Jerome

And your teacher will not fly away from you anymore, and your eyes will see your instructor, and your ears will hear the word behind you, saying: This is the way, walk in it, neither to the right nor to the left. LXX: And those who deceive you will never come near you again, for your eyes will see those who have deceived you, and your ears will hear the words behind you of those who deceive, saying: This is the way, let us walk in it, whether to the right or to the left. In this place there are many disagreements between the 70th edition and the Hebrew. Therefore, we will first discuss the edition of the Vulgate, and then we will follow the order of truth. When they understand and perceive with the eyes of their hearts the truth, and when they fully understand those who have deceived them before and discern the words of those who deceive from behind with educated ears, for they always hurry to deceive the blind part of the body, according to the psalm that we read: 'They shoot in the dark the upright in heart' (Ps. X, 2), they assume such authority for themselves that they do not want to examine the disciples with reason, whether they teach with their right hand or their left, that is, whether they teach good or evil, but they want to follow their predecessors. Then those who previously deceived will never again be able to approach them once they realize they have been understood. Moreover, the explanation according to Hebrew is both easy and true. For when the Lord gives those who believe a narrow path and a short distance, he will never allow that person who teaches knowledge to fly away from them; but they will always see their teacher with their eyes, and they will hear the word of the one who admonishes them from behind, saying: This is the right way, walk in it, neither to the right nor to the left, according to what is read elsewhere: We will not turn to the right or the left, we will walk on the royal road (Numbers 20:17). For whatever is excessive in either direction is a fault. And concerning the right side it is said: Be not too just (Eccl. 7:17). But there is no doubt that on the left side they should be placed among the goats and the perishable.

(Verse 25.) On that day, the lamb will graze abundantly in your possession. And your oxen and donkeys, who work the land, will eat a mixture of barley and chaff, like it has been winnowed in the threshing floor. And on that day, your horses will graze in a fertile and spacious place. Your bulls and cows, who work the land, will eat the mixture of chaff and barley in the winnowed grain. In the abundance of all things, with heavenly rain descending, and with that bread which comes down from heaven, whoever eats it will never hunger again. The lambs will graze in the most spacious place, following the lamb wherever it goes, and those who are always on the right side will also graze. But the leaders of the herd, of whom we read: The congregation of bulls in the midst of cows of the people (Ps. LXVII, 31): and the foals of donkeys, on which the Lord sitting entered Jerusalem (Matth. XXI), who work the land, they will eat from the threshing floor in such a way that it has been winnowed, so that nothing mixed of course in their food there will be chaff, of which it is written in Jeremiah: What has chaff to do with wheat, says the Lord (Jerem. XXIII)? And those who are burned with unquenchable fire in the Gospel (Luke III). Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the animals, which are not yet full of reason and wisdom, and of which one speaks to God: I have become like a beast before you (Ps. LXXII, 23), will be fed in a rich and spacious place, which does not bring forth thorns and thistles, but flows like the land of Israel with milk and honey, and grants full freedom to those who feed on it. But the bulls and oxen that work the land, that is, the Apostles and apostolic men, of whom the apostle Paul also interprets the writing: You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treads out the grain. And, is God concerned with oxen? But certainly He speaks about those who work their own land and of whom He speaks the same, we are God's agriculture, God's building. For the Father is the farmer, and Christ is the vine: they will eat chaff mixed with winnowed barley. We read that Isaac sowed barley, and because he was among foreigners, he received a hundredfold harvest of barley. And Hosea, having hired a coro and a half of barley, took to himself an adulterous woman (Hosea III). The Savior also, with five thousand men who still served the desires of the flesh and followed the Law of Moses, satisfied them with barley loaves (John VI). In another place, by breaking seven loaves of the Law and dividing them into pieces, he filled four thousand men with wheat bread, who followed the evangelical number (Matthew XV). People of this kind eat both the chaff and the grain. While in some respects they adhere to the letter, gradually they make progress through the chaff and barley, in order to pass on to the wheat.

(Verse 25.) And they shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every elevated hill, flowing streams of water on the day of the slaughter of many, when the towers fall. In this place, the Jews attribute to the power of the Roman Empire the many who were killed and the towers that collapsed, about which the Apostle also speaks (2 Thess. 7): Only he who now holds it, let him hold it until it is taken away. That is, in that time there will be such great prosperity for the people of Israel that not only valleys and plains, but all mountains and hills will be irrigated by flowing waters. But we, let us understand the mountains and hills, those who are elevated in high virtues, who hunger and thirst for justice (Matt. 5), whom the Lord challenges to drink. For whoever drinks from His waters, will not thirst forever (John 4). Hence, in the psalm we read: Bless the Lord from the fountains of Israel (Ps. 67:27). And in the Gospel it is said that anyone who drinks from the waters of Jesus, rivers of living water will flow from his womb (John 7). And he speaks to God the Holy One, saying: For with you is the fountain of life (Ps. 36:10), from which the purest river flows, of which Scripture again mentions: The rushing of a river makes glad the city of God (Ps. 45:4). And in another place: The river of God is filled with water (Ps. 65:9); namely, the one who speaks through Jeremiah: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water (Jer. 2:13). But this will happen when they are killed or perish, many indeed are called, but few are chosen (Matt. 20:16). And when the towers fall, whether they be the powers of demons, or the proud and arrogant and great of this world; of whom it is said in the Psalms: I have seen the wicked exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, he was not, I sought him, and his place was not found (Ps. XXXVI, 35, 36). These towers desired to build (Gen. XII), those who moved their feet from the East, whose tongues were confounded in Babylon, and those on whom the tower of Siloam fell (Luke XIII).

