Jerome

(Verse 4 and following) And he brought me through the way of the north gate in the sight of the house, and I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face. And the Lord said to me, Son of man, set your heart and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I speak to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the Lord, and concerning all its laws, and set your heart upon the entrance of the temple and on all the exits of the sanctuary. The man who is the leader of the prophet, and who knows everything in the temple by showing, after he showed the closed gate that must never be opened, and yet opened to him who had entered through closed doors. He leads the prophet to the way of the North gate, which is also in the sight of the house, undoubtedly signifying the temple. And when the prophet saw the fullness of the house of the Lord's glory, namely the same house that he saw from the opposite side in the North area, he immediately fell on his face, unable to bear the majesty of the Lord's glory. Because he had been brought low by his humility, the Lord says to him, not as a man but as the Lord: Son of man, set your heart, and so on. In the completion of the tabernacle and the building of the temple constructed by Solomon, the glory of the Lord appeared, which was later destroyed by comparison to the glory of the Gospel, as the Apostle says: For that which was glorified has not been glorified in this respect, because of the excellent glory. For if that which is destroyed is by glory, much more that which remains is in glory (2 Corinthians 3:10). And we must beware lest we think the destruction of the previous glory is an abolition; but we must think thus, that after what is perfect has come, that which was in part will be destroyed: just as if you compare the rays of the sun to a lamp, or the light of a lamp to a small lantern. Therefore, it is also said about John the Baptist: He was a shining lamp in the house (John 5:35). However, when the sun of justice came, the light of the lamp was hidden, as the prophet himself and John the Baptist said: He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). The prophet fell on his face, lest, desiring to see more than human frailty can behold, he should lose even the light of his eyes. Hence the Lord calls him more familiarly "son of man," and commands him to set his heart, and see with his eyes, and hear with his ears. For first the mind must be opened to understand what is said; secondly, the heart must understand with the eyes, concerning which it is said to Abraham: Lift up your eyes and see the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5); thirdly, it must be heard with these ears, of which the Savior says: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8), so that he may understand all the ceremonies of the temple and its legal requirements, and finally set his heart on the ways of the temple; for there are different approaches to God. Whether through the paths of the temple, it signifies the order of ceremonies, and the exit of the sanctuary. Therefore, it is the prologue and preparation of the prophet, to understand what he will subsequently learn about the order of the temple. And it should be noted that in this world, the plague which is positioned in the evil and placed in the cold of the North, the celestial order of ceremonies is shown to us.

(V. 6 seqq.) And you shall say to the rebellious house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Sufficient for you are all your sins, O house of Israel, because you bring in foreign sons (or foreigners) uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary and to defile my temple, and you offer my bread, fat, and blood, and you have broken (or transgressed) my covenant in all your sins; and you have not kept the precepts of my sanctuary and you have set the ministers of my observances in my sanctuary for yourselves. When he says, let all your crimes and iniquities be sufficient for you, he exhorts you to repentance for your former sins, so that we do not increase sins by sins, and prepare material for future burning; but let us hear what Isaiah speaks: Woe to those who draw sins like a long rope, and iniquities like the yoke of a calf's leather strap (Isa. 5:18). And the first sin is that they bring in alien sons, or uncircumcised foreigners in heart and in flesh, so that they may be in the sanctuary of God and defile the house of God. For a little leaven corrupts the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6); and in some versions of Proverbs it is written: Do not bring the wicked into the dwelling of the righteous. The Jews and Ebionites press us on this matter, who receive the circumcision of the flesh: how can we explain this passage to those uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh? Indeed, after spiritual understanding, should we also undergo the circumcision of the flesh. But we who read what Paul says: Now I testify to every man who is circumcised that if you are circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you (Gal. V, 2). And that of Jeremiah: Behold, your ears are uncircumcised and you refuse to listen (Jer. VI, 10). And in Exodus, Moses spoke before the Lord, saying: Behold, the Israelites have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me? But I am slow of speech (Exod. VI, 12), for which the Seventy translated: Am I not unreasoning? which is better rendered in Hebrew: But I have uncircumcised lips. Let us ask them, or rather compel them, to circumcise their ears and desecrate their lips, so that they may seem to fulfill the Scripture. But if they begin to interpret the circumcision of the ears, when we endure nothing shameful or dishonorable to hear, and the circumcision of the lips, when we speak nothing indecent: let us say to them, you must also keep the same interpretation in your heart and in your flesh. We circumcise the heart with the knife of God, and the foreskin is removed from our heart, when unclean thoughts never come out of our heart, and it is not said of us: 'This people's heart has grown fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily' (Acts 28:27). Therefore, the flesh is also circumcised in a similar manner, so that we do not engage in earthly works that we are compelled to do for the needs of the body, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and wearing clothes. We circumcise these things not for pleasure, luxury, or laziness, but for the sake of the necessity of our nature and the sustenance of this body. The one who drinks wine in moderation due to their stomach and frequent illnesses, and hates drunkenness, circumcises their own flesh (I Tim. 5). Whoever sleeps as much as nature allows, will hear from Solomon: If you sit, you will be without fear; if you sleep, you will sleep sweetly, and you will not fear the coming terror; nor the attacks of the wicked (Prov. III, 24). And whoever flees from fornication and returns to his wife, let Satan not tempt him (I Cor. VII), will hear with the people of Israel: On this day I have taken away the reproach of Egypt from you. He will also use clothing that repels the cold; not clothing that, by its thinness, reveals the body. With flesh weakened by fasting and bounded by self-control, he avoids the reproach of the Egyptians, who pride themselves on their ample flesh. He can say what is commonly read in the Septuagint: 'As my flesh languished, so in a dry and trackless land I appeared to you, in a place devoid of water.' If, therefore, at any time we should wish to introduce aliens into the temple of God, let us circumcise their ears, and their lips, and their heart, and all their flesh, and their eyes, and their taste, and their smell, so that we may do all things with the fear and reason of God. Let the bishops and priests and all the ecclesiastical order hear this, so that they do not bring in uncircumcised sons in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may not be in the sanctuary of God and pollute his house. For if they do this, what follows will be applicable to them: 'And you offer my breads, breads of course of the offering, in all Churches and in the whole world, sprouting from one bread, and not only breads, but also fatness, of which it is written: 'He has filled them with the fatness of wheat' (Ps. 80:17), and the blood which was shed in Christ's passion.' And the order of reading should be as follows: When you bring uncircumcised foreign children with your heart and body into my sanctuary, and defile my house, you dare to offer bread and fat and blood, mystical sacraments, and you do not understand that you have broken, and you have violated my covenant in all your crimes and impieties, and you have not kept the precepts of my sanctuary, nor have you appointed guardians of my ceremonies in my sanctuary. But every threat is against those who have not heeded the Apostle's warning: Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins (I Tim. V, 22). Or certainly it should be understood thus: You have broken my covenant with all your crimes, and have not kept the precepts of my sanctuary, and you dare to appoint unworthy and foreign custodians in the observation of my sanctuary for yourselves, let it be understood, not for me. And there is sense: That they may serve and minister unto you in carnal things and profane my sanctuary for your worldly comforts.

(Verse 9 and following) Thus says the Lord God: Every uncircumcised foreigner in heart and in flesh shall not enter my sanctuary, every foreign son who is among the sons of Israel. But the Levites who went far away from me in the error of the sons of Israel, and who went astray after their idols, shall bear their iniquity, those who were in my sanctuary, the ministers of the gates of the house, and the ministers of the house; they themselves slaughtered the burnt offerings and the sacrifices of the people, and there they stood before them to minister for them. Therefore, because they ministered to them in the presence of their idols, and the house of Israel became a stumbling block of iniquity, therefore I have lifted my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not approach me to serve as priests, nor come near to any of my sanctuaries, according to the most holy things; but they shall bear their shame and the sins they have committed. And I will give them custodians of the house in all its ministry, and for all that is done in it. But the Levite priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the ceremonial duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. They shall enter my sanctuary; and they shall come near to my table to minister to me, and they shall keep my ceremonies. LXX: Therefore thus says the Lord: Every uncircumcised foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter my sanctuary, among all the foreign-born children of Israel. But the Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray, following their own imaginations and carrying their own sins, shall serve in my sanctuary, guarding the gates of the temple and ministering in the house. They shall offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister to them. Because they ministered to them before their idols, and the house of Israel became a stumbling block of iniquity, therefore I have stretched out my hand over them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity and shall not come near me to serve as priests to me, nor to offer to all the holy things of the children of Israel, nor to the most holy things of my sanctuary, but they shall bear their disgrace and the error in which they have wandered. And they shall set them to keep the guard of the house, and to do all the works thereof, and all that shall be done therein. And the priests the Levites, the sons of Sadoc, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God. They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and to keep my charge. I have placed the testimony next to each edition, so that from comparing them we may be able to know what the LXX thought, what the Hebrew holds. The Seventy signify this, that the uncircumcised foreigners in heart and flesh who dwell among the children of Israel should not enter the sanctuary of God. But the Levites, that is, the priestly order, who have strayed far from the Lord in the error of the children of Israel, and have gone after their idols, after they have received their iniquity, let them stand in the sanctuary of the Lord as builders and doorkeepers, and ministers of the house, and let them offer burnt offerings and sacrifices of the people; and let them be in their presence to minister to them what they have ministered to their idols, and let them become a torment of iniquity for the house of Israel; and therefore the Lord God says that He has lifted His hand against them, so that they may not approach Him and officiate in the priesthood, nor offer in the holy of holies, and let them bear their shame in the error in which they have erred; so that they may be put under the observation of the guardians of the house in all its works, and in everything that is done in the house. But if this is so, how can it be possible for the Levites, who have strayed far from God and gone astray after their own idols, to serve in the house and offer sacrifices and victims for the people, and to stand before them to serve them? For what more will the priests of the sons of Zadok, who have kept the ceremonies of the sanctuary of God, do? Of whom it is said: They will approach me to serve me, and they will stand before me to offer me fat and the rest? But Hebrew has this meaning: Every uncircumcised foreigner in heart and flesh shall not enter my sanctuary, though he may be seen as being with the people of Israel. But the Levites, that is, the priestly class, who have gone far astray from me in the error of the children of Israel, and have followed idols, shall bear their iniquity because they have served in my sanctuary as gatekeepers of the house, and as its ministers. For they offered burnt offerings and the people's sacrifices, and they stood before them to minister to them. So because they ministered for them in the presence of their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have stretched out my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity and shall not come near me to serve as priests to me, nor to approach any of my sanctuary's holy things, but they shall bear their disgrace and the crimes they have committed. For the priestly office which they were accustomed to, offering burnt offerings and sacrifices and all kinds of offerings, they shall be reduced to the lowest level and become the gatekeepers of the house, in eternal disgrace, so that they may be seen by the whole people entering and leaving, from what sublime dignity they have reached to this lowest level. But the priests, he says, that is, the Levites, who are the sons of Zadok, that is, the righteous or just of God, and who during the time of the error of all the Israelites, have kept the ceremonies of my sanctuary, they themselves will approach me to minister to me, and they will stand in my presence, and they will offer me fat, that is, the fattest victim and blood, namely, a living and pleasing victim to God, and they themselves will enter my sanctuary, and they will approach my table, to burn incense to me, and they will observe every rite of the sacrifice. But if it is so, that those who in the time of error and persecution followed idols, which they had fashioned in their own hearts, and not only declared with their voice, but also with the signing of their hands, that the Son of God was a creature, and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever, how do they assume for themselves the high office of priesthood and pontificate, and dare to offer sacrifices to God, once worshippers of idols? But, as the most ardent poet testifies,

