Jerome

And not only the souls of people, which are immortal, but also their bodies will be changed into a glorified substance.… The opinion of the world’s philosophers is that all things that we can see will be destroyed by fire.… Just as John the apostle says, “The world and its desire will pass away,” and here in Hebrew it is said, “The sky like smoke will evaporate,” or, as Aquila and Symmachus have it, “will be reduced to nothing and will be worn away.” … Therefore I wonder at what the Septuagint wants to say when it says, “The sky like smoke has been made firm.” For if we take “firmness” to be “solidity,” how can what is firm be compared with smoke? Unless perhaps we can say that all the firmness and solidity and strength of the heaven that dissolves in the air is as Ecclesiastes says, the most empty wind and smoke: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” And that must be said that if the sky and the earth were to perish and grow old, then its inhabitants would also die and vanish, although we know that souls are everlasting and bodies are also resurrected. From this it is clear that heaven and earth do not perish and become reduced to nothing, but they are changed into something better.

(Verse 7, 8.) Listen to me, you who know righteousness, (people add "my" in Vulg.): my law is in their hearts. Do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their blasphemies. For like a moth, it will consume them; and like a worm, it will devour them. But my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness for generations upon generations. LXX: Listen to me, you who know judgment, my people: whose law is in their hearts. Do not be afraid of the disgrace of men, and do not be overcome by their contempt. For just as clothing will be consumed with time, and as wool will be eaten by moths. But my righteousness will be eternal, and my salvation for generations upon generations. He who said above: The law will come forth from me, and my judgment to the light of the nations: now speaks to the same ones who know his judgment, and have his law in their hearts, so that they may do all things with judgment, and have the law which the Lord promises through Jeremiah, saying (Jer. XXXI, 31 et seqq.): I will establish a new testament, not according to the testament which I made with their fathers: but I will establish a testament, giving my laws in their minds: and I will write them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be my people: so that they may not live according to the letter, but according to the spirit, restoring the natural law in their hearts, about which the Apostle writes: For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, naturally do the things that are of the law: they, not having the law, are a law unto themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts (Rom. II, 14). Regarding which it is signified in the psalm: The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted (Psalm 36:30-31). And because the prophetic spirit knew that there would be many persecutions for those who believe, he exhorts them to fortitude, even to the contempt of those who will persecute them. This is what the Lord also spoke of in the Gospel: Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body into hell (Matthew 10:28). And in another place: Rejoice, when all evil things are said against you falsely (Ibid., V, 11). For just as a garment is consumed by worms or by time, and just as wool is devoured by moths, so all the reproach of persecutors will pass with the persecutors. Therefore the Apostles boasted that they were considered worthy to suffer insults for the Lord (Act. V). But they boasted because the salvation and righteousness of the Lord, which had promised them victory and rewards, that is, the Lord and Savior may remain forever, both in the previous and later generations, who have received his coming, about whom it is also said above: My righteous one is near, my savior has gone forth.

(Vers. 9 seqq.) Arise, arise; put on the strength of the arm of the Lord. Arise as in the days of old, in the generations of ages. Have you not struck down the proud, wounded the dragon? Have you not dried up the sea, the water of the great abyss, who made the depths of the sea a path, so that the redeemed might pass over? And now those who have been redeemed by the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy will be upon their heads: they will have gladness and joy, sorrow and sighing will flee away. LXX: Arise, arise, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of your arm. Arise as in the beginning of the day, as the everlasting generation. Are you not the one who formed the width, who crushed the dragon? Are you not the one who made the desert into a sea, the waters of the abyss many: who made a deep passage through the sea, for those who were freed and redeemed? For they shall be returned by the Lord, and they shall come to Zion with eternal joy and rejoicing. For in their head shall they apprehend praise and joy. Grief and mourning and sighing shall flee away. The name Jerusalem, which is added here by the LXX, is not found in Hebrew, nor is it found in any of the three Interpreters, from which it should be noted with an obelus and thus connected with the previous sense of the following chapter. The Lord had encouraged those who believed in him, saying: Do not fear the reproach of men, and do not be afraid of their blasphemies. And he had promised them his eternal salvation and justice as an aid, which is none other than Christ, the arm of the Lord, of whom he had said above: And the Gentiles shall hope in my arm. Where the people speak to the arm of the Lord, and implore His coming, and beg for the promised help, saying: Arise, arise: put on strength, arm of the Lord. Arise as in the ancient days, and exercise all your strength, so that you who have saved your Saints from dangers through many centuries may also protect us with your strength. For it is you who struck