Jerome

(Verse 4-6) And in that day, the glory of Jacob shall fade, and the fat of his flesh shall waste away. And it shall be like the gleaning of a harvest, what remains, and his arm shall gather the ears of grain, and it shall be like one seeking grain in the valley of Rephaim. And he shall be left like a cluster of grapes, like the shaking of an olive tree, with two or three berries on the top of the branch, or four or five on its fruitful branches, says the Lord God of Israel. After the remnants of Syria had been, just as once had been the glory of the sons of Israel, and their salvation had been given to the nations by their transgression, then all the glory of the Jews will be diminished, with which they were glorious in the entire world, and their plump flesh will waste away, lacking prophets, signs and wonders, the present help of God, and the dignity of the priesthood: but the whole body of their nation will wither away and be reduced to nothing. And when it is said of the calling of the Gentiles, 'The harvest is great, but the laborers are few' (Matthew 9), those poor people will gather the remnants of the harvest, which have been saved through the Apostles, and will gather the very rare grains, not from mountains and high places, but in the valley of Raphaim, that is, in the lowliness of letters. And consider that Raphaim, which is interpreted as giants, means the Pharisees and Scribes, just as Ephraim means above. Finally, the Seventy translated the valley of Raphaim as the hard valley, in order to express the hardness of the Jewish heart. Those who are chosen because of their humility are like grain on the threshing floor and grapes in the vineyard, that are saved: and like the shaking of the olive tree, whether two, three, four or five olives. For when the stroke of the Jewish people came, that olive tree of the people of Israel, which under Moses had six hundred thousand armed men (Num. 26), and under David, counted by Joab, an innumerable people (2 Sam. 24), could hardly offer a few fruits to the Lord and Savior: Paul and Barnabas two olives, and Peter and James, and John (Acts 13), who also saw the transfigured Lord on the mountain and deserved to go with the Lord to the house of the synagogue official's daughter (Matt. 17). But four and five olives make up the remaining nine Apostles, in whom Matthias took the place of the treacherous Judas, who, for some unknown reason, was separated into four and five olives, in order to demonstrate the number of the Gospels and the volumes of the Law within themselves, as if they were proclaimers of both Instruments (Acts 1).

(Verse 5, 6.) And it shall be like one gathering in the harvest what remains, and his arm shall gather the ears: and it shall be like one seeking the ears in the Valley of Raphaim. And there shall be left in it like a cluster of grapes, and like the beating of olives of two or three olive trees at the top of the branch, or four or five on its fruitful heights, says the Lord God of Israel. Those who understand the present devastation of Damascus under the Roman kingdom, contend that these things are signified about the Apostles, that just as few ears of wheat and olives usually remain in the field or on the trees, so the remnant of Israel shall be saved; especially because it follows: On that day, man shall turn to his maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, that is, to Christ. Two olives, and three, and four, and five, are interpreted as the fourteen Apostles, that is, the twelve who were chosen, and the thirteenth James, who is called the brother of the Lord; Paul also, the Apostle, the vessel of election (Acts 7). However, those who think that what was said is accomplished during the time of the Assyrians, want this to be understood, that under the Assyrian captivity Damascus was not completely destroyed, but some were transferred to Cyrene, and the other part of the worshipers of the land was left behind, which was also destroyed later by the Babylonian ravages: until it was restored again under the Macedonians and the Ptolemies, and in the coming of Christ it was indeed a city, but not of such power as it had been before. And there will be so few senses left in Damascus as there usually remain few ears of grain in the broad and mighty valley of Raphaim that the poor gather, or few olives left in the olive tree that have escaped the scrutiny of the harvester.