(Verse 26) And there will be the light of the moon, like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the wounds of his people and heals the bruises inflicted by his blow. LXX: And the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, on the day when the Lord heals the brokenness of his people and cures the pain of your wound. I wonder how in this present place the Hebrew words Labana () and Hamma (), which Aquila translates as whiteness and heat, by which it signifies the moon and the sun above the same LXX, have been rendered as brick and wall, in that place where it is written: And the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be confounded. For as they have been interpreted, the bricks will melt and the wall will fall, and now those who follow the Hebrew have translated the moon and the sun. Hence I am suspicious that they did not err from the beginning, but gradually corrupted by the fault of the scribes. For it cannot happen that those who have interpreted the same words correctly in this place have erred in the previous ones. Therefore, on the day of the killing of many, when the arrogant and proud have fallen, and those who have put their mouth in the sky have learned that they are of the earth, there will be light of the moon, just as the light of the sun: when the Lord gives a new heaven and a new earth, and the current state of this world passes away, so that the moon and the sun may obtain the rewards of their toil and their course. For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject, in hope: Because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now. And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen, is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings. And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what the Spirit desireth; because he asketh for the saints according to God. And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints. And the sun will receive sevenfold light: just as there was light for seven days when the world was created from the beginning (although the Septuagint did not transfer seven days), when the Lord bound up the wound of his people, or healed the bruise of his people: when that which is written will be fulfilled: Sorrow and mourning and groaning will flee away (Isa. 35:10): when with the influx of the fullness of the Gentiles, all Israel will be saved; or certainly when vengeance comes upon those whose souls cry out under the altar: How long will you not avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 6:9)? And consider this, that it does not say, 'when he heals the brokenness of his people Israel, or Jacob;' but absolutely, 'his people,' in order to signify all who serve God. Some interpret this place and all that is contained in this chapter of promises as referring to heavenly Jerusalem, and to the return of its people, when what is written will be fulfilled: 'Heaven and earth will pass away' (Matthew 24:35). Others interpret it as referring to the time of Elijah, and they say it is he of whom it is written above: 'Your eyes will see your teacher' and 'your ears will hear a word behind you, saying: This is the way, walk in it' (Isaiah 30:20-21). Then, according to the fables of the poets, rivers of golden milk will flow from the mountains and hills, and the purest honey will drip from the leaves of the trees. Those who receive these things will also receive a tale of a thousand years and will embrace the earthly kingdom of the Savior, misunderstanding the Apocalypse of John on the surface of the letter, weaving the sacraments of the Church into their marrow.

(Vers. 27 seqq.) Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar: His burning anger and heaviness to bear. His lips are filled with indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire. His breath is like a torrent overflowing to the middle of the neck, to destroy nations for nothing, and the bridle of error that was in the jaws of the people. It shall be a song to you, like the night of a holy solemnity, and the joy of the heart, like one who goes with a flute, to enter the mount of the Lord, to the mighty one of Israel. LXX: Behold, the name of the Lord comes after a long time: burning wrath with glory, the speech of his lips, full of anger, and the anger of fury like fire will devour, and his spirit like water in a valley, drawing will come up to the neck, and it will be divided to disturb the nations with vain error, and error will be cast aside, and it will take them in their sight. Should you always rejoice and enter into my holy things constantly, as if celebrating and rejoicing at feasts, to enter with a pipe to the mountain of the Lord to the God of Israel? Let us first speak according to the Hebrew. They depend on the preceding things which are said. The prophetic word had caught those who, despising the help of God, were fleeing to the Egyptians because of fear of the Babylonians, and it threatened that those who went down there would die. And again, after the punishments, he promises that those who wanted (or rather, didn't want) to hear him would not only dwell in Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, but also that he would promise greater blessedness to all who believe in the word of God, in the consummation of the world, when the rivers of waters will run through all the mountains and hills, and many will be killed, and towers will fall. The moon and the sun will also receive a brighter light when the Lord binds up and heals the wounds of his people. Some may argue that these things were accomplished to an excessive degree in the times of Cyrus, who released the captivity of the people and filled the land of Judah. Therefore, because rewards have been promised to the good and obedient, now on the contrary, punishments are declared for the wicked and contemptuous, so that the Lord may fulfill his plan and come to punish sinners after a long time, and pronounce judgment upon all, and destroy the impious with the breath of his mouth, whom he calls the bridle of the peoples: not to rule over them, but to draw those subject to him to ruin. He also uses the analogy of a river overflowing and reaching up to the neck to testify that the end of all