down the proud, wounded the dragon, the king indeed of Egypt Pharaoh, who is also called the great dragon in Ezekiel (Ezek. XXIX). You dried up the Red Sea, so that through the raging waters and deep sea, your people could find a way and escape the pursuing Egyptians. Therefore, you who did these things: now also bring back those redeemed and liberated by your blood to Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem, or to the Church which you prepared for yourself with your blood. In this place, when they are present, they will rejoice with eternal joy and say: Lord, you have crowned us with the shield of your good will. For they shall have joy and gladness, with sorrow and sighing fleeing away. This is according to the Hebrew. However, according to the Septuagint, Jerusalem, that is, the sinful soul is provoked to put on the strength of its arm and to take up its former works, just as it was before it fell: when it turned about in the day and in the light. For you are the one, it says, who have overcome the broad and spacious way that leads to death: and you have crushed the dragon, the twisting serpent: of which it is also read in the Psalms: You have crushed the heads of the dragons in the waters (Ps. 73:13). Remember your former strength, that you trampled the sea of this world and made it a desert, and you found a way in the midst of the waves. Therefore, the Apostle Peter also crossed the sea of this world to the Lord, and as he walked by faith, he began to sink in unbelief, except that he was supported by the right hand of the Lord. Just as the previous victory was granted with the help of the Lord, so also to those who return after repentance and listen: Will the one who falls not rise again? The Lord says: (Jer. VIII, 4). And, 'Turn to me, sons who are turning away; and I will heal your contritions' (Ibid., III). He himself will extend his hand and lead them back to Zion, the pinnacle and stronghold of virtues, with eternal joy and gladness, and put praise and rejoicing on their heads. For the eyes of the wise are in his head; and they will have this crown, and will be protected by this diadem, so that they may always rejoice and praise the Lord, because joy has succeeded sorrow, mourning, and groaning.

(Verse 12, 13.) I, I myself will comfort you. Who are you that you fear from a mortal man, and from the son of man, who will dry up like grass? And you have forgotten the God your maker, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth; and you were constantly afraid all day long because of the fury of the one who was afflicting you, who had prepared to destroy. Where is the fury of the one afflicting you now? It will come quickly, walking to open and will not kill to the point of destruction: and his bread will not fail. But I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name. I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, 'You are My people.' LXX: I am, I am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy. But where is the fury of the oppressor now? For when you are saved, it will not stand, nor will it remain; it will not bring destruction, and its bread will not fail. For I am your God, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar. The Lord of hosts is my name. I will put my words in your mouth, and cover you with the shadow of my hand; in which I have set the heavens and established the earth; and Zion will say, 'You are my people.' The people of the faithful is the arm of the Lord, who is the strength of God and the wisdom of God, and they had prayed that he would rise up and provide them with aid, and with him fighting for the saints, they would have joy and gladness, with sorrow and groaning banished. Therefore, either the arm of the Lord, or the Lord Himself responded: I am, I am; and not through the Prophets, but I myself will console you: God of mercies, and Father of all consolation. And I wonder how, with me saying above: Do not fear the reproach of men and their blasphemies, you may fear the rage of persecutors, and not know that they are mortals, who dry up suddenly like hay, and perish. And certainly at that time when you feared them, you forgot the Lord your Maker. For if you had always kept me in your heart, you would never have feared men who are destined to turn to ashes. And whom have you forgotten? God, who suspends the heavens with incredible power and establishes the earth with solid mass. And you feared your adversaries, not for a short time, which could have been granted to you in some way; but constantly and throughout the day, so that even when you had the light of faith, darkness of fear would possess you, and the one who believed you would perish. Where now is the pride of the persecutors? Where is the secular power by which they raged with furious mouth against you? My son will come quickly, treading on and trampling your adversaries, to open for you the way of victory: whether to open the abyss, which he will not destroy until complete annihilation; but he desires to save the converted. Finally, the bread of him, who is interpreted by the Gospel, the teaching proving, will never fail, but will always be open to those willing to partake. At the same time, He makes reference to the Son, whom He promises will come quickly and whose bread He says is eternal: because He is the Lord God Himself, who, in the dispensation of assumed flesh, causes the sea to be troubled and its waves to swell, so that the pride of persecutors may be inflated against His servants, who will then find rest again with the help of the Lord. And He says that He has placed His words in his mouth. For whatever the Son speaks, the words are of the Father, and He will protect him in the shadow of His hand. And for this reason he will be protected so that he may plant new heavens and pour out a new earth, and say to Zion, that is, to the Church: You are my people. Therefore, Zion is none other than the people of God. Symmachus, in that place where we said, 'He will