Jerome

(Chapter 11, Verse 1) Open your gates, Lebanon, and let the fire devour your cedars. Howl, fir tree, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been cut down. LXX: Open your gates, Lebanon, and let the fire devour your cedars. Let the pine tree wail, for the cedar has fallen; the nobles have been crushed. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been laid waste. Clearly, Lebanon, to which the prophetic discourse is directed, saying: Open, Lebanon, your gates, the temple of the Jews is understood, which was restored, rebuilt by Zerubbabel, again sung to be destroyed by Vespasian and Titus. And because he had metaphorically called Lebanon a temple, and he maintains the same translation in the rest, so that through cedars and firs and oaks of Bashan and a wooded grove, he signifies the leaders, priests, and people of the Jews. But Lebanon opens its gates so that the Roman army can enter, and its cedars are consumed by fire, so that everything is either devastated by the conflagration or its leaders and princes are consumed by enemy attack. The firs wail, because the cedar has fallen, and the priests and leaders mourn their people in return. And what he previously said obscurely, he now presents more clearly, because the magnificent ones have been laid waste. I desire to know which are the cedars of Lebanon that have been burned, which firs wail, and which pines have fallen; for, he says, the magnificent ones have been laid waste. Howl, O oak tree of Bazan, that is, of confusion and ignominy, for the well-fortified forest, which is called Besor in Hebrew and is translated by the LXX as wooded and cut down; for the temple, which had grown in impregnable strength and was built by various kings and princes, and later by Herod, was destroyed by the Romans' attack. Some people, not understanding this place, attribute the strength of the Lebanon, the cedars, the pines, and the oak of Bazan, along with the wooded and fortified forest, to opposing powers, about which it is said in Ezekiel under the name of Assyria and Pharaoh: Behold, Assyria is a cypress tree in Lebanon, with fair branches and a dense shade, and tall in stature, and its top was among the clouds: it was nourished by water, and the abyss made it tall, and so on, which are said about both Assyria and Pharaoh, they are thought to be spoken of either opposing powers or proud rulers and princes, about whom we also read in the Psalm: The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; indeed, the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. And in another place: Day of the Lord of hosts comes upon all the haughty and proud, and upon all that is exalted and lofty (Isaiah 22:12, 13). And a little later: And upon all the high cedars of Lebanon (or, the lofty ones), and upon all the trees of Bashan. And about this Lebanon it is prophesied: Lebanon with its lofty ones will fall. But let us follow the earlier interpretation, especially since what follows also agrees with this meaning.

(Verse 3) The voice of the shepherds howls, because their magnificence has been laid waste. The voice of the lions' roar, because the pride of the Jordan has been laid waste. LXX: The voice of the mourners of the shepherds, because their magnificence has become miserable. The voice of the roaring lions, because the roaring of the Jordan has been subdued. This is the upper part of the chapter, and it is contained in these verses. Those he had called cedars, spruce trees, pines, and oaks of Bashan, and explaining what these trees represented, he said: Because the magnificent ones have been laid waste, now in another figure of speech he says that the shepherds, that is, the leaders and teachers, and those who were first among the people, ought to weep and mourn, because their magnificence and beauty and glory have been laid waste and destroyed: namely, the temple in which they boasted. And the voice, he says, is the roaring of lions, whom he now calls the same lions, the lofty trees, and again the shepherds. And because he had mentioned lions, he preserves the translation that he may infer: For the pride of the Jordan is laid waste, or the roaring and sound of the flowing water, which is called Gaon in Hebrew. And just as he compared the height of the temple to the elevation of the land of Judea near the height of Lebanon (for nothing is higher in the land of promise than Lebanon, nor more wooded and dense), so he joined the roar of lions to the Jordan river, which is the largest in Judea, near which the lions dwell, because of their burning thirst, and because of the proximity and wideness of the vast desert, and the reeds, and the marshes. And through the prophet it is said: The lion has come up from the Jordan (Jer. IV, 7), desiring to show that Nebuchadnezzar had left his abode, like a lion coming out of its den, against Jerusalem. Alternatively: The voice of the roaring lions, for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste. The voice, he says, of the nobles, because the temple has been destroyed, from which they always hoped for help, and which once nourished righteous ones and warriors and the powerful lions.

(Vers. 4, 5.) Thus says the Lord my God: Feed the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were slaughtering, and they did not grieve, and they were selling them saying: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds did not spare them. LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Feed the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were killing, and they did not repent, and those who were selling them, said: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds were not patient with them. Where a most clear prophecy is, and the true order of history is narrated through translation, the interpretation of tropes is superfluous, such as when we say that some are good shepherds and others are bad, and this applies both to the old people as well as to the new, that is, both to the priests and rulers of the Jews as well as to the bishops and priests of the Christians, and to whoever the negligent shepherds may be, and if they scandalize one of the least of these, they themselves are the ones who slaughter the sheep and do not suffer anything on them, nor do they grieve, nor can they say with the Apostle: Who is scandalized and I am not burned (I Cor. XI)? And they sell the people entrusted to them, of whom it is written: 'Who devour my people like bread' (Ps. 52:5), and from the deaths of others they acquire riches, praising those who plunder the poor, and blessing the unjust. Let others interpret these things as they wish: let us hold the order of explanation that we once embraced. For Lebanon is laid open, and its cedars and firs are consumed by the burning flame, the howling of shepherds is heard, and the roaring of lions, for all the beauty and pride of the Jordan is laid waste and consumed. Therefore, the Lord my God spoke these words to me: 'O prophet Zechariah, this word is conveyed to you: Feed the flock of slaughter,' that is, for now let it be nurtured and grow, for it will later be killed by the enemy. These sheep and cattle, the princes of the Romans who possessed and maintained them by the right of victory, slaughtered and showed no mercy, or they sacrificed them and felt no pain, that is, they suffered no harm for so much cruelty, and they sold what they withheld not out of mercy, but for a price. We read old histories and traditions of the lamenting Jews, that in the tabernacle of Abraham (where now, every year, a very famous market is held) after the last destruction, which they endured from Adrian, many thousands of people were sold, and those who could not be sold were transported to Egypt and were cut off by shipwreck, famine, and the slaughter of nations. Therefore, these conquerors and avengers of the Lord who killed without remorse and sold cattle and said: Blessed be the Lord, we have become rich, had this belief. Because of their sins, we offended the Jews: therefore we oppressed them, and became rich from their price. It is not surprising, he says, that the enemies were killing the sheep of the conquered justly, and they did not grieve, they sold them, and they boasted in their own wickedness; since their shepherds and teachers themselves did not spare them, and because of their fault, the flock was handed over to wolves.

