COMMENTARY ON THE PROPHET HOSEA

Someone might think it somehow superfluous and ill-advised, and not at all especially necessary for benefit, to attempt to all but dig up again things already said by many, and to add other labors to the labors of those who have gone before; even though theirs are very sufficient to be able to make very clear the writings of the holy prophets; but I would say the matter is not so; far from it. For I will recall Paul exhorting those instructed by him, "To write the same things to you is not tedious for me, but for you it is safe." But consider how true the saying is. For if something necessary for knowledge should be set forth, and then many discourses by many people are made on this very thing, there will be no harm at all; but it would benefit the hearers as much as possible. For if those accustomed to interpret make their discourses agree with one another, a more secure knowledge certainly enters into those eager to hear; but if something novel appears in each, and what was perhaps not very clearly discerned correctly and blamelessly by one person should come to the mind of another, what is the harm? Or rather, how is it not better that the presentation of the thoughts becomes richer and clearer? Therefore, even if many have written before us, interpreting the things in the holy prophets, we will not be silent for this reason; but rather we will drive away hesitation as inactive, and the grace which the one who reveals deep and hidden things might grant to us ourselves, this we will make manifest to others as well, remembering Christ who says, "Freely you have received, freely give." Beginning, therefore, the clear interpretation of the blessed prophet Hosea, I will set forth first those things also concerning the writing of the other prophets. For it is the custom for all of them to easily reshape the discourses they make according to what seems good to the Holy Spirit, so that sometimes from history, that is, from sensible things and matters that are, as it were, in plain sight and have happened, they pass easily to the innermost and spiritual things; and at other times, again, to come back down, and very obscurely indeed, to matters of sense; and among them there is also a very great introduction of persons, complaints and exclamations, and the remembrance of things already past, and the foretelling of things to come. It is necessary, therefore, for those who love to judge each thing clearly as far as possible, to observe the order of the thoughts and the difference of the persons; for thus our discourse will surely be clear and unconfused, and free from all difficulty. But I think it necessary to narrate beforehand some of the things that happened to those of the blood of Israel, so that the mind of the readers may not be disturbed, when hearing at one time of Ephraim and Israel and also Samaria, and at another time of Judah and Benjamin; for the mention of such names among the holy prophets is very great. In order, therefore, that they may know each thing clearly, let them hear that Solomon, administering his father's kingdom at times in Jerusalem, did indeed build for God that famous and admirable temple; but although he had become very distinguished both for the splendor of his wealth and his abundance of possessions, having come to old age, through his regard for women he offended God. And what the manner of his transgression was, the holy scripture will relate to us; for it runs thus: "And the king took foreign wives, and the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabites, Ammonites, Syrians and Idumaeans, Hittites and Amorites, from the nations of which the Lord forbade the sons Israel. You shall not go in to them, and they shall not go in to you, lest they turn away your hearts after their idols. To these Solomon cleaved in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And it came to pass in the time of Solomon's old age that his foreign wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. And Solomon went after Astarte, the abomination of the Sidonians, and after Baal, the idol of the sons of Ammon. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not go after the Lord, as David his father did. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, and for Baal, the idol of the sons of Ammon, and for Astarte, the abomination of the Sidonians. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their idols. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because he turned away his heart from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not at all go after other gods; and to keep and to do what the Lord God commanded him." Therefore, the audacious deeds of Solomon in his old age were beyond all impiety. For what could be more grievous than such outrageous transgressions? Or how is it not beyond all reason, to neglect the honor and love for the one who is God by nature and truly, and to assign the dignity that belongs to him and to him alone to herds of demons, or rather to attach it to stones and wood? But since he was caught having thought and done things which it is not even lawful to say, and was detected being guilty of such shameful transgressions, the God of all then said to him: "Because these things were done by you, and you have not kept my commandments and my ordinances that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from your hand and give it to your servant. Nevertheless, in your days I will not do it, for the sake of David your father; from the hand of your son I will take it. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom; I will give one scepter to your son, for the sake of David my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen." For since, as I said, being overcome by desire for women, although Solomon was exceedingly wise, he all but tore asunder the kingdom of God, so to speak, as far as the power of his undertakings went, by attaching to idols the honor and glory that is most fitting to Him alone, for this reason, and very fittingly, God threatened to tear apart his kingdom, repaying him with like sorrows, according to what is written in the prophet Ezekiel: "As you have done, so it shall be to you; your recompense will be returned upon your own head." And when Solomon died, his son was called to the kingdom, that is, Rehoboam. Then indeed Israel was finally torn apart, and the ten tribes departed from Jerusalem, and the half-tribe of Ephraim. For the sons born of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, were counted as one tribe, since the forefather Jacob willed this to be so. For it was said to Joseph: "Now therefore your two sons, who were born to you in Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are." Therefore the ten tribes, and the half of the one, that is Ephraim, departed to Samaria, and were outside the kingdom of Rehoboam; but those from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin remained in Jerusalem. But since those in Samaria, remaining without a king and without a general, were suspicious of attacks from Rehoboam, and expected to be utterly destroyed along with their dearest ones, they sent for Jeroboam. And he was a servant of Solomon who had fled to Egypt to king Shishak. And indeed when he came they immediately appointed him as leader, and they honored with the scepter of the kingdom the sinner. And Jeroboam was from the mountain and tribe of Ephraim. But when he had been appointed king, he then contrived in what manner the affairs of the kingdom would be established for him, and would remain secure, so that the opinion of those who appointed him would not shift to some other counsel and consideration. Then, fearing lest Israel, brought to remembrance of the worship according to the law and of the feasts celebrated in Jerusalem, might choose to return to its original state, and be brought under the yokes of Rehoboam, he made two golden calves, and leading Israel back to the worship in Egypt, he commanded them to worship them and to offer whole burnt offerings. "And he placed," it says, "the one in Gilgal, and the other in Dan;" and these were cities more conspicuous than the others, which were in the land of the Samaritans. Therefore the apostasy of the ten tribes and of the half-tribe of Ephraim became twofold. For they departed not only from Jerusalem, but also from piety towards God itself, worshiping golden calves, sacrificing and serving "the works of their own hands," as it is written. But those who remained in Jerusalem, I mean Judah and Benjamin, had some respect and regard for the ordinances given through Moses. For they sacrificed in the temple; yet they did not entirely hold to the love of God, but were themselves also divided towards apostasy. For they sacrificed to idols "on every high hill, and under every "leafy" tree," according to the voice of the prophet. Therefore, whenever you hear the holy prophets naming Israel or Ephraim, then understand me to mean those in Samaria; but when Judah and Benjamin, those who remained in Jerusalem. And there were also prophets among them, prophesying indiscriminately concerning both those in Samaria and those in Jerusalem; and some were in Jerusalem, while others, inhabiting the land of the Samaritans, delivered the words from God to their hearers. But it must be known that after the ten tribes and the half-tribe of Ephraim had broken away from Jerusalem, both those in Samaria and those in Jerusalem had their own kings. And this prevailed until the time of the final captivity, when they returned to Jerusalem, Cyrus having conquered, and having granted them their return, with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, who was of the tribe of Judah, leading, and Joshua the son of Jozadak serving as priest. Then they also rebuilt the temple, and came under one rule, and dwelt in Jerusalem, all division having been removed. But as many captivities as occurred from time to time among the ten tribes, and indeed of the half-tribe of Ephraim, and of those in Jerusalem, I mean Judah and Benjamin, the discourse will clearly show as it proceeds. And the times in which each of the holy prophets spoke have also of necessity been recorded, so that we might know precisely in what state of affairs, and in what condition they were, the words from God came to them.

Book 1

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah and Jotham and Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel. Therefore the blessed Hosea prophesies in the days of Uzziah and Jotham and Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel. And the time of the prophecy is understood to have been extended up to this point. But I think it is necessary to narrate clearly what happened in each case, so that we may understand, as I have already said, what sort of men these were, whether they were good and well-disposed towards God, or had turned aside to what was not so; and what things happened in each case, both to those in Samaria and to those in Jerusalem. For we shall know in this way, and very easily, wherever the scope of the prophecy is looking. Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, was therefore named last; but he came before Azariah, who is also Uzziah. It should be known, however, that he is different from the first one, who lived in the times of the reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon; however, he was of the same character as that one and similar in impiety. For it is written thus about him: "In the fifteenth year of Ama-"siah son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Joash "reigned over Israel in Samaria, for forty-one years. "And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not "turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who "caused Israel to sin." Do you see how he became an imitator of that one's ways, following the same path, as it were, and coming, so to speak, in the footsteps of that one's impiety? Then, what does the sacred scripture say? "In the twenty-seventh year "of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah, "king of Judah, began to reign. He was sixteen years old when "he began to reign, and for fifty-two years "he reigned in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was "Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the "eyes of the Lord, according to all that Amaziah his "father had done; except the high places were not removed, the "people were still sacrificing and burning incense in the high places. "And the Lord struck the king, and he was a leper until "the day of his death." Uzziah was pious and God-loving, but not entirely; for he did not remove the high places, it says, but they burned incense in them and those who were deluded offered sacrifices to demons. Then Azariah, that is, Uzziah, being carried away into improper thoughts, thought it fitting to the glory of his kingship also to perform what was ordained for God, and to undertake the sacred liturgy; and indeed he sacrificed by himself, having disregarded the laws given through Moses. But when he ascended to the liturgy that was in no way fitting for him, I mean the sacred one, "The Lord," it says, "struck him, and he was a leper until "the day of his death." The leper, then, is unclean according to the law, and those seized by such an affliction were sent out of the camp. For God once said to the hierophant Moses, "Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them "send out from the camp every leper and everyone with a discharge, "and everyone unclean on account of a soul." And he was rebuked by the disease, having dared what was not lawful, and God decreed dishonor for the king who had seized the sacred glory. But since the power of the prophecy does not look only to Judah, that is, those in Jerusalem, but it comes also upon Israel, that is, the ten tribes in Samaria, come, let us speak of necessity of those who reigned over it in the days of Azariah, who is also Uzziah, and what calamities it befell them to be caught in, having been grievously sick with profane idolatry. Now therefore in the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Uzziah, who is also Azariah, another Azariah, son of Jeroboam, had reigned over Israel for six months. And since he also walked in the way of his father, and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, he was given over to some of his own household for slaughter, and so he is destroyed. Then as time went on, in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Uzziah, Shallum is anointed again over Israel, and had reigned for a month of days; for he was immediately killed by Menahem son of Gadi from Tirzah. And the sacred scripture noted that they became sons, and both were from the blood of Jehu, who killed Ahab and his sons and Jezebel, to whom God also promised, saying "Sons to the fourth generation shall sit on "your throne." Menahem therefore had reigned over Israel, having killed Shallum. "And he did," it says, "what was "evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not turn away from all "the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin." And while he was reigning, I mean Menahem, and offending God, because he was excessively devoted to the false worship of idols, Pul king wages war against Samaria of the Assyrians; whom Manaim, being unable to ward off with weapons, persuaded with much money to depart from the land and to end the battle. But when Manaim died, then in the fifty-second year of the reign of Ozias, Jotham was again anointed over Judah in Jerusalem after the death of his father, concerning whom it is written, that "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, "according to all that his father Ozias had done; except "he did not remove the high places; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on "the high places;" and over Israel, Pakeas the son of Manaim. "And he reigned," it says, "two years, and did "what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. Then conspired," it says, "against him Pakee the son of Romelias, his third-in-command, "and struck him in Samaria, and reigned "in his place over Israel, and he did what was evil in "the eyes of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins "of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin." While he was reigning, Theglaphalasar, king of the Assyrians, came up, who, having taken all Samaria by force, deported Israel to the Assyrians. And Pakee also died, when Osee, the son of Ela, formed a conspiracy against him, who also reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Azarias. But "In those days," it says, "the Lord began "to send against Judah Raason the king "of Syria, and Pakee the son of Romelias." The account goes back in these matters; for we said that Pakee died, when Osee the son of Ela formed a conspiracy and a plot against him; but it brings forward a narrative that happened in his times. "For the Lord began," it says, "in "those days to send against Judah Raason the "king of Syria, and Pakee the son of Romelias." For Pakee the son of Romelias made war on the people of Jerusalem as being his neighbors. But when he saw their resistance was formidable and unbreakable, he persuaded Raason the king of the Syrians to become his ally and helper, and to besiege Jerusalem with him. So, when the war was underway, Jotham the son of Azarias died; and Achaz his son succeeded to the kingdom, being exceedingly wicked and an idolater, and so drunk with the error of idolatry, that he even made his own son pass through the fire, and inclined to every kind of abomination, and burned incense "on the high places and under every leafy tree," as it is written. Achaz therefore, being troubled, gathered all the wealth found in the house of the Lord, and sent it by messengers to Theglaphalasar king of the Assyrians, and begged to be saved by him. The Assyrian therefore took up arms against the kingdom of Raason, and took Damascus, which is the metropolis of Syria, and killed Raason. Then Achaz went down from Jerusalem to Damascus to see the Assyrian. And having seen in the precincts of the idols an altar having a certain new and unusual design, and being greatly pleased with it, he took a copy of it and sent it to Urias the priest in Jerusalem, and ordered one to be made according to it. And having brought it into the house of the Lord, and all but dishonored that which was made by Moses according to the will of God, he ordered the customary rites to be performed on it; and besides these things he made other innovations in the temple, according to what seemed good to him, thoughtlessly and displeasingly to God. But also in his times, while Osee son of Ela king of Israel was still living, Salmanasar king of the Assyrians came up against Israel, who, having laid waste Samaria, resettled Israel in the mountains and rivers of the Medes; and he also killed Osee himself. And for what reason? Because he had not brought him the manaa, it says, which was a symbol of submission; but rather called upon the ruler of the Egyptians for aid. Then after this, when Achaz died, Ezekias his son reigned over Judah in Jerusalem. This man became devout, and one of those who especially cared for righteousness, as to have an incomparable difference in this compared to the others. "He himself tore down the high places, and the groves," he says, "he cut down; and the Lord was with him." While he was reigning, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians went up against the fortified cities of Judea; and having besieged them, he took them without effort. then also the Rabshakeh leaps upon Jerusalem itself, and opening his ungated mouth against God, he sends forth those all-blasphemous words; then also one hundred eighty-five thousand have fallen from the camp of the Assyrians in one night, being consumed by the hand of an angel. These things have been usefully said for the present; for the word of the prophecy would skillfully apply to each of the things that have happened. for sometimes he rebukes those in Samaria, and at other times he threatens those in Jerusalem with invasions; he foretells the captivities; he forewarns of the fear; he promises assistance; he calls to repentance; and no word or manner of things necessary for benefit has been left out of the prophecy for those who at that time were led astray. Therefore he says; The beginning of the word of the Lord in Hosea; and the Lord said to Hosea; For God begins in the prophet to reveal mysteries surely in that way, which was clearly spoken through another prophet, "I will stand on my watch and "I will set myself on the rock, and I will look out to see what "the Lord God will say in me." for he reveals to the saints, putting into their mind the knowledge of things to come, the God of all things. And so the blessed David says, "I will hear what "the Lord God will speak in me, for he will speak peace to "his people;" and no less the blessed prophet Zechariah comes to us through similar words; for he said, "And the angel who was speaking in me answered." for it was the custom for the holy prophets to call the Word of God an angel, as announcing to them and making clear the will of God the Father. And the prophet Isaiah will also bear witness concerning him, saying, "Because every garment "gathered by deceit, they will repay with a change, and "they will wish they had been burned with fire; because a child "was born to us, and his name is called Angel of Great "Counsel." But that the revelation in the saints was subtle and indistinct, and not accomplished by tongue and words such as ours, Paul will assure us, writing, "Or "do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me?" Therefore, that the word of God came to be in Hosea, would be, as far as I can understand, signifying nothing else to the hearers, than that a revelation occurred in Hosea, and the knowledge of things to come flashed like light, not illuminating the eyes of the body, but the mind and heart. But to say again, And the Lord said to Hosea, leads us to such thoughts. for indeed the command was not common to all who would encounter it, nor was it set forth for those willing to carry it out from time to time, but it was spoken specifically and to Hosea alone. For it is not, just as the command, "Thus says "the Lord, Do not learn according to the ways of the nations, and from "the signs of heaven do not be afraid," is common and beneficial, so would it be understood as good and profitable to take a wife of fornication, and children of fornication; but that one would usefully apply to all; this however would be fitting to be said to the prophet alone by God. This, I think, is "and he said to Hosea," just as if he were to say, this sort of word is not for everyone simply, but for Hosea alone. for it was not necessary for what was spoken providentially to one person at a certain time to become for many an excuse for a shameful and pleasure-loving life. What then did God say to the blessed Hosea? Go, take for yourself a wife of fornication and children of fornication, because the land commits great fornication, departing from the Lord. And he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. No argument will persuade us to dismiss the letter, and to condemn the narrative as random, and to define the ugliness of the matter itself, or even to suppose, according to some, that it was not done this way, nor that Gomer was taken in marriage, that is, marital union, where the sacred letter says that a conception took place, and indeed also a birth, and it mentions the name of the child, and it speaks of the woman's father, and in addition to these things, the name of the woman herself. But since it was necessary to confess, for those who choose to agree with the truth of what was done, that these things truly happened in this way, come, let us set forth the arguments of those who are accustomed to mock, and then finally let us introduce in due course the narrative of the divine plan. I happened upon a treatise, therefore, of a not-insignificant man who wished to clarify the things concerning this passage; who made no moderate condemnation of the history, and of those who say it happened this way; and he said that on this very point especially, fearing nothing, the lovers of self-control must clearly cry out The letter kills. For as if condemning the letter in its absence, and coming down as if from a steep place, he composed certain arguments of this kind. "For Moses," he said, "the divine, was once commanded to lead Israel, redeemed from the slavery of the Egyptians, "to the holy land long ago promised to the "fathers, I mean that of the "promise; but also the prophet Jeremiah heard God saying "clearly, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew ""you, and before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you; I have appointed ""you a prophet to the nations." How then are they not worthy of admiration," "he says, "who refuse so august and all-beautiful a ministry, "and do not refuse to delay? For the one "said, "I pray, Lord, appoint another who is able, ""whom you will send;" and the other, putting forward his youth, "tried to dissuade God. But also the prophet," he says, "Ezekiel, "having been ordered to make bread for himself with cakes of human dung, "was not a little displeased, and for this "reason he heard, "Behold, I have given you cakes of cattle in place of human ""cakes, and you shall bake your bread on them." And "indeed also the divine Peter himself, when the sheet was let "down from heaven, on which all the four-footed animals and "the beasts were written, heard God saying, "Rise, Peter, kill ""and eat," refused, he says, speaking thus, "By no means, ""Lord; for I have never eaten anything common or unclean; nor ""has any profane meat entered my mouth." But Hosea, "having heard that he must be joined to a woman who is shameful and has been "prostituted and has an accursed life, does not refuse the matter, "does not admit hesitation, does not bring supplication, "asking to be released; but like one of the most licentious, most readily "and without delay, he all but snatches the thing, perhaps "being overcome by pleasure for the woman." Then, concluding his arguments into absurdity, he added to these a few insipid things. For he pretends to advocate for the prophet, and again he says, "that he would have made the greatest possible "refusal, if he had known that God commanded a bodily union; "but since what was being done was something spiritual, out of exceedingly great "love for God, he all but comes as a volunteer to do what was "commanded. Besides," he says, "the God of self-control "would not have wished such a thing to happen, that so great a man "should be defiled by such shameful and most abominable "unions, I mean those with a woman, and that a lewd and "prostituted one. And reshaping, as it were, the force of the "history into spiritual concepts, he said that Gomer "was a type of a soul that has chosen to live shamefully and indecently; "and that the prophet fulfills the image of the one from above and from "heaven, that is, of the Word of God from the Father, who, being joined to "our souls intellectually, implants the seeds of a life that loves "virtue." And these are the findings of his plausible reasoning; but I have been not moderately amazed, first, that disregarding the concepts that lead to truth, he has dared to say that the letter kills; Then in addition to this, that he has presented Moses and those we have just now mentioned, as having spoken against what was divinely revealed from above; but that those who dared to look against the divine decrees were not without blame, he has wrongly kept silent. For when the hierophant Moses excused himself, and hesitated at his mission, and put forward his slowness of speech, God rebuked him as being weak in faith, saying thus, "Who has given a mouth to man? "and who has made the dumb and the deaf? the seeing and "the blind? Is it not I, the Lord God? And now go, and "I will open your mouth;" But when after this he still drew back and hesitated, "the Lord," it says, "was angry with Moses," and said, "Is not Aaron your brother? I know "that he will speak fluently for you;" And again, when Jeremiah had said previously, that I am younger, and I do not know how to speak, God no less replied, saying, "Do not say, that "'I am younger,' for to all to whom I shall send you, you shall go, and according to all that I shall command you, you shall "speak." For it was not at all without danger to say, or even only to think, that the highest counsel had erred from proper reasoning, in calling a young man to prophecy. Likewise the divine Peter heard, when the sheet was let down from heaven, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat;" but when he cried out in a Jewish manner, "By no means, Lord; for I have never "eaten anything common or unclean," he was immediately rebuked, and as one who dared to oppose the divine decisions, he heard clearly, "What God has cleansed, you must not call common." For even if the God of all wished to reprove gently, and was not immediately embittered against them for speaking against Him immoderately, yet their refusal was not without blame for them. But I say that it is necessary to assign to the decrees from above the quality of being right and blameless without delay, and to hasten to carry out what has been commanded, even if the matter is not very pleasing to our souls; for instance, what I mean is, the God of all commanded Saul to slay Agag, as one who had committed unholy deeds against the people of Israel. But he thought to decide what was good for him, and deemed worthy of sparing the one who had been condemned by the decrees. And so in this he offended God, and greatly. For he took care of the one commanded to die, all but crying out and saying through the very deed, that God had not made a just decree against him. For this reason the blessed Samuel was greatly grieved and indignant with God, and he himself slew Agag, proclaiming the reasons; "Because," he says, "your sword has made women childless, so shall "your mother be made childless among women;" and he foretells to Saul that he will also be driven out of the kingdom, and will pay a bitter penalty for his disobedience. And if it is necessary to adduce besides this the narrative of other histories, it is written in the third book of Kings, that Hadad, the leader or king of the Syrians, once made war against those of Israel. And while Ahab, who was king of Israel, was not a little distressed, and feared the attack, expecting to be captured before long with his whole army, God promised through a prophet to deliver the enemy to him; then that man, having taken him, deemed him worthy of sparing, contrary to what seemed good to God. And what after this does the sacred writing say? "And one man from the sons "of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the Lord, "'Strike me, I pray'; and the man was not willing to strike him. "And he said to him, 'Because you have not listened to the voice "of the Lord, behold, you are departing from me, and a lion will strike you'; "and he went away from him, and a lion finds him and struck "him. And he finds another man and said, 'Strike "me, I pray'; and the man struck him, striking and "wounding him. And the prophet went and stood for the "king of Israel on the road, and he bound with a bandage "his eyes;" and having said a few things in between to Ahab as he was returning, he added again, "Thus "says the Lord: Because you have let a man of destruction go out of your "hand, and the shall be your soul for his soul, "and your people for his people." Do you hear how he who refused to strike the prophet was miserably destroyed, having fallen prey to a terrible beast? And yet how is it not true to say that it was the fruit of reverence not to dare to strike a holy man and a prophet? But it was by the word of the Lord, and disobedience became an inescapable offense. Ahab also unreasonably spared Ben-hadad, although God had commanded to destroy him, and he himself was given for his soul. Therefore it is necessary that what may please God be carried out by us without hesitation or delay; but to do anything else than this, or even to choose to think it, brings the charge of contempt. For such people have all but resolved to rebuke God at last, as one who at times does not deliberate correctly. We say therefore to those who do not place the story outside of slander, and who unwisely criticize it: Does it seem unseemly to you, O sirs, for a prophet to have become a table companion to a lewd woman? But what of this, is it not much more unseemly for some to be slaughtered by holy prophets? How then did Samuel slay Agag, and Elijah the prophets of Baal, although they were many in number? And what of this, tell me, the prophet Isaiah, having removed the sackcloth from his loins, running about Jerusalem naked and barefoot? For would not one immediately mock a man in such a state as being indecent and out of his mind and deranged in his wits? And how is this doubtful, if it is full of praise that all things be done by us in a fitting manner? But you will say that, yielding to divine commands, they did such things at that time. But what, tell me, is one to think of the blessed Hosea? For does he go of his own accord to a harlot and make one so shameful his wife, or was he commanded by God? And I have marveled no less at that one who wishes to scoff at the things written about him, and who has dared to ridicule the unpleasantness of the story. For in explaining away the matter because of its absurdity, and insisting very clearly that the prophet did not have fellowship with a harlot, but that the divine Word is at times joined to souls that have committed fornication, he has not likely understood what nonsense he has fallen into. For he wishes, it seems, for the prophet to be more reverent, at least, than the all-holy God. For would not one say, tell me, that for the prophet to be joined to a wicked woman is on the same level as for the Word of God to choose to have fellowship with an unclean soul? But I think there is absolutely no difference. Either, therefore, let them explain this away along with that because of its absurdity, or let them allow human things to follow after the divine will. But I think it is necessary to adduce something from the evangelical writings as well. Our Lord Jesus Christ reclined with tax collectors and sinners, but the fault-finding Pharisees criticized him again, and went to the holy disciples, saying openly, "Why does your teacher eat and drink with sinful men?" What then did Christ say to this? "Those who are well," he says, "have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." That God, therefore, out of his immeasurable love for mankind, receives even those who are defiled and have not yet washed away their sin, one would in no way doubt. But it is especially necessary not to define as unseemly the story that took place concerning the blessed Hosea, since it writes for us most beautifully in itself, that even while we are still abominable and unclean, the divine Word grants us spiritual fellowship from himself. So then the God of all said to the blessed Hosea: Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry. And he takes Gomer, not making the matter an occasion for pleasure, but fulfilling a work of obedience and ministry, and becoming a servant of the type, which we will indeed fully explain, forming, as is possible, spiritual things in carnal and more earthly ones. And no one, I think, would henceforth fittingly blame the prophet's purpose. For to choose to marry, and to be joined to a wife, and to desire children, the word of the divinely-inspired scripture does not forbid; rather, of blame and it frees from slander everywhere; "For marriage is honorable, and the bed "undefiled," according to the voice of the blessed Paul; and it was permitted for those willing to live rightly, and to achieve a virtuous and pious life, even if they longed for the generation of children. For thus lived the blessed Abraham; and those after him were also well-pleasing to God. What then, tell me, is absurd, or how could it at all be slandered, not to refuse marriage, when God commands something spiritual and necessary to be written for the benefit of those who will read it in bodily and perceptible things? And I would say, fearing nothing, that the prophet also saved Gomer. For a woman so shameful and common, he persuaded to be attached to one man alone, and her who formerly grieved nature itself; because she was not subject to the generation of children, but selling her beauty to the pleasures of those who happened by, she was a springboard of death, and a door and a way leading down to the deep and final darkness itself; he persuaded her to abstain from such utterly detestable incantations and undertakings, and made her a respectable mother of children. But indeed, not to care greatly for his own affairs, but rather to choose to accomplish what is useful and necessary for another's salvation, would appear to be a holy and admirable endeavor. For shall we not thus deem the blessed prophet Isaiah worthy of all praise, if, having taken off his tunic, and untied his sandals, and esteeming propriety of almost no account at all, he walked naked, in order to show the image of the coming captivity to those of Israel, to prepare them to adhere to God and persuade them finally to love the cessation of sins? And what, tell me, did not our wise Paul say clearly, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ, "for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh?" And does he not also say that he "became all things to all men, that I might by all means "save some," and became to the Jews as a Jew, "to those who are without law as without law (not being without law to God, but under law "to Christ), that I might save those who are without law?" And why do I say these things, omitting what is still greater? That even the Only-Begotten Word of God Himself, in order to save the human race, "did not consider it robbery "to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, "and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance "as a man, He endured the cross, despising "the shame." Therefore, it is not at all surprising if, having departed a little from what is proper, the prophet saved Gomer, and brings back the lost woman to propriety. But that God commanded him to be joined to the woman for the sake of a useful and necessary matter, he has immediately made fully known, affirming that He commanded those things for this reason. Because, he says, the land will certainly commit fornication, departing from after the Lord. And he speaks to the prophet not of a fornication of the land that will be, but of one that has already happened. For indeed the heifers were in Dan and Bethel, and the precincts of Baal had been raised, and the rites of Israel were practiced throughout the whole land of the Samaritans. Therefore the God-inspired scripture makes no distinction in the tenses, or rather, as is more true to say, those who have interpreted it for us; just as, for instance, the very person of Christ is introduced through the voice of Isaiah, saying, "I gave my back to the scourges, and my cheeks "to blows." And the prophet himself says of him, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before "its shearer is silent, so He opens not His mouth. "In His humiliation His justice was taken away." Do you see how the word of prophecy has brought to us what is to be in time as if it has already happened? Therefore, "The land will certainly commit fornication," must be understood as, "the land has committed fornication." And in what way has it committed fornication? "From after the Lord," that is, having rejected the following that one would make, as toward God. For it is written, "You shall walk after the Lord," that is, you shall follow without turning aside to the by laws from above and from God. She has committed fornication therefore, away from the Lord, not enduring to follow. For she has become an apostate and profane, and having been added to the worship of idols, she has offended the Master. For this reason, therefore, the prophet Hosea is joined to Gomer, because the land has committed fornication away from the Lord. For what is done might be understood, as I said, as a type of a mystical matter. Then Gomer gave birth; And the Lord said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, because yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Judah, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel; and it will be in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel." In these things the discourse travails with a twofold contemplation for us. But another reading is also offered by some, which is necessary to mention now for the sake of accuracy; for it is of no small benefit for us to mention both accounts. Our version then, that is, that of the Seventy, says, "And I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Judah;" but the other says, "And I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu." And if some should choose to understand it thus, it is necessary to make the narration more historical. And it is thus: Ahab became king in Israel, who also had Jezebel as his consort. But since he was seeking the vineyard of Naboth, the latter responded to this, saying, "Far be it from me to give you the vineyard of my father;" he was murdered, having fallen into the wicked ways of Jezebel. Since, therefore, he had been murdered, Ahab inherited the vineyard of Naboth, and he was also otherwise devoted to the worship of demons, and this excessively, so the God of all was indignant. Then he commanded Elisha the prophet to anoint Jehu king over Israel. And the prophet, having sent the young servant, fulfilled the divine oracle. Then Jehu, having been anointed, goes down to Samaria and fulfilled the divine wrath upon those who had caused grief. For having killed Ahab, he cast him into the vineyard of Naboth; then after this Jezebel, and he also killed seventy sons of Ahab, who were throughout all Samaria. And to these he added Baal; for he burned his pillars, and shook down the precincts, and he slaughters the priests themselves. For these things God accepts him; and indeed he also promises, saying that "sons to the fourth generation shall sit on your throne." But Jehu, who had thus become well-pleasing, nonetheless offended God. For he did not remove the calves, but was himself also caught walking impiously in the sins of Jeroboam. Then there came from Jehu a first son, Jehoahaz, a man who was also an idolater, and who worshiped the calves. But in his time, it says, "the Lord was angry with Israel, and he gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael." A second from Jehoahaz reigned, Joash; and this man was wicked. A third, Jeroboam, during whose reign the prophecy of Hosea begins. A fourth, Azariah from Jeroboam, also an idolater; Shallum killed him. Therefore, since Jehu was anointed to avenge the blood of Naboth, who was from Jezreel—this is a city of Samaria—and so that having removed the idolatry of Israel, he might then persuade them to be devoted to God, then he himself also became a worshiper of the calves, and his children who came from him were no less impious, "I will avenge," it says, "the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu." For just as he avenged the house of Ahab through the kingdom of Jehu, so he will also avenge the house of Jehu. For in the days of his sons, Hazael king of Syria warred, and indeed also Ben-hadad, and they conquered Israel, and they sacked very many of the cities in Samaria. Therefore a child is born to the prophet, whose name is also Jezreel; as if God were somehow recalling the sin committed against Naboth; for a just and pious man having been unjustly killed, how could the champion of the just remain quiet? he will break therefore he proclaims the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. For the tribes of Israel were conquered, as I said, by both Hazael and indeed by Hadad. And so the account is in these things, of what has been done historically; but come, let us say what is fitting for the other writing, bringing now to a spiritual contemplation the things spoken by God. The synagogue of the Jews is noble on account of the fathers. For those around the divine Abraham served a living and true God; and indeed they became caretakers of righteousness, and very well crowned with all good works, and excelling in genuineness; and unshaken in faith, and having practiced every form of gentleness. But when, with a famine pressing down, they mingled with the Egyptians, and then spent long periods of time there, those from them became different in manner and different in mind, choosing henceforth to follow the customs of the inhabitants; and they cared very little for the piety practiced by their fathers and uniquely accomplished. For they worshipped the creation rather than the creator, and the works of their own hands, as it is written; and they descended to such a point of abomination and profane life, that there was perhaps no manner of wickedness at all unpracticed by them. And they seem to me to have suffered something such as a wise and noble woman might suffer, who has abandoned her own way, and all but bid farewell to the practices of decorum; but choosing rather to be seen in the appearance and gestures of prostitutes. For in the same way that such a woman fulfills the pleasures of all upon herself, with all difficulty removed, so too the soul of a person, turning away from the pursuits of piety, and disregarding love for God, and inclining towards Satan, fulfills the desires of the evil spirits. Therefore, the synagogue of the Jews has committed fornication in Egypt in a spiritual sense; for it was set before, as I said, the desires of the demons for anything whatsoever that was pleasant to them, being easily carried away; but God visited and had mercy on her who was so cast down, and wished to make her temperate again; and the all-holy and pure one all but made the profane woman his spouse, and made her a mother of children, and deemed her worthy of love, on account of the firstborn who came from her, that is, Jezreel, which is interpreted seed of God. See, then, how Hosea is set as an image and type of the things so wisely arranged by God. A holy prophet is joined to Gomer, a prostitute. And she bore him Jezreel. Thus also God called the synagogue of the Jews to intimacy through the all-wise Moses, and into spiritual communion, on account of the firstborn who would be from her, that is Christ, who is the seed of God according to the truth; for the Son has been begotten of the Father, even if he became flesh. But since the presentation of the spiritual contemplation would not otherwise become clear and most distinct, unless the historical events were brought into the middle, come, I shall mention them again. That Jezreel is a city, the account has clearly announced to us beforehand, but as from the city of Jezreel it signifies Naboth. And he himself would be a type of the economy understood in Christ; and he himself is also interpreted, The Coming One. And by such a name the holy scripture most often signifies Emmanuel. For it was said to the blessed prophet Habakkuk "Yet a little while, the one who is to come will come and will not delay;" and David also sings somewhere, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;" and indeed the divine baptist himself sends some of his own disciples to our Lord Jesus Christ, and he inquired, saying, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?" And that he was in the image of Christ, we will know this clearly from the things written about him. For Ahab desired to acquire his vineyard, and to convert the so excellent plot into a vegetable garden. But he was indignant at this, and said that he would never give up the vineyard of his father, he was affirming clearly. "For far be it from me," he says, "to give to you the vineyard of my father." But when the god-hated and profane Jezebel, she who persecuted the prophets and plotted against the righteous, learned this, she contrived the murder of the righteous man with wicked devices; and indeed, having arranged for him to be killed, she commanded her husband, I mean Ahab, to inherit. At these things God was rightly indignant, and indeed He promises to avenge the blood of Jezreel. For Ahab was killed by Jehu, as we have already said before; and to him was added the all-wicked Jezebel. Come now, therefore, let us refer to Christ the things that happened to those of old as in a type. For the prophet Isaiah says that "A vineyard came to be for the beloved on a horn in a fruitful place." "and the vineyard was the man of Judah, a new plant, beloved." But the leaders of Israel, of whom the ruling Ahab would be a type, desired to have his vineyard; not that it might be a special inheritance, that is, a vineyard; but that it might become a desolate garden of vegetables, that is, that it might be brought down to something incomparably less; for very great is the difference of a garden of vegetables compared to a vineyard. And what is still greater in these things is not unclear. For having become the peoples of the Jews under Christ, how were they not destined both to be and to appear equal to vines with goodly branches, and indeed most fruitful? But living by the customs and ways of the Pharisees, and learning doctrines that are the precepts of men, they in no way differ from the lowliest vegetables, which also very easily fall and wither. Therefore the teachers of the Jews coveted to have Christ's vineyard as their own inheritance, and for a garden of vegetables; but they did not persuade him to betray to them the vineyard of the Father. Then, what did the god-hated Jezebel do, that is, the common multitude under the hand of the leaders, or the Synagogue, running together with the griefs of the leaders? She pursues the righteous one, the holy Naboth, with deceit, that is, the one who is coming, and indeed arranged for him to be killed. For Emmanuel was killed, being falsely accused. But that the matter was not tolerable to God would be clear from what was said by the prophet Hosea: Because yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Judah, and I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. For, as I said, the blood of Christ has been avenged on all Israel. For since at that time, in which the prophecy also occurred, they were named separately, Judah being those who remained in Jerusalem, and Israel again those in Samaria, in order that he might be seen to signify "from all Israel," he says that he will necessarily avenge the blood of Jezreel from the house of Judah; and that he would also cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. This also the divine Jacob foretold, saying, "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved, and He is the expectation of nations." For when Emmanuel shone upon us, the expectation of the nations, then indeed then also the kingdom of Israel was taken from the midst. And indeed Herod, the son of Antipater, an Ascalonite, was leading the country of the Jews when Christ was born. And he promises to shatter the very bow of Israel on that day, that is, at that time. "For the bow of the mighty has grown weak," according to what is written, although they supposed they would overcome Emmanuel. and "the swords of the enemy have failed forever;" and the sinews of their arms were loosed; for they have not conquered the unconquerable. But as if preparing the depth of the spiritual contemplation, he comes down immediately to the things done historically, saying that I will shatter the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. For there Hazael the king of Syria conquered Israel leading out their forces against him. But since I suppose it is fitting not to divert the discourse from the necessary and spiritual contemplation, I say this: it is in no way distressing, as I think, for the valley of Jezreel to be understood, that is, of the seed of God, or of Christ, the tomb in the garden, in which the resurrection, following upon the passion, has conquered every kind of Jewish audacity. For through the resurrection, their perverse and God-hated and murderous audacities have been undone. For they thought they could do away with the Son, so that they might also have his vineyard as their own inheritance. But having been placed in a tomb, he lived again, rendering the plots of their scheme ineffective, and all but shattering their bows, by being able to suffer no more. And he casts them out of the vineyard as God-hated and wicked and killers of the Lord; but he gives it to other husbandmen, good and well-disposed and most diligent, according to the parable of the Gospel. And she conceived again and bore a daughter. And he said to him, Call her name, Not-pitied, because I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but setting myself against them, I will oppose them. But I will have mercy on the sons 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 chariots, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. After Jezreel was born, a little daughter is born to the prophet from Gomer, to whom he also commands a name must be given, Not-pitied. And he immediately adds the reason for this, and straightway makes the cause clear, saying that Israel would no longer be deemed worthy of any mercy; but would, as it were, rise up against them, and be in the ranks of the most hostile, and nobly oppose their successes, so that they would slip into the utmost misery, and truly endure an unbearable misfortune. For with God opposing, there could be no help from anywhere for those who suffer. "For if he shuts a man in, who can open it?" he says; and as the prophet says, "His high hand, who shall turn it back?" or who will have mercy on one condemned by the decree from above? For all things follow the divine nods. And whatever the Master chooses to accomplish, this is achieved without delay in every way and manner, with creation working together with him, and following the decrees of the one who rules. Thus he has punished the Egyptians, with the waters being transformed into blood, and the soot into gnats, and an unbearable hail coming down, and for a short time a three-day darkness poured down, and all the other things brought upon them. Therefore the name for the little girl, Not-pitied, is useful and necessary; so that, by always eagerly inquiring into the cause of the matter, and indeed by learning it, those who at that time had offended God through the error of polytheism, might be persuaded to think and to do better and more fitting things, and for the future might turn to choosing wisely, and at least in the second place shake off the wrath, having rendered the grieved God of all well-disposed and gentle toward them. But again the prophetic word seems to indicate to us in these things the captivities of Israel that happened, both under Tiglath-pileser, and also Shalmaneser, kings of the Assyrians, who deported Israel from Samaria to the borders of the Persians and Medes, having destroyed the cities in Samaria. But they would not have fallen into such terrible misfortunes, if God had been willing to defend them; or rather, if He had not, as it were, led out against and stood in the ranks of the enemy. For He said clearly, that "Setting myself against them, I will oppose them." But he promises to have mercy on the sons of Judah, and to save them, not by the law of war; for this is the meaning of, 'not by chariots, nor by horses'; which indeed was also fulfilled, when Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem, at which time Rabshakeh also spoke foolishly against the divine glory, saying that God would not be strong enough to save both Jerusalem and those in it; and he brought forward as proof that they too would in every way and manner be captured, the fact that the gods in Samaria had not been able to rescue their own people, but Judah was saved miraculously, that is, the two tribes inhabiting Jerusalem. "For an angel of the Lord went out, he says, and he destroyed from the "camp of the Assyrians in one night, one hundred and eighty-"five thousand." And so those who were saved sang; and they recounted the ways of the mighty work that had been done for them, saying "Some in chariots, and some in horses; "but we will be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. "They were entangled, and they fell; but we have risen, "and have been set upright." But let these things be said by us historically; let us go again to other thoughts, I mean again those concerning Christ Himself. For after Jezreel was born, that is, the seed of God, that you may understand Emmanuel, whose blood He promised to avenge, a daughter is born to Gomer, that is to the prostituted synagogue of the Jews, that is, a multitude, whom it would be fitting to call Not Pitied; for she killed Jezreel, that is Christ. For this reason she justly finds God an enemy and most hostile; and she immediately endured incurable misfortunes, being sacked by the Roman forces, and having undergone the infamous war, when women even laid hands on their own children, and as the prophet Jeremiah says, "The hands "of compassionate women have boiled their own children," and having disregarded the laws of human nature, with the famine compelling them to be neglectful of unconquerable affection. But all these things have happened to the impious; but he promises to have mercy on the sons of Judah, that is, those who have become sons of Christ of the tribe of Judah through instruction and regeneration through the Spirit. For if some are born in Christ to the holy apostles through the Gospel, how much more so through Christ Himself? concerning whom he also says "Behold I and the children whom God has given me." Therefore they are saved in Christ the Lord and God of all, not moving earthly and carnal weapons, but in the power of the one who saves and casts down principalities and thrones, who triumphs by his own cross over the hosts of the adversaries, and destroys wicked powers, and gives to those who love him "to tread on serpents and scorpions, "and over all the power of the enemy." And he very aptly compares the disobedient and stubborn and deicidal multitude of the Jews to a woman, I mean to Not Pitied. For a woman might be understood as a sign of weakness and a type of an unmanly and broken spirit, and very clearly so. And such are all those who did not receive the instruction through Christ, nor indeed endured to follow after his divine and holy ordinances. And so the prophet Hosea says, "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, "because you have grown weak in your iniquities;" and again concerning the commandments of the Savior, the same one says, "Because the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous will walk in them; but "the ungodly will grow weak in them." And the same Hosea somewhere says concerning those who killed Jezreel, that is Christ, "And the pride of Israel will be humbled to "his face; and Israel and Ephraim will grow weak "in their iniquities." And she weaned Not Pitied, and she conceived again, and bore a son. And he said, Call his name Not My People, because you are not my people, and I am not yours. Another child is born to Gomer immediately and not long after, whom God said must be called Not My People. And a reason is immediately set next to such a name again. For you, he says, are not my people, and I am not yours. And it should be clear from this hereafter, that such things were done historically for the reproof of those who had sinned, and for the sure correction of those who chose to be contemptuous and had inclined to error. But they were types of the things that would happen in due time to those of Israel, when the Only-Begotten had already become man, and endured the precious cross for us. But if it is necessary to narrate the historical things before the spiritual, we say that when Israel was relocated from Samaria, to the borders of the Persians and Medes by Tiglath-Pileser king of the Assyrians, and indeed also Shalmaneser, those who still remained, and the remnant of those who had been in peril, completely slipped away from being called the people of God, because of holding to the same endeavors toward apostasy from God. For they in no way ceased adhering to the most abominable worships of demons. But you will understand otherwise with respect to the meaning and the true word concerning Christ. For after that unholy multitude, which rightly has not received mercy; for it has killed the Lord; those who became sons immediately after them, or who were already of the Synagogue that has committed fornication, have clearly fallen away from being and being called the people of God. For the Roman war did not destroy the entire multitude of the Jews; but a very great multitude, and one beyond number, was destroyed; but those of them who were saved, and who fled the net of death, were scattered to every wind, as it is written, and were dispersed in the lands of the nations, no longer being called, as I said, the people of God. For grace has passed over to those from the nations, with whom the remnant of Israel was also mixed, that is, those who were saved through faith in Christ. For not a few in number from this group have also believed. And that when Israel kicked him away, God himself, the God of all, departed from his kinship with them, he showed by saying not only, "You are not my people," but necessarily adding to this, "and I am not yours." But concerning us, who have been justified in Christ and sanctified in the Spirit, and have been enriched with kinship to him, through the voice of the prophet he says, "And I will be their God, and they will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." And to the Jews Christ said, at one time, that "Yet a little while I am with you," and at another time, "Behold, your house is left to you;" but concerning those from the nations, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life." And the number of the sons of Israel was as the sand of the sea, which shall not be measured, nor shall it be numbered. The blessed Isaiah explains this to us in another way: "And if," he says, "the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved. For he is bringing a word to completion and cutting it short in righteousness, because God will make a shortened word in the whole inhabited world." But whether it be perhaps understood thus, or otherwise, though Israel be numerous and countless, and equal in measure to the sands of the sea, they are of little account with God, since they have chosen to be impious; and yet even one righteous and pious person is specially deemed worthy of love and mercy from him. For he looks upon even one humble and quiet person and who trembles at his words. And this is not enough for the good and gentle, and those who fear him, and genuinely serve him, but indeed they are also able to benefit others, and to deliver those who have offended from the punishment that is sometimes impending. And you might take as proof of such a matter the words concerning the Sodomites, when the all-powerful God promised to relent for them from the judgment by fire, if only five righteous men were found among them. And so Lot was saved together with his wife and children. And why do I speak of five righteous and good men? When, having threatened Jerusalem with wrath, "Run to and fro," he says, "in the streets of Jerusalem, and see and know and seek in her broad places, if you can find a man, if there is one who executes judgment, and seeks faithfulness, and I will be merciful to them, says the Lord." Do you see, then, how he holds on to even one righteous man, and does not overlook him praying for a whole city? But he has no regard for even a countless multitude, as I said, if it is seen to be profane and has turned aside to what is evil, and is fiercely entangled in the deceits of demons. And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," they themselves shall be called sons of the living God. Very near indeed to the most severe angers is the release from grievous things, and the end of gloomy things, insofar as he came to speak, not at length. For that Israel would be rejected in due time, he clearly foretold through what has just been said by us; but that he will not be gone for ever, nor utterly perish, but there will be a time for them of return to their ancient state, and a recovery of love for God, that is, through faith in Christ, he has again fully assured us. For it was necessary, it was necessary for those who were to hear the prophetic words, to know clearly the whole mystery, and not to be ignorant of the ways of the divine economy. It shall be, therefore, he says, in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," they themselves shall be called sons of the living God. What the "in the place" might mean, let us say precisely. For those of Israel became captives at times, and were carried off, as I said, to the land of the Assyrians. but there they were weeping and wailing and inactive concerning the law; and this the blessed David made clear to us, saying, "By the river of Babylon, there we sat down, and wept when "we remembered Zion;" and he said again, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" But having returned to Jerusalem, by God's pity, they were no less and were called the people of God, and continued in prosperity, serving freely, and performing the sacrifices according to the law. For it was not at all permitted to fulfill the appointed rites anywhere else, but only in Jerusalem and in the temple, as the law through Moses clearly commanded, "Take "heed to yourself, that you do not offer your whole burnt offerings in "every place, but in the place which "the Lord your God shall choose, for His name to be called upon there, "there you shall bring your whole burnt offerings." Therefore, returning at times to Jerusalem, and leaving the land of the foreigners, they again fulfilled what was established by law through Moses, and were called the people of God; but after the cross of the Savior, and the siege and sack that happened to them, they were scattered with their whole households in the cities and countries of the gentiles. How then shall they in time become the people of God? Will it be by returning again to Jerusalem, and being gathered in the temple? Or by being in those places, wherever each of them may be scattered? What does the prophet say? In the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," they themselves shall be called sons of the living God. For they lost their state of being God's people, and were scattered in the lands of the gentiles, which one can see preserved to this day. But in the last times of the age, "when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in," then indeed then also the rejected Israel himself will be received as sons of God, even while dwelling in the places wherever they may happen to be and be found; for there is no compulsion to go up to Jerusalem, and to still seek the temple made of stones; because he will not honor God with the ancient customs, I mean with sacrifices of oxen and slaughters of sheep; but their manner of worship will be faith in Christ, and his ordinances, and sanctification in the Spirit, and the regeneration through holy baptism, which procures the glory of adoption for those worthy of it and called to this by the Lord. And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land, for great is the day of Jezreel. And we shall find this to have come to pass both historically and spiritually. For in the territories of the Persians and Medes were those who had been taken captive from Samaria, that is, Israel, and in addition to these also those from Jerusalem, that is, Judah and Benjamin. But when Cyrus son of Cambyses, having taken Babylon and transferred the rule of the Persians to himself, released both Israel and Judah from captivity, and commanded them to go home together with the sacred vessels, they arrived in Jerusalem, and dwelt there from then on not divided, as they were before the captivity; nor indeed did they each have their own kings; but they lived all with one mind only in Jerusalem, led at that time by Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, who was from the tribe of Judah, and with Jesus the son of Jozadak the high priest officiating, when they also rebuilt the divine temple, and were occupied with the concerns of the house. Therefore, he says, the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one head, and they will go up from the land; that you may understand the land of the foreigners, to "which they were also carried away having become captives. But the phrase *For great is the day of Jezreel* will not fit the historical account. Therefore we say this: for when Israel is called the people of God, although named 'Not-my-people' on account of so much impiety, as we have already said before, then they and the sons of Judah will be gathered together, that is, the whole multitude of the Jews found in the last days, and they will all be under one head, that is, Christ. And the God of all has proclaimed something of this sort through the voice of Ezekiel, saying about Christ, "And I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he will "shepherd them, my servant David, and he will be their shepherd." And he calls David the one born from the seed of David according to the flesh, Christ. Therefore, when the flock of the nations has already been called, Israel will be brought in last, and all will be under one head, and they will go up, he says, from the land. And this, I think, indicates to those who understand correctly, either that in every way and altogether those who have accepted the yoke of the Savior will henceforth cease from thinking about the things on the earth, and will be superior to carnal thinking; for such are all who have come to be under Christ; and the blessed David will confirm this, saying, "For the mighty ones of the earth of God "have been greatly exalted," and indeed also Paul, "But those who are of "Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its "passions and desires;" that is, that they themselves will also attain to the resurrection of the dead. For Christ said somewhere, "Amen I say to you, that everyone "who believes in me, even if he dies, will live." And yet, how is it not necessary to say: for those who do not believe, tell me, will they remain dead, and not be brought back to life along with the others? What then is the abundance for those who have believed, the Savior himself has shown us, saying thus, "The thief does not come "except to steal and to kill and to destroy." I have come, "that they may have life, and have it more abundantly." Therefore, all will be raised, both the evil and the good; but not all have the abundance. For those who are not of Christ, because they are seen to be entangled in the crimes of disobedience, will have in the last days a life more grievous than death; for they will give an account both for their transgressions and for their disobedience. But those who are his, and through the Spirit have been enriched with intimacy with God, and are good in their ways, in addition to the common resurrection, and to returning to life, will in every way and altogether have the things that follow, that is, the gifts, the honors, the crowns, the rewards, the splendor. And Paul will testify, saying, "Behold, "I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep; "but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at "the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be "raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Therefore, he says, they will go up from the land, that is, they too will live the life of the saints. For great is the day of Jezreel. For truly great is the day of Christ, on which he will raise all the dead, and will descend from heaven, and will be seated, as it is written, on the throne of his glory, and will repay each one according to his works. But if someone should wish to understand 'day' as the time of his advent, in which the remission of sins was given by Christ to both Greeks and barbarians, and to the Jews who had sinned against him, this person too will walk straight in the paths of truth. Thus also David indicates the time of our Savior's advent, saying, "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Say to your brother, My people, and to your sister, Having obtained mercy. He very necessarily adds these things to what has already been said. For since he has said that all will be under one rule, with nothing any longer walling them off or dividing them into discord, but rather with unanimity prevailing, and with faith in Christ gathering all into the unity that is in the spirit, then the Spirit necessarily commanded those who had already been enriched with the faith and had come under Christ, no longer to be fond of rejecting peace with those who were justly called Not my people, and Not having obtained mercy. For once Israel had been received, and had obtained remission, and had come under Christ, how was it consistent to still be in discord, and not rather to continue in harmony, those who had been called into brotherhood by the one Spirit of adoption? O then, he says, you who have been made radiant by faith in Christ, and have received the boasts of authenticity, say now to your brother who was formerly and justly called Not my people, the words My people; and to your sister, Not having obtained mercy, say the words Having obtained mercy. For it is necessary that the peoples under his hand appear to be of one mind with the master, and that those called to sonship through grace wish the same things as the father; and rather to rejoice that the remnant of Israel has been saved, and that those formerly cast off because of great disobedience have now become acceptable and are now sanctified in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God the Father with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever, Amen.