come quickly, walking to open,' and he will not kill until extermination, he interpreted it thus: Hell will open quickly, and he will not die into corruption. Christ is understood, who speaks in the fifteenth psalm: You will not abandon my soul to hell, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. In that place also we translate the words in the Hebrew and Aquila: I have set my words in your mouth, and I have covered you with the shadow of my hand, that you may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth and say to Zion: You are my people. He translated it in this way: I will put my words in your mouth, and I will protect you with the shadow of my hand, in which I have planted the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and that I may say to Zion: You are my people. According to the LXX, it is said to the soul of every believer, because it, having been created in the image and likeness of God, has ignored its own dignity; but it fears man and the son of man, who can only kill the body, and has not known that it is immortal, nor has it said with the Prophet: The Lord is my light and my savior, whom should I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; from whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1, 2) And again: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man can do to me. The Lord is my helper, and I will look down upon my enemies. (Psalm 118:6, 7) The nature of man is shown in another verse: In the Lord I will put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me. (Psalm 56:5) Therefore it is now said: You have feared mortal man, and the son of man, who are as dry grass. For all flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass (Isaiah XL), and you have been terrified by the power of the judge, forgetting that he was your protector, who made the heaven and the earth, and all the elements that we see; or those heavens that bear the image of the celestial above, and that earth which multiplies the seed of the Lord. However, what is said above: And his flesh shall not decay, and his bread shall not fail, is added from the edition of Theodotion from the Hebrew. He stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar, as is sung in the Psalms: You rule the might of the sea and calm the tumult of its waves (Psalm 89:9). In Jeremiah it is also written: You shall not fear me, says the Lord, and from my presence you shall not tremble, who have set a boundary for the sea, an everlasting decree that will not be surpassed (Jeremiah 5:22). The seas were stirred up when the net of the Lord drew in a multitude of fish (Matthew 13). And the Lord put His words in the mouth of the believer, and He covered him with the shadow of His hand. He also speaks in the Gospel: When they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you should say; for it will be given to you in that hour what you should say. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you (Matthew 10:19-20). And in another place, He says to the righteous: Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it (Psalm 81:10). And again: Open your mouth to the word of God: for the Lord will give the word to those who proclaim it with great power. Therefore, God speaks to the inner man of Jeremiah, after touching his mouth: Behold, I have put my words in your mouth (Jeremiah 1:9). Who could sing with the Psalmist: He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God (Psalm 40:4). But who has worked all these things if not the Lord and Savior, who made heaven and earth, and says to Zion: You are my people? What belongs to the gathered people of the Church. And in Hosea, He promises to those who believe, saying: I will call them 'my people,' who were not my people; and they will say to me, 'You are my God' (Hosea 2:24).

(Vers. 17 seqq.) Lift up, lift up, arise, O Jerusalem, who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath: you have drunk to the dregs the cup of sleep, and have drained it to the bottom. There is no one to support her among all the sons she has borne, and there is no one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up. There are two things that have befallen you; who will grieve over you? devastation and destruction, famine and sword: who will comfort you? Arise, arise, O Jerusalem, which have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury. For thou hast drunken the cup of ruin and the dregs of the cup of fury: thou hast utterly drained it. And there is none to comfort thee among all the sons whom thou hast brought forth; neither is there any that taketh hold of thy hand, of all the sons that thou hast raised up. These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: who shall comfort thee? I often taught that Jerusalem and Zion are synonymous: of which Zion, which is interpreted as a watchtower, is called a fortress because it is located on a mountain: but the rest of the city, Jerusalem, which was previously called Jebus and Salem: which now the Prophet exhorts to rise, which previously fell into denial, saying in the Passion of the Lord: Crucify, crucify such [a man]: we have no king but Caesar (John 19:15): and let her repent, and feel the evils of captivity, why she offended her Creator. Doctors usually provide the most bitter antidote, which is named from its taste, to a nauseous stomach, so that it may expel harmful substances and be able to pass through the cooked and digested foods into the intestine, which the quantity of phlegm did not allow to be digested. Therefore, both Jerusalem, which drinks from the cup of the Lord's wrath, and from his κόνδυ, which Symmachus interpreted as a wine bowl, and which according to the book of Genesis, Joseph ordered to be hidden in his brother Benjamin's sack (Gen. XLIV), is ordered to rise up from drunkenness because she has drunk and emptied it, and has drunk it until the dregs: which three have indicated in one word, Ἐξεστράγγισας. Here is the chalice about which we read in Psalms: The