Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets [2]

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ANCIENT CHRISTIAN TEXTS

COMMENTARIES ON THE TWELVE PROPHETS

VOLUME 2

Jerome

EDITED BY

THOMAS P. SCHECK

SERIES EDITORS

THOMAS C. ODEN AND GERALD L. BRAY

CONTENTS

General Introduction

Volume Editor’s Introduction

Abbreviations

Commentary on Zechariah

Commentary on Malachi

Commentary on Hosea

Commentary on Joel

Commentary on Amos

Bibliography

Notes

General Index

Index of Holy Scripture

Ancient Christian Texts

Praise for Ancient Christian Texts

About the Author

About the Editors

More Titles from InterVarsity Press

Copyright Page

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Ancient Christian Texts (hereafter ACT) presents the full text of ancient Christian commentaries on Scripture that have remained so unnoticed that they have not yet been translated into English. The patristic period (AD 95–750) is the time of the fathers of the church, when the exegesis of Scripture texts was in its primitive formation. This period spans from Clement of Rome to John of Damascus, embracing seven centuries of biblical interpretation, from the end of the New Testament to the mid-eighth century, including the Venerable Bede. This series extends but does not reduplicate texts of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS). It presents full-length translations of texts that appear only as brief extracts in the ACCS. The ACCS began years ago authorizing full-length translations of key patristic texts on Scripture in order to provide fresh sources of valuable commentary that previously were not available in English. It is from these translations that the ACT series has emerged. A multiyear project such as this requires a well-defined objective. The task is straightforward: to introduce full-length translations of key texts of early Christian teaching, homilies and commentaries on a particular book of Scripture. These are seminal documents that have decisively shaped the entire subsequent history of biblical exegesis, but in our time have been largely ignored. To carry out this mission each volume of the Ancient Christian Texts series has four aspirations:

1. To show the approach of one of the early Christian writers in dealing with the problems of understanding, reading and conveying the meaning of a particular book of Scripture. 2. To make more fully available the whole argument of the ancient Christian interpreter of Scripture to all who wish to think with the early church about a

particular canonical text. 3. To broaden the base of the biblical studies, Christian teaching and preaching to include classical Christian exegesis. 4. To stimulate Christian historical, biblical, theological and pastoral scholarship toward deeper inquiry into early classic practitioners of scriptural interpretation.

For Whom Is This Series Designed?

We have selected and translated these texts primarily for general and nonprofessional use by an audience of persons who study the Bible regularly. In varied cultural settings around the world, contemporary readers are asking how they might grasp the meaning of sacred texts under the instruction of the great minds of the ancient church. They often study books of the Bible verse by verse, book by book, in groups and workshops, sometimes with a modern commentary in hand. But many who study the Bible intensively hunger to have available as well the thoughts of a reliable classic Christian commentator on this same text. This series will give the modern commentators a classical text for comparison and amplification. Readers will judge for themselves as to how valuable or complementary are their insights and guidance. The classic texts we are translating were originally written for anyone (lay or clergy, believers or seekers) who wished to reflect and meditate with the great minds of the early church. They sought to illuminate the plain sense, theological wisdom, and moral and spiritual meaning of an individual book of Scripture. They were not written for an academic audience, but for a community of faith shaped by the sacred text. Yet in serving this general audience, the editors remain determined not to neglect the rigorous requirements and needs of academic readers who until recently have had few full translations available to them in the history of exegesis. So this series is designed also to serve public libraries, universities, academic classes, homiletic preparation and historical interests worldwide in Christian scholarship

and interpretation. Hence our expected audience is not limited to the highly technical and specialized scholarly field of patristic studies, with its strong bent toward detailed word studies and explorations of cultural contexts. Though all of our editors and translators are patristic and linguistic scholars, they also are scholars who search for the meanings and implications of the texts. The audience is not primarily the university scholar concentrating on the study of the history of the transmission of the text or those with highly focused interests in textual morphology or historical-critical issues. If we succeed in serving our wider readers practically and well, we hope to serve as well college and seminary courses in Bible, church history, historical theology, hermeneutics and homiletics. These texts have not until now been available to these classes.

Readiness for Classic Spiritual Formation

Today global Christians are being steadily drawn toward these biblical and patristic sources for daily meditation and spiritual formation. They are on the outlook for primary classic sources of spiritual formation and biblical interpretation, presented in accessible form and grounded in reliable scholarship. These crucial texts have had an extended epoch of sustained influence on Scripture interpretation, but virtually no influence in the modern period. They also deserve a hearing among modern readers and scholars. There is a growing awareness of the speculative excesses and spiritual and homiletic limitations of much post-Enlightenment criticism. Meanwhile the motifs, methods and approaches of ancient exegetes have remained unfamiliar not only to historians but to otherwise highly literate biblical scholars, trained exhaustively in the methods of historical and scientific criticism. It is ironic that our times, which claim to be so fully furnished with historical insight and research methods, have neglected these texts more than scholars in previous centuries who could read them in their original languages. This series provides indisputable evidence of the modern neglect of classic

Christian exegesis: it remains a fact that extensive and once authoritative classic commentaries on Scripture still remain untranslated into any modern language. Even in China such a high level of neglect has not befallen classic Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian commentaries.

Ecumenical Scholarship

This series, like its two companion series, the ACCS and Ancient Christian Doctrine (ACD), is an expression of unceasing ecumenical efforts that have enjoyed the wide cooperation of distinguished scholars of many differing academic communities. Under this classic textual umbrella, it has brought together in common spirit Christians who have long distanced themselves from each other by competing church memories. But all of these traditions have an equal right to appeal to the early history of Christian exegesis. All of these traditions can, without a sacrifice of principle or intellect, come together to study texts common to them all. This is its ecumenical significance. This series of translations is respectful of a distinctively theological reading of Scripture that cannot be reduced to historical, philosophical, scientific or sociological insights or methods alone. It takes seriously the venerable tradition of ecumenical reflection concerning the premises of revelation, providence, apostolicity, canon and consensuality. A high respect is here granted, despite modern assumptions, to uniquely Christian theological forms of reasoning, such as classical consensual christological and triune reasoning, as distinguishing premises of classic Christian textual interpretation. These cannot be acquired by empirical methods alone. This approach does not pit theology against critical theory; instead, it incorporates critical historical methods and brings them into coordinate accountability within its larger purpose of listening to Scripture. The internationally diverse character of our editors and translators corresponds with the global range of our audience, which bridges many major communions of Christianity. We have sought to bring together a distinguished international network of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox scholars, editors and translators of the highest quality and reputation to accomplish this design.

But why just now at this historical moment is this need for patristic wisdom felt particularly by so many readers of Scripture? Part of the reason is that these readers have been longer deprived of significant contact with many of these vital sources of classic Christian exegesis.

The Ancient Commentary Tradition

This series focuses on texts that comment on Scripture and teach its meaning. We define a commentary in its plain-sense definition as a series of illustrative or explanatory notes on any work of enduring significance. The word commentary is an Anglicized form of the Latin commentarius (or “annotation” or “memoranda” on a subject, text or series of events). In its theological meaning it is a work that explains, analyzes or expounds a biblical book or portion of Scripture. Tertullian, Origen, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine and Clement of Alexandria all revealed their familiarity with both the secular and religious commentators available to them as they unpacked the meanings of the sacred text at hand. The commentary in ancient times typically began with a general introduction covering such questions as authorship, date, purpose and audience. It commented as needed on grammatical or lexical problems in the text and provided explanations of difficulties in the text. It typically moved verse by verse through a Scripture text, seeking to make its meaning clear and its import understood. The general Western literary genre of commentary has been definitively shaped by the history of early Christian commentaries on Scripture. It is from Origen, Hilary, the Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum, John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria that we learn what a commentary is—far more so than in the case of classic medical, philosophical or poetic commentaries. It leaves too much unsaid simply to assume that the Christian biblical commentary took a previously extant literary genre and reshaped it for Christian texts. Rather it is more accurate to say that the Western literary genre of the commentary (and especially the biblical commentary) has patristic commentaries as its decisive pattern and prototype.

It is only in the last two centuries, since the development of modern historicist methods of criticism, that modern writers have sought more strictly to delimit the definition of a commentary so as to include only certain limited interests focusing largely on historical-critical method, philological and grammatical observations, literary analysis, and socio-political or economic circumstances impinging on the text. While respecting all these approaches, the ACT editors do not hesitate to use the classic word commentary to define more broadly the genre of this series. These are commentaries in their classic sense. The ACT editors freely take the assumption that the Christian canon is to be respected as the church’s sacred text. The reading and preaching of Scripture are vital to religious life. The central hope of this endeavor is that it might contribute in some small way to the revitalization of religious faith and community through a renewed discovery of the earliest readings of the church’s Scriptures.

An Appeal to Allow the Text to Speak for Itself

This prompts two appeals: 1. For those who begin by assuming as normative for a commentary only the norms considered typical for modern expressions of what a commentary is, we ask: please allow the ancient commentators to define commentarius according to their own lights. Those who assume the preemptive authority and truthfulness of modern critical methods alone will always tend to view the classic Christian exegetes as dated, quaint, premodern, hence inadequate, and in some instances comic or even mean-spirited, prejudiced, unjust and oppressive. So in the interest of hermeneutical fairness, it is recommended that the modern reader not impose upon ancient Christian exegetes modern assumptions about valid readings of Scripture. The ancient Christian writers constantly challenge these unspoken, hidden and indeed often camouflaged assumptions that have become commonplace in our time. We leave it to others to discuss the merits of ancient versus modern methods of exegesis. But even this cannot be done honestly without a serious examination of the texts of ancient exegesis. Ancient commentaries may be disqualified as

commentaries by modern standards. But they remain commentaries by the standards of those who anteceded and formed the basis of the modern commentary. The attempt to read a Scripture text while ruling out all theological and moral assumptions—as well as ecclesial, sacramental and dogmatic assumptions that have prevailed generally in the community of faith out of which it emerged—is a very thin enterprise indeed. Those who tendentiously may read a single page of patristic exegesis, gasp and toss it away because it does not conform adequately to the canons of modern exegesis and historicist commentary are surely not exhibiting a valid model for critical inquiry today. 2. In ancient Christian exegesis, chains of biblical references were often very important in thinking about the text in relation to the whole testimony of sacred Scripture, by the analogy of faith, comparing text with text, on the premise that scripturam ex scriptura explicandam esse. When ancient exegesis weaves many Scripture texts together, it does not limit its focus to a single text as much modern exegesis prefers, but constantly relates them to other texts, by analogy, intensively using typological reasoning, as did the rabbinic tradition. Since the principle prevails in ancient Christian exegesis that each text is illumined by other texts and by the whole narrative of the history of revelation, we find in patristic comments on a given text many other subtexts interwoven in order to illumine that text. In these ways the models of exegesis often do not correspond with modern commentary assumptions, which tend to resist or rule out chains of scriptural reference. We implore the reader not to force the assumptions of twentieth-century hermeneutics upon the ancient Christian writers, who themselves knew nothing of what we now call hermeneutics.

The Complementarity of Research Methods in This Series

The Ancient Christian Texts series will employ several interrelated methods of research, which the editors and translators seek to bring together in a working integration. Principal among these methods are the following:

1. The editors, translators and annotators will bring to bear the best resources of textual criticism in preparation for their volumes. This series is not intended to produce a new critical edition of the original-language text. The best urtext in the original language will be used. Significant variants in the earliest manuscript sources of the text may be commented upon as needed in the annotations. But it will be assumed that the editors and translators will be familiar with the textual ambiguities of a particular text and be able to state their conclusions about significant differences among scholars. Since we are working with ancient texts that have, in some cases, problematic or ambiguous passages, we are obliged to employ all methods of historical, philological and textual inquiry appropriate to the study of ancient texts. To that end, we will appeal to the most reliable textcritical scholarship of both biblical and patristic studies. We will assume that our editors and translators have reviewed the international literature of textual critics regarding their text so as to provide the reader with a translation of the most authoritative and reliable form of the ancient text. We will leave it to the volume editors and translators, under the supervision of the general editors, to make these assessments. This will include the challenge of considering which variants within the biblical text itself might impinge upon the patristic text, and which forms or stemma of the biblical text the patristic writer was employing. The annotator will supply explanatory footnotes where these textual challenges may raise potential confusions for the reader. 2. Our editors and translators will seek to understand the historical context (including socioeconomic, political and psychological aspects as needed) of the text. These understandings are often vital to right discernment of the writer’s intention. Yet we do not see our primary mission as that of discussing in detail these contexts. They are to be factored into the translation and commented on as needed in the annotations, but are not to become the primary focus of this series. Our central interest is less in the social location of the text or the philological history of particular words than in authorial intent and accurate translation. Assuming a proper social-historical contextualization of the text, the main focus of this series will be upon a dispassionate and fair translation and analysis of the text itself. 3. The main task is to set forth the meaning of the biblical text itself as understood by the patristic writer. The intention of our volume editors and translators is to help the reader see clearly into the meanings that patristic commentators have discovered in the biblical text. Exegesis in its classic sense implies an effort to explain, interpret and comment upon a text, its meaning, its

sources and its connections with other texts. It implies a close reading of the text, using whatever linguistic, historical, literary or theological resources are available to explain the text. It is contrasted with eisegesis, which implies that interpreters have imposed their own personal opinions or assumptions upon the text. The patristic writers actively practiced intratextual exegesis, which seeks to define and identify the exact wording of the text, its grammatical structure and the interconnectedness of its parts. They also practiced extratextual exegesis, seeking to discern the geographical, historical or cultural context in which the text was written. Our editors and annotators will also be attentive as needed to the ways in which the ancient Christian writer described his own interpreting process or hermeneutic assumptions. 4. The underlying philosophy of translation that we employ in this series is, like the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, termed dynamic equivalency. We wish to avoid the pitfalls of either too loose a paraphrase or too rigid a literal translation. We seek language that is literary but not purely literal. Whenever possible we have opted for the metaphors and terms that are normally in use in everyday English-speaking culture. Our purpose is to allow the ancient Christian writers to speak for themselves to ordinary readers in the present generation. We want to make it easier for the Bible reader to gain ready access to the deepest reflection of the ancient Christian community of faith on a particular book of Scripture. We seek a thought-for-thought translation rather than a formal equivalence or word-for-word style. This requires the words to be first translated accurately and then rendered in understandable idiom. We seek to present the same thoughts, feelings, connotations and effects of the original text in everyday English language. We have used vocabulary and language structures commonly used by the average person. We do not leave the quality of translation only to the primary translator, but pass it through several levels of editorial review before confirming it.

The Function of the ACT Introductions, Annotations and Translations

In writing the introduction for a particular volume of the ACT series, the translator or volume editor will discuss, where possible, the opinion of the writer

regarding authorship of the text, the importance of the biblical book for other patristic interpreters, the availability or paucity of patristic comment, any salient points of debate between the Fathers, and any special challenges involved in translating and editing the particular volume. The introduction affords the opportunity to frame the entire commentary in a manner that will help the general reader understand the nature and significance of patristic comment on the biblical text under consideration and to help readers find their critical bearings so as to read and use the commentary in an informed way. The footnotes will assist the reader with obscurities and potential confusions. In the annotations the volume editors have identified Scripture allusions and historical references embedded within the texts. Their purpose is to help the reader move easily from passage to passage without losing a sense of the whole. The ACT general editors seek to be circumspect and meticulous in commissioning volume editors and translators. We strive for a high level of consistency and literary quality throughout the course of this series. We have sought out as volume editors and translators those patristic and biblical scholars who are thoroughly familiar with their original language sources, who are informed historically, and who are sympathetic to the needs of ordinary nonprofessional readers who may not have professional language skills.

Thomas C. Oden and Gerald L. Bray, Series Editors

VOLUME EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

Jerome’s Exegetical Method

A leading Jerome scholar assesses Jerome’s most important contribution to biblical studies as follows:

Jerome’s major achievement as an expositor of scripture is his set of commentaries on the Old Testament Prophets. He wrote on all sixteen of them, the twelve Minor and the four Major Prophets. The project occupied him for the last thirty years of his life, from around 392 until his death. He would later refer to it as his opus prophetale (Comm. Ezech., preface). He clearly had a sense of its tremendous scope, for, in the prefaces to the commentaries on Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah, he enumerates the number of books he has completed, as though tracking his own progress. He also knew that it was his last project, and felt a great need to complete it before his death (Comm. Isa. 14, preface; Comm. Ezech. 14, preface). He fell just short. ¹

It is good to see scholars recognizing Jerome’s underappreciated commentaries on Scripture as the great scholarly achievement of his lifetime. I believe that with the publication of this volume all of Jerome’s commentaries on the Prophets will be available in English translation and accessible for research and study. Jerome understood the purpose of a commentary as to elucidate what is unclear. This is the reason he gives for reporting the views of many exegetes and indicating how they have understood the text. The reader will then be able to choose which interpretation is preferable. Jerome does not always feel compelled to weigh in on the truth or reliability of the interpretations provided. For him that is the task of the reader. Robert C. Hill has observed that Didymus

the Blind similarly shows considerable flexibility in allowing his readers to choose from the smorgasbord of interpretations he has provided: “His only norm for selection is guidance from a trusty mentor.” ² This seems close to Jerome’s approach to exegesis, and in fact Didymus might be an important source for Jerome’s method. Hill criticizes Didymus for his failure to provide precise hermeneutical principles. I suppose the same criticism could be leveled at Jerome, though I think that for both Jerome and Didymus the most important hermeneutical principle is Jesus Christ and reading all texts in the light of the Paschal mystery. At the beginning of this second volume of Jerome’s Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets, I wish to remind the reader of an important text from Jerome’s work On Famous Men, section 75, where he says that he was in possession of Origen’s twenty-five-book Commentary on the Twelve [Minor] Prophets, transcribed by the hand of the martyr Pamphilus himself, “which I hug and guard with such joy, that I deem myself to have the wealth of Croesus.” Croesus was the famous sixth-century BC king of Lydia described by Herodotus whose wealth was fabulous and proverbial. Jerome felt that he was the wealthiest man on earth due to his possession of Origen’s exposition of the Twelve Prophets in a manuscript copied by a martyr. In many passages in Jerome’s commentaries, he states that his general aim as a commentary writer is to render into Latin the Jewish and Greek-Christian interpretations that had preceded him. Obviously the Hebrew interpretations would apply only to the Old Testament books, since Jews would not be writing commentaries on the New Testament. Origen was one of the most important of these sources on the Christian side. In the previous volume, I called attention to Jerome’s important words in the preface to book two of his Commentary on Micah, where he says that it is not only not reproachful but actually praiseworthy to blend Origen’s interpretations into his Latin works, since this is what the best of his illustrious Christian predecessors had done, such as Ambrose and Hilary of Poitiers; and moreover this method follows in the footsteps of the great founding figures of Latin literary culture, Ennius, Virgil, Cicero, Terence, Plautus and others, who drew extremely heavily on the Greek tradition in their Latin writings. Often Jerome’s method follows this pattern. After supplying his own new Latin translation of the Hebrew lemma, followed by the Old Latin version of the Septuagint, Jerome records the contemporary Jewish interpretation of the text. He views this as applicable mainly to the historical or literal sense of the passage. At the same time he provides Christian historical interpretations,

especially if they differ from what the Jews say. Then, based primarily on the Old Latin version of the Septuagint, he provides a spiritual interpretation of the passage based chiefly on Greek-Christian sources, but he also mentions Jewish spiritual and messianic applications of the text. To describe this spiritual interpretation in its Christian exemplification, Jerome uses the terms tropology, anagogy and allegory. These terms do not bear the systematic distinctions in meaning that they acquired during the Scholastic period but are demonstrably interchangeable for Jerome. ³ One observes that Jerome does not cleanly and rigidly distinguish either the two versions of Scripture he has provided in the lemma or the two basic senses of interpretation. He blends the language of both versions into both interpretations. Moreover, when the Septuagint reading differs from the Hebrew, Jerome nevertheless still offers a historical interpretation of it. For example, he clarifies both readings of Zechariah 5:1, “flying scroll” (Hebrew) and “flying sickle” (Septuagint). Jerome was writing his commentaries for an audience for whom the Old Latin version was sacrosanct, since it was a translation of the Greek Septuagint, the Bible used by the apostles and early Greek-speaking church. On the other hand, if he is firmly convinced that the Septuagint reading is incorrect, he advises his readers not to be persuaded by the various attempts of Christian commentators to explain the erroneous reading (cf. Zech 7:2). Thus Jerome can be both deferent to and critical of the LXX. In a very learned treatment, Adam Kamesar depicts Jerome’s stance as follows:

It must be remembered that despite his belief in the centrality and priority of the Hebrew text, Jerome was a member of a Church in which the LXX was the accepted version. That he was quite aware of this fact is clear from his own statements. Since all theological and exegetical discussion took place on the basis of that translation, he was not about to burn his LXX and cut himself off from the rest of the Christian world. In fact, there is an abundance of evidence to show that it was not his policy to pretend that the LXX did not exist. For example, he appears to have normally employed it in his sermons. In writings from all periods of his career he often cites the Bible according the LXX/VL. ⁴ Therefore, his statement to Rufinus that he could not forget what he learned in his youth (Ruf. 2.24) is an accurate reflection of the situation. ⁵

In the previous volume’s introduction, I endeavored to clarify a problem with Jerome’s theory of Hebrew textual criticism, namely his tendency to undervalue the Septuagint as a witness to the original Hebrew readings. He was a pioneering scholar who lived before the science of Hebrew textual criticism had been discovered, and he might have made some of the kinds of mistakes that pioneers inevitably make. This does not tarnish his achievement as a Christian with expertise in the Hebrew language. To illustrate Jerome’s general method of exegesis as it is found in these commentaries, consider what he says under the lemma to Hosea 7:5-7. Jerome provides an historical interpretation of the verses and then writes: “We have said these things more boldly than knowledgeably according to the tradition of the Hebrews, leaving the question of the reliability of the statements to the authors.” Jerome admits that he is transcribing Judaic interpretations and does not always approve of them. Using very similar wording, in the preface to book 3 of the Hosea commentary, Jerome says, “I am hammering out a most difficult little work of the Twelve Prophets, at least that it is overlooked by the Latins, and it may prove our boldness rather than show forth our knowledge.” It seems that his boldness is shown by his endeavor to make an abundance of Greek and Hebrew exegesis available to Latin readers. Knowledge would be claimed if the interpretations were written entirely in his own name and with his unequivocal dogmatic endorsement. Similarly, in his Commentary on Zephaniah 1:2-3 one can again notice the lack of will to offer dogmatic exegesis or to unqualifiedly endorse the interpretations he is making available. After providing a spiritual exegesis of the passage, Jerome concludes: “These things have been said according to tropology. For we ought to record the interpretation of our forefathers. It will now be left to the reader’s choice and will to sound out with severity or clemency in response to the things that have been said.” Jerome does not set himself up as the judge of all the views he provides. The result of this effort is that Jerome’s commentaries provide a deep and broad reservoir of Hebrew and Greek-Christian interpretation of Scripture that in many cases is decades, even centuries, older than Jerome. By and large he presents the exegesis because he agrees with it, finds that it stands in harmony with Scripture and ecclesiastical tradition, and does not want it to perish and be consigned to oblivion. The method can be criticized for not being dogmatic enough. Julian, bishop of Eclanum, severely criticized Jerome’s commentaries in the preface to his own Commentary on Hosea, Joel and Amos. Julian claims that Jerome was not

careful enough in pursuing the overall coherence (consequentia) of the texts; his exegesis was simply a compilation of the allegorical interpretations of Origen and the “mythical traditions” of the Jews. Jerome’s commentaries provide erudition, said Julian, but not insight. There might be a measure of validity in Julian’s criticism, which Jerome himself might have recognized. The reverse side of this critique, however, is that Jerome’s work selflessly has preserved for posterity a witness to Jewish and Greek-Christian interpretation of Scripture. At the end of this introduction I will explore an even more scathing critique of Jerome’s scriptural exegesis that stemmed from Augustine of Hippo. In his exegesis of Zechariah 4:11-14 Jerome writes: “We have said these things as we are able, and as our men of genius were able to report, briefly making mention of the various opinions both of the Hebrews and of our people. If anyone speaks better, or rather, truer, we too shall willingly assent to what is better.” Jerome is by intention tentative and exploratory, not dogmatic. Of the Jewish reservoir of interpretation, under the lemma of Zechariah 6:9-15, Jerome declares:

Once for all I have resolved to reveal to Latin ears the secrets of Hebrew scholarship and the recondite instruction of the teachers of the synagogue, at least that which agrees with Holy Scripture. For this reason in the most obscure passages I need to trace an outline of the history and then to make public what I have received from men of the church. I leave it to the reader’s choice what he ought to follow.

The evidence found in Jerome’s Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets (and much more could be cited) corresponds very well with his self-defense against Rufinus’s criticisms, where Jerome said (Ruf. 1.16):

What is the function of a Commentary? It is to interpret another man’s words, to put into plain language what he has expressed obscurely. Consequently, it enumerates the opinions of many persons, and says, Some interpret the passage in this sense, some in that; the one try to support their opinion and understanding of it by such and such evidence or reasons: so that the wise reader, after reading

these different explanations, and having many brought before his mind for acceptance or rejection, may judge which is the truest, and, like a good banker, may reject the money of spurious mintage. Is the commentator to be held responsible for all these different interpretations, and all these mutually contradicting opinions because he puts down the expositions given by many in the single work on which he is commenting? ⁷

The implied answer is “No.” Jerome’s method in the Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets seems quite similar to what he later articulated in his attack on Rufinus. I have not rehearsed these passages in Jerome in order to invalidate all of Rufinus’s criticisms of Jerome. On the contrary, it appears to me that Rufinus convincingly demonstrates a number of glaring inconsistencies in Jerome’s application of his exegetical method, especially the way he completely reversed his course in connection with his earlier irenic reception and transmission of some of Origen’s interpretive speculations. In this brief introduction, I have only wanted to display Jerome’s enterprise of making Jewish and Greek-Christian interpretation accessible to his readers. His commentaries were not aimed at being absolutely definitive and dogmatic on all points of interpretation, as, for example, one finds to be frequently the case in the Scripture commentaries of Thomas Aquinas; but Jerome’s follow a classical model and are therefore wideranging and fertile in their scope. ⁸ It seems to me that Jerome’s exegetical works greatly enriched the Latin Middle Ages and beyond, at least insofar as they were consulted, in view of the sources he used.

Didymus the Blind and Jerome’s Commentary on Zechariah

The first commentary in this second volume is the longest of Jerome’s Minor Prophets commentaries. It provides the reader with a golden opportunity to observe firsthand the extent of Jerome’s indebtedness to the Greek exegetical tradition, since in this case his exemplar’s commentary happily survives (unlike the majority of Origen’s writings). Didymus the Blind (313–398) was a monk and the head of the catechetical school of Alexandria. When only four or five years old he lost his sight from disease. As a result he was never taught the usual

elements of learning, but through an intense thirst for knowledge he overcame this disability. In addition to praying for interior illumination, he studied, learning the alphabet by touch from engraved wooden tablets and learning words and syllables by attentive listening. By this means he mastered various disciplines of knowledge and attained an extraordinary familiarity with the Scriptures. St. Athanasius (296–373) made the blind scholar head of the catechetical school, in spite of his lack of ordination. In his earlier manhood, Didymus was visited by St. Anthony (251–356) in Alexandria and enlisted to support the Catholic cause against the Arians. ¹ Didymus became an important pro-Nicene theologian of the fourth century. A hundred years ago, J. Chapman observed that Didymus was perfectly orthodox in his trinitarian and christological doctrine; “one might even say that he is more explicit than St. Athanasius as to the Unity in Trinity and the Divinity of the Holy Ghost.” ¹¹ In our day I. Ramelli essentially concurs on this point, writing: “It is meaningful that Athanasius, the anti-Arian who admired Origen surely also because of Origen’s anti-subordinationism, appointed Didymus the head of the catechetical school, the Alexandrian Didaskaleion, in a time in which it fell under the bishop’s control. Didymus, who opposed Arianism himself, directed the school for half a century.” ¹² I believe that Didymus’s trinitarian orthodoxy would have been a leading reason for Jerome’s admiration of him. Rufinus of Aquileia (345–411) was for six years a pupil of Didymus and greatly admired him. Palladius visited him four times. Sozomen says that in arguing for the Nicene faith, Didymus was successful by his extreme persuasiveness. Isidore of Pelusium and Libanius also speak of his great ability. Jerome stayed for a month at Alexandria in 386, mainly to see Didymus and have Scripture difficulties explained by him. Jerome writes affectionately of him: “In many points, I give him thanks. I learned from him things which I had not known; what I did know, his teaching has helped me to retain.” ¹³ Jerome frequently refers to Didymus as his old teacher and affectionately describes him as “my seer,” an allusion to the contrast between his physical blindness and his keenness of spiritual and intellectual perception. So great was his esteem for Didymus that Jerome translated into Latin Didymus’s treatise On the Holy Spirit and prefixed a prologue, in which he spoke of the author as having “eyes like the spouse in the Song of Songs,” as “unskilled in speech but not in knowledge, exhibiting in his very speech the character of an apostolic man, as well by luminous thought as by simplicity of words.” In the majority of passages Jerome seems to have highly regarded Didymus’s sanctity and orthodoxy. ¹⁴

Didymus himself admired and was deeply indebted to Origen’s writings, since Origen had been his catechetical predecessor in Alexandria. ¹⁵ Centuries after his death this association with Origen had the unfortunate result of posthumously damaging Didymus’s own reputation when Origenism fell under the church’s condemnation. When in the sixth century Origenism was condemned at the fifth general council, in AD 553, Didymus was not named in the Acts. However, the condemnation of Origen’s theory about the preexistence of souls and the future restoration of all rational creatures (apokatastasis), in that synod’s eleventh anathema, was somewhat largely construed as carrying with it, by implication, the condemnation of other writers more or less identified with Origen’s school of thought, and Didymus was one of these. Apparently the result of this was that Didymus’s extant Greek writings were largely destroyed. ¹ This seems ironic when we compare such treatment with the way his contemporaries viewed him and used and even translated his writings. Didymus’s posthumous fate was similar to Origen’s. In 392 Jerome wrote the following entry on Didymus in his work De viris illustribus:

Didymus, of Alexandria, becoming blind while very young, and therefore ignorant of the rudiments of learning, displayed such a miracle of intelligence as to learn perfectly dialectics and even geometry, sciences which especially require sight. He wrote many admirable works: Commentaries on all the Psalms, Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John, On the Doctrines, also two books Against the Arians, and one book On the Holy Spirit, which I translated in Latin, eighteen volumes On Isaiah, three books of commentaries On Hosea, addressed to me, and five books On Zechariah, written at my request, also commentaries On Job, and many other things, to give an account of which would be a work of itself. He is still living, and has already passed his eighty-third year. ¹⁷

It is Didymus’s Commentary on Zechariah that interests us here. Not only did Jerome apparently inspire its composition, but also he used it extensively when writing his own Latin commentary on this same prophet. Didymus’s commentaries were thought to be lost. However, in 1941 his Greek

commentaries on Genesis, Job and Zechariah were discovered among papyri at Tura near Cairo. Attribution to Didymus was confirmed by its exegetical correspondence with Jerome’s Latin Commentary on Zechariah. Didymus’s Commentary on Zechariah was translated into French by L. Doutreleau in the Sources Chrétiennes series in the 1960s, and Robert C. Hill has recently made Didymus’s Commentary on Zechariah available in English translation in the Fathers of the Church series. The reader of the present volume is well advised to obtain Hill’s translation (or Doutreleau’s French edition) and compare it carefully with Jerome’s commentary. The exegetical agreement between these two texts is unbelievable and in modern times would probably be described as plagiarism. I was greatly aided in following the train of Jerome’s thought and translating it by first simply reading the interpretation Didymus had offered. I have provided the reader only with hints of Jerome’s use of Didymus in the notes. I suspect that Origen’s nonextant exegesis of Zechariah lies underneath both Didymus and Jerome, especially the concordance-like compilations of biblical references that are invoked to explain Zechariah’s text. In any case Jerome’s massive use of Didymus now presents a great opportunity for future study and comparison. ¹⁸ Jerome has kept his word about assimilating and transposing the thoughts of the Greek exegetes for his Latin readers. Yet I do not report this in order to disparage Jerome or to minimize his own contribution to the Christian exegesis of the prophet Zechariah. Jerome has added an abundance of original material, supplementing his Greek sources with the addition of Hebrew traditions and with his own exegetical insights. The resulting commentary far surpasses that of his predecessors.

Jerome’s Commentaries on Malachi, Hosea, Joel and Amos

Jerome’s interpretation of Malachi is noteworthy for the way he endorses the Jewish interpretive tradition that identifies the prophet Malachi with the person of Ezra (see 3:7b-12). In the preface he explicitly rejects Origen’s view that the book is an allegory about the fall of souls from heaven. This is one of the few passages where explicit polemic against Origen’s heterodoxy can be found in Jerome’s Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets. Under the lemma to Malachi 1:2-5 is provided an interpretation of the “Jacob I

loved, Esau I hated” passage that marvelously (in my opinion) preserves freedom of choice and includes foreseen merits and demerits as the grounds for God’s election. In a note I indicate how Erasmus of Rotterdam made productive use of such passages in Jerome to oppose predestinarianism in his polemics with Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. It appears to me that Jerome’s robust understanding of free will and his means of explaining texts that speak of predestination are more in line with the Greek tradition of interpretation with its relentless opposition to gnostic determinism. Jerome’s views stand in dramatic tension with Augustine’s late doctrines, which were assimilated into medieval Scholasticism and by and large came to be identified with Catholic orthodoxy. I believe that Jerome’s powerful witness to an alternate explanation of the Jacob/Esau dialectic from what we find in Augustine and Aquinas, for instance, helped to keep alive within Catholic theological circles an alternative to the Augustinian explanation of these issues, as we find in Molinism, for instance. From this same commentary on Malachi, I also note Jerome’s striking depiction of divine punishment as purgatorial and remedial in its nature (Mal 3:2-6). I would assess this as a scarlet thread that runs through all of Jerome’s commentaries on the Prophets. Jerome concedes that the devil and his demons, heretics, apostates and impious sinners will undergo eternal punishments, but he seems to provide some basis for hoping that Christian sinners, even impious ones, will eventually receive a more moderate sentence. This is based on Jesus’s assurance that “everyone who lives and believes in me will not die forever” (Jn 11:26). ¹ Jerome thinks that the basic storyline of Hosea, in which the prophet was commanded by the Lord to take a prostitute for a wife, should be interpreted typologically, not literally. In the preface to book one of Hosea, he reveals important information about Origen’s and Didymus the Blind’s exegesis of Hosea and Zechariah, again showing the productive links between these three ancient scholars. There is strong polemic against chiliasm in this and in the other commentaries found in this volume and the previous one. ² In the introduction to Jerome’s Commentary on Isaiah, I have expressed my opinion that Jerome distorts the views of his opponents on this subject, especially when he tries to depict early Christian chiliasts as Epicureans and hedonists. I also find it noteworthy to observe that Jerome’s commentaries provide abundant evidence to show that the Judaism of his epoch was wide open to the chiliastic interpretation of their prophets. Jews objected to the Christian identification of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, and to the idea that the Messiah’s mission was one of

vicarious suffering for the nation, but not to the hope of a future earthly messianic kingdom. The commentary on Joel begins with a discussion of the arrangement of the Twelve Prophets in the Bible. Jerome transmits etymologies of their names, probably deriving his information from Origen. At Joel 1:4 it appears that Jerome does not accept the plague of locusts as an historical event but interprets it as an allegory of the four disturbances according to Stoic doctrine. This will doubtless ruffle the feathers of modern readers who have not yet acquired a taste for allegory. In a note I call attention to a passage from Joel 2:1-11 that in the past has been used to attempt to prove coherence and system in Jerome’s eschatology, where on deeper analysis none is found. The commentary on Joel in particular appears to rely heavily on Origen’s for the polemic against heretics. Under the lemma to Joel 3:9-11, Jerome expresses more openness than is usual for him to positing a literal future fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy. In the preface to book two of his commentary on Amos, Jerome elegantly paints what seems to be an autobiographical portrait of himself in his old age. At Amos 5:3 he quotes exactly from Galen the physician, which if it does not throw light on Amos’s text at least shows Jerome’s familiarity with Greek literature. Likewise the citation from Aratus at Amos 5:7-9 impresses the student of classical literature, as does the citation from Xenocrates at Amos 7:7-9 (an explanation of the adamant stone).

Augustine’s Reception of St. Jerome’s Exegesis

In what might be my final opportunity to introduce a work of St. Jerome (since I plan to move on to other Latin writers in my translation work), I thought I might devote a part of this introduction to discussing his disputation with Augustine of Hippo (354–430), who to my knowledge was the most vocal public critic of Jerome’s exegesis during his lifetime. ²¹ My hope is to clarify some of Jerome’s exegetical principles and to compare and contrast him with Augustine. In 394 the forty-year-old Augustine instigated a public controversy with Jerome by penning him a letter that circulated widely in Italy and elsewhere for many years before it reached Jerome in Bethlehem. ²² At the time Augustine was merely a

priest and had not yet been appointed to the episcopal rank, whereas Jerome was a far senior scholar in both age and literary achievement. He had been the former secretary to Pope Damasus and was now residing in Bethlehem and carrying out his translation and commentary work on the Hebrew Bible. Augustine’s intention in this letter (Ep. 28) was to contentiously accuse Jerome’s interpretation of the epistle to the Galatians of turning the apostle Paul into a liar and a deceiver, and indeed of undermining the authority of the whole Bible. Augustine says that he is very upset that Jerome should claim that Paul committed a dangerous act of deceit and lying. (In his response Jerome denies that Augustine has understood him correctly.) Augustine sarcastically requests that Jerome “give us some guidelines as to when it is right to lie and when it is not, but if you do this, I beg you not to use false or dubious arguments in your explanation.” ²³ Clearly Augustine is presenting himself as the champion of truth telling, over against Jerome, the advocate of public deception and barefaced lies. Jerome evidently needs to brush up on his catechism and reread especially the eighth commandment. Although the proper interpretation of Galatians 2 may appear distant from the concerns of Jerome’s Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets, it seems to me that the principles that underlie this bitter disputation shed valuable light on the differing modes of exegesis and theology of these two church fathers. Since Jerome has found few defenders in the history of scholarship, I should like to weigh in on his behalf. From what I can determine, Jerome’s scriptural exegesis did not impress Augustine at all, nor did it significantly influence the theology and exegesis of Scholastic theologians, who to my knowledge were partisans of Augustine. ²⁴ For instance, St. Thomas Aquinas, in his own commentaries on those biblical books on which Jerome also left behind detailed commentaries, namely Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Titus and Isaiah, appears to bypass Jerome’s exegesis almost completely, and yet the theological premises of these commentaries are completely informed by Augustine’s theological views. What W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam observed of Aquinas’s Exposition of Paul’s Epistles appears to me to be true:

His [Thomas Aquinas’s] commentary works out in great detail the method of exegesis started by St. Augustine. No modern reader who turns to it can fail to be struck by the immense intellectual power displayed, and by the precision and completeness of the logical analysis. Its value is chiefly as a complete and

methodical exposition from a definite point of view. That in attempting to fit every argument of St. Paul into the form of a scholastic syllogism, and in making every thought harmonize with the Augustinian doctrine of grace, there should be a tendency to make St. Paul’s words fit a preconceived system is not unnatural. ²⁵

Aquinas’s scriptural exegesis is acquiring an ever-growing body of admirers. ² These scholars are confirming, not refuting, my conviction that the substructure of Aquinas’s exegesis is Augustine’s theology, not Jerome’s exegesis. ²⁷ Aquinas’s expositions of Scripture take the form of Augustinian dogma supplemented by Aristotelian and Pseudo- Dionysian metaphysics and philosophy that appear to owe little to St. Jerome’s genius. It is true that proof texts from Jerome’s writings are sometimes sprinkled cosmetically into Aquinas’s works, but more often than not these proof texts are taken from medieval glosses, and the substance of Jerome’s exegesis is not authentically assimilated or even engaged. ²⁸ It appears to me that it was the Catholic humanists, such as Erasmus, and not the Scholastic theologians, who recovered and made productive in the Catholic Church Jerome’s exegesis and theology. ² Jerome’s method of Scriptural exegesis is distinct from Augustine’s in at least two respects. First, Jerome’s exegesis is based explicitly on the original languages of Scripture, Hebrew and Greek, whereas Augustine bases his on the Old Latin. As such, Jerome’s explanations of Scripture allowed him to delve into the meaning behind the original inspired words, and not merely, as Augustine did, provide a commentary on a Latin translation of Scripture that relied on interpreting the words of Scripture in translation and at their plain-language surface value. Second, as we have seen above, Jerome’s Latin exegesis draws heavily on the antecedent Hebrew and Greek-Christian tradition of exegesis. Augustine had no access to or interest in such sources, at least not in his practice, whatever he might say at the theoretical level. It is true that this makes Augustine a far more original exegete than Jerome. No one could ever accuse Augustine of plagiarizing another author. Had the Hebrew rabbis and the Greek Fathers not written commentaries on Scripture, Augustine’s exegesis probably would not have been much affected. In contrast Jerome’s body of exegetical work is simply unthinkable without the Hebrews and Greeks. Augustine generated many scriptural explanations out of whole cloth based on a translation, while Jerome looked to the sensus fidei, the mind of the church in the original languages of the Bible.

It seems somewhat ironic that Augustine opens his very first letter to Jerome (Ep. 28) by claiming to approve of Jerome’s translations of Origen’s exegesis. Indeed he encourages him to continue in that task and to devote care and labor to the translation of Origen’s books. ³ The irony of this piece of advice is that Origen was the principal source of Jerome’s explanation of Galatians 2 that Augustine claimed turned Paul into a liar and the whole Bible into a book of falsehoods. Is Augustine sincere in his request? Does he truly want access to more of Origen’s exegesis in Latin translation? It seems difficult to believe that he had any real esteem for Origen in light of the content of this letter and the mockery of Origen’s and Jerome’s exegesis that is found there. Moreover, it is demonstrable that in the composition of his own works until the end of his life, Augustine did not use Latin translations of Origen, whether done by Jerome or Rufinus. In his penultimate work on the Hexateuch, for example, Augustine completely ignores Rufinus’s translations of Origen’s Homilies on the Hexateuch, to which he had complete access. ³¹ It is true that now and then Augustine responds to Origen’s comments (without naming him), for instance, regarding the trees and fruits of paradise in his first homily, On the Literal Meaning of Genesis. Other fragmentary references to Origen can be found. But on the whole Augustine’s exegesis and theology was not formed or informed by Origen’s exegesis. He operated relatively independently of antecedent ecclesiastical sources. In Ep. 28 Augustine requests of Jerome to produce a new Latin translation of the Hexaplaric text of the Septuagint, as he had already done for the book of Job, carefully indicating by signs and markers for Greek-less readers like himself where the Hexaplaric text differs from the Septuagint. It seems that Augustine is chiefly interested in employing Jerome as a sort of research assistant. Augustine makes it very clear that he sees no point to Jerome’s translating the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew. For, “I would be very surprised if anything could still be found in the Hebrew texts which had escaped the notice of all those [the Hexapla] translators who were such experts in that language.” ³² In other words, what could Jerome’s new Christian version of the Hebrew Bible possibly add to those of the Greek-speaking Jewish and heretical translators of the Old Testament? This seems to be a strange preference, and Jerome will take note of it in his response. ³³ Augustine states that in any case it is the Septuagint itself, and not the Hexaplaric recension of it, that “should without doubt be accorded preeminent authority in this field.” ³⁴ So, while seeming to approve of a new translation of the Hexaplaric recension, it is to the Septuagint that Augustine ascribes the chief authority. Jerome finds Augustine’s suggestions to him and his

whole train of thought incoherent. He writes in response:

Do you wish to be a true admirer of the Septuagint? Then you should not read what is preceded by an asterisk—in fact you should delete such passages from your copy, to prove yourself to be a supporter of the ancient translators. But if you were to do this, you would be forced to condemn all church libraries for only one or two copies are to be found which do not contain these passages. ³⁵

Without question Augustine exhibits elegance and charm in his Latin diction in this opening salvo. Consider this sentence: “I say nothing of the Seventy for I would not dare to give any kind of decisive answer to the question of whether they possessed a greater harmony of wisdom or of inspiration than one man could have.” ³ In spite of the elegant Latin periods, the modern reader is somewhat jolted by the impertinence of Augustine’s offering scholarly advice to the far-senior Jerome on what ecclesiastical projects he should undertake. One wonders what would motivate a priest who was unfamiliar with the biblical languages to offer such advice to a senior ecclesiastical scholar like Jerome, who knew at least five languages and had been in the employ of Pope Damasus. Moreover, the incoherence of Augustine’s position stands out. He does not seem to understand what he is requesting. In his follow up letter to Jerome, Ep. 71, Augustine repeats that he wishes Jerome would make a new Latin translation of the Greek Septuagint, not of the Hebrew text. ³⁷ Jerome’s responses to these unsolicited criticisms are forceful and effective. ³⁸ In the second longer response (as I have already indicated above), Jerome writes that he is surprised that Augustine has praised Jerome’s translation of the Hexaplaric recension of the Septuagint version, while disparaging his new translation directly from the Hebrew. ³ For the former is not the original form of the Septuagint, a version to which Augustine attributes supreme authority. If Augustine wishes to be a true admirer of the Septuagint he should bypass Origen’s Hexaplar recension altogether. Jerome suspects that Augustine does not really understand these matters at all. ⁴ He conjectures, as his friends have suggested, that Augustine is simply trying to show off his erudition by publicly attacking a well-known ecclesiastical scholar. ⁴¹ The modern reader gains the same impression from reading Augustine’s first letter.

Second, Jerome turns the tables on Augustine in a brilliant way. In his effort to dissuade Jerome from translating the Bible directly from the Hebrew, Augustine had used the following syllogism: the passages that the Seventy translated were either obscure or plain. If they were obscure, one must believe that Jerome’s new version is just as likely to be mistaken. If the passages were plain, it is not believed that the Seventy could have been mistaken. So how could Jerome’s contribution be anything but redundant or erroneous? Jerome replies to this syllogistic logic (not without sarcasm) as follows: A whole series of Greek and Latin writers have composed commentaries on the Psalms; Augustine too has published a work on the Psalms. Jerome asks: Why, after all the labors of so many competent interpreters, does Augustine differ from them in his exposition of some passages? If the Psalms are obscure, it must be believed that he is as likely to be mistaken as the others; if they are plain, it is incredible that these others could have fallen into mistakes. In either case Augustine’s exposition of the Psalms has been an unnecessary labor, and on his principles, no one would ever dare to speak on any subject after others have pronounced their opinion. Jerome draws the sensible conclusion: Why does Augustine grant himself the liberty to contribute to the church’s exegetical tradition of the Psalms, but he is intolerant of Jerome’s effort to make a new Christian Latin translation of Scripture directly from the Hebrew? Jerome writes: “No, it should rather be your duty, as a civilized human being, to show the same indulgence to others as to yourself.” ⁴² Jerome says that he has not attempted to do away with the works of his predecessors by his fresh work on the Hebrew text. Jerome then adds, if Augustine is averse to reading Jerome’s version, no one is compelling him to read it against his will. Let him drink with satisfaction the old wine, but Augustine should not despise Jerome’s new wine. In spite of the sarcastic and seemingly impatient tone of this response to Augustine, the modern reader (or at least I) feels a large measure of sympathy for Jerome’s point of view. It seems difficult to admire the young Augustine for his effort to dissuade Jerome from translating the Hebrew Bible, since he has clearly fabricated arguments that have no validity. ⁴³ So much for Augustine’s critique of Jerome’s translation work and Jerome’s response to that unsolicited provocation. In these same letters, Augustine also scathingly and publicly denounces the content of Jerome’s exegesis, specifically, his interpretation of an important section of the book of Galatians. As usual, Jerome had based his interpretation of Galatians on his Greek predecessors,

specifically in this instance on Origen and Didymus, who in turn had been followed by John Chrysostom. Partly in response to Porphyry’s indictment of Christianity, who had branded Peter with error and Paul with impudence, but chiefly based on the historical information about Peter and Paul that is provided in the book of Acts, Origen evidently had explained that the confrontation between Peter and Paul that is recounted in Galatians 2:11-21 must have been a diplomatic encounter intended to reconcile warring factions within the early church. For the book of Acts makes it abundantly clear that Peter was no Judaizer and that Peter and Paul did not stand in theological opposition to each other in their principles of living out the gospel among Jews and Gentiles. Indeed, Peter was responsible for receiving the first Gentiles into the church (cf. Acts 10–11), and he opposed the Judaizing heresy at the Council of Jerusalem with Paul present (cf. Acts 15:1-35). Paul had become like a Jew to win the Jews and avoided giving offense to the Jews. Peter did not require Gentile converts to adopt the law of Moses and circumcision in order to be saved. The incident described in Galatians 2 constitutes the only exception to the rule that Paul’s own letters testify that he and Peter shared the same Christian faith. Moreover, Paul would not and could not have criticized Peter for adapting his behavior to the arrival of conservative Jews in Antioch, since Paul himself, both in his epistles and in Acts, shows that for the purpose of evangelization he had practiced this same sort of flexibility, going so far as to circumcise Timothy out of fear of the Jews. ⁴⁴ Jerome was persuaded by the interpretation of his GreekChristian predecessors, for whom it was not reasonable to think that in the incident described in Galatians 2 Peter had fallen publicly into the Judaizing heresy and needed correction for his sin. Jerome cites an enormous body of evidence from Acts to show that Peter already knew well that Gentiles did not need to become Jews in order to be saved. Therefore, what appears at face value to be an account of a serious conflict between Peter and Paul needs to be read more as a feigned or diplomatic exhibition between two apostles who were in basic agreement with each other on the issues involved. So that readers can better grapple with the explanation that caused Augustine to become completely estranged from Jerome’s exegesis, I will provide Jerome’s interpretation of Galatians 2:11-13 in my own and Andrew Cain’s English translations (which appeared independently of each other in the same year). Under the lemma to Galatians 2:11-13 Jerome writes:

Table 1. Jerome’s Commentary on Galatians 2:11-13

From the fact that “Peter, before certain men came to Antioch” from Jerusalem, “ate with the

After reading Jerome’s exegesis of Galatians 2, Augustine simply urges Jerome to sing a palinode, that is, to recant his interpretation. ⁴⁵ There is no room for discussion or debate, for Jerome’s treatment of the passage is unsalvageable as exegesis. In the initial letter Augustine writes:

with bare feet. Assuredly these are things that very openly derive from the ceremonies of the J

For it seems to me very dangerous to believe that the sacred writings can contain any kind of lie, in other words that those men, by whom the Bible has been given to us and written down for us, lied about anything in their writings. . . . Once we admit even a useful lie in that supreme authority, there will not be a single sentence left which, whenever anyone finds what is written either difficult to practice or hard to believe, cannot be explained away as a deliberately false statement on the part of the author who was lying out of a sense of duty. ⁴

Many modern commentators on Galatians who have heard vague rumors about Jerome’s interpretation also dismiss it just as immediately and facilely as Augustine has done, though few of these scholars, it seems to me, give evidence of having read Jerome carefully. Moreover, the majority of this same modern consensus that is arrayed with Augustine against Jerome’s interpretation by and large also dismisses the book of Acts as a source of accurate information about the early church (something Augustine obviously did not do). I wish to acknowledge the stark implausibility of Jerome’s particular interpretation, namely that in Galatians 2:11-14 we are reading about a feigned and staged disputation, a case of “honest diplomacy,” between Peter and Paul. Such an explanation appears to be forced and unconvincing. To me, however, it appears that the principle assumptions that underlie Origen’s and Jerome’s interpretation of this passage are coherent with the rest of the New Testament and have greater plausibility than the idea that the apostle Peter sinned on this occasion and fell into the error of the Judaizing heresy. To me the simplest interpretative solution (which is not recognized by Jerome) is that Paul angrily overreacted to the situation in Antioch. For there is bedrock evidence in Paul’s own letters, namely, 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; 15:11; and Galatians 1:23, that makes it clear that Paul believed that he and Peter shared the same Christian faith and that Paul was not suspicious of Peter’s faith. ⁴⁷ It is not easy to fit the common Augustinian interpretation of Galatians 2:14 that posits fundamental theological conflict between Peter and Paul into that picture. In a recent article, Simon Gathercole, who does not deal with Jerome and Augustine’s interpretation of the passage, draws what strikes me as a very accurate conclusion about the interpretation of Galatians 2:11-14 in modern scholarship:

It is, then a serious question as to whether Galatians 2:11-14 can really bear the weight of the Baur hypothesis [dialectical opposition between Peter and Paul] either in its original form or in its repristination by Barrett and Dunn. This is both because of what can be deduced (points a-e above), and also because very little else can be concluded with any confidence from a report so compressed that suspicious readings must rely more on conjecture than on solid evidence. ⁴⁸

Paul’s fragmentary report forces all interpreters into the field of speculation and conjecture rather than firm textual proof. If that is the case, then the overall message of the New Testament should be consulted. It seems to me that few scholars have specifically challenged Augustine’s interpretation on this exact point on which Gathercole challenges his peers, namely his use of conjecture, and this is what I would like to do below. In his exegesis of the passage Augustine claims that Peter was “observing these [Jewish] traditions as if they were still necessary for salvation even after the coming of the Lord.” ⁴ This of course is an accusation of the Judaizing heresy. ⁵ Later he states that Peter acted “with the intention of forcing the Gentiles to live like Jews, for I read that Paul wrote this and I do not believe that he lied.” ⁵¹ Jerome of course had never claimed that Paul had lied; rather, he claimed Paul had spoken diplomatically in his public rebuke. He had used dissimulation without revealing his interior agreement with Peter’s policy. It is Augustine who equates such diplomatic or dissembling language and behavior with falsehood and deception. Augustine never answered the chief point of Jerome’s objections. Jerome was arguing that the character of Peter’s action (in observing the Judaic law) was simulated, while Augustine asked whether his motive was truthful. Augustine bypasses the fact that all human life is characterized by situations that require dissembling language and behavior, and that Scripture itself is filled with passages that are best interpreted as using dissembling language. ⁵² Below I will treat Augustine’s interpretation of Galatians 5:12, in which Augustine himself resorts to the view that Paul’s words are deceptive and do not mean what they say. The modern reader might query: How does Augustine know that Peter’s intention was to force Gentiles to live like Jews? His answer would be: because

Paul says so in Galatians 2:14. According to Augustine, Peter was therefore justifiably rebuked by Paul as a Judaizer, “for he was going against the truth of the gospel in making those who believed in Christ think that they could not be saved without these ancient customs.” ⁵³ To Augustine Peter’s action stands against the truth of the gospel, and any other reading of the Galatians passage turns Paul into a flagrant liar. For in the divinely inspired text Paul says that Peter was forcing the Gentiles to Judaize. ⁵⁴ Augustine’s assumption is that Paul’s judgment on Peter, as interpreted by Augustine, must correspond with the divine court of justice, or Scripture is deceiving us. The modern reader asks: But if Paul regarded Peter as a Judaizer, and as an enemy of the truth of the gospel, doesn’t this imply that these apostles stood in radical opposition to each other on an extremely serious issue? Yes they did, Augustine thinks, but only for a moment. Augustine claims that Peter repented, in that he “received with a devout, holy and good-natured humility the rebuke which Paul gave him for his benefit with the frankness of love.” ⁵⁵ In his Commentary on Galatians, Augustine expands on this under Galatians 2:14:

Here I might add that out of steadfastness and love Peter—to whom the Lord had said three times, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17)—was entirely willing to endure this rebuke from a junior shepherd for the salvation of the flock. Moreover, it was in his rebuke that the one being rebuked proved the more admirable and difficult to imitate. For it is easy to see what you would correct in someone else and to proceed to do so by censure and criticism. It is not so easy to see what ought to be corrected in yourself and to be willing to be corrected even by yourself, let alone by another, and that a junior, and all this in front of everyone! ⁵

It appears to me that Augustine has placed himself in the role of Paul in this situation. He is subtly appealing to the senior Jerome to accept the rebuke of his junior brother Augustine; let Jerome imitate Peter by recanting his false interpretation of Paul and humbly accept the rebuke from Augustine. But the modern reader might be permitted to ask the counter question: What evidence does Augustine have for his speculation that Peter humbly accepted Paul’s rebuke? ⁵⁷ None is cited, and none exists. In fact Augustine has conjured up this

idea from his own brain. Apparently he does not want to push the envelope too far, that is, to completely undermine Peter’s superior authority over the church, which Augustine himself admits, by the claim that Peter remained a Judaizer. He was one, but he did not remain one. The modern reader also notices that Augustine never raises the question of how Peter and Barnabas (who had clearly sided with Peter, according to Gal 2:13) would have assessed the situation in Antioch. Augustine simply equates his own interpretation of Paul’s words in Galatians 2:14 with the divine perspective. Normally, however, in a court case both sides, the prosecution and the defense, are allowed to speak and explain themselves. In the present instance only Paul’s version of his conflict with Peter and Barnabas survives in the New Testament. Augustine vindicates Paul’s judgment, or rather, he vindicates his own interpretation of Paul’s judgment, without speculating on Peter’s perspective. However, he does speculate about Peter’s allegedly humble response to the rebuke. Moreover, even if we assume that Augustine has correctly interpreted Paul’s words, to the effect that Paul indeed believed that Peter was intentionally Judaizing and needed to be publicly lectured to because he stood against the truth of the gospel, why should Paul’s view equate to the divine perspective? The episode describes a conflict between three apostles (if we grant apostolic authority to Barnabas as well). Why should Peter and Barnabas not be allowed to testify on their own behalf and explain themselves? How do we know that Paul was not overreacting to the situation, especially in light of his words in Galatians 5:12 and the whole tone of the epistle to the Galatians? Of greatest importance to contemporary discussion is the question I have already raised: What are the grounds for Augustine’s theory about Peter’s imagined humble acceptance of Paul’s rebuke? Jerome raises none of these questions to Augustine, but they are valid questions for the modern reader to pose, because they show that Augustine has fabricated evidence out of whole cloth to support his interpretation. In an important article, Ronald S. Cole-Turner argues that St. Augustine’s sense of urgency in discussing Galatians 2 with Jerome arose from his concern for the validity of his antiheretical arguments against the Manichees and the Donatists. ⁵⁸ Augustine had to oppose Jerome’s interpretation because it undermined arguments he had developed in his battles against heretics. I agree with this analysis. Such a background shows that Augustine is not primarily concerned with learning from Jerome, as a disciple from a master exegete, or with understanding the nature of Jerome’s interpretation of Galatians; rather, he is concerned with maintaining his own stature and authority in the church as its great champion against the heretics. Jerome’s exegesis stands in the way of this,

since he did not believe that Peter had sinned and repented after Paul’s rebuke. This myopic concern would also help explain why Augustine would not expend any effort in avoiding a fundamental misrepresentation of Jerome as an advocate of lying and deception. He is projecting onto Jerome the views of his perceived heretical opponents. Jerome’s overall exegesis of Paul, based as it was on Origen, must have really grated on Augustine’s mind. For when he wrote his own Commentary on Galatians, Augustine completely overlooks Jerome’s commentary on the Pauline epistle, from start to finish, and he never refers to it. Plumer, Augustine’s modern translator, finds it astonishing that Augustine did not draw on Jerome’s erudite exegesis of Galatians in his own commentary on Paul’s text, though he had access to Jerome’s work.

At the very least, one would have expected him to borrow some linguistic point or other from Jerome, particularly as we find Augustine very soon afterwards emphasizing the importance of linguistic expertise for the interpreter of the Bible, painfully conscious of his own lack in this regard, and (no doubt thinking primarily of Jerome) commending the work of the Hebraists to biblical interpreters [De Doctrina Christiana 2.11.16; 2.16.23]. Yet where is the evidence of Augustine’s having taken his own advice? ⁵

It seems that there was a very serious disconnect between Augustine’s theoretical principles and his actual practice of exegesis. In Ep. 28 the young African priest begs Jerome to translate more of Origen’s books, ravenously hungry, it seems, to devour Origen’s brilliant insights into the meaning of Scripture; but in the very same letter Augustine completely scoffs at what he must have known was originally Origen’s exegesis of Scripture and depicts it as a falsification of the Bible. In later works Augustine advises his readers to learn from the Hebraic-educated biblical exegetes (such as Jerome), but he himself does not consult them in his own writings. Jerome’s response to Augustine’s attack reveals some important principles of his exegetical method. In Ep. 105, Jerome records what he has noticed from his cursory reading of Augustine’s own writings: “I have never read them with

attention . . . , apart from your Soliloquies and some of your commentaries on the Psalms. If I were willing to examine them closely, I could show that they were at variance—I will not say with my own interpretations, but with those of earlier Greek writers.” Jerome’s first point of criticism of Augustine’s scriptural exegesis, it seems, is that it is at variance with the antecedent Greek exegetical tradition. Has Augustine no concern for the sensus fidei, the mind of the church? Does he not view the Christian interpretive tradition as reliable? It is noteworthy, conversely, that Jerome’s first line of defense of his own exegesis of Galatians is to point to the source of his exegetical ideas, namely the Greek fathers. In Ep. 75 Jerome recalls that the source of his interpretation of Galatians 2 was Origen, Didymus, John Chrysostom and others, whom he had identified in his preface.

If then you considered anything in my explanation worthy of criticism, it was up to your learning to find out whether what I had written was to be found in the writings of the Greeks, so that if they had not said them, then you could justifiably condemn my opinion, especially since I openly confessed in my preface that I had followed the commentaries of Origen and had dictated either my own or other people’s ideas. ¹

In the Galatians commentary, and forthrightly in his response to Augustine, Jerome stands firmly behind his interpretation of the disputed Galatians passage as one that shows that neither did Peter sin, nor did Paul rebuke presumptuously one who was greater than himself. In Jerome’s estimation, Augustine has not demonstrated how Paul could consistently blame in another what he himself had done. Jerome says that he is not claiming that Paul and Peter used willful deception, and he is already aware of the Bible’s prohibition of lying; but Jerome does not equate dissembling pretense with willful mendacity. He thinks that the character of Peter’s action (in observing the Judaic law) was simulated, but Peter’s motive was not to be untruthful. Jerome says that in any case it was not his purpose in his Galatians commentary finally and irrevocably to adopt what he had read and translated from these Greek authors, but he had set it forth in his Latin commentary, leaving to the reader’s own judgment whether it should be rejected or approved. It appears to

me that whereas Augustine very much wishes to impose a dogmatic straitjacket on many biblical texts, and to severely restrict their meaning to his own understanding in order to bolster his own teaching authority in the church, Jerome supports more breadth and freedom of interpretation. Clearly, Augustine rejected Jerome’s exegesis, and Jerome would certainly accord him the right to do so; but importantly Jerome notes that John Chrysostom had followed Origen’s interpretation, and he is a weighty authority. Jerome tells Augustine that he prefers to be mistaken in company with such men, whereas Augustine needs to produce at least one partisan from the church’s exegetical tradition in defense of his view. ² Amazingly, in response to this answer to his own reproach of Jerome’s exegesis of Galatians, Augustine now implicitly dismisses Origen as a teacher of error. ³ He says that since Jerome himself has censured Origen in certain passages in his writings, he has himself impugned Origen’s authority. So what weight does Origen’s exegesis of Galatians carry? (Augustine is silent about John Chrysostom’s support for Jerome’s interpretation.) In any case, Augustine continues, it is not important whether other Christian interpreters agree with him; what matters is whether Paul does, and Augustine is invincibly confident that Paul is on his side. It seems to me that Augustine’s arguments go a long way toward establishing a sola Scriptura approach to Christian exegesis, since he essentially ignores the Christian exegetical tradition. His whole argument of course begs the question of whether it is Paul, or Augustine’s interpretation of Paul, that has triumphed in this disputation with Jerome. Out of whole cloth, Augustine had conjured up the idea that Peter humbly accepted Paul’s rebuke, an inference for which there is no textual evidence in Paul or anywhere else. Yet ironically Augustine constantly accuses Jerome, and by implication Origen, Didymus and Chrysostom, of making a liar out of Paul by their mitigating and diplomatic interpretation of Galatians 2:14. At least Jerome had cited massive textual support for his view from the book of Acts, where we read of Peter’s opposition to the Judaizing heresy. Augustine cites no evidence for his novel idea that Peter gravely sinned and then repented. Which of these exegetes, then, is making a liar out of Paul? It is worth pointing out, additionally, that Jerome had never censured Origen’s interpretations of Paul. On the contrary it seems that, as an interpreter of Paul’s writings, Origen stood in very high estimation by Jerome. ⁴ Therefore Augustine’s appeal to Jerome’s censure of Origen is not relevant to the current debate with Jerome.

On Galatians 5:12

One final comparison of Jerome and Augustine might be in order, because it shows that Augustine did not maintain consistency in his allegedly straightforward, no-nonsense reading of Pauline texts. In Galatians 5:12 St. Paul writes: “I wish those who unsettle you would mutilate themselves!” Jerome’s Origen-based exegesis recognizes the serious difficulty of one of Christ’s disciples cursing his enemies in such a manner. How can Paul’s wish be defended against the charge of violating the Christian principles of meekness, gentleness, humility and mercy? Jerome provides the following explanation:

Table 2. Jerome’s Commentary on Galatians 5:12

What he has said is not so much words of fury directed against enemies as words of love direc

This is not the only explanation Jerome provides, or even the one that he necessarily prefers. Yet it seems not unthinkable to Jerome and Origen that Paul has lapsed and lost his temper in this situation. He is speaking of literal castration, but only because he has lost his temper. Such outbursts happen from time to time with human fathers, and it is frequent even among holy persons. This strikes me as a realistic and straightforward interpretation of Paul’s words. Augustine’s interpretation of the same passage is quite different. He refuses to countenance the possibility that Paul could have spoken out of anger. He thinks that Paul is not speaking literal truth at all when he wishes castration on these people, but he is using “ambiguous” language and the mere “appearance” of cursing to conceal a metaphorical meaning. Augustine writes:

And with very elegant ambiguity he inserted a blessing under the appearance of a curse when he said, “I wish those who are troubling you would castrate themselves!” [Gal 5:12]. Not merely “circumcise,” he said, but castrate themselves. For thus they will become eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven [cf. Mt 19:12] and cease to sow carnal seed. ⁵

What looks at first glance like a curse is actually a blessing! Augustine thinks that Paul is inviting his opponents in Galatia to embrace celibacy and renounce sex for the sake of the kingdom of God. Plumer rightly describes this exegesis as a piece of casuistry. It goes without saying that the link to the Gospel text is far-fetched, and the resulting transformation of Paul’s words into a concealed blessing is untenable. My question is: Could not the very arguments Augustine had used to consign Jerome’s exegesis of Galatians 2 to oblivion be used to accuse Augustine himself of turning Paul into a liar and a deceiver? He claims that Paul is “putting on appearances” and using “an elegant ambiguity” in Galatians 5:12. How, then, can we trust any single word of the entire Bible? Is not Augustine making a liar out of Paul? I shall give the final word to Erasmus of Rotterdam. Writing in 1516, Erasmus seems to have correctly grasped the nature of the relationship between Augustine and Jerome (though he seriously misjudges Rufinus’s character). Erasmus writes

the following assessment:

And so effective was the malicious cunning of his rivals that not even St. Augustine himself, the bishop of Hippo, had, it seems, the highest opinion of Jerome’s faith until he gained a closer and more intimate acquaintance with his life and learning. Augustine ought to have admired and emulated both, not to have criticized them, superior to Jerome as he was only in the dignity of the episcopate, inferior in all other gifts as well as age. It was Augustine who quibbled about a falsehood, it was he who wrote De animarum origine, it was he who uttered the insult about translating from Hebrew, it was he who deplored the quarrel with Rufinus. He used these tactics to skirmish, as it were, against Jerome, wishing to draw out a declaration of his beliefs. Hardly an obtuse person, Jerome had some suspicion of Augustine’s intentions, but for a long time he was reluctant to respond, and when he finally did, the response was rather acerbic and disagreeable. But as soon as they came to be well known to each other, united in mind and heart, they worked together to defend the Catholic faith against the attacks of the heretics. And Augustine lost some of his complacency in his attitude towards Jerome after he had come to a full realization of his greatness. He was now a disciple, no longer an inquisitor. So whatever the beginnings of their relationship, a very strong bond was created between them. ⁷

Later Reception of Jerome

John Cassian (360–432), disciple of John Chrysostom, praises Jerome, along with Hilary and Ambrose, in terms that are more effusive than the way he speaks of Augustine. ⁸ He says that Hilary was “a man in possession of all virtues and marks of distinction, and remarkable both for his life and eloquence”; Ambrose was “an outstanding priest of God who always sparkled like a jewel on God’s finger and did not draw back from the hand of the Lord”; Jerome was “a teacher of Catholics whose writings sparkle like divine lamps throughout the whole world.” Finally Cassian reports that Augustine was “a priest of the town of Hippo.” It seems safe to say that Augustine was not Cassian’s pet theologian.

Henri de Lubac documents a number of other noteworthy testimonials to the esteem in which Jerome was held during the Middle Ages. Cassiodorus praised Jerome’s writings very highly, as did Isidore of Seville. A member of Alcuin’s circle calls him “most famous doctor of divine scripture in holy church.” Alcuin himself speaks of him as “the greatest doctor.” Jerome’s ability to translate the Bible from its original languages was admired by Rabanus Maurus. In the Carolingian period Jerome’s commentaries were known everywhere, the most popular being those on Isaiah, Matthew and Galatians. He was not set in opposition to other ancient doctors but peacefully juxtaposed. Medieval canonists had recourse to Jerome in their effort to establish the authority of the Fathers in the explication of Scripture. He energized the renewed pursuit of the Hebraic literal sense in Andrew of St. Victor. In 1295 Jerome was declared one of the four great doctors of the Latin church, alongside Ambrose of Milan (d. 397), Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) and Gregory the Great (d. 604). In 1516 Erasmus of Rotterdam inaugurated a great Jerome renaissance that made Jerome’s writings influential throughout the century. The Council of Trent enshrined Jerome’s Latin Vulgate as the authoritative text of the Bible for Roman Catholicism, and Jerome has continued to inspire Catholic biblical exegesis. I have noticed that Jerome’s exegesis of the Prophets has been assimilated into many of the explanatory footnotes of the Douay-Rheims English translation of the Latin Vulgate. Some learned editor of that popular Bible was familiar with Jerome’s commentaries, making Jerome a sort of tutor to Englishspeaking Catholics in the centuries following the Protestant Reformation. Not all Catholics have appreciated Jerome. Louis Saltet overlooks Jerome’s genius in a widely distributed article and depicts Jerome’s teaching on grace as “SemiPelagian.” ⁷ Of particular interest to readers of these volumes is Saltet’s singling out Jerome’s commentaries on Zechariah, Hosea and Joel as “frankly bad.” On the other hand, official Catholic praise for Jerome culminated in the encyclical of Pope Benedict XV Spiritus Paraclitus, dated September 15, 1920 (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 12:385-420). The document’s opening paragraph calls Jerome the church’s “greatest doctor, divinely given her for the understanding of the Bible.” F. X. Murphy reports that the Council of Trent referred to Jerome as “the greatest doctor in the exposition of Sacred Scripture.” ⁷¹ I have not been able to locate the source of this citation in the proceedings of the Council of Trent, though it is certainly consistent with several of the assessments of Jerome made by medieval scholars cited by de Lubac above. Even when Catholic exegesis opened itself to historical-critical study after the Second Vatican Council, Jerome received titular honor among a new generation of Catholic exegetes in the

groundbreaking Jerome Biblical Commentary.

Acknowledgements and Conventions

The text translated is that of M. Adriaen, ed. S. Hieronymi Presbyteri Opera: Commentarii in Prophetas Minores, CCSL 76, 76a (Turnholt: Brepols, 1969– 1970). James I. McAuley offered some helpful criticisms of the introduction. Lauren Cronin, an Ave Maria University classics major, produced a draft translation of about half of Jerome’s very lengthy Commentary on Zechariah that proved very useful to me. In this volume the translations of Jerome’s commentaries on Hosea, by Sr. Maria Veritas Marks, OP, and on Amos, by Jason Soenksen, were carried out with very little assistance from me. I checked their work carefully against the Latin and caught a handful of mistakes and made a few changes for the sake of uniformity of language, but my contribution as “cotranslator” to Hosea and Amos was quite minimal. The following conventions have been adopted to assist the reader. For the lemmata (the cue headings that display the verses of Scripture on which he is about to comment), Jerome’s new translation of the Hebrew text is given in bold font and generally uses the wording of the Douay-Rheims translation. Jerome’s rendition of the Septuagint (Old Latin) lemmata is displayed in regular font between quotation marks and uses Sir Lancelot Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint as the base translation. But we have not used these modern English translations slavishly but always followed Jerome’s wording as carefully and literally as possible. I have endeavored to match the English wording with the Latin in both lemmata. When in Jerome’s commentary below he makes use of the Latin wording of the Hebrew version cited above, I have placed these words and phrases in italics. When his commentary below echoes the Old Latin lemma, I have used quotation marks. All other Scripture citations from beyond the lemma are given in quotation marks. Doubtless I have grown weary in providing this convention and have not carried it out completely or consistently. My intention has been to help Latin-less readers ascertain precisely the wording of Jerome’s commentary and its relation to the double version of Scripture he has recorded above.

ABBREVIATIONS

Ant.

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities

bk

book

CCSL

Comm. Eccl.

Comm. Ezech.

Corpus Chrstianorum: Series Latina. Turn

Jerome, Commentarii in Ecclesia

Jerome, Commentariorum in Ezechielem

Comm. Gal.

Jerome, Commentariorum in Epistulam ad G

Comm. Isa.

Jerome, Commentariorum in Isaiam lib

CSEL

Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum L

DCB

A Dictionary of Christian Biography. Edited by W. Smith and H. Wace. 4 vols

Ep.

Epistula (Epistle)

fl.

floruit

FOTC

Fathers of the Church. Washington, DC: Catholic Univers

Hist. Eccl.

Eusebius, Historia ecclesiastic

J.W.

Josephus, Jewish War

Nom. hebr.

Jerome, De nominibus hebraicis (Liber

NPNF¹

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1. Edited by Philip Schaff

NPNF²

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2. Edited by Philip Schaff. New

PG

Patrologica Graeca. Edited by J.-P. Migne. 162 vo

PL

Patrologia Latina. Edited by J.-P. Migne. 217 vol

pref

preface

Ruf.

Against Rufinus

SC

Sources Chrétiennes. Paris: Cerf, 1

Sir

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

Vir. ill.

Jerome, De viris illustribus

Wis

Wisdom of Solomon

COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH

Translated and annotated by Thomas P. Scheck

The Preface of the Commentary on the prophet Zechariah

To Exsuperius, bishop of Toulouse. ¹ Now in the closing days of autumn, the monk Sisinnius, who is your son and our brother, delivered a letter to me from your honor. ² When I read it I rejoiced that you are safe, and that you remember me and all the brothers who serve the Lord in the holy places. By offering them cool refreshment, you are making friends from unjust mammon, and preparing eternal tabernacles, ³ so that you can say with David: “How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of virtues; my soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. For if the sparrow finds itself a home, and the turtledove a nest for herself where she might put her chicks,” ⁴ why shall you, who are the high priest of the Lord, one who tramples the winepresses at the end of the world, in order to offer thirsty people the wine of the blood of Christ, not freely proclaim and say: “My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God; blessed are they who dwell in your house.” ⁵ Listen, you who are in the valley of tears, in the place that God has appointed for battle, in order to give a crown to the victors, ⁷ in order to arrange ascents in your heart, and to go from virtue unto virtue, ⁸ and to imitate the Lord’s poverty, so that you may become rich with him, and he may recline his head in you, and daily be received, visited, fed, clothed; ¹ and you can be set ablaze, especially in the reading of the Holy Scriptures. ¹¹ And since I longed to offer you some little gift from my meager talent, and the commentaries I had begun on the Twelve Prophets were reaching the finish line, ¹² I did not want to abandon the work that I had undertaken, but that which I was

about to dictate even apart from you I have dedicated especially to your name, and I rejoice that the most obscure book of the prophet Zechariah, and the longest among the Twelve, needs to be explained at this time. The interpretation brooks no delay owing to the hurry of the one who is about to return. But willing or unwilling, I am compelled to dictate at least in the gainful and stolen hours of the night that which I shall compose for you. Origen wrote two books on this prophet, from the beginning up to the third part of the book. ¹³ Hippolytus also published a commentary, ¹⁴ and Didymus, at my request, dictated five books of commentary, which along with another three on Hosea he προσεφώνησεν ¹⁵ to me. But their entire ἐξήγησις ¹ was allegorical, and they touched hardly a few things concerning the history. ¹⁷ Therefore, wishing to imitate that householder, who “brings forth from his treasure new things as well as old,” ¹⁸ and the bride from the Song of Songs, who says: “O my kinsman, I have kept for you new things along with the old,” ¹ I have mingled the tropology of our people with the history of the Hebrews, so as to build on rock and not on sand, ² and to lay a stable foundation, which Paul the master builder himself wrote that he had set in place. ²¹ It will pertain to your goodwill to receive, not our erudition (which is either nonexistent or inconsequential), but our desire that is favorably disposed to you. Then you may challenge us forward to other things and exhort us to run on the lengthy field of the Scriptures. But if there are those to whom I had earlier promised an interpretation of these and other books, let them pardon my love for you, which surpasses belief, and let them reckon whatever I have written for you as written for them: “For love is kind, love is not envious, it does not seek that which is its own.” ²² But now it is time to record the words of Zechariah and to spread the sails of interpretation to the Holy Spirit.

Book One

1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo (Addo), the prophet, saying,

Septuagint: “In the eighth month of the second year under Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, [son of] Berechiah, son of Iddo, the prophet, saying.” Zechariah himself is witness that in the second year of Darius, son of Hystaspes, ²³ the seventieth year of the temple’s desolation was fulfilled, which Jeremiah predicted, ²⁴ when he says: “Lord of hosts, ²⁵ how long will you not have pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with whom you are angry? Behold this is the seventieth year.” ² And no one doubts that Cyrus, king of the Persians, who destroyed the empire of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, sent back nearly fifty thousand human captives from Babylon to Judea. ²⁷ He returned the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had removed ²⁸ and ordered the temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt. ² And he appointed Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jesus son of Jehozadak (Josedec), the high priest, princes of the people who had returned. ³ Therefore when Cyrus, who reigned for thirty years in Persia, was killed among the Massagetai, by Tomyris, the queen of the Massagetai, Cambyses his son succeeded in power. After eight years he had two brothers as successors, who were magi. When they were killed by the people, Darius, son of Hystaspes, was appointed king of the Persians by the decision of seven families. ³¹ In the second year of his reign, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, ³² and to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo. We have already spoken about Haggai. A few things need to be said about the superscription of Zechariah. People ask why the one who is Berechiah’s son is called the son of Iddo. And there is no doubt that according to the book of Chronicles Iddo is the one who was sent to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, during whose reign the altar was demolished, and the hand of the king withered, and again was restored by his prayers. ³³ Therefore from the first year of King Cyrus up to the second year of Darius, son of Hystaspes, forty years are counted in which so great an altar was made, and the foundations of the temple were laid, while the neighboring nations around and Cambyses king of the Persians tried to hinder the work. The latter had sent a letter about this matter to the leaders of Syrian Κοίλης and of Phoenicia, and of Samaria. Ezra wrote a quite detailed historical narrative about this. ³⁴ But in the sixth month, on the first day of the same month, Haggai began to prophesy. ³⁵ Now Zechariah was in the same year, to be sure, but not in the same month, for he poured out his prophecy two months later in the eighth month of the year. Whence the former (Haggai) is rightly placed as the tenth in the ordering of the twelve prophets, and the latter (Zechariah) is the eleventh. And it is a matter of great confidence, or rather, of hope and faith in God, that at

the incitement of two men they should begin to do what had been overlooked for so long a time, because the king or the nations were hindering it. In our accustomed manner we have said these things first in accordance with the history. Now we need to discuss these things briefly according to anagogy. ³ The Hebrews call the eighth month Maresuan, the Egyptians say Athis. We call it November, and it marks the beginning of winter. In it the summer’s heat disappears, the entire land is stripped of vegetation, and the bodies of mortal creatures contract. It does not have any solemn feast day in the law. For it is written that three times a year every male is obligated to appear before the Lord our God. ³⁷ The first feast is that of unleavened bread, Phase, which among us is called the Passover in the Greek and Latin language. ³⁸ The second, Pentecost, comes seven weeks later, in which the bread of proposition is offered first from the new harvest. ³ Third, in the seventh month, is that of trumpets of atonement and of tabernacles, that is, σκηνοπηγίας, whose final day of departure is also called the boundary. ⁴ Therefore the people are set in captivity and are still under the king of the Persians. The temple has not yet been built, nor have the fortifications and walls of the city yet been erected. They do not see the prophecy at a time of gladness but after gladness. And yet they had the memory of the Lord, and on account of the memory, blessing, and for the sake of blessing, testimony. Therefore Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, is sent to them. Zechariah means “memory of the Lord”; Berechiah, “blessing of the Lord”; Iddo, “his testimony.” ⁴¹ Let us see, then, what the word of the Lord, which was in the beginning with God the Father, ⁴² spoke to the people in the prophet Zechariah.

1:2-4a With wrath (iracundia) the Lord has been angry with your fathers. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the Lord of hosts. Be not as your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried, saying,

Septuagint: “With great anger the Lord has been angry with your fathers. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn to me, says the Lord of powers, and I will turn to you, says the Lord of powers. And do not become as

your fathers, whom the prophets who had been before rebuked, saying.” The “anger” of the Lord does not indicate a disturbance in the one who is angry but the merits and sins of those against whom the anger of God rages; at any rate, the Lord never avenges in anger, but he chastises in order to amend. And this is why the prophet prays in the Psalms: “Lord, rebuke me not in your fury nor chasten me in your anger”; ⁴³ and in another passage we read: “Chasten us, Lord, but not in your fury, but in mercy.” ⁴⁴ The Lord is angry, therefore, with the fathers of those who now are being chastened, not like the Septuagint translators say, “with great anger,” but simply anger (ira). ⁴⁵ For if he were “angry with great anger,” he never would have called the captives to repentance through Daniel and Ezekiel. And when he is angry with them, the Lord of hosts speaks to you, which is recorded in Hebrew as Sabaoth. Sometimes the Septuagint translated this as “almighty,” sometimes as “of powers.” ⁴ And he says: Turn to me, and I will turn to you. This agrees with what we read: “Approach the Lord, and he shall approach you.” ⁴⁷ The opposite of this is the following: “You have withdrawn from me, and I have withdrawn from you.” But he instructs those who have returned from Babylon to return to the Lord, so that the Lord too may return to them, lest as sons they may begin to experience what their fathers formerly experienced, to whom the prophets of that time spoke in a similar fashion. One should take note that in Haggai and Zechariah, says the Lord of hosts is always added to a few little verses and brief statements. This is so that they might know that it is God who is commanding this and that he is against the king’s empire and the noisy enemies around; and with this confidence, let them be stirred up to build the temple. ⁴⁸

1:4b Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways, and from your wicked thoughts; and they did not hear nor attend to me, says the Lord.

Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn from your wicked ways, and from your evil devices, and they did not attend so that they might hear me, says the Lord.” The thought depends on the things higher up, and what follows has to be joined with what comes before. For Zechariah is not speaking to the people but

showing what the former prophets spoke to their fathers, to whom they cried out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and your wicked thoughts. Thus cried Isaiah, thus Hosea and Joel, Amos and Jeremiah, that they should abandon their evil ways and forsake their wicked thoughts, by which they sinned in deed and mind; ⁴ and regardless they did not hear the Lord, who was warning them through the prophets, nor did they attend, not to the prophets who spoke to them, but to me, says the Lord: For it was I who spoke in them and I was despised. Whence too the Lord says in the Gospel: “He who receives you receives me.” ⁵

1:5-6 Your fathers, where are they, and the prophets? Will they live forever? But yet my words, and my ordinances, which I commanded to my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? And they returned, and said: As the Lord of hosts thought to do to us according to our ways, and according to our devices, so he has done to us.

Septuagint: “Your fathers, where are they, and the prophets? Will they live forever? But yet do receive my words and my ordinances, which I command by my Spirit to my servants the prophets, who took hold of your fathers. And they answered and said: As the Lord Almighty determined to do to us according to our ways, and according to our devices, so has he done to us.” Where are your fathers, he says, who did not hear and did not attend to me? ⁵¹ Where are your prophets? For this must be heard άπὸ κοινοῦ (from the context): Your fathers, where are they, and your prophets, where are they? That is, the false prophets. For would he have said of holy prophets: Will they live forever? And therefore to those who have sinned and refused to return to me, and to those who by means of false promises that were retracted deceived the ones sinning, leading to their death, my words, which I have spoken through my prophets, endure forever. These words took hold of your fathers, and they showed that what I had said was true. By the outcome of the events, these fathers of yours proved the predictions of my prophets in respect to themselves. They turned to repentance and said: As the Lord of hosts predicted that he would do to us, he has paid us back in accordance with our works and sins. Let us read Daniel speaking in his own name, and in that of the people, as he confesses to the Lord

that they have been unwilling to listen to him, and that whatever they have suffered has happened to them justly. ⁵²

1:7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month [which is called] Sabat, in the second year of Darius, the word (verbum) of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,

Septuagint: “On the twenty-fourth [day] in the eleventh month, which is the month Sabat, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word (sermo) of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, [the son] of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying.” Some record “twelfth” instead of eleventh month, and they interpret the twentyfourth day of the same month using mathematical calculations. ⁵³ They conjecture that a square is a solid and stable number, and they want what is written to be firm and stable. But we would say that in the same second year of King Darius, in the third month after the first vision, ⁵⁴ that is, the eleventh after the eighth, which among the Hebrews is called Sabat, “the word (sermo) of the Lord came” again to Zechariah. We have often shown that the number two is unclean and pertains to the union of the flesh and of the things of the world, and of matter. But the eleventh month, which is called Sabat, and in our language translates as “rod,” signifies austerity and correction, according to the following words of the apostle: “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod?” ⁵⁵ And there are the words of the psalmist, who says: “Your rod and your staff, they console me.” ⁵ And it is in the harshest time of winter, which is called mechir by the Egyptians, περίτϊος by the Macedonians, and February by the Romans. Also, the twenty-fourth day of the month signifies the clear shadow of the night, as the moon wanes into darkness, and the blind and perpetual dread of night increases. Whence it is fitting that those who were still in captivity, the majority of whom became exiles among the Medes, Chaldeans and Assyrians, see the things that follow to the Jewish people in the second year and in the very severe cold of the eleventh month, and on the twenty-fourth day of the same month.

1:8-13 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse,

and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom (profundo), and behind him were horses, red, mottled and white. And I said: What are these, my Lord? And the angel that spoke with me, said to me: I will show you what these are. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered, and said: These are they whom the Lord has sent to walk through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said: We have walked through the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited and is at rest. And the angel of the Lord answered, and said: O Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry? This is the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel that spoke with me, good words, consolatory words.

Septuagint: “I saw in the night, and behold a man riding on a red horse, and he stood between two shady mountains, and behind him [were] horses, red, mottled and white. And I said: What are these, Lord? And the angel that spoke with me said to me: I will show you what these are. And the man that stood between the mountains answered and said to me: These are they whom the Lord has sent to go round the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood between the mountains and said: We have gone round all the earth, and, behold, all the earth is inhabited and is 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 have been angry? This is the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel that spoke with me, good words and consolatory sayings.” First let us discuss the history. It says: I saw by night, not in the day, as Moses, who saw God face to face, ⁵⁷ and Isaiah, who said: “I saw the Lord upon a throne high and lifted up.” ⁵⁸ That was before the people were led into captivity, before Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed; but since the people were still established in the evils of slavery, the things that he sees for them he perceives in darkness. And behold a man riding upon a red horse. The Hebrews think that this is the angel Michael, who is the punisher of Israel’s sins and iniquities. And that he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom, they want the myrtles to be understood of the prophets and saints who lived in the midst of the captive people, and were in the bottom. But red, mottled and white horses were following the man, that is, Michael. In their estimation, when their ordering is

changed, the white ones signify the Medes and Persians, because during their rule the captives were released and the temple was restored. The mottled are the Macedonians, of whom some were friendly, others were persecutors—Daniel’s final vision speaks of this in great detail ⁵ —but the red ones signify the cruel and bloodthirsty kingdom of the Romans, which will kill the people and destroy the temple. But others maintain the order that is written and understand the man who rides upon the red horse, and the red, mottled and white horses, as four kingdoms. The first and second are bloodthirsty, the Assyrians and the Chaldeans, of whom the first led the ten tribes into captivity under Shalmaneser; the second took Judah and Benjamin after burning the city of Jerusalem and destroying temple. ¹ They think that the third and fourth mottled and white horses signify the Medes and the Persians, some of whom were merciful, such as Cyrus and Darius, son of Hystaspes, and Assuerus, whom the Greeks call Artaxerxes, under whom the history of Esther is fulfilled; others were cruel, such as Cambyses and the rest. Therefore the prophet sees the man riding upon a red horse, and red, mottled and white horses behind him. He does not know what he has seen and desires to know the meaning of his own vision. He says: What are these, my Lord? The angel who spoke with him promises that he will tell; and when he keeps silent, the man who stood among the myrtle trees relates it. These are the kingdoms that the Lord commands to walk through the earth and to subject it to their own authority. Finally the angels who were presiding over the kingdoms and nations come to no other but to the man himself and the angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and they say: We have walked through the earth, and behold all the land is inhabited and is at rest. And this is the meaning: All kingdoms under us are safe and at peace, and none are oppressed by any anguish. Based on this response, the angel who had been interceding for Israel takes the opportunity to pray for the people and says to the Lord: Since all the world is at rest and at peace, why, O Lord, will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, especially since according to your promises the time of captivity is completed? And the Lord answered the angel who had spoken good words to the prophet, consolatory words; good with respect to the promise of the future, consolatory with respect to the present distress.These things have been said according to the letter, as things we have learned from teachers of a foreign language, lest we should seem to have kept quiet about our own people. Moreover, teachers of the churches understand the night in which the vision is seen as referring to the obscurity of the mystical vision. ² “For God has made

darkness his hiding place.” ³ And according to the Septuagint translators it is said of this: “The abyss is his cloak like a garment.” ⁴ But the man who rode upon the red horse, [they say is] the Lord and Savior, who, when he assumed the dispensation of our flesh, hears in Isaiah: “Why are your garments red?” ⁵ This one who now is shown as red to the captive people is described in the Apocalypse of John in clothing of dazzling white and sitting upon a dazzling white horse. But that he is said to be standing “between two shady mountains”—though “two” is not found in the Hebrew—they perceive the new and old instrument, which is said to be covered with very thick foliage and with a grove and shadowy forests, because it is wrapped up with many obscurities. ⁷ But the “myrtle trees,” which were “in the bottom,” between which he is described as standing, they understand as the angelic powers, which ministered to him even while he was placed in the flesh. ⁸ Or certainly we can perceive the mountains without the qualification of “two,” which is not recorded, and apart from number as the many saints, apostles and apostolic men, who are recounted to have traveled through the whole world. They are red, mottled and white, of which the former are crowned with martyrdom and are called “red”; others are named as “mottled,” from their works and teaching, and from the variety of signs; others [are white who] have received rewards for virginity, completely intact doctrines, and for their pure heart that sees God. Finally the prophet asks the same man and the angel who stood among the myrtle trees and says: What are these, my Lord? And the angel who spoke with him, namely the sense of the prophets, promises to show him what he sees. And though he promised, he does not answer himself, but another who stood among the myrtle trees and says: These are they whom the Lord sent to walk through the earth. For the apostles were sent by the Lord ⁷ to fill the whole world with the preaching of the gospel. When they completed their work, they returned to the angel of the great counsel who stood among them. ⁷¹ They said with the apostle: “We are the good odor of Christ in those who are being saved and in those who perish,” ⁷² and among the peoples of each calling. And they said to him: We have walked through the earth, we have completed the work that was enjoined on us, and behold all of the earth is inhabited and is at rest, which previously had been deserted by God; now it is his habitation, it is at rest from wars, from battles of vices and from sins, because it has received the inheritance of the Lord returning to the Father and saying: “My peace I give to you, my peace I leave you.” ⁷³ But that full mercy is requested, so that in the time of the seventieth year, God might have mercy on Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, [Christian interpreters] refer to the conception that when true peace comes, and

the Sabbath day of rest, and the number of seven decades, that is, the seventieth year is completed, neither Jerusalem shall receive full freedom, which is translated vision of peace, and is the church, nor the cities of Judah, souls confessing the Lord. Finally the Lord responds with good words and consolatory words, which we now see in part, and we prophesy in part. ⁷⁴ But when that which is perfect comes, the things that are in part shall be destroyed, and having been set free from the Babylon of this world, we shall cry: “When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion, we became like men consoled.” ⁷⁵

1:14-16 And the angel that spoke with me said to me: Cry out and say: Thus says the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy. And I am angry with a great anger with the wealthy nations, for I was angry a little, but they helped forward the evil. Therefore thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem in mercies, and my house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts; and the plumb line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

Septuagint: “And the angel that spoke with me said to me: Cry out and say: Thus says the Lord Almighty: I am jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy. And I am angry with great anger with the nations that combine to attack her; forasmuch as I indeed was a little angry, but they combined in the evils. Therefore thus says the Lord: I will turn to Jerusalem in mercy, and my house shall be rebuilt in her, says the Lord Almighty; and a measure shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” These are still good words, consolatory words, ⁷ that now the prophet is ordered to cry out, that the Lord is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy. But he who is jealous shows that he loves her for whom he is jealous. He does not say through Jeremiah: “As a wife despises her husband, so has the house of Israel despised me.” ⁷⁷ To whom the Lord said through Ezekiel: “Now I am no longer very angry with you, and my jealousy has been removed from you.” ⁷⁸ He is therefore jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but this is one and the same city; and now he is angry with the wealthy nations, which he named higher up as the red, white and mottled horses. ⁷ Because he will hand them over for chastening, but they will rage against those who have been handed over; the former acts as one

who wants his son to be corrected by a pedagogue, the latter have attempted to kill and punish an enemy. There is something similar to this in Isaiah: “I gave them into your hands, but you did not show mercy to them. On the old you have laid a heavy yoke, and you said: I will forever be their lord.” ⁸ But jealousy, like anger, should be understood anthropopathically. The heretics who disparage the Old Testament are refuted by this passage, because God when he becomes angry does not desire that those with whom he is angry perish, but he wants to amend them. ⁸¹ Therefore, he says, since I am jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy, which their enemies have oppressed more than I wanted, therefore thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem not in one mercy but in many mercies, and my house, that is, the temple, will be built in it under Zerubbabel, and Jesus son of Jehozadak; and the plumb line of the masons will be stretched out over Jerusalem. Jerusalem and Zion, the vision of peace and the watchtower, can be understood as the church, which does not consider the wars of this world, nor lowly and earthly things, but peace and harmony and the heights of the heavens. Because of her vices and sins and the daily growing cold of charity, ⁸² the angry Lord will hand her over to persecutions, so that the pure gold and silver may appear as it does in a refiner’s fire. But the adversaries to which she has been handed over try to destroy her, and they fill Jerusalem with blood of the slaughtered from gate to gate. ⁸³ Whence the Lord by promising peace and mercy says that he will build her again. And he says that the plumb line, or line according to the “measures” and rows of each, must be stretched out in her. But what that line refers to is shown in the following chapter, where the prophet says: “I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.” ⁸⁴ But the temple of the Lord that the enemies 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.” ⁸⁵ What was destroyed in the passion was raised up in the resurrection, and became the seedbed and beginning of all the temples, of which the apostle also says: “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.” ⁸

1:17 Cry yet, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet flow with good things; and the Lord will yet comfort Zion, and he will yet choose Jerusalem.