things has come. Just as the river suffocates the one it reaches up to the neck, so too the judgment of God will not allow anyone to escape unpunished. But when He loses the bridle that was on the jaws of all nations, and has brought them to nothing, then, He says, there will be a song for you, O saints, who obey my commands, like the night of a holy solemnity, when you came out of Egypt and threw off the yoke of Egyptian slavery in the solemnity of the Passover, saying at the Red Sea when Pharaoh was drowned: 'Let us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified' (Exodus 15:1). And with such great joy in your hearts that you imitate those who, carrying the first fruits to the temple and offering gifts in the presses of God, go with their pipes, demonstrating the joys of their heart through song. I have briefly explained these things according to the Hebrew language. However, it should be noted in both editions that it is not the Lord, but the name of the Lord that comes after a long time, as it is said in the Psalms: 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the Lord God, and he has shined upon us' (Ps. CXVII, 26). And he himself speaks in the Gospel: 'I have come in my Father's name, and you have not received me' (John V, 43). It is said to come after a long time, with human impatience speaking: 'How long, O Lord, will you forget me? Forever?' How long will you turn your face away from me? (Ps. XII, 1). His burning fury also comes with glory, so that the one we despise in humility, we may fear in majesty. This very thing is also written in the psalms: God will come manifestly, our God will not keep silent. Fire will burn before him, and there will be a mighty tempest around him (Ps. L, 3, 4). He himself speaks in the Gospel (Luke XII, 49): I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Again in another psalm it is read: The voice of the Lord cutting through the flame of fire (Ps. XXVIII, 7), so that whatever is in the manner of hay, wood, and straw, the flame would consume. Hence, God is also said to be a consuming fire (Deut. IV). And it is inferred: The fury of his wrath will devour like fire, and many of our people interpret the fury of the Lord's wrath as the devil, to whom we are handed over for punishment, who, according to the book of Samuel, incited David to number the people of God (II Reg. XXIV). And the Apostle says: to deliver such a Satan to the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved (I Cor. V, 5). But this same fury, and so the fury of the Lord will do nothing by his own will, but what has been commanded to him. Hence it follows: The speech of his lips is full of wrath. His spirit also like water in a valley, drawing near even to the neck, to make punishments overflow upon sinners. He will be divided according to the quality of his merits, to destroy and trouble the nations which false error had deceived, so that they may understand themselves to be overthrown. When it is said of such people, who prevailed in the power of this world and delighted in their own error, that they will not always do this. And certain of our people think that this place and the whole content of the chapter is against heretics and all dogmas that are contrary to the truth, because when the time of judgment comes, they will not enter his holy mountain, that is, the Church of the Lord, so that they may not gather riches under the name of religion and indulge in luxury, as if celebrating the feasts of the Lord. The Jews understand concerning the nations of Gog and Magog, which they believe will come from the North, that is, from the regions of Scythia, about which Ezekiel speaks more fully (Ezek. 19).

(Verse 30 and following) And the Lord will cause the glory of His voice to be heard, and He will show the terror of His arm in the threat of His fury and the devouring flame of fire. He will strike with whirlwind and hailstones. At the voice of the Lord, Assyria will tremble, struck down like a virgin, and there will be a passage firmly established by the rod: which the Lord will cause to rest upon him with timbrels and harps, and in battles He will conquer them in principal places. For Topheth has been prepared since yesterday, prepared by the king, deep and wide. Its fire is nourished, and there are many trees: the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, will set it ablaze. LXX: And the Lord will cause the glory of his voice to be heard, and he will show the fury of his arm with wrath and anger, and with a devouring flame of fire, he will strike vehemently, and like water and hail descending with force. For at the voice of the Lord the Assyrians will be overcome, with the blow with which he will strike them, and it will be all around him, that is, the place where he had hope of help, in which he trusted. They themselves will fight against him with tambourines and harps, in exchange. For you will be deceived before many days: is a kingdom also prepared for you? A deep valley, with wood placed, fire and the wood of many; the fury of the Lord, like a valley set on fire with sulfur. I could, in accordance with the Hebrew text, indicate to those who are reading what seems to me to be happening; but what shall I do, when some declare that I will have an incomplete work unless I also discuss the edition of the 70 interpreters? Therefore, I will follow the intended order of discussion. The voice of the Lord and his precept will become known to all, and the strength of his arm will be revealed to all when the time of retribution comes, when the flame and whirlwind, the size of hailstones, and the weight of stones will be abandoned. Indeed, in the prophecy of Ezekiel, as we have said, he writes at length about Gog and Magog (Ezek. XXXVIII, and Xxvix). At the command of his voice, Assur will tremble, struck with a rod. Every impious person, every imitator of the enemy nation: not that only the Assyrian will be struck on the day of judgment, but by the Assyrian we understand the devil. Finally, it follows: And the passage of the rod will be established, which the Lord will make to rest upon him. And this is the meaning: He will not strike him with a rod, and then lift him up again, as those who punish do; but rather, as