chalice in the hand of the Lord is full of mixed wine. And he poured from this into that, but its dregs were not emptied: all the sinners of the earth will drink. (Psalm 74:9, 10). God also speaks about this to Jeremiah: Take the chalice of mixed wine from my hand, and you will offer it to all the nations to which I send you. And they will drink and vomit, and become insane because of the sword that I will send among them. (Jeremiah 25:15, 16). And when he says that he came near to other nations, and to Jerusalem, and to the cities of Judah, he declares: Thus says the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel: Drink and get drunk, and vomit, and fall down before the sword that I will send among you (Jer. 25:27). And it should be noted that this cup of the fury of the Lord is his sword, which is sent in the midst of sins. From this a question arises: how can it be said in Jeremiah that Jerusalem cannot rise up after drinking, drunkenness, vomiting, and ruin, and now through Isaiah it says to her: Lift up, lift up, rise up Jerusalem. This is how it is resolved: As long as someone drinks from the cup and becomes intoxicated and insane, and vomits and falls, they cannot rise, for they have not yet drunk the cup of the Lord, nor have they reached the dregs, so as to drink it to the bottom. But now concerning Jerusalem from the past, it says: you have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury, and not the one you are drinking. At the same time, it must be considered that neither a prophet nor an Apostle has been in Judea who could have comforted him and taken hold of his hand and raised him up while he was lying down. From which it is evident that these things are said after the last captivity; otherwise the history relates that Ezekiel and the other prophets had it while in Babylon and after Babylon. But what he says: There are two things that have happened to you, or rather these two things that have opposed you: who will be sorrowful for you? And instead of two, he presents four: devastation and destruction, famine and sword: this is similar to what is sung in the Psalter: God has spoken once, these two things I have heard: that power belongs to God, and to you, O Lord, mercy: for you will render to each one according to his works (Psalm 62:11-12). And there, indeed, God speaks once, that he is omnipotent, and the two prophets hear that his omnipotence prevails on both sides, so that he may grant mercy to the penitent and render the punishments they deserve to those who persist in sin. Similarly, in another place, two occurrences of Jerusalem are found, each of which has two things. For ruin or devastation is followed by contrition, and death by famine and sword. We can understand these things in an analogical and spiritual sense, referring to the sinful soul that, unwilling to drink the cup of the Lord's fury, says in the psalm: Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath (Ps. 6:1). But if he drinks, it is good for him to feel his own punishments, and to hear the Lord saying: When the anger of my fury has passed, I will heal again. And elsewhere: Shall the one who falls not rise again, says the Lord (Jeremiah 8:4)?

(Verse 20.) Your sons are cast out, they have slept at the head of all the streets, like a trapped wild goat: full of the indignation of the Lord, the rebuke of your God. LXX: Your sons are destitute and sleeping at the head of all the streets: like a half-cooked beet, full of the fury of the Lord, and lacking from the Lord your God. As for the half-cooked beet, the remaining interpreters translated it as a captured and trapped wild goat, which is called 'Tho' in Hebrew, a type of wild animal found in the wilderness, listed among the clean animals in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Syriac language they have translated as thoreth, which means beta. Let us pass over the name and consider the meaning of it. Your sons, like wild oxen caught in snares, have slept in the streets and public squares, placing their naked bodies on the bare ground, thereby revealing the wrath of the Lord and the rebuke of their God, indicating their own misery. Furthermore, according to the Seventy: those who do not desire spiritual riches in every word, knowledge, and good work, but choose to be poor and not endure the threat, will by no means dwell in the houses that are built with virtues, but will remain at the beginning of the roads and at the exit, touching everything and leaving everything behind. Those who are said to sleep well in that sleep, of which it is written: They have slept their sleep and found nothing (Ps. 75:6). In that sleep, the Assyrian king has put them to sleep. And they are compared to half-cooked beets, which are a type of vegetable that is very cheap and fragile. About these vegetables, I believe that it is said in the Psalms: Do not be jealous of evildoers, nor envy those who do iniquity. For like grass, they will quickly wither, and like the green vegetables, they will quickly fall (Ps. 36:1, 2). For it is the food of the sick. He who is once unbelieving is called raw beetroot. But he who is content with simple faith, without reason and the truth of doctrines, performs the works of justice, can be called cooked beetroot. Furthermore, he who fluctuates between vices and virtues, and approaches the service of God with a double heart, is most rightly called half-cooked beetroot, of whom God speaks in the Apocalypse of John: Would that you were either hot or cold: but because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out (Rev. III, 15, 16). Those who are lukewarm and sleeping are full of the fury of the Lord, and they are loose, or failing, through the Lord God. Not that the Lord is the cause of their loosening, who did not make death, nor does he take pleasure in the destruction of the living. But rather, those who have sinned in the Law, let them be judged by the Law, which works the wrath of God against those who are transgressors of it.

