Jerome

(Verse 6.) Because they have transgressed the law, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse devours the earth, and those who dwell in it are held guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left. LXX: Because they have transgressed the law, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse devours the earth, because its inhabitants have sinned. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth shall be poor, and few men shall be left. Let the Jews listen, who boast that they alone have received the law of the Lord, that the whole world and all nations first received the natural law, and therefore the law was later given through Moses, because the first law was dispersed. Concerning this, the Apostle says: For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they, not having the law, are a law to themselves; who show the work of the law written on their hearts (Rom. II, 14). Therefore, those who observe these laws will receive rewards: but those who neglect them will suffer the punishments that the prophetic word now pronounces. And just as at the beginning God blessed all the creatures He had made (Genesis 1): so at the end of the world He will curse those who are earthly and have not been pilgrims, but residents of the earth, and have sinned in it; those who have forgotten their condition and have raged against each other in mutual fury. And only a few will remain who have the image of the heavenly: or, according to the Septuagint, the poor will be the inhabitants of the earth, because they have lost the spiritual riches.

(Verse 7 and following) The grape harvest has failed, the vine is weakened, all those who rejoiced in their hearts have sighed. The joy of the tambourines has ceased, the sound of the rejoicers has quieted, the sweetness of the lyre has been silenced, as those who do not drink wine with singing, bitter will be the drink for those who drink it. The city of vanity is worn away, every house is closed with no one entering. There will be a cry over wine in the streets, all joy is deserted, the pleasure of the land has been moved elsewhere. And the solitude was left in the city, and calamity will oppress the gates: for these will be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people. In the end of the world, the remembrance of past delights will be the material of torments. Wherefore even that rich man, clothed in purple at a banquet, who had received his good things in his life, lifting up his eyes from hell, sees Lazarus in rest (Luke XVI). And the Lord, reproving the rich and luxurious and laughing, speaks in the Gospel: Woe to you who are rich, because you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are now satisfied, for you will hunger. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep (Luke 6:25). Therefore, when the resurrection of the dead will have occurred, and the day of judgment will have come, then the wine and the harvest will mourn, of which Moses speaks: Their vine is from Sodom, their vineyard is from Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. The fury of dragons is their wine, and the incurable fury of asps (Deuteronomy 32:33). Then every drink, or as it is said in Hebrew, 'sycerah', that is, drunkenness, which overturns the state of the mind and does not allow people to stay awake, will be changed into bitterness, which deceives those who use it with its sweetness for a time, and in the end is found to be more bitter than gall. Then all the sweetness of those who rejoice and the sounds of tambourines and lyres will be turned into mourning and groaning. Let us present this testimony to those who in banquets not only indulge in gluttony and drunkenness but also in the luxuries of the ears, so that strength of the soul may soften through all the senses. The city of vanity is destroyed, that is, every city, or spiritual Babylon, which sits on seven purple mountains, whose punishments we read about in the Apocalypse of John (Apoc. XVIII). It is well said, the city of vanity. For if it is said of heaven and earth, and of all things that are earthly: Vanity of vanities and all is vanity (Eccl. I, 2); how much more should this be said of one city, which is a small part of the whole world! Then the houses, whose ceilings are now gilded, and the poor without shelter and dying in hovels, will be adorned with marble veneers and shining ivory panels, but they will remain empty. There will be clamor in the streets over wine, not on the narrow and cramped road that leads to life, but on the wide and spacious road that leads to death (Matthew 7). Their error is over wine and drunkenness, those who have fallen asleep in their slumber, and all the wealthy men found nothing in their hands (Psalm 75). For indeed the joy of the earth has been translated to the heavens, and the once famous solitude is left in the abandoned city, and calamity will oppress the inhabitants of the crowded gateways through which the streams of peoples used to flow. And in order that we may know clearly the news of the destruction of the whole world, it added, These things shall happen in the midst of the earth: in the midst of nations or peoples.

