Jerome

Thistles and tribulations will ascend upon their altars, and they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us,' and to the hills, 'Fall upon us.' LXX: 'Thorns and tribulations will ascend upon their altars, and they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us,' and to the hills, 'Fall upon us.' It is a sign of ultimate loneliness, that not even walls or the last remnants of buildings will be left. At that time, 'they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us,' and to the hills, 'Fall upon us.' This is what the Lord says will be fulfilled in the last days of the captivity of Judah. Therefore, whatever is said now against the ten tribes or against all of Israel, let us know that it can also be transferred typologically to the entire people, so that when the Romans capture Jerusalem and overthrow the temple, or when the day of judgment comes, as some suspect, they will say with great horror, fearing, "Cover us, mountains," and "Fall on us, hills," preferring to die rather than see what brings death. But the spiritual wickedness of Samaria, which had separated itself from the people of God, caused its king to pass quickly, namely, the speech of heretics and doctrine like foam or cream on the surface of the water, some of which, while it appears, suddenly dissolves, while others are easy to remove from the summits of the waters and cast into the fire. Such are the heretics, swelling with foaming words, and mixing the teachings and words of Christ with the baptism and their own sermons. All of these things will pass away, and the great words in which they labored, which is interpreted as "being", will be immediately scattered, in which Israel sinned: and there will be such a great solitude of wicked doctrine that thorns and thistles will ascend upon their altars. It is well known that thorns and thistles grow where there is no cultivation of the fields. These are the thorns, which choke the seed and do not let what grows in the hand of a drunkard to flourish, which Israel made instead of grapes. For the Lord waited for grapes to come forth and there came forth instead thorns, having the appearance of grapes and twisting the mouths of those who eat into a bitter taste. Therefore, when the time of judgment comes and all things are reversed, they will say to the mountains, which they had once thought high, and to their former masters, 'Cover us;' and to the hills, 'fall upon us.' But because in the mountains he has put 'cover us' and in the hills 'fall upon us,' something more sacred is to be explained. Mountains, that is, those which have a true and not a false height, shall say: "Cover us. For blessed are they whose iniquities are covered" (Psalm 31). And hills that do not have a natural height, which once they thought to have some summit, will say: "Fall upon us." For the mountains shall cover them, and the hills shall fall. But these things shall be done out of fear and incredible dread, by which both mountains and hills shall be humbled.

"Israel sinned from the days of Gabaa: there they stood. They will not be caught at Gabaa in battle against the sons of iniquity. According to my desire, I will rebuke them: when the peoples are gathered together against them and will be corrected over their two iniquities." LXX: "Since Israel sinned on the hills, there they stood; they were not captured in battle on the hills against the sons of lawlessness. He came to rebuke them, and the peoples will be gathered against them when they are rebuked for their two iniquities." From the day when Benjamin in the city of Gabaa shamefully and cruelly killed the wife of the Levite, all Israel sinned against me (Judges 19): not because he avenged the injury and crime with blood, but because of his marital grief he rushed into battle, and did not want to avenge the sacrilege against his God, because in Micah's house they neglected the ephod and teraphim which were worshiped as idols. Therefore, Israel stood here, where he restrained his step, lest he should walk any longer in the paths of the Lord: for this reason he will not overtake them on account of the battle of Gabaa, or of captivity, as they themselves suppose; for it was well done by them to pursue the sons of iniquity there; but I will rebuke them, saith the Lord, and will instruct them with the whole desire of my heart, and will gather together against them the multitude of peoples, because they have done two iniquities: they have avenged man, and neglected the injury done to their God. Either two iniquities: firstly, they sinned in Michae's idols, secondly, in Jeroboam's calves. Or certainly two calves of Samaria in Dan and Bethel, we can call two iniquities, about which also Jeremiah speaks: "My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:13). These two iniquities went against two precepts of the Decalogue, in which it is said: "I am the Lord your God: you shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3). The Septuagint interpreted "Gabaa, hills" as: In the days of the hills, Israel sinned, when it deserted the mountains of the Church and went down to the hills or cliffs of the heretics, thinking itself more learned than the Church and having discovered something more sublime. "There they stood," that is, they persevered in error. Some interpret what follows, "He will not apprehend them in the hill battle," in this way: because they begot children of iniquity and, departing from the Church, began to be on the hills, when persecution comes, the battle will not apprehend them, since the devil does not want to attack his own. Some say: Since Israel has sinned on the hills, and he stood there and was not able to walk anymore, should he not be caught in the hills from battle? Should not ecclesiastical men fight against him, to destroy them over the sons of iniquity? If they are caught and defeated, they will no longer be able to reproduce. At the same time, the Lord promises that he will rebuke them and that, when they are defeated as masters, their disciples will gather against them, whom they had previously deceived, and see correction for two injustices: because they left the Church, the source of the Lord, and dug broken cisterns for themselves, namely the caves of heretics, which cannot hold water, that is, the doctrine of the Savior and the sacrament of baptism.

