Jerome

(Version 2, 3.) The Lord is angry with your fathers with great anger, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, saying. LXX: The Lord is angry with your fathers with great wrath, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. And do not be like your fathers, whom the former prophets rebuked, saying. The anger of the Lord does not signify a disturbance in Him who becomes angry; but rather the merits and sins of those on whom the anger of God falls. Otherwise, the Lord never avenges in anger; but He corrects in order to bring about improvement. Hence the prophet prays in the Psalms: O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chastise me in Your wrath (Psalm 6:1). And in another place we read: Correct us, O Lord; but not in Your anger, but in Your mercy (Jeremiah 10:24). Therefore, the Lord is angry with their fathers who are now being criticized, not according to the Seventy interpreters with great anger, but simply with anger. For if he were angry with great anger, he would never have provoked the captives to repentance through Daniel and Ezekiel. And when he is angry with them, the Lord of hosts speaks to you, for which 'Sabaoth' is placed in Hebrew, which sometimes the Seventy translate as Almighty, sometimes as Virtues. And he says: Return to me, and I will return to you, according to what we read: Come near to the Lord, and he will come near to you. But to those who have turned away from me, I have also turned away from them. He commands them to return to the Lord, those who have returned from Babylon, so that the Lord will also return to them, lest the children begin to suffer what the fathers once suffered, to whom likewise the prophets of that time spoke. Note that in a few short verses and sentences, in both Haggai and Zechariah, the phrase 'says the Lord of hosts' is always added, so that they may know that it is the Lord who commands against the king's authority and the surrounding enemies; and they are encouraged by this confidence in the building of the temple.

(Verse 4) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn away from your evil ways, and from your wicked thoughts; but they did not listen, nor pay attention to me, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Almighty Lord: Turn away from your wicked ways, and from your evil inventions; but they did not pay attention to listen to me, says the Lord. The conclusion depends on the preceding statements, and what follows must be connected with what came before. For it is not Zacharias speaking to the people; but he shows what the former prophets spoke to their fathers, to which they cried out, saying: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and from your wicked thoughts.' This was cried out by Isaiah, by Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Jeremiah, urging them to forsake their evil ways and abandon their wicked thoughts, in which they sinned both in action and in mind. However, they did not listen or pay attention to the Lord speaking through the prophets who spoke to them, but to me, says the Lord: I was the one speaking and being despised among them. Wherefore, the Lord also said in the Gospel: 'He who receives you, receives me' (Matthew 10:40).

(Vers. 5, 6.) Where are your fathers and the prophets? Will they live forever? However, my words and my ordinances that I commanded my servants the prophets, did not your fathers understand them? And they turned and said: Just as the Lord of hosts planned to do to us according to our ways and according to our inventions, He has done to us. LXX: Where are your fathers and the prophets? Will they live forever? However, listen to my words and accept my law, which I command in my spirit to my servants, the prophets who have understood your ancestors. And they answered and said, 'Just as the Lord Almighty was ready to do to us according to our ways and our inventions, so he did to us.' 'Where are,' he said, 'your ancestors who did not listen or pay attention to me?' Where are your prophets? In common it must be heard: Where are your fathers, and where are your prophets? That is, false prophets: for never would it be said of the holy prophets, 'Will they live forever?' And so, those who have sinned and refused to return to me, and those who, while sinning, deceived others with false promises, have been taken away by death, but my words, which I spoke through my prophets, endure forever, which your fathers understood and showed to be true. Your fathers, confirming the fulfillment of the prophecies of my prophets by the outcome of events, turned to repentance and said: As the Lord of hosts foretold, he has dealt with us according to our works and sins. Let us read Daniel confessing in his own person and in the person of the people to the Lord, that they did not want to hear him, and that whatever they have suffered has rightfully befallen them (Dan. III).

[Daniel 7:5] "And behold another beast like a bear stood up on one side; and there were three rows in his mouth and in his teeth; and they said to him: 'Arise up and devour flesh in abundance.'" The second beast resembling a bear is the same as that of which we read in the vision of the statue (2:32): "His chest and arms were of silver." In the former case the comparison was based on the hardness of the metal, in this case on the ferocity of the bear. For the Persian kingdom followed a rigorous and frugal manner of life after the manner of the Spartans, and that too to such an extent that they used to use salt and nasturtium-cress in their relish. Let us consult the record of the childhood of Cyrus the Great (i.e., "The Education or Training" of Cyrus). And as for the fact that the bear is said to have "stood up on one side," the Hebrews interpret it by saying that the Persians never perpetrated any cruelty against Israel. Hence they are described in the Prophecy of Zechariah also as white horses (Zechariah 1:7-11). But as for the three rows or ranks that were in his mouth and between his teeth, one authority has interpreted this to mean that allusion was made to the fact that the Persian kingdom was divided up among three princes, just as we read in the sections dealing with Belshazzar and with Darius that there were three princes who were in charge of the one hundred and twenty satraps. But other commentators affirm that these were three kings of the Persians who were subsequent to Cyrus, and yet they fail to mention them by name. But we know that after Cyrus's reign of thirty years his son Cambyses ruled among the Persians, and his brothers the magi, and then Darius, in the second year of whose reign the rebuilding of the Temple was commenced at Jerusalem. The fifth king was Xerxes, the son of Darius; the sixth was Artabanus; the seventh, Artaxerxes who was surnamed Makrokheir, that is Longimanus ("Long-handed"); the eighth, Xerxes; the ninth, Sogdianus; the tenth, Darius surnamed Nothos ("Bastard"); the eleventh, the Artaxerxes called Mnemon, that is, "The Rememberer"; the twelfth, the other Artaxerxes, who himself received the surname of Ochus; the thirteenth, Arses, the son of Ochus; and the fourteenth, Darius the son of Arsamus, who was conquered by Alexander, the king of the Macedonians. How then can we say that these were three kings of the Persians? Of course we could select some who were especially cruel, but we cannot ascertain them on the basis of the historical accounts. Therefore the three rows in the mouth of the Persian kingdom and between its teeth we must take to be the three kingdoms of the Babylonians, the Medes, and the Persians, all of which were reduced to a single realm. And as for the information, "And thus they spake to him: 'Devour flesh in abundance,'" this refers to the time when in the reign of the Ahasuerus whom the Septuagint calls Artaxerxes, the order was given, at the suggestion of Haman the Agagite, that all the Jews be slaughtered on a single day (Esther 3:13). And very properly, instead of saying, "He was devouring them" the account specifies, "Thus they spake unto him..." This shows that the matter was only attempted, and was by no means ever carried out.