(Verse 6, 7) And I will no longer spare those who dwell on the earth, says the Lord. Behold, I will deliver each man into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king, and they shall strike the earth, and I will not deliver it from their hand. And I will feed the sheep of slaughter, O you poor of the flock. LXX: Therefore, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. And behold, I will deliver each man into the hands of his neighbor and into the hand of his king, and they shall strike the earth, and I will not deliver it from their hand, and I will feed the sheep of slaughter in Canaan. What the Seventy translated in the last chapter: 'And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan', is not in Hebrew, and is not translated by any other interpreter. Therefore, since their shepherds did not spare them, but themselves devoured my first people, for this reason, I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land of Judea, says the Lord. For he speaks of this land, of which the discourse was to him, and not of the world, as the Jews, interpreting poorly, want to distort the meaning of God into another part. For after the destruction of the temple (which happened to them because for forty-two years, from the time the Lord suffered, having received opportunity, they refused to repent), he says, 'I will send one against the other, and they will cut each other to pieces with mutual slaughter, whether in the very siege of the temple, when the Roman army will surround Jerusalem, for there will be such wars and dissensions among the Jews that the people will be divided into three parts.' We read the seven books of the Jewish captivity, and we see that this prophecy has been fulfilled, confirmed by historical truth. 'And they will fall,' he says, 'the land, undoubtedly the Romans will destroy all the land and cities of the Jews. And I will not rescue them from their hand.' Listen, O Jews, who hold vain hopes for yourselves, and do not listen to the Lord who says and affirms: 'I will not rescue them from their hands,' that your future captivity among the Romans will be eternal. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, so that the Jews may always be nourished unto death; because this is God's decree: O you who are poor of the flock, that is, the righteous of Israel, who have believed in the Lord Jesus and have received the Son of God, listen to what is being said and learn the sacraments of the following chapter. And as we read in the Septuagint: And I will feed the sheep of slaughter in the land of Canaan, we can understand that the Lord will feed and nourish the Jewish people, who are destined for death and scattered throughout the whole world (that is, in the land of Canaan and among the Gentiles), for the purpose of sacrifice.

(Verse 8, 9.) And I took for myself two staffs: one I called Beauty, and the other I called Cords (or Funicles); and I fed the flock. And I cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul was grieved with them; for their soul also varied against me. And I said, I will not feed you; let it die, let it die; and let it be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. LXX: And I will take for myself two staffs: one to be called Beauty, and the other I called Cords (or Funicles), and I will feed the sheep. And I will take away three shepherds in one month, and my soul will be embittered against them: for their soul also roared upon me. And I said, I will not feed you: that which is dying, let it die: and that which is cut off, let it be cut off: and let the rest devour every one the flesh of his neighbor. The Lord God had said: Feed the sheep of the slaughter, which their possessors have killed, and do not sin against them to glory, that a buyer may be found for them over them, and their possessors may say: Blessed be the Lord, for I am become rich: and their shepherds will have no pity for them. For I will no more have mercy on the inhabitants of the land, saith, the Lord. And this seemed to be said about one Jewish people, that having killed the prophets, they even laid hands on the Son of God and shouted with a rash voice: His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25)! Now the Creator of the universe and the Lord explains the mysteries of his world, and says that he had two staffs, one of which he called Beauty, the other Cords, and he fed the flock while being bound with these two staffs; he also cut down three shepherds in one month, and my soul was angry with them; undoubtedly the shepherds signify those whom he cut down in one month. And he explained the reason why he was so indignant with the shepherds that he killed them all in one month: 'Because,' he said, 'their souls changed towards me. And the meaning is this: They did not love me with their whole heart. The hireling shepherds loved the shepherd, not truly me. For the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11)'. Therefore, I also expressed my indignation and spoke to the shepherds themselves, whom I had killed in my anger, or to the remaining flock after the shepherds were killed: 'I will not feed you; but let him who has chosen death die by his own will, and let them devour each other and tear each other apart with mutual slaughter.' We have said these things paraphrastically, in order to pave the way for future interpretation. The Creator and Shepherd, whose sheep know his voice and follow him, took for himself two staffs, or two rods, which in Hebrew are called Macaloth, to demonstrate the appearance of a shepherd. He called one staff Beauty, that is, he protected all the human race with his blessing, from the time of Noah, when the world was restored and sin had not yet defiled it. And for this reason, the calling of all nations is called honorable and beautiful, because nothing is more just than to equally call the parent of the universe, those whom he generated with equal conditions. And another he called the boundaries; for when the Most High was dividing the nations, and dispersing the sons of Adam, he established the boundaries of the nations, according to the number of God's angels (Deut. XXXII). And the part of the Lord became his people Jacob; the boundaries of his inheritance, Israel. And he said, 'I pastured the flock, whether it was Israel itself or the entire human race with Israel.' And he said, 'I cut down three shepherds in one month.' I read in the commentaries of someone: 'The shepherds of the Lord who were cut down with indignation are understood to be the priests, false prophets, and kings of the Jews; because after the passion of Christ, all things were cut down at once, of which Jeremiah speaks: 'The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who hold onto my law did not know me.' And the shepherds have transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and they have followed idols (Jeremiah 2:8). Not satisfied with this explanation, he wants to interpret that the three shepherds who were cut off in one month refer to those who have sinned against the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for all heretics, they sin either against one, or two, or three persons simultaneously. Let him say what he wishes, for his interpretation must not be undermined. We have three shepherds who were killed in one month, Moses seems to be, and Aaron, and Mary (Num. 20); of whom Mary died in the first month, which is called Nisan (), in the desert of Sin, and in the same place because of the water of contradiction, and in the same month, Moses and Aaron were condemned, so that they would not enter the promised land. And so it happened, that out of the three shepherds, one was struck by immediate death, and the others by the sentence of future death. And my soul was contracted, he says, against them: specifically against the three shepherds whom I had placed over my flock. Because their soul also changed towards me, for they did not glorify me at the water of contradiction. But if we refer to the people, that the soul of the people has changed towards God, it must be explained in this way: Therefore, I was angry with them, because they themselves, being wavering between me and idols, fought against me in various ways. Therefore, being angry, I said to Moses: I will not feed you: leave me, and I will destroy them (Exod. XXXII, 10). However, when he says 'Forgive me' in anger, he incites to ask and shows that he can be held back by it. 'Let him die who is destined to die, and let him be cut off who is destined to be cut off; let all bodies be destroyed in solitude, and turned against each other in sedition, like animals tearing each other with mutual bites, and let no one enter the land of promise. Some understood the two callings of Jews and Gentiles, in the first Israel, and in the last by the name Christians. But they did not pay enough attention to how the Christian calling had been previously discarded, and how the Jews remained and were fed by God.