"Ephraim likes to tread his grain, as a trained cow; and I passed over his beauty in the hill and climbed over Ephraim: Judah will plow; Jacob will break up the land for himself." LXX: "Ephraim is a cow" (or "heifer:" for what is called Egla in Hebrew means both a calf and heifer), so "Ephraim is a trained cow that loves to thresh; but I will come over his beautiful hill; I will set upon Ephraim, and Judah will be silent. Jacob will again be strengthened." This passage, indeed, all that follows in this chapter, is involved in great obscurity. Therefore, both we who strive to explain, and the wise reader who pays attention, so that we may be able to investigate not the truth, which is very difficult, but at least the suspicion of what is probable. Divine language has this custom of expressing truth through allegory and metaphor in history. Therefore, Ephraim is like a cow or a young cow that learned from its youth to tread the area, and to pull iron wheels over heaps of crops, so that chaff could be separated from the grain; and not only did he learn, but began to love excessively what he was taught. And I," he said, "passed over the beauty of its hill. The Hebrew word Abarthi, that is, "I passed over," especially when said by God, always signifies wounds and adversity. Finally even the destroyer in Egypt is said to have passed over. Therefore, because Ephraim loves to graze in the area like a cow or calf, "I," he said, "passed over the beauty of its hill," and tamed the swelling necks with a yoke imposed. Why should I mention the yoke of the Law? I myself ascended upon it, and while I was working, Judas, that is, two tribes began to cleave the fields with a plow and recline the earth into furrows. However, carrying the yoke of Ephraim, and tilling, he broke the furrows for Jacob. Here we understand by the distinction of Israel and Judah that there were twelve tribes: they began to break the clods with plows ("Al." harrows), and to break apart the earth so that, softened, it may receive seeds and that, after a short time, fertile crops may sprout. For 'threshing floor' or 'area of contention,' the Septuagint translated, and the sense is: Because Ephraim does not want to receive the yoke of the Law, I will cross over and ascend on the beauty of his hill; for the contentious cow and the lustful labor which she does not want to do. But Judah will plow his own land willingly, because he has the temple and remains in the Law, so that all twelve tribes will eagerly prepare fields for planting. And what follows alongside the same Septuagint; 'I will place Ephraim on top and Judah will be silenced, Jacob will be strengthened for himself,' the sense here may be: I will impose captivity on Ephraim, who is contentious and does not want to bear the burden of the Law. But I shall momentarily leave Judah and say nothing more about him: whoever keeps my commands as well in Ephraim as in Judah, he shall be strengthened, and shall be called Jacob. According to interpretation, it can be said that Ephraim, who was learned in the law of God, to plough the field of Scripture, and to meditate in it day and night, began to love contention and to cast off the yoke of the Law, and to contend against the ecclesiastics in the subversion of those who hear. Therefore the Lord shall press upon him who raises his head and promises himself great things, either by the yoke or by passing by and treading underfoot, and shall ascend over him, so that he may know that he has the Lord. But Judas, that is, the Ecclesiasticus, will plow, persevering in the work begun. Whether he says, "I will retain Judas," for it is not those who are healthy who require a physician, but those who are ill. (Luke 5) But Jacob, who is interpreted as "supplanter," and daily supplants vices and sins, and receives his brother's birthright, and is heir to his father's possession, and sleeps in Bethel, which is interpreted as "house of God," will break up furrows and clods, so that the soft soil may receive the thrown seed, and make one hundred measures of barley, or, as it is held in Hebrew, a hundredfold. For it is unbelievable that the patriarch Isaac strove for barley and not wheat. Even today, the holy man Jacob breaks the clods of history and the hardness of letters into parts and divides them spiritually so that they may produce spiritual fruits. Indeed, we read that the Lord Himself did this, that he broke the five loaves of bread from the Law into fragments, which the people could not eat whole, in order to give them to the believers to eat by the hands of the apostles (Luke 9). But he says according to the Septuagint, "Jacob shall be strengthened to himself," showing that he who labors labors for himself, that he may obtain eternal fruits.

"Sow for yourselves according to righteousness, reap according to the merciful act. Cultivate for yourselves a new crop, but require the time of seeking the Lord when He comes to teach you righteousness. Sow for yourselves according to righteousness, reap the fruit of life. Illuminate yourselves with the light of knowledge, for it is time to seek the Lord until the fruits of righteousness come to you." The translation once begun by the farmers is preserved. Ephraim said that he loved the trained heifer for threshing and had gone up to the mountains to plow Judah and break up Jacob's clods or furrows. Now he advises that they plant for themselves through repentance, and sow in justice, that is, in the Law, and they reap in mercy, that is, in the grace of the Gospel. For there we read, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Exod. XXI); but here we read, "But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike you on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other" (Matt. V, 39). And when you have sown in justice, and reaped in mercy, then renew for yourself joyful gardens. And give reasons for why they sow, why they reap, and why they renew the joyful gardens. "Time," said Christ, our savior, "to seek the Lord, when he comes, who will teach you righteousness," which you now hope for in the law: "For the end of the law is Christ, to righteousness to everyone who does good" (Rom. X). For what we have said, "measure in the mouth of mercy," the Seventy translated, "reap the fruit of life:" and the Messiah is more fitting for the seed, than the vintage: but the fruit of life itself is the tree of life. And because we have put forth "innovate vobis novale," they have turned it into "illuminate vobis lumen scientiae," so that we may deserve to have knowledge of the Law from its works and commands, according to what we read in a certain book: "You have desired wisdom: keep the commandments, and the Lord will give it to you" (Ecclus. 1:33). For he who turns commandments into works, sows in justice, and will reap from it the fruits of life. Hence, we read elsewhere: "The commandment of the Lord is a shining light, enlightening the eyes" (Ps. 18:9). And Isaiah said to the Lord: "Your command is a lamp upon my feet." And in another place: "From your precepts I gained understanding" (Psal. 119). Those also, who have separated themselves from the Church, and have falsely taken on the name of Christians, are commanded to repent and receive both the Old and New Testaments: in the Old they sow justice, in the New they reap mercy: and let them illuminate themselves with the light of knowledge, or renew themselves by seeking the Lord, who can teach them true justice, and destroy false teachers from whom they do not learn justice, but iniquity.

"You harvested impiety and iniquity; you consumed the fruit of lies." LXX: "Why are you silent about his impieties and injustices? You harvested the fruit of deceit." Against my will, I often find myself debating the nuances of the Hebrew language. For we do not merely repeat sentiments in the manner of rhetoricians, we construct words and rouse the admiration of our listeners or readers by means of our declamatory style. Instead, we strive to explain what is obscure, especially to those who are unfamiliar with the language of others. Above the place where we have interpreted, "Judas will till," in Hebrew is read "Jeros" with the first letter being Yod, which the Septuagint, thinking it was the letter Vau, translated as "and I will be silent." Now it is also written as "Arasthem" in Hebrew which we translate as "you plowed;" for this the Septuagint translated, "why are you silent," interpretating similarly to the mistake above, interpreting "silence" instead of "plowing." The meaning of these words is: Over the neck of the calf of the contentions Ephraim, which I love, I have passed the harrow. And I have ascended in order to plow the land of Judah and to break its furrows. Jacob will harrow its land and bring the warmth of the sun. And I warned them to sow in justice, and to reap in mercy, and to make for themselves new fields; and to know that the time for seeking the Lord is when he comes to teach us justice. While I ordered them to receive the fruits of justice and mercy from happy new fields, they plowed impiety, through which they acted impiously against the Lord, abandoning the Creator and worshiping idols, and they harvested iniquity, receiving bad fruit from bad seed, from which they not only made bread of ash, but also deceitful and false, which would deceive the eater with vain hope. “These are heretics who plow with composed speech, and protect or remain silent about impiety: so that impiety might not appear, but piety be believed. Therefore, because they said in their heart, 'there is no God' (Psalm 13), they have become corrupt and abominable, and they have reaped or harvested iniquities. For just as the love of money is the root of all evils (1 Timothy 6): so impiety is the root of all sins and wickedness, which whoever plows or sows will reap iniquities.” Therefore, those who plowed iniquity, and reaped sorrow, have eaten the fruit of lies: preaching all the false things to deceive the people, so that they do not seek the true bread, which comes down from heaven: but the bread of lies, which suffocates and kills those who devour it.

