The Two Books of the Commentaries on the Prophet Zechariah, by Saint Jerome, Priest of Stridon, to Exsuperius, Bishop of Toulouse.
Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.
Translated into English using ChatGPT.
Table of Contents
Prologue
During the last part of autumn, your son Sisinnius, a monk, handed me a letter of your divine indignation. Upon reading it, I was glad to know that you are safe and that you remember me and all the brothers who serve the Lord in holy places, where you make friends for yourself from unjust wealth and prepare eternal dwellings, so that you may say with David: How lovely are your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts: my soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord (Ps. 84:1). If the sparrow finds a home for itself, and the turtledove a nest where she may lay her young (Ibid.): why do you, who are the high priest of the Lord, trample the winepresses at the end of the world, so as to give the thirsty people the wine of Christ's blood, not proclaim freely and say: My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God: blessed are those who dwell in your house (Psalm 83:3). I hear you in the valley of tears, in the place which God has set for the struggle, in order to give a crown to those who conquer, to arrange ascensions in your heart, to go from virtue to virtue, and to imitate the poverty of the Lord, so that you may become rich with Him and He may recline upon you, and be received, visited, nourished, clothed by you every day, and above all, be inflamed by the reading of the holy Scriptures. And although I wished to offer you some small gift of my talent, and the explanation I have begun on the twelve prophets has reached its conclusion, I did not want to abandon the undertaking, but rather dedicated it to your name, especially because what I was going to dictate even without you, I now dedicate to you. And I am glad that the most obscure book of the prophet Zechariah, and the longest among the twelve, is being discussed at a time when, because of the hastiness of the one who is returning, the interpretation allows no delay. But whether I want to or not, I am compelled to dictate, at least during the profitable night hours and under cover of darkness, what I will send to you. Origen wrote two volumes on this prophet, up to the third part of the book from the beginning. Hippolytus also published commentaries, and Didymus dictated books of explanations, at my request, which he addressed to me along with three others on Hosea. But their entire allegorical interpretation and historical aspects were rarely touched upon. Therefore, wishing to imitate that householder who brings forth from his treasure both new and old (Matt. 13:52), and the spouse from the Song of Songs who says, 'With the old, I have kept for you the new, my brother' (Song. 7), I mingled the tropology of our own people with the history of the Hebrews, in order to build on rock and not on sand (Matt. 7) and to lay a stable foundation, which Paul the architect writes that he himself laid (1 Cor. 3). Your kindness, not our knowledge, which is either non-existent or small, will be appreciated; but I am ready to take on a willing spirit towards you: that you may challenge us in other matters and encourage us to run in the long field of Scripture. However, if there are any to whom I have promised both the interpretation of these books and others, may they forgive my incredible love for you, and consider whatever I have written to you as written to themselves: for love is kind, love does not envy, love does not seek its own. But now it is time, as we follow the words of Zachariah, to uncover the sails of interpretation for the Holy Spirit.
Book One
Book One
1:1
(Chapter 1, Verse 1) In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Barachiah, son (Vulgate: sons) of Addo, the prophet, saying. LXX: In the eighth month of the second year under Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Barachiah, son of Addo the prophet, saying. In the second year of Darius, son of Hystaspis, in the seventieth year of the desolation of the temple, which was predicted by Jeremiah (Chapter 25 and 29), Zechariah himself testifies, saying, O Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you are angry? Behold, this is the seventieth year (Zech. I, 12): and there is no doubt that Cyrus, the king of the Persians, who destroyed the empire of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, released about fifty thousand captive men from Babylon into Judah: and he also returned the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away, and ordered the temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem: and he appointed Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Joshua, the son of Josedec, as the high priest and leaders of the people who returned. Therefore, after the death of Cyrus, who reigned for thirty years in Persia, at the hands of Tomyris, the queen of the Massagetae, his son Cambyses succeeded to the throne. After ruling for eight years, Cambyses had two magi brothers as his successors, who were killed by the people. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was then established as king of Persia by the consent of the seven noble families, in the second year of his reign the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai and to Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo. We have already spoken about the book of Zechariah. Now a few things need to be said about the title 'son of Barachiah'. It is questioned why he is called the son of Addo. There is no doubt, according to the book of Chronicles, that he is Addo, who was sent to Jeroboam, the son of Nabath, under whom the altar was destroyed and the king's hand withered, but was restored again at his prayers. Therefore, from the first year of the reign of King Cyrus until the second year of the reign of Darius, son of Hystaspis, forty years are reckoned in which the altar was constructed and the foundations of the temple were laid, with the neighboring nations in the surrounding area hindering the work, and King Cambyses of Persia, who sent letters about this matter to the rulers of Syria, Cilicia, Phoenicia, and Samaria. Super quo plenius Esdras scribit historiam. Sed Aggaeus in mense sexto in die prima ejusdem mensis prophetare exorsus est. Zacharias vero in eodem quidem anno, sed non in eodem mense: nam post duos menses octavo anni mense fudit vaticinium. Unde recte juxta ordinem duodecim prophetarum, ille decimus, et hic undecimus ponitur. Magnaeque confidentiae est, immo spei fideique in Dominum, ut quod tanto tempore praetermissum est, vel rege prohibente, vel gentibus, ad commonitionem duorum hominum facere incipiant. According to the usual practice, we have sent this following the story. Now, we must briefly discuss it according to interpretation. The eighth month among the Hebrews, called Maresvan by them, Athir by the Egyptians, and November by us, is the beginning of winter: in which, with the heat of summer consumed, all the earth is stripped of its greenery, and the bodies of mortals contract, and there is no solemnity according to the law. For it is written that every kind of male must appear before the Lord our God three times a year (Exod. XXXIV). The first feast is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Passover, which is called Pascha in Greek and Latin. The second is Pentecost, seven weeks after, in which the loaves of offering from the new crops are first presented. The third is in the seventh month, the propitiation of trumpets and tabernacles, that is, the pitching of tents, whose final day is called the day of departure and end. Therefore, the people, being in captivity and still under the rule of the Persians, with neither the temple nor the walls and fortifications of the city yet built, do not see prophecy in a time of joy, but after joy. And yet he who had the memory of the Lord, and because of the memory, the blessing, and because of the blessing, the testimony: therefore to him Zacharias, son of Barachias, son of Addo, is sent. Zacharias interprets as the memory of the Lord: Barachia, the blessing of the Lord: Addo, his testimony. Let us therefore see, the word of the Lord who was in the beginning with God the Father, what the prophet Zachariah spoke to the people.
1:2-3
(Version 2, 3.) The Lord is angry with your fathers with great anger, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, saying. LXX: The Lord is angry with your fathers with great wrath, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. And do not be like your fathers, whom the former prophets rebuked, saying. The anger of the Lord does not signify a disturbance in Him who becomes angry; but rather the merits and sins of those on whom the anger of God falls. Otherwise, the Lord never avenges in anger; but He corrects in order to bring about improvement. Hence the prophet prays in the Psalms: O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chastise me in Your wrath (Psalm 6:1). And in another place we read: Correct us, O Lord; but not in Your anger, but in Your mercy (Jeremiah 10:24). Therefore, the Lord is angry with their fathers who are now being criticized, not according to the Seventy interpreters with great anger, but simply with anger. For if he were angry with great anger, he would never have provoked the captives to repentance through Daniel and Ezekiel. And when he is angry with them, the Lord of hosts speaks to you, for which 'Sabaoth' is placed in Hebrew, which sometimes the Seventy translate as Almighty, sometimes as Virtues. And he says: Return to me, and I will return to you, according to what we read: Come near to the Lord, and he will come near to you. But to those who have turned away from me, I have also turned away from them. He commands them to return to the Lord, those who have returned from Babylon, so that the Lord will also return to them, lest the children begin to suffer what the fathers once suffered, to whom likewise the prophets of that time spoke. Note that in a few short verses and sentences, in both Haggai and Zechariah, the phrase 'says the Lord of hosts' is always added, so that they may know that it is the Lord who commands against the king's authority and the surrounding enemies; and they are encouraged by this confidence in the building of the temple.
1:4
(Verse 4) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn away from your evil ways, and from your wicked thoughts; but they did not listen, nor pay attention to me, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Almighty Lord: Turn away from your wicked ways, and from your evil inventions; but they did not pay attention to listen to me, says the Lord. The conclusion depends on the preceding statements, and what follows must be connected with what came before. For it is not Zacharias speaking to the people; but he shows what the former prophets spoke to their fathers, to which they cried out, saying: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and from your wicked thoughts.' This was cried out by Isaiah, by Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Jeremiah, urging them to forsake their evil ways and abandon their wicked thoughts, in which they sinned both in action and in mind. However, they did not listen or pay attention to the Lord speaking through the prophets who spoke to them, but to me, says the Lord: I was the one speaking and being despised among them. Wherefore, the Lord also said in the Gospel: 'He who receives you, receives me' (Matthew 10:40).