Whatever is committed by many is left unpunished: The multitude of sinners has made the impious obtain even greater forgiveness, so that those who, having been reduced to laymen, should have bewailed the crimes of their sacrilege, now recline on the pontifical throne and belch forth the nauseating reflux of simulated faith, or rather the open shortcuts of covert treachery. Let them at least, then, listen late and observe the precepts of the almighty God. Every foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, shall not enter my sanctuary. Although he may be a son, although he may be connected by kinship, although he may cling to us through ancient obligation: if he is uncircumcised in heart or flesh, he should not be admitted into the sanctuary of God: lest we make ministers of Christ, our ministers, and defile the altars of the Lord with carnal indulgences. For this reason, I will appoint them as the gatekeepers of the house, in charge of all the services performed in it: namely, the Levites who have strayed far from God in the error of the children of Israel, and have followed idols to which they have sacrificed. Taking into consideration the order of reading and the sense, Symmachus interpreted it more accurately, saying: For I had appointed them as custodians of the gates of the entire ministry and of all that is done in it, so that it would not pertain to those who are to come in the temple, but to those who have been.

(Verses 17 onwards) And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments (or robes); they shall not wear anything made of wool (or they shall not wear garments made of wool) when they minister at the gates of the inner court and inside. Linen turbans shall be on their heads (or they shall have linen turbans on their heads) and linen undergarments shall be around their waists, and they shall not be bound in sweat (or forced). And when they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they shall take off their garments (or stoles) in which they ministered, and they shall put them in the treasury (or colonnades) of the sanctuary (or the holy place), and they shall put on other garments (or stoles), and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments (or stoles). But they shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall trim their hair (or shave their heads) without shaving the hair too close: they shall cover their heads. And not every priest shall drink wine when he is about to enter the inner court. First, the words of the story must be interpreted. Among other things that the sermon of the Lord commands to the priests, he also orders that they should be clothed in linen garments at the very gates of the inner court, that is, with linen stoles: and they should not use garments woven with gold either at the gates of the inner court or inside, that is, in the holy of holies; and linen turbans or headbands should be on their heads, and linen undergarments around their loins. And what follows according to the Septuagint: 'And they shall not gird themselves violently,' which Aquila and Symmachus translated as 'in sweat.' Theodotion, expressing the Hebrew word itself, rendered it as, 'in Jeze,' meaning that they should not be girded violently, tightly, like prisoners, so as not to become unfit for the priestly and Levitical duties, and be unable to hold and slaughter the victims, nor to draw and run around. And because he had previously commanded the priests what garments they should wear when they were inside the sanctuary, he now orders that when they go out into the treasuries or the holy places, they should take off their former garments and put on others. For if they had the holy garments, they would sanctify the people who were standing outside and had not yet been sanctified, nor had prepared themselves for the sanctification of the temple, so that they may be of Nazarene for the Lord. From this we learn that we should not enter into the holy of holies with everyday and any garments that are polluted for common use, but with a clean conscience and clean garments, keep the sacraments of the Lord. And what follows: 'But they shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall trim their heads,' clearly demonstrates that we should not be priests and worshippers of Isis and Serapis with shaved heads, but neither should we let our hair grow long, which is properly luxurious and belongs to barbarians and warriors; but that the honorable appearance of the priests be shown on their faces. For this reason, the LXX said, 'They shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall cover their heads,' from which we learn that we should not make baldness with a razor or cut our hair so close that we appear like shaven ones, but that our hair should be left long enough to cover the skin. Or certainly, the priests should always cover their heads, according to what Virgil said (Aeneid, Book III):

To veil his hair with a purple covering. But this is a violent interpretation. However, not only will priests and Levites not drink wine in their ministry, but they will not even enter the Holy of Holies, so that their mind may not be overwhelmed, and their senses may not become duller. Hence the Apostle says: It is good, he says, not to drink wine and not to eat meat (Rom. XIV, 21). And in another place: And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery (Ephes. V, 18). For the people ate and drank, and then got up to play. And he clearly showed (as Alexander shows) why he granted Timothy to drink a little wine: for his stomach, he says, and frequent illnesses (1 Timothy 5). The Egyptian priests use linen garments not only internally but also externally. Furthermore, the divine religion has one dress for the ministry and another for common use in life. The undergarments are properly worn to preserve modesty and decorum: so that, when ascending the steps of the altar and moving about in the ministry, they do not reveal indecency. The superstition of the pagans has many heads. But as far as my knowledge is concerned, I do not believe that any of the pagans abstain from wine. These words will show what all things in accordance with sense indicate as spiritual. The Apostle also teaches that there are sacred and spiritual garments, saying: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. XIII, 14). And in another place: Put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Coloss. III, 12). And again: Stripped off the old man with his works, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of the Creator (1 Cor. 15:54); which I think also signifies this: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, and so on. About the priestly garments in Exodus, it is written more fully (Exodus 28); and we have previously published a book (Epistle 64, to Fabiola), to the interpretation of which a diligent reader must be sent. For we cannot comprehend a broad subject in a concise discourse. These clothes we make with our own labor, which are woven from above, such as the Lord had a tunic that could not be torn (John 18); in which we are clothed when we know the secret and hidden things of the Lord, and we have the spirit that searches even the high and deep things of God, which are not to be shown to the common people, nor to be spoken to the un-sanctified, nor to those not prepared for the sanctity of the Lord: so that if they hear greater things, they may not be able to bear the majesty of knowledge, and be choked like solid food, who are still nourished by the milk of infancy. But on the contrary, Scripture teaches that the worst clothing, as is sung in the Psalms about the traitor Judas, is to be clothed with curses (Ps. CVIII, 29). And a little later: Let it become for him like the clothing with which he is surrounded, and like the belt with which he is always girded. Therefore, the Lord, who suffered for us and carried our sins, is said to have dirty clothes in Zechariah, of which it is written: And Jesus was clothed in dirty clothes (Zach. III, 4): which he later takes off, as the Scripture says: Take away the dirty clothes from him and dress him in clean clothes, and so on. But what follows: "Vittae, sive cidares lineae erunt in capitibus eorum, puto coronam ostendere gratiarum, de qua scriptum est: Coronam enim gratiarum suscipiet tuus vertex (Prov. IV, 9). Nec illud nobis de operto et nudo capite faciet quaestionem, quod Apostolusloquitur: Mulier debet velamen habere super caput, propter angelos. Si enim non velatur mulier, attondeatur. Sin autem, turpe est mulieri tonderi aut radi, operiatur. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man (2 Cor. XI, 10). For if it is the custom for men not to cover the head, it seems to be the opposite, so why do priests now command them to cover their heads or cut their hair? But if we read diligently, the present matters will be resolved from the previous ones. For it is said above: When they serve at the doors of the inner court and within. For if we enter into the holy and stand in the presence of the Lord, we ought to cover our heads: Because not every living thing will be justified in the sight of the Lord (Ps. CXLII, 2). And: From infancy the heart of man is inclined to evil. Finally, we also use our female bodies inwardly so that no defilement of conscience and impurity of matrimonial work appears in the sight of God. The Savior wants his apostles to be girded with these female items, saying: Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning in your hands (Luke 12:35). And the Apostle speaks to believers: Therefore, gird up your loins in truth (Ephesians 6:14). And the imitators of Christ hear that which is written about him: He shall be girded with justice and clothed with truth (Isaiah 11:5). And this very belt, which is holy and has ascended to the pinnacle of virtues, is not bound forcibly: lest he appear unwilling to observe the good of continence and to eat the bread of his face in sweat, but to do the commandment of the Lord willingly. Finally, when he goes out and mingles with the people, he puts off his priestly garments in the treasury, where the riches of the Lord are preserved; and the priests use other garments and another teaching for the common people, so that the people may not be sanctified in their garments. It is a burden for the multitude to undertake beyond their strength, as Solomon says: 'The snare of a man is to consecrate quickly what is his own; for when he has made a vow, repentance steals upon him.' (Prov. XX, 25, LXX) . Finally, the Nazarenes offer themselves willingly, and whoever vows something and does not fulfill it is guilty of the vow. Hence it is said about widows: 'When they have given themselves to wantonness, they want to marry in Christ, having condemnation because they have cast off the first faith.' (I Tim. V, 11, 12) . For it is better not to promise than to promise and not do. Anna offered Samuel, who remained in eternal sanctity (1 Samuel 1). And Manoah offered Samson his son, but the lust of Delilah defiled the sanctification of his hair (Judges 13). Finally, the Lord withdrew from him and he was condemned to blindness, except that later, as his hair grew, he regained his former strength and in the image of Christ, he killed many more of the enemies of Israel in death than he did in life. But the Lord wants his priests to have perpetual holy hair and to cover their heads, not with any external veil, but with their own natural hair, not for adornment and luxury, but for decency. Therefore, the apostles' hair is counted, as the Savior says: But the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30). That head, about which it is written in Ecclesiastes: The wise man's eyes are in his head (Eccl. 2:14). But the head of the man is Christ, whom the sinner tramples upon and despises, and, so to speak, shaves with a razor, and takes away his beauty. Which the sons of Ammon also did to those whom David had sent as ambassadors (2 Samuel 10). But, on the other hand, transgressing the law dishonors God, and therefore, whoever keeps the precepts of the law, honors him, so that what is written may be fulfilled: That all may honor the Son as they honor the Father (John 5:23). Furthermore, what follows is clear: That every priest, when about to enter the inner courtyard, should not drink wine, it is evident that the state of mind is overturned in drunkenness and debauchery, and we do not fully understand when the mind is occupied with the satisfaction of wine. But drunkenness is not only shown in the drinking of wine, but in all things, in which the mind is intoxicated and fluctuates with love and hatred, in contracts and business of the world, and cannot maintain its state. And because we are surrounded by fragile flesh, and we are compelled to do certain things that pertain to the body, such as providing for food and clothing and necessities, which we should not do, at least it is required of us that when we return to ourselves and understand why we were born, and enter the innermost sanctuary of the temple, we withdraw from the vices of the world and do not even commit the slightest sins. Through this, it is shown that we commit minor sins out of necessity of the flesh, and again, there is a time when, entering the inner courtyard, we must be free from all worldliness and external distractions.

