Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 20–30

Commentary on Isaiah, Discourses 20–30

continued

Discourse 29

1 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, and your healing shall spring up speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall be your rear guard. Then you will call, and God will hear you. While you are still speaking, He will say, "Behold, I am here. If you fast purely, he says, and show to God hands that have been cleansed, and a mind freed from all filth, that is, when you wash away the striking of the lowly with fists, and the goading of your subordinates into judgment and fights, and following his [alt. your] desires and pleasures, when you break bread for the hungry, clothe the naked, bring the poor and homeless into your house; then your light shall break forth like the morning. The word has the greatest emphasis. For he did not simply say, "The light will be given to you by God," but rather "it will break forth," as if like a flash of lightning, sent down by God with impetus and speed, through which is clearly shown the eagerness of the one who bestows it. And by saying "early," he teaches that it will come down even before its time. For God, the steward of our affairs, the giver of spiritual gifts, knows the appropriate time for the honors for each person.

2 But if someone becomes fine and good, and in addition merciful and gentle, to this person early rewards will be given by him, so that they also spring up in him like ears of corn; and his healings, that is, the removal of all sickness, and the influx of better things. For when someone is freed from sicknesses of the soul, he will certainly bear as fruit the desire and readiness for anything good whatsoever. Therefore, when the divine and intelligible light shines in us, healings also arise in every way and entirely, with God moving us and weakening our passions, and introducing into us the will to do good and to excel in righteousness. For this reason he says, "Your righteousness shall go before you. It will go before, clearly making the path to piety easy, and changing the rough to the smooth and passable, and bringing down the steep, and as it were directing the course in all the best things. And he adds something else. "For the glory of God," he says, "will encompass you," that is, it will surround you, and will make you admired, and a common benefit to many. For the brightness of the saints benefits not a little those who look upon them. And so Christ said to the holy apostles: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

3 Therefore we shall be brilliant, with the glory from God going about us and as it were clothing us, which He would grant to those who are diligent in [perhaps of the] righteousness; therefore, when these things belong to you, he says, you will then cry out, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking He will say: Behold, I am here. "For he hearkens to the prayers of the righteous," according to what is written. And as the Psalmist says, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. For as one who is good He will assent to those who ask, but not to all of them immediately. But to those who have excelled in righteousness, without any delay He grants their requests, and holds his hearing most ready for them, so that rejoicing at each of their requests they say: "He heard my voice out of his holy temple, and my cry before him will enter into his ears. Therefore, the un-postponable nature of the honor, and the great readiness of God the giver, is clearly demonstrated by His crying out, Behold, I am here, while the righteous man is still speaking and raising his prayers.

4 If you take away from you the yoke, and the stretching forth of the hand, and the word of murmuring, and give your bread to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday, and your God will be with you always. The excellent points of the lessons, even if they are said often to some, nevertheless have their benefit. And so the all-wise Paul writes to those who believed through him: "To say the same things to you is not tedious for me, but for you it is safe. Therefore in many ways through the same things he comes to us, speaking and making clear the paths of good repute, and describing the splendor of the rewards to be given to the saints, so that he might make them even more eager to choose to do those things through which they would become venerable, and will find the honor from above and from him . Therefore, "If you take away," he says, "from you the yoke, and the stretching forth of the hand. And by yoke, as I think, he means the wickedness of the nations, their awkwardness and contentiousness, and the practice of making, as it were, conspiracies of things against some, and making inquiries of crooked inventions, so as to bind some at times, and to cast them into inescapable snares of circumstances.

5 For a man must be simple and approachable, if he has the aim of being watched over by God, and of desiring the gifts from Him. And by stretching forth of the hand perhaps he means bribery, and desiring shameful gains, for we sometimes say of certain men that he has his hand stretched out to receive, and of those who reject shameful gain, that he has his hand drawn in. And it has been said concerning the leaders of the Jewish Synagogue: "Her leaders judged for a bribe, and her priests divined for money," and that they have become companions of thieves, loving gifts, pursuing recompense. And somewhere the divine Habakkuk also said: "Judgment has come before me, and the judge accepts [a bribe]. Therefore the name will either be significant of bribery, that is, the stretching out of the hand, which indeed He has commanded to take away, that is, to put away; or else, in another way, it signifies to avenge oneself, and to return evil for evil. For the Psalmist said concerning some people, that "He stretched out his hand in retribution. And he adds that "They have profaned His covenant. Therefore the stretching out of the hand would signify, as I said, also the retribution, which someone might make, taking vengeance on those who have grieved them, and bringing things born of anger against those who have offended them. And we remember the Savior Himself saying that "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

6 For it would be a proof of complete gentleness and freedom from anger to know how to persevere when taken advantage of, and not to love taking revenge on those who have grieved us, but rather to be disposed toward them without malice. And in addition to this He wishes to take away also words of murmuring. For we must submit to the divine laws with a cheerful mind, and make no outcry against the excellent way of life, as if shaking off the yoke, with the mind descending to the desire for worse things, and praising the love of pleasure rather than self-control, and preferring the luxuries in the world to choosing to live reverently. Which indeed those of Israel did while traversing that deep desert. For when God sent down the manna to them, they received an inclination toward baser things, saying, "Would that we had died, smitten by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, and ate bread to the full. But their murmuring against God resulted in their destruction, for they were destroyed by the serpents. For this reason also the most wise Paul says, "Do not murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the serpents. Therefore, it is fitting for the caretaker of all good order, and for the one who strives for excellent acts of virtue, to have a cheerful mind;

7 and having taken away the word of murmuring, if you give bread to the hungry, and satisfy an afflicted soul, that is, if you become compassionate, a lover of good and a lover of your fellow men, generous, and sociable, and loving your neighbor as yourself, then your light will rise in the darkness. But how, then, is this so? For just as day comes from night, so in us, when the intelligible darkness is cast out, the divine light enters in its place, so that one seems to be at midday, that is, at the height of brightness. For the circle of the sun at midday then indeed especially sends forth its most intense light upon those on the earth. So thus your God will be with you always. And this, in addition to the other things, is immensely great. For what good thing is not available to those who obtain this? Or of what gifts will a person not be full, when God who is all-powerful is with him, and with a rich hand distributes those things of which He is the supplier and giver, and warding off the assaults of temptations, and making one so strong, as to stand up bravely both against Satan himself and against the outrages from the passions?

8 And you shall be satisfied, as your soul desires, and your bones shall be made fat, like a well-watered garden, and as a spring whose water has not failed, and your bones shall spring up like grass and be made fat, and they shall inherit for generations of generations. And with what, then, shall you be filled? he says. Of divine gifts, clearly, and of nourishment befitting saints; for as Christ Himself said somewhere: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God," this was also of old inscribed as in a type for those of the blood of Israel, when God sent down the manna from heaven; since in a way it might be conceived as the bread of angels, and the bread of heaven. And if there should be any, in whose mind the divine light has flashed richly, and of the sacred Scriptures an accurate and has worked a blameless knowledge, and we say that these have been filled, and have come to satiety of the delight from above and from God; but Israel has fallen away from this; but the nations have come into possession and ownership of it through faith, and as many as approach the evangelical and saving word.