Book 2

Plead with your mother, plead, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Having said before that Israel will be justly cast off, and in addition will be called Not a people; and indeed that the Lord-slaying multitude will surely be in every way Not having obtained mercy, and very reasonably so; then, having added to these things, and not at great length, the return through faith in Christ that will take place in the last times of the age, by saying, "And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one ruler," and having narrated the entire economy from beginning to end, he proceeds in these things to lay bare the accusations of those justly cast off, and clearly brings to light the things for which it happened that they suffered those things. Therefore he says to those who have obtained mercy and have been received and have become the people of God, but who have sprung from the Synagogue as from some harlot, Plead with your mother, plead. For if you wish, he says, to learn the reasons for which you became and were called Not my people, and Not having obtained mercy, in the times before your return, you will not find me to have been harsh toward you or neglectful in affection; but plead with your own mother, because she did not preserve the genuineness of love for me, but denied our relationship; and she considered the purity of spiritual communion with me to be of very little account; and she was not willing to bring forth the fruits of my desires. She has become not my wife, and I therefore am no longer her husband; she did not bear you for me, but for others; for otherwise I would have recognized my own; the one who is by nature a father is not slow to mercy, but he hesitates to be good to an illegitimate offspring. And these things, one might perhaps say, are as from the person of God; but one will consider again, and reflect well, that since the Synagogue had turned to apostasy from God, and had chosen the worship of demons, and, just like a harlot, was spreading her legs for them, those born of her became neither purely and steadfastly God-loving, nor indeed gentle in their ways; but rather, having been reared in the customs of those who bore them, they heedlessly went on to things that grieve God; on the one hand sacrificing to Baal, and to the heifers golden ones; and this they do, rushing heedlessly into every kind of impurity. They will therefore blame, and very rightly so, their own mother, and not rather the truly virtue-loving and all-holy Master, who does not deign to have as a consort the one who has committed fornication. But the manner of the fornication is in every way spiritual, even if it is spoken of physically. And I will take away her fornication from my presence, and her adultery from between her breasts, so that I may strip her naked, and restore her as in the days of her birth. For those who do not turn to God of their own will, nor endure to fulfill what is pleasing to him, but cling fast to a depravity that is honored by them I know not how, a certain penalty and punishment is devised, which then transfers them by necessity and fear to that very thing to which it was better to be brought of their own will. For just as difficult and hard-to-treat wounds on the body, even if they do not yield to the power of medicines and accept some change for the better, are either cut with a knife, since the experience of physicians calls for this manner of remedy, or else are overcome by fire; so also the soul of man, having inclined much toward apostasy from good things, even if it does not yield to the voices of those who admonish, nor chooses to migrate from baser things to the better, is overcome by judgments, and being caught in the snares of punishment, makes its return a matter of necessity. Such is that which is said through the voice of Jeremiah, "By pain and by scourge you will be disciplined, O Jerusalem." And the divine David also sings something of this sort concerning those who have loved to be exceedingly led to sin, "With bit and bridle you shall restrain the jaws of those who do not draw near to you." For those who are accustomed to breaking colts turn the hard and unruly irrational animals with bridles toward what seems to be good; so also does God usefully deal with those who are very fond of sin. Therefore, prophets and righteous men advised the Synagogue to depart from the worship of idols, and to abstain from the error devised I know not whence. And not only this; but God himself also threatened to inflict upon them the most shameful of all evils, if they did not choose to return to thinking and doing the things that are pleasing and dear to him. But they were still terrible and unyielding, and inflexible in their mind. For this reason, having become captives to the Assyrians and Medes, they spent long periods of time. Being there, and burdened by the yoke of slavery, they no longer sacrificed to the heifers; for how, or from where could they? But they were already in inescapable evils; nor did they call upon Baal himself, but rather they continued, bewailing their own misfortunes. For this reason the Master of all says, And I will take away her fornication from my presence, and her adultery from between her breasts. For she will go away captive, he says, and I will no longer see her sacrificing to Baal, nor offering whole burnt offerings to the golden heifers, almost baring her breasts to her own lovers out of excessive arrogance. But I will rather take pleasure in her being distressed and wretched, and having an incurable misfortune, in a land not her own, and having come under terrible and bitter masters. And I will do these things, having stripped her of my help, and leaving her disgraced, just as she was seen to be in the beginning, when, bearing the yoke of the Egyptians' oppression, she was continually bare of my grace and love, and of legal wisdom. Therefore the Synagogue came to a turning back, and as it were going backwards again into the state she was in, forfeiting through ignorance the honor and glory that was in between. This the Savior himself also taught us, saying, "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finds none. Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it "seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and "dwell there, and the last state of that man becomes "worse than the first. So shall it be also to this "wicked generation." For while the children of Israel were still sojourning in Egypt, the wicked spirit dwelt in them as idolaters, but it was cast out in the meantime; for they were called to the knowledge of God through Moses. But since they became killers of the Lord, and guilty of countless crimes, their last state has become worse than the first, a herd of demons, not just one any longer, dwelling in them. For a soul that has cast off the protection of heavenly grace will be in every way and altogether vulnerable to Satan. And I will make her as a desert, and set her as a waterless land, and I will kill her with thirst, and I will have no mercy on her children, because they are children of fornication. Because their mother has committed fornication, she that bore them has brought shame. He says that the one who has committed fornication will be fruitless, dry and thorn-bearing, thirsty and waterless, deprived perhaps not of earthly waters, but of the richness from above and from heaven, that is, of the provision through the Spirit, which he distributes to every wise and good soul. For somewhere the blessed David sings to God, and says "But the sons of "men will hope in the shelter of your wings. They will be "inebriated with the richness of your house, and you will give them to drink of the torrent "of your delight. For with you is the fountain of "life." Worthy of such a venerable and abundant provision would be those who are genuine and have lived rightly, and have put nothing before the love for God; but he says that the one who has committed fornication will become both waterless and will indeed die of thirst. And this, I think, is what was said about her through the voice of other prophets; for one said, "Behold, the days "are coming, says the Lord, and I will send a famine upon the land; "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing "the word of the Lord; and they will run to and fro from east to west, "seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it;" and Jeremiah again, as from the person of God, "With pain and "scourge you shall be disciplined, O Jerusalem; lest my soul depart "from you, lest I make you a trackless land, which will not be inhabited." For to each of us, as I said, God sends into the mind words through the Spirit, which have the power to turn us to eternal life, or he often makes them drink through the voice of saints. He said, then, that the children must perish along with the mother who has committed fornication, and without pity. For what reason? Because they are children of fornication. And we do not say, surely, that a child is subject to the transgressions of the mother, for that which is through the voice of Ezekiel will apply to us wherever it may be: "Fathers shall not die "for children, nor shall children die for fathers; each "shall die for his own sin." But it should rather be understood that even if the person of a fornicating mother is conceived as a type of the Synagogue, nonetheless they themselves would again be those from her. But by saying that they are children of fornication, he showed clearly that they have become guilty of the crimes of spiritual fornication; and this, having been impious from their very swaddling clothes and womb, as it were, and having never at any time touched the works of piety, and having virtue completely unpracticed, and not having honored the path pleasing to God. So also the psalmist says, "Sinners were estranged "from the womb, they went astray from the belly, they spoke lies;" although every pious person, and one nourished in the works of righteousness, is able to cry out clearly to God, "On you I was cast from the womb; from my mother's belly "you are my God." And just as sons of light and sons of day would rightly be understood as those who live their lives splendidly and becomingly as in light and day; so also if some are called children of fornication, you will again understand those who live as in fornication and a most exceedingly strange life, whom he does not deem worthy to pity, Because their mother has committed fornication, she that bore them has brought shame. And she brought shame, clearly, on herself and on the children that sprang from her. For just as it is among boasts the righteous one for those tending to virtue; so every impious person is in shame and disgrace. For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water and my garments and my linens and my oil and all things that are due to me. He says her lovers are the unclean demons, concerning whom the manner of fornication might also be said to be practiced. For to follow their opinions, and to fulfill what seems good to them, this, I think, is to be licentious in sins, and to live shamefully, and to be filled with the utmost worthlessness; and all but to be in labor with every form of uncleanness. For just as those who are in labor with the divine fear have cried out to God, "Through fear of you, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb and have been in travail and have brought forth, we have brought forth the spirit of your salvation upon the earth;" so also those who have given their mind to the desires of demons immediately have it full of all impiety, those who depart from the divine laws and are practitioners of all worthlessness. Therefore, wicked and sinful lovers of those who have inclined to impiety are the apostate demons, to whom if anyone should choose to pay attention as to gods, he will be terribly impious. For he ascribes to them the grace even of what he might have, and often honors them with praises, and offers thank-offerings, having abandoned the one God by nature, the one who supplies the means of life, who clothes us with grace as with garments, and overshadows both mind and heart with help from above, who fattens as with oil, and nourishes with the spiritual bread for a glorious and unending life, who nourishes us with the life-giving water for spiritual well-being. But he who has inclined to impiety, just as, of course, also the Synagogue that has committed fornication, said that one must follow her own lovers, and to them attribute the gifts, and to consider that from them he has received what is for food and clothing. For this, I think, is the meaning of For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water and my garments and my linens and my oil, and all things that are due to me. But the wise and good, and those known to God and most intimate with him, would surely ascribe to him both the provision of heavenly goods, and the supply of earthly ones. For they will say, and very wisely, "Is there among the idols of the nations one who gives rain? And if the heaven will give its abundance, are you not the one? And we will wait for you, because you have made all these things." And they will cry out together with the divine David, "You visited the earth and watered it, you enriched it abundantly." Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build up her paths, 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 them. For since she has planned, he says, evil things against herself, and has left out none of the things that are by nature unjust; for she said one must choose to follow her own lovers, that is, to give the inclination of the mind to the unholy opinions of those who have deceived her, so as to fulfill only their things; and since, in addition to this, of the things gifted to her by me, she attributes the thank-offerings to the demons who have helped in nothing, for this reason I will show her thought to be vain, and I will oppose her completely. For I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will wall her path, so that she might neither follow her own lovers, nor indeed find useful those who deceived her, even if she should perchance choose to pursue them, that is, to press on zealously in the honors and worship toward them. And he says the thorns are the difficult things that have happened to Israel, I mean the wars, the captivities, the famine, the dangers, the wearing away in slavery. For once they were under the Medes and Persians, they did not approach Baal at their leisure, nor the golden calves; but there was in a way a necessity, that, being deprived of their most cherished freedom from above, and seeking the things at home, but being poor, and by the pressed by the greeds of those in power, they are no longer able to fulfill their usual obligations; but rather to lament, and to be intoxicated with incurable misfortunes, now condemning those who led them astray, as they had no part in enjoying any of the things in their vain hopes. For they were not helped at all, either by Baal defending them; for what could the voiceless wood have done? or by the heifers contriving some kind of help for them; for it was gold, "the works of men's hands," according to what is written. Therefore the roads are blocked up; God not smoothing for the lovers of sin the path to wickedness, but usefully making it rough, and not permitting them to rush with ease towards what seems trivial; so that they might be unwillingly thwarted, and might turn to what is better, having learned from experience itself that for everyone to transgress is not without penalty. And she will say, I will go and return to my former husband, for it was better for me then than now. The discourse still preserves the manner appropriate to it; for it has been composed from beginning to end as about a harlot woman. For this reason, he says, that she will repent and will say, I will go to my former husband, for it was better for me then than now. Yet observe in this also the God of all chastising even in wrath, and helping in various ways, and by the inflictions of terrible things drawing back those who have gone astray, and transforming them for their benefit. For when, he says, she sees her own ways blocked up with thorns, then indeed she will change her mind, and what it was better to choose to do before the grievous things had invaded, she will seize, even if late, and after the experience; for then she will love the things from God, and having disregarded the intervening transgressions as from a sober mind, she will at last turn to willing what was in the beginning, and will marvel at the things from God, and she will perceive, as if having sobered up from drunkenness, that they differ by incomparable differences. Therefore, to be chastised is not without benefit, even if it happens to be grievous for the moment. And knowing this the prophets say, "Chasten us, O Lord." And the divine Paul also writes, "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?" And he shows what is sweet and beneficial from chastening, saying thus, "Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." And she did not know that I gave her the grain and the wine and the oil, and multiplied silver for her; but she made silver and gold things for Baal. That she would not choose, he says, to still follow her own lovers, no one would doubt. For she will achieve this, and very easily, since her road is being blocked up, and her paths are being walled up, and she is prospering in absolutely no way. But since, in addition to supposing that Baal is a god, she has also dedicated to him the thank-offerings for the things supplied to her by me, for this too I will devise what is fitting, so that she may learn who is the giver, and has authority over all things. For I have given the things that sustain life: grain and wine and oil and I have multiplied silver for her. But when it was necessary to give thanks for my bounties, these things have been made for the glory of Baal. which indeed is a clear proof of the utmost insensibility and ingratitude alike; and the matter is not unable to justly and strongly provoke God, even if he were thought to be the source and origin of all gentleness. It is therefore altogether terrible and not without punishment, to seek to attribute the bounty of God's gifts to those who destroy his glory, that is, to the unclean demons, which indeed some in the world do; and these are Greeks, and heretics. For the ones, though God gives wisdom and reason to man, grant the power of eloquence to the opinions of the demons; while the God-hated and unholy hordes of heretics by the discoveries of complex notions harm some, and subvert that of the more simple mind, "and they set snares to corrupt men," according to what is written. Therefore both have honored Baal; and they almost offer things concerning God as a splendid dedication to his glory, as if from intelligible wealth. And this, I think, is what is very well understood spiritually, I gave her the grain and the wine and the oil, and I multiplied silver for her; but she made silver and gold things for Baal. Therefore, one must dedicate to God the things that are his; for it is fitting to adorn with gold the giver and provider of every good to us through the things we have from him, whether it be a splendid word, or a mind well-suited to be able to understand true mysteries. Therefore I will return and take away my grain in its season and my wine in its time, and I will take away my garments and my linen cloths so as not to cover her shame; and now I will uncover her uncleanness before her lovers, and no one shall deliver her out of my hand. Do you see how he threatened the removal of the things that are known to bring gladness, and this usefully. For just as the roughening of her way with thorns led her to choose to think better things, and prepared her, as it were, though unwillingly, to say, I will return to my former husband, for "it was better for me then than now;" for she knew through experience what leads to benefit, and in what things it was better to be engaged; so if I take what is mine, he says, then she will certainly seek the provider, she will cease from having to offer thank-offerings to demons, and from thinking that they are truly gods, able to save those who have come under them. And he says that he will take the grain and the wine and the linen cloths in their season, perhaps when the fruits fail at times, and the ripe produce is late for them; so that even the labors of farming are endured in vain. But if someone should choose to understand that the Jews will be deprived of grain and wine at times, having fallen from the mystical blessing, he will understand well. And he says linen cloths, meaning as it were the clothing and the help from above, under which one will be decent. But if he is carried outside it, he will no longer be beautiful, but will continue to be very unseemly and, as it were, naked in the world. Thus then you will understand the removal of the linen cloths, so that her shame might not be covered. And he promises to reveal her uncleanness, and before her lovers, in what sort of manner? We were just saying that having fallen into thorns, that is, into the evils of war, and calamities most capable of terrifying, she will neglect even the supposed gods, not being at leisure to offer them sacrifices, nor indeed being able to perform the customary rites for their glory; but rather mocking them, as having no benefit from them, and somehow reproaching their utter powerlessness, "I will return," she says, "to my former husband, because it was better "for me then than now." When, therefore, he says, I strip her of my help, and she, having fallen into terrible things, neglects the honor and love for them, then she will appear unseemly even to them, having spurned them with a corrupt and faltering mind. For as far as it concerned what was pleasant and dear to them, she ought to be seen as more enduring, and not even in the most extreme calamities forgetting what seemed right to them. Therefore, as far as their will is concerned, Israel is unseemly even in their eyes, having chosen not to love to the end those whom he considered to be gods. And the blessed Elijah seems to me to say something like this: "How long will you limp "on both your hams? If the Lord is God, "go after him; but if Baal himself, go "after him;" which he says elsewhere, "Either Baal, Baal, or to God, God." And that no one would deliver those who have once fallen under divine wrath, nor could anyone set upright one cast down by God, he has shown by saying, no one shall deliver her out of my hand. And I will turn away all her gladness, her feasts and her new moons and the her sabbaths and all her feasts. For those who are altogether caught up in such harsh and inescapable evils, as to fall under a barbarian hand, and to serve enemies in the lot of the spear-won, how could they celebrate a feast? or what season of gladness could they have, who are weighed down by such bitter cares, and steeped in unbearable griefs? And yet, how is it not better to think this, that it would be more fitting for those brought into this state of misery, to cry out what is so well recited to the psalmist's lyre, "By the river of Babylon, there we sat down, and we wept when we remembered Zion." And having the celebration of feasts as something completely unsuitable, they nonetheless say, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" since the Babylonians, I suppose, did not permit them to perform their customary acts of worship, and the things dear to them at home and as was their custom. But perhaps someone will say this: If Israel had inclined to the worship of idols, how could they not also fall away from the feasts according to the law, both sabbaths and new moons? To this then we say, that they had indeed slipped from the love of God, and had worshipped Baal and the golden calves, but they did not entirely cast off the things given through Moses; but rather they continued going on both feet and limping, according to the prophet's voice, so as to choose to worship neither Baal completely, nor yet the God of all purely. Therefore, he has fallen away from feasts and festive gatherings and seasons of gladness and sabbaths, being permitted neither to fulfill for God the things in the law, nor yet to celebrate for Baal the customary festivals. And in another way it would be true and very likely, that it is necessary for those who depart from God, and who have despised the love for him, to be gloomy, and to continue outside of all that knows how to rejoice; "For there is no joy for the wicked," says the Lord;" for whom the worm has been kept for eternity; but for the gentle, and those having a pious and God-loving purpose, it would be fitting that they should rejoice over all good things; "For everlasting joy shall be upon their head," as it is written, "sorrow and pain and groaning have fled away;" to whom also the divine Paul writes, saying, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, "rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men." For just as it follows that sinners must be punished, so also for those to be enriched with good things from above, whose purpose it would be to live splendidly. And I will destroy her vine and her fig trees, of which she said, 'These are my wages which my lovers have given me'; and I will make them a testimony, and the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky and the creeping things of the earth shall devour them. This, again, is another way of saying, "I will take away my "grain in its season, and my wine in its time." For since Israel, assigning the fruitful seasons to the powers and ambitions of demons, and acting most foolishly, offered thank-offerings to them, and not rather to God, for this reason he says that I will destroy and ruin the things by which she has been more wickedly deceived, saying that she has received them as wages from her own lovers. And the saying is cleverly crafted as if about a wanton woman, whereas in truth for Israel, the reward and payment for the honor and worship of idols was the abundance of ripe fruits and encountering a fruitful land. And that they thought that the participation in all other gladness was available to them for this reason alone, one might know very easily by encountering the words of Jeremiah. For Jerusalem was captured, and some who had escaped the height of the war went down to the land of the Egyptians, and with them the prophet, according to a divine oracle. There, at any rate, he advised them, saying that they should cease from the pollutions of idolatry, and choose to return to God. Then a wretched and most foolish multitude of women again contradicted the prophet's words, and indeed said shamelessly, "The word which you spoke to us in the "name of the Lord, we will not listen to you, because we will surely "do every word that proceeds from our "mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out "libations to her, just as we and our fathers and "our kings and our rulers did in the cities of Judah "and outside Jerusalem; and we were filled with bread and became "prosperous, and we saw no evil. And when we stopped "burning incense to the queen of heaven, we all "were diminished, and perished by the sword and by anger." Do you understand then how he says he has obtained the necessities of life, and in addition to this prosperity, almost as a reward for having gone astray? Therefore, he says, "I will destroy what she said, 'These are my wages, which my lovers have given me,' and I will make them into a witness." For these things, having been taken away, will bear witness, as it were, against the wickedness of Israel, and will make their punishment more conspicuous, and will make the wrath manifest. And the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky and the creeping things of the earth will eat them. But this might be understood not just in one way; rather, what is signified will be taken in three ways. For either he means that the things in the fields will be food for beasts, since there is no longer an inhabitant of the land, because very many people have been driven from their homes and cities and fled unwillingly to Babylon and Media, and as many others have been consumed by the war, so that the land is now inhabited only by the beasts and creeping things of the Samaritans, or again, that the Babylonians, like certain beasts, will feast upon the fruitfulness of the land, while the inhabitants of the land are held within the walled cities, not daring to go beyond the gates, so to speak, even though famine is destroying them. But if it seems good to someone to understand spiritually, one might also go by another path. For the instruction through the law that brings one to Christ should indeed be compared to a vineyard and a fig tree. For it acts as a tutor to this end, according to the saying of the blessed Paul. And the vine might be understood as a symbol of gladness, and the fig tree of sweetness. And how could anyone doubt that for a God-loving soul the law of God is truly sweet and knows how to give great joy? Therefore Israel has of necessity remained without a share in the good things from above and spiritual things; but they have been given for participation to those who are like beasts and creeping things, I mean, those from the Gentiles, who before the advent of the Savior might have been supposed to differ little from beasts and venomous serpents, on account of the brutishness of their ways. However, they have not remained in these things, having chosen to follow Christ who says, "Learn from me, 'for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find 'rest for your souls.'" And I myself would add this to what has been said: that it is necessary for those who lead an accursed and God-hated life both to be deprived of every good thing and to be in the uttermost miseries. And I will punish her for the days of the Baals, in which she burned incense to them, and she put on her earrings and her necklaces and went after her lovers, but forgot me, says the Lord. He immediately brings forward again the cause of such a terrible, or rather, and exceedingly fitting, indignation against them. For since they have spent long periods of time in going astray, in equal extensions of time, he says, they will suffer the wrath. This, I think, is the meaning of 'I will punish her for the days of the Baals,' that is, of the idols. For, he says, the things from punishment and justice will by all means be equal in measure to the days of wandering in which she burned incense to Baal. For she has not ceased beautifying herself and pleasing her own lovers in many ways. And the adornment for souls that have chosen to worship idols is to fulfill those things which seem good to the unclean demons. For just as we say that a human soul is admirable, in which is seen the quality of excelling in virtues; so also the sin-loving soul must be supposed to be exceedingly beautiful to the hordes of demons, having chosen to think and to do everything that is both pleasant and dear to them. It might be compared such a soul would be like a woman of no good character, or even is fadedly gilded; and she almost bewitches the heart of her lovers with ornaments for the ears and neck. Therefore, every form of impurity makes the wicked respectable. That it is both customary and necessary for those whose aim is to look to those things to slip away from the very memory of God, he has shown by saying, *but she has forgotten me, says the Lord.* For since she became sick with clinging, he says, to demons, or rather with completely departing from the desire and zeal for the good, she also slipped from the very memory of God; and this is a clear proof of complete impiety. Therefore, behold, I will cause her to wander and I will set her in a desert. For since, he says, she has gone astray in many ways, I have sought the penalties of her apostasy quite rightly; "for I have taken vengeance on her for the days of the Baals," and I have inflicted a wrath equal to her transgressions; for this reason, I will hereafter turn to mercy, and I will transport her to what is better, and to being able to fulfill the things by which she might become beloved of God. What then, he says, will be the manner of healing? Behold, I will cause her to wander, not from what is necessary and useful for life to what is not so, but from the more shameful things and those by nature harmful to that which results in benefit. For just as a soul wanders from virtue to depravity, in the same way, I think, going backward as it were from the ways of depravity, it would seem almost to have wandered, having been turned aside from its own purpose, and no longer traversing the path set before it. And just as her ways were usefully blocked with thorns, that she might not overtake her lovers, so also now, running as it were headlong into ruin and destruction, by the mercy of God she seems to be made to wander, being changed towards the desire of virtue, and receiving the light of the true knowledge of God into her mind and heart, and no longer finding, as I said, her former path. But it must be known that the phrase "I will cause her to wander" is spoken differently by the other interpreters; however, it ends up with one and the same meaning. For some have rendered it, "That behold, I will lead her away;" others, "That I will deceive her," signifying, as I said, in another way this very thing, I mean "I will cause her to wander," understood beneficially. And being an accessible and, as it were, a well-watered land for the hordes of demons, he promises to set her as a desert, teaching that he will render her hard and untrodden and waterless to their wills, so that they, finding no longer any place of rest, both refuse and depart. So also our Lord Jesus Christ says that the unclean spirit that has gone out of a man passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. For just as a waterless place is not habitable for men, so also to unclean spirits, the soul beloved of God and holy might reasonably be thought a wicked and hateful and, as it were, an impassable and waterless land, not tolerating to think or do the things that are pleasing to them. Therefore, the wandering spoken of here is a manner of assistance, and indeed also the being set as a desert land, according to the arguments just stated by us. And I will speak to her heart, and I will give her her possessions from there. In these words, the Word clearly promises us salvation through Christ, and mentions the times of His sojourn, in which we say was fulfilled, "In those days, and in that time, I will put my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will write them." For so also the most wise Paul writes to those who had been enriched with such a truly brilliant and noteworthy grace, saying, "You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all men, showing that you are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God." For we who have believed have been taught by God; and indeed the divine John has addressed, saying "And you have an anointing "from the Holy One, and you have no need that anyone "should teach you; but as his Spirit teaches you about "all things." Therefore, having received the Spirit, and henceforth having Christ himself dwelling within our hearts, the guide of things necessary, we are at once enriched with the form of every virtue, and the abundant and inalienable possession of spiritual gifts. And indeed, Paul confirms us in this, writing: "That which eye has not seen, "and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, "what God has prepared for those who love him." Therefore he promises to speak to her heart; for the Synagogue of the Jews will be called to knowledge, receiving the divine laws engraved on her mind through the Spirit, just as the church from the Gentiles did; and her possessions will be from there, instead of from here, that is, of this thing. For indeed from God speaking in us and sounding through the Spirit whatsoever things are necessary for life and the knowledge of God conceived in Christ, through whom and in whom we have seen the Father, we have been enriched, as I said, with the unfading hope, the glory, the boasts of adoption, the grace, and reigning together with Christ himself; these are the possessions of the saints; this is the heavenly wealth. For they endure thinking nothing of earthly things; but they have hated the world and the things in it. And the valley of Achor to open her understanding. "I will give" follows the word again. For "I will give," he says, "her possessions from there; and likewise I will give the valley of Achor to open her understanding." And what it wishes to signify is this: we who have believed, being eager to make what happened to the ancients a certain pattern of things to be done, we on the one hand avoid offending God as a cause of destruction; and on the other hand we rather seek and have made it our care to accomplish what is pleasing to him. For the most wise Paul also urges us to this, saying thus: "Now these things "happened to them as a type; and they were written for our instruction, "upon whom the ends of the ages have come." Therefore, it is a way of instruction into virtue, to think it necessary to observe the things that happened to the ancients. That, therefore, the disobedient and unruly, and those who despise the divine commandments, will fall into a terrible and inescapable judgment, when Christ judges, could be shown, and very easily, as in the types, the things done concerning Achar at that time, who, having disregarded the divine command and stolen from the devoted thing, was punished with his whole household, Joshua the son of Nun having inflicted the ultimate penalty on him, who fulfills the image of Christ. For he was general after Moses, and he himself brought the sons of Israel across the Jordan, and he himself gave them the land of promise as an inheritance. The things written about Achar are as follows. For when he was caught having stolen, and confessed the sin, "And Joshua," it says, "took "Achar the son of Zarah and brought him to the valley "of Achor, and his sons and his daughters and "his calves and his donkeys and his sheep "and his tent and all his belongings, "and all the people with him, and they brought them up "to Emekachor. And Joshua said to Achar, ‘Why have you "destroyed us? May the Lord destroy you, even as today.’ "And all Israel stoned him with stones, and they raised "over him a great heap of stones." Achor, then, is interpreted as troubling; and with the addition of "Emek," it is again understood as valley of troubling; there the sons of Israel killed Achar as one hated by God and a lover of wealth, adding to him also all his things; for it is written that "The wicked "shall be utterly destroyed from the earth." Thus it will also be in the last times of the age, when Christ comes down to us from above and from heaven, to render to each according to his works. For those who have chosen to disobey the divine commandments, and have loved the things in the world more, having brought Hades down as into a deep ravine, he will miserably destroy the wicked. Therefore, "I will give," he says, "the valley Achor or Emekachor, to open her understanding. For it will be, he says, one of the most useful things for her to become sober and to finally open the eye of her mind from its ancient hardening, the things done from time to time in the valley of Emekachor; he called the place the valley of perversion, for there not a few of those from Israel fell, when those from Gai pursued them, and a great perversion happened to occur, when Jesus thought that Israel had slipped away from God’s care and help. The things done, therefore, he says, in the ravine of perversion against the one who dared to transgress the divine commandment will open her understanding so that she may know clearly what sort of end will result for those who wish to despise the undertaking. But observe how the valley, Achor, is not given to open her understanding until he has spoken to her heart. For the peoples of the Jews would not understand the divine commandments, nor would they perceive in types the mystery of Christ, unless indeed, like us who have already believed, they should be enriched with the participation of the Holy Spirit, and be shown to have partaken of the illumination from above. And the blessed Paul writing about those of the blood of Israel will convince us of this: "For to this very day the same veil remains at the "reading of the old covenant, not being unveiled, "because it is taken away in Christ. But to this day, "whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their "heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, "the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, "and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." First, therefore, he promises to speak to her heart, inscribing on them the divine laws and the instruction from above of the Holy Spirit; then thus she will understand also the things done typically and historically in the valley of Emekachor, which are not unable to open her understanding and finally deliver her from her ancient hardening. "For a hardening "in part has happened to Israel," as the wise Paul also writes. And she will be humbled there according to the days of her infancy and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt. When I speak to her mind and heart, he says, and give the valley of Achor to open her understanding, there, that is, at that time, she will be humbled, not being subjected to or sinking under any of the things that are accustomed to cause pain, but rather finally abandoning her disobedient and stubborn manner, which is liable to the charges of arrogance; for the disobedient one is arrogant, and as it were steep and unbridled, and has practiced holding in no account the reverence for fulfilling the law; but the one who is inclined toward obedience is very humble, and as it were approachable, and greatly beloved by God. And indeed, he said somewhere through one of the holy prophets, "And upon whom shall I look but upon "the humble and quiet one, who trembles at my words?" When, therefore, I speak, he says, to her heart, then indeed, then she herself will be humbled, just as in the beginning, when Moses was calling, and the merciful God had commanded them to depart from the land of the Egyptians, they were very eager to do this, and fled from the land of their oppressors. And when he was establishing the laws in Horeb, having gathered with Moses on Mount Sinai, they promised, saying, "All that the Lord our God has said to us, we will do "and we will hear." Therefore she will be humble and obedient, just as in the beginning, when having received her birth into the knowledge of God through the law, she gladly accepted what was pleasing to God. The days of infancy, therefore, he says, is the rebirth into the knowledge of God through the law; wherefore he also said, "Israel is my firstborn son." And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, she shall call me, My husband, and she shall no longer call me Baalim. And I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth, and their names shall no longer be remembered. Day, therefore, in these things, the one of the he calls the time of the visitation of our Savior. For the time of the Incarnation of the Only-Begotten will be called a day, properly and truly, during which the mist in the world is dispelled, and the darkness has vanished; and brilliant rays, as it were, rise up in the mind for those who have believed, and the sun of righteousness has shone, sending the light of true knowledge of God to those who know how to open the eye of their understanding. At that time, therefore, he says, having been called to the knowledge of the God who truly is, she will cease from that ancient and hateful levity; and she will no longer be easily carried away to apostasy. From what source? Rather, having stepped correctly and soundly, she will have a mind unshakable in piety, so as not even, so to speak, to bring the names of the idols into use in speech. For she will call me, he says, My husband, and will no longer call me Baalim, that is, she will cease from being wanton, and she will refuse to fornicate any longer, but will greatly value being legitimate, and will confess the relationship, that is, clearly, the spiritual one. And she will in no way call upon the Baalim, thinking that things made of stone are gods, and things skillfully forged by certain people into a human form. Therefore, he says, she will call me My husband. For like a prudent and most gentle woman she will make her turning to me, and she will henceforth love no other, and will no longer call upon the Baalim. And in another way, if it seems so to anyone, what was said may be understood. For Baalim is admittedly signified by the idols. But it was a custom for Hebrew women to call their own husbands by the names of the falsely-named gods, and this was an extraordinary way of honoring them. And they say that Ninus the Babylonian began such a practice, who renamed his own father Belus, after the idol among them, I mean Bel. That she will cease, therefore, even from such a shameful custom, he has indicated by saying, She will call me My husband, and will no longer call me Baalim. For if she should choose, he says, to name me as husband, she will by all means say, My husband, and will no longer call me with the names of idols, honoring me. For this reason, he says, I will also take away the names of the Baalim from her mouth, and their names shall be remembered no more. And I will make a covenant for them in that day with the beasts of the field and with the birds of the air and with the creeping things of the earth; and I will break the bow and the sword and the war from the earth. In the passages already read before, he said, "And I will destroy "her vine and her fig trees, of which she said, These are my wages "that my lovers have given me;" and he added to these that "the beasts of the field and the "birds of the air and the creeping things of the earth will devour them." And interpreting the saying, we said that beasts and birds and creeping things were obliquely indicated as the enemies, who were plundering the land of the Jews, Persians and Medes and Babylonians, and the motley crowd of other enemies, who would be thought to differ little from wild beasts, on account of their bloodthirsty manner, and indeed birds on account of the swiftness of their running; and creeping things, because they are terrible and exceedingly wicked and sharp in evil. These men, when Israel was shut up in the cities of Samaria, devoured everything in the fields, leaving nothing of the outlying places unworked. But when, he says, I cast out the names of their idols from the land, then I will also make a covenant of peace for them with every cruel and barbarian race. For the things from enemies will then be inactive, and they will remain inexperienced of war and terrors. For I will break the bow and the sword, which indeed we will find has been brought to a conclusion historically. For when the most illustrious generals of the Romans obtained rule over all, and made the world under heaven subject to their hand, with God providentially assigning glory to them, the Persians were concerned only for their own rule, and the incursions of the other barbarians against lands and cities ceased. and he remembers clearly of such a matter the blessed Isaiah says "And they shall beat their swords "into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: and nation shall not "lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn "war any more." For as though already under one yoke, they turned rather to beneficial industry and refashioned the instruments of war into things useful for agriculture. There will be peace, therefore, he says, and the terrible fears of old will cease, as God calms them, and gladdens those who love him with the good things that come from peace. But I think it will be necessary to add that as well. For formerly when we continued in error, and were called children of wrath, just as certain evil beasts and flesh-eating birds and indeed the most grievous dragons, the evil and opposing powers, were destroying us. But when in Christ we came to know God by nature, and through faith washed away the accusations of the ancient deceit, then we were saved, and received authority "to tread on serpents "and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy," then we also stepped upon the asp and the basilisk, and we have trodden upon the lion and the dragon, with Christ defending us, and with unconquerable power fortifying his own, and sending his own peace into our mind. "For my peace," he says, "I give to you; my peace I leave with you." And Paul also writes, "And the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, "will guard your hearts and your minds." And I will make you dwell in hope, and I will betroth you to myself forever. Not only, he says, will I deliver from the terrors of the enemy, but I will add to this also that the remainder of hope for good things be in a good state, so as to have a secure and established and unshakable cheerfulness. For I will betroth you to myself, and this forever. And what is this? For in a way he was betrothed to ancient Israel, that is, the Synagogue of the Jews, and called it to a relationship, I mean through the law, with Moses ministering and angels mediating. But the manner of the betrothal was not perpetual, nor indeed forever, far from it; for the types were not going to prevail forever, nor the things "imposed until the time of reformation;" but at the time of reformation, that is, of the coming of our Savior, another manner of betrothal has been revealed, perpetual and unshakable, and much more splendid than the first, and of the shadow in better things. For the God of all bestowed as a bridal gift to the bride the putting away of carnal slavery, and through shadow and types called her to spiritual cleansing. However, he set a time for the betrothal; for the first was not blameless, according to the voice of Paul, nor was it ageless and far from abolition. For this reason also a place was sought for a second, that is, for the new, I mean the gift and grace through Christ, bringing us not a temporary, nor a carnal freedom. For it enrolls among the children of God, and lavishes "the pledge of the Spirit," and establishes perpetual laws. And indeed the divine David somewhere said to him, "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your word is truth;" openly, I think, declaring that neither do the things in the law remain forever, since the shadow will be transformed into truth, nor indeed can one behold the beauty of the truth in the letters of the law; for, as I said, the law was a shadow and a type. Therefore he betroths her, having set aside the first and original marriage. For the law is not able to unite to God perfectly and purely; but we approach him through the Son, and through his ordinances, that is, those of the gospel, which also have a spiritual union or connection; for we are united to God in the Spirit, and we are enriched with the participation of his divine nature. But it is likely that the phrase "I will betroth you to myself" elegantly suggests something else to us; for you will understand it thus again. For either he says "to myself" instead of "through myself," not, as in the past, with angels mediating, nor indeed with any minister being employed for this, according to the of the in the manner of Moses. "For not an "ambassador, not an angel, according to what is written, but the Lord himself," the Word from God the Father who became man according to us, presented the church to himself, and "created the two "peoples into one new man, making peace, and "reconciling them both in one spirit to "the Father," according to the voice of the blessed Paul. Or, if you wish, you may understand what was said in another way. For, as I said, he once betrothed the Synagogue of the Jews in Egypt; but in a certain way to another rather than to himself, I mean to the divine Moses, to whom he said somewhere, "Go, go down quickly from here; for your people, "whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have transgressed." Do you hear how he has assigned to Moses the betrothed, that is, the people, not yet deeming them worthy of intimacy with himself; for the law, that is, Moses, as I said, was not sufficient to join them purely and completely to God; for it was truly reserved as the best and most God-fitting of achievements for the mediator between God and men, that is, Christ, through whom and in whom we are united to God. For "he is our peace," according to the scriptures, who removed the sin lying in between, and joined us, clean and washed and sanctified in the spirit, to himself, and through himself to God the Father. And I will betroth you to myself in righteousness and in judgment and in mercy and in compassion, and I will betroth you to myself in faith, and you shall know the Lord. He explains clearly what the manner of the union would be, and through what things the mystery of the economy would proceed. For it will be, he says, in righteousness and in judgment, and moreover also in mercy and in compassion. What, then, is righteousness, and what is judgment, and indeed also mercy, it is necessary, as it seems, to say. Therefore we wretches were taken advantage of, with satan snatching us like a wild beast, and carrying us off into error, and casting us, as he pleased, into the pits of sin, as we were unable to defend ourselves at all. For the beast is truly most difficult and very violent and a murderer of men. And since human affairs were brought down to this misery, the blessed prophets made frequent prayers to him who is able to help, and fashioning for themselves, as it were, the common mask of humanity, they called upon the Son to come from heaven as a helper and an assistant. For example, the divine David said, "Arise, "O God, judge the earth;" and again, "O God, in your "name save me, and in your power you will judge "me." God therefore judged in righteousness, and saved the wronged, but drove away the blood-guilty and wicked satan, and repelled his advantage over us, and brought down the arrogant and hard to encounter rule of demons. And he himself clarified this mystery for us through himself, saying, when he was about to endure the cross for the life of all, "Now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler "of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from "the earth, will draw all people to myself." And we certainly do not say that he said that the judgment of this world would happen by him at the time of his sojourn. For as he himself said again, "God did not send the Son into the world to judge "the world, but that the world might be saved through him." But he says that judgment is, as it were, the right and blameless proceeding. For, as I said, he has judged rightly and in a God-fitting manner for both us and him. And he has saved us, by drawing us to himself; but he has cast out from his tyranny over us the one who took advantage of us and destroyed us in various ways. We have been saved, then, by God having mercy on us and pitying us. For we have been justified, "not by works of "righteousness which we have done, but according to his great "mercy," as it is written; and we have been