(Verse 21 and following) Therefore, listen to these things, poor and drunken one, not from wine. This is what your Lord and your God says, who fought for his people: Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of slumber, the bottom of the cup of my indignation; you shall not add to drink it any further. And I will place it in the hand of those who humbled you, and they said to your soul: Bow down, that we may pass over, and you have made your body like the ground, and like a road to those passing by. LXX: Therefore listen, humiliated and drunk, not from wine. Thus says the Lord God who judges his people: Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of ruin, the chalice of my fury; and you shall no longer drink from it. And I will deliver it into the hands of those who unjustly oppressed and humiliated you, who said to your soul, 'Bow down, that we may pass over,' and you have made your back like the ground and like a street for those who pass by. O Jerusalem, to whom I said, 'Lift up, lift up, arise, and repent,' for you have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; and you have drunk it to the dregs. And your sons, who were scattered throughout the whole world and led away captive, have lain prostrate in the streets and on the corners of the roads. Know that you are poor and humiliated, and drunk, not from wine, but from the fury of the Lord. Therefore, if you repent and rise lifted up, you will know the chalice of sleep and ruin: whether according to Symmachus and Theodotion, of tearing and shaking, to be taken from your hand: and that, which in this place Symmachus interpreted as a cup, you will no longer drink: but deliver it to your adversaries, who said to your soul, bow down, so that we may pass: and to those who said, you have bowed down by your own will. And you made your body like the earth, or back: or according to the Septuagint, your middle and your necks passing outside. Let this be said according to history, that if Jerusalem wants to lift itself and rise, it should not drink the cup of the Lord's fury, nor endure what it previously endured. But in order to understand it spiritually according to the Septuagint, it is said to mean a soul humbled by vices and intoxicated by disturbances, so that it may know that it has the Lord as its judge, and that it will render an account of everything. But if it were turned to better things, the cup of ruin would be taken away from his hands, and the bowl of the fury of the Lord, which contained punishments, about which Ezekiel also says to Jerusalem: You will drink the deep and wide cup of your sister Samaria, so that you may be drunk (Ezec. 23:32), should be given into the hands of those who humbled her. There is no doubt that it signifies opposing powers, which said to her souls: Bow down, so that we may pass by. In which it must also be noted that they did not bend it, nor did they force it, so that it would be inclined to the ground as before; but they left it to their own choice. However, it placed its neck or back, or its whole body, not inwardly, but outwardly, for those who trampled upon it. We also read something similar in the Gospel (Luke 13), because Satan had bent a woman for eighteen years, whom the Lord restored to her former state, so that she could say: I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come? (Psalm 120:1); and: To you I lift up my eyes, you who are enthroned in the heavens (Psalm 123:1).

(Chapter 52, Verse 1) Arise, arise, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your garments of glory, O Jerusalem, holy city; for the uncircumcised and the unclean will no longer pass through you. (Verse 1 according to the Septuagint) Rise up, rise up, O Zion; put on your strength, O Zion, and put on your glory, O Jerusalem, holy city. Never again will the uncircumcised and the unclean pass through you. Again, in this place the name Zion is added, as in the Septuagint above, and for this reason it has been slain with the spear. To whom, therefore, he had said above (Chapter 51, verse 9): Lift up, lift up, arise, O Jerusalem; now he speaks to the same: Arise, arise, put on your strength, O Zion. But the following verse shows what Zion is: Put on your garments of glory, O Jerusalem. We have said this in order to prove that Jerusalem and Zion are one city. And it is commanded to her that she shall put off her mourning garments, and put on those which she had before she drank from the hand of the Lord the cup of fury. And the city is called the sanctuary, for it signifies 'codes' due to the temple that was established in it. Whether it is called 'holy' due to the knowledge of God, or 'sacred' because it alone in the world received the law. Therefore, even after the resurrection of the Savior, the bodies of the dead appeared in the holy city. However, because of blasphemy and the shedding of blood against the Lord, it could not be called holy (Matthew 27). And what is promised, if it rises after its ruin and is clothed with strength and glory, signifies that it will no longer be crossed by the uncircumcised and impure, as the Apostle Paul also says: 'What fellowship can righteousness have with iniquity?' Which society for light to darkness? Which agreement for Christ to Belial? Which part has the faithful with the unbeliever? What consensus has the temple of God with idols (I Cor. VI, 14, 15)? All of these, as we have begun to explain, refer to the state of the soul. And if it regains its original strength through repentance, let it be called the dwelling place of the Holy One, and let it become the temple of God, and by no means let the uncircumcised and unclean reasoning pass through it. Of these it was said: Cleanse me from my hidden sins, O Lord, and spare your servant from alien sins. If I am not dominated by them, then I will be blameless and cleansed from great offense (Ps. XVIII, 13, 14). But all the things that are promised to Zion and Jerusalem, are not as the Jews dream, referring