(Verses 9, 10.) On that day your fortified cities will be deserted like plowed fields and cornfields that have been deserted by the children of Israel. And it will be desolate, because you have forgotten your God, your Savior, and have not remembered your strong helper. LXX: On that day your cities will be deserted like the cities abandoned by the Amorites and the Hivites before the children of Israel. And they will be deserted because you have abandoned your God, your Savior, and have not remembered the Lord, your helper. Just as under Moses and Joshua the son of Nun, the Amorites and the Eves and the other nations dwelling in the promised land abandoned their plows and crops and heaps in the fields and fled, lest they be seized by enemies, so too the land of Judea and all its mighty cities, with the Romans ravaging Judea and besieging Jerusalem, were deserted by their inhabitants. And there is an apostrophe to the very land of Judea, that is, to those who dwelt in it. But all these things you have suffered, because you have forgotten your God and Savior, who is called Jesus, whom the Law and the Prophets constantly proclaimed would come to you; and you have not remembered your strong helper, who has always come to your aid. Therefore, the reason for the desolation of the cities of Judea is the forgetfulness of the Savior, who, at the beginning of this prophecy, said: Israel did not know me, and my people did not understand me.

(Verse 11.) Therefore, you will plant a faithful plantation and sow a foreign seed. On the day of your planting, your grapevine will be in bloom, and in the morning your seed will sprout; the harvest has been taken away on the day of inheritance, and there will be great sorrow. LXX: Therefore, you will plant an unfaithful plantation and unfaithful seed, and on the day you plant, you will wander. But if you sow in the morning, it will bloom for the harvest on the day of inheritance, when a father gives inheritance to his sons. For that reason, because we have interpreted it according to Aquila and Symmachus and the LXX, on the day of inheritance, which in Hebrew is called Biom Nehela (), it can be read in Hebrew, on a very bad day. And for that reason, because it has been interpreted by Aquila and Theodotion, and the man will grieve: we learned from the Hebrews, for the man who is called Enos in their language, we have interpreted as Anus (), that is, heavily: concerning the ambiguity of this word, if there is time in this life, we will discuss it more fully in Jeremiah, where according to the LXX it says: And there is a man, and who will know him? Therefore I say what I proposed: Because you have forgotten, O land of Judah, your Savior God, and the one who always provided strength for you, you have not remembered; therefore you will indeed plant a faithful plantation, as the interpretations of Aquila and Theodotion say, beautiful; or as Symmachus says, good, preaching one God: but you will sow a foreign seed, not receiving the Father, because you do not receive the Son. For whoever believes in the Father, also believes in the Son. And because you have sown the seed of blasphemy against Jesus in the synagogues of Satan, therefore you shall not gather grapes, but wild grapes. And when it appears that your seed is flourishing and you have some shade of piety, while you withdraw people from idols: yet when you will grieve deeply in the day of harvest to gather the fruits, seeing that the people of the Gentiles are preferred to you. Hence the Apostle says: I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. For I myself wished to be anathema from Christ for the sake of my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the testament, and the giving of the law, and the promises: whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed forever. Amen (Romans 9:3-5). And not only Paul, but also every saint speaks this, wishing to save even the root with the branches of the olive tree. But that inheritance is what we obtain from the Lord, about which the Apostle says: There are divisions of grace, but the same Spirit; and there are divisions of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are divisions of operations, but the same God, who works all things in all. Let someone wonder why we have called our faithful congregation a faithful plantation, considering the beautiful and good translations made by Aquila, Theodotio, and Symmachus. The Hebrew word Neemanim, if spelled with the letter Aleph, means faithful; but if spelled with Ain, and pronounced as Neamenim, it means beautiful. Thus, Noemi, which is spelled with this letter, speaks in Ruth (Chapter I, 20): 'Do not call me Noemi, that is, beautiful, but call me bitter.'

Those who believe that the captivity of Damascus discussed above was inflicted by the Romans also refer what is written here to the time of Christ and the apostles: “People will bow to their Creator, and their eyes will look to the holy one of Israel.” They further think that what follows, namely, “You will plant faithful plants, and you will sow strange seeds; in the day of your planting, the wild grape” applies to the infidelity of the Jews. And this little passage that we just set forth they interpret as concerning the peoples who persecute the church. The next line, “he will rebuke him, and he will flee far away,” they receive as concerning the devil, demonstrating the destruction of persecutors and demons through a tropological interpretation. We, however, follow the original order and complete the historical foundation with a historical culmination. Woe, it says, to all the nations who wage war against my people, whose attack was strong enough to be compared to the waves of the sea. But when raging warriors come and inundate my land, then their prince Sennacherib will flee from them, rebuked, and they will be scattered like dust in a plundering storm. As the top of a whirl-wind revolves, so will he be struck by an angel when he approaches Jerusalem to besiege her. He will come in the morning and witness his powerful army destroyed. And “this is the portion of those who despoil us.” This prophet speaks either in the person of the people or as though uniting himself to his nation.