9 And so our Lord Jesus Christ said to the holy apostles, that "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given," that is, to those who did not believe, to whom indeed the divine word also proclaimed, "Those who serve me shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, those who serve me shall drink, but you shall be thirsty. For they have hungered and thirsted, having no share in the good things through the Spirit, and completely without taste of the gifts through Christ, that is, of the divine and evangelical instruction. For he said somewhere through one of the holy prophets; "Behold, I am bringing 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 shall run about from east to west seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it. For the life-giving and most nourishing word of God has been taken away from the flock of the Jews. But it has been given, as I said, to those who love Christ, to whom indeed he also proclaimed, saying: "Eat, and be drunk, O friends. And so the divine David also sings, since he too had a share in such a venerable and abundant honor; "You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

10 you have anointed my head with oil, and your cup makes me drunk, as the best. Therefore, as many as have had knowledge of his divine mysteries, that is, have been filled with them, their bones have been made fat. But the saying is fashioned as from those who are accustomed to live luxuriously in a carnal manner; the soul of such persons would become like a well-watered garden, that is, blooming, and full of fine trees, and adorned with various kinds of flowers, and bringing forth all sorts of fruits. For waterless gardens are very ugly; for they are dry and destitute of all fruit, or perhaps even lacking the plants themselves. But those that are soaked by unstinting streams of water are crowned with all sorts of fruits, as I said. Indeed, the Church has become the garden of Christ, and taking on its person, the bride described in the Song of Songs says, "Let my kinsman come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his choice trees; for what the choice fruit is among plants, that is, beautiful fruit, this in the souls of the saints is a good virtue and most pleasing to God. Therefore, your soul shall be, he says, like a well-watered garden, and yes, also like a spring, whose water has not failed. Such have the divine mystagogues become, sending forth the streams of pious teaching as from an ever-flowing spring of their own heart, and richly watering the souls of those being instructed.

11 And the dispenser of such excellent gifts himself will confirm it, saying, "He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. And again: "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will have in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. We say that such are the holy apostles and evangelists, and all who proclaim the divine word, on the one hand being well-versed in dogmatic skill, and on the other hand also revealing the path of brightness in works. And your bones, he says, will spring up like grass, and they will be made fat, and they will inherit for generations of generations. In these things he seems to reveal the mystery of the resurrection; for then the body will rise again, just like some grass in a field, which during the winter season withered and closed up, but when the fine spring weather smiles, grows again, and as it were returns to the beauty that is in it by nature. But the bones, having sprung up like grass, will be made fat, he says, evidently by the life-giving grace the from God. For somewhere the divine David sings and says: "You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth," that is, of those on the earth.

12 Then we will inherit generations of generations, that is, a long life, since death will have been abolished, and corruption entirely removed. And it is said in many places of the divinely inspired Scripture, that the intelligible bones of the soul are certain practical powers and energies of it, as in the saying that "God has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers. For God does not scatter the bones of the body, but rather shatters the powers of their soul, so that nothing is able to be accomplished by those who see them, nor indeed is anything they are fond of doing done for the glory of God, nor for the benefit of their own soul. And again the divine Psalmist said, "Because I was silent, my bones grew old from my crying all the day," that is, to give glory and to pray, I have become silent, having fallen into human faint-heartedness. My bones grew old, that is, the powers of the mind, or of the soul, became weak. These, therefore, sometimes paralyzed for a short time by sloth, again spring up like grass, as God fattens them with consolations through the Holy Spirit, and strengthens it, so that for this reason we may be made heirs of long-enduring life; for this, and nothing else, is what "for generations of generations" signifies. And your everlasting deserts shall be built, and your foundations shall be for generations of generations, and you shall be called the builder of fences, and you will cause the paths between them to cease.

13 Through two other examples the prophetic word comes to us, and the beauty of the hidden meanings is revealed. For the form of the word is fashioned as if upon a city once made desolate, and completely shaken, so that it remained without walls. For your deserts, he says, shall be built forever, that is, you will not be bare of good thoughts inhabiting your heart, nor indeed will you remain without walls, or unguarded, and having no firm foundation. For Christ will be to you a foundation and continual security, and you shall be as a populous city, having innumerable inhabitants. For the souls of the saints are full of words and thoughts, those concerning God, that is. These are very many, and coming by means of perfect accuracy, they run up and down through it, showing it to be full of every good thing. And in addition to this you will be called the builder of fences, and you will cause the paths between them to cease; for many are they who go through deserted gardens. For with no one at all standing guard, that is, fencing it securely, there would be nothing to prevent those who wish to walk through the middle. But if they should somehow become secure under a gardener, then they also cast off being subject to the feet of the many, a fence having clearly been raised. For in this way the paths through the middle will cease.

14 You shall be, therefore, he says, as a diligent gardener raising fences, and causing the paths between them to cease. For as long as the soul is unguarded, snoring toward sloth, and for this reason not untrodden by the strange paths of pleasures, it is like a garden traversed by anyone whatsoever. But when, having become sober, it leaps away from the snares of wickedness, and rather seizes the will to do good, and raises up security for the mind as a kind of fence, I mean, that from the fear of God, and drives away from the intellect the thoughts that formerly held it, which went as it were through the middle of it, having it underfoot, and making it a thing to be trampled by mastering it, then it will also be called the builder of fences. But it must be known that also the evil and opposing powers sometimes run down the wretched soul, bringing forth foul pleasures, and carrying it off tyrannically wherever they wish, and walking as through a fallow garden. But they will cease from trampling it, a fence having been raised, which the fear of God raises in us. You will apply such a saying also to each of the holy mystagogues.

15 For they have become builders of fences, securing with admonitions to virtue the souls of those being instructed, so that they have their minds in a way untrodden by the assaults of pleasures and vulgarities, and by those accustomed to speak empty words, who corrupt the right word of faith, not knowing either what they are saying, or about what things they are making confident assertions. If you turn your foot away from the Sabbaths, from doing your own will on the holy day, and call the Sabbaths delicate, holy to your God, you will not lift your foot to a task, nor will you speak a word in anger from your mouth, and you shall trust in the Lord, and he will bring you up to the good things of the earth, and will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your Father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. The divine Paul, setting aside the shadow of the law as ineffective, transfers the things in it to a spiritual contemplation. For one might observe him not accepting either circumcision according to the flesh, or inactivity on the Sabbath, but rather he is seen proclaiming a spiritual circumcision, and likewise a Sabbath-rest. For he said, "He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God.

16 Concerning the Sabbath: therefore a Sabbath-rest remains for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Therefore, if someone ceases from his own works, that is, yields the need to hold to his own desires to the sacred decrees, thus he keeps the Sabbath spiritually, and truly observes a holy day. This the saying of the prophecy at hand also shows us. For if you turn away, it says, your foot from the Sabbaths, from doing your own will on the holy day. But "turn away your foot from the Sabbaths" would be nothing other, as I think, than that one must not do what one wishes, and follow the paths of one's own desires. For that the goal of human desires looks toward the love of pleasure, the all-wise Paul will confirm, writing: "For I do not do the good that I wish, but the evil that I hate is what I do. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Therefore, it is necessary indeed for those wishing to be well-pleasing to God to vigorously contend against their own will, and following His divine laws everywhere, to traverse the admirable path of righteousness. But he calls Sabbaths delicate which have nothing from one's own judgment.