Septuagint: “And the angel that spoke with me said to me: Cry yet, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Cities shall yet be diffused with good things, and the Lord shall yet have mercy on Zion, and he will yet choose Jerusalem.” The angel who above had said to the prophet “Cry. Thus says the Lord of hosts,” ⁸⁷ now too impels him to cry, not by the straining of his voice but of his mind; and this is what he commands him to cry: My cities shall yet flow with good things that you now see devastated by Babylonian fire. They will again abound with all things, and the Lord will provide consolation for the past misery by present goods, and he will choose Jerusalem, which a little while before he had cast out. But if we refer this to the church, to which he promises true and lasting good things, we must believe that the good things are those of which we read in Scripture: “You should see the good things of Jerusalem,” ⁸⁸ and in another place: “If you are willing and you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the land,” ⁸ and the following: “You will trust in the Lord, and he will lift you up upon the good things of the land.” The wise man, to whom the Lord revealed these uncertain and obscure matters stemming from his own wisdom, promises these things to himself in the hope of the future, and he says: “I believe that I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” ¹ We see the Lord’s churches abounding with these good things now that peace has been restored after the fires of a most severe persecution, which the Lord’s churches endured from pagans and Arian heretics, and we see Zion consoled and Jerusalem chosen, [churches] that a short time ago he had cast aside. We can also understand this same thing about the temple of the Lord and of each believer. Some apply to the heavenly Jerusalem the Zion that receives consolation, the Jerusalem that is chosen, and the other things that are predicted in this manner by all the prophets. It was destroyed by a fall; it is to be built through the virtues. We shall interpret all these things more correctly about the church.

1:18-21 And I lifted up my eyes and looked. And behold four horns. And I said to the angel who spoke to me: What are these? And he said to me: These are the horns that have agitated (ventilaverunt) Judah, and Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord showed me four smiths. And I said: What are these coming to do? And he spoke, saying: These are the horns that have agitated Judah, every man apart, and none of them

lifted up his head, and these ² have come to frighten them, to cast down the horns of the nations that have lifted up the horn on the land of Judah to scatter it.

Septuagint: “And I lifted up my eyes and looked. And behold four horns. And I said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these things, [my] lord? And he said to me: These are the horns that have scattered (disperserunt) Judah, and Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord showed me four smiths. And I said: What are these coming to do? And he said: These are the horns that scattered Judah, and they broke Israel in pieces, and none of them lifted up his head, and these are come forth to sharpen them for their hands. Four horns, they are the nations that lifted up the horn against the land of the Lord to scatter it.” That the four horns that agitated and “scattered” Judah, Israel and Jerusalem are four nations, the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Macedonians and the Romans, both the Lord now explains, when he was asked by the prophet, and Daniel unfolds in great detail, who interpreted these four nations in the vision of the image that had a golden head, silver chest, was bronze below the navel, and legs and feet of iron and clay. ³ And again in another vision and using a different figure he showed these same nations as four beasts: a lioness, a bear, a leopard and another horrible beast whose name is not recorded. ⁴ But he who reads both secular and sacred literature will not dispute that after the victory of Cyrus, the Medes and Persians are a single kingdom. And most rightly he has recorded horns for kingdoms, since sacred Scripture has this usage, that a kingdom is always understood by horns. For example: “And he has exalted the horn of his Christ.” ⁵ And in another passage: “And he has raised up a horn of salvation to us in the house of David, his servant.” And the same prophet Daniel attests that ten horns shall reign in the end [time]. ⁷ Therefore, at that time when this vision was seen, the kingdom of the Babylonians had already passed, that of the Medes and Persians was drawing near, that of the Greeks, Macedonians and Romans was [still] in the future. The learned man recognizes what the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and Greeks, that is, the Macedonians, did to Judah, Israel and Jerusalem, particularly during the reign of Antiochus, surnamed Ἐπιφανεῖ, ⁸ under whom the history of the Maccabees is composed. After the coming of the Lord and Savior also, both the Gospel announces ahead of time and Josephus, the native writer of Jewish history, teaches thoroughly and in very great detail, the things which the Israelites endured, when Jerusalem was

surrounded. These horns agitated and “scattered” Judah, nearly every man, so that no one who was overwhelmed by the heavy weight of their evils lifted his head. The prophet himself does not see, but the Lord shows to him also four smiths or craftsmen, which the Greeks call τέκτονας. And he explains who the smiths and craftsmen are. We understand them to be angels who obey the Lord’s authority in order to build what the nations had destroyed. But what we have translated out of the Hebrew as These have come to frighten them, namely the kingdoms, the Septuagint translated “These have come to sharpen them for their hands.” But “to sharpen them” must be understood instead of to frighten them. Or certainly to frighten, so that all necks may submit to the yoke of Christ, and not as someone translated: “When they have been sharpened, they would become worse.” For if angels come to make evil men worse, they should not be called smiths, that is, the destroyers of evils and builders of good things; but they themselves would have to be understood as the evils and destroyers. And this must be observed, that these four horns of nations raised one horn against the people of God; for they did not reign simultaneously and oppress Israel together, but they mutually succeeded one another, the Medes and Persians [succeeding] the Babylonians, the kingdom of the Macedonians [succeeding] the Persians, the Roman Empire [succeeding] the kingdom of the Macedonians. We have said these things following the order of history. But because the prophet says that he lifted his eyes, this should be applied spiritually to that sense. “I have lifted my eyes up to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me”; ¹ and: “Lift your eyes and see the fields, for they are already white to harvest”; ¹ ¹ and that which we read in Isaiah: “The holy one said: Lift up your eyes and see the one who shows all these things.” ¹ ² Therefore we need to lift up our eyes, we need spiritual understanding, to see the opposing forces that have raised their horn against us and of which the apostle says: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.” ¹ ³ Christ by his coming has put down these four adversaries who were always fighting against the saints. And the psalmist sighs about this: “You will walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you will trample underfoot the lion and the dragon.” ¹ ⁴ We can also understand the four horns which have reigned against the people of God as the four πάθη, which the learned translate as “disorders.” They do not κακοζήλως ¹ ⁵ express the term word for word as “passions.” Two pertain to the present: sickness and joy of the spirit; and two to the future: dread and

eagerness. The famous poet gives an indication of these: “Hence they fear and desire, they suffer and rejoice.” ¹ In opposition to these, four smiths and so to speak physicians and good craftsmen are not seen by the prophet, for he was not yet able to see them without God’s showing them through himself, but they are shown to him by the Lord, namely the four virtues: prudence, justice, courage, temperance, ¹ ⁷ which Cicero (Tullius) discusses in very great detail in his books On Duties. ¹ ⁸ He also wrote his own book about the four virtues. Therefore those must be called smiths who destroy vices and build virtues, as well as all the saints who by possessing these remedies always restore the church. And this is why the apostle said: “As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation.” ¹ And the Lord in his anger says that he will remove from Jerusalem the master builder and the wise man. ¹¹ And the Lord himself, the Son of the omnipotent God and of the Creator of all, is called the son of a smith. ¹¹¹ We have read in someone’s commentary that the four smiths are understood of the four Evangelists, who restore oppressed Israel, namely the one seeing God, and Judah, the one confessing the Lord, and Jerusalem, the vision of peace, to its original state, and through the preaching of the gospel they have brought back to salvation those whom the nations of vices had scattered from the church. ¹¹²

2:1-2 And I lifted up my eyes and saw; and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. And I said: Where are you going? And he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, and to see how great is its breadth, and how great is its length.

Septuagint: “And I lifted up mine eyes and saw; and behold a man with a geometer’s line in his hand. And I said to him: Where are you going? And he said to me: To measure out Jerusalem, and to see how great is its breadth, and how great is its length.” The one who previously when he lifted up his eyes saw grievous things in the four horns ¹¹³ now lifts up his eyes again to see the man of whom it is written: “Behold the man, his name is East.” ¹¹⁴ We also read about him above: “And behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees

which were in the bottom,” or “between the shady mountains.” ¹¹⁵ And the Father says of him: “He has built my city, whose builder and founder is God.” ¹¹ He is also seen by Ezekiel, holding a line in his hand, and a reed of the measure of a man’s forearm, ¹¹⁷ to measure Jerusalem, whose description, that is its breadth and length, the same prophet [Ezekiel] pursues in mystical speech. Some think that this was partially fulfilled under Zerubbabel, Jesus, Ezra, Nehemiah and the other leaders or kings, who ruled the people of Israel up until the coming of the Lord and Savior. But others, and the Jews in particular, interpret this of the kingdom of the thousand years, ¹¹⁸ corporal people seeking corporal things. ¹¹ But the majority of our people relate this to the heavenly Jerusalem and say that this Jerusalem has to be built again, which had been left destitute by the downfall of sinning souls. Let the heretics make conjectures like this. ¹² However that may be, we should interpret Mount Zion, and the mother of the firstborn and of the saints, as the church, ¹²¹ which was built in the passion and resurrection of the Lord and daily is being built by him who knows the measures and merits of each. What we have said of the church can be understood of the souls of believers, which daily are being built by the Lord, and they see its peace, which was left to the apostles. ¹²²

2:3-5 And behold the angel who spoke with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him. And he said to him: Run, speak to this boy, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without a wall, by reason of the multitude of men, and of the beasts in the midst of her. And I will be to her, says the Lord, a wall of fire around, and I will be in glory in the midst of her.

Septuagint: “And behold the angel who spoke with me stood by, and another angel went forth to meet him and spoke to him, saying: Run and speak to that young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be very fruitfully inhabited by reason of the multitude of men and of beasts in the midst of her. And I will be to her, says the Lord, a wall of fire around, and I will be in glory in the midst of her.” The Hebrews think that Michael is the angel who spoke with the prophet, and “stood by,” or went out, as it reads in the Hebrew, for this is what ‘asah means. And they conjecture that Gabriel is the other angel who went out and came to

meet him, who speaks to Michael, so that he may tell the prophet what great abundance of all things and the multitude of men, and of beasts and the strength of the walls that Jerusalem shall have, which at present seems to have been destroyed down to the embers and ashes. But we interpret all these things in respect to the church according to the spiritual sense, which will be inhabited without a wall, or as the Septuagint translated, κατάκαρπος, that is, with an abundance of all crops, and shall have a multitude of men and beasts, and the Lord is its fire around, and he himself lives in glory in the midst of her. This is the city of which we read elsewhere: “Glorious things are said of you, O city of God,” ¹²³ and again: “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.” ¹²⁴ Whoever dwells in this city is able to say: “But I was like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God,” ¹²⁵ and: “The Lord guides me, and there is nothing I shall want; in a place of pasture he has set me. On the water of refreshment he has led me forth.” ¹² And Jerusalem will be inhabited, it says, by reason of the multitude of men and beasts without a wall, or with an abundance of all crops. Some interpret the men and beasts of the two peoples of the Jews and Gentiles, because the former who lived in the law will come to the faith of Christ and are called men; but we ought to be called beasts, who received his passion after our idolatry. We had been, as it were, in the desert of the Law and in the wilderness of the Prophets. But others want the men to be understood as all rational beings and those educated in the knowledge of the Scriptures; but they think the beasts are all the simple believers, and that it is said of them: “You will save men and beasts, O Lord.” ¹²⁷ These beasts and these animals hear the voice of the good shepherd, ¹²⁸ and they recognize it, and follow him, for he is both the shepherd who guides us and the door, ¹² since we enter through him into the church and to the Father; and he is the wall of fire around, so that he keeps warm those who believe and who live in her midst, those who previously had been lukewarm from the coldness of their love, ¹³ and they are able to be fervent in spirit. ¹³¹ But he consumes by his fire the wolves and the most savage beasts—of which it is written: “Do not hand over to the beasts the soul that confess to you,” ¹³² and whose fruit is hay, wood and stubble, ¹³³ and they bring forth thistles and thorns ¹³⁴—and the one who is a fire to his adversaries shall be glory in the midst of believers. But we read in another place as well that the Lord is a wall of Jerusalem: “The mountains are around it, and the Lord is round about his people.” ¹³⁵ The Jews promise themselves all these things by a most vain hope under the reign of their ἠλειμμένῳ. ¹³ They think that these things will come to pass carnally, that Jerusalem will have such great beatitude that by reason of the

multitude of men and of all beasts it will not be able to have a wall; but the wall would be the protection of the Lord himself, and it would thoroughly experience the glory of him who dwells in its midst.

2:6-9 O, O flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I have scattered you into the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. O Zion, arise, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the Lord of hosts: After the glory he has sent me to the nations that have despoiled you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye. For behold, I lift up my hand on them, and they shall be a prey to those who served themselves, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me.

Septuagint: “O, O, flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I will gather you from the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. You are saved in Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the Lord Almighty: After the glory he has sent me to the nations that despoiled you; for he who touches you is as one who touches the apple of his eye. For behold, I will bring my hand on them, and they shall be a prey to those who had served them, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.” The regions of the world, which the Greeks call κλίματα, are understood from the perspective of the location of Jerusalem and the temple. Therefore the Assyrians and Babylonians, who laid waste the people of God, dwell in the land of the north. After all, in Jeremiah, the pot catches fire from the north. ¹³⁷ According to Ezekiel it is full of flesh ¹³⁸—but it is understood as the city of Jerusalem. Therefore, because the angel who had met the angel who prophesied to Zechariah had commanded him to speak to the boy ¹³ —for by comparison with the dignity of the angel, all human nature is called boyish, because it is not angels who advance into us, but we into angels ¹⁴ —and he said to him: “Jerusalem will be inhabited without a wall,” ¹⁴¹ and the rest. Now, the very same word of the Lord comes to those who live in the north, so that they may be “gathered from the four winds,” in which they had been scattered over all the world, and let those who were dwelling in Babylon return to Zion. Or certainly thus: You who have been scattered into the four regions of the sky, flee from the land of the north, and O Zion, you who now dwell in Babylon, flee and return to

your original home. But what is said three times, in the vocative case, O, is an exhortation to flight, so that they might know that they have been warned not once but repeatedly to flee. One should say this in another way as well: the north wind is the harshest. It makes the hearts of its inhabitants extremely hard. It enkindles evils on all those who inhabit the land, and according to this same prophet Zechariah, the black horses go forth toward it, so that they may stay in its country. ¹⁴² He also who had boasted in Isaiah and said “I shall ascend to heaven, I shall set my throne above the stars of the sky, I will sit on the lofty mountain, above the highest mountains in the north,” ¹⁴³ is claiming to have a kingdom in the coldest place on earth. And we read in another passage: “Behold, smoke comes from the north.” ¹⁴⁴ Moreover, it is said of those who had withdrawn far away from the holy city: “Behold, they come from afar from the north and from the sea.” ¹⁴⁵ And through Jeremiah the Holy Spirit speaks and calls those who are in captivity to return to Jerusalem: “Go and read these words of mine toward the north, and you shall say: Return to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord.” ¹⁴ Therefore we are being commanded to flee to Zion, to the church of the Lord, we who have lived toward the north and who have lost the warmth of the Lord’s fervor; we who have been scattered throughout the world, and of whom the gospel proclaims that the Lord is sending his angels into the four winds to gather us; ¹⁴⁷ we who are involved in the vices of this world and in its confusion. Let us leave behind the lowly places and stand on his watchtower and in the sublimity of dogmas. But as for what follows, Thus says the Lord of hosts, after glory he sent me, and the rest, the voice of the Savior is introduced as the speaker, who as Almighty God says that he was sent by the Almighty Father, not in accordance with the fact that he is almighty but in accordance with the fact that he was sent after glory. “He who was in the form of God, judged it not robbery to be equal with God, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and he became obedient to the Father even unto death, death of the cross.” ¹⁴⁸ It is not surprising that Christ is said to be “almighty,” since from his persona we read in the Apocalypse of John: “Thus says the faithful witness, the beginning of God’s creation, he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Lord God Almighty.” ¹⁴ There is also that which we read in the twenty-fourth Psalm: “Lift up your gates, princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates, and the king of glory will enter in.” ¹⁵ And again it is said by other angels who are ignorant of the mystery of the assumed flesh: “Who is this king of glory? The Lord of virtues, he is the king of glory.” ¹⁵¹ This refers to Christ. For where we read “Lord of virtues,” in

Hebrew it is written as Sabaoth, which the Septuagint translators rendered as “almighty.” From this we understand that wherever “Lord of virtues” is said about Christ, he ought to be understood as almighty. It is not amazing if Christ is called almighty to whom “all power in heaven and on earth has been delivered,” ¹⁵² and who says: “All things which are the Father’s are mine.” ¹⁵³ But if “all things,” that is, God from God, Lord from Lord, light from light, then also almighty from almighty; for it cannot happen that those whose nature is one would be diverse in glory. He is sent, therefore, after the glory of the divine majesty to the nations, which despoiled the people of God, so that those who previously had been robbed might themselves be prey to those serving themselves, and all the throng of former servants might know that the almighty Lord sent him. But as for what he says, He who touches you touches the apple of his eye, understand touch for harassment and injury in accordance with what we read: “Do not touch my christs, and do not harm my prophets.” ¹⁵⁴ For he who touches the Lord’s holy ones is just like one who desires to irritate the pupil of his eye and who is trying to deprive him of the bright light, of which he speaks in the gospel: “You are the light of the world.” ¹⁵⁵ But God lifts up his hand to strike the hostile nations, and he leads back his people, either to Jerusalem or to the church. Understand the hostile nations according to tropology as the opposing powers that daily subject sinners to their power and compel them to serve them.

2:10-12 Sing praise and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord on that day, and they shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord shall possess Judah his portion in the sanctified land, and he will yet choose Jerusalem.

Septuagint: “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Zion, for behold I shall come, and will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall flee for refuge to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people, and they shall dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. And the Lord shall possess Judah his portion in the holy land, and he

will yet choose Jerusalem.” These things too should still be understood from the persona of the Lord, that he is exhorting his people who have been restored from the captivity to their original home to “rejoice and be glad,” because the Lord himself “shall come,” and he “shall dwell in the midst of them.” And many nations shall believe in him, of whom it is said: “Ask of me and I will give to you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession”; ¹⁵ and he shall dwell in the midst of them, saying to the disciples: “Behold, I am with you all the days up to the end of the age.” ¹⁵⁷ And the Lord would possess Judah his portion, the one who confesses and believes in his name, and he possesses nowhere else but “in the holy land,” which is interpreted as the church; and he will yet choose Jerusalem, which he had forsaken to temptation and persecutions. Some of the Jews think that this was fulfilled in part under Zerubbabel and Jesus, Ezra and Nehemiah, especially since Jerusalem is chosen and Judah is possessed; namely, the two tribes that returned from the Babylonian captivity and were called Judah and not Israel, which still lives to this day among the Medes. But others put if off to the future, because at that time nations shall believe in the one who is sent by the Lord, and Jerusalem is to be chosen, since with certainty now all nations have believed in the Lord and Savior, and she who has been utterly destroyed cannot be chosen. But rightly after the captivity, the daughter of Zion is summoned to joy, of whom also it is said in the psalm: “When the Lord converts the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.” ¹⁵⁸

2:13 Let all flesh be silent before the face of the Lord, for he has raised himself up out of his holy habitation.

Septuagint: “Let all flesh fear before the face of the Lord, for he has risen up from his holy clouds.” Since these things are so, and the Lord shall possess Judah his portion and shall choose Jerusalem, ¹⁵ let the entire human race dread the coming of the Lord, because “he has risen up” out of his holy habitation. But the Lord is said to “rise up” and, as it were, to wake up from sleep, when he raises himself up in vindication of his people, in accordance with what is written: “Arise, why do

you sleep, O Lord?” ¹ Or, according to the Septuagint, which said, “He has risen up from his holy clouds,” understand the patriarchs, prophets and apostles, to whom the Lord commanded not to send rain on Israel. ¹ ¹ These are the “clouds” of which it is written: “And let the clouds sprinkle justice”; ¹ ² for these clouds are not corporeal ones in which thicker air is forced together; they can rain justice. In the gospel the Lord says that he will come in and with these clouds. ¹ ³ And in Isaiah we read that the Lord will come to Egypt on a light cloud. ¹ ⁴ Egypt is understood as the world, into which the Lord is recounted to have descended in the flesh, ¹ ⁵ which arose from the virginal womb, ¹ and he was not weighed down by any weight of human seed and of sins. ¹ ⁷ But the following scripture indicates that all flesh is understood especially of human beings, not of men without qualification, and of animals, birds and fish: “Hear my prayer, to you all the flesh shall come.” ¹ ⁸ For it is not all flesh of irrational animals that will come to the Lord, but that flesh that will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and of which it is said: “I shall pour out from my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” ¹

3:1-5b And he showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And Satan stood on his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to Satan: The Lord rebuke you, O Satan: and the Lord who chose Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments, and he stood before the face of the angel, who answered and said to them that stood before him, saying: Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him: Behold, I have taken away your iniquity and have clothed you with a change of garments. And he said: Put a clean miter upon his head; and they put a clean miter upon his head and clothed him with garments.

Septuagint: “And the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the face of the angel of the Lord, and the devil stood on his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to the devil: The Lord rebuke you, O devil, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this as a brand plucked from the fire? And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the face of the angel, and he answered and said to those who stood before his face, saying: Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him: Behold, I have taken

away your iniquities; and clothe ye him with a long robe, and set a clean miter upon his head, and they set a clean miter upon his head and surrounded him with garments.” Before we come to the spiritual understanding, we need to speak briefly and summarily about how the Hebrews explain this passage. They want to understand Jesus the high priest, which the Greeks call άρχιερέα, the Latins pontifex, as the son of Jehozadak, who presided over the people with Zerubbabel. An adversary, for that is what Satan means, stood on his right hand to resist him. And befittingly he stood on his right, not the left, because the accusation was true, in that he himself had taken a foreign wife along with the others. This is written about in very great detail in Ezra and in Malachi, who follows this prophet. ¹⁷ And the Lord said to Satan, to the accuser, and to his adversary, for he is the foe and avenger, the accuser of his own brothers: The Lord rebuke you, Satan, as the Lord rains from the Lord, and the Lord who chose Jerusalem rebuke you. Since therefore Jerusalem has now been chosen from all the cities of Judah, since the Lord is not charging it with the sins it has committed, why do you try to hide Jesus, as a brand, which they commonly call a firebrand, who escaped from the Babylonian captivity as one who was halfburned? But as for what follows, Jesus was clothed with filthy garments, they interpret this in three ways: either it is on account of his unlawful marriage, or on account of the sins of the people, or on account of the squalor of captivity. But the angel, before whose face Jesus stood, commanded the other angels in the name of the Lord to take away the filthy garments from him, of which we have spoken above. When they completed this command in deed, the same angel again says to Jesus: Behold, I have taken away your iniquity from you; these are the filthy garments; and I have clothed you with a change of garments; that is, I have united you to an Israelite wife. The Septuagint translated this as ποδήρη, which we can call an ankle-length tunic, because it runs down to the ankles and feet. And what follows, Put a clean miter (cidarim) upon his head, for miter we read in Hebrew tsaniph, which the majority call a miter (mitra); and in this they want to understand the office of the priesthood, because he will have a clean priesthood once the pollution of his sins has been removed. This is what the Jews say. But our people explain these things as follows. The “high priest” is the one to whom it is said “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” ¹⁷¹ Since he cannot be seen in and of himself, he is shown to the prophet by the Lord as one standing before the angel of the Lord, whom they

want to be the angel of great counsel. ¹⁷² It is not that they are different, so that we would accept two persons in the Son, but they are one and the same, and as a man he is shown as filthy, and as an angel he is said to appear as the mediator of men and God. ¹⁷³ But based on this they try to show that this is not Jesus the son of Jehozadak, because he is not mentioned in the present passage. In other passages, where it is truly spoken of Jesus son of Jehozadak, the son of Jehozadak is always listed by the surname of his father. Jesus is seen standing, then, and staying there with a stable footing. And Satan stands on his right hand, to resist him. For he was tempted in every way without sin. ¹⁷⁴ And in the Gospel the tempter approaches him, seeking always to oppose his right hand and the virtues. And what follows, The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord who chose Jerusalem rebuke you, they explained thus: because the Father and the Son are Lord, and we read in the one hundred and ninth Psalm: “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand”; ¹⁷⁵ he is speaking of another Lord, not because the Lord who speaks is not able to rebuke, but because from the unity of the nature, when the one rebukes, he himself rebukes who speaks. “For he who sees the Son, sees the Father,” ¹⁷ and this is he who chose Jerusalem, the church, which meditates on the peace of the Lord. But the brand plucked from the fire can most rightly be understood as the one who, when he was in Babylon, was not consumed by the Babylonian fire, nor touched by the flames of this world. And this is why Moses in the desert sees a great vision, in which a bush was on fire, and it was not burned up. ¹⁷⁷ This Jesus was clothed with filthy garments, who although he did not sin, was made sin for us. ¹⁷⁸ “And he himself carries our infirmities, and suffers for us, and we have thought him to be in suffering, and wounded, and in anguish. But he himself was wounded for our iniquities, and weak because of our sins.” ¹⁷ And we read in the apostle Paul: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us.” ¹⁸ He speaks in the twenty-first Psalm: “Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses.” ¹⁸¹ And in the sixty-eighth Psalm: “God, you know my foolishness, and my offenses are not hidden from you.” ¹⁸² All these things are called filthy garments, and they will be taken from him when he blots out our sins, so that, because he was clothed with filthy garments, let us who rise again hear in him after baptism: “May your garments be white at all times.” ¹⁸³ And the entire church of believers hears through Isaiah: “Wash yourselves, be clean.” ¹⁸⁴ And in the Song of Songs it is prophesied of this: “Who is this that goes up all white?” ¹⁸⁵ But we should understand the ποδήρην ¹⁸ as his incarnation, which concerns the earth and is signified in the feet. Understand the clean miter upon his head as the splendor of the divine

majesty, so that one and the same [splendor] appears to have adorned him, in the ποδήρῃ according to the man, and in the miter according to God.

[3:5c] And the angel of the Lord stood.

3:6-7 And the angel of the Lord protested to Jesus, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways, and keep my charge, you also shall judge my house, and shall keep my courts, and I will give you some of them that are now present here to walk with you.

Septuagint: “And the angel of the Lord stood. And the angel of the Lord protested to Jesus, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: If you will walk in my ways, and keep my precepts, then shall you judge my house; and if you keep my court, I will give you men to frequent in the midst of these who stand here.” The Hebrews continue with the order of interpretation begun, understanding these things as spoken by the angel of the Lord to Jesus son of Jehozadak. After the taking away of his filthy garments, and the restoration of the dignity of a clean priesthood, ¹⁸⁷ he is commanded in accordance with what is written in the Gospel: “Behold you are made whole, sin no more, lest something worse happens to you”; ¹⁸⁸ and a reward is promised him, if he walks in the ways of the Lord and he keeps his precepts, because he himself is also the judge of his house, that is, the high priest continues in the temple and keeps his courts and halls; and let the Lord give him from the number of angels, those who stood at that time before his sight, by whose help he is encompassed; and may he be safe from every deceit of the enemy. According to our people, who relate all these things to the Lord and Savior, this appears to be difficult, because Jesus is told by an angel: If he walks in the ways of the Lord, and he keeps his precepts, he himself will also judge his house and keep his courts, and the Lord would give him some of these who stand here to walk with him. This is easily solved, if we consider him who deigned to take the form of a slave ¹⁸ and who “though he was rich, for us he became poor.” ¹

Therefore, whatever is said of the members is referred to the body; our progress is the the Lord’s victory. And when we attain unto the perfect man, in the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ, ¹ ¹ he will judge the house of God, according to that which the apostle said: “But Christ as the son over his house, whose house we are,” ¹ ² and to Timothy: “If I am delayed, so that you might know how you ought to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and firmament of truth.” ¹ ³ And not only will he judge his house, but he shall keep the courts of the Lord, of which it is written: “Worship the Lord in his holy court.” ¹ ⁴ But he will judge, or judge the differences in his house, and, in view of the merits of each, he will give to one ten cities, to another five; ¹ ⁵ and some he will appoint in the church as prophets, others apostles, others teachers, others doers of signs; ¹ regarding some as eyes, others as hands, others as feet. ¹ ⁷ This agrees with what we read: “God stood in the congregation of gods, but in the midst he distinguishes the gods.” ¹ ⁸ He also gave him attendants from the number of angels, who are like angels placed in the flesh, and of which the apostle spoke: “Our citizenship is in heaven.” ¹ For if the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage, ² and those who are like angels continue in virginal continence, why should we not think that the apostles and all the saints given to Jesus are of angelic dignity, who are present here with him in the church, and have feet that never waver but stand with the standing Lord? ² ¹

3:8-9a Hear, O Jesus the high priest, you and your friends who dwell before you, for they are portending men. For behold, I will bring my servant the East. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Jesus, upon one stone there are seven eyes.

Septuagint: “Hear, therefore, O Jesus the high priest, and your neighbors that are sitting before your face, for they are τερατοσκόποι men, that is, observers of portents, for, behold, I will bring my servant the East. For the stone which I have laid before the face of Jesus, on the one stone there are seven eyes.” Our people are hemmed in by the Jews on this passage, because according to the coherence and context of the words, they ought to understand it of the priest Jesus, son of Jehozadak, rather than of the Lord and Savior. For if the words are

to the Lord, and it is said to Christ: Hear, O Jesus high priest, who is it of whom it is added: Behold I shall bring my servant the East, who is called by another name, stone; and it is laid before Jesus, and upon this stone there are seven eyes? In response, our men endeavor to claim that Christ is called both Jesus the high priest, and the East, and the stone, according to different understandings. But it is a most difficult thing for them to be able to explain how what is said about him is said to him as though concerning somebody else. Those, therefore, who want Jesus son of Jehozadak to be the high priest interpret his friends who dwell, or “sit” before him, and those portending men as his disciples and prophets. For the prophets are set as a sign of things to come. Why, then, is it that Jesus and his friends are forced to hear I shall bring my servant the east, and the rest? Above God had promised Jesus son of Jehozadak the high priest, that if he should walk in his ways and keep his precepts, he himself would judge his house with discernment, and keep his courts, and give him ministers of angelic dignity. ² ² So, now he says to him and to his friends that complete happiness and perfect beatitude will come at that time in the future, when the East comes, of whom it is written: “Behold the man, the East is his name.” ² ³ And in Malachi: “But to you who fear my name the sun of justice shall rise, and healing in his wings.” ² ⁴ And in Numbers: “A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man out of Israel.” ² ⁵ Also in the Gospel we read most clearly of Christ: “In which the East will visit us from on high, to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace.” ² He who is called the East is also the cornerstone, ² ⁷ because he joins two peoples together, and unites two walls in one house. To nonbelievers he is a stone of stumbling, of which it is also said in the Psalms: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This has been done by the Lord.” ² ⁸ Upon this stone there are seven eyes, of which Isaiah speaks: “A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root, and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and courage, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of fear of God will fill him.” ² Those who want to understand the high priest and his friends as the Lord and Savior and his disciples interpret the men who are τερατοσκόπους and portending men in such a way that they refer to the apostles, who have looked intently into his mystical signs and from the present have recognized the future. In the man who was blind from birth, ²¹ they understand eyes that have been restored in respect to the people of the nations. And in the woman flowing with blood, ²¹¹ they explain that the church has been freed from the works of blood. But as for what follows, For behold, the stone that I laid

before Jesus, the lovers of history understand this about Christ in the following way. They say that Christ will come after Jesus son of Jehozadak, for this is what it means to be before Jesus, that is, in his sight, and before his face. Thus he is signifying the future. And he is called a stone in view of his courage and strength, whereby he will crush all kingdoms, which we read also in Daniel of the mountain cut out without hands. ²¹²

[3:9b] Behold, I will engrave his sculpture, says the Lord of hosts, and I will take away the iniquity of that land in one day.

3:10 In that day, says the Lord of hosts, a man shall call his friend under the vineyard and under the fig tree.

Septuagint: “Behold, I will dig a pit, says the Lord Almighty, and I will handle all the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, says the Lord Almighty, each one shall call together his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.” Above he had said: “Behold, the stone that I laid before Jesus, upon the one stone there are seven eyes.” ²¹³ Now he coherently preserves the metaphor of “stone” and says: I will engrave his sculpture, or I will sculpt his engraving. For what is written in Hebrew as mephateh phithuhah Aquila has translated διαγλύψω ἄνοιγμα αὐτῆς, that is, “I will sculpt his opening.” Theodotion and Symmachus translated, “I will sculpt his sculpture.” And this is the sense: I will cause that stone to be wounded by the nails of the cross and by the lance of the soldier, ²¹⁴ and in his passion I shall take away the iniquity of the land in one day. Of this [day] it is written: “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” ²¹⁵ On that day of Christ’s passion, a man who is perfect in Christ will call “his neighbor.” This refers either to believing Jews or certainly to the people of the Gentiles. And he ascends with the apostles to the summit of the Lord’s good will, under the vineyard, which is called Sorec, ²¹ and of which he says in the Gospel: “I am the vine.” ²¹⁷ Its fruit gladdens the heart of man. ²¹⁸ And under the fig tree, referring to the sweetest fruits of the Holy Spirit, so that they may rest in eternal peace. And once the revolutions of the world have been

put down and the bloodshed of soldiers, they would know that they are under the king whose name mystically in Solomon is peace. The prophet Micah also recounts this same sitting under the vineyard and under the fig tree when he says: “In that day each will call his neighbor and his brother under the fig tree, and his vineyard, and there will be no one who causes alarm.” ²¹ But as for what is written according to the Septuagint, “Behold, I will dig a pit,” we can understand a trench or a pit for the sculpting of the stone: for all that is sculpted is also dug into. But if some rather contentious person is unwilling to refer this to the stone but wishes to make a new beginning, as it were, and a separate thought, let us say that the Lord Almighty, on the day of the passion of his Son, or—as the Jews think, at the final end of the world, when he will come to judge—digs out and makes public the works of each one, and he “handles” the whole “land” on the Day of Judgment; for this is the one day, and on that day each of the saints call to rest their comrades and friends, who are also themselves holy, and they rejoice in the virtue of their works.

4:1 And the angel who spoke with me returned, and he waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.

Septuagint: “And the angel who spoke with me returned, and he waked me, as a man is accustomed to be awakened out of his sleep.” Where indeed could he have gone to return from, especially one who spoke with the prophet, and could not have existed apart from him with whom he spoke? But as often as human frailty is left to its own weakness, we must believe that God and the help of his angels goes away from us. And therefore the prophet is struck by the amazement of the great vision; his whole mind grew numb, and he was not able to see the bright light of truth; whence he is wakened from the past vision to another vision, as one waking up from sleep, in order to see what he could not see when his eyes were closed. Let us express this in another way. There is the testimony in the proverbs of Solomon: “If you sit, you will be without fear; but if you sleep, you shall sleep sweetly, and you will not fear the terror coming on you, nor the approaching attacks of the wicked.” ²² He who sleeps with this sleep and hears what was said about himself in the Scripture that

we read concerning Lazarus, “If he sleeps, he shall be saved,” ²²¹ will be able to sing with the bride: “I sleep, and my heart stays awake.” ²²² Therefore let us see what things are to be contemplated as the prophet rises from sleep.

4:2-7 And he said to me: What do you see? And I said: I looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and its lamp on the top (caput) of it; and the seven lights thereof on it, seven and seven funnels for the lights that were on the top thereof. And two olive trees over it: one on the right side of the lamp, and the other on the left side thereof. And I answered and said to the angel who spoke with me, saying: What are these things, my lord? And the angel that spoke with me answered, and said to me: Do you not know what these things are? And I said: No, my lord. And he answered and spoke to me, saying: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: Not with an army, nor by might, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel in a plain? And he shall bring out the chief stone, and shall give equal grace to the grace thereof.

Septuagint: “And he said to me: What do you see? And I said: I looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and a lamp on it; and seven lights on it, and seven funnels of the lights that were on it. And behold two olive trees above it, one on the right side of the lamp, and one on the left side. And I inquired and spoke to the angel that spoke with me, saying: What are these things, lord? And the angel that spoke with me answered and said to me: Do you not know what these things are? And I said, No, lord. And he answered and spoke to me, saying: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: Not by great courage, nor by might, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty. Who are you, O great mountain, before the face of Zerubbabel, that you set right? And I will bring out the stone of the inheritance, the grace of it the equal of [my] grace.” The angel who roused Zechariah as a man rising from sleep ²²³ “inquires” about what he has seen. When he responds that he does not know, he asks about what he is seeing and says: What are these things, my lord? This is so that we may hear from him: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not with an army, nor by might, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Let us run through each of these

things, then, and say first what seems true to the Hebrews, from whom we have received our education in the Old Testament. Then by means of these steps, as it were, let us climb to the heights of the church. They understand the solid gold candlestick as the law, that is, the νόμον. But the lamp, that is, the shining and flashing flame on top of the candlestick, is the Christ, who is the head (caput) of the law and enlightens the whole world. The seven lights on the candlestick are the seven gifts (gratias) of the Holy Spirit, ²²⁴ of which we have said above that on one stone there are seven eyes. ²²⁵ For no one doubts that the law was written down at the Holy Spirit’s dictation. But the seven funnels in which there is oil, which is put in the lamps, which spread light above the candlestick, they want this to be understood as the seven gifts that come down from heaven to men through the law. But they interpret the two olives trees above the candlestick on the right side and on the left, between which the lamp in the middle gives light, of the law and prophecy. And when the prophet had told of his vision, not knowing what he saw, he asks the angel speaking with him, namely that his mind would be illuminated by God. For that is our angel, who understanding wisely declares the will of God to us, and he says: What are these things, my lord? But the angel does not explain the vision to the prophet when he had been asked by him. Instead he inquires again of the inquirer: Do you not know what these things are? When he answers, I do not know; he himself likewise answers: This is the word (verbum) of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: Not by an army, nor by might; but by my spirit, says the Lord. Therefore the “word” (sermo) of the Lord to Zerubbabel, who spoke not by an army, nor by might, but by my spirit, itself is the interpretation of the vision. The people were brought back not by an army, nor by a multitude of soldiers, but by the Spirit of God, and they had to be brought back more completely, and their enemies had to be devastated. And as for what follows, Who are you, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel in the plain? they understand this as said to the devil, who stood at the right hand of Jesus to resist him, ²² and he raised himself up against Zerubbabel and the Jewish people. But in the plain he was turned back and laid low, and he lies beneath the feet of Israel, because God will bring out the chief stone, Christ his son, who always was a help to the people of Israel. And his grace, that is, of the stone, shall give equal grace to those whom he brought back from captivity, grace that he always exercised to their fathers. These are the things we have found said by the Hebrews. Now let us discuss what is written in commentaries by men of the church. The “golden candlestick” of the purest gold they understand as the church, which in the Holy Scriptures inquires diligently after their sense and mind more

than the words. But what is understood as the meaning of gold? In the sixtyseventh Psalm the back parts and shoulders of the dove show it. They are said to shine with the greenness and radiance of gold. ²²⁷ They understand the “lamp” as Christ himself, because he gives light to the church, who said of himself: “No one lights a lamp, and puts it under a bushel,” that is, under the measure of the law, “but on a candlestick,” that is, on the freedom of the gospel, “so that it gives light to all who are in the house.” ²²⁸ They understand the “seven lights and their funnels” as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, through which the church receives the oil of God’s mercy and of all the virtues. The “two olive trees on the candlestick,” they understand them as Moses and Elijah, who spoke with the Lord on the mountain and indicated what he would suffer in Jerusalem. ²² For all the Law and the Prophets proclaim the suffering of Christ. Some interpret the two olive trees on the right and on the left as the law and the gospel, so that the gospel is on the right, the law on the left. In the Song of Songs it is said of this right and left hand: “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me.” ²³ Now the majority of our people interpret the “mountain” as the devil, and the antichrist, who dares to stand “before Zerubbabel,” from whom Christ shall be born, and [he dares] to raise himself up and to say in the Gospel: “All these things have been delivered to me, and I will give them to you, if you fall down and worship me.” ²³¹ The Lord threw him down before his feet and laid the proud one low and cast down, and he said: “Be gone, Satan; for it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve.” ²³² They also cite the example of the lunatic in the gospel. When the apostles were unable to heal him, they ask why they could not heal him, and they hear: “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: Move from here, and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting.” ²³³ Clearly the mountain there is taken to be the devil. But others, with no small amount of temerity, apply what is clearly said of the devil to Christ, who in the Holy Scriptures is quite frequently spoken of as a mountain. It is not necessary to give examples, of which there is a great abundance. But they are led to this error because it is written in the Septuagint: “Who are you, great mountain, before the face of Zerubbabel, that you set right?” That is to say, this mountain that is “before the face of Zerubbabel,” that is, who descends from Zerubbabel’s race, himself wills to set the world right. Moreover, what follows is about him: “I shall bring out the stone of inheritance,” of which it is written: “You are he who will restore my inheritance to me.” ²³⁴ And in another place: “He chose for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob

which he loved.” ²³⁵ And again: “Jacob has become the portion of the Lord, Israel the line of his inheritance.” ²³ And in the second Psalm: “The Lord said to me: You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask from me, and I will give to you the nations as your inheritance.” ²³⁷ But God will bring out the chief stone, of which we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” ²³⁸ and: “All things were made through him, and without him nothing is made.” ²³ But as for what he says, he shall give equal grace to the grace thereof, this means: “We all have received from his fullness, even grace for grace,” ²⁴ that is, the grace of the gospel for the grace of the law, so that both the believers from Israel and the pagan people might receive equal grace and the same gift. And this is why Gabriel says to Mary: “You have found grace before the Lord.” ²⁴¹ And the apostle Paul writes: “For by grace you have been saved”; ²⁴² and John the Evangelist says: “The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” ²⁴³

4:8-10 And the word (verbum) of the Lord came to me, saying: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house, and his hands shall finish it, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised short days? And they shall rejoice and shall see the tin stone in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are the seven eyes of the Lord that run to and fro through the whole earth.

Septuagint: “And the word (sermo) of the Lord came to me, saying: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall complete it. And you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. For who has despised in short days? And they shall rejoice and shall see the tin stone in the hand of Zerubbabel; these are the seven eyes that look on all the earth.” Many things are said both by the Hebrews and by our own people. The majority of these things we shall follow, and some we shall reject. We shall add what seems right to us, maintaining the truth of history, so that on that basis we can recognize him who is prophesied through the history. The hands of Zerubbabel, the prince of the Jews who returned from Babylon, made the foundations of the

temple; and his hands will come to the roof of the temple, and they will “complete” what they have begun and construct everything that they began. We read in Ezra that the temple was begun and finished by Zerubbabel. ²⁴⁴ And Zechariah the prophet says, When you see a roof placed on the temple that you are now building, then you will understand that I was sent by the Lord, and it was at his command that I said the things that I have spoken. For who has despised short days? Who here is understood for “rare,” like it is in this passage: “Who do you think is the faithful and wise steward?” ²⁴⁵ And: “Lord, who lives in your tabernacle, and who shall ascend to your holy mountain?” ²⁴ He is rare, then, who despises the short days of the world and reckons royal authority to be as nothing. When we see that the powerful men of the world shine with gold, and glimmer with purple and gemstones, are surrounded by an army, let us say to ourselves: Who do you think despises short days? This is also why Jacob, who understood the shortness of the life of men, says: “The days of my life are short and evil.” ²⁴⁷ Who, then, shall despise the short days—but this refers to royal power, so that he warns Zerubbabel and Jesus and the people building the temple of God not to fear the enemies who are hindering, but to hear the Lord who is encouraging them—and because they despise the royal roof, they will rejoice and will see the help of the Savior, who is promised from Zerubbabel’s race, and because of his courage he is called a stone and is a tin stone. In Hebrew this is written as bedil, from the fact that it is a wall and courage and strength of believers. For just as tin protects other metals from fire, and though copper and iron are by nature the hardest, if they are made without tin, they burn and are consumed; so all the strength of angels and men, if not helped by the Savior, is shown to be weak and fragile. But this stone, that is, a lump, which among the Hebrews is written as bedil, that is, of tin; this word ἐτημολογεῖται ²⁴⁸ άποχωρίζων, dividing and separating. Thus just as tin dissociates itself by fire from metals that have been mingled and debased, so the Lord, the true tester and χωνευτὴς ²⁴ separates the brass and lead of the vices from the gold and silver of good works, so that pure gold and silver might remain. The gospel writes about this άποχωρίζων and separator using different words: “Whose winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will cleanse his threshing floor, and will separate the chaff from the wheat.” ²⁵ Through Jeremiah he cries out: “What does chaff have to do with grain? says the Lord.” ²⁵¹ Many of our people interpret the hands of Zerubbabel that laid the foundations of the house and shall finish it as Christ. But if we accept this, we will be forced to explain what the tin stone in the hand of Zerubbabel is. For would that not necessarily prove a second Christ in the hand of Christ? Although some have

understood the tin stone as the body of the Lord, which was not defiled by any stains of sins, and it is not called lead, but the purest tin. But the seven eyes that run to and fro through the whole earth and judge all things with diligence, we have explained earlier as the seven spirits; and that nothing is hidden from the Lord, who is aware of the past, the present, and the future, and renders to each according to his works, ²⁵² especially since he will come in the role of one who separates the good from the bad ²⁵³ and as a refiner.

4:11-14 And I answered and said to him: What are these two olive trees at the right side of the candlestick, and at the left side thereof? And I answered a second time and said to him: What are the two ears of olive trees that are on the two golden beaks, in which are the funnels of gold? And he spoke to me, saying: Do you not know what these are? And I said: No, lord. And he said: These are two sons of oil who stand before the Lord of the whole earth.

Septuagint: “And I answered and said to him: What are these two olive trees on the right and left hand of the candlestick? And I asked a second time, and I said to him: What are the two branches of the olive trees that are in the hands of the two golden nostrils that pour into and draw off the golden [oil] funnels? And he said to me: Do you not know what these are? And I said: No, lord. And he said: These are the two sons of fatness who stand before the Lord of the whole earth.” When the prophet asks what the two olive trees mean, one of which was standing at the right side of the candlestick, the other at the left, the Lord or the angel of the Lord was unwilling to answer. The prophet understands this and inquires a second time, and he said: What are these two ears of olive trees, or “two branches”? He asked about lesser things, because he did not deserve to hear the greater things. But these “two branches” are “in the hand of two nostrils,” or on the two golden beaks, which in Hebrew are called tsantheroth, in Greek μυξωτῆρες, ²⁵⁴ which are also of the purest gold, that is, the two μυξωτῆρες themselves, on which are the two ears, or the “two branches of the olive trees.” And when the prophet asked about the “two branches” and again was asked by the angel whether he knew what the two branches meant, and he said: No, lord, the angel of the Lord answers: These are two sons of oil, as Symmachus thought

it meant, or ζιλπνότητος, as Aquila translated it, that is, “of splendor”; or πιότητος, that is, “of fatness,” as the Septuagint rendered it; or λαμπρότητος, that is, “of brightness,” as Theodotion translated. They stand before the Lord of all the earth. Above we read about the two olive trees that were at the right and left side of the lamp. ²⁵⁵ And when he now asks about them, the prophet does not deserve to hear because he does not retain the former things; or since there it was spoken quite obscurely, here he desires to hear more clearly; or certainly his persistence is refuted by the silence of the angel, because he is striving to know the things greater than himself; although the Hebrews claim that the reason he heard nothing about the olive trees when he asked was because he did not ask properly, nor did he ask all that he ought to have known. After all, later on he goes on to inquire more fully about the ears, or “branches,” of the olive trees, about which he had been silent above. For there he said: “What are these two olive trees?” ²⁵ Here he asks: What are the two ears of the olive trees? This is metaphorical because trees are straight, like ears, and like the ears of grain stalk, so these are covered with branches and leaves using a kind of wooden scaffolding, so that they can rise on high. Some of our people interpret the two olive trees as the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the lamp in the middle as God the Father. ²⁵⁷ But I do not know how without blasphemy they understand the one on the right and the other on the left. They explain the “branches” also, or the ears of the olive trees, as the incarnation of the Savior and the resemblance of the Holy Spirit to a dove, ²⁵⁸ because we are not able to see all of the olive tree but a part of it and, so to speak, little branches have been shown to us in the incarnation of Christ and in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Others understand the two Testaments, the gospel on the right, the law on the left, because in the one there is the spiritual sense, in the other the corporal; and because we are able to explain neither the whole of the gospel, nor the whole of the law: “And now we know in part, and we prophesy in part,” ²⁵ and we are not yet able to understand that which is perfect. There are those who interpret the “two branches,” or two ears of the olive trees, and the “sons of fatness,” or “of splendor,” as the priesthood and the law, which offer joy to the “whole earth.” Others understand Enoch and Elijah, one of whom pleased God while uncircumcised, the other while circumcised, and they were taken up to heaven with their bodies. ² In Hebrew we read yitshar for “splendor,” oil, “fatness” and “brightness,” in accordance with what is written in the Psalms about the joy and happiness of the saints: “They will be inebriated from the

abundance,” or “from the fatness of your house”; ² ¹ for πιότης means “fatness” rather than abundance. We have said these things as we are able, and as our men of genius were able to report, briefly making mention of the various opinions both of the Hebrews and of our people. If anyone speaks better, or rather, truer, we too shall willingly assent to what is better.

5:1-4 And I turned and lifted up my eyes, and I saw, and behold, a flying scroll. ² ² And he said to me: What do you see? And I said: I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits. And he said to me: This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth, for every thief shall be judged as is there written, and every one who swears in like manner shall be judged by it. I will bring it forth, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall come to the house of the thief, and to the house of him who swears falsely by my name, and it shall remain in the midst of his house and shall consume it, with its timber and its stones.

Septuagint: “And I turned and lifted up my eyes, and I saw a flying sickle. And he said to me: What do you see? And I said: I see a flying sickle, of the length of twenty cubits, and of the breadth of ten cubits. And he said to me: This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth, for every thief shall be punished unto death on this side, and every false swearer shall be tormented unto death on that side. And I will bring it forth, says the Lord Almighty, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name, and it shall rest in the midst of his house and shall consume it, and its timber and its stones.” Having turned to another vision, the prophet says, and raising my eyes from joyful and happy things to more grievous things, I see a flying scroll, which in Hebrew is expressed as megillah and was translated by Aquila and Theodotion as διφθέρα, ² ³ by Symmachus as κεφαλὶς, that is, a chapter, according to what we read in the psalm: “In the chapter of the book it is written of me”; ² ⁴ or according to the Septuagint, Δρέπανον πετόμενον, that is, “a flying sickle.” For all that he had seen above had announced the building of the temple, the coming of the Lord and Savior, the freedom of the people from Babylon. And so, lest his heart should be lifted up with the apostle—to whom an angel of Satan was given

who buffeted him lest he be extolled ² ⁵—he also sees things that are sad, so that whatever arrogance had increased in him from the revelation of good things might decrease from the threat of sad things. Now a flying scroll is shown, in which the sins of all are written, so that each one might receive according to his works, whether good or evil. ² For Daniel says: “Thrones were set in place, and the books were opened.” ² ⁷ But if we understand a “sickle,” as the Septuagint translated it, we should take up the example from the Apocalypse of John, in which it is written: “And the angel answered, and said to him who sat upon the horse: Send your sharpest sickle, and harvest your vineyard, for its grapes are ripe.” ² ⁸ Instead of “sickle,” in Deuteronomy we read of arrows and sword: “I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh.” ² And because God did not spare the angels who sinned, ²⁷ who by their own fault lost their heavenly abode, ²⁷¹ therefore he himself says through Isaiah: “My sword has been made drunk in heaven.” ²⁷² For all the sinners of the people shall perish by the sword, assuredly not by a physical sword—since indeed there are many different ways to die besides the sword—but by the spiritual sword with which those who have not repented have to be struck, and whom the psalmist threatens when he proclaims: “If you do not convert, he will brandish his sword, he has stretched out his bow, and he prepared this and by it he prepared deadly weapons.” ²⁷³ And in Jeremiah we read: “How long will you cut, O blade,” or sword, “of the Lord? How long will you not rest? Return to your sheath.” ²⁷⁴ This sword is not only called a “sickle,” which cuts through hay, stubble and thorns, ²⁷⁵ but also it is called an axe of trees, which cuts down those who do not produce fruit worthy of repentance, and of whom John the Baptist proclaimed: “Behold, the axe is placed at the roots of the trees; every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” ²⁷ That scroll in which the sins of all are written, or the “sickle” that cuts off the transgressions of all, is sent to the vineyard of Sodom, of which it is written: “Our enemies are foolish, for their vines are from the vineyard of Sodom, and their shoots are from Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall and their clusters of his bitterness. Their wine is the fury of dragons, and the incurable fury of asps.” ²⁷⁷ This “sickle” has a length of “twenty cubits” and a “breadth of ten,” in which numbers joyful things are associated with sad things. For the Lord corrects so that he might amend; and in “twenty,” which is made out of two tens, severe and sad things are announced. In “ten,” that is, in one decade, there are better and prosperous things; for Israel is educated through all scourges and punishments.

And at the same time let us warn those who think that perjury and theft are small offenses, because a curse is introduced, which is written on the scroll and on the “sickle” in the house of the thief and the perjurer, and it “rests in it and consumes all its timber and stones.” But if such great punishment is threatened for these things that are thought minor—I mean theft and perjury—what shall we say of fornication, adultery, murder, sacrilege and all offenses that are listed by the apostle among the works of the flesh? ²⁷⁸ I have read of the length of twenty cubits and width of ten applied to the age of the Lord and Savior, that is, it adds up to the number thirty, ²⁷ because the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son, ²⁸ and the world must be judged by him.

5:5-8 And the angel who spoke with me went forth, and he said to me: Lift up (Leva) your eyes and see what this is that goes forth. And I said: What indeed is it? And he said: This is a vessel ²⁸¹ going forth. And he said: This is their eye in all the earth. And behold, a talent of lead was carried, and behold, a woman sitting in the midst of the vessel. And he said: This is wickedness. And he cast her into the midst of the vessel and cast the weight of lead on its mouth.

Septuagint: “And the angel that spoke with me went forth, and he said to me: Lift up (Suspice) your eyes and see what this is that goes forth. And I said: What is it? And he said: This is the measure that goes forth. And he said: This is their iniquity in all the earth. And behold, a talent of lead was lifted up; and behold, a woman sat in the midst of the measure. And he said: This is iniquity. And he cast it into the midst of the measure and cast a stone of lead on its mouth.” A vessel or “measure” went forth and was carried in the air. And lest we doubt by what designation it should properly be named, the angel himself who had shown the vessel, or “measure,” gives a name to it; and according to the Septuagint he says: “This is their iniquity in all the earth”; according to the Hebrews: This is the eye, that is, the exposing of all sins. And behold a woman sat in the middle of the vessel, or “measure,” which among the Hebrews is called an ephah and frequently is translated by the Septuagint as οἴφι; and this woman herself was called wickedness. When he saw these things thus, behold a talent of lead, that is, a lump like a stone was carried, either by its own impulse or by the

Lord’s command, or it was carried by someone else whose name is concealed. But this angel who spoke with the prophet, and while going away from him showed everything to him, seized the woman who was called wickedness and cast her headlong into the midst of the vessel, which previously was being freely carried; and while sitting on the vessel, she came into the sight to all. And lest perhaps she should again have raised her head and rejoiced in her own “iniquity” and wickedness, he casts the talent of lead like a very heavy stone on the mouth of the vessel, so that it presses down on and shuts in wickedness in the midst, lest in some way it could break out. We have sketched these things as shadows so to speak and outlines of the future image, so that we might fill in what remains with their own colors. The angel who spoke with the prophet went forth from him, and speaking close up with him, so to speak, he commands him to lift up his eyes to see the sins of the people of Israel. They are heaped up in a perfect “measure,” and the transgressions of all are full. And he says, this is their eye. In Hebrew this is expressed as enam, and is written with ayin, yod, nun and mem. Or: “this is their iniquity.” Had it been written with the letter vav, it would correctly have been read as onam, as the Septuagint translated it. This error is ingrained repeatedly in the common edition. ²⁸² Thus because the form of the letters vav and yod is the same, but their length differs, one is read for the other. This vessel or “measure” is their eye in all the earth, that is, the exposing of sins, so that those whose vices were concealed have been scattered and spread before the eyes of all, heaped up into one pile, and Israel went forth from their own place, and what sort they were in their own land was shown to all the nations. And behold, a talent of lead was carried. In the things that follow we read of a “stone of lead” instead of a talent of lead. A talent is called kikar; “stone” is ’eben. Therefore this “stone of lead,” which is also a talent of lead, as we have expressed it more clearly, we have interpreted as a lump or sphere of lead, by which the very heavy weight of sins is signified. And “on this measure” and vessel of all transgressions, wickedness was sitting in the midst, which we can call by another name: idolatry, and the denial of God. And this is why the Savior says to the Jews: “Fill up the measure of your fathers.” ²⁸³ This wickedness, which was sitting on the sins of Israel and was boasting in its own crimes, later on is cast into the midst of Babylon and is overwhelmed by the evil of captivity. Or, according to Theodotion, it casts itself forth and hides in the midst of the vessel and brings over itself the heaviest weight of lead, so that her mouth would be blocked and no longer be able to boast. Or certainly she is restrained by the angel of God, so that she who before was rejoicing in her crimes might be quiet with an eternal

silence. But the reading that follows shows where and by whom she who was shut up is carried.

5:9-11 And I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there came out two women, and wind (spiritus) was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a kite, ²⁸⁴ and they lifted up the vessel between the earth and the sky. And I said to the angel who spoke with me: Where are they carrying the vessel? And he said to me: To build it a house in the land of Sennaar and to establish it, and set it there on its own basis (basem).

Septuagint: “And I lifted up my eyes and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind (spiritus) was in their wings, and they had wings as the wings of a hoopoe, ²⁸⁵ and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the sky. And I said to the angel who spoke with me: Where are they carrying the measure? And he said to me: To build it a house in the land of Babylon, and to prepare [a place for it]; and to set it there on its own base (sedem).” The Jews think that the two women who came out are the kingdoms of the Medes and the Macedonians, both of which will afflict the Babylonian people, and their impiety will “set its own base there.” But they artfully fabricate this, lest what has been said about them should be understood as against them. For the two women who come out, doubtless from the land of Judea, have to be understood as the ten and the two tribes. The former of which were taken captive by the Assyrians, the latter by the Chaldeans. And wind (spirit) was in their wings, that is, the power of the devil, of whom it is written in Ecclesiastes: “If the spirit of one who holds authority rises on you, do not leave your place.” ²⁸ And in the Gospel we read of the unclean spirit who, when he was cast out from his home, goes around deserts and dry places and returns to his former home with seven other spirits more wicked than himself. ²⁸⁷ Seized by this spirit, therefore, as if by the wind and a breeze, these women were carried in swift flight, and they had wings. In the Hebrew it is hasidah, which Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion translated “heron.” The Septuagint alone rendered it “hoopoe.” The Hebrews think that hasidam is the kite, a practically insatiable bird that always lies in wait for domestic birds; but those who have written about the natures of flying creatures say that there are three kinds of heron: one white,

another full of eyes, a third black, because it is extremely savage and bloodthirsty, aggressive and ever in heat, so that blood bursts forth out of its eyes. But we have derived “hoopoe” in imitation of the Greek word, for among them they call it the “hoopoe,” because it makes its home in human dung. They say that it is the filthiest of birds, always in burial places, always dwelling in human dung; finally, it is said even to make its nest out of it, and that it feeds its young with the maggots from rotting dung. Whichever of the three birds you want to understand by hasidam, it fits these women of Judah and Israel, who on account of their putrid sins were handed over to the power of demons and were led into captivity by them. And they carried the vessel, or “measure,” in which wickedness was held fast and shut in. A mass of lead was placed on top to keep it from exiting, ²⁸⁸ and the heaviest weight of all sins through the air between the earth and heaven. Because the prophet understands, he does not ask who these women are—for it was plain to the prophetic spirit—nor what they carry, about which he had been instructed above, ²⁸ but where they are carrying it. After all it follows: I said to the angel who spoke with me: Where are they carrying the vessel? Who responded: to build it a house in the land of Sennaar, which the Septuagint translated “in the land of Babylon.” For Sennaar is the plain of the Chaldeans, in which they who had moved their feet from the east and were not able to stand in the service of God built the tower of pride, whence the city itself was called Babylon, that is, confusion, because there the tongues of all were confused and mixed together. ² Therefore wickedness is carried by these women into Babylon, so that there its house might be built and established and set upon its base, and it might rest in an eternal station. For truly the “base” of wickedness is in Babylon, both according to history and according to the mystical understanding, if we want to understand the two women as the people of the heretics and of the Jews. Both groups come out from the face of the Lord, and are carried by an uncertain spirit. Both have wings of a kite, and of a heron and of the “hoopoe,” while they are always making riches like the partridge, ² ¹ not with judgment. And they hasten to steal from the church and delight in contention and quarrels, and whomever they deceive they drag off to ruin. They roll about in the muddy filth of lusts and in eternal filth. These women lift the heaviest weight of wickedness and build their home in confusion and serve the king of Babylon. Thus the people of the heretics and of the Jews live there where idolaters dwell, serving wood and stones.

6:1-8 And I turned and lifted up my eyes and saw. And behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot [were] red horses, and in the second chariot black horses, and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot mottled horses, and strong ones. And I answered and said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said to me: These are the four winds of the heaven, which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth. That in which were the black horses went forth into the land of the north, and the white went forth after them, and the mottled went forth to the land of the south. But they that were most strong went out and sought to go and to run to and fro through all the earth. And he said: Go, walk throughout the earth, and they walked throughout the earth. And he called me, and spoke to me, saying: Behold, they that go forth into the land of the north have quieted my spirit in the land of the north.

Septuagint: “And I turned and lifted up my eyes and saw. And behold, four chariots coming out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot [were] red horses, and in the second chariot black horses, and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot mottled piebald horses. And I answered and said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these, Lord? And the angel that spoke with me answered and said: These are the four winds of heaven, and they are going forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth. That in which were the black horses went forth on the land of the north, and the white went forth after them, and the mottled went forth to the land of the south. And the piebald went out and looked to go and compass the earth. And he said: Go and compass the earth. And they compassed the earth. And he cried out and spoke to me, saying: Behold, those who have gone out on the land of the north have quieted my anger in the land of the north.” I moved on to another vision, he says, and lifted up the eyes of my heart higher to heaven and saw: Four chariots went forth from between two mountains that were of brass, that is, insuperable and extremely strong, and which age could not wear down. For those that above he had called “myrtle mountains,” or “shady” and woody, ² ² now he calls brass. In the first chariot there were red horses, cruel and bloodthirsty and terrifying with the cruelty of Babylonia. In the second chariot, black horses, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, because one

riding in a two-horse team went forth and broadcast to a grieving messenger the death of all Jews by the edict of King Assuerus. ² ³ In the third chariot were white horses, the Macedonians, under whose king, Antiochus, we read about the victory of the Maccabees. ² ⁴ In the fourth chariot there are strong mottled horses. For we know that some of the kings of the Romans were merciful toward the Jewish nation, such as Gaius Caesar, Augustus and Claudius; others were terrible persecutors, such as Gaius Caligula, Nero, Vespasian and Hadrian. For strong ones, which Aquila translated κρατεροὺς, the Septuagint ψαροὺς, in Hebrew is written ’amutsim. Some copies wrongly record πυρ’ ροὺς, confounding the distinction between colors and kingdoms, since πύρ᾿ῥοι, that is, red, is not called ’amutsim but ’adamim. Since then the prophet asks what the things he has seen signify, the angel who spoke with him responds and tells that they are the four winds of heaven, that is, the four regions of the world, which the Greeks call κλίματα, which “stand before” and obey the will of the Lord. For these four kingdoms of which we have spoken did nothing apart from the will of the Lord. That in which there were black horses went forth, it says, to the land of the north. How nicely that the first chariot in which there were red horses is passed over in silence; what the second, third and fourth chariots did is described. For already at that time, when the prophet was relating these things, the kingdom of the Babylonians had passed, and the power of the Medes settled over all of Asia. All that we have set forth above is beheld under their King Darius, in his second year, in the eleventh month, which is called Sabat, on the twenty-fourth day of the month. ² ⁵ That therefore in which there were black horses went forth into the land of the north, so that the power of the Medes would overthrow the kingdom of the Chaldeans. And this must be noted, that in Holy Scripture the κλίματα, that is, regions of the earth and of the world, are named in relation to the location of Jerusalem and of the temple. The white ones also went forth after them, the kings of Macedonia following the tracks of the Medes and Persians, so that they subjugated the Chaldeans and Babylon to their empire. But the fourth, that is, mottled and “piebald,” which is read in Hebrew as berudim, and those which are called by another name amutsim, that is, strong and robust, went forth to the southern region and traveled the entire earth by their speedy attack. And the angel who spoke to the prophet cries out to the Roman Empire: Go, walk through the earth, and “encompass” the world, and scatter all kingdoms beneath your feet. And he turns to the prophet and witnesses with a clear voice: Behold, they who go out into the land of the north have made rest for my spirit on the earth, to which they advanced. The Hebrews passed down the tradition to me in respect to this very

difficult passage that Alexander and all the Macedonians, that is, the white horses who went forth after the Medes and the Persians and who themselves advanced to the land of the north, caused the prophetical spirit to rest in the land of the north, because they fulfilled the will of God against the Medes, and in a short time the empire of the Medes and Persians was destroyed by the Macedonians. For great is the consolation of those who are oppressed, if they know that their enemies will swiftly perish. We have handed these things down as we were able, or rather, as we have received them, to those who are zealous for our language, following the truth of history. We do not seek with a tenacious memory the chariots of Pharaoh and the Babylonian chariots as an image of the interpretation of Egypt; for what must be considered is not when it was written but on what account it was written. According to the allegory, whatever we said in respect to the four horns and four smiths, let us also understand in respect to the present passage. ² I read in someone’s book that the four chariots in which there are red, black, white, mottled and strong horses are to be understood of the four Gospels, and the horses are the apostles, possessing different graces by means of the difference of colors. Some of them are red because of martyrdom, others are dark and black, and recognize the mysteries of Christ, of which it is said in the psalm, “There was thick darkness under his feet,” ² ⁷ and “He made darkness his hiding place.” ² ⁸ Others are white by the grace of virginity; others are mottled and strong, having the gift of healings and of different powers. ² These four chariots, or cars, were sent into the four winds of heaven, that is to the poles of the world, and the whole earth, to fulfill the will of the Lord, to whom it is added later on by an angel: Go and walk through the earth and sow the seed of the gospel unto all the ends of the earth. This also that follows: Behold, they who go out into the land of the north made my spirit rest in the land of the north, he explained thus, that he said that the spirit of the Lord, or of the angel, rested when the toughest kingdoms of the devil were overthrown by the apostolic proclamation in the land of the north. And these are the kingdoms that the devil showed to the Lord and Savior on the lofty mountain and boasted that they had been delivered to him. ³

Book Two

From obscure things we move on to obscure things, and with Moses we enter into the cloud and thick darkness. ³ ¹ “Deep calls to deep at the sound of the waterfalls” ³ ² of God. And the circling spirit goes in circles and “returns in its cycles.” ³ ³ And we undergo wanderings through labyrinths, and we keep our blind tracks on their proper course by the thread of Christ. ³ ⁴ The travel-ready ferryman of the book prods us on to this difficulty: “Well begun is half done.” ³ ⁵ How much more ought we who have already completed a third part of the way exert ourselves with the same effort in what remains, lest we lose what is past and an incomplete work should increase the desire of the reader. Therefore, my venerable father Exsuperius, be present here by your prayers, you who are absent in body, and obtain from the Lord that the veil of Zechariah be removed from my face, which was drawn before the eyes of Moses, because the unworthy common crowd was not able to bear the splendor of his countenance. ³ Pray that I too may be able to say with David: “The Lord will give the word to those preaching good news with much strength.” ³ ⁷ This is the introduction of the second book of the commentary on Zechariah, which we have dictated so swiftly that there is hardly any time to correct it. For brother Sisinnius, whom you sent to the brothers, is in a hurry to go to Egypt, in order to spread there as well the scent of good fragrance; ³ ⁸ that those thirsty lands may be watered not by the river of Ethiopia but by the most abundant waters of the Gauls.

6:9-15 And the word (verbum) of the Lord came to me, saying: Take of them of the transmigration, of Holdai, and of Tobias, and of Idaias; and you shall come on that day and shall go into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, who came out of Babylon. And you shall take gold and silver and shall make crowns, and you shall set them on the head of Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And you shall speak to him, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Behold the man, the East is his name, and under him shall he spring up and shall build a temple to the Lord. And he himself shall build a temple to the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit, and rule on his throne (solio), and he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and Tobias, and Idaias, and to Hem, the son of Zephaniah, a memorial in the temple of the Lord. And they who are far off shall come and shall build in the temple of the Lord, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me to you.

But this shall come to pass, if with hearing you will hear the voice of the Lord your God.

Septuagint: “And the word (sermo) of the Lord came to me, saying: Receive the things of the captivity from the chief men, and from the useful men of it, and [from them] who have understood it; and you shall enter on that day into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah who came out of Babylon. And you shall receive gold and silver and shall make crowns, and you shall place them on the head of Jesus the son of Jehozadak the high priest; and you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Behold the man, the East is his name; and under him shall he spring up and shall build the house of the Lord. And he shall receive power and shall sit and command on his throne (throno). And there shall be a priest on his right hand, and a counsel of peace shall be between them both. But the crown [shall be] to them who wait patiently, and to the useful men [of the captivity], and [to them] who have known it, and for the favor of the son of Zephaniah, and for a psalm in the house of the Lord. And they who are far from them shall come and build in the house of the Lord, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you: and this shall come to pass, if with hearing you shall hear the voice of the Lord your God.” Once for all I have resolved to reveal to Latin ears the secrets of Hebrew scholarship and the recondite instruction of the teachers of the synagogue, at least that which agrees with Holy Scripture. For this reason in the most obscure passages I need to trace an outline of the history and then to make public what I have received from men of the church. I leave it to the reader’s choice what he ought to follow. And first the order of the reading needs to be rendered so that what is said might become clear according to the letter. It says, “Receive” from Holdai and Tobias, and from Idaias, who came from the Babylonian “captivity,” and you shall take gold and silver from those things that are offered as gifts, and you shall go into the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah. And there you shall make crowns that are distinguished by the variety of gold and silver, not a single crown, but two or more. For ‘ataroth, that is, στέμματα, signifies not one but a pair or more in number. And when you have made the crowns, “you shall place” one of them “on the head of Jesus son of Jehozadak the high priest, and you will say to him: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Behold the man whose name is East,” which in Hebrew is expressed as tsema, a letter written not with a sin but with a tsade. The reason he is called the “East,” that is άνατολὴ, or άναφύη, or

βλάστημα, that is, sprout, is that “the man who will build the temple of the Lord” shall grow suddenly out of him and shall spring up like a sprout out of his root. And when he will have built it, he himself will also bear glory, that is, another crown, which in Hebrew is hod, and is written by one person as ἐπιδοξότης, by another εὐπρέπεια, by another άρετὴ, by another δόξα, words that mean respectively fame, fittingness, “power” and glory. But the Jews think that Zerubbabel is being signified, who suddenly rose up from being a lowly captive to the leader of the Jewish people. He built the temple of the Lord and sat on his throne, and he ruled with the authority of a prince. But the high priest, it says, Jesus son of Jehozadak, shall sit on the priestly “throne,” and they will both govern the people of God united in spirit and counsel. And there shall be peace between them both, that is, between him who is from the royal tribe and him who descends from Levitical stock, so that priesthood and the kingship equally rule the people of God, and the crowns themselves that you shall make from gold and silver, after they are placed on to the head of Jesus son of Jehozadak and the head of Zerubbabel son of Salathiel, you will consecrate in the temple to the names of those by whom they were offered, that is, to Helem, Tobias, Idaias and Hen. The second name and the third are the same as above. ³ The first was changed; for Helem is now recorded in place of Holdai; ³¹ the fourth, which he had not given above, has been added, namely Hen. We shall speak of them in the things that follow. It says, but when the crowns have been stored away in the temple of the Lord and have been dedicated for everlasting remembrance, then nations from the whole earth and they who lie far off will come and build in my temple, each according to his own strength. And then, by the outcome of the events, and by the prosperity of everything, you shall know that the Lord sent me, and that I proclaimed everything at his command. But all these things will come to pass, if you will obey the commands of the Lord and will carry out his mandates. Holdai is translated “supplication of the Lord,” which is expressed in Greek more meaningfully as λιτάνευσις κυρίου. Tobias means “good one of the Lord.” Idaias means “known of the Lord.” In place of Holdai ³¹¹ he now has recorded in the first place Helem, which means “dream”; ³¹² and in the fourth place he added Hen, that is, “grace.” The crowns of these four men will be with the son of Zephaniah, whom we read above as Josiah, ³¹³ who is a guardian and sacristan of the Lord’s temple, and they will rest there in an eternal station. The Hebrews relate that when Ananias, Azariah and Mishael ³¹⁴ came back from their captivity, they brought gold and silver as gifts for the temple, and crowns for the high priest and ruler; and that Hen, that is, “grace,” whom he had not

mentioned above, is Daniel, who came with a gift, and that the reason Helem is recorded for Holdai is so that from the translation of his name, which means “dream,” it might be shown that Daniel was in captivity and that the three youths understood the mysteries of the king’s “dream.” ³¹⁵ For when the three youths were taken, Daniel prayed to the Lord and obtained an interpretation of the dream. This is how the circumcision attempt to explain these things according to the history. But necessity makes it incumbent on us to tell what our forefathers have said in accordance with the Septuagint translators. “Receive from the captivity, and from the chief men, and from the useful men of it, and from them that have understood it, gold and silver.” And when you have entered “the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah, who himself came out of Babylon; make in it crowns of gold and silver,” which “you will place on the head of Jesus son of Jehozadak the high priest.” The captivity of the Jews, that is, of the people confessing the Lord, are the vices and sins. The one who begins to repent and to desire the original Jerusalem, that is, the church of Christ, abandons them and leaves them behind in Babylon. This is offered “from the chief men” of the captives and “from the useful men (utilibus) of it,” that is, of the captivity. And after the punishments one must turn in a good direction those who have been delivered over for their own advantage (utilitate) to the angel of Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved, ³¹ even “by those who understand it,” namely, the captivity. But gold and silver are offered by those who confess the Lord both with mind and speech and are made out of this, that is, out of the gold and silver, “into the house of Josiah,” which means “saved,” and he is a son of the Lord’s visitation, that is, ἐπισκοπῆς κυρίου. For he who had at first been terribly sick is visited by the Lord. And he is rightly called “Josiah,” “saved,” because he himself also came back from Babylon. But crowns are placed, or a crown, on Jesus son of Jehozadak the high priest, because the Lord is crowned when we make progress and turn back to better things by each of our virtues; or rather, when we are crowned by the virtues of repentance, the Savior accepts the crown for each, in accordance with what Paul also says: “As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me; and not only to me, but also to all who love the advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” ³¹⁷ Whence from the crown of justice even the father of the Lord and Savior has received his name. For Jehozadak means “Lord of justice,” because he renders to each according to his works. ³¹⁸ James too speaks of this crown in his letter: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because when he will have been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised

to those who love him.” ³¹ But after placing the crown or crowns on the head of Jesus son of Jehozadak the high priest, the prophet is ordered to speak to him and say: “Thus says the Lord: Behold the man, his name is East, and under him shall he spring up,” and the rest. We do not divide Jesus, ³² nor are we able to make two persons into one person, but he himself who is called Jesus, because he will save the world, ³²¹ is also called “the East,” because in his days justice has “sprung up.” And in the psalm it is sung, “Truth has sprung up from the earth,” ³²² because the one who was born from a virginal womb at the end of the ages said, “I am the truth,” ³²³ and he came in the final hour, as John says in his letter: “Little children, the last hour is now here.” ³²⁴ This is the hour at which he hired for a denarius one who was standing around doing nothing, the people of the Gentiles, and sent him into his vineyard. ³²⁵ Otherwise, if he becomes different according to the diversity of his names, there will be one shepherd, another ram, another lamb, another door, another stone of stumbling, and rock of scandal. ³² Therefore he who is crowned by our virtues will spring up and be called the East. The Father said to him: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” ³²⁷ “And under him” a multitude of believers “will spring up, and build the house of the Lord,” the church, “and he himself will receive the virtue,” beauty, progress and the glory of each one, “and he will sit” and will rule “on his throne,” on the throne of David, of which it is also written in the Gospel. ³²⁸ “And there shall be a priest on his right hand,” or as it says in the Hebrew, on his “throne,” because he himself is king and high priest, and he will sit both on a royal and priestly “throne,” and “there will be peaceable counsel between them both,” so that neither the kingly dignity depreciates the priestly office, nor the office of priesthood the kingly dignity, but both would be in agreement in the glory of one Lord Jesus Christ. I read in someone’s book that what is said, “And there will be a peaceful counsel between the two,” is referred to the Father and to the Son, because he will come to do not his own will but the will of the Father, ³² and the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father. ³³ But a crown, that is, the symbol of victory, when Christ will be crowned, is also promised “to those who wait patiently” for him, and “understand the usefulness of their former captivity,” and “have known” all the mysteries of God, so that they might be “for a favor of the son of Zephaniah,” that is, of the Lord’s visitation. And those who said in Babylon, “On the rivers of Babylon we sat there and wept, when we remembered Zion; on the willows there we hung up our instruments;” ³³¹ when they will have turned back to Jerusalem, would receive a “psalm” and the timbrel, and would sing in the

church of the Lord, and those who had been “far from” Judea and from the truest confession, because of their greater sins, would “come and build the house of the Lord,” by means of each of their stages of progress; and then everyone with the same mind would “know that the Lord Almighty has sent the prophet to them.” But everything that is promised “shall come to pass,” if they are willing “to hear the Lord,” repent and persevere in good works.

7:1-7 And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Darius that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, which is Casleu. And Sarasar and Rogommelech, and the men that were with him, sent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord, to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying: Must I weep in the fifth month, or must I sanctify myself as I have now done for many years? And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: When you fasted, and mourned in the fifth and the seventh [month] for these seventy years, did you keep a fast unto me? And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Are not these the words that the Lord spoke by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem as yet was inhabited and was wealthy, both itself and the cities around it, and there were inhabitants towards the south and in the plain?

Septuagint: “And it came to pass in the fourth year under Darius the king that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Casleu. And Sarasar and Arabesser the king and his men sent to Bethel to entreat the Lord, speaking to the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and to the prophets, saying: Sanctification has come in hither in the fifth month, as it has done already many years. And the word of the Lord of powers came to me, saying: Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying: If you fast and lament in the fifth and in the seventh [months], and behold these seventy years, did you keep a fast unto me? And if you eat or drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? Are not these the words that the Lord spoke by the hands of the prophets who came before, when Jerusalem was inhabited and was in prosperity, and her cities around her, and the hill country and the low country

was inhabited?” In the fourth year of King Darius, in the ninth month, which is called Casleu, and on the fourth day of the same month, Sarasar and Rogommelech and the others who were with them sent to the house of the Lord, that is, to the temple that had already been rebuilt by Zerubbabel and Jesus. The Hebrews claim that they were God-fearing Persian leaders of King Darius. Thus because they already had heard that the temple was built, they asked the priests of the house of the Lord and the prophets whether by ancient custom they ought to shed tears and fast or to change sorrow to gladness. And the sense of those who ask this is: Jerusalem was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar in the fifth month, which is called July among the Romans. Because of the desolation of the temple, up to now we have fasted and cried and have consoled our grief by weeping and fasting. But since it is said that the temple has been built, and we see that no reason remains for sadness, answer us, we ask, whether we should do this, or exchange our grief for joy? And at the same time one should consider that weeping and fasting are called “sanctification.” Whence too in Joel it is commanded to the priests to “sanctify” a fast and to proclaim healing. ³³² For abstinence and fasting heals the wounds of the transgressor and sanctifies all those who have been healed. After the Persian leaders had asked through those whom they had sent, and the delegation of those who made inquiry to the priests and prophets was completed, the word of the Lord comes to the prophet, ordering him to tell the public and the priests what they should respond to the delegates. When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month of the captivity of Jerusalem, and in the seventh month, when Godoliah was killed by Ishmael, ³³³ during the seventy years of desolation of the temple and of the destruction of Jerusalem, what benefit came to me that you were fasting? And contrarily, if when you eat and drink, now do you not dine and drink for yourselves? For God is not placated by these things but by good works and whether we should carry out his commandments. For food does not commend us to God. ³³⁴ And if we have not eaten, we shall not be deficient, nor if we have eaten will we abound. Were not these my words, while Jerusalem and the cities of Judea were still standing, which I spoke to you by the hands of my prophets, when Jerusalem was still standing and the cities of Judea overflowed with all things, and both the high country and the low country overflowed with grain fields and enjoyed the surest peace? But these were the words of the Lord, to which the following Scripture testifies, that among neighbors he wants true judgment and mercy, ³³⁵ and do not falsely accuse the widow, the orphan, the foreigner and the poor man, and do not devise evil in

your heart. ³³ These things, he says, they did not want to do, and with deaf ears they scorned my commands. For that reason great indignation came on Jerusalem, and just as they did not want to hear me, so too I did not hear them. And now with such great anxiousness they ask when they ought to fast and mourn, though previously I said through Isaiah: “I have not chosen this kind of fasting, says the Lord, nor that a man afflict his soul; but loose every bond of wickedness; dissolve the obligations of oppressive debts; give your bread to the hungry from your heart. If you see one naked, cover him; and bring the poor homeless man into your dwelling. Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall speedily arise.” ³³⁷ None of our people were able to explain what is written in the Septuagint, “Sarasar and king Arabesser sent from Bethel,” for it is impossible rationally to explain what has been badly translated from the Hebrew. For who is this Sarasar, or king Arabesser? Of which province is he king? To which or from which [province] did he send to Bethel? Of which Bethel was Arabesser able to be king, which had some time ago been stripped poor with Judea and at that time was not called Bethel, that is, the house of God, but Bethaven, that is, the house of the idol? As for that which follows, “Sanctification has come in hither in the fifth month, as they had done already for many years,” they try to explain it thus: I will enter on “sanctification” means, the vessels of the temple that were carried off by Nebuchadnezzar were restored at that time. But concerning the fifth and seventh fasts, they have attempted to refer this to the days of the week. But because it follows the fast of the tenth, they were compelled to refer this to months and were completely silent that the fast itself pertains to the fifth, seventh and tenth month. Whence, we should be contented with the former explanation and not be persuaded by the various attempts of the commentators that are based on an incorrect translation.

7:8-14 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge ye true judgment, and show ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother. And do not falsely accuse the widow, and the orphan, and the stranger, and the poor, and let not a man devise evil in his heart against his brother. But they would not hearken, and they turned away the shoulder to depart; and they made their ears heavy, lest they should hear. And they made their heart as the adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words that

the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit by the hand of the former prophets, and a great indignation came from the Lord of hosts. And it came to pass that as he spoke, and they heard not; so shall they cry, and I will not hear, says the Lord of hosts. And I dispersed them throughout all kingdoms, which they know not; and the land was left desolate behind them, so that no man passed through or returned; and they changed the delightful land into a wilderness.

Septuagint: “And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty, saying: Judge ye a just judgment, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother; and oppress not the widow, the orphan and the poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother. But they would not hearken, and scornfully turned their back and made their ears heavy, so that they should not hear. And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to hearken to my law and my words, which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the hands of the former prophets. And there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty. And it shall come to pass just as I have spoken. And they did not hear him. So they shall cry, and I will not hearken to them, says the Lord Almighty. And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they knew not; and the land behind them was made utterly destitute of anyone going through or returning, and they have made the choice land a desolation.” This is what I would have preferred. This is what I sought. By not doing this, you were handed over to captivity. [I did not want] the fast of desolation and death and of the fifth and seventh month. “Judge ye a just judgment,” lest you hear in the Psalms: “How long do you judge iniquity, and accept the persons of the wicked? Judge for the orphan and the widow, justify the humble and the poor”; ³³⁸ lest Isaiah also say to you: “Those who justify the wicked for gifts, and take away what is just from the just man.” ³³ And on account of you, Habakkuk would make God ill-disposed under the persona of those who are being oppressed: “Judgment has been made against me, and the judge receives [a reward]. Therefore the law is frustrated, and judgment has not reached all the way to the end, for the ungodly [man] oppresses the just.” ³⁴ Let us not think the precept of God is a new one. Long ago through Moses he had commanded these things: “You shall judge small and great equally. You shall not have respect of persons, and you shall not show mercy to the poor in judgment, for the judgment

is God’s.” ³⁴¹ And show ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother. After the truth of the judgment let mildness toward all, and especially toward brothers, whom we view to be either of the same blood, or of one faith with us. The widow also, and the orphan, about whom we are commanded: “Be a father to the orphans and take the place of a husband to their mother”; ³⁴² “judging the orphan and justifying the widow.” ³⁴³ And do not falsely accuse the stranger and the poor, because the journeying of the former and the poverty of the latter makes them humble. And let not a man devise evil in his heart against his brother, or, as it says in the Septuagint: “And let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother.” But we ought to understand brother and neighbor either as the entire human race, because we have been born from one parent, or as those who belong to a household of faith, according to the parable of the Gospel, which intends the neighbor to be understood not as a blood relative but as all men. ³⁴⁴ But that anger ought to come to an end before the sun sets, ³⁴⁵ and that the memory of all evils that we have suffered from others should be erased, we also read in many passages, and particularly in Jeremiah, who in the name of God says: “And let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother.” ³⁴ Though I commanded this, they would not hearken, and they turned away the shoulder to depart, or they “scornfully turned their back,” spitting out my commands by the demeanor of their body. For we are accustomed to turn our back when we show our scorn by our wrinkled forehead and contracted nostrils. This agrees with what is written: “They turned their backs to me, and not their faces.” ³⁴⁷ And they made their ears heavy, it says, lest they should hear, like that “of the deaf asp which stops up its ears, which will not hear the sound of the charmers and of the poisoner who is cunningly enchanting.” ³⁴⁸ For “they have made their ears heavy, so that they would not hear,” and “they made their hearts” such that do not comply with the “law” of God. This is why Isaiah threatens them by saying: “The heart of this people is fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have shut their eyes, lest perhaps they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and I would heal them.” ³⁴ Further, what is said in the Hebrew, And they made their heart as the adamant stone, shows the hardness of heart, and a heart of stone, because they did not want to receive the words of God. For adamant, the strongest stone, which we express in Hebrew as shamir, is so hard that it shatters all metal and itself is broken by nothing. This is why the Greeks call it unbreakable. ³⁵ By this adamant the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so that he would not let the people of God go. ³⁵¹ And they had, or rather, made their heart as the adamant stone,

esteeming the hardness of their heart with their own will. Lest they should hear the words of the Lord, which he sent in his spirit, that is, in the Holy Spirit. By the hand of the former prophets, [namely] of Isaiah, Hosea and the others, who had clean hands. Clearly those prophets lived before the captivity. On that account in view of the great sins, a great indignation came, and the words of the Lord were fulfilled, who renders like for like, so that just as they walked perversely toward him, he himself would also proceed perversely against them, ³⁵² and he would not hear the words of those who cry, because they themselves with deaf ears have scorned the words of the Lord. For this reason, he disperses them throughout all kingdoms, which they know not, of the Assyrians and Chaldeans, of the Medes and Persians, and of the other nations, which lay subject to these empires and into whose lands they were scattered. And all Judea was turned into a wilderness, because it had no inhabitant, and there was no one in it passing through and returning. And they turned the “land,” which had been a honeycomb beyond all lands and flowed with milk and honey on account of the multitude of its abundance, ³⁵³ “into a desolation.” We can also apply this to those who transgress in the church and are “cast out” from the land of confession, because they would not hearken to the Lord, and they turned away the shoulder to him to depart, and they made their ears heavy and made their heart as the adamant stone. And the indignation of the Lord came on them, and they were dispersed throughout all the kingdoms of vices, and their land was left desolate, either spirit or body, not having God indwelling, nor the Spirit returning to them. And the once-delightful land, which hosted the Trinity, was turned into wilderness and a habitation of dragons. ³⁵⁴ Since these things are clear, let us move on quickly, so that there may be time to discuss the obscure things; for we are not writing the lengthy and flowery treatises in which applause-winning oratory amuses itself, but commentaries, where one’s duty is to pass over what is clear and to discuss what is unclear. ³⁵⁵

8:1-3 And the word (verbum) of the Lord of hosts came, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Zion with a great jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for her. Thus says the Lord of hosts: I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the sanctified mountain.

Septuagint: “And the word (sermo) of the Lord Almighty came, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy, and with the greatest fury I have been jealous for her. Thus says the Lord Almighty: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a true city, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty, a holy mountain.” In Ezekiel we learn more fully that in the wilderness the Lord received as his wife Jerusalem, that is, the Israelite people. And the one who was lying in the blood of idolatry he covered with his mantle and cherished her with a husband’s love. ³⁵ Later on she ate the finest wheat and honey and oil, ³⁵⁷ and was adorned with the most beautiful clothes, and though she had all the ornaments of jewelry from the generosity of her husband, ³⁵⁸ she fornicated with the Assyrians and Chaldeans. ³⁵ And she heard from the Lord: “As a woman despises her own husband, so has the house of Israel despised me.” ³ But handed over to captivity and mocked by her lovers, and stripped naked of her original beauty, after she spread her legs to every passerby, and she was utterly defiled, when she remembers her former happiness she groans: “I will return to my first husband, because it was better with me then than now.” ³ ¹ He receives her and again takes her as his spouse. The one to whom he had earlier said, “I will not be angry with you, and my jealousy has departed from you,” ³ ² now says: I have been jealous for Zion with a great jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for her. Previously I was so indignant because she was debased by many lovers, and she defiled my bed, whence I handed her over to her lovers, not as an adulteress under her husband, but as a cheap harlot for purchase and a prostitute in the brothels. How much more now have I returned to her, since she has repented, and built my temple, in the midst of which I will dwell. And she will be called the city of truth, which before was called the city of falsehood, of which it is also written in Isaiah: “Truth slept in her, but now murderers.” ³ ³ But it will also be called “the mountain of the Lord Almighty,” a sanctified mountain, in which, when the temple is restored, victims are sacrificed, the order of the ceremonies is preserved. These things have been said in respect to the history. Moreover, it is doubtful to no one that Zion and Jerusalem, the watchtower and vision of peace, can be understood of the souls of the faithful, which, when they sin, the angry Lord hands them over to captivity, so that those who had not

sensed God through good and favorable things might perceive him through the evils and adversities. And when they repent, the Lord will return to Zion, and he dwells in the midst of Jerusalem. We understand these two names as one and the same city. In it the falsehoods of sins and vices were ruling earlier. Afterward Christ the truth will reside in it. And the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called “a holy mountain,” of which it is said: “They who trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zion”; ³ ⁴ and: “Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.” ³ ⁵ Isaiah and Micah cry out concerning it: “In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all peoples shall flow unto it. And many nations shall prosper and shall say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob.” ³ The apostle Paul also speaks of this mountain and of this city—but only if the Latin language has not repudiated the authority of the Greeks in the reception of this letter—while carrying on a discussion that uses hallowed speech, he says: “You have come to mount Zion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to many thousands of angels, and to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens.” ³ ⁷

8:4-5 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall yet dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and men, stick (baculus) in his hand, through multitude of days. And the streets of the city shall be full of infants and girls playing in its streets.

Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: There shall yet sit old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem, every one holding his rod (virgam) through the multitude of days. And the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.” He says, the prosperity of all things will be so great, and the rest from wars and calm, when I have returned to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ³ ⁸ that with no remaining enemy, an elderly life would be reached by both sexes all the way up to extreme old age, and people would support their trembling limbs by a guiding stick. “The streets of the city also would be filled with boys and girls playing.” But this customarily happens when there is security and abiding peace

in the cities, so that the playful age of life celebrates the joy of the cities with games and dances. But if we apply this to the church, of which it is said, “Glorious things are said of you, O city of God”; ³ and, “The force of the river gladdens the city of God; the Most High has sanctified his own tabernacle; God in her midst shall not be moved,” ³⁷ who will be able to doubt that the streets of the church are the virtues, among which wisdom parades confidently and is proclaimed from the tops of the walls? ³⁷¹ Whence also the psalmist cries out to the Lord: “Your commandment is exceedingly broad.” ³⁷² In these streets the bride searching for the Lord and Savior says in the Song of Songs: “I will rise, and will go about the city in the market and in the streets, until I find him whom my soul loves.” ³⁷³ Old men and old women will dwell, therefore, or “sit.” It is written about them—but only if one is pleased to receive this book: “For honorable old age is reckoned not by length of time, nor by the number of years. But wisdom is the gray hair of men, and an unspotted life is old age.” ³⁷⁴ And the Lord says to Moses about this: “Appoint seventy old men to be with you whom you personally know to be old men.” ³⁷⁵ And it is for this reason that no one was called an old man before Abraham, of whom we read the scripture: “Abraham, failing, died, having reached a good old age, an old man and full of days.” ³⁷ For the glory of old men is their gray hair, of which it is said: “A man’s wisdom is his gray hair.” ³⁷⁷ They shall hold “rods” and sticks in their hands through the multitude of days and shall say to the disciples: “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod; or in a spirit of leniency and meekness?” ³⁷⁸ For he “brings forth wisdom from his lips, the rod strikes the senseless man.” ³⁷ And on the other hand: “He that spares the stick hates his son, but he that loves him corrects him carefully.” ³⁸ And not only old men but old women as well “will sit in the streets of Jerusalem.” Paul with apostolic speech describes them thus: “Honor the widows,” he says, “who are truly widows,” ³⁸¹ and in another passage: “Let a widow be chosen of no less than sixty years of age, who has been the wife of one husband, having testimony for her good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has ministered to those who have suffered tribulation, if she has diligently pursued every good work.” ³⁸² Old men and old women of that kind “will sit in the streets of Jerusalem” and hold sticks in their hands, and “the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing.” These are the boys and girls, old men and young men, whom the psalmist exhorts to sing to the Lord, saying: “Let young men, maidens, and old men together with the younger, praise the name of the Lord.” ³⁸³ And John the Evangelist and apostle says: “I write unto you, boys,

because your sins are forgiven you for the sake of the name of the Savior. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.” ³⁸⁴ And Solomon says of them in Proverbs: “To give subtlety to the innocent, but to the boy and the younger man sense and understanding.” ³⁸⁵ And again: “Boys, hear the instruction of your father, and pay attention so as to learn understanding.” ³⁸ The forty-fourth Psalm also says of these boys, young maidens and girls: “Virgins shall be brought to the king behind her.” ³⁸⁷ This agrees with what is written: “The daughters of Judah exulted and rejoiced in all your judgments, O Lord.” ³⁸⁸ When they hear from the apostle, “Rejoice, again I say rejoice,” ³⁸ they will show the joy of their mind with the gestures of their body, and with an exultant dance they shall say with David: “I will dance and play in the sight of the Lord.” ³

8:6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it shall seem difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it be difficult in my eyes, says the Lord of hosts?

Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: If it shall be impossible in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible in my sight, says the Lord Almighty?” Through all the words and thoughts by which prosperity is promised to Israel, and it seems nearly to surpass belief in view of the greatness of events, the prophet sets forth: “Thus says the Lord Almighty.” In other words, he is saying this: Lest you think that what I am promising is mine, and you do not believe a man, as it were, the promises that I am unfolding are God’s. Above he had said, “Old women and old men will sit in the streets,” and will hold sticks in their hands in view of the length of time; the streets are to be packed with a great crowd of men; boys and girls will lead dances as on feast days; Jerusalem is to be rebuilt and restored to the state of its ancient happiness. ³ ¹ To the remnant of people who had come from captivity, this seemed unbelievable, since they had seen the city completely forsaken, the ruins of walls, Babylonian hands showing the burnt walls. On that account he adds: If what I promise seems difficult or “impossible” to you who are the remnant of the captive people, that in those days in which Jerusalem must be built its happiness would be that great, will it

be difficult or “impossible” in the sight of the Lord, who by my mouth promises that these things will be so? “For the things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” ³ ² We observed these things fulfilled in the churches of Christ at the time of persecution, when the ferocity of the persecutors was incited to such great madness that they even destroyed our places of assembly and handed over sacred books to the flames; when every island, mine and prison was filled with flocks of confessors and martyrs in chains. ³ ³ Who at that time would have believed that the churches would be rebuilt by those who themselves had earlier destroyed them? Not that it was the same men, but that the same government, which before was lying in ambush with the wealthy and trying to eliminate the name of Christ, as by a decree of the senate, now builds basilicas of churches at public expense. And it raises the highest pediments so that it not only decorates resplendent ceilings and roofs with gold, but it covers the walls with mosaic work composed of different kinds of marble; and it venerates for the custody of the Roman government the sacred books that previously it was handing over to be burned. They are now gilded and covered with purple and bedecked with a variety of gemstones. ³ ⁴

8:7-8 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the going down (occasus) of the sun. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in truth and in justice.

Septuagint: similarly. Some of the Jews say that these things were fulfilled after Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, when the temple was built, and the walls of the city were constructed, and a Jewish state was restored by the Maccabees and by different princes, who ruled Judea up to Herod. Others recount that they are to be fulfilled at the end of the world under the Christ, whom they vainly wait for. But we say that they were partially fulfilled at that time, that is, after Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, and that those things preceded as types and images, as it were, when the people were

brought back from captivity and lived in Jerusalem and were called the people of God, and again the Lord was called their God, not in falsehood and iniquity but in truth and justice. And now under the Lord and Savior most fully in the church the promise is fulfilled in reality, that is, in the true Jerusalem, especially since it is said: Behold, I will save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west (occidentis). The Lord also spoke of this in the Gospel: “Many will come from the east and the west and will recline in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” ³ ⁵ And long before the psalmist had promised, saying: “The God of gods, the Lord has spoken, and he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion [is] the loveliness of his beauty.” ³ For he who rescues and overturns iniquities from Jacob will come out of Zion, ³ ⁷ when from the east and the west incense is offered to the name of the Lord in every place, and a clean sacrifice, ³ ⁸ not in the sacrificial victims of the Old Testament but in the holiness of the purity of the gospel. Of this incense we also read elsewhere: “May my prayer be directed as incense in your sight.” ³ And the words that follow show what this incense is: “The lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.” ⁴ For after the one who would rule the nations and in whom the nations would hope sprouted from the rod of Jesse, ⁴ ¹ both from the east and from the west, both the first people and the last believed in the Lord and became one flock. ⁴ ² At that time all nations were summoned to gladness and were aroused to rejoicing, since the prophet says: “Rejoice, O nations, with his people.” ⁴ ³ This accords with what is written elsewhere: “All the ends of the earth will remember and will turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before him.” ⁴ ⁴ As for what follows, In truth and justice, this means that the shadow of the old law is departing, and the truth of the gospel comes not in the justice of the Jews but in Christian justice. For the Lord himself is the truth and justice, of whom we read: “Truth has sprung out of the earth, and justice has looked out from heaven.” ⁴ ⁵ And this is why in the fourteenth Psalm justice and truth are named together: “He who walks without blemish, and works justice, and speaks truth in his heart.” ⁴

8:9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strengthened, you who hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, in the day that the house of the Lord of hosts was founded, that the temple might be built.

The Septuagint translated “Lord Almighty” for Lord of hosts, but the rest is similar. Since the temple was built under Zerubbabel and Jesus in the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Casleu, ⁴ ⁷ all these things are being said when the temple had already been constructed; the same prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, who had exhorted both leaders and the people to build it, now exhort them to exercise faith in those things that are promised for the future, based on the truth of the former things. Let them strengthen their hands, not fearing to prevent the attack of the Medes and of the nations around that long to ambush them; and let them be strengthened by the mouth of the prophets from the day when the foundations of the temple were laid up to the day when the temple was built on them; and let them hear what follows. We are explaining the history briefly, referring whatever is said about Jerusalem and the temple spiritually to the church, in which hands are strengthened through good works, and houses are founded when the foundations of faith are laid, and a temple is built, when a great number of believers is made strong, and lives in such a way that it deserves to be the temple of God.

8:10 Since indeed before those days there was no wages for men, neither was there wages for beasts, neither was there peace to him that came in, nor to him that went out, because of the affliction; and I let all men go every one against his neighbor.

Septuagint: “For before those days the wages of men will not be profitable, and there will be no wages of beasts, and there will be no peace to him that went out or to him that came in, because of the affliction; and I will send away all men, every one to his neighbor.” The Septuagint has referred all these things to a future time, but it is better to refer it to the past, as is found in the Hebrew, and the truth of the explanation shall assent. Before the house of the Lord was founded and the temple of the Lord was built, all your toil was ineffectual. And both men and the beasts in the fields were frustrated by vain attempts in the remuneration and different works.

There were adversaries abroad, sedition at home, troubling the peace, and everywhere the courts were in suspension on account of the frequency of wars and domestic plots. Meanwhile brother shows no faith to his brother, and every close relation is an enemy. The prophet Haggai summarizes this sense using different words when he says: “And now consider in your hearts, from this day forward, before there was a stone laid on a stone in the temple of the Lord. When you went to a heap of twenty bushels, and they became ten; and you went into the press, to press out fifty vessels, and they became twenty. I struck you with a burning wind and with mildew, and all the works of your hand with hail, and there was none among you that returned to me, says the Lord.” ⁴ ⁸ We can understand this also in the church and in each believer. Since indeed before the foundations of the house of God are laid in us and we are built as a temple to God, and [before] we hear from the apostle, “You are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you,” ⁴ whatever good works we seemed to possess, either as those who were governed by reason, who are called men, or as the simple, who are called beasts; for it says, You, O Lord, will save men and beasts,” ⁴¹ this has no wages before God. ⁴¹¹ And there are wars and discords in us, ⁴¹² and everywhere there is affliction, and we are without the peace of Christ, which he left to his apostles when he went to the Father. ⁴¹³ And the pronouncement of the Lord is fulfilled in us: “A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.” ⁴¹⁴ “For every brother supplants with supplanting; and every friend proceeds deceitfully; and a man mocks his own brother and does not speak the truth; their tongue has learned to speak lies.” ⁴¹⁵ But if we turn to Christ and become his temple, immediately we will hear the apostle proclaiming: “Each one will receive his own wages according to his work.” ⁴¹

8:11-12 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people according to the former days, says the Lord of hosts, but there shall be the seed of peace. The vine shall yield her fruit, and the land shall give her sprout, and the heavens shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

Septuagint: “But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people according to the former days, says the Lord Almighty, but I will show peace. The vine shall

yield her fruit, and the land shall give her sprouts; and the heaven shall give its dew, and I will cause the remnant of my people to possess all these things.” Before the foundations of the house of God were laid and the temple was built, there were no wages for men, nor wages for beasts, nor was there peace for those coming in and going out because of the affliction and anguish, and all men were at odds with one another because of enmity and hatred. ⁴¹⁷ But now because the foundations of the house of the Lord are already laid and the temple is built, I will not deal as I previously dealt with those who returned from the Babylonian captivity; but everywhere there will be peace and joy, and the future abundance will compensate for the drought and famine of former times. For the vine shall yield her fruit, and all the winepresses will be filled up, the land will be covered with happy fields and with the irrigating rain and nightly dew, everything will sprout. I will cause the remnant of my people to possess everything that I have said. The foundations of the house of the Lord have been laid, and the temple has been built. The prophet Haggai also speaks of these same things at the same time. Above he had said: “I struck you with a burning wind and with mildew, and all the works of your hands with hail.” ⁴¹⁸ After the foundations of the temple were laid he says: “Set in your hearts from this day, and henceforward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundations of the temple were laid, lay it on your heart. Is the seed as yet sprouting up? Or has the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate and the olive tree as yet flourished? From this day I will bless you, and again I will shake heaven and earth equally.” ⁴¹ And let us say this another way following the explanation about the church that has been begun. Before anyone receives the faith of Christ, and the foundations of the Holy Spirit are laid in him, no one will be able to hear, there are wages for your work. Whether he be Jew or heretic or Gentile, whatever good works he has done, unless he does them in the name of Christ, he will not have wages for his good works. We see heretical virgins, the strictness of Jewish philosophers in the observance of a variety of foods; and nevertheless we say with Haggai that they eat and are not filled; they drink and are not made drunk; they are clothed and do not grow warm. And the one who collects wages puts them in a bag with holes. ⁴² But [they will have such wages] after they receive the faith of Christ, both those and these who had been sinners in the church, and for the greatness of their transgression were handed over to the captivity of this world and were burned by Babylonian fire. [This will happen] after they hear the Lord proclaiming: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to

preach the gospel to the poor, to preach release to the captives, and sight to the blind, to heal the contrite of heart.” ⁴²¹ And in them that will be fulfilled which is said through Amos: “And I will convert the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the abandoned cities, and I will plant them.” ⁴²² At that time “justice and abundant peace will arise in those days.” ⁴²³ The vine will yield her fruit, which says in the Gospel: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” ⁴²⁴ The Father “cleanses every branch that abides in me, so that he may bear more fruit.” ⁴²⁵ And when his branches are cleansed, that is, the young shoots and slips, they begin to promise to sparkling eyes hope of a future harvest, so that what is written may be fulfilled: “The flowering vines have yielded their sweet smell.” ⁴² Then the sun of justice ⁴²⁷ imbued with color the hanging clusters of grapes, so that, once they are put into the winepresses of the eighth and the eighty-third Psalm, which are inscribed “for the winepresses,” ⁴²⁸ they are trodden on by the foot of the Lord, who ascends from Bosor, ⁴² so that he may pour out the wine that makes glad the heart of man. ⁴³ The land also shall give her sprout, not land that is dry and rocky and full of thorns, but good land that produces one hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold fruit. ⁴³¹ Thus they who sowed in tears may reap in joy. ⁴³² But also the heavens shall give their dew, of which it is written in the eighteenth Psalm: “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the works of his hands.” ⁴³³ Of these heavens it is said in the song of Deuteronomy: “Rejoice, O heavens, with him,” ⁴³⁴ that is, with the Lord and Savior, [rejoice, you] “whom he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” ⁴³⁵ He says with Moses: “Let my speech be looked for as the rain, and my words come down as dew.” ⁴³ For those who were dead in sins will rise again, and those who were lying in the whitewashed tombs that were filled with the bones of dead men will be lifted up, ⁴³⁷ and “those who dwell in the earth will be made glad.” ⁴³⁸ And the words that follow reveal the reason for their joy: “For the dew from you is healing to them.” ⁴³ And “the remnant of my people will possess” all these things, namely peace, the fruit of vines, the abundance of the lands, which grew by the dew of the heavens. Isaiah speaks of this remnant: “Unless the Lord Sabaoth had left us seed, we would have been as Sodom, and we should have been like to Gomorrah.” ⁴⁴ For a remnant has been saved according to the election of grace, not by works, otherwise it would not be grace. ⁴⁴¹

8:13-15 And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among

the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing; fear not, let your hands be strengthened. For thus says the Lord of hosts: As I purposed (cogitavi) to afflict you, when your fathers had provoked me to wrath, says the Lord, and I had no mercy, so turning again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah; fear not.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing; be of good courage and be strengthened in your hearts. ⁴⁴² For thus says the Lord Almighty: As I purposed to afflict you because your fathers had provoked me to wrath, says the Lord Almighty, and I repented not, so have I prepared and purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah: be of good courage.” He promises these things as coming in the future after the building of the temple, that as they were “a curse” and a hissing, and an example among all nations, “O house of Judah and house of Israel,” namely the two and the ten tribes, so when they are saved and have returned to Judea, they would be a blessing to all. It says, “Do not fear” the rebelling enemies. “Be of good courage,” that what the Lord is promising through me is true. “Let your hands be strengthened,” fulfill the works that you have begun. The Lord’s promise is a cause of strength: “For thus says the Lord Almighty,” to whom nothing is impossible, who can fulfill what he promises. “As I firmly purposed (excogitavi) to afflict you,” and to hand you over into captivity, “because your fathers provoked me to wrath,” and I had no mercy, which the Septuagint translated οὐ μετανόησα, that is, “I repented not,” which in Hebrew is written velo’ nichamti, but I had no mercy, in order that I might correct you by captivity, and through all the punishments and chastisements, I would educate you, so now at the present time “I have purposed to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah.” And one should note that when he becomes angry, the house of Judah and the house of Israel is a curse among the nations, that is, all twelve tribes that were handed over to captivity. But after he purposed to do good, he does not do this to Judah and Israel, that is, to the two and the ten tribes, namely to Jerusalem and Samaria, Oholah and Oholibah, ⁴⁴³ but to the remnant of Israel in captivity, he does good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And he adds at the end, Fear not, or “Be of good courage,” in the same sense that we explained above.

But this can be understood of the church and of each believer so that in times of persecution Christians are “a curse” among all the nations around and an example, because they have offended their Lord; and afterward they will be “a blessing,” when peace is restored. And all this happens because the Lord, who at first was angry, later on shows pity to Jerusalem, the vision of peace, and to Judah, who confesses faith in the Lord. All believers also, who are driven out from the church on account of vices and are handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh in order to learn not to blaspheme, ⁴⁴⁴ when they repent, they will return to their previous state and will see the peace of the Lord and will possess the glory of their confession. The heretics falsely accuse what is written: I had no mercy, or “I repented not,” as if the Lord is either cruel or changeable, if either he does not repent or does repent. For if he repents, they say that he is changeable; if he does not repent, they assert that he is cruel. But God repented that he anointed Saul as king. ⁴⁴⁵ And among the Ninevites, to whom he had proclaimed through the prophet, “Three days more and Nineveh will be overthrown,” ⁴⁴ because they repented, he himself is said to have changed his own verdict. This is not through the defect of an unforeseeing mind, but is based on the change of their evil or good acts. For if they do evil, he threatens, if they blot out their former sins, he shows pity. God, who is one and is the same, does not change and cannot be changed; but when they have exchanged good for evil works, he himself also changes his own decree. He also says in Genesis: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has been increased, and their sins are very great. I will therefore go down and see whether they completely correspond with the cry that comes to me, and if not, that I may know.” ⁴⁴⁷ What he has said is this: If they continue in their madness, punishment will not be lacking to those who are sinning; if they leave off their insanity, they will become most worthy of knowing me. “For the Lord knows those who are his.” ⁴⁴⁸ And the apostle writes to Galatians: “But not knowing God at that time.” ⁴⁴ And since God knows all, and nothing escapes him, past, present, or future, in the Gospel he says that he does not know the wicked: “Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I know you not.” ⁴⁵ Therefore let us understand his knowledge, repentance, anger, and indignation, and all the feelings of God, not as a fault of human language but as a perception of the divine majesty.

8:16-17 These then are the things (verba) that you shall do: Speak truth everyone with his neighbor, judge ye truth and judgment of peace in your gates. And let none of you intend evil in your hearts against his friend,

and love not a false oath; for all these are the things that I hate, says the Lord.

Septuagint: “These are the things (sermones) that ye shall do: Speak truth every one with his neighbor; judge a peaceable judgment in your gates, and let none of you intend evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love not a false oath; for all these things I hate, says the Lord Almighty.” I promised to deal with the remnant of the captive people not as in the former days. ⁴⁵¹ And just as I purposed to afflict them, when their fathers had provoked me to wrath ⁴⁵² and I had no mercy, ⁴⁵³ so now I have purposed to turn again in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ⁴⁵⁴ Therefore, in order that my pronouncement might remain and my promise not be made void, do what I command: Speak truth with your neighbors. Let us understand the entire human race as our neighbor, because we are generated from one parent, otherwise if our neighbor is understood as our near relative, one would have to be false to foreigners and strangers. The apostle says this same thing: “Putting away lying, speak the truth every man with his neighbor.” ⁴⁵⁵ It says, Judge ye truth and judgment of peace in your gates. In a judgment let truth and justice be first; then mercy follows. For this is the judgment of peace, that the judge would have the resolve to make peace between those who are at odds. This agrees with the words of the Gospel: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” ⁴⁵ And what follows, in your gates, agrees with the following words of the prophet: “They hated him that reproved in the gates and abhorred the holy word.” ⁴⁵⁷ And in another passage: “They shall not be confounded when they shall speak to their enemies in the gates.” ⁴⁵⁸ David also judged in the gates, when Absalom, while promising truth of judgment, was plotting against his father. ⁴⁵ And it is asked why the place for judging among the Jews is in the gates. Judges resided in the gates so that farmers would not be compelled to enter the cities and to undergo expenses. Thus they could hear both city dwellers and country people while they were entering and leaving the city, and when the business was finished, each one immediately could return to his own home. It says: And let none of you intend evil in your hearts against your friends. We can understand ra‘ath, which everyone translated in unison as κακίαν, that is,

evil, in two ways, as affliction and as evil. ⁴ It means affliction here: “Is there evil in a city that the Lord has not done?” ⁴ ¹ And: “Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” ⁴ ² It means evil in the prophet Jonah when God says: “The outcry of their evil has come up to me.” ⁴ ³ And we read in the apostle: “Being filled with all iniquity and evil.” ⁴ ⁴ In both ways, then, the one who is holy neither afflicts his friend nor purposes evil against him in his heart. He says, and love not a false oath, since the Lord commands in the Gospel: “But I say to you, do not swear at all, but let your word yes be yes, and no, no.” ⁴ ⁵ For the one who will not swear an oath will never be able to commit perjury. He who swears, let him hear that which is written: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” ⁴ All these are things I hate, says the Lord. This agrees with the words of Malachi, who says: “And you were doing everything that I hate.” ⁴ ⁷ In commands that pertain to living and are clear, we should not look for an allegory, lest according to the comic poet we seek a knot in a bulrush. ⁴ ⁸

8:18-19 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth [month], and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah for joy and gladness and great solemnities; only love truth and peace.

Septuagint: “And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: The fourth fast, and the fifth fast, and the seventh fast, and the tenth fast, shall be to the house of Judah for joy and gladness, and for good feasts”—this is expressed in Hebrew as tobim, that is, άγαθάς—“and rejoice and love truth and peace.” Above Sarasar and Rogommelech had asked through delegates whether they ought to fast and mourn in the fifth month and in the seventh month, as is found in the Septuagint, or to complete their fasting and lay aside their sorrow after the building of the temple. ⁴ Many things are recorded in between, things that they were to do and expect to happen. ⁴⁷ Then the prophet answers the query in the name of the Lord: The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth—supply month άπὸ κοινοῦ (from the context)—for the house of Judah, and Jerusalem will be turned into “feast days

and joy.” God seeks only truth and peace. Many of our people have said much about this passage, and they do not agree among themselves. Some have admitted the obscurity of it by their silence, as it were, passing over it in their commentaries like a bottomless pit, judging it better to say nothing at all than too little. Therefore we are forced to have recourse to the Hebrews and to seek the truth of knowledge from the font rather than from rivulets, especially since it is no prophecy about Christ that is composed, where they are accustomed to use subterfuge and to conceal the truth with falsehood, but the order of history arising from what comes before and after. The fast of the fourth month, which among the Latins is called July, on the seventh and tenth day of the same month, they think is the following: when Moses descended from Mount Sinai he threw down the tablets of the law and shattered them; ⁴⁷¹ and according to Jeremiah the walls of the city were first broken down. ⁴⁷² In the fifth month, which among the Latins is called August, when there was unrest among the people on account of the spies of the Holy Land, they were commanded not to ascend the mountain but to wander about to the Holy Land over a period of forty years with great losses, so that with two exceptions, Caleb and Joshua, all fell in the wilderness. ⁴⁷³ In that month, the temple of Jerusalem was burned and destroyed both by Nebuchadnezzar and many centuries later by Titus and Vespasian; the city of Bether, to which many thousands of Jews had fled, was captured; the temple was plowed over by Tyrannius Rufus to the shame of the oppressed nation. But in the seventh [month], which among us is called October, as we said above, Gedaliah was murdered, and the remnant of the tribe of Judah and Jerusalem were scattered. Let us read Jeremiah. ⁴⁷⁴ In the tenth month, which among us is called January, because it is the gate and the beginning of the year, Ezekiel, while he was in captivity, and all the captive people heard that the temple had been overthrown in the fifth month, which we learn in very great detail from the same prophet. ⁴⁷⁵ This, therefore, is all that is being said: The days of wailing and of fasts that so far you have had in mourning, you should know that I have purposed to do good to Jerusalem, ⁴⁷ and for the house of Judah solemnities too are to be turned into gladness and joy, at least if you love the truth and peace. According to anagogy, we fast at that time when the bridegroom is removed from us, ⁴⁷⁷ and we do not deserve to have him present. But when the Lord returns to us, and he purposes to do good to us, all sadness will be turned into joy, and the former famine for the word of God ⁴⁷⁸ will be compensated for by

the presence of his teachings and by an overabundance of heavenly bread.

8:20-22 Thus says the Lord of hosts, until people come and dwell in many cities, and the inhabitants go one to another, saying: Let us go and entreat the face of the Lord, and let us seek the Lord of hosts, I also will go. And many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the face of the Lord.

Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: Yet shall many peoples come, and the inhabitants of many cities; and those who inhabit cities shall be gathered together into one city, saying: Let us go to entreat the face of the Lord, and to seek the face of the Lord Almighty. I will go also. And many peoples and many nations shall come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem and to entreat the face of the Lord.” The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will be changed into the best feasts, ⁴⁷ to such an extent that the cities of Judah that had previously been deserted will celebrate with a crowd of inhabitants; and one city would go to the other and be encouraged by each other, and say: Because the roads of Zion had mourned during these seventy years, because there was none who went to a feast, all its gates were deserted, and its priests sighed; but now that peace has been restored, let us go to Jerusalem, in which it is commanded in the law that we sacrifice victims, and three times a year every male among us is to appear in the sight of the Lord. ⁴⁸ And when one says to the other: “Let us go and entreat the face of the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty,” the other city will answer: “I also will go.” At that time many peoples will come, and nations innumerable and strong, to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem to the Lord of hosts and to entreat his face. For the Lord draws near to those who do not test him, and he shows his face to those who are not unbelieving. ⁴⁸¹ He who sees the Son sees the Father also; ⁴⁸² and the Lord and Savior is the image of the invisible God, ⁴⁸³ not because the Son is visible and the Father invisible, but because when the Son is named, the Father is perceived. For he is not the Father if he does not have the Son. And this is why he himself says in the Gospel: “Father, I have manifested your name to men.” ⁴⁸⁴

What we have said concerning Jerusalem and Zerubbabel, or, after Zerubbabel, is applied more correctly and fully to Christ and to the Jerusalem that is understood as the church; and then from the whole world, peoples and nations will come together to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord. In the time of persecution, also, as we have touched on earlier, ⁴⁸⁵ teachers and priests of the church boldly promise captives and believers that παροικίαι ⁴⁸ must again be built, and the tranquility of peace must be restored, and the face of the Lord must be entreated in the churches. We are running past what is clear so that we may linger in what is more obscure.

8:23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days, wherein ten men of all languages of the nations shall take hold and shall hold fast the hem of the Jewish man, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: In those days, if ten men of all the languages of the nations should take hold and hold fast the hem of a Jewish man, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Some of the Jews say that these things were fulfilled under Zerubbabel and after Zerubbabel. Others postpone it to a future time, when they hope the Christ will come. But we understand it more rightly and truly of the coming of the Lord and Savior, when he was born of the Virgin Mary. After all, it is written: “Until the peoples come.” ⁴⁸⁷ When it is said “until,” it does not mean the present time, in which Zerubbabel and Jesus were living, but the future, when many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the face of the Lord. At that time, then, and in those days ten men out of all the languages of the nations will take hold of the hem of Jewish men, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. And we read in Isaiah: “Seven women will take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our bread and be covered with our clothes; only let your name be called on us, remove our reproach.” ⁴⁸⁸ Those, therefore, who are called “seven women” there refer to the churches. This number is contained in the apostle Paul—for he writes to seven churches, to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians. And in the Apocalypse of John the Lord, girded

with variety and with the purest gold, enters into the midst of the seven lampstands, ⁴⁸ that is, churches, of the Ephesians, Smyrnians, Pergamonians, Thyatirians, Sardinians, Philadelphians and Laodiceans. Now in the prophet Zechariah ten are named, which the Lord also inquired about, that if he could find [ten] in Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, he would deliver them from destruction. ⁴ For not only among the Greeks but also among the Hebrews, the letter iota, with which the Savior’s name begins, means the number ten. And this is shown in mystical speech, that all who are registered with the Christian name, whom the Lord also says that he left seven thousand at the time of Jezebel’s persecution and Elijah’s flight who did not bow their knees before Baal; ⁴ ¹ and they come from all languages and nations into the measure of the perfect man. ⁴ ² They will take hold of the hem of the Jewish man, that is, of the Lord and Savior, of whom it is also said in the psalm: “Judah is my king”; ⁴ ³ and: “Judah, your brothers will praise you”; ⁴ ⁴ and again: “A prince shall not fail from Judah and a leader from his loins until he comes to whom it is laid up; and he will be the expectation of the nations.” ⁴ ⁵ “For there will be a root of Jesse, and he who arises to rule the nations, in him the nations will hope.” ⁴ And when they take hold of him, they will wish to keep close to his tracks, because God is with him. Or certainly, whoever believes from all the languages and nations will take hold of the Jewish man, [namely,] the apostles who are from the Jews, and they will say: Let us go with you; for we have heard through the prophets and have come to understand by the words of all the Scriptures that Christ the Son of God is with you as God and Lord. When a prophecy is very clear, and it is declared about the coming of Christ, his apostles and the faith of all the nations, we should seek nothing further. Now we have said that the number seven thousand pertains to the name of Christians. Count up in Greek ἑπτάκεις χιλίους ⁴ ⁷ and χριστειανους, ⁴ ⁸ and you will find that it comes to the same number and sum, that is, 1,941. But also in the parable of the ten virgins in the Gospel, whom we interpret of the senses of the flesh and spirit, they apply to the mystery of this number if they prepare the oil of good works for their lamps, ⁴ and double the number five. Then they may be holy in body and spirit, according to the apostle. ⁵ Also [they refer to] the ten cities that he will receive in the future who has governed excellently the senses of the body, the number being doubled. ⁵ ¹

9:1 The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Adrach,

and of Damascus his rest, for the eye of man, and of all the tribes of Israel is the Lord’s.

Septuagint: “The assumption of the word of the Lord in the land of Sedrach, and of Damascus his sacrifice; for the Lord looks upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel.” This whole vision or weight and burden of the word of the Lord, as Aquila translated it, pertains to the calling of the nations and building of the church. And the order of the words is “The assumption of the word of the Lord,” sharp in respect to sinners, soft in respect to the just. For that is what Adrach means, the name being composed of two parts, ad, sharp, rach, meaning soft and tender; and not, as it is read wrongly by some, “Sedrach.” Some refer Adrach to the Jewish people, Damascus to the calling of the nations. Whence the people, or “the assumption of the word of the Lord,” comes into the land of Adrach, on which the Lord exercised his severity and mercy. Severity on those who refused to believe, mercy on those who returned with the apostles; but Damascus properly is the “rest of the Lord,” as in what is written in Isaiah: “And his rest will be honor.” ⁵ ² “For before the boy knew [how] to choose good or evil and to call [his] father or [his] mother, he received the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria.” ⁵ ³ And this is why Damascus is translated into our language as “one drinking blood” or “blood of goat’s hair,” so that the former translation would mean bloodthirsty people, the second, penitence coupled with his brutality. As for what follows, for the eye of man, and of all the tribes of Israel is the Lord’s, they have explained it thus: The reason the temple of God must be constructed by both peoples, that is, by the land of Adrach and by Damascus his rest, is because anyone, both from the nations and from all the tribes of Israel, who “looks upon” God and hopes in him is the Lord’s; or, as in the Septuagint, because the Lord “looks upon” all men equally and all tribes of Israel. Let us also say it in another way: In the land of Adrach is the burden of the word of the Lord, and the heaviest weight. But in Damascus are his victims and sacrifice, because the Lord “looks upon” both the faith of the nations and the faithlessness of the circumcision without any respecting of persons, and he is equally God of all, imposing the heavy weight of his judgment on some and giving it a rest in the home of others.

The Jews claim that all these things must be fulfilled at the coming of the Christ, whom they promised themselves at the end time, so that in the land of Adrach and Damascus, Emath and Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon and Gaza, Ekron also and Ashdod and Philistia, will submit their necks to the most powerful king and serve him who dwells in Jerusalem. And none would dare to raise a hand against Israel, since all the surrounding peoples would have been pacified. We prove incontestably that all these things have taken place spiritually in the coming of the Lord and in his churches.

9:2-4 Emath also in the borders thereof, and Tyre, and Sidon, for they have taken to themselves to be very wise. And Tyre has built herself a stronghold and heaped together silver as earth and gold as the mud of the streets. Behold, the Lord shall possess her and shall strike her strength in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire.

Septuagint: “And [in] Emath in her regions are Tyre and Sidon, because they were exceedingly wise. And Tyre built her stronghold and gathered together silver as earth and gold as the mud of the ways. Therefore the Lord shall possess her and will strike her strength in the sea; and she shall be consumed with fire.” Emath, which means χόλος, that is, indignation, is the very place that took the name Epiphania from Antiochus Ἐπιφανες and now is the city of Syrian Coeles. And this one therefore, and Tyre and Sidon, will be in the borders of Damascus, or the borders of the land of Adrach, so that they would believe in the Lord and Savior, to whom it was said by the Father: “Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the borders of the earth for a possession.” ⁵ ⁴ The daughters of this Tyre, that is, souls of believers in Christ, will offer gifts to the king so that what is written might be fulfilled: “The daughters of Tyre will worship him with gifts.” ⁵ ⁵ And when the city of God, the church, will be built, of which the psalmist sings, “Glorious things are said of you O city of God,” ⁵ the other things [said there] will immediately follow: “Behold, foreigners and Tyre and the people of the Ethiopians, these were born there.” ⁵ ⁷ It is spoken of foreigners in two psalms: “Foreigners serve” or “are subjected to me.” ⁵ ⁸ Concerning the Ethiopians, we read in the prophet Zephaniah: “They will bring gifts to me from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,” ⁵ and in the psalm: “Ethiopia

will hasten [to stretch out] her hands to God.” ⁵¹ But of Tyre the Gospel says: “Woe to you, Chorazin, woe to you, Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they perhaps would have long ago repented in sackcloth and ashes.” ⁵¹¹ From the regions of Tyre and Sidon a Canaanite woman from Syro-Phoenicia, whose daughter was in a bad condition due to a demon, met the Lord and Savior; ⁵¹² and she devoted the firstfruits of the faith of the Tyrians and Sidonians, so that those who had not believed at the time of Christ, because they had not seen his signs and miracles, afterward would see and believe through the apostles, and they would become partakers in that happiness that the Lord promised, saying: “Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed.” ⁵¹³ Now Tyre and Sidon—one of which means συνοχὴ, that is, “affliction,” the other θήρευμα, that is translated “hunting”—have taken to themselves to be wise to such an extent that by her sophistry and nets of dialectic and sophistical webs, which are her strongholds, Scripture records that Tyre proposed riddles to Solomon, that is, to the king of peace; ⁵¹⁴ and “gathered together silver,” namely polished eloquence, and gold, the cunningness of senses, like dust and mud that is in streets and ways so that it possessed the kingdom of idolatry that he had fortified. But the apostle speaks against these strongholds: “For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful in God, for the destruction of strongholds, destroying thoughts and every height that raises itself against the knowledge of God.” ⁵¹⁵ And under the persona of Nineveh, which means “adorned” or “beautiful,” for nothing is more ornate than the world, the word of God is directed through the prophet against the men of the world: “And you will be drunk, and you will be contemptible, and you will seek aid from the enemy; all your strongholds as figs with their greens, if they will be shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater.” ⁵¹ Therefore the Lord will possess both Tyre and Sidon, when he strikes their strength in the saltiest and most bitter sea of this world and keeps any of her former wisdom from remaining, that is, her inflated pride, through which they compared their weak strongholds and silver and gold to mud. He will cook them with fire, and he will cleanse them to purity. The Savior speaks of this in the Gospel: “I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it would burn.” ⁵¹⁷ This agrees with what is written in Mark: “Everyone will be salted with fire.” ⁵¹⁸

9:5-8 Ascalon shall see and shall fear, and Gaza, and shall be greatly pained;

and Accaron, because her hope is confounded, and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited. And the divider shall sit in Azotus, and I will disperse the pride of the Philistines. And I will take away his blood out of his mouth and his abominations from between his teeth, and even he shall be left to our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Accaron as a Jebusite. And I will encompass my house with them who serve me in war, going and returning, and the oppressor shall no more pass over them, for now I have seen with my eyes.

Septuagint: “Ascalon shall see and shall fear, and Gaza, and shall be greatly pained; and Accaron, because she is confounded concerning her hope, and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited. And foreigners shall dwell in Azotus, and I will destroy the abuse of the foreigners. And I will take their blood out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth; and these also shall remain to our God, and they shall be as a χιλίαρχος,” that is, a “tribune,” “in Judah, and Accaron as a Jebusite. And I will set up an elevation in my house, so that no one may pass through, nor turn back; neither shall there any more come on them one to drive them away and threaten, for now have I seen with my eyes.” Ascalon means “unknown fire” or “weighed”; Gaza, “strong” or “power of command”; Accaron, “sterile” or “uprooted”; Azotus, which in Hebrew is called Ashdod, “generating fire” or “uncle’s fire” or “fire of the breast.” Jebusite means “trampled.” We have expressed the etymologies of the names in order briefly to survey the sense. Ascalon, Gaza and Accaron will see that the Emath that was in the regions of Damascus, and Tyre and Sidon, have been possessed by the Lord, after they had been struck around, ⁵¹ and all their hay, wood and stubble was burned up with fire. ⁵² Shaken by fear, pain and confusion, they began to hope for better things. Finally Ascalon, where previously the devil’s “unknown fire” was, and it had come up to the measure and “weight” of sins, trembled in terror, because it ceased having inhabitants. And Gaza was greatly pained, repenting of her previous wickedness, she who once was invincible, strong and enduring, and was promising the kingdom over all to itself, because its king and chiefs, contrary speech and the power of the enemy, had lost its “power of command.” “Sterile” Accaron too, because without the law and knowledge of God it had no sons, was “uprooted,” so that it heard the following prophetic words: “Rejoice, O sterile one, you who do not give birth; break forth and cry, you that do not

travail, for more are the sons of the desolate than of her that has a husband.” ⁵²¹ And when Ascalon, Gaza and Accaron are terrified and pained, either because they do not have inhabitants or because they have lost their king or their former hope has been frustrated, foreigners shall be seated in Azotus, where the fire is born, which the Lord sent upon the earth and desires to be burning. ⁵²² For he himself baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire, ⁵²³ where he is the brother and “uncle,” άδελφίδος καὶ πατράδελφος, whom the bride in the Song of Songs desires. ⁵²⁴ This is where there is the “fire of the breast” and of the most abundant breast, of which we read in the same Song: “He will lie between my breasts”; ⁵²⁵ and in the apostle: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.” ⁵² What we expressed according to the Septuagint as “And foreigners will dwell in Azotus” reads in Hebrew as: mamzer will dwell, or sit, in Azotus, which we recorded as: And the divider will sit in Azotus. Understand the divider as the Lord, who separates the grain from the chaff, ⁵²⁷ and the good fish from the bad fish, ⁵²⁸ and discerns silver and gold from filth and dross. And when he does this, he promises the other things as well: I will disperse “the abuse,” or the pride of the Philistines, which the Septuagint translated as “foreigners.” In our language Philistines means “falling from the cup,” which they will drink from the chalice of Babylon and fall down drunk. And so, at the time of the calling of the nations and of the coming of Christ, they will not have pride but will follow the humble and gentle Jesus. ⁵² And he will take away the blood from their mouth, words of blasphemy, and abominations, the worship of idols, and the eating of those things that have been sacrificed to idols, from between their teeth, so that after these things have been removed, the Philistines themselves, this is, the “foreigners,” would be left to the Lord and would be as a governor in Judah, that is, in the people confessing the Lord, so that the former people who had been the head shall be turned to the tail, and the newest one who had been the tail would pass into being the head; ⁵³ and Accaron, once sterile and therefore uprooted, would be like Jebus, that is, like Jerusalem. ⁵³¹ For this city is called by three names, Jebus, Salem and Jerusalem. And I will encompass my house, he says, that is, the church, with them who serve me in war, that is, with those who serve me in the various mysteries and go this way and that at my command, going and returning. Or, I will encompass my house with the protection of angels, of which it is also written elsewhere: “The angel of the Lord will let loose around those who fear him and will rescue them” ⁵³² “so that no one would pass through, nor turn back,” that is, would lie in wait for my people. And the oppressor shall no more pass over them, of which Isaiah says: “The oppressor has ceased”; ⁵³³ or certainly ἐξελαύνων, that is, “one who leads outside,” and drags prisoners into

captivity; for with his eyes, which we can understand as the prophets and all holy ones, the Lord has seen the calling of the nations and the security of the church.

9:9-10 Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king will come to you, the just and a savior; he is poor and riding on an ass, and on a colt the foal of an ass. And I will scatter the chariot out of Ephraim and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow for war shall be broken, and he shall speak peace to the Gentiles, and his power [shall be] from sea to sea, and from the rivers even to the ends of the earth.

Septuagint: “Rejoice exceedingly, O daughter of Zion; proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king will come to you, just and saving; he is meek and riding on a beast under yoke and a young colt. And he shall scatter the chariots out of Ephraim and the horse out of Jerusalem, and he shall scatter the bows of the warriors and the multitude, and peace out of the nations; and he shall rule over the waters as far as the sea, and the rivers to the exits of the earth.” The Evangelists write that this prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord entered Jerusalem, sitting on an ass, and the foal of an ass, and a crowd of children, crying out, met him with palm branches: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest.” ⁵³⁴ And when he was rebuked by Pharisees for not chastising the children who were crying out, he responded: “Have you not read: From the mouth of infants and suckling babes you have perfected praise?” ⁵³⁵ Therefore Zion exults and Jerusalem shouts for joy, one and the same city—for Zion is the citadel of Jerusalem—because her king comes to it, who was promised by the predictions of all the prophets. Just and himself the savior, that is, Jesus, just as the angel translated it when he said to the virgin: “And he will be called Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ⁵³ Poor also, or as the Septuagint translated, “meek,” who “though he was rich, for our sake became poor”; ⁵³⁷ and in the Gospel he says: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart.” ⁵³⁸ And riding on an ass, “a beast under yoke,” or “on a young colt,” namely on both the people of the circumcision and of the uncircumcision, the former of which previously had borne the very heavy yoke

of the law; just as in the Acts of the Apostles it is written: “Neither we, nor our fathers were able to bear the heavy yoke of the law.” ⁵³ And this is why Paul writes to the Galatians who wanted to be circumcised: “Stand, and do not again be held by the yoke of slavery.” ⁵⁴ But the “young colt” is the multitude of Gentiles. They do not have the bridle of the law, nor are they governed by anyone, but they always slip into the precipices and chasms of idolatry and get broken. They learned to walk and to enter on the straight way when the Lord sits on them. ⁵⁴¹ It says, And I will scatter the chariot out of Ephraim. This is still said from the persona of God the Father, that a chariot, or a car, would perish out of Ephraim and a horse out of Jerusalem. And meanwhile according to the letter he is saying this: There will be no battles when all things have been pacified by the advent and birth of Christ. Moreover, according to the deeper understanding, Ephraim refers to the multitude of heresies, since it means καρποφορία, that is, fertility and abundance of crops. It is written about this in the seventy-seventh Psalm: “The sons of Ephraim, stretching out and shooting the bow, turned back on the day of war.” ⁵⁴² We read of these chariots and cars: “Some [boasted] in chariots and others in horses, but we will call on the name of the Lord our God; they were entangled and fell, but we rose up and stood upright.” ⁵⁴³ The horse that is scattered from Jerusalem is that one of which we read: “The horse is deceitful in respect to safety.” ⁵⁴⁴ And in Jeremiah those who were devoting themselves to luxury and lust hear: “They have become to me as horses raving after females; each one was neighing after his neighbor’s wife.” ⁵⁴⁵ Whence they are called back to repentance, since the psalm writer says: “Do not be as the horse and mule, in which there is no understanding.” ⁵⁴ And when the Lord scatters the chariots out of Ephraim and the horse out of Jerusalem, those who will have been delivered from such horses and chariots will be transferred over to the Lord’s service, and they will become cherubim, and it shall be said of them: “The chariots of God are ten thousand fold, thousands of rejoicing one,” ⁵⁴⁷ and: “I have likened you, my companion, to my horses in the chariots of Pharaoh,” ⁵⁴⁸ and: “You will ride upon your horses, and horses are your safety.” ⁵⁴ The bow for war will be “scattered,” so that flaming arrows are not shot, ⁵⁵ which can strike the hearts of pleasure seekers. And he will speak peace to the nations, of whom it is written: “He will be the expectation of the nations,” ⁵⁵¹ and again: “The nations will set their hope upon him.” ⁵⁵² And: his power is from sea to sea, and from the rivers up to the ends of the earth. This must not be weakened through allegory, but it must be believed to have been truly fulfilled, according to what we read: “Ask of me, and I will give to you the nations as your

inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession.” ⁵⁵³ In the seventy-first Psalm as well, under the persona of Solomon and of the true peacemaker, it is said: “And he will rule from sea to sea, and from river to the ends of the earth.” ⁵⁵⁴

9:11-12 You also by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit, in which there is no water. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope; I will render to you double, as I declare today.

Septuagint: “And you by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit that has no water. You shall sit in the stronghold, ye prisoners of the congregation, and for one day of your sojourn I will render to you double.” After the words of the prophet, or rather, God himself the Almighty Father, announced to Zion and Jerusalem that their king was coming to them, meek and riding on an ass, a beast under yoke, and on the colt of an ass, ⁵⁵⁵ and that in the future his power would be from sea to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth, ⁵⁵ he makes an apostrophe ⁵⁵⁷ to Christ himself, of whom the prediction relates, and he says: You also by the blood of your covenant, or pact, have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit, in which there is no water. This is understood as follows: By the blood of your passion you have delivered by your mercy those who were being held captive in the prison of the lower world, where there is no mercy. After all, after the Lord rose, those who were being held by the sins of Adam, or, as some think it means, by the chains of implanted error and death, resurrected with him and appeared in the holy city. ⁵⁵⁸ Concerning this blood of the covenant, he also points to the future passion when he said to his disciples: “Take and drink from this, all; for this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.” ⁵⁵ Joseph also was cast by his brothers into a prefiguration of this “pit which has no water,” ⁵ as well as Daniel and Jeremiah by the Chaldeans and the Jewish people respectively. ⁵ ¹ Benaiah also at the time of cold and snow went down into a pit to kill a lion there. ⁵ ² But Jeremiah is plunged not into the water of a pit but into mud and filth of a pit, which could suffocate the thirsty man rather than refresh him. And this is why it is written in the psalm: “I am stuck fast in the deep mire, and there is no standing.” ⁵ ³ And that former rich man

clothed in purple tarried in this pit of the lower world, whose bragging tongue was being consumed by the fires of punishments, and so much so that he did not have any cooling refreshment from water, so that he requested a cooling refreshment by the poor man’s dipping his little finger in water. ⁵ ⁴ And again the words of Christ’s liberation by mercy are directed to those who were imprisoned: Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. And the sense is: You who now are prisoners and are held by a ruthless and terrible hell, you who hope for the loosing of chains at the coming of Christ, return to the stronghold, or “you shall sit in the stronghold,” of which it is written: “The fear of the Lord is the saint’s stronghold,” ⁵ ⁵ so that you would be able to say: “Be to me a protecting God, and a stronghold to save me”; ⁵ and the prophet also recounts of you: “Behold, a strong city, and he shall make salvation [its] wall and fore wall.” ⁵ ⁷ We ought to understand this stronghold to which God exhorts the prisoners of hope, or the “prisoners of the church” who are hoping, as none other than the home of paradise, into which the first thief entered with the Lord; ⁵ ⁸ and the reason they are summoned to the stronghold through Zechariah is that already then and from that time the Lord promised this, that they would receive eternal rewards in exchange for a brief affliction. Or, as it reads in the Septuagint: “for one day of your sojourn I will render to you double.” For in comparison with eternity, all that we suffer in the world must be called “one day,” not of a home but of a “sojourn,” because we are foreigners and sojourners like all our fathers. ⁵ For “our light and momentary affliction in the present is achieving for us a weight of eternal glory beyond measure on high. We do not consider the things that are seen, but what is not seen. For the things that are seen are temporal; the things that are not seen are eternal.” ⁵⁷

9:13 Because I have bent Judah for me, as a bow I have filled Ephraim; and I will raise up your sons, O Zion, above your sons, O Greece, and I will make you as the sword of the mighty.

Septuagint: “For I have bent you, O Judah, for myself as a bow I have filled Ephraim; and I will raise up your sons, O Zion, above the sons of the Greeks, and I will handle you as the sword of a warrior.” The Jews refer this to the time of the Maccabees, who conquered the

Macedonians, and after a duration of three and a half years, cleansed the temple that had been defiled by idolatry. ⁵⁷¹ As for what follows, As a bow I have filled Ephraim, they think that this signifies those of the ten tribes that are called Israel, who had come under Hezekiah’s rule, over whom Josiah is also said to have reigned. ⁵⁷² At the least they interpret this in this manner in order to explain the former testimony differently from the way we do and to say: O Christ, whom we hope will come, and you who will reign over all the territories of the world, in the blood of your covenant with which you have found Jerusalem sprinkled in its own blood, according to Ezekiel, ⁵⁷³ and you who have entered a pact with Abraham by dividing up a heifer, a ram and a goat; ⁵⁷⁴ you have released your people Israel from captivity and the furnace of the Chaldeans, among whom there was no mercy. On account of this, you too, O Israelites, who were prisoners and hoped in the Lord, return to the most fortified stronghold of Jerusalem, because today you have the Lord promising that in place of the brief injustice of the captivity, you will receive back double, as we also read that Job received back. ⁵⁷⁵ This passage can be explained thus according to tropology: Judah is bent in the bow, when the Lord and Savior is sent into this world by the Father, who himself is both the bow, the bowman and the arrow. The bow, as in the present passage. The bowman, as in the forty-fourth Psalm: “Your sharp arrows are very powerful”; ⁵⁷ when he is wounded by them, he says: “I have been wounded by love.” ⁵⁷⁷ But he is an arrow who himself says through Isaiah: “He appointed me as a chosen arrow, and his quiver hid me.” ⁵⁷⁸ The word of God is a “choice arrow.” The quiver in which the arrow is hidden is the dispensation of the flesh he assumed. With this Ephraim is filled, so that he was armed and ready for war, and he himself was wounded by the arrows of the Lord with the nations. Jeroboam who first severed the people was from his tribe. ⁵⁷ Hosea the prophet shows more fully that he [Ephraim] is understood under the persona of the heretics; and also what we said above: “The sons of Ephraim, stretching out and shooting the bow, have turned back on the day of battle.” ⁵⁸ For when the Lord “raises up the sons of Zion,” that is, the sons of the church, every assertion will be destroyed, both of the teacher of the contrary dogmas, and of the philosophers, and also the arguments of the pagans, because the Lord himself is the sword of the mighty, of whom it is said: “Gird your sword upon your thigh, O Most Mighty One. In your comeliness, and in your beauty, bend [your bow] and advance in haste and reign, because of truth and meekness and justice; and your right hand shall guide you wonderfully.” ⁵⁸¹ By this sword the Ethiopians are wounded, of whom it is written: “And you, Ethiopians, will be wounded by

my sword.” ⁵⁸² After they are wounded by the sword of Christ, they will lay aside their hideous color and say in exultation: “The brightness of the Lord our God will be on us”; ⁵⁸³ and what David promises himself after his repentance: “You will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” ⁵⁸⁴ This is the sword of which the apostle writes: “The living and effective word of God, and more piercing than any double-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit.” ⁵⁸⁵

9:14-15a And the Lord God shall be seen over them, and his dart shall go forth as lightning; and the Lord God will sound the trumpet and go in the whirlwind of the south. The Lord of hosts will protect them.

Septuagint: “And the Lord God shall appear over them; and his arrow shall go forth as lightning; and the Lord God Almighty shall blow with the trumpet and shall proceed with the tumult of his terror. The Lord Almighty shall protect them.” The Jews refer this passage as well to the time of the Maccabees, that when they fought against and defeated Antiochus, the battle and victory was the Lord’s, who went forth strong to the combat, and his power appeared like lightning, and when the adversaries were vanquished and dispersed like a whirlwind he protected the Jewish people. But we will relate everything to the understanding of the Savior, of whom it was said above: “I have bent Judah for me as a bow.” ⁵⁸ When he was bent, and the heretics and nations were killed by the sons of Zion, ⁵⁸⁷ the glory of the Lord “will appear,” and his dart will go forth as lightning. In Habakkuk as well we read of this lightning: “In the light of your arrows they shall go forth in the brightness of your gleaming spear.” ⁵⁸⁸ That lightning and splendor is called by another name, trumpet and cry, so that when the holy cry sounds, let the one who previously had deaf ears say: “The instruction of the Lord opened my ears and gave me an ear to hear.” ⁵⁸ And as for what follows, And he goes in the whirlwind of the south, or “he goes in the shaking of his threat,” the reason he threatens and says that he will bring punishments is so that he might be merciful to the repentant. After all, he goes on to say: “The Lord Almighty shall protect them,” namely those whom he had earlier terrified by his threat. Let us read the history of the Ninevites. ⁵

[9:15b] And they shall devour and subdue with the stones of the sling, and drinking they shall be inebriated, as it were, with wine, and they shall be filled as bowls and as the horns of the altar.

9:16 And the Lord their God will save them in that day, as the flock of his people, for holy stones shall be lifted up over his earth.

Septuagint: [15] “And they shall destroy them and overwhelm them with slingstones; and they shall drink their blood as wine and fill as the bowls of the altar. The Lord shall save them in that day, even his people as sheep; for holy stones will be rolled on his earth.” What we have expressed as shall be lifted up, and is written in Hebrew as mitnosesoth, can be translated “roaming” or “fleeing.” With the sons of Zion protected and the Lord sounding forth and going in the whirlwind against their adversaries, ⁵ ¹ the downfall of the Greeks will be so great that they would be overwhelmed I will not say with swords, but with the throwing of stones and with the whirling about of slings, so that they would be prey and food for their enemies. Then drinking they will become inebriated, as it were, with wine. It is not those who are cut down who will be drunk in their own blood, but those who conquer will fight like drunks in desperation and will please the Lord as the horns of the altar and his drink offering. For this is understood in the bowls, by which drink offerings are poured out on the altar. And the Lord will save them as “sheep” and the flock of his people, for he will fight against the Macedonians not as an armed host trained in the art of waging war, but he will come as a flock ready to die and will overcome with the Lord’s help. And holy stones that were weighted down—now he calls them stones on account of the hardness of afflictions and strength of soul—will be lifted up from their lowliness and will be on that glorious earth. Another interpretation: His holy stones from the priestly race, fleeing through different things, will achieve victory as he grants it. Let us speak also according to anagogy, or rather, let us explain the prophecy that is wrapped up with many obscurities. The sons of Zion who are protected by

their Lord will devour their enemies, ⁵ ² who we understand as sons of Greece. ⁵ ³ And they will put stones in slings, the threats of Scripture, making some of their enemies subjected and lowly; for nothing strikes so as an example from Holy Scripture and a testimony sent out from the whirling about of the mouth. But what is said in the Septuagint, “And they will drink their blood like wine,” we do not read it so in the Hebrew, but: Drinking they will become drunk, as it were, from wine, so that they hear the following from the Song of Songs: “Drink, friends, and become drunk.” ⁵ ⁴ And thus drunkenness will be pleasing to them, like the sacrifice of the altar, and like the horns or corners of the altar. The Lord will save them also, like the flock of his people, “for holy stones will be rolled on his earth,” which will be so light and striving for the heights that they do not wait for the hands of the builders, but they themselves hasten to be placed on the foundation of Christ and to be contained in the cornerstone, of which the apostle Peter speaks: “You are being built as living stones into a spiritual house, and a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices, pleasing to God.” ⁵ ⁵ These are the stones that will cry out, if the Jewish people are silent, ⁵ and “they will be rolled over the earth” as long as they are in the body, because the earthly habitation weighs down the mind with many cares, ⁵ ⁷ and the saint while placed in the flesh says: “Who will give me the wings of a dove?” ⁵ ⁸ The one who is merely in himself tries to roll, and he is set up for the heights, but he is held back by the frailty of the flesh. But the earth over which the stones are rolled is that one of which we read: “Sing to the Lord, all the earth,” ⁵ and: “Let all the earth worship you, and sing to you.”

9:17 For what is the good thing of him, and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect and wine springing forth virgins?

Septuagint: “For if he has anything excellent, and if he has anything good, the young men shall have corn, and there shall be fragrant wine to the virgins.” [The Jews] say that the reason the Maccabees will overcome with the Lord’s help, after fleeing here and there, is so that when the Macedonians have been expelled from the land of Israel, the temple may be cleansed, the precepts of the law observed, and education in the Scriptures may produce virgins, that is, people who believe in one God who previously had been debauched by the

worship of idolatry. In the corn of the elect, that is, bachurim, the Jews would like this to be understood not as “young men,” as the Septuagint translated it, but as chosen and educated men, who are worthy to eat corn, that is, the law of God. Instead of wine, which is expressed in Hebrew as thirosh, Aquila translated οἰνίαν, which itself can refer to the fertility of grape harvest. This is what the Jews think. Moreover, we understand the corn of the elect, or “of the young men,” and the wine springing forth virgins, or the “wine fragrant to the virgins,” as the Lord and Savior, who says in the Gospel: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces more fruit.” ¹ From this wheat comes that bread that comes down from heaven ² and that strengthens the heart of man. ³ Those who are strong in Christ eat this bread, and those to whom John the Evangelist speaks: “I write to you, young men, because the word of God remains in you and you are strong, and you have overcome the evil one.” ⁴ He is the corn of the elect, or “of the young men,” and the wine that “gladdens the heart of man” ⁵ and is drunk by these virgins, who are holy in both body and spirit, so that, drunk and rejoicing, they may follow the church; and it would be said of them: “The virgins will be brought to the king behind her, her attendants will be brought to you; they will be brought in joy and exultation.” ⁷ For how will they not have joy who, having been made drunk by the cup of the Savior, are sprung forth as virgins and dare to say: “Bring me into the wine cellar, strengthen me with perfumes” ⁸? This is the “fragrant wine” of which it is spoken in the same song: “You will give me to drink from spiced wine, from the juice of your pomegranates.” By this wine they are inebriated who follow the Lamb of God wherever he goes, dressed in white clothing, because they had not defiled themselves with women, for they remained virgins. ¹

10:1-2 Ask ye of the Lord rain in the latter season, and the Lord will make snows and will give them showers of rain, to everyone grass in the field. For the images have spoken what was unprofitable, and the diviners have seen a lie, and the dreamers have spoken vanity, they comforted in vain; therefore they were led away as a flock; they shall be afflicted, because they have no shepherd.

Septuagint: “Ask ye of the Lord rain in season, the early and the latter. The Lord has given apparitions and will give them stormy rain, to everyone grass in the field. For the speakers have uttered laborious things, and the diviners have spoken false visions, and false dreams, they comforted in vain; therefore have they dried up like sheep and been afflicted, because there was no one to heal.” This happiness, which was promised in the time of the Maccabees, when holy stones were lifted up on the land ¹¹ and the Israelite affair grew greater and greater, to the point that the people fed on the corn of the law and your virgins were made drunk by the wine of the Holy Spirit, ¹² is partially promised. Moreover, since it is already the final time of the prophets, and the world is declining toward the end, and everything that was foretold awaits its term, ask ye of the Lord, that he may give you the “late rain,” that the Christ who was promised may come and grant to you the dew and snows, which is written in Hebrew as chazizim. And I do not know what the Septuagint intended when it translated this as “apparitions,” unless perhaps they wanted to describe the greatness of grace and the wonder of the gifts with the term “apparition.” The Lord, therefore, who will make snows and drought of every land will water with the rains of the gospel proclamation. ¹³ He himself will give rain showers to believers, and everything will be filled with abundance, so that after the nations believe in Christ, they would understand that the things that they worshiped before were vain. Or Israel itself, which once was held fast, deceived by the errors of idolatry, would understand that it had worshiped vain images and heard lies of the diviners and acquiesced to “dreams,” which Scripture commands must not be believed. ¹⁴ And for this reason they were led like a flock into captivity and were afflicted, being without God as their shepherd, because they did not have the knowledge of the law. This entire passage is obscure and ambiguous, and the reader ought to pardon us if we walk with a hesitant step in these things that are doubtful. But according to the spiritual understanding, we can say that the Lord is exhorting believers in Christ to “ask for the late rain” at the end of the world, when the fullness of grace must be given, and to everyone grass will grow in its own field, so that they are able to say: “The Lord guides me, and there is nothing I shall want; he placed me there in a place of pasture, he has led me forth on the waters of refreshment.” ¹⁵ For all images and diviners and dreamers have spoken vain things and have consoled in vain. He is saying these things about the heretics, who under the Christian name do not understand either what they are saying or what they affirm, ¹ and they attend to erroneous spirits and to

teachers of demons that speak lies with hypocrisy and have a seared conscience. ¹⁷ Thus by not believing they are led away by the consolations of those who promise vain things, and for that reason they are handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. ¹⁸ And having been led away into the captivity of the king of Babylon, they will also be afflicted, because they do not have Christ as their shepherd, whom they promise themselves under a false name.

10:3-5 My fury is made angry against the shepherds, and I will visit upon the he-goats, for the Lord of hosts has visited his flock, the house of Judah, and has made them as the horse of his glory in the war. Out of him shall come forth the corner, out of him the pin, out of him the bow of battle, out of him every exacter together. And they shall be as mighty men, treading underfoot the mire of the ways in battle, and they shall wage war, because the Lord is with them.

Septuagint: “My fury was stirred up against the shepherds, and I will visit on the lambs; and the Lord God Almighty shall visit his flock, the house of Judah, and he shall make them as his goodly horse in battle. And from him he looked, and from him he set [the battle in order], and from him will come forth the bow in fury, all who come forth together. And they shall be as warriors treading underfoot the mire of the ways in battle; and they shall be prepared, because the Lord is with them.” The Jews offer two explanations of this passage. For some think that everything is to be fulfilled at the coming of the Christ; others say that these things were already fulfilled under the Maccabees. But the explanation of these things that the Lord promises is this: The Lord is made angry against the shepherds and the leaders as well as the priests, and he has visited on the he-goats and the people. This agrees with what is written: “My people, the flock, became lost, shepherds cast them out.” ¹ Thus the disciples were punished for the fault of the teachers, not by an act of injustice of the judge, who renders the sins of the father to the sons, ² but because the people simultaneously applauded those who were sinning. And then indeed the Lord visited his he-goats, or fattest “lambs,” and according to the Septuagint made them “dry up” with aridity. ²¹ But after “the Lord Almighty has visited his flock, the house of Judah”; for he raised up Judas

Maccabeus, and others from him, against the leaders of Antiochus and made them like a horse of his glory in “battle,” that is, those who were born from that man’s stock, for they kept the Macedonians in check for a long time. As for what follows, Out of him shall come forth the corner, out of him the pin, out of him the bow of battle, out of him every exacter together, they understand this metaphorically. Thus they interpret the corner as royal authority, because it keeps the walls together. And out of him the pin, it says, that is, the priesthood. Read Isaiah, in which Eliakim is fastened like a pin in the temple of God. ²² Out of him the bow of battle, strong men for ²³ waging war, out of him also every exacter together, which is written in Hebrew as noges, and Aquila translated it εἰσπράσσων, ²⁴ so that not only the strong and good but others of them shall be unworthy of their own race. For Judas Maccabeus and all who were leaders among the people were from his stock, and they were a corner, because they held the people together by their royal authority, and a pin, for they themselves were priests, and the bow of battle, because the strongest men stood forth, so that they not only organized the army and the battle line but they were the first to leap into the battle. ²⁵ We can say this about what follows, Out of him shall come forth every exacter together, which the Septuagint translated: “And from him will come forth all who lead forth together.” There will be no rank in the army that is not arranged by that man’s choice. And the strongest men will be treading underfoot the Macedonians like the mire of the ways in battle; but they will be the strongest, and they will wage war, because the Lord is with them. But our people apply these things to the times of persecution, because frequently the people are handed over to their enemies for the fault of the priests; and yet afterward “the Lord Almighty visits his flock, the house of Judah,” which confesses God both in words and in mind and makes them as the horse of his glory in war, of which [horse] the saints say: “Ride on your horses, and your horses are salvation.” ² He will also be the bow of the Lord’s fury, of which it says: “I will make my arrows drunk with blood,” ²⁷ and again: “My arrows will consume them.” ²⁸ We read of this bow and of these arrows in the seventh Psalm: “He stretched his bow and prepared it, and prepared instruments of death with it, and he forged his arrows with fire.” ² And those crowned with martyrdom will tread underfoot his enemies, it says, and they will say: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom should I be afraid? While evildoers drew near to me, to devour my flesh, those of my enemies who trouble me, they themselves are sick and fallen. Though an army should set itself in array against me, my heart shall

not be afraid; if war should rise up against me, in this I shall hope.” ³ This is when that utterance will be fulfilled: “One of you will pursue a thousand, and two will turn many thousands to flight.” ³¹

[10:5c] And the riders of horses shall be confounded.

10:6-7 And I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph; and I will bring them back again, because I will have mercy on them; and they shall be as they were when I had cast them off, for I am the Lord their God and will hear them. And they shall be as the strong men of Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; and their children shall see and shall rejoice, and their heart shall be joyful in the Lord.

Septuagint: [10:5] “And the riders of horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph, and I will settle them, because I have loved them. And they shall be as when I had not cast them off, for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them. And they shall be as the warriors of Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as with wine, and their children also shall see it and be glad; and their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.” [The Jews] have explained this as well in accordance with the twofold sense given above. Thus they either say that it has already been accomplished under the Maccabees or they recount that it is to be done under the Christ at the end of the world. And this is the sense: When Judas will be made as a goodly horse in battle ³² and will tread the enemies underfoot like mire ³³ and will overcome, as the Lord battles with him, then the whole cavalry of Greece will fall, and the house of Judah and the house of Israel—for he calls the latter the house of Joseph, that is, of the ten tribes—will be saved together; and I will bring them back again from the captivity in which they were, and they shall be as at that time when I had not cast them off; for I am the Lord their God; I will hearken to them when they pray. And Ephraim, who now are kept in captivity, afterward they will be loosed, and they will come with such great joy that you would think

they were drenched with wine. Their children also will see the triumphs of their fathers and will rejoice in the Lord, at whose dispensing they obtained the victory. We should look for the history when Judas and Israel fought together against the Greeks, or at that time when Ephraim returned from captivity in Assyria, when according to Ezekiel two rods, that is, Judah and Ephraim, were joined together and united into one staff. ³⁴ It can be explained according to tropology in the following way. When the Lord Almighty visits his flock, the house of Judah, then “the riders of horses will be confounded,” of whom it is written: “Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously magnified; horse and rider he has cast into the sea.” ³⁵ It is likewise sung by the voice of the psalmist: “At your rebuke, God of Jacob, the riders on horses slumbered.” ³ And the choir of saints gasps: “Some [glory] in chariots, and some in horses, but we will call on the name of our God. They are entangled and have fallen, but we have risen and have been set upright.” ³⁷ In this cavalry the king of Egypt trusted; and he was cast headlong into the sea, drowning like lead in the depths; ³⁸ and by his own example he learned that what is written is true: “The horse is deceitful for salvation.” ³ We have interpreted these cars and chariots of the four disorders, which are driven over cliffs unless the reins of a good charioteer govern them. ⁴ But there is another charioteer of whom Elisha speaks: “Father, father, the chariot of Israel, and his charioteer.” ⁴¹ God says that he strengthens the house of Judah and the house of Joseph at that time, so that those who were divided under Jeroboam’s reign ⁴² will be reunited under Christ’s command, and there would be one shepherd and one flock. ⁴³ For both Judah and Joseph by different names are applied to a single understanding of the Savior, because Joseph gave out grain generously to the hungry people in Egypt, ⁴⁴ and the Lord satisfied the hunger of the world by his own presence. And he will bring them back again and have mercy on them, and thus they shall be one just as they were before he cast them off. Understand all these things in respect to persecutions, when you despair of all things, the Lord has hearkened to his servants. And as they shall be as the strong men of Ephraim; those who first were feeble and weak later on will be strong and worthy of their own name. For Ephraim means “fertility.” And their heart will rejoice when they drink wine that was pressed from the vine of Sorec. ⁴⁵ Their children, to whom the apostle Paul also says: “My little children, for whom again I suffer travail until Christ shall be formed in you”; ⁴ and Peter the prince of the apostles says: “As children of obedience, not conformed to your former behavior.” ⁴⁷ And in the psalm we read: “Come, children, hear me, I will

teach you the fear of the Lord.” ⁴⁸ These children, therefore, will exult and rejoice, and “their heart shall be joyful in the Lord.”

10:8-10 I will whistle for them, and I will gather them together, because I have redeemed them, and I will multiply them as they were multiplied before. And I will sow them among peoples, and from afar they shall remember me, and they shall live with their children and shall return. And I will bring them back out of the land of Egypt and will gather them from among the Assyrians and will bring them to the land of Galaad, and Libanus, and room shall not be found for them.

Septuagint. “I will make a sign to them and receive them; for I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied as they were very many. And I will sow them among the peoples; and from afar they shall remember me. They shall bring up their children, and they shall be brought back. And I will bring them again from the land of Egypt, and I will receive them from among the Assyrians; and I will bring them into the land of Galaad and to Libanus; and none of them shall be lacking.” They will have my whistle, he says, as the sign of his gathering them together, either under the Macedonians or at the end of the world, as we said earlier, so that from my whistling I gather them and show that I am a shepherd. For I redeemed them and freed them from captivity, with an outstretched arm; and I will multiply them, I who had multiplied before, so that their dispersion among the peoples would not seem to be a division but an act of sowing, and with the crop of children and grandchildren multiplied, they would live with their children; and they would return not only from the land of Egypt but from among the Assyrians and from both parts of the world they would return to Judea, and to the land of Galaad and Libanus, which previously the ten tribes settled, which are called the house of Joseph and Ephraim; and the number of the restored will be so great that the land would not have room for the multitude. According to anagogy the Lord “makes a sign” and whistles to those who had previously been prisoners to sins, and he says to them: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and you will find rest for your souls. Take my yoke

upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ⁴ What could be more clement than this “sign,” this whistle, by which the scattered people are gathered? But they are gathered, because the Lord has redeemed them, not with perishable silver and gold, from their empty way of life, but with “the precious blood as of a spotless lamb,” ⁵ the Lord Jesus. Whence he speaks in the psalm: “My exultation, rescue me from those who surround me,” ⁵¹ and again: “You have redeemed me, Lord God of truth.” ⁵² And he will multiply them as they were multiplied before, so that what was promised to Abraham might be fulfilled: “I will multiply him and I will bless him, and he will be blessed, so that he may become the father of many nations.” ⁵³ But we ought to understand the children of Abraham not as those to whom the Lord says, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of your father,” ⁵⁴ but as those of whom the apostle says: “However many are of faith are children of Abraham.” ⁵⁵ Isaiah also testifies to this multiplication in mystical speech when he says: “He who is few will become thousands, and he who is small will become a great nation.” ⁵ But we should not understand the multiplication and blessing of children carnally: otherwise Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah and John the Baptist, than whom no one was greater among those born of women, ⁵⁷ would have been without this blessing. Instead, it is that by which multitudes of nations are called to faith. After all, it follows: I will sow them among peoples, and from afar they will remember me. They were sown among the peoples, who heard the words of the Lord: “Go, teach all nations,” ⁵⁸ and in another place: “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain forever.” ⁵ And when the apostles were sown among the peoples, the nations and peoples “far off will remember me,” since the following prophecy concurs with this statement: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. And all the families of nations will worship before him. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he will rule the nations.” And what is said, From afar they will remember of me, is similar to this: “You who are afar, remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem ascend over your heart.” ¹ The entire multitude of nations was far off, but it remembered God, because out of one parent we are all born. And when the apostles were sown among all nations, and the nations located far off will remember God; they will live with their children, so that those who previously were dead through unbelief would begin to live by faith. These are the children that Paul “brought up” in the gospel, writing to the Corinthians: “I gave you milk to drink.” ² And Peter writes to the faithful in the dispersion who had been reborn: “Not with perishable seed but unperishable,

through the word of the living and abiding God,” ³ just as newborn infants, so that they would long for reasonable milk and grow up in him unto salvation. ⁴ The Evangelist John wrote to these children: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” ⁵ It says: And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from among the Assyrians. From the land of Egypt, where king Pharaoh was in command, who once said boastingly: “The rivers are mine, and I made them.” And from the land of Assyria, which the Assyrian king held, “great mind,” who himself also said: “Above the stars of heaven I will put my throne, and I will be like the Most High.” ⁷ But when the Lord gathers the nations from the darkness of Egypt and from the tribulation of the world, and from the power of Assyria, which means “rebuking” and “convicting,” for he is an avenger and enemy, he will “lead them into the land of Galaad and Libanus.” Galaad is translated into our language as “testimony of transmigration,” when we pass from the fleshly things toward the spiritual things, we go from the part to the whole, we leave the earthly and transmigrate toward the heavenly. But Libanus means λευκασμὸς, that is, “whitening.” And so we are led from the darkness of Egypt, so that after we cross over and migrate out of the world, we are whitened in the Lord, and it is said of us: “Who is this who ascends all white?” ⁸ Others in accordance with the ambiguity of the Greek language, whereby Libanus expresses both a mountain in Phoenicia and incense, interpret Libanus here as incense, and they think that God is signified by incense, so that after we cross over from earth to heaven, the prayer of the Savior is fulfilled in us: “Father, grant to them that they might be one in us, just as you and I are one.” And this is why the bride in the Song says to the bridegroom: “The fragrance of your clothes is as the fragrance of Libanus.” ⁷ And when he leads us into the land of Galaad and Libanus, room will not be found for us, so that we are not constrained by the narrowness of the earth, but we would fully enjoy the wideness of the heavens.

10:11-12 And he shall pass over the strait of the sea and shall strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be confounded, and the pride of Assyria shall be humbled, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name, says the Lord.

Septuagint: “And they shall pass through a narrow sea, they shall strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the rivers shall be dried up; and all the abuse of the Assyrians shall be taken away, and the scepter of Egypt shall be removed. And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God; and they shall boast in his name, says the Lord.” The Hebrews recount that the Jewish people were captive not only among the Medes and Persians, but they were also transferred to the Bosporus and to the region north of the Assyrians and Chaldeans. And afterward they were recalled in part, when the mercy of God converted them to himself, and this is what is now being said: They will pass over “the narrow sea,” namely, the straits of Propontis, which separate Chalcedon and former Byzantium by a short channel. And the Lord shall strike the waves of the sea, it says, as he goes before his people, and “all the depths of the rivers will be confounded,” as once happened when the Jordan dried up ⁷¹ and the people crossed the Red Sea in the desert. ⁷² And when they are delivered from the depths of captivity, from the bitterness of evils, Assyria shall be humbled, and the empire of Egypt shall depart. And they will be strengthened in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name into the land of Israel, says the Lord. We have expressed these things to men who speak our language as things that have been handed down to us from the Hebrews. The reliability of the statements we refer to those who said these things. However that may be, we who are registered with the name of Christ leave behind the letter that kills and follow the life-giving spirit, ⁷³ or rather, comparing spiritual things to spiritual things, ⁷⁴ we seek not the Bosporus and the drying up of the sea again and the dry flow of the Jordan, which are like tales, but the mercy of God befitting his servants, as he goes before and opens the way for us, we pass over the strait of the sea, or the “narrow sea,” which is very broad for sinners: “For broad and spacious is the road which leads to death, close and narrow which leads to life.” ⁷⁵ And of this sea we read in the Psalms: “They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in many waters; these men have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.” ⁷ In the sea of this world, in which the number of saints is confined and is placed in tribulation, the apostles have gone down, and first the Lord, to deliver us from the salty waves. Into this sea the net of the gospel is cast, which is woven with testimonies from the Scriptures, to drag into the open air the many fish covered by the whirlpools of the world, ⁷⁷ so that they would be able to sing praises to God. ⁷⁸ These are the ones who have descended into the sea and do many works in the ships of the churches and see wonders in the deep of the riches of his

wisdom and knowledge, ⁷ and in the Holy Spirit, who searches even the depths of God. ⁸ The Lord says to them: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ⁸¹ Isaiah also foretells something about these fishers who descend to the sea and are in the ships: “They will fly in ships of foreigners, and will plunder the sea together.” ⁸² For in the churches that have been gathered from the number of nations, all the apostles “flew” into the whole world to “plunder” the sea and take the spoils of the dragon who ruled the sea, and of which it is written: “This [is] the great and wide sea with schools; there are things creeping innumerable, small animals and great. There go the ships; [and] that dragon whom you made to play in it.” ⁸³ The sea is wide and broad, with animals great and small that live with the dragon and are innumerable. But they who are on the sea and fly in ships on the sea itself will hear with the Savior: “You rule the power of the sea, you still the movement of its waves.” ⁸⁴ And when they “pass over the narrow sea” and trample its waves underfoot, all the depths of the river will be confounded, of which it is written: “He who turns the sea into dry land, they shall pass through the river on foot.” ⁸⁵ Thus the pride or “abuse” of Assyria might be humbled, and the empire of Egypt depart from saints and believers, and those who have been set free may be strengthened in the Lord and say: “O Lord, my strength and my praise,” ⁸ and again: “I will love you, O Lord, my strength,” ⁸⁷ and with Jeremiah: “My strength and my help, and my refuge, O Lord my God.” ⁸⁸ And this is why the apostle, in whom Christ was speaking, said: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” ⁸ And not only will they be strengthened in the Lord, but they will also “boast” in him and say: “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”; and: “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord”; ¹ and in another place: “Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches; but let him who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows the Lord, and practices mercy in the midst of the earth.” ² But since it is written in Hebrew, And they will walk in his name, it must be understood thus, that Christians should walk in the name of Christ and let their new name be written on pebbles, ³ and let them walk with the Lord under the dignity of such a great name, just as Enoch walked and pleased God and was translated. ⁴

Book Three

Brother Sisinnius urges me to hand over material that is unpolished and unfinished, so that I do not even have the opportunity to reread it, much less to make corrections. He is in a hurry to do his work; we are not doing our work at all, since our education is rendered superfluous, and we are not allowed to compose with ornate language what we conceive in our mind. Therefore receive these books unpolished. This is not my fault, but due to the zeal of the ferryman, since he is in a hurry to apportion your money to the saints and does not allow me to count out my money for you. ⁵ For although one’s talent may be elegant and trained, and a well-polished speech may run on at length, nevertheless if it is not attended to and polished by the author’s hand it will be redolent of foul negligence, and either abound with too many flowery words or there would occur hiatus in the vowels, or rough elements in the consonants. And this is why there is a tradition about Virgil that he used to compose his books and lick them into shape the way she-bears lick their cubs. His books have endured in eternal memory, and they fulfilled the requirement of meter in unrestrained speech. We have reached Libanus, ⁷ and the two rods ⁸ and three shepherds who were cut off in one month, and the thirty silver pieces, ⁷ with which the potter’s field was purchased as a burial place for strangers, ⁷ ¹ and the instruments of a foolish shepherd, ⁷ ² and the other things up to the end of the book. These were composed out of such great mysteries that we need your prayers and the mercy of the Lord, lest our course be obstructed by some error or there be just occasion for detraction from the ill-disposed, who think that the only reason they have tongues is to tear their neighbors to pieces with, and they console the hardness of their impudent brow by their rabid words.

11:1-2 Open your gates, O Libanus, and let fire devour your cedars. Howl, you fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, for the mighty are laid waste. Howl, you oaks of Basan, because the fenced forest is cut down.

Septuagint: “Open your gates, O Libanus, and let fire devour your cedars. Let the pine howl, because the cedar has fallen, for the noblemen have been crushed.

Howl, you oaks of the land of Basan, for the thickly planted forest has been torn down.” Clearly Libanus, to which the prophetic speech turns, saying, Open your gates, O Libanus, is understood as the Jewish temple, which was rebuilt, or rather built by Zerubbabel, and it is predicted in song again to be destroyed by Vespasian and Titus. And because he had called the temple Libanus metaphorically, he preserves the comparison in the rest of the passage, so that by cedars and fir trees and oaks of Bashan and “thickly planted forest,” he is signifying the Jewish princes, priests and people. But Libanus opens her gates, so that the Roman army may enter, and lets fire devour its cedars, so that either everything would be laid waste by burning or the leaders and princes would be consumed by the enemy’s attack. The fir trees wail, because the cedar has fallen, the princes and priests mourning mutually over their own devastation. And what he said earlier indistinctly, now he records more clearly: For the mighty men are laid waste. I desire to know what the cedars of Libanus are that were burned, what the fir trees are for which howling is made, what the pine is that has fallen. He says: The mighty men are laid waste. Howl, oaks of Bazan, that is, of confusion and disgrace, because the most fenced forest, which is expressed in Hebrew as batsor, and the Septuagint translated “thickly planted,” has been cut down; for the temple, which had increased in invincible strength and was built by different kings and princes and later on by Herod, was destroyed by the Roman siege. Some fail to understand this passage and refer Libanus, the fir trees, the pines and the oaks, Bashan, and the thickly planted or fenced forest to the opposing powers, of which it is also spoken in Ezekiel under the name of Assyria, and of Pharaoh: “Behold, Assyria the cypress in Libanus, and good in its branches, and thick with shade, and lofty in height, and its top was made in the midst of the clouds; water nourished it, the deep exalted it,” ⁷ ³ and the rest, which is said about both Assyria and Pharaoh. They think this is spoken either to the opposing powers or to all the proud men and princes, of whom we read in the psalm: “The voice of the Lord shatters cedars, and the Lord will break the cedars of Libanus,” ⁷ ⁴ and in another place: “The day of the Lord Sabaoth is upon all the high and lofty,” ⁷ ⁵ and after a few things: “And upon every lofty cedar of Libanus and upon every oak tree of Bashan.” ⁷ And they claim that it is prophesied about that Libanus: Libanus will fall with the high ones. But we should follow the former interpretation, especially since the things that follow agree with this sense.

11:3 The voice of the howling of the shepherds, because their greatness is laid waste: the voice of the roaring of the lions, because the pride of the Jordan is spoiled.

Septuagint: “There is a voice of the shepherds mourning; for their greatness is brought low; a voice of roaring lions, for the roaring of the Jordan is brought down.” In these brief lines is contained also part of the previous section. He had named cedars, fir trees, pines and oaks of Bashan. ⁷ ⁷ And explaining what those trees were, he added and said: “For the mighty men are laid waste.” ⁷ ⁸ Now by a different metaphor he says that they are shepherds, that is, princes and teachers; and those who had been first among the people, that they ought to weep and mourn, because their greatness and beauty and comeliness were laid waste and devoured, namely the temple, in which they boasted. And it says, the voice the roaring of lions. Those whom he had called lofty trees and then shepherds, now he calls these same ones lions. And because he had said lions, he preserves the comparison, so that he adds: Because the pride of the Jordan is spoiled, or “roaring” and the sound of the rushing water, which in Hebrew is expressed as ge’on. And just as he compared the height of the temple with the height of Libanus in accordance with the location of the land of Judea—for in the promised land nothing was higher nor more thickly planted nor denser than Libanus—so he linked the roaring of lions (which owes to their passionate hunger) to the Jordan River, which is the greatest river in Judea, along the banks of which lions dwell; and on account of the nearness of the desert and the extent of the deserted wilderness, and the reeds and sedges. Whence it is said through the prophet: “A lion ascends from the Jordan,” ⁷ intending to show that Nebuchadnezzar came forth from his residence against Jerusalem, like a lion from its lair. Another interpretation: The voice of the roaring of lions, because the pride of the Jordan was spoiled. The voice of the nobles, he says, because the temple has been destroyed, from which they were always hoping for help, and because it was feeding the just, the warriors and the once-powerful lions.

11:4-5 Thus says the Lord my God: Feed the cattle of the slaughter, which their possessors have slain and did not grieve; and they sold them, saying: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds spared them not.

Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: Feed the sheep of the slaughter, which their possessors have killed and have not repented, and they that sold them said: Blessed be the Lord; and we have become rich, and their shepherds have suffered nothing for them.” When the prophecy is very clear, and the true order is set forth by the transferring of the history, the interpretation of the tropology is unnecessary, so that we say that there are some good shepherds, others that are bad, and that this refers both to the old people and to the new, that is, both to the priests and princes of the Jews, and to the bishops and priests of the Christians; and that whatever shepherds are neglectful and cause scandal for one of the least ones, ⁷¹ they are those who feed the cattle of the slaughter and “do not suffer” anything over them, nor do they grieve, nor are they able to say with the apostle: “Who is scandalized, and I do not burn?” ⁷¹¹ And they sell the people entrusted to them, of whom it is written: “Who devour my people as they eat bread.” ⁷¹² And from the deaths of others they obtain riches, praising those who prey on the wretched and blessing the lawless. Others interpret these things as they want; let us hold the order of explanation that we once appropriated. Because Libanus has been opened, and its cedars and fir trees have been devoured by a burning flame, ⁷¹³ and the howling of the shepherds has been heard, and the roaring of the lions, because all the beauty and pride of the Jordan is laid waste and devoured, ⁷¹⁴ therefore thus said the Lord my God to me: O prophet Zechariah, to you these words are given: Feed the flock of the slaughter, that is, now for a time let it be nourished and increase, which afterward is to be slain by the enemies. The sheep and cattle were “killed” by the princes of the Romans, who possessed them and obtained them by the right of victory, and they did not pity them, or they sacrificed them; and they did not feel grief, that is, they “suffered no” harm for such great cruelty, and they sold those that they held on to not on account of clemency but for a price. Let us read the old histories and the traditions of the mourning Jews, that in the tabernacle of Abraham—where now a very wellknown commerce fair takes place every year—after the final overthrow, which they endured from Hadrian, many thousands of men were offered for sale; and

those who were not able to be sold were transferred to Egypt, cut down by both shipwreck and famine and by a slaughter of the Gentiles. Those victors, therefore, and avengers of the Lord who “killed” and did not grieve, and sold cattle and said, Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, held this sentence. The Jews were offensive on account of their sins; therefore we oppressed them, and from their price we became rich. It is not surprising, he says, if the enemies “killed” the cattle by the right of victors and did not grieve, sold them, and boasted in their own wickedness, since their shepherds and teachers did not spare them, and the flock is handed over to the wolves by their fault.

11:6-7a And I will no longer spare those who inhabit the land, says the Lord. Behold, I will deliver up the men, every one into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king; and they shall destroy the land, and I will not rescue [it] out of their hand. And I will feed the cattle of slaughter for this, O ye poor of the flock.

Septuagint: “Therefore I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. And behold, I will deliver up the men, every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his kings; and they shall destroy the land, and I will not rescue [it] out of their hand. And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan.” What the Septuagint translated at the end of the section, “And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan,” is not in Hebrew and is rendered by no other translator. ⁷¹⁵ Because, therefore, their shepherds were not sparing them, and they themselves were devouring my first people, ⁷¹ therefore, I too will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land of Judea, says the Lord. For he is speaking about that land about which his speech had been, and not about the earth, as the Jews wrongly interpret it, wishing to distort God’s judgment of them into another direction. For after the overthrow of the temple—which befell them because they refused to repent for forty-two years after the Lord suffered, the length of time being accepted—it says, I will allow everyone to go against his neighbor; and they will slaughter themselves by mutual slaughter; or during the siege of the temple, when the Roman army will encircle Jerusalem. For the wars and discords among the Jews themselves will be so great that the people

would be divided into three factions. Let us read Josephus and the seven books of the Jewish captivity, and we shall see by the truth of history that this prophecy was fulfilled. ⁷¹⁷ It says, And they will destroy the land. It is beyond doubt that the Romans destroyed the entire land and all the cities of the Jews. And I will not rescue them from their hand. Hear this, O Judea, you who promise yourselves the vainest hopes, and do not hear the Lord saying and confirming, I will not rescue from their hands, because your future captivity among the Romans shall be forever. And I will feed the cattle of slaughter, so that the Jews would always be nourished for death; therefore, because this is God’s verdict: O you who are poor of the flock, that is, the just ones of Israel, you who have believed in the Lord Jesus, and received God’s Son, ⁷¹⁸ hear what is said and understand the mysteries of the following section. But as for what we read in the Septuagint, “And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan,” we can understand it thus, that the Lord feeds and nourishes for sacrifice the Jewish people, who are destined for death and scattered throughout the whole world—that is, “in the land of Canaan” and of the Gentiles.

[11:7b] And I took for myself two rods, one I called Beauty, and the other I called Cords, and I fed the flock.

11:8-9 And I cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul was straitened in their regard, for indeed their soul also varied in my regard. And I said: I will not feed you; that which dies, let it die, and that which is cut off, let it be cut off, and let the rest devour every one the flesh of his neighbor.

Septuagint: [7b] “And I will take for myself two rods; one I called Beauty, and the other I called Cord; and I will feed the sheep. And I will remove three shepherds in one month, and my soul shall weigh heavily over them, for indeed

their souls roared against me. And I said: I will not feed them; that which dies, let it die; and that which faints, let it faint; and let the rest devour every one the flesh of his neighbor.” He had said above: Therefore, O poor of the flock, ⁷¹ pay attention, and one was to supply in thought, when άποσιωπήσει ⁷² occurred, for the gates of Libanus were opened, and the oaks of Bashan, the fir trees and cedars were cut down; ⁷²¹ and he had added as a threat: “I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord.” ⁷²² And he seemed to be saying this about the Jewish people alone, that, having killed the prophets, they laid their hands on the Son of God and cried out together with a rash voice: “His blood is upon us, and upon our children.” ⁷²³ Now the Creator of the world and the Lord explains the mysteries of his own world and says that he had two rods, one of which he will call Beauty, the other Cords. And he will feed the flock that is linked by the two rods; and he will cut off three shepherds in one month, and his soul is straitened, or angered, or—as the Septuagint translated it—“shall weigh heavily over them,” doubtless referring to the shepherds whom he will cut off in one month. And he gives the reason why he is so angry with the shepherds to the point that he will cut them off in one month: For indeed, it says, their soul also varied in my regard. And this is the meaning: They did not love me with all their mind, nor have hired shepherds loved the true shepherd. “For the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” ⁷²⁴ Accordingly, I too made known my sentence in anger, and I said to very shepherds, whom I had cut down in my indignation, or to the remaining flock once the shepherds were cut down, I will not feed you; but that death he chose, let him die by his own will, and let them devour each other and mutually tear themselves apart in slaughter. We have said this as a paraphrase in order to smooth out a path for the coming explanation. The Creator and shepherd, whose voice the sheep recognize and they follow him, ⁷²⁵ took for himself two rods, or two σκυτάλας, that is, staffs, which in Hebrew are called maqloth, in order to show the character of a shepherd. One rod he called Beauty, this is under Noah; he protected the whole human race with his blessing when the world was restored and sins had not yet defiled it. And therefore the calling of all nations is called beauty and comeliness, because nothing is more just than for the Father of the universe to invite everyone equally whom he produced with an equal condition. And the other he called Cords; for when the Most High divided the nations and disseminated the sons of Adam, he established boundaries for the nations according to the number of angels, O Lord. And his people Jacob became the Lord’s portion, Israel the cord of his

inheritance. ⁷² It says, And I fed the flock, either Israel itself or the entire human race with Israel. It says, And I cut off three shepherds in one month. I read in someone’s commentary that the shepherds cut off by the Lord’s indignation are understood as the priests, false prophets and kings of the Jews. ⁷²⁷ For after the passion of Christ everything was cut off at one time. Jeremiah speaks of them: “The priests have not said: Where is the Lord? Though holding on to my law, they did not know me. And the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets were prophesying by Baal, and they followed idols.” ⁷²⁸ And, not content with this explanation, he wants the three shepherds cut off in one month to be understood as those who sinned against the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; ⁷² for all heretics sin either against one, or against two, or against the three persons together. Let him say what he wants, for one must not disparage someone else’s interpretation. To us the three shepherds who were cut off in one month seem to be Moses, Aaron and Miriam, of whom Miriam died in the desert of Sin in the first month, which is called Nisan; ⁷³ and in the same place, on account of the water of contradiction, and in the same month, Moses and Aaron were condemned not to enter the promised land. ⁷³¹ And so it happened that of the three shepherds, one [Miriam] was cut off by death in the present, the others [Moses and Aaron] by a judgment concerning their future death. It says, And my soul was straitened in their regard, namely in regard to the three shepherds whom I had set in charge of my flock. For their soul also varied in my regard; for they did not glorify me at the water of contradiction. ⁷³² But if we refer it to the people, that the soul of the people varied in regard to God, it must be explained thus: The reason I was angry with them was that they themselves were wavering between me and the idols, and they fought against me in various ways. Accordingly I said to Moses in anger, I will not feed you; “let me alone,” and I will scatter them. ⁷³³ But when he says “let me alone,” since he is angry, he invites a response, and shows that he can be restrained. ⁷³⁴ It says, That which dies, let it die, and that which is cut off, let it be cut off; let the bodies of all fall in the wilderness, and since they turned to sedition, let them be torn to pieces by mutual biting like beasts, and let none enter the promised land. Some have understood the two callings of the Jews and Gentiles, in the first term, Israel, and in the last, the Christians. But they have not paid adequate attention to how the Christian calling will be cast out earlier, ⁷³⁵ and the Jews will remain and be fed by God.

11:10-11 And I took my rod that was called Beauty, and I cut it asunder to make void my covenant (foedus), which I had made (percussi) with all people. And it was made void in that day, and so the poor of the flock that keep for me understood that it is the word of the Lord.

Septuagint: “And I will take my beautiful staff and cast it away, that I may break my covenant (testamentum), which I made (disposui) with all the people. And it shall be broken in that day; and the Canaanite sheep that are kept for me shall know that it is the word of the Lord.” After the calling of Israel and the taking of the second rod, which was called a Cord, ⁷³ the Lord took the first rod, the nations of the whole world, which were called Beauties, ⁷³⁷ and cut them off from their worship, because they worshiped idols and “they all turned aside, together they became useless.” ⁷³⁸ Explaining what this rod was more clearly, he added, to make void my covenant, which I had made with all people. For as soon as Israel was taken, the throng of the Gentiles was cast out; and the αἰμορροῦσα ⁷³ began to flow with blood and be tormented by constant infirmity when the daughter of the synagogue ruler was born. It is told in the Gospel that afterward, when she was ten years old, she became sick and died. ⁷⁴ It says, And my covenant was made void, which I had enacted with all nations. And the poor of the flock, that is, the people of Israel that keeps my commandments, understood that it is the word of the Lord, that is, the will of the Lord to cast away the nations that deny him, and in Abraham to take confessing Israel. What we have translated And the poor of the flock understood, the Septuagint translated: “And the Canaanite sheep that are kept for me will understand,” which many have explained thus. The Jewish people, to whom it was said: “The seed of Canaan, and not Judah,” ⁷⁴¹ who are now kept by my ceremonies, will understand. Or it means “Canaanite,” those prepared for humility, will understand, those who once were prepared to be humbled and left behind by the Lord. But the reason is clear why they said “Canaanite” for what we translated as so the poor. For among the Hebrews so is expressed as khen; poor as ‘aneyi. They combined two words into one. For so the poor, that is, khen ‘aneyi, they translated the name of the “Canaanite” nation.