called to spiritual intimacy through faith; and being so called, we have known the God who is God by nature. For this reason, he says, and I will betroth you to myself in faith, and you shall know the Lord. Therefore faith has entered beforehand, And thus we have been enriched also in the knowing of Christ. And this, I think, is what was said to some: "For if you do not believe, you will not understand." And that brilliantly understanding the mystery of Christ provides participation in eternal life for those worthy to choose it, the Son Himself will confirm, saying to the Father and God in heaven, "And this is "eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, "and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." And it will be in that day, says the Lord, I will answer the heaven, and the heaven will answer the earth, and the earth will answer the grain and the wine and the oil, and they will answer Jezreel. So then, in these things he again calls "day" the time fitting for the calling; for this is the custom of the divinely inspired scripture. Therefore, that Israel itself, at the proper times, will be in participation and abundance of every good thing, and of the gifts from above and from God, made glorious by faith in Christ, he indicates enigmatically. For he says there will be an abundance of rains, by His assent; for this, I think, is "I will answer the heaven"; and indeed also on the earth below, that the most useful and necessary fruits will be given forth for us. For without God and the will from above, neither would the heaven itself ever rain upon those on the earth, nor would the earth bring forth its own fruit at the proper times. And knowing this, the prophet Jeremiah entreated, saying, "Is there among the idols "of the nations one who brings rain? And will the heaven give its "abundance? Are you not the God? And we will wait for you, for you "have made all these things." For with the Creator assenting, as I said, and stretching out His hand to those on the earth, the heaven will be the giver of rain, and the earth the mother and nurse of necessary fruits. Therefore, he says, "I will answer the heaven," instead of, I will assent to send down rains upon those on the earth; and when this has happened, it too will answer the grain and the wine and the oil, that is, it will give forth abundant fruit to its inhabitants, with nothing lacking of what is necessary and life-giving. But these things historically; but from the corporeal things, it is necessary to pass over to the spiritual, as from a most clear image. For as long as Israel was still unruly and disobedient and fighting against God, the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth, "the "beloved new plant," God commanded the clouds not to rain upon it. And by clouds we must understand the holy and rational powers, those from above and from the heavens, through which the word of comfort would come to us, clearly from God. For they are ministering spirits, according to the voice of the blessed Paul, running up and down, and "sent forth for service, for the sake of those "who are to inherit salvation." But since the time of judgment has passed, the one who was formerly a lord-killer has been saved through faith, was then received in righteousness and in judgment and in mercy and compassions, God, who richly distributes all things to all, sent down to him the blessings from above. For He commanded the clouds to send down the rain, I mean the comfort for the mind and heart. Except that the very nature of angels has nothing of its own, but is rich in all things from God, He taught by saying, "I will answer the heaven," that is, I will make the heaven full of things from me, that is, those who are in heaven, clearly the rational and holy powers, so that they too may be able to comfort those who have received mercy, and then certainly the earth will answer the grain and the wine and the oil; instead of, those on the earth will bear the fruit of hope for life and gladness and cheerfulness. And grain is a type of life, wine of gladness, and oil of cheerfulness and well-being; for indeed there is in those who have believed a good hope, both firm and established. And one departs from wickedness, and longs for every good thing, and bears his neck under the yokes of the Savior, being nourished by a good and indubitable and truly certain hope of the life to come, and that he may rejoice mixed with the other saints, and have a most cheerful heart. he said For somewhere concerning the saints the prophet Isaiah says that "And "everlasting joy shall be upon their head; for upon their head "shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall overtake "them, pain and grief and groaning have fled away." Therefore, in hope of life and cheerfulness, and indeed of joy, the earth will certainly obey the consolations from above, that is, the spiritual rains; that is, the people who inhabit the earth. But that the fruit of the life of the saints will also be for the glory of Christ; "For one died for all, that those who live "might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died "and was raised;" he has made clear by saying, and these things will hearken to Jezreel; for to him, as I said, we shall bear fruit, owing our own life to him. And it has been said many times, that Jezreel is interpreted as "seed of God," and this is the Son, as begotten of God the Father by nature and ineffably, even if the matter is spoken of in a bodily way. And I will sow her for myself on the earth, and I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say to that which was not my people, 'You are my people,' and he shall say, 'You are the Lord my God.' The "for myself" you will again understand in two ways. For I will make, he says, as it were, both flourishing and fruitful; clearly the Synagogue of the Jews, no longer fulfilling the law against my will, nor indeed choosing to cling tightly to the types; but choosing to accomplish that which is especially dear and pleasing to God, and is considered to be right. Therefore, I will sow for myself; for she will receive my seed "that we might understand the evangelical decrees, and no longer that through Moses, as also in the beginning; for of old she was cultivated by the types. Or rather, the "for myself" you may also understand in another way. For I myself will be the worker, he says, for her care, and as a certain rich and well-ploughed land, not through another but by myself will I sow. For God the Father has spoken to us in the Son; although in former times He spoke through the holy prophets "in many portions and in many ways." And to the crops in a field the Savior himself also likens the countless multitude of those who have believed. And so He said to the holy apostles, "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then "comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your "eyes, and see the fields, that they are white "for harvest already; and he who reaps is receiving wages, and "gathering fruit for eternal life;" and again in other places; "The "harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the "Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his "harvest." Therefore, when our Savior Jesus Christ sent down for us the spiritual rain, we became a "delightful land," according to the voice of the prophet. For he sowed us for himself, and Israel has been called "God's field." For he will have mercy on her who had not received mercy, and he will call him who was once Not-a-people, a people. And he himself, ceasing from the ancient error, will recognize the true God, and will say, 'You are my God,' although formerly crying out from immeasurable madness, "We know that God has spoken to Moses; "but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." Therefore, not knowing the Son, they did not know the Father either; and the Savior himself will testify, saying, "If you knew me, you would "have known my Father also." But since they have been called to knowledge, and have confessed the Son, they have therefore seen the Father through him and in him. For it is true, that as the wise John says, "He who denies the Son, does not have the Father "either; but he who confesses the Son, confesses the Father "also." And the Lord said to me, Go yet and love a woman who loves evil things and is an adulteress, just as God loves the sons of Israel, and they look to other gods and love raisin-cakes. Fitting. For I think it necessary to investigate such things and to examine them in detail. For after the first one, the lewd and driven one, another woman is introduced to the prophet, being liable to the charges of adultery. And what is the reason? For the multitude of the Jews, the one before the coming of our Savior, since indeed also more unguardedly and very readily going towards error, and worshipping the golden heifers, and bowing down and sacrificing to Baal, that is, to Baal-peor, might be compared to a harlot, and very fittingly, as if exposed to every wicked and unclean spirit, wanting to fulfill its own pleasures; for they also accepted the objects of worship of the neighboring and surrounding nations, according to what seemed good to each, impiously and without examination. But she, for readily going towards apostasy, was justly punished, being sent into captivity and falling under the feet of her enemies; yet God made it clear to the prophet, that in the time of the day of Jezreel, which is truly great, they will come up out of the land, that is, they will flee from the country of the foreigners. And this was to suggest again in a riddling way, that they will cease to be strangers and sojourners, or rather, captives of the spear, and dwelling in a foreign land not freely. For the Savior proclaimed "release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind," according to the prophet's voice. And that they will also be received through faith in mercy and compassion, and will be called the people of God, and indeed also 'having obtained mercy,' he has clearly signified. For after the advent of the Savior, and the passion on the cross, and the resurrection from the dead, the remnant has been saved; for no small number of those from Israel have believed; but again the disobedient multitude has remained, which must be compared to an adulteress, because of not choosing the bridegroom from heaven, and rejecting the one who courted her in faith, but giving up her mind as to certain adulterers, to the scribes and Pharisees. "For they were teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Just as, therefore, the prophet was with the harlot, as a type of God enduring the fornication of Israel, and punishing moderately for their conversion, and bringing them back to knowledge; in the same way, I think, through the preceding things the mystery is elegantly fashioned for us again. For as a type of God the prophet takes the adulteress who loves wicked things; and he cherishes her, as it were, fattening her well with promises and good hopes, not allowing her to fall into despair. For that the whole mystery is in these things, God showed by speaking thus to the prophet: Love the adulteress who loves wicked things, just as God loves the sons of Israel; and they look to other gods, and love cakes with raisins. For although, he says, they choose to disobey, and assign their love to falsely-named gods, and wish to fulfill for them things that are pleasing, from his innate goodness God loves them, "Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." And somehow the Word of God gives us to understand, that even at the time of his advent there were perhaps many among the Jews still wavering, and neither adhering purely to the commandments through Moses, nor indeed being entirely free from the filth of error, but rather also looking to other gods, to whom they also brought cakes with raisins, perhaps sacrificial cakes, and honey-cakes. For they offered such cakes as a sacrifice to demons, and experience is a witness. So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a skin of wine. And I said to her, "You will stay with me for many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you be for another man, so I will also be for you." The prophet therefore hires the woman, and makes her sit at home, and commands her to abstain from her customary baseness, and to cease from the pollutions of adultery; and he promises, if she chooses to be chaste and is chosen to look to him alone, that he himself also will be for her, that is, he will make her his own in marriage, and will be one with her, "For the two," he says, "shall become one flesh." And what is the riddle? The multitude of the Jews, the disobedient and deicidal, the adulterous and profane, after Christ ascended into the heavens, God makes to sit, without a husband, indeed; unless she should still commit fornication, that is, unless would walk again towards the necessity of choosing to honor foreign gods, he promises to join to himself in due time, the multitude of the Gentiles having evidently been judged beforehand. For those from Israel have been placed at the back, that is, as a following and behind and in the last things. But observe how no marital union at all took place for the prophet with the adulterous and wicked woman, but a promise of the matter after many days, if she would not again belong to another man, that is, if she would abstain from the crimes and defilements of spiritual fornication. For, as I said, in due time the bridegroom from heaven will receive the adulterous multitude, not having worshipped idols. For indeed after the Savior's cross, Israel is attached only to the laws through Moses, very unsoundly, however, and negligently, yet it has not turned aside to choose to honor the false worship of demons. But what is the way of life for the one who has committed adultery and is awaiting in due time the fellowship of the prophet? or what were her wages? fifteen [shekels] of silver, he says, and a homer of barley and a nebel of wine. For Israel has continued through the time between its last calling, being fed with a worthless word, and paying attention to mythical and truly old-womanish teachings of their own teachers; and its life has become beast-like, and its mind in drunkenness and darkness. And the silver would be a very clear type of a teaching word, according to what was said to them through the voice of Isaiah, "Your silver is worthless," and according to the voice of the Savior justly rebuking the wicked and lazy servant and saying, "You ought to have deposited my silver with the bankers." Therefore you will take the silver to mean the word of the teachers. But if someone should choose to refer it also to the law itself through Moses, he will say it is fifteen, either because the law is at once both perfect and imperfect; and perfect, if it is understood spiritually; for it speaks to us the mystery of Christ; but imperfect, on the other hand, if the mind of those being instructed goes only as far as the letter. for in a way the denseness of the history is in a half-knowledge. But the number ten is a symbol of perfection, being all-perfect, according to, " Be over ten cities," and, "To whom he gave ten talents;" but of that which is not so, five would be understood; for, as I said, it is half of ten. Or also in another way you will approach the things that have been said. The number fifteen is comprehensive of the seven, and indeed also of the eight. and in a way it is always signified in the God-inspired scripture, through the seven, the whole time of the law up to the holy prophets, because of the sabbath-rest on the seventh day, and through the eight, again, that of the new covenant, according to which is the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, which happened on the eighth day. And I think this is what is shown by the enigmatic saying, "Give a portion to the seven, and also to the eight," that is, let them have a place with you, both the law and the prophets after it, honoring the sabbath-rest on the seventh day; and let the eight also have a place, that is, the Apostles and Evangelists after the resurrection day of the Savior. and with this agrees what is indirectly indicated through the voice of a prophet, "And there will be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight bites of men." For when our Savior Christ shone upon us, both the legal and prophetic proclamations and the apostolic instruction rose up in a way against Satan who had paralyzed us. For indeed through these things he was in a way bitten down and has been plundered. and according to the voice of the Savior his goods were plundered, as those who were once deceived have departed from slavery under him, and have come to know the one who is by nature and truly God and Lord of all. Therefore "seven shepherds and eight bites of men" rose up against him, that is, those before the advent, and those after the eighth day, through legal and new writings calling the deceived to salvation. So Israel has continued, as I said, with the worthless voices of its own teachers, that is with the bare being nourished by the letter of the law, although it also contains the things of the eighth day, that is, the mysteries of Christ. But that his life is also like a beast's, and has inclined only to fleshly things, the barley being given to the adulteress for food would indicate very well. For the food is fit for beasts, and the wine would be a sign of drunkenness. And it was said to them, "Hearing you will hear, and you will not understand; and seeing you will see, and you will not perceive." These are the afflictions of the drunk, and the crimes of the debauched, to neither see while seeing, nor be able to understand anything while hearing; but to have a mind that is, as it were, thickened, and filled with hardness. For the sons of Israel shall sit for many days, with no king and no ruler, with no sacrifice and no altar, nor priesthood nor manifestations. And after these things the sons of Israel will return and will seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they will be amazed at the Lord and at his good things in the last of days. Clear then and having it without dispute, as at least in these things, is the declaration that the adulteress was taken, and to remain at home for many days, until the prophet should be with her; for it is written thus. And what was done was a prefiguration of what was to happen in due time to the adulterous Synagogue of the Jews. For since our Lord Jesus Christ willingly endured the cross for the salvation of all, when those from Israel had acted insolently toward him, then indeed, when their land was ravaged, they were scattered as if to every wind; and to this day they are inactive regarding the law, since the temple in Jerusalem was burned, and the altar taken away, and sacrifice abolished, and the priesthood idle, and the manifestations not seen. For with no high priest sacredly attired according to the law, how was it still possible to see the manifestations? And what might the manifestations be considered? Perhaps the eager learner knows, but it is not unprofitable to recall it briefly. When the God of all commanded the things for the adornment of the high priest to be made, then he said to the sacred Moses: "And you shall make a breastplate of judgment, a work of a weaver, a span in "length, and a span in width; it shall be a square." Then he commanded twelve stones, named for the tribes, to be skillfully and artfully woven into the work; and indeed two others among the rest, whose names were the manifestation and the truth. Then this breastplate of judgment hung from the ephod by golden chains; and it was laid upon the breast of the high priest, and the manifestation and the truth were a type of Emmanuel. For all the things that he heard from the Father, he announced to us. and he has manifested the will of the one who begot him; and he has made clear the way of salvation. That he is also the truth, how could anyone doubt, when he himself says clearly, "I am the truth?" For this reason it also hung upon the very heart of the high priest, the type all but shouting and openly crying out that the priestly race will have the Savior and Redeemer of all, the truth and the manifestation, in mind and heart. that is, that there is every necessity for the ministers to always be mindful of Christ, and to bear him dwelling within through the Spirit; and his house is a pure mind, and a cleansed heart. So then, he says, the sons of Israel will sit for many days with no king and no ruler, that is, without a king and without a governor. For neither will those from the tribe of Judah reign as kings, nor indeed will the rulers who preside according to the law, that is, the priests. But neither, he says, will there be an altar or a sacrifice, a priesthood and manifestations. Yet not in these things forever, nor will Israel be utterly sent away; for it will be called in due time, and it will return through faith, and it will know the God of all, and with him David, that is, Christ according to the flesh from the seed of David, the king and Lord of all. Then indeed they will be astonished at the greatness of the honor, and the immeasurable grace of his gentleness. they will partake for of the hope prepared for the saints, and mixed with the flocks of the faithful, they will be pastured in a good pasture and in a rich place. For the time of this so brilliant and admirable grace is for them the last and in the last times, and in Christ, through whom and with whom to God the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever, Amen.

Book 3

Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God upon the earth. Cursing and lying and murder and theft and adultery are poured out upon the land, and blood touches blood. It is necessary for us, wanting to make clear the meaning of what lies before us, almost to take up again what was in the beginning, and as it were to ruminate on the whole scope of the prophecy. Therefore, as far as possible, and bringing it together in brief, I say this. For it was "the beginning of the word of the Lord in Hosea." But in interpreting such things, we rightly said that the words came from God to the blessed prophet Hosea, as though initiating him and foretelling what was to come through types and words. For this reason Gomer was taken in the beginning, and she bore both Not-my-people, and She-who-has-not-obtained-mercy. Then after her a second adulterous and wicked woman was taken, and on each of these things the prophet, as I said, was instructed subtly and accurately. As he had therefore gathered within himself a sufficient power of the mystery, he begins at last to proclaim to those of the blood of Israel the things that are to come, and to make plain the reason for the disaster that would all but befall them, and to make very clear the things at which God was grieved, so that those being punished might know that they justly suffered whatever should happen to them. For since they were about to be captured by enemies, and to be set forth as a laughing-stock to those who had the highest opinion of them, and who thought Israel to be the most difficult of all other nations to conquer, lest they should think in themselves that the hand which defends and saves had grown weak, but should rather repent, and choose to return to better things, understanding that they had foolishly offended the one who knows how to save, for this reason they had also fallen under divine wrath, he necessarily proclaims their charges to them even before the expected events, and says Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. But God judges men, rebuking, not being judged, and setting forth the bare charges to those who have acted impiously against him, according to that which is sung somewhere in the psalms: "I will reprove you, "and set before your face" your iniquities, so that they may not say that the wrath was brought upon them in vain, but rather as in the order of a debt, and as necessarily befalling those who are accustomed to transgress in the greatest matters. And what does he say, judging or rather refuting? There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God upon the earth. Therefore, to say that there is no truth would very likely imply that among all at that time there was much false accusation, and perjury and deceit and treachery, the most shameful of all evils; and that they were without love for one another and without compassion, unyielding and relentless, and had hardened their minds, would indicate that there is no mercy; and that they were lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and were wholly devoted to falsely named gods, he will again make clear by saying that there is no knowledge of God upon the earth. And besides, it would be fitting for those entangled in such terrible absurdities, to seem somehow no longer even to know God; if indeed we say we know him by thinking rightly those who follow his divine will. He adds to this, that cursing and lying and murder and theft and adultery are poured out upon the earth, and they mingle blood upon blood. Do you hear how those of whom the discourse is have come to the end of all evil, and henceforth beyond unholy undertakings, leaving nothing of the most exceedingly outrageous things unpracticed? And what is still more unreasonable than this, he says they mingle blood upon blood. And this would be a clear sign, that neither is any respite introduced for their evils, nor indeed do the perpetrators come to a repentance of what they have dared; but sin is drawn out, as it were, continuous and in succession. But let these things have been said for the more readily available clarification. But again the blessed prophet seems to make for us a more mystical narrative, and to accuse Israel for its drunken outrages against Christ, and its murders against him and the saints. For the Lord has a judgment against the inhabitants of the land. For what reason, and on what grounds? For our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to us, and was sent, as he himself says, "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," that by the torch-bearing of the Spirit he might enlighten those in darkness, that having delivered them from the shadow of the law, he might set them on the ways of true worship, that having justified by faith those entangled in sins, he might unite them through himself to God the Father. But it did not seem right to those of Israel; for they cast out, they rejected the one who had come from heaven for these purposes, they were not willing to have among themselves the truth, the mercy, the knowledge of God the Father. For that Christ is truth and mercy, I think will not require long arguments for proof, since the God-inspired scripture is sufficient for this, from top to bottom naming for us Christ as mercy and truth. But that he is also the knowledge of God, one could learn quite effortlessly, since he cried out most clearly and plainly, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Therefore, he says, the Lord has a judgment against the inhabitants of the land; and it is clear that he means the land of the Jews; because truth and mercy and the knowledge of the Father are not among them. He is judged, then, against those who do not have such things; but those who have accepted the faith have escaped being judged by him, or rather from him. And this itself would be clear, from Christ saying again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes in me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment." What then is poured out upon the land? Cursing and lying and murder and theft and adultery; and they mingle blood upon blood. And what is the cursing? Slander and insult; for the peoples of the Hebrews in no way ceased insulting Jesus, assailing him with an unguarded and unbridled tongue, so as to call him at one time a Samaritan, at another a drunkard, and one born of fornication. For in their view they supposed the holy Virgin had committed adultery; therefore, the cursing is in these things. And they also lied against his glory, saying that he had a demon, and attributing the divine signs to the powers of Beelzebul. But that they might be convicted of also having a murderous disposition against him, one would know from the fact that Emmanuel was often stoned by them; and was taken even to the very brow of the mountain, that he might be cast down. And the accusations are not limited to these things. And the matter of theft was also held in very high esteem. For they hired against him the traitor Judas, the one most greedy for base gain and most thievish. And the Pharisees, having become like certain wicked adulterers of the Synagogue of the Jews, drove away from it the bridegroom from heaven, that is, Christ; and committed fornication with it, persuading it to serve their own pleasures. And they also mingled blood upon blood. How, or in what way? For having killed the holy prophets, they added to them the very Lord of the prophets. And so the blessed Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles rightly reproaches them, saying, "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold about the of the coming of the Just One, of whom you have now become betrayers and "murderers." But the Savior also, reproaching the Pharisees and scribes for their bold deeds, said, "You also fill up the measure of your fathers." Therefore the land will mourn, and will be diminished with all who dwell in it, with the beasts of the field and with the creeping things of the earth and with the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea will fail, so that no one may judge and no one may reprove. For since, he says, they have lived such a God-hated and very harsh life, impious and unbridled, and have thought and done what is not lawful, acting insolently toward God; for this reason, and very justly, they will go away to destruction, with the land, as it were, mourning; for it will be laid waste, and will change its form, and will wear a joyless look, with cities having been burned, and houses shaken down, and fields cut down; and the inhabitants will be disposed along with the land, both lamenting together and wailing together. For they too will mourn, that is, they will become very far removed from all cheerfulness and prosperity. And who are the inhabitants? Both beasts and creeping things, and in addition to these, flying creatures. And surely we will not think, if we understand correctly, that the prophetic word cries out to us against wild beasts, or creeping things, or birds; for it is utterly simple-minded, and full of foolishness to think in this way; for we think rather, having decided to think correctly, that the ways of the Jews are likened to the things just mentioned by us. and through the beasts, the word might signify the most powerful and those sufficiently able to terrify others, the savage and aggressive, and those accustomed to commit murder, and having very much that is uncivilized; but through the creeping things, those who have practiced bitterness in their ways to the extreme, and have already reached the end of all wickedness. For in this way, I suppose, the wise John also reproved the most wicked crowd of Pharisees and scribes, crying out and saying, "serpents, brood of vipers;" and through the birds you will understand well those readily stirred up to apostasy from God, or else suffering from accursed arrogance, and being carried aloft somewhere and being accustomed to think lofty thoughts. And he seems to call fish the rabble and the herd-like, those submerged in the cares of life, and having a mind as if underwater, the voiceless and most irrational; for the creature of the fish is most voiceless. And in another way, those who, as it were, swallow the weaker; for eating one another is especially honored among fish. Therefore, he says, the land will mourn together with its inhabitants. And what is the reason for this? So that no one may judge, nor may anyone reprove. For since curse and falsehood, For since, he says, they have lived such a God-hated and very harsh life, impious and unbridled, and have thought and done what is not lawful, acting insolently toward God; for this reason, and very justly, they will go away to destruction, with the land, as it were, mourning; for it will be laid waste, and will change its form, and will wear a joyless look, with cities having been burned, and houses shaken down, and fields cut down; and the inhabitants will be disposed along with the land, both lamenting together and wailing together. For they too will mourn, that is, they will become very far removed from all cheerfulness and prosperity. And who are the inhabitants? Both beasts and creeping things, and in addition to these, flying creatures. And surely we will not think, if we understand correctly, that the prophetic word cries out to us against wild beasts, or creeping things, or birds; for it is utterly simple-minded, and full of foolishness to think in this way; for we think rather, having decided to think correctly, that the ways of the Jews are likened to the things just mentioned by us. and through the beasts, the word might signify the most powerful and those sufficiently able to terrify others, the savage and aggressive, and those accustomed to commit murder, and having very much that is uncivilized; but through the creeping things, those who have practiced bitterness in their ways to the extreme, and have already reached the end of all wickedness of wickedness. For in this way, I suppose, the wise John also rebuked the most wicked multitude of the Pharisees and scribes, crying out and saying, "O vipers, generation of vipers;" and through the birds you will understand very well those who are readily stirred up to apostasy from God, or those who are sick with accursed arrogance, and are accustomed to be carried aloft and to think lofty thoughts. And he also seems to call fish the rabble and the gregarious, those immersed in the cares of life, and having, as it were, an underwater mind, the voiceless and most irrational; for the nature of fish is most voiceless. And in another way, those who, as it were, devour the weaker; for devouring one another is especially honored among fish. Therefore, he says, the land will mourn together with those who dwell in it. And what is the reason for this? So that no one may judge, nor may anyone reprove. For since a curse and falsehood, and theft and murder, and adultery have been poured out upon the land, and they mingle blood with blood, for this reason falsehood and deceit and slander will henceforth mourn and be idle. For groaning at what has happened contrary to hope, and weeping for the disaster at hand, they will unwillingly abstain from such transgressions. For to judge and to reprove would be nothing else, as I think, than to accuse and condemn some, that is, to bear false witness. This is what another of the holy prophets of the blood of Israel cried out to us, saying, "Woe is me, O soul, for the godly man has perished "from the earth, and he who acts rightly among men is no more; all "are judged for blood, each oppresses his neighbor with "oppression." But these things in a historical sense; but directing the word of the prophecy to the innermost meaning, we say this. For since in the land of the Jews, that is, among the Jews themselves, there is "no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God;" and we have said that Emmanuel is and is called these things; but rather a curse and falsehood have prevailed, and theft is honored, and they mingle blood with blood; for having killed the prophets, as I said, they also killed Jesus himself; therefore the land, being burned by Roman hands, will mourn together with its inhabitants. And these things will be, he says, so that no one may judge, nor may anyone reprove. which is clearly blaming the Jews, as having judged unholily and convicted, or rather, borne false witness against Christ. For the leaders brought him to Pilate, judging and accusing him. And some came forward and testified against him, and they all but dared to convict him; the wretched ones speaking falsely, at one time, that he perverts the people; at another, that we have heard this man say that in three days he will destroy the temple of God, and raise it up again. Therefore, he says, justice will be taken away, and conviction, that is, testimony against, and a vote that is not true; there being no king, nor a ruler accustomed to judge. For this reason, as I think, the prophetic word also likens the peoples of the Jews to the kingless animals, I mean beasts and reptiles and birds and fish. Thus also the blessed prophet Habakkuk said somewhere to the God of all, "Why do you look on those who despise? "Will you be silent when the wicked swallows up the righteous? And "will you make men like the fish of the sea, and "like the reptiles that have no ruler." But my people are as a priest spoken against, and he shall be weak for days, and a prophet shall also be weak with you. Observe for me, then, the blessed Prophet bringing forth in another manner the things said to him by God. For he heard clearly that "For many days the sons of Israel shall sit, "with no king and no ruler, with no sacrifice and no "altar, nor priesthood nor manifestations;" but he himself, as if anticipating the unbridled anger of his hearers, reproves covertly, and overshadows his word with measured obscurities. For that they will continue for times without leaders and a king, and will remain untutored, slightly he hints, comparing them to the ungoverned among animals. But that they will also be cast out from sacrifices and sacred ministry, he suggests, saying, that they have become equal to the contested priests. And who might these be again? Or who is the contested priest? The one having a blemish, and a bodily infirmity; for this very reason also being excluded from the ministry. For either on account of a leg, or an injury of the eyes, or on account of a broken foot, or for another reason, some were sent away from the duty of being a priest, although they were from the tribe and blood of Levi. For thus the law through Moses has prophesied. Thus therefore, he says, shall my people be. For although being holy on account of the fathers, and deemed worthy to sacrifice, he will sit outside the holy tabernacle, outside the ministry and sacred rites. For he will not offer sacrifices, nor indeed will he offer a sweet-smelling savor to God; for he has no longer moderately suffered the injury to his mind, and his heart has been maimed, and he has justly become already rejected, and detested. But that it will also befall those of Israel that the prophets will be silent, he has indicated, saying, And a prophet will also grow weak with you, surely according to that which was said by God to the blessed Ezekiel: "And I will bind your tongue, and you shall be mute, and "you shall not be to them a man who reproves, that is, who rebukes, because "it is a rebellious house." But all these things will happen because of their impiety toward Christ, and the crimes against the prophets. Yet he says that Israel will not be weak forever, but for days; for a time of salvation and of repentance as in faith has been reserved for him. I have likened your mother to the night, my people has been likened as one having no knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being my priest; and you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The word, therefore, is as if to the immoderate and unholy multitude of the Jews. Indeed, he calls her mother the Synagogue, just as indeed also the Church of those justified in Christ. Therefore, he justly compares the Synagogue of the Jews to darkness and gloom. For this reason also the most wise Paul says very well concerning himself and those who have been enlightened in the faith, "We are not of the night nor of "darkness, but sons of light and of day." But my people, he says, is like those who have no knowledge, although it was enriched with the guidance through the law. For it has been called to the knowledge of the truly existing God, it has been fully convinced by miracles, and nothing at all has been left out of all that is able to enlighten those in darkness, and it is not unable to impart admirable knowledge to the more teachable. But since, he says, you rejected knowledge, that is, Christ, through whom and in whom the Father is both accessible and known, you will henceforth be cast out from being holy, and from offering sacrifices, as profane. And since you slipped into forgetfulness of the divine laws, neither understanding the things of Moses spiritually, nor indeed applying a keen and quick mind to the teachings through Christ, I also will be brought into a kind of forgetfulness of your children, that is, I will no longer remember, at least so as to deem them worthy of forbearance and care; for to those whom God deems worthy to remember, to these he bestows his own loving-kindness. But Israel also in another way forgot the divine law, and rejected knowledge by practicing idolatry. According to their multitude, so they sinned against me; I will turn their glory into shame. The divine and ineffable nature is the source and origin of all gentleness, and goodness itself; yet it does not entirely endure those who transgress; but upon those who proceed unrestrainedly to this, it inflicts the punishments that are fitting for them. He insists, then, that Israel has come to this point of depravity, so that their desperation is no longer bearable, and their sin is seen as equal in number to them. For they were "as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand which is "on the seashore," according to what is written; but he said that their transgressions were in no way less than their multitude. This, I think, is the meaning of *According to their multitude, so they sinned against me*. But since they had slipped into this of misery and ill-counsel, and they have not ceased to offend God, I will turn their glory into dishonor, that is, in that very thing in which they have decided to take great pride, in this very thing they will be put to shame. How or in what way? For they will fall from their boasts in their great multitude, as war consumes along with the fighting men also every other age group; for houses and cities will remain empty of men. And for this very reason the prophet Jeremiah lamented Judea, saying, "How the city that was full of peoples sits alone! She who was ruler among "the provinces has become a tributary." And in another way, by offending God, we will be laid as far as possible from all good repute by doing what is not lawful; and in those very things for which one ought to be ashamed, in these very things we are at times boasting, and raising a high brow, so that it is justly said also concerning us, "whose glory is in their shame." Therefore, according to this sense you may again understand what was said, I will turn their glory into dishonor. For that some are delivered over "to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting," how can one doubt, since the blessed Paul has clearly stated it. They will eat the sins of my people, and in their iniquities they will take their souls. And it will be, as with the people, so with the priest. Having written the causes of the wrath against the multitude, he transfers the discourse to the sacred order. And what has just been said by us would fit the discourse, I think, "I will turn their glory "into dishonor." For the glory of the Jewish Synagogue is the renowned priesthood, and the preeminent and holy race in it, that is, the Levitical; for some ruled from the tribe of Judah, but human affairs were secondary to the priesthood and very much inferior. Therefore, the glory of the Jewish Synagogue is the sacred and chosen race. It will therefore be clothed with dishonor, he says, and will change to what is unseemly. And for what reason? Because having neglected what was most fitting for them, they were carried away to apostasy. They have not kept their own authority, they did not know the way of the priesthood, they have not understood that they will eat the sins of my people, and in their iniquities they will take their souls. But since the saying has much obscurity, come again, let us say as best we can how it ought to be understood. A male goat from the goats was therefore slaughtered for sin; and for this reason the sacrifice was also called sin. But the priests of the time, bringing the male goat to the altar, offered up the entrails and the fat, but ate the rest themselves, as the divine law commanded this. Therefore the priest is taken as a mediator, as it were, between God and men, receiving the gift-offerings from the peoples, and sharing them with the altar, as it is written; performing a sacred service, as it were, for the trespasses of the people, just as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ also did. That what I say is true, I will set forth the law concerning the male goat itself. It is as follows: "And Moses diligently sought the male goat for "the sin, and behold, it had been burned up. And Moses was angry with Eleazar and "Ithamar the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, 'Why did you not eat the sin offering in a holy place? "'For it is most holy, and this He has given you to eat, that you might "take away the sin of the congregation, and make atonement "for them before the Lord.'" Do you see how those who stand by the divine altar mediate by eating the offerings for sins, and with purest prayers assuage the wrath against sinners, and almost consecrating their own souls for the trespasses of the people to God as a fragrant offering? Just as indeed the divine Aaron did, when the destruction of the people began. For it is written thus: having seized the censer, and put on the incense, "he stood," it says, "between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed." Thus mediating also, the blessed Moses was appeasing God, when the children of Israel had made a calf in the wilderness; for he, as it were, submitted himself to the with justice, beseeching and saying, "If you will forgive their sin, forgive; but if not, "blot me out of this book which you have written." They shall therefore eat the sins of my people, that is, the sacrifices offered for sins. and in their iniquities, that is, in the time of their iniquity; it is clear, that of those from Israel or of the peoples; they themselves shall take their own souls, instead of, they shall offer to God. For the divinely inspired scripture accepts the word as signifying such a thing; for what is offered to God, and prepared for sacrifice, was said to be taken. And the word is especially set to signify this, as I just said. And indeed in Numbers, when he was setting the laws concerning the red heifer, God said somewhere to the hierophant Moses, "This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord has commanded, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them take for you a red heifer without blemish." Do you hear 'let them take'? that is, let them offer or let them bring. But concerning the leper who is about to be cleansed, he says again thus: "And the priest shall go forth out of the camp, "and the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague of leprosy is healed from "the leper. And the priest shall command and they shall take for the "one who has been cleansed two living, clean small birds." Therefore, when it says 'they shall take' also of the priests, the word would reasonably be understood instead of 'they shall offer'. Therefore in the time of iniquities, clearly of the people, they themselves shall take, that is, they shall offer as a spiritual sacrifice and a sweet savor to God their own souls, clearly living rightly, and having a most lawful life, and having been most zealous to think and do what is fitting for priests. For such a one is sufficient to save peoples who have offended God and wronged the law. But those chosen for this, he says, have slipped down with the others. For this reason the sacred rites will justly cease, the chosen and honored race will be stopped, the people shall be as the priest. For there will no longer be anything between the people and the priest. And this then was, "Their glory I will turn into "dishonor." And I will punish him for his ways, and I will repay him for his plans. Ways, it seems, he calls the goings as in works; and plans, in turn, the stumblings from strange reasonings. Since, therefore, he says, he has not walked rightly, having departed from the straight path, and having driven, as it were, on a path of all unholiness, and has planned the most shameful and outlandish things of all, dishonoring the God of all, and turning aside himself to worship idols, I will punish him, that is, I will bring a punishment that is of equal weight to his transgressions And that for those who depart from the love of God, to be in every evil will in every way and entirely come to pass, how is it possible to doubt? For he will neither travel a straight and blameless path, nor would he ever plan wisely, not having the divine wisdom and power to assist him. And they shall eat, and shall not be satisfied; they have committed fornication, and shall not prosper. He has again kept the remnant for those of the blood of Israel. For that the matter will not entirely disappear for the priests, he makes clear, saying: that they will eat, but they will not be filled. For whether someone should consider those ancient migrations and captivities of Israel, or the desolation of Judea at the time of Christ by the hand of the Romans, he will find both Israel itself and the worship according to the law preserved in remnants. For when at that time they were carried away both by Shalmaneser and by Tiglath-pileser to the Assyrians and Medes, no less did the few and small and remaining of those from Israel bring the customary things to the priests, honoring those at hand; and not being entirely outside of what was customary. In the same way, also in the final war, I mean the one under Caesar Augustus, when their country was laid waste, they were scattered to every wind, and in every country and city; yet still moderately honoring the sacred and chosen a race, they offered according to their ability; and they are still in these things, although the ancient sacrifices have been overturned; for to those who are outside Jerusalem it is still unlawful to sacrifice. Therefore, he says, they will eat and not be filled, that is, they will receive little and with difficulty, and what is not sufficient for satiety. And this shows no less the removal of their ancient honor, and the loss of their former cheerfulness. But since they have committed fornication, he says, they shall not be guided aright. For it is impossible, as I said, for those who depart from God; for this, I think, is the name and substance of spiritual fornication; either to have a full supply of divine goods, or to be able to gather the foods from heaven and from above, or to be guided aright in counsels or in deeds. For God is the giver of every good thing to us, and the rudder of the mind that is in us. Because they have forsaken the Lord to keep, fornication and wine and drunkenness, the heart of my people has received. Here he states the reasons why the ministers will neither be filled with food, nor yet be guided aright. For since, he says, they themselves also departed from the Lord, and the teachers slipped away with those being taught, those appointed to lead with those under their hand and authority, for this reason they will justly be under divine wrath, and will suffer punishment for their incessant transgressions. For they have kept fornication, that is, they have arranged for error to be preserved for those under their hand, although they ought rather to cast it out from their midst and make it disappear. For the sobriety of teachers is to eagerly remove from the midst what harms the people, and to destroy without delay what is hateful to God. But if they do not endure to do this, and they themselves allow the works of error to remain and be preserved, as it were, or rather they even establish them from the opposite things, then certainly the mind of those being instructed will receive wine, as it were, and drunkenness. For from where, or how could the disciples be sober, and be able to open the eye of their mind to the true God by nature, if their instructors and the proposers of what is advantageous also still confirm them in the need to wander? And this, I think, is what was clearly said through another prophet: "The priests did not say, Where is the Lord? And those who held to my law did not know me, and the shepherds acted impiously against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal;" and again, "My sons and my sheep are not, there is no place for my tent, a place for my skins. For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord; for this reason the whole pasture did not understand, and they were scattered." They inquired by signs, and by their staves they reported to him. In what way they have forsaken the Lord, and have kept fornication, he makes clear. For he shows the teacher to be a fellow-willer with those who are led astray; and those whom it was fitting, or rather even necessary, to follow the divine laws, and to bring those under their yoke to this, these, as I said, he clearly shows as fulfilling the crimes of error. For some went to them wishing to learn, he says, either things to come, perhaps, or things concerning themselves, and in what times or situations they might be. But they impiously persuaded those who came to them no longer to wish to seek such things from God, but they inquired by signs, that is, they sought to learn through certain signs and observations from unclean spirits; just as, indeed, Balaam once attempted to divine against those of Israel. For Balak son of Beor ordered him to do this. And he said, "Make for me here seven altars, and slaughter for me seven bullocks and seven rams," and I will go to meet the omens. For either they examine the smoke rising from the sacrifices, where and how high and upwards they shoot; or the wretches examine the twitchings in the liver; or they curiously observe the flights of birds of omen. And augury, and divination, and such things of the accusations of the evils of the impiety that has come to an end, and they come into the lowest recesses of idolatry. And in their rods they reported to him. To those from Israel who came to them, he says, and were eager to know something of their own affairs, they reported to them not only in symbols, but also in their rods. This is another method of deceit; the matter is rhabdomancy; and perhaps it is an invention of the meddling of the Chaldeans. For thus Nebuchadnezzar divined against Jerusalem, as the inspired prophet Ezekiel also says. For setting up two rods, then enchanting them with some of their secret spells, they caused them to incline by the energies of demons; and they watched them as they fell, to see where they would be carried again, whether forward or backward, or to the right or to the left; and so then they reported what seemed best to the ones who approached. This is what "they reported in rods" means. Truly terrible, then, when the instructors of others, who were able to lead them to what is dear to God, also caused them to wander, and as the prophet says, "They have fixed madness "in the house of