(Vers. 22 seqq.) Widows and divorced (or expelled) women will not marry, but only a virgin from the seed of the house of Israel. But they will accept a widow who was married to a priest: and they will teach my people what is holy and what is defiled, and they will show them what is clean and what is unclean. And when there is a dispute (as added in the Septuagint, regarding blood), they will stand in my courts, and they will judge my laws, and they will keep my commandments in all my solemnities. This place contains the instructions of the priests, who, after many things that we have explained above, are commanded not to take widows, divorced women, or expelled women as wives. The widow and the divorced woman are the synagogue, that is, the congregation of the Jews, which did not receive the Lord. Therefore, it is rightly called the expelled woman, or the widow synagogue. The expelled woman also refers to the crowd of heretics who departed from us because they were not of us. But he says, 'I want to present you all as a holy virgin to Christ,' speaking also of the woman from the seed of the house of Israel who was nourished in the house of God, in the law and the prophets, about whom the Apostle also speaks (2 Corinthians 11:2). This is the virgin about whom the divine word speaks elsewhere: Love her, and she will keep you: surround her, and she will exalt you: honor her, so that she may embrace you (Prov. IV, 8). But whoever reads it will know what kind of virgin should be loved and how she should keep her lover: I loved her and sought her from my youth, and I sought to take her as my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty (Wisdom VIII, 2). And again: And the Lord loved her above all. Not only, however, should priests marry virgins, but also widows, who were, nevertheless, the wives of another priest; that is, the knowledge that another worshipper of God has found. For we must not only be satisfied with new doctrine, but also cultivate the old and join it to our company, if she has been educated in sacred worship. It is also the duty of the priest to teach the people what is holy and what is impure, what is clean and what is unclean; so that we may first refer to the doctrines, and then to the works that are accomplished through the flesh. For who understands the sins? And when there is a dispute about any matter, whether as the Seventy have translated it, blood, that is, a crime that pertains to death, the priests shall stand in my judgments, so that they may not judge according to favoritism, nor show partiality to the poor or the rich in judgment, but they shall judge according to the judgments of God, and they shall remember that psalm: God stands in the assembly of gods, but he judges the gods in the midst of them, calling gods those who have the power to judge over men: and whoever judges in that judgment, he shall be judged by them. He said, 'My laws and my precepts shall be observed on all my solemnities, so that they may know how Christ is immolated for us as the Paschal Lamb; how we ought to fulfill the seven weeks of joy and gladness, and to humble our souls in fasting; and to understand the sound of trumpets and the spiritual tabernacles, in which we say: 'I am a stranger and a sojourner as were all my fathers' (Ps. XXXVIII, 13). These are the true solemnities of God, which someone discussing the Pentateuch will interpret in a consistent manner.' The first virtue of a priest is not only to teach what he knows, but also to observe all the festivals of God, so that he can instruct others in what they should observe, which he himself has also observed. Moreover, the duty of the priests is to have knowledge of the law, and in Malachi we learn, who says: The lips of the priest will keep knowledge, and the law they shall seek at his mouth: because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts (Mal. II, 7).

(Verse 25 onwards) And they shall sanctify my Sabbaths, and they shall not go unto a dead person, lest they be defiled (for the Septuagint translated it as, and they shall not go upon the soul of a dead person, lest they be defiled): except for father and mother, he said, and son and daughter, brother and sister who has no husband, they shall be defiled. And after he has been cleansed, seven days shall be numbered for him, and on the day of his entrance into the sanctuary and into the inner courtyard, to minister unto me in the sanctuary, he shall offer a sin-offering unto the Lord God (or he shall offer an atonement). But they will not have an inheritance: I will be their inheritance, and you shall not give them any possession in Israel; I will be their possession. Furthermore, it is commanded to the priests: in which it is to be observed that it does not say absolutely: and they shall sanctify the sabbaths; or according to Isaiah: My soul hates your new moons and sabbaths (Isa. 1:13): but with distinction, my sabbaths. Hence, it is also written in the Gospel: The priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, and they are without guilt (Matt. 12:5): not the Sabbath of God, but the Sabbath of the law, the Sabbath of the Jews, which they rightly violate who are the chosen race, royal, priestly. Furthermore, let us understand the Sabbath, which is sanctified, as the Apostle teaches, to have been left to the people of God, about whom it is said: 'If they shall enter into my rest' (Ps. 94:11), which is called the Sabbath in Hebrew. But God sanctifies the Sabbath, who does not bear the burden of sin on the Sabbath, nor says: 'As the heavy burden, they have been heavily laden upon me' (Ps. 37:5). Whoever is such, does not gather wood on the Sabbath; nor does he build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ with wood, hay, straw (1 Cor. 3); nor does he light a fire that consumes useless material, and he remains in one place on the day of Sabbath; nor does he go outside, but remains like a column placed in the temple of God, as John writes in the Apocalypse: 'He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more' (Rev. 3:12). And what follows: They shall not enter the place where the dead person is, lest they be polluted. It is the proper office of the priesthood not to touch anything connected with death, so that the one who prays for the sins of others may approach the altar in a state of purity. Our Savior also speaks of these dead in the Gospel: Let the dead bury their own dead (Matthew 8:22). They are polluted by their dead father when they abandon their Creator, and by their dead mother when they depart from the Church. Likewise, by their son and daughter, for there is a distinction between thoughts and actions, which is more expressively stated in Greek as τὰ νοητὰ καὶ αἰσθητά. Also, if a brother and sister, who have been born of the same spirit, mistakenly believe that one of them has died, they become contaminated by this belief. However, this only applies if the sister remains a virgin and has not been defiled by any man. From this, we understand the virgin privilege, which is taken away by the touch of any man, thereby removing perfect purity. Whether this is said correctly or incorrectly, we leave it to the judgment of the reader. Furthermore, this is supported by the natural affection in the order of charity, as it is written: 'Set me as a seal upon your heart' (Song of Solomon 2:4). After God, the parent of all things, let the father and mother of the flesh also be loved and respected, as well as the son and daughter, and the brother and sister. However, this only applies if they have not left the household nor come under the authority of another. But after the priest has been purified according to the order of purification that is prescribed in the Mosaic law, let seven days be numbered for him, either the perfect number of penance, or after the consummation of the world, when we pass over to the true ogdoad, so that he may enter the holy of holies (which is the inner courtyard) and minister in the sanctuary and always offer a victim for the sin of conscience: and let there be no time when he does not remember that he has been defiled by his father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister. For indeed we are compelled to do many things in the constraints of this world, either due to the condition of the flesh or the frailty of nature. But whoever is such that he ministers in the sanctuary, and enters the inner court, and offers a perpetual sacrifice to God, so that he may be a true priest, indeed an imitator of him about whom it is written: 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek' (Psalm 110:4), this person will have no inheritance, except God who is his inheritance; nor will he receive possession among the common people of Israel; but rather a priestly one, so that the Lord may say about him: 'I am their inheritance and possession.' When they find him, they will speak and say: I will hold him, and I will not let him go; and they will sing with the prophet: The Lord is my portion (Ps. II, 26).