11:12-13 And I said to them: If it be good in your eyes, bring hither my wages, and if not, be quiet. And they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Cast it to the statuary, ⁷⁴² a handsome price, that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord to the statuary.

Septuagint: “And I will say to them, if it be good in your sight, establish and grant my wages, or refuse them. And they established for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Drop them into the melting furnace and see whether it is a tested metal, as I was tested for their sakes. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them into the melting furnace in the house of the Lord.” When the poor of the Israelite flock who keep my commandments understand that it is the word of the Lord that I spoke, ⁷⁴³ and what I said is true, that is, to the poor of the flock, if it pleases you; for you are men, and I created you once for all with free choice, to whom I also said in the desert: “If you will hear me, you will eat that which is good of the land”; ⁷⁴⁴ for this adoption whereby I rejected the whole human race, and I chose you for myself as my special flock, and I the Creator of all wanted to have a small cord, ⁷⁴⁵ pay me my wages, that is, keep my commands. But if you do not want to pay the wages, and it is not pleasing in your eyes to be assessed by my name, “refuse” openly and do what you want. Indeed, back then they responded to Moses: “All that the Lord says, we will do.” ⁷⁴ But at the end of time, in exchange for my having chosen them from the midst of the nations and having delivered them from the iron furnace of Egypt, ⁷⁴⁷ they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver, giving it for my blood to Judas the betrayer. ⁷⁴⁸ The prophet says, And the Lord said to me, or the Savior himself, to whom belongs the previous words, testifying that the Father spoke to him, Cast it to the statuary, which reads in Hebrew as yotser, that is, τὸν πλάστην, which we can express as maker and potter. And this is the sense: Cast my price to the potter, who is the Creator and maker of all things. And he said not “drop” but cast, so that the Lord’s wages were weighed out by a judgment of a potter and molder. And when he sees his price, that is, of the divine majesty, that he was betrayed for such a cheap wage, for the thirty pieces of silver, he says with irony: a handsome price, that I was prized at by them; but this should be read with a rather low voice, with mockery and scorn, of one who is saying: my former people, and the poor of the flock, those who were chosen by me as my sons, decided that I needed to be bought and sold for such a price. And the

Lord says through the prophet, I took the thirty pieces of silver, as it had been commanded to me by the Lord, and I did not “drop” them, but I cast them into the house of the Lord to the maker; in the house of the Lord I caused them to be returned to the priests and Pharisees by the betrayer. The one who sold him himself confessed: “I have sinned, handing over innocent blood.” ⁷⁴ But since this had been the price of his blood, they did not want it to be deposited as corban, that is, in the treasury; ⁷⁵ but with it they purchased a potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁷⁵¹ For we were all foreigners and strangers of the law; having been redeemed by his most precious blood, we are buried and rest in the house of the potter and Creator of all things. Instead of πλάστῃ ⁷⁵² and maker, I once translated this as statuary, forced by ambiguity of the word, because in the single word he signifies statuary and maker. The Jews interpret this passage dishonestly, recounting that the thirty pieces of silver are the thirty commands of the law, which they are ordered to do in the law, and again the thirty-six are the other things that they were forbidden to do in the law, and that it is said to them that they should pay the silver of the commands of the Lord to their maker and potter, God, which, since they refused to do that, they were cast out. I wanted to briefly indicate their thoughts; in other respects, however, it would be irksome to go over their most convoluted explanation. So let us move on to what remains.

11:14 And I cut off my second rod, which was called a Cord, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Septuagint: “And I cast away my second rod, which was called a Cord, that I might break the covenant that was between Judah and Israel.” On this passage as well, I know that I have read someone’s lengthy explanation, or rather inextricable tangles. He cites from the book of Ezekiel in the passage about the two rods that were united and applies to this section everything that needs to be understood spiritually concerning the agreement of Judah and Ephraim. ⁷⁵³ But we should follow the sequence we have begun. After the Lord was crucified by the Jews and was priced at thirty silver pieces, ⁷⁵⁴ and the price of his blood succeeded in acquiring a burial place for the Gentiles, ⁷⁵⁵ who had

been estranged from the law and commandments of God, ⁷⁵ immediately the Lord postpones his verdict no longer and says: I cut off my second rod, which had been uniquely mine, which adhered to me in such a way that in Jeremiah it is called an apron and a girdle and a loincloth, ⁷⁵⁷ or to use the customary term, a leather hip bag. This second rod was once called Cord and my portion. ⁷⁵⁸ The reason it was cast out by me was in order to break the covenant and brotherhood and the concord, which had been between Judah and Israel, and to separate the brothers from each other, so that in the number of the apostles and of those who repented it could again be called Judah and the one confessing their God. But they were to be called Israel and Ephraim and Joseph, who persisted in the hardness of their hearts and said: “We have no king but Caesar.” ⁷⁵ This is why he did not add: to make the pact or “covenant” void, which I had with Judah and Israel—for up to today he extends his hand to those who repent—but he made a division between those who believe from the one people and others who do not believe, saying: “Do not think that I came to send peace on the earth; I did not come to send peace but the sword. For I came to divide a man against his own father, and a daughter against her own mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies will be members of his own household.” ⁷

11:15-17 And the Lord said to me: Take yet to yourself the implements belonging to a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who shall not visit what are forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is crushed, nor nourish that which stands, and he shall eat the flesh of the fat ones and break their hooves. O shepherd and idol that forsakes the flock, the sword on his arm and on his right eye, his arm shall be withered with dryness, and his right eye shall be darkened with darkness.

Septuagint: “And the Lord said to me: Take yet to yourself shepherd’s implements belonging to an inexperienced shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd on the land who shall not visit what is forsaken, and he shall not seek what is scattered, and he shall not heal what is broken, nor guide that which is whole, and he shall devour the flesh of the choice ones and shall twist their ankles. Alas for the vain shepherds that have forsaken the sheep! The sword [shall be] on his arm, and on his right eye; his arm shall be withered with

dryness, and his right eye shall be darkened with blindness.” When he says, Take yet to yourself the implements belonging to a foolish shepherd, he means that which he took to himself above, the two rods, one Beauty and the other Cord. ⁷ ¹ And because he cast them out for their own vice and sin, ⁷ ² and when the brotherhood between Judah and Israel was broken, ⁷ ³ we were engrafted into the root of the good olive tree, ⁷ ⁴ and a “blindness” in part came to the house of Israel until the fullness of Gentiles enters, ⁷ ⁵ now the prophet is told to take up the very serious prediction of the foolish or “inexperienced” shepherd. The foolish and “inexperienced shepherd” is doubtless the antichrist, who is said to be coming at the end of the world, and it is shown what sort of man he shall be. ⁷ But we ought to understand the implements of the shepherd as his distinguishing marks and appearance, his knapsack, staff, reed pipe and whistle. And just as Isaiah goes about naked to show the captivity of the people; ⁷ ⁷ and Jeremiah goes to the house of the potter to show the destruction of Israel and the power of God from the shattering of the vase that he was turning on the wheel and that was being fashioned by the hand of the craftsman; ⁷ ⁸ and Ezekiel, not only by his words but also by his appearance, showed the overthrow of Jerusalem, the flight of Zedekiah and the burdens of the captives, and he digs a hole through a wall, and it is taken up on his shoulders; ⁷ in this manner Zechariah adopts the dress of a foolish and “inexperienced shepherd,” in order to announce him who is about to come. This shepherd, therefore, will arise in Israel, for the true shepherd had said: “I will no longer feed you.” ⁷⁷ He is prophesied under another name in the prophet Daniel, in the Gospel, and in the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, as “the abomination of desolation,” who is about to sit in the temple of the Lord and to make himself God. ⁷⁷¹ He is called “great mind” by Isaiah. ⁷⁷² And he comes for this purpose, not to “heal” but to destroy the flock of Israel. For the good shepherd visits the sick beasts, searches for the scattered, carries the abandoned and sustains the weary. The bad shepherd, on the other hand, does the exact opposite, and when he has “devoured the flesh” of the fat ones, he breaks and “twists” the hooves of the rams and the sheep, to keep them from walking with straight legs. The Jews received this shepherd, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of his mouth, ⁷⁷³ and he will nullify him by the light of his coming, so that they who did not believe the truth, lest they should be saved, would believe the lie and be judged, because they consented to iniquity. ⁷⁷⁴ But having described this evil, foolish and inexperienced shepherd, the prophet’s

words turn to the shepherd himself: O shepherd and idol. The shepherd is so wicked that he is not called a worshiper of idols but an idol himself, since he calls himself God and wants to be worshiped by all, ⁷⁷⁵ he who forsakes the flock to be devoured by beasts, which the Lord had guarded for such a long time. The sword [is] on his arm, and strength, and on his right eye, with which he boasted that he could piercingly discern the mysteries of God and see more than all the previous prophets had seen, to the point that he would call himself God’s Son. But this sword is the one of which we learn above and now we will speak of partially, of which Isaiah speaks: “My sword is drunk in heaven.” ⁷⁷ But the reason the sword of the Lord is on his arm and will be on his right eye is so that his strength and all his boasting in his strength may be withered with dryness, and his knowledge, which he promised himself by a false name, ⁷⁷⁷ may be darkened with eternal darkness.

12:1-3 The burden of the word of the Lord on Israel. The Lord said, who stretches out the sky and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man in him: Behold, I will make Jerusalem an upper lintel (superliminare) of surfeiting to all the people around; but Judah also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all people; all who have lifted it up shall be rent and torn, and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against her.

Septuagint: “The assumption of the word of the Lord over Israel. The Lord says, who stretches out the sky and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man in him: Behold, I will make Jerusalem as things that tremble on lintels to all the people around and in Judea. And there shall be a siege around Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will make Jerusalem a stone that is trampled by all the nations; everyone that tramples on it shall utterly mock at it, and I will gather all the nations of the earth together against it.” There are three interpretations from this passage in which we read, Behold, I will make Jerusalem an upper lintel of surfeiting to all the people round about, up to that passage where it is written, “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that cleaves to me, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd,

and the sheep shall be scattered.” ⁷⁷⁸ For some Jews think that these things have already partially been fulfilled by Zerubbabel, up to Gaius Pompeius, who was the first of the Romans to capture Judea and the temple, as Josephus writes about in his history. ⁷⁷ But others [think] that they are to be fulfilled at the end of the world, when Jerusalem will be restored, which the pitiable nation of Judea promises itself with their ἠλειμμένῳ, ⁷⁸ whom we have read about above as the foolish shepherd. ⁷⁸¹ But others, that is, we who are registered with the name of Christ, recall that they are being fulfilled and must be fulfilled daily in the church up to the end of the world. And to keep the measure of this book from being extended by recording the details, we set this forth. Some say this; others conjecture that; we perceive this. We have recorded the three views so that the wise reader may understand from the variety of the interpretations what ought to be applied to what. Therefore the Lord who stretches out the sky as a skin, and has made the earth firm on a deep mass, and has formed the spirit of man in him, the same one is the Creator of all souls, so that he constructed one living being out of the two substances of soul and body. For spirit is commonly received for soul, as here: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” ⁷⁸² and: “You shall remove their spirit and they will faint, and to their own dust they shall return.” ⁷⁸³ Therefore this Creator and Lord of the world testifies that he will make Jerusalem an upper lintel of surfeiting to all the people around, so that the one who touches its threshold becomes drunk and falls, or the upper lintel itself falls on him by whom it is touched. Moreover, when Jerusalem was besieged Judah is captured by the nations and, passing into an alliance with them, will be forced to besiege its own capital city. But not only will the Lord make Jerusalem an upper lintel of surfeiting to all the people; but he will make it a burdensome stone to all the people, and the one who wants to lift it up shall be rent and torn. For all kingdoms of the earth will be gathered together against Jerusalem. There is a custom in the cities of Palestine, and up to today throughout all of Judea an old custom is preserved, that round stones of very heavy weight are placed in villages, ⁷⁸⁴ towns and fortresses, with which young men are accustomed to train themselves. They lift them up according to the degree of their strength, some up to their knees, others up to their bellies, others to their head and shoulders, some over their heads, with their hands joined together and straight. They lift the weight to show the measure of their strength. In the Acropolis, ⁷⁸⁵ near the statue of Athena, ⁷⁸ I saw an extremely heavy bronze sphere, which I was quite unable to budge due to my

weak and puny body. ⁷⁸⁷ But when I asked what it was there for, the response from the worshipers of her city was: as a strength test for athletes. No one could go down to the public games before it is found out with whom he ought to be matched based on his lifting of that weight. Therefore the sense is this: To all nations I will make Jerusalem like a most burdensome stone to be lifted. They will lift it indeed, and will lay it waste according to the degrees of their strength; but it is necessary that when it is lifted, in the very effort and lifting of the weight, the very heavy stone would leave some cuts and scrapes on the bodies of the lifters. This can be interpreted of the church as follows: all the persecutors who fought against the house of the Lord will become drunk by that cup that Jeremiah offers to all nations to drink and become drunk, to fall and vomit, and to rave. ⁷⁸⁸ I know that in the time of persecution many of us are forced to fight against the church, but whoever wants to lift this weight will lift it indeed and will sustain it with his own hands in view of the anger of the Lord by which he chastises sinners; but he himself will not go unpunished, since God’s sword is fighting against him. Instead of burdensome stone, which we translated to the best of our ability, the Septuagint rendered it “stone that is trampled by all the nations; every one that tramples on him,” or her, that is, Jerusalem, “shall utterly mock at it.” The sense is clear, that in both ways Jerusalem shall be trampled on and mocked both by hostile nations and by her persecutors, for the will of those mocking her. But the better and truer sense is given above. We explained the details briefly, in order at last to reach the finish line. Otherwise, if we write at too much length, the mind of the reader may be confounded by the obscurity of the matters and by the length of the discourse.

12:4 In that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

Septuagint: “In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; but I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and I will strike all the horses of the peoples with blindness.”

At that time—for this is what day means—when Jerusalem will be besieged, so that Judah also is compelled to besiege her, ⁷⁸ the Lord will strike, both physically and spiritually, all the horses of the enemies with astonishment, so that they would all be astonished who will see that they have been struck, and when the extent of the evils oppresses, their riders they will be turned to madness; and on the house of Judah, those who were compelled to do something against their own capital city, the Lord will open their eyes, in order to show compassion to them and make them worthy of seeing him, and he will illuminate their eyes with light; but he will strike all the horses of the people with eternal blindness. Above we have said that these horses should be understood spiritually: “The horse is deceitful for salvation,” ⁷ and: “Some [trust] in chariots, and others in horses,” ⁷ ¹ and other similar things. Their riders also, we have said, are either demons or false teachers, who will all be turned to astonishment and madness, so that they are convicted of thinking nothing that is sound, but they are overwhelmed by a darkness that can be felt, ⁷ ² the kind that once happened when the firstborn of the Egyptians were struck down. ⁷ ³ But on the house of Judah, that is, the people who confess God and who have been broken by the afflictions of persecution and terrified by fear, who seem to be in the number of those persecuting, the Lord will open their eyes so that he may look on the majority who say to him: “Look on me, and have pity on me”; ⁷ ⁴ and they would merit hearing: “And the Lord will be your eternal light.” ⁷ ⁵ This is the cut of the very heavy stone ⁷ with which the Lord menaces his enemies, who tried to lift and harass Jerusalem.

12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts, their God.

Septuagint: “And the tribunes”—that is, οἰ χιλίαρχοι ⁷ ⁷—“of Judah shall say in their hearts: We shall find for ourselves those who inhabit Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God.” When the Lord opens their eyes on Judah and strikes all the horses of the nations with blindness, ⁷ ⁸ the governors of Judah, of which it was said above, “But even Judah will be in the siege against Jerusalem,” ⁷ will make prayers in their hearts, since they will not dare to speak freely, that Jerusalem may conquer and

that Judah, having been vanquished with the enemies, may conquer with its citizens. In place of what we have expressed as Let them be strengthened for me, and the Septuagint translated εὐρήσομεν ἑαυτοῖς, that is, “we will find for ourselves,” in Hebrew it is written amtsah li, which Aquila translated καρτερήσόν μοι, that is, “strengthen me,” so that the sense would be ⁸ : chiliarchs and “tribunes” and the governors of Judah will wish and will make prayers in secret, in the concealed hiding place of their mind, that God might strengthen the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord their God, and they might conquer their enemies. According to tropology, the governors and “tribunes” are the apostles, and all apostolic men and teachers, who were in charge of the army of Christ, who were unwilling to find anyone else for themselves but those who inhabit Jerusalem, the vision of peace, and those who live in the Lord Almighty, their God. The apostle Paul was one of these governors, who found Titus and Timothy, Luke and Silvanus. So was Peter, who taught Mark the Gospel writer, ⁸ ¹ as were the other apostles, who filled the whole world with their doctrine and instruction, so that they had the inhabitants of Jerusalem as their disciples. ⁸ ²

12:6-7 In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a furnace of fire among wood, and as a firebrand among hay; and they shall devour all the people around, to the right hand, and to the left; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem. And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Judah, as in the beginning, that the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not boast and magnify themselves against Judah.

Septuagint: “In that day I will make the tribunes of Judah as a firebrand among wood and as a torch of fire in stubble; and they shall devour all the Lord’s peoples around on the right hand and on the left, and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in herself. And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Judah as at the beginning, that the boast of the house of David and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be magnified against Judah.” When the governors of Judah will say in their hearts, Strengthen the besieged of

Jerusalem for me, O Lord, ⁸ ³ so that those who were conquered by their own weakness might overcome by your help, then I the Lord Almighty their God, will make the princes of Judah as a furnace of fire among wood, and as “a torch in stubble,” so that they would consume their enemies, to whom they were joined in feigned friendship. But they will “devour on the right hand and on the left” and will kill all people around, so that Jerusalem would again be inhabited in its own place and would not fear the enemy’s attacks. The cities and towns also, and the farms and villages of the tribe of Judah, which had been despoiled and laid waste, they will restore as they were before they were laid waste, and the royal house of the famous and great men of the tribe of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, will not boast against the tribe of Judah, because it is controlled by its own government, governed by its own policy, but they would know that the victory in each is the Lord’s. This either was done or will be done according to history, leaving the confirmation of the events to the judgment of the Lord and to his saints, who have received from him the spirit of wisdom and truth. We should say that at the time of persecution of the church, when the Lord will restore peace to Jerusalem and will kill his adversary with the spirit of his mouth, ⁸ ⁴ governors and tribunes of Christian name of whom we have spoken above shall be like a furnace of fire among wood, to devour the unfruitful trees, and as “torches in stubble,” so that whatever does not have fruit and is borne around by every wind of doctrine ⁸ ⁵ would be handed over to the fire. It says, The governors of Judah and the “tribunes” will devour to the right hand and to the left those who did not want to travel in the middle of the road; they do not know that ὑπερβολὰς ⁸ are κακίας. ⁸ ⁷ And that is why the people of God promise, we shall turn aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left; we will walk on the straight way. ⁸ ⁸ The right hand road is miserliness, which the Greeks call φειδολίαν; the left is opulence; the middle and right way is frugality. ⁸ Therefore all are on the right hand road to whom is said: “Do not be excessively just.” ⁸¹ And they are on the left who hear: “Perverse are the roads that are to the left.” ⁸¹¹ The devouring flame will consume them, and when the enemies are destroyed and taken away, again Jerusalem, that is, the church, will receive her former glory and will be in her own state. And the tabernacles of Judah will be saved, the assembly places of Christians scattered throughout the whole world. From them, as from tents and tabernacles, we long to go home to that which is not made by hands ⁸¹² and to the heavenly Jerusalem. ⁸¹³ But on that account, since the princes of the churches have been besieged and have turned to flight, the tabernacles of the people and of all who are registered with the Christian

name and are reputed to be in the crowd will receive peace sooner, so that the teachers and doctors do not think that peace has been restored to the churches by their own teaching and wisdom but by the help of the Lord.

12:8 In that day shall the Lord protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he who has offended among them in that day shall be as David, and the house of David as that of God, as an angel of the Lord in their sight.

Septuagint. “And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the weak one among them in that day shall be as the house of David, and the house of David as the house of God, and the angel of the Lord in their sight.” When Judah secures victory and the Lord restores his tabernacles as they were in the beginning, ⁸¹⁴ so that the royal house does not boast against the people, in that day and at that time, the Lord—by whose help Judah will devour its enemies on the right and on the left ⁸¹⁵—will also protect the besieged in Jerusalem, and everything will be changed to such great happiness and blessedness that he who was thought the most worthless would be like the royal house; and he who had been from the royal house would be as from the house of God, that is, a messenger of God and of angelic rank in the sight of those who will have been saved again at that time. According to anagogy: The Lord will protect the inhabitants of the church when the peace of the churches is restored after the most severe persecution, when it will be beautified even by the interpretation of its name. For Jerusalem expresses the vision of peace. And those who fought for the church and confessed the Lord in persecution will be so blessed that he who is least and, as it were, a man who offends in respect to some sin and speech, shall be placed in the rank of teacher; and the teachers, who will have kept their status, would be like the house of God and like the angel of the Lord, because we labor with all this zeal, while placed on the earth and exerting ourselves amid various forms of work, so that we might be transformed into angelic glory.

12:9-10a And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour

out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to remove all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion.” In that day when the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ⁸¹ the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. But he will destroy not by ruination but by correction, so that they cease fighting against Jerusalem and begin to be from Jerusalem. For if he created all things from nothing, then he did not make it in order to destroy what he created, but in order that what was created might be saved by his “compassion.” And this is why, in Wisdom, which is inscribed with Solomon’s name—but only if one is pleased to receive the book—we find it written: “He created in order that all things might have their being, and the generations of the world [might be] well; and there will be no deadly poison in them.” ⁸¹⁷ For just as the Lord came to seek what he had lost, ⁸¹⁸ and he saved humankind, so too he destroyed nations insofar as they were adversarial nations. After all, it follows: “I will pour out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and compassion.” And the apostle Paul writes of this grace. “The love of God is poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.” ⁸¹ And the book cited above contains this: “The things that are in heaven, who has searched them out, except that you gave wisdom, and sent your Holy Spirit from above? For so the paths of them who live on the earth are made straight; and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto you.” ⁸² And in Isaiah the Lord says: “I gave my Spirit on you.” ⁸²¹ And again Scripture recounts of the same thing: “I gave my Spirit on him.” ⁸²² But the word of outpouring shows a sense of generosity, as is clear in what we have said: “The love of God is poured out into your hearts.” ⁸²³ And in another passage from the persona of God: “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.” ⁸²⁴ But the same apostle tells the Hebrews who the spirit of grace is: “How much more do you think he deserves worse punishments who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and has esteemed the blood of the covenant unclean, by which he was sanctified and has offered an affront to the Spirit of grace?” ⁸²⁵ Whence too there are said to be different graces of the Holy Spirit. ⁸² And the apostle’s greeting says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you,” ⁸²⁷ so that after he forgives our sins, then peace may be attained through “compassion.”

The Jews recount that these things have already been accomplished partially, and they will be done more fully at the future consummation of the world. But we understand and prove that after the coming of Christ they are being fulfilled every day.

[12:10b] And they shall look to me, whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only begotten [son], and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.

Septuagint: “And they shall look to me, because they have danced in triumph over, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for a dearly beloved. And they shall grieve with grief, as for a firstborn.” The Hebrew letters dalet and resh, that is, “d” and “r,” are similar, differentiated only by a small dash. This is how it happens that those reading the same word differently translate it in different ways. To facilitate understanding we should offer one example. It says: “And Samuel was clothed with an ’ephod bad,” ⁸²⁸ that is, with a linen garment; for a thread of linen is called bad. Whence too threads of linen are called baddim. In place of the Hebrew and Latin words, some read this incorrectly as ’ephod bar, for indeed bar means either son, handful of grain, chosen, or οὖλος, that is, curly. What occurred there as an error of translation we have detected has been done here as well. For if one reads daqaru, it is understood as ἐξεκέντησαν, that is, they punctured or pierced. But if the letters are switched into the reverse order, raqadu, it is understood as ὠρχήσαντο, that is, “they danced.” And owing to the similarity of the letters, an error has arisen. Now the Evangelist John, who drew wisdom at the breast of the Lord, ⁸² a Hebrew of Hebrews, ⁸³ whom the Savior loved very much, ⁸³¹ did not pay great attention to what the Greek literature contained but translated word for word as he had read it in the Hebrew and said that it was fulfilled at the time of the Lord’s passion. ⁸³² But if someone does not accept this, let him cite the testimony and tell us from which passage in Holy Scripture John cited this, and when he does not find it, he will be forced to accept the truth grudgingly. But the Jews will mourn as for an only begotten and a firstborn, since only begotten and firstborn mean the same thing in the Lord and Savior. He is called

only begotten on account of the unique character of his nature; firstborn of those who rise from the dead, in accordance with the apostle. ⁸³³ In place of only begotten the Septuagint translated “dearly beloved.” We read of this in the Gospel: “This is my dearly beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ⁸³⁴ At that time they shall grieve for the one they themselves crucified, when they see him reigning in splendor. Among the Greeks the word κατωρχήσαντο is composed not from mockery but from dancing, namely because they will dance in triumph over the Lord as though playing. This happened when those who mocked and ridiculed him said: “Ah, you who will destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross.” ⁸³⁵ They said these and other things in mockery, and they spoke while dancing with some sort of mad war dance.

12:11-14 In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem like the lamentation of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Mageddon. And the land shall mourn, families and families by themselves; the families of the house of David by themselves, and their women—or wives—by themselves —for the Hebrew word nese, that is, γυναῖκες, means both. The families of the house of Nathan by themselves, and their women by themselves, the families of the house of Levi by themselves, and their women by themselves, the families of Semei by themselves, and their women by themselves. All the rest of the families, families and families by themselves, and their women by themselves.

Septuagint: “In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem, like the lamentation for the pomegranate that is cut down in the plain. And the land shall lament tribe by tribe, the tribe of David by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of Judah by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of Nathan by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of the house of Levi by itself, and their women by themselves; the tribe of Simeon by itself, and their women by themselves; all the rest of the tribes by themselves, and their women by themselves.” Hadadrimmon, which the Septuagint translated ῥοῶνος, is a city near Jezreel that was once called by this name. Today is called Maximianopolis. In the field of

Mageddon, in which Josiah, the just king, was wounded by the Pharaoh surnamed Necho. ⁸³ Jeremiah wrote Lamentations for him that are read in the church, and the book of Chronicles ⁸³⁷ testifies that he wrote it. ⁸³⁸ Therefore, just as at that time after the sinful kings the whole hope of the people was in Josiah, and when he was killed, great lamentation was stirred up in the city, so we read in the Hebrew: “The breath of our mouth, Christ the Lord was taken in our sins, to whom we said: Under your shade we shall live among the Gentiles.” ⁸³ Granted, some apply this to the Lord Jesus by the spiritual understanding; thus when the Savior is crucified, mourning in Jerusalem will be renewed, just as it was in the city of Hadadrimmon in the field of Megeddon. As for what follows, And they shall mourn, families and families, or “tribe by tribe by themselves”; the families of the house of David by themselves, and their wives or women by themselves, this means that at a time of affliction and mourning, we should not be servants to our spouses in respect to the marital act. Whence also in Joel, when the captivity was near, it is said to the Jews: “Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom, and the bride depart out of her bride chamber.” ⁸⁴ And when the flood was impending, Noah is commanded: “Enter into the ark, you and your sons, and your wife, and the wives of your sons.” ⁸⁴¹ And later, when the flood was over, it is said to him: “Go forth, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives.” ⁸⁴² Thus when the danger was threatening, those who were in the ark were separated. They only served procreation and children when they had returned to the world. ⁸⁴³ But this is done not only in times of distress but also in times of prayer, when we want to entreat the Lord, since the apostle says to the Corinthians: “Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a time to be free for prayer.” ⁸⁴⁴ Therefore even now the “tribe of the house of David,” and the “tribe of the house of Nathan,” and the “tribe of the house of Levi,” and the “tribe of the house” of Semei, are separated from their wives to mourn for the only begotten and firstborn Lord Jesus, of whom he had said: “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” ⁸⁴⁵ In David the royal tribe is understood, that is, Judah. In Nathan the prophetic order is described. Levi refers to the priests from whom the priesthood arose. In Semei the teachers are understood, for from this tribe masses of teachers came forth. He has kept silent about the remaining tribes, which have no privileged office. But in these words, “all the rest of the tribes, tribe by tribe, by themselves, and their wives by themselves,” he has included them all without naming them. Let us also speak according to the Septuagint. What is called ῥοῶν does not refer to the single tree of the “pomegranate,” that is, the Carthaginian apple, but to the

locale planted with these trees. In the Song of Songs the bridegroom speaks of this according to the spiritual understanding: “I went down to look at the fruits of the torrent, to see whether the vine flowered, whether the pomegranates ⁸⁴ blossomed.” ⁸⁴⁷ For the Savior went down to the torrent of this world and the troubled waters from which Elijah too is said to have drunk as a type of him, ⁸⁴⁸ so that after he had inspected the flowers of the vine and each fruit of the pomegranate, and making his church drunk, he could hear from her: “You will make me to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranates.” ⁸⁴ A drink of this sort not only drives away a stomachache but is said even to heal a ruined stomach and to benefit the rest of the internal organs. For nothing is lovelier than this fruit. In its redness it signifies the church’s modesty; in the arrangement of its grains it signifies the ranks and members of the whole body, which are distributed by individual duties. When the Savior does not find fruit on the vine and apples of this sort, he will say: “Every branch that does not bear fruit the Father will take away; and every one that bears fruit he will prune it so that it bears more fruit.” ⁸⁵ And in another passage John the Baptist cries out: “The axe is already placed at the roots of the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” ⁸⁵¹ In the cutting down of the vines and apples, when on the Day of Judgment all the names of offices will be laid down and that which is written is fulfilled: “Behold the man and his works,” and the chaff is separated from the wheat, there will be great lamentation nowhere else but in Jerusalem. For indeed blows and judgment will begin with the saints, ⁸⁵² and kings, priests, prophets and teachers will beat their breasts with their hands, when they see that the most beautiful apples have been cut down and the one whom they had pierced is reigning in his own and his Father’s majesty. ⁸⁵³

13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for the washing of the sinner and of the menstruating woman.

Septuagint: “In that day every place shall be opened in the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and for changing and for sprinkling.” Of this fountain that proceeds from the house of David it is also written in the

prophet Ezekiel that a fountain bursts forth in the house of the Lord and grows into a river, which is called “water of forgiveness and pardon,” and it goes to the wilderness and to the Sea, which is now called “Dead,” and it gives life to all the fish, and on each bank of the river various kinds of trees grow during all the months, and they are always abounding with fresh fruit. ⁸⁵⁴ And that we should know that the house, that is, the temple of God, is the same as the house of David, which in Ezekiel is called the house of God, in Zechariah the house of David, this fountain proceeding from the house of God refers to the church and to the knowledge of the Scriptures, so that we may all be reborn in Christ, and in the water of baptism our sins may be forgiven us. Nothing is more unclean than a menstruating woman, who makes unclean whatever she touches. ⁸⁵⁵ Yet even defilement of this sort may be washed away by the baptism of Christ. In place of washing of sins and menstruating, the Septuagint translated “changing and sprinkling,” because we must move from the law to the gospel, from the letter to the spirit, from shadow to truth. Let future, eternal things succeed in place of the brief things of the present. But “sprinkling” points to the blood of the Lord, of which the apostle Peter also speaks: “Grace unto you and peace be multiplied unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” ⁸⁵ And again: “Knowing that you were redeemed not with corruptible things [as] gold or silver, but with the precious blood as of a lamb unspotted and most pure.” ⁸⁵⁷ The one who is sprinkled with it and redeemed will be able to say with the prophet: “You will sprinkle me, Lord, with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” ⁸⁵⁸

13:2 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord of hosts, [that] I will destroy the names of idols out of the earth, and they shall be remembered no more; and I will take away the prophets and the unclean spirit out of the earth.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord Sabaoth, [that] I will destroy the names of the idols out of the earth, and there shall be no longer [any] remembrance of them; and I will take away the false prophets and the unclean spirit out of the earth.” In that day that he frequently mentions, all the idols will be taken away out of the

earth. This refers either to those idols of which the psalmist speaks, “The images of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands”; ⁸⁵ thus there would be no other religion except that of the Christian name; and those of which it is written in the prophet: “Howl, you carvings in Jerusalem, and in Samaria; for as I did to Samaria and her carvings so will I do also to Jerusalem and her idols”; ⁸ or it refers to these idols of which the apostle speaks: “Now the Spirit manifestly says, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seductive spirits, and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared.” ⁸ ¹ For just as idols are made by the hand of a craftsman, so whatever the perverse doctrine of heretics fabricates turns into an idol and causes the antichrist to be worshiped instead of Christ. Instead of “false prophets,” the Hebrew reads simply prophets, that is, nebim, which itself signifies false prophets as well. Yet even the priests of the idols are called prophets by the pagans.

13:3 And it shall come to pass that when any man shall prophesy any more, his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall say to him: You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord. And his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he shall prophesy.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass, if a man shall prophesy any more, that his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall say to him: You shall not live, for you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord; and his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall bind him when he shall prophesy.” When the names of the idols have been removed from out of the earth, along with the false prophets and the unclean spirit who spoke in them, ⁸ ² if someone still wants to try to prophesy something in the name of the Lord, at once his father and mother will forget that they are parents, in order to maintain their service to God, and they will bring forth a death sentence against their son. And the minds of all will be so pious toward God that a public trial would not be awaited, but those who are like that would perish by the verdict of near relatives. What we have expressed as they shall pierce him through is the same word in Hebrew as above, deqaru. ⁸ ³ By what reasoning, then, did the Septuagint

translators want to translate it there as κατωρχήσαντο, that is, “they danced in triumph over” or “they mocked,” and that I might express it literally, “they danced against him”; and here as συμποδιοῦσιν, that is, “they shall bind,” though Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, both there and here, translated it the same, they pierced? But he is rightly called a “man” who prophesies false things, since the apostle says: “For when there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and do you not walk as a man?” ⁸ ⁴ And in the Psalms: “But you will die as men, and you shall fall like any prince.” ⁸ ⁵ And those who are unworthy of the Spirit of God deserve to hear: “My Spirit shall not remain in these men, because they are flesh.” ⁸

13:4-6 And it shall come to pass in that day [that] the prophets shall be confounded, everyone by his own vision, when he prophesies; neither shall they be covered with a garment of sackcloth, to deceive. But he shall say: I am no prophet, I am a farming man, for Adam is my example from my youth. And it shall be said to him: What are these blows (plagae) in the middle of your hands? And he shall say: With these I was struck (plagatus) in the house of them who loved me.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass in that day [that] the prophets shall be confounded everyone by his own vision, when he prophesies; and they shall be clothed with a garment of goat’s hair, because they have lied. And [one] shall say: I am no prophet, for a man brought me up [thus] from my youth. And I will say to him: What are these blows in the middle of your hands? And he shall say, [Those] with which I was struck (percussus) in the house of one who loves me.” The one who tries to prophesy and is condemned by the judgment of his parents, ⁸ ⁷ and approves his own false prediction that runs counter to the outcome of the events, will be confounded by his own vision; neither shall he be covered “with goat’s hair,” to deceive. For that was the way prophets dressed, so that when they summoned the people to repentance, they wore goat’s hair. And this is why Isaiah is commanded to take off the sackcloth from his loins and go about naked; ⁸ ⁸ for it was not the time of repentance but of imminent captivity. Therefore also

that false prophet will not adopt a prophet’s dress, lest with someone else’s clothing and covering he should deceive all the simple. Instead he will cleave the earth with a plow and shall prove himself to be a man devoted to farming. And he lies subject to God’s pronouncement, who said to Adam: “Cursed [is] the earth in your work; with labors shall you eat from it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herbs of the earth. And by the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread.” ⁸ And when he shows himself to this son, that he would eat his bread by the sweat of his face, another will ask him and say: What is the meaning of these blows on you, and these wounds that are in the middle of your hands? And the meaning is: Why are you stuck to a crossbeam? Why are your hands transfixed with nails? What did you do to be subjected to this punishment and torture? And he will respond and say: I received these wounds and these blows when I was condemned by the judgment of my parents and of those who did not hate me but loved me. And once the lie has been put to flight, truth will obtain to such an extent that even one who was punished by his own fault would admit that he suffered it rightly. ⁸⁷ The Hebrews have explained what is written, neither shall they be covered with a garment of sackcloth, to deceive, as follows: and they will not be refilled with a demonic spirit, those whom we read of in Isaiah as τριχῶντας, that is, “hairy ones,” ⁸⁷¹ lest having fabricated their dress on this occasion, they should deceive with respect to the utterances of God against themselves or deny God. For cachesh can be translated both “they deceive” and “they deny.”

13:7-9 Awake, O spear (framea), against my shepherd and against the man that cleaves to me, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn my hand to the little ones. And there shall be in all the earth, says the Lord, two parts in it shall be scattered and shall fail, but the third part shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire and will burn them as silver is burned, and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say: You are my people: and they shall say: The Lord [is] my God.

Septuagint: “Arise, O spear, against my shepherd and against the man [who is] his citizen, says the Lord Almighty. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will bring my hand on the shepherds. And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, two parts shall perish and fail; and the third part shall be left therein. And I will bring across the third part through the fire, and I will burn them as silver is burned, and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them and say: This is my people, and they shall say: The Lord, you are my God.” For spear (framea), which the Septuagint translated ῥομφαίαν, we have found in Hebrew chereb, in Aquila and Symmachus μάχαιραν, that is, “sword” or “sword’s point.” And for what we rendered as against the man that cleaves to me, that is, προσκεκολλημένον μοι, Aquila translated “against my fellow tribesman,” that is, σύμφυλόν μοι. Symmachus: “against a man of my people,” which is expressed in Hebrew as ‘amiti. The Septuagint: “against the man [who is] his citizen.” Theodotion: “against a man [who is] his neighbor,” reading a vav at the end of the word rather than yod, letters that differ only in size. If one reads yod, it means “my”; if vav, “his.” I am surprised that some want to weaken by means of allegorical interpretations this prophecy—which the Evangelist Matthew applied to the Lord and Savior after his disciples fled during his passion. He says that it was fulfilled at that time. ⁸⁷² And while [these interpreters] long to seem to know more than the others, they do not hold on to the rule of truth. For the Evangelist Matthew relates: “Then Jesus said to them: You will all suffer a scandal over me this night. For it is written: I shall strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” ⁸⁷³ And again: “But all this has happened in order that the Scriptures of the prophets should be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.” ⁸⁷⁴ Nor should one think that this testimony has been taken from another passage because in the Gospel God says that the shepherd was struck by him, ⁸⁷⁵ and in the present passage we read that this is commanded to the sword and the sword point: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. This is the sword, and this is the “romphaea” and spear of which the Lord says to the Father also in the twenty-first Psalm: “Rescue my soul from the spear, my only one [soul], from the power ⁸⁷ of the dog.” ⁸⁷⁷ It is also written of this “romphaea” in the prophet Amos: “All the sinners of the earth will die by the sword.” ⁸⁷⁸ This is completely impossible according to the letter, for many sinners perish in shipwrecks, some by poison, others drown in water, fire devours others. But all sinners go to ruin by this sword and this “romphaea,”

even the Ethiopians, black in color, of whom Zephaniah testifies with his holy mouth, saying: “But even you Ethiopians, you will be killed by my sword.” ⁸⁷ The good shepherd, who laid his life down for his sheep, ⁸⁸ who said to the Father, “They have persecuted the one whom you struck and added to the pain of my wounds,” ⁸⁸¹ was struck by the will of the Father. And the man who was cleaving to God, who says, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me,” ⁸⁸² was hung on the cross and said: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” ⁸⁸³ At once the sheep were scattered, the whole multitude of believers in Christ. And the Lord turns his hand, as it reads in the Septuagint, “to the shepherds,” whom many wrongly interpret of the princes of the Jews. But as it was written in the Hebrew, to the little ones, to whom the Lord had said in the Gospel, “Do not be afraid, little flock,” ⁸⁸⁴ and in Isaiah: “Behold, I and the children,” or “little ones whom the Lord has given me.” ⁸⁸⁵ And they became two parts in all the land of the Jews and Gentiles, who have equally been “perished and failed.” For in his passion, the words of the psalmist were fulfilled who said: “Save me, O Lord, for your holy one has failed.” ⁸⁸ And: “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; for there is no one who does good, there is not even one.” ⁸⁸⁷ While the pagans and Jews are perishing, the third part in the world, that is, the third people of the Christians, have suddenly increased. And he nicely says the third part shall be left therein, that is, in the earth, because those who have confessed the Lord from the Jews and Gentiles have alone been preserved for life and habitation on earth. The very third part as well, lest it should be pampered and carefree in its confession, is brought and “tried” like silver and gold through the fire, which the Lord too longs to blaze in believers. ⁸⁸⁸ Paul too desires it to be aglow. ⁸⁸ Whence also the apostles who were baptized in the spirt and fire of the Lord ⁸ say in the psalm: “For you have tried us, God; with fire you have examined us as silver is examined.” ⁸ ¹ And after a little bit: “We went through fire and water, and you led us forth to a place of cool refreshment.” ⁸ ² And in another passage it is said to the believer: “If you pass through fire, the flame will not burn you, for I am with you.” ⁸ ³ But the reason the fire does not consume and the flame does not devour is: “Because the voice of the Lord cuts through the flame of fire.” ⁸ ⁴ When the little ones will have been tried in this way, to whom the Lord turns his hand, and through their calling the entire throng of nations will believe, then the people of believers will call Christ by their own name, and when he says, You are my people, the people will answer: “Lord, you are my God.” The Jews relate these things to the Christ and claim that they will occur at the end of time, but

this is the difference between us and them, we say that they have already been fulfilled; they relate that they must [yet] be fulfilled.

14:1-2 Behold, the days of the Lord shall come, and your spoils shall be divided in the midst of you. And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to a battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be laid waste, and the women shall be ravished; and half ⁸ ⁵ of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall not be taken away out of the city.

Septuagint: “Behold, the days of the Lord are coming, and your spoils shall be divided in you. And I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to wage war, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women defiled; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, but the rest of my people shall not perish from the city.” The days that the Lord threatens shall come so that the spoils of Jerusalem may be divided in its midst, and the other things that the prophetic words summarize are those of which we also read in Isaiah: “The incurable day of the Lord will come of fury and anger, to make the whole world a desolation and to remove sinners from it.” ⁸ But how great will the need be that its spoils are divided in its midst? This often customarily happens, that the things that are plundered in a sudden attack against a city are divided up outside in a field or in a desolate place, lest perhaps the enemy may fall on them. But here the weight of the evils presses down so hard that the plunder is divided in the midst of the city in view of the security of the victory. And not only will Jerusalem be taken, when all the nations have been roused against it to a battle, but also the houses of Jerusalem’s inhabitants will be laid waste, and their women will be ravished to the grief of their lords and husbands, who will be unable to hinder the pillaging of their homes or the raping of their wives by their enemies. ⁸ ⁷ This agrees with what we read elsewhere: “They who are gathered together in your midst shall fall by the sword, and they shall dash your children in your sight, and they shall plunder your houses and shall have your wives.” ⁸ ⁸ Nothing is crueler than this, nothing more pitiful can be found than, from the fear of being killed themselves, they do not dare to defend either the safety of their children or the chastity of their wives.

The prophet Amos utters this same threat to the wicked priest Amaziah: “Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be measured with the line.” ⁸ And all these things will happen to the Jewish people: “For the nations raged, and the peoples imagined vain things. The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord and against his Christ.” The Lord mocked and derided them ¹ and terrified them in his fury ² to the point that the apostle, too, on seeing that these years that had been granted for repentance were already completed, and yet they persisted in their denial, those who killed the Lord and persecuted the prophets and apostles, ³ will say: “Wrath has come upon them in the end.” ⁴ Josephus, who wrote a history of the Jews, records in very great detail that they endured all these things, and things greater by far than what we read in the prophets. ⁵ Cornelius Tacitus too [confirms this], who wrote the Lives of the Caesars in thirty books from Augustus to the death of Domitian. ⁷ But how half the city is taken and the rest of the people will remain in the city is proven both at that time and in other times, that the northern and lower part of the city were captured, but the temple mount and Zion, where the citadel was, remained unscathed. The Jews say that these things are to be fulfilled under Gog, ⁸ others that they were carried out in part at the time of the Macedonians, Egyptians and different nations. But we should explain what is written, leaving the vicissitudes of time to the Lord’s judgment.

14:3-4b And the Lord shall go forth and shall fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem toward the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be torn in the midst thereof to the east and to the west with a very great opening.

Septuagint: “And the Lord shall go forth and shall fight against those nations as in the day of commencement and in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem toward the eastern region. And the Mount of Olives shall be torn, half of it toward the east and half of it toward the sea, a very great chasm.”

We need to understand in a manner worthy of God God’s “going forth,” his “fighting against nations,” his “feet standing on the Mount of Olives” and the other statements that are contained in Holy Scripture anthropopathically and carnally. In general, when the apostle says, “He is the image of the invisible God,” and again, “But to the king of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible God,” ¹ and in the Gospel when it is written, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained [him],” ¹¹ and again, “Not that anyone has seen God except him who is from the Father,” ¹² just as we understand his anger, repentance, soul, hands, feet, belly, eyes and the other parts of the body for a variety of causes and senses of interpretation; so too what is written here, The Lord shall go forth and shall fight, must be understood in accordance with what we read in Habakkuk: “You went forth for the salvation of your people, for salvation with your Christ”; ¹³ and in Micah: “For behold, the Lord will go forth out of his place and will come down and will trample on the high places of the earth, and the mountains shall be consumed under him, and the valleys shall be torn.” ¹⁴ Moreover, in Isaiah we read: “The Lord of powers shall go forth and crush the war, and he shall stir up jealousy and shall shout mightily against his enemies.” ¹⁵ Therefore God “will go forth from his place” when for the sake of correcting sinners he is forced to interrupt his rest, gentleness and clemency. By nature he is sweet, but our vices παπαπικραίνεται, that is, make him bitter, not in himself, but in those who suffer this to whom punishments are bitter. The one who says elsewhere through the prophet, “I am God, and I do not change,” ¹ and to him it is said, “But you are the same, and you remain,” ¹⁷ and in the epistle of James, “With whom there is no change,” ¹⁸ now goes forth and fights as in the day of battle, when he drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea and fought on behalf of the people of Israel. ¹ And his feet shall stand with those on whom he shows pity, and they will not be moved, so that it could again be said of him: “And the Lord will blow with the trumpet and he will walk with the threat of his anger.” ² Nor will he walk when the sun is already setting and with the accompanying darkness after midday, which we read that he did with respect to Adam. ²¹ But when he stands, he will not stand in the valley and in the low places but on the mountain, which does not have fruitless trees and a barren forest, but where olive trees grow by which eternal light is fed, ²² illnesses are removed, and relief is offered to the weary. ²³ And this Mount of Olives on which the Lord’s feet stand is over against Jerusalem and toward the east, from where the sun of justice rises. ²⁴ And it is thickly planted with those olive trees, of which it is said: “Your sons are like olive shoots around your table.” ²⁵ “Half of it shall be torn toward the east,” in

which part there are trees planted from the nations, of which one says: “But I have hoped, as a fruitful olive in the house of God.” ² And the other half will be torn toward the west, and “the sea,” with a very great opening, which is the people of the circumcision to whom God speaks through the prophet: “Why has my beloved wrought abomination in my house? Will prayers and holy meat take away your wickedness from you, or will you escape by these things?” ²⁷ This “beloved” wrought abomination in God’s house, so that she crucified the Son of God and heard: “The Lord called your name a shady olive tree, and covered with beautiful foliage.” ²⁸ And your branches became worthless and were broken off from the good root, so that we were engrafted in their place. ² And pay attention to the mysteries of the Scriptures, how the “half” that faces the west and is pounded by the bitter, salty waves is not said to be in the sea without qualification, but in an opening of the sea and in a “very great chasm.” Micah also speaks of this: “I shall pull down her stones,” doubtless Jerusalem’s, “into the valley and reveal her foundations.” ³ In view of the feebleness of our abilities, we have said these things as pertaining to passages that are extremely difficult and very obscure. Moreover, the Jews who follow the letter that kills ³¹ endeavor to show God standing on the Mount of Olives, and the mountain itself was divided into two parts, so that the cleft of the one part begins over against the east, and the other part would stretch its end toward the west, and in the midst of a sheer precipice one part is divided to the north, the other to the south.

[14:4c] And half of the mountain shall be separated to the north, and half thereof to the south.

14:5 And you shall flee to the valley of their mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next, and you shall flee as you fled from the face of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him.

Septuagint: [4c] “And half the mountain shall lean to the north, and half of it to

the south. And the valley of my mountains shall be closed up, and the valley of the mountains shall be joined on to Asael, and shall be filled up as it was filled up from the face of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the Lord my God shall be present, and all the saints with him.” What we expressed as you shall flee, the Septuagint and the rest of the translators interpreted it ἐμφραχθήσεται, that is, “shall be closed up” or “shall be refilled.” And what we recorded as for the valley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next, the Septuagint translated “Asael”; Aquila recorded the Hebrew words itself, ’atsel, with the e being short (άζὲλ); Theodotion used a long e (άζὴλ); Symmachus was the only one to translate it next, and we followed him. Let us express this passage by way of a paraphrase so that what is written may be clear: When the Mount of Olives is opened up with a huge chasm, so that one part of the chasm looks east, the other west, ³² suddenly in the deep chasm itself, opened on both sides, another chasm will emerge to the north, another to the south, and it will become a square-shaped opening, so that the chasm stretches out in four directions to the four regions of the east, west, north and south. He says, And you will flee to the valley, which is between the temple and Zion. For these two mountains of the temple and of Zion are called the mountains of God, since that valley of the Mount of Olives that is surrounded by cliffs on one side and mountains on the other will attract its own chasm up to the mount of the temple, which is a holy [mountain]. But tradition speaks of an earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah ³³ from that time when Uzziah, who is known by another name, Azariah, ³⁴ tried to usurp an illicit priesthood for himself and was struck with leprosy on his forehead. ³⁵ We also read of this earthquake at the beginning of Amos: “The words of Amos, who was among herdsmen of Thecua, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.” ³ Finally, after this wicked king died, before whose wickedness the whole earth quaked, Isaiah saw the great vision that he composed in his book. ³⁷ Let us move on to the spiritual understanding. After the Mount of Olives is separated to the east and west by the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews, again another cleft will occur in the north and the south. The north will be joined to the west, the south to the region of the east. The circumcision will stand on the left, the Christian people on the right. The church says of these two

winds: “Arise, O north wind, and come, O south.” ³⁸ Thus when the very cold north wind recedes, which means the devil, the hot south wind arrives. The bride looks for it and says: “where are you tending your flock, where are you having [them] rest, in the south?” ³ And Habakkuk speaks mystically of this: “God will come from Teman,” ⁴ which is written in Hebrew as “God will come from the south,” that is, from the place where the light is brightest. Elsewhere the psalmist cries out about this: “You wonderfully shine forth from the eternal mountains.” ⁴¹ But when there is such a great division between the two peoples in the whole world, so that some are separated off toward the east and south, that is, to the right, others to the north and west, namely to the left, at that time whoever is a saint will flee to the “valley of the mountains” of God, which we said above are the temple and Zion, namely the two covenants, since that chasm that existed previously between each mountain will be extended up to “Asael,” that is, up to the house of God, which is near paradise, and the heavenly Jerusalem, and the holy mountain on which the temple is located. And just as at that time when an extremely violent earthquake terrified the hearts of mortals during the reign of the leprous King Uzziah, ⁴² and it scattered this way and that those who had been terrified, so the separation of the two peoples, and again the fellowship in one faith of believers, will rest between the two mountains with a conciliatory place of rest, since the Old and New Instrument will be joined to each other. But as for what is said, “on to Asael,” that is, even to the next, this means that the two instruments of the law and gospel were indeed joined to each other, but they were joined in such a way that they are more like neighbors than things united. For we have let go of many things from the old law, and we have received many new graces. But when this will be perfect in reckoning, then, he says, the Lord my God will come and all the saints with him. But if, instead of what we expressed as you shall flee, we want to follow the translation of the other translators, “the valley of their mountains shall be closed up” or refilled, we will say this: that once the two peoples are separated from each other, the coming of the Lord and Savior will close up and refill that chasm that divided the two peoples, so that they may mutually walk toward each other on a level road.

14:6-7 And it shall come to pass in that day that there shall be no light, but cold and frost. And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, not day nor night, and in the time of the evening there shall be light.

Septuagint: “In that day there shall be no light, but there shall be for one day cold and frost, and that day shall be known to the Lord, and [it shall] not [be] day nor night, but toward evening it shall be light.” This is manifestly declared concerning the Savior’s second coming. John also speaks of it in his Apocalypse: “Behold, he will come with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and they who pierced him.” ⁴³ And in the Gospel the Lord announces that the Son of Man will come in the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. ⁴⁴ He will come with the clouds, that is, with the angels who are ministering spirits and are sent for various duties, ⁴⁵ and with the prophets and apostles, of whom it is written: “Your truth to the clouds.” ⁴ And when the day of his coming is fulfilled, there shall be no light, but cold and frost, when everyone’s love has grown cold, ⁴⁷ and when all grow cold and lose the warmth of their former faith because of the multiplying of evils that will come. But after their own cold and frost contract all sinners, there shall be one day that lasts forever, when light and darkness, day and night, do not come in succession, but the Lord himself will be everyone’s light. Isaiah speaks in more detail about this: “And you shall no more have the sun for a light by day, nor shall the rising of the moon lighten you through the night; but the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and your God your glory.” ⁴⁸ And in another passage he cries out to Jerusalem: “Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem; for your light is coming upon you, and the glory of God has risen upon you. For behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth on the nations, but the Lord shall appear on you, and the glory of your God has risen on you. And kings shall go in your light, and nations in your brightness.” ⁴ If gloom and darkness shall cover the earth on the nations, how shall the nations again walk in the Lord’s brightness? But those nations will be in the darkness that the cold and frost contracted; and they shall walk in the light of the Lord, those nations that have followed kings, apostles and prophets, of whom it is written: “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.” ⁵ Finally, in the time of the evening, that is, of darkness and sadness of all sinners, there shall be light for the saints, and one everlasting day, which, if it will be known to the Lord—for the one who created it ⁵¹ cannot not know it— one must consider how it is that he says in the Gospel that neither the angels nor the Son know that day, but only the Father. ⁵²

14:8-9a And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them to the east sea, and half of them to the last sea; they shall be in summer and in winter. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.

Septuagint: “In that day living water shall come forth out of Jerusalem, half of it toward the first sea, and half of it toward the last sea; and so shall it be in summer and spring. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.” At that time—for this is what day means, which is known to the Lord alone, ⁵³ in which light and darkness will not succeed one another, but there shall be perpetual light in accordance with what we read in the Apocalypse, “And the city will have no need of the light of the sun, since the Lord God Almighty will be its light,” ⁵⁴ living waters “shall come forth” from Jerusalem, which we discussed above when we recorded the testimony of Ezekiel. ⁵⁵ Half of them shall go to the east sea, which Greek books speak of as λίμνην άσφαλτῖτιν ⁵ and is commonly known as the Dead Sea from the fact that nothing is able to live in its waters. And half of them to the last sea, which leads to Egypt and frames the shores of Palestine. He says, it shall be this way in summer and in winter, so that these waters that go out from Jerusalem are neither condensed by the frost of winter nor dried up by the excessive heat of summer, though instead of winter the Septuagint translated it “spring” time, which is not fitting as a contrast to summer. And when the life-giving waters enter both seas and soothe the bitter waters with a sweet river, then the Lord shall be king over all the earth. The “water” that “comes forth out of Jerusalem,” that is, from the church, indicates the Savior’s teaching: “For a law will come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” ⁵⁷ This agrees with what is written elsewhere: “All things were filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covering the sea.” ⁵⁸ “Half” of these “waters” will go to the east sea, the people of the circumcision, who are chosen in the apostles and through the apostles; “and half to the last sea,” so that from the east and the west they would come to recline with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ⁵ Or certainly we should understand the east sea and the last sea as the Old and New Instrument, which is extremely bitter if it is not sweetened by the Savior’s river and his spiritual understanding, since the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.

As for what follows, they shall be in summer and in winter, one needs to supply in thought: “the living waters that come forth out of Jerusalem,” so that these living waters do not cease to flow, both in peace and amid persecutions. Or, since the Septuagint translated it “so shall it be in summer and spring,” let us say this, that at that time there is no winter but perpetual spring and summer, when the voice of the turtledove will be heard in our land and the fig trees will put forth their young figs and the vines will flourish, and the winter will pass and rains withdraw and it will depart. ¹ At that time, then, “spring” will be needed, because flowers will appear in our land so that we may celebrate the Passover and Pentecost, in which we move on from earthly things to heavenly, and we offer all our harvest to God. For in the Passover there is the end of winter, the beginning of spring; in Pentecost the beginning of summer, when we offer the labors and fruit of our hands to God. The just man speaks to the Lord about this perpetual summer and spring: “You have fashioned the dawn and the sun, summer and spring you have made.” ² “The Lord shall be king over all the earth” at that time when we shall say, “The Lord has reigned, let the earth rejoice,” ³ and again: “Say among the nations that the Lord has reigned. For he has set right the world, which shall not be moved.” ⁴ That we have correctly explained the “living water” as the Savior’s teaching, he will know who drinks it and who hears the Savior proclaiming: “If anyone drinks from the water that I will give him, it shall become in him a fountain of living water that springs up into eternal life”; ⁵ and again: “He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from his belly shall come forth rivers of living water.” For just as the one who drinks from his doctrine shall have in himself a living fountain, so he who believes in him, in accordance with what is contained in the words of the Scriptures, rivers of living water shall proceed from his belly. Many apply the living waters to baptism, which must be given to those thirsting for it in spring and in summer, that is, at Easter (Pascha) and Pentecost, when what is written will be fulfilled: “Wash yourselves, be clean.” ⁷

[14:9b] In that day there shall be one Lord, and his name [shall be] one.

14:10-11 And all the land shall return even to the desert, from the hill to Remmon to the south of Jerusalem; and she shall be exalted, and shall

dwell in her own place, from the gate of Benjamin even to the place of the former gate, and even to the gate of the corners, and from the tower of Hananeel even to the king’s winepresses. And they shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more any anathema, but Jerusalem shall sit secure.

Septuagint: [9b] “In that day there shall be one Lord, and his name [shall be] one, compassing all the earth, and the desert from Gabaa unto Remmon to the south of Jerusalem. But Rama shall remain in its place. From the gate of Benjamin to the first gate, to the gate of the corners, and to the tower of Anameel, as far as the king’s winepresses, they shall dwell in it; and there shall be no more any anathema, and Jerusalem shall dwell in confidence.” Jews and Christian Judaizers promise themselves at the end of time the building up of the city of Jerusalem and an outflow of waters from its midst, which flow to both seas, when circumcision must be practiced again and victims sacrificed, and all the precepts of the law are to be kept, so that they become not Jewish Christians but Christian Jews. In that day, they say, when Christ will sit and reign in a golden and bejeweled Jerusalem, ⁸ there will be no idols, nor diverse worship of the divinity, but there shall be one Lord, and all the land shall return even to the desert, that is, to its ancient condition. And he records the names of places, from which place to which place Jerusalem is to be built; from the hill to Remmon, for that is what “Gabaa” means, where the pomegranate tree is, to the south district of Jerusalem. And as for what follows, “But Rama shall remain in its place,” Aquila and the others translated this better when they recorded she shall be exalted. For “Rama” means “exaltation,” according to the following prophetic Gospel text: “The voice is heard in Rama,” that is, it sounded in the heights. And so Jerusalem shall be exalted, and she will be built in her ancient location, from the gate of Benjamin even to the gate, which is called of the corners, and from the tower of Hananeel, not as the Greeks and Latins incorrectly read it, “Anameel,” even to the king’s winepresses, which is written in Hebrew as hammelekh. He says, And they shall dwell in it, that is, in Jerusalem, and there shall be no more any anathema, that is, no fear of an enemy’s attack, no dread, but Jerusalem shall sit or be inhabited, resting in eternal peace. The Jews and our chiliasts fantasize about these things according to the letter. They long to hear again the words “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth.” ⁷ And instead of continence in this life and brief fasting, they

promise themselves onions, sow’s womb, ⁷¹ peacock and hazel-hen (not of the Ionic but of the Judaic variety). ⁷² The Lord can truly say of them: “My spirit will not remain in these men, since they are flesh.” ⁷³ “For flesh fights against spirit, and spirit against flesh.” ⁷⁴ Nor should they cite John’s Apocalypse in objection to us, since it has to be explained spiritually. But we interpret the heavenly Jerusalem ⁷⁵ as the church, which though it walks in the flesh does not live according to the flesh. ⁷ Its citizenship is in heaven. ⁷⁷ For after the Lord Jesus becomes king over all the earth, ⁷⁸ of whom the Holy Spirit says to the Father through the prophet, “God, give your judgment to the king, and your justice to the king’s son,” ⁷ then there shall be one Lord, of whom it is written: “Know that the Lord, he is God.” ⁸ And his name [shall be] one, with all depraved forms of religion trampled on, in accordance with what the prophet sings: “Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth,” ⁸¹ and again: “You have magnified your holy name over all”; ⁸² and elsewhere: “As your name, O God, so also your praise over all the earth.” ⁸³ And Habakkuk speaks of this: “The earth is full of his praise.” ⁸⁴ God himself says of the glory of his name: “Without me you will not know God, and apart from my name, which has been magnified over all.” ⁸⁵ Then all the land where the Jews dwelled shall return even to the desert, that is, to the people of the Gentiles, who were formerly deserted and did not have knowledge of the law. “From Gabaa unto Remmon,” that is, from the hill to the height, since we rise from earth and from the desert to the hills, and from the hills to the mountains. And this is why the bridegroom in the Song of Songs leapt over the hills, ⁸ which are smaller, and springs over the high mountains, of which it is written: “The high mountains are for the wild goats.” ⁸⁷ But if we want to understand Remmon as pomegranate, for it means both in Hebrew, we should say this, that the borders of the church begins at the hills, so that the entire ecclesiastical order is constructed, of which we spoke above, when we interpreted the lamentation of the only begotten, and the lamentation as Hadadrimmon. ⁸⁸ And the church is not content with this border but reaches to the south into the brightest light, about which we offered an exposition a short time ago, ⁸ and therefore now we keep silent, lest if we tread on the same things repeatedly we might become a nuisance to the reader. The church, which began at the hills and reaches to the south, shall be exalted; and it shall dwell in her own place, of which it is written: “In a place of pasture he has set me there.” From the gate of Benjamin, which means “son of the

right hand” and not “son of days,” as some wrongly conjecture. ¹ For it means the one if it ends in the letter nun, the other if it ends in mem. And it reaches even to the place of the eastern and former gate, even to the gate of the corners. We begin with virtue, for this is what right hand means, and we reach all the way to the former gate, so that we may enter through it to others; and at once the gate of the corners meets us, where the cornerstone is found, “which the builders rejected, and it became the head of the corner.” ² This cornerstone connects the two walls and compels the two peoples to become one. ³ God also speaks of it in Isaiah: “Behold, I lay in Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious in its foundations; and the one who believes in him shall not be confounded.” ⁴ This cornerstone wanted other cornerstones as well to be built on it, so that the apostle Paul could say freely: “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself being the supreme cornerstone.” ⁵ The heretics do not imitate these stones, who do everything for the sake of glory and profit and pray on the streetcorners, ⁷ leaving the straight path. ⁸ For every corner breaks the straight line; and for that reason the harlot in Proverbs, however we want to understand her, whose feet do not stay at home but either go outside or lie in wait in the corners of the streets, when she sees a foolish young man —for she does not invite one whom she senses is wise and mature in age, of whom it is written: “A man’s grey hair is his wisdom” ¹ —at once grabs him, kisses him, coaxes him and leads him to the brothel and invites him to have intercourse. Therefore let us forsake the phony corners and move on to the firm and robust corners of Christ, at which when we arrive at once the tower of Hananeel greets us, which means “one most pleasing to God.” For what is more pleasing than the tower of Solomon? There is talk of it to the bride: “Your neck is like the tower of David, which is built in Thalphioth, a thousand shields hand on it, all the weapons of the mighty.” ¹ ¹ In the Gospel the Lord wants this tower to be built, once the costs and expenses have been calculated. ¹ ² And to Jerusalem it is said of it: “Let there be peace in your virtue and abundance in your towers.” ¹ ³ The saint also speaks of it to God: “You have led me down, for you have become my hope; a tower of strength in the presence of the enemy.” ¹ ⁴ From the tower of Hananeel we arrive at the king’s winepresses, for which three psalms are entitled, ¹ ⁵ and the Lord says in Isaiah, “I alone have trampled the winepress,” ¹ in order that our vintage may overflow into them and we may press the grapes and tread on the red juice in the blood of Christ, in order to drink the wine that gladdens the heart of man, ¹ ⁷ and the bride desires when she says to the companions of her groom: “Lead me into the wine cellar, place love over me.”

¹ ⁸ If we become drunk on winepresses of that sort, we shall dwell in Jerusalem, and there shall be no more any anathema, that is, curse and abomination. And this is why the apostle says: “If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be anathema.” ¹ And in another passage: “No one speaking in the Spirit of God says anathema Jesus.” ¹ ¹ And he desires to be anathema for the sake of the salvation of his brothers, ¹ ¹¹ wanting to imitate his Lord, who even though he himself was not a curse became a curse for us. ¹ ¹² But when every anathema is removed, “Jerusalem shall dwell in confidence” and secure. It will even express the following in itself: “Blessed is the one who is confident in the Lord”; ¹ ¹³ and “It is better to be confident in the Lord than to confide in man.” ¹ ¹⁴ Jeremiah the prophet mentions this security and confidence: “Blessed will be the man who confides in the Lord.” ¹ ¹⁵

14:12 And this shall be the blow with which the Lord shall strike all nations that have fought against Jerusalem. The flesh of every one shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

Septuagint: “And this shall be the downfall with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away while they are standing on their feet, and their eyes shall melt out of their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” The current Scripture testifies to what the nations will suffer who will fight against the Lord’s city. It says: They will stand on their feet, and their flesh will consume away and “melt,” and their eyes will rot and fall from their sockets; their haughty tongue, which was blaspheming the people of God, will be dissolved into foam and will rot within the fence of their teeth. It is clear to everyone that the Romans who overthrew Jerusalem did not suffer these things, unless perhaps the Jews claim that those nations will experience them that will fight against the golden and bejeweled Jerusalem. ¹ ¹ But we shall say that all persecutors who have afflicted the Lord’s church, to say nothing about their future torments, have received back for what they did, even in the present age.

Just read the ecclesiastical histories. What happened to Valerian, Decius, Diocletian, Maximian? What happened to the most savage of all, Maximinus, and recently Julian? By these events we shall prove even according to the letter that the truth of the prophecy has been fulfilled, that their flesh rotted, their eyes consumed away, their tongue was dissolved into foam and filth. Further, if to the heretics God’s cruelty seems to be shown on the basis of this statement, let him hear that all these things happen in order for good things to grow up out of the evils that are fading away. For the one who stands in the Lord and with the Lord, his fleshly things will “melt” in order that spiritual things may arise, and eyes that saw badly will fall out of their sockets in order that others may be set in their place that are able with the prophet to gaze on the Lord and say: “To you who dwell in heaven I lifted my eyes.” ¹ ¹⁷ And the reason the blaspheming tongue shall rot is so that another tongue may grow that glorifies God and can say: “My tongue shall meditate on your justice, all the day your praise.” ¹ ¹⁸ Whence also Simeon, when he took the infant in his arms and predicted the future, said, “Behold this one is appointed for the downfall and resurrection of many,” ¹ ¹ in order that evils may fall and the best things may arise. And that is why the Lord says: “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who see not might see, and those who see might become blind.” ¹ ² The people of the Gentiles saw not, and after the faith of Christ they began to see the light of truth, which says through the prophet: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me, he sent me to evangelize the poor, to preach a release to the captives, and to the blind that they may see,” ¹ ²¹ and that they may be illumined by the wisdom of which it is written: “The wisdom of man illumines his face,” ¹ ²² and in the Psalms we read: “The Lord illumines the blind,” or “makes wise.” ¹ ²³ For that is what σωφοῖ means. The Jews saw, and because they refused to receive the light, they were covered with eternal blindness.

14:13-14 In that day there shall be a great tumult from the Lord among them, and a man shall take the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall be clasped on his neighbor’s hand. And even Judah shall fight against Jerusalem, and the riches of all nations around shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and garments in great abundance.

Septuagint: “And there shall be in that day a great entrancement from the Lord on them, and they shall lay hold every man of the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall cleave to the hand of his neighbor. Judah also shall be prepared in Jerusalem; and [God] shall gather the strength of all the peoples around, gold, and silver, and garments, in great abundance.” When these marvels are fulfilled, so that the flesh of the enemies melts, the eyes consume away, and the tongue of blasphemers rots in their mouth, ¹ ²⁴ at that time there shall be among them a great tumult, or “entrancement,” for that is what ἔκστασις means, which is the Septuagint translation. And each one shall take the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall be clasped with his neighbor’s hand, in view of the dread and weight of evils that will come on them. And Judah shall fight against the capital city, of which we have spoken above, ¹ ²⁵ and when victory from the Lord has been granted, the riches of all nations that fought against Jerusalem shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and a multitude of garments, which are among the most precious of property. Wretched Judea promises itself these things, hoping to receive gold, she who appraised the Lord at the price of thirty pieces of silver. ¹ ² But we follow the sequence that has been begun, referring everything here to the blessedness of the church, because all who are in it marvel at the subjection of enemies and their own happy condition, and each one “lays hold of the hand of his neighbor,” to clasp right hands and be united in the mutual faith and need. As for what we read in the Hebrew as And Judah shall fight against Jerusalem, which the Septuagint translated “Judah also shall be prepared in Jerusalem,” we may understand it in both ways, that Judah who once confessed the name of the Lord, and when compelled in the persecutions persecuted the people of Christ, would himself be turned to gladness. Or certainly Judah, everyone who confesses and is faithful, would not fight against Jerusalem but would “prepare” itself in Jerusalem to fight against the adversaries. And Judah himself will gather the riches of all nations around, gold, and silver, and “garments in great abundance.” We have often said that gold and silver are understood as thought and speech, whence too we ought equally to understand garments as those with which Christ’s church is adorned, of which it is written: “The queen stood at your right hand clothed in vesture wrought with gold, [and] arrayed in divers colors.” ¹ ²⁷ The throng of believers rejoices that it has been clothed with these garments and says: “I shall exult in the Lord, for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation and in the robe of gladness.” ¹ ²⁸ For the Lord had said to him: “I have clothed [you] with both τριχάπτοις ¹ ² and fine linen.” ¹ ³ In the

τριχάπτοις we should understand thin garments that are so beautiful and thin that they look like hair. The church gathers these garments in order to have something with which to cloth her people, to whom it is commanded by the true assembly organizer: “Let your garments be always white.” ¹ ³¹

14:15 And the downfall of the horse, and of the mule, and of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, shall be like this downfall.

Septuagint: “And this shall be the downfall of the horses, and mules, and camels, and asses, and all the beasts that are in those camps, according to this downfall.” The Jews claim that these things as well are to be fulfilled carnally during the reign of their ἠλειμμένῳ. ¹ ³² Great indeed is the Lord’s strength that the horses, mules, camels and asses would fall down in the camps of the enemy, and all their beasts as well as their men would have fallen. Great is the triumph, glorious the victory, as God fights to overcome brute animals! Therefore we should say in accordance with the tropology begun that the reason all evils collapse that previously fought against the church is so that goods may suddenly arise. In short, the one who previously had been a horse neighing after his neighbor’s wife ¹ ³³ and was carried around eager to lust and was lying in the midst of base pleasures—when he begins to follow chastity, it will be said to him, “Arise, let us go from here,” ¹ ³⁴ and, “Arise, come, my neighbor,” ¹ ³⁵ and in the apostle: “Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ’s light will shine on you.” ¹ ³ And when those horses that had previously fallen rise up and offer supple backsides for their master to sit on, they will say to him: “Mount on your horses, and your horses are salvation.” ¹ ³⁷ We should understand the “mules” in accordance with this sense. They are sterile and do not produce offspring but are frisky for pleasure. The psalmist records of them: “Do not be like the horse and the mule, in which there is no understanding.” ¹ ³⁸ For just as those who are inclined to lust are called horses, so we shall rightly call mules those who are virgins in the flesh, not the spirit, who are made eunuchs not for the sake of the kingdom of heaven but for the sake of the pleasure of men. ¹ ³ When, therefore, these mules and these eunuchs

turn to offspring and generate spiritual children, they will hear through Isaiah: “Let not the eunuch say, I am an arid tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs, as many as shall keep my Sabbaths and choose the things that I have willed and take hold of my covenant, I will give to them in my house and within my walls a famous place, and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which shall not fail.” ¹ ⁴ The kings of Israel had male and female mules like this, and especially David, ¹ ⁴¹ who refers to Christ. If we have understood who are the horses and mules that fall and rise, we may move on to the “camels,” an animal that chews the cud and does not cleave the hoof. ¹ ⁴² We would say: the camels are all the sinners of the earth who are burdened down with a heavy load of sins, and they seem to themselves to be reading the Holy Scriptures, but they do not cleave the hoof, they do not chew the cud of the divine utterances, and they neglect what is written. The Jewish people can rightly be called a camel, who themselves meditate on the law of God and chew its cud and wanted it in their heart, but they do not divide the hoof, so that they would believe in the Father and in the Son; and in this they are unclean, that they do not separate the letter from the spirit, the shadow from the truth, and they carry the burdens of the law and hear through the prophet: “Woe, sinful nation, a people full of transgressions.” ¹ ⁴³ Concerning this kind of camel, who chews the cud and does not cleave the hoof, there is also talk in the Proverbs as to a son: “He who has forsaken keeping his father’s discipline shall meditate on evil utterances.” ¹ ⁴⁴ After the camel, let us move on to the ass, which was once borne about unbridled and was unclean and had many masters, ¹ ⁴⁵ and it slipped over steep places ¹ ⁴ so that though falling down it suddenly rose up and carried the Lord and Savior and entered into holy Jerusalem and received the triumphant one with a throng of believing children. ¹ ⁴⁷ The Savior is said to have bound this ass to the vine and vineyard, of which it is written in the Psalms: “You have transferred a vine from Egypt, you have ejected nations and have planted it.” ¹ ⁴⁸ The vinedresser himself says to it: “I planted you as a fruitful vineyard entirely true.” ¹ ⁴ All the beasts and animals, too, which the prophet summarizes under one term, should be interpreted in view of the natures of each, and this befits the Son of God more than the stupid things the Jewish people presume from the prophecy.

14:16 And all they who shall be left of all nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year, to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass [that] whosoever shall be left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up every year to worship the king, the Lord Almighty, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” He says, All they who shall be left of all nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up “every year,” to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. By an empty hope the Jews promise that these things will come to pass in the thousand-year kingdom. This feast will mark its beginning. When the people of Israel came out of Egypt through a desolate, terrible and broad wilderness, in which there was no house, villa, town or grotto, they made tents and tabernacles for themselves, which are now called butterflies from their resemblance to this small bird—in which they lived with their spouses and children, took their meals, and kept off the heat of the sun during the day, the moisture at night, the harmful cold and dew, and it was commanded that the Feast of Tabernacles should take place in the seventh month on the fifteenth day of the month. ¹ ⁵ It says: “And when your son asks you tomorrow, saying: What do these tabernacles mean? You shall answer him: For a long time we sojourned in Egypt, from which the Lord led us forth into the wilderness, and therefore we erect tabernacles to remember the benefits of God at all times, when we shall begin to dwell in cities.” ¹ ⁵¹ He also commanded them to make the tabernacles from very fine wood that the Jews call citrus, and from branches of palms and the boughs of leafy trees and willow and poplar. ¹ ⁵² We have laid the foundation of history, so that from it we may move on to spiritual things. We dwell in tabernacles as long as we are making progress and are in the race and the struggle, striving for this with our whole mind, to move on from the tabernacles to a firm and stable residence, that is, the house of God. And that is why the saint says in the psalm, “Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged!” ¹ ⁵³ and, “I am a stranger and a sojourner, like all my fathers.” ¹ ⁵⁴ He says this who is in Egypt and still established in the world. But he who comes forth from Egypt, which is expressed in Hebrew as mitsrayim and means affliction, and enters the wilderness of vices picks his own journey and says in the psalm: “I will pass through to the place of the wonderful tabernacle as far as the house of

God.” ¹ ⁵⁵ For it is “wonderful” to be unwilling to dwell with the Egyptians, but, once Pharaoh is drowned, ¹ ⁵ to long to enter the promised land. And this is why he says elsewhere, “How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of virtues. My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord,” ¹ ⁵⁷ and a little bit later, “Blessed are all who live in your house; they shall praise you into the age of ages.” ¹ ⁵⁸ For “a cry of exultation and salvation is in the tabernacles of the just.” ¹ ⁵ We have also found it written in Proverbs: “The houses of the just remain, and the tabernacles of those who act rightly shall stand.” ¹ He promises of the houses, that they will remain; of the tabernacles, that they will stand. And the holy man says in another passage: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I earnestly seek, that I should dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I should behold the fair beauty of the Lord and survey his temple.” ¹ ¹ The one who dwells in tabernacles of this sort and hastens to go from the tabernacles to the courts, and from the courts to the house, and from the house to the temple of the Lord, ought to keep the feasts of tabernacles in the most beautiful tree of wisdom. Of that [tree] it is said in Proverbs: “She is a tree of life to all that draw near her and who recline on it, as on the firmness of the Lord.” ¹ ² And in the branches of palms, ¹ ³ in which there is the sign of victory and the reward of virtue is contained, and in the leafy branches of the tree that the Jews understand as the myrtle, on account of mortification of vices and lusts. Whence too myrrh is offered to the Lord and Savior as a gift of the Magi; ¹ ⁴ and in the branches of the willow and the poplar, he says, which some think are the same tree; and the same name of the tree that in Greek is called άγνὸς indicates chastity. ¹ ⁵ Physicians say, and those who have written about the natures of plants, that if someone drinks the flower of the willow, or poplar, mixed with water, all passion grows cold within him, and the vein of lust dries out, and he is no longer able to generate children. One who is protected by the branches of such trees practices the feast of tabernacles, passing through the sixth month, which refers to the world, and in the seventh [month] spending a spiritual Sabbath, on the fifteenth day of the same month, when the night’s moon is fullest and all its darkness is dissipated by bright light. We have said these things briefly, long ago contemplating with our mind the greatness of the books, so that we may move on to what remains.

14:17 And it shall come to pass [that] he that shall not go up of the families of the land to Jerusalem, to worship the King, the Lord of hosts; there shall

be no rain on them.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass [that] those of the families of the land that shall not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, even these shall be added to the others.” What the Septuagint translated as “even these shall be added to the others” is written in Hebrew as velo’ ‘alehem yihyeh hagashem, which Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion translated alike: there shall be no rain on them. The church of the Lord Jesus is called the heavenly Jerusalem, of which the apostle writes: “But that Jerusalem that is above is free, that is mother of us all,” ¹ and, “You have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” ¹ ⁷ And this Jerusalem is not situated in lowly places but on a high mountain, of which the Savior speaks: “A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.” ¹ ⁸ And this is why the one who will worship the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem ought to climb up to the mountains. But the one who is of the families and tribes of the land, and therefore is unable to worship the Lord, there shall be no early and late ¹ rain on him, nor will his land be watered by the rains of heaven. Or, as the Septuagint rendered it, “Those of the families of the land that shall not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty,” when they shall be reckoned “to the others,” who fought against Jerusalem and whose flesh is consumed away, and eyes melt away, and tongue rots. ¹ ⁷

14:18-19 But if the families of Egypt go not up nor come, neither shall it be on them; but there shall be a downfall, with which the Lord will strike all nations that will not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the sin of Egypt, and this the sin of all nations, that will not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Septuagint: “But if the tribe of Egypt shall not go up, nor come there, then on them shall be the downfall with which the Lord shall strike all the nations that did not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (scenopegiae). This shall be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all the nations, that shall not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (scenopegiae).”

He who is an Egyptian, and one of the other nations, will not go up to Jerusalem as long as the Egyptian and pagan remains. And since he cannot go up, nor raise a step toward the heights, for that reason the rain of the Lord’s blessing shall not be on him. And this shall be the greatest sin for the Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syrian, Moabite and Ammonite, if they are unwilling to come forth from their lands and go up to Jerusalem, so that they may pass through tabernacles into Jerusalem and find an eternal home, and cease to be men of other nations and become Israelites in whom there is no deceit. ¹ ⁷¹ We have touched on all these things with brief speech. The Jews and our Judaizers, or rather, they are not ours, since they are Judaizers, hope for these things to come in the future in physical fashion. They promise themselves with certainty both circumcision and marriage in the empire of one thousand years. ¹ ⁷² Otherwise, they would fulfill the curse that is written about: “Cursed is the barren woman who does not make seed in Israel,” ¹ ⁷³ and “Blessed is he who has seed in Zion and domestic servants in Jerusalem.” ¹ ⁷⁴ But if that is true, then all the virgins whom the kingdom of the thousand years finds will be subject to cursing and barrenness, or surely they will marry, in order to escape the curse.

14:20-21a In that day that which is on the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord; and the cauldrons in the house of the Lord shall be as bowls before the altar. And every cauldron in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sanctified to the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “In that day that which is on the bridle of every horse shall be holy to the Lord Almighty; and the cauldrons that are in the house of the Lord shall be as bowls before the house of the altar. And every cauldron in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the Lord Almighty.” Aquila and Theodotion translated the Hebrew word metsiloth as βυθὸν, that is, “depth”; Symmachus as περίπατον σύσκιον, that is “shadowy procession.” The Septuagint alone translated it χάλινον, that is, “bridle,” which we have followed in this passage, lest we should seem to bring into common question something novel. When I asked a Hebrew what this meant, he told me that we should not read metsiloth but metsaloth, which refers to the medallions of horses and ornate war equipment, and that with the exception of this passage the word is not found

at all in any book of sacred Scripture. But in the Hebrew language “bridle,” which the Septuagint translated, is expressed as retsen, not metsiloth. He said that the sense is: At the time of the everlasting feast and of the kingdom of Jerusalem, when everything is pacified and tranquil, there will be no need for cavalry, which is the strongest kind of warriors, but every ornament and beautiful medallion is to be offered to the worship of the Lord. This is what they say. We should refer the depth of the horses and the shadowy ¹ ⁷⁵ or dark procession to mystical knowledge, which both David boasted that he had, as his best horse, when he said: “You have revealed the uncertain secrets of your wisdom to me.” ¹ ⁷ Also the apostle said: “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways beyond finding out.” ¹ ⁷⁷ The prophet called out to the Lord from this depth, and he heard him. ¹ ⁷⁸ In these depths and darkness, God made his own hiding place. ¹ ⁷ In the gloom of Mount Sinai Moses entered this darkness and the divine mysteries to see God. ¹ ⁸ David also spoke of this in another psalm: “The judgments of the Lord are a great deep.” ¹ ⁸¹ These secrets and these mysteries are holy to the Lord. John the Evangelist knew them, who dared to say what angels perhaps were ignorant of: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” ¹ ⁸² And the reason he is loved by the Lord is that he had the best depth; and he had reclined on the chest of Jesus, from which he had also drawn wisdom. ¹ ⁸³ But if we want to understand the word of God as the Septuagint translated it, “bridle,” in the bridle we should understand that which restrains from vices horses that are raving with lust and mules that are sterile and frisky, and keeps them in check and does not allow them to go over the cliff, of which it is said: “Do not be as horse and mule, which have no understanding. You shall constrain their jaws with bridle and bit, lest they should come near you.” ¹ ⁸⁴ James also speaks of this bridle: “We put bridles into the mouths of horses, and we lead around their whole body,” ¹ ⁸⁵ namely so that they may walk on the right road and can offer soft backsides to seat their master. Such a bridle and such a word composed with a variety of gold and silver prepares wild horses for the Savior to sit on, and makes them holy and uniquely consecrated to his worship. I heard something stated by someone with pious intent, to be sure, but it is ridiculous, that the nails of the Lord’s cross out, of which the Emperor Constantine made the bridle for his horse, are called the thing holy to the Lord. I leave to the prudence of the reader whether this should be received.

Let us move on to the cauldrons that will be in the Lord’s house as bowls of the altar. For every cauldron in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be sanctified “to the Lord Almighty.” Let them love bronze cauldrons who loved Egyptians’ pots and meat, melons and garlic, onions and cucumbers. ¹ ⁸ Let us turn the Jewish caldrons in which we boiled the flesh of sacrificial victims into the bowls of aromatic spices before the altar of the Lord, of which things the bride says to her bridegroom: “My brother goes down into my garden for bowls of aromatic spices to feed among the gardens and to gather lilies.” ¹ ⁸⁷ The garden and paradise into which the bridegroom goes down to the bride is the reading of Holy Scripture, from which he plucks lilies, violets, roses and various aromatic spices to fill the bowls of believing souls. And from them he pours out libations to the Lord. When cauldrons of this sort have been turned into bowls of the Lord and can say “We are Christ’s good fragrance,” ¹ ⁸⁸ and in place of the stench of the flesh they begin to wield various flowers of the virtues, then they will be sanctified to the “Lord Almighty” in Jerusalem and in Judah. We have repeatedly said that Jerusalem expresses the vision of peace, and Judah the one who confesses.

[14:21b] And all that sacrifice shall come and take of them and shall cook in them; and the merchant shall be no more in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.

Septuagint: “And all that sacrifice shall come and take of them and shall cook in them; and the Canaanite shall be no more in the house of the Lord Almighty in that day.” For “Canaanite” Aquila translated merchant, which we also followed in this passage. When the cauldrons are turned to bowls, ¹ ⁸ all the nations around shall come, or those who remain to sacrifice from all the nations, and they will take the cauldrons and cook the flesh of sacrificial victims in them, so as not to eat the flesh of the lamb raw. Instead, with all the moisture of the flesh boiled off, that which was prepared by fire would remain to eat. We have said above, and we shall even now say in part, what the bowls are before the altar of the Lord into which Israelite cauldrons are turned. In the Song of Songs the bride praises her groom: “His cheeks are like bowls of aromatic spices.” ¹ In the cheeks the

word is understood, which is brought forth from the Lord and produces various perfumes. And the fragrance of good odor will be so great that the Lord makes a whip for himself ¹ ¹ woven out of testimonies from the Scriptures, and he expels from the temple those buying and selling and says to them: “It is written, my Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations; but you have made it a house of business.” ¹ ² Some apply to this passage what is written in Daniel (though one does not read this in the Hebrew version): “Seed of Canaan, and not Judah,” ¹ ³ and to what is said by the prophet Hosea about Ephraim: “Ephraim, joined with idols, has laid stumbling blocks in his own way. He has provoked the Canaanites, fornicating they have fornicated.” ¹ ⁴ They think that Canaanite and foreigner refers to everyone who commits fornication, whom they assert must be removed from the house of God.

COMMENTARY ON MALACHI

Translated by Yolande Agnimel and Thomas P. Scheck, Annotated by Thomas P. Scheck

One Book of Commentary on the Prophet Malachi to Minervius and Alexander.

Preface

We wish to interpret the last of the twelve prophets, Malachi, whose name the Septuagint translated as “his angel.” They said: “The assumption of the word of the Lord over Israel by the hand of his angel.” ¹ This reads in Hebrew as Malachi, which is more correctly and clearly expressed as “my angel,” that is, “messenger.” And it must not be thought in accordance with the opinion of some that an angel came from heaven and assumed a human body, so that it spoke to Israel what the Lord commanded. For if names have to be interpreted, and if the order of history rather than the spiritual understanding has to be composed from the names, then even Hosea, which means savior, and Joel, which means “the Lord God” or “beginner,” and the other prophets will not be human beings but either angels or the Lord and Savior. For that is what their names mean. Finally, apart from the Septuagint, the other interpreters translated the name Malachi just as it is read in Hebrew. Now the Hebrews think that Malachi is Ezra the priest, because everything that is contained in his book is likewise mentioned by this prophet, who says: “the lips of the priest will guard knowledge, and out of his mouth they will seek the law, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.” ² The time and also the

inscription agree, which we have said also in respect to the psalms that have no titles, that they must be believed to belong to those men with whose names the preceding psalms were titled. And therefore Malachi, that is, Ezra, must be believed to have lived after Haggai and Zechariah, who prophesied under Darius. ³ And [they say that] the reason it has no title is that his book takes the place of a title. By this we learn that in the reign of Artaxerxes the king of the Persians, Ezra is said to be the son of Saraiah, and of others up to that place where it is said: the son Phineas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest from the beginning, went up from Babylon, and the king gave him every petition of his according to the hand of Lord his God. ⁴ They went up with him from the sons of Israel, and from the sons of the priests, and from the sons of the Levites, and from the cantors, and the doorkeepers, and from the Nathinites in Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, and they came into Jerusalem in the fifth month. This is the seventh year of the king, because on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem. ⁵ You should reconcile these things, my Minervius and Alexander, not so much in terms of the bloodlines as the religion. I have spoken briefly in the preface to avoid leaving out a work on the prophets that I have undertaken and exerted myself over with extraordinary hardships for your sake. I shall set forth the words of Malachi, first according to the Hebrew truth, then according to the Septuagint translators, and supported by the assistance of your prayers, I will explain in full the things that follow. Origen wrote three volumes on this book, but he did not touch the history at all, and as is his custom he got completely involved in the allegorical interpretation. He made no mention of Ezra but thought that it was an angel who wrote the book, according to what we read about John: “Behold, I send my angel before your face.” We do not accept this interpretation at all. Otherwise we would be compelled to accept the fall of souls from heaven. ⁷ I do not know whether I have read other commentaries on this prophet, apart from the short little book of Apollinaris, which should be called not so much an interpretation as bullet points of interpretation. The book begins.

1:1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of Malachi.

Septuagint: “The assumption of the word of the Lord over Israel by the hand of his angel.” In [our commentaries] on the other prophets we have stated what burden means, that is, “weight,” which is massa in Hebrew and is expressed by Aquila as ἄρμα; or what λῆμμα means, that is “assumption,” which is the translation both of the Septuagint and of the others interpreter. ⁸ For both Nahum writes, “the burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elcesite,” and Habakkuk, “The burden that the prophet Habakkuk saw,” ¹ and Zechariah, “the burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Adrach, and of Damascus his rest.” ¹¹ And again in what follows later: “the burden of the word of the Lord over Israel.” ¹² And so let us be content with that explanation and for now say only this, that the weight of the word of the Lord to Israel, or as the Septuagint says it, “over Israel,” is indeed heavy, since it is called a weight, but it has some consolation, because it is taken up not against Israel but to Israel. For it is one thing when for instance we write to this or that one, something else when we write against this one and that one, since in the one case it is a matter of friendship, in the other there is an open declaration of hostilities. And one should know that once Israel, that is, the ten tribes, had been led away into captivity, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin are also indiscriminately addressed by the original name of Israel. But as for what is said, “by the hand of his angel,” or of Malachi, understand hand as works. Whence also the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai, ¹³ and by the hand of Jeremiah, ¹⁴ and by the hand of Moses. ¹⁵ For the word of God does not come into hands in which there is iniquity, ¹ and those whose right hand is full of bribes, ¹⁷ and those whose hands are full of blood, ¹⁸ but of those who wash their hands among the innocent. ¹ And Pilate attempted to wash his hands with this water, lest he should consent to the blasphemies of the Jews, ² over which the psalmist rejoices when he says: “He led me out on the waters of refreshment.” ²¹ The Lord makes a promise of this water through the prophet: “I will sprinkle you with the cleanest water.” ²² But he who is a sinner is intoxicated with the chalice of Babylon, ²³ and it is said of him: “Thorns grow in the hand of the drunkard.” ²⁴ Septuagint: 1:1b, “Place [it] on your hearts.” This is not found in the Hebrew, but I think it was added from Haggai, where we read: “And now place it on your hearts from this day and beyond.” ²⁵ Therefore, after the prophet’s title, or

preface, it must be understood in two ways: “Place [it] on your hearts,” that is, pay attention and reflect on what was said above: “The assumption of the word of the Lord over Israel by the hand of his angel.” Or, pay very careful attention to what things are to be said later on, so that you may recognize them not with the ears of the body but with the understanding of the mind and heart and make treasures for yourselves, ² in which you may receive the riches of the words of God, and wisdom may lead faithfully, when you will be opened wide ²⁷ and, with a heart filled up by the words of God, ²⁸ you may drive out wicked thoughts that proceed from the heart: murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts and the rest, ² and you may fulfill what was said by the Savior: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” ³

1:2-5 I have loved you, says the Lord. And you have said: Wherein have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? says the Lord. And I have loved Jacob but have hated Esau. And I have made his mountains a wilderness and [given] his inheritance to the dragons of the desert. But if Edom shall say: We are destroyed, but we will return and build up what has been destroyed; thus says the Lord of hosts: They shall build up, and I will destroy; and they shall be called the borders of wickedness, and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord will be magnified on the border of Israel.