the Lord." For he calls false divination madness. For those accustomed to doing this pretend not even to know, then, where they are. For some said that they were mad and possessed, as if filled with the divine. For they did not know that the heart of the deceived is like a house, and a cave of unclean spirits. They have been led astray by a spirit of fornication, and they have gone whoring from their God. Upon the tops of the mountains they sacrificed, and upon the hills they burned incense, under oak and poplar and a shady tree, because its shade was good. That such things are not done without unclean and wicked spirits, he teaches clearly. For every form of depravity comes from them, and nothing of the most shameful things is left unpracticed by those who have chosen to fulfill what seems good to them. Therefore, he says, they have been led astray by a spirit of fornication, and have become as far away as possible from God, being lovers of pleasure, and making the works of idolatry an occasion for love of the flesh. For they sacrificed, occupying hills and mountains, and on earthly high places they served the groveling nature of demons. Then, raising altars under oak and poplar, they offered libations, sending honors to nymphs, perhaps to the hamadryads, according to the myths of the Greeks. For the poets and prose writers of the Greeks say that the unclean demons, whom they named nymphs, love plants and trees, according to what seemed good to them, I know not how. Therefore it seemed good to them, he says, to accept the shades, and to revel under the most flourishing groves; and to praise and say, "because its shade was good." Therefore, the lover of pleasure cannot also be a lover of God. And Paul will testify, saying of some, that they are "lovers of pleasure "rather than lovers of God." "Blessed therefore are those who mourn "now," as the Savior says, and who have been zealous to honor and love especially patient endurance in beneficial labors. Therefore your daughters shall commit fornication, and your daughters-in-law shall commit adultery. And I will not visit upon your daughters when they commit fornication, nor upon your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; because they themselves were mingled with harlots, and sacrificed with the initiated. For since it seems admirable to you, he says, to revel under a plant and in shades, and you have made a pleasure of what grieves me, that is, the accursed error and impurity; for this reason your daughters shall commit fornication; and your daughters-in-law, that is, the wives of your sons, shall be adulteresses. And even if these things should happen, he says, I too will be quiet, and I will not visit. And through these things he seems to foretell the harms that would come from the war upon those who had sinned, and the things that follow captivities. For those who have once conquered and been victorious do what they please to the captured, using unbridled authority, and with unreprovable impulses proceeding to anything whatever that comes to them according to their pleasure, and neither taking law into account, nor enduring to consider what is reasonable or fitting; but as if hardened, and having a mind much inclined towards savagery, they deem those who have acted wretchedly worthy of no pity. It has therefore clearly indicated that the children of those who have fornicated will be set before their enemies for insolence and shameful acts. But if someone should choose, he will also understand it in another way. For the God of all visits those whom He might wish to honor and to love; and if He sees them carried away into indolence, and willing to do what is not right, He rebukes them moderately, persuading them to return to better things and to what is necessary for their benefit; for this reason the divine Paul also says to those called to an approved life: "If you endure discipline, God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" and indeed the most wise writer of proverbs testifies and says, "For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; and he scourges every son whom he receives." Therefore those whom He disciplines, He also deems worthy of His oversight, as being in every way good and beloved; but He in no way watches over those who have greatly offended Him, almost saying, "I do not know you." "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous," as it is written. Therefore, even if they sin, He says, I will not visit, that is, I will not care for, I will not turn them to myself, I will consider them worthy of nothing. For what reason? For you yourselves, He says, who are in the rank of fathers, have stood so far from wishing to rebuke both yourselves and your children, even if they should lay claim to the utmost depravity, as to mingle with prostitutes. For you have sacrificed together with the initiated. And he calls prostitutes specifically the priestesses of Beelphegor. Beelphegor is the one called Priapus. And the women who honor so shameful an abomination are consequently prostitutes by confession. And again he calls "the initiated" the hierophants of Beelphegor, and they were men not enduring to be what they are, but rather changing to an effeminate mindset, being unholily effeminate in words and ways. And some call such men womanish and soft, who, using women's ululations and cymbals, and running around certain ones together with little torches, pretended to initiate, fulfilling the shameful rites of Beelphegor. Therefore, he says, they sacrificed with the initiated, that is, they have been initiated into their rites, and together with those so corrupted they offered sacrifices to Beelphegor. And the people that understands was entangled with a prostitute. He transfers the discourse to Judah, that is, those from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, who still inhabited Jerusalem, and had the divine altar; for the temple still stood; they claimed to keep the commandments of Moses, and to have the understanding that comes through the law. But they themselves also have served "Astarte, the abomination of the Sidonians." And they say that Astarte is the one among the Greeks called I know not how Aphrodite. And the statue stands naked, and as in the form of a prostitute, shamelessly exposing to the eyes of all even the unseemly parts of the body. Therefore not only, he says, Israel, although sick with the greatest folly. "mingled with prostitutes, and sacrificed with the initiated;" but also the people itself that understands, that is, the one pretending still to preserve the understanding from the law, was entangled with a prostitute. For they have worshipped, as I said, Astarte. For Solomon built a sanctuary for her, fulfilling what was pleasing to a wanton and foreign woman. But you, Israel, do not be ignorant, and Judah, do not enter into Galgala, and do not go up to the house of iniquity, and do not swear, "As the Lord lives." I have already said many times that the words of the prophets call the ten tribes in Samaria, Israel; and sometimes they call the two tribes in Jerusalem Judah and Benjamin, I mean the tribe of Judah, and that of Benjamin. The discourse therefore at present has been about both, and it refutes the disease of the multitude of each. For see how he rebukes Israel as utterly without understanding and foolish, for this very reason having become also an apostate, if indeed the crime of utmost lack of understanding might be reasonably thought, to love being devoted to the worship of idols, and to be estranged from the love of God. Here, therefore, "do not be ignorant" means, "do not be foolish," nor be full of a senselessness that has reached its end. And again he rebukes those in Jerusalem, that is, Judah, as a hypocrite and one who acts impiously, by going on both, or rather by limping on both hams, according to the prophet's voice. For he pretended to practice and to love piety towards God, and he performed the sacrifices according to the law; but he was by no means free from hastening to worship even the demons themselves, even if not very openly, yet at least secretly and covertly. And so the blessed prophet Ezekiel was commanded to dig in the wall; then he saw all the idols of the house of Israel depicted on the walls. And what does the God of all say to him? "Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing here? Each of them in their secret chamber, because they said, 'The Lord has forsaken us, the Lord does not see the land.'" And the prophet says that he saw women sitting and mourning for Tammuz, who is Adonis in the Greek language. See, then, how although they frequented the divine temple, and pretended to partake in the worship according to the law, they were secretly defiled, being divided towards strange and demonic worship, and things hateful to God. Therefore, you, Israel, who have completely turned aside, he says, "do not be ignorant," that is, refrain from ignorance, cease from such a vain and profane mind; receive the understanding that is through the law and the prophets, that is, the one that is through Christ and is evangelical. And, Judah, do not enter into Gilgal; for it is a city that greatly practices idolatry; and do not go up to the house of iniquity, and do not swear, "The Lord lives." For it is one of the absurd things to make God an oath, and to have on the tongue "the living Lord," but also to be devoted to idols, and to choose to worship lifeless heifers. For Jeroboam placed one in Bethel, and the other in Dan. Therefore, he does not permit them to pretend piety towards God by naming the Lord, but to be carried away to strange false worship, by going up to Gilgal, and to the house of iniquity. And he calls Bethel the house of iniquity. For what reason? For Bethel is interpreted as "house of God." But it became a house of an idol, with both the thing itself and its very name having been, in a way, wronged. For, as I said, the house of God has become the house of an idol. And so he said somewhere through the voice of Jeremiah concerning the multitude of those from Israel: "What has the beloved done in my house? An abomination?" And the God of all might rightly say concerning those of Judah and Benjamin, "This people draws near to me, with their lips they honor me, but their heart is far from me." For as a gadfly-stung heifer, so was Israel stung by a gadfly; and now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a wide place. One of the saints wisely leads us to the pursuit of what is profitable, saying, "Son, let not your heart envy sinners, but be in the fear of the Lord all the day long." For whom one would blame, how could he choose to emulate? The God of all says something of this sort to Judah: Let not Israel's being stung by a gadfly become for you a pretext for apostasy, and as it were to run away from the herd like heifers, upon which if a gadfly, that is, a horsefly, should settle; this is a type of insect that bites intolerably; it carries one away from the herd, and then causes it to be carried away in a swift course, wherever it may happen. Or shall we not find that Israel has suffered this? For he departed from Jerusalem, and leaving his own shepherd, that is, God, he made a terrible and accursed apostasy. Therefore, do not be envious, O Judah, he says; for even if Israel, stung by a gadfly like the heifers, has gone off to apostasy, yet the attempt will not be without penalty for him. For he will go away captive, and leaving the land that bore him, that of the Persians and Medes he shall no longer be grazed insolently, and as it were, unbridled and herd-despising; for such a goaded heifer always is. But he will be on equal terms with the most gentle lambs. For the state of captives is always humble and very fearful, and not far from the expectation of suffering ill, and burdened by the greed of the conquerors. He calls the land of the Persians and Medes spacious, as if saying something like this: he will be grazed in a wide and incomprehensible land, and he will change many countries, not always having the same master, but being removed to that of the one who receives him. The soul of a man might suffer this very thing, having disregarded the love for God. For it will be carried about to anything whatsoever that is loved by demons, captive and cowardly and weak, and indeed it will justly hear God saying, "Your apostasy will chastise you, and your wickedness will convict you." Ephraim is a partaker of idols; he has laid stumbling blocks for himself. He chose the Canaanites; committing fornication, they fornicated exceedingly. They loved dishonor from their snorting. You are a whirlwind in her wings, and they shall be ashamed of their altars. Still the prophet's word is to Judah, pretending, as I said, to be concerned with the law, and not holding piety towards God in small account, but having secretly assented to the necessity of honoring the images of demons. Therefore, he says, Ephraim, that is, Israel, has become an admitted partaker of idols. And he is named thus from the ruling tribe among him, I mean that of Jeroboam; for he was from the mountain and tribe of Ephraim. And just as he calls the one in Jerusalem Judah, having kept the name for the royal tribe, so also in the case of Israel, when he names Ephraim, he makes the designation from the royal tribe. So then, he says, Ephraim partook of idols. For he worshipped the object of reverence of the Egyptians; and their object of reverence was Apis, that is, a calf. And he partook no less of the impiety and immeasurable madness of the Canaanites, who are known to attend to and worship the shameful idol, Baal-peor. But by doing this also, Ephraim has set stumbling blocks for himself. For he has offended God, who defends and knows how to save. He chose the Canaanites, instead of, he has made the customs of the Canaanites electable and worthy of being taken up; and these are neighbors of the land of the Jews, impious and idolaters. And in addition to these things, they of Israel, committing fornication, fornicated exceedingly; it is clear that it is because they practiced spiritual fornication beyond measure and beyond what is reasonable, and the charges against them come to the end of the shamefulness of their apostasy. And they have loved dishonor out of their snorting, that is, out of their high boasts, which they had in God and in the glory from him. Therefore they have truly become dishonored and cast down, pitiable and trampled, having slipped from their ancient boasts; for they will no longer be called free, but will rather walk into insolence and dishonor, and will be under bitter masters. But even if, he says, the most senseless multitude of Ephraim was subjected to all these things, yet, O Judah, you have become to it like a whirlwind in the wings of a bird. And it is surely clear to everyone that in every way whatsoever things that fly, when a violent wind pushes them, and not just forcing them, then make a swifter flight. Therefore Israel, having inclined towards apostasy, ran aground, but you became for him a whirlwind in the wings. How, or in what manner? For since he has seen you who are still being instructed by the law, who sits at the divine temple, and who performs the sacrifices according to the law, being lazy and falling back, and being held in the same offenses, he made his departure swifter. But to their shame; they will find, their altars to be the cause of disgrace and dishonor. Therefore, when those who seem to stand, who ought to live well and irreproachably, are sluggish and lazy about this we are found; or rather, having chosen equally with others to reject what is pleasing to God, we shall not only wrong ourselves, but by also destroying others, we shall endure a double punishment. For when it was necessary to be set before those who have been led astray, or those who are unwilling to live rightly, as an image and model of virtue, we have become an occasion of stumbling. What then does Christ say? "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe "in me to stumble," He says, "it would be better for him if a millstone "were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the "depth of the sea." Hear this, O priests, and pay attention, O house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king; for the judgment is for you, because you have become a snare at Mizpah, and like a net spread upon Tabor, which those who hunt the prey have fixed. He had previously accused Judah of having become a perversion of spirit to Israel, in the manner just mentioned by us; but now he shifts the word of rebuke to the inventors of deceit and error, and those who caused them the disease of madness. And these were the falsely-named priests, not of the blood of Levi, but holding a purchased priesthood, and having bought with money the right to officiate for idols. For it is written concerning Jeroboam, that "Whoever wished filled his hand, and became "a priest of the high places." The argument, therefore, rightly proceeds against both the priests themselves and against the house of the king, with Israel itself also being included in the charges. For some of them both said and did things for the establishment of idolatry, setting up altars, offering libations and sacrifices, and widening the path of destruction for the deceived; and the kings were the inventors of the error. Therefore he says to them, that you have become a snare at Mizpah. And by Mizpah he means the multitude overseen both by the priests, if they were indeed priests, and by the leaders themselves; for they watch over their subjects; or they are looked up to by those under their hand, and wherever it might seem good to the rulers, they turn aside their subjects; and what is yoked under them follows the wills of the leaders. You have therefore become, he says, like a snare to the multitude overseen by you, or perhaps to the one looking to you. And you have become like a net spread upon Tabor. This is a very conspicuous mountain located in Galilee, having a very large and abundant catch of beasts and birds, because it is raised high and is extremely overgrown with oaks and thickets. But I am your instructor; I have known Ephraim, and Israel is not far from me. The priests, therefore, and indeed those of the royal blood, have become a net and snares and a prey to the peoples, commanding them to burn incense to demons, and doing so themselves before others, and persuading them to think what is not lawful, and leading others to the impiously invented ways of error, I mean the high places, Baal-peor, the abomination of the Sidonians, Baal, Chemosh; and He promises that He Himself will be their instructor, and not for long, as He is about to inflict upon them evils from His wrath and anger. And the word has its accuracy. For those of the royal house, being held in terrible and inescapable calamities, some have utterly perished, according to the testimony of the sacred writings; while others departed to be subjected to the greed of the Babylonians and Medes. And the falsely-named priests and those who were priests for money have died miserably, or rather even piously, some by Jehu, others by Josiah, who was of the tribe of Judah, that is, of David. For this the man of God also prophesied, when Jeroboam was once sacrificing and standing at the altar, saying: "O altar, "altar, thus says the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born "to the house of David, Josiah by name; and he shall sacrifice "on you the priests of the high places, who burn incense on you, "and he shall burn the bones of men on you." Therefore, He threatened to discipline in wrath and anger those who had become a snare at Mizpah, I mean both the priests and those of royal blood; But in no way did he leave the deceived one unblamed, that is, Israel. For this reason he says: I have known Ephraim, and Israel is not far from me. This is indeed equivalent to that, "Who is this that hides counsel from me, and holds words "in his heart, and thinks to hide from me?" For I have known Ephraim, he says, and I have not departed from Israel. "For I am a "God who draws near, says the Lord, and not a God from afar. "If a man shall hide himself in secret places, shall I not see "him?" And again, "Shall anything be hidden from me?" "For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than "any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of "soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner "of the thoughts and intentions of the heart; and no creature is "hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid bare "to his eyes, to whom we must give account." Because now Ephraim has committed fornication, Israel has been defiled. They have not directed their plans to turn to their God, because a spirit of fornication is in them, and they have not known the Lord. For since the God of all sees into the reins and hearts, and nothing is at all hidden from him, he has known that Israel, that is, Ephraim, has indeed committed fornication and has reached the extreme of worthlessness; yet not so much as to say did he admit into his mind and heart that he ought to repent, on account of being overcome by the spirit that persuades him to fornicate, and not being willing to seek the true Master. It is true therefore, as the Savior says, "No one can serve two "masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, "or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." And the pride of Israel will be humbled to his face, and Israel and Ephraim will grow weak in their iniquities; and Judah will also grow weak with them. He here calls pride the cursed arrogance; for the arrogant man is insolent. Therefore he says that the arrogance of Israel will be humbled when he suffers those things, and very justly, which were going to show him to be humble, pitiful and cast down, and bereft of boasts in God, and deprived even of their ancestral freedom from above. But that the pride will be turned to his face must be understood because every form of dishonor is somewhat like blows to the face. And he says that those of Israel will grow weak together with Judah. For after the kings of both Syria and the Persians had ravaged Samaria, they did not permit Judah to remain unscathed, adding to the cities of Israel also some of those belonging to the men of Judah and Benjamin. And that their impiety and pride towards God was confessedly the harbinger of every misfortune for them, he has taught by saying that the suffering of weakness would not happen to them otherwise, but only because it was in their iniquities. Therefore piety towards God is indeed useful and most precious, through which one might be able to rule over nations, and to be strong to accomplish all things easily. And the Savior spoke truly when he said, "Without me you can do nothing." And David, having chosen to think rightly, somewhere also sings, "The Lord is my strength and my song." They shall go with sheep and calves to seek the Lord, and they shall not find him; because he has withdrawn from them; because they have forsaken the Lord; because strange children have been born to them. Now the rust will devour them and their portions. It is seen to be true through events, that as the divine Paul says, "It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away "sins," and God is unapproachable through the law. And by law I mean the worship according to the law, through blood and sacrifices. Therefore, even if those of Israel should offer the customary sacrifices, asking for forgiveness for their unholy offenses, that is, seeking reconciliation with God, they would not attain it, he says, nor would they accomplish being able to find God, nor would he be accessible to those repenting in this way. For he is found only through the life in Christ, which Let the word of faith be understood as a first assault, and in addition to this the saving baptism, which brings about familiarity with God in the Spirit. Therefore Israel would not find the Lord through the worship according to the law. For he has turned away from them, because they also have abandoned him, leaping away so far as to become fathers of strange children. And by strange children he means those who, as it were from the womb and from their very swaddling clothes, are dedicated to the opinions of idols, with their parents perhaps offering thank-offerings and sacrifices for their birth-pangs to demons. Therefore, strange children are those not in God; or also in another way, those from foreign women. For the men of Israel mingled indiscriminately with the daughters of the nations, who were still idolaters, although the law clearly said that one must not be joined in marriage to foreigners. "For your daughter," it says, "you shall not give to his son, and his daughter you shall not take "for your son. For he will turn your son away from me, and "going he will serve other gods." But since they have done these things, the blight will devour them. And through this it signifies again enigmatically the mistreatment and harm that will come to them from the attack of war, which is not incapable of destroying terribly, like a blight, both them and their possessions; for this is what their lots are. But that the war is not for postponement and truce, but immediate and at their heels, he has fully informed them by saying, Now the blight will devour them. It is as if he were to say, The experience of grievous things will come after the words; the disaster is already near and at the gates. Therefore it will remain for those who grieve God neither to be able to find him, even if they should choose to seek; and to become fathers of strange children, that is, not to have noble and genuine fruits; and these would be the fruits of virtue and a holy life; but rather to be destroyed, as if shattered by some blight of their own evil and misery, and in addition to these things to be deprived of their lots from God; concerning which the divine David also sings in psalms to God the Savior of all, "In your hands are my lots." For all our lot and every portion is in the power of God, and he himself is the distributor of crowns. Blow a trumpet on the hills, sound it on the high places, proclaim it in the house of On. Benjamin was distraught; Ephraim became a desolation in the days of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I have shown faithful things. It has been clearly stated before that, in addition to the golden calves, the accursed Jeroboam introduced other ways of idolatry, destruction, and error to those of Israel. For they worshipped on mountains and hills Chemosh, Baal-peor, "under oak and poplar and a shady tree;" and there were, as I said, also in Bethel and in Dan the golden calves. But this was the error of Israel; but Judah, that is, Benjamin, that is, those from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, had erred no less, and had served "Ashtoreth "the abomination of the Sidonians; and they also worshipped the sun." And this will be clear to us again through the voice of Ezekiel. For he was brought, as he himself says, to Jerusalem, "in a vision of God;" then he beheld the error of the inhabitants. "For I saw," he says, "about twenty-five men, their backs "toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces opposite, "and these were worshipping the sun toward the east." See then how they divided destruction among themselves, offending in many ways and grieving God. Therefore, to those wishing to ravage, and who were expected at any moment, Samaria, and who were about to disturb Jerusalem not moderately, I mean both the Assyrians and the Persians, and those from Damascus, I mean the Syrians; for both attacked at times, being provoked to this at different times and in different ways; he all but reproaches the delay of the attack, and has now commanded the war to begin, sounding the trumpets, and instilling the first fruits of terror into the souls of those who have gone astray. Since For he said, "Now mildew will devour them and "their portions;" and we said that the ill-treatment and devastation from the war was called mildew; teaching that it has come to the gates, and will happen, and not long from now, he has commanded to sound the trumpet well, as I said, and before all else against the places of the idols, either as being about to be burned down and shaken at any moment, that is, because they themselves have become the pretext for the war and for the incurable calamity for those who have been led astray. When, therefore, he says that it is necessary to sound the trumpet against the hills and against the high places and in the house of On, you will understand the places of the idols. It should be known, that the Seventy did not agree with the other interpreters regarding "in the house of "On." For some have said, to the house of the useless, that is, of any idol; but others, "in the house of On." We shall suppose, therefore, that the prophetic word now wishes to signify this to us, that they must sound the trumpet, not only against the hills and the high places, that is, not only against the idolatry of Israel, namely of the ten tribes in Samaria, but also against that which is in Jerusalem among both Judah and Benjamin. For they were worshiping, as I said, the sun; and On is the sun; casting God behind them, and turning away from his things. For this, I think, is what is meant by having their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces opposite, clearly, to the sun. When, therefore, you hear "in the house of On," you will understand the house or precinct of any falsely-named and man-made god, that is, of the sun. And it would not seem absurd or incredible to anyone for those who worship the sun to be understood and named the house of the sun, just as, of course, those who think and do His will and offer worship to Him would be understood as the house of God. But if someone should wish the golden calf also to be called On, in this way too the argument will bear a plausible meaning. For the God-hated Jeroboam made the calves after the worship of the Egyptians, I mean Apis. And the Egyptians have honored Apis, saying that he is the child of the moon; therefore he also had a crescent-shaped sign on his forehead; and they believe him to be, as it were, the offspring of the sun, because, according to their opinion, the moon is illuminated by the sun. Therefore, they honored Apis as the child of the moon, and the offspring of the sun; and the resourceful dragon, that is, Satan, led them away into this error and wretchedness of reasoning. Therefore, he has commanded to sound the trumpet against the hills and the high places and in the house of On, that is, of the golden calf. And what the charges against both were, and the reason why they must be punished, he makes clear, adding immediately, "Benjamin is beside himself," instead of "He has departed from his own customs," that is, "He has lost his best mind;" for this is what "being beside oneself" would truly be understood to mean in the case of evil things. And Ephraim has also been destroyed. But he does not say these things in this way. For in the days of rebuke for the transgression of both, I have shown faithful things, having declared my words to be firm and true. For what I have already foretold has happened to them, and none of my words have been proven false. For since they departed from their ancient customs, and went out of their good mind, they were also driven out of their own country, and have fallen away from the love of God, and from all prosperity at the same time. And in another way, it follows for those who abandon God that they must also depart from every good thought, and indeed from every deed turned toward virtue. And they will go to destruction, as God reproves and rebukes them, and demands punishment for their negligence. It is useful, therefore, and necessary for life, to be with God, and all but cry out that verse in the psalms, "My soul clings close behind "you." For then the right hand of the one who is all-powerful will readily take hold and help, from which no one will snatch, according to the voice of the Savior. The rulers of Judah have become like those who move boundary markers; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water. This is, enigmatically, the meaning of "Benjamin is beside himself." For they have become, he says, equal to those they move boundaries, and wish to transgress those established long ago. For those who transfer to others the things fitting for God alone, and justly dedicated to him, I mean love, honor, and worship, by worshipping the sun, for example, or the moon and the stars, would likely be doing nothing other than in every way moving boundaries. That Judah, that is, Benjamin, has dedicated to the sun and moon and stars the glory fitting for God, would be clearly understood, from God saying to the prophet Jeremiah, "Or do you not see what these are doing in the "cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? Their sons "gather wood; and their fathers kindle a fire, and their wives "knead dough, to make cakes for the host of heaven, and they poured "libations to other gods to provoke me to anger." Therefore, the leaders from the tribe of Judah have moved the boundaries, that is, those who are clothed with the highest and royal glory, whom the common multitude was likely to choose to follow when they were led astray. But he says, like a most violent flood, I will pour out my fury upon them. For the things from divine wrath are intolerable and unbearable and completely irresistible, just as, of course, the great and abundant flow of waters is also something hard to withstand. Ephraim oppressed his adversary and trampled judgment, because he began to walk after vanities. And I will be like confusion to Ephraim, and like a goad to the house of Judah. In what way Benjamin went astray has been clearly shown. For he said that "the rulers of Judah have become like those who move "boundaries." And how "Ephraim came to ruin," he explains again, adding, "Ephraim oppressed his adversary." And the word now seems to have been composed for us with a certain character. What, then, is the accusation against those from the tribe of Ephraim, or what adversary does the divine oracle say to us that Ephraim oppressed? I will try to explain as far as possible. For those from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin still had some reverence and regard for the laws given through Moses, and practiced righteousness. For not all had turned aside, but there were not a few weeping and lamenting the apostasy of those who had gone astray, and being not moderately distressed, since some, dishonoring the God of all, practiced the ways of idolatry. And indeed, as the blessed prophet Ezekiel says, some were sent against Jerusalem, with axes raised, and they clearly heard God saying that they must follow the one girded with the linen robe, and spare no one. And I saw, he says, "And behold, six men "came from the direction of the gate which faces north, and "each had an axe in his hand, and he said to the man," he says, "who was girded with the linen robe, 'Go through the midst of Jerusalem, "and set a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh "and groan over all the iniquities that are done in its midst.' "And to these he said in my hearing, 'Go into the city after him, "and strike and do not spare and do not pity; and kill "old man and young man and infants and women to destruction, "but do not go near anyone on whom is the mark.'" Do you hear that some were marked as being outside of judgment and wrath and every accusation, on account of choosing to think rightly, and indeed to live according to the law, and to lay hold of righteousness, and to love the love for God blamelessly? But in Samaria, Israel ran completely aground, not even, so to speak, deeming the things of Moses worthy of memory, but practicing a life as if at war, and in every way set against them, so as to consider the law of God an enemy, so to speak, as not even wishing to know it, but dishonoring the tutor, even though he knew how to save, and was well able to bring them to a straight and blameless life. This, then, it seems, the prophetic word hints at to us, and it is composed with character, as I said. 'For Ephraim,' he says, 'oppressed his adversary,' instead of, 'a victory' Ephraim has conquered a most strange thing and a harbinger of destruction, he has oppressed it as his own enemy, that is, he has generally contended against the law which he has hated. But since the meaning is obscure, he clarifies it in another way, saying: he has trampled on judgment, that is, he has not cared at all for the righteousness in the law; for what is trampled upon is always somehow understood to be in dishonor, and is found to be worthy of no account. And so our Lord Jesus Christ says, "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." Therefore when he says judgment, you will understand the law. Thus also the divine David, naming it, cries out to God, "You have executed judgment and righteousness in Jacob." For the law is of God, even if spoken through angels. But what the pretext was for both considering the law an enemy and trampling on judgment, he showed again, immediately adding that he began to go "after vain things. The beginning of such a disease, he says, is to choose to honor vain things, and to follow idols. For it is impossible to be able to follow God and at the same time the wicked and unclean spirits; for this reason the divine Paul also writes: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons." For the God-loving man is single-minded; but the two-faced and shaken one who knows how to walk on both sides, is insecure, and walks easily wherever he may happen to go. Therefore the rulers of Judah have become, he says, like those who move boundaries, and Ephraim has oppressed his adversary, and he has trampled on judgment; but I will henceforth be like a disturbance to Ephraim and like a sting to Judah. And what this is, it is necessary to investigate. Now, some of the other interpreters, instead of "disturbance," have said "devourer"; and instead of "sting," "rottenness"; but the Seventy have named it "disturbance" and "sting." For when Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, was not moderately troubled by the war that had burst upon them, on the one hand by the neighbor from Syria, I mean, and on the other by the Persian one coming from the land of the Assyrians, Judah was in pain and not in moderate fear, but rather also in great agony. For he expected, and not in the distant future, to be caught in the same, or perhaps even much worse, evils; for as the war weighed heavily, and descended upon the cities around Samaria, there was every necessity that the neighboring ones should be destroyed along with them, I mean those of Judah and Benjamin. Therefore, the "disturbance" indicates the attack of the war, and the "sting" in these things indicates the pain from grief and despondency, from which those who are willing to think the things of Christ would surely be free; through whom and with whom to God the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Book 4

And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his pain; and Ephraim went to the Assyrians, and sent ambassadors to king Jareb, and he was not able to heal you, and will not stop the pain from you. When God had become like a disturbance to Ephraim, and indeed also like a sting to the house of Judah, Ephraim indeed saw his own sickness, that is, his lack of strength and his weakness; and indeed Judah also his pain; for, as I said, the borders of Benjamin were also ravaged along with those in Samaria; then Ephraim, having despaired at this, and with his own powers not being able to oppose the things that had happened, nor indeed being able to shake off the damages from the war, he has once again offended the all-powerful God, not having considered what was expedient even in the scourges themselves, so to speak; but when the time had come, in which he ought rather to have returned to God, then indeed he chose especially to grieve him and to depart more fiercely. For he was not ignorant of the provider and ruler of all their glory, God, the eternal giver of the ability to overcome those who oppose; but he considered the matter of no account, although the all-wise Moses had cried out, "The Lord shatters wars, "The Lord is his name," and teaching clearly that through him and in him "One shall chase a thousand, and two shall move "ten thousand." Then, when it was necessary to ask for the customary help again from him and him alone, and with prayers to persuade the savior to come to his aid, he plotted bitter things against his own head. For he sent embassies to foreigners, and called for alliances from enemies, that is, persuading the invading Assyrian with money, they thought they had been delivered from the impending evils. And so, when Menahem was reigning in Samaria, Pul king of the Assyrians came up against Israel; then with money and embassies they persuaded him to keep away from the land. This is the meaning of *Ephraim went to the Assyrians*. But again Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, once hired Rezin king of the Syrians and made war on Judah and those from the tribe of Benjamin, when Ahaz the son of Jotham was reigning, who, fearing the attack, with embassies and money persuades the Assyrian Tiglath-pileser to aid Jerusalem; and he, taking Damascus by force, also did away with Rezin himself. But even if, he says, Ephraim has gone to the Assyrians, and with money and prayers has purchased a postponement of the attack; and even if Judah sent ambassadors to king Jareb, that is, an avenger or vindicator; for this is what Jareb means; but they have not conquered the divine wrath, nor indeed will they overcome God as he demands justice for so terrible an apostasy. For he was not able, he says, the one persuaded by money to be quiet for a little while, nor any other of the mercenaries, to heal you; but the sting of pain will in no way cease. It is therefore a most terrible thing not to desire rather to be saved through the gentleness from above, but to take courage in helps from men; although the Spirit cries out through the voice of the blessed David, "It is good to trust in the Lord rather than "to trust in man. It is good to hope in the Lord rather than "to hope in princes;" and again through the prophet Jeremiah, "Cursed is the man who has his hope in "man, and shall make the flesh of his arm his support, and whose "heart departs from the Lord, and he shall be as the wild "tamarisk in the desert, which shall not see when good things come. "And blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, "and the Lord will be his hope; and he shall be as a thriving "tree by the water, and he will cast his roots toward moisture, and he will "not be afraid when the heat comes, and upon it will be "woody branches, in a year of drought he will not be afraid, "and he will not cease bearing fruit." It is better, therefore, to be reconciled to God, and to say that wise thing from a good mind: "I am yours, save me, for I have sought your statutes." Because I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Judah; and I will seize and will go, and I will take, and there will be none to deliver. I will go and will return to my place, until they are made to disappear. He makes clear the reason why those who aided Ephraim benefited him not at all, and their pains will not cease. For I am, he says, as a panther to Ephraim and as a lion to the house of Judah. It is therefore manifest that, when God weakens, there is no one who can save; "For who will turn back the high hand?" according to what is written. But that also, with all gentleness removed, the things concerning them have come to pass, he has shown enigmatically, to those who are especially terrible and comparing his own impulse to the most valiant beasts. For the panther rushes with an exceedingly swift course against whomever it may choose, and it leaps with feet so light that perhaps no track is seen, nor is anything marked upon the ground; but the lion roars in the mountains a terrible and heavy sound, similar to thunder, and is able to strike terror into those who hear. "For a lion, he says, will roar, and who will not be afraid?" It has an irresistible attack, and a very difficult impulse to withstand. And if it should seize something, this is immediately destroyed, and no one could rescue what has been seized. But that the panther is a swift beast, and flies away as it were, having seized what it chanced upon; but the lion is an unbreakable thing, and fearless and difficult to withstand, as I said, he himself showed by adding And I will tear and go away, I will take away, and there will be no one to deliver. For this will be fitting for the might of lions; but 'I will tear and go away,' the panther might do, as I said. But that the Lord will also depart from those who have grieved him, and will all but withdraw his help and remove his favor, he has declared by saying I will go and return to my place until they are consumed. For the divine is completely unlimited by place; but it is said to be present to some, when it bestows favor; and again, to be absent from sinners, when it turns away from them, and cuts off its gentleness. For things concerning God are spoken of in a human way; but they are understood, as would be fitting for him. And they will seek my face when they are afflicted. That the terrible things from God are not brought upon those who have an unbridled inclination to what is more shameful, or even upon those accustomed to sin unceasingly, for no reason, but rather for their benefit, and as in the manner of a cure, he teaches again. For the despisers of the divine gentleness, and those who are ignorant that the greatness of forbearance calls to repentance, will not escape the motions of wrath; from where? But being rather broken by the savagery of calamity, they recognize what is beneficial, and those whom philanthropy did not help at all, being tormented by labors leads to the knowledge of what is beneficial. For in the way that the savage passions in bodies, and as many as do not yield to gentle medicines, are often overcome by fire and steel; in the same manner and way, I think, also the passions that occur in human souls, if they are not driven out by good words, nor overcome by sober reasoning, yield to labor and scourge and incurable calamities. Being afflicted, therefore, then indeed with difficulty, he says, they will seek my face. For when good things are in their power, there is not much perception of that which brings joy for the foolish; but if it should happen that they are deprived of such most desirable things, then indeed especially we come upon them with keener desires, and we receive a great and irresistible perception of that which causes pain. When, therefore, they are afflicted, then they will seek my face. And the word seems conveniently to ascend to the mystery of Christ, and to declare very well the redemption through him and the return to God. For the face of God that is sought would be understood to be, and very rightly so, the Son, "Who is the image and the radiance and the character of the Father's substance." The Son, therefore, is the true face of God and the Father, if indeed he is known in him; and "he who has seen him has seen the Father." Thus also the divine psalmist names him, crying out to the God of all and saying "Make your face to shine upon your servant;" and indeed also as from the person of those who have believed and have now been formed into the Son through the Spirit, "The light of your face has been signed upon us, O Lord;" for as the prophet says, "The light of our face, Christ the Lord." They will rise early to me, saying Come and let us return to the Lord our God, for he has torn and he will heal us, he will strike and he will bind us up, he will make us whole after two days; on the third day we will rise, and we will live in his presence before him, and we shall know; we shall pursue the knowledge of the Lord, as the morning we shall find him ready, and he will come to us as the early and late rain to the earth. The 'rising early' in these words seems to signify, that as if awakened from the sleep of their inherent folly, and somehow brought forth from night and darkness into light and day, they will henceforth eagerly exclaim to one another that it is now fitting to return to the Lord. And this is a return to soberness for those who had slipped into deceit, and were entangled in the worship of idols. For it is already the fruit of sobriety to seek to be outside the mist, that is, the demonic one; and, as if filled henceforth with the divine light, to press on with a right purpose toward the knowledge of the God and Lord who is so by nature and in truth, although they were long disposed to believe that there are also "many gods and many lords" in the world, so as to arrive at such a degree of folly as to even "say to the wood, You are my Father, and to the stone, You have begotten me." But the discourse persists in the figure of speech. For see how, as if speaking of a lion, or some other beast, they say, He himself has torn and will heal us. For since he had said, "And I will be as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Judah, and I will seize and go away and take, and there shall be none to deliver," they have kept the form of the metaphor, and say that the one who seized will surely heal. For just as anger has caused grief, so the good things that come from gentleness will surely bring gladness to those who have suffered. At the same time we shall also understand this, that when God afflicts someone, no one else could help; but the affairs of those who have suffered would need him and him alone for their restoration. But if it is necessary to extend the power of the prophecy to all who are on the earth, we shall understand this. For in the beginning Adam seized human nature. For He immediately declared it accursed, subjecting it to death and corruption. Therefore wrath struck, but grace applied a bandage. For he healed in Christ, he has called us to the knowledge of the true vision of God, he made us steadfast through the Spirit for the keeping of the commandments, he showed us to be zealous again, both placing us beyond corruption and delivering us from our ancient infirmities, I mean sin and the passions. And such things have happened to those on the earth, not so much in the first, that is, or in the second time, but as in the third, that is, the last and final one. For all times are numbered as three: first, middle, and last, in which Christ appeared to us. For this reason they say that the things of our bandaging will be for us, as if from medical experience, after two days; with the prophetic word measuring a day for us as a season. Then, it says, we shall pursue the knowledge of the Lord; and they say 'we shall pursue' is used for 'we shall hasten'; then we shall both rise and live before him. For we have been raised together with Christ. And since "one died for all," we live his life, no longer lying outside the eyes of God because of the transgression, nor indeed cast behind because of sin, but henceforth brought into his sight, and having confidence before him, through the righteousness that is in Christ. And that through him we have also known the Father himself, and that the Son, having become as we are, is for us the fulfillment of every good thing, they confess, saying, We shall find him ready as the morning, that is, as a light rising, as the sun, as the dawn, when the darkness has passed away. And he will be to us as the early and late rain. For he waters us who have received the faith, and have rightly understood his appearing, in a twofold manner, I think. For in the Spirit he reveals the knowledge of the ancient and legal and, in addition to these, the prophetic teachings. And this, I think, is the early rain; but as the late rain following that he gives the understanding of the evangelical teachings, and the much-desired grace of the apostolic proclamations. And we have become, as the prophet says, a land of delight. And perhaps the blessed David sings about us, saying, "You have visited the earth and watered it; you have abundantly enriched it." and so it has given its fruit of her a hundred, sixty, and thirty, according to the Savior's voice. What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? My mercy is as a morning cloud and as the early-morning dew that passes away. The word is not of one who is at a loss; for God would not be ignorant of what is useful for those who have gone astray; nor would he be too weak to accomplish what is naturally beneficial for those caught in the devil's snares. Rather, he accuses them because nothing was lacking for their healing, but they rather turned away with willing impulses to do what is not right. For it is as if he were to say, for instance: "What way of sparing and assistance has not been devised? And what shall I do after that? How will you ward off the sickness? Or with what medicines, then, will you be healed?" For it was possible for you, as of a fattening cloud, and very richly, and as of a watering morning dew, to be able to partake, and this abundantly, of my gentleness and incomparable love for humankind. But you deemed the matter, he says, worthy of no account; you have made of no account such a venerable and much-desired grace. The power of the prophecy would fit especially well with the gift through Christ. For he is the watering cloud, the fattening dew; and morning, because after a kind of night, which is conceived as being in a diabolical mist and darkness, he has come down from heaven; for the Word has come to us from above and from the Father. And "that passes away," because it comes over all that is under heaven. For the saving proclamation is very broad, and it extends over almost all that is under heaven, although the law was in a way constricted, and patrolled only the land of the Jews. "For God was known in Judea," according to the voice of the psalmist; but the whole world has known the Savior and Redeemer of all, that is, Christ. Therefore I have hewn your prophets, I have slain them by the word of my mouth. The destruction of those who lead astray is proof of sparing and love towards them. For there have been false prophets at times in Israel, who attended at the precincts of Baal, leading astray and being led astray, according to what is written. But they were destroyed at times, as God foretold this also, and pronounced a holy sentence upon them; for some Elijah destroyed beside the altar of Baal, as they were talking nonsense and saying, "Hear us, O Baal, hear us;" and others Jehu killed, whom the blessed prophet Elisha anointed king over Israel through one of the young men, with God commanding that this also be done. He, when he was anointed, with God being wrathful against those who lead astray, first destroyed Ahab, and after him Jezebel, then his sons who were in all Samaria. And pretending to want to hold a feast for Baal, he gathered all the false prophets, and pretending to sacrifice, he slaughtered to a man those gathered in a house; and he tore down Baal himself, and burned his pillars; for so it is written. Therefore, that the destruction of the false prophets was a proof of sparing and love for Israel, as I said, he taught by saying, "Therefore I have hewn your prophets." And he says "I have hewn" very well indeed. For they have fallen in a multitude, being reaped like ears of corn. And my judgment shall go forth as the light. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole burnt offerings. He explains to us another way of sparing and love towards them, which if it had been accomplished according to what seems good to him, all Israel and Judah would have been saved. For not only did he cut down the multitude of the impious false prophets, defining the death fitting for them, but God the Father also sent his own Son at times to make clear, and before all others to those of the blood of Israel, his good will, and to make his judgment manifest. Therefore he also said through the voice of David, "But I was appointed king by him on Zion his holy mountain, proclaiming the Lord's decree;" But he, having become according to us through himself, that is, a man, "Of myself "I do not speak; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment "what I should say and what I should speak." Therefore my judgment, he says, will go forth as a light, that is, my will is not overshadowed by riddles, but will be placed nakedly and unconcealedly in the minds of all. But that Emmanuel, having arrived in due time, will not transfer the erring ones to legal worship, nor will he persuade them to honor the things that are still in types and shadows, but will rather bring them to gentleness and kindness and compassion, and to love toward one another, and to a true and unadulterated knowledge of God, makes the purpose of the judgment clear, and he says, that I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole burnt offerings. For what did the Savior say? "Therefore, whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them likewise;" and showing that love is a thing most honorable with God, "By this all will know, he says, that you are my "disciples, if you have love for one another." But that he brought back the mind of those who approached him to the knowledge of the God who truly is, how could one doubt? For he presented himself to us as an image of the one who begot him, saying to his genuine disciple; this was Philip; "Do you not believe that I am "in the Father and the Father is in me? He who has seen me, "has seen the Father. I and the Father are one." But if someone should choose to say that the Son himself is the mercy of the Father, which is above sacrifice and whole burnt offerings, he will understand well. For he is so called in the divinely inspired scripture. For God the Father himself said somewhere concerning him to us, "My righteousness is near to come, and my mercy to be "revealed;" and the prophets to him: "Show "us, Lord, your mercy, and grant us your salvation, Lord." For Christ is truly the mercy from the Father, as taking away sins, as pardoning transgressions, and justifying by faith, and saving the lost, and showing them superior to death; and what of all good things does he not grant? Therefore, the knowledge of God, as perfected in Christ, is better than sacrifice and whole burnt offerings; for through him and in him we have known the Father, and we have been enriched with justification by faith. But they are as a man transgressing a covenant. Since we are diligent in investigating the truth from all sides, it is now necessary to say that the Hebrew version, instead of 'as a man,' has said 'as Adam' transgressing a covenant, so that the transgression of those of Israel might be understood as being of the same kind as that which happened in Adam. For although it was possible for him to have fellowship with God, and to abide in incorruption, and to delight in the pleasures of paradise, he neglected the divine commandment; then he slipped into worse things, being unexpectedly deprived of his former state. So also they; I mean again, those of Israel; though having the God of all as benevolent and friendly, saving and presiding over them, and setting forth his mercy to them as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, and bringing forth his judgment as light, and crowning them with a worship beyond the law, they became indifferent about what was necessary and useful for their own prosperity and glory, they too despised the God who rules over all, although he spoke clearly through the all-wise Moses, "You shall not make for yourself "an idol, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven "above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters "under the earth." And again, "You shall have no other gods "but me." But since they slipped into apostasy in the same way as the first, that is, Adam, they too will surely fall outside of him who knows how to make glad; for they have transgressed a covenant. But if the oracle should be understood more mystically, as concerning Christ, we will say that again, making the sense of what is said manifest: God the Father sent the Son from heaven to enlighten those of Israel, and to make his judgment manifest, and that he might cease persuade you of ancient sacrifices and whole burnt offerings according to the law; but He will rather have mercy, justifying by faith, and will call you to the knowledge of the truly existing God; for through Him and in Him we have beheld the Father, and we have had access, as sacred scripture somewhere says. But those of Israel have become as a man transgressing a covenant. And what this is, I will say again, as best I can. He who transgresses a covenant written by another, either does not himself approach the inheritance assigned by the one who wrote it, or he deprives others who are inscribed of what is owed to them. The Jews have done some such thing, and this with respect to Christ. How, or in what way? For God the Father bestowed upon the Son, as a certain brilliant and choice inheritance, the leadership over the nation. For He cried out, as I said, "But I was appointed king by Him on Zion, His holy mountain;" and He has given to the Son the spiritual vineyard, that is, Israel; "For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth," according to what is written, "is the man of Judah, a beloved new plant." But, as the blessed evangelist John says, "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him." For they cast Him out of the gate and delivered Him to death, saying, "This is the heir; come, let us kill Him and have the inheritance." See, then, how they have become as a man transgressing a covenant. Have you recognized the heir? Then give Him the inheritance that has been assigned. They have therefore transgressed the covenant of the Father, as far as it was in their power, by depriving the heir. But neither did they themselves approach grace, nor did they accept the inheritance given to them by God. For God said through the prophet, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt." But if the new were to be compared with the first, a very great difference in the things promised will be understood. For there He promised them the land of the Amorites and Gergesites and Hivites, and indeed also of the Jebusites; but the new covenant, that is, the ordinances through Christ, called them through faith to sonship with God, to glory, to incorruptibility, to unending life, to a sharing in God through the Spirit, to the kingdom of heaven. But they were not willing to have the inheritance assigned to them through the Son from God the Father. Therefore, they have grieved in both ways by transgressing the covenant, both by thrusting out the heir, as I said, as far as it was in their power, from the inheritance given to Him by the Father, and by having themselves fallen away from the gifts bestowed upon them by God in Christ. There Gilead despised me, a city working vanity, troubling water, and your strength is as that of a robber. The discourse returns again to the narration of accusations, for which the impious multitude of their false prophets has been rightly destroyed. For it says "there," that is, at that time when Israel turned away, and came to be in such a state as to choose to worship demons; for this is what "there" is to be understood as referring to in fact, and not rather topically; Gilead has utterly despised me; this is one of the cities beyond the streams of the Jordan, which was also assigned to the Levites, according to the law of Moses; it was therefore a city of Priests and Levites. But those who ought to have brought the others away from error, and to have instructed them in truth and in the knowledge of what is profitable; "For the lips of a priest," it says, "shall keep judgment, and they will seek the law from his mouth;" they themselves have become the inventors of idols, and the craftsmen of vanities. For they worked vanities, that is, idols. And they troubled the water, that is, again they became a cause of confusion to the common people. For it is a custom in holy scripture to compare the countless multitude of people to water. And so, since Babylon was exceedingly populous, and Nineveh, he says, "Her waters are like a pool of water," instead of, as a pool full of waters, so is her multitude. Or also in another way they troubled the water, setting forth to those who approached a teaching as it were turbid and muddy, and dulling the mind of the more simple; for they taught to worship idols. And so through the voice of Ezekiel the God of all again accused them, and as to rams and leaders of the flock, He addressed them, saying, "And you, "sheep, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will judge between "sheep and sheep, and between rams and goats. And is it not "enough for you that you fed on the good pasture, and trampled the remainder "of the pasture with your feet? and you drank "the settled water, and troubled the rest with your feet? "And My sheep fed on what was trodden by your feet, "and drank the water troubled by your feet." For those of the blood of Levi, being learned in the law, and having as it were the finest pasture, and fine and clear water, the instruction through Moses which was not incapable of leading to truth, they trampled the pasture in a certain way; and they also troubled the water, setting forth a certain thick and muddy teaching, full of earthly impurity, to those who follow them as rams in the order of sheep. Therefore the citizens and inhabitants of Gilead are accused as troubling water, and they are also convicted as having the strength of a pirate. But how it is fitting for us to understand this, we will make clear, by interpreting what follows. Priests have hidden the way of the Lord, they have murdered Shechem, because they have wrought iniquity in the house of Israel. I have seen a horrible thing there, the fornication of Ephraim; Israel and Judah are defiled. The word of the holy prophets sometimes makes mention of certain histories, which if one chose to be silent about, he could not make clear the meaning of what was said. Therefore, it is necessary for those who wish to interpret such things clearly to be superior to hesitation, and from all sides to love to work out for the hearers that which contributes to their benefit. For this reason we will now come to something of this kind. Shechem, then, is a certain small city beyond the streams of the Jordan, a neighbor and bordering on Gilead, which we said before was given to those of the blood of Levi, when Joshua son of Nun was dividing the land of promise. It happened then, when there was a holy feast, I mean the Feast of Tabernacles according to the law, when it was the custom for all to go up from everywhere to Jerusalem, and the law commanded this to be observed, that some of those from Shechem, either having been pricked in the heart, and repenting of their error, or even called to sobriety by God, finally wished to obey the divine laws, and sought to go up to Jerusalem, and wished to offer sacrifices, and to complete the feast there according to the laws. And this was a kind of beginning of a turning, and of ceasing to wish to adhere to the worship of idols. For so that some of those from Israel, that is, from the ten tribes, might not go up from Samaria to Jerusalem for the sake of sacrifices and feasts according to the law, and then little by little change to their original state, and come under the kingdom of Judah, Jeroboam devised the calves in the beginning, and commanded them to fulfill the accustomed rites upon them, that wretched man assigning the glory due to God to his own inventions; so that he himself might have his kingdom securely, and God might be deprived as it were of His own. Therefore, some from Shechem attempted to go up to Jerusalem; but those from neighboring Gilead prevented them from doing this, although, as I said, they were of Levitical blood, and appointed according to the law for priestly service. But since they worked at vain things; for they were craftsmen of idols; as their craft was all but gone to nothing, if Israel should henceforth refuse to worship idols, they were embittered to anger. But when they did not persuade them with words, they came to unholy counsels and deeds. For they prepared some in the middle of the road with robber-like to use ambushes, and to murder savagely the people of Shechem, if they chose to go up to Jerusalem contrary to their will. And very many were utterly destroyed; and those who were saved at all, and were strong enough to escape their hand, having been deprived of what they were carrying for sacrifice, returned with difficulty to their own land. Therefore the Master of all accuses those from Gilead, because although they, as Levites and Priests, and having been allotted the leadership of the others, were rather obliged to show clearly to the straying the way of piety according to the law, on the contrary they hide it, not allowing those of their own counsel, that is, also from the good will from above, who were moved to choose at last to cast off the error of demons, to think rightly. Therefore, he says, priests have hidden the way of the Lord. This again is another way of what was clearly said through another prophet: "The priests "did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' and those who handle my law "did not know me, and the shepherds sinned against me." But the crimes of the Gileadites do not stop here. For in addition to hiding the way of the Lord they have also killed the Shechemites, bringing to bear the hands of robbers. For because of this he also said to Gilead, "And your strength is as that of a pirate." But see how God brings us to the memory of the ancient history, and recalls the old crimes of Levi. And what I am saying is something like this again. For Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, that is, of Israel (for Jacob was renamed Israel), once went out of her father's tent; for she desired to see the daughters of the natives; and she was in Shechem. Then Hamor, the son of Shechem, finding the virgin, unexpectedly violated her; for he deflowered her. Therefore, the maiden's brothers, Levi and Simeon, being greatly distressed at this, devised a plot; for they persuaded the men of Shechem to be circumcised. When this had happened, while they were still in pain and overcome by suffering, they killed them utterly, saying this to their father who was accusing them of their unbridled anger, "But "should they treat our sister as a prostitute?" He now brings us to the memory of such a history, saying with a certain moral tone, they murdered Shechem, because they committed iniquity in the house of Israel. This, he says, they alleged at that time, that they had sinned against the house of Jacob, that is, of Israel, by deflowering the maiden. For this reason we too killed the Shechemites. But now, he says, they resolved to turn to God, to love the things in the law, to fulfill sacrifices, to celebrate feasts, to depart at last from the defilements of idolatry. What then of the Levites? They hid the way of the Lord and murdered the Shechemites. Or perhaps do they now have cause to accuse them, that they committed iniquity in the house of Israel? What maiden has now been violated? Against what Dinah have they sinned, what are the crimes of the Shechemites, of those who have honored God, of those who have loved to choose at last to think rightly, and to hasten to carry out the things in the law. Therefore I have seen, he says, the most horrible fornication of Ephraim there. For one would be amazed, and very rightly so, seeing the sacred and chosen race so far turned away from the love of God, as not only to become inventors of idols for the others, but also to hinder them, if they should choose to love the things of God. Therefore, he says, Israel and Judah are defiled. So that if they should suffer any of the expected things, let no one blame God for being indignant. Begin to harvest for yourself when I restore the captivity of my people, when I heal Israel. Again the word is to the inhabitant of Gilead. And it teaches that I, as God, began to both heal and restore Israel. And so the Shechemites desired at last to submit their neck to God, and to celebrate feasts, no longer those of Jeroboam, but rather those according to the law, and to escape the deceit that was devised I know not how; but you, O Gileadite, all but sheared them, or rather, harvested them, and made unjust wealth from robbery. And again he exclaims with a moral tone 'begin to harvest for yourself', saying something very much like this, Or rather, even if He does not say it, subtly implying that, 'I also will make you the first-fruits of those who are punished.' For when I begin to shear Israel, and to harvest those who practice such terrible impiety, I will make you the first victim of my wrath. For it is necessary to know that Pul, king of the Assyrians, was the first to come against Samaria and Israel, and he carried off into captivity first the tribes beyond the Jordan. And one of the cities there was Gilead. Therefore, just as when I was turning Israel back and beginning to heal it, you, O Gileadite, harvested for yourself the fruits of banditry; so I, when I hand Israel over to the Assyrians, will make you the first-fruits of those who are sent away. And the ancient crimes are related to the charges of the Jews against Christ. For God the Father was calling all of Israel to choose at last to think better things, and to cease from the worship in the Law, and instead to choose the new and evangelical worship. But they opposed not moderately those who were turning back and being called to healing. For it is written that, 'The Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.' And their leaders also heard, 'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.' Therefore, they have been given over to enemies, and have paid a bitter penalty for their drunken insolence against Christ. And the iniquity of Ephraim shall be revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria, because they have wrought falsehood. And a thief shall enter in to him, a robber stripping him in his way, so that they may sing in harmony as those who are in accord in their heart. Good by nature and long-suffering, 'long-suffering and of great mercy' is truly the Lord of all. But while He is still long-suffering with those who sin, their crimes are somehow still concealed; but when He now proceeds and brings justice and no longer tolerates inaction, then they are manifest, and seem now to be revealed, and are wont to be seen brought into the midst, all but before the eyes of all. This, he says, will now also happen against Ephraim and Samaria. And Ephraim here you will understand as the royal tribe in Samaria, from which came Jeroboam and his successors; and Samaria, those in Samaria, that is, the ten tribes. And he says their sins will be revealed, for such reasons as these. That they also wrought falsehood, practicing a cold and stale worship, and having become, as I said, craftsmen of idols, and that a thief, that is, a robber, shall enter in to him, instead of: a thief entered and rested and lodged with him, stripping him in the way; so that from this it might be shown, he says, that they have a heart that is in accord, that is, clearly, harmonious and of one mind. For some robbed those wishing to go up to Jerusalem; and others shared the crimes with them, having impiously partaken of the things that were stolen. And the teachers of the Jews also rejoiced when those who believed in Christ were fiercely warred against, and they became partners in the assault and robbery of others, gloating over the persecuted faithful, and receiving a certain robber, as it were, Satan, into their mind and heart, who strips their mind of all piety, so that they might have a heart in harmony with him. For just as 'He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit,' in the same way, I think, he who is joined to Satan will have one heart with him. I have remembered all their iniquities; now their own counsels have surrounded them, they have come to be before my face. As long as we sin in ways that are tolerable and measured, as human beings, having a nature prone to slip into sin, God passes it over out of his innate love for mankind. For he knows 'our frame, he remembers that we are dust,' according to the voice of the psalmist. But whenever something great and extraordinary and truly unbearable is done by us, which and sometimes it finally sharpens the very gentleness of the judge, and all but forces it, even unwillingly, toward anger; then it runs to the recollection of all, so to speak, of the sins committed by certain ones. For this reason, he says concerning Ephraim and Samaria, that I have remembered all their wickedness. And it is likely that in these words the prophetic oracle again wishes to indicate to us that very thing. For I have benevolently overlooked, he says, the slaughter of those in Shechem who were destroyed by Levi, on account of the violation of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. But since now they have also killed, I will remember their ancient injustice as well, and as now a murderer and cruel, I will demand punishment for their former sins. For their own counsels, he says, have surrounded them; just as if he were saying, They are finally besieged by their own thoughts and unholy considerations. For they once killed those from Shechem by deceit and trickery, but now by robberies, although they were turning to God. But since their transgressions have now become beyond description before My face, for I will not overlook, he says, such evils, nor by putting them out of sight any longer will I be slow to punish. Their own counsels have surrounded the Jews, especially in the things concerning Christ. For they killed the prophets, while God was still forbearing; but since they also became slayers of the Lord, their own counsels surrounded them, and the God of all remembered all their wickedness. In their wickedness they have made kings glad, and in their lies, princes. They ought rather, he says, by doing good and choosing to live according to the law, to have appeased the redeemer for themselves, and to have gladdened the one who saves, who has invincible strength for this. But this they have not done, but having become exceedingly slothful concerning what is necessary for their own life and useful for their well-being, they have made it a matter of no account to offend God; and they acted hypocritically with their own kings and rulers, gladdening them by their compliance with whatever seemed good to them, and offering the things that grieve God as pleasure and delight to those who lead them astray. And again he accuses them, as having run together with Jeroboam and the rulers under him, and as having without delay consented to the profanation he devised concerning the golden calves, and to his wishing to impiously lead them away to another worship. For they should have, they should have, in response to their schemes and utterly outrageous undertakings, generally brought forth the genuineness of their love for God, and tried to restrain them in their folly, not gladdening them by readily going into agreement. And the saying is true, even if it is understood again of those who crucified Emmanuel. For by lying and slandering him, they caused Herod and Pontius Pilate and the leaders of the Synagogue to rejoice. For somewhere the divine Peter also said to the Father and God of all, "For truly in this city there were gathered together "against your holy child Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod "and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel." All of them are adulterers, like an oven heated for baking, that ceases from burning from the flame, from the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened. a day of your kings. In what way they gladdened kings in their wickedness, and princes in their lies, he explains clearly to us in these words. The account of the history is as follows, which if someone should happen to know it, he will certainly understand the meaning of the prophecy. When, therefore, after the ten tribes had broken away, the accursed Jeroboam reigned over them, he was greatly afraid, lest somehow by going up to Jerusalem for the feasts according to the law, they might be persuaded little by little to choose the scepter of Judah again, and being brought to the remembrance of their ancient customs, they might either kill him, or rather, drive him out, and not willingly then, from ruling over them. For this reason the god-hated and wretched man planned to dedicate the golden calves to them, and devised the manner of the impious false worship, and he undertook to innovate the feasts for the heifers, as the account of the Hebrew tradition has it. Therefore, in the beginning he was exceedingly fearful, lest, agreeing with the worship that had come to them from above and from their fathers, they might either thrust him from the throne, or even destroy him, as I said, and, rejecting the undertaking, choose to return to their former state, being grieved and justly indignant, as though Moses had been insulted and the divine commandment given to them had been trodden underfoot. For this reason, being bitter in deceits, he sent many throughout Israel to spread rumors and say that they should also make calves, and innovate their own feasts, and to ask this very thing from the king. And when he learned that the crowds were very readily disposed to this, consenting and rejoicing with those who had advised such things, he gathered everyone together and clearly proclaimed that it was fitting to worship the golden heifers, and he revealed the day of the feast, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, as it is written. When Jeroboam said these things at that time, the people acclaimed him and cried out, "This is the king's day; we too will follow this purpose"; and they wished to cheer him with certain other such praises. And those chosen to be leaders were carried along with the crowds, echoing and consenting with them. The word of the prophet reminds us of these things at present. For he says, all are adulterers, like an oven burning for the baking of a burnt offering from the flame. For having inclined towards spiritual fornication, that is, apostasy from God—for this is fornication—they were like ovens already fired and ready for baking whatever one might cast in; for they were filled with flame, that is, of a hot and, as it were, burning desire. And they were like a lump of dough, already having the leaven, but completely leavened on the day of their king; when, as I just said, Jeroboam had openly declared that it was necessary to sacrifice to the heifers and to celebrate the feasts for them, they themselves cried out, "This is the king's day," just as, as I said, the account of the tradition has it. Then it was also completely leavened, that is, it was entirely possessed by impiety. Therefore, with their minds pre-heated by hot and unrestrainable desires for transgression, and pre-leavened as it were in this very manner on the king's day, they slid into the limit of wickedness. The Jews did something like this again in the case of Christ. For by speaking falsely against his glory, and little by little drawing the crowds away from their love for him, the scribes and Pharisees committed spiritual fornication, causing the common multitude to apostatize from him. The rulers began to be angry from wine; he stretched out his hand with plagues, because their hearts were kindled like an oven. Wine, as it seems, he here calls that from the vine of Sodom, which intoxicates hearts, and clouds the mind and fills it with a destructive and abominable mist. Therefore, when some were displeased with both the innovation of the heifers and indeed of the feasts, certain of the rulers were provoked to anger. And so that the more sober multitude of those who were silent and did not tolerate the acclaim might not be seen, they themselves stretched out their hands with the crowds, and cried out even more loudly, "This is the king's day," and they approved the ways of impiety. Therefore, he says, they were enraged, being drunk with an unholy drunkenness, and they gnashed their teeth at those not running along with such shameful things, stretching out their hands with plagues. And he calls the crowds plagues. For he says they applauded, as I said, although they were obliged to lead them to piety and to reveal the path of what is profitable. But, he says, they themselves were also hot in heart, having received into their mind the destructive flame of the desire for transgression. While they were dashing them down all night, Ephraim was filled with sleep; in the morning it happened, he was kindled like the light of a fire. I said that the God-hated Jeroboam was exceedingly fearful, in being still only in the thoughts of his unholy undertakings. For he thought, and very reasonably, that Israel would be indignant if it should learn of such a thing, and would not make small account of the transgression of the ancestral customs. But when he himself had addressed the crowds, that they must worship the heifers, and they gladly accepted the thought, and together with the rulers applauded, as men who had chosen to think and to do things right and expedient, he was free from fears, he departed from suspicion, and was thereafter cheerful, and was full of luxury. Therefore, in their being dashed down, that is, at that time, when they were falling into ruin and destruction, assenting and consenting to him, and holding in honor the transgression of the love for God, then, it says, Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, slept the whole night. As if it were to say, although formerly he had been kept awake by fears and suspicion, he was without care, he lived luxuriously thereafter, and was in soft beds, sleeping the whole night. But when morning came, he was more fervent than the others. For he was kindled like a flame of fire, and was heated along with the crowds, not deeming the matter worthy of any delay, so to speak, but bringing to fulfillment, and very eagerly, the display of his unholy undertakings. They were all heated, their hearts were as an oven, and it devoured their judges; all their kings have fallen, there was none among them that called unto me. True, then, are the things I said; for those around the accursed Jeroboam were heated, and "were kindled like a flame of fire." Has then the matter of impiety advanced only as far as what was dared by him? By no means, it says; for they were all heated, both those after him still, and the destructive fire of such heat consumed all their judges; and it also destroyed all those who reigned in succession after him. For there was not among them one who wished to worship me, and deemed it worthy to supplicate the God of all, and who had for himself the boasts of the true knowledge of God. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. He strongly blames those of the tribe of Ephraim who have been invested with the royal honor over Israel in Samaria, as being accustomed to think nothing better than those under their hand and the common herd; but running with them and being easily carried away with them in everything, although it was necessary, as leaders, to guide them to the good, and with higher considerations to see what would contribute to their salvation. But this they did not do; instead they were mixed up with the crowds, all suffering one and the same sickness of folly, and in addition to this, persistence in wickedness, and the unchangeable nature of a mind that in no way gives up what it has chosen to do, even if these things are agents of ruin and destruction for them. Therefore, he says that Ephraim has become a cake not turned, as from the image or example of breads baked on stones, which if someone does not turn, there is every necessity that they be burned and be seen as useless thereafter, and that what is edible is lost by the abundance of the flame. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knew it not; yea, gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, yet he knew it not. He calls strangers those of other tribes and different races, I mean Persians, and their bordering and neighboring Moabites and Idumaeans, and the nations of the Syrians, who have all but devoured Ephraim. For since he called him a bread, a cake, he has remained in the figure of speech. And by his strength he means the multitude that is beyond number; for the tribe especially of Ephraim, being very populous, and on this account raising a high brow, thought perhaps it would be terrible and irresistible even to the leaders or generals of the Assyrians. But when they arrived, having taken up the war against them, they were consumed without a struggle, and were led into captivity. But 'he knew it not,' it says, that is, he did not understand the cause of the calamity, although it was necessary for him at least through what had happened to come to his senses. which For what is not seen, trials often, by foresight, place it before their eyes. And it is better to consider what is expedient, without waiting for the trial. But if one should fail in this, at least for those who have suffered, it will then remain to be able to understand from the trial itself what is necessary and beneficial. Ephraim, he says, therefore did not know, although grown grey, that is, after a long time had passed, and it was not unable to teach and persuade him to learn, in what way such things had happened to them. And because he had offended the one who is able to save, they slipped into terrible and unexpected evils. And the pride of Israel shall be humbled to his face, and they did not return to the Lord their God, and they did not seek him in all these things. He interprets clearly what he said; for what Ephraim did not know, although grown grey, he again makes plain. For the pride of Israel, he says, that is, the apostasy, which he has contracted from contempt, because of which he has also turned away to foreign gods, dishonoring the God who is by nature and truly God, will be turned against his face. It is as if he were to say, it will prove to be a cause of pride and dishonor for him; for this is what it means for something to be turned against someone's face. But although he suffered such things, again he did not know God, nor indeed did they, being hard and unyielding, and very sick with the lack of love for God, and seen in the midst of terrible things, make account of returning to him. This is an accusation of the utmost insensibility, and a clear proof of a foolishness that has reached its limit. And Ephraim was like a senseless dove, having no heart; he called upon Egypt, and they went to the Assyrians. As they go, I will cast my net upon them; like the birds of the sky I will bring them down; I will chastise them by the hearing of their affliction. It is necessary to recall again what is written in the fourth book of Kings; for we will thus easily understand the meaning of the things before us. Hoshea, therefore, son of Elah, reigned in Samaria over Israel. Shalmaneser the Assyrian sent messengers to him, demanding the customary gifts more tyrannically, and all but wishing to exact tribute from Israel. But he refused the servitude, and rather planned resistance, even if he should happen to choose to impose the law of war on Israel. Then he sent an embassy to So, the tyrant of Egypt, asking for aid; for he thought that with him he would overcome the hand of the Assyrians. But he being very grieved at this, takes up war against Israel. Then Hoshea became his servant, and Israel itself, taken captive by the spear along with him, was removed from Samaria. Therefore Ephraim became like a most senseless dove, not having innocence for a good purpose. Therefore Christ also says, "Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." For simplicity of character, and a free mind, would rightly be worthy of all account; but in the absence of understanding, simplicity is harmful, and the thing is then foolishness. Ephraim, therefore, is senseless; how, or in what way? For he called upon the Egyptians; but they went captive to the Assyrians, since So was weak in providing aid. Then how was it not better for him to seek not rather the care from men, but that which is from above and invincible? Therefore the God of all also said through the voice of Isaiah, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses and in chariots." And that not without God did the hand of those who came to their aid also weaken, he has shown by adding that wherever they commit fornication, he will bring them down like sparrows, casting a net or a snare upon them, and not allowing them to be boastful, but bringing them down as from on high to the earth, that is, from a very high and lofty brow to a pitiful and humble mind, and to that which would be fitting for those who have fallen under the hand of their enemies. Then he says, that I will chastise them by the hearing of their affliction, wishing, I think, to signify that. For the rumors of what was to come preceded for them the experience, and a dreadful report surely terrified those in Samaria. Therefore they were being chastised, hearing of the affliction that was all but upon them. But if they had been wise, this would have been enough for their conversion; but being exceedingly insensible to pain, they were not even shamed by the experience itself, having a disobedient mind that was hard, unbreakable, and very sick. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me; they are wretched, because they have acted impiously against me. That the pretext for their calamities was their apostasy from God, He makes clear to us through these words. For just as those who are physically ill would be found to be the cause of the severity of their diseases, if they did not accept the physicians and the things by which the pain could be soothed, so also we, by removing ourselves from the love for God, will do no small injustice. For nothing saves the one who offends God. Therefore, because they have fled from God, for this reason they are wretched and accursed; and having acted impiously, by worshiping the falsely-named gods and offering reverence to them, they will be subject to the woe. "For if God shuts a man up, "who can open it?" according to what is written. But I redeemed them, yet they spoke lies against me, and their hearts did not cry out to me, but instead they wailed in their beds; over wheat and wine they gashed themselves. That He brings punishments commensurate with each one’s transgressions, He intimates again. For they spoke against the God who redeemed them, who had led them out of the house of bondage "with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm," as it is written, and had delivered them from the oppression of the Egyptians. They spoke against His glory, assigning the praises for the good things they had received to the unclean demons and to the works of their own hands, just as when they had carelessly made the calf in the wilderness, all but impiously insulting the Redeemer, they said in their madness: "These are your gods, O Israel, who "brought you up out of the land of Egypt." Therefore it is indeed insolence and drunken violence against God, and a most manifest contempt, to attribute reverence to carved images and demons, and to offer them thank-offerings, and to bring down the excellence of the highest glory to them. And not only did they speak against God, as I have just said, but they also turned away completely from even thinking at all that things which sustain life in the world are from Him. For their hearts have not cried out to me, He says, that is, they sought nothing from me, although being disposed and having believed that I am the provider and giver of every good thing. And that God does not require a shout, but rather a disposition of the mind and heart, we shall know also through these things. Therefore, they have not cried out to God. But indeed they have also turned away unbridledly to extravagant love of the flesh, so as to wail upon their beds. And this is a demonstration of shameful ways, and of an unrebuked inclination to fornication, and of a mind broken towards pleasures. And it would be fitting only for those who have practiced forcing the distinctives of men towards the habits and appearances and voices of women to slip into such a shameful and most abominable state. But these are effeminate, and very exceedingly enervated, and having come to the end of uncleanness among men. Moreover, to say that they cut themselves over wine and wheat, seems to me somehow to signify that. For giving thanks to their own idols for the fruitfulness of their fields, I mean both of wheat and of the vine, they wished to practice the so-called rites; as if being possessed and raving, and cutting their chests and both their hands with iron, so that also perhaps by sacrificing, as it were, their own blood on the spot to the carved images, they might at last be convicted of the ultimate godlessness. At these things perhaps another prophet also smiles, saying, "Sacrifice men, for calves have failed." And such things are sufficient to grieve most exceedingly the God who has authority over all, to whom they ought rather to have brought thank-offerings, and not to have foolishly assigned the glory due to Him to wood and stones. They were disciplined in me, And I strengthened their arms, and against me they devised evil things. They turned away to nothing, they became like a bent bow. He adds another manner of their ingratitude to them, showing them to be unholy and senseless. For I, he says, although formerly they differed in nothing from irrational beasts and were utterly without understanding, have both instructed them by law, and I have shown them to be wise, knowing what is profitable and the way of righteousness, and not ignorant of the accomplishment of all good order, so that they even now say, rejoicing in themselves, "Blessed are we, Israel, because the things pleasing to the Lord are known to us." And the generosity towards them did not stop at these things; but indeed I also made them most valiant, and sufficiently equipped to be able to subdue anyone willing to make war and resist. for they have conquered many and great nations, and this without toil; but towards me, the God who was the giver of such things to them, they have become wicked, that is, scornful and apostates; and the manner of their turning away has become for nothing. For a man-made image from tangible matter is nothing at all. But if they had found something better, their transgression might reasonably have some justification. But since such things are absolutely nothing compared to God, but are absurdity and foolishness and whatever is close to these, there is no reason for their turning away, having a plausible cause. Therefore they have turned away to nothing, and in addition to this they have become like a bent bow, not relaxed towards repentance, not slackening the tension that carries them to such shame and folly. It should be known that others, interpreting this, have published, they became like a treacherous bow, so that Israel might again be understood as having done such a thing. For those who should have rather, like a bow, been bent against enemies, and vigorously shoot those who practice resisting, have unwittingly struck themselves bitterly as if with the points of bows. For by offending God, at least in the ways already mentioned, what else could they be found doing, than arming their own hands against themselves? The passage at hand might be understood, if it seems good to anyone, in another way also. For the God of all bent Israel, as it were, like his own bow, fighting against the tyranny of the devil, and leading them out against the deceit of idolatry; for Israel alone, out of all the nations in the whole world, at least according to what seemed right to the law, shook off the worship of idols, and was devoted to the one who is by nature and truly the Lord of all; but they turned to the opposite. For those who were obliged to do that, have warred against God for the glory of idols; they have therefore become like a treacherous bow, using their archery in the opposite way. Their rulers shall fall by the sword because of the unruliness of their tongue. The things from wrath will not come only upon those who are subject to the leaders, he says, but it will seize, and very swiftly, also those who are accustomed to revel in the highest honors. for they will fall by the sword, and the pretext for their suffering will be the licentiousness of their tongue. For it is truly unruliness to say to the wood, "You are my God;" and to the stone, "You begot me." And it would be very fitting to say such things to Emmanuel, against whom the scribes and Pharisees have moved their unruly tongue, although he was both instructing and strengthening, it is clear that this is spiritually; taking none of which into account, they also turned away to nothing. For they turned to "teachings, the commandments of men." and they have become like a treacherous bow, impiously shooting their own Lord, for whom they should rather have striven universally, and hasten to conquer their opponents, just as did the true disciples of those who believed. This their derision in the land of Egypt to their bosom. as earth, as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they transgressed my covenant, and acted impiously against my law. These things have been said very obscurely, with the Hebrew language, as I suppose, causing the interpreters much difficulty; but we, following the order of the thoughts, will say what comes to mind. This disparagement of them, therefore, he says in the land of Egypt, that is, since me, who am always saving and chastising and rendering unconquerable to those who oppose them—for I strengthened them—they impiously scorned, allotting their worship to demons, and growing bold in the land of the Egyptians, and thinking that the aids from there would suffice them for prosperity, for this reason their undertaking will also turn back into their own bosom, and they will find no good rewards for their own foolish counsel. But they will receive their just dues as if into their bosom. For he will come, he will come, he says, the one who will ravage them, the tyrant of the Assyrians, having a multitude of warriors greater than can be numbered. And he will come to them as a whole land and country and fatherland, so that one might think that the entire land of the Persians and Medes had moved from its place and come to Samaria; this is what "as the land" means. And he will come also as an eagle to the house of the Lord, that is, he will fly up swift and terrible even against the temple of God itself, and will overrun the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, seizing without toil, and carrying it off to his own land. For first the country of the Samaritans was sacked, and in it somewhere, certainly, was Israel, and later, finally, the renowned city itself was taken, over which the prophet Jeremiah also lamented, saying: "How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a tributary." For that the temple was also burned with the city is in no way doubtful. But these things will happen to them, he says, because they have transgressed the divine covenant and have acted impiously against the spoken law. For holding in very little esteem the things decreed through the all-wise Moses, they were eager to live according to their own wills, and each made what seemed good to him both his mode of worship and his law. They shall cry to me, O God, we know you; for Israel has turned away from good things, they have pursued an enemy. Those who cut themselves over grain and wine, and who celebrate feasts to unclean demons, those who have not cried out to God with their hearts, nor indeed have they acknowledged the giver and governor of all cheerfulness to them, but neither have they honored him with fitting thanksgivings, since in the breadth of their prosperity they have ignored him, yet they will know him when they have suffered what they must, and when they come to a bitter and abominable end of their own ill counsel, they will cry out and will call upon him with difficulty, having slipped into terrible and incurable calamities. But having received, as it were, the experience of their own terrible things as a counselor, they will then accuse their own foolishness, saying something like this: Israel has turned away from good things. For when it was possible to have them, and that richly, being established with God, and having been very zealous to carry out the things that seemed good to him, they pursued an enemy, that is, they themselves have almost voluntarily run to their enemies, and have come under the hand of those who hate them, having grieved by their apostasies the God who always saves and makes them superior to their opponents. It is therefore all-wise and truly beneficial not to await the experience of terrible things, but rather to refuse it while it is still absent, and to hasten to contemplate what is profitable before it comes. They have made kings for themselves, and not by me; they have ruled, and they did not make it known to me; their silver and their gold they have made for themselves idols, so that they might be utterly destroyed. He denies the kingship of both Jeroboam and of those who reigned in succession over Israel in Samaria, although he himself had expressly said, "For this thing is from me;" and he threatened Solomon himself, who had followed the opinions of foreign women and had impiously dedicated precincts and altars to their objects of worship, that "I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant." What then shall we say? That the God of all is a liar? May it not be so; but we will turn rather to what it is necessary to think rightly, considering that. For it is written, "Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord has not done?" And by evil he means the affliction. For some things He does according to His own will, but others He allows to happen, punishing some, even if it happens somehow against His will. Since, being able to prevent it, He often allows something to happen providentially, He is said to be the author of these things as well. For example: for we shall now proceed to Solomon himself; for He gave him the ability to build the temple of stone in Jerusalem, He made him wise, and distinguished for incomparable understanding; this was a work of His own will. He allowed his kingdom to be broken, not Himself bringing matters to this point according to His own will, but as it were being silent, even at what was not willed, because of His indignation against him. Therefore, although Jeroboam reigned, and those after him, it was not at all with God's assent. For things that happen as a punishment out of anger toward some have a different character, and would not by chance be understood to be of the same sort as those that are truly according to His will. Therefore they have made kings for themselves, and not through me. And since they ruled, it was almost as if God did not know it; for what is against His will He seems not even to know; their rule became weak and easily overthrown, and unable to resist, and not such as to save those subject to it. "For through him kings reign, and tyrants through him hold the earth." But that they suffer from great insensibility in this, and used the things given by God to grieve Him, or rather even for the destruction of their own souls, He taught by saying: Their silver and their gold they made into idols for themselves, that they might be utterly destroyed. For from where it was possible for them to prosper by having compassion on their brethren, from there they offend God, and unwillingly change the way of salvation to the necessity of being destroyed by Him. Cast off thy calf, O Samaria; my wrath is kindled against it: how long will they be unable to be cleansed in Israel? A craftsman made it, and it is not God; because your calf, O Samaria, was a deceiver. How very well he says "cast off," as if of a stain and pollution and of the utmost impurity. For this is truly the nature of idolatry, rendering the soul of man abominable and foul and hateful before God. He therefore counsels as one compassionate and good, to change for the better, and to put away wrath, and henceforth to curtail the causes of what is to come, and by repentance to cut short the terrible things, even if they have sobered up late. For He says He was provoked clearly by the calf, showing that, being philanthropic, He sometimes overlooks the failings that arise from human weakness, but He always punishes apostasy, and considers the turning away of the insolent to be unbearable, I mean the need to worship demons. For how long will you, having been in impurity, remain unchanged? What time will be sufficient for you to put away your foolishness? For what a craftsman has made, you believe to be God; and what is of no help, but rather leads to ruin and destruction, you consider venerable and worthy of acceptance; for the calf deceives, and nothing else. Because they have sown the wind, and their destruction shall receive it: a stalk having no strength to make meal; and if it should make any, strangers shall devour it. By a comparison with those who labor in vain in agriculture, He shows the fruitlessness of their inherent ill counsel and their zeal for vain things. For for some to choose to labor over these things, and sometimes to worship them diligently, to honor them with offerings and sacrifices, would be nothing other than to gather seed that has been ruined by the wind, which is completely unable to benefit the one who labors. For what is the reward for zeal in idolatry? Or what benefit from carved images? Or in what way will those things delight anyone, which must certainly come to destruction? Therefore, those who are accustomed to do such things and devote their zeal to the honors of idols are like those who sow what is ruined by the wind, and to a handful of grain stalks to one who has no wheat, and has not prepared it for the need of flour. But if anything should come from them, that is, even if they should seem somehow to be zealous and genuine concerning the works of error, this also will go from them to strangers, and will in no way please God. And by strangers he means the falsely named gods. Therefore our zeal is utterly without reward in those things that grieve God, and the ways of equity will be wholly and completely slandered before him, falling short of the pursuit of the good.