(Verse 29, 30) They themselves shall eat the victim for sin and for transgression (or for ignorance), and every vow (or separation) in Israel shall be theirs. And the firstborn of all the firstborns, and all the libations from all that are offered, shall be for the priests. And you shall give the firstfruits of your food to the priest, so that he may put a blessing on his house (or put blessings on your houses). For the victim and sacrifice, which in Hebrew is called Manaa (), Aquila and Symmachus interpreted as a gift. Again, for the vow which the Seventy translated as ἀφόρισμα, which means separation, Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted as a dedication, which in Hebrew is called Herem (). And it is to be considered that all that which the Lord now speaks through the prophet, He had already spoken through Moses. And it is to be sought why the same things that were said are repeated: namely, that those things which are in the minds of men, deleted either by negligence in reading or contempt in hearing and forgetting, may be renewed orally, which are not written with pen and ink, but with the Spirit and word of God. And so the Savior left no written volume of his teaching, which in many cases the apocrypha fabricate delusional writings: but he speaks daily to the hearts of believers through the Father and his Spirit. And this will be the response against those who slander the prophets, asking why they repeat what is contained in the Pentateuch in their own writings. Therefore, let the priests eat the victim, both for sin and for transgression, or ignorance, about whom it is written: They will eat the sins of my people (Hosea IV, 8). We must not only rejoice at the offering of gifts, but also fear the condemnation of honor, if we unworthily misuse them. The first things according to the letter are of living beings, and of inanimate things that are first born, and of those that the earth first produces. The first fruits of our food are also offered to the priests, so that we may not taste of new crops unless the priest has tasted first. We do this so that the priest may repon our blessing and offering in his house, or so that the Lord may bless our houses according to his imprecation. The dignity of priests is great, but their downfall is also great if they sin. Let us rejoice in their ascent, but let us fear their descent. It is not as joyful to have reached lofty heights as it is sorrowful to fall from them. For we will not only give an account for our own sins, but also for the sins of all those whose gifts we have abused, and we are not at all concerned for their salvation.

(Verse 31) Every dead body and every animal caught by a beast, whether birds or livestock, the priests shall not eat. And according to the letter, this command applies to every chosen people, the royal and priestly, which properly applies to Christians who are anointed with spiritual oil, as it is written: 'God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions' (Psalm 45:7). These commandments are appropriate so that the priests do not eat any dead bodies, whether from birds or livestock, whose blood has not been properly drained, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as being strangled; and these things must necessarily be observed, as the Epistle of the Apostles from Jerusalem reminds us (Acts 15). And every animal caught by a beast, because it is likewise strangled, condemns those priests who do not refrain from consuming things like thrushes, figpeckers, dormice, and other such things out of the desire of gluttony. But we can say, according to the mystical interpretation, that the dead body represents the soul, and Nabal imitates the foolishness of Carmel, which means foolish. And hearing of David's anger, he trembled with fear, and his heart died within him (1 Samuel 25). But captured by beasts, so as not to be torn apart by their bites, the prophet sighs, saying: Do not deliver the soul of your confessor to beasts (Psalm 73:19). He should be called the one who is devoured by the bites of the lion and the leopard that does not change its spots, and by the she-bear that rages against its stolen cubs, and by the wolves of Arabia, and by the other beasts that we perceive in the diversity of demons. But we say that birds are those that place their mouth in the sky, and those animals that lean forward towards the ground serve only their belly and the things that are under the belly.

(Chapter 45, vers. 1 and following) When you begin to divide the land as an inheritance, set apart for the Lord a portion of the land, twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand cubits in width, which shall be consecrated in all its boundaries. This portion shall be holy and shall be laid out in a square, five hundred by five hundred cubits in size, with fifty cubits of additional land as its outskirts. And you shall measure this measure of length twenty-five thousand, and a width of ten thousand, and in it there shall be a temple (or consecration) and a holy of holies. The consecrated portion of the land shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who approach to minister to the Lord, and there shall be a place for them in the houses, and in the sanctuary of holiness. Twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in width. But the Levites who serve the house: they shall possess twenty storerooms (for which the Seventy translated: they shall hold the city to dwell in). And you shall give a possession of the city of five thousand in width, and twenty-five thousand in length, according to the separation of the sanctuary, to the whole house of Israel. Also, the prince shall have a portion on both sides of the separation of the sanctuary and of the possession of the city, extending from the side of the sea to the sea, and from the side of the east to the east. And the length shall be alongside each of the portions, from the west border to the east border of the land. It shall be a possession for them in Israel. And my people will no longer be oppressed by their leaders. They shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. After the ceremonies of the priests, their worship, and the food they should eat and avoid, he now describes the land of the holy place, and before dividing it among the tribes, he commands a place to be chosen from all the tribes, which should have a length of twenty-five thousand and a width of ten thousand. And because the cubits or feet or arms are not mentioned, it is understood to signify a reed that was in the man's hand, which measured six cubits and a sixth part of one cubit, that is, a παλαιστήν. Let the diligent reader calculate how many paces a thousand reeds make, and how many thousands there were in length and in width. After this description, he again commands that from the consecrated land, which was chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that is, twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand in width, be chosen to build the sanctuary, that is, the temple of the Lord, with another piece of land inside of five hundred reeds in circumference, that is, two thousand. And so that other buildings would not be joined to the building of the temple by chance, he commanded that there be an empty space in the suburb of fifty cubits around it: or as Symmachus and Theodotius and the LXX translated, to a boundary, and separation and space. With this description finished, another measure of complete separation for consecration is commanded, that twenty-five thousand reed lengths in length, and ten thousand in width, be measured on the upper part of the land, in which there should be no temple, that is, a holy place, but a holy and most holy place, and in it the priests who approach the ministry of the Lord shall dwell. But they shall dwell at that time, when they are performing the priestly office, and the possession itself, as we have said, shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and ten thousand in width. Moreover, the Levites who serve the priests and have their own ministries shall receive a place to build twenty treasuries; next to Aquila, exedras; next to Symmachus, chambers; next to Theodotion, gazebos, or as the seventy translated, a city. By which we understand that a certain separate place for the habitation of the Levites, is called by the name of a city, which place is five thousand cubits in breadth, and twenty-five thousand in length. But all these, that is, the sanctuary, and another sanctuary, the holy of holies, and the dwelling places of the priests, and the house of the Levites, who minister to the priests, are called separate and consecrated places for ministry and for the sanctification of the house of Israel. After the fourfold description of the Holy Land, the fifth division is made. The leader or ruler of the people may take possession here and there, that is, on both sides of the sanctuary, and reside in the city. Their possession should face the separate temple area and the face of the city. It should extend from the side of the sea, that is, from the west, to the other side of the sea, having the width that the prophet describes in the subsequent description of each tribe. Finally, it follows: In terms of length, on each side, which each tribe takes, from the Western boundary, that is, the sea, to the Eastern boundary, where it ends, we will learn in the division of the tribes. And this will be the possession of the duke or prince in the land of Israel. Let these things be said for the sake of a simple historical account. But if we wish to compare spiritual things with spiritual, and according to certain interpreters to ascend to higher things, who assert that the figure of future things is present, and that everything that is said pertains to the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of all of us, and to the Church of the early Christians, it will not indeed be difficult to say what has been said by others, but we fear that the wise reader may in no way accept such an exposition. At the present time, everything must be directed towards the Church, which is now working in the world and hastening to go to heaven, so that others may be chosen from the entire world to possess God, those who possess the holy; others, who have made progress in greater things, may hold the holy of holies. Among the ministers, there is also a different order of priests and Levites, some of whom offer sacrifices to God daily through their prayers and virtues; others are in a second and lower rank, to serve them, and through them those who have reached the heights of virtue, and in the end there should be a leader or prince, who should be able to receive a possession against one tribe; and the merit of one should compensate for the merits of many, and first, while he is in the world, he should possess the breadth from sea to sea; then from the West or from the sea to the East, so that, leaving the present, he may hasten to the future and have his own certain possession, and the princes should never desire what belongs to others, and each tribe should hold its own portion: which can properly be referred to bishops and presbyters, to whom it is said, that they should not devastate and depopulate the people of God any further, nor possess the land of Israel as an inheritance, but each one should have his own possession that is appointed for his rank. Twenty-five thousand, however, are referred to the senses, which are four times placed. Furthermore, ten thousand are related to perfect knowledge, so that in the former only a simple history is maintained, while in the latter both theology and discussion of supernatural virtues are included, because ten is a perfect number. It must also be considered that priests, who are in a higher degree, possess twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in width. But the Levites, that is, the inferior order, have the same number in length, that is, twenty-five thousand: but their breadth is limited to a number fivefold. Therefore, only twenty receive the treasuries: in which number the gifts of Esau are offered. However, the true leader among the people, who deserves to be called a leader, receives possession of the sanctuary from both sides: namely, from all those who are subject to his will and from the dwelling of the city, and he receives reward for the well-being of many. In the front temple, which is called the sanctuary, five hundred on each side of the reeds are described; and again, fifty cubits by which the entire possession of the priests is separated. But in the second sanctuary, where the holy of holies is, the width and space of the temple are not described, but the number is uncertain. Indeed, we find this also in the possession of the prince, who has possession in the people of Israel without any number, while the surplus of all flows back to the prince; and the salvation of the disciples is the reward of the teachers.