We may understand this historically of Moses and Aaron. Moses—and Aaron also—was conducted to but not inducted into the Promised Land. Jesus took Moses’ place. Be sure you grasp the significance of what is written. Moses died in a desert; Aaron died; Mary died; and hear now what is written in the prophet: “In a single month I did away with three shepherds.” They died, for they could not enter the Promised Land. They merely looked over toward the land of promise, but enter it they could not. The Jews beheld the Promised Land but could not enter it. They died in the desert, and their dead bodies lie in the wilderness, the corpses of those who died in the desert. We, their children, under the leadership of Jesus, have come to the Jordan and have entered the Promised Land; we have come to Gilgal and have been circumcised with spiritual circumcision and have been cleansed of the reproach of Egypt. Even now Jesus himself, our leader, holds the sword and always goes before us and fights for us and conquers our adversaries. For seven days, we march around the city of Jericho, in other words, this world. We sound the priestly trumpets and march around Jericho, this world, and the walls fall, and we enter and consider ourselves victors. Next we conquer the city Ai; then go to Jebus, to Azor, to other cities; we conquer the enemies that we were unable to vanquish under Moses.

(Vers. 10, 11.) And I took my staff, which was called Beauty, and I cut it in two to break the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken on that day, so the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. LXX: And I will take my beautiful staff and throw it away, to break the covenant that I had made with all the peoples, and it will be broken on that day, and the Canaanites will know that the sheep, which are being watched, are the word of the Lord. After the calling of the Israelites and the assumption of the second rod, which was called a cord, the Lord took the first rod, called "glory," and cut them off from his worship, because they worshipped idols, and all turned aside, becoming useless together (Psalm 14). And in order to make it more clear what this rod was, he added: "So that I might nullify my covenant which I made with all the people: For as soon as Israel was assumed, the multitude of the nations was cast aside: and as the daughter of the Archisynagogue was born, who is later narrated in the Gospel to be twelve years old, she began to bleed and suffer from a permanent illness (Mark 5; Matthew 9). And it was rendered null and void, he said, the covenant which I had made with all the nations. And the poor of the flock, that is, the people of Israel who keep my commandments, understood that the word of the Lord, that is, the will of the Lord, is to reject the nations that deny Him and to accept the Israelites in the line of Abraham. Because we have interpreted it, and the poor of the flock understood it thus, the Seventy translated it, and the Canaanites will know, the sheep that are entrusted to me, that some have explained: The people of the Jews will know, to whom it was said: The seed of Canaan, and not of Judah (Dan. XIII, 56); who now keep my ceremonies: whether because the Canaanites interpret it as being ready for humility, they will know those who were once ready to be humbled by the Lord and be left behind. But why they insulted us, poor people, for what we have interpreted, the reason is clear: among the Hebrews, thus, Chen () is said: Anie (), poor people; they connect those two words together, for what it is, thus poor people, that is, Chen Anie (, the name of the Canaanite people has been interpreted.