17 But a hard and harsh judgment is to not want to be subject to what God wills; being such, He rebuked Israel, saying, "I know that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead bronze. Therefore, obedience, and tractability, and the yielding quality of one's manner, render the inactivity on the Sabbath delicate to God, that is, the spiritual Sabbath-rest, which those wishing to achieve blamelessly do not lift their foot to a task, that is, they do not walk practically, but rather they accomplish the holy and profitable inactivity, I mean, in respect to things most shameful, and abominable, and hateful to God. He wants such people to be seen as being masters of anger and wrath, and having a door and a bolt upon their tongue. For you shall not speak a word, it says, in anger from your mouth. Therefore he here circumcises two terrible and very difficult things, from which if one departs, he will be perfect before God. For one of the holy apostles said, "If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. But he who is superior to anger is surely also well-mannered, if the opposite is also true; for it is written that "A man the wrathful is not comely.

18 Therefore, God wants those who observe the sabbath spiritually, and holily, and delicately, to be gentle and possessing the greatest virtue, and he commands them to trust, not in wealth rather than worldly powers, not in the strength of bodies, not in any other such thing, which, like the grasses in the fields, are both temporary and easily withered, but rather in the Lord, the giver and ruler of all cheerfulness. The things of those accustomed to live thus, what sort of men they might be, crowning them, he points out saying, that "He will bring you up to the good things of the earth, and will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the God of all promised the land of promise to the fathers of the Jews, and indeed they were brought into it under the leadership of Jesus after the hierophant Moses; Then how through the preceding verses, as to those who had not yet received the inheritance promised to the patriarch Jacob, does he promise to give it to them? Therefore, the promise was not from God to the divine Jacob concerning the perceptible land, that is, the one bequeathed to them, that is, to Abraham and Isaac, but rather concerning that which the Savior himself signified to us, saying: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And that the things promised will in every way and altogether come to fulfillment, he confirms by saying: For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things;

19 and it is impossible for the divine words to fall away; for God is truth. Is my hand not strong enough to save? Or has his ear become heavy, that it cannot hear? But your sins separate between you and God, because of your sins he has turned his face from you, so as not to have mercy. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins. And your lips have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates injustice; no one speaks righteous things, nor is there true judgment. They have trusted in vain things, and speak empty things. A little before this, the person of God was introduced, saying to the divine prophet: "Cry out with strength, and do not spare, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their iniquities, and to the house of Israel their sins. They seek me day by day, and desire to know my ways, as a people who have done righteousness, and have not forsaken the judgment of their God. They now ask of me a righteous judgment, and desire to draw near to God, saying, Why is it that we have fasted, and you have not seen? we have humbled our souls, and you have not known? For in the days of your fasts you find your own wills, and you oppress all who are under your hand, you fast for judgment and strife; I have not chosen this fast, says the Lord.

20 And we were explaining the power of the prophecy, as is possible, interpreting that, rising up against the things established through the all-wise Moses, and considering it of little account at all to live rightly, they did their usual things, practicing a way of life hateful to God and fond of sin, then when war was announced, they sometimes considered fasting through a bare and mere fast, that is, abstinence from food, thinking they would render the judge merciful to themselves. Then, having failed in their hope, they grumbled, and indeed they said: Why is it that we have fasted, and you have not seen? we have humbled our souls, and you have not known? Behold then, behold the divine prophet, as out of a very great love for God he rebukes them, and says, Is the hand of the Lord not strong enough to save, or has his ear become heavy, that it cannot hear? For the all-powerful right hand of the Lord, he says, has not become weak, nor is his ear heavy and turned away, so as not to listen. But your sins separate between you and him. Therefore, if one should remove the difference, and take away that which walls off the knowledge of God, that is, sin, he who saves is not far off, but will certainly receive the supplications. For in him is both the all-powerful, and the capacity to benevolently receive the prayers from those who are weary.

21 What sins therefore separate between God, and those of the blood of Israel he brings forth, saying: "For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins. And your lips have spoken lawlessness, and your tongue meditates injustice. For they killed the holy prophets who were sent from God, and they have spoken against him. For Jeremiah said, My strength has failed because of those who curse me; but leaving such things aside now, he seems to be accusing them of impiety against Christ, saying their hands are defiled with blood. For they became killers of the Lord, and their lips spoke lawlessness, and their tongue meditated injustice; for they have not ceased fighting and reviling and speaking against Christ, and at one time mocking his divine signs and bearing false witness against his god-fitting great works, and at another time accusing and saying: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him. And sometimes for this reason, as Christ endured an unjust sentence, the prophet cries out with holy boldness, No one spoke what is just, nor is there true judgment. They have trusted in vain things, and call on what is empty. And what is their vain trust? For they thought that by removing the heir from their midst, they would possess his inheritance; and speaking these empty words to one another, the wretched ones have acted impiously against him.

22 Therefore, the prophetic word either accuses those of the blood of Israel of impiety toward Christ, that is, that being in no way righteous, they would be convicted, they who have hands defiled with blood, and lips and a tongue that know how to meditate on nothing else except things tending to impiety, and lawlessness, and injustice, and that in addition to these things they have become unjust judges, taking bribes, that is, and being overcome by shameful gains. For it is said somewhere else, "How the faithful city has become a harlot, Zion, full of judgment, in which righteousness lodged, but now murderers! Your silver is worthless, your wine merchants mix the wine with water, your rulers are disobedient, companions of thieves, loving gifts, seeking rewards, not judging orphans, and not heeding the judgment of the widow. Because they conceive trouble and bring forth lawlessness. They have broken asps' eggs, and weave a spider's web, and he who is about to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled one, found also a basilisk in it. Their web will not become a garment, nor will they cover themselves with the works of their hands. It is a custom in the divinely-inspired Scripture to always call envy 'trouble'. And the saying has much probability; for it melts away and withers the hearts of those who receive it. The Psalmist also says something of this sort about someone, that is, about the people of the Jews, "He has conceived trouble and brought forth lawlessness.

23 For having been in labor with envy against Christ, they have brought forth impiety against him, that is, lawlessness; for they would be convicted by their very arguments of saying that prophetic word: "Let us bind the just man, for he is unprofitable to us. And we will find them in their councils taking a most outrageous counsel. For they were saying concerning the Savior of us all, Christ: "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, the Romans will come and take away both our nation and our land. And one of them, Caiaphas, this one became the inventor of the impiety against Christ; for he said again, "You know nothing at all, but that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. Most clearly, therefore, from what has been said, it is possible to see that, having conceived trouble, that is, having been in labor with trouble against him, they have brought forth lawlessness. What then does the prophetic word signify to us in these things? They have broken asps' eggs, and he who is about to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled one, found. For the Jews thought that their deliberations against Christ would come to a favorable end for them, and would be for the benefit of the whole nation.