(Verse 9) Thus says the Lord God: Enough for you, princes of Israel: cease iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice, and separate your borders from my people, says the Lord God. For because of robberies they have brought misery upon the seventy; for because of borders, oppression. And the meaning is this: Since you, O princes, have received your portion, as the Scripture says: To each prince from this side and that side shall be given a portion of the sanctuary's possession within the city; and your power is so great that one tribe's portion shall be given unto you as possession. Therefore, I command and advise you, that you have done enough in committing iniquity and robberies, while invading and plundering the property of others. And because it is written: Depart from evil, and do good; and contrarywise, judge ye and practice justice (Ps. XXXVI, 27), judging the orphan and vindicating the widow: separate your boundaries from my people, lest you transfer the landmarks. And because this very proximity harms the more humble, who cannot withstand the arrogance of the greater and more powerful, it is said through Isaiah: Woe to those who join house to house, and field to field, even to the boundaries of the place. Let this be said for the people of that time. Moreover, this commandment can also be applied to our leaders, who, like the Pharaoh and the Egyptians, oppress the children of Israel by force, and do not remember the scripture: They have set up a governor over you, do not be exalted, but be among them as one of them (Eccl. XXXII, 1). And also what the Lord speaks in the Gospel according to Luke: But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful (Luke XII, 45, 46). He also instructs his disciples in the Gospel according to Matthew with these teachings: 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.' (Matthew 20:25) There are many things that, if one desires to delve into the Sacred Scriptures, the pride of the arrogant is restrained, and all are challenged by the Lord's words, saying: 'Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.' (Matthew 11:29)

(Chapter 45, verses 10 and following) 'A fair balance and a fair ephah and a fair bath shall be for you. The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath may contain a tenth part of a homer, and the ephah a tenth part of a homer: their measure shall be according to the homer. Now a shekel has twenty obols. Furthermore, twenty shekels, and twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels make a mina.' LXX: A just balance, a just measure, and a just dry measure shall you have: the dry measure shall be a choenix, and a choenix shall be the same as a homer. The tenth part of a homer shall be a choenix, and the tenth part of a homer shall be an ephah. A homer shall be equal to twenty obols in weight. Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be a mina for you.» This passage in the LXX does not cohere, and cannot be entirely understood, since not only have they changed the numbers of the measures, but also the names. For they have interpreted pro ephi as a measure, a general term for a specific one, and for bato choenica: for homer also Hebrew, which is called κόρος in Greek, they translated as gomor: and again for bato choenica. Let us therefore speak according to the Hebrew and the letter, and let us explain more clearly what seems to us, individually. The balance, which is called Mozene in Hebrew (), is understood as those which are attached. The ephah, which is corruptly called Ἔφι in the Greek language, pertains to the measure of various grains, for example, wheat, barley, legumes. Furthermore, a batus, which in Hebrew is called Bath, is the same measure as the ephi, and is used only for liquids, such as wine and oil, and the like. It holds thirty modios, both in the dry and liquid measure. The tenth part of a cor in those things which are measured by the modius is called epha, that is, three modii; and the tenth part of a cor in liquid measures is called Batus or Vadus, so that epha and batus are of the same measure. Furthermore, the coin called στατὴρ in Greek has twenty obols. But the weight called mna has sixty siclos, which makes twelve hundred obols. However, it should not confuse the reader that there are twenty siclos, twenty-five siclos, and fifteen siclos in a mina. For the difficulty lies in the numbers, to focus the attention of the listener. Hence, many things are said in parables and riddles, so that those who have ears to hear may hear. And all prophecy contains truth in obscurity, so that the disciples may hear from within: the common and lowly people, positioned outside, may not know what is said. Therefore, divine Scripture commands that the weights be just, saying: You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large one and a small one: a true and just balance shall be yours, and a true and just measure shall be yours (Leviticus 19:36). And in Proverbs it is said: Both a large and a small weight are an abomination in the sight of God (Proverbs 11:1). Indeed, this should be observed not only in commerce and in the use of everyday life, but in all things justice must be preserved, as the Scripture says: 'You shall make a balance and weights for your words' (Eccl. 28:23), so that in both words and deeds and thoughts, we may do everything with proper measure and reason. However, we read in another place that 'to him who is faithful, the whole world of riches belongs', and for him who is unfaithful, not even an obolus remains (Prov. 17:6 LXX). In other words, he said: The unbeliever possesses nothing in the world: but even the smallest portion is needed. Regarding this, in other words, it is said in the Gospel: He shall not depart from there until he pays the last farthing (Matt. 5:26), that is, even the last and least coin. We read of ten minas given to each servant to trade with (Luke 19); and in another parable, talents divided among servants; and a debtor of five hundred denarii, and fifty (Matt. 25); and the vineyard workers who each receive a denarius (Luke 7); and the widow who had lost a drachma and found it only by lighting a lamp (Matt. 20, Luke 15). To discuss all of these things and their meaning is not of this time.

And these are the firstfruits that you shall offer: one-sixth of an ephah of wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah of barley. The measure of oil: a bath of oil is one-tenth of a cor; and ten baths make one cor, for ten baths fill a cor. And these are the firstfruits that you shall separate: one-sixth of a measure of wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah of barley, and a prescribed measure of oil, a cotyle, which is a tenth of a cor; and ten cotyles make one measure, for ten cotyles are a cor. And here, in the 70th edition, all the names of the measurements were changed and confused, so that it is not possible to understand what is being said. For those who had previously called the measure "ephi" and the measure "bato," they now call them "choenica" and "gomor" for the measure "coro." And for the measure "siclo" they now call it "appendiculum," and here they put the measure "ephi" for the measure "coro," now called "gomor," and sometimes even "corum." And in the measurement of oil, instead of "bato," they use the term "κοτύλην," that is, "cyathum." Therefore, let us first say, according to the letter, that the "δεκάδα" (or "δεκάδας"), that is, the tenth part of all fruits, was to be given to the people of Leviticus according to the law. Again, from the tithes themselves, the Levites, that is, the lower order of ministers, gave tithes to the priests, and this is what is called the second tithe. There were also other tithes, which each person from the people of Israel set aside in their own barns to eat when they went to the temple in the city of Jerusalem, and in the vestibule of the temple, and the priests and Levites were invited to feasts. There were also other tithes, which were given to the poor, and these are called the poor tithe in Greek. But the first fruits that they offered from the crops were not defined by a specific number, but left to the discretion of the offerers. And we have received a tradition from the Hebrews, not commanded by law but established by the decision of the teachers: the one who had a lot gave a fortieth part to the priests, the one who had little gave a sixtieth part. Between the fortieth and the sixtieth part, they were allowed to offer whatever they wanted. Therefore, what was left doubtful in the Pentateuch is specifically defined here because of the greed of the priests, so that they do not demand more from the people in the offering of the first fruits, that is, that they offer a sixtieth part of what is produced from the land. For if a kor, which in Hebrew is called a homer, and is called a gomor by the Septuagint, holds thirty modii, both in dry and liquid commodities; and if an ephah and bath, as we have said before, is the tenth part of a kor, it is commanded that the sixth part of an ephah and bath be given to the priests in the offering of first-fruits, which is half a modius out of three, and it is clearly computed that the priests ought to receive the sixtieth part of the first-fruits. Let this be enough for now, to understand and hear the literal and Hebrew truth. Now let us turn to spiritual understanding, in which we must first seek to discern: Honor the Lord with your righteous labors, and give Him the fruits of your righteousness, so that your storehouses may be filled with grain, and your vats may overflow with wine (Prov. III, 9); so that after you have offered the firstfruits of your labors and virtues, and have said: Behold, I have brought you the firstfruits of the fruits of the land that you have given me, O Lord; may you deserve to hear: Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field; blessed are the fruit of your womb, and the produce of your land, and the offspring of your livestock (Deut. XXVIII, 3), and the rest, and may you possess, according to the Apostle (Ephes. I), every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: for whatever you have, do not consider it to be of your own virtue, but of His mercy, who gave the fruits. And if indeed we have such knowledge of the Scriptures, that we may unfold and teach mystical things, and instruct men, that is, rational animals, we offer the first fruits of our grain. But if after the anagoge, we follow only the pure history, which can nourish the simple, according to what is written: You will save men and animals, Lord (Ps. 35:7), we offer the first fruits of our barley, which Isaac sowed, but in a foreign land, and it brought him a hundredfold (Gen. 26). He who gives firstfruits of barley can say: The Lord feeds me, and nothing shall I lack, in a place of pasture He has placed me: He has led me up on the waters of refreshment (Ps. 23:1-2). But he who feeds rational beings turns the sentiment, and says: You have prepared in my sight a table against those who trouble me. And after he has offered firstfruits of oil and wine, he joins in and speaks: You have fattened my head with oil, and your chalice which inebriates, how brilliant it is, that oil which is most pure without sediment, is prepared for the lamp of the Lord. The one who prepares this, his face will be exhilarated with oil; with the oil of exultation, with which Christ is anointed before His companions; and he will be like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God (Psalm 51:10). And with that wine which flows abundantly from the true vine in the winepresses of the Savior, as the Lord says: I am the vine, and you are the branches, my Father is the vinedresser (John 15:5). Concerning these winepresses, we read three psalms, the eighth, the eightieth, and the eighty-third, which all refer to the sacraments of the Church. And indeed, in the old law, there were no measures and no fixed number: for God did not give the spirit in measure. However, in the second building of the temple that is contained in the prophecy of Ezekiel, there is a definite measure, that is, the number sixty, by which the world is completed, as it is said to us: 'With the measure you measure, it will be measured to you' (Matt. VII, 2).

