Jerome

(Verse 14 and following) You have cursed his scepters, the heads of his warriors, who come like a whirlwind to scatter me. Their rejoicing is like that of someone who devours the poor in secret. You have made a path in the sea for your horses, in the mud of many waters. I heard, and my stomach trembled; at the sound my lips quivered. Let decay enter my bones, and let it rage beneath me: so that I may rest on the day of my tribulation, so that I may rise up against our encircled people. And now we are discussing only the Hebrew (as Alexander has proposed), so let us discuss separately the edition of the Septuagint, for it differs greatly from all other translations: 'You have cursed the scepters,' that is, the kingdoms of the wicked; no doubt, the impious one of whom he had spoken above: 'You have struck the head from the house of the wicked; you have laid bare the foundation to the neck.' And by the wicked one, we understand either Nebuchadnezzar or any adversary of the people of God. And not only his scepter, but also the heads of the warriors whom you had struck, they came like a whirlwind to scatter me, that is, to overthrow Israel and lead it captive in different directions. Thus they rejoiced, devouring the poor and subduing Israel, as if they were doing it in secret, and they would devour us, while you were unaware. Therefore, you came to battle for your people, and by releasing your chariots into the waters, that is, among many nations, you made a way for them in the mud of many waters, that is, to trample them down, as if they were the mud of your horses' hooves and the wheels of your chariots. But as it follows: I have heard, and my stomach is troubled: at the sound of (as it is understood, your) lips tremble, let corruption enter into my bones, and under me be filled with worms: that I may rest on the day of tribulation, that I may ascend to our girded people, here is the meaning: Now we willingly suffer hardships, and tremble with all our innards at your threat. Now my lips tremble, and the fear of a trembling mind is marked on my mouth, and not only this, but I also desire something willingly and desire it kindly: let corruption enter into my bones, and under me be filled with worms; that is, I willingly suffer what Job suffered, not only my flesh, but also the marrow of my bones I desire to waste away, and my bed to be filled with the corruption of my body and teeming with countless worms, so that after I have endured these things here for my sins, I may rest on the bitter day, on the day of tribulation, on the day of necessity and distress. And I will ascend to our girded people, indeed strong, a warrior and fighter. And beautifully, I will ascend: for it is always to the girded people that one ascends. And elegantly ours: for he who has been troubled, and willingly endured struggles, and compensated for present evils with future rewards, speaks boldly like our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and may he himself sleep in good old age, full of days, and be gathered to his ancestors. But if someone were to say, 'Look, in the exposition of history, while you are ignorant, you are enclosed by the nets of allegory, and you have mixed the tropology of history.' Let them hear that the metaphor of history does not always harmonize with allegory, because frequently history itself is woven metaphorically, and under the image of a woman, or of one man from the whole people, it is preached. And now therefore we can say from the perspective of the people: 'I willingly undergo captivity, I endure afflictions with an equal mind, and I am heavily burdened by the yoke of the Babylonians, and whatever there is of ultimate and harsh necessity, I suffer joyfully, only so that at that time I may rest when you curse the scepters of the impious, and your horses will trample the mud of many waters, so that afterwards I may return to the promised land with your saints Zerubbabel and Jesus the son of Josedech, and the priest Ezra, and Nehemiah.' Until now, in order not to seem to entirely overlook history, we have in a way directed our attention to the intellect and have brought forth inconsistent opinions into captivity. Now let us turn to the seventy translators and to the moral interpretation.

LXX: You have divided the heads of the mighty in astonishment. Just as Christ is the head of the Church and of all men (I Cor. XI), so Beelzebub, the prince of demons, is the head of all the demons who roam about in this world, and each of their groups has its own head and leaders. For example, the spirits of fornication have their own supervisor, the spirits of greed have their own ruler, the spirits of vain glory, the spirits of lies, and the spirits of unfaithfulness have their own leaders of wickedness. And so, God, most merciful, who sent death upon the heads of the wicked, who loosened the bonds even to the neck, divides the heads of the powerful in their astonishment, so that he may first separate the rulers from their subjects, and as if beheading the body from the head, and where the worst head was, there the best head may be placed. Let us give an example, so that what we say may be made clearer: whenever a tyrant is slain, his images and statues are also taken down, and with only the face changed and the head removed, the face of the victor is placed over it, so that while the body remains, and the heads have been severed, a different head is substituted. I want to understand about the councils of heretics, which, with the heads of heresies separated from other nations, begin with Christ as their head. Also, consider the significance of the Holy Scriptures, that it does not say 'you have cut off' or 'you have cut down the heads of the mighty,' but 'you have divided.' For what is divided is not so much cut off and lost as it is separated into parts. Just as in the building of the tower (Genesis 11), the language which had been improperly united was separated, and the wicked pact was torn apart by a beneficial division: so also, these heads, which seemed to have agreement among their bodies, for there are many heads of heretics which have different eyes, yet bark in one common language of blasphemy against the Church, were divided into parts and separated from the deceived bodies, making room for the good head. We can use this verse whenever we see kings and their leaders shed Christian blood, and afterwards witness the vengeance of the Lord. We have seen this recently in the case of Julian, and before him in Maximian, Valerian, Decius, Domitian, and Nero; and we can say to the Lord with joy and prayer in the Song: You have struck the heads of the mighty in astonishment, that is, in the astonishment of the believers, or in the astonishment of all nations, which did not think they could fall so quickly. While I was still a boy, and was exercising in the game of grammar, and all the cities were being polluted with the blood of victims, and suddenly it was announced in the midst of the very heat of Julian's persecution that he had died, one of the pagans wittily said, 'How, he said, do the Christians say that their God is patient and without malice? Nothing is more irritable, nothing is more present with this fury: he could not even delay his indignation for a little bit.' He said this jokingly. Nevertheless, the Church of Christ sang with joy: You have divided in astonishment the heads of the mighty. I will also say something similar: Divide, Lord, in astonishment all of them, Ahab, and Jezebel (III Kings 21 and 18). I am not Elijah, but nevertheless, they Ahab and Jezebel killed Naboth and took his vineyard, and made their garden for indulgence (IV Kings 9 and 10). Let one of your servants, Obadiah, be found, who will feed your poor and beggar, let the blood of fornicators be given to the dogs; let the impious and greedy Ahab be killed by the spear of the Lord.


LXX: They will be moved in it (or in that), they will open their mouths like a poor person eating in hiding (or in a hidden place). When their heads are divided from their bodies, and divided only in a state of stupor, which in Greek is called ἐν ἐκστάσει: hence according to that, it is declined and said, ἐν αὐτῇ, which means in it, they will also open their mouths, or of them (both can be understood), so that that authority by which they previously ruled over their subjected bodies, giving way to a better horseman, and a better charioteer. And let them do this as if they are eating in secret, not having freedom, nor an abundance of food, but rather small portions of food, with which they eat secretly, not wanting anyone to see what they are doing. It can also be interpreted differently: When their heads are divided in astonishment, as if separated from the rest of the body, they will open their mouths, which had been unrestrained like a muzzle of condemnation, and, resembling those who are eating, they will gnash their teeth against themselves, desiring to eat again but lacking the power to devour. Understand how after the coming of Christ the heads of demons from the nations, which had previously been subjugated to them, desire to exercise their ancient power again. But because they have been separated from their bodies, they do not have full freedom to feed: they eat like the poor, and not only are they poor, but they are poor in hiding. They are poor because they have lost their former riches: they eat in hiding, because they always lie in wait, intending to kill the innocent in secret. These headings have the same teeth as arrows. And although he may have said before, I will ascend above the stars of heaven, I will place my nest on high, and I will hold the whole world like eggs in my hand, yet they will be taken down from the heights and will lose their former furnishings, and all the substance of their house, so that they will scarcely try to eat and bite like beggars. I know that the Hebrew text differs greatly from what has been said, but what can I do, to whom it has once been proposed to interpret both the Hebrew and the commonly known scriptures throughout the whole world?