1:5-6
(Vers. 5, 6.) Where are your fathers and the prophets? Will they live forever? However, my words and my ordinances that I commanded my servants the prophets, did not your fathers understand them? And they turned and said: Just as the Lord of hosts planned to do to us according to our ways and according to our inventions, He has done to us. LXX: Where are your fathers and the prophets? Will they live forever? However, listen to my words and accept my law, which I command in my spirit to my servants, the prophets who have understood your ancestors. And they answered and said, 'Just as the Lord Almighty was ready to do to us according to our ways and our inventions, so he did to us.' 'Where are,' he said, 'your ancestors who did not listen or pay attention to me?' Where are your prophets? In common it must be heard: Where are your fathers, and where are your prophets? That is, false prophets: for never would it be said of the holy prophets, 'Will they live forever?' And so, those who have sinned and refused to return to me, and those who, while sinning, deceived others with false promises, have been taken away by death, but my words, which I spoke through my prophets, endure forever, which your fathers understood and showed to be true. Your fathers, confirming the fulfillment of the prophecies of my prophets by the outcome of events, turned to repentance and said: As the Lord of hosts foretold, he has dealt with us according to our works and sins. Let us read Daniel confessing in his own person and in the person of the people to the Lord, that they did not want to hear him, and that whatever they have suffered has rightfully befallen them (Dan. III).
1:7
(Vrs. 7.) On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sabat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying. LXX: On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sabat, in the second year under Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo, saying. Some place the eleventh month as the twelfth month and interpret the twenty-fourth day of the same month by mathematical calculations, suspecting it to be a firm and stable number, wanting what is written to be certain and stable; but we say that in the same year, the second year of King Darius, in the third month after the first Vision, that is, the eleventh month after the eighth, which is called Sabat by the Hebrews, again the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. According to the number, it is unclean and pertains to the union of flesh and worldly things, pertaining to matter, as we often teach. But the eleventh month, which is called Sabat, and is translated in our language as "rod," signifies severity and chastisement, as the Apostle says: What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod? (1 Corinthians 4:21). And as the Psalmist says: Your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4). And it is during the harshest time of winter, which is called Mechir by the Egyptians, περίτιος by the Macedonians, and Februarius by the Romans. The twenty-fourth day of the month also signifies the illustrious shadow of the night, with the moon waning into darkness and the blind and perpetual horror of the night growing. Therefore, it is fitting that those who were still in captivity, the majority of whom were in Media and Chaldea, and were exiled in Assyria, saw what follows on the second year and eleventh month, during the most severe cold, and on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, to the Jewish people.
1:8-13
(Verse 8 and following) I saw during the night: and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the ravine, and behind him there were red, sorrel, and white horses. And I said, 'What are these, my lord?' And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, 'I will show you what these are.' And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, 'These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.' And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, 'We have gone throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.' And the angel of the Lord answered and said: O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Juda, with which thou hast been angry? This is the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel that spoke in me, good words, and comfortable words. LXX: I saw in the night: and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom: and behind him were horses, red, speckled, and white. And I said: What are these, my Lord? And the angel who spoke with me said: I will show you what these things are. And the man who stood among the mountains answered and said to me: These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to go around the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord, who stood among the mountains, and said: We have gone around the whole earth, and behold, all the earth is inhabited and at rest. And the angel of the Lord answered and said: O Lord Almighty, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you are angry? This is the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel who spoke to me, good words and consoling speeches. First, let us discuss the story: I saw, he said, during the night: not during the day, like Moses, who saw God face to face: and Isaiah who spoke: I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne (Isa. VI, 1): before the people were led into captivity, before Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple; but still, while the people were in the midst of the evils of servitude, he sees what he sees for them in darkness. And behold, a man riding on a red horse. The Hebrews believe this to be the angel Michael, who is the avenger of iniquities and sins of Israel. And the standing among the myrtle trees that were in the depths, they want to understand as the prophets and saints who dwelled among the captive people and were in the depths. But the man, that is, Michael, was followed by red and various-colored horses, and white ones, with the order, as they think, changed: so that the white ones signify the Medes and the Persians, because under them the captivity