"Because you trusted in your ways: tumult shall arise among your people because of the multitude of your strong ones, and all your fortifications shall be laid waste. Just as Salman was devastated in his own house, he who was judging Baal on the day of the battle, when a mother was dashed upon her children, so has Bethel done to you because of the malice of your wickedness." LXX: "Because you trusted in your chariots, in the multitude of your strength, destruction shall arise in your people, and all your fortified walls shall go away; just as the princes of Salman from the house of Jerobaal on the days of battle, who dashed a mother upon her children, so I will do to you, the house of Israel, because of your malice." Therefore, you have eaten the fruit of lies, and in all your plans, your false hope deceived you. Because you trusted, O Ephraim, in your ways of idolatry: for these are your ways, and in the multitude of your strong ones, you do not have hope in God, but in the strength of armies. Therefore there shall arise a tumult among thy people, which in Hebrew is called Saon, that is, the "sound" and "roaring" of an howling army; whereby, with their cry, all thy fortifications shall be laid waste, and those things which thou didst esteem as defenced and secure, shall be opened to thy enemies, and so shall be wasted, as Salmana, prince of the Madianites, was wasted and broken, who was slain by the house of Jerobaal (Judges 8). Doubtless it signifies Gedeon, who, for that he destroyed the temple of Baal, and cut down the grove, could not be revenged, received the surname of Jerobaal, that is, "let Baal revenge himself." As Salmana slew the children before their mothers' faces, so there shall they slay thy sons, O Ephraim, yea, and thou thyself shalt be compelled to be slain. We search where it is written that Salmana killed her mother over her children: we read in the book of Judges, Gideon speaking to the chief of Midian: 'As your sword has made many mothers childless, so will your mother be childless among women.' (Judges 8) Therefore Salmana was devastated by Jerobaal, whom some think was the son of Nabath Jeroboam, who led ten tribes, and was devastated, as is contained in Hebrew, by Arbel, which also means "Jerobaal," but in a shorter and more expressive language: thus has Bethel done to you, O Israel, from the face of your malice, in which you placed a golden calf and worshipped Egyptian gods. For 'Bethel,' which is interpreted as 'house of God,' the LXX translated 'house of Israel,' which is not at all in Hebrew. We have somehow escaped from the shattered places: now, sailing towards the open sea of metaphor, let us cross over. 'Because thou hast trusted,' o Ephraim, 'in thy ways,' or 'in thy chariots,' of which it is written: 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God' (Ps. XIX, 8): and thou hast trusted in the multitude of thy heroes, whom thou hast strengthened with false knowledge: therefore there shall arise tumult and noise among thy people. For whatever the heretics speak, they do not have a voice explaining opinions, but rather turmoil, shouting, and noise. "And all your fortifications," whether walled or not, "will be destroyed" (for they are fortified and built not by the testimonies of the Scriptures, but by dialectical art and arguments of philosophers) "as Salmone was devastated" by Gideon, with the mother killed above her sons. The eighty-second psalm mentions the story, where among other leaders, it recalls that Salmana was also among the Midianites, saying, "Do to them, Lord," without a doubt, he means those who entered into a pact or covenant against the Lord, "as to Midian and Sisara" (Ps. 82: 12-13). And furthermore: 'Put their leaders like Oreb and Zeb, and Sebee, and Salmana, all their leaders who said, 'We possess the sanctuary of God as our inheritance.' And in this very psalm, the leaders of the heretics are described, who tried to claim the altar of God for themselves. And what follows: 'Just as he did for you, Bethel, because of the malice of your wickedness,' is properly adapted to the leaders of the heretics, because he did that to them which he did to Bethel, which they call Bethel, that is, 'House of God,' and a false Church; so that it must be understood thus: Thus shall your Church, which you call the House of God, be done to you. It must be otherwise called Bethaven by you, that is, 'House of idol,' because of the multitude of your malice.

"Just as the morning passes, the king of Israel passes away: for Israel is a boy, and I have loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt: they called them: so they went from their presence: they sacrificed to Baalim, and offered sacrifices to idols." LXX: "They have cast off the morning, the king of Israel has been cast off, because Israel is a little one, and I have loved him, and have called his sons out of Egypt. As I called them, so they went away from my face: they immolated to Baalim, and burnt incense to idols." He explains the same idea in different ways. As he previously said: "He made his king pass over Samaria like foam on the surface of the water", because foam and bubbles that float on the surface of water rapidly dissolve; now he puts the same thing in another comparison. Just as the dawn and the beginning of the day, which is called morning, quickly passes between the night and the vicinity of the sun; so that the night is finished and daybreak comes: so the king of Israel, that is, of the ten tribes, will pass quickly. And He explains the benefits that God had conferred upon himself. He says: "While I was still a young boy and a captive in Egypt, I loved him so much that I sent my servant Moses to call my Son out of Egypt, of whom I spoke in another place, 'My firstborn Son, Israel' (Exodus IV). And because Israel is singularly spoken of, but understood in a plural sense, like both the people and Ephraim and Judah: since there are many in number who are included in this number, an old history recalls that He had called them through Moses and Aaron, who had called them to leave Egypt: but those who were called by them left them, turning their backs on them and indicating by bodily gesture the stubbornness of their minds. Nor was it enough for them to despise those who called upon them unless they sacrificed to Baal and their idols, or offered incense to their images. We read that Baal was first worshipped under Achab, king of Israel, who took as his wife the daughter of the king of Sidon, and transferred the idol of Babylon and the Phoenicians to Samaria. Thus, he combines sins separated by time into one discourse: how they were first called from Egypt and named sons, then withdrew from God in the wilderness, worshipping Beelphegor more than God, and afterwards served Baalim and Astaroth, and other idols in the holy land. And we understand heretics passing by like the dawn, and their king as the devil or heresiarch, whom in infancy (when they believed in the Church, and were little ones, and were considered in Christ's name) God loved, and called them out of the tribulation and darkness of Egypt. He called through the apostles and teachers of the Church. But when they were called by my leaders, they turned away from them, and worshiped Beelphegor, that is, they served their vices and lust, and afterwards sacrificed to Baalim and idols, which they had fashioned for themselves. For each heretic has his own gods, and they worship whatever they have made as if it were an idol or a statue. As for what we have said, "Out of Egypt I have called my Son" (Matth. II), the Septuagint translated it to "Out of Egypt I have called his sons," which is not in the Hebrew; there is no doubt that Matthew took this testimony according to the Hebrew truth. Therefore, those who disparage our translation should provide Scripture from which the Evangelist took this testimony, and it should be interpreted in the Lord and Savior, when he was brought back from Egypt to the land of Israel. And when they cannot find (it), they cease to ask respectfully, arch their eyebrow, curl their nostrils, and snap their fingers. Julian Augustus vomited (slanders) against us Christians in this place, in the seventh volume, and says: that which is written of Israel, Matthew the evangelist translated to Christ, in order to mock the simplicity of those who believed from the nations. We will respond to this briefly: Firstly, that Matthew published the Gospel in Hebrew letters, which the Hebrews alone could read. Therefore, he did not do it to mock the Gentiles. But if he wanted to mock the Hebrews, he was either foolish or ignorant: foolish, if he concocted an obvious falsehood; ignorant, if he did not understand what he was saying. The work itself excuses any foolishness, since it is prudently and carefully arranged; we cannot call him ignorant, since we know from other testimony of the Scriptures that he had knowledge of the Law. It remains for us to say that those things that precede in others typologically are related to Christ according to truth and fulfillment: which we know the Apostle did in the two mountains, Sinai and Zion, and in Sarah and Hagar. For neither is Sinai now, nor is it Zion: neither was it Sara, nor was it Agar; because the Apostle Paul said these things with respect to the two Testaments (Gal. IV). Therefore, what is written: "A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a perfect nation: I the Lord will suddenly do this thing in its time," is indeed said of the people of Israel, who are called forth from Egypt, who are loved, who at that time, after the error of idolatrous worship, are called like infants and little ones: but it is also perfectly referred to Christ. For Isaac also was a figure of Christ in that he carried the wood for his own sacrifice (Gen 22); and Jacob, because he had a wife whom he did not love (Leah) and one whom he did (Rachel) (Gen 29). In Leah, the elder sister, we may understand the blindness of the Synagogue; in Rachel’s beauty, the glory of the Church. Yet those who in some degree are figures of the Lord’s Saviourship, are not in every detail to be believed to have done the same things in a figure. For a type indicates a part: but if the whole precedes in the type, it is no longer a type, but should be called the truth of history. We said this briefly in the Commentaries; now let us return to the rest.