(Verse 15 and following) And one ram from the flock of two hundred, from those that nourish Israel, for a sacrifice, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, says the Lord God. The whole population of the land shall be held accountable for these first fruits to the prince in Israel. And the prince shall have burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drink offerings for the festivals, and for the new moons, and for the Sabbaths, and for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He himself will make a sacrifice for sin, and a burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel. As mentioned above, a certain portion of those things that are offered, both dry and liquid measures, should be offered to the prince. Now he holds the same order of firstfruits in regard to animals: that one of the flock of two hundred rams should be commanded to be offered, which nourishes Israel, as a sacrifice and burnt offering, and peace offering, to make atonement for the people of Israel, says the Lord God. What we have interpreted, regarding what nourishes Israel, is written in Hebrew as Memmasce(), which Aquila and Symmachus interpret as 'from the waters', and the Septuagint and Theodotion interpret as 'from the reservoirs'. The former refers to irrigation, while the latter refers to canals or pools, indicating that the firstfruits of the prince should only be nourished in irrigation systems. And just as we read in previous passages that a sixtieth part should be offered to the prince from what is attached and subject to measurement, now a two-hundredth part of animals is commanded to be offered. And by such commands of the law, the entire people are subject to offering to the leader or prince, so that through him, burnt offerings, sacrifices, and libations may be offered for the people and the house of God may be exonerated. From which it must be noted that just as the people owe the offering of first fruits to the ruler, so the ruler owes the offering of victims to the people, whom, according to the trope, we can understand to be none other than the Lord Savior. It is he who receives a ram for the two hundred animals, or as the Hebrew word more significantly indicates, the sustenance that can be referred not specifically to the ram but to all animals, and he receives the animal or ram that has been nourished in fertile places, namely the holy Scriptures, and he can say, 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he has set me in a place of pasture, he has nourished me by the waters of refreshment' (Psalm 22:1-2). These were the irrigated, or rather, these were the canals, to which Jacob led his livestock, so that they could drink and conceive in them, and according to the color of the rods, they would produce offspring for the Lord (Gen. 30). As for sacrifice, that is θυσία in Greek, Aquila and Symmachus interpret it as gift: which in Hebrew is called Manaa (), and properly does not pertain to the offering, but to those things which are offered in sacrifice, such as flour, porridge, and oil. But a Holocaust is what is entirely offered to God and is consumed by sacred fire. Pacifica, when we are reconciled to God; and the Apostle speaks for us: We beseech you in Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). And in another place: God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself (ibid., 19). Now this ruler, to whom the first fruits are offered, is also a king: as is demonstrated on the title of the cross with Hebrew, Greek, and Latin letters. And when the Jews insisted that the triumphal title be removed, the crowd of the Gentiles responded to Pilate: What I have written, I have written (John 19:22). Under the prince, he says, they will be. The dignity of the priesthood should be bestowed beautifully, to which it is subject; so that it knows that it must offer sacrifices and libations that are offered from wine ((or smoke)) for the people in all solemnities: both on the kalends, that is, the first day of the month, and on the sabbaths: when darkness covers everything, the beginning of the lunar light is: and on the rest of the sabbaths: so that it may indeed make atonement for sin, to cleanse the house of Israel, which is the Church of the living God, a pillar and foundation of truth. For this is the house of the living God, and the house of Israel, which is in need of the expiation of its sins.

(Verse 18 and following) Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish, and you shall purify the sanctuary. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gate of the inner court. So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned inadvertently and been deceived by error, and you shall make atonement for the house. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, there shall be a solemn feast for you: for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. And on that day the prince shall make a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land, a young bull. And during the seven-day feast he shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord: seven young bulls and seven spotless rams each day for seven days, and a male goat for a sin offering each day. And for each young bull he shall offer a hin of oil, and for each ram he shall offer a hin of oil, and for each male goat he shall offer a measurement of oil. In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, during the feast, he shall perform as mentioned above for seven days: both for sin and for burnt offering, and in sacrifice and in oil. I have included the entire passage so as not to disturb the reader's mind by dividing it into individual parts. And first, we must speak of the variety of interpretations. Where we have interpreted, at the four corners of the altar's base. The Septuagint translated it as on the four corners of the temple and on the altar. And where we said 'for each and every one who is ignorant and deceived by error,' they put 'for the ignorant and for the little one.' In that same place where we said 'the offering of an ephah for a calf and an ephah for a ram,' and 'a hin of oil for each ephah,' their edition holds 'the offering and cooking of a calf and the cooking of a ram you shall give, and the cooking of oil.' And in the final verse where we said 'in the sacrifice and in the oil,' they said 'as in the manna, as in the oil.' In the first month and on the first day of the month (no doubt, Nisan signifies) you shall take a calf from the cattle: not one that is raised in the house, but one that is from the cattle, that is, from the flock and a larger number. On the seventh day of the same month: these two solemnities, that is, the first day of the first month, and the seventh of the same, are not found in the Mosaic law. But the fourteenth day of the month, on which the Passover is celebrated, and Moses commanded to be observed, when we eat unleavened bread for seven days. But the fourth solemnity, of which he says: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, in the solemnity (Exod. XII), and the rest, seems to me to signify the scenopegia, which he has placed here without a name. So let us run through each [topic] and briefly discuss what seems to us [to be relevant]. There are spiritual celebrations, and the Apostle teaches: Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come (Colossians 2:16). And thus God speaks through Isaiah: I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates (Isaiah 1:13). It is clear that whoever despises the Jewish feasts loves his own, namely the Sabbath that was left to the people of God. Let us see what has been given to us by God, and let us speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom, but in the teaching of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. In the present age, which is under the power of the evil one, we cannot see good days, but in the new age: of which days the Holy Spirit sings in the Mosaic song: Remember the days of old: understand the years of generations upon generations (Deut. XXXII, 7). Of which (things) even the Holy One spoke in the psalm: In the night my heart meditated (Ps. LXXVI, 7). And again: And I have kept eternal years in my mind, and have meditated (Ibid., 6). Whoever does not understand this, let him answer how he can explain what Isaiah prophesies about the future and the new age: There shall be a month from month to month, and a Sabbath from Sabbath, and all flesh shall come to worship the Lord (Isa. LXVI, 23): when true worshippers shall not worship on Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem, but in spirit and truth (John. IV); when there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and all creation shall be freed from the bondage of corruption, unto the liberty of the sons of God, and the sun shall receive light seven times brighter, and the moon shall be compared to the sun (Rom. VIII, Isa. LXV). For we have come to Mount Zion, which is interpreted as the lookout, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the thousands of angels in festive gathering. Concerning this feast, another prophet speaks: What will you do on the days of the assembly and on the days of the Lord's solemnity? (Hosea 9:5). This is what is also said elsewhere: Celebrate, O Judah, your festivities; fulfill your vows (Numbers 1:15). Therefore, if we have learned spiritual solemnities, we will subsequently be taught spiritual sacrifices. A calf is taken from the herd, or a bull, as Symmachus interpreted, free and not burdened by any yoke, that is, the burden of sins, and spotless: who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, a young calf, carrying horns and hooves: so that in him the sanctuary may be cleansed and atoned. And the priest will take, he says, from his blood which will be for the sin of all: who is called in other words the lamb in Exodus, and in the Gospel, John the Baptist saying: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). But the blood itself is precious, in which we are redeemed in the passion of the Lord and Savior; in whose flesh we are nourished, and in whose blood we are made to drink; by which the four corners of the altar of the Temple, which Theodotius placed, the Hebrew word itself, Azara (), or the Temple, as the LXX translated it, are touched, so that the house and the altar may be sanctified. For all the elements of the world are sanctified by this blood, so that when someone has been purified and cleansed, they may enter the gate of the inner court and be able to know the secrets of the Lord and subsequently come to the seventh day of the first month, and attain rest, and offer a sacrifice to the Lord for both ignorance, of which David speaks: The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember (Ps. 24:7), and for the child who, when he reaches the measure of a perfect man, will destroy those things which are childish and speak with confidence: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child (2 Cor. 13:11). Whether it is for the one who has been deceived by error, and not so much by will, as by the opinion of good, he has sinned. But when the two solemnities of the first month are completed, that is, the first day and its seventh, he comes to the fourteenth day of the month, in which the solemnity of Easter is: of which it is written: For Christ our Pasch is sacrificed (I Cor. V, 7). Then we eat unleavened bread for seven days in rest and security of all things, when we eat the bread of sincerity and truth, destroying the leaven of malice and wickedness, our prince offering all these things for us, and first for himself. For he assumed the human body and, through sin, destroyed sin; he who suffers for us and bears our weaknesses. Then, for his own house, as is written in the Septuagint, but not in the Hebrew, that is, for the Church, and for all the people of the earth, that is, for the entire human race. For the Savior is the Savior of all men, especially of the faithful, and he is the one who offers forgiveness for our sins; and not only for ours but for the whole world. But a calf is offered for the whole people of the earth, and for the seven remaining days of the Lord's Passion, seven calves and seven unblemished rams are offered daily, so that they may be consumed as a burnt offering and in the Lord's fire. And there are seven calves and seven rams, which symbolize the Lord's Passion, so that they may imitate the true calf and the true ram, and the blood of the martyrs may purify the sins of the whole world for seven days. And a goat of the goats is also offered for sin daily, specifically for seven days. And it must be observed more diligently that in the sacrifice of the calf, and the ram, and the hin of oil, the offerings which are commanded by the Law are made. But in the offering of the goat, neither the hin nor the preparation (as the Septuagint has rendered it) is mentioned, which they have interpreted as referring to the hin, that is, to the preparation. But the hin of oil, which is a fixed measure, as we have already said, is used in the sacrifice of the calf and the ram, so that we may be able to receive the nourishment of eternal light, and the rest from labor, and the health from weariness, after the propitiation of sins. In the seventh month also, on the fifteenth day of the month, that is, the Feast of Tabernacles, the same order of offerings and sacrifices is to be observed, both for sin and burnt offerings, and in the sacrifice, and in the oil, so that we may obtain the Lord's festival, the darkness being banished and the light of the oil rising: and that we may have brighter solemnities, in which all sins are forgiven.