(Verse 12 and following) Woe to the multitude of many peoples, like the roaring of the sea, and the tumult of the nations, they shall make a sound like the noise of many waters. The peoples shall sound like the noise of abundant waters: and he shall rebuke him, and he shall flee far off: and he shall be carried away as dust of the mountains before the wind, and as a whirlwind before a tempest. In the evening, and behold trouble: in the morning, and he shall not be. This is the portion of them that have wasted us, and the lot of them that spoiled us. Above, we read about the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews, and also about the election of a few Jews among the Apostles. And since in comparison to the whole world and all the nations, only a small part of the people believed in Christ, as it was said above: 'And the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel' (for 'many are called, but few are chosen' - Matthew 22:14) and 'not all have faith' (2 Thessalonians 3:2), now it follows that there is not mourning, but woe to those nations who refused to believe and persecuted the Christian people. And they are compared to the mass of waves and the roaring sea, and as much as is within them, they desire to overwhelm and occupy everything. For the people will sound forth in the spectacles of theatrical luxury, and in the cruelty of the amphitheater, and in the madness of the circus, just as the sound of overflowing waters, when with a united voice of impiety they blaspheme, and they say to the Christians, 'Throw them to the lions and beasts,' and other things of this kind. But to them, like raging seas, the Lord will rebuke the instigator of their sedition, and He will drive him away from His people. And as dust moved on the mountains, the higher it is, the stronger it is carried away; and as a whirlwind, which rises from the earth, is carried away into the sky by a sudden storm: so also he, being carried away, will be separated from the people of God and will flee, lest he be relegated to the abyss. And when the day of consummation comes, which is interpreted as evening, then there will be turmoil, acknowledging his sins. And in the morning, on the day of resurrection, it will not continue, as the LXX translated, it will not be. But if it will not be, what will those who give penance to the devil respond, and they promise as much as they can, an archangelic rank? This is the role of those who have devastated us, and the fate of those who will plunder us. This is either the speech of the Christian people or the prophet speaking from the perspective of the believing people, that the persecutors will have eternal destruction, who have oppressed the holy ones of God with exile, imprisonment, and the seizure of goods, and will possess eternal punishments.

(Verses 12-14.) Woe to the multitude of many peoples, as the sound of the roaring sea: and the tumult of nations, like the sound of many waters. The peoples will make noise, like the sound of overflowing waters: and they will rebuke him, and he will flee far away: and he will be carried away like the dust of mountains before the wind, and like a whirlwind before a storm. At evening time: and behold, there will be trouble in the morning, and it will not continue. This is their portion, who have plundered us, and their lot, who have taken us away. Those who consider the captivity of Damascus inflicted by the Romans, and this which is written: Man shall bow down to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, refer to the times of Christ and the Apostles. They also understand the following: You will plant a faithful plantation, and you will sow a foreign branch: on the day of your plantation the wild vine, etc., they perceive the unfaithfulness of the Jews. And this chapter that we have now presented is interpreted by the Gentiles who persecute the Church. Moreover, what follows is understood to be about the devil, with a tropological interpretation illustrating the devastation caused by persecutors and demons. But we follow the sequential order and protect the historical foundations with historical insight. Woe, he says, to all the nations that have fought against my people, whose force was so great that it could be compared to the waves of the sea. But when they come raging and flood my land, then their leader Sennacherib will flee, reproached by him, and be scattered like dust carried by the wind, and whirled up into the sky like a storm. Indeed, he will approach Jerusalem, besieging it, but he will be struck down by an angel; he will come in the morning, and he will see his army destroyed, the power of his might gone. And this will be the portion of those who devastated us. The Prophet speaks either on behalf of the people or joins himself to his own nation (IV Kings XIX, 35, 36). Afterwards we read: The Angel of the Lord went out and struck down in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and they arose early in the morning, and behold, all the dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of the Assyrians departed and returned and lived in Nineveh.