(Vrs. 7.) On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sabat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying. LXX: On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sabat, in the second year under Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo, saying. Some place the eleventh month as the twelfth month and interpret the twenty-fourth day of the same month by mathematical calculations, suspecting it to be a firm and stable number, wanting what is written to be certain and stable; but we say that in the same year, the second year of King Darius, in the third month after the first Vision, that is, the eleventh month after the eighth, which is called Sabat by the Hebrews, again the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. According to the number, it is unclean and pertains to the union of flesh and worldly things, pertaining to matter, as we often teach. But the eleventh month, which is called Sabat, and is translated in our language as "rod," signifies severity and chastisement, as the Apostle says: What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod? (1 Corinthians 4:21). And as the Psalmist says: Your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4). And it is during the harshest time of winter, which is called Mechir by the Egyptians, περίτιος by the Macedonians, and Februarius by the Romans. The twenty-fourth day of the month also signifies the illustrious shadow of the night, with the moon waning into darkness and the blind and perpetual horror of the night growing. Therefore, it is fitting that those who were still in captivity, the majority of whom were in Media and Chaldea, and were exiled in Assyria, saw what follows on the second year and eleventh month, during the most severe cold, and on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, to the Jewish people.

(Verse 8 and following) I saw during the night: and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the ravine, and behind him there were red, sorrel, and white horses. And I said, 'What are these, my lord?' And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, 'I will show you what these are.' And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, 'These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.' And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, 'We have gone throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.' And the angel of the Lord answered and said: O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Juda, with which thou hast been angry? This is the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel that spoke in me, good words, and comfortable words. LXX: I saw in the night: and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom: and behind him were horses, red, speckled, and white. And I said: What are these, my Lord? And the angel who spoke with me said: I will show you what these things are. And the man who stood among the mountains answered and said to me: These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to go around the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord, who stood among the mountains, and said: We have gone around the whole earth, and behold, all the earth is inhabited and at rest. And the angel of the Lord answered and said: O Lord Almighty, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you are angry? This is the seventieth year. And the Lord answered the angel who spoke to me, good words and consoling speeches. First, let us discuss the story: I saw, he said, during the night: not during the day, like Moses, who saw God face to face: and Isaiah who spoke: I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne (Isa. VI, 1): before the people were led into captivity, before Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple; but still, while the people were in the midst of the evils of servitude, he sees what he sees for them in darkness. And behold, a man riding on a red horse. The Hebrews believe this to be the angel Michael, who is the avenger of iniquities and sins of Israel. And the standing among the myrtle trees that were in the depths, they want to understand as the prophets and saints who dwelled among the captive people and were in the depths. But the man, that is, Michael, was followed by red and various-colored horses, and white ones, with the order, as they think, changed: so that the white ones signify the Medes and the Persians, because under them the captivity was dismissed and the temple was rebuilt; the various-colored ones, the Macedonians, some of whom were friends, others were persecutors (the last vision of Daniel [Chapter 8] speaks most fully on this matter); but the red ones signify the kingdom of the Romans, bloody and murderous, which killed the people and destroyed the temple. But others, preserving the order that was written, interpret the man who rides a red horse and the red horses as representing the four kingdoms. The first and second, the bloodshedders, are interpreted as the Assyrians and Chaldeans, whose first ten tribes were led captive by Salmanasar. The second, Judah and Benjamin, with the city of Jerusalem burned and the temple destroyed. The third and fourth, the various and white horses, are thought to represent the Medes and Persians: some of whom were merciful, such as Cyrus, Darius son of Hystaspis, and Artaxerxes, called by the Greeks Assuerus, under whom the story of Esther is fulfilled; others were cruel, such as Cambyses and the rest. Therefore, the seer and prophet sees a man riding on a red horse, followed by red, spotted, and white horses. Not knowing what he had seen, and desiring to understand the meaning of his vision, he asks, 'What are these, my Lord?' The angel who was speaking with him promises to reveal the answer. As the seer remains silent, a man standing among the myrtle trees recounts, 'These are the kingdoms that the Lord has commanded to go throughout the earth and subdue it under their authority.' Finally, the angels who presided over kingdoms and nations do not come to anyone else, but to the very man and angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtles, and they say: We have walked through the earth, and behold, all the earth is inhabited and at rest. And the meaning is: all the kingdoms under us are safe and peaceful, and no distress weighs upon them. From this response, the angel who interceded for Israel takes the opportunity to pray for the people, and says to the Lord: Since the whole world is quiet and peaceful, why, O Lord, do you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, especially since the time of captivity, according to your promises, has been fulfilled? And the Lord answered the angel who spoke in the prophet with good words, comforting words. Good words regarding the promises of the future, comforting words regarding the needs of the present. These, according to the letter, so that we may not see our own concealed things, which we have learned from foreign language teachers. But the teachers of the Churches understand the darkness of the mystical vision on the night when the vision is seen. For God has placed darkness as his hiding place (Psalm 18:12). And according to the Septuagint translators, it is said of him: 'The abyss is like his garment' (Ps. 103:6). But the man who was riding on a red horse is the Lord Savior, who, by taking on the dispensation of our flesh, hears in Isaiah: 'Why are your garments red?' (Isa. 63:2). This one who is now shown as red to the captive people is described in the Apocalypse of John as sitting on a white horse, wearing white garments (Rev. 3 and 6). But what is said to be standing between two shady mountains (although in Hebrew it does not have two), the New and Old Testaments understand, which is said to be covered with dense leaves, and forest, and shady woods, because it is enveloped in many obscurities. But the myrtles that were in the depths, among which it is described as standing, understand the angelic powers, which also ministered to him even in the flesh. Or certainly the mountains (to remove what is not written, two) absolutely and without number, we can understand many holy people and apostles and apostolic men, who are reported to have traveled the whole world, red, and various, and white. Some have been crowned with martyrdom and are called 'rufi'. Others, through their works, teaching, and variety of signs, are called by various names. Others have received rewards for their virginity, purity of doctrine, and pure heart that sees God. Finally, the prophet asks the same man and angel who stood among the myrtles, saying: Who are these, my lord? And the angel who spoke in him, namely the prophetic sense, promises to show what is seen. And when he had promised, he did not answer himself, but another who stood among the myrtle trees, and said: These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk the earth. For the apostles were sent by the Lord to complete the preaching of the Gospel throughout the whole world, and after they had fulfilled their mission, they returned to the angel of the great council who stood among them, who spoke with the Apostle: We are the pleasing aroma of Christ to those who are being saved and to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 2:15), and among peoples of both callings. And they said to him: We have traveled the land, fulfilled the work that was assigned to us, and behold, the whole land is inhabited and at rest, which was once deserted by God. Now it is His dwelling place, resting from wars, battles of vices and sins. For He has received the inheritance of the Lord, who has returned to the Father, and who says: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave you (John 14:27). And as for the full mercy that is requested, they refer to the imminent seventieth year when God will have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with respect to that understanding: that as long as true peace comes and the Sabbath and the number of seven decades, that is, the seventieth year is fulfilled, neither Jerusalem may receive complete freedom, which is interpreted as the vision of peace and is the Church, nor may the cities of Judah, who confess the Lord, receive it. Finally, the Lord promises good words, consoling words: which we now see in part, and in part we prophesy (I Cor. XIII, 12). But when that which is perfect has come, those things which are in part will be done away with: and being delivered from the Babylon of this age, let us cry out: When the Lord brings back the captivity of Zion, we became like those consoled (Psal. CXXV, 1).