(Verses 13-15) Just as when a few olives, which remain, are shaken from the olive tree, and the grape harvest is finished, these will lift up their voice and praise when the Lord is glorified, they will neigh from the sea: therefore, glorify the Lord in your teachings, in the islands of the sea proclaim the name of the Lord God of Israel. The following words will show how much the LXX translation differs from the Hebrew truth in this place: LXX: Just as if someone shakes an olive, they will shake them: and if the grape harvest rests, these will shout with a loud voice. But those who are left on the earth will rejoice together with the glory of the Lord, the water of the sea will be troubled, therefore the glory of the Lord will be in the islands of the sea, the name of the glorious Lord will be, the Lord God of Israel. With few men left, when the curse devours the earth, and there is solitude in the city, and all these things happen in the midst of the earth, in the midst of peoples and nations, the number of the saints will be so few, of whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: Many are called, but few are chosen (Matt. 20:16); and the pressure on the righteous will be so great that, if possible, even the chosen of God will be tempted; and their number will be compared to the rarest berries of olives, which, when shaken and harvested, very few remain on the top of the branches; and just as after the harvest, the poor, forced by poverty, go around empty vines and gather a few grapes. Therefore, those who remain, and after the harvest of the world and the pressure, their hands trembling, will flee from the persecuting Antichrist or the impending flames of punishment, and they will raise their voices on high and praise God. When the Lord comes in the glory of his Father, with the holy Angels, and they see him reigning in majesty, then they will neigh like horses, rejoicing with great joy, and they will neigh from the sea of this age. Therefore, you who are now learned in the holy Scriptures and know that great joy and rewards are reserved for you, glorify the Lord in your teachings, hearing what is written: 'Whoever boasts, let him boast in the Lord' (2 Corinthians 10:17). Not in the land of Judea, but in the islands, that is, in the Churches of this sea and age, where the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, is blessed and praised, or, the name of the man who sees God. According to the Septuagint, everything that we understand about the saints can be referred to as the wicked, because when the vintage is finished, then those who are established in punishment will cry out. But those who have escaped the number of the wicked shall rejoice in the glory of the Lord, and the waters of this people in this age shall be troubled.

(Verse 16) From the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of the Just One. And I said: My secret to me, my secret to me. Alas for me! LXX: From others we have heard wonders of the earth: the hope of the just, and they say + my mystery to me **. This which is said my mystery to me is not found in the LXX, but it has been added from Theodotion's translation in Greek. Again, instead of what they placed as woe, so that it is joined to the following verse, in Hebrew it is said Oi LI (), which properly means woe to me. Furthermore, for the ends that we have set forth more clearly for the sake of explanation, it is found in Hebrew 'Mecchenaph' (which means 'wing', not 'end'). Therefore, concerning those about whom it was said above, 'They shall lift up their voice and praise, when they neigh from the sea, and glorify the Lord in their teachings, and see the name of the Lord God of Israel praised in the islands of the sea', then they shall sing with united voice and say: 'From the ends of the earth, that is, from the prophets and the saints of the Lord, who, with wings assumed like a dove, hasten to the kingdom of the heavens, we have heard His praises proclaimed; and may it be fulfilled that the glory and hope of the Just may not be in vain, but that all things may be fulfilled.' And while they were saying these things, and the saints were neighing from the sea, and lifting up their voice and praising, the Prophet speaks to himself: When, he says, I heard these things, and perceived that the prophecy of the prophets was to be fulfilled in the overthrow of the world, I spoke to myself with an internal affection of the heart: I cannot narrate all that I see. My tongue sticks to my throat, my voice is cut off by pain. Woe is me, how great a order of torments is passing before my eyes! I perceive things that are present and things that are to come. However, those who think that this should be understood as the person of God are mistaken, not following the order of things. And I wonder in what sense the Psalms and praises, which are read in Hebrew as Zemroth, were interpreted as portents by the LXX, unless perhaps it is a sign and portent that, with the Jewish people excluded, the unbelieving multitude of gentiles might be saved first.

(Verse 19, 20.) For the gates from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth will be shaken. The earth will be crushed to pieces, shattered, and shaken. It will be thrown into agitation like a drunkard, and it will be taken away like a temporary shelter, and its own iniquity will weigh it down, and it will fall and not be able to rise again. Therefore, no one will escape the fear, snare, and pit of the Lord, because the gates from on high, or as the LXX has made clearer, the windows of heaven, are open, so that the Lord may behold all the sins of mankind that he previously seemed to ignore because he did not punish sinners. But when, however, he saw all the works of mortals with the windows open, the foundations of the earth were shaken, according to what is written in another place about the divine sight: He looks at the earth, and it trembles (Ps. 103:32); then it will be shattered and broken, and the earth will be moved and agitated like a drunkard: not that the earth itself will be reduced to dust and to nothingness; but that all earthly things will pass away, and another way of life will succeed. And just as a drunk person doesn't know what they are doing, but with the nerves dulled by drunkenness, neither foot nor mind stay in their proper function, so all the earth, that is, all the people who dwell on the earth, will be drunk with the magnitude of evils and punishments, and they will be astonished at everything they see. And just as the tent and dwelling place of one night is moved from place to place, and the previous location of the tent is abandoned by the traveler, so that no trace of the past dwelling remains: in the same way, the figure of this world will pass away, and the earth will be deserted, burdened by its iniquity, as is written in Zachariah: She who sits upon a talent of lead (Zech. V, 32). And it will fall, he says, and it will not be added so that it may rise again. Not that the resurrection of humans, and all who inhabited the earth, is denied, but there will in no way be an earthly conversation, and the former state of life, when human bodies rise for this purpose, so that souls may be clothed in the same bodies they had previously laid aside, and receive from God either the good or evil deeds they had done on earth.