if firmly rooted and firmly fixed, will cause him to remain in his punishments. And if it is understood in this way, where will be the repentance of the devil, especially when it is said to sinners: Go into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). With timbrels and harps, and with principal weapons, the Lord will conquer them, namely the demons and all the wicked ones, with the joy of all. For from yesterday and from past time, Thopheth, that is, a broad and spacious hell, has been prepared by the Lord the King, which burns them with eternal fires. Its nourishment and fuel is fire, and many woods, that is, perpetual flame and the torments of sinners. And since, just as from a burning furnace and fire, the prophetic speech had foretold, it keeps the metaphor, so that by the breath and spirit and will of the Lord, we may know that it is set on fire, with mixed sulfur, which kindles the flames, to make the torments more fierce. Moreover, what is said in the Septuagint: 'At the voice of the Lord the Assyrians shall be overcome, when he shall strike them with the plague, and he shall be in a circle where he was before, and the hope of help, in which he trusted: they themselves with timbrels and harps shall fight against him out of sudden change,' signifies that they rise up against the devil, who had once been subject to him, and fight against him with joy and gladness out of sudden change, while understanding their own error, they destroy him by whom they had been deceived. And it is said to him, because he deceived himself from the beginning, thinking his kingdom to be eternal, for which hell and eternal punishments are prepared.

(Chapter 31, verses 1 onwards) Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against the wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. Egypt is a man and not a God: and their horses are flesh, not spirit: and the Lord shall lay his hand upon them that help, and the helper shall fall down, and he that is helped shall fall, and they shall all be consumed together. After the burden of the beasts of the south, and the treasures of their riches for the people of Egypt shall exhaust their aid, which shall be of no profit to them, but for a shame and a reproach. Look now towards the land of the north wherein is the king of Babylon: where is now the old king of Assyria? Where are their gods in whom they trusted? Who is the king of Hamath, and of Arphad, and of the city of Sepharvaim, of Ana, and of Ava? And as for Hamath it had the beginning from Samaria: but Samaria and Jerusalem shall receive the reward of their trusting in him. For their God is with them and they glory in their king. With their horses and chariots they shall go up, and with their horsemen and their troops they shall come down, and they shall cover the land as a sea. And they shall pass through it unharmed: and they shall fall into captivity. And they that shall be gathered together against them, shall be confounded: and all the beasts of the field, and all the fowls of the air, and the birds of the sea shall be gathered together upon them: and the Lord will for them carry on a war, and will afflict them. Their strength shall be consumed with famine: and their birds shall be devoured with a burning heat, and with most grievous destruction: because they have despised the words of the Lord, and have depised the counsel of the holy one of Israel. And this is both the present and the past, where it is prescribed that the Jews should not go down to Egypt; here, because they have despised the Lord's command, it is prophesied that they will go down, and that both Israel and the Egyptians, both the fugitives and the helpers, will be slain by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Jeremiah speaks at length about this (Jeremiah 42). Woe therefore to those who go down to Egypt and despise the Lord's command in fear of the Chaldeans, hoping in idolaters who boast of having the worship of God, and relying on the help of horses, not knowing the scripture: A deceitful horse brings salvation (Psalm 32:17); and they have confidence in chariots, horses, and riders, not remembering that song: He has cast chariots and their riders into the sea (Exodus 15:1). And they did not trust in the Holy One of Israel, who promised them help through Jeremiah for those who remained in the land of Judah. And they did not seek the Lord; not that they did not seek, but that they disregarded the words of the one they sought. And this is also said of the wicked priests: They devour my people and do not call upon the Lord (Psalm 52:5,6). But the wise one, that is, the Lord, brought evil upon them, and the worst, namely Nebuchadnezzar, or rather, he brought about evil as a consequence, not as a personal intention; and he did not take away his words that he had spoken through the prophets. How will it rise up against the tribe of Judah, the house of the wicked, and against the help of the Egyptians, who work iniquity? For Egypt, or the Egyptians as the Septuagint translated, is a man and not God; and their horses are flesh and not spirit. Therefore, it is written in Jeremiah: Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man and has made flesh his strength, and his heart has turned away from the Lord. And he will be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes (Jeremiah 17:5-6). And in another place it is written: The salvation of man is in vain (Ps. 59:13), or, as is better understood in the Hebrew, in man. And when the Lord stretches out His hand to punish, or turns away, under the metaphor of a charioteer, and loosens the reins of the horses that are running, the Egyptian helper will fall, and the help that was given to Israel. Indeed, we can understand this about those who, in times of persecution, tribulation, and distress, do not trust in the Lord, but in the help of the Egyptians, that is, of worldly men; not knowing that Abraham was in danger in Egypt, and that the people of God served in that region of mud and bricks, which is spiritually called the iron furnace. Wherefore also in the Apocalypse of John it is read: The place in which the Lord was crucified is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt (Al. Egyptian) (Apoc. XI, 8).