Septuagint: “I have loved you, says the Lord. And you have said: Wherein have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? says the Lord; and I loved Jacob but have hated Esau, and made his borders a desolation, and [made] his inheritance as dwellings of the desert. Because Edom will say: It has been destroyed, let us return and rebuild the desolate places. Thus says the Lord Almighty: They shall build, and I will destroy; and they shall be called the borders of iniquity, and the people over whom the Lord has been prepared forever. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord has been magnified on the borders of Israel.” Israel, that is Judah, to whom the word of God and the vision of the Lord was accustomed to come, is compelled to carry his “burden” and the weight of the heaviest punishments, so that it may lay down the heavier sins and perceive by

the torments what it did not perceive by the kindnesses. And lest the punishment against their own people should seem unjust, the Lord adds: I have loved you. “For the one whom the Lord loves, he corrects; and he chastises every son whom he receives.” ³¹ And by saying I have loved, he denies the present while acknowledging the past. And they reply with the rashness with which they are sinning, having forgotten his acts of kindness: Wherein have you loved us? to which the Lord says: To say nothing of the other things and of the fact that you recently came from the Babylonian captivity, I shall discuss your origins, before you were born, or rather, before Rebecca brought forth Esau and Jacob from her womb. ³² In Jacob I loved you; in Esau, I have hated the Idumeans. The apostle Paul displays this passage with a mystical discussion when writing to the Romans. He links two testimonies together from Genesis and Malachi: “But Rebecca also from one act of intercourse conceived from Isaac our father. For when the children were not yet born and had not done anything good or evil, that the purpose of God might remain according to election, not from works but from him who calls, it was said to her: ‘The elder shall serve the younger’; ³³ as it is written: ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’” ³⁴ For that which is said, “as it is written,” ³⁵ applies both to the book of Genesis and to the prophet Malachi. He says: Not only have I loved Jacob before he was born, and hated Esau before he was conceived in his mother’s womb, but I have maintained my love and hatred in respect to their posterity; hatred in respect to Esau, whose mountains, which are called Seir, I have reduced to a wilderness and whose cities I have made into deserts, and to be possessed by serpents and wild beasts. But if Edom, that is, Esau, says: we are certainly destroyed by the anger of the Lord, but we will build cities again, be aware that, since the Lord is predicting these things, while they build up, I will destroy. And their eternal devastation will prove my anger. Therefore the hatred I have shown in the affairs of Esau, but the love toward you, that is, toward Jacob, I will prove by the things that follow. When those things have been destroyed and reduced to a “desolation,” your eyes will see, and you shall say: The Lord will be magnified on the border of Israel. And in comparison with the evils that your brother endures, you will perceive the kindnesses of God toward you. The Jews deceitfully flatter themselves that he is making a prophecy about Edom, the Romans and Israel at the consummation of the world, that when the Roman Empire is destroyed, that is, Edom, a worldly kingdom will come to the Jews. We have said these things as we were able in order to lay the foundations of the history. Now let us come to the spiritual understanding.

Israel, a man or mind seeing God, or as I think is better, εὐθύτατος θεοῦ, that is, “God’s most upright one,” is loved by the Lord, and he wants to know the reason for his love for him. And the Lord replied: Esau and Jacob were born from one stock, that is, their vices and virtues proceed from one spring of the heart; ³ so long as we, by the freedom of choice, turn aside in either direction, as we want. But the former vices arise in infancy, childhood and youth, which later on a more mature age of life corrects and supplants. The elder brother is rough and savage from hunting; he delights in the woods and wild beasts. ³⁷ The younger [brother is] smooth and simple, and lives in the house harmlessly. ³⁸ God “makes the borders” of Edom, that is, of the earthly and savage, “a desolation,” and he allows nothing to grow from the ground and to be lasting. But if impudent wickedness strives once again to build up those things that have been destroyed by the word of God, the Lord declares that he is averse to those things which are being set up again by the vices. And after everything pertaining to the borders of the enemy have been destroyed, we can then see the eyes of Israel and all the saints say: the Lord will be magnified in the borders of those who see God with the mind. Furthermore, the love and hatred of God arises either out of the foreknowledge of the future or on the basis of works; in other respects we know that God loves all things, he hates none of the things he has created, ³ but in a unique way he claims for his own love those who are the enemies and rebels of the vices. And, on the other hand, he hates those who desire to build up again what has been destroyed by God. But God is said to hate άνθρωποπάθως, ⁴ just as he is said to weep, to grieve, to become angry, so that when we hear of his “hatred” of those who are evil, we understand that we should flee from those things that God hates. ⁴¹

1:6a The son honors the father and the servant his master; if then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “A son glorifies his father, and a servant will fear his master. And if I am a father, where is my glory? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord Almighty.” Granted that I began to love you in Jacob like sons before you were born, ⁴² still

you are choosing by what name to call me. I am either your father or master. If father, then render the honor due to a father and offer the devotion that a parent deserves. If master, why do you despise me? Why do you not fear the master? But he is speaking to those who returned from the Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel, Jesus son of Josedek, Ezra the priest and Nehemiah. ⁴³ They rebuilt the altar but had not yet built the temple, nor constructed the walls of the city, and were nonetheless continuing in their former sins, revering God neither with love nor with fear. But what we have expressed as “glory” or honor, and among the Greeks is δόξα, and among the Hebrews kabod, is one word, but we have recorded honor in view of the uniqueness of the Latin language. For even in the Gospel where the Lord and Savior says, “Father, the hour is coming; glorify (clarifica) your Son, that your Son may glorify you,” ⁴⁴ in Greek this is read as δόχασον, that is, it is “glorify” (glorifica), a passage that the majority of the Latins have translated as “honor.” At the same time, we may consider that in the Holy Scriptures one becomes a son and a servant by one’s will, not from the necessity of nature. ⁴⁵ For the one who receives the spirit of adoption is turned into a son of God; but he who receives a spirit of servitude unto fear is made servant of God. ⁴ And so God wills in the first place that we be his sons and do good willingly; if we want to attain at least to his regarding us as his slaves, we should also retreat from evils for the fear of punishment. We read of sons in a bad sense, “We were sons of wrath,” ⁴⁷ and “sons of hell,” ⁴⁸ those whom the Pharisees begot by traversing land and sea, as those deserving punishments. ⁴ And Judas the traitor is called a son of perdition, ⁵ and in the eighty-eighth Psalm it is written about the Lord: “The son of iniquity will not hurt him again.” ⁵¹ In Hosea too they are called the “sons of fornication” who were born from a harlot mother, of whom it is written: “your mother committed fornication.” ⁵² And in the Gospel the Jews are affronted as “sons of the devil”: “You were born of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.” ⁵³ We read of sons in a good sense as sons of God: “As many as received him, he gave them power to become sons of God.” ⁵⁴ And there are sons of wisdom, since the Gospel proclaims: “Wisdom is justified by her sons.” ⁵⁵ There are also sons of Abraham: “Amen, amen, I tell you, God is able to raise up sons to Abraham from these stones.” ⁵ And there are sons of the apostle: “My little sons, for whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you”; ⁵⁷ and there

are many things of that sort. The son therefore honors or “glorifies” the father ⁵⁸ in accordance with what is written: “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” ⁵ A servant, too, honors his master not with the same love as a son does, but άπὸ κοινοῦ it is understood, the son honors the father, the slave his master. And yet, “almighty” God knows the difference between son and slave, and he demands “glory” from a son, “fear” from a slave. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” ¹ so that we may go from having the fear of slaves to the glory of the sons.

1:6b-7 To you, O priests, who despise my name and have said: Wherein have we despised your name? You offer polluted bread on my altar, and you say: Wherein have we polluted you? In that you say: The table of the Lord is despised.

Septuagint: “You, the priests, who despise my name and have said: Wherein have we despised your name? By offering polluted bread at my altar; and you said: Wherein have we polluted it? In that you say: the table of the Lord is despised.” But as for what follows, “And you despised the things that were set on it,” we have marked this with an obelus, since it is not found in the Hebrew and was added from the things that follow. ² Therefore, these words are directed to you, O priests, who despise my name, you who have returned from Babylon, you were obligated to be converted to the Lord with all your mind, out of fear based on your past servitude; and not only are you doing this, but you are imitating Cain, replying with arrogant words against God, ³ you question him whom secrets do not deceive, and you say: Wherein have we despised your name? Thus by impudently pretending ignorance, you cover the wound of conscience. Do you want to know, then, wherein you have despised my name? You offer polluted bread on my altar, namely the loaves of presentation, ⁴ which according to the Hebrew traditions, you yourselves were supposed to have sown, reaped, ground up and baked. And now you are consuming whatever loaves come from the general public, and with

an audacious voice you reply and say, “Wherein have we polluted it,” or you? For while the mysteries are being dishonored, that very one is dishonored whose mysteries they are. But as for what follows, In that you say: the table of the Lord is despised, we can also interpret this as follows: that those who had returned from Babylon stayed in little huts and among the ruins of the ancient city, since the temple had not yet been rebuilt, and they had only constructed the altar. It did not have the same glory that the former one had, and they thought that the sacredness of their religion was lacking, because the outward display of the building was missing. We have drawn a sketchy outline on which the spiritual explanation needs to be imprinted. The divine speech rebukes negligent bishops, priests and deacons, or, since we are a royal and priestly race, ⁵ [it rebukes] all who have been baptized in Christ and are registered with Christ’s name. Why do they despise the name of God? And he reveals the causes of offense to those who ask wherein have they despised his name. He says, You offer polluted bread on my altar. We pollute the bread, that is, the body of Christ, when we approach the altar unworthily and drink the clean blood filthily, and we say: the table of the Lord is despised. Not that anyone would dare to say this and bring forth his impious thoughts with a wicked utterance, but that the works of sinners despise God’s table. We can express this in another way as well: if a teacher of the church who confects the spiritual bread and distributes it among the people either for the sake of human glory or the profits of this world, which result in glory, speaks to the people and flatters the wealthy, and honors sinners, and, like James says, receives those who come to him with their gold rings, but drives off the poor saints, he despises the name of God and pollutes the bread of teachings, and he hurls insults at God himself. For he thinks that there is communion between the table of his Scriptures and the tables of idols ⁷ and of the teaching of this world.

1:8 If you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it to your prince, if he will be pleased with it, or if he will receive your face, says the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “For if you offer a blind victim for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it to your prince, if he will receive you, if he will accept your face, says the Lord Almighty.” In Leviticus we learn more detail about the differences between sacrificial victims, and which ones ought to be offered or not offered. ⁸ And so, when the people returned from Babylon, and also the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Nathinites and the servants of Solomon, whose κατάλογον Ezra records, ⁷ they offered to God forbidden victims, namely the blind and the lame, and various incapacitated victims on litters, for that is what he expresses as sick, embracing them all with one word. If you offered gifts like that to your prince, he says, would he not reject them? Would he not think that he had been affronted? And you dare to offer to God what you would not dare to give to men? It would take too long to unfold the mysteries of all the sacrificial victims. I will only mention the ones that are contained in the present section. The sacrificial victim of a soul is blind that is not enlightened by the light of Christ and does not have the eye that beholds the things of the gospel. ⁷¹ The petitioner’s prayer is lame that proceeds to pray with a double mind ⁷² and that hears along with the Jewish people: “How long do you go limping on one foot or the other?” ⁷³ It is both sick and entirely covered with infirmity that does not have Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. ⁷⁴ Prayers of that kind, which are without the light of truth and do not have the solid tracks of wisdom, fade away with various infirmities. If they are offered to the prince of the churches, or to some learned and wise teacher, will they not be rejected, and will not the one who has dared to offer such things fall into disgrace?

1:9-10 And now beseech the face of God, that he may have mercy on you, for by your hand has this been done, if by any means he will receive your faces, says the Lord of hosts. Who is there among you who will shut the doors and will kindle the fire on my altar gratuitously?

Septuagint: “And now beseech the face of your God and make supplication to him. These things have been done by your hands; shall I receive your faces from you? says the Lord Almighty. Because even among you the gates shall be shut,

and the fire of my altar will not be kindled gratis.” In this passage the Septuagint translators are greatly discordant from the Hebrew truth. And it is inevitable that the meaning as well would be different when the translation is different. Since you offered lame, blind and crippled victims for sacrifice, ⁷⁵ for you have done all these things that I said, repent, in the hope that God may by some means have mercy on you. For there is no one among you who does not receive a wage from me for his work. This applies all the way to the last of the ministries. I am not speaking merely of the high priest, or priest, or Levite, or cantor, but not even a gatekeeper and the one who sets fire to the altar for the burning of holocausts. Now when he says this, he means the tithes of all of the crops that are offered by the people. From this it is shown that service to the Lord is more pleasing that does not demand a wage in the present time. And this is why the apostle preaches the gospel gratis ⁷ and works day and night with his hands lest he be a burden to anyone, ⁷⁷ and testifies that this glory of his is not to be robbed from him, ⁷⁸ namely of preaching without charge to the Gentiles. The Septuagint, on the other hand, suggests a far different meaning: O priests, who are sacrificing lame victims, be converted unto repentance, and “beseech the face” of the Lord and pray for the works of “your hands.” But as for what it adds, “Shall I receive your faces from you?” I do not know whether this befits an exhortation to repentance. For no one says: pray to me, and I will not spare you. It follows, “among you the doors shall be shut,” namely of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Whence the Savior says: “I am the door.” ⁷ Or here is another interpretation: The doors of the Scriptures will not be opened to you, nor will you be able to see into the holy of the holies, nor recognize the mysteries of the Lord, nor burn his incense at the altar, because your prayers will not reach him. And that which is said δωρεὰν, and we have translated gratuitously, those who follow this understanding that we now are setting forth, render it as grace, namely so that they may have the grace for serving at the altar of the Lord.

1:10b-13 I have no pleasure (voluntas) in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not receive a gift from your hand.

For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation, for my name is great among the Gentiles, says the Lord of hosts. And you have profaned it in that you say: The table of the Lord is defiled, and that which is laid thereupon is contemptible with the fire that devours it. And you have said: Behold of our labor, and you puffed it away, says the Lord of hosts. And you brought in of rapine the lame, and the sick, and brought in a gift. Shall I accept it from your hand, says the Lord?

Septuagint: “I have no pleasure (voluntas) in you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is glorious among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a clean sacrifice; for my name is great among the Gentiles, says the Lord Almighty. But you defile it in that you say, the table of the Lord is polluted, and his meats set thereon are despised. And you said, behold, these things are troublesome; and you puffed it away, says the Lord Almighty: and you brought in rapine, and the lame and the crippled, and you offered sacrifice in the hope that I might accept them from your hands, says the Lord Almighty.” The rule of the Scriptures is that when a very clear prophesy about the future is composed, one should not detract from what is written by means of uncertain allegories. Therefore, properly speaking, the word of the Lord is now being made to the priests of the Jews, who are offering in sacrifice the blind, the lame and the sick. This is so that they may know that spiritual victims will come in succession to the fleshly victims. And it is not the blood of the bulls and goats ⁸ that must be offered to the Lord, but “incense,” that is the prayers of the saints; ⁸¹ and not in one province of the world, Judea, nor in one city of Judea, Jerusalem, but in every place the oblation is offered, not an unclean one, as from the people of Israel, but a clean one, as in the ceremonies of the Christians. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, the name of the Lord is great among the Gentiles, since the Savior says: “Father, I made your name known among men.” ⁸² And since my name will be great among the Gentiles, he says, you, O princes of the Jews, have profaned it and you also are profaning [it]. For he is composing a

prediction of the future in such a way as not to abandon the present time. But for that reason, O priests and princes of the Jews, a clean oblation is offered to me in every place, and my name is great among the Gentiles, because you say the table of the Lord has been defiled. And that which is laid thereupon is contemptible with the fire that devours it. According to the book of Ezra, the people who returned from Babylon had built only the altar with stones they chanced to find that were unpolished. ⁸³ They were without a temple, without the buildings of the city, without the construction of walls, and they thought that their religious worship was inferior, because the outward adornment of the temple was wanting. The Lord says to them: you think the altar is polluted, and the burnt offerings and sacrificial victims that are placed on it; that the fire too that devours the victims is polluted. And you do not understand that “Almighty” God does not seek gold, precious stones, and a multitude of sacrifices, but the wills (voluntates) of those who make the offerings. As for those, however, who think that one should understand here not the altar but the table on which the bread loaves were placed, I do not see at all how they can interpret what follows, with the fire that devours it; for fire does not devour the bread of presentation, which they were always exchanging, new ones in place of the old, and once removed they were allowed to be used by the priests. ⁸⁴ Or certainly it is to be understood in this way: you profaned my name in that you say: What good does it do for us to offer the best [victims]? Of whatever kind they are that are offered, they are destined to be devoured by fire. But the fruit of the altar is fire, and “meat” is the fire of the sacrificial victim or the whole burnt offerings. And the impiety of the former words do not suffice, but you have even said this: Behold of our labor, and you puffed it away, says the Lord of hosts. This is the meaning of his prayer: You have said: we have returned from the captivity. We were prey to our enemies. We labored much on the long journey. We are poor. Whatever we might have had was consumed in the labor on the way. We offer whatever kinds of victims we have. And by saying this, you puffed away your sacrifices, that is you made [them] worthy by my puffing away. Or, as it can be read in Hebrew, and you puffed me away by saying these things: You did wrong not to the sacrifice, but to me, the one to whom you were sacrificing. Therefore “I shall not receive it from your hand, says the Lord Almighty.” Some think that this is being said to the Jews especially, because their sacrificial victims are unclean and defiled, and the sacrifice is being transferred to the Gentiles, that it ought to be understood of the priests of the church who

carelessly offer sacrifices to the Lord. But if we take it that way, then the sacrificial victims must be transferred from the church once again to another religion. And just as the gospel succeeded the law, so the things that are not to be will once again succeed the gospel. They also refer the polluted table of the Lord to the Holy Scriptures, if they are understood otherwise than they were written.

1:14–2:2 Cursed is the deceitful man who has a male in his flock and, making a vow, sacrifices that which is feeble to the Lord. For I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the Gentiles. And now, O you priests, this commandment is to you. If you do not wish to hear, and if you do not wish to lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send poverty on you and will curse your blessings, and I will curse them, because you have not laid it to heart.

Septuagint: “And cursed is the man who was powerful, and had a male in his flock, and whose vow is on him, and who sacrifices that which is feeble to the Lord. For I am a great ⁸⁵ king, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is glorious among the Gentiles. And now, O priests, this commandment is to you. If you will not hear, and if you will not lay it to your heart, to give glory to my name, says the Lord Almighty, I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessing, and I will curse it, and I will scatter your blessing, and it shall not exist among you, because you lay it not to your heart.” That which is written, “and I will scatter your blessing,” has been added by the Septuagint and is not found in the Hebrew. The divine message foresees, rebukes and condemns whatever the human soul is able to invent as an excuse for its sin and to defend itself by a false explanation. And the meaning is: Since you are offering the blind, the lame and the sick, and this is not from yours but from rapine and from things plundered from weeping wretches; ⁸ and beyond this you say: we offer what we have from labor and poverty; for this reason I say universally that your own conscience accuses you. Certainly, you plead your poverty as an excuse, and the injustice of captivity, and the scarcity of your private property. Hear what I add: Cursed is the deceitful man who has a male in his flock and, making a vow, sacrifices that which is

feeble to the Lord. If you have no male, the curse inflicts no harm on you. However, by saying these things, he shows that they have what is best but they are offering what is bad. To you, therefore, O priests, this is the command, you have done what is wicked in contempt of me. But because I prefer the repentance of the sinner to his death, ⁸⁷ I now also say: if you do not wish to hear or understand me, to give glory to my name, which is dreadful among the Gentiles, I shall send among you true poverty, in order that you stop deceiving. Instead, compelled by the scarcity of all things, you would say that you do not have the best things to offer. And I will curse your blessings, he says, that is, those that you now possess as my blessings; or whatever is blessed by you, will be cursed by me. And I will curse them, understand your blessings, since you did not wish to understand what is being said, for this is what is said: you have not laid it to heart. We can understand the accursed and deceitful people of the Jews, who though they had a male in their flock, the Lord and Savior, and a spotless lamb, ⁸⁸ he who takes away the sins of the world, ⁸ and though they were warned by the predictions of all the prophets to sacrifice and also to take a ram who was stuck by the horns in a plant of Sabec, they were unwilling to do this, but they sacrifice the feeble to the Lord, by crucifying the Savior and choosing Barabbas, the instigator of robbery and sedition, ¹ who by the mystical understanding refers to the devil. And when they treat him with contempt and preferring the devil to the Savior, the name of Christ is dreadful among Gentiles, who received the passion of the Lord and adore him with dread and honor. It can be said about us also who have been created by God to be wise and to have a nature that is well fitted for sacred studies: if we disregard our talent and give in to vices and excess, though we have a male, we would be sacrificing what is feeble to the Lord. Now it is feeble, and our prayer is defiled when it is ruined by anger, jealousy, enmity and by any other disorder of the soul; if, while offering a gift at the altar, we remember that our brother has something against us and do not proceed first to reconcile with him. ² And this is why the apostle commands: “Therefore I want you to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger and contention.” ³ He is both the shepherd of our thoughts and the mind of the virtues, about whom it is said in the one hundred and second Psalm: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me [bless] his holy name.” ⁴ If anyone rules his flock well, that benediction is fulfilled in him. “Blessed are

the herds of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep.” ⁵ But if, on the other hand, one has naturally a male, that is, that which is strong, firm and robust, but he sacrifices a soft animal, or an animal with excessive feminine tenderness and also lustful, or a feeble animal with diverse disorders of the soul and corrupted, he will perceive that what is written is fulfilled in himself, “The powerful will suffer powerful torments,” and, “to whom much is given, much will be demanded from him.” ⁷ And this is why it is uniquely said to the priests, that if they are unwilling to hear and hold back from the heart the giving of glory to the name of the Lord by their good conduct, but if instead his name is reviled among the Gentiles because of them, ⁸ he will send among them the poverty of all good things and turn their blessings into a curse. They who squander their good health by lust and turn their wealth into luxury and debase their good reputation with filthy behavior are the ones who convert the blessings of God into cursing. Or certainly, because it was commanded specifically to the priests, their blessings are changed into a curse, when they do not bless the saints out of true affection of the heart, as Isaac did for Jacob, and Jacob did for the patriarchs, ¹ and Moses did for the twelve tribes; ¹ ¹ but through flattering speeches and blessings they deceive the hearts of the innocent, ¹ ² and those who act unjustly are blessed by them, and they court sinners, so long as they are wealthy and are pleased with their vices. Of them it is said: “O my people, they that call you blessed deceive you and trip up the paths of your steps.” ¹ ³

2:3-4 Behold, I will cast the arm (brachium) to you, and I will scatter on your face the dung of your solemnities, and it shall take you away with it. And you shall know that I sent to you your commandment, that my pact might be with Levi, says the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “Behold, I will separate the shoulder (humerum) to you, and I will scatter the belly on your face, the belly of your solemnities, and I will carry you away at the same time. And you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with the Levites, says the Lord Almighty.” Because he says to the priests, I will cast, he says, on your faces the things that

you think are more sacred in the law and have been given to you by God in view of the gift of virtues from the sacrifices. The arm, which the Septuagint translated as “shoulder,” is the right shoulder blade of the animal. And I will scatter, he says, ἔνυστρον, that is, “the belly,” or according to the Hebrew, dung, that is pheresh, metonymically calling that which is contained for the thing that contains. For the priests received both the shoulder blade and the breast of the sacrificial victims, both the tongue and the belly, and the things that are described in Leviticus. ¹ ⁴ He attests that he throws all these things away for their sins, and he sends them on the faces of the priests, ¹ ⁵ namely so that those who offer them may be of the kind and quality of the things that are offered. And it shall take you up with it, he says, that is, the dung of your solemnities, so that the rotten stinking faces may be disfigured by the filthy admixture of the dung, and as a result of the fact that I reject you, you may understand that I am the very one who once chose your father Levi, and through Levi, Aaron, and I gave you the glory of the priesthood, that my pact, or “covenant,” would be with Levi, and he would serve me with an eternal priesthood. One should take note that Aquila translates the Hebrew word berit as συνθήκην, that is, pact. The Septuagint always translates it διαθήκην, that is, “covenant,” and in most passages of the Scripture, a covenant is not a will for the deceased but a pact for the living. However, God willed that all men, to be sure, but especially the priests, not have a blemish and adorn with good works either the “shoulder” or arm. A good conscience is signified by the breast; by the tongue, a holy confession, so that what we believe in the heart unto justice we may confess with the mouth unto salvation. ¹ In the “belly” likewise God wants them to have nothing deadly, but what sustains and feeds our life; for unless food is digested in the belly, and the body is irrigated by its vital juices, once it dissipates it is without strength and it is carried off to death. We, however, change everything into the opposite so that the Lord casts his arm to us, or “separates” our works from the works of the saints, and from which it is commanded to anoint our head and to wash the face by fasting from the uncleanness of the sinners, ¹ ⁷ and, with an unveiled face to behold the glory of the Lord, ¹ ⁸ we now say: “The confusion of my face has covered me,” ¹ and our face has fallen like Cain’s. ¹¹ And we cannot fulfill what is commanded, “Lift up your eyes, and see,” ¹¹¹ but we have faces smeared and defiled with the dung of vices. And we say: “My wounds are grown foul and fester, from the face of my foolishness.” ¹¹² And this is why all these things have been turned to dung, for the Scripture says: And the dung shall take you away with it, namely with

which our faces are smeared, we who ought to have gone to the solemnities of God full and clean, and girded indeed to consume the flesh of the lamb, ¹¹³ or, when seven weeks were completed, to offer to God the fruit of our works, ¹¹⁴ or to live as those passing through in the tabernacles of this world and to say: “I am a stranger and sojourner like all my fathers.” ¹¹⁵ And since in place of what we translated as and the dung shall take you with it, the Septuagint interpreted this as: “and I will take you at the same time,” an understanding is added that after the priests are covered with disgrace and ignominy, and shall understand their own sin and repent, at that time they would be taken by the Lord. And what follows agrees with this sense: and you shall know that I sent this commandment to you. But to me the interpretation above appears true. Otherwise he would be recording words that coax in the midst of words that threaten, especially since the things that follow also speak of the anger of God.

2:5-7 My pact of life and peace was with him, and I gave him fear, and he feared me, and he was afraid before my name. ¹¹ The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with me in peace and in equity, and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “My covenant of life and peace was with him, and I gave him fear, that he might fear me, and that he might be awestruck before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me, directing [his way] in peace, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and the law shall be sought at his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord Almighty.” The duty of the perfect priest is being described from the persona of God what sort of man he should be, and what sort of man he who commands him to be this wants him to be. For he had said higher up, “So that my pact would be with Levi, says the Lord of hosts,” ¹¹⁷ and through the patriarch Levi it reached the descendants, Aaron and Eleazar, Phineas and the others, who were born from his

stock. Now at the end he says, “You have nullified the pact with Levi, says the Lord of hosts.” ¹¹⁸ From this it is clear that all that is said through Levi relates to the priests and especially to the high priest. We read in Numbers about Phineas, who struck Zimri with a dagger along with a Midianite prostitute: “Phineas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest has quelled my wrath with the sons of Israel, because he was zealous with my zeal against them; and I did not destroy the sons of Israel in my zeal. Therefore say to him: Behold, I shall give him the covenant of peace, and he and his seed after him shall have a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.” ¹¹ Let us not think, however, that the “covenant” or pact of life refers to this life that we share in common with the wild beasts and with all living things. Rather, it refers to that life that says: “I am the life.” ¹² “For our life is hidden with Christ in God,” ¹²¹ of whom we can say that he himself is also our peace, since the apostle confirms this: “for he is our peace.” ¹²² Therefore, God granted to Levi, and through him to his posterity, to fear him: “for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” ¹²³ and “they might be awestruck” before him, or might withdraw themselves and shrink back, showing the dread of their minds by the shuddering of their bodies, in accordance with what is written: “On whom shall I rest, if not on the humble and the quiet one who trembles at my words.” ¹²⁴ “The law of truth was in his mouth,” that is, the teaching of the apostles, which in the priest ought to be defiled by no poison but proceed from the whole spring of truth. “And iniquity was not found on his lips,” so that he imitates his Lord, about whom it is said: “He who did not sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.” ¹²⁵ He walked with me in peace and in equity, so that he himself has peace in himself and makes peace with others. He shows no favoritism in judgment and therefore walks with God the way Enoch walked with him, who was translated to the Lord and was not found. ¹² And he turned many away from iniquity. The one who is priest and does not chastise offenders is neglecting his duty as a priest. The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge; he did not say, they shall broadcast, but they shall keep, so that they speak at the appropriate time, and they give food to fellow servants in their own time. ¹²⁷ And they shall seek the law at his mouth. In Haggai, this same thing is written: “Ask the priests the law of the Lord.” ¹²⁸ It pertains to the priest’s discipline to respond to what has been asked from the law. If he pleads a careful ignorance in other matters, a negligent one in respect to the Holy Scriptures, he boasts in vain about his office, for he is not exhibiting the works that belong to it. This is what the apostle Paul writes to

Titus: “That he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine, and to convince the gainsayers,” ¹² and to Timothy: “Since from infancy you have known the sacred literature, which can instruct you to salvation, so that you may convict sinners before everyone.” ¹³ It follows: because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts. Ezra the priest of God sets forth his own name, this is Malachi, which means the angel of the Lord; but an angel, that is, a messenger, is most truly called a priest of God, because he is the trustee between God and men, and he announces his will to the people; and that is why the oracular breastplate (rationale) is on the priest’s chest, ¹³¹ and truth is also set in rational (rationali) doctrine, so that we may learn that the priest ought to be well educated and a herald of the Lord’s truth. Some wrongly think that what is said to Levi, and through Levi to the priests, must be understood of Christ. They do not consider that what follows is contrary to the person of Christ.

2:8-9 But you have departed out of the way and have caused many to stumble at the law; you have made void the pact of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and humble before all the peoples, as you have not preserved my ways and have accepted face in the law.

Septuagint: “But you have turned aside from my way and have made many to fail in [following] the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord Almighty. And I have made you contemptible and cast out among all the nations, because you have not kept my ways but have accepted persons in the law.” Even if I keep silent about it, the wise reader understands that these things do not apply to the person of Christ, nor to those who are consecrated to the worship of him. And the meaning is: I wanted you to do the things that are contained in the previous section and of which I spoke in Deuteronomy by Moses, “Give to Levi his doctrine and truth to that just man,” ¹³² and the rest; but you have departed out of the right way, or “turned aside,” though I say: “You shall not turn aside either to the right or to the left.” ¹³³ And “you made many to fail in [following]

the law,” or caused many to stumble, as Aquila and Symmachus translated it. To “turn aside” to the right is to abstain from food that God created for enjoyment, ¹³⁴ to condemn marriage ¹³⁵ and to incur what is written in another place: “Be not over just.” ¹³ To “turn aside” to the left is when someone gives himself over to excess and lust, and he causes many to stumble at the law, for whom it is better that a millstone be tied around his neck and he be thrown headlong in the sea than to cause one of the little ones to stumble. ¹³⁷ Now, “they make many fail” who, when they believed, received strength in the faith of Christ, but they “make them fail” by being neglectful of their own behavior. It is most justly said to them, you have made void the pact of Levi, the pact of life and of peace, and the other things that we said pertain to the duty of the priest. And for this reason, he says, I myself made you contemptible and humble before all the people, so that they are contemptuous toward you, and instead of honor and glory they trample on you as those who are downcast and humbled. As you have not preserved my ways and have accepted face in the law. Among all the sins of Levi, or of those priests of God who are from Levi, the following is recorded as the last and greatest: Why do they accept face in the law, so that they judge not the causes but the “persons,” and, looking down on the just poor man, they receive and show honor to the unjust wealthy men. It is said to them in the eighty-first Psalm: “How long do you judge iniquity and accept the faces of sinners?” ¹³⁸ And Paul says to the Galatians: “God does not accept the person of man.” ¹³ And the apostle James exposes this sin more fully and also condemns it. ¹⁴ But whatever is said to the former people, we may consider to be said likewise to us, so that we may withdraw more carefully from vices and not accept face in the law, and so that we who are worshipers of God may not prefer what is false to the truth.

2:10-12 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why, then, does every one of us despise his brother, violating the pact of our fathers? Judah has transgressed, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord, which he loved, and has married the daughter of a strange god. May the Lord utterly destroy the man who has done this, both the master and the disciple, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him who offers a gift to the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why has every one forsaken his brother, to abominate the covenant of your fathers? Judah has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holy things of the Lord, in which he loved, and has gone after strange gods. May the Lord utterly destroy the man who does these things, until he be even cast down from out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and from among them who offer sacrifice to the Lord Almighty.” Before we discuss the present section, we need to record a tradition of the Hebrews, or rather, we need to explain the truth of the Scriptures. We read in the book that is marked with the title of Ezra, with the very person of Ezra speaking, “The princes came to me, saying: The people of Israel and the priests and Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, and from their abominations, namely, the Canaanites, the Hethites, the Pherezites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and they have mingled the holy seed with the people of the lands. And the hand of the princes and magistrates has been first in this transgression. And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard, and I sat down mourning.” ¹⁴¹ And again it says in what follows: “And there were found among the sons of the priests who had taken strange wives of the sons of Joshua, the son of Josedec, and his brethren: Maasia, Eliezer, Jarib and Godolia. And they gave their hands to put away their wives and to offer for their offense a ram of the flock.” ¹⁴² Also at the end of the chapter, after listing those who had taken foreign-born wives, Scripture records: “All these had taken strange wives, and there were among them women who had borne children.” ¹⁴³ Therefore, when they returned from the Babylonian captivity, both the leaders, the priests, and the Levites and the rest of the people abandoned their own wives of the race of Israel, who had been crushed from poverty and injury of too long a journey, and by the frailty of their sex, unable to endure the exertion, and they had contracted infirmity and deformation of their bodies. And they bound themselves together in marriage with strange wives, either with those in the flower of youth or those who were more beautiful due to the cultivation of their bodies, or with the daughters of the powerful and the wealthy. And so Ezra the prophet rebukes them and invites them to divorce their new

spouses, in order to receive back the wives they had sent away: Have we not all one father Abraham, he says? In Isaiah it is written of him: “Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah, who bore you, for he was one, and I called him.” ¹⁴⁴ Has not one God created us, who chose our race from Abraham? Why, therefore, are we despising our old wives and putting away the daughters of our brothers to forsake the pact of our fathers? Why do we not accept wives based on the law? Judah has transgressed; for that tribe returned from Babylon with the priests and Levites, and abomination was committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. This is not directed to the ten tribes that were held by the Assyrians, but to those tribes that returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, during the empire of King Cyrus. For Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord, which he loved, and he has married the daughter of a foreign god, by mingling with foreigners the seed of Israel and of Gentiles, that is, the daughters of pagans, by taking up wives who were serving idols. Therefore, because they have done this, the word of the prophet is directed to them, and they are drawn back from sin by maledictions. May the Lord utterly destroy the man who will do this. How beautifully he did not sever pardon from the mistake, and he did not say, Let the Lord curse him who has done this, but who will do this, aiming the malediction at the future, in order to invite sinners to repentance. Both the master, he says, and the disciple out of the tabernacles of Jacob, whether that one is a priest or a layman, they will be struck by one condemnation, and there will be no difference in punishment of those for whom the sins are equal. And him who offers a gift to the Lord of hosts, supply, let the Lord utterly destroy him too, who will have wanted to offer a gift of this kind at the altar on behalf of men, for whom the only remedy is not to do what they have done. Some who fail to understand this passage and who do not know the truth of history understand what he says, Have we not all one father? about Abraham in such a way that they recall that Abraham likewise is the father of nations, in accordance with what is written: “Can God raise up children for Abraham from these stones?” ¹⁴⁵ Or at least they assert that God the Father is one, in accordance with what we read in Deuteronomy: “Is he not a father, who has possessed you, and made you, and created you?” ¹⁴ And again: “You have abandoned the God who created you.” ¹⁴⁷ And elsewhere: “I begot and raised children, but they abandoned me.” ¹⁴⁸ And in the book of Psalms: “Foreign children have lied to me, strange children have faded away, and they have halted from their paths.” ¹⁴ And those who sinned, by withdrawing from this one father, have made many

fathers of their own vices; “for everyone who commits sin has been born from the devil.” ¹⁵ And that which follows, Why does every one of us despise his brother, violating the pact of our fathers, they have interpreted in such a way that they say: we who have all been generated from one father were supposed to be one and to have one lip of confession, but afterward by arrogance and by the building of a tower against God we were divided in many languages and opinions. ¹⁵¹ They refer to almsgiving, too, by saying: we despise our brothers, when we do not share with them the things which we have received from God for sustaining life. And they pass on to this point, that they claim that the Lord is called our brother, according to the Scriptures, who ordered Mary Magdalene to announce to his own brothers that the Lord had risen; ¹⁵² and it says in the psalm: “I will tell of your name to my brethren; in the midst of the church will I sing to you.” ¹⁵³ Therefore the Jews “forsook” their own “brother” and “profaned” the pact of their “fathers,” because God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that in their seed, which is interpreted of Christ, ¹⁵⁴ all nations would be blessed. ¹⁵⁵ They conjecture these things by various means, because they do not find a sure way. Finally, even to that which follows according to the Septuagint, “Judah has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,” they explain it as follows: the Jews were deserted because they blasphemed the Lord and Savior, and they endured what is written: “Cast them out according to the multitude of their wickedness, for they have provoked you, O Lord,” ¹⁵ so that they have been scattered in all the provinces as vagabonds and fugitives. For they “profaned the holy things of the Lord,” “delighting” [in those things] instead of the Son of God, and “going after strange gods” for themselves. For “whoever does not receive the Son does not receive the Father, who has sent him.” ¹⁵⁷ And therefore, because they have done this, they “utterly perish” as long as they are abased, either by the damage of the captivity or on account of their awareness of their sins; they are “cast down out of the tabernacles of Jacob,” so that when the temple was destroyed, and also the altar, they are not able to offer sacrifices. And not content with this explanation—since Judah means the confession of the Lord—they transfer the understanding to repentance; the one who after he has confessed the Lord, if he sins, he “commits an abomination in Israel and in Jerusalem,” in the one who sees God with his mind and in a vision of peace. For he has “profaned” the mysteries of Christ, receiving his body and blood unworthily, ¹⁵⁸ in view of the fact that he has “delighted in” vices and “gone after strange gods,” having the same number of gods as he has sins. According to the apostle Paul, the god of gluttons is their

belly, ¹⁵ and according to James: by what a man is overcome, to that he is subjected. ¹ And he who does this is expelled from the church, and “out of the tabernacles of Jacob” who trips up vices and sins, until he is laid low in respect to his own good, and a sacrificial victim is offered for him “to the Lord Almighty.”

2:13-16 And this again have you done, you covered with tears the altar of the Lord, with weeping and groaning, so that I have no more a regard to sacrifice, neither do I accept any atonement at your hands. And you have said: For what cause? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your puberty, whom you despised; yet she was your partner and the wife of your covenant. Did not one make [her], and she is the residue of his spirit? And what does one seek but the seed of God? Keep, then, your spirit; and despise not the wife of your youth. When you shall hate her, put her away, says the Lord the God of Israel; but iniquity shall cover his garment, says the Lord of hosts, keep your spirit and despise not.

Septuagint: “And these things that I hated, you did: you covered with tears the altar of the Lord, and with wailing and groaning, because of troubles. Is it fitting for me to have regard to your sacrifice, or to receive anything from your hands as welcome? And you have said: wherefore? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, whom you have forsaken, and yet she was your partner, and the wife of your covenant. And another did not do this, and she was the remnant of your spirit. But you said: what else more does God seek but a seed? And keep it in your spirit, and forsake not the wife of your youth. But if you should hate [your wife] and put her away, says the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover your thoughts, says the Lord Almighty; and keep it in your spirit, and forsake [them] not.” We should interpret the history and discuss what has been handed down to us from the Hebrews by adding brief statements to the individual verses. When the abandoned Israelite wives contemplated that women from foreign nations were in the beds of their husbands, they sought refuge in the help of God alone. Day and night they prostrated themselves before the altar of the Lord with tears,

groaning and howling. They made his providence unpopular because he did not regard the concerns of men, nor did he assist the wretched. Whence God says that he is not able to receive the sacrifice and victims at the hands of priests who have committed those things, that he is hampered by the weeping and “wailing” of the wives; and moreover they are asking for the reason why he does not accept the sacrifice from their hands. And immediately he adds: Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your puberty, whom you despised, the Lord who said: “For this reason a man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.” ¹ ¹ And that is why she is called partner, and the wife of the union, and of the covenant, she who was made by God from the side of man. ¹ ² And the residue of his spirit, either God’s, as some think, or the male spouse’s, as others conjecture, because on account of affection in a certain way it appears to be one soul in two, who are conjoined in spirit, united in mind. Therefore, since one has made each of them, both the man and the woman; the reason the union of the two has been made by God is so that children may be born. For what does the one God seek but the seed of God, that is, children born from the Israelite stock? Since, therefore, you have fertile spouses, and you rejoice in children, why do you seek the beauty of women that befits harlots, not wives? And so God commands through the prophet and says: Keep your spirit, do not be led away by lust, do not be conquered by the love of foreign women. And do not despise the wife of your youth, that she who was first joined to you in marriage as a virgin may continue until old age. But it could happen that the leaders, the priests, the Levites and the people might reply: God commanded through Moses that when we hate our wives, we may put them away. ¹ ³ And I may be bequeathed while she is [alive]: you tell me it is written: when you hate your wife, put her away, says the Lord God of Israel. And immediately he replied: this indeed was commanded in the law, but because of the hardness of your heart. ¹ ⁴ The Lord pursues this more fully in the Gospel: but whoever unjustly dismisses his wife, except for the cause of fornication, iniquity shall cover his garment, that is, the body with which the soul is clothed, says the Lord of hosts, so that he may be punished in that very thing in which he sinned. For this reason, once this little question was solved, he drives home and repeats what he had said above: Keep your spirit and despise not, either “the keeping of your spirit” or at least “your wife,” if she is poor or ugly. We have explained this particularly in accordance with the book of Ezra about the wives who were

forsaken. ¹ ⁵ Others think that this was said in general against those who plunder the property of others and, though gathering wealth unjustly, dare to offer gifts to God, which he says he is unable to accept since he is hindered by the tears of those who were devastated and the weeping and groans. They say that this passage agrees with the following testimony: “Honor God with your just labors.” ¹ But they also insert the following thought: People turn to weeping and hand themselves entirely over to lamenting and groaning because of the loss of private property, the death of children, shipwreck and other things that pertain to the physical loss of the things of this world. They do not have strength of soul and hope in God and in future rewards. They look down on all things. Even if these people direct prayer to God, they are not received by him, because they are defiled in the man with shameful and unsuitable wailing. But as for what follows, Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your puberty, or “youth,” whom you have despised; yet she is your partner and the wife of your pact, or “covenant”; “and another did not do this,” and she is the remnant of your spirit, they interpret thus. They say that the “wife of youth” is the natural understanding and the law written in the heart, which is innate in all men. And this is why the Gentiles who do not have the law of God do the things that are of the law. ¹ ⁷ Concerning this spouse it is proclaimed in Proverbs: “A wife is joined to a man by God”; ¹ ⁸ and we are commanded to drink from our waters and springs ¹ —and let there be no sharer in that drinking —and to rejoice in the wife of our youth. ¹⁷ The wife urges that these things be said even to believers: “Let God judge and let God see”; and I allow all things between me and you to be decided by her, of whom Ecclesiastes says: “And live life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vanity, which are given to you under the sun.” ¹⁷¹ This wife is the residue of our spirit, because she is always united with our thoughts; if she withdraws from us, we immediately offend God and our “ungodliness covers” us. Whence again it is added, guard you spirit; not the flesh, since those who are in the flesh cannot please God; ¹⁷² nor the soul: for “the soulish man does not receive the things that are of the spirit”; ¹⁷³ but the spirit: “For the Spirit intercedes for us with unspeakable groanings.” ¹⁷⁴

2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words, and you said: Wherein have we wearied him? In that you say: Every one who does evil is good

in the sight of the Lord and such please him; or surely, where is the God of judgment?

Septuagint: “You who have provoked the Lord with your words, and you said: Wherein have we provoked him? In that you say: every one who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he takes pleasure in them; and where is the God of justice?” The seventy-second Psalm follows up this passage more fully. The beginning of it says: “How good is the God of Israel to them who are of a right heart! But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well-nigh slipped, because I was envious of the wicked when I saw the peace of sinners. For there is no regard to their death, nor is there strength in their stripes. They are not in the labor of men; neither shall they be scourged like other men.” ¹⁷⁵ And later on: “I said: Then have I justified my heart in vain and washed my hands among the innocent.” ¹⁷ So then, the people who had returned from Babylon saw that all the nations around them who were serving the idols of the Babylon abounded in riches, had healthy bodies, and possessed all things that are considered good things in the world. But those who had knowledge of God were covered with squalor, starvation and servitude. They are scandalized by this and say: There is no providence in human affairs, all things happen by uncertain chance, and they are not governed by the judgment of God, but evil people please him, and good people displease him; or at least: if God adjudicates all things, where is his fair and just judgment? Every day the unbelieving mind raises that kind of inquiry of the future about God. And it sees that the wicked are in power, but the saints are in lowly condition, that the former overflow with all things, while the latter do not even have what is needed to survive. And sometimes they have deaf ears and blind eyes, and all their limbs covered with sores, ¹⁷⁷ and they are oppressed with infirmity of the kind that we read about in the Gospel concerning Lazarus before the doors of the rich man dressed in purple. He longed for the morsels that are thrown out from the leftovers of the dinner tables, to sustain his helpless soul. But the rich man is of such barbaric cruelty that the man does not show compassion to a fellow man. Even the tongue of his dogs shows pity. ¹⁷⁸ Such people do not understand the time of judgment, and that these are not true good things that are lasting. They say: Bad men please him, and where is the God of judgment?

3:1a-b Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord (dominator), whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant, whom you desire, shall come to his temple.

Septuagint: “Behold, I shall send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face; and suddenly the Lord (dominus), whom you seek, and the angel of justice, whom you want, shall come to his temple.” In the Gospel the Lord interpreted this of John the Baptist, saying: “He is the one of whom it is written: Behold, I shall send my angel before your face, and he shall prepare your way before me.” ¹⁷ And he did not use the same words that the Septuagint translators rendered. The Evangelist Mark also connects the two testimonies of Malachi and Isaiah under a saying of a single prophet, and he commences as follows: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I send my angel before your face, who shall prepare your way,” ¹⁸ although we read this in different words in Malachi. But as for what follows, “The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,” ¹⁸¹ this is said by Isaiah the prophet. And he immediately explains of whom each testimony is said. He says: “John was in the desert baptizing and preaching a baptism of penance for the remission of sins.” ¹⁸² But also the Evangelists interpreted the prophets’ prediction as referring to John; although they use different words, they agree in meaning. For in place of what the Septuagint translated “Make straights the paths of our God,” Mark and Luke said: “Make straight his paths.” ¹⁸³ But John says: “Direct the way of the Lord.” ¹⁸⁴ From this it is clear that the apostles and the Evangelists, and the Lord and Savior himself, do not follow the authority of the Septuagint translators, which they do not need, since they know the Hebrew language. ¹⁸⁵ Rather, they translate what they read from the Hebrew, though they do not pay attention to the syllables and the points of the words; their only concern is that the truth of the thought be transmitted. Indeed, we have shown that they did this in very many passages, and this is proven especially in that book that we titled “Concerning the best method of translating,” ¹⁸ by many testimonies assembled together.

Therefore that which is said, Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face, is said under the persona of Christ, that he will send John into the desert of Judea to preach a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. ¹⁸⁷ But as for what follows, And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant, whom you desire, shall come to his temple, he says about himself in such a way as if he is speaking about another in accordance with scriptural usage. And no one doubts that this Lord is the Savior, who is the Creator of all, and he is called the angel of the covenant and the angel of great counsel. ¹⁸⁸ Now others think that what is said, Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face, was spoken under the persona of the Father; as for what follows, And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple, they understand this as spoken by him about the Lord and Savior. But John prepares the way, and he makes the paths straight for our God in the hearts of believers in whom, on account of their crookedness and unbelief, God was not able to walk before. But they interpret the temple either of the church, or of each of the faithful in the church: “You are being built into spiritual houses, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Christ Jesus.” ¹⁸ Indeed, it says of those who will believe: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” ¹ The Jews understand what is said, Behold, I send my angel, as spoken about Elijah the prophet, and they refer what follows: And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant, whom you desire, shall come to his temple, ἠλειμμένον, ¹ ¹ that is, his Christ, who they say shall come at the end of time. But I am amazed at how the outcome of events does not teach them the truth. For what the Lord will find as his temple has been destroyed down to its foundations, or if it must be built by another before the Christ comes, what would be left for their Christ to do, seeing that everything is restored by someone else? In the Gospel our Lord interprets Elijah the prophet as John the Baptist, saying: “If you want to know, he is Elijah who is to come.” ¹ ² And also this same prophet whom we are now discussing writes about him at the end: “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” ¹ ³ But he provided us with a way of understanding how John could be Elijah when he mentions that he came in the power and spirit of Elijah. ¹⁴

3:1c-6a Behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? And who shall stand to see him? For he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller’s herb. And he shall sit refining and cleansing as silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. And the sacrifice of Judah and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old and as in the ancient years. And I will come near to you in judgment, and I will be a speedy witness against sorcerers, adulterers and false swearers, and them who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widows and the orphans, and oppress the stranger, and have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, and I change not.

Septuagint: “Behold, he will come, says the Lord Almighty. And who will abide the day of his entry? Or who will be able to bear looking at him? For he is entering in as the refiner’s fire and as the herb of washers. And he shall sit refining and purifying as silver and as gold; and he shall purify the sons of Levi and pour them out as gold and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. And the sacrifice of Judah and of Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord, as in the former days and as in the former years. And I will come near to you in judgment; and I will be a speedy witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against them who swear falsely by my name. And [against them] who keep back the hireling’s wages and oppress the widows by their power and afflict orphans, and who wrest the judgment of the stranger and fear not me, says the Lord Almighty. For I am the Lord your God, and I change not.” We read above a question to the Lord put forward by those who say: Every one who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and such please him, or surely, if they displease him, where is the God of judgment? ¹ ⁵ That is, where is the truth of justice? The word of the Lord replies to this in order to solve it: “I will send my messenger, who shall prepare my way, and the Lord whom you seek shall come to his temple,” ¹ who is the judge of truth. It is said of him in the psalm: “O God, give to the king your judgment and to the son of the king your justice.” ¹ ⁷ “For the Father does not judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the

Son.” ¹ ⁸ And he is “the angel of the covenant whom you seek,” ¹ to whom evils are displeasing, who does not accept a person in judgment, ² who is changed neither by any mercy, nor by severity. “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup full of strong wine, well mixed, and he tipped it this way and that,” ² ¹ that is, mercy tempers justice, and justice mercy. Presently and speedily, therefore, he will come to his temple, ² ² that is, the church. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? If nobody can think in the presence of the power of his majesty, “who shall be able to bear” it? And who shall stand to see him? That is, who shall be able to look at his brightness with bleary and blinded eyes, he who is the sun of justice and in whose wings there is healing? ² ³ He himself is coming like a refining fire, like a fuller’s herb. For “a fire shall burn in his sight, and around him a mighty tempest.” ² ⁴ Then he will call heaven above and earth to adjudicate his people; they will draw streams of fire before him, all the sinners rolling on. Now the Lord is called a fire, and a consuming fire, ² ⁵ that burns our wood, hay and straw. ² And not only a fire, but also a fuller’s herb, which is expressed in Hebrew as borit, and the Septuagint translates πόαν, that is, the “fuller’s herb.” To those who sin gravely, he is a refining and consuming fire; but [to those] who commit light sins, he is a fuller’s herb, which restores the cleanness to things that have been washed, in accordance with what is written in Isaiah: “The Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and shall wash away the blood from the midst of them, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.” ² ⁷ Those who have filth require the spirit of judgment in order to be washed; those who are full of blood need the spirit of burning to remove the outer layer of blood that is smeared on them. He will sit refining and cleansing as silver, so that, according to Ezekiel, whatever in our gold or silver, that is, in our understanding and eloquent speech, has been mixed together with bronze, tin, iron and lead may be boiled away in the furnace of the Lord, so that pure gold and silver remains. ² ⁸ Whence the Lord says in the Gospel: “I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it be kindled.” ² And he will purify the sons of Levi. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God.” ²¹ And elsewhere it is written: “Begin by my holy ones.” ²¹¹ Now in the sons of Levi, understand the entire office of priesthood. But if the priests have to be made clean and washed that pure gold and silver may remain, what must be said about the rest? When they are purified and washed, then they shall offer to the Lord just sacrifices, and he will be pleased with their sacrifice, which they offer for Judah and Jerusalem,

that is, for those who confess the Lord and see his peace with their mind, like the days of old, and like the ancient years, so that just as they pleased God in the beginning, so after sin and repentance they may begin to please, when all have been cleansed from the filth of sins. ²¹² And I will come near to you in judgment, he says, and I will be a speedy witness. How great is the dread of judgment, when he himself is witness and judge. But the witness is against all the sorcerers and adulterers, for these crimes are committed in secret, and therefore they are brought forward in public, lest they lie hidden continually. Adulterers are recorded after sorcerers, false swearers after the adulterers; after the false swearers, them who oppress the hireling in his wages and who do not want to pay what they owe for the toil of the work. It is understood that they unjustly blame the widows and orphans, and they oppress the stranger and the foreigner, or certainly the catechumen, who has not yet become a citizen in the city of Christ. And if they should not be doing all these things, one criminal charge is sufficient to punish them, that they have not feared the Lord. Therefore let us not consider light the sins of false swearing, of not paying the laborer his wage, of finding fault with the widow and the orphan, and of oppressing the foreign-born and the stranger. These sins are likened to sorcery, crimes of poisoning and adultery. We understand these things according to the history and according to the tropology, so that what was said at that time to the leaders of the Jews may now be said to the leaders of the churches. As for what follows, I am the Lord and I change not, the reason he records this is that he had said above: he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller’s herb, lest we should think that he changes the nature of his deity, when for our sake he is called either an angel, or fire, or borit.

3:6b-7a And you sons of Jacob, you are not consumed. For from the days of your fathers you have departed from my ordinances and have not kept [them].

Septuagint: “And you, the sons of Jacob, have not departed from the sins of your fathers, you have turned aside from my ordinances and have not kept [them].” Above he had said: “I will be a speedy witness against sorcerers, and adulterers,

and false swearers, and them who oppress the hireling in his wages; the widows, and the orphans, and oppress the stranger, and have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts.” ²¹³ And when he said that he himself is a just judge, because he does not receive a person in judgment, ²¹⁴ he added: “I am the Lord and I change not.” ²¹⁵ And the meaning is: You change daily by your acts of sorcery, adultery, false swearing, false accusations and violence; I am not changed in judgment by any difference of persons. And though I admit that I am both a severe and a just judge, O sons of Jacob, still you are not consumed by the diversity of the torments. This agrees with what is written in Jeremiah: “In vain have I struck your sons; you have not received correction.” ²¹ And you do this neither recently, nor once, that you may deserve pardon for the error, but you will have an impiety that has been inherited from the days of your fathers by departing from my ordinances and by not keeping what I commanded. Now according to anagogy we understand the sons of Jacob the supplanter, ²¹⁷ a man who took his brother’s rights as firstborn, ²¹⁸ those who “do not depart from the sins of their fathers, and turn aside from the ordinances” and “do not keep” what they have been commanded as those who are established in the church and do not depart from their vices, and who deceive themselves by adopting the name of the Christian religion.

3:7b-12 Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. And you said: wherein shall we return? Shall a man afflict God, since you afflict me? And you have said: Wherein have we afflicted you? In tithes and in firstfruits. And you are cursed with want, and you have afflicted me, even the whole nation of you. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord: if I open not unto you the floodgates of heaven, and pour you out a blessing even to abundance. And I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer, and he shall not spoil the fruit of your vine, neither shall the vine in the field be barren, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for you shall be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. And you said: Wherein shall we return? Will a man supplant God, since you have

supplanted me? And you have said: Wherein have we supplanted you? In that the tithes and firstfruits are with you [still]. And you do surely look off from me, and you have supplanted me. The year is completed, and you have brought all the produce into the treasuries; but there shall be the plunder thereof in your houses. Return now on this behalf, says the Lord Almighty. [See] whether I will not open to you the floodgates of heaven and pour out my blessing on you until you are satisfied. And I will apportion food for you, and I will not destroy the fruit of your land; and your vine in the field shall not fail, says the Lord Almighty. And all nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be as a willing land, says the Lord Almighty.” We said also at the beginning that Malachi the prophet ought to be understood as Ezra the priest, ²¹ and that everything that is written in Ezra’s history is contained in this book as well. Now as well we say that in his time, and [in the time] of Nehemiah—it is clear that they lived at the same time—there was an extremely severe famine, and on account of the famine a rebellion, and the poor were compelled by the necessity of affairs to sell their sons and daughters and all their possessions and property. After all, they say: “Our sons and our daughters are too many; let us take up corn for the price of them, and let us eat and live. And there were some who said: Let us mortgage our fields and vineyards and our houses, and let us take corn in the famine.” ²² Ezra says: “And I got very angry when I heard their cry according to these words. And my heart thought with myself: and I rebuked the nobles and magistrates,” ²²¹ and the rest. At the time of famine, therefore, they were unwilling to pay a tenth to the Levites from the very precious year’s produce, insofar as they were being forced to sell their children, and some had little, and others had gathered many crops in the storehouses, in view of the need or in view of the great price. The Levites had no portion in the inheritance of the Jews; but the firstfruits and the tithes were their inheritance. ²²² Lest this be supposed to be our own idea, let us record the testimony of Ezra, who says: “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, and that the Levites and the singing men and they that ministered had fled away every man to his own country. And I pleaded the matter against the magistrates and said: Why have we forsaken the house of God? And I gathered them together, and I made them to stand in their places. And all Judah brought the tithe of the corn, and the wine, and the oil into the storehouses. And we set over the storehouses Selemias the priest, and Sadoc the scribe,” ²²³ etc.

We have heard Ezra’s history; now let us go over the words of the prophet again to consider more carefully whether prophecy and history agree. When it is said, “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty,” obviously those whom he exhorts to return have withdrawn from the Lord. ²²⁴ And see the clemency of the Lord, he promises tit for tat, so that by what measure they have measured, it will be measured back to them. ²²⁵ And just as it is written in Leviticus: “If you will walk perversely toward me, I too will walk against you with a perverse fury,” ²² so too now he exhorts the people to return, so that he himself too may return to them. Those who have failed to understand that they have withdrawn from the Lord ask impudently: Wherein shall we return? And they say: When indeed have we withdrawn so that we are deservedly compelled to return? The Lord replied: Will a man afflict God, since you afflict me? The Septuagint translated the Hebrew word, which is written hayiqba‘, as “Will he supplant?” Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion recorded this as “Will he cheat?” so that the sense is: Will a man cheat God, since you are cheating me? And in fact according to the sequence of the history, because the people were not paying the tithes and the firstfruits to the Levites, the Lord says that he is being cheated, since his ministers have abandoned the temple under the compulsion of famine and need. For if he is visited in prison through others, and is taken in with the sick person, and receives food and drink with the hungry and thirsty, ²²⁷ why should he himself not receive tithes in his own ministers? And if they are not given, he himself for his part is being deprived. That which we have expressed as hayiqba‘ is translated in the language of the Syrians and Chaldeans as “Shall he afflict?” And this is why we translated it that way many years ago, referring the things that were written more to the mystery of the Lord’s passion, in which men crucified God, than to the tithes and firstfruits. The intelligent reader may ask how our translation harmonizes with what follows, in tithes and firstfruits, and he may see whether we are able to say this: that you afflicted me at the cross, so that you laid your wicked hands on your God, by practicing the many things you have done previously, by keeping back the tithes and the firstfruits, I do not say from my priests and Levites, but from me, who through Moses ordered them to be given. ²²⁸ We have said this concerning a single word. Let the decision about my interpretation be left to the reader’s choice. Let us now follow the sequence of the prophecy. Because you have not paid me tithes and firstfruits, therefore you are cursed with

famine and want, and you “supplant me,” or cheat and deprive [me], the whole nation of you. Instead of nation, which in Hebrew is written as haggoy, the Septuagint translated “year,” ἔτος, in place of ἔθνος. And the meaning is: Behold, “the year is completed,” and you have brought nothing “into my treasuries,” but into your storehouses. And in place of tithes and firstfruits, which would have been insignificant, had you given them, you have lost the abundance of your possessions and the entire excess of the “produce.” However, so that you may know that this was accomplished by my getting angry that you cheated me of my portion, I urge you and I remind you to bring in the tithes into the storehouses, that is, “into the treasuries” of the temple, and let the priests and Levites who minister to me have their food. And try me [to see] whether I do not pour out such great rains that you would be convinced that the floodgates of heaven have been opened. And I will pour out on you blessing even to abundance. He uses the word for outpouring, a term that indicates generosity. But it can happen that when fields are watered by rain showers, there is indeed fruitfulness; but either the locust comes, or the wingless locust, or the caterpillar and colewort, and men’s efforts perish; that is why he goes on to say, And I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer, namely the locust and the other things that we mentioned. And he will not spoil the fruit of your land. The vine too will fill up the winepress, and all the surrounding nations will marvel at the fruitfulness of your land to such an extent that everyone would desire to live in it, and from the abundance of all things you would be an example to the nations. What we have said about tithes and firstfruits, which were once given by the people to the priests and Levites, understand also in respect to the people of the church, to whom it is commanded not only to give tithes and firstfruits but even to sell all that they have and give to the poor and follow the Lord and Savior. ²² But if we are unwilling to do this, we should at least imitate the initial attempts of the Jews by giving a portion from the whole to the poor and by conferring the honor that is due to the priests and Levites. And that is why the apostle says, “Honor widows who are truly widows,” ²³ and that the presbyters are to be honored with a double honor, especially the one who labors in the word and in the teaching of God. ²³¹ The one who fails to do this is found guilty of cheating and “supplanting” God, and he is cursed by him in the lack of all things. Thus the one who sows sparingly reaps sparingly, and he who sows in blessing, harvests a crop abundantly in blessings. ²³² If hunger and want and lack of all things ever afflict the world, we should know that this descends from the anger of God, who says that he himself is cheated in the poor people, if they do not

receive their alms, and he is being deprived of his own property. We can also interpret the tithes and firstfruits as follows: If some educated man who is learned in the law of God is able to instruct others, he ought not to attribute what he possesses to his own wisdom and natural ability; but let him first thank God, who gives all things generously, then his priests and teachers, by whom he was taught. For if he does not give thanks but lays claim to his own knowledge, he will be cursed with want. But if he understands God as a generous giver and gives thanks to those through whom he has been instructed by God, if he humbles himself and brings in food into the storehouse of God, that is, he serves meals from the Holy Scripture for people in the church, at once the floodgates of heaven will be opened above him, and spiritual rain will be poured out; and God will command his clouds to bring rain down upon him, and he will enjoy an abundance of all things; and he will even rebuke the devourer for his sake, namely, the opposing powers, and his labor will bear fruit, and he will attain what is written: “Blessed is he who speaks in the ears of the hearers.” ²³³ He will also lift up his eyes and see the fields, that they are already white for harvesting; and he will gather in the crop for eternal life. ²³⁴ And the vine in his field will not be barren, that one who says in the Gospel: “I am the vine.” ²³⁵ And he who says through the prophet, “I planted you as a fruit-bearing vine, all true,” ²³ and through his humble confession, thanksgiving to God, and the teachers of his church, he will attain to such great blessedness that all the nations will call him blessed and delight to live in his land and to dwell in his teachings, those who shall hear his discussions in the church.

3:13-15 Your words have grown strong over me, says the Lord, and you have said: What have we spoken against you? And you have said: He who serves God labors in vain, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked sorrowful before the Lord of hosts? Wherefore now we call the proud people blessed, for they who work iniquity have been built up, and they have tempted God and have been saved.

Septuagint: “Your words have weighed down heavily on me, says the Lord. And you have said: Wherein have we spoken against you? You said: He who serves

God labors in vain; and what have we gained in that we have kept his commands, and in that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty? And now we call strangers blessed; and all they who work iniquity are built up; and they have resisted God, and [yet] have been saved.” Earlier he had said: “You have wearied the Lord with your words, and you have said: Wherein what have we wearied him? In this, when you say: Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and such please him, or surely where is the God of judgment?” ²³⁷ Now he repeats the same thing in more detail: For the people who returned from Babylon seemed to have knowledge of God, and to observe the law, and to understand their sin, and offer sacrificial victims for sin, pay tithes, keep the Sabbath, and the other things that were commanded by the law of God. When they saw that all the surrounding nations abounded in all things, but they themselves were established in want, hunger and misery, they were scandalized at each of these things, and they said: What good is it for me to worship the one true God, to abhor idols and to walk sorrowfully before God pricked by a conscience that is aware of my transgressions? As we said above, the seventy-second Psalm describes this passage more clearly and extensively. ²³⁸ For this reason the prophet, who is a spiritual doctor, treats all wounds and gives evidence that words of blasphemy have recoiled against the Creator, and he says in God’s name: Your words have grown strong over me, or “have weighed down heavily;” for also according to Zechariah, iniquity sits on a talent of lead, ²³ and what is said against God is pressed down with a heavy mass of blasphemies. Those who do not understand the very great heaviness of their words and their blasphemy ask: What have we spoken against you? The Lord replies to them: You said: He who serves God labors in vain, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances? They demand in the present age a wage for their service to God; therefore, they do not receive one. And that we walked sorrowful before the Lord, in accordance with what is written in the Psalms: “I walked sorrowful all the day long.” ²⁴ Therefore we call the proud people blessed, the ones who are proudly lifted up against God and who hurl wicked words of blasphemy. For they have been built up, and after committing crimes and blasphemies they are enjoying all prosperity. They tempted God, or “resisted God,” and they have been saved. They think that salvation consists of happiness in the present age. And therefore they are misled by errors. We can also understand these things of the heretics Marcion and Valentinus, and others who do not accept the Old Testament and who speak against the Creator

of the world. For they advance in their wickedness, and they have many companions in their sin. Those who have been made to stumble before them, though they persevere in the church, they ignore the grounds of the judgment of God and compose the words of the prophet.

3:16a Then they who feared God spoke, everyone with his neighbor.

Septuagint: “Thus spoke they who feared the Lord, everyone to his neighbor.” According to the Hebrews this is to be understood as follows: While the others were blaspheming about the judgment of God, they who feared God spoke to one another, that the reward for good and evil is not in this present brief age but in the future eternal one; and that a human being is not able to know the judgments of God and argue about his equity and justice, and the other things that the just man ought to speak with the just man. And he did not say what they said, but from the fact that he added, then they that feared the Lord spoke, every one with his neighbor, we ought to understand that those who feared God spoke those things that are contained in the words of all of the Scriptures. But according to the Septuagint, this needs to be read with irony and with a low voice, so that we say, “Thus spoke those who fear the Lord, everyone to his neighbor,” that is, those who vainly boast and say, “What profit is it that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked sorrowful before the Lord?” ²⁴¹ For if they feared the Lord, they would not say such things.

3:16b-18 And the Lord gave heed, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them who fear the Lord and think on his name. And they shall be my private property, says the Lord of hosts, in the day that I act, and I will spare them, as a man spares his son who serves him. And you shall return and shall see the difference between the just and the wicked, and between him who serves God and him who serves him not.

Septuagint: “And the Lord gave heed and heard; and he wrote a book of remembrance before him for them who fear the Lord and reverence his name. And they shall be mine for a peculiar possession, says the Lord Almighty, in the day that I act; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son who serves him. And you return and shall see the difference between the just and the wicked, and between him who serves God and him who serves him not.” The Lord gave heed and heard the just who were speaking these things and those who feared the Lord, ²⁴² all who were unwilling to hear or speak words of blasphemy with his neighbor, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them who fear the Lord and think on his name, so that when the Day of Judgment comes he may repay both punishments to the blasphemers and rewards to those who fear. Now the book was written about which we read in Daniel: “Thrones were set in place, and the books were opened.” ²⁴³ And those who fear the Lord will be the private property of the Lord of hosts, in the day on which the time of judgment arrives. Private property is read in Hebrew as segullah, which Aquila translated as περιούσιον and the others as περιποίησιν. Therefore those who fear the Lord, who did not speak with his neighbor and respond to the words of blasphemy, shall be private property on the Day of Judgment, and he will spare them, because every man is under sin. Or he will “make choice of them,” as a man is accustomed to “make choice of his son who serves him.” He feels a twofold affection for him, both that of devotion to his son and that of service toward a servant. And then, from that choice and beatitude, you too shall recognize your misery, you who now are blaspheming and saying: “What profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and walked sorrowfully before the Lord?” ²⁴⁴ And having been converted to penitence, you will see what the difference is between a just man and the wicked, and between one who serves God and one who serves him not.

4:1-3 For behold, the day shall come kindled as a furnace; and all the proud and all who do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, says the Lord of hosts, it shall not leave them root and sprout. But unto you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall arise, and healing in his wings; and you shall go forth and shall leap like calves of the herd. And you shall tread down the wicked when they shall be ashes under the sole of your feet in the day that I do this, says the Lord of hosts.

Septuagint: “For behold, the day comes burning as an oven, and it shall burn them up; and all the aliens and who that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, says the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch. But to you who fear my name shall the sun of justice arise, and healing in his wings, and you shall go forth and leap as calves let loose from bonds. And you shall trample the wicked, and they shall be ashes between your feet in the day that I do this, says the Lord Almighty.” The wicked have wearied me with their words and have said: everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and such ones please him; ²⁴⁵ and he who serves God labors in vain; ²⁴ and what profit is that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked sorrowful before the Lord of hosts? ²⁴⁷ Then the one who feared God spoke against their impudent words, and they discussed every one with his neighbor the things that pertain to the fear of God. ²⁴⁸ The Lord gave ear and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written for them who fear the Lord and think on his name. ²⁴ And when the day comes, he promises that he holds them as his private property and spares them as man spares his son to serve him. ²⁵ And he drives this home even more by saying, Behold, the day will come, that is, the Day of Judgment, which will be light for the saints and darkness on the sinners; ²⁵¹ and the day itself will be kindled as a furnace, or “oven,” that all the wicked may be changed to stubble and be “burned up” by the flames of the furnace. And when he sets them on fire and “burns them up,” he will not leave any root and sprout of malice. ²⁵² This is being said about what the wicked are going to suffer on the day of the Lord. On the other hand, he tells us what will come to pass for those who fear the name of God: But unto you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall arise. He is the one who will judge all in truth and will not allow either good or bad, either virtues or vices, to lie hidden. And there will be healing in his wings, so that he carries on his shoulders those who have been healed through repentance, in accordance with what is written in Deuteronomy: “and spreading his wings he took them up and carried them on his shoulders.” ²⁵³ Then those who are now shut up in the world as in a prison will go forth, and they will leap like calves of the herd, or like “calves let loose from bonds.” And this is why the apostle says, “I desire to be released, and to be with Christ,” ²⁵⁴ that he may “go forth and leap like the calf let loose from bonds” and like a

sacrificial victim to the Lord. And he is not content with this outcome of joy, but he will tread down the wicked, when they become ashes. Whence also there is this imprecation spoken to the just: “But God will speedily crush Satan under your feet.” ²⁵⁵ Abraham spoke to the Lord, realizing that he was ashes in comparison with the divine majesty: “I am earth and ashes”; ²⁵ and on account of this he will see ²⁵⁷ the sun of justice, and he will find rest ²⁵⁸ in the midst of his inheritance, ²⁵ and also he will be raised when that one carries him to heaven. But the one who said with pride, “I will set my throne above the stars, I will be like the Most High,” ² will be brought down to earth, ² ¹ and he will be like ashes under the feet of the saints, when the day of the judgment of the Lord comes.

4:4 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the precepts and judgments.

Septuagint: similarly. There will be a just retribution for merits in the future, when the devouring flame will consume and burn up the root and sprout of the proud, ² ² and the sun of justice shall rise on those who fear the Lord, and healing is in his wings. ² ³ Therefore, remember the law of Moses my servant, which I gave him on Mount Horeb, which is Sinai, for all Israel, the precepts and the judgments. But since the apostle says, “We know that the law is spiritual,” ² ⁴ and blessed David says, “Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonderful things of your law”; ² ⁵ and [it is said] that spiritually they all ate the manna from heaven; ² and the entire people of Israel drank from the same spiritual rock that followed them, but the rock was Christ; ² ⁷ those who believe in Christ ought to keep the precepts of the law spiritually, which he gave on Horeb, which means dryness, by which the wetness of all the sins is baked away, and the flow of lust is dried up before the rays of the sun of justice. ² ⁸ But the Lord has spoken for all Israel, he who sees God with his mind and of whom it is said in the Gospel: “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” ²

4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the great

and dreadful day of the Lord comes. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with anathema.

Septuagint: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the Thesbite, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes; who shall turn the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a man to his neighbor, lest I come and strike the land completely.” After Moses ²⁷ —whose commands, we pointed out, must be observed spiritually —he says that Elijah must be sent. In Moses he is signifying the law, in Elijah, prophecy, since Abraham says to a certain rich man dressed in purple: “They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them.” ²⁷¹ And when the Lord and Savior was transfigured on the mountain, he had Moses and Elijah speaking with him in bright garments, who were also telling him the things he was about to suffer in Jerusalem. ²⁷² For the law and the whole choir of the prophets predict the passion of Christ. Therefore, before the Day of Judgment comes and the Lord strikes the earth with anathema, either “wholly,” or “suddenly,” as the Septuagint translated it—for this is what ἄρδην means—the Lord will send in Elijah—who means “my God,” and he is from the town of Thisbe, which means conversion and repentance—the whole choir of prophets, who turns the heart of the fathers to the sons, namely Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of all the patriarchs, so that their descendants may believe in the Lord and Savior, in whom those former ones also believed: “For Abraham saw the day of the Lord and he rejoiced”; ²⁷³ or “the heart of the father to the son,” that is, the heart of God to everyone who will receive the spirit of adoption. ²⁷⁴ And the heart of the sons to their fathers, so that both the Jews and the Christians, who now disagree among themselves, may be of the same mind equally worshiping Christ. Whence it is said to the apostles, who scattered the seedbed of the gospel in the whole world: “In place of your fathers, sons were born to you.” ²⁷⁵ For if Elijah will not first have turned the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, when the great and dreadful day of the Lord will come—great for the saints, dreadful for the sinners—the true and the just judge will strike; not the heaven, nor those who dwell in heaven, but the earth with anathema, those who do the works of the earth. Jews and Judaizing heretics think that their ἠλειμμένον ²⁷ Elijah will first come and restore everything. Whence also the question is posed to Christ in the Gospel: “Why do the Pharisees say that Elijah

will come first?” ²⁷⁷ To whom he answers: “Indeed, Elijah will come, and if you believe, he has already come,” ²⁷⁸ understanding John in Elijah.

THREE BOOKS OF COMMENTARY ON THE PROPHET HOSEA TO PAMMACHIUS

Translated and annotated by Sr. Maria Veritas Marks, OP, and Thomas P. Scheck

Preface

If, in interpreting all the prophets, we need the advent of the Holy Spirit, that they may be laid open by the revelation of him at whose instigation they were written; and if, in Isaiah and the Apocalypse, ¹ we read about a sealed book that the scribes and Pharisees, who boast that they know the letters of the law, cannot read, because it is sealed, and no one could be found who could disclose its mysteries, except the lion from the tribe of Judah, ² whom God the Father sealed; ³ how much more, in interpreting the prophet Hosea, must we pray the Lord and say with Peter, “Expound to us this parable,” ⁴ especially since he who wrote it testifies at the end of the book to its obscurity: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know these things?” ⁵ We ought to understand this [“Who”] to mean not impossible but difficult, according to that saying of the Gospel: “Who do you think is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has appointed over his family?” For who would not be immediately scandalized at the beginning of the book and say: Hosea, the first of all the prophets, is commanded to take a prostitute as a wife, and he does not protest? ⁷ He does not even feign unwillingness, that he might seem reluctant to do this base thing, but he gladly follows the command, as if he had desired it, as if he regretted having for a long time devoted himself to virtue; though we read that holy men refused [to undertake] things more honorable and without sin when the Lord commanded them. Moses is sent to Pharaoh and is appointed the leader of the Israelite people, and nevertheless he responds, not from weakness but from

humility: “Provide another whom you may send.” ⁸ Jeremiah says that he is a boy, in order that he not censure a sinning Jerusalem. Ezekiel is commanded to make bread, baked under the ashes, from every kind of bean and grain and cook it in human feces, and he says, “No, Lord, for never has an unclean thing entered into my mouth.” ¹ And Hosea, hearing from the Lord, “Take thee a wife of fornications,” ¹¹ does not wrinkle his forehead, does not witness to his grief by growing pale, does not show his shame by blushing, but proceeds to the brothel and leads a whore to his bed. ¹² And he does not initiate her to matronal virtue but shows himself wanton and prodigal. For he who joins himself to a prostitute is made one body with her. ¹³ Hearing these things, therefore, what can our response be, except that prophetic one: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know these things?” ¹⁴ So we must say with David: “Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of your law,” ¹⁵ that the king may lead us into his chamber ¹ and take from us the veil that was put before the eyes of Moses in the reading of the old covenant. ¹⁷ For when the Lord said, “‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit; and saying this, he gave up the spirit,” ¹⁸ the veil of the temple was immediately torn, ¹ and all the secrets of the Jews were laid bare. And the spring that issued from the house of David entered the sea of solitude, ² and the true Elisha seasoned the sterile and death-bearing waters with the salt of his wisdom and made them life-giving. ²¹ And the bitter parts of the law, which means “bitterness,” were sweetened by the wood of the cross. ²² For we understand who Judah is, the patriarch chosen as king, nor do we wonder why he, a holy man, went in to Tamar as to a prostitute; ²³ why Samson, whose name means “sun,” loved Delilah, whose name is translated “poor,” and—mocked and killed because of her—massacred thousands of his enemies; ²⁴ why Salmon, a just man, begot, by Rahab the prostitute, Boaz, who, covering Ruth the Moabitess with the corner of his mantle, also transported her, lying at his feet, to the head of the Gospel; ²⁵ why David, though he had so many wives, made only the son conceived by Bathsheba the successor of his kingdom, with the result that not only prostitutes but also adulteresses seem pleasing to God. ² So then we read in this prophet [Hosea], too, that, joined first to a prostitute, he is later united to an adulteress, when the Lord says to him, “Go yet again, and love a woman beloved of her friend”—or “loving evil”—“and an adulteress.” ²⁷ This is the woman, prostitute and adulteress, who, in the Gospel, washed the feet of the Lord with her tears, dried them with her hair and honored them with the ointment of her confession; and the Lord responded to his indignant disciples

and especially to the betrayer that it was not sold and its price distributed as alms to the poor, “Why do you trouble this woman? For she has wrought a good work on me. For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always.” ²⁸ And lest we think that her deed was trivial and that the pure nard, that is, the ointment of greatest faith, refers to something other than the church, he gives us the opportunity to understand and promises great rewards for her great faith when he says: “Amen, amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she has done shall be told in memory of her.” ² This is the prostitute about whom the Lord speaks to the Jews: “Amen I say to you, that prostitutes and publicans shall go into the kingdom of God before you.” ³ For you did not wish to receive the one sent to you, the Son of the householder and Lord of the vineyard, who planted it. ³¹ That other prostitute in her kindness received my spies, ³² two very brave young men, one of whom I sent to the circumcised, the other to the Gentiles; ³³ she hid them by her care, lifted them to the roof, covered them with the stalks of flax, ³⁴ which, cut down by persecutions and washed in baptism, changes color and turns from dark to white. Nor is it strange that, in the figure of the Lord and Savior, and of the church, gathered together from sinners, we remember these deeds, since he himself says in the very same prophet: “I shall say to the prophets; I have multiplied visions, and I have used similititudes in the hands of the prophets”; ³⁵ so that, whatever the prophets are ordered to do, refers in similitude to me. My wife is the Ethiopian woman against whom Aaron and Miriam, the carnal priesthood of the Jews and the prophecy subservient to the letter, grumble and offend God; ³ she who says in the Song of Songs, “I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.” ³⁷ Moreover, if everything is commanded with a view toward similitude, we are striving to discover what truly happened; so, for example, Jeremiah, girded with an apron, woman’s clothing, went through the midst of innumerable nations, both the Assyrians and the Chaldeans, peoples most antagonistic to the Jews, to the Euphrates and there hid his apron, and, returning after a long time, found that it had rotted, because no one had used it. ³⁸ How could he leave and go despite the fact that Jerusalem had been besieged for so long, despite the fortifications constructed around it, a ditch, a rampart and fortresses? When, another time, he wished to leave for Anathoth, his town, situated within three miles of the city, he was captured at the gate, led back to the leaders, whipped as a traitor and sent into prison. ³ If this [journey to the Euphrates] is a type, since it could not have

happened, therefore that [other narrative] is also a type, because if it had happened, it would have been most shameful. But you will respond: nothing that God commands is shameful; and we shall say: God commands only what is honorable, nor does he make shameful things honorable by commanding them. But since we know that God wants only what is honorable, he commands what is honorable. ⁴ I have spoken rather extensively about these things in the beginning so that I might solve the first, most difficult question and, by the help of God, passing over this obstacle at the very outset, might pass on to safe considerations. For the rest, I am aware, dearest Pammachius, that this [prophet] has been neglected by many of the churchmen, and, of those who have tried to comment on it, among the Greeks I have found Apollinaris of Laodicea who, since, in his youth, he left brief little commentaries on this or that prophet, touching on the meaning rather than explaining it, later was asked to write more fully on Hosea, and his book has come into our hands; but, because of even its excessive brevity, it cannot lead the reader to complete understanding. Origen wrote a small little book about this prophet, to which he gave the title Περὶ τοῦ πῶς ὠνομάσθη ἐν τῷ Ὠσηὲ Ἐφραΐμ; that is, “Why is the name Ephraim used in Hosea?” He wished to show that whatever was said against him should be referred to the persona of the heretics. He wrote another volume, άκέφαλον καὶ άτέλεστον—lacking a beginning and an end. ⁴¹ I have also read the very long treatment of Pierius, ⁴² which he poured forth in extemporaneous and fluent discourse on the opening of this prophet on the day of vigils of the Lord’s passion. And Eusebius of Caesarea discusses certain things about Hosea the prophet in the eighteenth book of Εὐαγγελικῆς άποδείξεως. ⁴³ Then, too, about twenty-two years ago, when I was in Alexandria at the request of Paula, your holy and venerable mother-in-law, or, rather, mother (for the former is her name in the flesh, the latter her name in the spirit, she who always burned with love of the monasteries and the Scriptures), I saw Didymus and frequently listened to him, the most erudite man of his time; and I asked him to complete what Origen had not done and write commentaries on Hosea; since I asked, he dictated three books to me, as well as five others on Zechariah. ⁴⁴ For Origen too wrote two volumes on this prophet, analyzing barely a third of the book from the beginning to the vision of chariots. ⁴⁵ I am saying these things so that you will know the forerunners I have had in the field of this prophet; nevertheless, I simply and not arrogantly—as a certain one of my friends always whispers ⁴ —confess to your prudence that I have not followed them in everything, that I might be a judge rather than a translator of their work and might say what I think in each case, and what I have received with much

labor from one or another of my Jewish teachers. Even among them, a teacher is a rare bird, since they all strive after pleasure and money and take more care of their belly than their mind; and they consider themselves learned if, at the doctor’s office, they disparage the works of everyone else. But now it is high time to explain what is written, setting forth the words of the prophet.

Book One

1:1a The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri.

Septuagint likewise. The word of the Lord (which was in the beginning with God the Father, and the Word was God ⁴⁷), came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, that it might make the prophet a god, as the Savior says: “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world: You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?” ⁴⁸ Just as God makes gods, and stands “in the congregation of gods, but in the midst of them he judges gods,” ⁴ and, since he himself is the true light, which “enlightens every man that cometh into this world,” ⁵ he says to the apostles: “You are the light of the world”; ⁵¹ so the Savior, too, himself makes his prophet a savior. For Hosea, in our tongue, means savior, the same name that Joshua son of Nun had, before his name was changed by God. ⁵² For he is not called Ause, a misreading in Greek and Latin codices that does not mean anything, but Hosea, that is, savior; and “Lord” was added to his name, so he was called “savior of the Lord.” This savior, then, is the son of Beeri, that is, “of my well,” the wells that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dug, and which foreigners were always trying to destroy. ⁵³ The difference between a well and a pool or cistern is that a well has unlimited water flowing from a living fountain. A cistern, which cools, holds water coming from without. Hence God says through Jeremiah the prophet: “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug cisterns for themselves, that can hold no water.” ⁵⁴ About this fountain, the psalmist proclaims to God: “With you is the fountain of

life; and in your light we shall see light.” ⁵⁵ Hence some think that Beeri means “my light”; but the translation above is the true one.

1:1b In the days of Uzziah, Joathan, Ahaz and Hezekiah kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel.

Septuagint likewise. Azariah, who is also called Uzziah, ⁵ from the line of David, reigned in Jerusalem over the two tribes that were called Judah for fifty-two years; ⁵⁷ his son Joathan succeeded him in the kingship and himself reigned for sixteen years; ⁵⁸ after him, his son Ahaz likewise reigned sixteen years. ⁵ After Ahaz, his son Hezekiah reigned for twenty-nine years; in the sixth year of his reign, the ten tribes that were called Israel were captured by Salmanasar, king of the Chaldeans, and resettled in the mountains of the Medes. ¹ From this, it is clear, that, as Hosea prophesied—and Isaiah and Joel, Amos and Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, who were his contemporaries ²—the kingdom of the ten tribes was ended, which lasted 250 years from the first king, Jeroboam, to the last, Hosea. But at the same time that Uzziah began to reign over Judah, Jeroboam was reigning over Israel; he was the great-grandson of Jehu, whose offspring, the Lord had promised, would reign down to the fourth generation, because he had struck down the two wicked kings of Judah and Israel. ³ We say this to show you briefly that Hosea the prophet prophesied both before and after Israel’s captivity, both things related to it and things present and past, and that he announced it when it was to come and lamented it when it befell, and disclosed its meaning for Judah’s correction when it was past. We will try to demonstrate this in the prophet himself according to the history. Uzziah means “courage of the Lord,” Joathan “completeness and perfection of the Lord,” Ahaz “strength,” Hezekiah “authority of the Lord.” These were reigning over the people of Judah, a name that means “confession.” But in Israel, which had made idols for itself and had been separated from the people of God, Jeroboam “son of Joas” was reigning, whose name means χρονισμός, that is, “temporality,” or “delay,” because he loved the world and loved to delay long in it, and, enjoying never future but rather present things, he thought that life is eternal.

1:2a The beginning of the Lord’s speaking in Hosea.

Septuagint: “The beginning of the word of the Lord to Hosea.” Since, as we said above, along with other prophets, Uzziah, Joatham, Ahaz and Hezekiah are mentioned first in the heading, ⁴ [kings] who were reigning when they prophesied, so now he says that, among all these, the Lord spoke first in Hosea, and afterward “to” the others. It is one thing for the Lord to speak in Hosea, another to speak “to Hosea.” In Hosea does not mean that Hosea speaks to himself but that, through Hosea, he speaks to others; but one speaking “to Hosea” means that he bestows the discourse on the man himself. Others, however, do not want Hosea to have been the first of all the prophets, based on what is said, The beginning of the Lord’s speaking in Hosea, but I have shown that the Lord spoke to Hosea first the things that follow. ⁵

1:2b And the Lord said to Hosea: Go, take thee a wife of fornications and children of fornications, for the fornicating land shall fornicate from the Lord.

Septuagint: “And the Lord said to Hosea: Go, take thee a wife of fornication and children of fornication, for the fornicating land shall fornicate after the Lord.” The Hebrew word zenunim does not mean “fornicating” and “fornication,” as many think, but multiple “fornications.” From this is shown that that woman, whom the prophet takes as his wife, fornicated not once but repeatedly, so that the prophet who took such a wife is that much more long-suffering, the more vile she is. And it is added, and take thee children of fornications, for the “take thee” can apply to both parts of the sentence: “take thee a wife of fornications, and take thee children of fornications.” And both can be understood, that he is accepting the fornicating woman’s first children conceived in fornication, and he himself would generate children from the prostitute, who must be called “children of fornication,” because they are generated from a prostitute.

Nor is the prophet to be blamed—if we continue to follow the story—for converting the prostitute to chastity, but he is rather to be praised for turning her to good from evil. For what remains good is not itself contaminated if it is associated with what is evil, but what is evil is changed into good if it follows the example of the good. Whence we understand that the prophet did not lose his chastity when he lay with a woman of fornication but that she took up a chastity she did not have before, especially since the blessed Hosea did this not for the sake of wantonness or lust or by his own will but complied with the command of God, so that what we read was done in him carnally, we should approve as being done in God spiritually, who took the synagogue, that is, the Jewish people, subservient to fornication and lust. The Lord addresses this speaking through Ezekiel: “Therefore, you harlot, hear the word of the Lord. For her breasts were bruised in Egypt,” and she was weltering in her blood and was fouled to the top of her head, and there was no part of her body and members that did not bear the stain of vileness. The Lord covered her, such as she was, with his mantle and joined her to himself with his embraces, gave her honey and oil and fine wheat to eat, and clothed her with most costly garments; on her neck he placed ornaments of gems, her ears he adorned with gold and precious stone; he provided armlets, too, for her arms, that she might use them for good works. Nonetheless, having scorned the generosity and goodness of her husband, heedless of her former vileness, she pursued her Chaldean and Assyrian and Egyptian lovers, who are of large flesh. ⁷ In the little preface, we talked about the type of the Savior and the church, that he took for himself a wife of fornication, who formerly served idols. But if someone contentious, and especially one of the pagans, does not wish to receive what has been said figuratively and mocks the prophet for having lain with a woman of fornication, we set against him what Greece is accustomed to praise and what the schools of the philosophers sing. This is why they extol the most learned Xenocrates, ⁸ who made Polemon, an exceedingly wanton youth, drunk and crowned with ivy among harps and pipes and unchaste women, obey wisdom, and he changed a most vile young man into the wisest of philosophers. Why do they lift Socrates to the skies, who transported Phaedo, ⁷ after whom Plato’s book is named, from a brothel, where, because of the cruelty and greed of his master, he served the lust of many, to the Academy? Whatever people already say in response about the teachers of philosophy, we apply to the defense of the prophet. We say these things against the pagans and those who are like pagans. For the rest, let us briefly show this [point] to those of our own persuasion, who wish to receive the truth, from the fact that it is said, For the

fornicating land shall fornicate from the Lord—not so much that the prophet was joined to a prostitute as that the whole human race withdrew from the company of the Lord. From the fact that “every” is not added to “land,” one can also take it as Judea now, or, precisely, Samaria and Israel, that is, the ten tribes that, at the time this was said, had withdrawn from the Lord.

1:3-4 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Debelaim; and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him: Call his name Jezrahel, for yet a little while, and I will visit the blood of Jezrahel on the house of Jehu, and I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.

Septuagint: “So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Debelaim; and she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said to him: Call his name Jezrahel, since yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezrahel on the house of Judah, and I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.” The prophets announce the advent of Christ and the calling of the Gentiles [that will happen] after many ages in such a way that that they do not neglect the present time. Otherwise, in teaching about an assembly convoked for another reason, they would seem not to teach about those things that are actually happening but to be dallying with uncertain future events. And so, even this Gomer, daughter of Debelaim—who is taken by Hosea as his wife and conceives by him and bears him a son named Jezrahel, which means “seed of God,” in the avenging of whose blood he topples the kingdom of Jehu (or, as an error has incorrectly preserved it, “Judah”)—must be referred to the calling of the nations, so that it accords with that time in which she is recorded to have borne a son. Let me not postpone the eagerness of the reader by a long treatise: these two women refer to Israel and Judah, that is, to the ten tribes that were in Samaria under the king Jeroboam, who was from Ephraim, ⁷¹ and to Judah, who was ruling in Jerusalem from the line of David. One of the women is called Gomer, and she is a prostitute; and she bears three children, first Jezrahel, second a girl, whose name is “Without mercy,” ⁷² and third a boy who is called “Not my people.” ⁷³ The other woman was obtained for fifteen pieces of silver and a kor

and a half of barley, ⁷⁴ and she is called an adulteress. These are the two women who in Zechariah are said to have the wings of a hoopoe or a kite or a stork ⁷⁵ and to go into the land of Shinar, where Babylon was founded. ⁷ He signifies these women under the names of two sisters, Oola and Ooliba; ⁷⁷ they are indicated in the two twigs that Ezekiel joins into one. ⁷⁸ And since we are writing commentaries, not thick volumes, saving for each section its own explanations in their several passages, let us discuss now only the present section. Gomer means τετελεσμένην, that is, completed and perfected; others think it means θώρακας, that is, breastplates. There are those who conjecture [that it means] “measure” or “bitterness,” and they would be right, if it did not have the [Hebrew] letter gimel. Debelaim means παλάτας, ⁷ of which there is a very great abundance in Palestine, and which Isaiah the prophet is commanded to apply to King Hezekiah’s ulcer. ⁸ This [poultice] is a lump of rich dry figs, which, fashioning in the manner of bricks, they compress and combine as long as [the figs] remain intact. Thus Israel, daughter of pleasure, complete and perfect in her fornication, which seems pleasant and sweet to those indulging in it, is taken as wife by Hosea, as a type of the Lord and Savior; and first a son of God is born from her, Jezrahel, who represents the capital city of the ten tribes in which Naboth was killed, on account of whose blood Jehu is raised up who blotted out the house of Ahaz and Jezebel. ⁸¹ But since Jehu himself, the avenger of a just man’s blood, followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel fornicate, and set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel, ⁸² his reign, too, is said to be destined for destruction. ⁸³ Under his great-grandson Jeroboam, Hosea began to prophesy. ⁸⁴ When he [Jeroboam] died, his son Zechariah succeeded him in the kingship, ⁸⁵ whom Sellum, born from another line, killed in the sixth month of his rule. ⁸ This is why it now says, Yet a little while, and I will visit the blood of Jezrahel, that is, the slaughter of my people, on the reigning house of Jehu, which presided over Israel at that time. Nor is it strange if the house of Jehu is overthrown, since the kingdom of the house of Israel, too, that is, of the ten tribes, is destined for destruction within a few years. For forty-nine years pass between Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, whose great-great-great-grandfather was Jehu, and the ninth year of Hosea, in which the ten tribes were taken into captivity. ⁸⁷ And when Zechariah, the last of the line of Jehu, was killed, the kings of Assyria immediately seized Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, which were across the Jordan; and then many cities of Samaria and then all of Naphtali, all the remaining tribes down to the last one. ⁸⁸

The common version ⁸ has “Judah” instead of “Jehu,” but this seems to me to have been inserted not by a mistake of the Seventy translators but by the ignorance of scribes, who, not knowing “Jehu,” wrote the more common “Judah.” But the type of the seed of God and the avenging of his blood refers to the passion of the Lord, because of which both the house of Judah and the kingdom of all Israel is said to be destined to be overthrown.

1:5 And in that day I will break in pieces the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrahel.