Book 5

Israel is swallowed up, now he has become among the nations as a useless vessel, because they went up to the Assyrians; Ephraim blossomed by himself, he loved gifts, therefore they shall be delivered to the nations. He says that Israel is swallowed up, as having endured a miserable shipwreck, and drowned in the waves of his own sins, and as if shattered against some rock by the movements of divine wrath. Or, in another way, he says he was swallowed up, as by a terrible and insatiable dragon, Nebuchadnezzar; for another of the holy prophets also spoke thus to us, taking on the persona of Israel, being already captured by the spear and serving his captors, "He has devoured me, he has divided me, a subtle darkness has seized me, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has swallowed me like a dragon, he has filled his belly from my delicacies." And in another way it is true, that the many-headed dragon in a way swallows up those who fall away from the love of God, and makes them his own food, whom the voice of the psalmist also says was given as food to the peoples of the Ethiopians. "For you," he says, "shattered the head of the dragon; you gave him as food to the peoples of the Ethiopians." For those who have a most black and lightless mind within themselves, are fittingly both thought of and called Ethiopians both by ourselves and by God. these feed the many-headed dragon, and they in turn are fed upon by him. Therefore Israel is swallowed up, and has become among the nations as a useless vessel. for having been carried away to the Assyrians and Medes, he was made completely useless, having been forced, perhaps, to think the things that seemed right to them. or, because he became a useless vessel, for this reason he was also swallowed up, and leaving the one who bore him, he migrated to the nations. The Master of all says something of this kind also through the voice of Jeremiah concerning one of those who had reigned in Samaria over Israel: "Jeconiah has been dishonored as a vessel for which there is no need, because he was cast out and thrown forth into a land which he did not know. O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord, write this man down as a proclaimed man." Therefore Israel was made useless. For what need has God of a soul that is wandering, and sin-loving, and easily turning aside to anything whatsoever that is amiss and to that which is beyond all evils, the turning away from slavery under God? What then is the cause of Israel suffering such things? That they themselves went up to the Assyrians. For he all but says, they have run as deserters to the enemy. how or in what way? For fearing their attack, they did not rather seek God's help by repenting, but rather persuaded them with gifts to be quiet for a short time. Then he in a way mocks this kind of consideration, as being rash and useless for them, speaking about those who had reigned from the tribe of Ephraim, who also sent gifts to the tyrants of the Assyrians, Ephraim blossomed by himself. It is as if he were to say: the one from the tribe of Ephraim, about to be cut down like some tree trunk having reigned, and as it were withered by the fire of divine wrath, he sprouted up again by himself, that is, without me, and not having my accord, he thought, it says, that he would live and put down a root deep, and would not slip from his own thrones. For he purchased a temporary and short delay of the evil, by loving gifts; not rather to receive, but to give. And what was the result? No benefit at all, but they will be handed over to the nations, and through the very things that will happen, he might learn that no one can sprout up again by himself; nor would it profit those who offend God to give gifts to their enemies. For they will be subject, and not for long, to justice. Now I will receive them, and they shall cease a little from anointing a king and rulers. Those from the tribe of Ephraim who reigned over them have been, so to speak, the cause of all the depravity of Israel. For first the accursed Jeroboam became the inventor of the apostasy, setting up for them golden calves, and of the so-called high places, that is, of the precincts on mountains and hills, appointing priests, those not from the tribe of Levi, but rather whoever "filled their hand," as it is written. Then after him, when the Assyrians were expected, in the time of the reign of Menahem, they sent money, persuading them to keep away from the land. For this reason, the divine threat has been justly made against the kingdom from the tribe of Ephraim that was established over Israel. For 'now I will receive them,' he says, not as having a good character, nor as having chosen to live best, nor indeed as desiring the polity according to the law, but as a disciplinarian, and demanding justice, and already calling them to judgment. For out of gentleness I allowed the things from divine wrath to be postponed, during the past time, but 'now I will receive them,' he says, so that by the experience of terrible things they may scarcely learn that they are also under a Master, and not outside my hand. And that the things from wrath are no longer postponed, he has confirmed by saying 'now.' Therefore, having been received so that they may be disciplined, they will henceforth cease from anointing a king and rulers. For while serving the Assyrians and Medes, what leisure would they have to perform the works of apostasy? They who indeed were continually lamenting and bewailing the unexpected disaster. But it should be known that after Cyrus son of Cambyses released Israel from captivity, they no longer anointed in Samaria those from the tribe of Ephraim, but all came under one yoke, with those from the tribe of Judah reigning in Jerusalem. For they dwelt no longer dividedly, but all in Jerusalem. And the first to rule after the times of the captivity over the kingdom of both, I mean, of both Israel and Judah, or rather of all twelve tribes without exception, was Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel from the tribe of Judah, with the Levitical orders being led and the ministry of the high priesthood being administered by Jesus son of Jozadak the high priest. Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sins, beloved altars have become his; I will write for him a multitude and his statutes. His beloved altars were accounted as strange things to him. He explains the reason for which he now justly brings upon the rulers the necessity of falling from their rule. For Ephraim has made very many altars for sins. And the discourse rushes also to the first Jeroboam, who reigned from the tribe of Ephraim, and after him to his successors, who, on every mountain and hill setting up altars to demons, persuaded those of Israel to sacrifice. Then, when it was necessary to be grieved at such outrageous undertakings—for they multiplied altars for sins—he says they made them also beloved, and in addition to these things, the beloved altars were accounted as strange to him, it is clear that to Ephraim. And it certainly indicates the things in the ancient tabernacle, that is, in Jerusalem, located in the divine temple. And these were two: the one for burnt offerings in the first tabernacle, and the other, the golden one, for incense, in the second and innermost. Therefore many of those from The crimes of Ephraim when they were kings; first, that they multiplied altars for sins; then that they have also made beloved the things for which it was fitting to lament and mourn, as ones who have given offense; and what is yet greater, as one having turned to despair, he has made alien the beloved altars, which one truly ought to love and hold in all esteem. and he cast in the midst, the "I will write for him the multitude and his laws." and it implies something of this sort: for he says the multitude of the altars made by them for sins, and their laws, that is again, the sacrifices customary for them, or the times or manners of the sacrifices, according to which they offered their profane rites; for they cut themselves over wheat and wine, and were eager to do certain other things like these; "I will write down for them for sins and for crimes." It is therefore a saving thing to hold to the divine altars, and to partake of the things from God, and not to seek the things of others, which are indeed for sin. This is what those who are not genuine Christians do, falling away after the saving baptism to Greek customs and observances, to whom it is fitting to say through the voice of Paul, "You cannot "partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons;" and indeed also those who attach themselves to the unholy heretics, and partake of their altars, for whom in truth the beloved altars have become alien. for they have multiplied for themselves things for sins, sacrificing the lamb outside the sacred and divine court, that is, the Church. Because if they offer a sacrifice and eat meat, the Lord will not accept them; now he will remember their iniquities and will avenge their sins. That the altars for sins have come into being and have been multiplied by Ephraim, he makes very clear also through these things. For what they sacrifice, he says, is offered by them not to God, but rather to the precincts of idols; and even if they celebrate at the sacrifices, filling themselves with food or drink, the matter is nothing to God. For they do not perform the festival for him, because the divine and undefiled nature would in no way accept what is done for the glory of demons, but rather is provoked as having been insulted; and she is all but unwillingly forced to bring down the judgments of wrath upon those who call for this, and to proceed to the remembrance of all, so to speak, of the things committed by those who offend. And when this has happened, sharp is the anger, judgment is at hand, and there is no one who is delivered. "It is therefore a fearful thing "to fall into the hands of the living God." But it is more fitting, and incomparably better, and for us the cause of all prosperity, to offer sacrifices to God, spiritual ones, that is, and for him to fulfill festivals, choosing to live rightly, and earnestly avoiding to fall away at all in any respect. But they returned to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean things. He again accuses them, as wishing to live in a completely senseless and unholy manner, and as having entirely ignored the path of what is expedient. For I, he says, threatened to bring under my wrath those who had come to this opinion, and to avenge their sins, and to remember all their lawlessness. And in the beginning what was expected to happen was this, with the war already terrifying Israel, and all but attacking the country. Then, when they ought to have been propitiating God with prayers and repentance, and to be re-educated in what seemed good to him, and to put his wrath to shame by their recourse to what is better, as to something exceedingly useful, and able to deliver them, they turned back to Egypt, calling for aid "an Egyptian man "and not God, the flesh of horses," according to what is written. But, "A king is not saved through great power, and a giant "will not be saved in the multitude of his strength. A horse is false for "salvation. It is good to trust in the Lord rather than to trust in "man. It is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in "princes." that for them the things of such a kind, he says has resulted from foolish counsel, they will know from experience itself; for being carried off to the Assyrians and Medes, there they will eat unclean things, that is, they will live having cast off the remnant of reverence for the law, and eating whatever is at hand without guard. But perhaps someone will say: then how would this have grieved the from Israel, who chose to worship idols? To these things we say, that they have admittedly been deceived, but there was still in their minds some small care for the law, and they had not completely lost the Jewish customs, even though they worshiped in the temples of idols. For this reason also the blessed prophet Elijah once accused them of limping on two houghs, and of being willing to adhere neither completely to Baal, nor indeed perfectly to God. Therefore Israel, having become captive, has completely cast off reverence for the law, following out of necessity the customs and laws of their rulers. And this I think is what Christ himself said, that "To everyone "who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from "him who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away from him." Therefore we must not despise the divine gifts; but whatever we have from God, we should take the greatest account of; for the gift will dwell with those who care for it; but if we become lazy and negligent concerning it, it will surely fly away. And Israel forgot him who made him, and they built shrines; and Judah made walled cities; and I will send fire upon his cities, and it shall devour their foundations. He rebukes both kingdoms, I mean the one in Samaria, and that of Judah, that is, the one in Jerusalem. For what both have done, it is necessary to observe and to say at the same time. For when the war was expected to happen, and when the terror was practically already at their very gates, when it was necessary for them, both those in Samaria and the kings from the tribe of Judah, to seek help from God the Savior, they turned to strange and useless opinions and, when they ought to have healed with repentance, they provoked against themselves even more greatly the God who rules over all. For Israel, that is, the ten tribes and those who held their power, offered yet more acts of worship, as if to aggrieved demons, or rather to those able to avert the capture and to overturn the phalanxes of the enemies; and as if appeasing them and making them benevolent, they built shrines, and they set up altars, and they honored them with still more sacrifices; but Judah made his own cities more fortified, trusting in stones rather than in God, although He says clearly concerning Jerusalem, that "I will be to her, says the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I will be for glory in her midst." But this thing did not help Israel at all; and for the future God threatened to bring fire upon the cities of Judah, the Babylonians clearly burning them, who became ministers of His wrath against them. Therefore, nothing at all will save the one who offends God; and it is admittedly a loss and a charge of ignorance for the future, or rather of the highest impiety, to trust in the powers of demons; and with God being grieved and rendering them powerless, it is no less ignorant to be deceived by earthly aids. But rather one must ward off His wrath with prayers and repentance; for He is "merciful "and good and repents of the evils" according to what is written. Do not rejoice, Israel, nor be glad like the peoples, because you have committed fornication against your God; you have loved gifts upon every threshing floor of wheat. The threshing floor and the winepress did not know them, and the wine deceived them. They did not dwell in the Lord’s land; Ephraim dwelt in Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean things. They did not pour out wine to the Lord, and they were not pleasing to him; their sacrifices are to them like bread of mourning, all who eat them will be defiled, because their breads for their souls will not enter the house of the Lord. To the to the herds of the nations, since indeed they suffer from the greatest folly; for they had admittedly gone astray; it was the custom for those beginning their farming and about to plow the earth to offer sacrifices to the demons, and to ask from them the fruitfulness of the fields; and reaping again, when the season called for it, and indeed also putting the grape cluster in the wine-presses, they poured libations, they sacrificed to the seasons, they sang the wine-press songs, offering up their thank-offerings, and they continued rejoicing and making merry. God finds fault with those of Israel for doing this. For he clearly insists that he should not rejoice, just as the rest of the nations. For what reason? For those who were completely ignorant of the God who is by nature and truly is, but were rather born in error, perhaps have a not implausible reason for their weakness or ignorance; but Israel, though instructed by the law, and having known the Master of all, has committed fornication into apostasy. Therefore, he might be understood as being reasonably under a heavier charge, and having an inescapable accusation of impiety; for knowing the will of his Lord, he neglected it, he did not do it. He shall therefore be beaten with many stripes; while the one who did not know, and then did not do it, will be beaten with few, according to the Savior's voice. Therefore, do not rejoice as the peoples, he says. For they have gone astray from the womb; but you, having been instructed by the law, have committed fornication away from God. And what was the manner of his fornication? He loved gifts, he says, not from God rather, but those from the heifers and Baal; although they give nothing to those who ask. And for what things did he seek gifts from them? On every threshing-floor of wheat. For it seemed unholy and foolish to them to ask for the fruitfulness of the fields, as I said, from their empty objects of worship. So, then, did Israel seek gifts from the idols; and did his requests turn out according to his prayer? Not at all; for the threshing-floor and the wine-press did not know them, and the wine failed them. And it is not debatable to any of the more eager students that there were famines in Samaria, and crop failures and long droughts. He therefore missed his hope, not receiving his requests; and in addition to this, they also departed from the holy land, and entered Egypt, as into a land fortified and with even more gods; for there were countless objects of worship in Egypt, and a certain wonderful reputation for power among those who served them, as being able to accomplish all things easily through magical experiences. They therefore gave up dwelling in the land chosen by God, and they exchanged it for the land of idols. But even if they have done this, they will go to the Assyrians. They did not pour out wine to the Lord. For having gathered the fruit of the vine into the wine-presses, they poured out the first-fruits to the demons, and not to God who gave it. And they also offered up loaves, as a first-fruit of the harvest. But the thing will become for them a pollution and a profanation, he says, and what is brought will be reckoned as bread of mourning, that is, detestable and profane and hateful. For what reason? For the law made unclean the one who approached a corpse; approaching, that is, either through blood relationship, or even through physical contact itself. It was therefore necessary for those who were near in kinship, or friends of the deceased, to be defiled in their mourning, attending to the corpse, and wishing to perform the customary rites over it; and all things which they happened to touch were unclean. Therefore, the bread of mourning is that which is set before those who mourn a corpse for food; and to taste of it seemed utterly dreadful to those who had practiced avoiding the pollution associated with a corpse. Therefore, defiled and rejected, he says, are the loaves themselves, which might be brought as a first-fruit of the harvests, and those who eat them will be defiled. But they will be useful rather for their souls, that is, for their own eating. For they will not enter the house of the Lord. But one must know that the law also commanded to bring a first-fruit of the harvest, both sheaves and bread, as a sacrifice. But Israel transferred what was for the glory of God to the carved images, even though God says clearly, "My glory I will not give to another, nor my praises to my carved images." Therefore it is necessary to ask from God the things that give life, and to confess him as the giver and provider of all bodily and spiritual fruitfulness to us. for there is no other besides him who sends rain, according to what is written, but by his commands, the seasonal crops also spring up in the fields, and we are filled with the blessing from above, being nourished by the spiritual bread, and having the wine from heaven, "which gladdens the heart of man." Having chosen to think these things, we will inhabit the holy land. For we will be with God, and we will not eat unclean things among the Assyrians. For "the world-rulers of this age, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" feed in uncleanness those who approach them. What will you do on the day of a festival and on the days of the feast of the Lord? For since, he says, you have arrived at this point of ill-counsel and impiety, and have become so abominable and hateful, what manner of help will there be for you? or what will you have done and planned to escape so terrible and savage a calamity, when my festival is celebrated, with war consuming those who have caused grief? Therefore God names his own feast, clearly the time in which Israel would be required to pay the penalty for the sins committed against him. Therefore one must not simply and thoughtlessly do what seems best, and take pleasure in present things, being carried away by desires into offending God, but rather to look around at what is to come, and to hasten to escape the things that come from divine wrath. For in this way we will be wise, and knowledgeable of what is beneficial. Therefore behold, they shall go forth from the misery of Egypt, and Memphis shall receive them, and Michmash shall bury them. And destruction shall inherit their silver; thorns shall be in their tents. When the Babylonians were ravaging Samaria, those who were strong enough to escape barely fled to the land of the Egyptians; but also when they captured Jerusalem itself, in the times of the prophecy of Jeremiah, a very small number were left from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. These entered into Egypt, although God was commanding them through the voice of Jeremiah, and saying clearly, that they should not go to the land of the Egyptians, having abandoned the land that bore them, and he had threatened that if they should do this against his will, they would fall into equal, or even more burdensome things. For what is written is as follows: "Thus says the Lord: If you set your face "toward Egypt and enter there to dwell, the sword "which you fear on its account "will find you in Egypt." For since, taking courage in the help of the Egyptians, they opposed the Babylonians, for this reason being grieved, after the capture of Jerusalem and Samaria, the Babylonians turned against the Egyptians, and conquered them without a struggle, then it happened that the remnants of the Jews perished along with the Egyptians. And indeed those who were strong enough to escape the misery in Egypt, barely fled beyond, going to the land of the Arcadians, and they dwelled in Memphis and Michmash as in a most fortified city; and this is another neighboring city, surely, and more distinguished than the others; and there they died, having clearly passed long periods of time, and not being able to return to Judea. And again the prophet Jeremiah spoke thus: "Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am setting "my face to destroy all the remnant "in Egypt, and they shall fall by the sword and by famine, "they shall fail, from the least to the greatest, and they shall be for "a reproach and for destruction and for a curse. And I will "visit upon those dwelling in the land of Egypt as I visited "upon Jerusalem with sword and with famine and with "death, and there will be no one saved of the remnant "of Judah who are sojourning in the land of Egypt, to return "to the land of Judah, for which they hope with their souls "to return there; they shall not return." Do you hear that they died in to Egypt, and there the divine wrath was brought upon them? When therefore, shunning the misery in Egypt, they should arrive at Memphis as if to a famous city, it will receive them, but in Machmas they will die. For this is the meaning of "Machmas will bury them." When therefore God pursues, no one will save the one in danger, but wherever one might go, there he will encounter His anger. And he says these things will happen to them in Egypt. But since they have also grieved him with their own wealth; "For their silver and their gold they made for themselves idols," he says; for this reason justly destruction will inherit it, that is, it will be an inheritance for the destroyer. For he calls the Assyrian "destruction," as one who has savagely and cruelly destroyed and fought. and thorns, he says, will grow in their tents. for the cities have come to such a state of desolation as to become full of thorns; and this is a sign of land impassable and uncultivated. When therefore one does not use rightly the good things given by God, whether physical or spiritual, nor indeed for His glory, but thoughtlessly does things by which he might give offense, and is caught grieving Him, he will depart into destruction, and will be an inheritance for the plundering Satan, and a dwelling-place of thorns, that is, of savage and misplaced desires; and he would not have cultivated fruits in his mind. And heretics, before others, would suffer this, impiously spending the use of reason to lead brothers astray; and "to strike their weak conscience," although Christ suffered for us. The days of vengeance have come, the days of your recompense have come, and Israel will be afflicted like the prophet who is out of his mind, the man who is spirit-borne. It was the custom of those of Israel to cast off the words of the holy prophets, and to consider the things from God as nothing, although many times He had foretold that terrible things would happen to them. And indeed the God of all has addressed the prophet Ezekiel somewhere saying, "Son of man, behold the rebellious house of Israel, they are saying, 'The vision which he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of times far off.' Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Adonai: None of my words which I shall speak shall be prolonged any more; for I will speak a word and I will do it, says the Lord Adonai.'" He says something like this here also; for he says the days of vengeance have come. It is as if he were to say, The judgment is near, and the contest is already at the very doors, disaster is a neighbor, and the war is before our eyes. The day of recompense is at hand. And when you are afflicted, he says, O Israel, every false prophet in you will certainly be afflicted with you, and in like manner will partake of the judgment, the man who is out of his mind, that is, the inspired and mad one, and who has lost his senses, whom you have considered to be spirit-borne. For along with the others have perished both the priests of the high places, and the worshipers of idols, and all who were false speakers and false prophets in Israel. For since they pretended to be mad when making their prophecies, and feigned to be inspired, for this reason he also calls such a one a man who is out of his mind. By the multitude of your iniquities your madness was multiplied. He speaks of a multitude of iniquity as it were, the manifold and multiform religion of Israel. For in one word, they were deceived, and all were idolaters. But they divided the ways of their error, some brought their rites to some, others to others, and for those who came to them they made false prophecies. For some served the heifers; others Chemosh, the idol of Moab; and others Astarte. And there were those who served both Baal and the host of heaven. For this reason God reproached them, saying through the voice of Jeremiah, "For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah." For each city among them confessed to having its own god. This very thing he rightly calls a multitude of iniquity. For it is truly an iniquity and an outrage against God, to depart from him, and to adhere to wood and stones, and "to the by the works of their own hands," as it is written. But by madness he means divination. Therefore, since a multitude of iniquity is found in you, he says, for this reason madness has also multiplied in you, that is, false divination, with each of the false diviners likely having his own way by which he prophesied. Truly, therefore, it is absurd and unlawful and profane, and not incapable of grieving and terribly provoking the God of all, to love to adhere to the false words of those accustomed to speak things "from their own heart," as it is written, and not "from the mouth of the Lord." Therefore Christians must guard against this transgression. For to suffer from such things would be fitting only for the servants of demons. A watchman of Ephraim is a prophet with God, a crooked snare over all his ways. It is the custom of divine Scripture to call watchmen those who preside over and are set before the people, and are lifted up high on account of honor, whom one might also look to, if indeed he wished to live a straight and blameless life. And indeed, God said somewhere to the blessed prophet Ezekiel, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you will hear a word from my mouth, and you will warn them from me." For it is the custom for such watchmen not only to set forth their own life to those being instructed as a model of virtue or lawful conduct, but also to introduce useful things and to interpret rightly what is pleasing to God. But those under good watchmen, going straight toward what is fitting, were saved; but those assigning the inclination of their own mind to wicked and vile men, continued "deceiving and being deceived," and had a mind alienated from all good work and true knowledge. He now also accuses those from the tribe of Ephraim, that is, Israel, of having suffered this. For, he says, a prophet with a god has become a watchman for him. It is as if he were saying, for each of the falsely named gods, there is also a particular false prophet. For as I have already said, they were divided into a manifold error. And some have served Baal; others Chemosh, that is, Baal-peor; and in each sacred precinct something was fabricated, and there was a man-made statue and image, and attending each was a particular false prophet. And the manner of divination among them was varied. And they simply belched out to those who came to them whatever seemed useful and necessary. Therefore, since a particular prophet with each of the falsely named gods has become a watchman for those from Ephraim, for this reason they have now turned aside unrestrainedly to everything that is most shameful. This has become for him also a crooked snare. For it was not possible for those who had slipped into such great polytheism ever to be directed and to be able to walk rightly, so as to have a particular prophet with each god; and in addition, to make a watchman of one who carries them away from piety toward God and casts them into the pits of destruction. Therefore those who wish to live lawfully must pay attention not simply to those who teach, nor to those who speak things from their own heart, but to those for whom the divine and heavenly grace bears witness to the genuineness of their love for God. Therefore Christ also says, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." For speaking truly, we say that the inventors and leaders of unholy heresies differ little from wild beasts, "Those who devour Israel with their whole mouth." For they consume, as it were, the souls of the more simple, crushing them with the teeth of deceit. Let it be said, therefore, also by us, "God will break their teeth in their mouth; the Lord has shattered the molars of the lions. They will be regarded as nothing, like water that passes by; he will bend his bow until they are weakened. Like melting wax they will be destroyed." They have planted madness in the house of the Lord. They were corrupted according to the days of the hill; he will remember his iniquity, he will avenge his sins. Here too, by madness he usually means false divination. And the house of the Lord He names Israel. And so it is said somewhere through the voice of Jeremiah to the Synagogue of the Jews, as from the person of God "Have you not called me as a house and a father and the guide of your virginity?" He is astonished, therefore, at the magnitude of the frenzy, and the excess of their absurd undertakings. For they have reached such a point of impiety, he says, as to establish madness in the house of the Lord, that is, false prophecy, and to transgress what is forbidden by the divine laws. And he says well "they have established"; for what was once dared has not ceased, but the matter of impiety has, as it were, become fixed and entrenched. For Israel has not ceased having false diviners and false prophets. But since they have dared such things, being justly called to account for what they did, they were destroyed in the days of the hill. For He will remember their iniquity, and will avenge all their sins. And what this is, "they were destroyed in the days of the hill," come, let us briefly recall. Something of this sort is written in the book of Judges; I will make the whole narrative cursorily, as is possible, and I will condense it, since it is rather long. "In those days," he says, "there was no king "in Israel; a man did what was right in his own eyes. "And there was a young man from Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, and he was "a Levite, and he was sojourning there. And the man went "from Bethlehem, the city of Judah, to sojourn wherever he might find "a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim, and to the house of Micah, "to make his way. And Micah said to him, 'Where "do you come from?' And the Levite said to him, 'I am from Bethlehem "of Judah, and I am going to live wherever I might find a place.' "And Micah said to him, 'Stay with me, and be a father and a priest to me, "and I will give you ten pieces of silver "a day and a change of clothes and things for your life.' "And the Levite went, and began to sojourn with the "man. And the young man was with him as one of his sons. "And Micah consecrated the Levite, "and he became his priest, and was in the house of Micah." Micah, then, was an idolater, and yet he hired the one from the blood of Levi, and made him a servant of a graven image, and assigned him to the services of the idols. And what happened after this? The sacred scripture again spoke thus: "And in those days the tribe of Dan was seeking for itself "an inheritance to dwell in, because an inheritance had not fallen to it until "that day among the tribes of Israel." Then selecting five men, they persuaded them to go before them, and to spy out the land which they might be able to take and make their own inheritance. And they came, he says, "to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there." While they were in the house of Micah, they recognized the Levite, as their kinsman, because he used their language. For since they were Hebrews, he spoke as a Hebrew. And having asked the reason, and learned how Micah had hired him, though he was from the tribe of Levi, and had appointed him a priest of his own objects of worship, instead of sympathizing with him as a captive and a deceived and wandering man, they immediately slipped into the snares of deceit, and thought it right for him to speak, inquiring of the idol if their enterprise would turn out according to their mind, I mean the conquering of the land they had come to spy out. And he spoke what seemed good as from God. And when the messengers had spied out the land, they reported to those who had sent them that it was good and fertile, and could be taken without sweat. And when those from the tribe of Dan heard such words, six hundred in number, being in arms, went up. And they themselves also came to the house of Micah. "And the five men," he says, "who had gone to spy out the land "of Laish answered and said to their brothers, 'Do you know that "in this house there is an Ephod and Teraphim and a graven image "and a molten image? And now know what you will do.'" Now Ephod is interpreted as redemption, and Teraphim again as release or one who heals them. For it was an idol, having a false notion about itself, that it was able to heal some. For sometimes the children of the Greeks invest handmade objects with such opinions. Having learned this, those from Dan take up the graven image, and they also persuade the one from the bloodline of Levi to follow them, departing from Micah. And having drawn up for battle and conquered, and having taken the land in hand, they built a city, which they named Dan, inscribing upon it the name of their forefather. For they were of the tribe and blood of Dan, as I said. And having also set up the idol in it, they brought sacrifices, and along with the land they also acquired a god. To this their mind was brought down by foolishness. For this reason God was henceforth indignant, and very rightly so, as having been insulted. Then, when it was necessary for all those of Israel to consider those from Dan as enemies and most hostile, and to demand an account for their impiety towards God, they perhaps even colluded with them, and saw fit to praise them, as having not sinned at all. And what wages came to them for this indifference, come, let us say in order. When Israel remained without a king, a certain Levite man, dwelling in the hill country of Ephraim, took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem. And when the woman ran away to her father, the Levite followed; and he persuades her again to return with him, and to be at home from then on. When this had happened, while going along the middle of the road, he lodged with the woman in Gibeah, which is interpreted as "hill." Now those from the tribe of Benjamin inhabited Gibeah, that is, the hill. And when he was lodging with a certain old man, lawless men from the tribe of Benjamin, coming in the middle of the night, as it is written, wanted to force both the Levite himself and others to lewdness. But having been shamed with difficulty out of the excess of their absurdity, they seize the Levite's concubine, and indeed they killed her, committing lewd acts against the woman all night long. And he, having divided the body into pieces, distributed it to those of the tribes of Israel, making manifest both the sin of those from the tribe of Benjamin against strangers, and their unbridled licentiousness; and that they had imitated the sins of the Sodomites. From this, all Israel, being indignant, was gathered together, and they marched against the tribe of Benjamin in Gibeah, that is, in the hill; and so they destroyed it, although it was very populous, so that very few who were saved barely escaped into the wilderness. And not a few of the fighting men from all Israel also perished. But God would not have allowed those of Israel to clash with each other, if those from Dan had not honored the graven image from Micah's house, and those from the other tribes had not been unreasonably quiet. Something of this sort also happened when God was grieved by the golden calves. For the two tribes of Judah and the ten of Ephraim clashed with each other; and as in the days of the hill, countless numbers fell, and the defeated were destroyed along with the victors, as divine wrath called them to this. And these things were done when Amaziah was reigning over Judah, and Joash over Israel, who so captured Jerusalem as to also tear down a part of the wall for four hundred cubits. I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, and I saw their fathers as the first-ripe fruit on the fig tree; they went in to Baal-peor, and were estranged into shame, and the beloved became as the detested. That their being destroyed did not happen to them in vain, but in justice, he now attempts to teach. For I, he says, chose them, as one finding grapes in a desert, and as one plucking a ripe fig from a fig tree; for I brought them out of the land of the Egyptians, which was entirely idolatrous and deluded, and suffering a great lack of every good thing. What then of the chosen ones, those snatched by my hand? They have attached themselves to Baal-peor, they have departed from intimacy with me into shame. This is the meaning of "they were estranged into shame." And he calls shame the Baal-peor. for he was in the most uncomely form of all the others, and indecent to behold. Therefore, loving to be with God, and honoring him as one who has called and chosen, and as one who has snatched from a desert and thorn-bearing land of the condition in this world, as having loved a grape and an early fig, we will preserve unbreakable the union with him, that is, clearly, the spiritual one. But if there should be some turning away to what is uncomely, and to what grieves him, we will in no way differ from the nations. for we who were loved will be as those who were detested who also have been reasonably hated. "For the righteousness, he says, of the righteous man "will not deliver him, in the day that he sins." and very wisely the blessed Paul writes "Therefore let him who "thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall." Ephraim has flown away like a bird. Such birds as are not tame and domesticated, when caught are kept, and delight their owners. but if an opportunity to escape should arise, without delay it departs, and is carried in swift flight to its accustomed habitat. Therefore Israel was hunted in a certain way through Moses like a bird, and was brought to God, and was in a good state of prosperity, being instructed by the law and enjoying the care and providence from above. But it flew away again to what it was in the beginning, all but escaping the hand of its captor. Or you will also understand what was said in another way. Many birds, not bearing the local winters, migrate to other lands, untaught, having the knowledge of what is beneficial, according to the will of the Creator. But in the same way Ephraim also, fearing the calamities from the war, flew away to the Egyptians. Their glories are from births and pangs and conceptions; because even if they should raise their children, they will be made childless from among men; because woe also is to them. Israel fled to the Egyptians, having left the one who bore it, and called upon the ruler of the country to assist it. Was it because God was weak, and not able to save them? Not at all; for the divine is all-powerful, and not unable to ward off the war of the Assyrians. It happened that those from Ephraim, that is, Israel, suffered such things, because, having abandoned God the Savior, and mocking as stale the idea of being proud in him and in him alone, they thought that on their own they would become terrible and invincible to their enemies, because they had expanded into a great multitude, and had an innumerable abundance of children. For their women gave birth according to the promise, and in the order of blessing, Moses having said before, "There shall not be a barren man or a barren woman among the sons of "Israel." But it was utterly foolish, on account of a multitude of bodies, to disregard the help from God; but they should rather have understood, thinking rightly, that with him and through him "one will chase a thousand, and two will move ten thousand." Therefore, he says, they pride themselves not in God rather, but make their glory the births and conceptions and pangs of their women. Let them know, therefore, that even if they should bear sons, and even if they should labor raising children, they will repent, having labored in vain. For they will in every way and altogether lament their childlessness. And the Babylonian sword will suffice to easily destroy all of their offspring. Because woe also is to them. This is as if he should say, When God casts woe upon them, who will bestow cheerfulness? "For if he shuts up a man, "who can open?" as it is written. "It is therefore a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God;" and it is necessary to appease the one who has been grieved with gentleness, and to seek salvation from him, trusting in no one, but rather crying out, "I will boast in God my Savior; "the Lord God is my strength." My flesh is from them. As God was threatening and indeed saying concerning Ephraim, that is, all of Israel, that it would be utterly destroyed, root and all, and would lament its childlessness, and would labor in vain in the rearing of its children, the prophet withdraws himself from the judgment, and prays to be outside of the wrath, saying My flesh is from them. and you will understand "from them," instead of far from them. For outside of them and far away, he says, may I myself be, and my entire race. For sometimes "flesh" also signifies race. For thus we will correctly interpret what was said through the voice of Paul. For he wrote thus: "But I say to you, the Gentiles: inasmuch therefore as I "am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry, if somehow "I might provoke my own flesh to jealousy and save some of them." It is a custom for the holy prophets, when they often see the accusations of some to be terrible and unbearable, to then separate themselves from their abomination. And so the prophet Jeremiah, seeing the Jews had fallen into so many accusations and had offended God, says, "O Lord "Almighty, I did not sit in the council of those who jest, "but I was in awe before your hand; I sat alone, "because I was filled with bitterness." Therefore, we must indeed marvel at the blessed Paul, when he commands us, saying, "Keep yourself pure, and do not share in the sins of others." Every pious person, therefore, might reasonably say concerning those who offend God and are about to be punished, My flesh is from them. Ephraim, as I saw, has presented his children as prey, and Ephraim to bring out his children for the slaughter. And now the prophet pronounces Ephraim, that is, Israel, wretched, saying that he himself has become the cause of his own childlessness and incurable disaster. For as I have seen, he says, both from your words, O Master, and from the events themselves, Ephraim himself has presented his own children for hunting and for slaughter. And he would not blame others for this, nor would he cry out against the divine wrath, if he should choose to think reasonably; but he will rather blame his own ill counsel and apostasy. For since he has grieved not moderately the God who defends and saves, he has all but willingly handed over his own seed with his own hand to the savagery of the nations, and has presented it for deportation and captivity. For this is "for hunting," and indeed also "for slaughter," that is, for massacre; for some of those from Israel the Babylonians killed, and others they carried away to their own land. Therefore, when we sin, thinking rightly we will blame ourselves rather, and not the divine wrath. For we have despised what is fitting, and have become slothful concerning what is pleasing to God. But it is necessary for the insolent and unbridled one to be punished, the one who all but says to the Master of all, "Depart from me, I do not wish to know your ways." Give them, O Lord; what will you give them? Give them a childless womb and dry breasts. If indeed, he says, those of Israel are not to know God, but are rather to be carried away toward a useless and unprofitable hope, and to think that they will overcome their enemies because of the multitude of their children, and that the fighting race among them is numerous, and for this reason it is not necessary for them to be helped by your hand, let the women among them not give birth at all. For this is the childless womb. And even if they should give birth, let them not be raised, that is, let them be destroyed before their time, and before they come to puberty, let the offspring fall. For with the arrogance that is in them from this cause thus being cut away, and the hope in the multitude of fighters being finally removed, they will have recourse to your mercy, and will acknowledge you as Savior and redeemer. But the prophet says such things even now out of love for God. And at the same time he seeks both the glory of his own Master, and the return out of necessity of those of the blood of Israel, if they do not have the fruit of a good choice. But a childless womb and dry breasts might be fittingly understood also for the workers of evil, and for everyone who deceives and leads astray from the straight path those who are accustomed to walk uprightly, in faith I mean, "and who go straight in their ways." For their mind giving birth to nothing, neither false word nor spurious doctrine, nor could they nourish in error their own children, I mean those in respect to learning, with the breasts of those who practice evil being dry churches, they would not become mothers of the deceived. All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them because of the wickedness of their doings; I will cast them out of my house, I will no longer love them. Again the God of all begins to recount the accusations, and he remembers Gilgal. This is a city, in which the handmade idols were worshipped in a most terrible and strange manner. And what he says is something like this again. For in many ways those of Israel are abominable; but one might see the excess of the worthlessness within them, having considered Gilgal. There I have seen all their wickedness, there I have hated them, not because of the place; for that is foolish; but rather hating the things that happened in it. Therefore, he says, I will banish them, and I will drive them from my court, and I will cast them out of my household. And having hated them justly, I will henceforth oppose them, and I would not change my mind again to choose ever to love those who have committed such sins. But I suppose someone will say, 'How then did he bring them back to Judea from the land of the Assyrians, or how did he release them from captivity?' Was he not changed to gentleness, and deemed them worthy of forbearance and love? Yes, I myself would say that the statement is true. For they have been shown mercy out of gentleness, admittedly. But those against whom the word was spoken went away into captivity, and have died in their judgment, after a long time had passed. And just as he promised through Moses in Egypt to those of Israel, to bring all of them into the land which he swore to their fathers, but some did not enter because they were disobedient, 'whose limbs also fell in the wilderness,' but rather the land was inherited by those born of them; so you will understand it here also. For those against whom the word was spoken have died, but at the appointed times those from among them returned to Judea, when Cyrus reluctantly permitted it, when their seventieth year of dwelling in a foreign land was fulfilled. But they will be cast out of the house of God, or rather have been cast out, both those who dared terrible things against Christ, and impieties beyond all reason, and those who loosed a bitter and blasphemous tongue against him; and they will endure an unchangeable wrath. For they are caught having behaved insolently not against one of the prophets, but against the very Lord of the prophets. Therefore, with their other sins which they have committed against themselves being passed over in silence, one might see all their wickedness and the excess of their depravity, as being in those things alone that were done against Christ. All their rulers are disobedient. Ephraim is afflicted; his roots are dried up, he shall bear no more fruit; wherefore even if they should bear children, I will slay the desired fruit of their womb. God will reject them, because they did not listen to him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations. He says that no one good, that is, obedient and tractable, was found among them, not small, not great, not a leader, not one under authority and subordinate. For this reason he strongly affirms that it must utterly perish, as if uprooted, having henceforth become like withered and stricken trees, which need only to be cut down, as if openly confessing their fruitlessness. And that it is fitting for fruitless trees to be cut down, the Savior himself also taught, commanding that the fig tree which had no fruit, as a type of the Jewish Synagogue, must be cut down; 'For why,' he says, 'does it even make the ground useless?' Therefore Israel, having been found fruitless, he says, would rightly be cut down; for it will not produce fruit. But even if this should happen, he says, I will destroy what is born from them. And this is the desired fruit of their womb. But I think it is also necessary to consider that point, what the matter of the statement is; and why does he say, that all their rulers are disobedient? For why at all did it require the submission of the rulers? Therefore the statement has a reference to a certain history of the ancients. And what this is, I will say again. Israel made a calf in the wilderness, when Moses was absent; for he had gone up on Mount Sinai, to receive the law. Then having come down, he was greatly grieved by the trespass, he smashed the calf, and he in a way appeased an indignant God by his own sincerity and virtue. For he fell down and begged, saying, "If you will forgive them "their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me also out of "this your book, which you have written." And God granted to the prophet clemency for all, and indeed he said, "I am merciful "to them according to your word." Do you see how much the love of God of the one presiding profited Israel, and one being sufficient on behalf of all to persuade God, through submission and obedience? Therefore he reasonably accuses Israel as having completely turned aside. and then having none of the leaders among them, to rebuke those who stumble, to turn them from error, that is, one able by his own brilliance in manner and virtue to turn away wrath, God having been entreated, just as indeed happened in the times of Moses, for this reason also he says they will be cast out and will be wanderers among the nations. This happened to them both then, when they were carried away to the Assyrians, and now no less, being detested for their outrageous deeds against Christ. For those from Israel continue in the world homeless and as strangers everywhere, and having no city. "For I will scatter them to every "wind," God also said through the holy prophets. If, therefore, we have a care and concern for intimacy with God, let us submit our neck to him, and let us approach Christ who says from good obedience, "Come to me "all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you "rest. Take my yoke upon you." For thus we will be both fruitful and unstricken, our root not withering, our fruit not falling to nothing, not wanderers and far from God, but near him and with him, and having the city that is above and in the heavens, the mother of the first-born, the nurse of the saints, the pure dwelling-place of the spirits above. A luxuriant vine is Israel, whose fruit is abundant; according to the multitude of his fruits he multiplied altars, and according to the goods of his land he built pillars. They have divided their hearts, now they shall be made to disappear; he himself shall tear down their altars, their pillars shall suffer. Having said that the roots of Ephraim were diseased, and that he would be fruitless and like those who have never borne at all, since the savagery of the Assyrians consumes what is born, he shows necessarily both what he was of old, and that he had been fruitful, when he wisely partook of the life in the law. For being seen by the surrounding nations like a beautiful and luxuriant vine, he was reasonably admired. And somewhere concerning it the blessed David says in the book of Psalms to the Savior God of all, "You brought a vine out of Egypt, you cast out nations and "planted it; you prepared the way before it. It "stretched out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the "rivers." For it was planted "on a horn "and in a fertile place," according to the voice of the prophet. But it did not produce grapes, but rather brought forth thorns. For with the multitude of good things given to it, it showed an injustice as it were concurrent and equal; and it is clear that this was against God. For he multiplied altars and built pillars; and as much as he abounded in the good things from above, so much was he eager for profanation, by worshipping demons and raising altars and as it were dividing his own heart into a polytheistic error. But he says these things will not be so; whence? For he himself will tear down their altars, and their pillars will suffer, that is, being smashed and pulled down. And you will wisely refer "he himself" either to the God who has power over all, or to the person of the Babylonian, as has already been shown many times. For it happened in the cities in Samaria that the temples themselves were burned down along with them, and the carved images were plundered. Therefore we ought, rejoicing in what we might have from God, to kindle the thank-offerings, and not in the breadth having slipped from cheerfulness, to be carried away somewhere toward what is discordant with him; but rather to seek and to hasten to accomplish, and very eagerly, the boasts of virtue, not being divided toward the passions in the world, and submitting the neck to Satan. For what Christ said is true, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other;" but if we are divided, we will also be "portions for foxes," according to the voice of the psalmist; and we shall be in every way and altogether in want of him who knows how to make us glad. Therefore now they will say, We have no king, because we did not fear the Lord. And what will the king do for us? Speaking words, false pretexts, he will make a covenant. He said not only that their altars would be shaken, and their pillars would suffer affliction, but adds that they will also repent and lament over their own evil counsels. And having missed their hope, and been deceived by the falsehoods of their rulers, late and with difficulty will they understand. For those among them who administered the thrones of the kingdom used to say that the golden heifers and the security from other idols would be sufficient for their aid, even if they did not have the divine law, even if they did not choose to do the things through Moses. But experience has shown them to be speaking falsely. For they have seen those who long ago arranged such things for them, and spoke foolishly, fall under the hand of enemies. For this reason they say, We have no king, because we did not fear the Lord. For behold, behold, they say, there is no one to defend us, that is, to stand against the invasions of the Babylonians; but all have become weak, the leaders are undone and have fallen. And the pretext of the weakness for them and for us is not having feared the Lord. What then is the benefit from the rulers? he says. There was nothing then in them, except false words, and the vanity of covenants, that is, of promises. For it is a custom in the divine scripture to call promises covenants. It is wise therefore and full of all praise, to trust rather in God, and not to be carried away by the words of deceivers to the point of offending God, but rather prudently to depart from wrath before experiencing it, and not to lament late after suffering, coming with difficulty to unprofitable afterthought. Judgment shall spring up as couch grass upon the fallow of a field for the calf of the house of On. Couch grass grows in fields, especially in unplowed and fallow ones, and it seizes, and very vigorously, the chance neighboring land. For it somehow spreads out widely, and is moreover difficult to combat for those who wish to check its ever-onward course beyond the adjacent lands. Judgment therefore, he says; and it is clear that it is from God himself; just as couch grass springs up on a fallow field for the calf of the house of On. It is as if he should say: A decree of destruction and a punishing nod will be from me, and it will seize like couch grass upon the calf, that is, of the objects of worship of the existing temple in Bethel. For this is what the house of On signifies. For other interpreters have again rendered it, of the calf of the house of Bethel; but the Seventy, instead of the house of Bethel, have said the house of On. And we have already stated the reason above, but we will not hesitate to remind you. For the Egyptians in their myth-making said that the Apis was a child of the moon, and an offspring of the sun. And according to them, On is the sun. And the heifer which Jeroboam made was a type of the Apis among the Egyptians. Therefore, like couch grass seizing, he says, and overcoming all that lies nearby, judgment will come from me upon the calf of the house of On, that is, Bethel. For the divine is always all-powerful, and to its nods nothing will be able to resist. "For who will turn back the high hand?" according to what is written. The inhabitants of Samaria shall sojourn, because his people mourned for him; and as they provoked him, they shall rejoice over his glory. Behold, he now makes clear the judgment that seizes the calf, and of couch grass punishment is wont to be extended, against whomever God wishes; and now he recalls a story, which it is necessary to tell; for thus, and not otherwise, shall we understand what is prophesied. It was the custom for all idol-worshippers, when time was pressing and enemies were at hand, if they came to be in need of money, to lay hands even on the votive offerings in the sacred precincts. It is written, therefore, in the Books of Kings, that when the king of Syria was besieging the cities in Samaria, Menahem, who was at that time ruling over Israel, then being unable to oppose him with equal forces, sent an embassy to Pul, the king of the Assyrians, and with gifts persuaded him to come to his aid and to make the Syrian withdraw, which indeed was also accomplished. For that one took Damascus by force, and he also slays Ader himself. They say, then, that when a very great weight of gold was sought, matters came to such a necessity for Menahem that he even took one golden calf and sent it along with the ambassadors. And Israel indeed lamented, seeing sent away that which it considered to be a god. Yet he thought, consoling himself with cold reasonings, that it would be in greater and more splendid temples that the Babylonian would enthrone it. And besides these things, he was disposed to think that it would be worshipped also by more nations; for countless are the nations of the Persians and Medes. Menahem, therefore, sent the calf as if it were entirely of gold through and through; but Pul, upon taking it, smashed it to pieces; for among them the object of worship is different, and they do not tolerate a calf. Then, they say, it was found not to be golden, but rather bronze underneath, gilded over with gold. From this, he says, the Assyrian laughed at Ephraim, that is, Menahem who was ruling from the tribe of Ephraim. And in addition to this, he despised the foolish counsels of Israel. Having therefore related the account of the history, that is, of the Hebrew tradition, let us now of necessity run through the text; for the composition of the saying is very difficult to perceive and extremely troublesome. He said therefore that the inhabitants of Samaria will sojourn; the word "will sojourn," instead of "will be removed," that is, they who are now in Samaria will be removed, he says; and he speaks of the calves, or the heifers. For they were sent away, as I said, to the Babylonians. And his people indeed mourned over them. But whose "his"? Is it not clear that it is of the "being," that is, of Apis? Nevertheless, just as they were seen, he says, provoking and dishonoring it by sending it to others, so also they will rejoice over its glory. For they will think that it will be very much more famous, being worshipped by more nations. But they have missed their hope; for it was shattered, and it was an occasion of laughter for the Babylonians. Therefore their monument has suffered miserably according to the voice of the prophet himself. And they provoked the calf, not that it was provoked in truth; for how could insensible matter have suffered this? But because the force of their undertakings would have angered it, if it were truly God and had the sensation to suffer the things that happened. For it was removed from him, and they carried it away bound to the Assyrians as a gift to king Jareb; in a gift Ephraim will receive, and Israel will be ashamed of its counsel. The prophetic word interprets itself for us. For what it has said obscurely, this it attempts to make clear. For the calf was removed from Israel, and having bound it; and the word is being witty; they carried it away as a gift to king Jareb, that is, to an avenger. For he was called for aid, and as it were to avenge Samaria which was being destroyed by the Syrians. But Pul will receive the calf as in a gift from Ephraim. And by Ephraim he means the king of Israel. Nevertheless, he says that Israel will be ashamed of its own counsels. For because, as I said, it had turned away from the all-powerful God, and chose rather to worship calves, it was ridiculous, and was caught having fallen into an old-womanish and cold and unprofitable foolish counsel. Therefore the prophet, or rather God, speaks the truth, if he should say through of the voice of the saints concerning those who have served the works of their own hands, "Behold that their heart is ashes and they go astray." But the saying would also be fitting for those who pervert the correct doctrines of the Church. For just as the heifer, being ground to powder, exposed the foolish counsel of Israel, so too their doctrines, being ground down by investigations and shattered by the power of the truth, will be for the shame and dis- grace of those who composed them, and impiously devised them, and most foolishly receive them into their mind and heart. Samaria has cast off her king like a twig upon the face of the water, and the high places of On, the sins of Israel, shall be destroyed; thorns and thistles shall come up on their altars. This again would easily show both the instability and the unseemliness of the manner of those of Israel, that is, of those in Samaria, even concerning those whom they supposed to be gods. And it is no wonder. For those who impiously insulted the one and true God, God by nature, with apostasies and with running away to everything that is most shameful, how could they have become genuine concerning many and falsely-named gods made of stones or wood? He says, therefore, that the calf was cast off by those in Samaria, the one in glory among them of both God and king; and that it was cast off in such a way, as if a twig, having fallen into the eddies of the waters, would then be carried away to wherever seemed best to those pushing it away. And that the shrines will perish along with their objects of worship, and the altars will be destroyed, and they will become places of thorns, with their whole land having been ravaged—how could it be doubtful? But he calls the altars the sins of Israel, and very appropriately, as they were impiously raised as a memorial of their impiety toward God; and again by On, he named Apis, that is, the heifers in Bethel and Dan, for whose glory the altars also were. Therefore, what God does not establish, this will in every way and altogether be destroyed. And I suppose that what was clearly said through another prophet indicates something of this sort: "They shall build, and I will tear down." And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us. The carved images were not worshipped in the two cities alone, I mean Dan and Bethel, but here were the golden heifers, and on the mountains and the hills, the objects of worship of the neighboring nations: Baal, Beelphegor, Astarte, and Chemosh. Therefore, through these words he indicates that not only will the altars of On be shaken down, that is, of Apis, or of the heifers, but that in every way and altogether the shrines on the hills and mountains will also fall. For their affairs will be reduced to such a state of misery and terror, that they would choose rather to be under the mountains and hills themselves, than to live to see what they were necessarily, and not willingly, to suffer. But it must be known that Christ himself, announcing to the Jews the calamities that would be brought upon them because of their outrages against him, used the same words. "For then," he says, "you will say to the mountains, Cover us; and "to the hills, Fall on us." For evils that have reached their limit, and the excesses of terrors, although death is bitter, sometimes show it to be most desirable to the many. Therefore, indeed, to the very mountains and hills, in which were the false worships, and where the crimes of impiety against God were committed, he says they will all but say, Fall on us, and anticipate the savagery of the Babylonian sword, and the inglorious and unbearable misery of the captivity. From the time of the hills, Israel has sinned; there they stood. War shall not overtake them on the hill; he has come to chasten them for the children of iniquity; and peoples shall be gathered against them when they are chastened for their two iniquities. He says that the apostasy which took place on the mountains and hills is older than the error concerning the heifers. And indeed, when the ten tribes had taken Samaria, having shaken off the yoke of the kingdom of Rehoboam, then Jeroboam brought in the heifers; in But those in Jerusalem practiced the error in the mountains and on the hills, as Solomon yielded and consented to foreign women, at that time also raising altars and finally precincts for their objects of worship. From the time, therefore, that the hills were devised and the playthings on them, and the false worships, from that time Israel has given offense. And this would be a not-unclear indication of the divine gentleness, which does not endure to punish the impious in a long time, but rather holds back and awaits perhaps the repentance of those who have gone astray. But they were harsher and were found suffering from even worse things. For they added to the hills also the inventions concerning the heifers. And sacrificing to demons in mountains and on hills, and seeming to be pious concerning vain things, perhaps they also thought to themselves, or rather even steadfastly believed, that they would be established in the certainty of prosperity, and would be better than their opponents, and unconquerable by their enemies. And this is a customary sickness for those who go astray. And indeed when they went down into Egypt, after Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonian, the prophet Jeremiah advised them to abstain from sacrificing to idols, so that there might be some mercy upon them from God who is able to save. But they claimed to have fallen into terrible things for this reason, that they had ceased being willing to fulfill the customary rites, and were convicted of neglecting the honor for vain things. And it is written thus: "And all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other "gods, and all the women, a great assembly, and all "the people dwelling in the land of Egypt, in the land of Pathros, "answered Jeremiah, saying, 'The word which you have spoken to us in the name "of the Lord, we will not hear. For we will surely do every "word that shall go forth from our mouth, to burn incense "to the queen of heaven, and to pour out libations to her, "as we have done, we, and our fathers and our kings "and our rulers in the cities of Judah, and "outside Jerusalem; and we were filled with bread, and we were "well, and saw no evil. And when we left off "burning incense to the queen of heaven, we all were diminished, "and perished by the sword and by famine.'" He accuses, therefore, those of Israel of both their frivolous talk and the rottenness of their hope, and he says concerning the hills, that there they stood, that is, that just as they themselves say, or rather think to themselves, by worshiping the carved images there, they have held the security of prosperity, and have stood in unshakable good things. And as they think again, that which is accustomed to cause any grief at all will not seize them on the hill, if they should choose to fulfill the customary rites for the carved images. But he says they have been deceived and have missed the mark of their hope. For war has come upon them, being children of injustice, and through experience itself they will be disciplined, that their unbridled will is bitter. And who would they be, the ones through whom their disciplines will come? A very great assembly of enemies. For this is what it is: 'peoples will be gathered against them,' and the terrible things from the war will certainly happen, when they are disciplined for their two injustices. And what these are, he showed us more clearly through the voice of Jeremiah, saying, "Heaven was astonished at this, and "shuddered much more exceedingly, says the Lord, because two "evil things my people have done: they have forsaken me, a spring "of living water, and have dug for themselves broken cisterns, "which will not be able to hold water." Ephraim is a heifer that has been taught to love victory, but I will come upon the beauty of her neck; I will mount Ephraim, and I will pass over Judah in silence. He compares Ephraim to a calf, very harsh and arrogant, and not knowing how to be checked from its own impulse, which it might happen to make for any reason, that is, not tolerating being tamed, but rather always seeking to win, and to rush with unreproved impulses toward what seems good to it. But even if it is such, he says, it will yield and not willingly. for it will be subdued by the with the onsets of calamities, God bringing them under the yoke, and all but working this Himself, and paralyzing the beauty of its neck, that is, the part in Israel that was especially rebellious. This was the kingdom among them, provoking to apostasy the peoples under their hand. Therefore it will be cast down, with God weighing it down. For I think this is what is indicated by "I will ride upon Ephraim." But he says providentially, that "I will pass over Judah in silence," instead of, "I will postpone Judah for a little while," not submitting them to punishments; not yet bringing on the things that come from wrath; but rather persevering, and gently yielding. And for what reason? For Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, as I have already said, have completely inclined to choosing to fulfill the works of error; but the two tribes in Jerusalem, I mean Judah and Benjamin, have often been under upright and pious kings, who cast down the trinkets of idolatry, who persuaded them to live reasonably and lawfully; such was Amaziah son of Joash, a pious and just man; likewise Hezekiah, he too admired equally with the aforementioned, zealous and beloved of God. For this reason the ten tribes suffered captivity first; but when the Babylonian campaigned against Jerusalem, he did no harm, but rather went away to his own land, a fugitive and in great fear, at which time also fell in one night by the hand of an angel one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. Since God, then, is forbearing, and bears our weaknesses, let us not be indolent, nor be taken captive by falling back with regard to the need to fulfill the things that seem good and dear to Him. Jacob shall be strong against him. I said that the Assyrian, having campaigned against the multitude under his hand, and having removed all of Samaria, and having burned both the cities themselves and the temples, after this besieged Jerusalem, but in no way took it, since God was its defender. For by an angel in one night one hundred eighty-five thousand were destroyed. This, I think, he now announces beforehand, saying, "Jacob will be strong against him." Against whom, then? Is it not clear that it is against Rabshakeh, who was about to besiege? And he has called "Jacob" those of the blood of Jacob, I mean Judah and Benjamin. The phrase could also go, if one should choose, against all of Israel. Again, the meaning of the prophecy seems to refer us to the memory of an older matter, with God all but fulfilling the promise to the divine Jacob. For when, as a man, he had wrestled with him in the night, beyond the torrent Jabbok, then when dawn finally came, and the day was breaking, God wished to depart, saying, "Let me go, for the dawn has come up," but he said he would not let him go, unless he blessed him, he heard then, "Because you have prevailed with God, and with men you will be powerful." This perhaps the word of prophecy signifies to us for the present, most clearly setting forth the phrase, "Jacob shall be strong against him." But observe the precision of the promise; for not that Jacob will overpower the Assyrians, but "he will be strong," it says; for he was strong in God, not through himself.

