews imagine this to have been fulfilled when, under Ezra, they departed from Babylon after the Passover to return to Jerusalem, in which there was a figure, and not the reality. For in that time, not all the things that we read and are going to read could have been proven to be complete (Al. could have been approved).
31:9
(Verse 9) In their weeping they will come (or go); I will lead them in mercy, and bring them by the torrents of water in a straight path, and they will not stumble (or wander) in it. For I have become the father of Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. If we read according to the Hebrew, they will come in weeping: for this indicates Job (); we will say that sometimes, the weeping of excessive joy is a sign, according to that: I weep with joy. But according to the Seventy who said: 'He will go out in weeping, and I will lead them in mercy or consolation,' we understand that it is also said in the Psalms: 'They went forth weeping and cast their seeds, but they will come with joy, carrying their bundles' (Ps. 125:6-7). For they wept when they were led away captive, but they received great consolation when they were brought back by the mercy of the Lord. And the Lord brought them through the apostles and apostolic men, full of waters and of a most abundant river, on the straight path, namely the path of faith, not in the deceit of the Jews. And they will not stumble in it, he says, because the blind have ceased to be blind, to whom it was once said: If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now, because you say: we see, your sin remains. We can understand the straight path, and Christ, in which whoever walks will not stumble. I have become, he says, the father of Israel, who has been brought back, and Ephraim is my firstborn. For where sin once abounded, grace has superabounded. But Scripture testifies that Ephraim is a type of the people gathered from the nations. For he was the younger son of Joseph, and he took the birthright from Manasseh, who was by nature the firstborn (Gen. XLVIII); but in the mystery of the cross, with crossed hands, he stood at the left side of Jacob and received the blessing from his right hand. And he who had stood on the right, blessed with the left, was reduced to the second rank. And just as Jacob took the birthright from Esau, so Ephraim took the firstborn position from Manasseh. And the entire people of the ten tribes were called Ephraim, because Jeroboam the son of Nebat, from this tribe, was the first to obtain the kingdom in Samaria (Ibid., 27).