24 But they missed the mark, and it has happened that they have suffered something like what those suffer from excessive folly, who the things of breaking the eggs of asps. For having crushed them, they will find nothing else, except a basilisk in it; and this is the most difficult offspring of a serpent, and deadly besides. Therefore, the end of their audacious acts against Christ is profitless for the Jews, but rather also a cause of destruction. For a serpent has, as it were, come forth for them, and an acknowledged offspring, that brings them to the abyss of hades; but that the conspiracy against Christ has been entirely useless, he shows immediately also through another example; For they weave, he says, a spider's web. For the spider, I mean this small and most insignificant creature, weaves webs in the less used parts of rooms, skillfully woven with thin threads, which, having been made with the greatest labor, profit them not at all in the end; for they will not be a garment for the one who made it, but are easily torn when used for a covering, and better than the art itself. Thus, he says, are also the inventions of the Jews, clearly those against Christ;

25 for by weaving deceits and entwining false accusations, they thought, as I said, that by covering him with the death of the flesh, they would accomplish something beneficial for themselves, and to be enriched with the covering from their own undertakings, but the end of what they hoped for came to nothing for them. For they have become naked of the good will from above, and have cast off their protector, that is, Christ; for from good works, a covering will come to those who wish to do them, with God bestowing this on them; but for the workers of evil, what comes from them will not be for a covering, but rather they will be destitute of the covering from God. For their works are works of iniquity, and their feet run to evil, they are swift to shed blood, and their thoughts are thoughts of murder; destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. There will be no judgment in their ways. For their paths are crooked, which they travel, and they do not know peace. For this reason judgment has departed from them. Each of the Jewish transgressions is enumerated in detail, so that since they have been cast out of intimacy with him, they may be convicted of having suffered this by a just sentence. For he says all their works are works of iniquity, and in these, in summary, the condemnation of their entire life has become true;

26 and so he runs through each of the accusations, saying that their feet run to evil, and are swift to shed blood, and that they have had thoughts set on murder. Consider again for me, that although their transgressions are very many, he first mentions their readiness for, I mean, choosing to murder. For he said their feet run to this, and are sharp or swift to receive thoughts of blood and murder; and he insists that destruction and misery are in their ways, and that they do not know peace, or the way of peace. For what they did unholily, and going beyond all boldness, became for them a cause of destruction and misery, or rather, from them to others. And they were certainly full of meddlesomeness, and litigious, and very sick with contentiousness; and the pretext for this was the desire for gains and bribe-taking. Therefore, quite rightly, he says, "There is no judgment in their ways. And by judgment he here means righteousness, that is, a most lawful and irreproachable way of life. For thus somewhere the divine David says concerning the commandment through Moses, "You have established judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Therefore, uprightness, that is righteousness, is not in their ways. For they are crooked, and they flee peace, that is, refusing to be peaceful towards others, or rather, by peace here he means our Lord Jesus Christ, whom they did not wish to know, digging for themselves the pit of destruction.

27 For this reason, he says, judgment departed from them, that is, for this cause righteousness departed from them, that is, the knowledge of doing those things which procure the crown of righteousness to those who have chosen to do them aright. But the Jews are outside of all spiritual skill, and as it were, the ability to know at all how to accomplish correctly anything of the things pleasing to God has flown away from their mind. While they waited for light, it became darkness to them; waiting for brightness, they walked in gloom. They will grope for the wall like a blind man, and as those who have no eyes they will grope, and they will fall at noonday as at midnight. They will groan like those who are dying, they will go together like a bear and a dove. Having declared their life accursed and most lawless; for he said what their works are, works of iniquity, and having enumerated these in detail, what they are, and in how many ways they come, he necessarily adds and sets forth both the loss inflicted on them from this and the recompense for their unbearable wickedness, that is, the fruits of the impiety within them. For the Jews indeed were expecting the illumination from Christ. They heard holy prophets crying out openly, "Be enlightened, be enlightened, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

28 And then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and as for what pertains to the foretelling of the holy prophets, the wretched ones were not without good hope. And indeed the leaders of the synagogue of the Jews once spoke to one another, "Does the Christ come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem the village? And that Samaritan woman confessed clearly, speaking to Christ Himself, the power of His advent. For she said that, "We know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ; when He comes, He will tell us all things. Therefore they were expecting, as I said, the illumination from Christ, but the things of their hope turned out for them completely the opposite. For they did not receive the true light, but, as if self-invited, having brought darkness into their own minds, they have become blind, and guides of the blind, according to the voice of the Savior. Therefore, while they waited for light, that is, having hoped or expected, it became darkness to them, and waiting for brightness, they walked in gloom. Again, the prophet states this same thing in another way, that is, about the same thing, making the meaning of what was said clear. For those who expected brightness, walked in deep darkness. For this is what the word 'gloom' signifies. Then, showing the magnitude of the blindness that came upon them, he said they would grope for a wall like a blind man.

29 For in this way it is sometimes the custom for those who suffer the affliction of blindness in their eyes to walk. But it being noonday, he says, they will fall as at midnight. And 'noonday' he usually calls the middle of the day, when the sun's orb also sends forth its strongest ray from mid-heaven upon those on earth, and as it were illuminates all things with richer beams; and 'midnight,' the middle of the night, when deep darkness is also poured down upon all under heaven. At noonday therefore, he says, that is, when a most abundant light, that is, a divine and intelligible one, was illuminating the world under heaven through Christ, the Savior of us all, the Jews will fall just like blind men, not even knowing where they are going; for they did not wish to obey Christ when He said, "While you have the light, walk in the light, that darkness may not overtake you. Therefore they were overtaken by darkness, not having endured to walk in the light; and they will suffer something else besides. For they will groan like those who are dying, he says, that is, as those who are held fast by a grievous and unbearable disease.

30 And they will go together as a bear and a dove, and not as two distinct beings reconciling with each other, of whom one might be understood as a bear, and the other as a dove, but each one of them at the same time, according to his disposition and at least according to the mind within them, being at once a bear and a dove. For since he said they would groan, he shows very well what sort and how great their groaning will be. For they say that bears, if they should be bereaved of their young by someone, their of her cubs, to wail dreadfully, and to be filled with unmixed madness, to roam the mountains and glens, and to leap uncontrollably upon those it meets; and somewhere through one of the holy prophets He signifies something of this sort, when the God of all says concerning those of the blood of Israel, I will meet them as a bear bereaved, that is, savagely and fiercely. But the doves, settling in their nests, coo frequently, and send forth a sort of mournful sound. Such have the Jews become; for with their whole country having been sacked along with the holy city, I mean Jerusalem, and the temple itself also having been burnt, they have a beastly disposition against those who took it. Yet they mourn for its suffering like doves. For it is written, that "And they shall be on the mountains like mourning doves.