"And I, as a foster father to Ephraim, carried them in my arms, and they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with cords of Adam, with the bonds of love. And I will be to them like one who lifts the yoke from their cheeks, and I inclined to him so he could eat." LXX: "And I gathered" ((or "placed")) Ephraim, I took him up on my arm; and they did not know that I healed them in the corruption of humans. I drew them with the cords of my love. And I will be to them like one who gives slaps on his cheeks, and I will look at him being strong." The Hebrew and the edition of the interpreters differ much from one another. Therefore, let us try to recount the history according to the Hebrews; to write a comprehensive account according to the Septuagint. The one who said above: "I loved the son of Israel, and called him out of Egypt," and later brought to light the crime he had committed, "they were sacrificing to the Baals and to the idols," now tells how Israel was beloved through as per Deuteronomy: "The Lord your God has carried you, as a man carries his little son, in all the ways that you have gone," "until you came to this place" (Deut. I, 31). And in another place: "He spread his wings and took him, and carried him on his shoulders" (Ibid. XXXII, 11). I, he said, who was a father, became a nurse, and I carried my little one in my arms, so that he would not be harmed in the wilderness, and so that he would not be frightened by either heat or darkness. In the day I was a cloud, in the night a pillar of fire (Exod. XIII): so that those who I had protected, I might enlighten and heal them with my light. And when they had sinned and had made themselves a calf's head, I gave them a place for repentance, and they did not know that I cured them, and for the space of forty years, I covered the wound of idolatry and restored them to their former health. But I cared for them because of the cords and bands of charity, with which I bound them as if with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, Aquilae, Symmachus, Septuagint, and Theodotio translated "Adam" as "men": so they would say, "I will draw them in the cords of men, in the bands of charity." And what follows: "I will be to them as one lifting up the yoke," for which Symmachus interpreted: "and they thought that I would put a yoke on their jaw," is understood in two ways: either I took away from them the yoke of all the nations round about, or they thought that my Law was like the heaviest weight of a yoke. And I gave them manna to eat in the desert (Exodus 16), that they might eat, for this is what he says, "I have turned to him to be fed:" for which Symmachus interpreted, "and I have turned to him with food." Not that God turned to him, but that he made the food of manna turn to him. Otherwise: I loved them so much and was such a merciful shepherd, that I myself carried the sick sheep on my shoulders (Luke 15): but they themselves did not know that I cared for them with my passion; and as I am a lover of all people, I drew them to believe in the bonds of love, according to what is written in the Gospel: "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). And they thought my yoke light, to be very heavy: and I turned to them forsaking the kingdom of heaven, to eat with them, assuming the form of a man, or gave them food of my body: both the food and the guest. Let us go to spiritual understanding, according to the Septuagint only interpreters: lest if we want to explain both according to history and according to interpretation, we tend to the size of the book. When they sacrifice Baalim, things they have made from their own hearts, and when they flee from my face at my call (for thus it is contained in the Septuagint), I, the most merciful Lord, bound the feet of Ephraim so that they would not flee further from me: this is what συνεπόδισα means. But I bound (them) by the testimonies of the Scriptures, and by the discussion of the teachers of the Church, so that by patience it would hold bound with its arms those who did not understand that God's patience was an opportunity for their salvation. Hence, in the corruption of men, namely, of teachers, who had deceived them bound by the coldness of their treachery, I extended the warmth of faith and, as it were, binding those who resisted, I bound them with the bonds of my love. And because they did not run according to their own will, but were dragged by ropes, I slightly struck their cheeks with slaps, not punishing them, but correcting and improving. "The judge tears flesh, twists with ropes, and tortures with whips and fire. But a father, he who is, strikes the wanton son with the palm of his hand. And he did not say beautifully, 'I will beat them with slaps,' but striking the cheeks with his hand like a man. But God strikes errant sons with the threat of punishments, with the reading of the Gospel, and with the testimony of the prophets. And when he strikes thus on the cheek, that he may drive out from the foul mouth of heretics their bread and doctrine: then he looks at him, his son having been beaten, saying to him, 'Look at me, and have mercy on me.'" (Psalm LXXXV,16) And again: "Look upon me and hear me, O Lord my God" (Psalm XII, 4). And when he has looked upon him, he shall prevail, or be helpful to them, that is, he shall overcome his adversaries, and shall make slaves flee. And he shall give them true and sweet food, who before devoured the lies and most bitter food of heretics.