70: And you led your horses into the sea, disturbing the many waters. After God sent death upon the heads of the unjust, and the heads of the mighty were brought down in astonishment, and you broke them in the sea (for it is written in the Psalms: You have broken the heads of the dragons (Psalm 73:4)), with the princes slain, or broken, and the strong one overcome, they came to his house and all his possessions were plundered (Mark 13). But the vase and the strong house and the prince's belongings, what else can be interpreted except the sea of this world, in which the dragon dwells? Therefore, God, the outstanding knight and chief charioteer, adds his horses, namely angels, and sublime powers above the sea of this world, to disturb the many waters, demons and contrary powers. But if we want to interpret it as the coming of Christ, according to what is written in the Apocalypse (Chapter 19), that the word of God sits on a white horse and the whole army follows him on white horses, we will see how Christ ascended among his apostles, saying to them: Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world; and: Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, and the rest (Matthew 28). And later he mounted a white horse, which I believe to be none other than the apostle Paul, upon which he rode and traveled around the whole world. Now, the word of God ascended upon his horses, so that many waters, that is, many people who were previously in the sea and held captive by the dragon, were troubled. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13), and they were troubled, abandoning their initial error: then they were disturbed and received the approaching rider. Certainly, the hordes of demons we have spoken of above should not rule over the sea in such a way; rather, they should be disturbed and retreat, fearing the wounds of a fighting knight. And I hope that the word of God will also rise in me and kill, through the spear of my mouth, the one who reigns in the waters, so that the waters that were subjected to them will be disturbed unto the destruction of the king, and offer their necks to my knight, and when brought together in one chariot, we may become the Cherubim of the Lord, which is interpreted as a multitude of knowledge. For never before has a charioteer been so well composed and so adorned, as in those who are connected by the multitude of knowledge and the reins of wisdom among themselves.

LXX: I kept watch, and my belly was afraid at the voice of my mouth's prayer: and trembling entered into my bones, and under me my strength was troubled. Or as it is found written elsewhere ἡ ἕξις μου, which we can say means my condition: for indeed various readings are found. But these things can also be said from the perspective of the prophet, consistent with what came before: Because you, O Lord, have sent death upon the heads of the wicked, and have raised up the chains even to the neck, and have divided in astonishment the heads of the mighty, and have brought in your horses into the sea, disturbing the many waters: therefore I have kept my heart in all vigilance, and my bowels trembled, and my whole strength or condition, is troubled, lest I should endure similar things. And he can also have, as it were, his own beginning, as the prophet narrates his fear and how he was afraid of sinning in any way, and when he was warned by the voice of his lips in prayer, he feared God so much that trembling entered his bones. And being placed under the mighty hand of the Lord, he was troubled with all the strength or disposition of his soul. But what he says, 'Trembling entered my bones,' should be understood emphatically, so that we may see the magnitude of the fear of God penetrating the entirety of the soul, and moving the whole person so as not to do anything that would displease God. And since Scripture also mentions the members of the soul allegorically, let us understand the hungry belly as representing the power of the soul, which receives spiritual food; the lips as representing the mind's inner dialogue; and the strong and solid bones as representing the firm doctrines on which the whole soul is strengthened. These things have been briefly stated by me. But if anyone discovers something wiser and truer, give your agreement to that person's explanation.


LXX: I will rest in the day of my trouble, that I may ascend to the people of my pilgrimage. For with all watchfulness I have kept my heart, and my belly trembled at the voice of my prayer. And trembling came upon me, and darkness covered me: and my bones were affrighted. And under me death began to beget: and I was reproved by the multitude. And what do I long for? II will rest in the day of tribulation: that I may go up to the people of my pilgrimage, for there is my staff. But I will ascend downwards, and, like one striving from a valley to higher things, I will eagerly strive with all my might, so that in the time when others are in distress and anguish, my concern will be about the ascent, and how I will find rest in higher places with the people of my own journey. But I consider the day of tribulation to be the end of the world, about which Isaiah also says: The day of the Lord, incurable, full of fury and anger, to make the whole world a desert and to destroy sinners (Isaiah 14).