(Verses 4, 5.) For thus says the Lord to me: Just as when a lion roars, and a lion cub over its prey, when a multitude of shepherds come against it, it will not be afraid of their voices, nor terrified by their numbers; so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight upon Mount Zion and its hill. Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem, protecting and delivering, passing over and saving. In manifestis unam ponimus editionem, maxime ubi nulla diversitas sensuum est. Caesis in Aegypto Israelitis et Aegyptiis, in quorum auxilio confidebant, revertentur (( Al. revertuntur)) in Jerusalem, Cyro regnante, captivi. Et per duas similitudines, Domini, qui se fore adjutorem promiserat, fortitudo monstratur. Sicut leo et catulus leonis esuriens, si cernat ovium gregem, nulla pastorum voce terretur, et multitudinem eorum conscius virium suarum despicit: sic Dominus exercituum praeliabitur, non contra montem Sion et collem ejus, super montem Sion contra adversarios illius. Let us give another comparison: Just as birds defend their offspring by flying over their nests, and whether they see a snake or a human, the birds and others approach their chicks, forgetting their weakness, they fight with their beaks and claws, and with a chattering voice they express their anguish: so the Lord will protect Jerusalem and deliver it by passing over, and He will save it. For 'passing over' in Hebrew is 'Phase', and it is translated as 'ὑπερβαίνων' by the interpreters, apart from the Septuagint. From which it is clear that Pascha, that is, the Lord's Passover, does not signify His passion, but His passage. Moreover, that the Lord acted as the protector in the likeness of birds over Jerusalem, He Himself testifies in the Gospel: 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you' (Matt. XXIII, 37): how often have I desired to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing? And in Deuteronomy it is said of the Lord: He spread his wings and took them, and carried them on his shoulders (Deut. XXXII, 11).

(Verse 6 onwards) Return, as you have deeply strayed, O children of Israel. For on that day a man will cast away the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made for yourselves to sin. And Assur will fall by the sword, not of a man; and a sword, not of a human, will devour him. He will flee not from the face of the sword, and his young men will become forced labor. His strength will pass away in terror, and his fleeing princes will be filled with fear, says the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. LXX: Return, O children of Israel, as you have gone deep into sin. For on that day every man will throw away the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold that your own hands have made for your own sins. And Assyria will fall by the sword, not of a man, and a sword, not of a human, will devour him; he will flee, but not from the face of the sword; his young men will be defeated; they will be surrounded like a wall, and they will be conquered; but whoever flees will be captured. Thus says the Lord: Blessed is he who has offspring in Zion and who has a household in Jerusalem. While the Lord fights against his adversaries on Mount Zion and protects it like a rampart, O children of Israel, turn back! As Symmachus translated it: Repent, you who have strayed from the Lord due to deep counsel and sin. For if you do this, casting aside the golden and silver idols that have been a cause of sin for you, because of which your city was captured, Assyria will fall, from whose fear you now flee, not by the sword of men or the strength of an army, but by the power of God. But it signifies that an angel, by whom 185,000 Assyrians were destroyed in one night. Also, the Assyrian king himself will not flee from the sword of men, but from the wrath of God, so that his young and strong men will become tributaries to the Medes, of whom it is said above, in opposition to Babylon: Behold, I will raise up the Medes against you. And the might of Assyria will pass by with the terror of the Lord, and all its princes will tremble. For the Lord has spoken and promised, and what He has said, He has done: and He who has fire in Zion and a furnace in Jerusalem, so that He may consume His adversaries like straw and wood coming out of Jerusalem. Another thing that is said: On that day, a man will throw away his idols of silver and the rest, it is interpreted in such a way that it testifies that after the return from the Babylonian captivity until the coming of Christ, the children of Israel never worshiped idols. Assyria is also signified in the present place, not by an angel, but by the Medes, because it was the most ancient and once powerful kingdom, which was destroyed after offending the Lord, and served the conquerors. The Nazarenes understand this place thus: O children of Israel, who denied the Son of God with wicked counsel, return to Him and His Apostles. For if you do this, you will cast away all the idols that were previously a sin for you, and the devil will fall to you, not by your strength, but by the mercy of God; and its young men who once fought for it will be subjects of the Church, and all its strength and rock will be passed to it; even the philosophers and every perverse doctrine will turn their backs to the sign of the cross. For the opinion of the Lord is that this should be done: whose fire or light is in Zion and his furnace in Jerusalem. Fire and light are written in Hebrew with the same letters Aleph, Vau, Res; if it is read as Ur, it means fire: if Or, it means light. This is said because for the fire, which Symmachus alone interprets, Aquila and Theodotion translate it as light. But I do not know what is meant by what is read in the Septuagint: They will be surrounded like a wall by rock, and they will be conquered: but whoever flees will be captured. Unless perhaps we can say this, that the young men of the Assyrian king who are to be conquered and captured, are surrounded like a rock, that is, by the strength of the Lord, just as a city is surrounded by a wall. Furthermore, what follows: Blessed is the one who has offspring in Zion, and domestic servants in Jerusalem, we can interpret it in such a way as to say that it agrees with the meaning of this place, that the divine word exhorts those who are fleeing to Egypt to return to Jerusalem and to bear children. To whom such great blessedness is promised, that it may be defended and protected by the help of the Lord. And in another place it is written about it: The glory of this last house shall be greater than the glory of the former (Haggai 2:10). Which can also be referred to the Church, the vision of peace and the watchtower, of which it is written: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God (Psalm 87:2). And elsewhere: The streams of the river make glad the city of God (Psalm 46:3). For in it there is fire and a furnace that shall devour the sinners, and shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble; or it is a light and an oven, that the brightness of the righteous, and the punishment of the wicked, may be shown.