(Verse 21 onwards) And it will happen in that day, the Lord will visit upon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth who are on the earth. And they will be gathered together into one assembly, into a pit, and will be shut up there in prison, and after many days they will be visited. And the moon will be ashamed, and the sun will be confounded, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and shall show forth his glory before his ancients. For what we have interpreted, the moon will turn red, and the sun will be confused. The Seventy translated it as 'to melt the brick and to make the wall fall.' The following words will show what the cause of the error is. The sun is called by the Hebrew language in three ways: Semes, meaning heat; Hamma, which means brightness; and Heres, which sounds like 'testam' or dryness. Maor, which in Greek is φωστὴρ, is called 'luminare' in Latin and is common to both the sun and the moon. Again, the moon is called Jaree ( ), which in Greek is called μήνη, because it completes the month in a cycle of thirty days, and Labana ( ), that is, white or bright. In the present place, instead of Labana, that is, the moon, Seventy interpreted laterem, which in Hebrew is called Lebena, deceived by the ambiguity of the word. Again, for Hamma, that is, heat, by which the sun is understood, they placed a wall, which in Hebrew is called Homa ( ). And the meaning of this whole chapter is as follows: The windows of heaven are opened, so that the Lord may look upon the earthly sins, and every form of earthly work may pass away, and fall, and never rise again to its former state. On that day, which is the day of judgment, the Lord will visit upon the heavenly host, or upon the adornment of the high heavens, so that He may judge not only the earthly, but also the celestial things. But let us learn from Moses, who is writing, what is the adornment of the heavens or the heavenly host: Be careful not to look up at the sky, and see the sun and the moon. You are deceived and worship the stars and all the adornment of the heavens (Deut. IV, 19). But the Lord will visit, according to the language of the Scriptures, as if he were visiting a sick army, needing both weapon and cauterization, according to this: I will visit their sins with a rod, and their iniquities with scourges (Ps. LXXXVIII, 3). For also in the following we read: My sword is drunk in heaven (Infra XXXIV, 5); And in Job: The stars are not clean in his sight. And concerning his angels who sinned, God found something perverted (Job 25:5). He will also visit the kings and princes of the earth, the rulers of these dark regions, and the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Of these princes, who preside over different provinces, it is written in Daniel: 'A prince of the kingdom of Persia came to meet me, and a prince of the kingdom of Media, and a prince of the kingdom of Greece' (Dan. 10). Therefore, the Lord will gather these princes who did not keep their proper position, on the day of judgment, binding them together as in one bundle, and will cast them into the lake of hell, so that it may also be fulfilled in them what is written about the wicked: 'He made a pit, and excavated it, and fell into the hole he made' (Ps. 7:16). And they shall be cast into prison, according to what the Lord says: Go into the everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41) . But what follows: And after many days they shall be visited, seems to support the claims of my friends who say that the devil and demons will repent, that they will be visited by the Lord after a long time. But they should consider that the divine Scripture does not clearly say: They shall be visited by the Lord, or they shall be visited by the angels, but simply, they shall be visited. From this ambiguity of word and remedy, it can be understood both correction, in that after the just have received rewards, they are visited with perpetual punishments. However, it must be known that the judgment of God cannot know human frailty, nor can it pass sentence on the magnitude and measure of punishments, which is left to the discretion of the Lord. Then the moon will blush, and the sun will be confused, according to what the Apostle says: For the creature itself groans and gives birth (Rom. VIII, 22), seeing that men who enjoyed its light have done nothing worthy of the goodness of God, who makes his sun rise on the just and the unjust (Matth. V). If the steward and the overseer, when the master comes, see the household subjected to various tortures and have not fulfilled their commands. Concerning this same matter, the Savior teaches more fully in the Gospel: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, when the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:29-30). We have learned the overthrow of the earth, the visitation of the heavenly army, the gathering together of kings and princes into one bundle, and their casting down into the lake, and the keeping of the prison, and the visitation of those shut up after a long time, the reddening of the moon and the darkening of the sun. After all these things, the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in the celestial Jerusalem, of which it is also written in the Epistle to the Hebrews: And in the sight of his elders he will be glorified (Heb. XII). What kind of man was Abraham, who died in old age and was buried with his ancestors (Gen. XXV)? He was commanded to choose elders, whom he knew to be elders (Num. XI): for the wisdom of a man is seen in his grey hair (Sap. IV, 8), they who imitate the old days, whose hair is described as white, to show the length of their age (Dan. VII, 9). This can also be understood in terms of ecclesiastical rank, if they do not destroy the dignity with their actions.