(Verse 12, 13.) And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, give me my reward, and if not, stop; and they gave me my reward, thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, Throw them (Vulgate: it) to the potter, a handsome price at which I was appraised by them: and I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter. LXX: And I will say to them: If it is good in your sight, give those who determine my reward, or refuse. And they set my wages at thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Put them in the melting pot, and see if they are proven, as I have been proven for them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and put them in the house of the Lord in the melting pot. To the poor shepherds of the Israelite flock, who keep my commandments, it is the word of the Lord that I spoke, and the truths that I said, he said to them, that is, to the poor shepherds, if it pleases you (for you are men and I created you with free will, to whom I also spoke in the wilderness: If you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the land (Isa. 1)) for this assumption, by which I rejected the whole human race, and chose you as my special flock, and desired to have a small cord, give me my wages, that is, keep my commandments. But if you do not want to give payment, and it is not pleasing in your eyes to be considered in my name, openly refuse, and do what you want. And those indeed responded to Moses: Whatever the Lord says, we will do (Exod. XXIV, 3). But in the end of times, because I chose them from among the nations, and I freed them from the iron furnace of Egypt, they paid my payment with thirty silver coins, giving them to the Jewish traitor for my blood (Matt. XXVI). And he said, as the prophet said, the Lord said to me, or rather, the Savior, whose words are before, that the Father spoke to him, testifying: Cast it to the sculptor: for which in Hebrew is read Joser (), that is, the sculptor, whom we can call the maker and potter. And the meaning is: Cast my price to the sculptor, who is the Creator and maker of all things. And he did not say, put down; but, cast, so that the payment of the Lord could be judged by the judgment of the sculptor and the potter. And ironically, seeing his own worth, that is, the divine majesty, for thirty pieces of silver, and being betrayed for such a cheap price: 'This,' he says, 'is the price at which I am appraised by them; but it should be read more closely with the mockery and derision of the speaker: 'So much did my people, and the poor flock once chosen by me as children, judge me worthy of buying and selling. And I, says the Lord through the prophet, as it had been commanded to me by God, took thirty pieces of silver and did not keep them, but threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter: in the house of the Lord, I made them be given to the priests and Pharisees, the very ones who sold me, confessing: 'I have sinned, betraying innocent blood' (Matthew 27:4). But because they considered it the price of blood, they did not want to return it to the treasury, that is, the treasury; but they bought with it a potter's field as a burial place for strangers. For all of us who were foreigners and strangers to the Law have been redeemed by his precious blood, and we are buried and rest in the house of the potter and the Creator of all. For πλάστῃ and fictore, I have once interpreted as a sculptor, forced by the ambiguity of the word, which signifies both a sculptor and a maker of statues. The Jews, interpreting this passage maliciously, mention thirty pieces of silver, and they mention thirty commandments of the Law, which they are commanded to do in the Law, and again thirty-six others which are prohibited in the Law, and they say that they should return the silver of the Lord's commandments to their own goldsmith and maker: but because they did not want to do this, they were rejected. I wanted to briefly indicate what they think, otherwise I am tired of going through their tedious explanation, so let's move on to the rest.

(Verse 14) And I cut off my second staff, called 'Favor,' in order to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Septuagint: And I threw away my second staff, called 'Favor,' in order to annul the covenant that existed between Judah and Israel. And in this place, I came across a long explanation, or rather, intricate puzzles, that I read in the volume of Ezekiel, bringing together the two staffs into one community, and all the things that should be spiritually understood about the harmony between Judah and Ephraim, fitting in with this chapter. But let us follow the order of events. After the Lord was crucified by the Jews, being valued at thirty pieces of silver, and the price of his blood was thrown into the burial place of the Gentiles, who were strangers to the Law and the commandments of God, immediately the Lord, not delaying his judgment any longer, said, 'Cut off my second staff, which was properly mine, and which clung to me in such a way that in Jeremiah it is called a loincloth and a belt and a girdle, or, using the customary word, a hip-band: this second staff, once called a rope and my portion, has been cast away by me, in order that I might dissolve the covenant and brotherhood and harmony that existed between Judah and Israel, and separate brothers from one another.' That in numbering the apostles and those who repented, Judas was called again and confessed his God; but Israel and Ephraim and Joseph were called, who, remaining in the hardness of their hearts, said: We have no king but Caesar (John 19:15). Therefore, he did not introduce it to make void the covenant or testament, which I had with Judah and Israel (for even to this day he extends his hand to those who repent), but to divide believers and non-believers from one people among themselves, saying: Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-35).

(vv. 15 seqq.) And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself the vessels of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not visit those who are abandoned, he will not seek the scattered, and he will not heal the broken. And what stands, he will not nourish, and he will eat the flesh of the fat ones, and he will dissolve their hoofs. O shepherd, forsaking the flock and the idol: a sword will be upon his arm and upon his right eye, his arm will be dried up with dryness, and his right eye will be darkened with darkness. LXX: And the Lord said to me: Take yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For behold I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish that which standeth, and he shall eat the flesh of the fat ones, and break their hoofs. O shepherd, that feedest the sheep, woe to the idle shepherd that forsaketh the flock: the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. When he says, 'Take for yourself the vessels of a foolish shepherd,' it signifies that he had taken for himself two staffs, one called Favor, and the other called Union. And because he had thrown them away due to his own fault and sin, and the unity between Judah and Israel had been broken, we have been grafted into the root of the good olive tree, and blindness has come upon the house of Israel in part, until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11). Now it is said to the prophet, as a most weighty foolish shepherd, or unwise, to assume the prophecy. The foolish and ignorant shepherd is undoubtedly the Antichrist; who is said to come at the end of the world, and the manner in which he will come is indicated. So we must take the shepherd's vessels, his symbols and attire, a purse, a staff, a flute, and a whistle. Just as Isaiah, in order to demonstrate the captivity of the people, enters naked (Isa. 20); and Jeremiah goes to the house of the potter, to show the destruction of the vessel which was spinning on the wheel, and to demonstrate the destruction of Israel and the power of God (Jer. 18); and Ezekiel, in order to demonstrate the overthrow of Jerusalem and the escape of Zedekiah, and the burdens of the captives, not only speaks but also demonstrates through his attire, by digging through the wall and carrying it on his shoulders (Ezek. 12); so does Zechariah take on the attire of the foolish and ignorant shepherd, to proclaim the one who is to come (Zech. 11). This shepherd will rise in Israel, for the true shepherd had said: I will no longer feed you. He is also called by another name in the prophet Daniel (Ch. IX), and in the Gospel (Mark XIII), and in the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians (II Thess. II), the abomination of desolation, who will sit in the temple of the Lord and will make himself out to be God, the one who is also referred to as the great sense through Isaiah (Isa. XXXII). And he has come for this purpose, not to heal, but to destroy the flock of Israel. For the good shepherd visits the sick sheep, seeks out the scattered ones, brings back the ones that have been left behind, and sustains the tired ones. On the other hand, the bad shepherd acts against everything, devours the flesh of the fat ones, dissolves the hooves of the rams and sheep, and perverts them so that they do not enter with a straight foot. The Jews received this shepherd, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and render useless by the brightness of his coming, so that those who did not believe the truth may not be saved but believe in falsehood and be judged because they consented to wickedness. But describing the worst, foolish, and inexperienced shepherd, the prophetic discourse is directed to him, saying: O shepherd, and idol. So wicked is the shepherd that he is not called a worshiper of idols, but he himself is named an idol, while he calls himself God, and desires to be worshiped by all. He has abandoned the flock to be devoured by beasts, which the Lord had kept for so long. A sword is upon his arm, and strength, and upon his right eye, with which he proudly claimed to see the sacraments of God sharply, and to see more than all the prophets who came before, to the extent that he called himself the Son of God. But that sword, of which we have spoken above, and of which we will now speak in part, is the one about which Isaiah also speaks: My sword has become intoxicated in the heavens (Isa. XXXIV, 5). Therefore, the sword of the Lord will be upon his arm and upon his right eye, so that its strength and all the boasting of his power may be dried up by aridity, and the knowledge which he falsely promised to himself may be obscured by eternal darkness.