Septuagint likewise. When I have avenged the blood of Jezrahel on the house of Jehu and have blotted out the kingdom of Israel, when Assyria is victorious, then on that day and in that time I will break in pieces all the strength of the army of Israel in the valley of Jezrahel. Above, we said that Jezrahel, which is now next to Maximianopolis, was a city of the kingdom of Samaria near which there are very wide fields and a valley of exceeding size, which extends for more than ten thousand paces. In this pitched battle, Israel was cut down by the Assyrians, that is, the ten tribes that are called Ephraim, because of Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, who first made the split in the people. ¹ Sometimes, because of Joseph, who was the father of Ephraim, ² it is called Joseph; sometimes it is called Samaria, which was the other capital city of the ten tribes, which afterwards was called Augusta, that is, Σεβαστὴ, by Caesar Augustus, in which were placed the bones of John the Baptist. Therefore, after the division of the two tribes from the ten, because of the greater part of the multitude that followed Jeroboam, the former name “Israel” remained with the ten tribes. And because of the tribe of Judah that reigned in Jerusalem, the other tribes were called Judah; and at the same time the truth of the type is explained. For just as because of the blood of Naboth, which was spilled in Jezrahel, the house of Ahab was destroyed, so that the prophecy of Elijah might be fulfilled, ³ so, on account of the blood of the true Jezrahel, that is, of the seed of God, the kingdom of the Jews was destroyed. Indeed, in all the prophets, but especially in Hosea, the ten tribes refer to the heretics, of which there is a very great multitude; but

the two tribes that are called Judah and reign in the line of David, they possess the persona of the church. The bow of the heretics, therefore, about whom it is written, “The sons of Ephraim who bend and shoot with the bow, they have turned back in the day of battle,” ⁴ will be broken in the valley of the seed of God, from which they experienced lowly and earthbound things.

1:6-7 And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he said to him: Call her name: Without mercy; for I will not add any more to have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will forget them with forgetfulness. And I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.

Septuagint: “And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he said to him: Call her name: Without mercy; for I will not add any more to have mercy on the house of Israel, but opposing I will oppose them; the sons of Judah, however, I will have mercy on, and I will save them by the Lord their God: and I will save them neither by bow, nor by sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.” After the bow of Israel was broken in pieces and shattered in the valley of Jezrahel, ⁵ and the kingdom of the ten tribes was forsaken, that they might be led into captivity, no more is Jezrahel, that is, the seed of God, born as a son of the masculine sex, but a daughter, that is, a woman of the delicate sex, who is exposed to the insult of the victors and is called Without mercy. For that is why she is led captive, because she does not have the mercy of God. And we must consider the indignation of the Lord. He says that he will no longer have any mercy on the house of Israel but will blot them out from his memory in eternal forgetfulness; for even to the present day they serve the kings of the Persians, and their captivity was never removed. But he promises mercy for the house of Judah and says that he will save them in the Lord their God—in himself who speaks; indeed, the Father saves in the Son, according to what is written: “The Lord rained from the Lord.” For when Israel was handed over to the Assyrians, he saved them from the hand of Sennacherib, not by bow or sword or war or multitude of horses but by his strength, when he sent an angel and in one

night struck down 185,000 men from the army of Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians. ⁷ Typologically, we say that those who, because of the blood of God’s seed, are called Without mercy also dared to say, “His blood be upon us and our children,” ⁸ and up to this point serve the Romans. But the house of Judah, namely those of the Jews who confessed the Lord, have been saved not by the strength of an army but by the preaching of the gospel. What we have interpreted both historically and typologically in respect to Israel and Judah, we may apply to the assemblies of the heretics; and to the church of our Lord and Savior, since the church of God conquered them by her strength when they were abandoned without mercy and lost the kingdom.

1:8-9 And she weaned her who was called “Without mercy.” And she conceived and bore a son. And he said: “Call his name: ‘Not my people’: for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.”

Septuagint likewise. The one who was called the seed of God, changed into a woman both because of her weakness of strength and her offense against God, has been led into captivity, because she did not have the mercy of the Lord, and she is called weaned in the feminine, rather than in the masculine; for the man had now lost his strength. One who is weaned draws away from its mother, is not fed by a parent’s milk, is sustained by external nourishment. Just so Israel, jettisoned by the Lord and surrounded by the torments of captivity and sustained in Babylon by unclean foods, is called not the people of God and is struck by the eternal sentence of a foreign nation, with the result that it is called not my people and is disowned for eternity. We can rightly understand this both about the whole Jewish people, which, handed over to captivity because of the offense against the seed of God, lost their kingdom and province and are called not the people of God, and about the persona of the heretics. But if some contentious interpreter does not wish to receive what we have said but, wishing Scripture to mean what it says, understands that a prostitute named Gomer, daughter of Debeliam, bore boys first and third and a girl second, between them, let him answer how he would

explain in Ezekiel the passage where he is commanded by the Lord to bear the iniquities of the house of Israel, that is, of the ten tribes, and to sleep for 390 days only on his left side—although the Septuagint has 190—and to sleep so that he would not awaken or change sides, unless perhaps, sated with sleep, he open his eyes a little to take the vilest food: bread baked under the ashes, cooked in human feces from grain, barley, beans, lentils and millet. ¹ The nature of things does not permit that any man sleep 390 days through, always on one side. And again, he says, “You shall take iniquities of the house of Judah, and you shall sleep upon your right side for forty days.” ¹ ¹ But these days shall be reckoned up according to the years during which Israel and Judah will be weighed down by a very lengthy besiegement and captivity, so that, conquered and immobile, they would not be able to turn from one side to the other. If he is not able to prove that these and other similar things that we read in the Holy Scriptures happened, but contends that they signify something else, then that prostitute, too, and the other adulteress, who were either joined to the prophet or saved by the prophet, indicate not the base union of immorality but mysteries about the future.

1:10-11 And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, that is, without measure, and shall not be numbered. And it shall be in the place where it shall be said to them: You are not my people, it shall be said to them: You are the sons of the living God. And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head and shall come up out of the land, for great is the day of Jezrahel.

Septuagint: “And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which will not be measured, nor can it be numbered. And it shall be in the place where it was said to them: You are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God. And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together at the same time; and they shall appoint for themselves one leader and shall come up out of the land, because great is the day of Jezrahel.” We read about the abjection of the ten tribes and Israel, not measurable and no longer the people of God, condemned to perpetual dishonor. ¹ ² Now we learn how the children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together

and appoint for themselves one head or “leader,” and will come up out of the land, and, in the place where first it was said, “Not my people,” they will be called the children of the living God; and this will happen “for great is the day of Jezrahel.” This occurs to the one who was hesitating and going back and forth among various opinions of Paul the apostle, writing to the Romans: ¹ ³ “What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience the vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction; that he might show the riches of his glory to the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared unto glory? Even us, whom also he has called, nor only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles, as in Hosea he says: ‘I have called that which was not my people, “my people”; and her that had not obtained mercy, “one that has obtained mercy.” And it shall be, in the place where it was said unto them, “You are not my people”; there they shall be called the sons of the living God.’ ¹ ⁴ And Isaiah cries out for Israel: ‘If the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. For he shall finish his word, and cut it short in justice; because a shortened word shall the Lord make upon the earth.’ ¹ ⁵ And as Isaiah foretold: ‘Unless the Lord Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been made as Sodom, and we would have been like unto Gomorrah.’ ¹ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who followed not after justice, have attained to justice? But the justice that is of faith. But Israel, by following after the law of justice, has not come unto the law of justice.” ¹ ⁷ Therefore, the blessed apostle, taking up the testimony of Hosea the prophet and explaining it in terms of the calling of the Gentiles and the faith of those of the Jews who wished to believe, trims away every difficulty of interpretation for us, asserting that it was fulfilled in the time of Christ; so that, namely, in Israel, the twelve tribes are chosen, that is, the whole people of the Jews, and in Judah, those from the Gentiles [are chosen] who confess the authority of the Lord. But if someone who is alien to the faith of Christ and, not accepting the authority of the New Testament, is rather from the number of the circumcision, responds that the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel mean the two tribes and the ten, about which we have frequently spoken; and by surrendering to this, we will show that it harms our faith in no way. But after the number of the children of Israel is dispersed throughout the whole world like the sand of the sea, and the multitude of the people surpasses all reckoning, then Israel, which even today is captive and which formerly was called “Without mercy” and “Not my people,” will have freedom to enter into concord with the two tribes, that is, Judah and Benjamin, of which a great part believed in Christ, so that faith may join to the bodies those separated, and they may appoint one head for themselves and one leader. Ezekiel

wrote about this, “One prince among them, my servant David,” ¹ ⁸ and they will be raised like the dead from below—namely Judah and Israel, who were dead in infidelity. And all these things will happen because great is the day of God’s seed, which is understood as Christ. ¹ From this it is clear that the reason the blood of Naboth the Jezraelite preceded him as a type ¹¹ was so that the truth might be fulfilled in Christ. In the latter and not in the former is the day of Jezrael great, about which it is said, “This is the day that the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice in it.” ¹¹¹ This is the sense of the third interpretation we took up by explaining Israel as the heretics, Judah as the men of the church: after the Lord has come to reign in his glory, those who before were called “not his people” will be called sons of the living God; since they were united with Judah, that is, with the church of God, and will have one head, Christ, and shall come up out of the earth, that is, from earthly senses and the lowliness of the letter, and will take up the great day of the seed of God. Some texts have οὐκ ἠγαπημένη, “not beloved,” instead of οὐκ ἠλεημένη, “without mercy,” but the texts that have “without mercy” are truer, especially because [they relate] to the difference [of Judah] with Israel, on whom God says he will not have mercy, but “I will have mercy on the house of Judah.” ¹¹²

2:1 Say ye to your brethren: [You are] my people, and to your sister: [You have] obtained mercy.

Septuagint: “Say ye to your brother: [You are] my people, and to your sister: [You have] obtained mercy.” Great is the day of Jezrahel, on which Judah and Israel will have one leader, ¹¹³ and it will not be said to Israel, “[You are] not my people,” but, on the contrary, they will be called sons of the living God. Therefore, O men of the tribe of Judah, do not despair of the salvation of the ten tribes, but incite them daily to repentance by word and prayer and letter, because they are called your brother and sister, brother from the words “my people”; sister from the fact that she is called “having obtained mercy.” Another interpretation: You who believe in Christ and are both from the Jews and from the Gentiles, say to the broken

branches and the former people, which have been cast out, ¹¹⁴ “my people” because it is your brother, and “having obtained mercy” because it is your sister. For when the fullness of the Gentiles has entered in, then all Israel will be saved. ¹¹⁵ This very thing is commanded us, that we should not despair utterly for the heretics but incite them to repentance and should wish their salvation with the affection of brotherhood.

2:2-3a Judge your mother, judge [her], because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her put away her fornications from her face and her adulteries from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked and set her as on (secundum) the day that she was born.

Septuagint: “Be judged with your mother, be judged, since she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. And I will put away her fornication from my face and her adulteries from between her breasts, to strip her naked and restore her as she was on (juxta) the day that she was born.” To this point, the words have been directed to the people of Israel, that is, to the ten tribes. Now, another chapter begins, and the sons, that is, the people, are commanded to enter into judgment against their mother who bore them, because, though she, a prostitute, was made a wife, she has not left behind her former ways and has again fornicated with her lovers. And note the mercy of her husband. She has already been repudiated, already cast away, already he has said to her, “She is not my wife, and I am not her husband,” but he has ordered the sons to speak to her not as their father’s wife, whom he left, but as their mother who bore them. But let them speak in order to incite to repentance, that she may put away her fornications from her face and her adulteries from between her breasts. One who lies with many men is a fornicating woman; one who, leaving her one husband, is joined to another, is an adulteress. The synagogue is both of these; if she had remained in her fornication and adultery, God would have put away from her the clothing and ornaments that he had given [her]. Ezekiel writes about these things: “In the day on which you were born, your breasts were not bound, nor were you salted with salt. And I passed by you and found you naked and disfigured and bespattered with blood.” ¹¹ And, a little farther on, “And I clothed you with fine linen and embroidered cloth, and I set ornaments around

you, and put bracelets on your hands and a chain about your neck.” ¹¹⁷ These things, then, her most generous husband gave her, when he “found” her in Egypt, defiled by the lust of idolatry and spreading her legs to everyone. ¹¹⁸ And now he warns her that if she does not wish to turn back to her husband, she will be without God and husband, as she was formerly in Egypt. Lest we be ever extending our volumes with explanations in threes, it suffices to remind [the reader] that what has been said applies both to Jews who deny Christ and to heretics renouncing the faith of the Lord, whose fornication is in a particular way between their breasts, and their heart is occupied in making idols and various dogmas; they will return to the day of their nativity, with the result that, if they do not do penance, they will be comparable to the pagans.

2:3b And I will make her as a wilderness and will set her as a land that none can pass through and will kill her with drought.

Septuagint: “And I will make her as a desert and will set her as a land without water and will slay her with drought.” If she does not wish to be converted to better ways, I will do to her what I did in the wilderness, so that, led into captivity, they will fall in an alien land, suffering the drought of all good things, and will not be able to return to their homeland. Certainly they would hear in the Gospel, “Your house shall be left to you, desolate.” ¹¹ And the Lord will send them “not a famine of bread, nor a drought of water, but” a famine “of hearing the word of the Lord.” ¹² Isaiah speaks about this as well: “They shall be as a paradise without water.” ¹²¹ The heretics who have been cast away by the Lord, if they do not return to their former house, will thus suffer poverty of all things, so that even what they falsely seemed to have will be reduced to nothing. ¹²²

2:4-5 And I will not have mercy on her children: for they are the children of fornications, for their mother has committed fornication. She who conceived them is covered with shame, for she said: I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax,

my oil, and my drink.

Septuagint: “And I will not have mercy on her children, for they are the children of fornication, for their mother has committed fornication. She who bore them is covered with shame; for she said: I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread, and my water, my clothing, and my linen, my oil, and everything necessary for me.” This I will do in addition to her to whom I said, “[She is] not my wife, and I am not her husband, and I will make her as a wilderness and will set her as a land that none can pass through.” ¹²³ For when I led her out of Egypt, the children, when their parents were killed, entered the land of the promise. But now, the children of a fornicating mother will perish with their prostitute mother, because they are children of fornication, and evil things are generated by evil. To them it is said in the Gospel, “Brood of vipers,” ¹²⁴ who have come to such shamelessness that they heard through Jeremiah, “You had a harlot’s face, you would not blush.” ¹²⁵ Is this not characteristic of the woman of stubborn brow and prostitute’s shamelessness, that she boasts in her sin and says, “I will go after my lovers”; I will go to the idols that have provided for me necessary food and clothing. Everything that the prophetic word is describing the Jews have received spiritually from the Lord. And since they denied the Son of God, choosing for themselves Barabbas, author of banditry and sedition, and crucifying the Son of God, ¹² to this day they go after demons and attribute the gifts of God to them whose cults have destroyed their souls. The heretics have bread and water: their bread is grief, ¹²⁷ and their dirty water chokes and kills the baptized. They also have wool from mangy sheep and flax that remains black, and the oil of which the prophet said, “Let not the oil of the sinner anoint ¹²⁸ my head,” ¹² and their drink is the waters of Egypt about which Jeremiah cries out, “What do you have to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water of Geon? And what do you have to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the rivers?” ¹³ We are running through all these things briefly so as to get to the rest.

2:6-7 Wherefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I will stop it up with a stone wall, and she shall not find her paths. And she shall

follow after her lovers and shall not overtake them, and she shall seek them and shall not find, and she shall say: I will go and return to my first husband, because it was well with me then, rather than now.

Septuagint: “Because of this, behold, I will hedge up her way with thistles and obstruct her ways, and she shall not find her path. And she shall pursue her lovers and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them and shall not find; and she shall say: I will go and return to my first husband, because it was better with me then than it is now.” The prostitute had said, I will go after my lovers, who have provided for me an abundance of everything. The Lord responds, I will hedge up your way with thorns or “thistles,” so that you cannot go where you desire, and I will interpose a stone wall, or a wall, and you will not find your paths, which you had worn away with frequent steps, nor will you overtake those whom you followed with such care, and, compelled by necessity, you will return to your husband and speak to him the saying from the Gospel: “How many hired servants in my father’s house abound with bread, but here am I perishing with hunger? I will arise and will go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me as one of your hired servants.” ¹³¹ We understand from this that evils often happen to us by God’s providence, in order that we not have what we want and, oppressed by various calamities and misfortunes of this life, we may be forced to return to the service of God. We should understand the lovers of Jerusalem and of the Judean people to be, according to the history of that time, the Assyrians and Chaldeans and Egyptians and other nations, with whose idols she fornicated, from whom in time of war and pressing evils she hoped in vain for help. The heretics go after these lovers according to a spiritual understanding; when often they are deserted by them, they are turned back to the bosom of mother church by the weight of evils. For Israel is taught by every scourge and torment.

2:8 And she did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they made into a Baal.

Septuagint: “And she did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil, and multiplied her silver; but these silver and gold things she made for Baal himself.” She is responding to what was said above, for she had said, “I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax, my oil, and my drink,” ¹³² all of which she had received so that she would turn them to the worship of God. But she turns the bread and wine—which strengthens and gives joy to man’s heart ¹³³—and the oil ¹³⁴ that “enlightens every man that comes into this world,” ¹³⁵ and the silver—about which we have often said, “The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles, silver tried by the fire, tested on the earth, refined seven times” ¹³ —and the gold—about which we read, “If you sleep among the midst of lots, you shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the hinder parts of her back with the paleness of gold” ¹³⁷—these she turns into idols and made into a Baal, which means “higher” and “a devouring,” since it either thinks that it has better dogmas than the church’s or in the very knowledge of false opinion it is devoured. But literally, Jerusalem abounded in gold and silver and all wealth and “made idols for Baal,” the demon of the Sidonians, or, as some more correctly think, for the Babylonian [demon], for which reason it is also called “Bel,” and Ezekiel mentions this several times in his volume, ¹³⁸ and the whole choir of the prophets narrates it.

2:9 Therefore will I return and take away my corn in its season and my wine in its season, and I will set at liberty my wool and my flax, which covered her disgrace.

Septuagint: “Therefore will I return and take away my wheat in its season and my wine in its season, and I will take away my clothing and my linens, that they not cover her disgrace.” It is a graver punishment when the fruits and wine are taken away in the season of the harvest and vintage and removed, as it were, from one’s very grasp. But if, in the season of the threshing floor and the winepress and the oil press, when the earth fructifies its past sterility with new fruits, there is a lack of all things, what ought we to think about the remainder of the year, when old things, too, are

conserved? The wool and flax, or clothing and linens, are set at liberty, that they may no longer cover the prostitute’s disgrace, namely, that she be stripped of God’s help and that the protection of all the angels depart from it. This is also why the apostle says that creation is being liberated “from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.” ¹³ Many have received the gold and silver of wisdom and eloquence, ¹⁴ from which they made the candelabrum of seven lights from the purest gold ¹⁴¹ and the golden table of proposition ¹⁴² and the propitiatory ¹⁴³ and the cherubim radiant with the splendor of gold ¹⁴⁴ and the silver bases of the pillars ¹⁴⁵ and the wheat of the word of God and the wine, the joy of the Holy Spirit; the clothing and linens, too, with which believers are clothed in Christ; all of which they turned to the worship of idolatry, compiling various dogmas of errors, and, themselves deceived, they deceived others. God takes all of this away, so that those who did not perceive their giver from the abundance might perceive him in the lack thereof.

2:10-12 And now I will lay open her folly in the eyes of her lovers; and no man shall deliver her out of my hand: and I will cause all her joy to cease, her solemnity, her new moon, her sabbath and all her festival times. And I will destroy her vineyard, and her fig tree, of which she said: These are my rewards, which my lovers have given me; and I will make her as a forest, and the beast of the field shall devour her.

Septuagint: “And now I will lay open her uncleanness in the sight of her lovers; and no man shall deliver her out of my hand; and I will turn away all her joys, her solemnities, her new moons, her sabbaths and all her feasts. And I will spoil her vineyard, and the fig trees of her who said: These are my rewards, which my lovers have given me; and I will make her a witness, and the beasts of the field shall devour her.” The words that follow [in the Septuagint], “the birds of the sky and reptiles of the earth,” should be marked with an obelus. ¹⁴ Also, instead of forest, which in Hebrew is ya‘ar, whence also Cariath Iarim ¹⁴⁷ means “town of forests,” the Septuagint translated “witness,” because of the deceptive similarity of the letters resh and dalet. For if dalet is read instead of resh, the word is “witness,” insofar

as the letter yod does not precede it. When the clothing and linens, then, have been set at liberty, so that they no longer covered the disgrace of the fornicating woman, all the vileness or folly of Jerusalem, by which she performed base deeds, will be laid open in the sight of her lovers, so that the one they desired when she was covered they will condemn when uncovered. And when she is handed over to her Assyrian lovers, or demons, whom both she and the Assyrians serve, no one, he says, will be able to snatch her from my hand, and the demonic impotence will be proven, because those whom they received when they were overflowing with everything they cannot liberate when oppressed by evils. But handed over to the service of Babylon, she will not be able in any way to celebrate the three solemnities of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, nor to busy herself with the joy of the new moon, that is, the kalends, or of the sabbath, or of any of the feasts that he groups under one name. The vineyard, too, and the fig tree and the abundance of everything will be destroyed; understand the vineyard to mean joy, the fig sweetness and delightfulness, which are taken away by the evils of most burdensome servitude; and they are taken away because she thought they were given not by God as to his spouse but by her lovers as to a prostitute as the wages of lust. Then she will have no more fruit-bearing trees, but everything will be turned into a forest. And since he had taken the beginning of the metaphor from forests, he finishes it in the rest by calling “beasts” the enemies by whom everything is to be devoured. Wretched Judea endured these things both historically and tropologically; all her baseness was laid open in the eyes of the nations, and no one could snatch her from the hands of God. All ceremonies ceased, festival was turned into mourning, all that she thought given her by demons she now realizes are taken away because of offense given God. First the Assyrians and Chaldeans devoured her, the Medes and Persians and Macedonians, finally the most savage beast mangled her, the empire of the Romans, unnamed in Daniel ¹⁴⁸ that the fear of those to be devoured, already great, might be increased. What we say about Judea we apply to the heretics, who, at first glance promising doctrine and knowledge, having left the church are abandoned by God; and all their shame is placed in the sight of their lovers, whom they had formerly deceived, and, handed over to the beasts that the prophet avoids, saying, “Do not hand over to beasts the souls that confess you;” ¹⁴ they will be left to their bites.

2:13 And I will visit on her the days of Baalim, to whom she burnt incense, and decked herself out with her earring and with her chain, and went after her lovers and forgot me, says the Lord.

Septuagint: “And I will exact vengeance on her for the days of Baalim, on which she made sacrifice to them, and put on her earrings and her chains, and went after her lovers, but she forgot me, says the Lord.” He is preserving the persona of the prostitute, who is decked out with gold and gems to please her lovers, and whatever beauty she does not have naturally she attains by artifice. These earrings, with which her ears had been adorned with God’s doctrine, and these pearls that hung from her neck as precious things, so that her bridegroom and husband said to her, “Your neck is as chains,” ¹⁵ she threw before swine’s feet, and she gave what is holy to dogs. ¹⁵¹ And what we read in Proverbs was fulfilled: “As a golden ring in a swine’s snout, so is beauty in an evil woman.” ¹⁵² But she did all these things that she might go after her lovers and leave her husband. So great was the desire of pleasure and lust that she put away all memory of her marriage and forgot that she was a spouse. For this reason, on those very solemnities when she used to burn incense to demons, she will be visited with misfortunes and chastised by punishments. Baal in the singular, Baalim in the plural, names the same idols in the masculine gender. For whenever we read the syllable im at the end of a Hebrew word, it is plural in number and masculine in gender, whenever ot, it is plural in number and feminine in gender. So we see that the seraphim and cherubim are plural in number and masculine in gender. Sabaoth, however, which means “of hosts” or “of armies” or “of powers,” is plural in number and feminine in gender. Therefore “Baalim,” too, is masculine in gender and plural in number, although some incorrectly read τῆ βαὰλ and ταῖς βααλεὶμ in the feminine. ¹⁵³ Daily we see how the heretics deceive their lovers and are built up by charm of eloquence and by the construction of words, so that they imitate the truth with a lie and desert conjugal chastity and burn incense to the Baalim, that is, to idols, which they have fashioned in their heart. For they care not for the simple rusticity that does not seek the prostitute’s ornaments, but for the skillful and elegant lie, that they may be pleasing to their diabolical and demonic lovers.

2:14-15a On account of this, behold, I will allure her and will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart. And I will give her vinedressers out of the same place, and the valley of Achor for an opening of hope.

Septuagint: “Therefore, behold, I will seduce her and will make her like a desert: and I will speak to her heart. And I will give her her possessions from there, and the valley of Achor for an opening of her understanding.” In the passage where we said for an opening of hope, and the Septuagint has translated it as “for an opening of her understanding,” Symmachus interpreted it as εἰς θύραν ἐλπίδος, that is, “for a door of hope,” Theodotion as δίανοῖξαι τήν ὑπομονήν αὐτῆς, that is, “to open her patience” or “expectation.” After the disgrace of Jerusalem, or of Judea the prostitute, has been laid open in the eyes of her lovers, ¹⁵⁴ and every solemnity has ceased, ¹⁵⁵ either drought or hail will destroy her vineyard and fig, and, reduced to forests and barren trees, they will be devoured by beasts, and the Lord will pay her back with misfortune and pain, because she had burned incense to the demon Baals, and she will think that she will nevermore be able to rise from the ashes and embers; then—that is, at the advent of Christ his Son—he will open the hope of salvation and will provide an opportunity for repentance and will flatter her; for this is the meaning of I will allure her. ¹⁵ Thus after the magnitude of her punishments, he will soften her former sufferings with the promise of prosperity. And I will lead her into the wilderness, he says, that is, I will lead her out of evils, as before I had led her out of Egyptian slavery. And I will speak to her heart tender words, consoling words, that I may temper her sadness with joy, according to the scriptural way of speaking, the words that Shechem spoke to the heart of Dinah ¹⁵⁷ and Joseph in Egypt to his brothers when they were sad and fearful, ¹⁵⁸ that their sadness might be turned into joy. And it follows, I will give her vinedressers out of the same place. The one who first set forth allurements and the wilderness in the similitude of the past history of those leaving Egypt, in which Moses and Aaron arose as leaders from their own Jewish people, now again promises that he will give vinedressers from the same place. Every Scripture of both the Old and New Instrument bears witness that the vineyard is understood to be Israel: “The vineyard of the Lord Sabaoth is

the house of Israel,” ¹⁵ and, “You have transferred a vineyard out of Egypt.” ¹ And in the Gospel: a householder leased his vineyard and did not receive its fruit. And after his son had been killed, he at last leased it to other vinedressers. ¹ ¹ This prophetic saying promises, therefore, that the leaders of this vineyard, emerging from the nations and from captivity to enemies, or to vices, are from the very race of the Jews, that is, the apostles; and the place of tumult and the valley of disturbances—for this is what Achor means—is changed into a door of hope, or an “opening of hope and patience,” because she suffered punishments and torments so that, by means of these, she might reach good fortune. Jesus ¹ ² himself interprets the valley of Achor, in which Achan was killed because he stole what was consecrated to God, to mean “trouble and tumult,” not, as some think, διαστροφὴ, that is, “perversity”; he says to Achan: “Because you have troubled us, the Lord will trouble you this day.” ¹ ³ Whence that place was called Emec Achor, that is, the valley of trouble. At the same time, we understand that, in the beginning [of the Israelites’ taking possession] of the Holy Land, when the people emerged near Jericho from the wilderness, on account of the waters of the Jordan, their sorrow was changed into joy in the first victory of Israel. ¹ ⁴ And where despair had been, there hope was opened; so that those who have sinned against Christ and have committed sacrilege, after they have been punished, may be saved from those who detested the blaspheming Jews and, as much as they could, killed them. This circumcision and the Judaizers among us refer these things to the reign of a thousand years. ¹ ⁵ We see that these things have been fulfilled through the apostles, the vinedressers and the many thousands of believers from Israel, and that they are being fulfilled daily in those who wish to believe. And what we have expressed as I will allure her, and the Septuagint “I will seduce her,” refer to the time of the antichrist, in such a way that those who have not received the truth of Christ will receive a lie about him, ¹ and afterward, when Christ comes, will be saved. ¹ ⁷

2:15b And she shall sing there according to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

Septuagint: “And she shall be humbled according to the days of her infancy and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.”

Where we have recorded shall sing and the Septuagint translated “shall be humbled,” ‘anthah is written in the Hebrew, which Symmachus interpreted “shall be afflicted,” Theodotion “shall respond,” Aquila “shall obey,” that is, ὑπακούσει; we take it κατὰ λέξιν ¹ ⁸ from the Hebrew as “shall sing”; so that, since [the author] had already laid out the agitation and leading out into the wilderness, ¹ and the vinedressers from the same place, and the valley of Achor, ¹⁷ and briefly also touching on the whole history of their leaving Egypt and coming into the Holy Land, here he also preserves the similitude of the history. When they were leaving the land of Egypt and Pharaoh had been drowned in the Red Sea, Miriam seized a tambourine and, singing out before everyone, exulted and said, “Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified; the horse and the rider he has thrown into the sea.” ¹⁷¹ In just the same way now, too, according to the days of her youth, or of her young adulthood, when she has left the land of Egypt, she sings and rejoices and celebrates in song the kingdom of Christ and her salvation among the choirs of the church. And notice that when we leave Egypt and pass to better things, we are said to ascend, because Jerusalem is located in the mountains, from which the one who wished to go down to Jericho was wounded. ¹⁷² But it is said to those who seek the help of Egypt, that is, of this world, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help.” ¹⁷³ The translation of Aquila and Theodotion, one of whom recorded ὑπακούσει, that is, “shall hear,” the other άποκριθήσεται, that is, “shall respond,” agree with our interpretation that, while some are singing, others respond by singing with them. What the Septuagint and Symmachus have translated, however, “shall be humbled” and, “shall be afflicted,” do not fit with a time of joy, unless perhaps Paul is being imitated, who, after he was called to be an apostle, weeps for his former sins and says that he is unworthy of the apostolic vocation, because he persecuted the church of God. ¹⁷⁴ Thus the humiliation and affliction would stem from consciousness of a former wound, not from pain at present evils.

2:16-17 And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, [that] she shall call me: My husband, and she shall call me no more Baalim. And I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and she shall no more remember their name.

Septuagint likewise. All the histories, both Greek and pagan, recount that Ninus, son of Belus, reigned first in all Asia; among the Assyrians, he founded the city of Ninus, named after him, which the Hebrews call Nineveh. His wife, Semiramis, about whom many incredible things are said, built the walls of Babylon. The famous poet testifies about her, saying, “Semiramis, who, it is said, once ringed her city with brick walls.” ¹⁷⁵ [Ninus] fought a courageous battle against the great Zoroaster, king of the Bactrians, and attained such glory that he made his father Belus a god, Belus who in Hebrew is called Bel and in many of the prophets, especially in Daniel in Theodotion’s translation, is called by this name as the idol of Babylon. ¹⁷ The Sidonians and Phoenicians call him Baal, and the same vowel ayin is placed twice between the consonants bet and lamed, making a word that, read according to the custom of that language, is read either “Beel” or “Baal.” Whence also the Sidonian Dido of the royal line, when she received Aeneas with hospitality, tastes in the libation bowl this wine for Jove, which “Belus and all in Belus’s line use.” ¹⁷⁷ We have learned the origin of the demon, or rather of the man consecrated as a demon; for all idols stem from error regarding the dead. Let us hear more: in the Hebrew and Syrian languages, “Baal” means ἔχων, that is, “having.” If we wished to say “having me,” we would say “Baali”; and among both peoples, wives call their husbands “Baali,” that is, “my husband,” which means, “having me”; and the sense is “the one who has me in wedlock.” In the same language of the Hebrews, a man is called ’ish, whence also the wife who was taken from the man is called in Genesis ’ishshah, as in “from man”: “woman.” ¹⁷⁸ Therefore, what God is saying is: although in both languages “my husband” or “my spouse” is Issi and Baali, I so hate the names of the idols that, even though they can be said with good intent, because of the ambiguity and similarity of the word, I do not wish them to be said: I do not wish to be called Issi any more than Baali, lest when one is said, the other be remembered, and, calling me “husband,” they think of their idol. Forgive the obscurity that can arise in three ways: either from the difficulty of the subject or from the ignorance of the teacher or from the excessive slowness of the learner. For in explaining the Hebrew prophet, I ought not to play around with little oratorical declamations and poeticize in stories and perorations in bombastic style but, with the help of your prayers and unbelievable zeal for learning, lay open what is shut. Finally Aquila, a careful and diligent translator, says, “She shall call me ‘my husband’ and shall no longer call me ‘having me,’” that is, “Baal.”

2:18 And in that day I will strike up a covenant (foedus) with them, with the beast of the field, and with the fowl of the air, and with the creeping thing of the earth; and I will destroy the bow, and the sword, and war out of the land: and I will make them sleep secure.

Septuagint: “And in that day I will arrange for them a covenant (testamentum) with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the earth; and I will destroy the bow, and the sword, and war out of the land; and I will make them dwell in hope.” When all the words of adversarial religion have been taken away from a people confessing the Lord, and they call me, he says, “my husband” and not “my Baal,” ¹⁷ that is, “my idol,” then I will strike up a covenant with them and a concord with the “beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creeping things of the earth.” Of this time, Isaiah, too, speaks: “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. The calf and the lion and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. The calf and the bear shall feed, and their young ones shall rest together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox,” ¹⁸ not desiring flesh and blood but feeding on clean and simple foods. When, in order that he receive Cornelius from the nations, it was revealed to Peter and commanded of him that he eat all beasts and know nothing as “unclean” that should be received with thanksgiving, ¹⁸¹ he afterward hears about them, “That which God hath cleansed, do not call common.” ¹⁸² Therefore, at the coming of the Lord and Savior, after the triumphs of his resurrection and after his ascent to the Father, two walls are joined by him, the cornerstone, who has made the two one. ¹⁸³ And her who was named “Without mercy” he has called “She who has obtained mercy,” and him who was named “Not my people” [he has called] “My people”; ¹⁸⁴ and when everything has been made peaceful, the bow and sword and war will be destroyed. For the instruments used by those making war will not be necessary when there is no one left to make war. Israel will be joined to the Gentiles, and that saying of Deuteronomy will be fulfilled: “Let the Gentiles rejoice with his people.” ¹⁸⁵ For “in Judea God is known, his name is great in Israel.” And “his place is in peace, and his abode in Zion,” ¹⁸ that is, in the church, in which he has broken the powers, the bow, the shield, the sword and war. When they have been broken and destroyed, those who believe

will sleep secure and will be at rest under one shepherd. ¹⁸⁷ Or they shall hope in those things that eye has not seen and ear not heard and that have not entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him. ¹⁸⁸

2:19-20 And I will espouse you to me forever; and I will espouse you to me in justice and judgment, and in mercy and in commiserations. And I will espouse you to me in faith, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

Septuagint likewise. O, how great is the clemency of God! The prostitute who fornicated with many lovers and was handed over to the beasts because of her crime, after she returns to her husband, is said not to be reconciled to him but betrothed. And see how the union of God and men differs: when a man takes a wife, he makes of a virgin a woman, that is, not a virgin; God, even when he is united to prostitutes, changes them into virgins, according to what is said to the adulteress through Jeremiah: “You have not invoked me as your lord or father or ruler of your virginity.” ¹⁸ Whence the apostle, also, after their fornication and worship of idols, says to the believing Corinthians, “For I have betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” ¹ We inquire why he repeats the word “betrothal” three times. For first he says, I will espouse you to me forever, then, I will espouse you to me in justice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations. Not content with this as the end, he adds a third time, I will espouse you to me in faith: and you shall know that I am the Lord. First he betroths her in Abraham, or in Egypt, that he might have her as a wife forever. Then, [he betrothes her] on Mount Sinai, giving her in their espousals the justice and judgment of the law, and mercy joined to the law, so that when she sins, she is handed over to captivity; and when she repents, she is called back to her fatherland and obtains mercy. The psalmist sings about these espousals in various places: “Mercy and judgment I will sing to you, O Lord.” ¹ ¹ And: “Mercy and truth have met each other, and justice and peace have kissed.” ¹ ² In Psalm 74 we read about the two cups: “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of mixture. And he has poured it out from this to that”

¹ ³—from the cup of justice to the cup of mercy and, in turn, from the cup of mercy to the cup of justice. It says: “If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it. For with you there is propitiation.” ¹ ⁴ Therefore that prostitute, who was first united by the vow of her spouse for eternal embraces that she might not abandon the marital bond, because she abandoned it and fornicated in Egypt, is taken again legally; since this [process] is disregarded, and she has killed the prophets who were sent, who are like the friends of the bridegroom, at last the Son of God comes, the Lord Jesus, who, after he has been crucified and is risen from the dead, betroths her not in the justice of the law but in faith and in the grace of the gospel, so that, knowing the only begotten one, she may also know the Father. For he himself says to Philip, “Have I been so long a time with you; and have you not known me? Philip, he who sees me sees the Father also. How do you say, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?” ¹ ⁵ He who has been betrothed in faith and has believed in the gospel will immediately know that he is God, believing in him whom he first denied.

2:21-24 And it shall come to pass in that day: I will hear, says the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth. And the earth shall hear the wheat, and the wine, and the oil, and these shall hear Jezrahel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who was without mercy. And I will say to that which was not my people: You [are] my people; and they shall say: You [are] my God.

Septuagint: “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord: I will hear the heaven, and heaven shall hear the earth. And the earth shall hear the grain, the wine and the oil, and these shall hear Jezrahel. And I will sow her unto me on the earth, and I will love her who was unloved. And I will say to that which was not my people: You are my people: and they shall say: You are my Lord God.” On that day and in that time, when I betroth you to me in faith and you know that I am the Lord, ¹ I will hear the heavens that “declare the glory of God,” ¹ ⁷ and the heavens shall hear the earth, that the heavenly rains may water her, and the earth, from which truth has arisen and into whose field the householder goes

forth to sow his seed, ¹ ⁸ shall hear the wheat and the wine and the oil, of which we spoke above, and all these shall hear Jezrahel, that is, the seed of God, that it may be understood that the abundance and fertility of everything is offered because of the seed of God, who is Christ, ¹ because the seed of God is sown in the earth, that it may bear much fruit, a hundredfold and sixtyfold and thirtyfold. ² And that prostitute who was united to God and bore three children, two males and one female, the first [male] Jezrahel, the second [female] “Without mercy,” the third [male] “Not my people,” ² ¹ can see that the names of things have been changed on account of the seed of God, and in the faith of Christ, she who was “without mercy” has obtained mercy and who was first called “not my people” is called “my people.” From this we see that everything that has been said can be applied to the ten tribes that are called Israel and that brought forth three children, under the name of the prostitute, and to every nation with the Jewish name. Some believe about the hearing of the heaven and earth and grain and wine and oil and Jezrahel that, after Christ has come, everything will run according to its order, and every creature will serve the needs of man, as it was established from the beginning. The Jews and the Judaizers among us expect all these things [to happen] in a corporeal sense after the antichrist at the end of the world. ² ²

3:1 And the Lord said to me: Go yet again, love a woman beloved of her friend, and an adulteress, as the Lord loves the children of Israel; and they look to strange gods and love the husks of the grapes.

Septuagint: “And the Lord said to me: Go yet again, and love a woman who loves evils, and an adulteress, as the Lord loves the children of Israel; and they look to strange gods and love cakes of dried grapes.” The prophet is joined to the first woman as a type of the ten tribes, or of the whole fornicating Jewish people, and in the end received his rejected and afflicted children into salvation; here he is ordered yet again to love an adulterous woman. When it says yet again, it shows that he first loved a fornicating woman who, as an adulteress, either loves evils or is loved by her friend and neighbor. For in fact the Hebrew word is read either “evil” or “friend.” And lest we think the love of the prophet for the adulteress signifies

something other than the love of God for the children of Israel, he added, as the Lord loves the children of Israel. Therefore, because the prophet loves an adulteress and nevertheless is not joined to her by matrimony or by fornication but only loves her, although she transgresses, he is a type of God, who loves the very wicked children of Israel, who, although they are loved by the Lord, “look to alien gods” and idols and love the husks of grapes that have no wine; ² ³ and they have lost their former grace, like the demons who are dried up, having fallen from their proper dignity ² ⁴ and possessing nothing of their former grace, withering with old dryness. Whence in place of husks of the grapes, which in Hebrew is ’ashishe, Aquila has translated παλαιὰ, that is, “old things,” Symmachus άκάρπους, that is, “sterile things”; and they are not only the husks but old husks, so that, being ancient, they show that they are found wanting. And it should be noted that this adulteress signifies the present time of the Jews, who, even without God and knowledge of the Scriptures and grace of the Holy Spirit, are loved by the Lord, who awaits the salvation of all and opens the door to those repenting, notwithstanding the fact that they love empty things, the traditions of men and the vanities of the δευτέρωσις, ² ⁵ and do not have grapes and wine and presses full of must, but old husks that have been thrown away. Instead of “pastries,” which the Septuagint has, and which are eaten with crushed grapes or with grape husks, we can say “cakes” or “confectionaries” in Latin, which are offered to idols and in Greek are called πόπανα. The children of Israel in this passage are called the twelve tribes; above, they were the ten who were in Samaria, and they had the city Jezrahel.

3:2-3 And I planted her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a core of barley, and for half a core of barley. And I said to her: You shall wait for me many days: you shall not play the harlot, and you shall be no man’s, but I also will wait for you.

Septuagint: “And I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a gomer of barley, and for a bottle of wine. And I said to her: You shall sit with me many days: and you shall not play the harlot, and you shall be no other man’s, and I [will sit] with you.”

In place of “gomer” homer is written in the Hebrew, which all translators except the Septuagint have translated as core in the Greek and especially the Palestinian tongue. It has thirty measures. And in place of “bottle of wine,” the Hebrew has letekh seorim, which the other translators have translated as ἡμίκορον of barley, that is, the half part of a core, which makes fifteen measures. In the common version ² it is added, “You shall be no other man’s”; “other” is not in the Hebrew, but simply You shall be no man’s. For if “other” is added, it is implied that she is possessed [carnally] by her husband. But when it says without qualification, You shall be no man’s, we understand that she is joined to no one at all and is without the marital embrace. In Ezekiel and in the Gospel, we read about the measure “core.” ² ⁷ And so he planted her, the adulteress, for himself, or “bought her” for fifteen pieces of silver. When he says I planted, he indicates the vine that was planted by the Lord and is mentioned in many places in the Scriptures, signifying the Jewish people. But if we read “bought,” the adulteress’s price is not that she should sleep with the prophet but that, content with her wage, she should refrain from adultery and not lie with others indiscriminately. And she is planted or “bought” for a core of barley and half a core of barley, that is, forty-five measures, and, having received this wage, she heard from the Lord: You shall wait for me—or “sit with me”— many days: you shall not play the harlot, and you shall be no man’s, that is, you shall not basely prostitute yourself to other lovers, nor shall you be legitimately joined to me, the husband by whom you have been “bought.” And, so that you may not think an injury has been done you, because I said, You shall wait for me many days, I will repay you in kind: And I also will wait for you. At daybreak of the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan, the firstborn of the Egyptians were struck down, and the people of Israel was led out from Egypt and bought for the service of God at this wage. ² ⁸ And finally, interpret the five sicles of silver, collected as donations for the temple, as being in exchange for the firstborn of Israel who were unaffected by the universal misfortune. ² And many of our people apply the fifteen to the week of the law and the eight days of the gospel—that is [the week up to] the Sabbath and the day of the resurrection, on which occurs spiritual circumcision. But they cannot explain how an adulterous woman who is fed on barley and is estranged from her husband receives either covenant as her wage. On the forty-fifth day, the people arrived at Mount Sinai, and on the next day they are immediately ordered to be purified from the embrace of women for three days and prepare themselves to receive the law of God. After the three days, on the fiftieth day Moses ascended the

mountain and received the Decalogue. ²¹ And so the Jewish people, who was “bought” with fifteen pieces of silver and forty-five measures of barley, “sits” after the advent of her Lord and Savior and awaits the advent of her husband. ²¹¹ And when he also says, You shall not play the harlot, and you shall be no man’s, this shows that in the meantime she is not serving idols and nevertheless does not have God, but she is despoiled both of lovers and of her husband. And since she does not have a husband, she is not nourished with the food of men, grain and vegetables, but with the barley, [the food] of irrational cattle, ruminating on the emptiness of the letter that kills and not having the spirit that gives life. ²¹² Whence also in the law a woman who is accused of adultery by her husband, when her sin is proven, receives as the draught of ἐλεγμός, that is, of conviction, barley meal, for she who has imitated horses and mules that lack intellect is [thus] sustained by the food of horses and mules. ²¹³ Instead of half a core of barley, the Septuagint has “bottle of wine,” which does not exist at all in the Hebrew. And we can say that in the bottle of wine, that is, the full and complete measure, is represented the adulteress, inebriated and afflicted with many punishments. Whence Jeremiah, too, offers a cup of unmixed wine to the nations and Jerusalem. ²¹⁴ The husband also “sits”—rather, awaits the penitence of the adulteress, so that after the fullness of the nations has entered and the final Israel has come to believe, ²¹⁵ so that what was the head may become the tail and the tail the head, ²¹ then there may be one flock and one shepherd. ²¹⁷

3:4-5 For the children of Israel shall sit many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without altar, and without ephod, and without teraphim. And after this the children of Israel shall return and shall seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they shall fear the Lord and his goodness on the last of the days.

Septuagint: “For the children of Israel shall sit for many days without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without altar, without priesthood, without manifestations”—which in Greek are δήλοι—“And after this the children of Israel shall return and shall seek the Lord their God and David their king; and

they shall be amazed at the Lord and over his good things on the last day.” Instead of ephod and teraphim, the Septuagint translated ἱερατείαν, that is “priesthood,” and δήλους, that is, “manifestations.” One should know, however, as we have frequently said, that ephod means the priestly vestment, which in Exodus and Leviticus in the Septuagint is ἐπωμὶς, that is, “superhumeral,” in Aquila ἐπένδυμα, that is “outer vestment.” ²¹⁸ Teraphim, however, are properly called μορφώματα, that is, figures and likenesses, which we can say in this present passage at least are the cherubim and seraphim or other ornaments that were commanded to be in the temple. But since the Septuagint translated them δήλους, which Aquila translated φωτισμούς, and these things are in the λογείῳ, that is, the breastplate, ²¹ we understand that άλήθεια and φῶτισμοι, that is, truth and doctrine, ought to be in the mind and heart of the priest, so that he not only know the correct faith ²² but be able to express what he knows with his mouth. ²²¹ The apostle Paul, too, writes this to Titus, teaching him what kind of a bishop should be appointed, “For a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of God; not proud, not subject to anger, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent, embracing that faithful word that is according to doctrine, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to convince those who contradict.” ²²² We also read in the book of Judges about the ephod and teraphim that the Levite made for himself when he set out afterwards with six hundred armed men from the tribe of Dan. ²²³ From the passion of our Lord and Savior to the present day, a little less than four hundred years have passed, and neither the angels nor the Son knows how much time remains until the Day of Judgment. ²²⁴ He says that he does not know because it is not expedient for us to learn. ²²⁵ These, then, are the many days during which the unhappy synagogue, the adulterous woman, has been fed with barley and sat diminished, because she cannot stand with Christ. She is without the king, about whom the Father spoke: “I have raised up a king with justice.” ²² And he himself says in the psalm, “But I am appointed king by him over Zion his holy mountain.” ²²⁷ She is without the prince, the Lord and Savior himself— and certainly without priest—about whom it is written, “You shall not curse the prince of your people.” ²²⁸ And without sacrifice and without altar. For when the temple was destroyed and the incense in Jerusalem, the Jewish people could not exercise sacrifice or priesthood. And without the ephod and without the teraphim, that is, the instruments of the priestly vesture. About this king Jacob also speaks in the benediction of the patriarch Judah, “The prince shall not fail

from Judah, nor a ruler from his thighs, till he come for whom it is laid up; and he shall be the expectation of nations.” ²² Therefore, after the prince failed from Judah and the ruler from his thighs and Herod, a foreigner and proselyte, took up rule, we understand that he whose reign was laid up has come, and he will be the expectation of nations. This is the blindness that has come on part of Israel, so that the fullness of the Gentiles may come in, and then “all Israel should be saved”; ²³ and after a long time, they will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king, a man who was born from the line of David and [whose name] means “strong of hand.” For he released the captivity of his people and gave forgiveness to those in chains. ²³¹ And when the children of Israel see him who was rejected by his brothers ²³² reigning in his own and his Father’s majesty, they will fear and be amazed at the Lord and his goodness. The good son is born from a good father, or for the “good things” of the Lord, about which the holy man says, “I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” ²³³ For this land that we sinners cultivate is the land of the dead. Some have interpreted the present chapter as being about the Jews’ Babylonian captivity, when for seventy years the temple was desolate and there was no altar or victims or priesthood, and afterward, under Zerubbabel, they returned to their former habitations. Others, including us, apply it to the future time, and [those other interpreters] are unable to find what cause, other than the execution of the Savior, could have given such great offense that, although [the Jews] certainly are not worshiping idols, they have been rejected for so long a time.

4:1-2 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel, for the Lord shall enter into judgment with the inhabitants of the land. For there is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land. Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed, and blood has touched blood.

Septuagint: “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel, for the Lord shall enter into judgment of the inhabitants of the land. For there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God on the earth. Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have been poured out on the earth, and they have mixed blood

with blood.” From the beginning of the prophet to this passage, the sins of the ten tribes and the two and all [twelve] together are being enumerated in the description of the prostitute and adulteress, whose restoration to her former, or a better, state happens after the gravest punishments and very long abandonment. Now again the discourse turns to Israel, that is, to the ten tribes, explaining that God in his anger is not threatening and carrying out such grave penalties in vain, lest perhaps it seem that the sentence was carried out not from the truth of judgment but unjustly from the power of God against those who have not sinned. The prophet says: Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel; because the Lord wishes to enter into judgment with his people and lay out the causes of his indignation. There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land. For truth cannot be sustained without mercy, and mercy without truth creates people who are negligent; whence one is mixed with the other: if someone does not have one, it follows that he also will not have acquaintance with God, but on the contrary, instead of truth, [there is] lying, and instead of mercy cursing, killing, theft, adultery. He did not say “there is” but, in order to show the abundance of the sins, he put, they have overflowed; and instead of the knowledge of God that is not in the land, blood has touched blood, or “they have mixed blood with blood,” to increase sins with [more] sins and pile new ones on old. But those who are inhabitants of the land and not [merely] residents are justly called to judgment, because evils are kindled from the face of the north against the inhabitants of the land. ²³⁴ And in the Apocalypse of John, “Woe, woe, woe” is said to the inhabitants of the land. ²³⁵ But he who can say with the prophet, “I am a stranger among you, and a sojourner as all my fathers were,” ²³ and who passes through this world like a resident and a sojourner, attains truth and mercy and knowledge of God, so that he is not overwhelmed by the flood of cursing and lying, of killing, theft, adultery and blood.

4:3 On account of this the land shall mourn, and every one who dwells in it shall languish; unto the beasts of the field and the fowl of the sky, but also the fishes of the sea shall be gathered together.

Septuagint: “Therefore the land shall mourn and shall be diminished along with all who dwell in it: with the beasts of the field, with the creeping things of the earth, and with the fowls of the sky, and the fishes of the sea will perish.” There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God on the earth; ²³⁷ but from the opposite direction they have poured out cursing, lying, killing, theft and adultery, and blood has touched blood. ²³⁸ Therefore, the land will mourn with its inhabitants, and it will languish, that it may not have beasts of the field, and the “fowls of the sky and the fishes of the sea will perish.” For when the captivity of the ten tribes comes, the inhabitants having been taken away, the beasts, too, and the fowls of the sky and the fishes of the sea will perish, and even the mute elements will feel the anger of the Lord. He who does not believe that this happened to the people of Israel must look at Illyricum, must look at Thrace, Macedonia and Pannonia, and the whole land that stretches from the Propontis ²³ and the Bosporus to the Julian Alps, and he will judge that, along with the people, all living things have perished, which before were nourished by the Creator for the use of men. But if we wished, as some think [we should], to interpret wild beasts as men, and fowls of the sky as those who are lifted up to pride and look down with contempt on all things human, and the fishes as those who are irrational and therefore brutish and do not think anything at all and do not see the free air and sky—then [the action of this passage] would be the work not of an angry but of a merciful Lord, who takes away from the earth what is evil.

4:4-5a But yet let not any man judge and let not a man be rebuked; for your people are as they that contradict the priest. And you shall fall today, and the prophet also shall fall with you.

Septuagint: “So that no one be judged, nor anyone be rebuked; but my people are as the priest who is contradicted, and they shall be weakened by day, and the prophet also shall be weakened with you.” According to the Septuagint translators, what we have recorded here, “So that no one be judged, nor anyone be rebuked,” should go with the earlier section. But

we follow the Hebrew. Called to judgment, the children of Israel who inhabit the land—in order that they may hear the causes of the Lord’s indignation and know their past sins, on account of which they were handed over to their enemies, since now they are persevering in their crimes and despise God with impudent brow—hear, ²⁴ It is not necessary that you come to judgment to be rebuked for your disgrace, because you are of such impudence that even when convicted, you have no modesty and shame, but you contradict me, like the student contradicting his teacher or the common people their priest, [the common people] who do not have the office of the priesthood. And since you are this way, today you fall, that is, you are led into captivity, and you lose the kingdom of Israel. Today signifies either the present time or that you will be led into captivity not by deceit and tricks but in clear light, and such will be your weakness that even the prophets, who used to prophesy lies to you, fall with you and experience captivity. We should understand prophets here either of false prophets, or at least of every prophetic grace. For as long as the ten tribes were not captive, they had both Elijah the prophet and Elisha and the other sons of the prophets, who prophesied in Samaria. Whence Amos, too, a prophet who was from the tribe of Judah and the town of Tekoa, is forced to return to his homeland, so that he does not prophesy in an alien kingdom and Samaria. ²⁴¹

4:5b-6 In the night I have made your mother to be silent. My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, that you shall not do the office of priesthood to me; and you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Septuagint: “I have made your mother like the night, and my people has been made like one not having knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I, too, will reject you, that you shall not do the office of priesthood to me; you have forgotten the law of your God, and I also will forget your children.” He does not call them mother and children because the mother is one thing and the children another, but in the sense that the Lord, speaking to the Jewish

people, said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets, and stone those who are sent to you, how often have I wanted to gather together your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling?” ²⁴² It is not that Jerusalem is one thing and its people another; for he was not speaking to the city’s cement and wood and stones without [speaking to] the people. Thus the assembly of the people and the whole crowd of the Hebrew nation to whom he speaks is called mother; but individuals from the people or those dispersed throughout the towns and villages are children. In the night, therefore, and the darkness of captivity and sorrow and pressing anguish, Israel is handed over, and its people have been silent in an eternal silence, because they did not have knowledge of the law, nor have they observed the commands of God, and they have received [the rewards of] what they have done. For they have rejected the law of God, and therefore they have lost the priesthood forever, worshiping golden calves in Dan and Bethel, ²⁴³ and because they have forgotten the law of God and have wholly delivered themselves up to the Egyptian idols, therefore the Lord, too, will forget his children, handing them over to eternal captivity: “For the one who knows not shall not be known,” ²⁴⁴ and we read in the Psalms, “They have not known nor understood, they walk on in darkness.” ²⁴⁵ Everything that is said to the ten tribes we can apply to the heretics, who have abandoned the kingdom of David and Jerusalem, that is, Christ and the church, and therefore have been covered over by eternal night, and they do not have knowledge of God, and they are rejected by the Lord so that they shall not do the office of priesthood to him, and he never remembers the children that they bore, because they have become children alien to him.

4:7-9 According to the multitude of them so have they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame, and they shall eat the sins of my people and shall lift up their souls to their iniquities. And it shall be like people, like priest; and I will visit their ways on them, and I will repay them their thoughts.

Septuagint: “According to the multitude of them so have they sinned against me;

I will make their glory into shame, they shall eat the sins of my people, and in their iniquities shall they receive their souls. And it shall be like people, like priest as well; and I will avenge their ways on them, and I will repay them their thoughts.” As many men as Israel had, so many altars did she erect to demons; in victims for them, she sinned against me. Therefore, I will change their glory, in which they gloried in themselves and preferred idols to God, into shame, so that both priests and people shall be taken. Indeed, the priests eat the sins of my people, about whom it is written: “They eat up my people as they eat bread.” ²⁴ And therefore they eat the sins of my people, consenting to the crimes of those sinning; because when they see them sinning, they not only do not condemn them but they praise and lift them on high and declare them blessed. Isaiah, too, speaks about them: “O my people, they who call you blessed, the same deceive you and destroy the way of your steps.” ²⁴⁷ The psalmist, also, cries about these people: “For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the unjust man is blessed.” ²⁴⁸ Whence both people and priest equally will receive the sentence of their indignant God; because he will not only visit [on them] their works, which are called the ways in which they walk, but also their thoughts, by which they investigated doing such things. For not only the work but also the thought of the evil work undergoes punishments. This is easily understood of the heretics, because the more they are, the more they abandon God and glory among the peoples and thereby deceive the unhappy, that they may eat the sins of the people and, by their sweet words, devour the homes of widows. ²⁴ For when they see some sinning, they say, “God seeks only the truth of faith; if you guard that, he does not care what you do,” because, saying these things, they lift up their souls to their iniquities, so that they not only do not repent nor are humbled but they rejoice in their crimes and walk with heads held high. Hence both people and priest, both those who have been taught and those who did the teaching, will be bound by the same judgment.

4:10-12 And they shall eat and shall not be satisfied; they have committed fornication and have not ceased, because they have forsaken the Lord in not observing [his law]. Fornication and wine and drunkenness take away the heart. My people have consulted their wood, and their staff has declared

unto them. For the spirit of fornication deceives them, and they have committed fornication against their God.

Septuagint: “And they shall eat and shall not be filled; they have committed fornication and shall not be directed, because they have forsaken the Lord in order not to observe [his law]. The heart of my people has taken up fornication and wine and drunkenness. They were consulting their auguries, and they will declare unto them with their rods; because they have been seduced by the spirit of fornication, and they have committed fornication against their God.” Pleasure is insatiable, and the more one takes, the more hunger it creates in those enjoying it. On the other hand, those who hunger and thirst for justice are blessed, because they will be satisfied. ²⁵ Just as justice satisfies, so iniquity, lacking substance, deceitfully deludes those consuming nothingness and leaves empty the stomachs of those devouring. They have fornicated and have not ceased. Their men fall into fornication, and the desire to fornicate is not quieted. The ten tribes, too, fornicated with the idols of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, ²⁵¹ and left their God by not observing what he had commanded, saying, “You shall worship the Lord your God and shall serve him only.” ²⁵² But this is to be read emphatically: fornication and wine and drunkenness take away the heart. For just as wine and drunkenness make him who drinks impotent in his mind, so fornication and pleasure pervert the senses and weaken the soul, and make a brute animal of the rational man, so that he goes after brothels and houses of ill repute and the debaucheries of lust. And since the heart has thus been moved from its place, he thinks that wood and stones are gods and adores the works of his own hands. Whence the prophet, as though amazed and wondering, says, My people who were once called by my name have consulted wood and rods, a kind of divination the Greeks call ῥαβδομαντείαν. Whence we read in Ezekiel that Nebuchadnezzar mixed his rods against Ammon and Jerusalem and took out the rod against Jerusalem; ²⁵³ and the cause of this madness is the spirit of fornication, which deceived them, so that they fornicated against their God. But fornication means idolatry, according to what we read in Jeremiah: “And she was committing adultery with wood and stone, and I said, After they commit fornication with all these, return to me, and she did not return with her whole heart, but with falsehood.” ²⁵⁴ And again, you have left me and said, “I will go upon every high mountain and will be poured

out in my fornication under every green tree.” ²⁵⁵ And it is said in the psalm, “You have destroyed all them that fornicate against you.” ²⁵ For the beginning of fornication is the creation of idols. The heretics are never satisfied with their error, nor do they cease from the baseness of their fornication, and daily, by not observing the law and the Holy Scriptures, they abandon the Lord, they rave and are inebriated; and having lost their mental judgment, they worship the idols that they invented from their own heart and are possessed by the spirit of fornication.

4:13a They offered sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burnt incense on the hills; under the oak, and the poplar, and the terebinth tree, because the shadow thereof was good.

Septuagint: “They offered sacrifice on the top of the mountains, and immolated on the hills; under the oak, and the poplar, and shady trees, because the shade was good.” In the law it was prescribed that sacrifice be made to the Lord only in the place that the Lord God had chosen, ²⁵⁷ and that groves and trees not be planted next to the altar, ²⁵⁸ namely, lest a promiscuous and pleasure-seeking religion subvert the austerity of the one true religion. Instead, Israel was sacrificing on the mountains and was burning incense on the hills, because, loving the exalted places of the earth, they had abandoned the exalted God and, seeking a shadow, had lost the truth. This is what we read about every king: “Nevertheless, he did not remove the high places; for as yet the people offered sacrifices and burnt incense in the high places,” which in Hebrew are “bamah.” ²⁵ The heretics reassure themselves of the sublimity of their dogmas and sacrifice under the oak and the poplar and the terebinth, trees without fruit, because they do not have the fig and the vine, beneath which the holy man is said to rest. ² But they take to themselves the terebinth, which, according to Isaiah, has no leaves, ² ¹ so they seem to imitate the example of Abraham. ² ²

4:13b-14 Therefore shall your daughters commit fornication, and your

spouses shall be adulteresses. I will not visit on your daughters when they shall commit fornication, and on your spouses when they shall commit adultery; because they themselves conversed with harlots and offered sacrifice with the effeminate, and the people who do not understand shall be beaten.

Septuagint: “Because your daughters shall commit fornication and your spouses shall commit adultery, and I will not visit on your daughters when they shall commit fornication, and on your spouses when they shall commit adultery; since they themselves mixed with harlots and sacrificed with those initiated, and the people who understands was clinging to a prostitute.” The word qedeshot, which Aquila translated ἐνηλλαγμένων, ² ³ Symmachus ἑταιρίδων, ² ⁴ the Septuagint τετελεσμένων, ² ⁵ and Theodotion κεχορισμένων, ² we have rendered effeminate, to make clear the sense of the word for our ears. These are those whom today they call Gauls, serving Rome, the mother not of gods but of demons, because the Romans dedicated these priests, maimed in their masculinity, to the honor of Atys, whom a prostitute goddess had made a eunuch. ² ⁷ But on account of this, the men of the Gallic nation are effeminate, so that when they captured Rome, [the Romans] were savaged by this ignominy. Idolatry of this kind existed in Israel, especially among women worshiping Belphegor—whom we can identify with Priapus—because of the size of his virile member. Whence King Asa took away the high places from the people and priests of this kind and deposed his mother from her majestic command, as Scripture testifies, saying, “And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David his father. And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and he removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made. Moreover, he also removed his mother, Maacha, from being the princess in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove that she had consecrated to him; and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol and burnt it by the torrent Cedron. But the high places he did not take away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days.” ² ⁸ It should be noted that in this passage, qedeshot designates the ἱερείας ² prostitutes, that is, the priestesses dedicated to Priapus. In other places, however, we read of qadeshim, which means men castrated, for example in Isaiah, “and mockers shall rule over them,” ²⁷ which, in Hebrew, is, “and qadeshim shall rule over them,” which we have translated as “the effeminate.” But when Aquila translated it ἐνηλλαγμένους, that is, those who

have been changed, he wanted to show that they had changed their nature and, being men, had been made women. Symmachus called them by their own name, prostitutes, ἐταιρίδας. The Septuagint has τετελεσμένους, that is, consecrated and initiated, to show that they are worshipers of idols. Theodotion has κεχωρισμένους, that is, those separated from the people because they think they have something more than what the common man has. We have briefly discussed this word; now let us return to the sense of the section. It is a great injury not to merit the anger of God after you have sinned. Israel had fornicated from the Lord its God and had been snatched away by the spirit of fornication; and so its daughters, too, and spouses fornicate and are left in their crime without any punishment, so that what sons and a wife had done to their true parent and husband, they would in turn experience in their children and wives and, from their own pain, would understand the pain of God, who was so angry that he did not strike down those sinning. The apostle, too, writing to the Romans, testifies to this with a mystical phrase: “For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts, and of creeping things.” ²⁷¹ And because they had fornicated with idols, they are smitten with this sentence: “Therefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie; and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” ²⁷² But, that we might know that this visitation of those, as it were, wounded and sick, was brought about by God so that they might receive health as though by cauterization and the bitterest potions and [thereby] escape their maladies, let us hear God speaking through the prophet: “I will visit their iniquities with a rod and their sins with stripes. But my mercy I will not utterly remove from him.” ²⁷³ Therefore, he who is loved is chastised; ²⁷⁴ he who is neglected is forgiven his sins. And so great was the number of fornicators in Israel that, with no hope of amendment, there was punishment. For what could be more base than for men to lie with prostitutes as an act of worship and to immolate with the effeminate the sacrifices of their lust? And he adds, The people who do not understand shall be beaten; the Septuagint has, “And the people who understands was clinging to a prostitute.” This means that Israel will be beaten with captivity and afflicted with various wounds, so that it may receive discipline through pain. This is easily understood in terms of the heretics, because their daughters and

spouses fornicate, that is, the souls that they have generated in error and that have espoused their dogmas. People of that kind are unworthy of the reproof of God, because all their worship is fornication, and the base are mixed with the base, and therefore they will be beaten, so that afterward, through their wounds, they may understand the God whom they seek. When you see a sinner abounding in wealth, boasting about his power, rejoicing in his health, delighting in his wife, ringed by a crown of children and fulfilling the passage, “They are not in the labor of men, neither shall they be scourged like other men,” ²⁷⁵ say that the threat of the prophet has been brought to completion: “I will not visit on your daughters when they shall commit fornication, and on your spouses when they shall commit adultery.”

4:15-16 If you play the harlot, O Israel, at least let not Judah offend; and do not go into Galgal, and come not up into Bethaven, and do not swear: The Lord lives. For Israel has gone astray like a heifer sporting wantonly. Now the Lord feeds them, as a lamb in a spacious place.

Septuagint: “But you, O Israel, be not ignorant, and Judah, do not go into Galgal, come not up to the house of ὤν, ²⁷ and do not swear: The Lord lives. For Israel has gone mad, like a heifer bitten by a gadfly. Now the Lord feeds them, like a lamb in an ample place.” Instead of “house of ὤν,” some texts, particularly Theodotion, have “house of iniquity,” which Aquila and Symmachus have translated “house άνωφελοῦς,” that is, “useless,” that profits nothing and is also called “house of idols.” But this is Bethel, which was called earlier the “house of God”; after calves were placed in it, ²⁷⁷ it was called Bethaven, that is, “useless house” and “house of the idol,” which we have expressed as it is in the Hebrew. It seems to me, therefore, that [this refers to the fact both that] the people of Israel made themselves the head of a calf in the wilderness, which they worshiped, and that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, fashioned golden calves: in this superstition of theirs they served the ἄπις and μνεῦις, ²⁷⁸ which are worshiped under the guise of cows in Egypt, where [Israel] learned [to believe] they are gods. ²⁷ Let us state the sense of the chapter: if you were once deceived by error, O

Israel, and mixed yourself with prostitutes, such that whoever filled either his own hand or the king’s by offering and giving him gifts became priest of the high places, at least you, Judah, who possess Jerusalem and have Levites from the law and carry out the ceremonies of the temple, ought not to follow the example of your erstwhile sister Oolla in fornication and worship idols alongside God. ²⁸ Do not go into Galgal, about which we read in the same prophet: “All their wickedness is in Galgal,” ²⁸¹ where Saul was anointed king ²⁸² and where the people, leaving the desert, first pitched camp and then were purified by a second circumcision. ²⁸³ From this time, the error of an adverse religion grew in that famous place. And do not come up into Bethaven, that is, what was once called Bethel, since after golden calves were placed there by Jeroboam, son of Nebat, it is not called the House of God but the house of the idol. I am amazed that the Septuagint translated this “the house of ὤν,” unless perhaps, by a common error, instead of a yod as the middle letter, which is surrounded on either side by the letters aleph and nun, they thought there was a letter vav, which differs only in size. And do not swear, The Lord lives. For I do not wish there to be mention of my name through your mouth, which has been polluted by the remembrance of idols. For Israel, that is, the ten tribes, has turned aside from the service of the Lord, like a heifer sporting wantonly and throwing off the yoke of the law. Instead of heifer sporting wantonly, the Septuagint has translated παροιστρῶσαν, “which has been bitten by an oestrus, an asylus,” which people commonly call a tabanus. ²⁸⁴ Virgil, too, speaks about this in the third book of the Georgics:

Its Roman name asilus, by the Greeks Termed oestros—fierce it is, and harshly hums, Driving whole herds in terror through the groves, Till heaven is madded by their bellowing din, And Tanager’s dry bed and forest-banks. ²⁸⁵

Therefore, because Israel went mad and, bitten by the spirit of fornication, raged

with incredible fury, so not after much time, but [now] while I am prophesying, “while breath holds sway in these limbs,” ²⁸ now will the Lord feed them, as a lamb in a spacious place. Since he had taken up the metaphor of the heifer sporting wantonly or [bitten by] a gadfly, he maintains it in the rest of the passage, as when he calls the captivity among the Assyrians and the dispersion of the people of Israel in the very spacious land of the Medes a pasturage of the flock and of the lambs in a very spacious field and in an ample land. Concerning heretics, his meaning is easy [to discern]; he says to or about them, “If you have fornicated once, O heretic, at least you, O member of the church, do not offend, and do not go into Galgal, the assemblies of the heretics, where the sins of all are revealed and people wallow like pigs in the mud. ²⁸⁷ And do not think to come up into the proud and arrogant fictions of false dogmas. For the house of the Lord is not there, but the house of the idol. And do not swear by the name of Christ, whose majesty you have polluted by mixing it with idols. For like a heifer bitten by a gadfly, the heretics have been wounded by the burning arrows of the devil, ²⁸⁸ and they have abandoned knowledge of the law; therefore, they will be pastured on the wide and spacious way, which leads to death, ²⁸ and the patience of the Lord, the good shepherd, ² will nourish them until they perish.

4:17-19 Ephraim is a partaker with idols; let him alone. Their banquet is separated; they have fornicated with fornication, they who should have protected them have loved to bring shame on them. The spirit has bound them up in its wings; and they shall be confounded because of their sacrifices.

Septuagint: “Ephraim, a partaker with idols, has put stumbling blocks in his own path and provoked the Canaanites. Fornicating, they fornicated; they loved disgrace because of their raging. You are the whirlwind of spirit in his wings, and they shall be confounded because of their altars.” Ephraim is the king of the ten tribes, the tribe from which Jeroboam came, son of Nebat, who was the first to set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan. ² ¹ Therefore, O Judah, to whom I said above that, if Israel fornicates, at least let

Judah not offend, hear my advice, do not spurn the words of the prophet; since Ephraim was once the friend and partaker of idols, let him alone, lest you follow the wickedness of one whose worship and religion and food are separated from your banquet. For they serve idols and sacrifice to demons and daily fornicate, and they love their fornication; or rather, the princes and those who should have protected them, that is, the kings, loved to bring shame on the people by the princes’ crimes. An unhappy people undertook the worship of idols, whose unclean spirit bound Israel with its wings and does not allow it to fly freely. Therefore, they shall be confounded in their sacrifices and will take on the “disgrace” of the princes to their own confusion. Symmachus, where we have translated “the spirit has bound them up in its wings,” translates it into Greek in the following way, as if someone were to bind the wind on the wings of the wind, so that clearly he could assert that the princes, too, and people, both demons and Israel, are joined, the useless with the useless and the empty with the empty. For wind and spirit are a single word in Hebrew, ruah. What the Septuagint recorded as “he provoked the Canaanites” does not exist in the Hebrew. Nevertheless, it can be interpreted—as we do—that Israel had such zeal in the worship of idols that it did not imitate the Canaanites, that is, the pagans, but rather provoked them to the imitation of its own error. This very thing can be applied to the heretics, too, and it can be said to Judah, that is, to the man of the church, “Since Ephraim,” which is translated καρποφόρος, ² ² “promises itself false richness of doctrine and fruitful dogmas, and is once for all the friend of demons, let him alone and condemn him, especially since their sacrifices should be separate from yours.” For this is what [it means when] it says, Their banquet is separated: they fornicated once for all, and their princes deceived the unhappy people and, instead of the worship of God, tainted them with the disgrace of idols, and the spirit of the devil bound them up in its wings, they who are carried about by every wind of doctrine and are unable to remain in the church with a steady foot. ² ³ They will truly be confounded because of their sacrifices, because their bread is the bread of grief. ² ⁴ And the saying “he provoked the Canaanites” can be applied in the same sense to the heretics, too, because very many of the heretics have devised such foul and execrable things and have such unclean sacrifices that it is worse than idolatry. Or certainly, since Canaanite is translated tradesman or μετάβολος, that is, “transferrer,” all who make the house of the Father a house of trade and seek gain from the peoples and transfer the truth of the church into a lie—all these should be called Canaanites. ² ⁵

5:1-2a Hear ye this, O priests, and hearken, O ye house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king, because there is a judgment for you; because you have become a snare to them whom you should have watched over, and a net spread on Thabor. And you have turned aside victims into the depth.

Septuagint: “Hear ye this, O priests, and hearken, O ye house of Israel, and perceive with your ears, O house of the king, for there is a judgment against you, because you have become a snare to them whom you should have watched over; and like a net spread upon Itabyrium, those who take it have devised hunting.” The priests of the ten tribes are called to judgment, and the kings, not because they are priests from the tribe of Levi but because they are called priests by the people. That is why the priests of Baal, and the 450 prophets whom Elijah killed, ² and later Jehu, the son of Nimshi, when Jehonadab, son of Rechab, was present, ² ⁷ were called priests; but Israel, too, that is, the people, is called to judgment; and no one is exempt, so that the priests and the people and the kings —who led the people and appointed the priests—may all hear at the same time what they have done and why they are being handed over to enemies. “I set you as watchmen,” he says, “and leaders among the people, appointed at the highest height of dignity, to rule an erring people. But you have become a snare and should be called hunters rather than watchmen and leaders. For you spread out a net on Mount Thabor—which the Septuagint translated Ἰταβύριον, because it customarily declines Hebrew names as Greek words, just as “Edom,” that is, “Esau,” and “Seir,” are always translated “Idumaea.” Thabor is a mountain in Galilee, located in the plains, round and high and symmetrical on every side. We read about this mountain in the psalm: “Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in your name.” ² ⁸ In Jeremiah, too, the Septuagint translated this mountain as Itabyrium, on which birds are frequently caught in nets. ² And you have turned aside victims into the depth, he says, so that no one may repent or, having been killed, lift up his head. Both the kings and the priests forbade the people to go the temple in Jerusalem; ³ therefore, they are said to have turned aside their victims into the depth. Tropologically, the people is accused so that they may not think themselves foreign to the crime, if they were

led on by the kings and priests, which we understand to be the leaders of the heretics. The leaders, themselves, too, are accused, since they seized the people like a net and, though placed in the church as watchmen, led them into error. And on lofty and very beautiful Mount Thabor, which means “coming light,” they placed snares, so that they might drag into the depths whoever was deceived and sacrifice them to demons; and they turned aside their victims into the abyss, lest they come to themselves at some point and lift their eyes to the church, the house of God. Some think that Thabor should be translated “pit,” that is, “cistern,” and this accords with the present interpretation that the heretics dug a pit and fell into the hole that they made. ³ ¹

5:2b-4 And I am the instructor of them all. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me, for now Ephraim has committed fornication, Israel is defiled. They will not set their thoughts to return to their God, for the spirit of fornications is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.

Septuagint: “For I am your teacher. I have come to know Ephraim, and Israel has not withdrawn from me, for now Ephraim has committed fornication, Israel is stained. They did not set their thoughts to return to the Lord their God, for the spirit of fornication is among them, but they have not come to know the Lord.” O priests and kings, who have deceived my people, and you, people who have been deceived, you have sinned so gravely that you not only kill victims but send them into the depth of hell. ³ ² Do not think that, by the magnitude of your wickedness, you have completely withdrawn from me. “I am your teacher,” nay, instructor, who wishes to amend, not to punish, and to save, not to destroy. I, he says, know Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam, by whom the people was seduced, and all the kings who followed him in his office and in wickedness, and Israel is not hid from me, that is, the people of the ten tribes, because, since while the king fornicates, Israel is defiled. ³ ³ First the king began to fornicate from the worship of God, wishing to adore golden calves, and the people, wishing it [too], followed and completed comparable impiety with comparable zeal. Finally they will not return to the Lord, because they found what they wanted, and the spirit of fornication, which, according to the apostle, works in the children of unbelief,

³ ⁴ possesses their captive hearts; therefore, while he was reigning, they did not know the Lord; rather, they forgot their Creator. Hence the Lord is not ignorant of the leaders of perverse dogmas and of the people, not because they are worthy of his knowledge but because nothing that they do secretly is hidden from him, they who either deceive or are deceived. And those who set out in perdition will not set their thoughts to repent. For the spirit of fornication, by which they fornicated in the church and withdrew from their real matrimony, abides in their midst; therefore, they have not known the Lord.

5:5 And the arrogance of Israel shall answer in his face; and Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

Septuagint: “And the wrongdoing of Israel shall be brought low before his face: and Israel and Ephraim shall be weakened in their iniquities, and Judah will be weakened with them.” The Septuagint and Symmachus translate the word ge’on as “wrongdoing,” Aquila and Theodotion as “pride.” Therefore, whatever Israel did, whether acting proudly against the Lord or venerating idols, a “wrongdoing” against the Creator, [Israel] shall answer in his face, so that he may not leave [them] unpunished, but their affront may be “brought low” and so that the people and the kings equally may fall together in their iniquity or “be weakened,” in order that those who were strong in wickedness may be forced to return, weak, to the Lord. And this will happen not only to Israel and Ephraim, that is, to the ten tribes and their kings, that they are led into captivity; but Judah also, that is, the two tribes that were reigning in Jerusalem, will follow the footsteps of the captives, so that they may imitate the punishment of those whose wickedness they imitated. The heretics have pride as the mother of their iniquity, always boasting that they know higher things and raging in scorn of the church. But their arrogance “will be weakened,” and the people and the teachers equally will fall together; Judah, too, which seems to be in the house of God and in the church, abides there not in mind but in body; and it has the same erroneous opinion as the heretics. In vain it uses the word “church,” because it itself is to be punished with the heretics.

We are running quickly through clear things to tarry with more obscure ones.

5:6-7 With their flocks and with their herds, they shall go to seek the Lord and shall not find him; he is taken away from them. They have transgressed against the Lord, for they have begotten children that are strangers, now shall a month devour them with their portions.

Septuagint: “With their sheep and calves, they shall go to seek the Lord and shall not find him; he turned away from them, because they left the Lord; because they have begotten children that are strangers to them, now shall blight devour them and their heritages.” Not only Israel and Ephraim will go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but also Judah, about which it was written above, “Judah also shall fall with them.” ³ ⁵ They all have this struggle to strive to placate with sacrifices the one whom they offended with their transgressions; and they do not find him whom they seek, because he, in turn, has departed from those who withdrew from him. This is especially so since he says elsewhere, “Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of goats?” And again, “I will not take calves out of your house, nor he-goats out of thy flocks.” ³ And in Isaiah, “I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of lambs, and blood of goats and bulls.” ³ ⁷ For they have transgressed against the Lord, since, fornicating with idols, they have begotten children not by God but by demons. Other think this means what is said in Ezra much later, when they took foreign wives, creating children from them, and afterward were forced to repudiate them. ³ ⁸ But here it is better to understand the children who are strangers as those who were begotten in the error of [the worship of] idols or those whom they consecrated to idols, leading them through fire. ³ Therefore, since they did this, not after a long time, not after infinite periods of years and, as I was accustomed previously to foretell future things, long afterward, but now and in the present will the Assyrian and the Chaldean come, and they will devour them with their portions, or their “heritages,” that is, with the possessions that they received at the division of the land to the measure of the cord. ³¹

Where we said, a month shall devour them, the Septuagint translated “blight,” since everywhere “blight,” that is, ἐρυσίβη, is termed “chasil,” as they said also in the prophet Joel: “That which the young locust has left, ³¹¹ the blight devoured,” ³¹² that is, “chasil.” But chodesh means month; after all, Aquila translated it “new moons,” that is, Kalends, Symmachus and Theodotion “month.” And the sense is that the enemy will come month by month and destroy everything. If we read the books of Kings and Chronicles, ³¹³ we will find that, in the time of king Pekah, ³¹⁴ who was reigning over the ten tribes, Tiglath-pileser, king of the Assyrians, came and transferred a great part of the people of Samaria to the Assyrians; for the Greeks, this was in the second year of the first Olympiad, and, for the Latins—Rome had not yet been founded— Amulius was ruling at Alba in his twentieth year, whom Romulus afterwards dethroned. The heretics believe that they please God by a multitude of sacrifices, and the people of the church [believe] that alms expiate sins ³¹⁵ in which they [in fact] remain; because every sacrifice expunges past crimes, not present ones; therefore, they do not find the Lord, who is taken from such men and withdraws far away. But these have transgressed against God and have given birth to children that are foreign not by Christ but by the devil. Therefore their works are cursed for all time, and blood-colored blight destroys all that they do, ³¹ because they are near to blood and killing. But “blight” is properly said to descend in the nocturnal dew and to stain the white grain in the ears with the color of cinnabar or of red ocher, and fittingly in the anagogical sense it destroys the “heritages” of the heretics, about which it is said, “Their heritages did not profit them.” ³¹⁷

Book Two

Whoever often sails sometimes endures a storm; whoever frequently sets out on the road either suffers robbers’ attacks or certainly fears them; and in every art there is equally glory and detraction, favorable and adverse winds arise, as either friends praise more than is merited or enemies disparage more than is just; and you will rarely find someone who does not incline to one side or the other by partiality or hatred but who is rather led by the impartiality of the facts. I see this happening to me as I toil in my explanation of the Scriptures. For some condemn

what we have written as minor and, wrinkling their noses, despise whatever we have said; others who hate our name consider not the thing [at hand] but the people [involved], and they probe the silence of others more than our diligence. There are those who assert that we have undertaken this [too] boldly, that we have snatched the work [imprudently], that none of the Latins before us has dared to attempt it. Certain people consider themselves erudite and learned if they disparage another’s work and judge not what they themselves can do but what we cannot. But it is necessary, Pammachius, that you, who ordered us to undertake this, be the patron of [what has occurred at] your command and tread down with evangelical foot the Amafiniuses ³¹⁸ and Rabiriuses of our time, ³¹ who “from good Greek works make bad Latin ones” ³² and, themselves lacking eloquence, [presume to] translate the most eloquent men. ³²¹ As in the poets’ tales, you must burn with a branding iron and grind under your heel the viper and scorpion and navigate the Scyllan dogs and fatal sirens’ songs with deaf ear, so that I may both hear and know what Hosea the prophet is prophesying, in explanation of which I will dictate this second book. And although I am glad of your support and rejoice to have, in the foremost city of the earth, a defender foremost in nobility and piety, I would prefer to experience what Titus Livy writes about Cato, whose glory was advanced by no one’s praise and damaged by no one’s vituperation, although the aforementioned people did both by their great ruses. ³²² He means Cicero and Caesar, one of whom wrote praises, the other vituperations, of Cato. For while we live and are contained by a fragile vessel, ³²³ the efforts of friends appear to help us and the taunts of the envious to hurt us. However, after earth has returned to the earth whence it came, ³²⁴ and pallid death ³²⁵ has removed both us who write and them who judge us, and another generation has come, and a green wood has grown up after the first leaves have fallen, ³² then talent alone will be judged, apart from the dignity of names, and the one who reads will consider not whose work but what kind [of work] he is reading; whether [the author] be bishop or layman, emperor or soldier, lord or slave, whether he lies [buried] in purple and silk or in the roughest garment, he will be judged not by the multiplicity of his honors but by the merit of his works.

5:8-9 Blow the cornet in Gabaa, the trumpet in Rama; wail in Bethaven, behind your back, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall be in desolation in the day of rebuke; among the tribes of Israel I have shown faithfulness.

Septuagint: “Blow the trumpet on the hills, cure yourself on the heights, preach in the house of ὤν; Benjamin has gone mad, Ephraim has been made [to be] in desolation in the days of rebuke, I have shown faithful actions among the tribes of Israel.” Each month or blight shall devour Ephraim and Israel and Judah with their portions. ³²⁷ For this reason, I command you who hear to make noise not with raised voice but with loud cornet, for there is need of something loud, so that all in the vicinity may hear. Blow the cornet in Gabaa, whose etymology the Septuagint translated as “hills,” and the trumpet in Rama, which means “the heights.” Those are two cities neighboring each other in the tribe of Benjamin, namely Gabaa, in which Saul was born, ³²⁸ and Rama, which is next to Gabaa, located at the seventh stone from Jerusalem and which the king of Israel tried to occupy, to close off exit and entrance to the tribe of Judah. ³² So, in Gabaa and in Rama, sound the loud cornet and trumpet; of the two the cornet pertains to shepherds and is made from a curved horn, whence it is properly called a shofar in Hebrew and a κερατίνη in Greek. The trumpet, on the other hand, is made from bronze or silver and sounds in wars and on solemnities. In Bethaven, which was sometimes called Bethel and is in the tribe of Ephraim, ³³ where the golden calf was, ³³¹ there is need not of noise and din but of wailing, because captivity is near. And it is beautifully put that Bethaven is behind Benjamin’s back, for where the tribe of Benjamin ends, not far away in the tribe of Ephraim, this city was established. And so I say and command, Blow the cornet in Gabaa and the trumpet in Rama, and wail in Bethaven, because the royal “house” of Ephraim, or Ephraim itself, that is, the reign of Israel, is already in desolation, and captivity impends. On the day of rebuke and punishment of the ten tribes of Israel, “I have shown my faithful” words, with which I threatened them through the prophets, so that what I had predicted by word I should verify by action. Some, following the Septuagint, which said “house of ὤν,” have translated Bethaven “city of the sun,” and, saying that Christ is the sun of justice, ³³² have wished that city to be the church. I dislike this [interpretation], because the house of an idol, which Aquila has translated “empty house,” cannot be applied tropologically to the church. Rather, let us say that the heretics who promise themselves “lofty” knowledge in Gabaa and Rama ³³³ are ordered to wail in the

“house” of the idol, and that they are not in front of Benjamin, which means “son of his right hand,” but behind his back, where he has no eyes. For all the boasting of Ephraim, which means “fruitfulness,” will be in desolation for a short time, and when the Day of Judgment comes, he says, and the time of rebuke, I will show by the events that my words are not empty. What we translated behind your back, Benjamin, the Septuagint changed into, “Benjamin has gone mad,” always associating ἔκστασιν, that is, “departure from [one’s] mind,” with Benjamin, the man of the church. Whence in Psalm 67, it says, “There is Benjamin a youth, in ecstasy of mind.” ³³⁴ And we read that it is written in Jacob’s benedictions over the person of Benjamin, whose tribe the apostle Paul was from, ³³⁵ “Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall give food.” ³³ For he who at first was persecuting the church afterward bestowed the nourishment of the gospel on those believing throughout the whole world. Whence, too, Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin, ³³⁷ in ecstasy of mind prophesied the whole day until evening among the chorus of prophets. ³³⁸

5:10 The princes of Judah have become as those who take up the boundary; I will pour out my wrath on them like water.

Septuagint: “The princes of Judah have become as those who change the boundaries; I will pour out my force on them like water.” After Ephraim and Israel had been led into captivity and their land was reduced to solitude, the princes of Judah, who should have wept and exhorted their people to withdraw from idolatry, lest they, too, undergo similar things, began to rejoice and be glad, because that land lay open for them to possess more, and they have become as those taking up “the boundaries” of Israel, “changing” their borders and wishing to extend their own reign and possession in places once belonging to [Israel]. For this reason, the Lord says, And the Babylonians will come on those very princes of Judah and attack them as with the force of water, by virtue not of their own strength but of my indignation. He also says to the princes of Judah, that is, of the church, that they ought not exult and think the perdition of the heretics their own salvation, but rather

mourn, because [the heretics] are perishing. Whence the apostle Paul, too, teaches men of the church not to boast over the breaking of the Jewish branches but rather to fear lest they themselves be broken. ³³ And, in another place, he says, “Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?” ³⁴ Moreover, the Lord will pour out his wrath like water on such princes who glory in the misfortunes of others, because they think they stand if others fall. The Septuagint translates ὅρημα, that is, “force,” and some think that it should be taken as a blessing, as in the passage where we read, “The force of the river gladdens the city of God.” ³⁴¹ But it is better to take it as “wrath,” as everyone except the Septuagint translated it, especially since the phrase “pouring out” also goes with wrath, as when the prophet says to the Lord, “Pour out your wrath on them, and let your fury take hold of them.” ³⁴² The “princes of Judah change the boundaries” that their fathers laid down when they alter the truth with a lie and preach something other than what they received from the apostles.

5:11 Ephraim, suffering a perversion of justice, has been broken by judgment, because he began to go after filthiness.

Septuagint: “Ephraim has oppressed his adversary, he has trodden judgment underfoot, since he began to go after vain things.” If Ephraim is impious and will be in desolation because of his impiousness, ³⁴³ how is it that it says here, Ephraim, suffering a perversion of justice, has been broken by judgment? For someone who suffers a perversion of justice and is broken is being oppressed by a wicked judgment, especially since just cause is cited for why he was handed over to captivity. For it continues, because he began to go after filthiness, that is, after idols, which are compared to filthiness. Therefore, this is what is being said: Ephraim is oppressed by the Assyrians, first by Pul, then by Tiglath-pileser, afterwards by Shalmaneser; ³⁴⁴ and it is not that those who oppressed him were just, and that is why he was handed over to them; but that, when I leave those who were my people, they are handed over to punishments; [thus] the perversion of justice appears to be related not to God, who inflicts a just sentence, but rather to those who bear torments, while they are consigned to adversaries worse than themselves. And the Lord gives the reason why they bear a perversion of justice in this way and are handed over to those

worse than themselves and why [just] judgment is not maintained for them: because Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam, began to go after idols and desert God, for he was the one who made the golden calves. ³⁴⁵ According to the Septuagint translation, Ephraim (i.e. Jeroboam) oppressed his adversary Rehoboam, i.e. the tribe of Judah, and did so because, having deserted Jerusalem and the temple, he went after the images belonging to the Egyptians’ filthiness. The application to the heretics is clear, that they often oppress men of the church with their false sophisms and dialectical skill, but, in doing so, they pursue not the cleanness of the true faith but the filthiness of a lie and, handed over to the devil and his angels, appear to themselves to be suffering a perversion of justice, and the truth of judgment is broken against them. Another meaning is that Israel is laid waste and all its labors are destroyed when Assyria comes, and loses God as its leader and therefore has been broken by judgment, because [Israel] went after idols.

5:12 And I [will be] like a moth to Ephraim and like rottenness to the house of Judah.

Septuagint: “And I [will be] like a disturbance to Ephraim and like a goad to the house of Judah.” In the Hebrew language, ‘ash means moth and raqab “rottenness” and “decay.” One consumes clothing, the other wood. Instead of these words the Septuagint has translated it as ταραχὴν, “tumult” or “disturbance,” and “goad.” And it should be noted that moth is applied to Ephraim and rottenness to the house of Judah. Therefore, just as the moth consumes clothing and rottenness or decay wood, both of which processes take a long time, in the same way, God, after giving them space for repentance for a long time and urging them toward salvation, ³⁴ storing up his wrath for the day of wrath, ³⁴⁷ is made to be like the moth and rottenness for the ten tribes and for the two, not because God is a moth or rottenness, or a “disturbance” or a “goad,” but because, to those bearing the punishments, he seems to be all these things. Therefore, Ephraim and Israel were consumed first, and then the house of Judah followed; not Judah himself but his house, otherwise what had been entrusted to the race of Judah would have been

taken from it: “And he was the expectation of nations.” ³⁴⁸ But after the heretics —understood to be Ephraim—have been punished, Judah, too—that is, those who remain with the church and are surrounded by the errors or vices of the heretics—will undergo a similar sentence.

5:13 And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his chain; and Ephraim went to the Assyrian and sent to the avenger king; and he shall not be able to heal you, neither shall he be able to loose your chain from you.

Septuagint: “And Ephraim saw his weakness, and Judah his pain; and Ephraim went to the Assyrians and sent legates to the king Jarib; and he shall not be able to free you, neither shall he make your pain leave you.” The Hebrew does not have “legates.” And where the Septuagint recorded “Jarib,” we, following Symmachus, translated it avenger. For Aquila and Theodotion translated it “judge.” The name of Gideon shows that “Jarib” means avenger and “judge.” When the worshipers of Baal sought him to punish him, because he had overturned the pole and altars of Baal, his father responded, “Let Baal avenge himself,” or “Let Baal judge him,” and, it says, he was called Jerubbaal, that is, “Let Baal avenge himself.” ³⁴ And so Ephraim, understanding his “weakness,” and Judah his chain, since he was bound by his sin with the ten tribes, sought help not from God, who could loose them, but from the king of the “Assyrians.” We read that, under King Menahem, who led the ten tribes, Israel handed over gifts to the Assyrians, and Judah, under King Ahaz, entreated the assistance of Tiglath-pileser, king of the Assyrians, who could not free them or loose the chain of their captivity as long as God was against them. ³⁵ We can also refer the chain—which in Hebrew is mazor, and which Aquila translated ἐπίδεσιν or συνδεσμὸν, that is, “binding” or “conspiracy”—to that time when Rezin and Pekah, son of Remaliah, destroyed many thousands of the men of the tribe of Judah, because Judah in vain entreated the help not of God but of the Assyrians against the two kings. ³⁵¹ Some apply Ephraim and Judah in the tropological sense to the heretics and the men of the church, because both the former [i.e., heretics] and Judah, bound by the chains of sins, as it is written, “Each is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins,” ³⁵² sent to the Assyrian and the avenger king, that is, the devil, about whom we read, “That you may destroy

the enemy and the avenger.” ³⁵³ And since they did not ask the true helper or judge, therefore he made them remain in the “pain” of their sickness and in the chains of their transgressions. In someone’s commentary I have read “King Jarib” interpreted as “Christ.” And since it goes on, He shall not be able to heal you, he argued that Christ cannot heal the heretics or sinners from the church at the time of judgment, when there is no mercy, according to what is written: “Who shall confess to you in hell?” ³⁵⁴ And [he argued] that he cannot heal or free them, not in any way because of his own impotency, but because of the merit of those who asked for help too late. Just as the Lord also is said not to have been able to work signs in his own country, and it sets forth the reason why he could not: because they did not believe in him. ³⁵⁵ He said these things; we translate avenger king in a bad sense. Where we explained “Jarib,” that is, avenger, some incorrectly read “Jarim” because of the letter mem, which changes [the word] into “woods”; whence Kiriath Jearim means “town of woods.” ³⁵

5:14-15 For I will be like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion’s whelp to the house of Judah. I, I will catch and go; I will take away, and there is none who can rescue. Going, I will return to my place, until you faint and seek my face.