(Chapter 32, Verses 1 onwards) Behold, the king shall reign with justice, and princes shall rule with judgment. And a man shall be like one who hides from the wind, and conceals himself from the storm: like streams of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a towering rock in a barren land. The eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen carefully. And the heart of fools shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers shall speak quickly and clearly. He who is foolish shall no longer be called a ruler, nor shall the deceitful be called great. For the foolish shall speak foolishness, and his heart shall work iniquity, to accomplish deceit and speak deceitfully to the Lord, to empty the soul of the hungry and take away the drink of the thirsty. The vessels of the deceitful are the worst, for he has devised plans to destroy the meek with lies when he speaks in judgment of the poor. The prince will consider those things that are worthy of a prince, and he himself will stand above the leaders. LXX: Behold, a righteous king will reign, and princes will rule with justice. And there will be a man who conceals his words, and he will be hidden like water that is carried away: and he will appear in Zion, like a flowing river, illustrious in a thirsty land, and they will not place their confidence in men: but they will open their ears to hear, and the heart of the weak will attend to their hearing: and the tongues of the stammerers will quickly learn to speak peace: and they will no longer say to the fool, 'Be a prince,' nor will your ministers say, 'Be silent.' For a fool will speak foolishly, and his heart will understand in vain to accomplish wickedness, and to speak error towards the Lord, so as to scatter the souls of the hungry and to make the souls of the thirsty empty. For the counsel of the wicked will think iniquity: to kill the humble with wicked words, and to dissipate the words of the lowly in judgment. But the pious have thought wisdom, and this counsel remains. According to the Septuagint interpreters who said: Behold, for a just king will reign, and princes will preside with judgment, what follows must be joined with the previous, namely, the chapter that has ended: Blessed is the one who has offspring in Zion, and domestics in Jerusalem. According to the completion of the prior prophecy in Hebrew, concerning those who descended into Egypt, now begins the beginning of another prophecy, namely, concerning the coming of Christ and His Apostles. For this king shall reign justly, showing no partiality in judgment, and his princes shall govern with truth, considering causes, not individuals. And whoever is under his protection shall be safe in tribulations and hardships, and in the storms of this world, just as one who, fleeing the wind and whirlwind, safely hides in a place; and one who finds the purest springs in the desert; and one who, in the scorching heat of the sun, finds rest under a projecting rock while everything flows around him. Whereas we have said: as streams of water in a dry place, they have translated: and there shall be seen in Zion as a flowing river. For the Hebrew word, about which we have previously debated, Basaion, which means in thirst, or in dryness, and in barrenness, the Septuagint and Theodotion have translated into Zion: instead of Saion, meaning thirst, they read Zion, which is written with the same letters. Therefore, when Christ reigns, and his princes preside in judgement, the eyes of the believers will not be dimmed, and the ears of the attentive will listen carefully to what was previously deaf, and the heart of the fools will understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers and the mute, which could not pronounce the name of Christ, will confess the Lord in full and clear speech. He who is foolish will no longer be called a prince. For God has made the wisdom of this world foolish. Nor will a deceitful and perverse teacher be called great among the people, namely the scribes and Pharisees, to whom the Lord spoke: Fools and blind ones, what is greater, gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? For a fool will speak foolishly, as it is written in Hebrew: Nabal Nabala Idabber. This we say, in order to explain the words of Abigail speaking about Nabal in Carmel: 'According to his name, he is foolish.' (1 Samuel 25:25) For truly a fool will speak foolishly, and his heart will devise wickedness; he feared where there was no fear, and he used foolishness as wisdom, saying: 'If this man were from God, he would not break the Sabbath.' (John 9:16) This is what the rulers of the synagogue still do today, in order to perfect their hypocrisy, about which it is written in Hebrew: Oneph, which means 'hypocrisy.' Where it is often said to the Pharisees: Woe to you, scribes and hypocritical Pharisees (Matthew 23:14). And let him speak deceitfully to the Lord: Teacher, we know that you are from God, and it is not your concern about people, although it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, isn't it (Ibid., 22:16-17). They empty the souls of the hungry people and take away the drink of the thirsty crowds, neither allowing themselves to enter nor allowing others to enter. For the vessels and weapons of a deceitful teacher and prince are all the worst; who contrives deceit to deceive the simple in the speech of falsehood, saying to the deceived people: Search and see, because the Prophet from Galilee will not rise again (John 7:52). When he spoke to them about the poor judgment, who, though rich, became poor for us (2 Corinthians 8). Truly, Christ is their judgment, and he spoke of righteousness, saying: If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, and if you do not want to believe me, believe