(Verse 17.) For the fig tree will not blossom, and there will be no fruit on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food. The flock will be cut off from the fold, and there will be no cattle in the stalls. According to the Septuagint: For the fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no blossoms on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food. They have vanished, because the sheep have been devoured, and there are no cattle in the stalls. According to the Hebrew text as we have mentioned before: Let rot enter my bones and let it spread beneath me, so that I may rest in the day of trouble. Let me ascend to our prepared people. What has gone before will be connected to what follows. Therefore, I have chosen to endure tribulation for now, and afterwards ascend to our strong people. For a day of trouble and necessity will come, and to those who are established in distress, I will rejoice in your majesty. For the fig tree will not blossom, and there will be no fruit on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food, and so on. Since these things do not differ much from the Septuagint, let us likewise discuss their interpretation. When the day of tribulation comes and I ascend to the people with whom I have once traveled as a pilgrim, or certainly when the day of the destruction of Judah comes and the former people and daughter of Zion are abandoned, like a tent in a vineyard, and like a hut in a cucumber field, and like a city that is besieged, I, who have been chosen from the perishing people (of whom it has been said, 'Unless the Lord had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah, similar to them'), will join myself to the disciples of Christ, whom he teaches on the mountain, leaving the crowds and the weak below, I will ascend to the mountains. For indeed the fig tree did not bear fruit, to which the Lord came in the Gospel hungry, and did not find any fruits on it, and he cursed it, saying: You shall not bear fruit forever (Matt 21:19). And consider carefully what he said: You shall not bear fruit forever, not until forever and ever, but when this age has passed, and the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then this fig tree will also bear its fruits, and all Israel will be saved. This is the fig tree to which the master of the house came for the third time, and wanting to uproot it because it was not producing fruit. For this reason, the farmer, to whom it was entrusted, pleads that he give it more time and says: Master, let it be for another year, until I dig around it and put manure, and if indeed it bears fruit: but if not, then you can cut it down (Luke 13). This farmer is either Gabriel or Michael, to whom the people of Judah have been entrusted, who pleads with the Lord during his suffering and says: Lord, give them time for repentance, and do not uproot them, and if indeed they bear fruit: but if not, then uproot them. If they produce fruit, he said, he did not say what they endured; nor did he say, if they produce fruit, they will remain as they were; but if they produce fruit, the sentence is suspended, so that it may be understood, you will transfer them into the Church of the Gentiles, and you will transplant them into another vineyard. The Lord came a third time, and did not find fruit in them. He gave the Law first through Moses: second, he spoke through the prophets: third, he himself descended. And after the Passion, with forty-four years given for repentance, because they did not produce fruit, they were overthrown on the fourth occasion. However, it is left to our understanding. For in the parable it is not written what the master of the house did afterwards, but only what the farmer prayed for. From this we understand that those who have made fruit from this fig tree have been transferred to the people of the nations, to whom the prophet also ascended, saying: I will rest on the day of tribulation, so that I may ascend to the people of my pilgrimage. However, those who did not bear fruit and remained in their hardness have been uprooted. This very thing signifies the voice of John in the Gospel: Behold, the axe is laid at the roots of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matt. III, 10; Luc. III, 9) We have spoken about the fig tree, showing that it represents the Jewish people: let us also speak about the vineyard, which will be easily understood by those who have read Isaiah: The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. (Isai. V, 1). And afterwards: And I waited for it to bring forth fruit: but it made thorns, and not judgment, but outcry. And in Jeremiah: But I planted you as a fruitful vineyard, all of it true: how have you turned into the bitterness of a foreign vine (Jer. II, 21)? And more clearly in the Psalms: You brought a vine out of Egypt, you drove out the nations, and you planted it (Ps. LXXIX, 9). This therefore is the vineyard to which the master of the house often sent his servants (Matth. XXI), to receive from it the wine that gladdens the heart of man, but it has turned into bitterness, and finally it even dared to kill the son of the master of the house, not producing grapes, but thorns, and not judgment, but outcry: Crucify him, crucify him! And we have no king but Caesar (John 19:15). Therefore, the boar from the forest has destroyed it, and the savage beast in the field has devoured it (Psalm 79:14). Moreover, the olive tree will clearly represent the people of the synagogue, who, by breaking off the branches of the olive tree, will be grafted in as wild olives (Romans 11), and we, being grafted in from the wild olive tree, will understand that the multitude of the Jews has been cut off, but the election of the apostles has been preserved at its roots, and we will remain grafted in if we bear fruit, and it will be said of us: Your children are like olive saplings around your table (Psalm 128:3). Many people think that the fig tree, vine, and olive tree are symbols of the Holy Trinity. The fig tree represents the sweetness of the fruits, which is understood as the Holy Spirit. The vine is our Lord Jesus Christ himself, as he said in the Gospel: 'I am the vine' (John 15:1). The olive tree represents God the Almighty Father, from whom all things are illumined, and from whom light proceeds. We can say to Him: 'O olive tree, in your light we shall see light' (Psalm 36:9), meaning that in the Son we shall see the Holy Spirit. In the book of Judges (Chapter 9), there are fruitful trees and a very fertile vineyard. However, unfruitful trees come and ask to reign over them. But never does the olive, fig, or vine, which are owed to the fire, reign over the trees of the forest. Rather, the bramble full of thorns commands them, and the hedgehog-like creature that dwells in Babylon and always moves about in the pits. This little tree not only has thorns, but also fire, injuring and burning whatever it touches. Finally, the fire went out and consumed the wood of the forest. But so that you may know, according to the higher understanding in which we have received from the synagogue, it is said: The fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no offspring in the vineyards. It is not about the fruits, but about good deeds. In the olive, the riddle is clearly revealed and it is said: The work of the olive will lie. For the fruits that should have been brought forth are shown in deeds. But the work of the olive, promising one thing and doing another, saying to Moses: We will do everything that the Lord has spoken (Exod. 24:7), they did not want to believe in him who was preached by Moses. The fields also will not produce fruit. Consider that Jerusalem, which once was situated on mountains, and the mountains surrounding it (Ps. 124:2), and its foundations were in holy mountains (Psalm 86:1), is now called lowly and flat, which not only does not feed humans, that is, rational animals, but not even animals such as sheep and cows, of which Solomon speaks in Proverbs: Take care of the regions that are in the field, and tend the grass, and gather hay so that you have food for the sheep to eat. Cattle also will not be in the mangers: because where the mangers are full, the strength of the ox is evident (Prov. XIV, 4). The ox is a worker: the ox of the Lord bearing the yoke: blessed is the one who follows in its footsteps. All these things will be taken away from the people, because they have acted unjustly towards their Creator God. But if you are willing (or unwilling) to accept the day of tribulation, the day of consummation, you will see that all those who claim to be of the Church but do not have the works of justice will be referred to them. Both the fig tree and the vine and the olive, namely the mystery of the Trinity, do not bring forth their fruit in them, and not only the grains and food of the rational ones; but neither do they have food even for their livestock in their fields and their stables are empty, and they are turned from lofty mountains to plains and low places.

(Verse 18, 19) But as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord, and exult in God my savior. God, the Lord, is my strength, and he will make my feet like the feet of deer. And he will lead me up to the high places triumphantly, singing in Psalms. According to the Septuagint: But as for me, I will exult in the Lord; I will rejoice over God my savior. The Lord God is my strength, and he will set my feet in the consummation: he will place me upon the high places, so that I may overcome in his song. Ficus tree, vine, and olive tree, as I explained, not producing their fruit, and the fields of the Jews not yielding food, and also the livestock and cattle being cut off from the sheepfold and the stalls, after they heard from the Lord: Your house shall be left desolate (Matthew 23:38), and the people also being handed over to captivity and dispersed throughout the whole world, the prophet from the people of Judah, who is called the embrace (because he loved the Lord and clung to him, and joined himself to him), speaks on behalf of the apostles and the people who believe in Christ: But I will rejoice in the Lord, and I will exult in the God of my Jesus. For they translated LXX as τῷ Σωτῆρί μου, that is, my Savior. The same with Gabriel interpreting: And His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people (Matt. II, 21). God the Lord is my strength; for I shall have no other but in Christ, and I shall count all the righteousnesses of the law as garbage. And He shall make my feet like the feet of a deer, to tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and like a little child I shall put my hand in the hole and draw out the serpent (Alexandria. Judah) and play. For my brother is like a roe or a young stag (Song of Solomon II, 9). And because he himself is a stag, he also gave to me, that I may be a stag, with lofty horns, splitting hooves, chewing cud, and driving away serpents by my scent: of which it is said in the seventeenth Psalm: He made my feet like those of stags, and he will set me on high. And in the twenty-eighth: The voice of the Lord who accomplishes stags. Therefore, he will set my feet among his other stags, and he will lead me to the heavenly things, so that I may sing the glory of the Lord among the angels, and announce peace on earth to people of good will. Let us sing of his victory and triumph and the trophy of the cross. This, according to the Hebrew version and the fifth edition, we should refer to the time of the destruction of Judea and the coming of the Lord. But if we wish to understand the consummation of the world, it should be explained as follows: just as in Exodus (Chapter 9) when Egypt was struck, and God struck their vineyards and fig trees, and killed the firstborn of men and animals with hail, and destroyed the Egyptian crops with caterpillars and locusts. The fig trees in Egypt did not bear fruit, nor were there any buds on their vines; the olive tree, where it could still be found in Egypt, produced no oil, and their fields did not yield food; and their cattle were dying in the pasture and there were no oxen in the stalls. But the people of Israel rejoiced in the Lord, and delighted in God their Savior: so in the consummation of the world, when charity shall have grown cold through multiplied iniquity, and the fig-tree shall not bear fruit, and the vineyard shall not yield grapes, and the work of the olive shall be deceitful, and the fields shall not yield food, and other things that follow: then whoever shall be found just and worthy of God's election, shall speak in exultation. But I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in God my Savior. The Lord is my strength. And being placed by God above the end of the age, so that afterwards He might ascend to higher things, and being educated by God to the highest, He shall say: He will set my feet upon the end, He will place me upon the highest places, so that when with Jesus, the ἀγωνοθέτης, who first triumphed in the struggle, the reward will be given to those singing hymns: I will conquer in His song, and my hands will play the lyre, and the harp, and every kind of instrument, and I will write a panegyric praising the triumphant one. And I, who spoke at the beginning, said: How long shall I cry out, and you will not hear? I will cry out to you of violence, and you will not save? And I have been accused of his justice and judgment: then I will praise his equity, and surpass the other singers with my song.