[Daniel 5:2] "Being now drunken, he therefore gave order that the golden and silver vessels be brought in which his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken away from the temple which was in Jerusalem, in order that the king might drink from them..." The Hebrews hand down some such story as this: that up until the seventieth year, on which Jeremiah had said (Jeremiah 25:11) that the captivity of the Jewish people would be released (a matter of which Zechariah also speaks [Zechariah 1:12] in the first part of his book), Belshazzar had esteemed God's promise to be of none effect; therefore he turned the failure of the promise into an occasion of joy and arranged a great banquet, scoffing somewhat at the expectation of the Jews and at the vessels of the Temple of God. Punishment, however, immediately ensued. And as to the fact that the author calls Nebuchadnezzar the father of Belshazzar, he does not make any mistake in the eyes of those who are acquainted with the Holy Scripture's manner of speaking, for in the Scripture all progenitors and ancestors are called fathers. This factor also should be borne in mind, that he was not sober when he did these things, but rather when he was intoxicated and forgetful of the punishment which had come upon his progenitor, Nebuchadnezzar.

(Verse 14 and following) And the angel who spoke in me said to me: Cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy, and with great anger I am angry (alternate: I will be angry) with the prosperous nations, for I was angry only a little, but they (alternate: they themselves) assisted in bringing about evil. Therefore, thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and my house will be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and the plumb line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. LXX: And the angel who was speaking with me said, 'Cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great zeal, and with great wrath I am angry with the nations that are above them, for I was indeed angry for a little while, but they themselves are subjected to evil. Therefore, thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and my house will be rebuilt in it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.' Still good words, and consoling words these are, which now the prophet is commanded to cry aloud: that the Lord is zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with a great zeal. But he who is zealous, shows by loving the thing that he is zealous for, not saying, as Isaiah says, 'As a wife despises her husband, so has the house of Israel despised me' (Jeremiah 3:20). To whom the Lord spoke through Ezekiel: 'I will no longer be angry with you, and my zeal has turned away from you' (Ezekiel 16:42). Therefore, he who is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion (which are one and the same city) now becomes angry with the rich nations, whom he called upon above red, white, and various colored horses, because he himself delivered them for punishment. However, they raged against those who were delivered; here, as if wanting his son to be corrected by a tutor; there, as if wanting to kill an enemy and punish him. Similar to this is what is written in Isaiah: 'I gave them into your hands, but you showed them no mercy.' You have laid a heavy yoke on the aged and said, 'I will be mistress forever' (Isaiah 47:6). But zeal is understood in a human way, like anger. From this passage heretics are refuted, who detract from the Old Testament, claiming that God, when angry, does not want to destroy those towards whom He is angry, but to correct them. Therefore, he says, I have been zealous for Jerusalem, and with great zeal I have consumed those who opposed her: therefore, thus says the Lord: I will return not in one mercy, but in many mercies to Jerusalem, and my house, that is, the temple, will be rebuilt in it under Zerubbabel and Joshua son of Jehozadak; and the measuring line of the builders will be stretched out over Jerusalem. Jerusalem and Zion can be understood as the vision of peace and the watchtowers, which do not belong to the wars of this age, nor to the lowly and earthly, but to peace and harmony, and to the lofty heights of the heavens, the Church. Because of its vices and sins, and because of its daily cooling love, the Lord becomes angry and delivers it to persecutions, so that it may appear as gold and silver in a furnace. However, its adversaries, to whom it has been entrusted, seek to destroy it. Jerusalem will be built again with the blood of Caesar, from one gate to another. Where the Lord promising peace and mercy, says that it will be built again. And a plumb line or a cord should be stretched in it according to the measurements and orders of each. However, what a cord is, is demonstrated in the following chapter, where the prophet says: I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold a man, and in his hand a measuring cord. But the temple of God that the adversaries destroyed can also be understood as the venerable body of the Lord, of which he himself said: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). What was destroyed in the passion, was raised up in the resurrection, and it was the origin and foundation of all temples, about which the Apostle also speaks: You are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you (2 Corinthians VI, 16).