in the works (John 10:37). This poor man who speaks judgment, the prince and Lord, will think about things that are worthy of a prince, saying: I have come only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matth. XV, 14). And he will be anxious to save the unbelievers, wanting to save those who do not believe; and he will stand above his leaders, the Apostles, to whom he speaks to one: But you, my unanimous man, my leader and my friend (Psal. LIV, 14). These things are according to the Hebrew, from which the Septuagint not only differ in words, but also in meanings in many things. For when a just king reigns and his leaders govern with judgment, the man who is God by nature will conceal his teachings, speaking to them in parables (Matthew 20:21, 23, 24, and 25). He will conceal them like a flowing river hides beneath the surface, away from the people of Judah who are carried back and forth by the will of their leaders. But this man who hides his teachings among the unbelievers will appear in Zion, which is the Church, like a renowned river flowing through a thirsty land. For the people of the Gentiles, who previously suffered from a thirst for truth, will appear; and the river of God will water the thirsty fields as it is written: The rushing waters of a river make the city of God glad (Psalm 46:4). And in another place: The river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10). For He Himself speaks in the Gospel: Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me, and let them drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from within them (John 7:38). Then they will have no trust in teachers; but they will offer their ears to hear the Lord; and with both heart and tongue they will confess the peace of the Lord, forsaking foolish princes and their ministers, who commanded silence to those who believed in Jesus. The following words contain the same meaning, both in Hebrew and Latin, and can be adapted to heretics. For they speak lies against the Lord, and they pervert the souls of those who hunger and thirst, and they make them empty; so that even if they have anything good by nature, they lose it because of the fault of the teachers, whose every plan is to destroy the humble with unjust words, and to scatter the words of the humble in judgment. Similarly, it should be noted that those who can be deceived by them should be humble and grounded.

(Verse 9 and following) Women of wealth, rise up and listen to my voice: confident daughters, hear my words. After days and years, you will be troubled, O confident ones: for the harvest is complete, and there will be no more gathering. O women of wealth, be astounded, be troubled: strip yourselves and be ashamed. As Symmachus interpreted, expose yourselves: it continues. Gird your loins, beat your breasts, over the desirable region, over the fertile vineyard: over the ground of my people, thorns and thistles will grow: how much more over all the houses of the joyful city? For the house was abandoned: the multitude of the city was left behind: darkness and groping became over caves forever: the joy of wild donkeys the pasture of flocks. Until the spirit is poured out upon us from on high: and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness quietness and confidence forever. And my people shall dwell in the beauty of peace, and in tabernacles of trust, and in abundant rest. But there shall be hail in the descent of the forest, and with humility the city shall be humbled. Blessed are those who sow over all waters, sending forth the foot of the ox and the donkey. Seventy, for darkness and groping, which were made over the caves forever, they were transferred, and your cities shall be caves forever: which in Hebrew is called Ophel and Been, which the Hebrews think to be two towers in Jerusalem, lofty and very sturdy, which are called by these names. The first of these is interpreted as darkness or clouds, because it raised its head up to the clouds. The second is the proof and strength, or as Symmachus translates it, the inquiry: because the eyes were deceived in contemplating its summit. In the end, the chapters are interpreted as follows: Blessed are they who sow over all waters, where the ox and the donkey tread. After the calling of the Gentiles, when Christ the king shall rule with justice, and his princes, the apostles and apostolic men shall govern believers in judgment, the prophetic discourse will be directed to rich women, whom we should understand to be either the cities of Judea, or the synagogues of that time, or as most people think, the wealthy matrons of the former Jewish people, who are spoken of as if they were lying down after the ruin: Arise; and yet they are also called confident daughters, or hopeful: and it is commanded to them that they listen to the words of the Lord, and remember the days and years, about which we shall speak in what follows, the Savior himself saying: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for which reason he has anointed me: he has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind: to call the year of the Lord acceptable (Luke IV, 18, 19), and let this remembrance be for them according to the Septuagint, in sorrow with hope, that they may lament that the Lord denied them, and have hope of salvation, if they repent. For he says that the vintage is finished, and after the final devastation, which happened under Vespasian and Titus and Hadrian, there will by no means be another captivity, nor will there remain grapes on the vines that need to be gathered afterward. Hence they are prompted to lamentation, and are commanded to bare their chests and gird their loins, because once a desirable region and a fruitful vineyard, of which it is written: I have planted you a