"It won't return to the land of Egypt, and Assur himself" (The Vulgate adds "is") "its king, because they refused to convert. The sword has begun in its cities, and will consume its chosen ones: it will eat their heads, and my people will hang in my return. But a yoke will be imposed on them together, which will not be removed." LXX: "Ephraim will dwell in Egypt, and Assur himself will be its king: because he did not want to convert. And the sword grew weak in its cities, and rested in his hands, and they will eat of his thoughts: and his people is suspended from their sojourn, and God is angry with its treasures, and will not exalt him." When it says: "it won't return to the land of Egypt," it shows that it wants to return, but can't go. But Israel wanted to go back seeking help from the Egyptians; but he was captured by Assyria, who took him, and ruled him with the right of the victor, and he suffered this because he did not want to turn back, nor to repent. Or let us certainly say that he returned to the land of Egypt, when he worshiped the gods of Egypt in the holy land, or it is to be understood in that sense, as has been said above: "They called upon Egypt, they went to the Assyrians." Therefore, the sword began in its cities, whether "it will fall," as Aquila interpreted, or "it will wound," as Symmachus translated. And see how great a weight of miseries it is, so that not only fields or possessions and countryside are devastated; but the enemy enters the very heart of the cities and consumes their chosen ones, or "his arms," as Symmachus interpreted, which in Hebrew is called Baddau. And when the sword has consumed the chosen and the leaders, or the strength of the army, and has devoured either their heads or their counsels, so that they cannot find any aid, then the miserable people who did not want to return to me will wait for my return to them. And he who sows will repent, with enemies laying waste to everything. Therefore, because great sins are to be punished by great punishments, they will impose on those who have been abandoned by their people (with their king and Assyrian princes cut down by the sword) the heaviest yoke of slavery, and they will also impose what will not be taken away according to the letter, unless it is taken away spiritually in Christ. According to the Seventy, Ephraim will dwell in Egypt, saying that he has the holy land and the Church of the Lord Savior; but he has always stayed in Egypt because of vices, sins, and faithlessness. Therefore, as he dwelt in Egypt, his understanding will be great as an Assyrian king: for he will not return to the Church, and having lost his strength, that is, Christ, who is the power and wisdom of God, he was always in weakness, and was subject to all demons and disturbances: for this reason the sword, that is, spiritual knowledge, or the word of the Ecclesiastic man, will always be present in his cities, which he impiously built against the Lord, and the sword will rest in his hands, so that being slain by another, he cannot kill another, nor raise his hand against his adversary. Finally, they receive and consume according to their own plans. But the unhappy people and the uneducated crowd will long for their ancient homeland, and they will realize that they have been captured, and whether they hang in their own dwelling, not knowing what to do and where to turn. But God, above their valuable possessions, namely the gold and silver they received from Him, of which we have often spoken, will be angry, and will by no means free him who fell due to his own fault. This is according to the Septuagint; however, we will adapt the same meaning to the Hebrew.

"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city." LXX: "What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? shall I protect thee, Israel? what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goes away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goes forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." In the place where we and the seventy were interpreters, is it written in Hebrew "Shall I protect you, Israel?" which Aquila rendered into Greek as, "I will surround you with a shield." When we thought that this might be understood in a favorable sense and might indicate protection, the opposite meaning is suggested by the edition of Symmachus, which has, "I will surrender you." The translation of Theodotion is also unfavorable, but unfavorable in a different way: "I will strip you," he says, "and take away your weapon," that is, "the shield" with which I had previously protected you; and this meaning is more in keeping with the Lord's threatening. Therefore what he says is this: because they did not want to repent, and Assur became their king, the sword will devour cities, princes, and the people, and a yoke will be imposed upon them which will not be taken from them. And because the sentence seemed harsh, leaving them no place for repentance, God, as a concerned parent, now speaks to Israel: "What shall I do for thee, Ephraim?" How shall I strip thee by my help? What shall I do for thee? By what means shall I correct thee? By what remedy can I heal you? Like Admah and Zeboiim I will make you, which are two of the five cities, just as we read in Genesis: 'Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim and Bela, which is called Segor,' and in the Syrian language 'Zoar.' Therefore, I will make you and turn you into a desert, and I will wipe you out until you become ashes and dust, just as I wiped out Admah and Zeboiim. And when a harsh, indeed cruel, sentence had been pronounced, the father is again overcome by his affection for his child, and with his kindness he moderates the severity of his judgement. For he says, "My heart is turned within me; all my sorrow is stirred up." As soon as I spoke, there was something in my heart that moved me to mercy; I will not execute the fierceness of my wrath; I will not destroy Ephraim again: for I am God, and not man; and I will not consume them in my indignation: but I will instruct them, by opening their eyes to their iniquity. My cruelty is the opportunity for penance and piety: "I am God, not a man." Man punishes in order to destroy, God corrects in order to improve. "I am holy in your midst and will not enter the city," meaning, I am not one of those who dwell in cities, who live by human laws, who consider cruelty to be justice, for whom the highest law is the greatest malice; but my law, and my justice, is to save those who are corrected. We can also say: because first Cain, a parricide, built a city in the name of his son Enoch, the Lord does not enter such a city, which is made of wickedness, blood, and parricide. However, if we want to read, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel?", it should be understood: What shall I do with you? Are you worthy of protection, for you have done so much? Note also that when it is said against Judah, that is, the people of God, it is not Admah and Zeboiim that are mentioned but Sodom and Gomorrah. For we read in Isaiah: "Hear the law of God, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the word of the Lord, you people of Gomorrah" (Isai. I, 10). Likewise, in the Gospel, the city that did not receive the apostles, when they shook the dust from their feet, is said to be worse off on the day of judgment than the land of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matt. X). And the prophetic word is also directed at Jerusalem: "Sodom has been justified by your example" (Ezek. XVI). Therefore, suspicion is given to us that Sodom and Gomorrah were leaders in sin, and Adama and Seboim followed their examples, that the powerful suffer powerful torments: and that servant who knows the will of his Lord, and does not do it, shall be beaten with many [stripes]. Hence even the learned men of Ecclesiasticus, if they are involved in the same crimes as heretics, will be subject not to the punishments of Adama and Seboim, which are inferior but to those of Sodom and Gomorrah, which are said to be greater crimes. To heretics also and those deceived by them, the Lord speaks to the people, that unless they repent, they will be put like Adama and Seboim, so that they have no hope of salvation. Again, as a most merciful father, he says he will change his own decision and repent of having spoken such things, so that he may also provoke them to conversion and penance. 'I will not make,' he said, 'in my fury, I will not destroy Ephraim. As much as it is in me, as much as I desire, if he corrects error with truth, if he loves me more than the leaders of heresy, for 'I am God and not man,' I will extend my hand to the fallen, and call the wandering towards salvation. And because I am holy, I will not enter a city, that is, the assemblies and cities of heretics. I willingly receive those who leave their cities, but I will not enter their cities. What he said, "I will not enter the city," and, according to the LXX, is followed by, "I will walk after the Lord," some have interpreted as meaning that the people responded to the Lord, and that the sense is: Because your heart has turned to you, and you have not made us according to our sins; but you imitate your clemency, and do not punish our sins, and you promise to be holy and merciful and to dwell among us; therefore, I will not enter the city of evil men: nor will I be among the number of sinners; but I will walk after the Lord my God. But the Hebrews, from the person of God, have thus spoken: I will not abandon you, I will not go to another people, nor enter another city.