Septuagint: “For I am like a panther to Ephraim, and like a lion in the house of Judah. And I will snatch, and go, and take away, and there will be none who can rescue. I will go and return to my place until they are completely ruined and seek my face.” Since they are going to the Assyrian and sending to the vindicating or avenger king who cannot heal them or loose the bound chain, ³⁵⁷ I will show that, when I am opposed, all human help is vain; for I will be like a lioness to Ephraim and like a lion’s whelp to the house of Judah. Instead of lioness, which is shachal in Hebrew, the Septuagint translated “panther,” which is the same in Greek and Latin and which can be taken either as the name of a [particular] animal or as any animal in general, so that whatever is fierce in animals you may see in the anger of God. Nothing is faster than a panther, nothing stronger than a lion; the

swift destruction of the kingdom of Samaria by the Assyrians is signified by the panther, and the very strong kingdom of the Chaldeans against Jerusalem and Judah after a short time is shown by the lion. And since he said that he is a lioness or panther and a lion, he maintains the metaphor and says, I, I will catch and go: I will take away, and there is none who can rescue. One asks how, if when God is catching and taking away and holding, nothing can be snatched out of his hands, according to what is written: “No one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father,” ³⁵⁸ how was Judas snatched from the hand of God by his betrayal? ³⁵ To this, we will briefly respond that no one can snatch anyone from the hand of God, but he who is held in that hand can, of his own will, leave it. And in what follows, Going, I will return to my place, we must take God’s place to be his magnificence and majesty; only through condescension does he descend to men, become angry, have mercy, forget, become like a panther, change into a lion and into beasts; but he rejects human affairs and permits those whom before he protected to be subject to their enemies, so that they waste away and faint and die, and afterwards seek the face of the Lord and say, “Illumine your face, and we shall be saved,” ³ and “ Show us, O Lord, your mercy; and grant us your salvation.” ³ ¹ Indeed, toward heretics and to the negligent church, God is turned into a panther and a lion, and he will take from them the prey that they previously snatched from the church, so that they who had perished when free may, when captured, be saved; and he will never abide in the councils of the wicked ³ ² but will return to his place, about which he says, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” ³ ³ And he will reject and shun them, until they faint in their wickedness and, through repentance, seek him by whom they had been abandoned. Others think that the “place” of God is heaven, whither God returns when he has been offended by those who dwell on the earth, and he will make them perish, those who, by the magnitude of their sins, changed the most merciful Lord into the frenzy of wild animals against themselves.

6:1-3a In their affliction they will rise early to me; Come, and let us return to the Lord, for he has taken us, and he will heal us; he will strike, and he will cure us. He will revive us after two days, on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight; we shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord.

Septuagint: “In their affliction they will watch early for me, saying: Let us go and return to the Lord our God, for he will scourge, and he will heal us; he will strike, and he will cure us. He will make us whole after two days; on the third [day] we shall rise and live before him, and we shall know; let us pursue, that we may know the Lord.” God, then, has handed Ephraim and Judah over to captivity, and there is no one who can snatch out of his hand, ³ ⁴ and he will return to his place, until they faint and seek his face, ³ ⁵ so that he whom they did not perceive when he was gracious and near, they may seek now that he is angry and absent; and, in their affliction, when the light of repentance has risen for them, they may rise early to him, according to what we read in Isaiah, “In affliction, I remembered the Lord.” ³ And in the first psalm of degrees, “When I was afflicted I cried to the Lord: and he heard me.” ³ ⁷ And when they rise early to the Lord, what will they say? Come and let us return to the Lord. Each is not content with his own salvation; rather, they mutually call to each other to return to the Lord, whom they had left, whom they had deserted because of their sins, by whom they had been abandoned. For he has taken (cepit) us, and he will heal us, he who had said above, “I, I will catch (capiam) and go,” ³ ⁸ will strike and will heal us. Where we have said, he will cure, everyone [else] has translated similarly μοτώσει; but properly speaking μότα are linens placed in wounds to soak up rotten flesh and draw out pus, and it belongs to the skill of doctors to heal serious wounds over a long period of time and give back health through painful methods. Therefore, the Lord strikes us and cures us, “for whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he receives.” ³ He not only cures but revives after two days, and, rising from the lower world on the third day, he raises up with himself the whole human race. And when he cures those who have been struck and revives those cured and raises up those given new life, then we will live in his sight, we who were lying dead when he was absent. But we will live in his sight, we will know him, and we will chase him with all zeal, in order to know the Lord, since when he rose on the third day, we [also] arose. These words explain what we have often suggested: both Israel and Judah, that is, the ten and the two tribes, will have one shepherd and king, David, ³⁷ when they believe in the rising Lord, and the Jews promise themselves in vain a thousand years of dreams when the salvation of all is promised on the third day, on which the Lord rose from the lower world. The Hebrews interpret the second day as the coming of their Messiah and the third day as judgment, when they are to be saved. If they want us to concede this, let them tell us what the first day is,

that is, the first coming of the Savior. And when they cannot respond, let us offer [the interpretation] that the first day is, as they wish, the coming of the Savior in lowliness, the second his coming in glory, the third his coming in the capacity of one judging. But those who accept the second and third day bear witness that they have left out a first, since “second” and “third” cannot be called such without a first.

6:3b His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain (imber) to the earth.

Septuagint: “We will find him prepared as the morning, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain (pluvia) to the earth.” Come, he says, and let us return to the Lord, ³⁷¹ because he is prepared for us like the morning and the dawn, he who took us and will heal us, who will strike and cure us, ³⁷² and will revive us after two days and on the third will—himself and not another—raise us up. ³⁷³ The superscript of the twenty-first Psalm is taken from this, “for the morning assumption,” ³⁷⁴ although in Hebrew it is written as “for a hind of the dawn,” because, when death and the deceitful ancient serpent have been killed, he longs to ascend to the mountains; and when the darkness is dispersed, the sun of justice himself rises for us to illumine our blindness. ³⁷⁵ And he says beautifully, His going forth is prepared. We read about this tropologically in the eighteenth Psalm: “And he, as a bridegroom, goes forth from his bride chamber.” ³⁷ He is not only called “the morning” and “dawn” and the morning light, but he will come to us as the early and latter rain to the earth. We receive Christ as the early rain when the foundations of faith are laid in us, and as the late rain when, the crop now mature, we harvest eternal fruits and are stored away in the Lord’s barns. Therefore the Jews, who have not received the “early rains” and have sowed seed without rain, will not receive the fruit of the crop at the end time. This is the “rain” about which the Lord promises, saying, “I will give you the early and the late rain.” ³⁷⁷ Allegorically, the “early rain” is given when we know in part, the “late rain” when what is perfect comes. ³⁷⁸ And the Lord is always “prepared” for those rising in the “morning,” who can say, “I will arise early,” ³⁷ and, “O God, my God, to you do I watch at break of day. For you my soul has thirsted.” ³⁸

6:4-5 What shall I do to you, O Ephraim? What shall I do to you, O Judah? Your mercy [is] as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goes away in the morning. For this reason have I hewed [them] by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and your judgments shall go forth as the light.

Septuagint: “What shall I do to you, O Ephraim? What shall I do to you, O Judah? But your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goes away in the morning. Because of this, I have felled your prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and your judgment shall go forth as the light.” When he says, What shall I do to you, O Ephraim? What shall I do to you, O Judah? he shows the affection of a parent for his lost sons, as we read in Isaiah, “What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it?” ³⁸¹ And in Micah, “O my people, what have I done to you, or in what have I molested you? Answer me. For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and delivered you out of the house of slaves: and I sent before your face Moses and Aaron and Miriam.” ³⁸² What, therefore, shall I do to you, Ephraim, what shall I do to you, Judah? Your mercy, by which I always had mercy on you, has gone away like a morning cloud and is like the dew that, rising early, is dried out when the sun rises. For captivity is now near; already I see you being led in chains among the Assyrians and the Babylonians. I hewed at you by the prophets, and with dreadful words I threatened you. I brought out scalpel, fire and cautery, so that you who scorned me when I was clement might fear me when I was offended. And I slew the negligent with the words of my mouth, so that I might punish sinners with the terror of words before captivity drew near. And I did all these things so that the truth of the judgment by which I will judge you might become manifest and that no one would doubt that you had justly suffered your punishments. Instead of I have hewed [them] by the prophets, the Septuagint translated, “I have felled your prophets,” meaning the pseudo-prophets killed by the Lord, so that those who had been a cause of error when they were promising prosperity might be changed into an occasion of salvation when they had been killed. And the sense is, “Do not say, We believed the prophets: I even killed them, so that

all occasion of sin would be removed from you.” We read in the book of Kings that three hundred prophets of Baal were killed by Elijah and another innumerable multitude by Jehu, who overthrew the house of Ahab. ³⁸³ We feel that these same words also apply to the heretics and to the true Judah, which will suffer similar things, because the Lord calls them to mercy and wishes them to be turned back to salvation. But they pursue the delights and refreshments of this age, which pass away quickly like a cloud and the dew. It is written to them in the Gospel, “You fool, this night do they require your soul from you; and whose shall those things be which you have prepared?” ³⁸⁴ And the rich man clad in purple, who scorned Lazarus lying before his gates, knew that everything he had enjoyed would pass like a cloud and the dew. ³⁸⁵ God always kills the heretics’ prophets, while he threatens them with eternal punishment and withdraws them from true life and leaves them to the death of the wicked. But we should love that cloud that is eternal and that protects us from the heat of this world; sitting on it, the Lord came into Egypt and shattered all the idols of the Egyptians. ³⁸ Let us love that dew about which Moses says, “Let my words come down as the dew,” ³⁸⁷ and Isaiah, “The dead shall rise and those in the tombs shall be resuscitated; for the dew that is from you is their healing.” ³⁸⁸ There are those who think that the prophets who were killed are [actually] holy men [rather than pseudo-prophets], because prophets were also killed and handed over to enemies for the sake of the sin of the people.

6:6-7 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than holocausts. But they, like Adam, have transgressed the pact; there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Septuagint: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God more than holocausts. They, instead, are like a man disregarding the covenant.” The following section in the Septuagint, “There the city of Galaad, which works at empty things, scorned me,” and so on, should be attached to the following section. Let us explain what we have recorded: “I have hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth.” ³⁸ I threatened them gravely so that I could have mercy on them when they repented, so that I could

stretch out my hand to those who had fallen and were rising. For I am not pleased with sacrifices and victims and a multitude of holocausts. My victims and holocausts are the salvation of those who believe, the conversion of sinners. But they imitated Adam, so that what he did in paradise, they did on earth, disregarding my pact and law. And there, that is, in paradise, everyone dealt treacherously against me, in the likeness of Adam’s treacherous dealing. For it is not surprising that what preceded in the parent is condemned in the children as well. God, warning both those who are outside the church and those who sin while abiding within the church, calls them daily to repentance and says to them, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than holocausts. They, instead, offer sacrilegious bread and give alms and appear to follow humility, all of which, if they were true, I would take as holocausts. But since they have abandoned the knowledge of God, they boast in vain that they have other members, when the head of faith has been chopped off, for they have dealt treacherously with the pact of God in the church, just as Adam dealt treacherously in paradise, and they show themselves imitators of their ancient parent, so that, just as he was thrown out of paradise, so are they thrown out of the church.

6:8-9a Galaad [is] a city of workers of idols, supplanted with blood, and like the jaws of highway robbers (or “highway robber,” because either reading is possible).

Septuagint: “There the city of Galaad, which works at empty things, despised me and disturbs the water, and your strength [is that] of a pirate.” We read that in Ramoth Galaad, Jehu was anointed as king, who mixed blood with blood and overthrew the house of Ahab and ordered [Ahab’s] sons’ heads to be placed in heaps before dawn. ³ In this city across the Jordan in the territory of the tribe of Gad, the idol was consecrated. It was inhabited by priests, ³ ¹ for it was also a city of refuge. ³ ² Therefore, the more famous it was and the greater its authority, because it was set apart as the portion of the priests, the more was it the seat of idolatry and of all evils for [the part of] Israel living across the Jordan, so that those who had sinned first might first be taken by the Assyrians. ³ ³ And since that province is full of highway robbers, he compares them to

highway robbers: as they plot against travelers, so the priests plotted against the simplicity of the people. Further, tropologically, Galaad means “transmigration of testimony,” and he who twists the testimony of the Scriptures into perverse dogmas “despises” God; and all his works are “empty,” and he “disturbs the waters” of the church and, from the purest fonts, makes foul and filthy streams that stain, rather than cleanse, the baptized. And all the “strength” of this city is like “that of a pirate,” as he imitates the devil, who plots against those who struggle in the sea of this world over which ships travel, to arrive at port. Finally, Symmachus has interpreted this more clearly, saying, “And your jaws are like those of a plotter.” We read about “pirates” of this kind in Job: “There is no respite for pirates.” ³ ⁴ For although they seem to boast in this present age and “disturb the waters” and “work at empty things” and exercise piracy, nevertheless, punishments do not delay and will quickly envelop them.

6:9b Participants with the priests who murder in the way those that pass out of Sichem, for they have wrought wickedness.

Septuagint: “The priests have hidden the way of the Lord; they have murdered the people of Sichem, for they have wrought evil.” Symmachus has translated this passage, “The company of priests was killing [the people of] Sichem on the way”; Theodotion, “The priests have hidden the way, they were killing from behind”; Aquila, “Participation of priests on the way they were slaying [at] the shoulders.” When we sought the historical understanding of these translations from a Hebrew, it was explained to us thus: the priests of Bethel, or rather, the fanatics of Bethaven, at the times of Passover and Pentecost and Tabernacles—when one had to go through Sichem, which is called today Neapolis, to Jerusalem, which is the only place where it was permitted to immolate victims ³ ⁵—used to place highway robbers on the way, who plotted against travelers, so that they would rather adore the golden calves in Dan and Bethaven than God in Jerusalem. But as for the words “participation” and “company” of priests, this indicates their conspiracy and their consent in a bad sense. But if we read, as we have translated it, participants with the priests, it must be referred to Galaad, which makes the idol and which was supplanted with blood, ³ because it followed the impiety of the priests and is at leisure for

banditry and blood. This is what they said. Let us say that the heretics have blocked the road, so that we cannot go from Sichem, that is, from good works, to Jerusalem, that is, the church. These people are like the jaws of highway robbers, and they kill those who wish to go by the road of this age to the truth. Sichem means ὦμοι, that is, “shoulders”; we identify “shoulders” with work, and all the false priests hide the way and kill men with evil works, to prevent them from reaching Jerusalem. The following shows that shoulders signifies work: “Put your heart into your shoulder,” ³ ⁷ that is, turn what you understand into works. And we read about Issachar that he put his shoulders into his work, and that he is a farmer. ³ ⁸

6:10-11 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: the fornications of Ephraim there: Israel is defiled. And you also, O Judah, set thee a harvest, when I shall bring back the captivity of my people.

Septuagint: “I have seen horrible things in the house of Israel: the fornications of Ephraim there: Israel is defiled, and Judah. Begin your vintage, when I shall bring back the captivity of my people.” Jeremiah, too, speaks of this crime and terrible horror: “Heaven was astonished at this, and earth trembled violently.” ³ For what could be more horrible than the ten tribes suddenly gone over to the worship of idols? Whence it is said to their city: Take away your calf, Samaria, with which Ephraim first fornicated, that is, Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, ⁴ and, when he fornicated, Israel was “contaminated”—that is, the people of Samaria, which obtained a name in common from the large part of Israel. Whence the speech turns to Judah, also: You, too, Judah, set yourself a harvest, and the sense is, Do not think yourself secure, because Israel is led away captive; you, too, prepare fields for yourselves to be harvested, for soon you will be led as a captive into Babylon and the time of your harvest will come. And when the Chaldeans reap you, I will again bring back the captivity of my people, and under Cyrus, king of the Persians, and Artaxerxes, I will lead my people back. And notice how clearly both the captivity of Judah and its return are prophesied. But about Israel, that is, the ten tribes, there is silence here, and, if at some point something auspicious is said, it

is deferred to the advent of Christ. But in the house of the heretics we daily see a horrible thing, their teachers first fornicating, and the people, whom they lead to it, stained. And Judah, that is, the church, is ordered to prepare for itself, too, a harvest or “vintage,” because of its sins, since the time of judgment is coming. But the Lord forgives this [sin] and promises pardon, because “whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he receives,” ⁴ ¹ so that he may bring them, tested and purified, into his treasury. Some apply the phrase “Judah, begin your vintage,” or set yourself a harvest, in a good sense, such that Israel, having been punished, receives this fruit of its works, according to what is written: “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” ⁴ ² We prefer the meaning set out above.

7:1 When I would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have wrought falsehood, and the thief came in to steal, the robber is out in the open.

Septuagint likewise. Israel often received many wounds of idolatry, and particularly the one when, in the wilderness, they melted together the head of a bull and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, that have brought you out of the land of Egypt.” ⁴ ³ Therefore, I, who prefer the sinner’s repentance to his death ⁴ ⁴ and say later in the Gospel, “They who are whole need not the physician, but they that are sick,” ⁴ ⁵ have tried to heal the wounds of my people. And while I was examining these things with every skill, in order that the wretched people might be healed, suddenly Jeroboam appears from the tribe of Ephraim, who made golden calves, ⁴ and the wickedness of Samaria was revealed, following after an impious king. For both king and people wrought falsehood, that is, an idol. For as an image is opposed to God, so is falsehood to the truth. But the king himself like a thief came in to the people of Israel and like a robber despoiled the unhappy nation of the help of God. And this is the meaning: When I wished to expunge the old sins of my people because of their former idolatry, Ephraim and Samaria obtained new idols. But this, too, can be said [as a further meaning]: when the Lord our Savior, after the

outpouring of his blood and after his church had been gathered together from the Jews as from the Gentiles, wished to heal the sins of his people and lead them back to repentance, suddenly Ephraim, who promises the abundance of false dogmas, and the people of Samaria, who say that they are obeying the commands of God, arose and wrought the idol of false dogmas, and, through them, the thief and robber the devil entered in to the church; or that doctrine of the heretics entered in, like a thief and robber, about whom the Savior says in the Gospel: “All who came before me were thieves and robbers.” ⁴ ⁷ Thieves plot and deceitfully ensnare hidden things; robbers boldly seize others’ things. For those who thieve, thieve by night and in the shadows. Whence he clearly says that the thief has entered secretly and the robber despoils out in the open. For they cannot despoil of the garment of Christ those whom they have taught unless they lead them outside the church and have made them walk in the crooked way of their doctrines. We should take the thieves and robbers who came before the Lord to be not Moses and the prophets, whom the Savior always praises, but the pseudo-prophets, and those [thieves and robbers] who came afterward to be the heretics, who were not sent by the Lord but came by their own will. ⁴ ⁸

7:2 And lest perhaps they may say in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness, their own devices now have beset them about; they have been done before my face.

Septuagint: “That they may sound together like those singing in their hearts: I have remembered all their wickednesses; their own thoughts now have beset them about; they have been done against my face.” Lest perchance, he says, they may say in their hearts, God has restored our old sins, and we have paid for the crimes of our fathers; they ate a sour grape, and our teeth are set on edge. ⁴ Therefore, I will tell with the following words what they have done now and in the present, as I look on and daily do; and I will show them their devices or “thoughts,” by which they have most zealously pursued evils and which they have carried out in my presence, not fearing my face. The Septuagint’s “that they may sound together like those singing in their hearts” should be applied to the fact that, when the thief has entered or the robber has despoiled out in the open, ⁴¹ [fearing] lest they not maintain their former riches

and clothing, they repel the unity of thief and robber; but, when they have been despoiled, they “sound together” with them and are made of one heart. Therefore, let them receive what they have done, and all their “thoughts” or works will not merit my glance. Neither can the heretics dispute their old sins “against” God, since they daily add new impiety to old works and are perishing with the lost and are fettered by their errors, and although they think they can hide from the Lord, they are unable to avoid his eyes.

7:3 They have made the king glad with their wickedness and the princes with their lies.

Septuagint: “They have made the king glad with their wickednesses and the princes with their lies.” He explains what they have done before his face: ⁴¹¹ they have made the king Jeroboam glad “with their wickednesses” and, with their lies, the princes who led the people under Jeroboam. The heretics, too, with the wickedness of their works have made their king, the devil, glad, and, with the lies of their perverse dogmas, their princes, without doubt the princes of this world whose false wisdom God has destroyed. ⁴¹² We can say that the king among the heretics is the one who first discovered the heresy, and the princes are those who, placed over the heretic peoples, lay claim to a false priesthood for themselves. And it should be noted at the same time that the contrary powers and rulers and princes of that darkness rejoice in our sins. ⁴¹³

7:4 They are all adulterers, like an oven kindled by the baker; the city rested a little from the mingling of the leaven, till the whole was leavened.

Septuagint: “They are all adulterers, like an oven hot to bake for the burning up of the flame from the mingling of the leaven, till the whole was leavened.” Those who in their wickedness made the king glad and, in their lies, the princes

⁴¹⁴ are all adulterers and are like an oven, kindled by the fire of Jeroboam’s idolatry to bake the bread of impiety, which, when it had sent into their souls the fire of error, like a furnace or an oven kindled with the first fire, cooled little by little, so that it would not give the people strength but deprive them of their will, until every lie was leavened. For whatever happens by necessity quickly fades, but what we seize by our will perseveres. And so, here too, since he took up the metaphor of an oven, which is kindled in order to bake bread, he preserves [the same metaphor] in what follows, so that in the mingling of the leaven he shows the assent of the whole people, by which [we can see that] both king and people fell with equal eagerness in idolatry. No one doubts that the hearts of the heretics are kindled by the fire of the devil, that the bread of the antichrist may be baked in them; therefore, at first, they lie low in the church and speak secretly and promise all things peaceable, like a cancer that little by little invades the people and the leaven of their doctrine. The Lord, perceiving this, says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” ⁴¹⁵ since it swells in the hearts of the deceived, then breaks forth in open madness; and what is said by John the apostle is fulfilled in them: “They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us.” ⁴¹

7:5-7 The day of our king, the princes began to be mad with wine; he stretched out his hand with the scorners, because they have applied their heart like an oven, when he laid snares for them. He slept all the night baking them; in the morning he himself was kindled as a flame of fire. They were all heated like an oven and have devoured their judges; all their kings have fallen, there is none from among them who cries to me.

Septuagint: “The day of your kings. The princes began to be mad with wine; he stretched out his hand with the pestilent. Because their hearts were kindled like an oven, when it is urged on all night. Ephraim was filled with sleep, it was morning, he was kindled as with a flame of fire. They were all heated like an oven, a hot fire, and they have eaten up their judges. All their kings have fallen; there is none among them who calls upon me.”

This is an obscure passage and requires a reader with an alert mind, so let us first know the history. Little by little Israel and the city of Samaria cooled, having received in themselves the heat of error, until the whole mass became similar to leaven and grew and burst forth, and the people, swelling up, cried to the gates of Jeroboam, their king, and said, This is the day of Jeroboam our king, this is the festival day that our ruler instituted for us; we are celebrating this day, we sing of it, we exult and sport on it and adore the golden calves. When the people cried [in this way], the princes were not angry, as some think, but they themselves began to become mad from wine and lose the understanding of their mind, to forget God and throw themselves against the wood of the idols. When the king saw that the people were shouting and saying, This is the day of our king, and that the princes, like drunken men and madmen, did not know what they were saying, he extended his hand to the mockers, he joined assent to those mocking him with empty praises. These mockers, since their king was plotting against them and was leading them away from their God, proffered their heart to him like an oven in order that he might set them alight and make them burn with the flames of idolatry. For that is the reason that he gave assent to the people, because he understood that they had converted with all their mind to error. And what follows, He slept all the night baking them; in the morning he himself was kindled as a flaming fire, means that after he put the fire into the oven of their heart and saw that they went mad and that there was no one who would resist his will, he slept the whole night, that is, he was secure; he remained in the darkness while they were being baked and were making the bread of impiety. Whence afterward he rose in the morning, and their obvious madness showed the flame of their wickednesses, so that they would hasten to the rites of idols from the worship of God not surreptitiously but brazenly. What more? Everyone was heated with the fire of idolatry like an oven, and they devoured their judges, so that even he who could be good by nature and remember the religion of the Lord, seeing that both the princes and the people were subject to calves and thought them gods, even he would be devoured by wickedness. Finally all the kings of Israel fell and walked in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, and no one was found who, having deserted idols, would [allow himself to] be turned back to God. We have said these things more boldly than knowledgeably according to the tradition of the Hebrews, leaving the question of the reliability of the statements to the authors. Now let us pass over to the spiritual understanding. It is an unhappy people that is seduced by the devil, their king, and by his princes; or

who, [urged] by the prince of the heresy and by his leaders, have undertaken alien solemnities, leaving the church, and who, trampling the truth of the faith, are accustomed to cry out and say: This is the day of our king—for example, [the day] of Valentinius, Marcion, Arius and Eunomius. ⁴¹⁷ Those who are put over them, hearing this, are not inebriated by the wine so that they think sin is inconsequential, but they rather go mad from the wine, about which Moses writes in the song of Deuteronomy: “Their wine is the fury of dragons, and the incurable fury of asps.” ⁴¹⁸ For these eat the food of impiety and are inebriated by the wine of iniquity. The apostle, too, says about this, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.” ⁴¹ And in Proverbs we read, “Let not princes drink wine, lest they forget wisdom and be not able to judge justly.” ⁴² Since both the people and their leaders were deceived, the prince extended his hand either to scorners or “to the pestilent,” such as were the sons of Eli, ⁴²¹ and about whom we read in the first Psalm, “He has not sat in the seat of the pestilent,” ⁴²² about which it is said, “Cast out the pestilent one, and contention shall go out with him.” ⁴²³ Their hearts are kindled, so that they cause those whom they have deceived to fall. According to the Septuagint, this means waterfalls, which do not rise up but fall downward. And when it says, “Ephraim was filled with sleep the whole night,” it shows that, because the heretics are sleeping, they do not see the light of the sun of justice. ⁴²⁴ For those who sleep, sleep at night, ⁴²⁵ because their understanding is overcome. And we read about such people in the Psalms, “They have slept their sleep and have found nothing.” ⁴² Their hearts are heated with various disturbances: anger, love, greed; and they devour their judges, either the virtues, if any, that they are capable of having in their souls, or the understanding by which they distinguish evil from good. Or one should say that the leaders of the heretics are “devoured” by their people, as they themselves are devoured with the assent of those whose homes they devoured for the sake of base gain. ⁴²⁷ All the princes of heretics have fallen; although they could cry to the Lord, there is “no one who calls on his name.” “For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” ⁴²⁸ “Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among them who call on his name. They called on the Lord, and he heard them,” ⁴² he who does not hear the kings and princes of the heretics, because there is no one among them who cries to the Lord.

7:8-10 Ephraim himself was mixed among the nations. Ephraim has become

as bread baked under the ashes that is not turned. Strangers have consumed his strength (robur), and he knew it not. But gray hairs also were spread about on him, and he was ignorant of it. And the pride of Israel shall be humbled before his face, and they have not returned to the Lord their God, nor have they sought him in all these.

Septuagint: “Ephraim was mixed with its own nations. Ephraim has become as bread baked under the ashes that is not turned. Strangers have consumed his strength (fortitudinem), but he knew it not. And gray hairs sprang up on his head, and he was ignorant of it. And the presumption of Israel shall be humbled before his face, and they have not returned to the Lord their God; nor have they sought him in all these.” The reign of the ten tribes has been made like that of all nations, because they withdrew from the Lord, and, like bread baked under the ashes that is not turned —that is, that does not repent—the Assyrians and the Chaldeans “consumed his strength,” and whatever vigor he could have had they devoured. And he was so senseless that he did not know that he was devoured, or certainly he did not know the reason why he had been handed over to those devouring him. After all he remained until old age in the error once begun, that is, until his final captivity. Whence the pride of Israel will be humbled not after a long time but now and in the present, for this is what before his face means. But he was humbled because he exalted himself and trusted not in God but in the multitude of his army, and because “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” ⁴³ Instead of pride, that is, ge’on, the Septuagint translated, according to its custom, ὕβριν, that is, violence. And because it had said above, “Ephraim has become as bread baked under the ashes that is not turned,” and it seemed to be ambiguous and not to express clearly enough what he was saying, now he puts it more clearly: “They have not returned to the Lord their God, nor have they sought him in all these.” Because if they had returned to the Lord their God, they would certainly have heard God speaking through Jeremiah, “Return to me, and I will return to you.” ⁴³¹ And since they had done such things, they did not seek him, whom they had lost by their wickedness. But, to move on to another sense, although Ephraim ought to teach the peoples and draw them to imitate himself, it is mixed among the nations and is made like

to them, according to what was said above: “It will be for the people as it is for the priest.” ⁴³² Or, Ephraim is mixed with the peoples and the nations, so that all the heretics differ in nothing from the error of the Gentiles. And he who was formerly a prince in the church has become bread baked under the ashes, unclean all over from the ash and encircled by the heat of the fires, so that they did not return to the Lord but remained in the error once begun. The demons devoured his strength; for they are strangers and enemies of all Christians, and he himself did not know it, thinking his adversaries friends and judging his devourers to be his comrades. But gray hairs were also spread out on him, nay “sprang up,” that is, he wandered for a long time and nevertheless did not know his old age and his advanced years, about which it is written, “And that which aging and growing old is near its end.” ⁴³³ And if it is said to the just man and the churchman, “A man’s gray hair is his wisdom,” ⁴³⁴ why should it not be said to the wicked man and the heretic, “A man’s gray hair is his folly”? Daniel was speaking of this old age to the elder: “O you who have grown old in evil days.” ⁴³⁵ Whence also in the book of the Shepherd of Hermas—if anyone wishes to accept its reading— the church is first seen with a gray head, then as a young woman and a spouse adorned with her hair. ⁴³ And when the pride or “presumption” of the heretics is humbled, which they daily manifest to churchmen, they do not return to the Lord, but in all these things they do not seek him at all, because they are heated like an oven ⁴³⁷ and they have not sought him; they have devoured their judges and have likewise felled their kings. ⁴³⁸ There is no one who cries to the Lord. ⁴³ They suffered all these things so that they would seek the Lord, whom they did not wish to seek.

7:11-12 And Ephraim has become as a dove that is decoyed, not having a heart. They called on Egypt, they went to the Assyrians. And when they shall go, I will spread my net on them; I will bring them down as the fowl of the air, I will strike them as their congregation has heard.

Septuagint: “And Ephraim was like a foolish dove, not having a heart. He called on Egypt, and they went among the Assyrians, as they shall go. I will send my

net on them, like the birds of the air I will bring them down; I will reprove them with the account of their tribulation.” The Lord commands in the Gospel that we be simple like doves and shrewd as serpents, ⁴⁴ so that, imitating the simplicity of doves and the shrewdness of a serpent, we will be able neither to harm others, on the one hand, nor to suffer from the snares at their hands, but may behave as a moderate man with simplicity and prudence, because prudence without goodness is malice, and simplicity without reason is called folly. Therefore, Ephraim has become like a decoyed dove, which in Hebrew is photah; Aquila and Symmachus have θελγομένη or άπατωμένη, that is, “duped” or “deceived,” and the Septuagint has “senseless” or “irrational”; for ἄνους can express both these meanings. ⁴⁴¹ And [Ephraim] is felicitously called a decoyed or “foolish” dove, because a dove can also be wise, as it says in the Psalms, “Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest?” ⁴⁴² [The dove’s] wings are covered in silver, and the end of her back with the freshness of gold. ⁴⁴³ Ephraim, however, is a “foolish dove, not having a heart,” inasmuch as he is shown to have the mind of a brute, so that, [despite] calling on Egypt, he proceeded to the Assyrians. For he who begged the help of the Egyptians is led away captive by the Assyrians. Egypt, the staff of reeds on which he relied, will crush him forthwith, and, broken and crushed, it pierces the hand of the one leaning on it. ⁴⁴⁴ And, in order that God may show that, although we move around, we cannot avoid his eyes and are always ruled by the power of God, he says that, when they have set out for the Assyrians, even there I will spread my net on them, and if they have been exalted “like the birds, I will bring them down.” But I will bring them down not to perdition but in order that I may strike them like sons, and I will strike them not by the magnitude of their punishments but by fear, so that, hearing of the old punishments, they may be corrected by their fears alone. One may ask why Ephraim is compared to the dove, not to other birds. Other birds hurry to protect their chicks even with danger of their life, and when they see a hawk, snake, raven or crow approach their nest, they fly back and forth and bite themselves and gouge themselves with their nails and testify the pain of a parent with plaintive voice; only the dove does not mourn over her chicks or

seek them if they have been taken away; and Ephraim is rightly compared to this bird, because it does not perceive the people destroyed throughout its regions but is neglectful of its own safety. And he says, I will strike them as their congregation has heard, and this can mean: just as, when they had decided to do so, all the idols were made, so when I am angry, they will all likewise be destroyed. We can rightly say that the teachers of contrary dogmas, who have abandoned Christ as their wisdom ⁴⁴⁵ and have left the church, are “foolish” and a dove without a heart, they who, desiring earthly things, have been handed over to the Assyrians. And when they set out away from the church, the Lord spread out his net, woven from the witness of the Scriptures and from the word of the author of wisdom, so that, even as they raise themselves up against the knowledge of God ⁴⁴ and fly like a bird to the heights, he may bring them down to humble things and may reprove them with his threats and with the account of their punishments, so that, having been corrected, they may not perish eternally.

7:13-14a Woe to them, for they have departed from me; they shall be destroyed because they have transgressed against me. And I redeemed them, and they have uttered lies against me. And they have not cried to me with their heart, but they howled in their beds.

Septuagint: “Woe to them, for they have departed from me; they have been exposed since they have acted against me impiously; but I redeemed them; they, however, have uttered a lie against me, and their hearts have not cried to me, but they howled in their beds.” As I extend my net to lay hold of them and pull them down from their pride like a bird of the air and strike them with the account of their distress, ⁴⁴⁷ they withdrew and recoiled from me, for this is what άπεπήδησαν means, which the Septuagint has. And that is why it says, They shall be destroyed, because they have transgressed against me. Where we said they shall be destroyed, it is also written in the Hebrew shod lahem, that is, “destruction will come to them”; Symmachus translated it “ruin,” Theodotius “misery.” But in the common edition, there are two readings, because some codices have δῆλοί εἰσιν, that is,

“they have been exposed,” others δείλαιοί εἰσιν, that is, “they are fearful” or “miserable.” Therefore, they will be destroyed and will be miserable and ever fearing and dreading, because they have transgressed against God, adoring the golden calves and abandoning him who redeemed them from Egyptian slavery and led them with outstretched arm. But they have uttered lies against the Lord, saying about the idols, “These are your gods, O Israel, that have brought you out of the land of Egypt,” ⁴⁴⁸ and they did not cry to the Lord in their heart but were occupied with the fornications of idolatry. Or, because lust and excess accompanies the worship of demons, those who worshiped demons consequently, like swine, remained in the filth of lusts. And he nicely calls the chants of those serving idols not songs for God but howling. The interpretation for the heretics is easy: they have eternal woe, because they withdrew from God, and they are miserable, because they left their Creator, who redeemed them by his blood, and they themselves utter lies against him, putting together impious dogmas of falsity; and they do not cry in their hearts but wail always in the assemblies, which he nicely calls beds, and the dens of wild animals. Men of this kind cannot say, “Every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears,” ⁴⁴ but they are occupied with the filthiness of lust, they are at leisure for debauchery, and whatever they utter and think that they say in praise of God is the howling of wolves and the sound of mad revelers. Rare is the heretic who loves chastity, and whichever ones pretend to love modesty, like Manicheus and Marcion and Arius and Tatian and the restorers of old heresies, promise honey with envenomed tongue. Moreover, according to the apostle, it is disgraceful even to say what they do secretly. ⁴⁵

7:14b-16 They were ruminating on wheat and wine; they have departed from me. And I have instructed them and strengthened their arms; and they have imagined evil against me. They returned, that they might be without yoke; they became like a deceitful bow; their princes shall fall by the sword, for the rage of their tongue. This is their derision in the land of Egypt.

Septuagint: “They were cut asunder over wheat and wine. They were instructed by me, and I strengthened their arms, and they have imagined evil things against me. They turned back toward nothingness, became like a bent bow; their princes

shall fall by the sword because of the ignorance of their tongue. Thus is their derision in the land of Egypt.” Because of their abundance of all things, he says, they have fallen headlong. Ezekiel, too, recalls that this happened in Sodom and Gomorrah, that they ruminated over nothing but food and excess. ⁴⁵¹ In this passage the Septuagint has, “They were cut asunder under wheat and wine,” after the example of the prophets of Baal who, in the presence of Elijah, were begging rain by cutting their bodies. ⁴⁵² Likewise, to show that they are like cattle, he did not say, “they were eating,” but, they were ruminating, and therefore they withdrew from the Lord, who says, I instructed them, I offered them strength, and they stiffened their necks against me, not to the extent that they could do anything to harm their Creator but only what they could do: they imagined evil things against me. And they were as they were in the beginning, before I called them through Abraham, and afterward through Moses and Aaron; and they were without the yoke and knowledge of the law, and they were mixed with all the nations. Thus even now they have returned to their former state, so that without yoke and reins they are borne through precipitous places and are changed into a deceitful bow, so that what God had intended against his adversaries they themselves had turned against their Lord, and they launched against him the arrows of blasphemies. Whence their princes, who had deceived an unhappy people, will fall by the sword because of the madness of their tongue, with which they dared to call golden calves gods, thus to do in the land of promise what they had learned in Egypt, worshiping the Egyptians’ Apis and revering all their portents. For thus even in the wilderness, when they had left Egypt, they derided the Lord, saying, “These are your gods, O Israel,” ⁴⁵³ and, “Would that we were in the land of Egypt, where we sat over the flesh pots,” ⁴⁵⁴ and so on. Over wheat and wine and the false mysteries of the body and blood of Christ, who says in the Gospel: “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone.” ⁴⁵⁵ And in another place, “I am the true vine,” ⁴⁵ and, “Unless you drink my blood” ⁴⁵⁷—over this wheat and wine, therefore, the heretics are cut in pieces, and they construct for themselves various tabernacles, or they are cut off from the body of the church and [only] pretend to meditate and ruminate on the law of God. But in doing this, they withdraw from the Lord, who taught them in the church and gave them the strength by which to battle their enemies. But they imagined evil against the Lord, constructing the most impious heresies, and they returned to the status of the Gentiles, so that they were without the knowledge and yoke of God. Or “they returned to nothingness,” not that they ceased to exist, but that, in comparison with him who says to Moses, “Go, say to the children of Israel: He

Who Is has sent me to you,” ⁴⁵⁸ all who ponder against the Lord are said not to be, in accordance with the passage from Esther, at least in the Septuagint, “Give not, O Lord, your scepter to them that are not.” ⁴⁵ It is clear that “them who are not” means idols. But if God is truth, whatever is contrary to the truth is a lie and is called “nothing.” This applies to the heretics, who, instructed about the Holy Scriptures, turn against the Lord and the words of the Law and Prophets and Gospel, and they are like a deceitful bow or one awry. A deceitful bow or one awry is one that strikes the one guiding it and wounds its lord. Or they have become like a “bent bow,” always prepared for battle and disputes, for the subversion of those listening. Whence their princes, that is, the heresiarchs, are struck by the blade of the Lord because of the madness of their tongue, by which they have blasphemed the Lord, doing the same thing in their falsely named “church” that they used to do when they were living in the Egypt of this world, that is, when they were Gentiles. For all the questions of the heretics and of the Gentiles are the same, because they follow not the authority of the Scriptures but the sense of human reason.

8:1-4 Let there be a trumpet in your throat like an eagle on the house of the Lord; because they have transgressed my covenant (foedus) and have violated my law. They called on me: O my God, we, Israel, know you. Israel has cast off the thing that is good; the enemy shall pursue him. They have reigned, but not by me; princes have arisen, and I knew not. Of their silver and their gold they have made idols for themselves, that they might perish.

Septuagint: “In their lap as on the earth there is something like an eagle on the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant (testamentum) and have acted impiously against my law. They called on me: O God, we know you; because Israel is averse to good things. They have pursued the enemy, they have reigned for themselves and not through me; princes have arisen, and they have not judged for me; of their silver and their gold they have made idols for themselves, that they might be ruined.” What we translated, let there be a trumpet in your throat, which in the Hebrew is

’al-hikhkha shophar, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion translated similarly. Only the Septuagint said, “in their lap as on the earth,” [a phrase] whose meaning is uncertain. For some think that “lap” is taken in two ways, both as the lower part of one’s garment from the private parts to the feet, and as the basin of the sea, that is, the lap, for example, of the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea and Propontis; and [they think that] the false teachers, who followed the blasphemy of Egypt, held everything servile and earthly in the lap of their lust, or certainly that they conquered in the port and refuge of their sailing no precious commodities but perishable ones. But we, following the Hebraic truth [of the text], have defended the appropriateness of the first explanation. The prophet is commanded, and it is said to him, Let there be a trumpet in your throat, that is, raise your voice in such a way that it is like a trumpet, so that many may hear, because many have sinned. And when you raise your voice, say this to them with an uproar, like an eagle on the house of the Lord, and the sense is: Nebuchadnezzar will come with his whole army so speedily, so quickly, that he will mimic the flight of an eagle hastening toward his prey, and he will come not to another place but to Jerusalem, in which the temple of God is located, to destroy and overthrow it. Ezekiel, too, speaks more fully about this eagle: it has great wings and feathers and talons and the lead in entering Libanus, ⁴ that is, the temple of God. According to the prophet Zechariah, in which it is written: “Open your gates, O Libanus, and let fire devour your cedars.” ⁴ ¹ But this, O prophet, is what I say to you and command you: Let there be a trumpet in your throat, that you may lift up your voice and say that the king of the Chaldeans is coming like an eagle on the house of the Lord. I order you for no other reason than that they have transgressed my covenant and abandoned my rites. Whence, in the time of need and anguish, when captivity comes, they will call on me and say, O my God, we, Israel, know you, we who are called Israel know and are acquainted with you, and we guard the ancient name of Jacob, who was pleasing to you, so that we are called Israel. The Lord responds to them: How are you called Israel when Israel has cast off the thing that was good, that is, their Lord, by whom they were called Israel? Therefore, because Israel has cast off what is good, the enemy, that is, the Assyrian, will pursue and lay hold of him, who, when I was their king in the desert, sought for themselves a[nother] king, like the other nations, and acted against my will. Finally, so that they may return to the Lord, the most merciful king, Samuel lays out for them the harsh commands of a king and says that their sons and

daughters will serve the kings. ⁴ ² But those princes have arisen without the will of God. And this crime did not suffice for them, but they doubled the outrage with a greater impiety, turning the silver and gold they had received for wealth and ornamentation into idols. Therefore, Saul was made king not by the will of God but by the error of the people. ⁴ ³ And since he did not have the root of piety, ⁴ ⁴ he was set alight with impiety as soon as he began to reign. ⁴ ⁵ The phrase They have reigned, but not by me: princes have arisen, and I knew not can also be taken to refer to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and about the other princes who succeeded him on the throne. And he did not wish his kingdom to be divided immediately, [but this happened] because God was angry at Solomon, since Israel accepted their king happily. For according to the precepts of the law, he ought to have asked the Lord whether he wished this to happen. For it is also said of the Savior that the Son of Man must indeed be handed over, but woe to him through whom he is handed over. ⁴ For we very often read that the devil, who wishes to place his nest above the stars of heaven, ⁴ ⁷ is an eagle: “Though you be exalted as an eagle, thence will I bring you down, says the Lord.” ⁴ ⁸ The eye, too, that mocks a father and despises the old age of a mother will be dug out by ravens, and the nestlings of eagles will devour him, ⁴ because, through the devil and demons, he is throwing away the clear light of his vision. Whence in the Law it is commanded that we should not eat the eagle. ⁴⁷ Therefore, this eagle comes on the gatherings of the heretics, which were formerly the house of the Lord, and it comes because they have transgressed his covenant and have abandoned the law of God, and without cause they call on him and say: You are my God and we have known you, we who are called Israel, those seeing God, and we are called by the name Christian. They do these things, he says, in vain, since they have established kings for themselves and have done it against my will and since their princes have my adversaries, whom I do not know, because they are not worthy of my knowledge. Their words and senses have turned their silver and gold and whatever they could have naturally into idols, which they created out of their own heart, and it was not that they changed them [into idols] so that they might perish but, because they changed them [into idols], they are perishing. And they did not do it so that they might be ruined but, because they did it, therefore they are ruined.

8:5-6 Your calf, O Samaria, is cast off; my wrath is enraged against them. How long will they be incapable of being cleansed? For itself also is [the invention] of Israel, an artisan made it, and it is no god. For the calf of Samaria shall be turned to spiders’ webs.

Septuagint: “Cast off your calf, O Samaria; my wrath is roused against them. How long will they be incapable of being cleansed in Israel? And an artisan made this, and it is no god, because your calf was seducing you, Samaria.” Where we put spiders’ webs, the Hebrew has sebabim, because of the penultimate letter yod, not, as some incorrectly think, sebabum with a vav; the Septuagint and Theodotion have translated it πλανῶν, that is, “seducing” and “deceiving,” Aquila “by those erring” or “turned about,” Symmachus “inconstant” or “unstable,” that is, άκαταστατῶν, the Fifth Version ῥεμβεύων, “unsettled” and “restless.” We have learned from the Hebrew that sebabim is properly called the filaments of spiders flying through the air, which perish even as they are seen and are dissolved into particles and into nothing. And to these the calf of Samaria is rightly compared, which the people was adoring at that time because of its great preciousness, because it was gold. What he said above, “Of their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, that they might perish,” ⁴⁷¹ he now explains more clearly: Your calf, O Samaria, is cast off; my wrath is enraged against them, or against the calves, because they made two, or against the inhabitants of Samaria, who were adoring them. But what we read in the Septuagint, “Cast off your calf, O Samaria,” exhorts its inhabitants, not of one city but of all ten tribes, which are called Samaria—the bulls were not in the city of Samaria itself but in Dan and in Bethel—to cast off the calves over which God is angered; or άποτρίψεται, that is, he will rub off, so that what they had worshiped for a long time they might little by little rub off and cleanse. Since they do not hear him, he turns to others and speaks as though to a third person: How long will they be incapable of being cleansed? What kind of insanity is it, he says, that, when I am giving them opportunity for repentance, they do not wish to return to health. And because he said, “Cast off your calf, O Samaria,” he explains which calf it is, because it is itself of Israel; he does not say, You have received a calf from other nations, like Baal and Ashtaroth from

the Sidonians or Chemosh from the Moabites and Moloch from the Ammonites, ⁴⁷² but you yourselves and your king Jeroboam have done in Israel what you learned in Egypt. Or what kind of god is it that is formed by the hand of an artisan? Finally, as the filaments of spiders are dissolved into the wind, so the calf of Samaria will be reduced to nothing. God casts off the calves of the heretics and of Samaria, who say that they observe the precepts of the law, who hold fast to the clay of the calf and work in the [realm of the] earth, not [of] the spirit, and do not raise their eyes to heaven. And therefore the wrath of the Lord is enraged against them, and he marvels at such perversity, that they do not wish to leave their idols, which they made for themselves, and they love heretical filthiness instead of the cleanliness of the church. Israel did not accept these calves, imagining that God saw them apart from the other nations; but from their sacred scriptures they melted for themselves the crookedness of their understanding and became the artisan of their god, who will quickly perish and imitate spiders’ webs, which are easily broken by a touch.

8:7 For they shall sow wind and reap a whirlwind; there is no standing stalk in it, the bud shall yield no flour; and if it should yield, strangers shall eat it.

Septuagint: “For they have sown [seed] wasted in the wind, and their destruction shall receive it; a handful not having the wherewithal to yield flour, and if it should yield, strangers shall eat it.” He compares Samaria’s calf to spiders’ webs; ⁴⁷³ therefore, he retains the metaphor in the following discourse, so that what he had called spiders’ webs he compares to the wind and whirlwind, and to no standing stalk and to those that, if they had a standing stalk, would not yield flour, and, he says, if they do yield flour, they will be devoured by others. And since he is speaking both about heretics and about those who constructed idols in Samaria, the meaning is general and should be discussed as such. Those people sow wind, or “seed that is wasted by the wind” that do not have marrow, which the Greeks call ἐντεριώνην, and so, sowing emptiness, they reap

emptiness and void, or rather, sowing in the flesh, they reap corruption from the flesh ⁴⁷⁴ and are borne about by every wind of doctrine. ⁴⁷⁵ And since they have sown wind, they reap whirlwinds and storms, and even the first stalk, that is, the stem, will not be from this seed, nor will they be able to have any appearance of a rich harvest. If it ever happens that churchmen appear to have something similar to [true] dogmas, this bud and blade will not yield flour, the three measures of flour in which the woman of the Gospels puts yeast, ⁴⁷ so that the spirit by which we feel and the soul by which we live and the body by which we proceed may be gathered into one Holy Spirit, according to the apostle: “In him we live and move and are.” ⁴⁷⁷ If ever it happens that the heretics make flour for the ones sowing, from this flour there will be bread baked under the ashes that is not turned, ⁴⁷⁸ and which strangers eat. ⁴⁷ Whence now he says, And if it should yield flour, strangers shall eat it. And we should take strangers to be those about whom it is written, “The children that are strangers have lied to me.” ⁴⁸ And, in the eighteenth Psalm, “From my secret things cleanse me, O Lord, and from strange things spare your servant. If they shall have no dominion over” the just man, then he shall “be without spot,” and he “shall be cleansed from the greatest sin.” ⁴⁸¹

8:8 Israel has been swallowed up; now he has become among the nations like an unclean vessel.

The Septuagint translated “empty” instead of “unclean,” but everything else is the same. The Jews call an unclean or “empty” vessel matula, which we usually use to collect and throw out feces. He compares idolaters and heretics, who are mixed with the nations, to this uncleanness, since they do not keep the truth of God and, having been made a vessel for honor, have been changed into a vessel of reproach. ⁴⁸² For what is more unclean than a demonic spirit and the dogmas of the heretics, which have mingled them with the Gentiles? Jeconiah was like that, given up to idols, about whom God speaks through Jeremiah: “Jeconiah is without honor, like a vessel for which there is no use.” ⁴⁸³ On the other hand, Paul, who was able to say, “Do you seek a proof of Christ that speaks in me?” ⁴⁸⁴ is called a gold and silver “vessel of election.” ⁴⁸⁵ For he had wisdom and

eloquence, with which he preached the gospel of Christ. But “he is swallowed up” or “absorbed” means that, mixed with the idols and the nations, he lost his own name of Israel and Christian.

8:9-10 For they went up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself. Ephraim has given gifts to his lovers. But even though they shall have hired the nations with a wage, now will I gather them together, and they shall rest a while from the burden of the king and the princes.

Septuagint: “For they went up to the Assyrians; Ephraim has budded on its own; they have loved gifts. Therefore they shall be handed over to the nations; now will I receive them, and they shall rest a little in order to anoint kings and princes.” Israel has been swallowed up, he says, and become like an empty or unclean vessel, ⁴⁸ from which no earthenware remains, in which water can be drawn, or any small spark [struck]. And since he has become an unclean vessel, therefore “they went up to the Assyrians,” imitating a wild ass alone, not at all like sheep pastured by the Lord but gravely abusing their freedom and led away into captivity, whom the prophet bewails and says, Ephraim has given gifts to the Assyrians and has hired his lovers with a wage. Ezekiel writes about this: “Wages are given to all harlots, but you have given a wage to all your lovers,” ⁴⁸⁷ and the same has happened to you. And since they gave gifts to the nations and hired the nations with a wage for their help, they will be gathered to battle and, conquered, they will likewise be led away. And since they love to offer gifts to their adversaries, they will obtain for a while the benefit of not paying taxes to the king and the princes, until they arrive among the Assyrians, when they, like free people, will never give tribute and taxes, but they will be reduced to their final servitude. We do not doubt that the heretics, according to the error of their minds, think that, when they are going to the Assyrians, they are going upwards, not down. Whence it is said to them through Isaiah, “What has happened to you, that you all have gone up on vain housetops?” ⁴⁸⁸ The main sense of this is the prince of the Assyrians. Whence “Ephraim budded on its own,” thinking in his

presumption that he was growing, or, he became like a wild ass alone, so that, not situated in the church, he penetrated the deserts of the devil. He “loved gifts” in exchange for his error, himself promising himself rewards, or doing all things for the sake of base gain. ⁴⁸ Or certainly he gave gifts and wages to his lovers the demons, and, since he did this, he will be handed over to the nations. For just as the nations revere their corporeal images, so these think their idols, which they constructed from their own heart, gods, and therefore they will be reckoned among the number of the nations. But if, he says, they repent now and in this present age, I will still receive them. They will cease to set a little king and his princes over themselves. We should understand a “little king” to be the devil, as distinguished from a great king, who can have no fellowship with Belial but, as soon as he has been received, from the heart of believers he puts to flight the small king and his princes. ⁴ According to the Hebrew, however, those who were dispersed before will be gathered together in the church of God, and they had hired the nations for a wage and will rest from the burden of the king, about which the apostle rebukes those who have been cut off from the church, saying, “You reign without us; and I would to God you did reign,” ⁴ ¹ and who have been established by the princes whom they have in the synagogues of the devil. ⁴ ²

8:11-13a Because Ephraim has made many altars to sin, altars have become to him unto transgression (delictum). I shall write to him my manifold laws, which have been reckoned as foreign. Offer victims, offer; they shall sacrifice flesh and shall eat it, and the Lord will not receive them.

Septuagint: “Because Ephraim has made many altars, for sin altars are beloved (dilecta) for him. I shall write to them a great amount. His precepts have been reckoned for foreign beloved altars, since if they have sacrificed victims and eat the flesh, the Lord will not receive them.” Led into captivity, he says, they will cease for a while from the burden of the king and the prince. ⁴ ³ And they will endure this because the prince of Ephraim has made many altars, on which they did not sacrifice to the Lord but joined sins to sins, ⁴ ⁴ altars (altaria), that is, altars (arae), that will be turned for him into

transgression, so that, the more there are, the more his wickednesses will be multiplied. Then, as he had said above, “What shall I do to you, O Ephraim? What shall I do to you, O Judah?” ⁴ ⁵ as if unsure and seeking with what medicine he should heal the sick one and with what counsels he should draw the sinning one back to salvation. I will write to them again, he says, the laws that I gave earlier through Moses. But what is the profit in writing other further ones when he has scorned the ones that he received before? Or is it not contempt of God when, after I had ordered that there be one altar in Jerusalem, they constructed idols throughout all the mountains and hills, by which they provoked the Lord? Also, they made altars not to please me but so that, having sacrificed many victims, they might eat their flesh, according to what the Lord says in the Gospel: “Amen, amen I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” ⁴ For all their zeal for the victims is so that they may devour the sacrifices, not so that they may please God through them; nor will the Lord receive them, [sacrifices] which they sacrificed not to him but to their belly and their throat. ⁴ ⁷ But the apostle teaches that there is one altar in the church ⁴ ⁸ and one faith and one baptism; ⁴ the heretics, forsaking all of these, have constructed for themselves many altars, not to please God but for a multitude of transgressions. Therefore, they do not merit to receive the law of God, since those that they had received, they scorned before. And if they say anything about the Scriptures, it is not at all with divine words but is to be compared to the understanding of the pagans, who sacrifice many victims and eat their flesh, forsaking the one victim, Christ, and not eating his flesh, whose flesh is the food of those believing. ⁵ Whatever they do, feigning the order and rite of sacrifices, whether they give alms or promise chastity or feign humility, and with false charms deceive certain simple people, the Lord will not accept any sacrifices of this kind.

8:13b-14 Now will he remember their iniquity and will visit their sins; they shall return to Egypt. And Israel has forgotten his Maker and has built temples, and Judah has built many fortified cities, and I will send a fire on his cities, and it shall devour the houses thereof.

Septuagint: “Now will he remember their iniquities and will avenge their injustices; they have returned to Egypt. And Israel has forgotten the one who made him and has built temples, and Judah has built many walled cities, and I will send forth a fire on his cities, and it shall devour the foundations thereof.” The difference between άνομίαν, that is, iniquity, and sin is that iniquities are before the law, sin after it, and the Lord will remember the iniquity—which they committed before the law—of those who remain in their sins. But he will not remember their sins but will exact vengeance. Therefore, he will “remember their old iniquities” and visit their former sins, because they have returned to Egypt, either asking [Egypt’s] help or worshiping those gods with which they erred before, ἄπιν and μνεῦιν. ⁵ ¹ For Israel has forgotten his Maker and has built temples on the heights, consecrating all the hills and mountains and the shady trees to Baal and Ashtaroth and other idols. Judah, too, understanding that Israel has withdrawn from the love of God and that their sins have been visited, did not return to the Lord but trusted in the fortification of cities, which the Lord says he is about to destroy and devour even to his foundations. “His” doubtless means Judah’s, although some read “their” foundations, that is, those of the cities, instead of “his.” Anagogically, “iniquities,” that is άνομίαι and άδικίαι, are those things that we committed before baptism and that are forgiven us in baptism, but sins are those things that we did after baptism, about which it is also written in the psalm, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.” ⁵ ² All of which will be imputed to the heretics, so that both old iniquities and new sins will be laid to their account. For those who left Egypt through the confession of Christ have returned to Egypt by their treachery. Israel has forgotten his Maker and, having scorned his Creator, has made another god for himself. Judah, too, that is, the man of the church, by his evil works or by his perverse interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, has built himself fortified cities, not by the help of God but by the lie of the artisan, which the Lord says that he will burn with the fire of his spirit, and he will devour its βάρεις, that is, the large homes built in the style of towers, and he will overturn poorly laid foundations, that they may not set up sacrilegious temples against God. Some take the cities fortified by Judah as something good, and they try to temper what seemed to be contrary to this meaning—“I will send a fire on his cities, and it shall devour the houses thereof”—by saying that after what is perfect comes, that which is in part is destroyed. ⁵ ³ What we read in the Septuagint interpreters,

“And in Assyria they have eaten unclean things,” is not in the Hebrew and therefore should be marked with an obelus. But we can say that the Israelites, desiring Egypt, captive by the Assyrians, ate unclean things there, following Ezekiel, who describes that they ate what belonged to idolatrous sacrifices in Chaldea, and things so polluted by the filth of idols that they are compared to human feces. ⁵ ⁴ The heretics, too, whose princes are the Assyrians—about whom we have often spoken—eat unclean things among them, defiled by their filth.

9:1-2 Be not joyful, O Israel, exult not like the nations, for you have committed fornication against your God, you have loved a reward on all the corn floors. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the wine shall deceive them.

Septuagint: “Rejoice not, O Israel: and be not joyful like the nations: for you have committed fornication against your God, you have loved gifts on every corn floor. The floor and the winepress have not known them, and the wine has deceived them.” Those who have withdrawn from God, since they have come to the depths of sin and have despaired of their salvation, scorn all things. Israel, too, in turn, withdrawing from the law of God and worshiping idols, says that it is one nation from many nations, rejoicing and congratulating themselves that they had withdrawn from the knowledge of God and are a nation mixed with others, and therefore now he corrects them and says, “Do not rejoice” or be joyful or think that you are like the other peoples. For those in another manner not knowing God are punished in another manner when they withdraw from God, because a slave who knows the will of his lord and does not do it will be flogged much. ⁵ ⁵ You have thought many corn floors and winepresses the reward of your fornication, so that you might enjoy an abundance of all things; therefore the corn floor and the winepress will not make grain and wine, and the winepress will deceive them, or will deny them its wine, by which they planned to inebriate themselves. We read that under Ahab, king of Israel, and Elijah the prophet, there was a most severe famine in Samaria, such that mothers were feeding on the corpses of their sons. ⁵ At that time, literally, the corn floor and winepress

did not feed them, and the wine deceived them, and they wasted away in want. It is also said to the heretics not to exult and be joyful and think themselves similar to the other peoples. For they did not believe in God, but these worship idols under the name of God and fornicate against their God and multiply for themselves many corn floors and endless winepresses, and eat the wheat from which is made the bread of mourning ⁵ ⁷ and drink the wine of Sodom, which is treaded out with the gall of asps. ⁵ ⁸ And since they prepare for themselves various winepresses and many corn floors, therefore they are not fed from the true and only corn floor and do not drink from the winepress that the Lord Jesus treaded out, but whatever they think they have will be taken away from them by a lie. ⁵

9:3-4 They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; Ephraim has returned to Egypt and has eaten polluted things among the Assyrians. They shall not offer wine to the Lord; neither shall their sacrifices, which are like the bread of mourners, please him; all who shall eat it shall be defiled, for their bread is life for their soul; it shall not enter into the house of the Lord.

Septuagint: “They have not dwelt in the Lord’s land; Ephraim lived in Egypt and has eaten unclean things among the Assyrians. They have not offered wine to the Lord, nor have their sacrifices pleased him, because their bread is mourning; all who shall eat them shall be defiled; for the loaves of their souls shall not enter into the house of the Lord.” Not only did the corn floor and the winepress not feed them, and the wine had deceived them in the land of Israel, ⁵¹ when during three years and six months it all perished, ⁵¹¹ but the inhabitants themselves will withdraw from the land of the Lord and will be led into a foreign land, lest they live in the Holy Land, which they have polluted by their fornications. Ephraim returned to Egypt, he says, and ate polluted things among the Assyrians. About this passage someone added above, And among the Assyrians he ate polluted things, which is not in the Hebrew, about which we have already spoken. But when they are in Chaldea without temple and without altar, they shall not offer wine to the Lord but to demons, and they will not please him, they who make libations to strange gods

and are kept in captivity and eat the fruits of idolatry among the Assyrians, which are like bread of mourners. For it is not permitted to eat of the sacrifices of mourners, and if someone should eat, what was offered becomes “unclean.” The Greeks call the banquets of mourners περίδειπνα, we can say parentalia, ⁵¹² because sacrifices are made to deceased relatives. And not only the one who offered them but also the one who ate food of this kind will be “unclean,” for their bread, that is, the food that they offer, will not enter the house of the Lord, which was destroyed, burned by Babylonian fire; but it will be [the bread] of their soul. And this is the meaning: they provide for their mouth and their pleasure; for the rest, polluted things are not pleasing to me. They who withdrew from the church and returned in mind to Egypt and [the land] of the Assyrians, that is, who eat the sacrifices of demons—they will not live in the land of the Lord, and they do not offer wine to the Lord, by which they have been inebriated for their excess, and neither what they offer nor those who offer it are pleasing to him. The sacrifices of heretics are the bread of mourning and of tears, for all that they do will be turned into weeping. Nor could they hear, “Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted,” ⁵¹³ but rather they will hear, “Woe to you who now laugh, for you shall mourn” ⁵¹⁴ and weep. Whatever they offer, they offer not to God but to the dead, namely those who have invented accursed heresies, and whoever among them eats the victims will be contaminated. The blind are led into a ditch by the blind. ⁵¹⁵ Whatever they do, they do for the sake of delights, in order to deceive the people, so that they may devour the homes of widows. ⁵¹ We can say that the “bread of mourning” is fatal words, by which they speak iniquity against the Lord, ⁵¹⁷ which bread does not “enter the house” of God. For the gatherings of the heretics are called not the house of God but the dens of robbers. ⁵¹⁸

9:5-6 What will you do in the solemn day, on the day of the feast of the Lord? For behold, they have set out because of destruction; Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them, nettles shall inherit their beloved silver, the bur shall be in their tabernacles.

Septuagint: “What will you do on the day of gathering, in the day of the solemnity of the Lord? Therefore, behold, they will go from the misery of Egypt,

and Memphis shall receive them, and Machmas shall bury them, destruction shall possess their silver, thorns shall be in their tabernacles.” When the day of captivity comes, he says, and the most savage enemy attacks, what is my “solemnity”? What pleasing sacrifice do I have? Because [the enemy] appropriates my sacrifices and sets up a measure of injustice and flogs impious sons. What, therefore, will you do on the day of the feast of the Lord? Answer. And when they are silent, he answers himself, nay, with his divine eyes he sees what they will do. “Behold,” he says, they have fled to Egypt, with “misery” and destruction pressing on them and with Assyria and Chaldea desiring to bind them as captives. There Memphis will bury them, which at that time was a metropolis of Egypt, before Alexandria, which formerly was called No, received both the size of its city and its name from Alexander the Macedonian. ⁵¹ The Septuagint’s “Machmas shall bury them” is not in the Hebrew, but rather mahmad, which means beloved. From this it is clear that they were wrong because of the similarity of the letters dalet and kaph and that they put “Machmas,” the Egyptian city-state, instead of mahmad, which everyone translated beloved. For behold, they have set out because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them. We can also take this statement to be about the tribe of Judah, when, Ishmael having killed Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had put in charge of the land, the rest of the people with Jeremiah the prophet fled over to Egypt and there afterwards, the Chaldeans pursuing them, they were either captured or buried. ⁵² But we understand their beloved silver, which the nettles shall inherit, as the villas and all the villas’ ornaments, which are bought with the price of silver. What follows, the bur shall be in their tabernacles, indicates a long devastation, so that where there were once homes, there burs and nettles and thorns grow. And it is said to the heretics: When the solemn day comes, what will you do? Instead of solemn day, Aquila interpreted it “time,” from which it is clear that it does not articulate a feast day but the time of retribution, for it immediately follows: “The days of vengeance have come, the days of your retribution have come.” ⁵²¹ Behold, you have been devastated by many enemies: the Assyrians and Chaldeans have slain you, you have fled to the world and have been compared with other nations; there Memphis will bury you, which means “from the mouth,” and the meaning is that you will receive back according to your blasphemies and you will experience in your punishments what you have said.

Nettles, which will consume you with eternal fire, will inherit the silver, which means beloved things, that is, the dogmas that you have composed with your false speech. And the bur or the “thorn” will be in your tabernacles; thorns indeed spring up in the hands of those who are inebriated from the Babylonian chalice. ⁵²² And in the Gospel we read that base thoughts and the cares of this world and the clinging vices are called “thorns,” which, rising up in the vegetation, choke the grain. ⁵²³

9:7 The days of visitation have come, the days of retribution have come; know ye, O Israel, that the prophet was foolish, the spiritual man was mad, for the multitude of your iniquity and the multitude of your madness.

Septuagint: “The days of vengeance have come, the days of your retribution have come, and Israel will be afflicted like a mad prophet, like a man who had a spirit; for the multitude of your iniquities, your madness has been multiplied.” And in this passage there is a familiar error: for where we have translated, Know ye, O Israel, that is, “Israelites,” and in the Hebrew there is yad‘u, the Septuagint translated, “And it will be afflicted,” thinking yod the letter vav and reading resh instead of dalet, which [then] means either “knowledge” or “affliction” or “evil.” Therefore, the days of visitation have come, about which he said above, “What will you do in the solemn day, in the day of the feast of the Lord?” ⁵²⁴ “The days of retribution have come.” O Israel, now know your words, you who were calling foolish and mad the prophet telling you true things and prophesying by the Holy Spirit, according to what the princes in Ramoth Galaad said to Jehu: “Why came this mad man to you?” ⁵²⁵ Therefore, “for the multitude of your iniquities,” in which you have reveled wildly in wickedness, know that you, now my prophet, are mad, who have labored for this, to tread my words underfoot. Instead of madness, Aquila translates it ἐγκότησιν, which we can say in Latin as “anger” or “memory of pain.” Some interpret the “day of vengeance and retribution” as the Day of Judgment, when “Israel will be afflicted,” who now boasts that it sees God and is not ruled by the Holy Spirit, but is surrounded in various places by the demonic spirit, not knowing what to say, and saying that the Son of God is a creature and denying

that the Holy Spirit is God, and again asserting that there is one good God and another that is the creator of the world; ⁵² their madness is multifarious, since their iniquities, too, were very many. What we have called the “foolish prophet,” the Septuagint has translated “pseudo-prophet.” And lest by always repeating the same things, we should seem to mistrust the reader’s prudence, we briefly remind him that whatever is said about Israel and Ephraim in this prophet should be applied to the heretics, who, truly raving, speak lies against God.

9:8-9 The watchman of Ephraim [was] with my God: the prophet has become a snare of ruin on all his ways; madness is in the house of his God. They have sinned deeply, as in the days of Gabaa; he will remember their iniquity, and will visit their sins.

Septuagint: “The watchman of Ephraim [was] a prophet with God, a twisted snare on all his ways, they have fashioned madness in the house of God. They have been corrupted, in the manner of the days of the hill; he will remember their iniquities; he will take vengeance on their sins.” God gave princes to correct a straying people and draw them back to the right path. Whence he speaks to Ezekiel, also, “I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel.” ⁵²⁷ Therefore Jeroboam was appointed among the people like a watchman, and like “a prophet with” my “God,” that is, with the God who speaks these things to Hosea. But, according to what was written above, “you have been a snare in the watchtower, and a net spread on Tabor. And you have turned aside victims into the depth.” ⁵²⁸ Here too snare is applied to the people of Israel, because all fall in his snare, especially since he put or fashioned madness in the house of God, that is, he made a golden calf in Bethel, ⁵² for this means “house of God,” and he had sinned so deeply in wickedness that the chasm of impiety was submerged, so that it exceeds the wickedness that was once committed in Gabaa, when people, having raped the wife of a Levite returning from Bethlehem, killed her. ⁵³ We can also take the days of Gabaa to be that time when, instead of God, they chose for themselves a king from the city of Gabaa, that is, Saul. ⁵³¹ And now he says that they sinned much more gravely by choosing Jeroboam and adoring idols than at that time when they chose Saul; for here idolatry is also joined to schism, but there the worship of God remained

among the people. Therefore, he will remember their iniquity, he who now, because of his patience, is thought to have forgotten, and he will visit their sins and the wounds that have putrefied for a long time. Examining the ancient stories, I cannot find anyone who divided the church and seduced the peoples from the house of the Lord except those who were stationed as priests and prophets by the Lord, that is, watchmen. These, therefore, are turned into a “twisted snare,” sowing scandal in every place, so that whoever has entered through their ways falls and cannot stand in Christ and is led astray by various errors and brought by twisted ways to precipices. These are the watchmen of Ephraim, who have fashioned madness in the house of the Lord, that is, in the church, or in the Holy Scriptures, interpreting them perversely, or certainly in each one of the believers, who are very rightly called the house of God. ⁵³² Therefore they have been corrupted and have perished in the manner of the “days of the hill,” when they spoke iniquity against the heights and went up onto vain housetops. ⁵³³ God will remember their iniquity, through which they acted iniquitously against their neighbor, leading him out from the church, and he will visit their sins, by which they sinned against their own souls. This is what we read in the psalm: “They have laid for me a stumbling block along the path.” ⁵³⁴ For unless a man see the path of God, that is, hear the name of Christ, he will not enter by it. ⁵³⁵ Therefore the heretics, too, under the name of Christ, have placed snares near the path, so that he who believes that he treads underfoot in Christ—about whom we read, because he himself is the way ⁵³ —will tread underfoot too in the snares, they who have “fashioned madness in the house of God.”

9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the desert, like the firstfruits of the fig tree in the top thereof; I saw their fathers, but they went in to Baalpegor and were estranged to shame; and they became abominable, as those things were, which they loved.

Septuagint: “I found Israel as a grape in the desert, and as a fig on a fig tree in season I saw their fathers; but they went in to Baalpegor and estranged themselves to shame, and the abominable became as the beloved.”

In place of this last phrase, in other texts we read, “And they became beloved, like abominable things,” which accords more with the truth. Since the whole world has been deserted and does not have knowledge of God, “I have found,” he says, the people of “Israel like a grape” in the wilderness, and he says how he found him: Like the firstfruits of the fig tree, in the top thereof I saw their fathers. Therefore the people were found in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And note what is peculiar to each: the fathers are seen, the people are found, and in both there is a vine and a fig tree, under which the one who trusts in the Lord is said to rest. ⁵³⁷ But they, led out of Egypt, have fornicated with the Midianites and have gone in to Baalpegor, the idol of the Moabites, whom we can call Priapus. Finally, Baalpegor (that is, the idol of lechery) means “having in his mouth,” that is, at the highest point, “his foreskin,” to show the baseness of his virile member. And since they went in to Baalpegor, therefore they “estranged themselves” from God, enslaved to their “shame,” that is, to the idol, so that they worshiped that thing for whose sake they had withdrawn from God, according to what is written: “For by what a man is overcome, of the same also he is the slave.” ⁵³⁸ And just as those serving the gullet have their belly as their god, ⁵³ so those who serve lust have Baalpegor as their god. And they became abominable, as those things were, which they loved, he says, according to what is written in the Psalms, “Let them that make them be like to them, and every one that trusts in them,” ⁵⁴ so that they are called not only idolaters but idols. But the Lord says in his passion, “I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there was not a man with me,” ⁵⁴¹ and in the psalm, “Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint.” ⁵⁴² Since the whole world was being held in sin, the Gentiles were ignorant of God, Israel repulsed the one whom they had known before, first in the apostles and in apostolic men, the Lord found Israel a Christian people and in that sense seeing God, and he was satisfied by their most sweet fruits, the grape and the fig, which, if they are found in the desert and a time that is not yet in season, are the more delightful because of their rarity. They, however, that is, Israel, who assume for themselves the name of Christian—for this should not be understood of their fathers—went in to the idol Baalpegor, who has his foreskin in his mouth. For whatever the heretics say is deadly and cut off from the living word of God. ⁵⁴³ Or, they entered in to lust; for it is difficult to find a heretic who loves chastity, not that he ceases to prefer it with his lips but that he does not preserve it in his conscience, saying one thing and doing another; whence they were estranged from God and have their glory in their shame and have become abominable, who were once beloved in their fathers. But if we wished to read,

“The abominable have become as the beloved,” which, nevertheless, is not in the Hebrew, we say that they have become Gentiles, who are abominable, like the heretics who were beloved before among the Fathers, that is, like those and these, they are equally abominable and [involved in] what is blameworthy.

9:11-13 As for Ephraim, their glory has flown away like a bird from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. Because even if they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men. Yea, and woe to them, when I shall depart from them. Ephraim, as I saw, was a Tyre founded in beauty; and Ephraim shall bring out his children to the murderer.

Septuagint: “Ephraim has flown away like a bird; their glory in the birth and in the bearing and in the conception; because even if they should bring up their children, they will be without children among men, because woe to them; my flesh is from them. Ephraim, as I saw, offered its children for capture; and Ephraim to bring out his children for murder.” The translators disagree with each other greatly on this passage. For where we have said, Woe to them, when I shall depart from them, the Septuagint and Theodotion have translated, “Woe to them; my flesh is from them.” Having looked for the reason why there is such disparity, I think I have found this [answer]: “My flesh” in Hebrew is beshuri, and again, if we should say “my departing” or “my turning away,” it is beshori. The Septuagint, therefore, and Theodotion have changed what is “my departing” and “my turning away” into “my flesh.” Again, where we put Ephraim, as I saw, was a Tyre, the Septuagint translated θήραν, that is, “hunt” or “capture”; Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion have “hardest rock,” that is, “flint,” which in Hebrew is tsor, which, if we read it “Tsor,” means Tyre. But the Septuagint translators, thinking because of the similarity of the letters resh and dalet and it was not a resh but a dalet, read tsod, that is, “hunt” or “capture,” whence Bethsaida is called a house of hunters. We have treated the divergence of the translators; let us return to the sense. “Ephraim,” that is, the ten tribes, “has flown away like a bird” into captivity and

has left its place. He called it a “bird” to show its quick passage into Babylon. But if we read like a bird, their glory has flown away, we say that the help of God has departed from them and flown away. And what follows, from the birth and from the womb and from the conception, can be understood in two ways: the glory that has flown away from Ephraim departs also from their birth and from their womb and from their conception, that is: it deserts their children and leaves their posterity. Or at least we say that Israel had all glory in the multitude and Judah judged himself greater in it than his brother, since he was set over the ten tribes, his brother over two. Whence the Lord says that even if they bring up their children and gather together a multitude of children, they will be handed over to be killed, and then a real “woe” would oppress them, since God would have departed from them. And consequently he explains how Ephraim, now deserted, once was; it was so beautiful, he says, and defended by the help of God, as Tyre is girded by the sea; or at least, like the hardest rock that, fixed in the earth, scorns all storms and takes no heed of hurricanes and winds. But it itself, that is, Ephraim, or Tyre, which was founded in the fullness of the sea, leads out its children to captivity. Many apply this section to the times of Azael, who besieged Samaria and afflicted it for a long time with hunger, so that, besieged, they would judge it better to perish by the sword than by famine. ⁵⁴⁴ But we may say tropologically that Ephraim, that is, the heretics, like a bird have departed from the church, and have all their glory in their birth and womb and conception, if they bore many children whom the Lord threatens, even if they were brought up, and who are to be punished, not by just anyone but by the Lord himself, because they have begotten sons of fornication; and there is a true “woe” to them, since God has departed from them. And at the same time he reflects on what Ephraim was like; when he was in the church, he says, he was buffeted by the temptations of this age, like Tyre by the waves of the sea, and yet nothing opposed [to him] could stand, because he had the foundation of Christ: any house built on him cannot be overturned. ⁵⁴⁵ But now he leads his children out to the murderer, that is, to the devil. And he put it beautifully: he brings them out, that is, he makes them go outside from the church. We can say that the children of Ephraim are the most wicked thoughts and dogmas contrary to the truth that the Lord kills by the breath of his mouth, ⁵⁴ and he does not allow him to have such children and abandons them to eternal destruction. ⁵⁴⁷ But what we read in the Septuagint, “My flesh is from them; Ephraim, as I saw, offered its children for the hunt,” we understand thus: If Christ is the head of the body, that is, of the church, ⁵⁴⁸ we are all members of

Christ and of the church. ⁵⁴ Therefore, he who departs from the church tears the body of Christ; therefore Ephraim was the flesh and the member of the Lord and Savior. But he “offered his children for the hunt,” but for the hunt of those about whom it is written, “Our soul has been snatched as a sparrow out of the snare of the hunters.” ⁵⁵ And he led his children out from the church to the slaughter, or to be wounded, as people are wounded by those who launch flaming arrows, in order to both strike and burn. ⁵⁵¹

9:14 Give them, O Lord. What will you give them? Give them a womb without children, and dry breasts.

Septuagint likewise. If we abuse the things that God has given us as a blessing and change them into something contrary to what they are as given from him, it is better that they be taken from us. After all, the tongue is given to praise the Lord God, and things that are good should be said. If someone uses it for blasphemy, the psalmist prays against this one: “Let deceitful lips be made dumb, which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse.” ⁵⁵² And elsewhere, “May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things.” ⁵⁵³ Therefore, since Ephraim was exulting in its womb and conception and birth and the multitude of its peoples, ⁵⁵⁴ the prophet prays to the Lord and says, Give them, Lord. And he responds to himself, What shall I give them. And immediately he adds, Give them a sterile womb and dry breasts, that they may not have reasons for pride, so that they may be put to shame in the very thing in which they are accustomed to boast. It is clear that this can also be understood about teachers of contrary dogmas, who boast in the multitude of their peoples and in the children whom they have brought up for destruction, ⁵⁵⁵ in order to bring them out from the church and bring them to the murderer. ⁵⁵ For the devil slays as many children as the heretics have borne in error. About a soul of this kind it is said, “Blessed is the barren and undefiled, that has not known a bed in sin.” ⁵⁵⁷ For the churchman is blessed who in comparison with a heretic has not generated children in error. And in another place we read, “It is better not to have children with strength.” ⁵⁵⁸

“For the seed of the unlawful bed shall perish.” ⁵⁵ And although they may live for a long time, they will be counted as nothing, and their old age in their last days will be ignoble; for the fecund multitude of the impious is good for nothing, for we should not think that [the prophet] has prayed for a sterile womb and dry breasts corporeally [but spiritually].

9:15a All their wickedness is in Galgal, for there I hated them.

Septuagint likewise. In Galgal, Saul was anointed king, as Samuel announced the anger of God to the people. ⁵ There, he says, I hated them, and, asking for a man as king for themselves, they departed from my rule. Or, because Galgal is a place of idolatry, they committed all their wickednesses there. But because Galgal means “revelation,” or κυλισμοὶ, that is, a wallowing place, he says that all the evils of the heretics are to be revealed when God gives them a sterile womb and dry breasts and they see their ignominy. ⁵ ¹ And those who, in their pride, were boasting that they would ascend to the heights will fall headlong to the earth, or will be dragged down to the lower regions. Heretics, who speak a lie against God, are truly worthy of God’s hatred; about them it is said in what follows,

9:15b For the wickedness of their inventions, I will cast them forth out of my house. It continues, I will love them no more, all their princes are withdrawing, or “not obeying.”

The Septuagint reads similarly. And indeed there is no doubt about the heretics that they have been thrown out of the house of God, and he will love them no more, as long as they remain in error and all their princes are withdrawing from God or “not obeying,” such as Valentinus, Marcion and the rest. We can say that the princes of heretics are demons, who have indeed withdrawn from the Lord and are called princes,

according to what the Lord says in the Gospel: “For the prince of this world will come, and in me he will not find anything.” ⁵ ² And the apostle says that we are fighting against the powers and principalities and rulers of this darkness. ⁵ ³ But, following the history, one asks how he threw them, that is, the ten tribes, out of his house when they were not in the house of God. But we will call the house of God either the holy land into which they were led, or the false name of Israel, because prophets were sent to them as though to the people of God. ⁵ ⁴ But it is clear that he loves them no more and that all the kings of Israel were withdrawing from God; for even to this day they remain in captivity. Others think that what is written, I will throw them out of my house, is to be applied to the kingdom of Judah, because they too were to be led into captivity. But how can I will love them no more be reconciled with them, considering that they were afterward led back to Jerusalem, and all their princes withdrawing [be reconciled with them], considering that we read that David, Asa, Josaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah were just kings? Whence [this statement] must be transferred to the times of Christ, because, at his coming, they were thrown out of the house of God, and they will in no way be saved as Israel but as the Christian people. Whence, too, the Lord made himself a whip of cords and threw them out of the temple, because they had made the house of his Father a house of business. ⁵ ⁵

9:16-17 Ephraim is struck, their root is dried up; they shall yield no fruit. And if they should have issue, I will slay the best beloved (amantissima) fruit of their womb. God will cast them away, because they hearkened not to him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Septuagint: “Ephraim is afflicted by its roots; it is dried up, it bears no fruit. Because if they should have issue, I will slay the beloved (desiderabilia) of their womb. God will reject them, because they hearkened not to him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.” He takes his metaphor from the tree: if its roots dry up, it cannot bear fruit, and if it yields a little, it will immediately dry up in its very flower. But he says of Ephraim, whose root has dried up, that he has lost God, in whom he was

founded, or did not merit to have his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in whom they had sent his root. And because of this, he does not yield the fruit of justice, and if they did yield it, he says, I will slay the best beloved fruit of their womb, according to what he had said above: “If they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men.” ⁵ Whence God also has cast them away and made them go as captives. And they will be wanderers among the nations. We can say this very thing also about all the Jews, because [their] princes withdrew from God, ⁵ ⁷ inciting the people, so that they would demand his death. ⁵ ⁸ Therefore he cast them forth of his house and will love them no more. ⁵ He struck their root and dried it up, and they will no longer yield fruit, and if they did yield it and seemed to meditate on sacred Scripture and the law, and brought forth some knowledge and doctrine like best beloved sons from their heart, they will be cut down, since God is against them. For the God of all the prophets has cast them away, because they did not hearken to him, and they will be wanderers among the nations, having no altar, no seat, no city of their own. Whence David also says in the psalm: “Slay them not, lest at any time my people forget. Scatter them by your power.” ⁵⁷ And, in another place, “According to the multitude of their impieties cast them out, for they have provoked you, O Lord.” ⁵⁷¹ We also read about this tree in the Gospel: “For now the axe is laid to the roots of the trees. Every tree that does not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.” ⁵⁷² No one doubts that heretics cannot yield the fruit of virtues, because they have lost the Lord, in whom, according to the apostle, they should be rooted and founded; ⁵⁷³ and if they did yield [such fruit], and generate some [virtues] from the fecundity of their womb, they shall die, because the Lord is against them. Or, because their fruits are entirely things that they imagine and generate from their own heart, they will dry up and perish, and it will be clear to all that a withered root cannot bear fruits. These will be thrown away, nay, they have been thrown away by God, because they did not hearken to him, saying, “Do not move the borders, which your fathers have set.” ⁵⁷⁴ And therefore they will be wanderers among the nations, passing now to these, now to those opinions, ⁵⁷⁵ as what they once discovered no longer pleases them, but they always change old for new things and imitate the errors of the pagans.

10:1 Israel a vine full of branches, the fruit is agreeable to it; according to the multitude of his fruit he has multiplied altars, according to the plenty

of his land he has abounded with idols.

Septuagint: “Israel a vine full of branches, the fruit is abundant on it; according to the multitude of his fruits he has multiplied altars, according to the good things of their land they will build inscriptions (titulos).” Instead of vine full of branches, Aquila translated ἕνυδρον, which we can call “sap-filled,” or ἔξίτηλον, “fading,” because it loses the savor of wine. Symmachus has ὑλομανοῦσαν, “all of which has grown in its branches.” Vines that have not been pruned by the vinedresser abound in fronds and branches and waste the moisture that they ought to change into wine on the useless exertion of branches and leaves; a vine of this kind is a waste for husbandmen. Such was Israel, growing in the multitude of its peoples and not giving back fruit to its husbandman, God. ⁵⁷ Let us say it another way as well: a vine full of branches or, according to the Septuagint, εὐκληματοῦσα, that is, having good shoots and fruitful fronds, it brought forth many grapes and the fruitfulness in grapes equaled the largeness of the boughs, but this [vine] that was such earlier, before it had offended God, afterward changed its abundance of fruits into a mass of offense, so that, the more people it had, the more altars it built, and the number of idols surpassed the abundance of the land. Instead of images, the Septuagint has changed it to στήλας, which we call statues or “inscriptions,” which are properly of demons or of dead men. Thus, too, the heretics, when they were planted in the church and were growing in the house of God, were called the vine of Sorech, ⁵⁷⁷ and bore the most lush fruits; afterward, however, the more [numerous] they became, the more they multiplied altars for themselves, so that for every altar that was true, they constructed many altars to their error, and, according to the lushness of their land, they abounded in idols. The land of the heretics is fertile; receiving from God keenness of sense and of skill in order to turn the good things of nature to the worship of God, they [instead] made idols for themselves from these [good things]. For no one can construct a heresy unless he is of an ardent disposition and has the gifts of nature that were created by God the artisan. Such was Valentinus, such Marcion, who, we read, were most learned. Such was Bardesanes, ⁵⁷⁸ whose native talent even philosophers admire. These, therefore, turned the good things of their land into the “inscriptions” of dead men, because every doctrine of theirs applies not to the living but to the dead—both those

whom they worship and those whom they deceive.

10:2 Their heart is divided; now they shall die; he shall break down their images; he shall destroy their altars.

Septuagint: “They have divided their hearts; now they shall perish; he shall undermine their altars; their inscriptions shall be afflicted.” The Hebrews pass on a story of this kind, confirming their own conjecture by the authority of their Scriptures: As long as both kings and people equally were adoring golden calves and had consensus in impiety, captivity did not come. The last king of the ten tribes was Hoshea, about whom it is written that he did something evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel, who came before him. ⁵⁷ In his ninth year, Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians, took the people of Israel and led them out to the Assyrians and made them live by the river Gozen in the cities of the Medes. ⁵⁸ One asks, therefore, why under the worst kings were they not captured but [rather] under the one who began in some way to be converted to better things? To which they bring forward these [considerations]: the people first was excusing itself and was saying, “Let us obey the kings’ commands and we cannot resist their tyranny. We worship the calves whom we are compelled to adore.” But in the days of Hoshea it was commanded by the same king that the bulls not be worshiped with such zeal but that he who wished should go to Jerusalem and sacrifice to God in the temple. ⁵⁸¹ To this judgment the people, they say, objected. And this is what it [means when it] says here, Their heart is divided, that is, the heart of the king and the people, and, since no excuse remains any longer, now they will die and will be handed over to eternal captivity. For as soon as a people withdraws from the king, death comes. And what follows he says about God: He shall break down their images, he shall destroy their altars, not that God himself did this with his own hand, but in the sense that his will has been executed through the enemy. Even the heretics themselves do not deny that “their hearts are divided” and that they fight among themselves with contrary opinions, as they judge differently. Therefore they will be ruined, and the Lord will break down their images, or “undermine their altars,” which they made out of their own heart, and he will

destroy the inscriptions by whose names each [sanctuary] is called, ⁵⁸² and they applied their names throughout their lands, so that they are no longer said to be of Christ’s church but of this [god] or that.

10:3-4 For now they shall say: We have no king; for we fear not the Lord, and what shall a king do to us? You speak words of an unprofitable vision, and you shall make a pact (foedus), and judgment shall spring up as bitterness on the furrows of the field.

Septuagint: “For that reason now they shall say: We have no king, because we did not fear the Lord; what, then, shall a king do to us? Speaking words, false pretexts, he will settle the covenant, judgment will rise like grass on the desert of a field.” After God has broken down Israel’s images and has destroyed their altars or statues, ⁵⁸³ and the final captivity has come, they say, We have no king. And lest they think that this judgment has been long protracted, he has added, Now they shall say, when they are destroyed, when they judge that Hoshea, their last king, has been taken from them. But the king has been taken away from us because “we did not fear the Lord,” the true king. For what can a human king do? Say what you want, breathe your old errors, promise yourselves prosperity that will be turned to the contrary; you will make a pact, not at all with God but with a lie. And after the pact, which the Septuagint translates “covenant,” there will spring up for you not the fertile crop of grain, not, indeed, barley, the food of cattle, not various vegetables, not vines that bring forth their fruits in the autumn; the trees will not grow apples that change the moisture of the earth into various flavors; but [rather] bitterness “will arise” for you, nay, the judgment of bitterness, or ἄγρωστις, which we translated “grass” in Latin. ⁵⁸⁴ For it is a kind of vegetation similar to the reed that sends up a stem and down a root through individual joints, and again the stems and cuttings are seedbeds of vegetation in turn, and thus, if it is not dug up completely by the roots, it soon makes all the fields similar to briar-bushes. Then, too, if any part of it is dry, while it has a joint, it falls on the cultivated land and fills everything with grass. We have said this following the Septuagint translators; on the other hand, in the Hebrew the text has “dew,” which is translated as bitterness, that is, the judgment of bitterness,

about which the Lord also speaks in the Gospel: “For judgment I am come into this world,” ⁵⁸⁵ and about others it is written that they “shall receive greater judgment.” ⁵⁸ The disciples of contrary dogmas, too, when their lies have been destroyed and their altars and sacred woods overthrown, will say [when it is too] late, We do not have the kings who commanded us previously, and, when they deceived us, “we did not fear the Lord”; for what did it profit us to follow them, whose help we did not experience in need? They will say these things as they seek some excuse, in order that it may seem that they did not err on their own but through very bad teachers. Whence too the Septuagint translated their words as false excuses that the prophet shuns, saying, “Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.” ⁵⁸⁷ We freely applaud our vices and, overcome by our desires, we plead the weakness of the flesh or the hard commands of our elders; whence the words and visions of the heretics are useless. And they will make a pact, not, indeed, with God but with bitterness, which, when the Day of Judgment comes, will spring forth on the furrows of their field, so that those who sowed in joy shall reap in tears; ⁵⁸⁸ those who have laughed shall weep, those who had consolation shall mourn. ⁵⁸

Book Three

I am not unaware, Pammachius, that I am hammering out a most difficult little work of the Twelve Prophets, at least that it is overlooked by the Latins, and that it may prove our boldness rather than show forth our knowledge. But because we can deny you nothing when you encourage, nay, command, and since the two copper coins of the poor woman surpassed the wealth of the many bringing [offerings] from their abundance to the treasury of God, ⁵ we will discharge whatever we can, first for God, then for you, who are of God. And we always remember that little line: “Even Pollio himself is making new poems.” ⁵ ¹ And although I rejoice that you are an open patron through the right of friendship, I am very much afraid of the silent judgment of your learning, and I fear your praise more than I fear my enemies’ detraction. For jealousy takes away their credibility, and they should be called not so much judges as accusers. But you who love express an opinion based not on persons but on realities, although love

also accepts error, and that saying of Theophrastus is beautiful, which Cicero translated, more according to the sense than to the letter, τυφλὸν τὸ φιλοῦν περὶ τὸ φιλούμενον, that is, “the judgments of those who love are blind.” Nevertheless, I more desire on this account that you slip not because of hatred but because of love. ⁵ ² We are dictating a third book on the prophet Hosea, and we have arrived at the cows of Bethaven; and as we draw aside the veils of interpretation, you ought to say those prophetic words, “Come, Spirit, from the four winds,” ⁵ ³ so that, passing with quick course the greedy rocks of those setting snares, we may bear the reward of God, as shipwreck rages on every side, to the safest harbors.

10:5-6 The inhabitants of Samaria have worshiped the cows of Bethaven, for the people thereof have mourned over it, and its wardens exulted over it in its glory, because it is departed from it. For itself also is carried into Assyria, a present to the avenging king, shame shall fall on Ephraim; and Israel shall be confounded in his own will.