(Chapter 25 — Verse 1 and following) O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for you have done marvelous things, faithful and true are your ancient thoughts. Amen. For you have made a city into a heap, a fortified city into ruins, a palace of foreigners, so that it is no longer a city and will never be rebuilt. On this the strong people will praise you, the city of the mighty nations will fear you. For you have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in their distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. The breath of the strong is like a whirlwind driving against a wall. Just as the tide quells the thirst, you will humble the uproar of strangers; and like heat under a torrential cloud, you will cause the offspring of the strong to wither. LXX: O Lord my God, I will glorify you; I will praise your name, for you have done wondrous things, an ancient true counsel, let it be done. For you have laid cities in ruin; strong cities, so that their foundations may fall. The cities of the wicked will not be built forever. Therefore, the people of the poor will bless you, and the cities of those who sustain injustice will bless you. For you have been a helper to every humble city and a protection to the sorrowful due to their poverty. You will free them from the worst men: a shade for the thirsty, and the spirit of men who endure injustice as weak and thirsty men in Zion from wicked men, whom you have delivered us to. There are two possible interpretations of this place. The Jews believe the voice of the saints to be that of the believing people: when God has done what was said against the whole world, and the prophecies of all the prophets have been fulfilled; and they interpret the city that has been overthrown as Rome, which should be completely destroyed, and they refer the strong people who praise the Lord and for whom the Lord has become their strength in their tribulation and distress to Israel, who has been freed from the persecution of the nations as if from the most intense heat and thirst. But others understand that it is said more truthfully and rightfully in the person of the prophet, giving thanks to the Father for the suffering of the Lord and Savior, because he did wonders and fulfilled ancient thoughts with truth, when they stand at the right hand and hear: Come, you blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. XXV, 34). And Paul also, understanding, was speaking: Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless (Ephes. I, 4). And desiring to become what he prophesied, he adds the word in Hebrew Amen, for which the Septuagint translated it as 'let it be so.' And the Lord often uses this word in the Gospel: Amen, amen, that is, truly, truly I say to you (John VI, 54). But why does he praise and confess the name of the Lord, and what are these wonders, and the ancient thoughts that he has truly demonstrated in his works, follows: For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin, the house of strangers, so that it is no longer a city and will not be built forever. The once strong city of Jerusalem is understood, which has become a house of strangers; concerning them, the Savior says in the psalm: The sons of strangers have lied to me, the sons of strangers have grown old and have stumbled in their paths (Ps. XVII, 46). When this city has been destroyed, it will never be rebuilt, so that the kingdom of a thousand years and the golden Jerusalem and the jewel-adorned dreams may rest. But the people of the strong will praise the Lord, when Jerusalem has been destroyed for its impiety. However, the following verse shows who the strong people are: The city of strong nations will fear you. While they blaspheme, the people of the nations will fear you. For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. IX, 10). The strong people will praise you, and the city of mighty nations will fear you; this is the Church gathered from the nations. For you have become the strength of the poor, your Christ, of whom we also read in the Psalms: Blessed is he who understands the needy and the poor (Ps. 40:1). And in Zechariah according to the Hebrew truth, the poor, that is, the Ebion, is described as sitting on a donkey's colt (Zech. 9). Strength for the needy in the tribulation of his passion, hope from the whirlwind of the gallows, and shade from the heat, when he spoke: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46). For just as the wind, if it were to strike against a wall and pass through it, was unable to harm the blasphemous Jews, so too, using another comparison, just as a branch is scorched by intense heat and withers, in the same way you will cause the commotion and shouting of those who have become strangers to you to wither away and perish. According to the Septuagint translators, I was unable to find, not to mention the meaning, but even the arrangement of words and continuity, in this place. And in that place where we have interpreted, like the heat in thirst, for which in Hebrew it is written Basaion (), which among them means impassable, or thirst; therefore, they have translated it as impassable and in thirst, to Sion; the error is clear, because of the similarity of the words Saion and Sion (both), which are signified by the same elements.