to its stones and ashes and embers, so that it may be restored to its former state, but to the people of Jerusalem, who killed the Prophets and stoned those who were sent to them (Matt. XXIII), and finally even laid their hands on the Son of God. He who falls in the passion of Christ is raised in his resurrection: when many thousands believed of the Jews, and the remnants were saved. The same can be said of the Church, which is the vision of peace and a mirror; if it falls into heresy, it is commanded to depart and to receive the ornaments of the ancient faith. And if it is raised up, the rewards of holiness and continence are promised to it, so that no uncircumcised and unclean person may pass through it. This can be referred not to the circumcision of the flesh and the foreskin, but to the impurity or purity of works, so that we may call the uncircumcised and impure those who serve the pleasure of the body and lust. In fact, Jeremiah speaks not of circumcision of the flesh, but of the spirit: All the nations are uncircumcised in the flesh, but the children of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts (Jeremiah 9:26). And the blessed Apostle, in discussing virginity, continence, and marriage, made this statement: Someone who is called circumcised should not let his foreskin be brought forward. He who is called in uncircumcision, let him not be circumcised (I Cor. VII, 18). Which seems to me to say in other words: He who is called without a wife, and believes, let him not take a wife. Or conversely: having a wife, he has believed in Christ, let him by no means divorce her. This meaning, not only in circumcision and in uncircumcision, but also in freedom and slavery, he keeps, calling the unmarried and the continent free, and the slaves who render the debt to their wives. For it is not in our power to bring forth a foreskin after circumcision, as those who are said to have made foreskins for themselves in the book of Maccabees, which is said to apply to newborn sons and not to fathers. Or, as the book called, is more of a servant of Christ (Ibid., VII, 22), since in the baptism of Christ there is no difference between Jew, Gentile, Greek, and Barbarian, male and female, free and slave.

(Verse 2, 3.) Shake off the dust; arise, Jerusalem! Loose the bonds of your neck, captive daughter Zion. For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. LXX: Shake off the dust; arise, Jerusalem! Loose the bonds of your neck, captive daughter Zion. For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. By no means does the word of the Prophet refer to Jerusalem, that is, to the ruins of its stones, and to the ashes and cinders, but it refers to the people who dwell within it. And it is called the daughter, because of the weakness of its spirit, as the following verse shows, in which it says: Loose the bonds of your neck, captive daughter Zion. Truly, the people of Judah are captives, who still bear the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar to this day, and are bound by the ropes of their sins and blasphemies. They were sold for nothing, and have done nothing deserving of redemption. As it is said above: 'Behold, you were sold for your sins, and I have dismissed your mother because of your iniquities.' And it gives the reasons why they were sold, why they were rejected. For, he says, I came and there was no man; I called and there was no one who would listen. From which it is clear that they were handed over to error and demons because they had not heard the one shouting: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened (Matthew 11:28). But those who want to believe will be redeemed, not with silver and money, but with the precious blood of Christ, so that they may hear through the apostles: Grace to you and peace (Romans 1:7). For we are reconciled to God, not by merits, but by grace and faith in Christ. It is also said of the soul, which, defiled by the filth of vices, had lost the brightness of its former conduct, that it shakes off the dust with the Apostles, who clung to His feet (Matthew 10). For it could not be that the soul, which had submitted its neck to those passing by and had mingled with the earth, saying, 'My soul is humbled even to the dust, my belly has adhered to the earth' (Psalm 43:25), should receive the likeness of the earth. From which the Apostle calls us back, saying: As we have borne the image of the earthly, let us also bear the image of the heavenly (I Cor. XV, 49). Therefore those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. VIII). Not that the nature of the flesh is condemned, of which God is the creator, and in which many have pleased God and reign with Christ: but that the works of the flesh are rejected, of which the same Apostle speaks: But I am carnal, sold under sin (Rom. VII, 14). Finally, he says to people like this: When there is envy and rivalry among you, are you not carnal and walking according to human standards (1 Corinthians 3:3)? And on the contrary to the saints: But you are not in the flesh; indeed, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Therefore, dust is expelled, as it is written: Will dust confess to you, or declare your truth (Psalm 30:9), so that the chains of our neck may be loosened; and may we not hear: Your neck is an iron sinew; but may we deserve to hear as a bride: How beautiful are your cheeks, like doves; your neck, like jewels (Song of Solomon 1:9). And again: I surrounded your wrists with bracelets, and a necklace around your neck; so that, liberated from heavy burdens and receiving your former adornments, we may cease to be captives, redeemed by him who came to proclaim remission to the captives. And of whom it is written (Isaiah 45:13): 'He shall build my city and bring back the captivity of my people, not with price nor with gifts.' To this meaning also agrees the Apostle Peter: Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of the spotless Lamb (1 Peter 1:18).