(Ver. 2.) Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: This people says, 'The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built.' Pay careful attention to the fact that it is not Zerubbabel or Joshua who says, 'The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built,' but the people who are still under the rule of King Darius and have not yet thrown off the yoke of servitude. And those who are still in captivity and have come out of Jerusalem delay and hesitate to build the temple of God, saying, 'The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built.' And when you see someone who has been handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that their spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord, make the effort to think and plan in order to build up the temple through purity, which was previously destroyed through lust. And yet, day after day, you say to yourself: Truly, you are a captive of the people, and you say: The time has not yet come for the house of the Lord to be built. But to those who have once decided to rebuild the temple of God, every moment is suitable for building; neither the devil as king, nor the enemies all around, nor the pretended affection of parents, in-laws, or children can hinder. As soon as you turn and call on the name of the Lord, he will say: Here I am.

(Verse 3) And the word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Or as the Septuagint interprets, 'in vaulted buildings,' that is, concave structures. On the same day as before, this vision appears again. As the prophets engage in their work, the gifts of prophecy also increase, and after a brief silence, in response to what the people had said - that it is not yet time to rebuild the house of the Lord - the Lord's answer, as if thought out, is presented to them, and it is said to them: So is it not time for you to dwell in houses while you are down below and situated in the valley, and for my house, which is on the mountain, to remain in ruins? Or, as it is stated in Hebrew: that you may dwell in houses, adorned and arranged not so much for practical use as for pleasure, and my dwelling place where the holy of holies, the cherubim, and the table of showbread were kept, will be soaked by rain, become desolate, and scorched by the sun? Moreover, according to the anagoge: Every time that the habitation of the valley is chosen, or we serve pleasures, is troublesome. Hence, even the Stoics, who are concerned with defining individual words, said that time is the measure of correction or efficacy: which is expressed more significantly in Greek as χρόνον εἶναι κατορθώσεως. For every moment in which we serve not by virtues, but by vices, is lost, and is considered as though it never happened. Therefore, if anyone among us dwells in a valley, or builds their own house in worldly pleasure and luxury, they do not build a temple for God, nor does the Lord have a place to rest his head. And when they build a house with foxes, the dwelling place of God becomes deserted.

(Verse 5, 6) You have sown much and brought in little: you eat but are not satisfied: you drink but are not filled with drink: you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm: and he that earned wages, earned them to put into a bag with holes. All the labor that you have built up your houses and neglected the house of God, has not had a consequence. For you have sown much and gathered little: you cannot say it is a result of famine, because the farmer has ceased to work the land. You also ate (lest perhaps someone would say that fasting was voluntary for you), and you were not satisfied, because you had gathered small fruits into barns. You drank wine from vineyards, but not only to make your heart rejoice, and it could be said of you: And wine cheers the heart of man (Ps. 104, 15). You had a cloak, but it did not repel the cold, nor preserve warmth. Whoever among you has gathered wages, either through trade or hired labor, has wasted labor in vain without reward. For just as if someone were to pour money into a bag with holes, it would flow out. Likewise, those who have returned from Babylon and have not yet built the house of God, but who are engaged in its construction every day, say: The time has not yet come to build the Lord's house; neither are they captives nor have they been fully granted freedom; but rather, as if they were placed in a narrow space, they have sown much and brought in little; they have eaten, but have not been satisfied; they have drunk, but have not been intoxicated; they have covered themselves, but have not been warmed; they have earned wages, only to put them into a bag with holes and lose them. If ever you see someone doing some righteous deeds amidst many sinful works, God is not so unjust as to forget the few good deeds because of the many evils; but He will only reap what he has sown on good soil, and gather it into His barns. But the one who is a complete apostate will not eat at all, but will perish from hunger. Moreover, the one who sows much and reaps little, eats little and not to satisfaction, as the Lord threatens in the curses of Leviticus: 'You shall eat, but not be satisfied' (Lev. 26:26). But whoever is holy, will eat until satisfied, and will be filled with what is written: The righteous eats to satisfy their soul (Prov. 13:25). Similarly, whoever does not drink completely will perish from thirst, as stated in Judith (if anyone wants to receive the book of the woman): And the little ones perished from thirst (Judith 8). But whoever drinks too little, does indeed drink, but not to the point of intoxication. Furthermore, who can say to the Lord: How glorious is your intoxicating cup (Psalm 22:6)! And Noah got drunk (Gen. IX): and although he was placed in Egypt, yet he gets intoxicated with wine at the banquet with Joseph and his brothers (Ibid., XLIII): he, because of the greatness of his joy and daily happiness with the apostles, will be called full of new wine (Act. II). However, how this exposition is not contrary to that in which the sons of Jonadab, the sons of Rechab, do not drink wine, and are praised by the Lord, in Jeremiah (Chapter XXXV), could be more competently discussed. After this, it is said to those who neglected to build the temple of the Lord: You have labored, and have not been warmed. This is understood from the one hundred and third psalm, in which it is said about God: The deep as a garment is his robe. Although according to the Hebrew truth it refers to the lands that are surrounded by the ocean, nevertheless, according to the translators of the Septuagint who said: 'τὸ περιβόλαιον αὐτοῦ', in the masculine gender, and not 'αὐτῆς', in the feminine gender, we are compelled to understand that it refers to God, because his wisdom is unfathomable, and the Lord makes darkness his hiding place (Psalms 17), and his sacraments are not revealed to the unworthy. And so the righteous rejoices, and says: In my heart I have hidden your words, so that I may not sin against you (Psalm 128:11). This cloak, woven from the diverse meanings and words of wisdom, does not allow the fervent spirit to cool, nor the heat of love to grow cold when the North wind blows. However, the one in the middle, who indeed has the cloak, but does not fully cover himself with it: just as he brings in little into the barn, and eats and drinks, but not to satisfaction or excess, so he covers himself with the cloak of his senses and works, but does not warm up. But he who, because of extreme poverty of the soul, does not have a cloak: does not have it, because, with multiplied iniquity, charity has grown cold in him (Matthew 24). Hence, concerning such a person, who possesses a cloak from another, it is commanded in the law: You shall give him a garment before the setting of the sun, for he is poor and has hope in him (Deuteronomy 24:15). But this also happens to those who dwelt in the valleys or in covered houses, and they said: The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord, that they may gather wages into a perforated bag (Isaiah 40:10 and 62:11). If anyone does good works from us, and worthy of reward (which the Lord is about to give back to us, about whom it is said: Behold the Lord, and his reward is in his hands, to render to each person according to his works (Matt. XVI, 27). And another of the Apostles: If anyone's work remains, which he has built upon, he will receive a reward (I Cor. III, 13), here he gathers the rewards to be preserved and endured, always joining virtues with virtues, he heaps up money in an unbroken bag. But those who sin after good works, not once or twice, but frequently, obscure and defile their past charity with subsequent vices, and they gather money into the bottomless purse. All of these things happened to those who said, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord,' and while they resided in the valleys, they allowed the house of the Lord to remain deserted.