(Verse 17.) Still cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall still overflow with goods, and the Lord shall still comfort Zion, and shall still choose Jerusalem. LXX: And the angel who spoke in me said: Still cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Still cities shall be spread with goods, and the Lord shall still have mercy on Zion, and shall still choose Jerusalem. The angel who had spoken above to the prophet said: Cry out: Thus says the Lord of hosts, now he also urges him to cry out, not with the intensity of his voice, but with the intensity of his mind: and this is what he commands to be cried out: My cities shall still overflow with goods, which you now see devastated by the fire of the Babylonians, they shall again abound with all things, and the Lord shall comfort the present miseries with future goods, and shall choose Jerusalem, which he had recently cast away. But if we refer to the Church, to which true and eternal goods are promised, those goods must be believed, about which we read: See the good things of Jerusalem (Ps. 127:5). And in another place: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land (Isa. 1:19). And that: Trust in the Lord, and He will exalt you to possess the good things of the earth. Which a wise man, to whom the Lord had revealed the uncertain and obscure things of His wisdom, promises to himself with hope for the future, and says: I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 26:13). After the fires of the most savage persecution which the Church of the Lord endured from both the pagans and the heretical Arians, peace being restored, we see the Churches of the Lord flourish, and Zion consoled, and Jerusalem chosen, which it had previously rejected. We can understand this to refer to the temple of the Lord and to each and every believer. Some interpret the consoled Zion and chosen Jerusalem, and the other things that are preached in this manner by all the prophets, as referring to the heavenly Jerusalem, which, having been destroyed through ruin, is to be restored through virtues. We will interpret all these things more correctly about the Church.

(Verse 18, 19.) And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold four horns, and I said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these? And he said to me: These are the horns that have scattered Judah, and Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord showed me four craftsmen, and I said: What are these coming to do? And he said, saying: These are the horns that have scattered Judah, each one by his own man, and none of them has lifted up his head, and these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations that have lifted up their horn over the land of Judah, to scatter it. LXX: And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold four horns. And I said to the angel who talked with me, 'What are these, Lord?' And he said to me, 'These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.' Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen, and I said, 'What are these coming to do?' And he said, 'These are the horns that have scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.' Four horns, the nations that lifted up a horn over the land of the Lord to scatter it. Four horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, to be four nations, the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and Macedonians, and Romans, and now the Lord, questioned by the prophet, explains, and Daniel fully repeats. He, in the vision of the image, had a golden head, and a silver chest, and a bronze belly, and legs and feet of iron and clay, these four nations he interpreted (Dan. II). And again, in another vision, four beasts, a lion and a bear, and a leopard, and another horrible beast, whose name was not given, showed the same nations under a different appearance. And let no one doubt that the Medes and Persians are one kingdom after the victory of Cyrus, who has read both secular and sacred letters. And he rightly placed horns for kingdoms, the Holy Scripture having this custom of always interpreting kingdom as horns, as in this passage: And He has exalted the horn of His Christ (Psalm 148:14). And in another place: And he raised up the horn of salvation for us, in the house of David his servant (Luke 1:69). And ten horns will reign in the end, as the prophet Daniel also testifies (Daniel 7). At that time when this vision was seen, the kingdom of the Babylonians had already passed, the Persians and Medes were pressing in, the Greeks or rather the Macedonians were to come, and then the Romans. What the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks or rather the Macedonians did to the Jews, Israel, and Jerusalem, a learned man knows, especially during the time of Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, under whom the history of the Maccabees is recorded. After the arrival of the Lord and Savior, when Jerusalem was surrounded and the Israelites endured, as the Gospel before tells (Luke 19), and as the Jewish historian Josephus explains in great detail. These horns scattered and dispersed Judah, almost every single man, so that none of them, burdened by the weight of great tribulation, could raise their head. The prophet himself did not see the four craftsmen or artisans whom the Greeks call τέκτονες, but the Lord showed and explained to him who these craftsmen are, whom we understand to be obedient to the Lord's authority, to rebuild what the nations destroyed. But this, for which we have been interpreted from the Hebrew: They came to destroy these things, namely, kingdoms, interpreted by the Seventy: They came to sharpen these things, in their hands. But to sharpen these things means to understand them. Or certainly, to destroy, so that all may submit their necks under the yoke of Christ, and not (as some have interpreted) when they have been sharpened, become worse. For if the angels come for this purpose, to make the wicked worse, they should not be called craftsmen, that is, destroyers of evil, and builders of good; but they themselves should be understood as wicked and destroyers. And it should be noted that these four horns of the nations, one opposed to the people of God, raised a horn; for they did not reign equally and at the same time oppress Israel, but they succeeded each other, Babylonians, Medes, and Persians. The kingdom of the Persians, the kingdom of the Macedonians; the kingdom of the Macedonians, the empire of the Romans. We have mentioned these following the order of history. But what the prophet says, that he lifted up his eyes, must be understood in a spiritual sense: I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me (Ps. 120:1). And: Lift up your eyes and behold the regions, for they are already white for harvesting (John 4:35). And that which we read in Isaiah: The holy one said, Lift up your eyes and see who has shown all these things (Isaiah 51:6). Therefore, it is necessary to lift up our eyes and have spiritual understanding, so that we may see the opposing forces that have exalted their horn against us, and concerning which the Apostle speaks: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against the spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). These four adversaries, who always fought against the Saints, were crushed by Christ when He came. And concerning them, the Psalmist says: You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon (Psalm 90:13). We can understand four horns, which reigned against the people of God, and four passions, which the learned do not express word for word with envy, but interpret as disturbances, the affliction of the soul and joy: two present, and two future, fear and desire, of which even the illustrious poet signifies (Aeneid VI).