31 Or perhaps we shall suppose the prophetic word in these things to indicate something else. For they will go, it says, as a bear and a dove, that is, they will live in a ferocity of mind, coupled with foolishness; and of ferocity the bear is an image, or an example, but of simplicity and foolishness, the dove. For it has been said concerning Israel through one of the holy prophets, And Ephraim was a silly dove, without a heart; and we will find the Jews to be truly somewhat savage and foolish. For the understanding and gentleness from Christ is not in them; for they denied Him who is the bestower of wisdom and understanding, who makes those who love him tame and gentle. Thus the prophet Jeremiah said concerning them at one time, that "Every man has become foolish from his knowledge," and at another time, "There is no wisdom in them, because they have rejected the word of the Lord. We waited for judgment, and there is no salvation, it is far from us; for our lawlessness is great before you, and our sins have stood against us; for our lawlessness is in us, and we have known our wrongdoings. We have acted impiously, and we have lied, and we have turned away from following our God. We have spoken unjustly, and have disobeyed; we have conceived, and have meditated from our heart unjust words, and we have turned judgment back, and justice stands far away.

32 The word of the holy prophets is always a lover of truth. For the spirit of truth speaks in them, that is, of Christ. For this reason, whenever they make mention of the rejection of the nation of the Jews, and of the wrath brought upon them because of their impiety towards Christ, they also usefully call to mind their future conversion in the last times of the age, and of the calling in Christ through faith. Most providentially, therefore, lest anyone think that the truth speaks falsely, it introduces them repenting, and taking on their person, it almost presents them to God saying: We waited for judgment, and there is none. And by judgment they mean righteousness, that which is through Christ, of course, which they expected to receive, but it is not among them, for they have become hard and disobedient. Because of this it says, that salvation is far from us. For our lawlessness is great before you, and our sins are in us. For since they have utterly fallen away from the one who justifies by faith, they have also become far from the salvation from him, not having cast off the pollutions of sin, not having wiped away the charges of lawlessness, but as it were having the filth from it ingrained in them. For this reason Christ addressed them, saying, "Truly I say to you, that if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. Therefore, since they have not believed, they have died in their sins;

33 and since they have acted impiously against Christ in many ways, they make confession of these very things. For they say, that We have known our wrongdoings, we have acted impiously, and we have lied, and we have turned away from following our God. For they acted impiously, intolerably speaking falsely of the glory of the Savior of us all, Christ, and turning away from the will to follow him. More- And they confess, that We have spoken unjust things, and have been disobedient, we conceived, and we meditated from our heart unjust words. For they have spoken unjust things against Christ; for at one time mocking his glory, and slandering his divine signs, they were saying that by Beelzebul the prince of the demons he casts out demons, and at another time also bringing forth from their own heart unjust words; for they accused him, a Samaritan and one having a demon, daring to call him both a glutton and a wine-drinker, and they also slandered him before Pilate, saying that, "He stirs up the crowds, and forbids giving tribute to Caesar. For this reason they say that, "We have departed from behind our God, we have spoken unjust things, and have been disobedient; we conceived, and we meditated from our heart words of injustice, and we have put judgment behind, and righteousness has stood far off," that is, we have cast righteousness behind, and as it were have given our backs, having turned away from it. For this reason it has stood far off from us.

34 These then indeed are the voices of those repenting, and of those seeking to be shown mercy by Christ. For a saving thing is to repent, and to make clear confessions of transgressions. For it is written, "Declare thou first thy transgressions, that thou mayest be justified. And the divine Psalmist also said; "I said, I will confess against myself my transgression unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart. That truth has been consumed in their ways, and they could not come by a straight path. And the truth is taken away, and they turned aside their mind, from understanding, and the Lord saw, and it did not please him, that there was no judgment. And he saw and there was no man, and he considered, and there was no one to help. And he defended them with his arm, and with the mercy, by which he was established, and he put on righteousness, as a breastplate, and placed a helmet of salvation upon his head. And he put on a garment of vengeance, and a cloak, as about to render a recompense, a reproach to his adversaries. And they from the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and they from the east the glorious name. For the wrath of the Lord will come as a violent river, it will come with anger.

35 The prophet, having recalled what those from Israel will say at the time of their calling, asking from God the Father the grace of salvation through Christ, again shifts the words to his own person, and speaks against those from Israel, or rather agrees, that they have become wicked, and apostates, and enemies of the truth; and he asserts, saying, that Truth has been consumed in their ways, that is, it is all but spent, and has completely gone. For there was not at all in their works truth, that is, the law of truth. For this reason they could not pass through by a straight path; for those who have altogether slipped from the knowledge of how to live according to the law, and according to what seems right to the truth, and the law of God is everywhere called truth, how could they have come straight to what is fitting? or how have they not had crooked and perverted ways? And adding and saying, that The truth is taken away, and they turned aside their mind from understanding, he shows that truth had completely departed from them, and they were completely turned aside from being able to understand the things that lead to salvation. These things, he says, the Lord saw, and it did not please him. For there was no judgment among them, that is, just judgment, and law. Then;

36 He has seen, he says, and there was no man, he considered and there was no one to help, For since he is compassionate, as God he remits, sometimes, even the charges against a whole city, for one, and only one righteous man found in it; and at least he said through the voice of Jeremiah; "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek in the broad places thereof, and see if ye can find a man, if there is one that executes faith, and loves mercy, and I will be merciful to her, saith the Lord. And he also promised to Sodom that he would remit the punishment by fire, if they had five righteous men among them, that is, in each city one righteous man. He considered therefore, he says, and there was no man, there was no one to help. For the human race to be saved, that is, and before all others those from Israel, who have believed, to be in participation of the Holy Spirit, through whom also the boast of adoption is brought in, and to speak in a tongue the word of faith, as the all-wise Paul has written: " Do not say," he says, "in your heart: Who will ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down, or, Who will descend into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does the Scripture say?

37 The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that if you say, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. We have received, therefore, from God the word of faith, that is, the confession: a saving thing, and a cause of righteousness: for thus Christ justifies the ungodly, He who also cried out of old, " Behold, I have blotted out your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Let this word of faith be in us continually, and it will not cease from our mouth. And we shall send it on to generations of generations, for thus also those after us will be justified. For if Christ is always both God and Lord, the confession of faith in Him will never cease among those who have known His appearing. Arise, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth over the nations: but the Lord shall appear upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And kings shall walk by your light, and nations by your brightness.

38 As the promise has been given that Israel will be saved in due time, the prophetic word in these things leaps up, in a way, for us to gladness, for, raising a great cry on high, it almost exclaims: "Arise, shine," it says, "for your light has come. But consider how, when the divine light from God was distributed to those of Israel before all others—it is clear that this is through Christ—the prophet says, "your light has come," almost pointing out to them as present Him who was long ago foretold through the law and the holy prophets, but who shone upon those on earth in the last times of the age with flesh. And he says that the One who appeared is the glory of the Lord, for Christ has risen like some sun, illuminating all things with divine and intelligible light, and sending down the radiance of the true knowledge of God to those more ready for faith. And He is also the glory of God the Father. For in Him, and through Him, and with Him He is glorified. And He portrays, as if in His own nature, the One who begot Him. And since we have known the Son, we have seen through Him and in Him the majesty of the Father, and His incomparable glory, and the excellence of His divine dignities. And so Christ said somewhere: "Father, glorify your Son, that also the Your Son, I will glorify you.