(Verse 9.) You looked for more, and behold, there was less: and you brought it into the house, and I blew it away: You looked for many things, and they became few: and you brought them into the house, and I blew them away. Cast aside delay, and set aside all ambiguity, that you may more diligently build my house, as well as whatever has happened to you who have delayed building my house, not as before: You sowed much, but because the earth did not yield a harvest, you brought little; but when the crops began to ripen and the time of harvest drew near, and you thought you would have the grain in your hands, you harvested empty stalks and gathered empty husks without the fruits of the spikes. The fields were full: hope in the eyes, sorrow in the hands. But even this very thing that had been selected from a plentiful harvest and countless heaps, you brought into the house, and by my power, it was scattered. For I blew it away, and reduced it to nothingness; because the dead grain and empty husks, which are useful for eating, did not have flour and fine meal. However, this can be said: you brought it into the house, and I blew it away, and I will receive the gifts that they offered on the altar, and God will blow them away. But because he said, 'You have brought it into the house,' if we understand those things which have been brought as gifts, we say that they have been offered in the temple. And it does not agree with us, because at that time the house of God had not yet been built: which indeed happens even today to many who live in humble buildings, and as far as they are concerned, they despise the deserted house of God and when they are able to build, they disregard it: and as if already seeing mature crops, they promise themselves the fruit of their works, and deceived by hope, they find hardly anything great in return. But even these small things, which they had stored in the house and in the granary, are blown away by the Word of God, as if unworthy of His custody and protection. How often have I seen so much hope in their teaching as well as in their conduct: and after it came time to reap, that is, the time to teach and to provide an example for the people, they were found wanting, and fell from their lofty positions, and were found to be less than what everyone expected. It happened that gradually, due to sudden negligence, they lost even the little they seemed to have. However, they endured this because they felt secure in their former homes, and did not ascend the mountain of Scriptures, cutting down the wood of the Lord's building, nor did they build a daily house for the Lord within themselves; but despising its desolation, they also lost what they believed they had. The aforementioned evils are explained by this cause.

(Verse 10) Therefore, says the Lord of hosts, because my house is deserted, and each of you hastens to his own house, for this reason the heavens are withheld from you so that they do not give rain, and the earth withholds its produce. Not only, he says, did the heavens not give rain, by which the watered soil produces crops; but not even the morning and evening dew, so that the dry fields, at least, are tempered with a little moisture. Moreover, it also devours the land, not returning the seed to the farmers, and it holds in its greedy lap what it usually produces spontaneously. I believe this to be the dew, of which it is said in the blessing to Jacob: May God give you the dew of heaven (Gen. 27:28), and the dew of Hermon that descends upon Mount Zion (Psalm 133), and it descends not from the air in which the number of varied eagles, hawks, and vultures fly and soar, but from heaven, so that if someone's soul is burning with disturbances, and wounded by the devil's spear, it may be cooled by this dew and moderate its heat. With the ground held back, the earth does not yield its fruit. For without the dew of Christ, no soul can bring forth wheat.

(Verse 11.) And I called upon drought upon the earth, and upon the mountains, and upon the wheat, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon whatever the earth brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon every labor of the hands. For drought, the Seventy translated as 'gladius', that is, sword: but I also found it written in Hebrew with three letters (), Heth, Res, Beth, which if we read as Hareb, it means sword; if Oreb, it means burning, which we have translated as drought, although it could be better translated as scorching wind. And truly, since the discourse is about the land, and about the sterility of the fields, it seems to me that the scorching wind should be understood in the present place, rather than a sword: although every plague that is inflicted on men because of their sins can also be understood as a sword. But drought, or a sword, has been called upon the land and the mountains, so that they do not produce wheat, and wine, and oil, and whatever the earth produces spontaneously. Moreover, preceding famine, death comes upon men, and upon beasts as a consequence. And the same sword or burning wind consumes everything that the hands of men have labored. It is called and introduced living speech of God, and effective, and sharp above every two-edged sword (Heb. IV), so that the neglectful soul (which is interpreted as a dry land, and desires to dwell more in hollows than to build the house of God) may be struck by its blade, and whatever fruits it thinks it has, may be scattered. The sword is also brought against the mountains that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and against the wheat, and wine, and oil, with which they deceive the people who have been deceived by the assemblies of heretics, as if with food and drink and refreshment: One may rightly say that their bread is the bread of sorrow, and their wine is the fury of dragons, and the fury of unhealable asps. Also, the oil, the promise of heavenly things, with which they anoint their disciples, and promise rewards for their labors, which the prophet detests, saying: But the oil of the sinner shall not anoint my head (Psal. CXL). But the sword of God strikes also other things which they find and fabricate without authority and testimonies of the Scriptures, by their own tradition of the apostles; but we shall understand men and beasts, or reasonings and perceptions, that is, their thoughts and senses. Certainly there are rational and irrational ones among them, that is, learned and unlearned alike, and all kinds of manual labor, and their fasts, and various observances, and sham rest, that is, sleeping on the ground. Those who fast three times a year for forty days, and afflict their souls with dry food, and especially those who grow from the root of Tatian, hear of such labors: You have suffered so much without cause. But all these things that I have said can be understood about the rulers of the Church, who, while building their earthly house and providing for their children and possessions, do not care to build the temple of God within themselves or the Church of the Lord, which is uncovered and in ruins: their often inconsistent life and speech scandalize many, and they are expelled from the Church and led to the solitude of the house of God. And by saying this, we do not accuse all people in general, but rather that in every duty and position there are some who build up and others who tear down the temple of God. And because of their vice, neither the dew of the heavens nor the fruit of the earth may be dried up, the soil may be parched, the mountains may be barren, wheat and oil and all that the earth produces may perish, and even the people themselves and the animals, and all the work of hands, may be destroyed by the sword or by drought or by burning wind.

(Verse 13.) And the messenger of the Lord, Haggai, said to the people: I am with you, says the Lord. Some believe that both John the Baptist and Malachi, who is interpreted as the Angel of the Lord, and Haggai, whom we now have in our hands, were angels and that by the dispensation and command of God they assumed human bodies and lived among men. It is not surprising that this is believed about angels, since for our salvation even the Son of God assumed a human body. And for this reason, they also provide testimony from the apocrypha, where it is said: Jacob, who was later called Israel, was an angel and therefore he supplanted his brother in the womb of his mother (Gen. 25 and 32). And also John, at the voice of Mary the mother of the Lord, leaped for joy in the womb of Elizabeth (Luke 1); and that there is one nature of all rational beings; and for this reason, men who have pleased God become equal to angels. Let them feel this. However, let us receive simply what the announcer of the Lord, that is, the angel, who is called Malachi in Hebrew, has said as a prophet, because he has announced the will of God to the people, either because in many places our Lord and Savior is called the angel of God, as in this passage: The Angel of Great Counsel (Isaiah 9:6), we say has prefigured the Savior in Haggai. Furthermore, what he says, the messenger of the Lord, concerning the messages of the Lord, is like he was saying, a prophet about prophets. What he says, the messenger of the Lord speaking to the people, saying: 'I am with you,' says the Lord, does not speak to Zerubbabel and Joshua, with whom and in whom the Lord always was (for once we said that they should be understood according to various interpretations as the person of the Savior), but to the people who had feared the face of the Lord. For the people were not yet close to the love of God, which casts out fear. Therefore, the people receive reward for the fear of God, so that the Lord may be with them, and there is the understanding: I will be your helper, build my house, which is destroyed in you: I will place myself in your midst, no one will be able to hinder your construction.