From here they fear, desire, grieve, and rejoice. Against these [virtues], four craftsmen, and (so to speak) doctors, and good artisans, are not perceived by the prophet, for without the revelation of God he could not yet see them on his own, but they are revealed to him by the Lord, namely the four virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, about which Cicero extensively argues in his book On Duties, also writing a separate book about the four virtues. Therefore, those who destroy vices and build virtues, and all the saints who continually restore the Church possessing these remedies, are to be called craftsmen. Hence, the Apostle spoke: Like a skilled builder, I laid the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10). And the angry Lord said that He would remove the architect and wise man from Jerusalem (Isaiah 3). And the Lord Himself, the Son of God Almighty and Creator of all, is called the son of a craftsman. I read in someone's Commentaries that the four blacksmiths are the four Evangelists, who, by understanding the oppressed Israel, namely, seeing God, and confessing the Lord Judah, and the vision of peace in Jerusalem, restore them to their former seat, and who the sinful nations had dispersed from the Church, they brought back to salvation through the preaching of the Gospel.

(Chapter 2, Verses 1, 2.) And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring line. And I said: Where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how wide it is, and how long it is. (Alternate translation: And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how high it is, and how long it is.) Septuagint: And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold, a man, and in his hand a measuring cord, and I said to him: Where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, and see how wide it is, and how long it is. With his eyes raised, Quiprius had seen sad things on the four horns. Now he raises his eyes again, to see the man about whom it is written: 'Behold the man, his name is the East' (Zech. VI, 12); about whom we also read above: 'And behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom, or in the shady mountains' (Zech. I, 8). And about whom the Father speaks: 'He has built my city' (Heb. XI), of which God is the architect and builder. Here it is seen also from Ezechiel, holding a rope in his hand, and a reed measuring a cubit, to measure Jerusalem, the description of which, namely, its width and length, the same prophet continues in mystical language (Ezek. 40). Some think that this was fulfilled in part under Zerubbabel, and Jesus, and Ezra, and Nehemiah, and other leaders or kings, who ruled the people of Israel until the coming of the Lord and Savior. But others, especially the Jews, interpret it as a thousand-year kingdom, seeking physical things. But many of us refer to the heavenly Jerusalem, and say that it must be rebuilt, as it had been destroyed by the sins of the souls. The heretics suspect this. However, we interpret Mount Zion, the mother of the firstfruits and the saints, as the Church, which was built in the passion and resurrection of the Lord, and is continually being built by him who knows the measures and merits of each individual. What we said about the Church can also be applied to the souls of the believers, which are daily built by the Lord and experience His peace that was left to the apostles.