39 Therefore the glory of God the Father appeared among us, then, having separated Israel from all other nations, as one specially honored by God and being His inheritance, he adds and says: " Behold, darkness and gloom will cover the earth upon the nations, but upon you the Lord will appear. And he does not say such things as if darkness were about to overshadow the nations when Christ shone upon the world, but rather it was enlightened, and has cast off the darkness of ancient deceit. But those who interpret the divine Scripture are often indifferent concerning the rendering of tenses. Therefore they have put "will cover" instead of "covers. For it is true that even when Christ shone forth, and before others to those from Israel, the multitude of nations was still held in darkness, grace not yet having been transferred to them. Behold, therefore, he says, the whole land of the nations is covered with darkness and gloom, that is, of ignorance and of error, but upon you the Lord will appear, for, as I said, he shone upon them, and his glory was first seen by them, through exceptional great works, and signs, and wonders. For he performed miracles as God among them, raising the dead from tombs, putting light into the eyes of the blind, cleansing lepers with a command, rebuking demons with authority, and in short leaving no way unused which was sufficient for the conviction that he is truly God, and the Son of God by nature.

40 "And kings shall come, he says, to your light, and nations to your brightness. Again the prophet connects the calling of the nations with the visitation of those from Israel, so that they might know that even if they dishonor the Redeemer by their disobedience, and leap away from love for him, to the destruction of their own head, he will not be destitute of worshippers, but rather will gather by faith both nations and kings: for by the brightness given to you, he says, that is by the illumination from Christ, kings and nations will come. And where will they come? To salvation through faith, obviously, to a glorious and blameless life, to knowing and confessing who the Creator and craftsman of all things is by nature and in truth. For they worshipped the creation rather than the creator, and attached their reverence to wood and stones. But since they were illuminated by the light given to you, they too, he says, will travel the straight and royal road, stumbling over none of the things lying in between, but as in the dawn and in the day, although they were sons of night and darkness, running past all the stumbling blocks. Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered together: Behold, all your sons have come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders:

41 then you will see, and you will fear, and you will be amazed in your mind, because the wealth of the sea will turn to you, and of nations, and of peoples, and droves of camels will come to you, and the camels of Midian will cover you m and Ephah. All shall come from Sheba, bearing gold and frankincense, and they shall bring precious stones, and shall proclaim the salvation of the Lord: and all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you, and they shall be offered acceptably upon my altar, and my house of prayer shall be glorified. The word has a very great and wise economy. For it proclaims the calling of the gentiles, and the union of the two peoples in Christ, and the change from the shadow of the law to spiritual worship. For all things are new in Christ, and the old things have passed away, and he himself created the two peoples into one new man, making peace, and reconciling both in one body to the Father. Of all these things he makes the prediction, and indeed he says to the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the Church, which from the beginning was constituted of the Jews: for they were the first to believe: " Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered. For behold, all your sons have come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on shoulders.

42 For as the divine and evangelical preaching gathers those who have believed from every nation and country, netting the whole world under heaven, and persuades them to go to a certain very well-towered city for the grace that comes through faith, that is, for the nourishment of the saints, I mean the Church, it says such things, just as, indeed, somewhere else: " For it shall be, it says, in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, prepared on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and many nations shall come to it, and shall say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will announce to us his way. And we will walk in it. Therefore, the children of Jerusalem would not be called only those from the blood of Israel, but rather also all those from every nation and country called through faith into the light of truth. For as the all-wise Paul writes, "Not all those who are from Israel are Israel, nor because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. And it was said by God to the divine Abraham, that "I have made you a father of many nations. Therefore, as a multitude has already been gathered from the nations, and is worshipping Christ:

43 Lift up, it says, your eyes round about, that is, survey the whole inhabited world, and from every part of it you will see your children running to you, and they shall come, though once they were far off, but far off not in place, but in mind and disposition of intellect. And so one of the holy prophets said to those who had fled from knowing the God who is by nature and truly so: "Remember, you who are far from the Lord, and let Jerusalem come up upon your heart. And the all-wise Paul also wrote concerning Christ, that " He came and preached peace ce to those who are far off, and to those who are near. And he writes to those from the Gentiles: "Remember you Gentiles, who are called the uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the hope of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God in the world, but now you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For those who did not know at all the God who is by nature and in truth, are said to be, and are, far off, according to disposition and mind, as I said. But behold, they have come, he says, that is, their calling will not be to a distant time, nor for a postponement:

44 for they will run as if at the heels of the evangelical proclamations, and they will make their arrival to God through faith without any toil and free from all difficulty and sweat. For they will be carried on shoulders: for the figure of speech is formed as from an example from our own lives: for newborn infants love to be nursed, and seek to rest in their mothers' bosoms and arms. Something like this happens with those called from Hellenic error, for they are cared for by their instructors in the mysteries, not being led harshly, nor immediately taking the rough path, but, as it were, through a tender upbringing are fed with milk and ascend little by little toward a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And so it was commanded to the holy apostles to baptize all the nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all that he had commanded them. And they, wishing to do this, laid no burden at first on those who believed, using pedagogical skill. For they wrote to those from the Gentiles, that " It seemed good to the holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you, except that you abstain from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood.

45 And the most excellent Paul also writes to some, that "I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it, nor are you able even now. But solid food is for the perfect, of those who by practice have the senses of their heart trained for the discernment of good and evil. Therefore, on shoulders will your sons be carried, he says, and your daughters, and then you will see, and you will fear, and you will be amazed, that is, you will marvel: for thus somewhere also the divine Habakkuk: "Lord, he says, I have heard your report, and I was afraid. I considered your works, and was amazed. And we ourselves are somehow accustomed, to say at times, "I was amazed," whenever something paradoxical happens to be done by someone. You will marvel, therefore, he says, and what will be the reason for this? For the wealth of the sea will be transferred to you, and of nations, and of peoples. In these words he makes a clearer prediction, that in due time the multitude of the nations will be called to the knowledge of the truth. For it was indeed in the land in the more southern regions of the Jews, but indeed the parts towards the north, and the sea, and the cities, and the lands lying upon it, the flocks of the Gentiles divided among themselves.

46 But since, having returned from their ancient deceit, they have undergone a change for the better, having been called to the knowledge of the God who is according to nature through those who minister the Gospel of Christ: for this reason, he says, the wealth of the sea will be transferred to the Church: and the wealth, as I said, of the cities and lands lying by the sea, are those who dwell in them. "And herds of ca- mels shall come to you, he says, and the camels of Midi an and Eph- ah shall cover you. For these are nations neighboring Jerusalem, and having common borders, both the Midianites and those from Ephah. For they were abominable, and uncircumcised, and idolaters, but that they themselves also will be called, and will bear fruit for God, he shows in these things. For they were camel-riders, and they provided the resources for living from both fighting and raising cattle: and they were especially so to those of Israel, but those who once wandered, both profane and unmixed with the sanctified, will come, he says, not one by one, but as in a herd, and in a multitude, either mounted on camels, that is, bringing what they have, and honoring God with what is at hand. "And all shall come from She ba, bringing gold and frankincense, and they shall bring a precious stone, and shall proclaim the salvation of the Lord.