(Verse 4 and following) Because thus says the Lord God: My people went down into Egypt at the beginning, to dwell there as strangers: and Assur without any cause has oppressed them. And now what have I here, says the Lord? For my people have been taken away for nothing: their rulers have acted unjustly, says the Lord, and my name is constantly blasphemed all day long. Therefore, on that day my people shall know my name, because I myself am the one who spoke, behold, I am here. LXX: For thus says the Lord: My people went down into Egypt to sojourn there, and they became slaves in Assyria. And now, what will happen here, says the Lord? For my people have been taken away for no reason; you marvel and wail. Thus says the Lord: Because of you, my name is constantly blasphemed among the nations. Therefore, on that day, my people will know my name, for I myself am present. He reproaches the people of Judah and predicts what is to come. Those who descended to Egypt by their own will and travelled in the land of Goshen during a time of necessity and famine (Genesis XLVII): later suffered slander by the Assyrians, whom they had not harmed, and were taken into captivity in Babylon (2 Kings XVII, 25). From this, it is inferred: 'And now, what do I have here, says the Lord?' And the meaning is: I have nothing left that would cause me to remain in this region, from which my people was taken away for nothing, and sold into captivity because of their sins, and like a wild bull caught in a net, either by the strength of the Romans or by the snares of the devil, by which it is held captive until now. But in order to allow these things, their rulers and masters acted unfairly; those who, according to Symmachus and Theodotion, will howl; those who, according to Aquila, will weep, when they have been handed over to torments. For they are the ones who incited the people against the Savior, so that they might shout with one voice: Crucify, crucify such a one (John 19:15). Concerning whom he had already said: The Lord himself will come with the elders of the people and with its princes. But why have you set my vineyard on fire and plundered the poor in your houses? (Is. III, 14) Therefore, according to the Septuagint, it speaks to them: Because of you, my name is always blasphemed among the nations. And it should be known that, among the nations, my name is not blasphemed in Hebrew, but absolutely, so that it may be understood, my name is constantly blasphemed in your synagogues: on the days and nights they blaspheme the Savior, and under the name, as I have often said, of Nazarenes, they heap curses upon Christians three times a day. Therefore, while they blaspheme and curse the Lord, his people, of whom it has been frequently said, that is, the Christian people, will know the name of him who is to come in the name of the Father. And for this reason, they will know, because he who spoke previously through the prophets will personally teach the people. According to the Septuagint, God speaks to Israel that he descended into Egypt by his own will. As Moses said in Deuteronomy: 'Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy souls' (Deut. 10:22), and they were violently taken captive by the Assyrians. Where is it said to them: And now what are you doing here? what are you doing in the land of Judah, who after the death of the Prophets, laid hands on the Son of God? Or surely to the angelic powers, and the guardians of the Temple, God speaks to the Angels: What are you doing here, why do you not leave the blaspheming people? which Josephus also relates (Book VI, Jewish Antiquities, c. 12): suddenly the doors of the Temple opened, and were spontaneously unlocked, which many men could hardly close, and a voice came out from the inner sanctuary of the Temple, saying: Let us leave these seats. Considering the appropriateness of their words, let us depart from what they did not say, but let us go on to the people of the nations. Therefore, the veil of the Temple from the top to the bottom was torn in two parts, to expose all the Jewish ceremonies, and at that time be fulfilled what is said in this same Prophet: The law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between many nations even unto the farthest (Isaiah 2:3-4). For their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world (Psalm 19). And in every place incense is offered to God, and a pure offering (Malachi 1), when the prophetic word is fulfilled: They shall remember and return to the Lord all the ends of the earth: and all the families of the nations shall worship in his presence; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations (Psalm 22, 28-29). Therefore it is said to the princes of Judah: Be amazed, and howl, for you are the cause of the ruin of the people. Furthermore, according to the anagogical sense, we can say that the people of God of this age willingly descend into Egypt when they are more lovers of pleasures than of God, and do not heed that prophetic message: Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help (Isaiah 31:1). When someone is stained with vices and dwells in a place of waters and rivers, not having the dryness of chastity, then they will be violently handed over to the Assyrians to be ruled by them, who will later accuse and convict them of sin. For they are both enemies and avengers, of whom he speaks to Israel: And now what is to you and the way of Egypt, that you drink the water of Geon: and what is to you and the way of the Assyrians, that you drink the water of the rivers (Jer. II, 18). Therefore, whoever descends into Egypt, and from the heights of Jerusalem falls to lower things: going to Jericho, the other Egypt, he receives many wounds from the robbers, it is said to him: And now what is this to you? What on earth and in the Church of God do you pretend to be, you who have descended to Egypt with zeal and desire, and are possessed by Assyrians, and have been captivated? And you should wail and lament even more; because because of your vices and sins, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles. As it is said in Ezekiel: You have defiled my name among the Gentiles (Ezek. XXXVI, 20). And just as the Lord speaks to his disciples in the Gospel: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matth. V, 16): so, on the contrary, when we do evil works, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of us. Therefore, whoever has knowledge of the name of God and that he was created in his image and likeness, will not be ignorant, but will dwell in the light. And it will be in the day, of which Abraham rejoiced that he saw it (John 8); of which also the holy David speaks: This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). For those who have enlightened themselves with the light of knowledge, and have eternal light, which is promised to those who believe: The Lord will be your eternal light (Isaiah 60:20), they walk honorably in the day, and are the children of light and day; and they will know him who says to Moses: Go, say to the children of Israel, 'I AM who I AM' (Exodus 3:14): and they will recognize that he whom they had known before in the saints, is also present with them.