fruitful vineyard, the whole of it true: how have you turned into the bitterness of a strange vine (Jer. II, 21)? Being destroyed, he said, the land of my people shall be overgrown with thorns and briars, or it shall be covered with hay. And the meaning is this: If the land of Judea, which is the promised land, is overgrown with thorns and briars, how much more so other cities that are filled with joy, and those that will achieve that evangelical promise; Woe to you who are rejoicing now, for you shall mourn (Luke 6:25)! For the Lord (or, the House) has been forsaken, as I said to the Apostles: Arise, let us go hence (John 14:31); and to the unbelievers: Your house shall be left desolate (Luke 13:35). The secret chambers of the Temple and the hidden mysteries have been taken over by palpable darkness, and the cellars of the Lord's vessels have become caves forever. For they had heard from the Lord and Savior (Matthew 21:13): My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. He says: The joy of wild donkeys, the grazing grounds of the flocks. This can be understood either literally, because all things are deserted, or spiritually, because after Israel was driven out, wild men, lacking knowledge of God, inhabit Judea. And let this be done until the Spirit from on high is poured out upon us, whom the Savior, ascending to the Father, promised to believers, saying: Behold, I go, and I will send you the Advocate, the Spirit of truth (John 16). And again: Until you receive power from on high (Luke 24:49). And what he said above: Yet a little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest. And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind shall see (Isaiah 29); he now repeats in other words the same thing, that the wilderness of the nations shall be turned into the riches of Israel, and Israel shall be esteemed as the nations. At that time the Lord and Savior, to whom the Father has given all judgment, will dwell in the desert. And justice will rest in Carmel, of which it was said above: And it will be in Carmel, a desert in which judgment and justice reside, and it will rest in Carmel, which was previously called a desert. The work of justice is also peace, which, according to the Apostle, surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4). And the worship of justice is silence, so that they may not worship the Lord with excessive words like the Jews, but with the brevity of faith; and may they rest in eternal peace, and may wealth be in their dwellings, about which the Apostle spoke (1 Corinthians 1:5): I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ, because in everything you have been enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge. But when the Christian people have settled or dwelled in beauty, as the LXX translated, in the city of peace, undoubtedly in the Church; then hail and storm, and the anger of the Lord raging, will descend in a leap, of which it was said above: And Charmel will be considered a leap; and the city of Jerusalem will be humbled, and according to another Scripture, it will speak from the earth. When these things are so, and we have learned from the prophetic prophecy how much good the Church will possess, and how many evils Jerusalem will suffer: blessed are you, Apostles, and other Teachers, who sow above all waters of holy Scripture, in which the ox and the donkey tread. The world is a dirty place because of the choices of the fathers, the donkey is unclean because of the idolatry of the former pagans, so that both the Church of the Lord may be assembled concerning Circumcision and concerning the Uncircumcision. That which is said above, according to the Septuagint, is: On the earth of my people thorns and hay shall come up. It can be understood as referring both to heretics and to simple believers who do not understand Holy Scripture as it befits its majesty. Therefore, we have connected each thing to its corresponding thing, so that the land of the people of God may bring thorns to the heretics and hay to the ignorant ones.

(Chapter XXXIII - Verse 1) Woe to those who plunder: will they not be plundered themselves? And to those who despise: will they not be despised themselves? When you have finished plundering, you will be plundered; when you have grown weary of contempt, you will be scorned. LXX: Woe to those who make you miserable: for no one makes you miserable. And those who condemn you, do not condemn you: they will be condemned, and handed over, and be consumed like moths in clothing. He had spoken about the Apostles, and about the leaders of the churches: Blessed are those who sow over all water, where ox and donkey tread: now he directs his curse against their persecutors; in fact, against their ruler, who possesses the hearts of the wicked, that whatever they do, they may receive; and by his present power, let it be the material of future torments. Wherefore, according to the Septuagint it is said: 'Woe to those who make you miserable; for no one makes you miserable. And the meaning is this: as much as is in them, when they persecute you and afflict you with various tortures, they consider you miserable, killed and tortured. But no one can make you miserable, for they do not have power over your soul, but over your body. And he who reproaches you, does not reproach you, but him who sent you, according to that which the Savior speaks to the disciples: 'He who reproaches you, reproaches me; and he who reproaches me, reproaches him who sent me' (Luke 10:16). Therefore, the persecutors will be captured and handed over to eternal fires. And just as a moth consumes clothing, so will the flame devour them. This is also written in the end of this prophecy. Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be extinguished.