(Verse 14) And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the rest of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius. For the governor of Judah, seventy were carried away from the tribe of Judah, and for the work, the workers; and the rest likewise. Wherever we place ourselves, the Lord of hosts is interpreted differently as either the Almighty Lord, the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of powers. Therefore, the spirit of Zorobabel and the spirit of Jesus are awakened, according to the letter, to build the temple of God with kingdom and priesthood. The spirit of the people, who was sleeping within them, is also awakened, not the body, not the soul; but as we said, the spirit, which knows how to build the temple of God. And they entered, for they had been outside, and they were doing works that were worthy of the inner part of the house of the Lord: in the same year of King Darius as before, in the same month that was also at the beginning; but not on the same day. For there, one day of the month is placed: but here the twenty-fourth, so that between the first day, when the Lord speaks through Haggai, and the twenty-fourth, when they entered and were doing work in the house of the Lord, there were twenty-two middle days, as many as the letters are among the Hebrews. For it was necessary that they be taught what were the elements of the beginning of God's words, which would prevent them from saying, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord and to dwell in vaulted houses, and as I said before, to be submerged in the depths. But they were provoked to set their hearts on their own ways, and to remember how much they had suffered through negligence. And to ascend the mountain, and to cut wood, and to build the house of the Lord, and not to allow what they had suffered before. Finally, in these twenty-two days, the people feared the face of the Lord, and they entered on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius, and they were doing the work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. But it is commanded to us, that the spiritual house may be built into a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, that we may be able to provide such offerings, so that the Holy Spirit may be stirred up in us, and we may enter into the house of the Lord, and perform the works of the Lord. For now Zorobabel of the lineage of David, and Jesus the priest, has been raised up by the Father in power, according to the spirit of sanctification from the resurrection of the dead, so that he may preside over the work; but we, with him as our helper and guide, shall perform the works of God. However, we cannot do the works of God beforehand, unless we fear the face of the Lord, and believe, and enter the temple of God, and perform those things that are worthy of the house of God. But since we are still in the world, and the time of our building is under the reign of Darius, in which generation, marriages, and carnal servitude are observed; therefore, in the sixth number, when the world was made, and in the second year, which divides the union (for the matter in which the renewal of the world and the birth of offspring consist loves the double number), we enter the house of the Lord, and with both peoples gathered together, we build the temple of God. For the sum of the twenty-fourth number consists of two of the twelve numbers, because just as from circumcision and from the Gentiles, the first Church of Christ, which had been destroyed, was built. But we can also say this, because the eighth number, which is holy, and is taken in the type of true circumcision, triples the twenty-fourth number, figuratively teaching us to build the house of the Lord through the cutting off of the flesh and the circumcision of vices, and to believe in the true purity in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, another six times a fourth number is computed, and four refers to the elements of the world, from which we subsist; but six refers to the condition of the world, in which the elements themselves revolve. And it says: because we are still in matter, and are surrounded by a heavy body, and serve generations, indeed we are to build a temple and enter into the house of God, and as if awakened from a heavy sleep, our spirit; but still to do the same thing on the twenty-fourth day.

(Verse 17, 18.) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways, go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house: and it shall be acceptable to me, and I will be glorified, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Set your hearts upon your ways, go up to the mountain, and cut wood (the rest is the same). Again, I command you, as I had done before, to set your hearts upon your ways, and consider all that you do, and leaving behind the desire for your humble dwellings, go up to the mountain where there are no wood to burn, but wood that will be useful for the work of my house. And know that I will be pleased with what you do, if you do this attentively. The Hebrews say that only the necessary wood for roofing was left standing after the walls of the temple were burned down. This is what they say. But for us, it is commanded that we do not place our hearts outside of our paths; but the things we had placed before, we are to place again on our paths, and after we have done this, we are to ascend from the hollow houses onto the mountain, so that when we reach the height of the mountain, where the necessary wood for building the temple of God is, we may cut it from the whole mountain of the holy Scripture, where various woods of virtues and paradise are planted, and we may build the temple of the Lord with good works and teachings of truth: and when it is built, may it please the Lord, and may he be glorified in it. Therefore, because these commands have been given to us to set our hearts on our ways, let us climb the reasonable mountain and, concerning each problem, seek suitable evidence from the testimonies of the Scriptures, cut it off, and build the house of wisdom within us; for after this has been constructed, the end of its building will be that the Lord may be glorified in us.