"After the Lord they shall walk: He shall roar like a lion: for He shall roar, and the children of the sea shall fear, and shall fly away like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of the Assyrians: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord." LXX: "After the Lord I will walk; he will roar like a lion, because he will roar, and the sons of water will be afraid and fly like birds from Egypt, and like a dove from the land of the Assyrians, and I will place them in their houses, says the Lord." With the Lord promising success, the people will turn to Him: and they shall walk after the Lord, for the Lord shall roar like a lion. Of which also the prophet Amos recalls: 'The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem He shall give His voice' (Amos 1:2). And He will roar when He says: 'I will make you like Sodom.' And when He roars, then the sons of the sea, or of the waters, will tremble, as the LXX translated. For the word Maim, which is written with three letters Mem, Yod, Mem: if it is read Maim, it means 'waters'; if Mejam, it is understood as 'from the sea.' The Hebrews refer these things to the coming of Christ, whom they hope will come. "We have now become convinced that from Egypt and Assyria, that is, from the East and the West, and from the North and the South, those who recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have come, and come daily (Matthew 8). However, we can call the sons of the sea or the waters those who have been caught in the Lord's dragnet and taken from the sea of this world (Matthew 13:47). And when they have been taken from death to life, they will be placed in their own houses, which the Gospel calls granaries, in which selected and separated wheat is stored." (Matthew 13) It is said that it is the nature of lions that when they roar and roar, all animals tremble, and they cannot move with fixed steps: such is the terror and so great the fear. And so, when the Lord roars like a lion, and thunders, and gives his voice, all the birds and all flying things will tremble: and they will go to their nests, that is, to their homes where the Lord will dwell with them. Let us also say this differently: When a true lion roars, the false lion, who is our adversary according to the Apostle Peter, will immediately be silent, and he will not be able to open his perverse mouth to any doctrine: and those who were previously captured by him, loosened by the roar of the lion and terrible threats, will follow their Lord God. Then the sons of the sea or waters will fear, who were born in bitterness and salty waters of heretics; and having taken wings, they will fly like birds from Egypt and like doves from Assyrian land, and will say: "Who will give me wings like doves, and I will fly and rest"(Ps. LIV, 7)? So those who had labored among the heretics may rest in the Church and dwell in their homes from which they were seduced by error. Egypt, that is, we know as "trouble" and "distress"; likewise, concerning Assyrians, we recognize as "leaders" or, as we think better, "accusers." Therefore, heretics will be freed from them when they start living in their own homes and say to their wicked parents, "Your house will be left empty to you" (Matt. 23).

"Ephraim surrounded me with his falsehood, and the house of Israel and Judah with his deceitfulness. But now God has perceived them, and they will be called people of God's sanctuary." The Hebrews tell a story of this kind: In the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, when on one side there was a mountain, on the other the Red Sea, and Pharaoh's army surrounded them, and the trapped people were held, the other tribes despairing of salvation and either wishing to return to Egypt or wanting to fight, only Judah faithfully entered the sea. Hence, he deserved to receive the kingdom and this is what is now called "Juda testis sermonum Dei," and an approver and defender he descended with God into the sea, and among the saints he was the most faithful, that he might believe the words of God's command. They say this to him. Let us follow the order of the explanation undertaken, which surrounded Ephraim, the royal tribe, and the house of Israel, the people who served the royal tribes, and surrounded him in denial or falsehood, while they denied the Lord and confessed idols. But Judah, that is, the two tribes which had the Temple, the Law, the Prophets, and kept the legal precepts, were witnesses, and walked faithfully with God and with the holy ones. We can say the saints or the angels, the patriarchs and prophets, and others who served God's command. For in comparison to that time when these things were being said, Ephraim had completely gone astray and Israel had been deceived into the worship of idols; only Judah remained, who was engaged in the worship of God and his testimonies, and was able to go down with him, or be strong with strength: for "root" signifies both descent and strength, for which reason Aquila translated the term as "dominion." Heretics surround the Lord with falsehood, even with denial, according to their deduction. Whatever they say, it is a denial, rather a lie: and they surround Him in deceit or in the impiety of the house of Israel; while all things they pretend, they compose with an artful speech and speak impiety against the Lord. But Judas, that is, the ecclesiastical man, does not boast, he is not inflated with heretical pride, but he humbles himself with God, and with the faithful and strong choir of the saints he builds his house upon a rock which is shaken by no storm. (Matt.) They translated the Septuagint much differently: Ephraim and the house of Israel and Judah had surrounded God with lies and impiety, and God's mercy is so great that he does not cut off hope of salvation from them. But he recognizes them and is prepared to call the holy people and the people of God, who are now corrupted by impiety. Similarly, God desires heretics to be saved, and sinners in the church, and that all may be called by his name. "But he who is truly holy, does not surround God with a lie, but with truth, as the psalmist says: 'You are powerful, Lord, and your truth surrounds you'" (Psalm 88:9).

"Ephraim feeds on the wind and follows after the east wind: all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. And he made a covenant with the Assyrians and brought oil into Egypt." LXX: "But Ephraim is a spirit of wickedness, following the heat: all the day long he hath multiplied lies and vanities, and he hath made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil he carried into Egypt." The sacred story tells that Manahen, king of Israel, after making peace with the Assyrians, sought aid from the Egyptians (2 Kings 15), and this is what is now said, that Ephraim feeds the winds, that is, deceives himself with vain hope, follows the oppressive heat, that is, "summer," and goes to the South, and does nothing else all day but deceive himself. And while he runs here and there, he prepares destruction and devastation for his cities. Is it not destruction and deceit to make a covenant with the Assyrians and to carry oil into Egypt? By connivance, indeed, the whole thing was arranged, to send gifts to the Egyptians. Although some believe that oil is not produced in Egypt at all; but it was sent as a precious gift from Ephraim, whose land of Samaria is very fruitful in oil. Moreover, according to tropology, all heretics are held by the worst spirit of demons, about which it is written in the Apostle: "Against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephes. VI, 10). "And when an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first." (Luke 11:24-26) Therefore, the worst spirit is followed by a desert wind, that is, a "scorching wind" or "burning wind," which destroys everything that is flowering and germinating. It pursues emptiness and vanity throughout the entire day, is not content with its own error but multiplies many disciples, indeed companions of its own emptiness and error. He also makes a covenant with Assyrians, whose prince is great sense, that whatever he may have devised, he might appear to have devised it wisely, that wisdom which was destroyed by God, which even the Apostle commands to be avoided, saying: "Beware lest any man shall cheat you by philosophy and vain seduction, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world" (Col. II, 8). But he also brings oil to Egypt, or he trades in the wisdom of Egypt, desiring to mix with ecclesiastical dogmas the oil of anointing with which prophets and priests were anointed, with which even kings were anointed. They have this oil too, who are called saints, of whom it is said: "Your sons are like new olive trees around your table" (Ps. 127: 4). And the good olive tree in which our olive branch is inserted. Although heretics try to mix lies with the truth, oil cannot be coupled with waters and other moist and liquid substances. The truth is always above, and the lie is below. All other forms, that is, heresies, which do not have, as we have said, the oil of truth, can be mixed with themselves, and numerous ones can be made into one body. But the oil that is brought into Egypt, and descends from the holy land to Pharaoh's realms, is detested by the prophet, saying: "The oil of the sinner will not anoint my head" (Ps. 140:5).