(Verse 4 and following) And behold, the angel who spoke to me went out, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, because of the multitude of people and animals in its midst. And I will be to it, says the Lord, a wall of fire all around, and I will be in the midst of it in glory. LXX: And behold, the angel who spoke to me stood, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him: Run and speak to that young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited as a fruitful place, because of the multitude of people and animals in its midst. And I will be a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory within her. The angel who spoke to the prophet, and stood, or as it is read in Hebrew, went out, this signifies Jasa (the Hebrews think it is Michael). And the other angel who went out and came to meet him, they suspect is Gabriel, who speaks to Michael, so that he may speak to the prophet, about the great abundance of all things, and the multitude of people and animals, and the strength of the walls that Jerusalem will have, which at present seems to be destroyed to ashes and dust. But according to the spiritual sense, we interpret all these things in the Church, which, without a wall, or as they have translated it in the Septuagint, κατάκαρπος, that is, it may be inhabited with the abundance of all fruits and may have a multitude of people and animals, and the Lord of fire may be around it, and He Himself may move in the midst of it in glory. This is the city of which we read elsewhere: Glorious things are said of you, O city of God (Psalm 86:2). And again: Great is the Lord and exceedingly praiseworthy, in the city of our God, on his holy mountain (Ps. VII, 1). Whoever dwells in this place can say: But I, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God (Ps. LI, 10). And: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want: he has placed me in a place of pasture, by the waters of refreshment (Ps. XXII, 1). And it shall be inhabited, it says, Jerusalem, because of the multitude of men and animals, without walls, or abundance of all kinds of fruits. A certain one, humans and animals are interpreted as two peoples, Jews and Gentiles, because those who have been versed in the Law and come to faith in Christ are called humans: but we who were in idolatry as if in the desert of the Law and solitude of the prophets, and have received his passion, should be called animals. But others want that even rational and knowledgeable in the Scriptures, be understood as humans: but that simple believers be called animals, and concerning them it is said: You will save humans and animals, O Lord (Ps. XXXV, 7). These animals, and these living beings, hear the voice of the good shepherd, and they recognize, and follow him: who himself is both shepherd, because he guides us; and door, because through him we enter the Church, and to the Father (John 10); and a wall of fire around, so that it may warm up (or may warm up) those who believe and dwell in the midst, who had previously grown lukewarm in the coldness of charity, and may be fervent in spirit. But let it consume with its fire the wolves and the most savage beasts (of whom it is written: Do not give the soul confessing you to beasts (Psalm 73, 19): and whose fruits are hay, wood, straw (1 Corinthians 3, 12): and they bring thistles and thorns); and may the one who is an adversary of the fire, be in the midst of believers with glory. But as for the wall of Jerusalem, it is the Lord, and in another place we read: Mountains surround it, and the Lord surrounds his people (Ps. 124:2). The Jews think that all these things will come about in a carnal way under the hope of a most vain promise, thinking that Jerusalem will have such great blessedness that, due to the multitude of people and all the animals, it will not be able to have a wall; but the wall will be the defense of the Lord Himself, and let it enjoy the glory of the One dwelling in its midst.

(Verse 6 and following) O, O flee from the land of the North, says the Lord, for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. O Zion, arise, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the Lord of hosts, after glory He has sent me to the nations who plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For behold, I will shake My hand over them, and they shall become spoil for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. LXX: O flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I will gather you from the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. In Zion you shall be saved, you who dwell in the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the Lord Almighty: after glory He has sent me to the nations that plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. Behold, I will raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. The regions of the world, which the Greeks call climates, are understood to be located near Jerusalem and the temple. Therefore, the Assyrians and Babylonians, who devastated the people of God, dwell in the land of the North. Finally, in Jeremiah (Chapter I), the pot that is filled with meat (which is understood to be the city of Jerusalem) is set on fire from the face of the North. Therefore, since the angel had commanded the angel who met the prophetic angel in Zechariah to speak to the boy (for in comparison to the angelic dignity, all human nature is called boyhood, because we do not progress from angels to us, but from us to angels), and to say to him: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, and the rest. Now the same word of the Lord comes to those who live in the North: that they should gather from the four winds, to whom they had been scattered throughout the whole world, and return to Zion, those who dwelt in Babylon. Or certainly in this way: O you who have been scattered in the four parts of the heavens, flee from the land of the North, and, O Zion, who now dwells in Babylon, flee and return to your former home. And that when it is said in the vocative case 'O' for the third time, it is an exhortation to flee, so that they may know that they have been warned not once, but repeatedly, to flee. It is said in another way: Aquilo is the most violent wind, which hardens the hearts of its inhabitants and from which all the evils that dwell on the earth are kindled, and towards which, according to the same prophet Zachariah, the black horses go out to stand in their own region (Zach. I and VI). He also, who in Isaiah boasted, saying: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit upon the mountain of the covenant, in the heights of the north (Isai. XIV, 13), boasts of having a kingdom in the coldest place on earth. We read in another place: Behold, smoke comes from the north (Ibid., 31): and it is said of those who have departed far from the holy city: Behold, these come from afar from the north and the sea (Ibid., XLIX, 12). And through Jeremiah the Holy Spirit speaks, calling those who are in captivity to return to Jerusalem: Go and read my words to the north, and you shall say: Return to me, O dwelling of Israel, says the Lord (Jer. XLVI). Therefore, it is commanded to us who dwell in the North, and have lost the heat of the Lord's fervor, who have been scattered throughout the world, and about whom the Gospel preaches, that the Lord send his angels in the four winds, and gather us, and that we, who are involved in the vices and confusion of this age, flee to the Church of the Lord in Zion, and, forsaking worldly desires, stand firm in the watchtower of its teachings and greatness. But what follows is this: Thus says the Lord of hosts, after the glory He sent Me, and so on, the voice of the speaking Savior is introduced, who says that He is sent by the Almighty God from the Almighty Father, not according to what is almighty, but according to what He was sent after the glory. Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:6). It is not surprising that Christ is called omnipotent, from whose person we read in the Book of Revelation of John: 'These things saith the faithful witness, the beginning of the creation of God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty God' (Rev. 1:4, 5). Also, what we read in the twenty-third psalm: 'Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall enter in' (v. 7). And again, it is said by other angels who were ignorant of the mystery of the assumed flesh: 'Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory,' and this refers to Christ. For wherever we read 'the Lord of hosts,' it is written in Hebrew as 'Sabaoth,' which is translated by the Septuagint interpreters as 'omnipotent.' From this we understand that wherever 'the Lord of hosts' is said of Christ, He is to be understood as omnipotent. It is not surprising if Christ is called omnipotent, to whom all power is given in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). And who says, 'All things that the Father hath are mine' (John 17:10). But if all things, that is, God of God, Lord of the Lord, light of light, then also omnipotent of omnipotent; for it cannot happen that where one nature is, there be diverse glory. Therefore, He was sent after the glory of divine majesty to the Gentiles, who had despoiled the people of God, so that those who were once their plunderers might be slaves to them, and that the whole crowd of former slaves might know that God is omnipotent and merciful. And He says, 'He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of His eye'; understand the touch as vexation and injury, according to what we read: 'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm' (Ps. 105:15). For whoever touches the saints of the Lord is as if he desired to vex the apple of His eye, and endeavored to deprive him of the bright light spoken of in the Gospel, 'Ye are the light of the world' (Matt. 5:14). But God lifts His hand to strike the adverse nations and to restore His people, either in Jerusalem or in the Church. By adverse nations, according to the allegorical interpretation, understand the opposing powers, which subject sinners daily to their authority and compel them to serve themselves.