(Chapter 12, Verse 1) The burden of the word of the Lord over Israel: says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, and Judah shall be in siege against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. LXX: The Assumption of the word of the Lord upon Israel, says the Lord, stretching out the heavens and founding the earth, and forming the spirit of man within it: Behold, I will bring Jerusalem to be a threshold that is moved in a circuit by all peoples, in Judah and around Jerusalem. And there will be a siege around Jerusalem, and it will be in that day, I will make Jerusalem a stone to be trampled upon by all nations: whoever tramples upon it will mock it, and I will gather all the nations of the earth against it. There are three interpretations of this passage, from the place where we read: Behold, I will place Jerusalem as a cup of intoxication to all the peoples around, until the place where it is written (Ch. XIII, v. 7): Stir up the sword against my shepherd, and against the man who stands beside me, says the Lord of hosts: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Others among the Jews believe that this has already been partially fulfilled by Zerubbabel, up to C. Pompey, who was the first of the Romans to capture Judea and the temple, as Josephus writes. But others maintain that when Jerusalem has been rebuilt, it will be at the end of the world: which promise is made to the wretched Jewish people, along with their blinded shepherd, whom we read about above. But others, that is, we who are called by the name of Christ, in the Church until the end of the world, remember daily to be fulfilled and to fulfill. And lest we extend the length of the volume with details, we present it in the following way: These say this, others suspect this, we feel this way, and we have presented three opinions so that the diligent reader can understand what should be fittingly attributed to whom, based on the diversity of interpretation. Therefore, the Lord who stretched out the heavens like a skin, and solidified the earth with a high mass, and formed the spirit of man within it, is the same Creator of all souls, so that he might form one living being from two substances, the soul and the body. For the spirit is often understood as the soul, as it is said: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46). And: You will take away their spirit, and they will die and return to their dust (Psalm 104:29). Therefore, this Creator of the universe and Lord testifies that He will set Jerusalem as a threshold of stumbling for all the surrounding peoples, so that whoever touches its threshold will be intoxicated and fall, or if the threshold itself falls upon him from whom it is touched. But even Judas, besieged Jerusalem, is captured by the Gentiles, and in passing into their fellowship, he will be compelled to besiege his own metropolis. Moreover, not only will the Lord make Jerusalem a threshold of stumbling for all peoples, but He will also make it a stone of burden for all peoples, and whoever wants to lift it will be torn apart by laceration. For all the kingdoms of the earth will gather against Jerusalem. It is a custom in the cities of Palestine, and even to this day throughout all Judaea, that in villages, towns, and fortresses, large stones of great weight are placed, for young men to exercise themselves and lift them according to their strength. Some lift them up to their knees, some up to their waist, some up to their shoulders and head, and some even above their heads, demonstrating the magnitude of their strength with straight and joined hands. In the citadel of the Athenians, near the statue of Minerva, I saw a bronze sphere of immense weight, which I could hardly move due to my own weakness. When I asked what it was for, I was told by the city's inhabitants that it was used to test the strength of athletes, and no one was allowed to participate in the games until their ability to lift the weight was determined. Therefore, the meaning is this: I will set Jerusalem as a heavy stone for all nations to lift. Indeed, they will lift it up, and, according to the variety of their strength, they will devastate it; but it is necessary that, while it is being lifted up, in the very exertion and elevation of the weight, the heaviest stone leaves some crack or scrape on the bodies that are lifting it. The Church can be interpreted in this way, that all persecutors who have fought against the house of the Lord will be intoxicated by the same cup with which Jeremiah offers to drink to all nations, so that they may drink, and be intoxicated, and fall, and vomit, and go mad (Jer. XXV). I know that in a time of persecution many of our people are being forced to fight against the Church; but whoever desires to lift this burden, will indeed lift it, and with his own hands will support it, for he will not go unpunished, with the sword of the Lord fighting against him. The stone of burden, which we have interpreted as best we could, the Seventy have translated as a stone trampled on by all nations. Whoever tramples on it (that is, Jerusalem) will be mocked. The meaning is clear, that Jerusalem is to be trampled upon and mocked by both enemy nations and persecutors as they please. But the higher meaning is better and truer. We will briefly explain each point, so that we may finally come to the conclusion, lest if we have written at length, the mind of the Reader be confused by the obscurity of events and the length of the discourse.

(Vers. 4.) On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with dismay, and its rider with madness; but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, and all the horses of the peoples I will strike with blindness. LXX: On that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and its rider with madness; but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, and all the horses of the peoples I will strike with blindness. At that time (for that is what 'day' signifies) when Jerusalem is besieged, so that even Judas is compelled to besiege it, the Lord will strike down all the enemies' horses, both carnally and spiritually, causing them to be amazed, so that all who see them being struck down will be astonished, and their riders, under the weight of their misfortune, will be driven to madness. And the Lord will open His eyes upon the house of Judah, who were being forced to do something against their own city, so that He may have mercy on them and make them worthy by His gaze and enlighten them by the light of His eyes. But He will strike down all the horses of the peoples with eternal blindness. We have already mentioned who the spiritually understanding horses are: The deceitful horse leads to salvation (Ps. 32:17). And: Some trust in chariots and some in horses (Ps. 20:8), and similar things to these. We have also called their riders, either demons or false teachers, who will all be amazed and proven to be foolish, so that they are shown to know nothing. But palpable darkness shall overwhelm them, such as when the firstborn of the Egyptians were struck down (Exod. 11). But the house of Judah, that is, the people who confess God, appears to be among the number of persecutors, broken by the anxieties of persecution and frightened by fear. The Lord will open His eyes to look upon many, saying to Himself: Look upon me and have mercy on me (Psalm 85:16), and may they deserve to hear: The Lord will be your eternal light (Isaiah 60). This is the crushing of a very heavy stone that the Lord threatens against His adversaries, who have attempted to raise up and trouble Jerusalem.