The judgment therefore of the Lord with Judah: and a visitation upon Jacob. He will render to him according to his ways, and according to his inventions he will recompense him. In the womb he supplanted his brother: and in his strength he had success with the angel, and he prevailed over the angel, and was strengthened: he wept and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us. And the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial, therefore turn to thy God, keep mercy and judgment, and hope in thy God always. And the judgment of the Lord with Judah, that he may revenge Jacob, and his ways according to his inventions will render unto him. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and by his strength he had success with God, and he had power with the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with him. And the Lord of hosts will be his memorial, and thou Israel shalt be turned to thy God, keep mercy and judgment, and approach thy God always. Ephraim feedeth on the wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily multiplieth lies and desolation: and they have made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. Now all their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their practices I will cast them forth out of my house: I will love them no more, all their princes are revolters. However, he calls visitation scourges and punishments, so that he who has restored Ephraim, what he deserved, may also restore Judah, who is also of the seed of Jacob, according to its ways and inventions, who has not only been deceived by chance error, and fell by human frailty; but he sought and found in what he should sin and fall. However, he tells how much good Judah, that is, Jacob, has received, and the son is named in the father, and the ancient history is remembered, so that the mercy of God towards Jacob and his hardness against the Lord may also be known. While he was still in Rebecca's womb, he supplanted his brother Esau (Gen. 25), not by his own strength, which he could not feel, but by the mercy of God, who knows and loves those whom he has predestined. And he did not only supplant his brother in the womb; but he also wrestled with an angel in his strength, when he fought against the angel all night by the stream (Gen. 32). And because he wrestled with the angel, he received the name Isar, which in Hebrew means "directed" or "straightest". And he prevailed," he said, "against the angel; and by his blessing, whom he had conquered, he was strengthened. He also wept, and asked him, that is, the angel, saying: "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." And when he fled to Mesopotamia by the counsel of his father and mother, the same angel found him in Bethel, who spoke to him, spoke with us, that is, spoke in the father and with the sons, and loved Jacob and Judas: from that time until the present, his name, which was given to him by the angel and by God, endures in memory. When things are this way, and you, O Judas, imitate your parent, mourn and plead with the Lord of hosts, and turn to Him. Keep both mercy and judgment, and when you have done this, always hope in your God, making progress by good deeds. On account of what is in Hebrew, "he wept and begged him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us," we read in the Vulgate edition: "they wept and begged me, being in" a "house they found me, and there it was" said "to them;" "a" is interpreted as "pain." So, if anyone weeps, and does penance, and implores the Lord, they will find him in the pain of their heart, and when they call upon him, they will hear him respond to them. We can understand the Ecclesiastical (Jewish) man who is rebuked by the Lord because he does not remember his previous benefits but rather sins daily, and he reveals what those benefits are: "When you were born in the faith, the Church gave birth to you and you supplanted your Jewish or Gentile brother and received his birthright, and in your strength you were directed with the angel, either conquering opposing strengths or strengthened by the blessings of the angel who is God, and you prevailed in the image against an angel so that you could prevail against men, and you were strengthened". And when you had achieved victory, you wept, and you begged the angel of the Lord, and remembering the sins of old, you found him in Bethel, that is, in the house of God, which is the Church, or in his own house, of pain and tears and penitence. And we know who this Judas was, there, he said, he spoke with us, that is, with us Christians, and from that time until the present day, we are known by the name of Christ and are corrected by him. So, Ecclesiastical man, who is called Judas, and confesses, turn daily through penance to your Lord, and if by chance you have sinned, imitate the prophet saying: "I have labored in my groaning, every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears" (Ps. 6:7). Let it be enough to have said this, but keep the commandments of God, show mercy to others, so that you may also obtain mercy. Judge with true judgment, so that in whatever you judge, you may be judged. And always hope in your God, whether you draw near to your God constantly, so that at every time, making progress in virtue, you draw near to your God.

"Canaan in his hand deceitful balance, he loved calumny, and Ephraim said: Nevertheless, I have become rich, I have found myself an idol, all my labors will not find me the iniquity which I have sinned." LXX: "Canaan in his hand is the weight of iniquity, he loved to oppress through power, and Ephraim said: But I have become rich, I have found rest for myself, all his labors will not find him, for the iniquities in which he sinned." Judah had been warned to turn to the Lord his God, to keep mercy and judgment, and to hope in the Lord always, whether he approached him constantly. Now the discourse is turned to Ephraim, that is, to the ten tribes, which he calls Canaan, according to what Daniel speaks to the elder who was certainly of the seed of Judah: 'The seed of Canaan and not of Judah has deceived thee.' And in Ezekiel we read that it is said to Jerusalem: 'Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hethite.' And in Isaiah it is said to the tribe of Judah: 'Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.' In the last verse of Zechariah we read: "And there shall be no more Canaanite in the house of the Lord" ((or "in the city")) (Zech. XIV, 21). But the Scripture says that Canaan, that is Ephraim, holds a deceitful or unjust balance in his hand, commanding, "Thou shalt have Just balances" (Leviticus XIX); not only does he have an unjust and deceitful balance, but he loves calumny and oppresses men by his power. And in case we might think Canaan referred to someone else, the Scripture more clearly shows who this Canaan is. Ephraim said: "Nevertheless, I have become rich;" and the meaning is: It does not matter where I possess, as long as I possess. Many suffer from this disease, about which it is written: "Wealth gathered unjustly will be vomited up again" (Job 20:15) "For the ransom of a life is costly, no payment is ever enough" (Proverbs 13:8). Hence we are commanded to make friends for ourselves with wicked mammon, who can receive us into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). But Ephraim, who boasts and says, "Nevertheless, I have become rich, I have found myself an idol," or, "useless," that is, Aven, which will not profit the possessor, has sweated in vain labor. But just as the gluttonous and luxurious belly is a god, so the greedy person worships the idol of gold, and says in his heart: 'I have found what I was looking for' but he will hear: 'You fool, this night your soul will be required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' (Luke 12:20). And when his eyes have once been blinded - not to speak of a brightness, but a blindness - by the wealth, he says: 'All my work will not find my iniquity, in which I have sinned.' And the sense is: whatever I may have sinned, if I have had wealth from those who need my help, it cannot be imputed to me, according to what is written: 'And he who behaves badly is blessed' (Ps. IX): For there are many friends of the rich. Therefore, this also refers to heretics themselves. "Canaan" can in fact be interpreted as "those who move." And note that he said, "as if moving" ((Al. "moving")), not "moving." They are moving, those whom they have deceived, as if moving, those whom they have tempted. But because they are founded on the rock (Matth. VII), they cannot be shaken by any storm, nor can they change the course of their feet. In the hand of this kind of Canaan, that is, in his works, the deceitful and unjust balance is; for whatever the heretic speaks, he does not have the justice of God, and is full of deceit and fraud; therefore, they love slander when they depress the innocent or oppress them by force. The poor cleric is overwhelmed by verbosity and clever arguments of heretics, who having deceived some people, often say: 'We have become rich, we have a large following; a crowd of disciples follows us; we have found an idol or a source of refreshment for ourselves.' For this reason, especially, heresies are formed, to consume the homes of widows who are always learning, but never coming to the knowledge of truth (2 Timothy 3). And fittingly, he says, 'I have found an idol for myself.' For all the inventions of heretics are nothing but idols and images of the heathen: and they differ little in impiety, though seeming to differ in name. And they are accustomed to say that whatever I do, whatever I accomplish, cannot be imputed to me: for I have my riches, the teachings of the philosophers; I have the multitude of the people, who whoever looks upon me will not consider me to be at fault.