(Chapter 46—Verses 1 onwards). Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east will be closed for six days, during which work is being done; but on the Sabbath day it will be opened, and also on the day of the new moon it will be opened. And the prince shall enter through the vestibule of the outer gate, and shall stand at the threshold of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then leave. But the gate shall not be closed until evening. And the people of the land shall worship at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the new moons before the Lord. The prince shall offer on the Sabbaths, as a burnt offering to the Lord, six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram, and a grain offering of an ephah for the ram. And for the lambs, whatever his hand gives as a sacrifice, and a hin of oil for each ephah. On the new moons, he shall offer an unblemished bull from the herd, and six lambs and rams shall be unblemished. And one ephah for a young bull, and one ephah for a ram shall he make a sacrifice: and with every ephah there shall be a hin of oil. Where we have translated ephah, which is a tenth part of an ephah, they have rendered it πέμμα, which in our language means a measure of volume. And where we have said sacrifice, they have used the Hebrew word Manaa, which Aquila translated as gift or sacrifice, and Theodotion translated as sacrifice. And meanwhile, before we discuss what these things mean, the very words of Scripture must be explained paraphrastically. 'The gate,' it says, 'of the inner court shall be closed for six days, as it is written: Six days you shall work and do all your works (Exod. XXIII, 12); and it shall not be any gate, but the one facing the East, where the sun of justice rises. Moreover, on the Sabbath day, that is, on the seventh day, which is a day of rest, it shall be opened each week, and again, when thirty days are complete, which is the end of one month and the beginning of another, that is, on the day of the calends, it shall be opened, so that what the seventh day has as a privilege in the week, the beginning of the month may have as a privilege as well.' But why it is opened on the seventh day, and on the first day of the month, the inner gate of the atrium facing the East will be explained in the following discourse. And the prince will enter, he says, through the path of the outer gate of the atrium: and he will stand at the threshold of the inner gate of the atrium, which faces the East: and he will not enter the inner atrium, but while he is standing there, other priests will make a burnt offering for him, which offering Symmachus interpreted as a holocaust: and peace offerings, or those pertaining to salvation, so that after the offering of the prince has been consumed by the holy fire, and the leader has been reconciled with God, then he may be able to worship on the threshold of the inner gate of the atrium where he stood, and he may exit. What then? Will the gate be immediately closed after the departure of the prince? By no means, but it will be open until evening, so that after the prince, all the people of the land may worship in front of that gate; they shall worship on the Sabbaths and the first days of the month when the gate is opened. And because he had said before: 'The priests shall make his burnt offering and his peace offerings,' and he had not indicated the number of burnt offerings, now he adds: 'On the Sabbaths, the prince shall offer this burnt offering to the Lord.' However, it is offered not by itself, but by the priests, of whom it is written: 'And the priests shall offer its burnt offering and its peace offerings: six flawless male lambs, and one flawless ram; and the sacrifice of the ram shall be measured by an ephah, which in Hebrew is called an Epha (). And the sacrifice that his hands who offer it are able to offer shall be six lambs; and for each ephah, the measure of oil shall be a hin, which is called in Hebrew a hin. But on the first day of the month, which is the day of the new moon, it shall have a greater privilege than the Sabbath, and a calf shall be offered from the herd, or a flawless bull.' The rest, that is, six spotless lambs and one spotless ram, and their sacrifices, shall possess the ritual of the Sabbath: only in this way, that just as in the ram the same amount of flour and oil is offered as a sacrifice, so it should be offered in the calf. These things are stated for the sake of clarity: now, with the Lord's gift, let us unlock the spiritual meaning. But when we have come to the seventh day, that is, the Sabbath, on which eternal rest is, or to the day of the Kalends, when after a blind night and horrible darkness, the beginning of light is, the Eastern gate is opened to us: and if any of us, by the merits of virtues, shall have attained to the name and dignity of leader by the way of the porch of the outer gate, that is, by the labours of this world: and shall enter the gate of the Church, which is as yet placed in earthly boundaries: it shall enter not the inner court, for this is written in the present place; but it shall stand at the threshold of the inner gate, and abide in it. But if the prince does not enter the inner atrium in the present Scripture, but stands at its threshold, there is no doubt that now we see and know in part; and not yet revealed, we contemplate the glory of the Lord. Finally, with the prince standing at the threshold of the gate of the inner atrium, the other priests, to whom this duty is delegated (whom we can understand as angelic virtues), will make a burnt offering and peace offerings on behalf of him. For we are born of the mercy of God, and every creature is unclean in comparison to the Creator, and must be cleansed by divine fire, as the lips of the prophet Isaiah were cleansed, so that after receiving peace through sacrifice, he may then stand at the threshold and worship the almighty God, and acknowledge his unworthiness to enter the inner court, and immediately enter. After the first person has exited, the inner gate of the court will not be closed until evening of this age, but will remain open so that the people of the earth may come to the door and worship him. Not at all times, but when they have rested from sins and the darkness of faith has been dispelled, and they have received the light of knowledge. But this very burnt offering that the prince offers through the priests on the Sabbath day is concluded with six unblemished lambs; namely, for the six days in which we work in the world, and a flawless ram, which is the leader of the flock; so that through each ram it may be offered in sacrifice an ephah, that is, a tenth part of a measure. In the sacrifice of the six lambs, a certain measure is not specified: but whatever amount the hand of the one offering has given, that is, according to the quality and measure of the works (Matthew 25). But he shall offer a hin of oil for each ephah, that is, the oil which the five virgins prepared for themselves, so that he may anoint the flour or mix it, and every offering of God may be full of the light of truth and the face of the one offering the oil may be brightened. But on the day of the kalends, that is, the thirtieth day, when the firstborn and the Levites are numbered in the Law, apart from all of Israel, of whom we have spoken above, an unblemished calf from the herd is offered, about which we discussed more fully in the previous chapter, and six lambs, and unblemished rams, and whatever is offered on the Sabbaths, so that we may attain eternal rest and deserve to hear: 'Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a few things, I will set you over many, enter into the rest of your Lord' (Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:17); and not only arrive at the gate of the inner courtyard, but also be able to enter its innermost parts, and possess it by work: 'Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God' (Psalm 92:14).

(Verse 8 and following) When the prince enters, he shall enter through the gateway vestibule and exit through the same way. And when the people of the land enter in the presence of the Lord on the appointed festivals, the one who enters through the north gate to worship shall exit through the south gate, and the one who enters through the south gate shall exit through the north gate. They shall not return through the gate they entered, but rather shall exit opposite it. But the prince, in their midst, will enter when they enter, and will exit when they exit. And on market days and festivals there will be a sacrifice of one ephah of flour with a bull, and one ephah of flour with a ram. But the sacrifice of the lamb will be according to what his hand finds, and a hin of oil for each ephah. That prince, of whom it was said above, 'And the prince will enter through the way of the outer gate, and through the same gate he will enter and exit' (John 10), has free will and the power to lay down his life and take it up again. And when he comes to us or ascends to the heavens, he exercises the same authority of his majesty. Finally, he does not seek markets, nor solemnities, nor does he observe any difference in days: because every time is a celebration for him. But the people only enter and exit the markets and solemnities: and not through the same path, but through one and then another. For it is written: And when the people of the land enter before the Lord in solemnities: let the one who entered through the North gate to worship, exit through the way of the South gate, and let the one who entered through the South gate, exit through the way of the North gate: he shall not return through the gate by which he entered, but he shall exit opposite to it. This is not only commanded to those who depart from Sodom, and it is said to them: Do not look back (Gen. XIX, 17); nor to those who put their hand to the plow, so that they do not look at the things that are behind them: but even to those who are established in the house of the Lord, they are commanded not to look back and turn to the needy and weak elements, and being initiated in the spirit, to be consumed (or consumed) by the flesh ((Al. consumed)): but to proceed also from spiritual things to greater things, and to say with the Apostle: Forgetting the past, and extending myself towards the things that are before (Phil. III, 13): so that they may not know in part and prophesy in part, but may come to perfection according to the perfection that human nature can achieve, so that we understand that Gospel saying: So you also, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty' (Luke XVII, 10). And the Apostle in the same Epistle speaks of two perfections: for he writes as if he were imperfect: Not as though I have already attained, or were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13). And immediately he speaks as if he were perfect: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us understand this: however many of us are perfect, let us know this. For how can the statement stand, that the one who said, 'Not because I have already received, or because I am already perfect,' dare to say, 'However many of us are perfect, let us know this?' From this it is clear that every person and the whole creation, although they have come to perfection, still need the mercy of God and possess full perfection through grace, not through merit. Therefore, it is commanded to the people of the land, that if someone enters through the gate of the North to worship, they should exit through the way of the gate of the South. Who is this people to whom this is commanded? It is surely the pagans; those who, leaving the gate of the North, from where evils flare up upon the earth, have entered the temple, should not exit except through the way of the gate of the South, to the gate of light, to the gate of heat, to the gate where the bridegroom lies at noon (Jer. I). Finally, it is said in the same Song of Songs: Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind (Song of Solomon IV, 16). But whoever enters through the south gate should exit through the north gate. Who is this people? It is the Jews, who, abandoning the gate of the way of light, go to the north gate, of whom it is said: The north wind, a very strong wind (Jeremiah I). For even the pot of Jeremiah is lit from the face of the north. Let us also say this: Through the north gate enters the one who forgives sins, and through the south gate exits the one who follows virtues. And on the contrary, if the righteous person falls into sin, he enters indeed through the southern gate, but he exits through the way of the northern gate. And the Prince, he says, will be in their midst, namely, of those who enter and those who exit, according to what is written: He stands in the midst of you, whom you do not know (John 1:26). And the Apostle says: Do you not know that Christ is in you (2 Corinthians 13:5)? But if it is said to those who do not know that Christ stands in their midst, how much more to those who know! But while Christ stood among the knowledgeable, then the dead body will become because of sin, and the living spirit because of righteousness. Indeed, the prince enters with those who enter, and exits with those who exit, witnessing the power and sin of both. Therefore, at the fairs and solemnities, namely the Sabbaths, Kalends, and all the festivals we have spoken about before, both a calf and a ram will be offered as sacrifices, each measuring an ephah. But in the offerings, there will not be a fixed number, nor a diminished will; but with strength, each person will offer according to their ability and with a clear conscience: offering as much as they can, not as much as they want, and above all, a hin of oil for each ephah of flour, so that it may be used for anointing and a lamp may be lit in the presence of the Lord. And those who use it may say: But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of the Lord (Ps. 51:10).