(Verses 6-8.) And the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples on this mountain a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. LXX: And the Lord of hosts will make all nations drink joy on this mountain, they will drink wine. They will be anointed with an oil on this mountain. Give all these things to the nations, for this counsel is over all nations: the prevailing death has devoured. And again: the Lord God has taken away every tear from all faces, and he has taken away the disgrace of his people from all the earth. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Because we have turned, the face of a bound captive over all people, the Eagle has interpreted, the face of darkness over all people. And when the eagle has twice spoken of darkness, Theodotius once named darkness, and similarly with the rest. For which Symmachus translated, the face of the Lord who rules over all peoples. But what the Seventy wanted to say about this place is clear to the reader, that they did not put the words of Scripture, but their own interpretation, because all the mysteries of the Law and the Temple are to be transferred to the Churches of the nations. After the passion of the Lord, when He will have freed Him from thirst and heat, and whirlwind, the Lord will make a rich feast not for the Jewish people, but for all nations on Mount Zion, with fatty delicacies and wine from the choicest vineyards, so that He may cause the face of death and the bonds by which all people were bound to be precipitated and swallowed up; He will break the net of death and the web that had captured all nations. And according to the Apostle, death will be swallowed up forever (I Cor. XVI). And the Lord shall wipe away every tear from their faces, when death is overcome and the kingdom of Christ arrives. And the reproach of the human race, which was created in the image of the Creator, shall escape the bondage of the devil and death. It is no wonder that, according to Symmachus, death is called the mistress, since the blessed Apostle said, 'Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam' (Rom. 5:14). They understand by the word "Antichrist" the one who is the ruler of all peoples, or the face of darkness over all peoples, and the web that is woven over all nations, and who is to be consumed on the Mount of Olives, as we have said in the last vision of Daniel. According to the Septuagint, a feast of gladness is prepared for all nations on Mount Zion, where they will drink the wine that the Lord promised to drink with his saints in the kingdom of his Father (Matt. 20 and Luke 22); and they will be anointed with oil, so that they may become a new people born again in Christ. Therefore it is said: "Give all these things to the nations, which Israel once celebrated in type and image. For this is the counsel of the Lord, that all things be transferred to the nations, because death has been swallowed up (1 Cor. 15) and every tear wiped away, and the reproach of the whole earth, with the command of Christ succeeding, has been erased.

(Verse 9 and following) And they will say on that day: Behold, our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord, we have endured him, we will rejoice and be glad in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; and Moab shall be crushed under him, as straw is crushed on a threshing floor. And he will stretch out his hands under him, as a swimmer stretches out to swim, and his glory will be humbled with the buffeting of his hands. And the fortifications of your lofty walls will fall, and they will be humiliated and brought down to the ground, even to dust. Swallowed up by death forever, the people of God, who have been delivered from the hand of death, will say to the Lord: Behold, this is our God, whom the unbelievers thought so little of; and we have waited for him, that is, we have believed in his words, because he will fulfill his promises and save us. Therefore, having been rescued from the jaws of death by his help, we will rejoice and be glad in him; and his hand and power will rest on this mountain. Regarding what we read above: When the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and is glorified in the presence of his elders (Isaiah 24:23). But Moab, which means 'from the father', will be crushed like straw is crushed by a wagon. This is spoken according to the custom of Palestine and many provinces of the East, which, due to a shortage of meadows and hay, prepare straw for the feeding of animals. These are iron wagons, with wheels that rotate in the middle like saws, which crush and break the straw into pieces. Therefore, just as wagon wheels crush straw, so Moab would be crushed under him, either under God's power or in itself, so that nothing remains intact in it. And just as a person who swims tends to stretch out their whole body, so he will collide with the ground from his own power and make a crashing sound. All the fortifications of those mighty men, both the walls as stated in Hebrew, will collapse, be humiliated, and be brought down to the ground, shattered into dust. Therefore, although the prophetic discourse generally refers to the consummation of the world, it does not entirely neglect the present. It mentions Moab, who was an enemy of Israel, to such an extent that they committed fornication with the Midianites and consecrated themselves to the idol Beelphegor, which is interpreted as Priapus. Against this idol Jeremiah speaks: Chamos will go into captivity, along with its priests and princes (Jeremiah 48:7). And again: Moab will be confounded with Chamos, just as the house of Israel was confounded with Bethel (Ibid., 13), and similar things can be found throughout. And from one idol and the demon that presided over this idol, it indicates that all opposing strengths are to be humiliated and led into Tartarus, and crushed like dust. But if this is the case, where is the devil's repentance?