"And I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will make you dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the feast. And I spoke to the prophets, and I multiplied visions, and by the hand of the prophets I was likened." LXX: "But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will still make you dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of solemnity, and I will speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hands of the prophets I am likened." You have indeed sinned so greatly, that you rejoiced in wickedness, and thought a multitude of sins to be riches, and said: I have become rich, I have found an idol for myself: all my labors will not be able to find my sins. But I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt (Exod. V), when thou didst serve Pharaoh and was making cities of clay and palaces, yet I give you a place of penitence and by the greatness of my promises I urge you to return to me, and yet I will cause you to dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the festival. The day of the festival is called 'Scenopegia,' the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. As, he said, at that time I freed you from Egypt and you lived in tabernacles on your way to the holy land and hastened to go to the place of the temple, so also now I will lead you out of tribulation and distress and impending captivity, if you do what I have commanded. For I am the one who, through all the prophets and various forms of visions, has been likened to human beings, and I have challenged you to repent. Is it not of a human likeness when Moses, lifting his hands on high, prays for Jesus to vanquish Amalec (Exod. XVII), and the sacraments of the cross are shown in him? Isn't God likened to the hands of the prophets, since Jonah is in the depths for three days and nights to signify the Lord's resurrection from the underworld on the third day? However, we read multiplied visions in all the prophets, when Ezekiel sees the Lord sitting as a charioteer above the Cherubim (Ezek. 17). And Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne and elevated, and two Seraphim around him crying out to each other holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Sabaoth" (Isai. 6:1,2). And Habakkuk stood upon his watch-tower (or "cell"), and behold he beheld Christ's horns in his hands, wherein his strength lay hidden (Hab 3). Hence the Psalmist cries out: "I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me" (Ps 84:9). But in order that we may know that every prophecy in Holy Writ is called a vision, "And all the people saw the voice of the Lord" (Ex 20:18): wherefore also the prophets were called seers. To those also who have been led astray by heretics, it is said that they should return to the Lord, who prefers the repentance of a sinner to their death (Ezekiel 18); for it is he who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that is, out of the darkness and error of the Gentiles. And that they may not be slow to return, mindful of their sins: "I will still cause you to dwell in tabernacles," he says, "as in the days of the festival"; that what baptism effects, penance may effect also, and they may dwell in the tabernacles of the Saviour, that is, in the churches, of which it is said: "Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God" (Ps. xcii. 14). And lest the heresiarchs and leaders of error should be able to say that God did not speak through them, he said: 'I am the one who spoke to the prophets, not to your teachers, and I have multiplied visions and have been portrayed by my prophets who are established in the Church.'

"If Galahad was an idol, then they were sacrificing their cattle in vain at Galgal; for even their altars were like heaps on the furrows of the field." LXX: "If it is not Galahad, then the princes sacrificing at Galgala were false, and their altars were like tortoises on the desert of the field." Because we have translated "bobus," which is called Surim in Hebrew, the LXX translated it as "princes," which are called Sarim, being deceived by the similarity and ambiguity of the word. Again when we placed ourselves, 'acervos,' which in Hebrew are called Gallim and properly signify 'θῖνας,' that is, tumps gathered from sand, which are mostly increased or decreased in the desert and on the shores where the wind blows, the 70 translators translated to "testudines" (turtles): for which Symmachus interpreted "piles of stones": Theodotio "hills." And truly if you look at θῖνας, they have a similarity to the great tortoises in a desert field, or on the banks and shores slightly prominent from the ground. Therefore, what He says, "if in Gilead," about which it is written, "Gilead is a city of idolaters, overturned with blood," false gods and perverse religion, and it is across the Jordan where two tribes live, Reuben and Gad, and half a tribe of Manasseh, therefore even Galgal of which we read in this same prophet: "All their malice is in Galgal, which is behind Bethaven;" whoever worships idols does not sacrifice to gods but offers sacrifices to cattle, imitating the error of Samaria. For at the time when these things were prophesied, Galaad was in the kingdom of the ten tribes; and Galgal, under the rule of the two tribes which were called Juda. Therefore, both the ten tribes and the two, deceived by equal idolatrous error, and their altars gathered from stones, or from sands, like heaps and hills. And when both of them have been brought into captivity, the former altars of theirs will have the similarity of tortoise shells or hills without cultivators. Because truly "Galaad" is interpreted as "a translation of testimony," and "Galgal, of rolling things," we can say this, that the leaders of the heretics transfer the testimonies of truth into lies, and whatever they worship is an idol, and their sacrifices are similar to heaps of stones or turtles. For just as θίνες and heaps are gathered from stones and sand here and there, so too heretics compose idols from worldly wisdom and the cleverness of men, with fraud and lies. And when they have done this, they move slowly in one place and cannot occupy the whole world. The slow and burdened tortoise, crushed by its own weight, not so much walks as it moves, signifying the most serious sins of heretics who sacrifice themselves in the mire and mud of their errors, worshipping the works of their hands and working hard for earthly fruits like oxen.

Jacob fled into the region of Syria and served for Israel in his wife, and he kept watch over his wife. In the prophet, the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and in the prophet, he was saved. The seventy interpreters [translators] say: And Jacob went into the plain of Syria and served for Israel in his wife, and he kept watch over his wife, and in the prophet, the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and in the prophet, he was saved. It seems that arbitrarily and without order or reason the narrative of Genesis concerning Jacob was inserted here after the idol of Gilead and Galgal and the altars similar to heaps of stones, but this is immediately solved by the one who remembers having read about Jacob previously: "He supplanted his brother in the womb, and he was upright with his angel in his strength, and was able with the angel he struggled with and was strengthened, he wept and implored him, he found him in Bethel and spoke with us." This Jacob, therefore, was comforted by an angel not in vain, but because he wrestled all night and conquered his adversary, so he learned not to fear his brother, from whom he fled to Syria to his uncle Laban (Genesis 27), and he served for Rachel his wife seven years, and preserved his father-in-law Laban's sheep for the same amount of years. And since once Jacob named Israel, he has united father and his sons, and remembers the following history, when the Lord led Israel out of Egypt through the prophet Moses, and the twelve tribes which have come from Israel were saved. He will not be mistaken who says that the supplanter of Jacob and Israel, who sees God, prefigures the Lord, and that Rachel, at first barren and whom Jacob loved very much, signifies the Church; Leah, however, with bleary eyes and fruitful, shows the mysteries of the Synagogue, and that he himself has led the people of believers out of the darkness of this age, and that he has come to the sweetest waters of the Jordan, that is, the streams of baptism.