Septuagint: “Those who live in Samaria will remain at the calf in the house of ὤν, for the people thereof have mourned over it. And just as they provoked him, they will rejoice over his glory, because it was taken from it; and, binding it for the Assyrians, they took gifts for their king Jarib in [his] house. Ephraim will experience shame, Israel shall be confounded in his own counsel.” We discussed rather fully above what Bethaven is, which the Septuagint translated “house of ὤν,” and who King Jarib is, whose name means “avenger.” ⁵ ⁴ In Bethaven, therefore—that is, Bethel—the inhabitants of Samaria worshiped golden cows, which [the prophet] mockingly called not calves of the masculine sex but cows, that is, females, namely so that Israel should worship not only calves as gods but cows as goddesses. And in order to show that the one calf in Bethel should be identified with the cows of Bethaven, he did not add the people mourned over them but over it, that is, over the golden calf. But if the people mourned, why did the wardens exult over it? The Hebrews have the tradition that the golden calves were secretly removed by the priests and that bronze and gilded ones were substituted for them. Therefore, while the people were mourning in the time of necessity and distress, that even the golden calves

were, among other gifts, directed to the Assyrian kings and particularly to the king Sennacherib from the king of Israel, the wardens were exulting, because their deception could not be exposed or detected. And this is what it says: Its wardens, that is, of the calf, exulted over it in the glory of the people, that is, in the calf, which [the people] had as its glory; because it had departed from it, that is, from the people, and was transferred “to the Assyrians.” And in order that we may know, they say, that this is what is said, the following verse shows it clearly: For itself also is carried into Assyria, a present to the avenging king. And it immediately follows, Shame shall fall on Ephraim, and Israel shall be confounded in his own will, or “in his own counsel.” For the deception of the gilded calves detected by the king of Israel is indicated by the letters, and the very thing wherein they thought they would be pleasing [to the people] is the source of their being deeply shamed, and they offend those to whom they had sent the gifts, because the latter thought that this was done not by the stratagem of the priests but by the deception and “counsel” of the kings. We read in the book of Kings that Menahen, king of Israel, sent Pul, king of the Assyrians, a thousand talents of silver, in order that his hand might be with him, that is, in order that he supply him help, among which [gifts] many think that golden calves were brought, too. ⁵ ⁵ Instead of “Jarib” in this passage, Symmachus translated ὑπερμαχητῆ, that is, leader and defender. In the spiritual understanding [of the passage], we must work to apply all these things to the heretics. The heretics have worshiped the cows of Bethaven, or “the house of ὤν,” which means “work,” they who were boasting that they were living in the observance of the commands of God, that is, in Samaria, and, on the Day of Judgment when judgment will spring up like bitterness in the furrows of the field, ⁵ the people will mourn over it, that is, over the calf, and over the perverse dogma that they thought was God. But he did not say that the wardens will exult but that they exulted, referring in the past tense to their glory, by which they once devised glorious things, to the extent that the people departed from God, or that the very glory of God departed from the people—God by whom they had been abandoned. But whatever the heretics say and put together in beautiful speech, they send gifts to their king the devil, referring all things to him, whence shame will fall on them for eternity, and they will be confounded in their desires. Someone in his commentary [on passages] above and in this place has left it written that King Jarib, that is, the avenging king, should be understood as Christ. We very much dislike this [interpretation]. For it is impious that what is

understood historically about the Assyrian king should be applied tropologically to Christ. ⁵ ⁷

10:7-8 Samaria has made her king to pass as foam on the face of the water. And the high places of the idol, the sin of Israel shall be destroyed. The bur and the thistle shall grow up over their altars; and they shall say to the mountains: Cover us; and to the hills: Fall on us.

Septuagint: “Samaria has cast off her king like brushwood on the face of the water. And the altars of ὤν, the sins of Israel shall be taken away. Thorns and thistles shall grow up over their altars; and they shall say to the mountains: Cover us; and to the hills: Fall on us.” Instead of foam, which the Septuagint and Theodotion translated φρύγανον, that is “brushwood,” dry grass and desiccated cuttings, which are used for the oven and to burn, Symmachus recorded ἐπίζεμα, wishing to illustrate the rather high waters of a boiling pot that rise up as foam and bubbles, which the Greeks call πομφόλυγας. Therefore, just as foam that is on the water is quickly dissolved, so the kingdom of the ten tribes will swiftly be ended, and the high places will perish, that is the bamot, about which it is written, “Yet the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense in the high places.” ⁵ ⁸ But these high places are “of ὤν,” or ’aven, that is, of the idol, which means “useless,” because indeed the idol is a useless sin of Israel. But when the idol and their high places have been scattered, the bur and the thistle shall grow up over their altars, the sign of final desolation, so that not even the walls and the last traces of buildings are left. At that time, they shall say to the mountains: Cover us; and to the hills: Fall on us. The Lord says that this is to be fulfilled in the final time of the Jewish captivity. Therefore, we know that whatever is said here against the ten tribes or against all Israel can be transferred τυπικώς ⁵ to the whole people, too, so that, as others surmise, when the Romans take Jerusalem and overthrow the temple, or when the Day of Judgment comes, fearing with a great horror, they shall say to the mountains: Cover us, and to the hills: Fall on us, preferring to die than to see the things that bring death. But the spiritual Samaria of wickedness, which had separated itself from the

people of God, has made its king pass quickly, namely, the talk of the heretics, and their doctrine like foam or “brushwood” on the face of the water—of these two, the former is immediately dissolved as soon as it is seen; the latter is easily taken from the wave caps and thrown into the fire. Such are the heretics, bloated with foaming words and mixing [their own] precepts, which are to be burned, with the baptism of Christ and his words. All of which ¹ will pass away, and the magnificent words on which they worked, by which Israel sinned, which means those “of ὤν,” will be dispersed on the spot; and such will be the desolation of that most evil doctrine that “thorns and thistles grow up over its altars.” It is clear to everyone that “thorns and thistles” grow where there is no cultivation of the fields. Those thorns are what choke the seed ² and do not allow to grow what springs from the hand of the drunken one; Israel made them in place of the grape. For the Lord waited for them to make grapes, and they made thorns, or the bur that is similar to the grape and afflicts with its bitter taste the mouth of those eating it. And so, when the time of judgment comes, and everything is overthrown, they will say to the moutains, which they formerly thought high, and to their teachers, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us. But something more sacred should be explained in relation to these phrases: They will say to the hills, that is, to the holy ones who have a real and not a feigned height, cover us. For “blessed are they whose sins are covered.” ³ And to the hills, which do not have a natural height, which they long thought had some elevation, fall on us. For the mountains will cover and the hills fall; but these things will happen out of fear and incredible terror, through which both mountains and hills will be humbled.

10:9-10 From the days of Gabaa, Israel has sinned; there they stood. The battle in Gabaa against the children of iniquity shall not overtake them. According to my desire I will chastise them; the peoples shall be gathered together against them, when they shall be chastised concerning their two iniquities.

Septuagint: “From where the hills are, Israel has sinned; there they stood. The war on the hill against the children of iniquity does not overtake them. He came to chastise them, and the peoples shall be gathered together against them, when

they have been chastised for their two iniquities.” From that day on which Benjamin basely and cruelly killed the wife of the Levite in the city of Gabaa, ⁴ all Israel has sinned against me, not because he has avenged the injustice and vindicated the crime with blood but because, from husbandly grief, he hastened to battle and did not wish to vindicate the sacrilege against his God; he neglected the ephod and teraphim in the house of Micah that were being adored as idols. ⁵ Here, therefore, Israel stood; there he held back his step, in order to walk no longer in the ways of the Lord. Therefore, battle or captivity shall not overtake them on account of Gabaa, as they think; for there they did well to pursue the children of iniquity, but I will chastise them, he says, and instruct them in the whole will of my mind, and I will gather together against them a multitude of peoples, because they committed two iniquities, by vindicating man and neglecting the injustice to their God. Or two iniquities because they sinned first with the idols of Micah and second with the calves of Jeroboam. Or at least we can call the two calves of Samaria in Dan and Bethel the two iniquities, about which Jeremiah also writes: “For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken the fountain of living water and have dug themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.” These two iniquities broke out against the two commands of the Decalogue in which it is said, “I am the Lord your God; there shall not be other gods apart from me.” ⁷ The Septuagint translated Gabaa “hills.” Therefore, from the days of the “hills, Israel has sinned,” when they left the mountains of the church and descended to the heretical hills or slopes, thinking that they were more learned than the church is and that they had found something more profound. “There they stood”: that is, they persevered in error. And some have interpreted what follows, “The battle shall not overtake them on the hill,” as meaning that, since they bore “children of iniquity” and, withdrawing from the church, began to be in the hills, the battle will not overtake them when persecution comes, because the devil does not wish to fight his own. Others interpret it thus: Since Israel has sinned from the days of the hills, and stood there and was not able to walk farther, should he not be overtaken in the hills in battle? Should not men of the church fight against him, to destroy them “on account of the children of iniquity”? If they are overtaken and overcome, they cannot bear any more [sons]. And at the same time the Lord promises that he will chastise and instruct them, so that when the teachers have been overcome, their own students, whom they formerly deceived, will be gathered together against them, and they will see chastisement because of their two iniquities, because they both left the church, the font of the Lord, and dug

for themselves broken cisterns, ⁸ namely the caves of the heretics, which cannot hold water, that is, the doctrine of the Savior and the mystery of baptism.

10:11 Ephraim is a heifer taught to love to tread out corn, but I passed over on the beauty of her neck; I will ride on Ephraim, Judah shall plough, Jacob shall break the furrows for himself.

Septuagint: “Ephraim is a heifer”—or a cow, for ‘eglah in Hebrew, that is, μόσχος and δάμαλις, which can mean both—“Ephraim,” therefore, “is a heifer educated to love contention, but I will come over on the beauty of her neck; I will mount Ephraim and pass over Judah in silence; Jacob shall be strengthened in himself.” This passage, rather everything that follows this section, is enveloped in great obscurity. Therefore we who are trying to explain and the prudent reader also should attend equally, so that if we cannot discover the truth, which is most difficult, at least we may discover an idea close to the truth. The divine word has the habit of expressing the truth of history through tropology and metaphor. Therefore, Ephraim is like a “cow” or heifer that learned from its youth to tread out the cornfloor and draw iron rings over the heaps of grain, so that that chaff is separated from the wheat, and it has not only learned but, by repetition, has begun to love what it has been taught. And he says, I passed over on the beauty of her neck. The Hebrew word ‘abarti, that is I passed over, especially when said by God, always means wounds and misfortunes. So the exterminator in Egypt is reported as having “passed over.” ¹ Therefore, since Ephraim, a “cow” or heifer, loves to tread out the corn floor, I, he says, have passed over on the beauty of her neck, and I have conquered the bulging muscles of their necks, having placed a yoke on them. Why should I remember the yoke of the law? I myself have mounted on it and, as I was thus laboring, Judah, that is, the two tribes, began to cut the fields with the plow and turn over the earth in the furrows. But while Ephraim was carrying the yoke and Judah was plowing, Jacob broke up furrows for itself. Here we understand Jacob, the twelve tribes, in distinction from Israel and Judah, because they began to break the soil with hoes and crumble the earth, so that, having been softened, it might receive the seed, and so that the fecund field might bud forth after a short while.

Instead of treading the corn or “threshing floor,” the Septuagint translated “contention,” and the meaning is that, because Ephraim does not wish to receive the yoke of the law, I will pass over and mount “on the beauty of her neck,” in order that the contentious and wanton cow may learn to work, which it does not wish to do. Judah, however, will plow of his own accord, because he has a temple, and will live in the law, in order eagerly to prepare all the fields of the twelve tribes to be sowed. And the sense of the following part in the Septuagint, “I will mount on Ephraim and pass over Judah in silence; Jacob shall be strengthened in himself,” can be that I will impose captivity on Ephraim, who is contentious and does not wish to bear the burdens of the law. But Judah I will leave for a little while, and I will say nothing about him, but whoever both from Ephraim and from Judah observes my precepts “will be strengthened in himself” and will be called Jacob. Anagogically, it can be said that Ephraim, who was instructed in the law of God, in order to tread out the corn floor of the Scriptures and meditate on them day and night, ¹¹ has begun “to love contention” and to throw off the yoke of the law, and to contend against men of the church to the subversion of those listening. Therefore, the Lord will either press with the yoke that neck raised high and promising itself lofty things or, himself passing over it, will tread it underfoot with his feet and will ride on it, so that it may know that it has a Lord. Judah, however, that is, the man of the church, will plow, persevering in the work begun. Or, “I will pass over Judah in silence,” he says. For “they who are healthy need not the physician, but they who are sick.” ¹² But Jacob, which means “supplanter,” daily supplants vices and sins and receives his brother’s birthright and is the inheritor of his father’s portion, ¹³ and sleeps in Bethel, which means “house of God,” ¹⁴ and breaks up the furrows and soil, so that the earth may receive with its softened lap the seed lying on it and may yield a hundred measures of barley or, as it is in the Hebrew, a hundredfold. For it is not to be believed that the patriarch Isaac busied himself with barley and not with grain. ¹⁵ Until this very day, Jacob, the man of the church, breaks up the clods of history and the hardness of the letter into parts and divides them spiritually, so that they can yield spiritual fruits. Indeed, we read that the Lord did the same thing, breaking into pieces the five loaves of the law, which the people could not eat whole, so that he might give them through the hands of the apostles to be eaten by believers. ¹ And the Septuagint’s “Jacob shall be strengthened in himself” shows that every person working is working for himself, in order that he may

obtain eternal fruits.

10:12 Sow for yourselves in justice, and reap in the mouth of mercy. Break up your fallow ground, but the time to seek the Lord is when he shall come who shall teach you justice.

Septuagint: “Sow for yourselves in justice, vintage for yourselves the fruit of life; light for yourselves the light of knowledge, because it is the time; seek the Lord, until the fruits of justice come to you.” He preserves the analogy from farmers already taken up. He had said that Ephraim is a heifer taught to love and relish treading out the corn floor, and that he rode on his neck and that Judah has ploughed and that Jacob has broken up the furrows or clods. ¹⁷ Now he commands that they sow for themselves by penitence and sow in justice, that is, in the law, and reap in mercy, that is, in the grace of the gospel, for there where it has “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” here [in the Gospel] we read, “If anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other.” ¹⁸ And when you sow in justice and reap in mercy, break up your propitious fallow ground. And he provides the reasons why they should sow, why reap, why break up the propitious fallow ground. He says, The time to seek the Lord is when he shall come, Christ the Savior, who shall teach you justice, which you now hope for in the law: “For the end of the law is Christ, unto justice to everyone who does good.” ¹ Where we said, Reap in the mouth of mercy, the Septuagint translated, “Vintage for yourselves the fruit of life”; and reaping is more fitting for seed than vintage; but the very same who is the fruit of life is also the wood of life. And where we put, Break up your fallow ground, they changed it into, “Light for yourselves the light of knowledge,” so that from the works and commands of the law we may merit to have knowledge, according to what we read in a certain book, “You have desired wisdom; keep the commands, and God will give it to you.” ² For the one who turns commands into work “sows in justice” and will reap from her “the fruit of life.” Whence we also read elsewhere, “The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes.” ²¹ And Isaiah says to the Lord, “Your precepts are a light on the earth.” ²² And elsewhere, “By your commandments I

have had understanding.” ²³ Those, too, who have been separated from the church and have falsely assumed the name of Christians for themselves are commanded to do penance and to receive both covenants; that in the old they may sow justice and in the new reap mercy and may “light for themselves the light of knowledge” or break up their fallow ground and “seek the Lord,” who can teach them true justice, and that they may destroy false teachers, from whom they do not learn justice but iniquity.

10:13a You have ploughed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity; you have eaten the fruit of a lie.

Septuagint: “Why do you conceal wickednesses and vintage his iniquities; you have eaten a lying fruit.” I am forced against my will to discuss rather frequently the characteristics of the Hebrew language, for we do not, after the custom of rhetoricians, repeat opinions, gather words, or excite those hearing or reading to our praises by our declamations, but we try to explain to men things that are obscure, especially things of a foreign language. Above, where we translated “Judah will plow,” ²⁴ in Hebrew it reads yaharosh, because of the yod as the first letter, which the Septuagint, thinking it to be a vav, translated, “and shall I pass over in silence?” Here, too, in the Hebrew harashtem is written, which we have rendered, You have ploughed, where the Septuagint translated, “Why do you conceal,” an error similar to the one above, translating “silence” instead of “ploughing.” But this is the sense of the statements: I have passed over on the neck of Ephraim, a heifer contentious and loving to tread out grain; and I rode, so that, as Judah ploughs and breaks up the furrows, Jacob should tread out the corn floor ²⁵ and bear the heat of the sun. ² And I warned them to sow in justice and reap in mercy and make fallow ground for themselves and recognize that this is the time for seeking the Lord, the time in which he will come who will teach us justice. ²⁷ Even as I was commanding these things and wishing to receive from the propitious fallow ground the fruits of justice and mercy, they ploughed impiety, because they acted impiously against the Lord, abandoning their Creator and worshiping idols, and they reaped iniquity, receiving back from the bad seed,

bad fruits, from which they made not only bread baked under the ashes ²⁸ but false and “lying” bread, which deceived the one eating it with empty hope. ² The heretics are such a sort, they who plough with devised speech and protect or hide impiety, so that it does not appear to be impiety but is believed to be piety. Therefore, because they said in their heart, “‘There is no God,’ they are corrupt, and are become abominable,” ³ and they reaped or “vintaged iniquities.” For just as avarice is the root of all evils, ³¹ so the root of all sins and crimes is impiety: he who ploughs or sows it reaps iniquities. Therefore those who ploughed impiety and reaped iniquities have eaten the fruit of a lie, preaching every false thing to the deceived peoples, in order that they not seek the true bread that came down from heaven ³² but the bread of a lie, which chokes and kills those consuming it.

[10:13b] Because you have trusted in your ways, in the multitude of your strong ones,

10:14-15 a tumult shall arise among your people and all your fortresses shall be destroyed; as Zalmunna was destroyed by the house of him who judged Baal in the day of battle, the mother being dashed in pieces on her children, so has Bethel done to you, because of the evil of your iniquities.

Septuagint: “Because you have hoped in your chariots, in the multitude of your strength,” 10:14-15 “destruction shall arise among your people and all your walled places shall be lost; as the princes of Zalmunna from the house of Jerubbaal in the days of war dashed a mother in pieces on her children, so shall I do to you, house of Israel, because of your evils.” So you have eaten the fruit of a lie ³³ and, in everything that you have conceived, your vain hope has deceived you; because you trusted, O Ephraim, in the ways of your idolatry, for these are your ways, having hope not in God but in

the strength of your army. And so a tumult shall arise among your people, which in Hebrew is sha’on, that is, the sound and the roaring of a howling army: as they are crying out, all your fortresses shall be destroyed, and what you judged fortified and safe will lie open to the enemy, and thus will be destroyed, just as Zalmunna, the prince of the Midianites, was destroyed and trampled underfoot, killed by the house of Jerubbaal. ³⁴ Doubtless this means Gideon, who, from the fact that he destroyed the temple of Baal and cut down his grove, and he [Baal] could not avenge himself, was given the name Jerubbaal, that is, “let Baal avenge himself,” ³⁵ so that, just as Zalmunna killed children in the presence of their mothers, and even the mothers were eventually killed, so your sons, too, O Ephraim, will be killed in your presence, you who are yourself to be slain. One may ask where it is written that Zalmunna killed a mother over her children; we read in the book of Judges as Gideon speaks to the prince of Midian, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” ³ Therefore, just as Zalmunna was destroyed by Jerubbaal—whom some incorrectly judge to be Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who led the ten tribes— and was destroyed, as it is in the Hebrew, by Arbel, meaning the same thing as Jerubbaal but in a shorter and clearer way, so has Bethel done to you, O Israel, because of your evils, by which you set up a golden calf and have venerated the Egyptian gods. Instead of Bethel, which means “house of God,” the Septuagint translated “house of Israel,” which is not in any way in the Hebrew. We have escaped somehow the jagged places; now, letting out our sails for the deep, let us pass through to the open sea of allegory. Because you have trusted, O Ephraim, in your ways, or “in your chariots”—about which it is written, “Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; but we will be magnified in the name of the Lord our God” ³⁷—and have trusted in the multitude of your strong ones, whom you have invigorated for yourself with false knowledge, therefore a tumult shall rise and a din among your people. For whatever the heretics say, they have not a voice explaining opinions but a tumult and crying and din. And all your fortresses, or “all your walled places,” shall be destroyed—for they were fortified and constructed not by the testimonies of the Scriptures but by dialectic art and the arguments of philosophers—just as Zalmunna was once destroyed by Gideon, when the mother had been killed over her sons. ³⁸ And the eightysecond Psalm recalls this story, where it remembers Zalmunna as being among the other leaders of Midian, saying, “Do to them,” Lord—doubtless meaning to those who entered a pact or covenant against God—“as you did to Midian and to Sisera.” ³ And, a little later, “Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeeb, and Zebah, and Zalmunna, all their princes, who have said: Let us possess the

sanctuary of God for an inheritance.” ⁴ For in this psalm, too, the heretical leaders are described who tried to lay claim for themselves to the altar of God. And what follows, So has Bethel done to you, because of the evil of your iniquities, is properly adapted to the princes of the heretics, because Bethel has done it to them, the Bethel that they call Bethel, that is, the house of God, and a false church; so the sense is: Thus will your church do to you, which you call the house of God; moreover, from the fact that it is held by you, it should be called Bethaven, that is, the house of the idol, because of the “multitude of your evils.”

11:1-2 As the morning passes, so has the king of Israel passed away. Because Israel was a child, and I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. They called them, so they went away from before their face. They offered victims to Baalim and sacrificed to images.

Septuagint: “Early they have been thrown out, the king of Israel has been thrown out, because Israel was a very little one, and I loved him, and I called my sons out of Egypt. Just as I called them, so they themselves went away from before my face. They offered victims to Baalim and burned incense to graven things.” He explicates the same meaning by various figures. Above, he said, “Samaria made her king pass as foam upon the face of the water,” ⁴¹ because foam and bubbles floating on the top of water are quickly dissolved; now, he records the same subject matter with a different simile. For just as the rise of dawn and daybreak and the beginning of the day, which is called morning, quickly passes between the alternation of night and the sun, so that the day grows light as soon as night ends, just so the king of Israel, that is, of the ten tribes, will quickly pass. And he lays out the blessings that God conferred on him. He says, While he was a child and a “very little one” and was held captive in Egypt, I loved him so much that I sent my servant Moses, and out of Egypt I called my son, of whom I said in another place, “Israel is my firstborn son.” ⁴² And Israel is indeed expressed in the singular but is understood to be plural, like “people” and “Ephraim” and “Judah,” and if there is a great number in a singular number, he who is contained in this number remembers the old history, that [God] indeed called them through Moses and Aaron, who [in turn] called them to leave Egypt; but they, called by them, withdrew from their face, turning their back to him and

indicating the hardness of their heart by the movement of their body. And it did not suffice for them to scorn those calling them, but they offered victims to Baal and “to graven things” and “burned incense to images.” We read that they adored Baal first under Ahab king of Israel, who married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, and brought the idol of the Babylonians and Phoenicians into Samaria. ⁴³ Therefore he joins in one phrase sins distant in time, how first they were called out of Egypt and were termed “sons,” then, in the wilderness, withdrew from God, worshiping Baalpegor rather than God; ⁴⁴ and afterward in the Holy Land, they served the Baals and Ashtaroth and other idols. And we understand that the heretics and their king, the devil, or their heresiarch, passed like the daybreak; God loved them in their infancy, when they believed in the church and were “very little” and bore the name of Christ; and he called them from the distress and darkness of Egypt. But he called them through the apostles and teachers of the church. And although they were called by my leaders, he says, they withdrew from their face and adored Baalpegor, that is, they served their vices and lust, and afterward they offered victims to the Baals and to images that they had made for themselves. For each of the heretics has his own gods, and whatever they imitate, they make as a “graven” or molten “image.” Where we said, Out of Egypt I called my son, the Septuagint translated, “Out of Egypt I called my sons,” which is not in the Hebrew, and it is clear that Matthew took his testimony from this passage according to the Hebraic truth. ⁴⁵ Therefore, let those who disparage our interpretation give the Scripture from which the Evangelist took this testimony and interpreted it about the Lord and Savior, when he was led out from Egypt into the land of Israel. And when they are not able to find it, let them cease wrinkling their foreheads and raising their eyebrows and crinkling their noses and cracking their knuckles. ⁴ Julian Augustus [the Apostate], in the seventh book that he vomited forth against us, that is, us Christians, misrepresents this passage and says that Matthew the Evangelist applied what was about Israel to Christ, so that he might mock the simplicity of those who thought it was about the nations. We will respond briefly to him: first, Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew letters, which no one could read if they were not from among the Hebrews. Therefore, he did not do it to mock the Gentiles. But if he did wish to mock the Hebrews, he was either foolish or ignorant, foolish if he created an obvious lie, ignorant if he did not realize what these things were speaking about. The book itself excuses him from

[the charge of] foolishness, because it was composed prudently and in an orderly way; we cannot call him ignorant whom we know, from the other testimonials of the Scriptures, to have had knowledge of the law. It remains that we should say that what precedes typologically in other respects applies in truth and in its fulfillment to Christ, which we knew the apostle did in [describing] the two mountains, Sinai and Zion, and Sarah and Hagar. ⁴⁷ And it is not true that, because the apostle Paul referred these things to the two covenants, Sinai or Zion is not a mountain or that there was no Sarah or Hagar. Therefore, what is thus written, “Israel was a very little one, and I loved him,” and out of Egypt I called my son, ⁴⁸ is said indeed about the people of Israel, who are called out of Egypt, who are loved, who were called in the time after the error of their idolatry something like an “infant” and a “very little one”; but in its completion [this] is referred to Christ. For Isaac, too, was a type of Christ because he himself carried the wood of his future death, ⁴ and Jacob because he had Leah, whose eyes were sore, and Rachel, a beautiful wife. ⁵ In Leah, who was older, we discern the blindness of the synagogue, in Rachel the beauty of the church, and although they were types of our Lord and Savior in part, not everything that they are said to have done should be believed to have been done as a type of him. For a type indicates a part, but if the whole comes beforehand in the type, then it is no longer a type but should be called the truth of history. We have said these things briefly as in an annotation; now let us return to what remains.

11:3-4 And I was like a nurse to Ephraim, I carried them in my arms, and they knew not that I cured them. I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love. And I will be to them as one that takes off the yoke on their jaws and I came down to him that he might eat.

Septuagint: “And I bound Ephraim, I took him on my arm; and they knew not that I healed them in the corruption of men. I drew them out with the bands of my love. And I will be to them as a man that gives slaps on their jaws; and I will look to him, prevailing over him.” The Hebrew and the version of the Septuagint translators differ greatly between

themselves. Let us try, therefore, to weave together the history following the Hebrew, and the anagogy following the Septuagint. The one who said above, “Israel was a child, and I loved him: and I called my son out of Egypt,” ⁵¹ and afterward added the evil that he had committed, “They offered victims to Baalim, and sacrificed to images,” ⁵² now tells with what love he loved Israel, according to what we read in Deuteronomy: “The Lord your God has carried you, as a man is accustomed to carry his little son, all the way that you have walked, until you came to this place.” ⁵³ And, in another place, “He spread his wings, and took him and carried him on his shoulders.” ⁵⁴ I, he says, who was a father, became a nurse, and myself carried my very little one in my elbows, and lest he be harmed in the wilderness and frightened by the heat or the darkness, I was a cloud in the day, a pillar of fire in the night, ⁵⁵ so that I might enlighten and heal by my light those whom I protected, and, when they had sinned and made for themselves the head of a calf, I gave them an opportunity for repentance, ⁵ and they did not know that I was curing them and binding up the wound of their idolatry by the space of forty years and was giving them back their former health. But I cured them on account of the cords and bands of love, by which I had bound to me Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For, in place of Adam, Aquila, Symmachus, the Septuagint and Theodotion translated “all men,” so that they said, “with the cords of men I will draw them, with the bands of love.” And what follows, I will be to them as one that takes off the yoke, where Symmachus translated, “And they thought that I was placing the yoke on their jaw,” is taken in two ways; either I took away from them the yoke of all the nations around, or they judged my law to be like the very heavy weight of a yoke. And I gave him manna as food in the desert, that he might eat, ⁵⁷ for this is what he is saying, And I came down to him that he might eat, which Symmachus translated, “And I sent food down to him”—not that God came down to him but that he made the food of manna come down to him. Alternatively, I loved them so and was so merciful a shepherd that I used to carry the sick sheep myself on my shoulders; ⁵⁸ but they themselves did not know that I was curing them by my suffering and that I, who am a lover of all men, was drawing them to believe with the bands of love, according to what is written in the Gospel: “No man comes to me except the Father, who has sent me, draw him.” ⁵ And they judged my light yoke to be most heavy, and I came down to them, leaving the kingdom of the heavens, so that I might eat with them, the form of a man having been assumed; ¹ or I gave them to eat of my body, myself both food and table companion.

Let us pass to the spiritual understanding in accordance with the Septuagint translators, lest, should we wish to explain both versions according both to the historical and to the anagogical, we should increase the size of the book. As they offered victims to the Baalim ² that they had made from their own hearts and, even while I called to those who fled from my face—for so it is in the Septuagint —I, the most merciful Lord, was “binding Ephraim’s feet,” lest he flee farther from me; for this is what συνεπόδισα means. But I was binding them by the testimonies of the Scriptures and by the discussion of the church’s teachers, so that, in its arms, it might hold them, [who were] contained by patience and not understanding that the patience of God was the occasion of their salvation. Whence “in the corruption of men,” namely of the teachers, who had deceived them, “I stretched out” the warmth of faith to them, who were contracted by the coldness of faithlessness, and I “bound them,” as people pushing me away, “by the bands of my love.” And since they were not running of their own accord but were being drawn, overcome by cords, I struck their jaws a little with slaps, not punishing them but correcting and amending. A judge whips the flesh, tortures with bands, racks with whips and flames. But he who is a father strikes his wanton son with the palm of his hand. And it is beautifully put that he did not say, “I will be to them one beating with slaps,” but, “like a man striking the jaws with his hand.” But God strikes erring sons with the threat of punishments, according to the reading of the Gospel and the testimonies of the Prophets. And when he has struck him thus on the jaw, to expel from his polluted mouth the bread and doctrine of the heretics, then he looks to him, as his stricken son says, “Look on me, and have mercy on me,” ³ and again, “Look and hear me, O Lord my God.” ⁴ And when he has looked on him, he will prevail, or appear to them, that is, he will overcome their adversaries and from fugitives will make servants. Or he will give the true and sweet food to them who were formerly devouring the lies and most bitter food of the heretics.

11:5-7 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they were unwilling to be converted. The sword has begun in his cities, and it shall consume his chosen men and shall devour their heads. And my people shall long for my return. But a yoke shall be put on them together, which shall not be taken off.

Septuagint: “Ephraim shall live in Egypt, and the Assyrian shall be his king, since he was unwilling to be converted. And the sword was weak in his cities and rested in his hands, and they shall eat from their own thoughts. And his people has been hung from their dwelling, and God will become angry over his precious things and will not exalt him.” When he says, He shall not return to the land of Egypt, he shows that he wishes to return but cannot go. But Israel wanted to return, begging help from the Egyptians, but he was taken over by the Assyrian, who took him and mastered him by the victor’s right, and he suffered this because he was unwilling to be converted or do penance. Or at least let us say that he returned to the land of Egypt when he adored the Egyptian gods in the holy land, or it should be taken in the sense mentioned above: “They called on Egypt, they went to the Assyrians.” ⁵ And so the sword began in his cities, or it will “make an attack,” as Aquila interpreted it, or it will “wound,” as Symmachus translated it. And see what a weight of miseries it is, that it is not the fields or possessions and countryside that will be destroyed but the enemy will enter the middle of the cities and will consume his chosen ones—or his “arms,” as Symmachus interpreted it, which is badav in Hebrew. And when the sword has consumed the chosen ones and princes, or the strength of the army, and has devoured either their heads or their plans, so that they cannot find any protection, then the miserable people who were unwilling to return to me will await my return to them. And they will do penance late, as the enemy is destroying everything. And since great sins are to be punished with great penalties, he will place on those who were left from the people—their king and their princes cut down by the Assyrian sword—the most heavy yoke of servitude, and he will place it also so that it will not be taken off literally unless spiritually it is removed in Christ. According to the Septuagint, “Ephraim lived in Egypt,” saying that it possessed the Holy Land and the church of [our] Lord and Savior, but it always remained in Egypt because of its vices and sins and perversity of faith. Therefore, since he “lived in Egypt,” great mind the Assyrian will be his king; for he was unwilling to return to the church and, having lost his power, that is, Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God, ⁷ always dwelt in feebleness and was weak, subject to every demon and disturbance; therefore the sword, that is, spiritual knowledge or the discourse of the man of the church, destroying and waging war, will always abide in their cities, which they constructed impiously against God, and that sword itself will “rest in their hands,” so that, killed by another, it cannot kill another nor lift a hand against an

adversary. In the end, they will receive and will devour according to their plans. But the unhappy people and the untaught multitude will sigh after the old fatherland and will feel itself to be captive, or it will long for in its “dwelling,” not knowing what to do and ignorant as to where to turn. But God “becomes angry over their precious things,” namely the gold and silver that they received from him, about which we often spoke, and he will not free the one who falls by his own fault. This is according to the Septuagint; but we will apply the same meaning to the Hebrew as well.

11:8-9 How shall I deal with you, O Ephraim, protect you, O Israel? How shall I make you as Adama, shall I set you as Seboim? My heart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred up as well. I will not act according to the fierceness of my wrath, I will not return to destroy Ephraim, because I am God and not man; the holy one in the midst of you, and I will not enter into the city.

Septuagint: “What shall I do to you, O Ephraim, how shall I protect you, O Israel? What shall I do to you? As Adama I shall set you, and as Seboim. My heart is turned within itself, my repentance is likewise stirred up. I will not act according to the wrath of my fierceness. I will not leave Ephraim to be erased, since I am God, and not man; I am holy among you, and I will not enter into the city.” Where we and the Septuagint translated, “How shall I protect thee, O Israel?” in the Hebrew it is ’amaggenkha, which Aquila translated ὅπλῳ κυκλώσω σε, that is, “I will surround you with a shield.” Although we could think this to be understood as something good and to mean protection, a sense contrary to ours is supplied from the version of Symmachus, who says ἐκδώσω σε, that is, “I will hand you over.” And in the translation of Theodotion, too, not propitious but adverse things are shown: άφοπλίσω σε, which means, “I will strip you, and I will take away from you your ὅπλον, that is, the shield with which I protected you before”; and this sense agrees more with a Lord who is threatening. Therefore, this is what he is saying: Because they were unwilling to be converted, and the Assyrian has been made their king, ⁸ and the sword will devour their cities and princes and people, and the yoke will be placed on them

that will not be taken away from them; and since their judgment seemed harsh, now God, leaving them no place for repentance, speaks to Israel with the emotion of a parent: “What shall I do to you, O Ephraim?” How shall I strip you of my help? “What shall I do to you?” With what skill shall I correct you? With what medicine shall I be able to heal you? “As Adama and Seboim shall I set you,” which are two of five cities, as we read in Genesis, “Sodom and Gomorrah, Adama and Seboim and Bala, which is Segor,” and which is called Zoar in the Syrian tongue. ⁷ I will set you thus and will turn you toward the desert, and I will erase you down to ashes and cinders, as I erased Adama and Seboim. And when he had brought forth the severe, nay, the cruel, sentence, mercy conquered once again with the emotion of a parent, and he softens the austerity of his judgment with a father’s kindness. For he says, My heart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred up, as well. As soon as I said that I would set Ephraim and Israel like Adama and Seboim, my inmost being was moved. I repented of having once erased my people forever; therefore, I will not act according to the fierceness of my anger, nor will I be moved from my clemency to destroy Ephraim. For I do not strike in order to ruin forever but to amend. My cruelty is the opportunity for repentance and kindness. For “I am God and not man.” Man punishes in order to ruin; God corrects in order to amend. “I am the holy one in the midst of you, and I will not enter into the city,” that is, I am not one of those who dwell in the cities, who live by human laws, who judge cruelty justice, for whom the highest law is the greatest evil; ⁷¹ but my law and my justice is to save those who have been corrected. We can say it another way: Since the first murderer, Cain, constructed a city in the name of his son Enoch, ⁷² the Lord does not enter into a city of this kind, which was built by wickedness and bloodshed and murder. But if we wish to read, How shall I deal with you, O Ephraim, protect you, O Israel? it should be understood thus: What shall I do to you? Are you, who have done such things, worthy of protection? It should also be noted that, when he speaks against Judah, that is, the people of God, it is not recorded as Adama and Seboim but as Sodom and Gomorrah. For we read in Isaiah, “Hear the law of God, ye princes of Sodom,” and, “Give ear to the word of the Lord, ye people of Gomorrah.” ⁷³ In the Gospel, too, it is said of the city that does not receive the apostles that, as they shake the dust from their feet, it will be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city. ⁷⁴ And the prophetic word is directed to Jerusalem: “Sodom is justified because of you.” ⁷⁵ Therefore, the idea is given us that

Sodom and Gomorrah were princes in sin and that Adama and Seboim followed their examples, since “the mighty shall be mightily tormented,” ⁷ and the servant who knows the will of his master and does not do it will be beaten much. ⁷⁷ Whence, too, the men of the church, if they are reliant on the same acts of wickedness as the heretics, will undergo the torments not of Adama and Seboim, which are lesser, but those of Sodom and Gomorrah, which are said to be [the perpetrators] of greater crimes. The Lord speaks also to the heretics and to the people deceived by them, [saying] that unless they do penance, they will be set as Adama and Seboim, so that they have no hope of salvation. Again, like a most clement father, he says that he is changing his decision and repents of having spoken thus, in order to provoke even those to conversion and repentance. I will not act, he says, in my anger, I will not destroy Ephraim, so much, he says, is it in me, so much do I desire that he correct his error by the truth and love me more than the princes of heresy. For I am God and not man: I stretch for my hand to the fallen, I call the erring to salvation. And because I am holy, I will not enter the city, that is, the councils and the cities of the heretics. I freely receive them if they come out of their cities, [but] I will not enter their cities. Some have interpreted the phrase, I will not enter into the city, and what follows in the Septuagint, “I will walk after the Lord,” in such a way that they say that the people responded to the Lord, and that the sense is: because your “heart is turned within you,” and you have not treated us according to our sins but express your clemency and do not punish our transgressions, and promise that you are holy and will live among us in clemency, therefore I, too, will not enter into the city of evil men nor be of the number of sinners, but I will walk after the Lord our God. But the Hebrews explain it thus [as having been said] from the persona of God: I will not leave you, I will not go to another people, and I will not enter into another city.

11:10-11 They shall walk after the Lord; he shall roar like a lion, because he shall roar; and the children of the sea shall fear, and they shall fly away like a bird out of Egypt and like a dove out of the land of the Assyrians; and I will place them in their own houses, says the Lord.

Septuagint: “I shall walk after the Lord; he shall roar as a lion, because he shall roar, and the children of the waters shall fear, and they shall fly away like a bird out of Egypt and like a dove out of the land of the Assyrians; and I will place them in their own houses, says the Lord.” Since the Lord promises prosperous things, the people will be converted to him and will walk after the Lord, because the Lord will roar like a lion. Amos the prophet also relates concerning this, “The Lord will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem.” ⁷⁸ He roars when he says, “I will set you as Adama, like Seboim.” ⁷ And when he roars, then the children of the sea will fear, or “of the waters,” as the Septuagint translated. For the word miyam, which is written with three letters, mem, yod, mem, if it is read as miyam, means “waters,” if miyom, is understood about the sea. The Hebrews refer these things to the advent of the Christ, whom they hope is to come. We show clearly that they have already happened, because from Egypt and the Assyrians, that is, from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, have come, and daily come those who lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ⁸ And we can call children of the sea or “of the waters” those who have been gathered by the net of the Lord and drawn out of the sea of this world. ⁸¹ And since they were snatched from death to life, they will be placed in their own houses, which the Gospel calls “storehouses,” in which are stored the grains chosen and separated from the chaff. ⁸² The nature of lions is said to be such that when they bellow and roar, all animals tremble and, their feet fixed [to the ground], cannot move: such is the fear, such the terror. And so, when the Lord roars and thunders like a lion and gives forth his voice, all the birds and every winged creature trembles, and they will all go to their nests, that is, to their homes, in which the Lord will dwell with them. Let us also say it another way: When the true lion bellows, the false lion who is, according to the apostle Peter, our adversary, falls silent at that moment and every perverted dogma cannot open its mouth. ⁸³ And whoever was captured by him before, [now] released by the bellowing of the lion and his terrible warning, will follow the Lord their God. Then the children of the sea, or “of the waters,” will fear, those who were generated in the bitterness and the salty waters of the heretics, and having taken wing, will fly like birds out of Egypt and like a dove from the land of the Assyrians, and they will say, “Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest?” ⁸⁴ Whoever labored when among the

heretics will be at rest in the church, and they will dwell in their homes, from which they were seduced by error. We know that Egypt, that is, Mitsrayim, means tribulation and anguish, and Assyrians means “those directing,” or, better in our judgment, “accusing.” Therefore, from these the heretics will be freed, when they begin to dwell in their own homes and say to their evil relatives, “Your house shall be left to you desolate.” ⁸⁵

11:12 Ephraim has compassed me about with its own denial, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah went down as a witness with God and is faithful with the saints.

Septuagint: “Ephraim has compassed me about with a lie, and the house of Israel and Judah with impiety; now God knows them, and they will be called God’s holy people.” The Hebrews pass on the story in this manner: at Israel’s exodus from Egypt, when on one side a mountain hemmed it in, on the other the Red Sea, and on the third Pharaoh’s army, and the people was held surrounded, while the other tribes despaired of being saved and wanted either to return to Egypt or to fight, Judah alone faithfully entered the sea, whence it also deserved to receive the kingdom. And they say that this is what is being said here: Judah is the witness of the words of God, and as assistant and vindicator descends with God in the sea and was most faithful among the saints, since it believed the words of God when he commanded. This is what they say. Let us follow the order of the explanation already begun, that the kingly tribe and the house of Israel, the people who was serving the kingly tribe, compassed Ephraim about, and compassed him about with his own denial or “lie,” when they deny the Lord and confess idols. But Judah, that is, the two tribes that had the temple, the law, the prophets, and observed the legal precepts, were witnesses, walking faithfully with God and with the holy ones. We can say that the holy ones are either the angels or the patriarchs and prophets and others who observed the command of God. For in comparison at that time about which these things were said, as Ephraim was gravely erring and Israel deceived in the worship of idols, Judah alone remained, Judah who was engaged in the worship

and testimony of God and could go down with him, or be strong with the strong one. For rad means both descent and strength; Aquila translated it ἐπικράτειαν. Anagogically, the heretics compass God about with a “lie,” nay, with a denial. For whatever they say, it is a denial, nay rather “a lie”; and the house of Israel compasses him about with deceit or “impiety,” while they put together everything that they feign with artificial words and speak impiety against God. Judah, however, that is, the man of the church, is not proud, is not swollen with the heretical tumor but is humbled with God and is faithful and strong with the choir of the holy ones, while he builds his house on rock, a house that is shaken by no tempest. ⁸ The Septuagint translated it very differently: “Ephraim and the house of Israel and Judah have compassed God about with a lie and impiety,” and God is of such great clemency that he does not cut off from them the hope of salvation but he knows them and is prepared to call his people “holy” and “the people of God,” a people now perverted by impiety. Tropologically, too, [we understand that] the Lord wishes even the heretics to be saved and those of the church who are sinners and all to be called by his name. But he who is truly holy does not compass God about with a lie but with truth, as the psalmist says, “You are mighty, O Lord, and your truth is around you.” ⁸⁷

12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind and follows the burning heat; all the day long he multiplies lies and desolation, and he has entered into a pact with the Assyrians and carried oil into Egypt.

Septuagint: “But Ephraim is a very evil spirit; he has pursued the burning heat; all the day long he has multiplied vain and empty things, and he has made a covenant with the Assyrians and sold oil in Egypt.” Sacred history tells that Menahem, king of Israel, having made peace with Assyria, ⁸⁸ asked help from the Egyptians, and this is what is now said, that Ephraim feeds on the winds, that is, it deceives itself with vain hope and follows καύσωνα, that is, the burning heat, and goes to the south and does nothing else the whole day than mock himself. And while he runs about here and there, he prepares destruction and overthrow for his cities. Or is making a pact with the

Assyrians and carrying oil into Egypt not devastation and a lie? By synecdoche, the whole is understood from the part, namely that they sent gifts to the Egyptians, although some think that oil does not exist in Egypt and that the most precious thing was sent by Ephraim, whose land of Samaria is most fertile in oil. But tropologically, all heretics are held by “the most evil spirit” of demons, about which it is written in the apostle, “against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” ⁸ And when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man and has not found rest, he joins to himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself and returns to his former home. Therefore, “by the most evil spirit” they follow καύσωνα, that is, dryness, or the burning wind, which blows against flowers and scatters everything germinating, and [Ephraim] follows “empty” and useless things, nor is he content with his own error, but he “multiplies” followers, nay, companions, of his vanity and error. And he makes a pact with the Assyrians, whose prince is of a great mind, so that whatever he has fabricated, he appears to have simulated [doing it] wisely, with that wisdom that is destroyed by God, which the apostle commands us to avoid: “Beware, lest any man capture you by philosophy and vain seduction, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world.” ¹ But he also carries oil into Egypt, or he “sells” the wisdom of Egypt, wishing to mix with church dogmas the oil of anointing with which the prophets and priests were anointed, with which the kings, too, were anointed. The holy ones also have this oil, about whom it is said, “Your children like shoots of olive branches around your table” ² and the good olive tree on which our olive branch is grafted. But however much the heretics try to mix a lie with the truth, oil cannot be joined with water and other moist and liquid things. The truth is always above, the lie always below. And all the other kinds, that is, of heresies, that do not have the oil of truth, as we said, can be mixed among themselves, and out of many is made one body. But their oil, which is taken away into Egypt and goes down from the Holy Land to the kingdoms of Pharaoh, is detested by the prophet, saying, “Let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.” ³

12:2-6 Therefore there is a judgment of God with Judah, and a visitation for Jacob; he will render to him according to his ways and according to his devices. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and by his strength he had success with an angel. And he prevailed over the angel and was strengthened; he wept and begged him; he found him in Bethel,

and there he spoke with us. Even the Lord the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial. Therefore turn toward your God; keep mercy and judgment, and hope in your God always.

Septuagint: “And the Lord has a judgment with Judah, to avenge Jacob; he will render to him according to his ways and according to his devices. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and in his labor he prevailed with God and matched strength with an angel and was strong. They wept and implored me; they found me in the house of ὤν, and there they were told. But the Lord God Almighty will be his memorial, and you shall turn to your God; keep mercy and judgment; and draw near to your God always.” While Ephraim was once feeding on the winds and following a lie, he came to such madness that he vacillated uncertainly between two opposing nations, making peace with the Assyrians and bearing oil into Egypt; ⁴ now all my judgment is with Judah and my visitation for Jacob. But he calls visitation the beatings and punishments, so that he who has rendered to Ephraim as he merited may render to Judah, also, which arose from the seed of Jacob, according to his ways and according to his devices, he who was not merely deceived by a chance error and did not fall merely by human weakness but sought and devised the things in which he might sin and go to ruin. But he explains what good things Judah, that is, Jacob, received, and in the father, the son is named, and the old history is recalled, so that both the mercy of God toward Jacob and his hardness against God may be known. While he was still in Rebecca’s womb, he supplanted his brother Esau, assuredly not by his own strength, who could not have perceived it, but by the mercy of God, who knows and loves those whom he has predestined. ⁵ And not only did he supplant his brother in the womb, but by his strength he had success with an angel, when at the stream Jacob fought against an angel all night. And since he had success with the angel, he received thereby the name εὐθυτάτον, which in Hebrew is isar, that is “of the one directing” or “of the direct one.” And he prevailed against the angel, he says, and was strengthened by his blessing, which he won. He also wept and begged him, that is, the angel, saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ⁷ And when, by the counsel of his father and mother, he fled to Mesopotamia, he found the same angel in Bethel who spoke to him spoke with us, that is, in the father, he spoke also to the sons, and in Jacob

he loved also Judah; from that time until the present, the memory of his name that was given him by the angel and by God, has endured. ⁸ Since this is the situation, you, too, Judah, imitate your parent, “weep and implore the Lord” of armies and turn back to him. Keep mercy and judgment, and, while you do both, hope in your God always, proceeding from good works to greater ones. Where the Hebrew has, He wept and begged him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us, we read in the common version, “They wept and begged me: they found me in the house of ὤν, and there they were told.” Ὤν means pain. Therefore, if someone weeps and repents and “implores” the Lord, he will find him in the pain of his heart, and when he calls on him, he will hear him responding to him. We can understand Judah to be the man of the church who is corrected by the Lord, because he is not mindful of his previous benefits toward himself but daily joins sins to [more] sins and lays out what [God’s future] benefits should be. When the church birthed you, he says, being born in faith, you “supplanted your brother” the Jew or Gentile and received his birthright; and in your strength, you were successful with the angel, either conquering the hostile powers or strengthened by the blessings of the angel, because he is himself God, ⁷ and you prevailed figuratively [in the person of Jacob] against the angel in order that you might prevail against men, and you were strengthened. And when you gained victory, you wept and begged the angel of the Lord, and, mindful of your old sins, you found him in Bethel, that is, in the house of God, which is the church, or in the house of ὤν—of pain and tears and repentance. And so that we might know who that Judah was, “there he spoke with us,” he says, that is, with us Christians, and from that time to the present day, we bear the name of Christ and are corrected as he directs us. Thus, O man of the church, who are called Judah and are one who confesses, daily turn through repentance to your Lord, and if by chance you sin, imitate the prophet who says, “I have labored in my groaning, every night I will wash my bed, I will water my couch with my tears.” ⁷ ¹ And let it not suffice to have said this, but keep the commands of God, show mercy toward others, in order that you yourself may obtain mercy. ⁷ ² Render true judgment, that [by the measure] by which you judge it may be judged in your case. ⁷ ³ And hope always in your God, or “draw near to your God” intimately, that, at all times advancing in virtue, you may draw near to your God.

12:7-8 Canaan [is] a deceitful balance in his hand; he has loved calumny.

And Ephraim said: But yet I have become rich, I have found an idol for myself, all my labors shall not find me the iniquity that I have sinned.

Septuagint: “Canaan [is] a balance of iniquity in his hand; he has loved to oppress by his power. And Ephraim said: But yet I have become rich, I have found rest for myself, all his labors shall not be found for him, because of the iniquities in which he has sinned.” He had warned Judah to turn to the Lord his God and observe mercy and judgment and hope in the Lord always or draw near to him intimately. ⁷ ⁴ Now the address turns to Ephraim, that is, to the ten tribes, whom he calls Canaan, according to what Daniel says to the elder who was certainly from the seed of Judah: “Seed of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you.” ⁷ ⁵ And in Ezekiel, we read it said about Jerusalem, “Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.” ⁷ And in Isaiah, it is said to the tribe of Judah, “Hear the word of the Lord, ye princes of Sodom; give ear to the law of our Lord, ye people of Gomorrah.” ⁷ ⁷ In the last verse of Zechariah, too, we read, “The Canaanite shall be no more in the house of the Lord.” ⁷ ⁸ But he says that Canaan, that is, Ephraim, has a deceitful, or “unjust,” balance in his hand, while Scripture commands, “Let your weights be equal,” ⁷ and that he not only has an “unjust” and deceitful balance but that he loves calumny and “to oppress men by his power.” And lest we think that Canaan should be thought of as some other person, he sets down very clearly that it is Canaan. Ephraim said, But yet I have become rich, and the sense is: He does not report the source of my possessing provided that I possess. Many labor with this sickness, about whom it is written, “Riches gathered unjustly shall be vomited up.” ⁷¹ “For the redemption of a man’s soul are his own riches.” ⁷¹¹ Whence it is commanded that we make friends for ourselves from unjust mammon, [friends] who can receive us into eternal dwellings. ⁷¹² But Ephraim, who boasts and says, But yet I have become rich, I have found an idol for myself, or άνωφελὲς, that is, ’aven, [something] which profits nothing to the one possessing, sweated in his unfruitful labor. But just as for the gluttonous and excessively indulgent man, his belly is god, ⁷¹³ just so the avaricious man adores an idol of gold and says in his heart, I have found what I sought, but he will hear: “You fool, this night your soul shall be taken from you; and whose shall those things be that you have prepared?” ⁷¹⁴ And whenever the—I will not say brightness, but—blindness of

riches has taken over his eyes, he says, All my labors shall not find my iniquity in which I sinned. And the sense is: if I have riches, whatever sin I have committed cannot be imputed to me by those who need my help, according to what is written, “He who has done unjust things is blessed.” ⁷¹⁵ For the friends of rich men are many. Whence this very thing is also applied to the heretics. For Canaan can be translated, “like those moving.” And note what he has said: “Like those moving, [but] not those moving.” “Those moving” are those whom they have deceived; those “like those moving” are those whom they have tempted. But since they are founded on rock, they can be struck down by no storm, ⁷¹ nor can anything change the position of their feet. In the “hand” of this Canaan, that is, in his works, is a deceitful and “unjust” balance; for whatever the heretic says, he does not have God’s justice, and he is full of deceit and fraud; whence, too, they love calumny as they weigh down the innocent or “oppress them by their power.” The poor member of the church is oppressed by the wordiness and the cunning of the heretics, who, after they have deceived some, usually say, We have become rich, we have a great multitude, a crowd of disciples follows us, we have found an idol or “rest” for ourselves. Because for that reason above all are heresies put together, that they may devour the homes of widows, ⁷¹⁷ who always learn [them] and never arrive at the knowledge of the truth. ⁷¹⁸ And he puts it beautifully: I have found an idol for myself. For all the heretics’ creations are idols and images of the Gentiles, and they do not differ much in impiety, even though they seem to have different names. And they usually say, Whatever I make, whatever I do, it cannot be imputed to me; for I have my riches, the arguments of the philosophers, I have a multitude of the people, and whoever sees it will not think that I have sinned.

12:9-10 And I the Lord your God from the land of Egypt will yet cause you to sit in tabernacles, as in the days of the feast. And I have spoken over the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have used similitudes by the hand of the prophets.

Septuagint: “But I, the Lord your God, led you out from the land of Egypt; I will yet cause you to live in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemnity. And I will

speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have used similitudes by the hands of the prophets.” You indeed have sinned so much that you rejoice in wickedness and think the multitude of your sins to be riches, and you say, “I have become rich; I have found an idol for myself; all my labors cannot find my sins.” ⁷¹ But “I am the Lord your God who led you out from the land of Egypt,” when you were serving Pharaoh and were building cities from mud and straw; I will yet give you a space for repentance, and I exhort you, by the magnitude of the promises, to return to me; for I will yet cause you to sit in tabernacles, as in the days of the feast. He calls Tabernacles the day of the feast, in the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, when the children of Israel left Egypt. ⁷² Just as at that time I freed you from Egypt, he says, and you lived in tabernacles, hurrying to go to the Holy Land and the place of the temple, so also now I will lead you out from tribulation and torments and imminent captivity, if only you do what I have commanded. For I am the one who used similitudes for men through all the prophets and various kinds of visions and incited you to repentance. Or is it not a similitude for men when Moses prays, lifting his hands on high as Jesus conquers Amalek, and the mysteries of the cross are demonstrated in him? ⁷²¹ Is God not using similitudes in the hands of the prophets, when Jonah is in the depths for three days and nights, in order to signify the Lord rising on the third day from the dead? ⁷²² And we read the visions multiplied among all the prophets, when Ezekiel sees God sitting in a kind of chariot above the cherubim. ⁷²³ And Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and elevated, and two seraphim around him crying to each other: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Sabaoth.” ⁷²⁴ And Habakkuk stood on his watchtower ⁷²⁵ to see the horns in the hands of the Savior, in which his strength is hidden. ⁷² Whence too the psalmist cries, “I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me.” ⁷²⁷ And so that we may know that every prophecy in the Holy Scriptures is called a vision, he says, “The people saw the voice of the Lord,” ⁷²⁸ whence the prophets, too, were earlier called “seers.” ⁷² And to those who were seduced by the heretics, it is said that they should return to the Lord, who prefers the repentance of the sinner rather than his death, ⁷³ for he himself it is who “led them out of the land of Egypt,” that is, out of the darkness and error of the Gentiles. And lest perhaps, mindful of sin, they should return later, he says, I will yet cause you to sit in tabernacles, as in the days of the feast, so that what he does by baptism he might do by [their] repentance, and they might dwell in the tabernacles of the Savior, that is, in the churches, about

which it is said, “They who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.” ⁷³¹ And lest they think that the leaders of the heretics and princes of their error spoke by the spirit of God, he says, “I am the one who spoke to the prophets,” and not to your teachers; “I multiplied visions, and I have used similitudes by the hand of my prophets,” who have been established in the church.”

12:11 If Galaad [be] an idol, then in vain were they in Galgal sacrificing with bullocks; for their altars also are as heaps on the furrows of the field.

Septuagint: “If Galaad is not, then their princes sacrificing in Galgal were false, and their altars as tortoise shells on the desert of the field.” Where we translated with bullocks, which in Hebrew are called shevarim, the Septuagint interpreted it “princes,” which are called shurim, words often mistaken by their similarity and ambiguity. Again, where we recorded heaps, which in Hebrew are gallim and properly mean θῖνας, that is, mounds gathered from the sand, that are either increased or diminished, especially in the desert and on the shores by the blowing wind; the Septuagint translated “tortoise shells,” which Symmachus interpreted “heaps of rocks,” Theodotion “hills.” And truly if you should see θῖνας, they have a likeness to the large tortoise shells in a deserted field or on the banks and shores projecting a little above the ground. Therefore, what he says is this: If in Galaad, about which it is written, “Galaad is a city of workers of idols, supplanted with blood,” ⁷³² there are false gods and a perverse religion, and it is across the Jordan where the two tribes dwell, Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manassah, therefore also in Galgal, about which we read in the very same prophet, “All their wickedness is in Galgal,” ⁷³³ which is behind the back of Bethaven, those who worship idols are not sacrificing cows to the gods but offering sacrifices with bullocks, imitating the error of Samaria. For at that time in which these things were being prophesied, Galaad was in the kingdom of the ten tribes and Galgal under the rule of the two tribes, which were called Judah. Therefore both the ten tribes and the two were deceived by the same error of idolatry, and their altars are heaps and mounds gathered from stones or from sand. And since both these and those were led away into captivity, their former altars without worshipers will have a likeness to tortoise

shells or mounds. But since Galaad means “the transference of testimony” and Galgal “a wallowing place,” we can say this, that the princes of the heretics transfer the testimonies of the truth into a lie, and whatever they worship is an idol, and their sacrifices have a likeness either to heaps gathered from stones or to tortoise shells. For just as θίνες and heaps are gathered here and there from stones and gravel, so too the heretics put together images from the wisdom of the age and the cunning of men by deceit and lies. And when they have done this, they move with slow steps in one place and are not able to take over the whole world. A tortoise slow of step and burdened, nay, oppressed by its own weight, does not walk so much as it moves, signifying the very weighty sins of the heretics, who sacrifice to their errors in filth, rolling in the mire, adoring the works of their hands, and working at everything like cattle for earthly fruits.

12:12-13 Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife and was a keeper for a wife. But the Lord by a prophet led Israel out of Egypt, and he was preserved by a prophet.

Septuagint: “Jacob withdrew into the plain of Syria, and Israel served for a wife and was a guardian for a wife. And the Lord by a prophet led Israel out of Egypt, and he was preserved by a prophet.” It seems that, without prophetic reason and order, [he] suddenly wished to recount the history of Genesis about Jacob after [he told that of] the idol of Galaad and Galgal and the altars similar to heaps of stones; ⁷³⁴ one immediately resolves this if one remembers that one read above about Jacob: “In the womb he supplanted his brother, and by his strength he had success with an angel. And he prevailed over the angel and was strengthened; he wept and made supplication to him; he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us.” ⁷³⁵ Therefore, that Jacob was not strengthened in vain by the angel, but, since he fought the whole night, he also conquered his adversary, ⁷³ so that, from this [experience] he might learn not to fear his brother, from fear of whom he fled into Syria to Laban his uncle and served for his wife Rachel seven years, and guarded the sheep of his father-in-law Laban for Leah for the same space of years. ⁷³⁷ And since he

said Jacob and Israel at the same time, he joins the father to the sons and remembers the following history, when by the prophet Moses the Lord led Israel out of Egypt and the twelve tribes, who were born from Israel, were saved as the prophet led them out. He will not err who says that Jacob the supplanter and Israel, “the one seeing the Lord,” came before as a type of the Lord, and that Rachel, the first [wife], sterile and beautiful, whom Jacob loved so much, ⁷³⁸ signifies the church, but that Leah, fertile and watery-eyed, ⁷³ demonstrates the mysteries of the synagogue, and that he himself led the people [made up] of believers out of the darkness of this age and arrived at the most sweet streams of the Jordan, that is, of baptism.

12:14 Ephraim provoked me to wrath with his bitterness, and his blood shall come on him, and his Lord will render his reproach unto him.

Septuagint likewise. Therefore, although I offered to Ephraim such great things, so that [when he was] stripped and an exile and alone, I would lead him back rich and a lord and the parent of many sons, Ephraim deserted me, nay, provoked me to wrath, and by his bitterness made me bitter who am sweet. Whence his blood will come on him, that is, he himself will be the cause of his own death, according to what David speaks to him who announced the demise of Saul and recalled that he had killed the king of Israel: “Your blood be on your own head.” ⁷⁴ Not by my judgment but by the blood of Saul your blood will be poured out. And what follows, The Lord will render his reproach unto him, accords with that sense which Nathan speaks to David: “You who have given occasion to the enemies to blaspheme the name of the Lord on account of this thing,” ⁷⁴¹ that is, on account of that sin by which you killed Uriah, that blasphemy and that reproach by which the Lord was blasphemed through you will be turned on your head. The heretics always provoke the clement God to wrath and, by the hardness of their heart, compel him to punish, who prefers the repentance of the sinner to his death; ⁷⁴² and their blood, by which they poured out both their own blood and that of many, will come on their head; and the reproaches by which they blasphemed the Lord their Lord will render to them, not because he is their Lord

but because he was once their Lord.

13:1-2 When Ephraim spoke, a horror seized Israel, and he sinned in Baal and died. And now they have sinned more and more, and they have made to themselves a molten thing of their silver as the likeness of idols; the whole is the work of craftsmen; to these they say: Immolate men, you who adore calves.

Septuagint: “According to the word of Ephraim, he himself accepted justifications in Israel and placed them before Baal and died. And now he added sin to sin, and they made for themselves a molten thing of their silver according to the image of idols, works melted by craftsmen; to these they say: Immolate men, for calves have failed.” Where the Septuagint interpreted it, “Immolate men, for calves have failed,” and we rendered it, Immolate men, you who adore calves, Symmachus translated, “Immolate, let men adore calves,” so that the sense is: Immolate, that is, sacrifice to idols, and thus far let the distinction follow: let the rational animal, men, adore calves, mute living beings. Therefore, when Ephraim spoke, that is, Jeroboam, son of Nebat from the tribe of Ephraim, a horror seized Israel, that is, the ten tribes. Instead of horror, which in Hebrew is retet, which Symmachus and Theodotion have interpreted “trembling,” the Septuagint—I am not sure what they were getting at—translated δικαιώματα, that is, “justifications.” And such a horror seized Israel that they sinned and offended God in Baal and died, losing him who says, “I am the life.” ⁷⁴³ For “the soul that sins, the same shall die.” ⁷⁴⁴ And the apostle says, the widow who “lives in pleasures is dead while she is living.” ⁷⁴⁵ And he not only died in Baal but he “added sins to sins,” so that, from the silver which the Lord had given, he made idols, the works of men’s hands. About them they say, that is, the priests and princes who ought to teach the people good things: Immolate men, you who adore calves. Indeed, this is also said in the Psalms: “And they immolated their sons and their daughters to demons.” ⁷⁴ Where, following Symmachus and Theodotion, we have translated it you who adore, Aquila interpreted it καταφιλοῦντες, that is, “you who kiss affectionately.” For those who adore are accustomed to kiss their hands affectionately, which Job denies that he did, saying, “If I have kissed my hand,

putting it to my mouth, let this also be reputed to me as the greatest of iniquities.” ⁷⁴⁷ But if, as some would have it, the demons are speaking to the people, “Immolate men, for calves have failed,” their gluttony is shown. They are fed by the blood of victims and by the smoke of holocausts, because, when offerings fail, they desire that men be sacrificed to them, and they rejoice not only at their death but at their blood. But, as the heretics speak, nay, the princes of the heretics, that is, Ephraim, horror and trembling will seize the unhappy people, and he will sin in their idols, which they made from their own heart, and he dies with the people whom he seduced. And it does not suffice that he has fallen, but he must turn the tongue, which he received to sing [the praises of] God, to the images of idols, and compose with false eloquence a teaching similar to the truth, which is none other than the devising of human depravity. And they command their disciples that they, too, may immolate men, that is, that they may steal them away from the church of God and lead them to the heretics and kill those whom they have deceived. What follows, “For calves have failed,” has this sense: Do not seek those whom you seduce from among the nations, who are called brute animals, but snatch them, immolate them, who, established in the church, are registered with the name of Christ and are called men, according to the prophetic word: “His food is choice.” ⁷⁴⁸

13:3 Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, as the dust that is driven with a whirlwind out of the threshing floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

Septuagint likewise, changing only what is last, “and like a vapor from locusts,” or “from tears,” because in many manuscripts we find άκρίδων put [there], in others δακρύων. Since they immolated men instead of calves, he says, and adored the calves, ⁷⁴ therefore they will be like a morning cloud and like the early dew that passes away, like the dust driven with a whirlwind out of the threshing floor, and like smoke from a chimney. All these things seem to be temporary, and they pass immediately, according to what he said, “Samaria has made her king to pass as

foam on the face of the water,” ⁷⁵ and again, “As the morning passes, so will the king of Israel pass away.” ⁷⁵¹ And no one doubts that indeed a cloud or dew passes quickly, and dust from a threshing floor and smoke from a chimney, according to what is written: “As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish.” ⁷⁵² But one wonders why the Septuagint interpreted it “locusts,” instead of “chimney,” which Theodotion translated καπνοδόχην. ⁷⁵³ Among the Hebrews, “locust” and chimney are written with the same letters, aleph, resh, bet, he. If they are read ’arbeh, it is “locust,” if arubbah, chimney. Aquila interpreted it καταράκτην, Symmachus “aperture.” A “cataracts,” however, is properly called an aperture made in a wall, through which smoke leaves. But if some contentious person, not wanting to accept the truth of the Hebrew, seeks the meaning of “locust,” he will hear that Ephraim is compared to άτμῷ, that is, to “vapor” or breeze or spirit, each of which leaves the mouth of the locust so gently that it is not felt. But if someone should object as to why Ephraim, about to perish, was not compared to other things that are smaller, for example, to a flea, that has all members, head, eyes, feed, stomach and so forth, which members, although we do not see them with our eyes, nevertheless we understand them with our sense, inasmuch as, not seeing the mouth and teeth of the flea with our eyes, we [nevertheless] feel them by their bites—[if someone should object thus,] one should respond to him that he compared the glory of those who perish to the “vapor” of the locust or the gentlest breeze, because the locust is harmful, and thus an enemy of mortal men, since it creates hunger and devastates the cultivated ground of the crops, inasmuch as it strips the bark from the trees and vines, which we read about in greater detail in the prophet Joel. ⁷⁵⁴ And the heretics are compared to this “locust” and to the morning cloud and the dew and the dust, about which we read in the catholic letter: “These are clouds without water.” ⁷⁵⁵ For they have the appearance of prophets and of apostolic “clouds,” to whom the truth of God comes, but they do not have water, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the Lord says in the Gospel: “He that believes in me, as the Scripture says, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Now this he said of the Spirit that they should receive, who believed in him.” ⁷⁵ But concerning “tears,” which in the Greek text have some likeness to locusts, δακρύων καὶ άκρίδων, ⁷⁵⁷ this is a manifest error to some who think it is tears, rather than locusts.

13:4 But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt.

Here in the Septuagint it reads, “But I am the Lord your God, securing heaven and creating earth, whose hand created the whole army of heaven, and I did not show them to you, that you might walk after them. And I led you out of the land of Egypt.” These phrases, since they are not found in the Hebrew and are rendered by no translator and are not even present in the old edition of the Septuagint, should be marked with an obelus, especially since their meaning is clear. Therefore, let us pass on to what remains, joining the section above to what follows:

[13:4] But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt. And you shall know no God but me, and there is no savior beside me.

13:5-6 I knew you in the desert, in the land of solitude. And according to their pastures they were filled and satiated; and they lifted up their heart and have forgotten me.

Septuagint: “But I am the Lord your God, and I led you out from the land of Egypt; and you shall not know a God besides me, and there is no savior apart from me. I shall pasture you in solitude, in uninhabited land according to their pastures; and they were filled in satiety, and their hearts were lifted up; therefore, they have forgotten me.” The one who had said above, “Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and was a keeper for a wife; but the Lord led Israel out of Egypt by a prophet: and he was preserved by a prophet,” ⁷⁵⁸ even now he relates what he had offered them: I am the Lord your God, who led you out from the land of Egypt, who commanded you through Moses; listen, lest perhaps you eat and be satisfied and forget your God, who led you out from the land of Egypt; for there is no other God beside me, and no one else who can save. I, who am the framer of all things, knew, or “pastured,” you in the desert and in an “uninhabited land,” where there is a dearth of all things, where there is no water.

I gave you manna from heaven ⁷⁵ and drew forth springs of water from the hardest rock. ⁷ Now, according to what was written elsewhere, “The beloved grew fat and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross,” ⁷ ¹ they too have eaten and been satisfied and lifted up their heart and forgot him, of whose benefits they should have been mindful. For if the Lord had not taken everything on himself, Israel could not have arrived at the land of the Jordan after forty years through such an emptiness of wilderness, where not only fruits and trees and vines but even grass does not grow and no water tempers the heat of the sun. The Lord led the heretics, too, out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servitude and the iron furnace, they who were first serving the king Pharaoh and his leaders; and he commanded them in the church to know no other God than him who is the Creator of all things and knows how to save those whom he has made. He knew them and pastured them in the land of solitude, so that they could say, “The Lord pastures me: and I shall want nothing. He has set me in a place of pasture. He has brought me up on the water of refreshment.” ⁷ ² And he gave them the bread of angels, manna from heaven, ⁷ ³ which they never ate in Egypt, and water from the rock following them. And, according to the apostle, the rock is Christ. ⁷ ⁴ They ate and were filled and did not bear the food of the Lord. To them the apostle says the same thing: “You are now full; you are now become rich; you reign without us; and I would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you.” ⁷ ⁵ For they ate in the Holy Scriptures the bread that came down from heaven ⁷ and said with David: “The uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.” ⁷ ⁷ And filled and satisfied, they lifted up their heart against their Creator and made for themselves another god; whatever they drank and ate, they imputed it to their own merits and not to the mercy of God. Therefore, they forgot God, who had commanded them to bind the words of the law between their eyes and on their hands and on the fringes of their garments, lest they ever forget their God. ⁷ ⁸

13:7-8 And I will be to them as a lioness, as a leopard in the way of the Assyrians. I will meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps, and I will rend the inner parts of their liver; and I will devour them there as a lion, the beast of the field shall tear them.

Septuagint: “And I will be to them as a panther and as a leopard in the way of the Assyrians. I will meet them like a bear needing food, and I will rend the inner parts of their heart; and the whelps of the woods will devour them there, the beasts of the field shall rend them.” They were filled and satisfied; they lifted up their heart and forgot me. ⁷ But I, he says, will be to them as a lioness, or a “panther,” about which we have spoken in more detail above, ⁷⁷ and like a leopard in the way of the Assyrians, when they will be led captive by the Assyrians, and I will meet them as a bear robbed of her whelps, or “needing food,” and I will rend all their vitals. Those who have written about the natures of beasts say that, among all the wild animals, there is nothing more savage than a bear when she has lost her whelps or needs food; and he [God] threatens the ferocity not only of the panther, the leopard and the bear, but also of the lion and all the beasts that live in the woods, and in all these things, he says that he will turn away when they go to the Assyrians, so that when they have undergone harsh things there, they will attribute their misfortunes not to the power and anger of the Lord but to the strength of their enemies. And at the same time, let us consider what is said to believers in the Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. For my yoke is sweet, and my burden light.” ⁷⁷¹ Now through the prophet he becomes a panther, a leopard, a bear, and a lion to nonbelievers and those unwilling to do penance, not only to the Israelites, who have been placed in the cities of the Medes or in the mountains because of their idolatry, but also to the heretics, who, because of their pride of mind and the vanity of their false dogmas, have forgotten their God and made and followed alien gods.

13:9-11 Destruction is your own, O Israel; your help is only in me. Where is your king? Now especially they save you in all your cities; and your judges, of whom you said: Give me a king and princes. I will give you a king in my wrath, and will take [him] away in my indignation.

Septuagint: “Who will help your corruption, O Israel? Where is that king of yours? Let him also save you in all your cities; let him judge you about whom

you said: Give me a king and a prince; and I gave you a king and a prince, and I gave you a king in my anger, and I had him in my wrath.” Where the Septuagint interpreted it “I had,” all [the others] translated “I took away.” Unhappy Israel, and deserving of perpetual malediction: it descends to such a depth of impiety that it is saved by the mercy of God alone. But [the passage] can be read in the Hebrew also in this sense: May you perish, Israel, because nothing is left to you except that you are preserved only by my clemency. In the Septuagint, however, there is another sense: “Who will help your corruption, O Israel?” That is, which of those whom you thought your protector can bring help to your captivity and final servitude? Where is your king, about whom you said to Samuel: “Appoint a king over us, to judge us, as all the other nations have.” ⁷⁷² And when he countered, you responded, “No, but we will have a king, and we, too, will be like all the nations, and our king will judge us and will go before us and will fight for us.” Therefore, let him about whom you promised yourself that he would wage your wars come to your aid now in your need and free all your cities from servitude. Where are your judges? Where your kings? For you said, Give me a king and princes, and so I gave you Saul as your king in my wrath, inasmuch as in the days of the harvest I showed [you] rain contrary to the nature of the province of Judea. And, in my indignation, it says, I took away the king, namely Zedekiah, so that he whom I gave in my wrath I took away in my indignation. Others think that the king given in wrath was Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and [the king] taken away in indignation was Hoshea, the last king of the ten tribes. What we have explained as I gave you a king in my indignation and took away your king, the Hebrews apply to the future time. He says, at that time when you said, Give me a king and princes, I responded to you through Samuel that I would give you one in my wrath and take him away in my indignation. Every heretic has been destroyed and handed over to corruption, for the Lord will destroy him who corrupts the temple of God, ⁷⁷³ and he has help in no other person but only in the mercy of God, which he obtains by repentance. His king and judges are the devil and demons, or all the princes of perverse dogmas, who will not be able to free them in the time of need and distress, who were given in wrath and will be taken away in indignation; not because the Lord wanted them to have such kings, or else he would not take away those whom he had given freely, but because he left them to their own wills, so that they might eat and, fattened with meat, be nauseated and vomit through their noses and begin to hate those whom they were following with such zeal.

13:12-13 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin is hidden. The sorrows of a woman in labor shall come on him, he is a senseless son; for now he shall not stand in the contrition of the children.

Septuagint: “Ephraim is a gathering together of iniquity, his sin is hidden. Sorrows as of a woman in labor shall come on him; that one is your wise son since now he shall not endure in the contrition of the children.” Just as if it is read that something is preserved in a bag and does not perish from the one to whom it is bound, so every iniquity by which Ephraim sinned against God is bound to him and is held hidden as if in a pouch. Finally, when the day of vengeance comes, and the final day of captivity, sorrows as of a woman in labor will come on him or will seize him. Long before she gives birth, from the time when she conceives, a pregnant woman knows that she will give birth and daily awaits the final torments and coming anguish; so also Ephraim, an unwise son, about which he said above, “Ephraim was like a senseless dove, not having a heart in the contrition of the children and of the people.” ⁷⁷⁴ When the day of birth and of captivity comes, he will be able neither to stand nor to bear it. Instead of senseless son, in the Septuagint it says ironically, “That is your wise son,” that is, whom you thought wise, that, on the contrary, he might be understood to be senseless. But the iniquity that they spoke against the Most High ⁷⁷⁵ is bound to all the heretics, and their sin is hidden, while they think that they are hiding the poison of their heart and holding it secret. It will be laid open with sorrow and wailing when the day of birth comes. That Ephraim is a senseless son, because he deserted the wisdom of God, about which it is also written in Jeremiah, “In his latter end, he shall be senseless,” ⁷⁷ and he will not be able to “sustain” the anger of God in the contrition of the children whom he killed, whom he murdered.

13:14-15a I will deliver them out of the hand of death. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be your death; O hell, I will be your bite. Comfort is hidden from my eyes, because it itself divides brothers among themselves.

Septuagint: “I will deliver them out of the hand of hell. I will redeem them from death. Where is your cause, O death? Where is your sting, O hell? Comfort is hidden from my eyes, because it itself shall divide brothers among themselves.” According to both understandings, that of Ephraim, that is, of the ten tribes, and of the heretics who could not endure in the contrition of his children, when the sorrows as of a woman in labor come, ⁷⁷⁷ the Lord promises that he will deliver them from the hand of death and redeem them from death. But he calls the hand of death the works by which he kills, according to what is written: “Death and life are in the hand of the tongue.” ⁷⁷⁸ But the Lord delivered them all and redeemed them in the passion of the cross and the outpouring of his blood, when his soul descended to hell and his flesh did not see corruption, ⁷⁷ and to death itself and hell, he said, I will be your death, O death. For I died so that you might die by my death. I will be your bite, O hell, you who devour everyone in your jaws. ⁷⁸ And seeing the hard necessity of death and that there is no man who lives and does not see death, ⁷⁸¹ our most clement Father remembers his decree of old, that in Adam, we all die. ⁷⁸² Or the prophet, understanding his own fragility and the condition of human flesh, says, Comfort is hidden from my eyes, and the meaning is: I cannot be comforted; whatever I conceive in my mind cannot lessen my pain, seeing that the dearest people are separated from each other by death; ⁷⁸³ hell itself, he says, divides brothers among themselves. Therefore, whatever separates brothers should be called hell, and especially the prostitute who, calling the fool to herself, says in the riches of prudence, “Taste freely the hidden bread and the sweetness of secret water,” ⁷⁸⁴ and the fool does not know that the earthborn are perishing in her and rushing down into the depth of hell. For whatever is not allowed is desired more, and what is sweet in its rarity is changed to bitterness with repetition. And honey drops from the lip of the prostitute, which for a time anoints the mouth of the fool, but in the end, it is found more bitter than gall and sharper than a two-edged sword. ⁷⁸⁵ Whoever is earthborn and is not born from heaven is killed by her embraces and bound by the flounces of her bed, and the feet of folly lead those who enjoy them down to hell with death. But this is the difference between death and hell: death is that by which the soul is separated from the body; hell the place in which souls are shut up, either in refreshment or in punishments, according to the quality of their merits. We have said this to show that death does what the prostitute does. For death divides brothers, and the prostitute does this. In “brothers” understand charity, because a mother, too, is divided from her daughter and a father from his

son, and brother from brother. ⁷⁸ The psalmist, too, demonstrates that death is one thing and hell another, saying, “For there is no one in death who is mindful of you; but who shall confess to you in hell?” ⁷⁸⁷ And, in another place, “Let death come on them, and let them go down alive into hell.” ⁷⁸⁸ Where we interpreted it, O death, I will be your death; O hell, I will be your bite, the Septuagint translated, “Where is your cause, O death? Where is your sting, O hell?” The apostle recorded this as, “Death is swallowed up in contention. O death, where is your contention? O death, where is your sting?” ⁷⁸ And, explaining the force of the testimony, he said, “Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ⁷ And so, what he interpreted as [referring] to the resurrection of the Lord, we cannot and dare not interpret otherwise. Death and hell and the devil can be taken as that which was slain by Christ’s death, about which he also speaks in Isaiah, “Death growing strong has devoured,” and afterward it follows, “The Lord has taken away every tear from every face.” ⁷ ¹ But some understand the two brothers divided among themselves by death, according to the history of that time, to be Israel and Judah, so that what was then prefigured in part may now be experienced in full, and Israel and Judah would have to be delivered and redeemed with the whole human race. Where the Septuagint translated, “Where is your cause,” and we said, I will be your death, Symmachus interpreted it as, “I will be your wound.” The Fifth Version and Aquila [have], “Where are your words?” which, in Hebrew, is debarekha, reading dabar, that is, “word,” instead of deber, which means “death,” according to what we read in Isaiah, “The Lord sent death into Jacob, and it came into Israel,” ⁷ ² that is, debar, which we translated as, “The Lord sent word into Jacob, and came into Israel,” that is, dabar. And in place of “sting,” which we translated bite, Symmachus interpreted it άπάντημα, that is, “meeting,” Theodotion and the Fifth Version “wound” and “conclusion.”

[13:15b] The Lord will bring a burning wind that shall rise from the desert, and it shall dry up his springs and shall make his fountain desolate, and he shall carry off the treasure of every desirable vessel.

Septuagint: “The Lord will bring a burning wind on them from the desert, and it shall dry up his springs and shall make his fountains desolate, and he shall dry up his land and all his desirable vessels.” I read in someone’s commentary that the burning wind that the Lord will bring from the desert is the one that struck the house of Job at its four corners and made it fall on his feasting sons, ⁷ ³ and is [also] one of those winds that, we read in the Gospel, blows and comes with storm, rain and rivers to overturn the house that is built on rock or on sand. ⁷ ⁴ This does not appear to me [to be so] at all; for it is not written in Job that the Lord brought a wind from the desert, but the name of the Lord is not mentioned, so the wind from the wilderness that came against the holy man by his will can be taken as a contrary strength, and the winds that overturn the foundations of the houses cannot at all be applied to something good. It remains that we should understand the burning wind that the Lord brings, rising from the desert, as that one about which we read in Habakkuk: “God will come from the south, and the holy one from Mount Paran,” ⁷ ⁵ which is certainly located in the wilderness and in the south. And in the Song of Songs we read, “Where do you feed, where do you lie at midday?” ⁷ And so the Lord will bring rising from the desert this burning wind that dries up the springs of death and dries up his fountains—from the desert of the human race in which also the devil, seeking rest, could not find it. ⁷ ⁷ Or we understand the desert to be the virginal womb of Mary, that, without human seed, produced no offspring, but she, a simple and most pure virgin, brought forth by a fecund union that flower who says in the Song of Songs, “I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys.” ⁷ ⁸ And, as in this passage, so in Isaiah he is said beautifully to be a flower rising and a wind rising, ⁷ because from the humility of flesh he ascended to the heights and led us with him to the Father, saying in the Gospel, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.” ⁸ He like a root will rise from the uninhabited land, ⁸ ¹ and death will never conquer him, but he will overcome death, for death has never found in him any path of its power, ⁸ ² and this is what is said in Proverbs: it is impossible to find the trail of a snake on a rock. ⁸ ³ And the very same thing is said in the Gospel: “Behold, the prince of this world will come, and he will find nothing in me.” ⁸ ⁴ He will dry up the springs of death and “make his fountains desolate.” The springs and fountains and sting of death are called sins by the apostle; ⁸ ⁵ when they have been dried up, death itself will also be dried up.

And what follows, He shall carry off the treasure of every desirable vessel, can be taken in two ways: we understand them to be either what is desirable to those who live in death, or the desirable vessels that were being held in the treasury of hell, the holy ones, whom the Lord snatched in power when they were bound and brought from hell and, like most precious vessels, brought with him into paradise. ⁸ Instead of treasure, the Septuagint translated “land”; without doubt, “land” signifies death. And in the Psalms we read, “I believe that I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” ⁸ ⁷ And, according to the Gospel, “The meek shall possess the land.” ⁸ ⁸ On the contrary, we must take the “land” of hell not to be the land of the living but of the dead, which is plundered and pillaged, when the souls conquered in hell are delivered by the death of Christ. Tropologically, in the same commentary about which we spoke above, we read that the burning wind is understood as the devil and the individual heresiarchs. We disagree with this: for the devil cannot dry up the springs of death and the fountains of error, since he himself is the fountain and beginning of the dead. And so the burning wind should be understood as the church’s discourse, which dries up all the dogmas of the heretics and brings them to nothing and snatches away and disperses those who had been gathered together in death by the doctrine of the heretics.

14:1 Let Samaria perish, because she has stirred up her God to bitterness; let them perish by the sword, let their little ones be dashed, and let their fetuses be ripped up.

Septuagint: “Let Samaria be destroyed, because she has resisted her God; they will perish by the sword, and let their suckling ones be dashed against the rock, and let the women with child be broken to pieces.” We have often said that the ten tribes are called Samaria from the capital Samaria that, from the name of Augustus, is now called Augusta, that is, Sebaste. We read in the book of Kings why the city is called Samaria. ⁸ Therefore the prophet commands and, to speak more correctly, says in the optative mood, Let Samaria perish. Although God prepared such great goods for her, she turns them against God and rather follows the images of demons; but Symmachus did not say “let her perish” but μεταμελήσει, that is, “she will do

penance,” and she will regret her error, because she turned her most kind God to bitterness, so that her warriors perish by the sword, her little ones and suckling ones are dashed to the earth, and her fetuses and pregnant women are broken to pieces in death. We should believe that all these things happened to her during the time of her captivity and distress, when they lost their own fatherland, and those who escaped the sword were led away to perpetual servitude. This understanding is easily applied to the heretics, because they are called Samaria, in that they boast that they observe the commands of God, not because they have kept his laws but because they say that this is so, like the Novatianist schismatics, who also call themselves καθαροὺς, that is “clean,” even though they are most unclean of all, denying repentance through which sins are cleansed, according to what is written: “You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow,” ⁸¹ and in Isaiah, “Wash yourselves, be clean.” ⁸¹¹ But he calls the bath not baptism but all repentance, which blots out the filth of sins. Therefore, let Samaria of this sort perish, because whatever she says opposes her God and turns his clemency into severity, to the extent that those who are men within her and have come to the perfect age of wickedness will be cut down with a spiritual blade. But those who are little ones and suckling ones are dashed against the rock, about whom we read in the psalm, “Blessed be he who shall take and dash their little ones against the rock.” ⁸¹² And her fetuses and pregnant women who conceived from bad seed will be broken to pieces, lest they bear very evil children. Something similar is supplied for us in the Gospel: “But woe to them who are pregnant and give suck in those days,” ⁸¹³ namely the days of tribulation and distress. But the warriors of Samaria are killed by the sword, and their suckling ones are dashed, and their pregnant women are broken to pieces, so that, when the bad seed has perished and the weeds have been burned, the wheat alone may remain, which is gathered into the storehouses of the Lord. ⁸¹⁴

14:2-4 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have fallen down by your iniquity. Take with you words, and return to the Lord; say to him: Take away all iniquity and receive the good, and we will render the calves of our lips. Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride on a horse; neither will we say any more: The works of our hands are our gods, for you will have mercy on the orphan of the one who is in you.

Septuagint: “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have become weak in your iniquities. Take up with you words, and turn back to the Lord, say to him that you cannot take away iniquity, but you take up good things; and let us render back the fruit of our lips. Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride on a horse, we shall never again say ‘our gods’ to the works of our hands; he who is in you will have mercy on the orphan.” Since Samaria and her men are perishing and the little ones and the pregnant have been struck down, dashed and ripped apart, ⁸¹⁵ all Israel is provoked to repentance, just as one who “has become weak,” or falls down “in his iniquities,” turns back to the doctor and receives health, or he who had fallen down begins to stand. And we are taught how one ought to do penance: Take with you words, he says, that is, prayers, and the confession of sins, and return to the Lord with both words and deeds, and say to him, Take away every iniquity, leave nothing in us of our illness and our former ruin, lest the plants sprung from bad seed proliferate once again. And receive the good, he says. If you do not take away our evils, we are not able to have the good that we offer you. This agrees with what is written elsewhere, “Turn away from evil and do good.” ⁸¹ And we will render the calves of our lips. Instead of calves, which in Hebrew are pharim, the Septuagint translated “fruit,” which is pheri, because of the likeness of the incorrect word. But the calves of the lips are praises for God and thanksgiving: “For an afflicted spirit is a sacrifice to God.” ⁸¹⁷ Therefore, in that time, since fleshly victims have been rejected, a pure confession is a sacrifice pleasing to God. ⁸¹⁸ Those who say that they will render the calves of their lips and sing God’s praises perpetually also promise another thing, that they will never place their hope in the Assyrians or in Egyptian horses, because “vain is the horse for safety,” ⁸¹ and they will no longer adore the works of their hands, the golden calves that they made in Dan and Bethel; and therefore they say, “We will never say to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods,’ because you will have mercy on the orphan of the one who is in you,” that is, on the people of Israel, about whom you said, “Israel is my firstborn son,” ⁸² and, “I have begotten sons and exalted them: but they have despised me,” ⁸²¹ and, in another place, “The sons who are strangers have lied to me.” ⁸²² And he is called an orphan because he has lost God, his father. Someone explained “orphan” as one who withdrew from his evil father, the devil, and therefore will be lifted up by the mercy of God. The prophet also speaks daily against every perverse dogma and provokes its followers to repentance, saying, You who have fallen or have “grown feeble,” having lost the healthfulness [that comes from] the Lord, turn back to the Lord your God; take with you words, a true confession of faith, and say, Take away

the iniquity that abides in our heart and accept the good of faith. Because “with the heart, one believes unto justice; but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.” ⁸²³ Calves and victims, or the “fruit of our lips,” is to believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the passion and resurrection of the Lord; he who offers this to him will never hope in the Assyrian king, about whom we have often spoken. Nor will he ride on the horse, about which the Lord commands that they not be multiplied ⁸²⁴—Pharaoh, having them, was drowned with his cavalry. ⁸²⁵ For every heretic “rides horses” through pride, horses that he generated himself in his error. And they will “never again say to the works of their hands,” which they themselves, the makers, fashioned by their eloquent speech, “our gods.” The glutton’s god is his belly, ⁸² the miser devotes himself to mammon; the heretic who has deserted all these dogmas that he made, that is, Assyria and the horse and the works of his hands, will return to the Lord, and he will please his father, from whom he was cast off.

14:5-9 I will heal their breaches, I will love them freely, for my wrath is turned away from him. I will be as the dew. Israel shall spring forth as the lily, and his root shall shoot forth as that of Libanus. His branches shall spread, and his glory shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as that of Libanus. They shall be converted who sit in his shade, they shall live on wheat, and they shall blossom as a vine. His memorial shall be as the wine of Libanus. Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? I will hear and direct him, and I [will make him flourish] like a green fir tree: from me is your fruit found.

Septuagint: “I will heal their inhabitants, I will love them manifestly, for my anger is turned away from them. I will be as the dew. Israel shall flourish like the lily and shall send forth his roots like Libanus. His branches shall spread, and he shall be like a fruitful olive tree, and his smell like that of Libanus. They shall be converted and sit under his shade; they shall drink and be inebriated with grain, and his memorial shall flourish like the vine, like the wine of Libanus, Ephraim. What has he to do any more with idols? I have humbled him, and I will strengthen him, like a dense juniper; from me is your fruit found.”

To those who have turned back to repentance and, like an orphan, have known [again] the father whom they left, ⁸²⁷ God responds, I will heal their breaches, or their “dwellings,” in which they were wounded or broken, or in which they lived badly: I will love them freely, which the Septuagint translated ὁμολόγως, “clearly” and “openly” or “without any doubt.” But the Lord loves those who love him, about whom he says in another place, “I love them who love me.” ⁸²⁸ For I who was first angry with them on account of the sins that they committed will now have mercy on them because of my clemency. And I will be to them as the dew, to alleviate the Babylonian furnace and the oven of burning heat by my dew, I who spoke through Isaac the patriarch to Jacob my servant, “Your dwelling shall be from the dew of heaven.” ⁸² For just as the Lord becomes for those believing in him light, way, truth, bread, vine, fire, shepherd, lamb, door, worm and so on, so he is changed to dew for us who need his mercy and burn with the fever of our sins. Isaiah says to him, “For the dew that is from you is their healing.” ⁸³ And in the song of Deuteronomy, Moses says, “Let my words come down as the dew.” ⁸³¹ And when the Lord has sprinkled us with his dew and has watered the dryness of our breast with his rains, we will spring forth, nay, we will “flourish like the lily,” imitating the Lord and Savior, who says in the Song of Songs, “I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys,” ⁸³² and he speaks to his spouse, who has no wrinkle or spot, ⁸³³ “As the lily among thorns, so is my kinsman among the daughters.” ⁸³⁴ And when we grow in the Lord, we will “send forth our roots” like the trees of “Libanus,” which plunge their roots as deeply as they rise into the breezes with their tops, so that they are shaken by no storm but stand with stable strength. The branches of these trees are extended far and wide, so that the birds of the air come and dwell in them. ⁸³⁵ And lest perhaps we think that he is speaking about cedars and unfruitful trees, because he said, His root shall shoot forth, or, “He will send forth his roots like the Libanus,” he compares the man holy and converted to the Lord to a “fruitful olive tree,” he who says in another place, “I, as a fruitful olive tree in the house of God.” ⁸³ The five wise virgins prepared his fruit for themselves, ⁸³⁷ fruit by which the swelling of wounds is eased, the limbs of the sick find rest, light is lit in the darkness, those struggling in the contest are anointed. This olive tree will have the smell as of Libanus or of frankincense, which is of the species of incense: ὁμωνύμως ⁸³⁸ among the Greeks and the Hebrews; and it is the name of a mountain and of “frankincense,” or at least of the mountain of Libanus, most fertile and green, that is protected by the very dense foliage of the trees, so that

the olive tree can say, “We are the good odor of Christ.” ⁸³ And those who have returned to the Lord will receive the reward of their conversion, to sit in his shade and say, “I rested and sat down under his shade, and his fruit is sweet in my mouth.” ⁸⁴ And when they sit in his shadow, they who first were dead will live, or, according to the Septuagint, “they will drink and be inebriated with wheat,” that is, the abundance of all things. That little verse, “You have visited the earth, and have inebriated it,” ⁸⁴¹ declares that this “inebriation” does not mean the overthrow of the mind but the plenitude of all things. So does Joseph’s banquet, in which he is said to have “inebriated” his brothers. ⁸⁴² And the Lord speaking to his apostles: “Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, brothers.” ⁸⁴³ Or, [one could say that] because the Lord himself is grain and the vine, whoever believes in him is said to be inebriated. ⁸⁴⁴ Finally, it follows, “And he shall flourish like the vine, his memorial like the wine of Libanus.” But we can say that the wine of Libanus is mixed and seasoned with frankincense, so that it has the sweetest odor, or that the wine of Libanus is that which is poured out to the Lord in the temple, about which we read in Zechariah under the name of Libanus: “Open your gates, O Libanus.” ⁸⁴⁵ Therefore, since such an abundance of things is to come, O Ephraim, let everyone who does penance and who begins to be mine put away idols, denounce images. For I am he who “humbled you,” and I will “exalt you,” or I will hear and direct you, and I will make him like a green fir tree, so that it may be said about him in the psalm among the Hebrews, “The fir tree is his home.” ⁸⁴ Or at least “I will be like a dense juniper,” that he may rest under my shade. According to the Septuagint translators, Solomon is remembered to h