(Verse 5) And the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened in the Lord their God. LXX: And the tribunes, that is, the commanders, will say in their hearts: Let us find for ourselves, those who dwell in Jerusalem, in the Almighty Lord their God. When the Lord opens His eyes upon Judah and strikes all the horses of the nations with blindness, the leaders of Judah, of whom it was said above, will be besieged against Jerusalem. They will make vows in their hearts, because they will not dare to speak freely, so that Jerusalem may overcome and Judah, defeated by the enemies, may conquer with its own citizens. For this reason, as we have said, let them be strengthened, and let them translate εὐρήσομεν ἑαυτοῖς as inveniemus nobis in Latin, as it is written in Hebrew Emsa LI (), which Aquila translated as καρτέρησον μοι, that is, comfort me, so that the meaning is: The chiliarchs, tribunes, and leaders of Judea will desire, and they will make their wishes in the secret place of the mind, that God may strengthen the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord their God, and they may overcome their adversaries. According to the tropology, the apostles are the leaders and tribunes, and all the apostolic men and teachers who have been in charge of Christ's army, who would not find others for themselves except those who live in Jerusalem, in the vision of peace, and who live in the Lord Almighty their God. Among these leaders was the apostle Paul, who found Titus and Timothy, Luke and Silvanus: Peter also instructed Mark, the writer of the Gospel, and the other apostles who filled the whole world with their teaching and education, so that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would have disciples.

(Vers. 6, 7.) On that day, I will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace among wood, and like a burning torch among hay. They will consume all the surrounding peoples to the right and to the left, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again in its own place, in Jerusalem. And the Lord will save the dwellings of Judah, just as in the beginning, so that the glory of the house of David and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah. LXX: On that day, I will make the commanders of Judah like a flaming firepot among wood, and like a burning torch among straw, and they will devour all the peoples of the Lord around them, to the right and to the left, and Jerusalem will still be inhabited in its own place, and the Lord will save the dwellings of Judah, just as at the beginning, so that the glory of the house of David may not be magnified, and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be lifted up over Judah. When the leaders of Judah said in their hearts: Strengthen me, Lord, those who were oppressed in Jerusalem, so that those who were overcome by their own weakness may overcome with your help. Then I, the Lord Almighty their God, will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace in wood, and like a torch in straw, to devour the adversaries with whom they were joined through feigned friendship. Let them devour from the right and from the left, and let them kill all the peoples around, so that Jerusalem may once again be inhabited in its place, and may not fear hostile attacks. Let the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets of the three tribes of Judaea, which were plundered and devastated, be restored as they were before being ravaged. And let not the royal house, and the distinguished and magnificent tribe of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem boast against the tribe of Judah, for it is ruled by its own authority, governed by its own counsel; but let them know that victory belongs to the Lord in both. Whether these things are according to history or they are future events, leaving the faith of the affairs to the judgment of the Lord, and to those who have received the sacred spirit of wisdom and truth from him. We say that during the time of the Church's persecution, the leaders and officers bearing the name of Christians, about whom we have spoken above, when the Lord brings peace to Jerusalem and destroys the adversary by the breath of His mouth, will be like a blazing furnace in the wood, devouring fruitless trees, and like torches in the straw, consuming whatever grain it does not have, and carried by every wind of doctrine, they will be handed over to the fire. And the princes of Judah and the officers at their right and left will devour those who refuse to walk in the middle of the road and do not know. To be excessive in wickedness, from which the people of God refrain, we will not turn to the right or to the left, but we will walk the straight path (Numbers 20). The right path is called frugality, which the Greeks call φειδολία (sparcity); the left path is luxury; the middle path is rectitude and frugality. Therefore, all those on the right path, to whom it is said: Do not be overly righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:17): and on the left, those who hear: The ways that turn to the left are perverse (Proverbs 4:27), the devouring flame will consume, and with the enemies defeated and removed, Jerusalem, that is the Church, will regain its former glory and be in its proper state, and the tents of Judah will be saved, while the gatherings of Christians scattered throughout the world, which we desire to leave like tents and tabernacles for the house that is not made by human hands, and for the heavenly Jerusalem. Therefore, the dwellings of the common people and everyone who is called by the name Christian, and who are considered in the public eye, received the old peace when the princes of the Churches were besieged and turned to flight, so that the masters and teachers do not think that it was due to their own teaching and wisdom, but that peace was restored to the Churches by the help of the Lord.

(Verse 8.) On that day, the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and there will be those among them who stumble on that day, like David. The house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. LXX: And on that day, the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the one who is weak among them on that day will be like the house of David; and the house of David will be like the house of God, and the angel of the Lord before them. With Judah achieving victory, and the Lord restoring its tents as they were in the beginning, so that the royal house does not boast against the people, on that day and at that time, the Lord (whose help Judah will use to devour its adversaries on the right and on the left) will also protect the besieged Jerusalem; and things will change to such great happiness and blessedness, that the one who was considered lowly will be like a royal house; and the one who was from the royal house will be like a house of God, that is, like a messenger of the Lord and of angelic dignity before those who are saved at that time. According to the anagogy: The Lord will protect the inhabitants of the Church, with peace restored to the Churches after the most severe persecution, when it will also be adorned with the interpretation of its own name: for Jerusalem is expressed as the vision of peace. And blessed will be those who fought for the Church, and confessed the Lord in persecution: so that even the least among them, who may have sinned and offended in some way, should be placed in the order of masters: and let the masters who have kept their rank be like the house of God, and like the angel of the Lord; for this is what we strive for with all our effort, placed on earth, and sweating with various labors, so that we may be transformed into angelic glory.