was dismissed and the temple was rebuilt; the various-colored ones, the Macedonians, some of whom were friends, others were persecutors (the last vision of Daniel [Chapter 8] speaks most fully on this matter); but the red ones signify the kingdom of the Romans, bloody and murderous, which killed the people and destroyed the temple. But others, preserving the order that was written, interpret the man who rides a red horse and the red horses as representing the four kingdoms. The first and second, the bloodshedders, are interpreted as the Assyrians and Chaldeans, whose first ten tribes were led captive by Salmanasar. The second, Judah and Benjamin, with the city of Jerusalem burned and the temple destroyed. The third and fourth, the various and white horses, are thought to represent the Medes and Persians: some of whom were merciful, such as Cyrus, Darius son of Hystaspis, and Artaxerxes, called by the Greeks Assuerus, under whom the story of Esther is fulfilled; others were cruel, such as Cambyses and the rest. Therefore, the seer and prophet sees a man riding on a red horse, followed by red, spotted, and white horses. Not knowing what he had seen, and desiring to understand the meaning of his vision, he asks, 'What are these, my Lord?' The angel who was speaking with him promises to reveal the answer. As the seer remains silent, a man standing among the myrtle trees recounts, 'These are the kingdoms that the Lord has commanded to go throughout the earth and subdue it under their authority.' Finally, the angels who presided over kingdoms and nations do not come to anyone else, but to the very man and angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtles, and they say: We have walked through the earth, and behold, all the earth is inhabited and at rest. And the meaning is: all the kingdoms under us are safe and peaceful, and no distress weighs upon them. From this response, the angel who interceded for Israel takes the opportunity to pray for the people, and says to the Lord: Since the whole world is quiet and peaceful, why, O Lord, do you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, especially since the time of captivity, according to your promises, has been fulfilled? And the Lord answered the angel who spoke in the prophet with good words, comforting words. Good words regarding the promises of the future, comforting words regarding the needs of the present. These, according to the letter, so that we may not see our own concealed things, which we have learned from foreign language teachers. But the teachers of the Churches understand the darkness of the mystical vision on the night when the vision is seen. For God has placed darkness as his hiding place (Psalm 18:12). And according to the Septuagint translators, it is said of him: 'The abyss is like his garment' (Ps. 103:6). But the man who was riding on a red horse is the Lord Savior, who, by taking on the dispensation of our flesh, hears in Isaiah: 'Why are your garments red?' (Isa. 63:2). This one who is now shown as red to the captive people is described in the Apocalypse of John as sitting on a white horse, wearing white garments (Rev. 3 and 6). But what is said to be standing between two shady mountains (although in Hebrew it does not have two), the New and Old Testaments understand, which is said to be covered with dense leaves, and forest, and shady woods, because it is enveloped in many obscurities. But the myrtles that were in the depths, among which it is described as standing, understand the angelic powers, which also ministered to him even in the flesh. Or certainly the mountains (to remove what is not written, two) absolutely and without number, we can understand many holy people and apostles and apostolic men, who are reported to have traveled the whole world, red, and various, and white. Some have been crowned with martyrdom and are called 'rufi'. Others, through their works, teaching, and variety of signs, are called by various names. Others have received rewards for their virginity, purity of doctrine, and pure heart that sees God. Finally, the prophet asks the same man and angel who stood among the myrtles, saying: Who are these, my lord? And the angel who spoke in him, namely the prophetic sense, promises to show what is seen. And when he had promised, he did not answer himself, but another who stood among the myrtle trees, and said: These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk the earth. For the apostles were sent by the Lord to complete the preaching of the Gospel throughout the whole world, and after they had fulfilled their mission, they returned to the angel of the great council who stood among them, who spoke with the Apostle: We are the pleasing aroma of Christ to those who are being saved and to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 2:15), and among peoples of both callings. And they said to him: We have traveled the land, fulfilled the work that was assigned to us, and behold, the whole land is inhabited and at rest, which was once deserted by God. Now it is His dwelling place, resting from wars, battles of vices and sins. For He has received the inheritance of the Lord, who has returned to the Father, and who says: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave you (John 14:27). And as for the full mercy that is requested, they refer to the imminent seventieth year when God will have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with respect to that understanding: that as long as true peace comes and the Sabbath and the number of seven decades, that is, the seventieth year is fulfilled, neither Jerusalem may receive complete freedom, which is interpreted as the vision of peace and is the Church, nor may the cities of Judah, who confess the Lord, receive it. Finally, the Lord promises good words, consoling words: which we now see in part, and in part we prophesy (I Cor. XIII, 12). But when that which is perfect has come, those things which are in part will be done away with: and being delivered from the Babylon of this age, let us cry out: When the Lord brings back the captivity of Zion, we became like those consoled (Psal. CXXV, 1).