(Chapter 26, Verse 1) On that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: Our strong city, the Savior will set it as a wall and rampart. In that day, this song will be sung over the land of Judah: Behold, a strong city, our salvation will set up walls and bulwarks. When Moab is humbled and brought to the ground, and all the enemies of Christ are brought low, then this song will be sung in the land of Judah or Judea, which signifies both confession: that just as we have understood Zion and Jerusalem to be the heavenly city, so let us understand the confession of this city's region to be a heavenly confession. Finally, the saints unwilling to sing the song of Judah in a foreign land, say: How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? (Ps. 136:4). I think this is the song that is also commanded to the saints in another place: Sing to the Lord a new song (Ps. 95:1). And this song will be the one that follows: The city of our strength is the Savior (Matthew 5). What city is this? It cannot be hidden, for it is situated on a mountain. It is written about this in another place: The rushing of the river makes glad the city of God (Psalm 46:4); and again: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God (Psalm 87:2). The founder of this city is the one about whom the Father speaks: he built my city. Indeed, the Savior is the city of our strength, that is, Jesus. And in it will be placed a wall and a bulwark. The wall of good works, and the bulwark of right faith, so that it may be protected on both sides by a double defense. For it is not enough to have a wall of faith, unless that faith is confirmed by good works. This wall and this rampart or surrounding wall are built of living stones, which, according to the prophet, are rolled upon the earth. The term we render 'rampart' Symmachus has interpreted 'firmament,' so that the walls themselves may be surrounded by fortifications and ramparts and trenches and other walls, which in the construction of camps they are accustomed to call breastworks.

(Vers. 2-4.) Open the gates, and let the just nation enter, guarding the truth. The ancient error has gone away, you shall keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in you. You have hoped in the Lord in eternal ages. LXX: Open the gates, let the nation enter, guarding justice, and guarding truth, holding onto truth, and guarding peace: peace, because they have hoped in you, Lord, forever. This entire chant, which is sung on earth by those who confess and praise the holy ones, suddenly changes personas, and is woven as if through question and answer. The people of God said: 'The city of our strength, the Savior, will be built with a wall and a rampart in it.' The Lord replied, or rather commanded, not those who said this, but the angels who presided over the gates of the Lord's city, to open the gates so that a righteous nation, guarding the truth, may enter through them, or as it is said in Hebrew, Emmunim, which in our language is translated as faith in the plural number, not singular. What are the gates, which are opened by angels, so that the people of Judah, who are rejected, may not enter, but rather the righteous nation, which has received its name from the faith of the faithful? Indeed, those of which the saint speaks: Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord (Ps. CXVII, 19). However, no one will be able to enter these gates unless they have been freed from the gates of death; and as the Psalmist says: You who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Ps. IX, 15). For when we have been saved from the gates of death, then at the gates of the daughter of Zion we will be able to sing all the praises of the Lord. And just as I consider the gates of death to be sins, of which it is said to Peter: The gates of hell shall not prevail against you (Matthew 16:18); so the gates of righteousness, all the works of virtue, whoever enters them will find one gate, of which it is said: This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter it (Psalm 118:19). And how is it that through many pearls one arrives at one pearl: so through many paths and gates we come to Him who says He is the way and the gate, through which we enter to the Father. After the word of God, the people answered in Hebrew 'Jeser Samuch' (which Aquila and Symmachus similarly translated) which means 'our error is removed', or 'our thought is established', which previously wavered between you and idols, so that we are not carried about by every wind of doctrine, but with our whole mind we believe in you, the Lord and Savior. In order for us to have a clearer understanding, we have translated, the old error has gone away. And since our thought has been confirmed, therefore you will keep for us the peace that you promised to the Apostles, saying: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you (John 14:27); and not only once, but twice, so that the secure reward that is promised in twofold language may be assured, according to what the Apostle also spoke: Rejoice, I say again, rejoice (Philippians 4:4). But the consequence of this is what is said in Leviticus: 'A man, a man, of the sons of Israel' (Lev. 17). And in the book of Numbers: 'A husband, a husband, whose wife has defiled the marriage bed' (Num. 5:12): so that a double man and a double husband may obtain double peace. And they say, 'We merit peace because we trust in you with our whole mind.' After the words of the people and the response of the Lord, the voice of the Prophet speaks again to the believers: 'You have hoped, or continue to hope, in the Lord, in everlasting ages,' and so on. According to the Septuagint, he enters the gates of the Lord, who guards justice in good works, and preserves or embraces truth in the truth of faith, so that he may attain peace through good works and faith, which surpasses all understanding, and deserve to receive that same peace; for he believed in God who is the dispenser of eternal good works (Philippians 4). Therefore, it is also written in another place: You have desired wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will grant it to you (Ecclesiastes 1:33).