(Verse 9) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications. LXX: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, and I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of mercy. In that day, when the Lord protects the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. But He will crush not for destruction, but for correction, so that they may cease to wage war against Jerusalem and begin to be of Jerusalem. For if He created all things out of nothing, He did not create them in order to destroy what He created; but so that through His mercy, those things which were created may be saved. Hence, in the book of Wisdom, which is attributed to Solomon (if anyone, however, is pleased to receive the book), we find it written: He created all things that they might exist, and the generations of the world might be preserved; and there will be no deadly poison for them (Wisdom 1). For just as the Lord came to seek what was lost and saved the human race, so he also destroyed the nations, because the nations were adversaries. Therefore it follows: I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and mercy. Concerning this grace, Paul also writes: The love of God has been poured out into our hearts (or yours) through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Rom. V, 5). And in the aforementioned volume it is contained: Who shall explore the things that are in heaven, unless you have given wisdom, and sent your Holy Spirit from on high? And thus the paths of those who are on earth have been corrected, and men have been taught what pleases you (Wisdom 9:16). And in Isaiah God speaks: I have given my Spirit upon you (Isaiah 42:1). And again, the same Scripture mentions: I have given my Spirit upon him (ibid). However, the word effusion implies a sense of abundance or generosity, as is evident in what we have said: 'The love of God has been poured out into our hearts' (Romans 5:5). And in another place, speaking as if in the person of God, it is said: 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people' (Joel 2:28). The Apostle also speaks of the spirit of grace in his letter to the Hebrews: 'How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?' (Hebrews 10:29). And the Holy Spirit is said to have different graces. And the greeting of the Apostle: Grace (he says) be multiplied unto you, and peace (I Tim. I, 1): that after he hath forgiven us our sins, then peace may by mercy follow. These things the Jews partly already accomplished, and more fully commemorate in the consummation of the world. But we understand and approve that they are daily fulfilled after the advent of Christ.

(Vers. 10.) And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as one grieves over a firstborn. LXX: And they shall look upon me, because they have insulted me; and they shall mourn over him with mourning, as over a dearest one; and they shall grieve with sorrow, as over a firstborn. The Hebrew letters Daleth and Res, that is, D and R, are similar and are distinguished only by a small mark. From which it happens that the same word, when read by different people, is translated differently. Let us give one example for the sake of understanding: And the clothing, he says, was a Linen Ephod (I Sam. II, 18), that is, a linen garment, for linum is called 'linen': hence, Baddim are called 'linen garments'. In the Hebrew and Latin language, some read Ephod Bar wrongly: for Bar can mean either 'son', 'bundle of grain', 'chosen', or 'curly'. What happened there due to an error in interpretation, we have also detected here. For if it is read as Dacaru (), it is understood to mean 'they pierced or nailed', but if the order is reversed, with the letters transposed, it is understood to mean 'they danced', as Racadu (). And the error arose due to the similarity of the letters. However, the beloved disciple John, who drew wisdom from the heart of the Lord and was a Hebrew among the Hebrews (John 19), did not greatly care about what the Greek letters contained; but he translated word for word, as he had read it in Hebrew, and said that it was fulfilled at the time of the Lord's passion. But if someone does not accept it, let him bear witness, from whom John has brought forth these words in the place of the Holy Scriptures: and when he does not find, he will be forced to accept the truth with ingratitude. But the Jews will mourn as over an only begotten and firstborn, signifying the same in the Lord Savior, both only begotten and firstborn. He is called only begotten, because of the nature's property: Firstborn, according to the Apostle, of those who rise from the dead (Colossians 1). For the only-begotten, most beloved, the Septuagint translated, about whom we read in the Gospel: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then they will grieve for having crucified Him when they see Him reigning in glory. The word κατωρχήσαντο, among the Greeks, is composed not from illusion, but from dance, namely that they danced against the Lord as if in jest, when they said in jest and laughed: Ah! You who destroy the temple, and in three days rebuild it: save yourself, coming down from the cross (Matthew 15:29, 30). They were speaking these and other mocking words, and dancing with a certain madness and mockery.