(Verses 7, 8.) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good news, who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.' The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. LXX: As the hour over the mountains, so the feet of the messenger who hears the message of peace, who hears the message of good news, for I will make my salvation heard, saying, 'Zion, your God reigns.' The voice of those who keep watch over you is exalted, and they shall rejoice together, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord has mercy on Zion. Consequently, concerning the one who said above, 'I myself who spoke, behold I am present,' now the Prophet testifies that he himself has preached the Gospel over the mountains, that is, over the Apostles, about whom it is written: 'Approach the everlasting mountains' (Micah 2:9, LXX), and their doctrine is the illumination of God. Where in the Psalms it says of Him: Thou enlightenest wonderously from the everlasting hills (Ps. LXXV, 5). He has announced and preached peace to those who were far off, that is, to the Gentiles; and near, that is, to the Jews: reconciling the world to God, of whom it is sung in the psalm under the name of Solomon: Justice shall rise up in his days, and abundance of peace, till the moon be taken away (Ps. LXXI, 7). And in the same Prophet, about the Child who is born, and the Son who is given to us, whose principate is upon his shoulder, and he shall be called the Angel of great counsel, it is said afterwards (above, IX, 7): And there shall be no end of his peace. For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of two one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. These are the good things that the Lord promises to those who believe: Hear me and you will eat good things; and your soul will delight in good things; and not only good things, but also salvation he announced to all, which he himself gave who says to Zion, that is, to the Church: Your God reigns. Hence the Apostle speaks to the Holy Ones: Let sin not reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires (Rom. VI, 12). And writing about sinners, he says: Death reigned from Adam to Moses (Rom. V, 14). And what follows: The voice of your watchmen, or your custodians, signifies the Apostles, about whom God speaks to the Church in another place (Below, LXII, 6): I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence. Wherefore it is said unto them (Above, XL, 9): Get thee up into the high mountain, O Zion, that bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. These same ones will praise God with equal voice, and with eyes they will see face to face. Which the Apostle says in other words: Face to face (1 Corinthians 13); when the Holy One sings: My eyes are always toward the Lord (Psalm 25:15). And: To you I lift up my eyes, you who are enthroned in the heavens (Psalm 121:1). And the Lord will answer them: For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer (Psalm 34:16). The translation of the Septuagint is like this: as the hour, that is, time above the mountains: just as the feet of one who brings good news of peace, and so on, Paul, following the sense of the Hebrew Truth, puts in his Epistle to the Romans: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who bring the message of peace (Romans 10:15): intending the Apostles, whose feet the Lord washed (John 13), so that they might be clean and beautiful for preaching, and go throughout the whole world, and quickly fill the world with the teaching of Christ. Now, ὥρα, that is, hour, according to the Septuagint, and the ambiguity of the Greek word can mean either time or beauty. If it refers to time, it will be appropriate to say: I heard you at the right time, and I was your helper on the day of salvation (Isaiah 49:8). Hence, the Apostle concludes: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). For at the right time, he shed his blood for all, when everyone had turned away and had become useless at the same time. There was none who did good, not even one (Ps. 14:3): so that he might taste death for all, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). But if we refer beauty to that which is said in the psalm: You are fairer than the sons of men (Ps. 45:2); (for what is more beautiful than for the form of a servant to become the form of God, and to sit and reign with Christ in the heavens?) it can be called watchfulness according to the breadth of the Greek language, and solicitude, according to what the Saint says: You will multiply me in my soul, in your power (Ps. 137:4). For you will make me abound [multiply] in Greek, it is said πολυωρήσεις με [poluōrēseis me], which means you will consider me worthy with much care and concern. And elsewhere: According to your greatness you have multiplied [πολυώρησας | poluōrēsas] the sons of men (Ps. XI, 9); which in other Greek words means you have valued [ἠξίωσας | ēxiōsas] them with much time [πολλῆς ὤρας | pollēs hōras] and thought [φροντίδος | phrontidos]. But these [translations] are superfluous; and it is more fitting to receive the beautiful feet of Christ or the Apostles, since, besides the Seventy [Septuaginta], all others have translated [it] similarly, with Paul approving their interpretation.