47 Again, Sheba is a land beyond that of the Ar abs, and rather near the Red Sea, from which She ba, the queen of the Ethiopians, in the times of Solomon visited Jerusalem. And the land is most fruitful in frankincense-trees, and gold, and Indian stones. Therefore they will come, he says, bearing fruit for the glory of G od, and offering frankincense, and gold, and stones, that is, the fragrance from good works, and intelligible brightness, and spiritual wealth. "And they will also proclaim the good news of the salvation of God. For very many who have been called from the nations, and having been made wise in heart, and having received a knowledgeable mind of the sacred doctrines, have obtained the dignity of teaching, and proclaiming to others the salvation and grace from Christ our all-Saviour, have put on the crown of genuineness. "And the sheep of Kedar, he says, and the rams of Nebaioth will come to you, and will be offered up acceptably upon my altar. And Kedar, and Nebaioth are again other lands, both rich and with good pastures, and having very many inhabitants in them, but they were idolaters, and wanderers. But these also, he says, will offer rams and sheep, and all will be acceptable upon my altar: and yet according to the law of Moses it was not permitted for foreigners to offer sacrifices to God. Nor if they had offered them would anyone have made them acceptable. But behold, God commands that these also be acceptable to the holy sacrif borders.

48 For in Christ Jesus there is neither slave nor free, barbarian, Scythian, Greek and Jew, but Christ is all, and in all. For the two peoples have become one, since he brought down the middle wall of partition, and abolished the law of commandments in decrees. Therefore the sacrifices of all are acceptable, of those who approach God through faith in Christ. ¹And the house of prayer of God was glorified. And again, consider for me the depth of the word: for he no longer wishes the Church to be called a house of sacrifices and smoke, just as the temple in Jerusalem was, but rather of prayer, that is, of spiritual worship. For somewhere the divine David also sings and says: "Let my prayer be set forth as incense before you, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. And it should be noted that the Savior himself also recalled this verse somewhere when rebuking the commerce of the Jews, saying: "It is written: 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" Therefore, when it became a house of prayer, then it was also glorified. Who are these that fly like clouds, and like doves with their young? The islands have waited for me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first, to bring your children from afar, and their silver and their gold with them, for the sake of the holy name of the Lord, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorious.

49 It is possible to see again in these things the person of the Church introduced, that is of the spiritual Jerusalem, lifting up her eyes as in a circle, as she was commanded by God, then being astonished at the multitude of those running to her, and the people gathered through faith beyond all number. "For who are these that fly," it says, "like clouds, and like doves with their young? For they are caught in the net through faith, not only the old, but with them also the young, and together fathers with children, and mothers with daughters. Therefore, for every age the linen-net of the evangelical proclamations is spread out, and this, I think, is what is written in the book of Psalms: "Young men and maidens, old men with younger ones, let them praise the name of the Lord. And it says they fly, either because they will walk to her, not carelessly and feebly, but like winged and swift creatures, or that, having left behind their earthly and base mindset, they are in a way raised on high, and just as clouds from the sea, so from worldly turmoil and luxury, they leap up high, and swim up, hastening to the city above. Therefore, as the Church marvels at the gathering through faith from every land, he who nets them lays bare again the cause of the matter, and says: "The islands have waited for me, and the ships of Tarshish to bring your children from afar, and their gold and their silver with them.

50 And here you will understand islands not, of course, as the lands of the islands themselves, for that is foolish, nor yet as the very... Of another race, indeed, because not from the blood of Israel according to the flesh, but wise master builders, according to the divine Paul, and knowing well how to lay Christ as a foundation in us, that is, through faith and the teaching of good things. This, I think, is what is meant by, "Men of other races will build your walls, and their kings will stand by you. But whose kings? Clearly, those of the other races. By these he means kings, either the rulers and leaders of peoples, who have stood by the Church of Christ, as if serving as its bodyguard, and protecting its children, and warding off every attack of enemies visible and invisible, or in truth those crowned with the highest honors, and holding the scepter of kingship, who also have stood by the Church. And the 'standing by' in this context signifies obedience. For they yield to the divine and sacred decrees, and they deem the proclamation of the Church worthy of all account. For in my wrath I struck you, and in my mercy I have loved you. And your gates will be opened continually, day and night, and they will not be shut, to bring in to you the power of nations, and kings being led. For the nations and the kings that will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be made desolate.

51 For since, it says, you were found guilty of very many and intolerable sins, you have undergone the commensurate penalty. For it was necessary for one who was such to undergo the things that come from wrath. But since again it was necessary for you as from a good and compassionate Lord and God for mercy to be given, it is given, and I will banish the things that come from wrath. What then will there be, what will be given, when the grim things have ceased? "Your gates," it says, "will be opened continually, day and night, and they will not be shut. In these words it seems he promises them peace, and the calm weather that comes from it. For cities that are under suspicion of an enemy attack do not always have their gates thrown open, but as occasion and need require, and hardly in the daytime, and not without fear: but those completely freed from expecting to suffer any such thing open them wide to those entering, even if some do this at night.

52 If, therefore, God promises them peace, and a breadth of prosperity, that is, the concourse of those coming to it will be uninterrupted, and the entry, as it were, continuous, as they are drawn in a certain way through faith to the knowledge of Christ, so that the gates seem to be opened, and there is no time at which it is proper for them to be closed, and not only for those of a humble life, and under the yoke of kingship, but indeed also for those themselves who hold power over all. And it is possible to see through the events the power of the prophecy prevailing to this day. For the Church receives at all times those willing to believe, and shuts out from this endeavor absolutely no one: and it is possible for those who wish, with no one hindering, at whatever time they might wish, to to be led to the light of the true knowledge of God: and God and the Father leads all to the knowledge of the Son, through whom, and in whom, and with whom he is glorified. And he himself has revealed this to us, saying: "No one can come to me, unless my Father who sent me draws him. But he says that the power of the nations will be brought in, so that you might not think only, as I said, of those in smallness and in a low state, but also those in power, and glory in this life.