(Verse 11, 12.) On that day there will be great lamentation in Jerusalem, like the lamentation of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land will mourn, family by family: the families of the house of David separately, and their women separately (for the Hebrew word Nese, that is, γυναῖκες, signifies both). The families of the house of Nathan separately, and their women separately. The families of the house of Levi separately, and their women separately. The families of the house of Shimei separately, and their women separately. All the remaining families, each family separately, and their women separately. LXX: In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning for a bitter fruit that is cut down in the field, and the land will mourn by tribes and tribes: the tribe of David separately, and their women separately; the tribe of the house of Judah separately, and their women separately; the tribe of the house of Nathan separately, and their women separately; the tribe of the house of Levi separately, and their women separately; the tribe of Simeon separately, and their women separately; all the remaining tribes separately, and their women separately. Adadremmon, for which LXX translated as Rhoonos, is a city near Jerusalem, which was once called by this name and is now called Maximianopolis in the field of Megiddo, where Josiah, a just king, was wounded by Pharaoh Nechao (2 Kings 23:29). It is on this occasion that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, which are read in the Church, and the book of Chronicles testifies that he wrote them (2 Chronicles 35). Just as at that time, after wicked kings, all the people's hope was in Josiah, and when he was killed, a great mourning was stirred in the city, as we read in Hebrew: The spirit of our mouth, the Lord Christ, was taken captive in our sins, to whom we said: In your shadow we will live among the nations (Lamentations 4:20) (although others, according to spiritual understanding, relate this to the Lord Jesus). In the same way, with the crucified Savior, mourning will be renewed in Jerusalem, just as it once was in the city of Adadremmon, in the field of Megiddo. And what follows: Families and families, or tribes and tribes separately: the families of the house of David separately, and their wives or women separately. This signifies that in times of tribulation and mourning we should not be concerned with marriage and wedding ceremonies. Hence in Joel, when captivity was near, it is said to the Jews: Let the bridegroom come out of his chamber, and the bride out of her room (Joel 2:16). And with the flood approaching, Noah is commanded: Enter into the ark, you and your sons, and your wife, and the wives of your sons (Gen. VII, 1). And afterwards, when the flood had ended, it is said to him: Come out, you and your wife, and your sons, and their wives (Gen. VIII, 16), so that those who were separated in the ark during the impending danger could be restored to the world and serve the future generation and their children. And this not only happens in times of distress, but also in times of prayer: when we want to supplicate the Lord, as the Apostle says to the Corinthians: Do not defraud one another, unless perhaps by agreement for a limited time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer (I Cor. VII, 5). Therefore, now the three houses of David, and the three houses of Nathan, and the three houses of Levi, and the three houses of Semei, are separated from their wives: so that they may mourn the only-begotten and first-born Lord Jesus, of whom it was said: His blood be upon us, and upon our children (Matt. 27:25). In the royal house of David, the tribe of Judah is included. In the prophetic order, the house of Nathan is described. The house of Levi pertains to the priests, from whom the priesthood originated. In Semei, teachers are accepted: for from this tribe swarms of masters have sprung up. He is silent about the other tribes, which do not have any privilege of dignity. In that which he says, 'All the other tribes, each tribe separately, and their wives separately, he includes them all without naming them. Let us say, according to the Septuagint, it is called a grove, not one tree of pomegranates, that is, of the pomegranate tree, but a place planted with these trees, about which the Bridegroom says, according to the spiritual understanding, in the Song of Songs: I went down to see in the generative stream if the vineyard had blossomed, if the pomegranates had blossomed (Song of Songs 6:10).' For the Savior descended to the stream of this world and its troubled waters, from which even in the type of him Elias is said to have drunk (III Kings 17): so that after the flowers of the vineyard and the fruit of the pomegranate tree, he might receive both, and, inebriating his Church, be heard by her, saying: 'You will give me to drink the wine of aromatics, of pomegranates of my orchard.' (Song of Solomon 8:2). Such a potion not only drives away the heat of the stomach, but is also said to heal a corrupted bowel and benefit the other viscera. Nothing is more beautiful than this apple; in its redness, it signifies the modesty of the Church: in the order of its seeds, it represents the degrees and members of the whole body, distributed through individual functions. When the Savior did not find fruit on such a vineyard and on the apple tree, he will say: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit (John 15:2). And in another place, John the Baptist proclaims: And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees (Matthew 3:10). Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Luke 3:9). In the gathering of vices or evils, when on the day of judgment all the names of dignities will be set aside, and that which is written will be fulfilled: Behold the man and his works (Matthew 3, Luke 3); and the chaff separated from the wheat, there will be great mourning not in another place, but in Jerusalem. For indeed the plague and judgment will begin with the saints, and kings and priests and prophets and teachers will strike their chests with their hands when they see that the most beautiful evils have been cut down, and the one whom they had pierced reigning in the majesty of the Father and his own (1 Peter 4).

(Chapter 13, Verse 1) On that day there will be a flowing fountain for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for cleansing from sin and impurity. LXX: On that day there will be an open fountain for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for transformation and purification. Concerning this fountain, which is said to flow out from the house of David, it is written in the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47) that the fountain shall burst forth in the house of the Lord and become a river, which is called the water of forgiveness and indulgence; and it shall flow to the desert and the sea, which is now called the Dead Sea, and it shall give life to all kinds of fish, and trees of various kinds shall grow on both banks, bearing abundant fruit every month. And so that we may know that the house, that is, the temple of God, is itself the house of David, which in Ezekiel is called the house of God, and in Zechariah is called the house of David: this fountain, coming forth from the house of God, is brought back to the Church and to the knowledge of the Scriptures, so that we may all be reborn in Christ, and in the water of baptism our sins may be forgiven to us. Nothing is more unclean than a menstruating woman, who makes whatever she touches unclean: and yet these impurities of Christ are washed away by baptism. For the ablution of sins and menstruation, the LXX translated it as transference and sprinkling: that we may go from the Law to the Gospel, from the letter to the spirit, from the shadow to the truth, that the future and eternal may succeed the brief and present. Moreover, sprinkling signifies the blood of the Lord, about which Peter the Apostle also speaks: Grace to you and peace be multiplied, in obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:2). And again: Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter, 18), with which whoever is sprinkled and redeemed, can say with the prophet: You shall sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow (Psalm 50, 9).

(V2.) And it shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, and they shall be remembered no more; and I will also remove the false prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. LXX: And it shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, and their memory shall no longer exist; and the false prophets and the unclean spirit I will remove from the land. On that day that is frequently mentioned, all idols will be removed from the land, including those idols of which the Psalmist says: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands (Ps. 115:4), so that there may be no other religion except the name of the Christians, and concerning which it is written in the prophet: Wail, you sculptures, in Jerusalem and in Samaria. For as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols (Jer. XXX). Whether these idols, of which the Apostle speaks: Now the Spirit manifestly saith: That in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils, Speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared (into idolatry) (I Tim. IV, 1, 2). For just as idols are made by the hand of the craftsman, so the perverse doctrine of heretics, whatever it may simulate, turns into an idol and causes Antichrist to be adored in place of Christ. For pseudo-prophets, in Hebrew the prophets are absolutely called prophets, that is, Nebim, which also means pseudo-prophets; but nevertheless even the priests of idols among the Gentiles are called prophets.