(Chapter 2, Verse 1 and following) In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: Who among you is left who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? And now, be strong, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord, be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord Almighty, and work; for I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear. For thus says the Lord Almighty: In a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations. And the desired one will come to all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts. In the same year, but in the seventh month, on the first and twenty-first day of the month, after three weeks and the perfect rest of the mystery of the Trinity, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, who was constantly toiling to always have the word of God with him. Forgetting the past and reaching forward to the future (Phil. III), he worked daily as if he had nothing accomplished before. So it is said to him: Speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua, and to the remnant of the people, who have seen the former house of God, and who are now part of its restoration. Is not this that is seen comparable to the previous one, as if it were not even there in a certain way? But do not despair and do not let your hands grow weary, but you, Zerubbabel, and you, Joshua, and all people, take courage and do the work in my house. For I am with you, and my word that I made with you when you came out of the land of Egypt. And my spirit will not leave you: do not be afraid, I am the one who commands, the Almighty Lord, whose word is done. When I first gave the testament, and on Mount Sinai I appeared, I shook the heavens and the earth, and the Red Sea, and the desert, so that I might establish the Testament with you; but now I promise you that once again I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land, so that when they are shaken, all nations may be shaken, and they may come according to the seventy chosen ones of the Lord from all nations; but according to the Hebrew, the desired one will come to all nations, our Lord and Savior. Then I will fill this house with a greater glory than the former, and I will always add to you, says the Lord Almighty. And lest you think the sponsor is weak: the gold is mine, and the silver is mine, and all the riches are mine. I will give gold and silver as ornaments for the temple, so that the glory of this house may be greater than that of the former. And because what I promise seems difficult, and human unfaithfulness always hesitates at greater promises, therefore I say again, I am the Lord Almighty who promises. Furthermore, because I know that for the construction of this renowned house, and for the fact that it is a supernatural house, nothing can be done so that there may be peace, therefore I promise this. For I will give peace in this place, says the Lord of hosts, so that the peace which surpasses all understanding may guard my house and be a place of peace. Meanwhile, I have drawn these explanatory lines in a paraphrastic manner, so that from them, even while we remain silent, a discerning reader may ascend to a higher understanding. So the word of God fit well with those who had begun to work in the house of the Almighty Lord, now at rest, that is, in the seventh month, and in the fullest sacrament of the Trinity, on the twenty-first day of the month, and to Haggai celebrating the feast of God, who had once again prepared his hand to the word of the Lord, and he says to him: Speak to Zerubbabel from the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua the high priest, who deigned to become both man and Priest for us, and to the remnant of the people: for in comparison to the whole world, a small part was in the beginning of the believers. Therefore, let us listen to what he has spoken. Once there was a house of God in Israel, which is now so deserted that it is not believed to have ever existed. From being beloved, it has become unbeloved, and those who were not the people of God have begun to be the people of God. And that house, which was once glorious, now in the sight of Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant of the people, is as if it does not exist. But we should not only understand this to mean the temple buildings that we see have collapsed, but also everything that the Jews once held in high esteem. However, because the previous house was almost nonexistent, Zerubbabel the leader and Joshua the priest are called upon to establish the kingdom of Christ and priesthood and to enable the people, once the people of the land, to work in the house of the Lord and know that God is present with them. They should also fulfill the word that the Lord made with them when they departed from the land of Egypt. And I hope that we also depart from Egypt, so that we fulfill the word of the testament that we have received. The Lord God also promises his works to those who do them in his house, and fulfills his word to those who receive it, saying: 'And my spirit will be among you.' Behold the sacrament of the Trinity: I am with you, and my spirit, and the Word, in whom I made my covenant when you go forth from Egypt. But what he says 'among you' should be understood according to what is written in the Gospel: 'There stands among you, whom you do not know, one who comes after me' (John 1:26). Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts to you who see the former house as it is now, 'It is as nothing in your eyes. For I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, when the voice of the Lord will be heard from heaven. I am going to shake the earth, when I gave the former people the covenant; and in my coming, darkness, storm, and darkness were seen. I moved the Red Sea, when I made a way for the people passing through. I moved the desert, or Egypt, through the plagues, emptying them of the worship of God, or through the wilderness where I led the people for forty years.' I will now move on to this. Which we see happen at the coming of the Lord and Savior. Indeed, at the time of his passion, with the sun setting, the sky was in motion and darkness occurred over the whole earth from the sixth hour until the ninth hour (Matt. XXVII and Luc. XXIII). The earth was moved, and rocks were split, and tombs were opened; the sea was stirred with the serpent that was in it being killed; the dry, once barren wilderness of the nations was also moved. But in this trembling of the whole world, all nations were also moved; for the sound of the apostles of the Lord went forth into all the earth, and their words reached to the ends of the world (Ps. 18). For this reason, all nations were moved, that from their movement a chosen multitude of nations might come forth, and those things which are illustrious wherever they may be. For example, chosen from Corinth, because there was a great multitude of God's people in it. Chosen from Macedonia, because the Church of God gathered in Thessalonica was great and did not need to be taught about charity (1 Thess. 14). Electa of Ephesus, so that they may know the mysteries of God and the sacraments never before revealed. What more? all the nations were stirred, to whom the Savior had sent the apostles, saying: Go, teach all the nations (Matt. XXVIII, 29), and from the many called, few chosen, built the Church of the first Christians. Therefore Peter the apostle also says: She who is in Babylon, elect, greets you, and so does my son Mark (I Pet. V, 15), and John: The elder, he says, to the elect lady; and then he mentions the children of the elect. Therefore, with these nations in turmoil, from which we can indeed receive opposing strengths, not being able to endure the splendor of the Lord, the chosen ones of all nations came, and the glory of the house of the Lord, which is the Church of the living God, was filled, the pillar and foundation of truth. This is according to the Septuagint. However, in Hebrew, it is held better and more significantly as we have mentioned before: And I will shake all nations, and the desired one will come to all nations. For truly, after he came, the glory of the house of the Lord was fulfilled. And as much as the Lord is distant from the servant, so much better is the house of the Lord, which the Lord presides over, than the previous house over which the servant presided. But when he says, 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' the Lord of hosts says, I think no one believes that he is speaking of silver and gold, which are possessed by the rich and the kings. For in this manner, not only silver and gold are God's, as if of the Creator; but also the other metals, bronze, tin, lead, and the iron that tames all things. But I consider the silver with which the house of God is adorned to be the words of Scripture, of which it is said: The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried by fire, refined of earthly impurities seven times (Ps. 12:6); and the gold that is in the secret sense of the saints, and dwells in the hidden depths of the heart, and shines with the true light of God, which it is clear the Apostle understood when he speaks of those who build upon the foundation of Christ, as gold, silver, precious stones (1 Cor. 3); so that in gold there is hidden meaning, in silver there is appropriate speech, in precious stones there are works pleasing to God. The Church of the Savior becomes more illustrious with these metals, which once was a synagogue; with these living stones the house of Christ is built, and eternal peace is offered to it. Furthermore, what follows in the Septuagint: 'And peace of soul for the possession of every creature, that it may raise up this temple, as something superfluous and barely connected, since it is not reported by any Hebrew or any other interpreter, we have omitted.'