(Vers. 5, 6.) In the Lord, the mighty God forever: for He will bring down those who dwell on high; He will humble the lofty city and bring it down to the ground; He will cast it down to the dust. The feet shall trample it, the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy. LXX: O great and eternal God, who have humbled and cast down those who dwell on high, you will destroy strong cities and bring them down to the pavement, and their feet will be trampled by the meek and the humble. And this is what the Prophet speaks, who answered him in the place where he had said above: Hope in the Lord in eternal ages; and he joins to it what we have now proposed: In the Lord God Almighty forever, and so on. For the Lord God Almighty, in Hebrew has three names, Ia () and Adonai () and Sur (), which mean, respectively, invisible, ineffable, and strong, of which the first is placed in the last syllable of Alleluia (). And let the diligent reader observe this, that sometimes we divide the text in the proposition of testimonium: because one edition has one sense from the Septuagint and another has the sense expressed word for word from the Hebrew. Therefore the Prophet says: Hope in the Lord in eternal ages: in the Lord God Almighty forever, whose help is everlasting. For He will bow down those who dwell on high, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; those who boasted of having Abraham as their father, and spoke against the Lord: We are not born of fornication (John VIII, 41). He will also humble the lofty city, as the Jews believe, Rome (or rather Jerusalem), which killed the Prophets, and stoned those who were sent to it, and finally killed the son of the master of the house, so that the heir, being killed, the inheritance would perish (Luke XIII). And the city is not called the one [which] is called in Hebrew Ir, but Caria which Aquila translated as πολίχνην, which we can call either a small city or village or town, and frequently in the Scriptures it is referred to by this name Jerusalem. And beautifully, he placed a twofold humility: He will humble, he will humble it, first under the Babylonians, when the temple was destroyed, secondly under Titus and Vespasian, whose ruin continues until the end. It tramples it under foot, and treads upon it, and joins the feet of the poor, without doubt of Christ. Of whom we have already spoken above: He became strength to the poor; the strength of the needy in their tribulation. The steps of the needy, namely the Apostles, who imitating the poverty of the Lord, also obtained the privilege of his virtue; who, not being received, shook off the dust of their feet upon it. And because it is said in the words of the Savior, Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled: and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11), we can apply this not only to men, but also to contrary virtues. According to the Septuagint, the Prophet sings praises to God, because he humiliates all the proud and tears down the fortifications of all cities to the ground, and he treads upon the heads of the holy, the meek, and the humble.

(Verses 7-9.) The path of the just is straight, the righteous path is for walking: and on the path of your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you, your name and your memorial in the desire of our soul: my soul has desired you in the night. LXX: The path of the just is straight, made straight is the path of the just, and prepared. For the path of the Lord is judgment, we have hoped in your name: and in the memorial which our soul desires. Furthermore, the Prophet speaks about Christ, about whom he said above: His foot will trample it, the feet of the poor. Therefore, the path of this just man is straight, or, to use a new word, it is called righteousness, which the Greeks call εὐθύτητας and we can call equities in Latin, and in Hebrew they are called Messarim (). Therefore, in the one path of Christ, all righteousness is found, and for this reason, he trod upon it and crushed it with his foot, so that whoever desires to walk on it may walk without stumbling. In this path of the Lord's judgments, the saints sustained him and hoped in him, for hope does not disappoint. And they had both the name and the memorial in the desire of the soul, saying: My soul hath coveted to long for thy judgments at all times (Ps. CXVIII, 20); and again: My soul hath desired, and hath been consumed with longing for thy salvation (Ibid. 81). But he who has the name of the Lord in desire, desires nothing else. And this should be noted, that the desire of the Lord is not in the flesh, but in the soul, according to what we read in another psalm: My soul hath thirsted after the living God, the strong (Ps. LI, 2). For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. And what follows: In the night, according to the Septuagint, it is joined to the following chapter, according to the Hebrew to the previous one. But he can say: My soul longed for you in the night, who speaks confidently with the Psalmist: I will wash my bed every night, with tears I will water my couch. Night and darkness can be seen as symbols of tribulation and distress. Therefore, in another psalm, the Prophet sings about the security of the righteous: The sun shall not harm you by day, nor the moon by night (Ps. 121:6), meaning that in both good times and bad, you will never be shaken from your position.

But my spirit within me, from the morning I watch for you. LXX: From the night my spirit rises to you, O God, for your judgments are a light upon the earth. We desire to follow the Hebrew and not completely disregard the Vulgate edition, and out of necessity we are compelled to seek different understandings in different order and language. Therefore, what is said, 'from the night,' according to the LXX, is the beginning of this chapter, as we have said, but according to the Hebrew, it is the end of the previous; although it can also be understood at the end of the previous testimony according to the LXX, so that the meaning is: My soul desires you at night; and then begin, from the morning my spirit rises to you, O God. Therefore, in the morning he rises, because your light is precepts upon the earth. For he keeps your commandments, and is enlightened by their light, of which it is said: The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes (Ps. XVIII, 9). I cannot sleep, but desiring you at all times, I rise to you in spirit. And it should be observed that even when we are still in the night, we should desire the Lord in our minds. However, once our spirit has fully moved itself towards God in our hearts, let us wake up in the morning for him. To express it more clearly, the night and desire belong to the soul, but the morning and watchfulness belong to the spirit. Moreover, the spirit in their innermost being wakes up to God, who can say: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord (Ps. 130:1).