1:14-16
(Verse 14 and following) And the angel who spoke in me said to me: Cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy, and with great anger I am angry (alternate: I will be angry) with the prosperous nations, for I was angry only a little, but they (alternate: they themselves) assisted in bringing about evil. Therefore, thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and my house will be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and the plumb line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. LXX: And the angel who was speaking with me said, 'Cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great zeal, and with great wrath I am angry with the nations that are above them, for I was indeed angry for a little while, but they themselves are subjected to evil. Therefore, thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and my house will be rebuilt in it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.' Still good words, and consoling words these are, which now the prophet is commanded to cry aloud: that the Lord is zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with a great zeal. But he who is zealous, shows by loving the thing that he is zealous for, not saying, as Isaiah says, 'As a wife despises her husband, so has the house of Israel despised me' (Jeremiah 3:20). To whom the Lord spoke through Ezekiel: 'I will no longer be angry with you, and my zeal has turned away from you' (Ezekiel 16:42). Therefore, he who is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion (which are one and the same city) now becomes angry with the rich nations, whom he called upon above red, white, and various colored horses, because he himself delivered them for punishment. However, they raged against those who were delivered; here, as if wanting his son to be corrected by a tutor; there, as if wanting to kill an enemy and punish him. Similar to this is what is written in Isaiah: 'I gave them into your hands, but you showed them no mercy.' You have laid a heavy yoke on the aged and said, 'I will be mistress forever' (Isaiah 47:6). But zeal is understood in a human way, like anger. From this passage heretics are refuted, who detract from the Old Testament, claiming that God, when angry, does not want to destroy those towards whom He is angry, but to correct them. Therefore, he says, I have been zealous for Jerusalem, and with great zeal I have consumed those who opposed her: therefore, thus says the Lord: I will return not in one mercy, but in many mercies to Jerusalem, and my house, that is, the temple, will be rebuilt in it under Zerubbabel and Joshua son of Jehozadak; and the measuring line of the builders will be stretched out over Jerusalem. Jerusalem and Zion can be understood as the vision of peace and the watchtowers, which do not belong to the wars of this age, nor to the lowly and earthly, but to peace and harmony, and to the lofty heights of the heavens, the Church. Because of its vices and sins, and because of its daily cooling love, the Lord becomes angry and delivers it to persecutions, so that it may appear as gold and silver in a furnace. However, its adversaries, to whom it has been entrusted, seek to destroy it. Jerusalem will be built again with the blood of Caesar, from one gate to another. Where the Lord promising peace and mercy, says that it will be built again. And a plumb line or a cord should be stretched in it according to the measurements and orders of each. However, what a cord is, is demonstrated in the following chapter, where the prophet says: I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold a man, and in his hand a measuring cord. But the temple of God that the adversaries destroyed can also be understood as the venerable body of the Lord, of which he himself said: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). What was destroyed in the passion, was raised up in the resurrection, and it was the origin and foundation of all temples, about which the Apostle also speaks: You are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you (2 Corinthians VI, 16).
1:17
(Verse 17.) Still cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall still overflow with goods, and the Lord shall still comfort Zion, and shall still choose Jerusalem. LXX: And the angel who spoke in me said: Still cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Still cities shall be spread with goods, and the Lord shall still have mercy on Zion, and shall still choose Jerusalem. The angel who had spoken above to the prophet said: Cry out: Thus says the Lord of hosts, now he also urges him to cry out, not with the intensity of his voice, but with the intensity of his mind: and this is what he commands to be cried out: My cities shall still overflow with goods, which you now see devastated by the fire of the Babylonians, they shall again abound with all things, and the Lord shall comfort the present miseries with future goods, and shall choose Jerusalem, which he had recently cast away. But if we refer to the Church, to which true and eternal goods are promised, those goods must be believed, about which we read: See the good things of Jerusalem (Ps. 127:5). And in another place: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land (Isa. 1:19). And that: Trust in the Lord, and He will exalt you to possess the good things of the earth. Which a wise man, to whom the Lord had revealed the uncertain and obscure things of His wisdom, promises to himself with hope for the future, and says: I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 26:13). After the fires of the most savage persecution which the Church of the Lord endured from both the pagans and the heretical Arians, peace being restored, we see the Churches of the Lord flourish, and Zion consoled, and Jerusalem chosen, which it had previously rejected. We can understand this to refer to the temple of the Lord and to each and every believer. Some interpret the consoled Zion and chosen Jerusalem, and the other things that are preached in this manner by all the prophets, as referring to the heavenly Jerusalem, which, having been destroyed through ruin, is to be restored through virtues. We will interpret all these things more correctly about the Church.
1:18-19