(Verse 11 and following). On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius ((Vulg. adds King)), the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts; ask the priests concerning the law, saying: If a man carries holy flesh in the fold of his garment, and touches bread, or stew, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, shall it become holy? And the priests answered and said: No. And Haggai said: If someone who is polluted in soul touches any of these things, will it be contaminated? And the priests answered and said: It will be contaminated. And Haggai replied and said: So will this people and this nation be before me, says the Lord; and so will all the work of their hands and all that they offer there be contaminated. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts; ask the priests concerning the law, saying: If a person takes holy flesh in the corner of his garment and touches with the corner of his garment bread, or cooked food, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, shall it be sanctified? And the priests answered and said, No. And Haggai said, If one who is unclean by reason of a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? The priests answered and said, It becomes unclean. Then Haggai answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says the Lord, and so is every work of their hands; and whatever they offer there is unclean. Therefore, whoever comes near there becomes unclean, because of the morning offerings and the sacrifices that are offered there; they shall mourn because of their evil doings, and they shall be appalled at their own abominable practices. Therefore, we have included the edition of the Seventy Interpreters, because they seemed to differ in certain words. And this that is said: Because of their morning gifts, they will lament from the face of their wickedness, and they will argue at the gates with the ones who bring sweet-smelling offerings; neither in Hebrew, nor among other interpreters is it found. It should be noted that in this place: On the twentieth and fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year, it is not said for the third time as above: The word of the Lord came into the hand of the prophet Haggai; but it is said to the prophet Haggai. For there, because it was still making progress and only the works were pure, but his heart had not yet received full wisdom; either because he was still living among those who said, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord,' only his works became the word of the Lord. But now, since the foundations of the temple have been laid and the people have entered with their leaders into the house of God, and he is doing work befitting the temple of God, and he has heard the mystery: 'I will shake all nations, and the Desired One of all nations will come, and he is full of prophecy;' therefore, the whole oracle of the Lord is directed to Haggai. On the twenty-fourth day and the second year, we have already said: the number nine, which is added here, is never read in a good way. The people sacrifice the Passover lamb and celebrate other festivities; the whole solemnity ends on the eighth day and does not reach the ninth. Those who prepare the Passover lamb begin preparing it after the ninth day has passed. The day of atonement and expiation of the seventh month is also celebrated after the ninth day. And in Jeremiah (Chap. XIX and LII), as it can be clear to those reading, Jerusalem is besieged by the Babylonians in the ninth year. Therefore, because the prophecy of the impending defilement of the people was to come true, in the second year of Darius the ninth month is joined. Again, because a place of repentance is given after the correction of defilement, on the twenty-fourth day the word of God comes to the prophet Haggai, so that, as if in the person of the Lord, a question is asked of the priests coming from the law, and it is said to him: Ask the priests the law, saying. At the same time, consider it to be the duty of priests to respond to inquiries about the law. If someone is a priest, they should know the law of the Lord; if they are ignorant of the law, they prove themselves not to be a priest of the Lord. For it is the role of a priest to know the law and to respond to inquiries about the law. Indeed, we read in Deuteronomy (Chapter 17) that whenever a dispute arises in the towns of Israel between blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, between leprosy and leprosy, between contradiction and contradiction, they should go to the priests and Levites, and to the priest who is appointed in those days, and inquire about the law of the Lord. And when they have received a response, they should do as they are commanded. But if they do not do so, they shall be exterminated from their people. And lest these precepts appear only in the old Instrument, the Apostle also speaks to Timothy, that a bishop must not only be irreproachable, but also the husband of one wife, wise, chaste, adorned, hospitable, and also a teacher (1 Tim. 3). And lest it seem by chance that he said this, the same caution is observed in regard to the ordination of presbyters (whom he also wants to be understood as bishops) in Titus (1:5-9). Because of this, I left you in Crete, so that you could correct the things that needed finishing and appoint elders in each city, just as I instructed you: If any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who are not accused of wildness or unruly behavior. For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not easily angered, not given to violence, not a striker, not greedy for filthy lucre; but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, holy, self-controlled, holding firmly to the faithful message as taught, so that he may be able to encourage others by sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it. For there are many who are not subject, empty talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whom it is necessary to silence. I have explained these things at length so that we may know that it is the duty of priests, both in the old and new Testament, to know the law of God and to respond to what they are asked. And simplicity and abstinence from foods are not enough in a teacher: unless he can also instruct others by what he does. Certainly, because I think they will answer: this is the task of those who from their youth prepare themselves for teaching, and who are often chosen as priests by the judgment of the Lord and the vote of the people. At least let them have this, that after they have been ordained as priests, they learn the law of God, so that they can teach what they have learned, and increase their knowledge more than their wealth, and not be ashamed to learn from laypeople, who know those things that pertain to the office of priests, and rather spend their nights and days in the study of the Scriptures than in reasoning and calculation. What is it that Haggai, speaking in the Lord's name, asks the priests? If a man carries holy flesh in the fold of his garment and touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any food, will it become holy? Before we discuss the question, we must first understand, according to the written word, what holy flesh is and what defiles the soul. The sacrifices that were offered on the altar consisted of these holy meats, and among them there was a great diversity. For some priests were eating in the inner sanctuary of the temple, others at home, others who seemed to be blemished from among the priests, and others who were Israelites and had no impurity. The reason for this diversity is said to be found in the book of Leviticus. However, one who had touched the body of a dead person was called unclean in the soul. In this, it should be noted that as long as the soul is in the body, the human body is not unclean. But as soon as the animating spirit leaves the limbs, that which is earthly becomes unclean, as it is written in the same book of Leviticus: 'And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: They shall not become unclean in their souls among their people; but they may become unclean among their relatives who are close to them: over their mother, and over their father, and over their sons and daughters, and over their brothers and sisters who are virgins and who are not given to a husband. They shall not become unclean over these, and they shall not defile themselves suddenly among their people in their defilement.' (Lev. 21:1-2) Consider this command for the priests not to enter any dead person, except for their relatives and close ones, as mentioned above. But the high priest, that is, the pontiff, had something more than the other priests: neither piety nor affection could persuade him to become unclean in the aforementioned cases. For Scripture says: And he shall not enter on any soul that is dead: not even on his father or mother, and he shall not defile himself. Therefore, knowing what sanctified flesh is, and what is unclean in the soul, let us see what the prophet seeks. If any man, not this man who is called the Pontiff, or the priest, or the Levite; but any man: where the person is not specified, it is allowed to everyone everywhere to touch the flesh. If he takes, he says, the sanctified flesh, and ties it to the top of his garment, and the top of the garment touches bread, or any other cooked food, or wine, or oil, or any food besides these that a man can eat, can the bread, or wine, or oil, or any food, be sanctified by touching the garment to which the holy flesh is bound? And the responding priests said: It is not possible, that is, nothing of what you ask will be sanctified; but everything will remain as it was. Again, another question is posed to the priests: namely, if they have answered well to the previous one, and a similar problem is presented, in which an ignorant person could easily slip up. For let us suppose that someone does not know the law, and as he answered that sanctified meat does not sanctify bread, or porridge, or wine, or oil, or any food, he will also respond in this case and say: The defiled in the soul does not defile those things which the holy flesh could not sanctify. Therefore, he asks: If someone who is polluted in their soul, meaning someone who has become impure from contact with a dead body, touches any of these things, namely bread or porridge or wine or oil or other foods, will the things they touch be polluted as well? And the priests, whose leader was Jesus son of Josedec, who knew the law, answered and said that anything touched by someone who is impure will be polluted. And Haggai answered and said, keeping silent about the former things, that consecrated flesh cannot sanctify other foods; and he addressed the second question, saying: Thus says the Lord: This people and this nation, in my presence, are unclean in their souls, and if they touch anything that is dead, whatever they touch and whatever they offer to me will be unclean. And what he says according to the letter, is this: O people, who, after just building the altar and destroying my house, offer sacrifices to me on the altar, and think that you are sanctified by its victims and flesh: know that you are not sanctified by the sacrifices, which, with the temple destroyed, cannot benefit you; but rather, all your works and everything you do are contaminated because you neglect and are more concerned with building your own house than mine. Indeed, the offering on the altar is sacred; but you are not sanctified so much by the sacrifices as by dwelling in the valleys and being involved in dead works, you are polluted. This is according to history, although we have drawn spiritual lines of intelligence from it. Furthermore, according to the ἀναγωγὴ, just as Ecclesiasticus says, the man who offered an unblemished lamb and a yearling and was clothed with Christ, if he takes of its flesh and binds it on the top of his garment, and the top touches the bread of Scripture, which strengthens the hearts of believers, or the cooking, the apostolic Epistles, which cuts and cooks the flesh of the old Law and provides them for eating, or the wine that gladdens the heart of man, or the oil in which the face of the hearer is brightened, or any food: milk, with which the Corinthians are nourished (I Cor. 2), and vegetables on which the weak feed (Rom. XIV, 3), and other similar things: they do not immediately eat them as if they were sanctified, to whomever they may be given. For it is not from what is said, but from what is received, that the hearers are sanctified: because many are hearers of the law, but not doers. But also for this reason I believe that all these things which I have said, are not sanctified when carried from the touch of the garment to those who eat, because they only touch the surface of the cloak; and the inward parts, the moisture, the blood, the veins, and the nerves, are not known to be sanctified. Therefore, just as the surface of the Lord's garment and a light touch do not sanctify, unless the one who eats the flesh of the lamb and drinks his blood: so, on the contrary, uncleanness in the soul, and various perverse teachings, make whatever they touch unclean. For they have in their sacraments bread and wine and oil and all kinds of food; but their sacraments are like bread of mourning, all who touch them will be contaminated. They also read the Scriptures themselves and, as it were, sprinkle bread with testimonies from the Scriptures, and they cook it all night in a pan; but when it is given to be eaten, those who eat it are provoked to madness. They have porridge and cooking, attempting to weave mystical things from the Scriptures according to the sense of their own perversity, and as if to cook and season the flesh of the lamb, but that cooking is destruction. They have wine, but not from the vineyard of Sorek, which the Lord planted in Jeremiah, chosen and entirely true (Jer. II); but from the vineyard of Sodom. They also have oil, which they violently extract from the testimonies of the Old and New Scriptures, and promise it as a refreshment to deceived and weary minds; but the holy one detests it, and says: But the oil of the sinner will not anoint my head (Ps. CXL, 5). They also have various foods, namely, the multitude of various assumptions and various treatises, which, because they are written by the unclean, and have been uttered by an unclean mouth, whoever touches them will become unclean and be drawn into their error. Then Aggaeus replied, who knows the differences of festivals, and for that reason he obtained the name: Thus, this people and this nation, namely the Jews, and the Gentiles, and all heretics, in my sight, says the Lord: Everything they have done, whether they have offered it to me as vows for salvation, or for peace, or for sin, or for offense, or as a burnt offering, or as alms, or as fasting, or as self-control in food, or as bodily chastity, will be defiled in my sight. Although they may appear holy in their outward appearance, those things that are offered by such individuals are tainted because they have been touched by someone whose soul is defiled. Everything becomes polluted.