(Verse 10.) When you execute your judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Show mercy to the wicked, who does not learn righteousness; in the land of the saints he acts unjustly and does not see the glory of the Lord. Learn righteousness, you who dwell on the earth. The wicked will cease to exist and will not learn righteousness on the earth; he will not act with truth, let the wicked be taken away so he will not see the glory of the Lord. Let us first speak according to the Hebrew, and if we want to express the meaning of the prophet, then let us turn to the Septuagint Interpreters. As long as you do not exercise your judgments upon the earth, and neither reward the good with good nor the evil with evil, your justice, O Lord God, is ignored on earth. But when on the day of judgment you will render to each according to the quality of their deeds, then your justice will be known throughout the world, which previously seemed unjust among the unbelievers, so that even one of the saints would say: My steps were nearly weakened, my feet were nearly poured out, for I was zealous for the wicked, seeing the peace of the sinners (Ps. LXXII, 2). To which the Lord responded: Let us have mercy on the wicked; for except for the Seventy, all others have also translated it this way. And the meaning is: may the wicked obtain mercy even more, and may he learn my clemency; so that he himself may also be saved. And in response to the Lord speaking, the Prophet, representing human impatience, replied: And he will not learn justice. And the meaning is: and how will he be able to know your justice if he has only experienced your clemency? And the reasons why he wants to learn the justice of God are as follows: because he acted unjustly on the earth of the saints, and continually fought against your saints, he must feel torment. And again the Lord, tempering the judgment, says, And let him not see, whether he will not see the glory of the Lord. And this is the meaning: it is enough punishment for him that he will not see me reigning in my majesty with my saints. Some want the impious one, that is, Resa, to be understood as the devil, about whom it is written in the 108th psalm: You have rebuked the nations, and the wicked one has perished; you have destroyed their name forever and for eternity. The enemies have ceased their spears to the end, and you have destroyed their cities (Psalm 9:6). However, let us generally consider the wicked either as a sinner or as one who does not have the worship of God. According to the Septuagint, the inhabitants of the earth are commanded to learn righteousness. For every man seems just to himself; but God knows the hearts of all, who will render to each one according to his deeds (Proverbs 21). And in another place of the same volume it is said: There are ways that seem right to a man, but the ends thereof lead to the depths of hell (Proverbs 14:12). Where should we learn justice, and not rely on our own judgment. For he is just who perishes in his own justice (Eccles. VII); not because he is just, but because he appears just to himself. But if Christ has become for us from God wisdom, and justice, sanctification and redemption (I Cor. I), to whom it is commanded that they know justice, it is commanded that they learn and know Christ. Therefore I command you, he says, to learn justice, because the wicked one has been taken away; and his kingdom has been destroyed, who as long as he reigned on earth, could not know justice, nor do the truth. About which it is written elsewhere, that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John XVII). And because the wicked does not make truth on earth, it will be taken away: for he does not deserve to see the Lord reigning.

(Verse 11) Lord, let your hand be exalted, and let them not see: let them see, and let the jealousy of the people be confused, and let the fire devour your enemies. LXX: Lord, your arm is exalted, and they did not know, but those who know will be confounded: jealousy will seize the unlearned people, and now the fire will consume the adversaries. This which was said above, 'and he shall not see the glory of the Lord,' can be understood thus: You ask, O Prophet, that I have no mercy on the wicked, lest if I have mercy on them, they begin to not know righteousness, being the one who has acted unjustly in the land of the saints; I answer you, therefore, will he not see the glory of the Lord? Therefore, should not he see my triumphs, who owes it to me more to see me reigning, so that he may know how much good he lacks? And this must be read more urgently in the voice of one questioning. To which the Prophet responded: Lord, let your hand be exalted, and let it be stretched out to strike, so that the wicked may not see you, and may not even have the light of your glory to repent. To which the Lord responded: Let them see even more and be confounded, whether out of envy of the people or zeal for the people, and let the fire devour and consume your adversaries, that is, the enemies of your people, the saints. But the fire of repentance, which torments their hearts, because they have lost such a Lord. This can also be understood of the Jews, who did not know Christ, the arm of the Lord, and when they see him and recognize him, whom they had crucified, they will be confounded. Then the unlearned people and those ignorant of the law of God will be stirred up by the goads of zeal, when they see that the nations have taken their place, and they will be consumed by the fire of repentance, or the pain of punishment, when they hear that which is written: Go into eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. XXV, 41).