(Chapter 18—Verse 1 and following) Woe to the land of buzzing wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, that sends ambassadors by sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters. Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared near and far, a mighty nation and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet is blown, you will hear it. LXX: Woe to the land of winged ships beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, who send ambassadors by sea in papyrus vessels over the water. Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth-skinned nation, to a people feared far and wide, a powerful and oppressive nation whose land the rivers divide. All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it. I have placed both editions in the most obscure prophecy so that nothing may seem to be lacking to those who want to understand what is written. At the same time, I greatly admire those who think that our faith and Christian hope are satisfied with simplicity, because it is written: The commandment of God is a clear light, enlightening the eyes (Ps. XIX, 9): and that we should not seek more than what is commanded, but that what is commanded should be done: for this reason, both the whole Scripture and the Prophets are specifically involved in the mysteries of the future, so that they may provoke us to understanding and to what is said in the Gospel: Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. Therefore, since I have explained the history and what is contained in Hebrew in the fifth book, now I will explain what seems to me according to the allegory. Perhaps a discerning reader may inquire what the Vision, or the Burden of Damascus, the sounding cymbal, and the other things that follow mean. After the calling of the Gentiles was mentioned, along with the objection of the Jews and their election, those who believed through the Apostles, and then the multitude of the Gentiles and the persecutors who were compared to the waves of the sea: it followed that the prophetic discourse would also announce the heresies that have troubled and continue to ravage the Church, which, while the master of the household slept, sowed weeds in the field of the Church (Matthew 13). And they are called cymbals, lacking the love of God, according to the saying of the Apostle: 'If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal' (1 Corinthians 13:1). And not only a cymbal with its harsh resounding sound, but because of the lightweight heretical discourse that flows in different directions, they are called cymbals of wings, or according to the Septuagint, wings of ships, who, promising great goods, sail in the waves of this world. But understand the wings of the ships, the sails by which they are suspended and drawn. And beautifully he called them the wings of the ships, for every heretic promises lofty things and boasts of having wings, yet he clings to the salty waves and does not depart far from land, and in the middle of his course he suddenly suffers shipwreck. Hence the Eagle, as a symbol of the ship, interpreted the shadow of the wings, for eagles do not have wings, but a resemblance to wings. And he brings forth the fact that which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, signifies that all heretics are conquered by their impiety. For example: Epicurus says that there is no providence, and that pleasure is the greatest good. By comparison, Marcion is even more wicked, and all heretics who tear apart the Old Testament. For when they reject providence, they accuse the Creator, and assert that He has erred in most of His works, and has not done them as He should have. For what benefit do serpents, scorpions, crocodiles, fleas, bugs, and mosquitoes bring to human beings? Therefore, these people across the rivers of Ethiopia are sending messengers into the sea of this world, that is, their disciples, who are said to carry their volumes, rightly called papyrus vessels, that is, papers carried on the water, which are quickly erased. For just as books are quickly obscured and destroyed by water and moisture, so too their message and teaching, once it appears to possess some strength in the beginning, passes away and slips away. Therefore, through irony, it is said to them: O Angels of heretics, go quickly. These false apostles, deceitful workers, who transform themselves into apostles of Christ, are referred to as such by the blessed apostle Paul (2 Cor. XI). And go to the nation torn and ravaged: torn from God and torn apart by the bites of heretics. To a horrible people; for there is nothing more horrible than blasphemy, which lifts up its own mouth in arrogance. After which there is no other people; for every sin when compared to blasphemy is lighter. A people waiting, waiting, and trampled upon. For all heretics promise themselves celestial things, and they promise great things, and yet they are trampled upon by demons. Whose land the rivers have plundered, which do not have waters from the sky, but from the earth. For what corner is there, what remote wilderness of the earth, to which the polluted speech of heretics does not reach? Therefore, all who dwell and live in the world, lift up their eyes to the sign of the heretics, which is raised as if on mountains, and they hear the sound of the trumpet, that is, their teaching. These things are according to Hebrew. Furthermore, according to the Seventy, the wings of the heretics lament, which fly like ships across the sea of this age, and they surpass the impiety of the Gentiles, whom Scripture now calls Ethiopians: and it is said about their teaching and their language: You who send books of this age into the sea, the hostages of your perversity, and letters to deceive those who will read them. The swift messengers go to the high and foreign people, and the most wicked. For no ecclesiastics have so much zeal for good as heretics have for evil, and they believe they will gain advantage by deceiving others and destroying those who are already doomed. But this people is called exalted because of their pride: and foreign and wicked because they are estranged from God. Truly a people without hope, and oppressed, whose rivers throughout the whole earth imitate the dwelling of the Church, so that they may find for themselves a home and a region, in which they may raise the sign of their teaching, in which they may sound the trumpet of the Scriptures.