(Verse 12 and following) When the prince offers a voluntary burnt offering or a voluntary peace offering to the Lord, the gate facing east shall be opened for him, and he shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offering as is customary on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate shall be closed. He shall also offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord every day. He shall offer it in the morning and in the evening. And he shall offer as a grain offering a sixth of an ephah of grain and a third of a hin of olive oil, mixed with the grain offering. This is a perpetual ordinance to the Lord. You will make a lamb and a sacrifice, and oil every morning, a perpetual burnt offering. Where we read immaculate, in Hebrew it is written Thamim (), which the Aquila perfectum. And where LXX Manaa (): Theodotion, sacrifice; Aquila and Symmachus, they translate as gift. But for what we said, spontaneous, LXX translated as ὁμολογίαν, that is, confession: and for prince, they translate as leader, for this Nasi () signifies. Moreover, there is still talk of a prince, about whom Isaiah speaks: Behold, I have given him as a witness to the nations, a prince and a teacher among the nations (Isaiah 55:4). And Ezekiel says: And I, the Lord, will be their God, and David will be their prince among them (Ezekiel 34:24). Therefore, when this prince acts willingly and says: May the voluntary and spontaneous offerings of my mouth be pleasing to you, Lord (Psalm 119:108): the voluntary burnt offering, which means offering oneself entirely to God, and the peaceful voluntary offerings, which are not mentioned earlier; for it is written: And the priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings: and concerning the voluntary and spontaneous offerings, which are now mentioned, it is completely silent, so that they are not done out of necessity, but out of free will: after the burnt offering, he shall offer the peaceful offerings and reconcile with God. Whereas virginity is greater than marriage (I Cor. VII), because it is not demanded, nor is it returned, but it is offered. The propitiatory offerings, which are called Selamim in Hebrew, are interpreted as salvific by the LXX: so too the reconciliation of the peace offerings is the salvation of the one offering them. Therefore, when the prince has done this, the gate will be opened to him; or according to the Septuagint, the gate that faces the East will be opened for him; that is, that gate about which it is written: 'This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it' (Ps. CXVII, 20), and from where the sun of justice arises. And he will make his burnt offering, and his peace offerings: of which we have now spoken. He shall do it alone, because it is his spontaneous sacrifice, and the priests shall not offer these things for him, nor shall they mix the sacrifices with the people. And at any time the burnt offering or the peace offering, which is offered voluntarily, has the gate of the Lord reserved: neither shall he observe the sabbath, but all days shall be to him as a day of rest. Finally, after he has offered the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he shall immediately go out, and the door shall be closed after him, or the door shall be closed: so that his privilege as prince may be preserved, and his sacrifices may not be mixed with the people. And because he had said in general, a voluntary holocaust, or a peaceful voluntary offering to the Lord, and had not added a bull or a calf, and a ram or a sheep, and a male goat for sin, he teaches what the holocaust itself should be: saying, 'You shall make a yearling immaculate lamb a holocaust; and not on certain days, but daily, and not at any hour, but in the morning, morning he shall make it; particularly every morning, when the sun rises and the beginning of light appears.' About whom David speaks in the psalm: In the morning, you will hear my voice; in the morning, I will stand before you and see (Ps. 5:4). And in another place: Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (Ps. 30:6). And again: O God, you are my God; early will I seek you (Ps. 63:1). But as for that spotless lamb, or perfect and year-old lamb, Isaiah explains more fully, saying: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Isa. 53:7). And Jeremiah: But I was like an innocent lamb led to the slaughter; I did not know (Jer. XI, 19). And John the Baptist: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John I, 29). This is the lamb that was sacrificed in Egypt, whose blood the doorposts of faith are marked with, and the destroyer is excluded (Exod. XII). And the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of retribution. And the reader should not be surprised if he is also called prince, and priest, and calf, and ram, and lamb, since in the Holy Scriptures we read of him as Lord, and God, and man, and prophet, and staff, and root, and flower, and prince, and judge, and king, righteous, and justice, apostle, and bishop, arm, servant, ointment, shepherd, son, and child, only-begotten, and first-born, door, way, angel, arrow, wisdom, and many others, all of which, if I were to want to recount the testimonies, would require their own book. Therefore, the high priest himself will perform the sacrifice of that immaculate and yearling lamb in the holocaust, which is offered every morning. This sacrifice is called the Manaa, and it consists of a sixth part of an ephah of fine flour. A sixth part of an ephah is half a modius. For if an ephah is a tenth part of a cor, which is three modii, then undoubtedly a sixth part of an ephah makes half a modius. Of oil, a third part of a hin is offered, in order to mix it with or sprinkle it upon the sacrifice of fine flour, which is a legitimate, perpetual offering to God that is never interrupted. It is offered at all times, from the rising of the sun, so that what is written at the end of this chapter may be fulfilled: 'He shall offer a lamb for a sacrifice and oil every morning, a perpetual holocaust.'

(Verse 16, 17 and following) Thus says the Lord God: If a prince (or leader) gives a gift to someone from his own sons, it shall be the inheritance of his sons; they shall possess it as an inheritance. But if he gives a legacy from his own inheritance to one of his servants, it shall belong to him until the year of release (for which Theodotius put the Hebrew word 'Deror'), but it shall return to the prince; however, the inheritance shall belong to his son. And the prince shall not take the inheritance of the people by violence, and from their possession: but out of his own possession he shall give an inheritance to his sons: that my people may not be scattered each one from his possession. Thus far the discourse is concerning the prince, now precepts are given concerning his heirs: indeed concerning gifts, inheritance, and legacies, to whom he ought to give them, and whose possession is either for a time, or eternal. If, says he, he shall give a gift or inheritance to his sons, they shall possess it: because it is due to them by the right of succession, and possession cannot pass from one to another. But if he has given any of his servants as a legatee, he shall possess them as long as the remission year, which is called the Year of Release (), or the jubilee, which is the fiftieth year, comes: when all sales and gifts revert to the previous owners: so that the servant has the use for a time, and the ownership of the possession of the prince's sons. But what follows: And the prince shall not take from the inheritance of the people by violence (Lev. XXIII), or as the Septuagint has translated, to oppress them, or as Aquila and Symmachus, to afflict and distress them: but he shall give his inheritance to his sons from his own possession: this rebukes not only the priests and princes of that time, but also our own, who become richer by the dignity of the priesthood and, besides what is owed to them by the Lord's disposition, take away from the poor by violence: or under the name of honor, strip the wealthy, so that they also leave nothing to their own sons, to whom paternal inheritance is due, except what has been left to them by their parents. Therefore, whoever is a wealthier priest, when he comes to the priesthood, should not give whatever excess he has to his children, but to the poor, and to holy brothers, and to the faithful domestic servants, who surpass the merits of children, so that he may render to the Lord what belongs to the Lord, who speaks in the Gospel: Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me (Matt. 25:40). For he is received as a guest in the poor; he is visited in prison; he is clothed in nakedness; he drinks when thirsty; he is satiated when hungry. So that my people, he says, may not be scattered from their possession. For if the ruler has the power, either to receive or to take by force, or to hold under the pretext of honor, that which does not belong to him, and to leave it to his children, the people who were gathered in the name of God will be scattered and torn apart: either according to the Law, so that the inheritance of one gradually passes to another, and the cord of division perishes, through which perhaps the inheritance comes to each individual. Therefore, he disperses the people of God and takes away from them the eternal possession of faith, who abandons the gifts or goods of others, either through theft, robbery, flattery, seduction, or under the pretext of religion, to his own children, brothers, and relatives.