53 And he adds that, "And the nations, and the kings, who will not serve you, will perish, and will be made desolate. For the unbelieving, and uninitiated, and those without a share in the salvation through Christ, whether they be some of the distinguished, or of the more obscure, will fall into the pit of Hades, and into the snare of death: for they will have died in their own sins, and they will suffer the final punishment of all. And the glory of Lebanon will come to you in cypress, and pine, and cedar, together to glorify my holy place. Lebanon is a mountain of Phoenicia, full of cedars, and cypresses, and pines, and with these very plants of Lebanon. And for this reason the aforementioned mountain is admired, as having the most abundant timber, and abounding with the tallest and most fragrant trees. This glory, therefore, will be given to you, he says, that is, intelligibly, and spiritually. For the Church of Christ nourishes very many, and renowned heads of the saints raised on high from virtues, and yes, most fragrant. For they have the fragrance of Christ: and in them is also the state of being beyond the corruption that comes from a carnal mind, just as indeed the pine and the cedar do not decay. But it is the custom of the divinely-inspired Scripture at times to liken the multitude of the saints to such plants, and so God said somewhere again through the voice of Isaiah:

54 "And I will make water in the desert, and rivers in the waterless land. I will place in the waterless earth the cedar, and the box-tree, and the myrtle, and the cypress, and the white poplar. For he likens the nations to a desolate and waterless land: for the divine word was not among them, which is able to give life, and to bring to growth in piety and knowledge of God, but there have come to be among them the cedar, and the box-tree and the myrtle, and the cypress, and the white poplar, that is, tall and admirable plants, of which also the divine Psalmist makes mention, saying: "Bread strengthens man's heart, the trees of the plain will be satisfied, and the cedars of Lebanon, which you have planted. For as the all-wise Paul writes, "We are God's field. This glory of Lebanon, therefore, he says, will be given to you, that is, you will be seen abounding with many and admired heads of saints. And this will be, so that my holy place may be glorified. For the boast of the Churches are those who have entered into the heights of the virtues, and having nothing low, that is earthly, and cast on the ground in mind because of the to mind the things of the flesh, but rather rushing on high, and minding the things that are above, and as it were departing from the earth, and while walking upon it, yet having our citizenship above and in the heavens.

55 And the sons of those who humbled you and provoked you shall come to you in fear, and you shall be called the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. The very outcome of events shows precisely the power of the prophecy, not straying from the truth: for having acted insolently towards the Savior of all, our Jesus Christ, Jerusalem has been humbled, having been cast out from intimacy with God, and having slipped away from hope in him, and having become destitute of mercy from above, and having fallen into the hands of enemies, who indeed having laid waste to all of Judea, also burned the divine and famous temple. But since the remnant has been saved through God's pity, for not a few of those from Israel have believed in Christ, it has been called the Church of Christ, and has become a mother, as it were, of nations. For the sons of those who once humbled her, that is, those who hold power in earthly matters, and coming as it were from them in the succession of scepters, consider the Church venerable, and in fear, that is, with reverence, and having the divine fear in mind, they approach her: "For she has been called the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. For the Church is the city of God, and the divine David teaches this, as if to her, "Glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God.

56 And the Lord of all himself says somewhere through the lyre of the Psalmist: " Here I will dwell, for I have chosen it; I will bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread; I will clothe her priests with salvation. But if anyone should wish to name the successive sons of the kings who once persecuted the Church, who now approach her with honor and fear, and honor her as a divine city, he is not carried outside the scope. For we see the outcome of events has turned out this way. Because you were forsaken and hated, and there was no one to help you, I will make you an everlasting exultation, a joy from generation to generation. And you shall suck the milk of nations, and you shall eat the wealth of kings; and you shall know that I am the Lord who saves you, and the God of Israel who redeems you. "For you have become, he says, forsaken, and hated, and there was no one to help. This was the cause of your humiliation, for you acted insolently toward the one able to exalt you and to guard your prosperity unshakably, but there was no one to extend a helping hand, since you were hated by God: for you acted insolently not against some one of those in a servile station, and having a diaconal ministry, but against the very King and Lord of all.

57 But since you have once suffered humiliation, the wicked things will pass away, and he will reclaim you with the second things. For just as having disobeyed if it was necessary for her to be punished by the just decree of God, so it is fitting for her when she has returned to be pitied. "I will make you, therefore," he says, "a joy for generations of generations: For there is nothing gloomy in the Church of Christ, where there is altogether the hope of incorruption, and of unending life, and of unfading glory, and of the kingdom of the heavens, what dejection could it have? And you shall suck the milk of nations, and you shall eat the wealth of kings. And the meaning of the prophecy seems to some to teach something of this sort, that many from the Hellenic flock, having been made wise in their mind by the God-inspired Scriptures, and having leaped up to a knowledge of dogmatic skill, will be teachers of the Synagogue from the Jews. But somehow for the present the text seems to go not so much this way of thought, but perhaps wants to make this clear, that she will be filled with the fruitfulness from the nations, and with royal offerings. For the experience of things shows that this too is true. But with these things thus accomplished, he says that, "I am the Lord who saves you. For as the prophet Isaiah says:

58 "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become as Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah. For by the grace and loving-kindness of God the remnant of Israel has been saved, so that the nation from the holy fathers should not be utterly destroyed. And instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and instead of iron I will bring you silver, and instead of wood, I will bring you bronze, and instead of stones, iron. And I will give your rulers in peace, and your overseers in righteousness. He takes up the materials as in the order of examples, having a very great difference from one another. But he signifies something spiritual and profound indirectly. For he wishes to say that all things will be changed for the better, and the second things will differ from the first. For the education in the law will in every way yield to that through Christ, that is, to the evangelical ordinances, and the difference will be as great as that between bronze and gold. For bronze has the appearance of gold, but it is not gold; and iron has the appearance of silver, for it has brightness in it, but it is not silver, but is very much inferior to the superior one. Therefore one might liken the education in the law to bronze, but that through Christ to gold:

59 and again one might liken the power of the way of life in the law to iron, which has a measured brightness, but that in Christ and the gospel, rather to silver: for it has perfect brightness, spiritually speaking. For this very reason, the all-wise Paul, although saying that he had the greatest boast from the life in the law, and from the knowledge under it, considered all things to be refuse, but wished to gain Christ, and the surpassingness of the knowledge of him. And wood and stones are useful for building: and we will find the all-wise Paul likening the power of the initiation by some to these materials. "For if anyone," he says, "builds upon the foundation, wood, ...wood, hay, stones, stubble. This being so, we say this, that the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, that is, the instruction of the unbelieving Jews as a whole, who do not understand the mystery of Christ at all, since they have not believed in him, might be compared to wood perhaps, and to stones, but the teaching in Christ, the evangelical, is so much better, as bronze is to wood, and iron to stone. For their teachings and thoughts were easily broken, but those of the Christians were solid, and as it were unbreakable, along with being splendid and precious. For the Jews fall into genealogies and endless myths, explaining to the people under them, weaving in certain trifles and old wives' chatter:

60 but those who bear Christ in mind teach those under them every way of holy skill, and make those who come to them lovers of dogmatic precision, and workers of every virtue: and the following passage immediately shows somehow that the meaning of the prophecy has this purpose. "For I will give," he says, "your rulers in peace, and your overseers in righteousness. For with the first ones, he says, having been cast out, the Savior of all raises up other rulers and overseers of the peoples, excelling in peace and righteousness. For those are at peace with God, who are eager to think the things that are pleasing to him, and who are crowned with the boasts of righteousness. The prophet Isaiah said something of this sort again elsewhere, or rather God through the prophet to the mother of the Jews, I mean Jerusalem: "And I will bring my hand upon you, and I will purge you to purity, and I will destroy the disobedient, and I will take away all the lawless from you, and I will humble all the arrogant; and I will establish your judges as before and your counselors as from the beginning, and after these things you will be called the city of righteousness, the faithful metropolis Zion. Indeed, the Savior himself also rebuked the teachers of the Jews, saying: "Truly, truly I say to you, the kingdom of heaven will be taken away from you and will be given to another nation, producing its fruits."