(Chapter XVIII, Verse 1.) Woe to the land with the sound of wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. The Hebrew word Selsel (), which Symmachus interpreted as noise, Theodotion as birds, and we translate as cymbal. Aquila translated bis umbram. But it should be known that umbra Sel () is said, but here the syllable itself is doubled. From which we can understand the saying: Woe to the land that promises help in the shadow of its wings. And as the Scripture says: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm XC, 1), for which it is written in Hebrew, He will dwell in the shadow of the Omnipotent: boasting to have the likeness of God herself, and in danger promises to aid others. But it signifies either No, the city of Egypt, which is now called Alexandria, or Egypt itself, in which Jerusalem has always relied on like a bruised reed, which, when broken, pierces the hand of the one leaning on it. And here is the most beautiful order: just as in the previous Vision the prophetic word threatened Damascus, that the ten tribes would have help in it, begging for the mercy of God; so now also the desolation of Egypt is proclaimed, for which the invocation of God has been neglected. For it is the land itself that is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, that is, beyond the streams of the Nile river, which no one doubts flows from Ethiopia into Egypt. Egypt can be called the granary of the world because of the abundance of crops; indeed, the swift and rapid flight of birds produces the sound of a cymbal. Some interpret this as referring to the Roman Empire, which sends ambassadors to the sea and on papyrus vessels over the waters, and they relate all history to the times of Vespasian and Titus, during which Jerusalem was destroyed. But this does not befit our faith, that the Lord should threaten the Roman Kingdom, wherefore He has overthrown the impious nation, and again say that gifts are to be brought to Mount Zion, unless perhaps we understand these things spiritually in the Church.

(Verse 2.) He who sends envoys to the sea, and in papyrus vessels on the waters. Go, swift angels, to a nation torn and ravaged, to a fearsome people after whom there is no other, to a nation waiting and trampled, whose rivers they have plundered. Among the Hebrews and Egyptians and the Egyptians themselves and the Egyptians, they are called by one name, Mesraim. This saying is have, so that no one may get stuck on the word, when they find a masculine word for a feminine gender, that is, for land a man, because even now it is said: He who sends envoys to the sea, that is, Mesraim itself, the Egyptian himself, because from Alexandria, which was then, as I said, called No, envoys were sent to Jerusalem and in papyrus vessels, that is, in letters, or ships, promising their help to them, saying: Go swiftly to the torn people of the Jews, and torn by the assault of the Assyrians; to the people once fearsome, who wielded the command of God, to whose power no one else can be compared: to a nation that always awaited the help of God, and yet is trampled by men: whose land rivers, that is, different kings, have ravaged. Others, however, think that the apostrophe is directed to the Lord, and the meaning is: O God, who sends prophets into the sea of this world, and like sailors through letters, warns the people, commanding them with your messages: go quickly to my torn and convulsed people, to the strongest people, who once terrified all nations around, who always waited for God's help, and because of the greatness of their sins, which they hope for, they do not deserve to receive it: whose land was ravaged by the kings of various nations, and so on. Eusebius of Caesarea, promising a historical interpretation in the title, wanders off into various meanings, so that when I read his books, I found something entirely different from what the index promised. Wherever he runs out of history, he moves on to allegory, and in this way he combines things that are separate, so that I marvel at his skill in joining together new elements of language into one unity of stone and iron. I mention this briefly, so that no one thinks that we have borrowed what we say from his sources; for even in the present chapter, he says that prophecy is directed against the Jews and Jerusalem, because at the beginning of the Christian faith they sent letters to all the nations, urging them not to accept the passion of Christ; and they sent letters even to Ethiopia and the Western regions, and with the dissemination of this blasphemy they have filled the whole world.