Book 6

Sow for yourselves unto righteousness, reap unto the fruit of life, enlighten for yourselves the light of knowledge, seek the Lord until the fruits of righteousness come to you. The manner of exhortation is ever twofold. For either, by explaining the punishment that will befall those who wish to be indolent, we are accustomed to frighten them away and very sternly toward choosing to live splendidly; or, by announcing the honors prepared for the decent, we make those who are being instructed more eager for the need to proceed hereafter to the better and more lawful life. The God of all is doing something of this kind now as well. For he has threatened those who have gone astray with wars, the calamities, the leading into captivity to foreigners, the burnings of cities, the savagery of the combatants. But he does not stop the word of exhortation at this point, but behold, again, he also helps them in another way, and indeed, having forsaken what is useless and the cause of all their misery, he bids them choose what is by nature most beneficial, just like farmers, sowing for righteousness, and harvesting for the fruit of life. For as the blessed Paul writes, "Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." And "He who sows evil things will reap evil things," according to what is written; but the worker of righteousness will be full of salvation and life, brilliant and enviable, and will gather in the wine "that makes glad the heart of man." And besides this, those who wish to be well-pleasing must house in their mind and heart the light of true knowledge, which those who worship "the creation rather than the Creator" do not have. And how one might be able to sow for righteousness, and indeed also to harvest for the fruit of life, and to receive the brilliant light of knowledge, he himself indicated, adding: Seek the Lord until the fruits of righteousness come to you. And God would be sought by us, not locally; for this is foolish, since the divine is not in a place; but as in a disposition of soul, and in the eagerness of a mind that has assented to everything whatsoever that is pleasing to Him, and looks to a right and polished knowledge, which has no cause for reproach from any quarter. For having thus found him, we will also be enriched with the possession of other good things. Or does Christ not speak the truth when He says, "Without me you can do nothing?" But I think this is in no way doubtful to those accustomed to think rightly. For this is our possession of every good thing with God, and through God, and from God. One might say, and very reasonably, that *sow for yourselves for righteousness* and what follows it, is not only for the worshipers of idols, but also for those who turn away from the right faith, adhering rather to "deceitful spirits, "in the hypocrisy of demons, whose consciences are seared," as, at any rate, the most wise Paul writes. These sow indeed by engaging in labors for knowledge and learning; but not for works of righteousness, but for injustice and impiety, "Deceiving and being deceived," and "Wounding the weak conscience of the brothers, for whom Christ died." Therefore, they do not harvest for the fruit of life; from where? But for punishment and judgment. And at any rate Christ said, that "Whoever "causes one of these little ones who believe "in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around "his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the "sea." Therefore, let them love the truth; this is the light of knowledge; thus God is sought; from this, fruits of righteousness will spring up for them unto life; and wine will also be harvested, not physical, but rather spiritual and through the Spirit, which gladdens both heart and mind. Why have you been silent about impiety, and harvested its injustices, eaten false fruit? because you trusted in your chariots, in the multitude of your power, and destruction will rise up among your people, and all your walled cities will be gone. Again he accuses them, as having chosen from pleasure in wickedness to be quiet about things they should have least been quiet about, and as having been most unwisely silent about things at which it was likely God was not moderately grieved. For it was necessary, he says, with all strength to thrust away impiety towards me and to rebuke those who advise shameful things, and doing this to be in every good thing, they were silent, they accepted the ways of error; there was not among them one who stood against those who innovated those things, not setting against them the things from the law, and bringing to remembrance what had been decreed. For it is written, "You shall have no other gods besides "me;" and again, "You shall not make for yourself an idol." But they had very little regard for these things at all. For they were silent, honoring impiety, that is, apostasy. Therefore they have harvested the fruits of their injustice in this matter, they have eaten a false fruit, that is, they have held a hope that is both fragile and unprofitable. For the true fruit, which is able to save and to benefit, is love for God, and the boasts of righteousness; but a false fruit would reasonably be understood as that of impiety; for it certainly brings down to an abominable end. What, then, is the false fruit that has come to them from their impiety, He immediately showed. For He adds, Because you hoped in your chariots, in the multitude of your power, destruction shall rise up among your people, and all your fortified places shall be gone. For you have acted impiously, not moderately, He says, having served wood and stones, and having dishonored the one God who is so by nature and in truth. Then, when war was announced, and had already come even within your gates, you did not seek help from Me, but you took courage in your own powers and in the multitude of your chariots, and you supposed you would overcome the strength of the enemy, the solicitude and aid of your falsely named gods being sufficient for you for this. This shall be a false fruit for you. For there will be destruction against the peoples, and every brilliant and well-fortified city will be shaken down. For what God does not establish, will in every way and entirely fall. Let these things be said also by us, or rather by God, to those who wish to attend to the unholy heretics, and who pretend to be disciples of things pertaining to life and understanding. These men pass over impiety in silence. For they endure hearing those who blaspheme, although they owe it to make the greatest possible denunciation against them. They will therefore indeed share in their own ill counsel, and will reap the fruits of injustice. for they will eat falsehood, receiving spurious and rejected knowledge, and being taught perverted things, and whatever attempts to counterfeit the beauty of the truth. And that all their power will fall, with God overthrowing it, and they will go to ruin and destruction, how could anyone doubt? As the ruler Salmana from the house of Jerubbaal, in the days of war dashed a mother to the ground upon her children; so will I do to you, O house of Israel, because of your evils. In the book of Judges it is written that Israel turned aside after the Baalim from time to time. For this reason they offended God, and were delivered into the hands of Midian, for seven whole years. And they endured such harsh oppression from their conquerors, that they even lived in rocks, and were saved only with difficulty by hiding in them, and making the difficult places a fortress, because they were utterly exhausted for battle. It happened therefore that from time to time those who fell into the hands of the Midianites were cruelly killed, so that children perished together with their wretched mothers, all mercy having been removed. And their rulers were Oreb and Zeeb, and Zebah and Salmana. And the calamity was prolonged until God, having pitied the afflicted Israel, raised up Gideon, who was also renamed Jerubbaal by his father and the locals, for such a reason. For when God had instructed him by the voice of an angel, he pulled down the pillar of Baal, and cut down his grove, secretly and by night. But when the inhabitants of the town, hastening at dawn to perform their usual rites, were present in the sacred precinct, and saw Baal thrown down, and the oak grove fallen upon him, they at once suspected the piety of Gideon, and ascribed the cause of the matter to him. Then they went to his father, saying, Give us your son, that we may kill him, "because he has pulled down Baal." To this he replied; "Will you," he says, "avenge Baal? If he is a god, let him plead his own case against the one who pulled him down." From this, Gideon was henceforth renamed Jerubbaal, which is interpreted "Let Baal plead." Just as, then, he says, Salmana, the leader of the Midianite multitude, from the house of Gideon, that is, of Jerubbaal, dashed a mother upon her children, in this very same way the general of the Assyrians cruelly and inhumanly, and without any pity he will use war against you, and will dash the mother to the ground with her children. And these things will happen because of your wickedness. For he does not punish in vain, being a righteous judge, the God of all. But if the sins of those who have offended him should then extend beyond measure, then he brings on them accordingly the things that come from wrath. If then we would avert his anger, we must first avert very well both sinning, and, as it were, provoking to indignation the divine and most gentle nature, and perhaps even forcing it unwillingly to this by the excess of our offenses. But it must be known that some of the preceding commentators say that it was not Shalman, the ruler of the Midianites, who dashed the mother upon the children, from the house of Jerubbaal, that is, of Israel; for sometimes the whole is signified by the leaders; but rather that Gideon dashed the mother upon the children in the house of Shalman. But I think the other would be better, and have support from what is fitting, and not this rather. For just as at that time, when Israel inclined to the Baalim, the children were dashed along with their mothers among them by the hand of foreigners, so also now that Ephraim has turned aside to idolatry, the children will be dashed again by the hand of barbarians, that is, of the Assyrians, along with those who bore them. I think, therefore, that the argument is plausible, and will better preserve the similarity, as from an ancient image, to more recent events, if the force of the preceding is understood in this way. In the morning they were cast off. The king of Israel was cast off. Again, the other interpreters, and indeed also the Hebrew writing, have clearly said that they were cast off as in the morning, signifying by this that Israel had fallen away from fellowship with God, as it were, in a very short time, that is, quickly and without delay. For the time of the morning is very brief; for as soon as the light of day begins to dawn, it makes the morning; but when the sun has risen and sent forth its first ray, it is immediately dissolved and has passed away. Therefore, as in the morning, that is, in a little, and brief, and very contracted time, they were cast off together with their leaders. For we shall either understand it thus, or we shall take it in another way. For when God does not yet bring punishments upon human offenses, or even makes the extension of his forbearance longer, it is not at all unlikely to compare him to those who sleep at night. And indeed the blessed Prophets have cried out to us in many ways, signifying this very thing. For the most wise Jeremiah says, "Be not as a man sleeping, or as a man who is not able to save;" and the divine psalmist at one time says, "Awake, why do you sleep, O Lord? Arise and do not cast off forever;" and at another time, seeing him awakened for the help of some, says, "And the Lord awoke as one sleeping." He seems, then, to call the morning the time of his, as it were, watchfulness over them; for in the morning we rise from sleep. Therefore, when God is watchful over them, and, as it were, now awakened to visit what they have done, they will become cast off and rejected; although because of his very great forbearance he, as it were, even slumbered over them, in the time that has already passed. And he says that the king was also cast off with the multitudes, since the kingdom of Ephraim would very soon be taken away from their midst. For having returned, as I said, to Judea after the time of the captivity, they all came under one king, just as, of course, both in the beginning and before the times of the captivity. For those from the tribe of Judah reigned in Jerusalem, while all of Israel still existed. Because Israel was a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called his children. As I called them, so they went away from my face. In these things the argument seems to us to be contending against an objection from some people. For let someone be conceived of as considering that, or even saying openly: If they were going to fall away, and from the face of God, those of the blood of Israel were to become in due time, and to be both abominable and hated, why were they even called in the beginning? To these things God, and very fittingly, explains in a certain way, saying, Israel is a child and I loved him, and out of Egypt I have summoned his children. Jacob, he says, was an unfeigned man, who was renamed Israel. For this reason I loved him; for while they were still in the womb, "Jacob I have loved," He says; "but Esau I have hated." Since, therefore, I have loved him, for this reason I also delivered his children from the oppression of the Egyptians. "For I show mercy to thousands of those who love me." What then of those honored and chosen on account of their fathers, those honored by the grace of freedom, and delivered from slavery and toils? Have they shown honor? Have they been eager to gladden with good will the God who protected them? By no means, he says. For they have run away from the Master, they have departed from the one who honored them, they have insulted the one who called them. And how have they departed? Was it one by one and a few at a time, having slipped from right thinking, and being seduced by certain deceits? Not at all. For they departed in the same way as they were indeed called, that is, as a whole multitude and by tribes, every clan and every household. For so they went out of the land of the Egyptians in due course. And we remember that when Pharaoh was scarcely promising to let Israel go, and wished to learn about the multitude departing from him, saying clearly, "Who are they that are going?" Moses answered, "With our young men and with our elders we will go, with our sons and daughters, and our sheep and our cattle." Therefore the call was by whole tribes and by multitude, by clan and by household; and in the same manner was the apostasy, the ugliness of which he particularly signifies when he says *they departed from my face*. For those whom the Master of all might choose to hate, He would not even visit, I mean according to that which is sung in the psalms, "Look upon me and have mercy on me." For it is written that "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous;" and He Himself somewhere says "And on whom shall I look, but on the humble and the quiet, and him who trembles at my words?" They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images. And I bound Ephraim's feet, I took him up in my arm, and they did not know that I heal them in the corruption of men. I drew them with the bonds of my love. He shows the immeasurable and god-fitting gentleness inherent in him. For to bestow good things on those who have already believed and acknowledged him and have chosen to worship him alone would have a fitting reason, and the matter would not be beyond what is likely; for one honors, if he should choose to act rightly, one who is already his own and who has run to him; but to appear as the provider of every good thing even to the profane who do not yet know him would have an excess of philanthropy and wonder, and a truly god-fitting demonstration of gentleness. Therefore the Savior himself also said, pitying our condition and, as God, bestowing a mercy in no way fitting for the lovers of sin, at one time that "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick," and at another time again, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." And the most wise Paul also greatly marvels at the incomparable forbearance of God who rules over all, and says that "Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am first." They, therefore, he says, that is, those of Israel, were wandering in Egypt, they did not yet know the true God, me; but rather they were detected bringing sacrifices to the Baals, that is, to the idols, burning incense to the carved images, that is, to the objects of worship of the natives. But I, since I am kind and good, although Ephraim was in such a state of perversity—that is, Israel as a whole, as is indicated here by one tribe—I bound his feet, he says. And what this is, He Himself clarified, saying, I took him up in my arm. But the a similarity of the matter, as from what is done with infants. For those who take up small babies in their hands, as it were, bind their feet, bringing their feet together. For I think the thighs and knees of everyone who is seated must be drawn together; this is what "I bound his feet" means; just as it is indeed written about Abraham, that he bound the feet of Isaac his son, when he expected to sacrifice him to God. But it is necessary to know that the edition of the Hebrews, and indeed that of the others, does not have "I bound his feet"; but they have rather put "I have become as a nursing-father to Ephraim." Therefore, I was such to them, but they did not know, that is, they did not understand, they did not perceive that by destroying others among them I bring about their correction. For this is what "I heal them by the destruction of men" means; for the Egyptians were first destroyed by the ten plagues, since Pharaoh would not relent. And after the plagues of the Egyptians, the Hittites, Hivites and Amorites, Canaanites and Jebusites were destroyed, whom Israel, having conquered by force, has inherited the land of promise, since God cleared every steep place for them, and bestowed the ability to overpower their enemies. Therefore, he says, they do not perceive that by destroying men of the same race as them, I set their affairs in order. And I stretched them, that is, I bound them fast and held them as in bonds of love. But if they had been wise, they would surely have understood and reasoned among themselves, why these nations were destroyed by God, and we were brought in to replace them. For understanding thus, that I have hated the sinner, and I do not take into account the worshiper of demons, they would perhaps have ceased from choosing to do similar things. Therefore, it is necessary for those who wish to please God with sound reasoning and a good mind to make the wrath upon others a cause for their own security. But it is altogether terrible that the matter of ingratitude is, and how one who has fallen into this disease, having been convicted of all absurdities, would be justly punished, and from this it is easy for us to see. For the ungrateful man, he says, is as a blasphemer. And I will be to them as a man slapping his jaws; and I will look upon him, I will be able to help him. For since He said that He had loved and taken Ephraim into his arms as an infant, and bound him as if in bonds of love, although he was still profane and sinful, for this reason He says He will also turn him back when he sins; "For whom the "Lord loves, he chastens, and scourges every son whom he "receives." But see how He promises that the manner of rebuke will not be devoid of God-befitting gentleness. For He says that the motions against them will be equal to slaps on the jaw by the hand of a man. This would be understood as the motion of a father, who mixes that which comes from wrath with forbearance and love, and as it were, gently, and scarcely striking with his hand, so that he may not be entirely unreproved. And since He has loved, He also promises to look upon him. For He deems worthy of His oversight those whom He chooses to honor, and He is able towards us, managing with God-befitting skill and power those who choose to be sick with disobedience. For if He does not help by persuading, He of necessity turns them to choose to do the better thing, and by afflictions drives them toward that which is most beneficial for us and necessary for salvation. Let therefore the God of all hear from us, "O Lord, in a little affliction is your "chastisement to us;" this is the slap; and again, "Chasten us, O Lord, but in judgment and not in wrath, "lest you make us few." For to be chastened is not bitter to those who are of a right mind; but to be punished in wrath is both terrible and hard to bear, and rather the matter is full of destruction. Ephraim dwelt in the land of Egypt, and Ashur himself was his king, because he would not return; and the sword grew weak in his cities, and it ceased in his hands. And they shall eat of their own counsels. That in every way and altogether, to be estranged from God, having refused to unrestrainedly choose to do evil things, and in some way to be insolent with disobedience, even though He was calling him to salvation, the blessed Paul will clarify, saying, "See to it, brothers, that you do not refuse Him who calls;" and it will be no less manifest through the things set before us. For, he says, the all-wretched Ephraim, having abandoned the land that bore him, made that of the Egyptians his own, as it were, fearing the calamities of war. And he came to be under Assur himself, and he brought his neck under foreign scepters; for he slipped into this misery. And if anyone should ask the cause, he will hear the One who knows all things saying: Because he was not willing to return. For when God proposed amnesty and commanded him to go, as it were, without looking back, and thus to return to what seemed good to Him, turning from worthlessness and leaping out of the pits of idolatry, he was terribly negligent and was not willing to return. For this reason, then, he was captured, and came under the hand of those who hated him. For the sword grew weak in his cities, and it ceased in his hands, that is, in no city of Ephraim was any man found who was skilled in battle and able to wield a sword. For the hands of those accustomed to hold it were paralyzed and, as it were, loosened. But since they have both thought and done evil things against themselves, they will eat the fruits of their own ill counsel. It is a bitter thing, therefore, to dare to dishonor the one who saves by acts of disobedience, and even if it were possible for some to escape transgressions through the gentleness of God, to be negligent is not without penalty. For we shall dwell in Egypt, that is, we shall be altogether and in every way exiles and wanderers, and not by leaving the physical land and migrating to another, but by leaving the inheritance of the saints. And we shall also be under Assur, that is, the ruler of this age, and under him we shall lie as slaves and captives, submitting to his will, on account of the weakening and cessation of the sword among us. For it is not, it is not possible for those who love sin to be able to take up "the full armor of God," "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." And you will understand the sword as, so to speak, the most warlike and God-loving movement of our mind, which, by bringing forth against the passions and setting against the devilish evils, we travel the pious and blameless path, and we place upon our own heads the boasts of the evangelical way of life. And his people hanging from his dwelling; and God will be angered at his precious things, and will not exalt him. The meaning of the preceding is utterly inexpressible, and the composition of the words is rough, and it would require much clarification for those who wish to understand. But what it wishes to signify, in brief, is this. Ephraim, he says, went away to the Egyptians, and came to be under the king, Assur. Then, as if someone were inquiring and saying, 'For what reason and in what way was it permitted to suffer, or how did Israel come to be enslaved to foreigners?' he sets forth the reasons in order, and says, first, that "he was not willing to return;" for with gentleness being offered, he was captured, he says, being in this regard negligent and disobedient; then, that "the sword also grew weak in his cities." For there was not, as I said, anyone to stand against the Assyrians, or renowned in tactics, as God paralyzed their fighting spirit, and perhaps shook even the one exceedingly strong in battles with cowardice. And there is another cause for his falling under Assur. And what is it? For the people, that is, Ephraim, all but hung from him, that is, from Assur, and wished to depart from his dwelling to that of the Persians and Medes. And we certainly do not say that Ephraim himself would have wished to suffer this, but insofar as it came to what he had transgressed, he all but sought to suffer such terrible things, since, when it was possible to escape the wrath by choosing to turn to better and more fitting things, he all but hung from Assur, and the one that bore him leaving, that is, his own dwelling, he foolishly longed to go to that one's, although God had declared that He would in every way and entirely bring such things upon him, if he would not choose to repent. But since they slipped from this purpose, God will be angered at his precious ones. The precious and select and prominent ones of the peoples, namely, kings and leaders, who were also carried away with the common herd, pitiful and slaves, and in the rank of captives, because they have led astray those under their hand, and have become a snare to those who, if they themselves had willed it, were able to hasten on the straight path. For the leader always guides the subordinate. Therefore, they will be humble and cast off, although they had possessed the greatest glory. For glory is always attached to the thrones of the kingdom. But God would not exalt them. For the kingdom of Ephraim has ceased, as I have already said many times. Therefore, we especially who are in Christ must be on our guard against the inclination towards evil things, especially when God is holding us back; or if we do not do this, we will willingly place the yoke of the devil upon ourselves, all but hanging from love for him, and proceeding with all eagerness to be under him henceforth, and to fulfill what seems good to him. But if this should happen, we will provoke God, and so henceforth we will be humble, having a low and trodden-down mind, as God weakens us and does not endure to raise us up with courage for what is good. How shall I deal with you, Ephraim? Shall I protect you, Israel? How shall I deal with you? I will make you as Admah and as Zeboiim. My heart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred up together. I will not act according to the anger of my wrath, I will not abandon Ephraim to be blotted out, because I am God and not man; the Holy One in you. He introduced the reproaches, showing that in every way and entirely the sharpest wrath ought henceforth to be brought upon them for having done unholy things, and having been impious against God beyond measure, so that no manner of sparing was any longer left for them. But since He is good, the source and origin of gentleness, He checks the impulse, not rebuking it as having arisen irrationally, perhaps, from a better consideration; for the divine and ineffable nature would never miss the thoughts or actions most fitting for it; but, as it were, holding back what is according to their deserts, and through gentleness preventing what is most fitting for them, that is, utter destruction, and their needing to be dug up as from the very root. For this reason He says, How shall I deal with you? What way, He says, shall I use in arranging matters concerning you? Shall I protect you and defend you again, and show you to be unconquerable to those who wish to plot against you? Then how will this happen? For it would be more fitting to be punished than to prosper, for those who have done terrible things against God. Therefore, assigning what is deserved, and decreeing punishments equal to your transgressions, "I will make you as Admah and as Zeboiim." These are cities of Sodom, which the fire from heaven consumed down to their very foundations. But I will not do this either, He says, although it justly ought to happen. But I will postpone it; for I have changed my mind. And I will not use unrestrained wrath; I would not give Ephraim over to complete blotting out, although he has become wicked. For what reason? For were they not worthy to suffer it? Yes, He says, but "I am God and not man," that is, good, and not yielding victory to the impulses of wrath. For such a passion is human. Why then do you still punish, he says, if you are God not overcome by wrath, but rather following an innate gentleness? I punish, He says, for I am not only good, as God; but besides this also holy, hating injustices, turning away from the polluted, rejecting the God-hated, and converting the sinner, cleansing the profane, so that he may be joined to Me again. Therefore the Prophet benefits us, crying out and saying, "Seek the Lord, and when you find him, call upon him; and when he draws near to you, let the "impious man forsake his ways and a lawless man his counsels, "and let him turn to the Lord, and he will be pitied." For it is necessary for us, if we consider it of great importance to be with God, to refrain from sinning with all our strength, and to remember the one who says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And I will not enter into a city. I will walk after the Lord. Sometimes the knowledge of future events runs precisely through the mind of the holy Prophets, as the thing is illuminated in them by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, sometimes in the midst of their own words, that is, those from above and from God, they have cried out in advance the voices of certain ones, either of those repenting, or giving thanks, or leaping for joy at the things which God promises will cheer them. We will find the blessed Hosea to have experienced something of this kind now as well. For the God of all was promising gentleness, and said that He would not utterly destroy the sinners, because He was God, evidently good, and not a man; for the one who is above all creation is not like us. But they, as if having recognized their own transgressions, and now somehow blushing at the very great and unexpected grace, promise to cease from the things they have devised for themselves, through which they also have stumbled. And what these things are, God has again informed us through the prophet himself. For a little before, accusing both Judah himself and Ephraim, he said, "And Israel forgot him that made him and built shrines, and Judah multiplied walled cities; and I will send fire upon his cities, and it shall devour their foundations." For Ephraim, that is Israel, having erected altars and shrines to idols throughout Samaria, slipped into apostasy, forgot God, and considering genuine love for him of no account, they continually provoked him; But Judah, on the other hand, although trusting in God, being saved by him and through him from ancient times, sharpened him to anger, in many and other ways, but especially through this one. For when God had threatened to send upon them the Assyrian to destroy the land, he fortified his own cities, thinking that, even if God did not wish it, he would be saved by the strong walls of the cities, and would overcome the hand of the one fighting him. Therefore, when God promises good things out of gentleness even to those who have stumbled not moderately, they themselves who are being saved say that they will cease from their absurd undertakings and also indeed their counsels. And indeed let Judah cry out, I will not enter into a city, that is, I will have God as a wall, I will make hope in him my security, I will run under the right hand of the one who saves, he himself alone will suffice for my salvation; I will confess that it is vain and utterly useless to expect that, when war overruns the land, I will be saved by entering a city; therefore I will not enter into a city; but let Israel, that is Ephraim, cry out the other thing; and that is, I will walk after the Lord. I will cease, he says, from my former accusations, henceforth I will follow the divine laws, I will make the God of all my guide. But if anyone should go towards what seems good to God, he will surely know him alone, and will offer reverence to him, and will worship absolutely no other besides him. He shall roar like a lion, for he himself shall cry out, and the children of the waters shall be amazed; and they shall fly like a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of the Assyrians; and I will restore them to their houses, says the Lord. When the time had already come, and the season was completed, in which Israel was at last to be released from captivity, Cyrus the son of Cambyses, having taken power over the Persians and Medes, with a heavy multitude and an irresistible force, marched against the country of Babylon itself, and of the Assyrians, God having raised him up for this. And indeed the prophet Jeremiah, proclaiming in advance the capture of Babylon, says concerning the Medes and Persians, "They shall set upon you, and Babylon shall be taken, and you will not know it; you were found and were taken, because you resisted the Lord;" Concerning Cyrus, "A lion has gone up "from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out, and "has gone forth from his place to make your land a "desolation, and your cities will be laid waste, so that they "are not inhabited." But that it was the God of all who gave Cyrus the power to rule, the prophet Isaiah will fully inform us, saying: "Thus says the Lord to my anointed, to Cyrus, "whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him; "and I will break in pieces the strength of kings, I will open before him "doors, and cities shall not be shut. I will go before "you and level the mountains; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze, "and shatter the bars of iron, and I will give you the treasures "of darkness, hidden, unseen I will open to you." Cyrus, therefore, having conquered and taken the land of the Babylonians by force, released Israel. And indeed, having returned, they have inhabited their own land. The prophet Hosea interprets this narrative, saying: "He shall roar like a lion." Who shall roar? Cyrus, evidently. It is as if he were to say, perhaps, "A terrible and mighty war from Cyrus will strike against the land of the Babylonians." But when he roars, and as some lion cries out against his adversaries, the children of the waters will be astonished. And he says "will be astonished" instead of "will be terrified." By "children of the waters" he means the Babylonians, who, yielding in no way to the children of the waters, that is, to those that swim in the waters, namely fish, in cowardice, having become easily frightened and unmanly by experience itself, will be captured. The race of fish is most prone to cowardice, and it flees from noises, and avoids even the mere shadow of the hunter. When, therefore, Cyrus roars, he says, and cries out something terrible and dreadful against the land of the Babylonians, the children of the waters will be terrified with fear, that is, the Babylonians, yielding in no way to the fish in cowardice. Then, like a bird and a dove, those who had formerly fled together into Egypt will fly away from it; and those caught in the snares of captivity will flee from the land of the Chaldeans. And then they will return and inhabit their own land. Since it is possible, then, to have good things, by submitting the neck of our mind to God, and acting under Him alone, let us not willingly walk towards what is grievous, drawing down upon ourselves, as it were, a self-summoned chastisement; although it is possible, as I said, to be established in the certainty of prosperity, delighting the Master through a lawful conduct and life, and through genuineness towards him. Ephraim has surrounded me with falsehood, and the house of Israel and Judah with impiety. God, being good and merciful by nature, and having an unwillingness to strike anyone at all, is yet necessarily called to a corrective indignation, whenever the offenses of some go beyond reason and measure. This he teaches us again through the preceding words. For he almost says: Here and there, and as it were in a circle, to one casting and turning about the eye of the Godhead, everywhere it was possible to see the falsehood and impiety of both Ephraim and Judah. And he calls "falsehood" the playthings of idolatry and the worship of vain things; and "impiety," perhaps, the insolence against God. For how is it not a terrible and most extraordinary impiety to cast off the God who exists by nature and in truth, and to incline ignorantly to wood and stones; that is, to worship creation rather than the creator, and to attempt to crown with masterly honors things that have been brought into being by him? Now God has known them, and he shall be called a holy people of God. The house of Ephraim and Judah has surrounded me with falsehood and impiety, he says; nevertheless, even so I will be gracious, bringing upon them a measured chastisement. For I have known them, that they would not be able otherwise to learn better things, unless they should suffer some of those things that cause grief and call them to an awareness of their sins. God, therefore, has known them, that is, He has not been ignorant of the way of repentance that benefits them. And the matter will not be unprofitable for them. For from this it will result that they are also ranked among the holy peoples of God. For once the... has been melted away the wickedness within them through labor and tribulations, they will be both pure and sanctified, and having learned by experience, that genuine love for God will be for them the cause of all delight and prosperity, just as, of course, the crimes of apostasy cast them into the pits of slavery and tribulation. But Ephraim is an evil spirit, he pursued the scorching heat, all day he multiplied empty and vain things, and made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil was carried into Egypt. The discourse turns again from the common multitude to those from the tribe of Ephraim who had reigned over Israel in Samaria, whom he also calls an evil spirit because of their stubborn disposition, and their extreme and unrestrained inclination to apostasy from God. For he pursued the scorching heat, he says; for although it was possible for him to be under my shadow, he went away as a deserter, as it were, to the scorching heat. He calls the scorching heat the burning that comes from tribulations, and the consuming disaster. And so the wise author of Proverbs enigmatically calls labors thus, and says, "A prudent son is saved from the heat; but a lawless son becomes blasted by the wind in the harvest." Therefore Ephraim, since he is an evil spirit, pursued the scorching heat, that is, he sought and willingly fled to the scorching heat; but the wise say concerning God, "Under his shadow I delighted, and I sat down." And they call the shadow the protection of the help from God and from above. But Ephraim has not done this. For he sought the scorching heat. How, or in what way? All the day long he multiplied empty and vain things, that is, at every time he both did and planned cold and useless things. And what are these things? He made a covenant with the Assyrians. I have already said before, and many times, that some of the kings in Samaria, and of those in Jerusalem, at one time attempted to buy with money peace with the Assyrians and security from them, and at another time called upon the aid of the Egyptians, trafficking for the promise of their favor, sending the products of their own land, clearly along with other things. The land of the Samaritans was olive-bearing, and oil was prized in Egypt, as their land did not have it. Therefore, hope in men is empty and vain. And indeed let him who trusts in God dance over him who trusts in men, saying that passage from the Psalms: "Behold, the man who did not make God his helper, but hoped in the abundance of his wealth, and strengthened himself in his vanity; but I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, I have hoped in the mercy of God forever and ever." But it is especially fitting for lovers of equity who wish to live securely to love being under the shadow of God, by provoking him in no way, and so to shun offending him as one would the very gates of hades. And the Lord has a controversy with Judah, to vindicate Jacob; according to his ways and according to his deeds He will repay him. Just as by naming Ephraim, he indicated that we should understand those from the tribe of Ephraim who had reigned, so here also he indicates those from the tribe of Judah who were reigning at various times, by the name of the ruling tribe. Having therefore rebuked Ephraim, that is, those from Ephraim who ruled Israel, both calling them an evil spirit and saying they multiply empty and vain things by making covenants with the Assyrians and carrying oil into Egypt, he then proceeds to accuse those from Judah in turn, and says that the God of all will indeed enter into judgment with them, as if somehow vindicating Jacob, I mean the Patriarch, as having been wronged in no small measure, because his descendants chose not to think like him, nor to follow their father's mind, but to shake off the desire to imitate him as something utterly improper. Therefore he promises to vindicate Jacob, whose glory has been wronged by the wickedness of his children, by repaying those who have wronged him according to their ways, and according to their their practices. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and in his labors he was strong toward God, and he was strong with an angel and prevailed. He usefully enumerates the successes of Jacob, setting them forth for the purpose of rebuking those who have chosen to think and do other things; for somehow by the comparison of the good, the wicked is rebuked, and by the exhibition of praiseworthy things, that which is not so is wont to be accused. Therefore, that Jacob was well-disposed from his very swaddling clothes, or rather even before birth-pangs, he tries to show through the supplanting of his brother in the womb. For even if what was done was an operation of divine power; for we do not say that the infant in the embryo and womb supplanted Esau by himself; but rather, according to foreknowledge, as to one who would be good, God put in him the success of what happened. So also He said, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." And this was according to the election of grace, God choosing the one who would certainly be better, as again in foreknowledge. But these things were in the womb. But when he came to maturity, or rather, was now perfected among men, In his labors he was strong toward God. For when God providentially sent him into toils and labors, he was not weak, he says. For is it not toil, to depart from his father's hearth, and to arrive at Laban's, and to endure servitude, and to bear the labors of shepherding? And how or to whom is this doubtful? Therefore in labors he was strong toward God. Not as fighting against God, but rather obeying, and as it were prevailing by fulfilling what was commanded. For although it was possible for Jacob to grow rich without toil, and to prosper while staying at home, God did not leave him untrained; but rather on the pretext of the fears from Esau, He prepared him, as he went to a foreign land and city, to endure unbearable labor, so that having kept the genuineness of his love for God even in the afflictions themselves, he might rightly be admired. Therefore he was strong in his labors toward God. But he was also strong with an angel, he says, and prevailed. For an angel wrestled with him as in the form of God. Then also his thigh grew numb. Nevertheless, the divine Jacob confessed the greatest grace in the wrestling. For he said, "Because I have seen God face to face, and my soul was saved." Therefore, the mystery concerning Christ was prefigured through the wrestling with the angel. For those from Jacob were destined to strive against Christ, whom the word of the prophets named "the Angel of great counsel"; and some would grow numb, not having accepted the redemption from him; but others would also confess, that they have seen through him and in him face to face the one and by nature, and truly God. For in himself Emmanuel showed us the Father, saying, "He who has seen me, has seen the Father." Therefore, the manner of the contest prefigured the mystery. Nevertheless, God records what happened as an achievement for Jacob. They wept and entreated me; in my house they found me, and there it was spoken to him. But the Lord God the Almighty shall be his memorial. He again recalls other histories, showing us Jacob as illustrious and well-esteemed from every side. For it is written in Genesis that Levi and Simeon, the sons of Jacob, cruelly and inhumanly killed the Shechemites, being kindled to anger over Dinah their sister, whom Emmor the son of Shechem had defiled. Then the blessed Jacob was very fearful from this; and expecting to be utterly destroyed immediately with his children and all his household, he rebuked those who had done these things, and so he said, "You have made me hateful, so that I am odious to the inhabitants of the land, both the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I am few in number, and they will gather against me and cut me down, and I will be destroyed, I and my house." And the young men in no way ceased their audacity, for they replied, saying, "But should they treat our sister as a prostitute?" But since, as I said, the just man was exceedingly fearful, he fell down again to the God who saves. Then He promised to deliver him from his fears, and not in a long time, so says the righteous God "Arise, go up to the place Bethel, and dwell "there, and make there an altar to the God who appeared "to you when you were fleeing from the face of Esau your "brother." Then, as the blessed Jacob was about to go up to Bethel, and to come to the divine house—for Bethel is interpreted as the house of God—he spoke to his whole house and to all who were with him, "Remove the "foreign gods from your midst, and purify yourselves, and change "your garments, and rising up let us go to "Bethel, and let us make there an altar to the God who "heard me in the day of affliction, who was with me and "saved me in the way that I went. And they gave to Jacob "the foreign gods which were in their hands, "and the earrings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid "them under the terebinth that is in Shechem, and he destroyed "them to this day." When this had been done, the divine Jacob was in good hope. For he was completely freed from the suspicion of the Shechemites, as God calmed with His own power those who were travailing with war against him. For the sacred scripture says next, "And a fear of the Lord was "upon the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue after "the sons of Israel." And when an altar was raised in Luz, which is Bethel, "God appeared, it says, to Jacob,"and blessed him, and said, I am your God, increase "and multiply; nations, and assemblies of nations will come from you, "and kings will come from your loins, and the "land, which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, to you I have given it; "and to your seed after you I will give this land." These are the histories he recalls for us in the present prophetic oracle. Therefore Jacob was indeed a supplanter from the womb, but you are always being supplanted, and do not rather supplant sin. And he was very industrious, and well-esteemed in his labors and genuine towards God; but you, delighting in apostasies, act insolently, you have not honored the provider of all good cheer for you. Your fathers wept and entreated me, He says. For if they were ever under suspicion of suffering from some plot, they wept and entreated me. For they expected to be saved through me alone; but you fortify cities, and think that, even if I should not wish it, you will perhaps be saved, and will prevail over your adversaries. And they indeed found me in my house. For Jacob went up, as I said, to Bethel, and God appeared to him, and there was spoken to him the promise of blessing, just as we have recently shown; but you, on the other hand, do not seek God in his house, but rather run, and very eagerly, into the precincts of Baal; you seek oracles not from God, but the prophecies from demons. And the divine Jacob, going up to Bethel, that is to the house of God, destroyed the idols, but you, on the contrary, set up a carved god in the house of God; for they set up in Bethel the golden calf, although Bethel is interpreted, as I said, as the house of God. For this reason also God says through the voice of Jeremiah concerning the Synagogue of the Jews: "What has the beloved "done in my house, an abomination?" that is, an idol. And the divine Jacob, and those going up to the house of God, to be purified and even the garments themselves he commanded to be changed, but you are seen as profane and impure, and going with unwashed feet into the divine house you do not blush, he says. And since Jacob was such, for this very reason the Lord Almighty will be a memorial to him. For he is preserved in the memories of God, and has an ever-flourishing renown. For God glorifies those who love him. Therefore, for I will say again something necessary for your benefit, the glories of the fathers will condemn us, for not choosing to think the same as they, and to be adorned through similar manners and endeavors. And we will be condemned, not as having wronged our own only souls, but, as it were, having also plotted against the good reputation of their fathers, and shaming their ancestral nobility. And you shall return in your God, keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God always. The promise of grace is mingled with a threat. For the word for the present is rather of one threatening than of one promising purely; nevertheless the threat is out of love, and the oracle calls to correctness of thoughts and to a desire for good order. For, he says, the divine Jacob was wise and most excellent, and had as the fruit of his own mind that which is dear to God. But you did not imitate your father. Nevertheless you too shall return in your God, that is, even if you are an outcast and an apostate and insolent, yet you will return, and not willingly, to choosing to live rightly. And you will return being chastised in God, that is, through God. And since good reasoning has not persuaded you to go on the right path, and to love to think what is right, the scourge will overcome you entirely and in every way, and will quickly bring you over to the choice and knowledge of what is beneficial. These things, therefore, as I suppose, would fittingly signify to us the saying, "And you shall return in your God," containing a threat, as I said, very well mingled with good promises. Then, furthermore, as to one already being scourged, and in the very act of being struck, God exclaims, "Keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God always." For just as if some master to a servant being chastised, and in the very act of being scourged, should say with both restraint and indignation, "Be temperate and obedient, and do not despise a master's commands;" in the same way, I think, the God of all says to Ephraim, who is in a way being struck and disciplined by the calamities of war, "Keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God always." It is as if he should happen to say, "For this reason, know that you are being struck, because you have not kept nor honored the things dear and beloved to me." Mercy therefore signifies love; and love is the fulfillment of the law, "For it works no evil to its neighbor," according to the voice of the blessed Paul. And judgment signifies righteous action, that is, justice, and the observance of the divine will. For the law is called judgment in the divinely inspired scripture. And to draw near to God always would imply a genuine desire and inclination of the mind towards him, and not to be fond of clinging to others who are not gods, or to creation perhaps, that is, to wood and stones. And he will draw near to God and will be near in disposition, who knows how to be distinguished by good deeds and has kept the faith uncorrupted in himself. For sin often intervenes and separates from God. In the same way, clinging to the voices of unholy false teachers also drives one away again from intimacy with him—a spiritual intimacy, obviously. Therefore, those wishing to be near God must avoid the things through which they would become far off. Canaan, in his hand is a balance of unrighteousness, he loved to oppress. And Ephraim said, 'But I have become rich, I have found rest for myself.' All his labors will not be found for him because of the iniquities he has sinned. For as far as pleasing God was concerned, Ephraim would have kept mercy and judgment and drawing near to him always. But since he has slipped from a good mind, and has made no account of things so venerable and precious, he has become equal to the foreign Canaanites, both godless and impious, and especially rejoicing in the ways of worthlessness, and with a barbarous mind being uncontrollably overcome by the desire for what belongs to others. Therefore Ephraim should have been seen as an emulator of his forefather Jacob, and loved to walk in the footsteps of his righteousness. But he has become a Canaanite. For a balance of unrighteousness has been found in his hands, that is, inequality and greed. For he has honored, equally with the nations who do not know God, accursed oppression. And that he acted criminally in doing this, he did not deign to consider; but he took pleasure only in being rich and living luxuriously, as if God were not watching, as if He no longer observed those on the earth, and those wishing to do wrong justly rebuking. And it would be a clear proof of the utmost folly, that Ephraim hastens to be rich by every means, and to consider the charges of plunder and violence as nothing, but, as it were, to make a boast henceforth out of excessive madness of those things for which he ought rather to have blushed. For he said, "Yet I have become rich, I have found rest for myself." What then says God to these things? "All his labors shall not be found for him, because of the iniquities which he has sinned." For it is true that, "Wealth unjustly gathered will be vomited up," according to what is written. And indeed, to those who wish to gather from injustice, and to be rich from greed, let someone now proclaim through the voice of a saint, "It were better for you to do judgment and "good justice;" for before the divine tribunal, "Treasures will not profit the lawless, but righteousness will deliver "from death." And as the writer of Proverbs says, "Better "is a small portion with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures with "fearlessness." And again the same: "Better is a little getting "with righteousness, than great