(Verse 10 onwards) Praise and rejoice, Daughter Zion, for behold, I am coming and will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. Many nations will be joined to the Lord on that day and will became my people. I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will choose Jerusalem again. Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Zion, for behold, I am coming and will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. Many nations will flee to the Lord on that day and will become his people. They will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. The Lord will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will choose Jerusalem again. And these things must still be understood from the perspective of the Lord: that he encourages his people to rejoice and be glad about their restoration from captivity to their former dwelling place, that the Lord himself will come and dwell among them, and that many nations will believe in him, as it is said: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession (Psalm 2:8); and he will dwell among them, speaking to his disciples: Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). And may the Lord possess Judah as his own portion, confessing and believing in his name, and may he not possess elsewhere, except in the holy land, which is interpreted as the Church, and may he choose Jerusalem again, which he had forsaken in temptation and persecutions. Some Jews believe that this happened under Zerubbabel and Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah, who completed this in part, especially because Jerusalem is chosen and possessed by Judah: namely, the two tribes that returned from the Babylonian captivity and were called Judah, not Israel, because the latter are still living among the Medes. But others differ in their interpretation of the future, because they believe that there will be nations who will believe in the one sent by the Lord, and that Jerusalem must be chosen. However, since all nations have already believed in the Lord Savior, it cannot be chosen because it is completely destroyed. But rightly after the captivity, the daughter of Zion is called to rejoice, as it is said in the psalm: 'When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad' (Psalm 53:7).

(Verse 13) Let all flesh be silent before the face of the Lord, for He has risen from His holy dwelling. LXX: Let all flesh fear before the face of the Lord, for He has risen from His holy clouds. When these things happen, and the Lord possesses His portion, Judah, and chooses Jerusalem, every human race fears the coming of the Lord, for He has risen from His holy dwelling. The Lord is said to rise, and as if awakening from sleep, when He rises for the vengeance of His people, according to what is written: Rise up, why do you sleep, O Lord? (Ps. XLIII, 23) Or according to the Septuagint, He rose from His holy clouds, understand the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, to whom the Lord commanded not to rain rain upon Israel. These are the clouds, of which it is written: And let the clouds rain down righteousness (Isaiah 45:8): for these clouds are not corporeal, in which denser air is condensed, they cannot rain down righteousness. In these clouds, and with these clouds, the Lord says in the Gospel that He will come (Luke 21). And in Isaiah we read that the Lord came into Egypt in a light cloud (Isa. XIX). Egypt is understood as the world, into which the Lord is said to have descended in the flesh, which was born from a virgin womb, not burdened by the weight of human seed and sin. But that the term 'every flesh' does not apply to all creatures, including humans, animals, birds, and fish, but specifically to humans, is indicated by the Scripture: 'To you all flesh will come' (Ps. LXIV, 3). For not all flesh of irrational animals will come to the Lord, but that which is to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and of which it is said: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy (Joel 2:28).