(Vs. 4 and following) Because this is what the Lord says to me, I will rest and observe in my place: just as the bright midday light is, and like the clouds of dew in the day of harvest. Before the harvest, the whole field has blossomed, and the immature perfection will sprout, and its branches will be cut off by the sickle: and what has been left behind will be cut off, shaken off. And they will be left to the birds of the mountains, and to the animals of the earth, and in perpetual summer, birds will be above it, and all the animals of the earth will winter over it. In that time the gift of the Lord of hosts will be brought by the scattered and torn people, by the dreadful and desecrated people, by the waiting and trampled people, whose rivers they have plundered, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, Mount Zion. God rests and contemplates in His place, or near the Eagle, in the firmament, that is, in the Church, of which the Apostle Paul speaks: Pillar and foundation of truth (I Tim. III, 15). But the things that happen in the Church are contemplated; and just as the clear midday light illuminates everything, so it surveys the whole: according to what is said in the eighteenth Psalm in the mystical sense about the sun of justice: There is none that can hide himself from its heat. And just as the clouds of dew in the day of harvest, and in the scorching heat of summer are most welcome, so the Lord refreshes the inhabitants of His Church, in whose presence all things flourish. And before the time of consummation comes, because now we know in part and we prophesy in part, many perfect ones will be found, of whom the Apostle speaks: As many as are perfect, let us think this way (I Cor. XIII; Phil. III, 15). But the useless branches will be cut off by the sickles, as the Savior says in the Gospel: I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he will take it away; and every branch that bears fruit, he will prune it, that it may bear more fruit (John XV, 2). And those things which have been cut off will be left for the birds of the mountains and the beasts of the earth. For the birds, which are sown along the way, will be preyed upon, and for the beasts, to whom the soul is delivered, not confessing God, so that he who has been cut off and rejected by the Lord, and separated from his body, which is the Church, may find his dwelling among birds and beasts both in summer and winter, that is, in prosperity and adversity. And just as those who are useless and unfruitful in the Church are pruned and cast out, lest a little yeast corrupt the whole mass: so, on the contrary, it can happen that those who were deceived by heretical error, and torn away from the Lord and lacerated, and terrifying for their blasphemy, and waiting in vain for lies, and trampled by demons, and scattered in various parts by rivers, when they have remembered their God, and have abandoned their many teachers, offer a gift to the Lord of hosts, nowhere else but on Mount Zion, and in the watchtower, which is interpreted as the Church. We will be brief, because we have already discussed many things in the book of historical explanation.

(Verse 5, 6.) For before the harvest it had flowered entirely, and immature perfection had sprouted, and its small branches will be cut with sickles, and whatever has been left behind will be cut off and shaken off. And they will be left with the birds of the mountains and the animals of the earth, and they will have perpetual summer over them, and all the animals of the earth will winter upon it. Because he had said of the south wind, and had sent a cloud of dew before summer and harvest, and had taken produce from the field, he will preserve it in the remains, describing the pride of Egypt and the devastation of its people, and the corpses throughout the province, which will be devoured by the birds. For just as the crops that spring up before maturity quickly perish, and the sprouts that germinate are useless before the proper time of growth comes; so, he says, the Egyptian people are cut down like useless branches with the sickle, and all their offspring will be stripped bare. And lest you think that he is speaking of the vineyard and not of men, he turns the metaphor into historical truth: And they shall be abandoned together to the birds of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. For birds and beasts do not eat the severed branches of trees, but rather devour corpses. Let us read more fully Ezekiel, where he prophesies against Pharaoh and against Egypt: and all these things we will find written very clearly (Ezek. XXIX). And he says: In perpetual summer, birds shall be above him, and all beasts shall winter upon him; either this signifies a multitude of those who will be slain, or by the same interpretation it shows that he will be laid waste by all nations.