revenues with iniquity." Yet our actions, and the quality of our works, sometimes make us worthy of the nobility of the holy fathers, but also assign us to sinful fathers. For we will differ in no way from those who have lived in impiety, if we imitate their ways. For this reason we say Ephraim is called Canaan; for he has thought the things of foreigners. And the Canaanites are foreigners, and famed for their godlessness. Therefore some were also reproached, hearing fittingly for their own bold deeds, "Seed of "Canaan, and not of Judah." But I am the Lord your God who brought you up from the land of Egypt; I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the day of a feast. And I will speak to the Prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hand of prophets I was represented. He called Ephraim Canaan, as I said, proving clearly that he had hated mercy and judgment, and had chosen rather greed and inequality and every form of injustice. But behold, again he tries to show that not only had he become such towards men, but indeed also that he was refusing to draw near to God through his very deeds. He accuses him, therefore, as one who has ignored the Redeemer, as one who through his follies has insulted Him who brought him out of the house of bondage with signs and wonders, and with great power, and with a high arm. For He says, I brought you up out of Egypt. And in saying, "I brought you up," He brings to remembrance the things that happened to them, until they entered into the land promised to the holy fathers. And these things are countless, and beyond all wonder. But that their forgetting of these things was inexcusable, He showed by adding, "I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the day of a feast." And what is this, you will ask again. The law given through Moses commanded that in the seventh month, on the fifteenth day, the feast of tabernacles should be celebrated. And what the reason for this is, the lawgiver himself made clear to us, saying concerning the feast of tabernacles, in Leviticus: "In the seventh month "you shall celebrate it. You shall dwell in tents for seven "days. Every native in Israel shall dwell in "tents; that your generations may see that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tents, "when I brought them out "of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." Therefore, in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt that had happened, they celebrated the feast. Then how could you, he says, forget me who brought you out of Egypt, while you are still under tents, and making the matter a pretext for a feast? For "I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the day of a feast." He says, "I will make you dwell," instead of "I cause to dwell," that is, I make you dwell in tents, in the days of the feast for these things. Therefore the forgetfulness is inexcusable. But perhaps you sought to know some of the things that were to come, and wished to be meddlesome about your own affairs; and why was it necessary to approach the false prophets of Baal, that is, those of the falsely named gods, and to seek such things from them, and not rather to remember wisely, that I speak to the Prophets, and I have multiplied visions, that is, from me will be every word of prophecy, and already has been, not from any other of the falsely-named gods. For to me alone belongs both to know the future, and to remember the things that are past. But they have imitated me, he says, the false seers and false prophets honored by you. This is the meaning of "I have been likened by the hands of the Prophets." You sought to know the future from them. Then, fabricating my words, and imitating the works of my Prophets, they belched out to you things from their own heart. And so Jeremiah the Prophet, for instance, placed wooden yokes around his neck, as God commanded the thing to be done. But the false prophet Hananiah, opposing his words, took and broke the yokes, and said "Thus says the Lord, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon." This is, as I said, the meaning of "I have been likened by the hands of the prophets." An accusation, therefore, against Ephraim, is that although having a clear reminder from the feast of tabernacles, of the exodus that happened from Egypt, he forgot God, and that he did not rather seek him, as the one speaking to the Prophets, as the one who had multiplied visions; but he was rather attached to the deceptions of the false prophets who fabricate the things of God through both words and deeds. If Gilead is not, were the sacrificing rulers in Gilgal therefore false? and their altars like tortoises upon the fallow land of a field. That they were attached to false seers and false prophets, going up and sacrificing both in Gilead and Gilgal, he convicts them through these things; and he takes for his proof these two cities especially, in which the error was more out of place than in others, and every manner of piety towards God was disdained, but all things that incite were in vogue, and full of the utmost madness. And so, in the passages above, concerning Gilead, God said, "There Gilead has despised me, a city working vanity," that is, idols; for the people in it were makers of idols; and concerning the other, "All their evils are in Gilgal; for there I have hated them because of the evils of their practices." But it is necessary to add some of the things that happened to the Gileadites, for thus we will understand the meaning of the things set before us. Phul king of the Assyrians, being the first to come against Samaria, made the two tribes beyond the Jordan a kind of first-fruits of the spoil, and he took all their cities, and Gilead before the others. God mentions this, as if in passing, saying, If Gilead is not. If Gilead is not, he says, and is not now saved; even if it has perished, and it is not possible from it to convict the drunkenness of Ephraim, because it is not seen now, were then the sacrificing rulers in Gilgal false, and not real? But Gilgal is a city beyond the Jordan, in which especially, gathering together small and great, they were attached to the defilements of idolatry. Therefore if Gilead is not, who is he that dares to say, that the sacrificing rulers in Gilgal were also false, and not real? But they were not a dream nor shadows, nor some of the obscure, but bright and conspicuous rulers and leaders, raising up high and prominent altars to the carved images, like tortoises in the fields. But he says tortoises, not indeed the animals; do not think this; but rather the mounds of earth, which some would make, raising the irrigation channels into hills; and countless such things have been zealously made by farmers. And he says sacrificing rulers, either generals and leaders of the troops, or those of the blood of Levi, wearing the leadership from the law. For they also perished along with the others, and not a few in number have served the carved images. For so it is written in Ezekiel, "Therefore thus says the Lord God, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my holy places, among all the foreigners who are in the midst of the house of Israel; but the Levites, who have removed themselves from me in the straying of Israel who strayed from me after their own thoughts, and they will bear their iniquity." And Jacob fled into the plain of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept watch. The discourse now returns again to the examination of both the genuineness and gentleness of the forefather, and of the awkwardness and impiety of those who came from him. And it marvels, as it were, at his endurance in small matters, then it brings the matter forward for the refutation of the negligence of the ten tribes in the greatest matters. For how would one not admire Jacob, who endured such bitter and unbearable toil, and did not refuse to serve Laban for wives and marriages? But even if the forefather's wage was very small; for it was a marriage, as I said; nevertheless he kept watch and maintained his faithfulness to the one who had promised the marriage. And he toiled not in his own city or land or hearth, but being a newcomer, and living in a foreign land. And such was Jacob, but let us also see the charges against those of Israel. He was not sent into a foreign land; but being in the condition of one conquered by the spear, serving the Egyptians, and once enduring wageless sweat, by the power of God he was delivered from the land of the oppressors, and settled in the land promised to the fathers. The marriage of a woman was not set before him as a reward for having kept the law, but rather an abundant supply of every good thing, "a land flowing with milk and honey," the ability to crush those who resisted, glory and wealth, and the boasts from these things, and what of the things for prosperity and luxury was not? But he did not keep watch. For he transgressed, considering the observance worthy of almost no account. It is therefore clear that, being immoderately inferior to the gentleness of the fathers, they will not even be partakers of the forbearance granted to them; for the Judge is just. And by a Prophet the Lord brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a Prophet he was preserved. In these words He makes clear to us the reason why Israel did not keep the appointed commandment, and despised God when He said, "You shall have no other gods besides me," and why they did not wish to love to vie with the gentleness of the fathers; for He rebukes that those of Israel came to be under the kingdom of men at all, although God reigned over them through holy Prophets, and nothing was lacking to them for being blessed. For we remember that while the blessed Samuel was still living and prophesying, they asked for a king. And indeed at this God was angered, and as one who had been insulted, He was not moderately grieved, nevertheless He appointed Saul. Therefore He strongly accuses, that they came to be under the kingdom of men at all, not enduring to be ruled by God through Prophets. For God, He says, saved Israel, and brought him out of the house of bondage, with Moses acting as mediator, who also was a prophet and the first-fruit of prophets; and not only did He bring him out of Egypt, He says, but He also preserved him. For he remained worshiping the one who is by nature and truly God. But when they came to be under kings, they ran aground from their love for God. For first Solomon built both altars and precincts for the Baalim; then after him the accursed Jeroboam made the golden calves. Therefore He accuses them as not having kept a most excellent economy, that of being ruled by God, I say, through prophets, but having instead chosen to fall under the hand of men, which indeed became for them a cause of apostasy. Ephraim angered and provoked to wrath; and his blood will be poured out upon him, and the Lord will repay his reproach to him, according to the word of Ephraim. That it became bitter and perilous, and a cause of ruin for those of Israel, to choose rather to be under the kingdom of men, in these words he tries very well to show us. For behold, He says, Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim, has angered and provoked me, the Master of all, and has called me to every form of irritation, by innovating with calves, and my own to them having put on a boast. Therefore, he himself has become the cause of his own destruction; his blood will come upon him. But since, when he set up the heifers in Bethel and Dan, he addressed those of Israel, "Let it be enough for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your "gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt;" for this reason, then, and very rightly, he says he will pay to me, the judge, the penalties for the reproach. For it is outright insolence and admittedly a reproach against God, to dare to attribute to lifeless materials the brilliant and admirable accomplishments that came about through Him. Therefore, in accordance with the reproach of Ephraim himself, that is, in equal measure to his blasphemies and unholy utterances, the things from wrath will be brought against him in return. For just as, as far as his undertaking and words went, God was thrust out from the glory that befits Him and Him alone; so also will he himself be thrust out from his own rule. For the kingdom of Ephraim will cease in due time. For as I have already said before, after the return from Babylon no one from the ten tribes ever again reigned in Samaria, but they were all in Jerusalem under one man, the one from the tribe of Judah at the time. He took His ordinances in Israel, and set them for Baal, and died. And he added to his sinning yet more, and they made for themselves a molten image from their silver according to the likeness of idols, works of craftsmen finished for them. In these things he does not accuse the ten tribes in part, but all of Israel, and says that although ordinances were given to them through Moses, by which they were taught in what manner they ought to serve God, and how they should offer sacrifices, they themselves as good as decreed such things for Baal, that is, for the idols. For sometimes a part signifies the whole. For they no longer sacrificed to God, but rather they performed the feasts for the works of their own hands, and they brought the worship, the first-fruits, the adoration, the gifts, the thank-offerings; and depriving God of His own glory, they dedicated it to the carved images. But having done this, Israel, he says, died, and again he added to his sinning. It is as if he were to say: The one who did it has been punished, the one who dared has been destroyed, he knew the Master's indignation, who brings the penalty of blood upon those who go astray; and he by no means ceased from his own foolishness, but would rather be caught in other and equal charges. For we have read in Numbers that the sons of Israel committed fornication, being inflamed with illicit pleasures, and they were attached to the women of the Moabites. Then, for this they were required to pay the ultimate of all penalties. And the things written are as follows: "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began "to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called "them to the sacrifices of their idols: and the people did eat of their "sacrifices, and bowed down to their idols. "And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the "Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before "the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be "turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the "tribes of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined "unto Baal-peor." And when this indeed had been brought to completion, a not insignificant multitude of those from Israel had fallen. See, therefore, that by offering the ordinances of God to idols in the time of Moses, Israel died miserably. For the one who went astray was slaughtered by the swords of his own people, not by a foreign hand; but he added to his sinning. For they have made for themselves a golden molten image, and the works of a craftsman, and gods fashioned by the skills of artisans. And the Word, as it were, smiles at their vain counsels. For they have believed them to be gods, whom they themselves fashion. Therefore let the psalmist also exclaim to these, "May all who make them "become like them, and all who trust "in them." They themselves say: Sacrifice men, for the calves have failed. Through For this they will be like a morning cloud and like the morning dew that goes away, and like chaff blown from the threshing floor and like smoke from a chimney. He accuses them again, that not only have they been impious, fashioning the silver given by God into the image of idols, and ascribing the name of divine glory to things made from wood and stones; but they have also slipped into such ignorance, or rather even of foolishness and inhumanity and beast-like savagery, or even beyond these things, as not even to spare their own children, but to slaughter them for the demons; although God detested the deed, and would never endure the very utterance, either to speak it to others, or to hear it from someone. For the Master is not bloodthirsty, nor indeed does he delight in the destruction of men; far from it; "For He created all things that they might exist," as it is written, "and the generations of the world are wholesome." But since the inventor and agent of death is the apostate dragon, for this reason he delights in the slaughter of men. That, therefore, even the mere word for this is hated by God, He makes clear, saying: They themselves say, Sacrifice men, for the calves have failed. The word is not mine, He says, nor would I ever utter such a saying; but the worshippers of demons themselves say that it is necessary to sacrifice men to them. Then He ridicules the thought and derides the undertaking, adding and saying: For, in all likelihood, they had no calves; for this reason they have honored manslaughter. But let it be, He says, that you have been deceived, and have honored carved and molten gods. Why did you also drench their altars with human blood? But we have read in the Books of Kings, that there was Jonathan son of Ahaz, who reigned over Judah; indeed he "walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and offered incense "in the high places, and also made his own son pass through "the fire," and sacrificed to the demons him who was begotten and born of him. But since they have done such things, they will be, He says, like a morning cloud and like dew, like chaff and like smoke from a chimney, that is, having been seen for a little while, they will go away to destruction and will proceed to nothingness. For a morning cloud, that is, a mist, and dew and chaff and smoke from a chimney, are easily dispersed, and are scattered in a very short time, or rather, even in a single hour. For what substance has either chaff or dew, or the vapor formed from smoke?

Book 7

But I am the Lord your God, who establishes heaven and creates the earth, whose hands have created all the host of heaven, and I did not show them to you that you should go after them. The ugliness of false opinion is somehow always refuted when true knowledge is brought into the midst, and it is as if a light shines in night and darkness, the word which instructs toward the correctness of reasoning. That, therefore, being filled with the utmost of all evil counsel, and reaching the highest end of wretchedness of reasoning, those of Israel have honored a molten thing and the works of carpenters, running past the true God and God by nature, He refutes them, saying that He is the one who establishes heaven, and has fashioned the earth, and is the maker of the stars. But He reproaches them, that, having disregarded as worthless the ability to learn the glory of the maker through the things that have been made, they have made these things a pretext for their own error. But they were not made for this reason, that they might wrong the divine glory, being taken up by those on earth under the assumption that they are gods, but so that, as the sacred scripture said, "from the greatness and beauty of created things proportionately" the mind of those who understand might leap up to the possible comprehension of the power and skill of the maker. Therefore the Creator did not show us creation so that it might be worshipped by us. And at any rate he also testified beforehand, saying through Moses, "And lest, looking up to heaven and seeing the sun and the moon and the stars and all the host of heaven, you be led astray and worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has allotted to all the nations under heaven." But they called gods those things that were allotted for a display of seasons and were stitched into the order of luminaries, and they dared to worship them, and seeking things yet more shameful than these, the wretched ones have honored a molten image and pieces of wood as gods, worshipping the art of coppersmiths and carpenters. And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no god but me, and there is no savior besides me. I shepherded you in the wilderness, in an uninhabited land, according to their pastures. In these words there is a great refutation of their insensibility, and the ways of his assistance are set forth in order, demonstrating the magnitude of the ingratitude of those of Israel. And he refutes them, not as being ignorant, as I think—how could they be?—but as having been brought, through their very great awkwardness and a reasoning inclined to insensibility, almost even to a forgetfulness of what they ought always to have remembered. For the accursed Jeroboam, having set up the calves for them, said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt;" but they, although knowing that this matter was the achievement for them not of any other, but of God, offered thank-offerings to handmade calves, and persuaded one another, I know not how, to attribute to them the pre-eminence of the divine achievements. Therefore, as though they were drunk with the wine of Sodom, he practically pierces them through, saying that he himself is clearly the one who brought them "out of the house of bondage," and commanded through Moses, that "You shall have no other gods but me," and that he alone is the one who saves and effortlessly achieves whatever he wishes, he himself who nourished them in the wilderness, and in a desert and trackless and waterless land, releasing springs of water, and sending down the manna, and bestowing the bread of angels even from heaven, and in the manner of a good shepherd feeding them to contentment, according to their pastures, that is, their departures. For those of Israel were in want of no good thing in the wilderness, although they were always changing places, and encamping in a rough and fruitless land. It is necessary, therefore, to always remember what we have from God, and to be fond of keeping forgetfulness of these things as far away as possible from our own mind, as a cause of destruction, and as provoking to indignation God, the giver to us of all prosperity. For the ungrateful person is like a blasphemer, according to what has been wisely said by someone. And they were filled to satiety, and their hearts were lifted up; for this reason they forgot me. Just as the most experienced of physicians, by thoroughly examining the causes of diseases, hasten to check them with remedies from their art; in the same way, I think, God of all, looking into the inner mind and heart, investigates the causes of the passions within us, and so then restrains the sickened mind with fitting medicines. He therefore accuses those of Israel of having been brought to a forgetfulness of him who supplies them with all life-sustaining things and all that would appear to make them renowned; although the law clearly foretold, "Take heed to yourself, lest you forget the Lord your God, so as not to keep his commandments and his judgments and his ordinances, which I command you today; lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and dwelt in them, and your flocks and your herds have multiplied for you, and your silver and gold have multiplied for you, and all that you have has multiplied for you, your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, where snake biting, and scorpion, and "thirst, where there was no water." For luxury always has a powerful ability, and to revel in unexpected honors, both to carry us away into forgetfulness of God, and to be able to shake the human mind toward anything whatsoever that is amiss. But I think Israel, having leaped away, will suffice for a proof, having found in the breadth of prosperity an occasion for this terrible sickness; and since they were stronger than the nations, with the all-powerful God clearly defending them, they have fallen sick with arrogance, ascribing perhaps to themselves and not to the protecting God the splendor from their achievements. Therefore, then, luxury is precarious and hard to manage, and like a smooth path to apostasy from God; but moderate affliction is by far better. And the voices of the saints will confirm this for us. For one said, "Lord, in affliction we remembered you; in a little affliction "your discipline is upon us;" but the most wise Paul, set down for us affliction as the root and origin, as it were, of every good, saying, "For affliction produces endurance, and end- "urance, character, and character, hope, and hope does not put to "shame." and the divine David also sings somewhere, "It is good for me that you have humbled me, that I might learn your "statutes." And I will be to them as a panther and as a leopard; by the road of the Assyrians I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her cubs, and I will tear open the covering of their heart, and there the whelps of the wood will devour them, the beasts of the field will tear them apart. For since the breadth of their cheerfulness became for them a cause of destruction and an occasion for apostasy, for this reason, then, afflictions are brought on, and in proportion to their sicknesses. For indeed bodies that are very sick and already decayed would in no way yield any longer to mild medicines, but would rather need both iron and fire. Therefore, since the greatness of the divine gentleness profited the children of Israel little, that I may not say nothing at all, a savagery befitting a wild beast is brought upon them. And he compares himself to the fiercest and most voracious of beasts, and that have a very great tendency towards cruelty. not that the divine and ineffable nature would in any way be subject to such angers, but perhaps he teaches this again, that the Assyrians will use such unrestrained angers, being inhuman and hard-hearted, and what of such things would they not be, when they are captured; but what is done would seem to be of God, since He himself has permitted it to happen, inflicting upon those who have sinned so savagely the anger that is fitting for them. I will therefore find them as a panther and as a leopard; for they will be carried away to the land of the Assyrians. and I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her cubs, that is, one that is perhaps hungry, or rather, is greatly distressed, her cubs having been taken away; for then they say the beast especially reaches the height of its innate fury. And I will tear open the covering of the heart. By "covering" here he means their security. And the security of the heart is the courage that one might have against enemies; when this indeed is torn apart, the passions of cowardice enter in, so as even to grant victory to the enemy without a fight. It is therefore as if he might be saying, "I will bring them down into the uttermost cowardice," although those who are against them are compared to a hungry and bereaved beast, I mean, to the bear. And that, having been caught in the bonds of captivity, and having been carried away into the land of the Assyrians, they will have no escape from evils, but evils will follow them, as it were, even there, he showed by saying, And there the whelps of the wood will devour them, the beasts of the field will tear them apart. For the untamed races of the Assyrians, he compares to whelps in the woods and to wild beasts, being greatly inclined toward savagery. In your dispersion, Israel, who will help you? Where is this king of yours? and let him save you in all your cities; let him judge you, of whom you said, "Give me a king and a ruler." And I gave you one in my anger, and I had in my wrath a band of iniquity. I have already said briefly in the preceding parts, that God was accusing the children of Israel, because I know not how choosing to be yoked rather to human yokes, and rejecting the kingdom under Him, God, although He had reigned over their ancestors through holy Prophets. For He said that "By a prophet "the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved." But you, he says, scorning to act under God, cried out against the blessed Samuel, saying, "Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk "in your way; now, therefore, set up a king over us "to judge us, like all the other nations." Therefore, since you think you have deliberated well, having raised up a king over yourself, like the other nations, and you expected to be saved by him, where then is he now? Behold, it is time for a demonstration: let him fight your war, let him arm himself splendidly, let him save the cities, let him defend those under his hand, let him drive back those who oppose, let him vigorously drive away those who wish to ravage homes and cities. But perhaps you will say, "Although it seems that I asked, you are the one who both gave and anointed Saul in the beginning." Yes, He says, but in anger I gave the leader, and I had in my wrath a twisting of injustice, as having been wronged by you, He says; and all but thrust out from the thrones of the kingdom, as far as your opinion was concerned, I was exceedingly wroth. Nevertheless, I appointed him, though knowing, He says, that the matter was not necessary for your benefit, but so that experience of the events might fully inform you well that in this you have made a foolish and useless decision. For where is he now, or what benefit could there be hereafter from him for those who are being warred against? But if you had been again under my mercy and hand, you would surely have been seen to be in a better state than your enemies. Therefore, "Vain is the salvation of man," according to what is written, and "A horse is a false hope for salvation," is the hope placed in rulers; but God rescues very easily those whom He chooses, and those whom He would observe honoring the hope placed in Him. Ephraim, his sin is hidden; pains as of a woman in childbirth will come upon him. This is your wise son, because he will not stand in the destruction of children. This, I think, is what is meant by "He conceived trouble and brought forth "iniquity." For in the beginning, Jeroboam, so that he would not lose the scepters, when Israel wished to fulfill the sacrifices according to the law, and for this reason was traveling up to Jerusalem, devised the golden calves. and he received into his mind a sowing of evil seed, as it were, buried, just as the sin was also hidden. But the time of labor pains, he says, will also come. And this would be understood again as that of the war and the captivity. For even if it did not happen to Ephraim himself, yet it came upon his descendants at times, that is, the successors of his rule, because they became imitators of his impiety. He speaks, therefore, as to the synagogue in Samaria and says, Who will save you? Is it this wise son of yours? And in saying "this," he points out either the one ruling at the time, who also received the reputation of seeming to be wise; for this always accompanies those in power; or else he hints at something else, fitting for the time in which the word of the prophecy came. For while Ahaz was ruling over Judah in Jerusalem, "in the eleventh "year, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, "who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." But at that time Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, marched against Samaria. "And Hoshea became," it says, "his servant." But the Assyrian was very angry with him for such a reason. For he sent messengers to him, asking for tribute and the usual things; but he, not enduring to be ordered about by that man, sent an embassy to So, king of Egypt, asking for help from him. Grieved at this, Shalmaneser besieged Samaria for three whole years. Then, having taken Hoshea captive, he made him a prisoner and enrolled him among the servants, and he resettled Israel in the territories of the Persians and Medes. Therefore, the prophetic word seems to us to be pointing out Hoshea son of Elah in these things, whom he also calls wise, not because he was truly wise, but he somehow speaks ironically; for he seemed to be wise among Israel, and to have planned very wisely, for choosing to call for aid for them from Egypt. but he was caught out, having acted and planned in a cold and useless way. Who then, he says, will deliver you from suffering incurable calamities? This your prudent son, because he will not endure in the crushing of children. For with your children being crushed, he says, not even he himself would endure; for he will be taken as a slave and a captive along with the others; he will go to the Assyrians. Wise, therefore, is the one who sings, "The Lord is my strength and my song." For from him is all power, and all salvation; and there is no savior besides him. From the hand of Hades I will rescue them, from death I will redeem them; where is your judgment, O Death? Where is your sting, O Hades? Having spoken things out of anger to the sinners, and having foretold the things that would come from grief, he has returned again to a god-fitting gentleness, and he has indicated by adding that the race on earth has not been utterly turned away, nor has it been given over to unbridled and endless corruption, but there will be some forbearance in due time and a recalling to the original state in Christ, that he will rescue from the hand of Hades, and will redeem from death, it being clear that he means those who have come under it, on account of adopted sin, and the transgression of Adam in the beginning. For such a promise has been made again, not to Ephraim alone, that is to those of the blood of Israel, but rather to all upon the earth. For as the divine Paul writes, "Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? For he has justified the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith." For he has redeemed us from the hand of Hades, that is, from the tyranny of death, and the manner of the redemption is understood as the death of Christ. For he willingly endured the slaughter on the wood for our sake, and has triumphed over principalities and powers, having nailed the handwriting that was against us to it. For then, then "all iniquity stopped its mouth;" and the power of death was abolished, since sin was taken away; for this is the victory of death, and the sting of Hades. Thus also the wise Paul interpreted for us. For he said, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." Therefore, with the sin of all being destroyed in Christ, we ourselves might also reasonably say, Where is your victory, O Death? Where is your sting, O Hades? "For it is God who justifies, who is he that condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died" for us, or rather "who gave himself a ransom for all," one worth more than all, through whom and in whom we have been enriched to return again to incorruption. Is comfort hidden from my eyes? Because this one will make a division among brothers. We shall read the first verse of the proposed text as a question, and with a pause, and it would suggest some such thing to us if we choose to understand it correctly. Human nature, he says, has fallen sick with manifold sin, and has inclined not moderately towards transgression; for this reason it was justly condemned to death. Then what will be the manner of help for those who have suffered this, or how they might escape what has happened, I myself will consider, or rather I have already determined. Or is there anyone among you, come to such a point of madness, as to think and say that there is some manner of comfort and consolation, which the divine and pure mind has not seen? For I am a craftsman, and powerless in nothing, but I know all things well, and without delay I accomplish what seems good. And yet, he says, this one will make a division among brothers. And through these words he proclaims to us our Lord Jesus Christ. For he is the comfort of all, the manner of the cure; the Father predestined him before eternal ages as Savior and Redeemer for those held by death. He said that he makes a division among brothers. And what this is, we have heard from Christ our Savior of all saying, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to cast peace but "a sword. For I came to set a man against his "father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law "against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be those "of his own household;" and again, foretelling somewhere to the holy disciples the things that would be, "Brother will deliver up, he says, "brother to death," and a father will rise up against his sons. For since he has destroyed the tyranny of the devil, and rescued the deceived from the snares of idolatry, he has so bound them to love for himself, that those who have believed disregard even natural affection, and have renounced brothers and fathers and homes and families, and have supposed that to cleave to Christ would be sufficient for them for all joy. And so indeed the blessed David, as from the person of those who have accomplished this, somewhere sings and says that "My father and my mother have forsaken "me, but the Lord took me in." The Lord will bring a scorching wind from the desert upon him, and it will dry up his veins, it will make his springs desolate; it will dry up his land and all his desirable vessels. He transfers the discourse to the very person of death, and compares Christ to a south and scorching wind, which he says will be brought from the desert at times. But it is necessary to know, and before all else, this, that the country of the Jews has a wide and vast desert, lying in the southernmost parts, and if ever the wind from there happened to blow down violently, they were exceedingly fearful, as the country was being dried up. And it seems to some that the very veins of waters in the earth make their supplies more sluggish, and are checked by the blasts of the violent and fiery wind. Therefore, from what they know and have experienced, he makes his arguments. Therefore, the prophetic word has told us that Christ will be brought against death like a scorching wind, which will dry up all his springs and his veins. He persists, therefore, in the figure, and very rightly, and, as from that which is accustomed to happen, he makes the declaration of the mystery. And the veins and springs of death, we say are the ways of destruction, that is, the evil and opposing powers. For through them, as it were, the multitude of those who are ever perishing from time to time is supplied. Thus you will understand also his desirable vessels. For vessels that destroy those on earth and are precious to death one might reasonably say, are either the evil and opposing powers, or certain unholy ones on the earth, servants of his wickedness, who also destroy others along with themselves. When, therefore, the scorching wind has blown, he says all the land of death will be dried up. And again the word is made as from a metaphor. For it is as if he might say, Death was grazing on those on the earth as on a field; but it will be dry, death will not find pasture. For corruption has been abolished, since Christ set life before all, and permitted incorruption to be made recoverable. Samaria shall be made desolate, because she has rebelled against her God; they themselves shall fall by the sword, and their infants shall be dashed to the ground, and their pregnant women shall be ripped open. Having very well finished the discourse concerning Christ, and having foretold the mystery of universal redemption, the blessed prophet again wails over the calamities of those who have offended, and all but laments those in Samaria. For though it was possible, he says, to enjoy, and very richly, the good things from his clemency, they have run as deserters toward the things that would come upon them from wrath, because they chose to oppose God, and to raise their own will against the Lord's commands, and all but to seem to be set in opposition, or even to be in the lot of those who have truly resisted him. Therefore, with all mercy removed, they themselves will be the work of the sword; and strange methods of inhumanity will be devised against both women and children. for together with the newborn infants a premature they will suffer death, and those not yet called to be and to live, and the sword will anticipate the coming forth of the enemies through birth-pangs. Therefore, it is a bitter thing to oppose God, and truly a cause of destruction, as is seen by experience itself. Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have grown weak in your iniquities. Take words with you, and return to the Lord your God; say to him, so that you may not receive iniquity but may receive good things, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Assur shall not save us, we will not mount upon horses; we will no longer say, Our gods, to the works of our hands. One might greatly admire in this again the skillfulness of the prophet, and the arrangement of his discourse. For it is composed in a manner befitting a saint, and is full of the mystagogy from above. For he has proclaimed beforehand the future redemption through Christ, and that in due time death will be weakened, and the sting of Hades will be rendered inactive; and in addition to these things, that no manner of exhortation and comfort could be conceived at all, which was not known to God. And what after this? It was necessary henceforth to advise them to think and do those things which lead to their salvation, and, as it were, to hasten to bring back to sobriety those who are drunk; not with wine; from what? but rather from worldly love of pleasure, and from loving to adhere to the deceptions of demons. Therefore, lest, being inclined to indolence by the promises of goodness and love for mankind, they should make no account of him who knows how to discipline, for this very reason he usefully brings them back again to the remembrance of the terrible things, saying that Samaria will be destroyed, because she stood against her God; then adding to these those other things, which indeed appear not ineffectively to terrify and distress the hearers. for he says that infants will be dashed to the ground; and that the mothers themselves will be destroyed together with the embryos, not yet having brought forth from the womb into the light the much-desired burden. Therefore, having first terrified them with these dreads, then, at the opportune moment, he sends into the hearts of those being admonished the word that calls to repentance, exhorting them well that it is necessary to turn back, and to return to God. But by saying that you have grown weak in your iniquities, he gives them to understand, that in every way and altogether their weakness will cease along with their iniquities, and if the ways of apostasy should be removed, the terrible things also will depart. And he smooths the way of the return to God; for he says that sinners will indeed be in a better state and under the forbearance of God, not by offering things from wealth, not by dedicating gold, not by choosing to honor with silver vessels, not with sacrifices of oxen, not by pleasing with slaughters of sheep, but if they would offer words, and choose to speak well, propitiating the Master of all. for take words with you, say to God, so that you may not receive iniquity but may receive good things, that is, so that you may not be punished in equal measure to your iniquities, but rather may be enriched by the provisions of good things, and promise to bring to him the things from your lips, thankful odes and confession. For such things are the fruits of the tongue. But cry out that, he says, and promise firmly, that neither shall Assur save us, nor indeed shall we mount upon horses; nor shall we say any more, Our gods, to the works of our hands. For these were the ways of apostasy. For these things they have offended, because they both served idols, and, having dishonored the ever-saving God, they have assigned their hope to helps from men. And when the Egyptians were at war with them, they called upon the Assyrian; and again when the Assyrians had taken up arms against Samaria, they hired with money the Egyptian horse-archers, that is, those skilled in cavalry warfare. For this reason they also heard God saying clearly, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt "for help, who trust in horses and in chariots;" and they were mocked, and very justly, being eager to make their champion "an Egyptian man and not God, the "flesh of horses," as it is written. Therefore they promise to depart both from worshipping idols and from still having their hopes in men. And this is a correction of those who have already stumbled, calling to gentleness the Creator of all, who says through the voice of the Prophet, "Turn away from your iniquities, O house of "Israel, and they shall not be a punishment of injustice for you." In you, he will have mercy on the orphan. This is the voice of the Prophet, urging to repentance, and making the Master's serenity manifest, and cutting away the hesitation of one willing to repent. For do not doubt, he says, O Israel, that you will obtain what you pray for, if you should offer repentance. For the God in you knows how to have mercy and to pity orphans. Thus says also the divine David, "He will take up the orphan and the widow," from one thing I think, that is, from persons who are by nature most to be pitied, showing the loving-kindness of the divine and ineffable nature. But if someone should wish to ascribe the matter of orphanhood also to Israel itself; for it was all but lost from God the Father, although He says clearly, "Israel is my firstborn son;" I for my part would say that it is right to understand it in this way too. It is necessary, therefore, being confident that the Master of all is both good and ready for loving-kindness, to repent without hesitation, and by corrections for the better, to release the causes of previous stumblings. I will heal their dwellings, I will love them freely, because my anger has turned away from them. The word from God is introduced immediately as a neighbor, and almost next door, promising to heal the sick, and to love freely, that is, that the effects of mercy and love, and the increase of every good thing, should now henceforth appear to be at work confessedly and openly. And in addition to these things, it shows that His anger towards them has ceased, and that His beloved loving-kindness will not depart. And again the word in these things seems to us not to mention only the conversion of Israel according to the flesh, but rather to bring in also the calling of the Gentiles; because not "all those from "Israel, these are Israel;" but rather those are counted as children who follow "in the steps of the faith in uncircumcision "of our father Abraham." Therefore, the calling of the Gentiles is also contributed, and the appropriation to God in Christ through faith and sanctification; and in addition to this is also signified the supply of spiritual things, and the abundance of grace, that is, clearly, of that in Christ. I will be as dew to Israel. In every way enriching and watering the mind of those called to repentance, with comfort from above, that is, clearly, that through the Spirit; for the dew is from above. He shall blossom as a lily. He will give forth, he says, a sweet smell in Christ, and the fragrance of a holy life, and he will henceforth be a choice flower. And he shall cast his roots as Lebanon, his branches shall spread. By this he shows that the mind of believers is not easily shaken, nor as it were ready to be overcome by evil spirits. For it will be so secure and established, just as indeed the plant of Lebanon, which sends its root down to a great depth; and with its branches above, it spreads not moderately. For as the root luxuriates, the growths of the shoots are in every way vigorous. And he shall be as a fruitful olive tree. Clearly evergreen and fruitful; for such is the plant. And his smell as of Lebanon. The thing of Lebanon is exceedingly fragrant. For this reason also the law of Moses proclaimed it as sacred to God. For it prescribed in many ways that the fine flour offered for sacrifice should be sprinkled with frankincense. Therefore, he says, the fruit of those called will be fragrant, and well-pleasing as a sacrifice to the virtue-loving God. They shall return and shall sit under his shadow. They will cease, he says, from their former accusations, and will return vigorously to worship the "living and "true God," and will be under him in a single-minded way, not expecting to be saved from enemies by another, but from him alone. Fulfilling this well, the Church from the Gentiles says concerning the Savior of all in the Song of Songs, "In his shadow I delighted and sat down." To those accustomed to do this, let the divine David also proclaim, saying, "The sun shall not burn you by day, nor the moon by night." This was accomplished for the ancients by God, when a cloud overshadowed them in the desert, and elegantly revealing the tent from above and from God. And he says `they will sit down` very well, so that the steadfast and securely established disposition of those who turn may be understood through this. They shall live and be satisfied with grain. These are the worthy gifts of conversion and of steadfastness. For he says they will be partakers of eternal life, and in an abundance of power, clearly spiritual power. For I think this is what "they will be strengthened with grain" signifies. And it is written that, "Bread strengthens man's heart." For bodies are pleased by suitable foods, but the divine and heavenly Word invigorates the soul of man. For how can it be doubted that one who turns from error to the knowledge of God would pass from weakness to power, and leaping up strongly from the pits of depravity to the pursuit of virtue? If indeed the charge of weakness is truly to fall back into indolence and worldly pleasures, and to love to be attached to the worship of idols; while a glorious achievement of spiritual strength is understood to be to choose eagerly to do good, and besides this to consider nothing better than love for God, and to travel without stumbling and with a vigorous mind the path to this. And his memorial shall blossom like a vine, as the wine of Lebanon to Ephraim. God said somewhere to the mother of the Jews, that is, the Synagogue, "But I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true." And our divine David also sings somewhere about it, "You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out nations and planted it. You cleared the way before it. It sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the river." Therefore Israel was a vine with goodly branches; but since it has stumbled in many ways, "The Lord took away its hedge, all who pass by the way have plucked its fruit. A boar from the forest has ravaged it, and a wild ass has devoured it." For it has been set, as it were, to be trampled on by those who wish to do wrong, as pasture for swine and asses, that is, for pleasures and irrationalities. For this reason they have withered. Nevertheless, his memorial flourished anew in Christ, that is, clearly, the memorial of Israel. And he says memorial, because not all have believed, but the remnant has been kept, as it were, for a memorial of him. And the grace from God has become to Ephraim, that is, to Israel, like the wine of Lebanon, that is, fragrant and yielding little to frankincense in its fragrance. Such is the word from Christ, and concerning it the blessed David says, "Wine gladdens the heart of man," to which a sacred word urges us to hasten to partake very eagerly; for it goes thus: "Eat, and drink, and be drunk, O friends." For the things through Christ are not offensive to the saints, and are more useful when taken to the point of intoxication. What has he yet to do with idols? For if he should come to be, he says, in the fullness and partaking of such venerable and heavenly goods, he will completely depart from the desire to stray, and to be attached to the works of his own hands. For lacking what good things anymore will he seek them from another? Or is such a search also completely unprofitable for those who have gone astray? For what will lifeless matter bestow on anyone? to whom it was also justly said by God, "Do good, and do evil, and we will know that you are gods." But handmade things could never harm men; for how, or from where? Nor indeed could they give them anything good or beneficial. Therefore let them hear, and very rightly, "The gods who did not make the heaven and the earth shall per- "let them be destroyed from the earth and from under this "heaven." So therefore, he signifies that which is fixed and firm in love towards God, saying What has he to do any more with i- dols? I humbled him, and I will strengthen him. I, he says, am able to afflict those whom I might see disregarding the ways of genuineness toward me; but I will again strengthen those who would choose to practice virtue, and to know the God who is by nature and in truth. Therefore, neither the affliction, that is, the weakening of Israel, was from them; nor indeed would the transition to being able be thought a gift of demons, but it is a God-given good, just as, of course, being weak was a result of the stirrings of wrath. Wisely therefore, and with love for God, our great David sings in the psalms, "My strength "and my praise is the Lord." I am like a dense juniper tree, from me your fruit is found. The juniper is a plant, so dense and with such abundant foliage, as to seem to be in some way a man-made roof, neither yielding passage to the rays of the sun, nor indeed to the downpours of rain, even if torrential ones should ever pour over the earth. That, therefore, being under God they will have unassailable shadowing, that is, help, he implies by saying, I am like a dense juniper tree. But that all fruit-bearing for those under God would come about in no other way than in Christ and through Christ, he himself will fully inform, saying in the evangelical decrees, "Without me you "can do nothing." Therefore let him say with good reason to each of the faithful, if one should be brilliant and praiseworthy, and in the boasts of virtue, From me your fruit is found. Who is wise and will understand these things? Or prudent and will know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just will walk in them; but the ungodly will be weak in them. He says that the one who understands these things is very wise and most prudent. For the comprehension of the divine words is not available for those who wish to readily take it, nor could one understand "a parable and a dark saying, the words "of the wise and their riddles," as it is written, except through the torch-bearing from above, with Christ sending into the mind and heart, as a brilliant ray, the grace from himself. And he teaches that to be able to traverse the straight and pleasing path to God is completely effortless for lovers of seemliness; but the matter is not smooth for those who are not so minded. For the desire and eagerness for everything good strengthens the one group, and persuades them to be carried in an unrestrained course towards the will to be well-pleasing; but for the other group, the inclination and tendency toward worthlessness and sin, would render them cowardly and unmanly, and not having from God the ability to achieve virtue, because they have not honored it in the first principles, nor has their goal been with a view to this. Therefore if we are sagacious and wise, we will ask from God the ability to do what is fitting, and he will grant it in every way, being a lover of mankind, and he will fill us with spiritual strength through Christ, through whom and with whom to God the Father be the glory, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.