(Chapter III - Verse 1 and following) And he showed me Jesus, the great high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord: and Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan: May the Lord rebuke you, Satan, may the Lord rebuke you who has chosen Jerusalem. Is this not a brand plucked out of the fire? And Jesus was clothed in filthy garments, and he stood before the face of the angel who responded and said to those who stood before him, saying: Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him, 'Behold, I have taken away your iniquity, and I will clothe you with rich garments.' And they put a clean turban on his head, and they put clean clothes on him. LXX: And the Lord showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!' Is not this man like a brand plucked from the fire? And Jesus was clothed with dirty clothes, and he stood before the face of the angel, and he answered and said to those standing before his face, saying: Take off the dirty clothes from him. And he said to him: Behold, I have wiped away your iniquities from you; and dress him in fine clothing, and put a clean turban on his head, and they put a clean turban on his head, and they surrounded him with garments. Before we come to the understanding of the spiritual intelligence, it must be said strictly and briefly how the Hebrews explained this passage. They want Jesus the great priest, whom the Greeks call ἀρχιερέα and the Latins call pontifex, to be understood as the son of Josedec, who presided over the people with Zorobabel. The adversary (for this is what Satan means) stood at his right hand to oppose him. And he rightly stood at his right hand, not at his left, because the accusation was true, since he himself had taken a foreign wife, as is written in Ezra and in Malachi, who follows this prophet, (1 Esdras 12 and Mal. 2). And the Lord said to Satan, the accuser and adversary, for he is the enemy and avenger, and the accuser of his brothers: Let the Lord rebuke you, Satan: for it is raining from the Lord: and let the Lord rebuke you, who chose Jerusalem. Therefore, since Jerusalem has now been chosen from among all the cities of Judah, with the Lord not imputing to her the sins she has committed, why do you attempt to bury Jesus, who escaped from the captivity of Babylon as if half burnt, like a tower which is commonly called a torch? But what follows, 'Jesus was clothed in dirty clothes,' is interpreted in three ways. Either because of illicit union, or because of the sins of the people, or because of the squalor of captivity. But the angel, before whose face Jesus stood, commanded the other angels on behalf of the Lord to take away from him the dirty clothes of which we have spoken above. When they had fulfilled the command, the same angel spoke again to Jesus: 'Behold, I have taken away your iniquity; these are the dirty clothes, and I have clothed you with new garments.' This refers to the joining of an Israelite wife to you, which the Seventy interpreted as 'ποδήρη,' which we can call a long tunic, because it flows down to the ankles and feet. And what follows: Place a clean headband over his head, because we read in Hebrew Saniph (), which is called by many a headdress, and in this they want the dignity of the priest to be understood, that he, having removed the filth of sins, may have a clean priesthood. This is how the Jews interpret it. But our argument is that the priest is great, to whom it is said: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. CIX, 4). But since he (the angel) cannot be seen by himself, he is shown to the prophet by the Lord standing before the angel of the Lord, whom they wish to be the angel of great counsel, not because one and another are, or that we should accept two persons in the Son; but that he is shown to be the same and as one, and is said to appear as if in the form of a defiled man and as if an angel, mediating between God and men. However, they attempt to show that he is not Jesus son of Josedech, because it is not appropriate in the present place for him to be called the son of Josedech, who in other places, and where Jesus is truly called the son of Josedech, is always considered under the name of the Father. Therefore, Jesus is seen standing and standing firmly; and Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. For he was tempted in every way without sin. And in the Gospel, the tempter approaches him, always seeking to oppose him with his right hand and his powers. And that which follows: The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord rebuke you, who choose Jerusalem, they have said, because the Father and the Son are Lord, and in the 109th psalm we read: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. The Lord speaks to another Lord, not because the Lord who speaks cannot rebuke, but because out of the unity of nature, when the other rebukes, he himself who speaks rebukes. For he who sees the Son, sees also the Father (John 14:9); and this is he who chose Jerusalem, the Church which contemplates the peace of the Lord. But the tower taken out of the fire can rightly be understood as one who, while he is in Babylon, is not consumed by the fire of Babylon, nor touched by the flame of this world. Therefore Moses also sees a great vision in the desert, in which the bush was burning, but was not consumed (Exodus 3). This Jesus was clothed in filthy garments; although he had not committed any sin, he was made sin for us, and he himself carries our infirmities, and suffers for us, and we thought of him as being in sorrow, and in wounds, and in anguish. But he was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4). And in the Apostle we read: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Here in the twenty-first psalm it says: Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses (Psalm 22:1). And in the sixty-eighth psalm: O God, you know my foolishness, and my sins are not hidden from you (Psalm 69:6). All the garments that are called dirty will be taken away from him when he has washed away our sins, so that because he was clothed in dirty garments, we may hear after baptism: May your garments always be white (Eccl. IX, 8): and the whole Church of believers hears through Isaiah: Wash, be clean (Isa. I, 16). And she is prophesied about in the Song of Songs: Who is this that ascends, white (Cant. III, 6)? But take the incarnation of Him, which is from the earth, and is signified in the feet. Understand the clean robe over His head, understand the splendor of divine majesty, so that he may seem to be adorned as one and the same according to man, and according to God.

(Vers. 6, 7.) And the angel of the Lord stood and testified to the angel of the Lord saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you walk in my ways and keep my custody, you shall also judge my house and keep my courts and I will give you those who walk among those who stand here. LXX: And the angel of the Lord stood and testified to Jesus saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: If you walk in my ways and keep my commandments, and you shall judge my house; and if you keep my courtyard, I will give you those who dwell among those who stand here. Following the order of the proposed interpretation, the Hebrews understand the following words spoken to Jesus, son of Josedech, by the angel of the Lord: that after the removal of dirty garments and the restoration of the dignity of the priesthood, he is commanded according to what is written in the Gospel: 'Behold, you are healed, sin no more, lest anything worse happen to you' (John 5:14); and a reward is promised to him if he walks in the ways of the Lord and keeps His commandments, that he may be the judge of His house, that is, the high priest who perseveres in the temple and guards its courts and vestibules, and may the Lord grant him assistance from the number of the angels (who at that time stood before Him) to surround him and protect him from all enemy deceit. According to our companions who refer all these things to the Lord Savior, this seems difficult, what Jesus says by the angel: If he walks in the ways of the Lord and keeps his commandments, he himself should judge his house, and guard its courts, and the Lord will give to those who walk with him. This is easily resolved if we consider him who deigned to take the form of a servant (Philippians 2). And though he was rich, he became poor for us (2 Corinthians 8). Therefore, whatever is said about the members, is referred to the body: our progress is the victory of the Lord. And when we have reached the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4), he will judge the house of God, according to what the Apostle said: But Christ as a son over His own house, whose house we are (Hebrews 3:6). And to Timothy: If I delay, that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). And not only will he judge his own house, but he will also keep the courts of the Lord, about which it is written: Worship the Lord in his holy courtyard (Ps. 28:2). However, he will judge or settle the matter with his lord, and according to the merits of each, some will be given ten cities and others five (Luke 19), and some will be appointed as prophets in the Church, and others as apostles, others as teachers, others performing miracles (1 Cor. 12), some having concern for the eyes, others for the hands, others for the feet, according to what we read: God stands among the gods' assembly; among them he judges gods (Ps. 82:1). He also gave him ministers of the number of the angels, who, being constituted in the flesh, are like unto the angels, and of whom the Apostle spoke: Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). For if the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage, and those who persevere in virginal continence are like unto the angels (Matt. 22), why should we not consider the apostles and the saints given by Jesus, who assist him in the Church, and never have wavering feet, but stand with the Lord standing?